12/12/09 Sat. JPMorgan Warrants Net Approx $1 Bil

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Post #258 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 11/30/09 and an update of the Dow 30's most recent SEC filings as of 11/30/09, both of these items will be updated later today.

A read of Saturday's 12/12/09 print editions of: Wall St. Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, 12/14/09 (Monday) issue of Investor's Business Daily, & Atlanta Journal Constitution 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 Friday's closing price and related data (tomorrow's Blog will aggregate, among others, Barron's, BusinessWeek, Investment News Weekly, Forbes, CEO Magazine, Atl Bus Chron, Time):

Dow: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Friday at 10,471.5 up 65.67 or 0.63% from Thursday's close of 10,405.83. Year to date the Dow is up 19.31%. For the week, the Dow was up 65.67 or 0.63% from last Friday's Dow Close of 10,388.14. Of the 30 Dow Companies: 21 gained and 9 declined. The biggest gainer dollar-wise was United Technologies UTX $69.4 +1.47 2.16% 5,804,817 NYSE and percentage-wise was Alcoa AA $14.61 +1.11 8.22% 75,068,293 NYSE. The biggest decliner dollar-wise and percentage-wise was Merck MRK $37.07 -0.47 1.25% 13,699,009 NYSE.

WSJ pB1 "Consumer Outlook Lifts Dow to 65.67 Point Gain" by Peter A. McKay says stocks and the dollar rose amid signs that consumers are shopping again, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial average to close just shy of a fresh 14 month closing high. It is just 0.08 point from its high on Dec. 1. Strong data on retail sales and consumer sentiment added to other recent data pointing toward economic recovery (there is a typo in the WSJ third paragraph). The US Dollar Index rose 0.6% as the euro slipped to its lowest level in 2 months. The dollar and stocks have risen together in 4 of the last 7 trading days, as investors stepped up bets that stronger economic data will prompt the Fed. reserve to signal the end of ultra low US interest rates sooner than expected. The gain in the dollar weighed on gold, which fell 0.6% to $1,119.40 an ounce, down 4.2% for the week. Oil prices, which have been hampered lately by concerns about weak demand, fell for an 8th consecutive day, the longest losing streak this year.

WSJ pB3 "Alcoa Advances 8.2; National Semi Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says most US stock indexes closed higher Fri. on a rally for Alcoa and the consumer sector, although several tech firms, including Intel and Cisco Systems, kept the gains muted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.63%, near its closing high for the year. Alcoa jumped 8.2% after JPMorgan analysts said strength in aluminum prices led them to increase their already bullish estimates on Alcoa. Consumer firms were helped by reports that retail sales rose last month and a consumer sentiment index beat expectations. Home Depot rose 1.8%.

Fin Times p16 "Stocks struggle despite improved retail picture" by Samantha Pearson says US stocks struggled Fri after encouraging retail sales helped strengthen the dollar, erasing early gains on Wall St. the market had edged higher after data showed that retail sales growth in Nov. had been twice as high as expected. But the dollar soon strengthened as concerns resurfaced over the prospect of higher interest rates. After last week's disappointing Nov sales results from retailers, investors had been nervously awaiting yesterday's reading on the sector. McDonald's also heightened investor anxieties on Tues. by reporting its second straight month of sales declines at is US restaurants, sending its shares down more than 2%. Boeing said it would finally test its 787 Dreamliner jet, which has been facing more than years of delays. United Technologies rose 1.7% after the diversified manufacturer said profit would rise 10% next year. The group said it expected commercial construction to remain weak in the US and Europe but hoped that a year of aggressive cost cutting would pay off. Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer goods firm, bought Sara Lee's air freshener biz, including the Ambi Pur brand, for $470 mil. Wile P&G edged 0.5% higher, Sara Lee gained 0.3%.

Inv. Bus. Daily pA1 "Stocks Close Mixed As Volume Once Again Drops" by Paul Witfield says the major indexes closed mixed Fri,but 2 recent patterns remained intact. First, the low volume trend persisted and second, the Nasdaq once again crossed the 2200 level only to be kicked back down. Friday's action was mixed in slower trade and the current outlook is ptrend under pressure.

