Barron's Picks And Pans: Netflix, Raytheon, Spotify, Taiwan Semi And More

• This weekend's Barron's cover story examines the race to zero trading commissions.
• Other featured articles discuss how to play a complicated merger and why Chinese stocks are lagging.
• Also, the prospects for a chipmaker, a music streamer, shippers, pot stocks and more.

"Who Will Win the New Broker Wars" by Daren Fonda takes a look inside the race to zero trading commissions set off this past week by Charles Schwab Corporation SCHW and followed by E*TRADE Financial Corp ETFC and others.

Tae Kim's "This Tech Company Powers the Industry's Stars" makes a case that demand for sophisticated chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. TSM is propelling the company's earnings and its shares.

In "United Technologies' Merger With Raytheon Is Complicated. 3 Ways to Play It.," Andrew Bary suggests there is opportunity before the Carrier and Otis spinoffs and the closing of the United Technologies Corporation UTX and Raytheon Company RTN deal.

U.S. refiners, as well as transport and tanker companies, stand to benefit from new international rules, according to "Investing in the Biggest Thing Happening in Shipping" by Avi Salzman. What does that mean for Frontline Ltd FRO and others?

In Craig Mellow's "Chinese Stocks Lag Because Companies Neglect Shareholders," find out why these stocks have lagged, even though China has grown much faster than the United States. Is it better to focus on companies like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA than an index?

See Also: GM-UAW Strike Nears Third Week, Costing Thousands Their Jobs And The Company Millions

"It's Crunch Time for Netflix and These 5 Other Stocks" by Jack Hough looks at why earnings season could generate big moves in shares of AT&T Inc. T, Netflix Inc NFLX and some others.

In "WeWork's IPO Failed. Now It's Time to Bet Against Pot Stocks.," Steven M. Sears points out that the days of needing a real idea and a real business to raise money seem to be returning. See what that means for the likes of Cronos Group Inc CRON.

Analysts are positive about the Spotify Technology SA SPOT streaming service. So says Avi Salzman's "Spotify Stock Has Had a Miserable 6 Months. Wall Street's Optimists Are Wrong." But it's still unclear when the profits will come.