Wednesday, November 18, 2009

11/18/09 Wed am Hershey May Bid for Cadbury Against Kraft

WE CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT WWW.DOWJONESMONITOR.COM

The following is not intended as advertising by a broker-dealer and is not a research report.

Post #217 The following is brought to you by Intellivest Securities Research, Inc. Towards the end of this Blog is a list of the Dow 30 CEO's, a ranking of the Dow 30 by market capitalization as of close of 11/6/09 and an update of the Dow 30's most recent SEC filings as of 11/6/09.

A read of Wednesday's 11/18/09 print editions of: Wall St. Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, USA Today, Investors Bus. Daily, Atlanta Journal Constitution, & Daily Report (Georgia) yielded the following stories about Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 component companies and the Dow with stories about the Dow aggregated first and then items about Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 companies presented alphabetically, followed by symbol and Tuesday's closing price and related data:

Dow: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Tuesday at 10437.42 up 30.46 or 0.29% from Monday's close of 10,406.96. Year to date the Dow is up 18.93%. Of the 30 Dow Companies: 7 declined, one, Pfizer, was unchanged and 22 gained. The biggest gainer dollar-wise was 3M MMM $78.78 +0.76 0.97% 3,094,510 NYSE and percentage-wise was Microsoft MSFT $30 +0.59 2.01% 75,232,093 NASDAQ-GS. The biggest decliner dollar-wise McDonald's MCD $63.57 -0.96 1.49% 8,500,607 NYSE and percentage-wise was Home Depot HD $26.99 -0.66 2.39% 31,032,704 NYSE.

WSJ pC1 "Stocks Notch Small Gains; Dow Up 30.46" by Peter A. McKay, Geoffrey Rogow says stocks and commodities finished with small gains as corporate and economic news kept in tact investors' faith that interest rates will remain low. Major stock indexes seesawed between gains and losses before rising in the last hour of trading to close near their highs for the day. The S&P was held in check by a 0.7% decline in its consumer discretionary category which was hurt by a 2.4% slide in Home Depot after it issued a cautious outlook for the coming holiday season. Oil prices posted a second gain in a row as traders placed bets shead of inventory data due Wed. Crude futures rose to $79.14 a barrel and Gold futures were up to $1,138.80 an oz.

WSJ pC6 "Exxon, Massey Rise; Home Depot Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says another round of buying in commodities producers, including Exxon Mobil, helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average close higher for the ninth time in 10 sessions though Home Depot and Target weighed on consumer stocks and kept the broader stock gains muted. The Dow's biggest percentage gainer was Microsoft. Their Bing search engine continued its slow but steady rise. Bing had a 9.9% shares of US search queries. Charted under "The Bad News" is Home Depot saying thier profits fell a less tha expected 8.9% but its implied fourth quarter outlook missed analysts' expectations.

Fin Times p24 "S&P 500's late push propels it to 13 month high" by Samantha Pearson says Wall St. clung on to its gains from the previous session's rally in spite of a downbeat statement from Home Depot. Soaring oil prices lifted US stocks on Monday to close at their highest leel since Oct. last year. But the consumer discretionary sector seighed on the market yesterday after retailers remained cautious about the upcoming holiday season. Home Depot, the largest home improvement chain in the US, reported higher than expected quarterly profit and raised its full year outlook.

NyT pB9 "Wholesale Prices Show Few Inflation Pressures" by Javier C. Hernandez says wholesale prices in the US increased only slightly in Oct easing concerns that inflation might soon emerge as a threat to the economic recovery in a period of extraordinarily low interest rates.

USA Today p4B "Small but mighty gains push stocks up" p4B AP says modest gains pushed major stock indexes to 13 month highs Teus. as higher commodity prices lifted energy and materials stock. The dollar, whose slump since the spring has helped prop up commodity and stock prices, rose against otehr major currencies, a negative for stock market sentiment. A higher dollar makes US exports less competitive overaseas. For months, the market has been trading on economic news on the fluctuations of the dollar. High lights included Chevron rising.