NYT pB6 "Strong Retail Sales Bolser US Dollar and Sahres" by AP says encouraging news about how consumers feel about the economy and how much they are spending sent many stocks higher on Fri. A report showing an increase in consumer confidence signaled that spending could continue to rise. The Commerce Dept. reported a 0.2% gain in biz inventories in Oct. Gold fell $15.60 to $1,115.40 an ounce and oil slumped 67 cents to $69.87 a barrel. Interest rates were higher on Fri as the Treasury's 10 year note fell and the yield rose to 3.55%.

As of the close of the market Friday, the current divisor for the Dow found at page B4 of today's Wall St. Jrnl is .132319125 unchanged, the trailing P/E ratio is 18.17 up from Fri.'s 18.05 (year ago it was 18.02) the P/E estimate is 16.19 up from Fri. 16.05 (year ago it was 10.32) and the current dividend yield is 2.65 down from Fri. morning's 2.67 (it was 3.64 a year ago).

Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing numerator was 1385.58 up 8.69 from Thursday's closing Dow numerator of 1376.89. 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 8.69 for Friday by the divisor you get the increase in Friday's Dow close of 65.67.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was 46.19 up 0.26 from Thursday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing price of $45.90. The median closing price of Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $40.85 up 0.10 from Thursday's $40.75. The lowest volume Friday was Travelers TRV $50.7 +0.06 0.12% 4,176,091 NYSE and the highest volume again was Bank of Am BAC $15.63 +0.42 2.76% 193,764,733 NYSE.

If Friday morning before the market opened you had purchased 100 shares 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 $869 ($138,558 - $137,689).

AT&T T $28.01 +0.25 0.9% 19,098,434 NYSE: AJC pA15 say AT&T said it expects to comlete early next year the purchase of 1.5 mil Alltel subsribers in 18 states that Verizon Wireless had to divest to win regulatory approval for its purchase of Alltel this year.

Alcoa AA $14.61 +1.11 8.22% 75,068,293 NYSE: WSJ pB3 "Alcoa Advances 8.2; National Semi Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says most US stock indexes closed higher Fri. on a rally for Alcoa and the consumer sector, although several tech firms, including Intel and Cisco Systems, kept the gains muted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.63%, near its closing high for the year. Alcoa jumped 8.2% after JPMorgan analysts said strength in aluminum prices led them to increase their already bullish estimates on Alcoa. Consumer firms were helped by reports that retail sales rose last month and a consumer sentiment index beat expectations. Home Depot rose 1.8%.

Fin Times p6 "Unilever and Coke vow to cut emissions" by Ed Crooks, Jenny Wiggins says Unilever and Coca-Cola have launched a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the $1,000 bil global consumer goods industry by changing the behavior of customers and suppliers. Other multinationals, including PepsiCo, Kimberly Clark and Alcoa, are expected to join the initiative. It reflects the pressure on big firms to be seen to act responsibly in the face of climate change. Muhtar Ken, CEO of Coca-Cola said he brought all his suppliers together for a 2 day meeting and told them "this train is leaving the platform" The consumer goods initiative was launched as businesses urged govs at the Copenhagen conference to provide a clear lead on a frameworks for controlling greenhouse gases to give them the stability they needed for investment.

American Express AXP $40.73 +0.50 1.24% 8,050,590 NYSE: No mentions found.

Bank of America BAC $15.63 +0.42 2.76% 193,764,733 NYSE: WSJ pB1 "Goldman Fueled AIG Gambles" by Serena Ng, Carrick Mollenkamp says Goldman Sachs played a bigger role than has been publicly disclosed in fueling the mortgage bets that nearly felled American Insurance Grop Inc. Goldman was one of 16 banks paid off when the US gov last year spend billions closing out soured trades that AIG made with the financial firms. A WSJ analysis of AIG's trades shows that Goldman was a key player in many of them, even the ones involving other banks. Goldman originated or bought protection from AIG on about $33 bil of the $80 bil of US mortgage assets that AID insured during the housing boom which is twice as much as Scoiete Generale and Merrill Lynch, now owned by Bank of America. Merrill underwrote theh South Coast CDO in Jan '06 by stuffing it with packages of home loans originated by firms such as Countrywide Financial Corp.

AJC pA15 "Bank of America SEC investigation grows" by AP says the SEC has expanded its probe of BofA to include possible failure by the bank to disclose mounting losses at Merrill Lynch. ThesEC is pursuing civil charges against BofA the second largest US bank.