As of the open of the market Wednesday, the current divisor for the Dow found at page C4 of The Wall St. Jrnl is .132319125 unchanged, the trailing P/E ratio is 18.08 up from Tuesday's 18.02 (year ago it was 17.64), the P/E estimate is 15.82 unchanged (year ago it was 10.35) and the current dividend yield is 2.67 unchaged (it was 3.84 a year ago).

Tuesday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing numerator was 1381.07 up 4.03 from Monday's closing Dow numerator of 1377.04. This is the sum of all 30 closing prices. A short cut to the Dow numerator is to multiply the closing Dow by the Divisor. Now, if you divide the Dow numerator increase of 4.03 for Tuesday by the divisor you get the increase in Tuesday's Dow close of 30.46.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of Tuesday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was 46.04 up 0.14 from Monday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing price of $45.90. The median closing price of Tuesday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $42.26 up 0.02 from Monday's Dow Jones median closing price of $42.24. The lowest volume Tuesday was 3M MMM $78.78 +0.76 0.97% 3,094,510 NYSE and the highest volume again was Bank of Am BAC $15.77 -0.10 0.63% 110,149,272 NYSE.

If Tuesday morning before the market opened you had purchased $100 of each of the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 shares (assuming you could buy fractional shares and assuming no transaction costs) and sold at the close you would have made $420.
($138,120 - $137,700)

AT&T T $26.28 -0.01 0.04% 21,469,243 NYSE: USA Today p2B "court hears AT&T, Verizon ad fight today" by Leslie Cauley says a fed court today will consider the fate of a Verizon ad campaign that features side by side wireless coverage maps showing it has 5 times more 3G coverage than A&T&. AT&T isn't contesting the accuracy of Vierizon's claim but says the ads are misleading. VZ says AT&T is suing because the ads are true and the truth hurts. T wants the court to force VZ to pull the 5 ads, 3of which are holiday themed. The hearing is today in Atlanta.

WSJ pA1 "Feds Mull Rules, Fees to Spur Net Access" by Amy Schatz says Red. regulators are considering whether the gov. should take greater control of the Internet and ask consumers to pay higher phone charges in order to provide all Americans with cheaper access to broadbank Internet service. The FCC Wed. will lay out the case for expanding broadband Internet service, outlining current obstacles to making it widely availble. They are considering whether to force Internet providers to share their networks with rivals and riase fees charged on consumer phone bill to pay for the broader access. Consumer groups say open access rules will spark competition and lead to more choice and lower Intrent prices. the issue bubbled up last month when Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society released an FCC commissioned study which concluded that other nations have faster and cheaper Internet access because of open access rules. On Monday, AT&T told the FCC the Harvard study's conclusion was "nothing short of astonishing. The article also quotes a Verizon vp for Internet issues who says it doesn't make "sense for the FCC to look at applying old rules which were designed for the traditional phone system, to the fast evolving Internet."

WSJ pB2 "CEOs Say Credit Is Crucial to Creating Jobs" by Roger Cheng, Jon Kamp says efforts to spur job creation need to center on getting more credit to small and midsize businesses and improving the country's education system according to CEOs at the annual Wall St. Journal CEO Council. American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault is quoted as saying all fo the policies should be related to job creation. Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Chambers said that education is the most important long term issue for the nation. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said the talent pool coming out of high schools is getting diluted.

Alcoa AA $13.76 +0.15 1.1% 22,811,634 NYSE: No mentions found.

American Express AXP $41.36 -0.08 0.19% 10,107,725 NYSE: WSJ pB2 "CEOs Say Credit Is Crucial to Creating Jobs" by Roger Cheng, Jon Kamp says efforts to spur job creation need to center on getting more credit to small and midsize businesses and improving the country's education system according to CEOs at the annual Wall St. Journal CEO Council. American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault is quoted as saying all fo the policies should be related to job creation. Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Chambers said that education is the most important long term issue for the nation. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said the talent pool coming out of high schools is getting diluted.

Bank of America BAC $15.77 -0.10 0.63% 110,149,272 NYSE: WSJ pA1 "Hershey Plots Cadbury Bid" by Ilan Brat, Jeffrey McCracken, Dana Cimilluca says Hershey is in talks with banks to line up billions of dollars to launch a rival bid to Kraft Foods Inc.'s $16.4 bil offer for British candy maker Cadbury PLC. Hershey, emboldened by improving financial markets, looks much more willing than it did last week to make a run at Cadbury. The Pa. maker of Hershey bars and Reese's peanut Butter Cups is considering a bid of its own or with a partner such as Ferrero SpA, the Italian maker of Tic-Tacs, Nutella hazelnut spread and Ferrero Rocher chcolates. Hershey CEO David West in the past 2 weeks has spoken with Ferrero bankers about teaming up with Cadbury. Hershey has also talked with J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America Merrill Lynch about financing and they are receptive. A chart shows global confectionary market share by retail sales in billions with Mars 1st at $24.2, then Cadbury at $17, followed by Nestle $13.1, Kraft $7.9, Hershey $7.6, Ferrero $7.5, Perfetti Van Melle $4.9, Lindt & Sprungli $3.3, Lotte Group $2.6, and Storck $2.3.

NYT pB8 "Wall Street On Track For Record In Profits" by Zachery Kouwe says in a report released Tues. by Tom P. DiNapol, the comptroller of NY State, Wall St. profits in '09 are on track to exceed the record set 3 years ago at the height of the credit bubble. The 4 biggest investment firms in Manhattan, Goldman Sachs, BofA's Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and the investment banking arm of JPMorgan Chase earned $22.5 bil in the first 9 months, in contrast to losses of more than $40.3 bil in '08, primarily at Merrill Lynch.

Boeing BA $52.53 +0.05 0.1% 3,933,829 NYSE: WSJ pB3 "court Reinstates Boeign Contract" by Kristina Peterson says the US Ct. of Appeals for the Fed. Circuit on Tues. reinstated Boeing's $1 bil contract to maintain the U.S. Air Froce fleet of aerial refueling tankers. The decision overturns the US Ct. of Fed. Claims' decision last year that Boeing's bid hadn't sufficiently estimated how to care for the nearly 50 year old fleet of K-135 tankers. Alabama Aircraft Industries, Inc. an unsuccessful bidder for the contract had challenged the award of the contract to Boeing in '07.

Fin Times p15 "Dubai air show sees deals start to trickle in" by Pilita Clark, Simeon kerr says the rhird day of the Dubai air show ended yesterday much as the first 2 days with just a handful of extra order announcements from the main aircraft manufacturers that organizers said brought the total value of air show deals to $8.3 bil Boeing made its first aircraft announcement of the show with 2 Algerian customers: Air Algerie, which ordered 7 Boeing B737-800 jets, wroth up to $553m at list prices, and Algeria based Tassili Airlines,which ordered 4 B737s in a $228 mil deal first announced earlier this year.

Caterpillar CAT $59.88 -0.52 0.86% 7,077,025 NYSE: No mentions found.

Chevron CVX $78.81 +0.20 0.25% 6,733,808 NYSE: USA Today p4B "Small but mighty gains push stocks up" p4B AP says modest gains pushed major stock indexes to 13 month highs Teus. as higher commodity prices lifted energy and materials stock. The dollar, whose slump since the spring has helped prop up commodity and stock prices, rose against otehr major currencies, a negative for stock market sentiment. A higher dollar makes US exports less competitive overaseas. For months, the market has been trading on economic news on the fluctuations of the dollar. High lights included Chevron rising.

Cisco CSCO $24.09 +0.22 0.92% 37,170,258 NASDAQ-GS: WSJ pB2 "CEOs Say Credit Is Crucial to Creating Jobs" by Roger Cheng, Jon Kamp says efforts to spur job creation need to center on getting more credit to small and midsize businesses and improving the country's education system according to CEOs at the annual Wall St. Journal CEO Council. American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault is quoted as saying all fo the policies should be related to job creation. Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Chambers said that education is the most important long term issue for the nation. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said the talent pool coming out of high schools is getting diluted.