Boeing BA $55.6 +0.59 1.07% 7,354,632 NYSE: Fin Times p18 says pipped by Airbus's military transport aircraft yesterday, Boeing will finally get its own problem child into the air next week. Please do not email me asking what "Pipped" means. Weather permitting the 787 Dreammliner will make its maiden flight only 2 years behind schedule. If here are no further hitches, deliveries should begin in 9 months. Airbus's project is already unprofitable due to overruns., It requires nerves of steel to bet that the Dreamliner will not suffer he same fate. Also reported at IBD pA2 and AJC pA16.

NYT p3b "After Delays and Cost Overruns, Airbus A400M Takes Off" by Nicola Clark says the much delayed Airbus A400M military transporter made its inaugural test flight on Fri as the 7 govs backing it put off committing additional money to the $29.24 bil project for at least another month. The plane completed the 3 hour 47 minute flight from an airport outside the Spanish city of Seville. Airbus's rival, Boeing,hopes is 787 Dreamliner can make is first flight before the end of the year.

Fin Times p16 "Stocks struggle despite improved retail picture" by Samantha Pearson says US stocks struggled Fri after encouraging retail sales helped strengthen the dollar, erasing early gains on Wall St. the market had edged higher after data showed that retail sales growth in Nov. had been twice as high as expected. But the dollar soon strengthened as concerns resurfaced over the prospect of higher interest rates. After last week's disappointing Nov sales results from retailers, investors had been nervously awaiting yesterday's reading on the sector. McDonald's also heightened investor anxieties on Tues. by reporting its second straight month of sales declines at is US restaurants, sending its shares down more than 2%. Boeing said it would finally test its 787 Dreamliner jet, which has been facing more than years of delays. United Technologies rose 1.7% after the diversified manufacturer said profit would rise 10% next year. The group said it expected commercial construction to remain weak in the US and Europe but hoped that a year of aggressive cost cutting would pay off. Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer goods firm, bought Sara Lee's air freshener biz, including the Ambi Pur brand, for $470 mil. Wile P&G edged 0.5% higher, Sara Lee gained 0.3%.

Caterpillar CAT $57.51 +0.57 1% 5,339,383 NYSE: No mentions found.

Chevron CVX $77.76 +0.34 0.44% 6,645,279 NYSE: No mentions found.

Cisco CSCO $23.768 -0.172 0.72% 27,705,365 NASDAQ-GS: WSJ pB3 "Alcoa Advances 8.2; National Semi Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says most US stock indexes closed higher Fri. on a rally for Alcoa and the consumer sector, although several tech firms, including Intel and Cisco Systems, kept the gains muted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.63%, near its closing high for the year. Alcoa jumped 8.2% after JPMorgan analysts said strength in aluminum prices led them to increase their already bullish estimates on Alcoa. Consumer firms were helped by reports that retail sales rose last month and a consumer sentiment index beat expectations. Home Depot rose 1.8%.

Coca-Cola KO $59.11 +0.53 0.9% 15,164,789 NYSE: Fin Times p6 "Unilever and Coke vow to cut emissions" by Ed Crooks, Jenny Wiggins says Unilever and Coca-Cola have launched a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the $1,000 bil global consumer goods industry by changing the behavior of customers and suppliers. Other multinationals, including PepsiCo, Kimberly Clark and Alcoa, are expected to join the initiative. It reflects the pressure on big firms to be seen to act responsibly in the face of climate change. Muhtar Ken, CEO of Coca-Cola said he brought all his suppliers together for a 2 day meeting and told them "this train is leaving the platform" The consumer goods initiative was launched as businesses urged govs at the Copenhagen conference to provide a clear lead on a frameworks for controlling greenhouse gases to give them the stability they needed for investment.

AJC pA15 says Coca-Cola made the '09 top 10 best advertisers list for supporting family friendly programming, according to the Parents TV Council.

Disney DIS $31.7 +0.40 1.28% 15,443,166 NYSE: No mentions found.

DuPont DD $32.23 +0.32 1% 6,646,312 NYSE: No mentions found.

ExxonMobil XOM $72.83 +0.43 0.59% 16,786,473 NYSE: No mentions found.