Coca-Cola KO $56.87 +0.13 0.23% 5,664,847 NYSE: Fin times p16 "Coke to give its juices the Minute maid look" by Jonathan Birchall says KO is to create a unified look for the packaging of its global jice brands that would affects brands from Botaniq in Ukraine to Del Valle in Latin America. Coke has 100 juice brands in more than 145 nations, many acquired in the past 10 years, and is the world's largest seller of juice.This was also reported at AJC pA12.

AJC pA11 "Costco Coke pricing fight shelves deal to carry items" by Emily Fredrix, Sarah Skidmore says the public squabble between Coca-Cola and Costco as they square off on prices. Costco has stopped carrying Coke products.

AJC pA12 says Coke will introduce Vitaminwater Zero, a no calories version of its Vitaminwater brand early next year.

Disney DIS $30.87 +0.17 0.55% 10,144,297 NYSE: AJC pA6 says Jerry Brown, Cal.'s AG sent a letter to Target and WalMart telling them to pull toys with a high lead content including Disney's Barbie doll that has Disney's logo.

DuPont DD $35.29 +0.35 1% 6,110,802 NYSE: No mentions found.

ExxonMobil XOM $75.03 +0.60 0.81% 22,884,221 NYSE: WSJ pC6 "Exxon, Massey Rise; Home Depot Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says another round of buying in commodities producers, including Exxon Mobil, helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average close higher for the ninth time in 10 sessions though Home Depot and Target weighed on consumer stocks and kept the broader stock gains muted. The Dow's biggest percentage gainer was Microsoft. Their Bing search engine continued its slow but steady rise. Bing had a 9.9% shares of US search queries. Charted under "The Bad News" is Home Depot saying thier profits fell a less tha expected 8.9% but its implied fourth quarter outlook missed analysts' expectations.

GE $16.02 +0.02 0.12% 51,791,982 NYSE: WSJ pB3 "Vivendi, GE Iron Out Terms For NBC Universal Stake" by Sam Schechner, Max Colchester says Vivendi SA is still working out terms with its partner GE asking for a higher price and deal protections as the French company seeks to exit its minority stake in NBC Universal. The Vivendi-Ge talks are the last hurdle in a deal GE has been negotiating with Comcast Corp. in which the US cable oeprator would take control of NBC Universal. GE now owns 80% of the tv and film firm, while Vivendi holds 20%.

Similar story at Daily Report p6 "Comcast's NBC talks cap decades-long rise" by Deborah Yao.

Hewlett-Packard HPQ $51.32 +0.51 1% 15,775,095 NYSE: No mentions found.

Home Depot HD $26.99 -0.66 2.39% 31,032,704 NYSE: WSJ pB3 "Home Depot Profit Falls by Less Tha Expected 8.9%" by Mary Ellen Lloyd, USA Today p5b "Home Depot, Target sales show strain" & Fin Times "US stores express caution as sales stabilise" by Jonathan Birchal & NYTimes "Retailer's Earnings Beat Expectations" by Stephanie Rosenbllom say Home Depot Inc.s fiscal 3Q profit fell a smaller than expected 8.9% as lower expenses offset continued weak demand for home improvement products. HD also raised its full year forecast, projection and adjusted profit from continuing operations of about $1.55 a share or a 13% decline. Fro the period ended 11/1 HD reported earnings of $689 mil or 41 cents a share, down from $756 mil or 45 cents a year earlier. Rev fell 8% to $16.36 bil as same store sales dropped 6.9%. HD's gross margin rose to 34% from 33.7 but selling, general and admin. expenses edged down to 23.7% of sales from 23.8%.

WSJ pC1 "Stocks Notch Small Gains; Dow Up 30.46" by Peter A. McKay, Geoffrey Rogow says stocks and commodities finished with small gains as corporate and economic news kept in tact investors' faith that interest rates will remain low. Major stock indexes seesawed between gains and losses before rising in the last hour of trading to close near their highs for the day. The S&P was held in check by a 0.7% decline in its consumer discretionary category which was hurt by a 2.4% slide in Home Depot after it issued a cautious outlook for the coming holiday season. Oil prices posted a second gain in a row as traders placed bets shead of inventory data due Wed. Crude futures rose to $79.14 a barrel and Gold futures were up to $1,138.80 an oz.

WSJ pC6 "Exxon, Massey Rise; Home Depot Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says another round of buying in commodities producers, including Exxon Mobil, helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average close higher for the ninth time in 10 sessions though Home Depot and Target weighed on consumer stocks and kept the broader stock gains muted. The Dow's biggest percentage gainer was Microsoft. Their Bing search engine continued its slow but steady rise. Bing had a 9.9% shares of US search queries. Charted under "The Bad News" is Home Depot saying thier profits fell a less tha expected 8.9% but its implied fourth quarter outlook missed analysts' expectations.

Intel INTC $20.32 +0.09 0.44% 35,235,073 NASDAQ-GS: No mentions found.

IBM $128.63 +0.42 0.33% 6,942,153 NYSE: No mentions found.

J.P.Morgan Chase JPM $43.16 +0.12 0.28% 25,731,975 NYSE: WSJ pA1 "Hershey Plots Cadbury Bid" by Ilan Brat, Jeffrey McCracken, Dana Cimilluca says Hershey is in talks with banks to line up billions of dollars to launch a rival bid to Kraft Foods Inc.'s $16.4 bil offer for British candy maker Cadbury PLC. Hershey, emboldened by improving financial markets, looks much more willing than it did last week to make a run at Cadbury. The Pa. maker of Hershey bars and Reese's peanut Butter Cups is considering a bid of its own or with a partner such as Ferrero SpA, the Italian maker of Tic-Tacs, Nutella hazelnut spread and Ferrero Rocher chcolates. Hershey CEO David West in the past 2 weeks has spoken with Ferrero bankers about teaming up with Cadbury. Hershey has also talked with J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America Merrill Lynch about financing and they are receptive. A chart shows global confectionary market share by retail sales in billions with Mars 1st at $24.2, then Cadbury at $17, followed by Nestle $13.1, Kraft $7.9, Hershey $7.6, Ferrero $7.5, Perfetti Van Melle $4.9, Lindt & Sprungli $3.3, Lotte Group $2.6, and Storck $2.3.

NYT pB8 "Wall Street On Track For Record In Profits" by Zachery Kouwe says in a report released Tues. by Tom P. DiNapol, the comptroller of NY State, Wall St. profits in '09 are on track to exceed the record set 3 years ago at the height of the credit bubble. The 4 biggest investment firms in Manhattan, Goldman Sachs, BofA's Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and the investment banking arm of JPMorgan Chase earned $22.5 bil in the first 9 months, in contrast to losses of more than $40.3 bil in '08, primarily at Merrill Lynch.

Johnson & Johnson JNJ $62.17 -0.02 0.03% 11,417,902 NYSE: No mentions found.

Kraft KFT $27.64 +0.01 0.04% 10,567,834 NYSE: WSJ pA1 "Hershey Plots Cadbury Bid" by Ilan Brat, Jeffrey McCracken, Dana Cimilluca says Hershey is in talks with banks to line up billions of dollars to launch a rival bid to Kraft Foods Inc.'s $16.4 bil offer for British candy maker Cadbury PLC. Hershey, emboldened by improving financial markets, looks much more willing than it did last week to make a run at Cadbury. The Pa. maker of Hershey bars and Reese's peanut Butter Cups is considering a bid of its own or with a partner such as Ferrero SpA, the Italian maker of Tic-Tacs, Nutella hazelnut spread and Ferrero Rocher chcolates. Hershey CEO David West in the past 2 weeks has spoken with Ferrero bankers about teaming up with Cadbury. Hershey has also talked with J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America Merrill Lynch about financing and they are receptive. A chart shows global confectionary market share by retail sales in billions with Mars 1st at $24.2, then Cadbury at $17, followed by Nestle $13.1, Kraft $7.9, Hershey $7.6, Ferrero $7.5, Perfetti Van Melle $4.9, Lindt & Sprungli $3.3, Lotte Group $2.6, and Storck $2.3.

McDonald's MCD $63.57 -0.96 1.49% 8,500,607 NYSE: No mentions found.

Merck MRK $34.29 +0.48 1.42% 16,053,286 NYSE: No mentions found.

Microsoft MSFT $30 +0.59 2.01% 75,232,093 NASDAQ-GS: WSJ pB5 "Microsoft's Cloud Plans" by Nick Wingfield says MSFT's cloud computing service is taking shape but it may be awhile before it translates into bid dollars. MSFT said Windows Azure, the name for a new servicd that will let firms run apps inside MSFT data centers will become available comercially Jan. 1.

WSJ pC6 "Exxon, Massey Rise; Home Depot Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says another round of buying in commodities producers, including Exxon Mobil, helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average close higher for the ninth time in 10 sessions though Home Depot and Target weighed on consumer stocks and kept the broader stock gains muted. The Dow's biggest percentage gainer was Microsoft. Their Bing search engine continued its slow but steady rise. Bing had a 9.9% shares of US search queries. Charted under "The Bad News" is Home Depot saying thier profits fell a less tha expected 8.9% but its implied fourth quarter outlook missed analysts' expectations.

Fin Times p13 "Microsoft loses China intellectual property rights battle over fonts" by Kathrin Hille says a Chinese court has ruled that Microsoft infringed a Chinese software maker's intellectual property rights in a surprise decision that has renewed worries among foreign patent experts that China's management of IRP disputes. MSFT's use of 2 Chinese fonts developed by Zhongyi Electronic a Beijing based software company, was not covered by a license agreement between the 2, the Beijing No A Intermediary People's Courtsaid in a verdict and therefore infringed Zhongyis intellectual property rights.

Pfizer PFE $17.94 unch unch 27,048,648 NYSE: No mentions found.

Procter & Gamble PG $62.31 +0.04 0.06% 9,906,836 NYSE: WSJ pB1 "Sara Lee Attracts New Suitor" by Dana Cimilluca, Jeffrey cCracken says S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. has joined the bidding for Sara Lee Corp.s air freshener biz potentially creating a formidable palyer in Europe with the combo of S.C. Johnson's Glade brand and Sara Lee's Ambi Pur. The bidding for the unit, which pits S.C. Johnson agaisnt Procter & Gamble Co. could fetch more than $700 mill but could still be weeks away.

WSJ pD5 "FDA Plaviz Warning" by Alicia Mundy, Jared A. Favole says the FDA said Teus. doctors should avoid using popular heartbearn drugs such as Prilosec in combination with the anticlotting med Plaviz, after studies showed the combo may blunt the effect of Plaviz and increase risk of heart attack. About half of patients taking Plaviz also take Nexium, Priolosec or a similar medicine to prevent stomach bleeding and ulcers, frequent side effects of Plaviz. Nexium is made by AstraZeneca while Procter & Gamble sells an over the couner version of Prilosec called Prilosec OTC.

3M MMM $78.78 +0.76 0.97% 3,094,510 NYSE: No mentions found.

Traveler's TRV $53.15 +0.21 0.4% 3,499,477 NYSE: No mentions found.

United Technologies UTX $69.93 +0.59 0.85% 4,811,229 NYSE: No mentions found.

Verizon VZ
$30.65 +0.32 1.06% 16,183,142 NYSE: USA Today p2B "court hears AT&T, Verizon ad fight today" by Leslie Cauley says a fed court today will consider the fate of a Verizon ad campaign that features side by side wireless coverage maps showing it has 5 times more 3G coverage than A&T&. AT&T isn't contesting the accuracy of Vierizon's claim but says the ads are misleading. VZ says AT&T is suing because the ads are true and the truth hurts. T wants the court to force VZ to pull the 5 ads, 3of which are holiday themed. The hearing is today in Atlanta.

WSJ pA1 "Feds Mull Rules, Fees to Spur Net Access" by Amy Schatz says Red. regulators are considering whether the gov. should take greater control of the Internet and ask consumers to pay higher phone charges in order to provide all Americans with cheaper access to broadbank Internet service. The FCC Wed. will lay out the case for expanding broadband Internet service, outlining current obstacles to making it widely availble. They are considering whether to force Internet providers to share their networks with rivals and riase fees charged on consumer phone bill to pay for the broader access. Consumer groups say open access rules will spark competition and lead to more choice and lower Intrent prices. the issue bubbled up last month when Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society released an FCC commissioned study which concluded that other nations have faster and cheaper Internet access because of open access rules. On Monday, AT&T told the FCC the Harvard study's conclusion was "nothing short of astonishing. The article also quotes a Verizon vp for Internet issues who says it doesn't make "sense for the FCC to look at applying old rules which were designed for the traditional phone system, to the fast evolving Internet."

AJC pA12 says the largest union for Verizon says VZ is laying off more than 1,000 employees in DC, Maryland and Virgina as part of the announced plan to cut 8,000 by the end of the year.

Walmart WMT $53.66 +0.50 0.94% 17,709,939 NYSE: WSJ pB1 "Smarter Shoppers vs. Smarter Sellers" by Ann Zimerman, Vanessa O'Connell, Elizabeth Homes says some reailers are finding way to profit in the face of declining sales by cutting prices.
Walmart said Tues it was cutting the prices on popular toys such as the EZBake Over by as muc as 60% starting on Sat. in order to lure holiday shoppers early.

AJC pA6 says Jerry Brown, Cal.'s AG sent a letter to Target and WalMart telling them to pull toys with a high lead content including Disney's Barbie doll that has Disney's logo.
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Here are the CEOs of the Dow 30 Companies:

T Randall L. Stephenson
AA Klaus Kleinfeld
AXP Kenneth I. Chenault
BAC Kenneth D. Lewis (on 10/1 he announced his resignation as of year-end).
BA W. James McNerney, Jr.
CAT James W. Owens who will be replaced by Douglas Oberhelman in 2010.
CVX David O'Reilly who will be replaced by John Watson at year end.
CSCO John Chambers
KO Muhtar Kent
DIS Robert Iger
DD Ellen Kullman
XOM Rex W. Tillerson
GE Jeffrey R. Immelt
HPQ Mark Hurd
HD Frank Blake
INTC Paul S. Otellini
IBM Samuel J. Palmisano
JPM Jamie Dimon
JNJ William C. Weldon
KFT Irene Rosenfeld
MCD Jim Skinner
MRK Robert Clark
MSFT Steve Ballmer
PFE Jeffrey Kindler
PG Bob McDonald
MMM George W. Buckley
TRV Jay S. Fishman
UTX Louis Chenevert
VZ Ivan Seidenberg
WMT Mike Duke

Here are the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 ranked in order of market capitalization rounded to the nearest billion as of
11/6/09 followed by number of shares outstanding rounded to the nearest 1/2 billion:

1. Exxon Mobil XOM $349 [5]
2. Microsoft MSFT 254 [9]
3. WalMart WMT 198 [4]
4. Procter & Gamble PG 178 [3]
5. JPMorgan Chase 171 [4]
6. Johnson & Johnson JNJ 164 [3]
7. GE 163 [10.5]
8. IBM 162 [1.5]
9. Chevron CVX 155 [2]
10. Cisco CSCO 155 [6]
11. AT&T 153 [6]
12. BAC 130 [6.5]
13. Coke KO 126 [2]
14. Hewlett-Packard HPQ 117 [ 2]
15. Pfizer PFE 116 [7]
16. Intel INTC 106 [5.5]
17. Verizon VZ 69 [3]
18. Merck MRK 69 [2
19. McDonald's MCD 67 [1]
20. United Technologies UTX 61 [1]
21. 3M MMM 53 [.5]
22. Disney DIS 53 [2]
23. Home Depot 44 [2]
24. American Express AXP 44 [1]
25. Kraft KFT 40 [1.5]
26. Caterpillar CAT 36 [.5]
27. Boeing BA 34 [1]
28. DuPont DD 30 [1]
29. Travelers 28 [.5]
30. Alcoa AA 11 [1]

Here are the latest SEC filings as of 11/7/09 other than ownership filings and, except for certain cases, I do not include third party shareholder proposals:

Symbol & Co. Name/Date of Filing/Form Filed/ Comments

T AT&T: 11/6/09 8K announced the completion of the acquisition of Centennial Communications Corp. a regional provider of wireless and wired communications services for $945 million in cash.
11/5/09 10-Q

Alcoa AA: 10/23/09 10Q

American Express AXP: 10/30/09 10Q

Bank of Am BAC: 11/6/09 10Q

Boeing BA: 11/5/09 8K to reflect certain adjustments that have been made to prior year consolidated financial statements that were previously filed with the SEC on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.

Caterpiller CAT: 10/30/09 10-Q

Chevron CVX: 11/5/09 10Q

Cisco CSCO: 11/4/09 8K On November 4, 2009, Cisco reported its results of operations for its fiscal first quarter 2010 ended October 24, 2009. Advisor, $750,000.

Coke KO: 10/29/09 10QA

Disney DIS: 10/27/09 Amended S-4 related to the takeover of Marvel.

DuPont DD: 11/5/09 Prospectus relating to $1,000,000,000 3.250% Notes due January 15, 2015 & $1,000,000,000 4.625% Notes due January 15, 2020

ExxonMobil XOM: 11/5/09 10Q

GE: 11/6/09 10QA

Hewlett-Packard HPQ: 9/24/09 8K saying at its Securities Analyst Meeting, HPQ addressed how it is uniquely positioned to grow and expand in the global information technology market. “We expect the IT industry to return to growth in 2010 and believe that HP will outpace the market,” said Mark Hurd, CEO.

Home Depot HD: 9/3/09 10-Q

Intel INTC: 11/5/09 8K Regulation FD Disclosure that on November 4, 2009, NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a lawsuit against Intel in the US Dist. Ct. for the District of Delaware alleging that Intel has violated the federal antitrust laws, the New York Donnelly Act (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 340 et seq.), and § 63(12) of the New York Executive Law. The lawsuit alleges that Intel has engaged in a worldwide campaign of illegal, exclusionary conduct to maintain Intel’s alleged monopoly power and prices in the market for x86 microprocessors. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages trebled, restitution, disgorgement, an injunction, $1,000,000 for each violation of the Donnelly Act, and attorneys’ fees and costs. Intel strongly disagrees with the plaintiff’s allegations and claims, and intends to conduct a vigorous defense of the lawsuit.

IBM: 11/5/09 8K announcing its Form S-3, effective August 3, 2007, relating to $2,000,000,000 of debt securities of the Registrant.

JPMorganChase JPM: 11/6/09 Reg. FD disclosure relating to an investor conference.

Johnson & Johnson JNJ: 11/4/09 10Q

Kraft KFT: 11/3/09 10Q

McDonalds MCD: 11//5/09 10Q

Merck MRK: 11/4/09 8K announcing the consummation on November 3, 2009 of the merger of Merck & Co., Inc. &, Schering-Plough Corporation.

Microsoft MSFT: 10/23/09 10Q

Pfizer PFE: 11/5/09 10Q

Procter & Gamble PG: 10/29/09 10Q

3M MMM: 10/20/09 10Q

Travelers TRV: 10/22/09 10Q

United Technologies UTX: 10/23/09 10Q

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ:/11/2/09 8K announcing VZ adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements — an amendment of ARB No. 51 (SFAS No. 160).

Wal-Mart WMT: 8K 9/18/09 pricing agreement relating to a $1 bil Euro Note Offering.