GE $15.92 +0.31 1.99% 56,344,460 NYSE: Fin Times p8 Editorial "GE Strikes Back" says CEO of GE, Jeffrey Immelt gave a speech at West Point last week where he complained that as its industry declined, the US had tilted instead toward the quicker profits of financial services. He warned against overreliance on finance. Parts of his rhetoric ring hollow as GE Capital was deeply implicated in the financial bubble as, to his credit he admits. But his remarks signal how much the crisis has changed attitudes at the top of global biz in terms of his view that gov can play a positive role for change and his admission that biz leaders have failed their responsibilities.

WSJ pA1 "In Year of Investing Dangerously, Buffett Looked Into the Abyss" by Scott Patterson says Warren Buffet navigated the financial crisis by rejecting numerous deals and has a table of his activities since March 2008 that says he agreed to invest $3 billion in GE on Oct. 1, '08 by buying GE preferred shares with a 10% annual dividend and he also got the right to buy GE's common stock at $22.25 which is out of the water.

Hewlett-Packard HPQ $50.05 -0.09 0.18% 11,618,454 NYSE: No mentions found.

Home Depot HD $28.49 +0.50 1.79% 16,287,121 NYSE: WSJ pB3 "Alcoa Advances 8.2; National Semi Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says most US stock indexes closed higher Fri. on a rally for Alcoa and the consumer sector, although several tech firms, including Intel and Cisco Systems, kept the gains muted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.63%, near its closing high for the year. Alcoa jumped 8.2% after JPMorgan analysts said strength in aluminum prices led them to increase their already bullish estimates on Alcoa. Consumer firms were helped by reports that retail sales rose last month and a consumer sentiment index beat expectations. Home Depot rose 1.8%.

Intel INTC $19.9 -0.25 1.24% 38,989,740 NASDAQ-GS: WSJ pB3 "Alcoa Advances 8.2; National Semi Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says most US stock indexes closed higher Fri. on a rally for Alcoa and the consumer sector, although several tech firms, including Intel and Cisco Systems, kept the gains muted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.63%, near its closing high for the year. Alcoa jumped 8.2% after JPMorgan analysts said strength in aluminum prices led them to increase their already bullish estimates on Alcoa. Consumer firms were helped by reports that retail sales rose last month and a consumer sentiment index beat expectations. Home Depot rose 1.8%.

IBM $129.68 +0.34 0.26% 6,390,889 NYSE: No mentions found.

J.P.Morgan Chase JPM $40.96 -0.31 0.75% 46,137,972 NYSE: Fin Times p1 "US taxpayers reap $936m from sale of warrants in JPMorgan by Francesco Guerera, Alan Rappeport, WSJ pB3 "J.P.Morgan Warrants Net $936 Mil" by Meena Thiruvengadam, Robin Sidel, IBD pA2 & NYT p B6 say the gov sold its warrants to buy JPMorgan Chase for $936.1 mil, or $10.75 each. The results were in the middle of a range of outside estimates, the latest sign that the gov is earning at least a respectable return on investments made as part of the Troubled Asset relief Program. As of Dec. 4, the Treasury Dept. has made $3.05 bil from selling warrants back to the issuing financial institutions that received TARP funds. About $71 bil of the $204.74 bil in capital infusions made under tARP has been repaid to the gov.

WSJ pA1 Headlines: "House Strikes at Wall St." by Damian Paletta, Robin Sidel & AJC "House Oks makeover of Wall St regulations" by Jim Kuhnhenn AP say the House of Reps, in a display of anti-Wall St. sentiment, passed sweeping legislation Fir. that rewrites the rules governing financial markets, aiming to restrict the operations of big banks and the owners of the Fed. reserve. The legislation would bring the biggest change to financial rules since the 1930's, changing biz practices for everyone from mortgage brokers to traders on Wall St. The Senate has yet tact but it is expected that a final bill will be passed in the first half of '10. Under the House version, large financial firms including Goldman Sachs and J.P.Morgan Chase wold be hit with billions of dollars in fees and wold see new restrictions on their operations.

WSJ pB3 "Alcoa Advances 8.2; National Semi Drops" by Geoffrey Rogow says most US stock indexes closed higher Fri. on a rally for Alcoa and the consumer sector, although several tech firms, including Intel and Cisco Systems, kept the gains muted. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.63%, near its closing high for the year. Alcoa jumped 8.2% after JPMorgan analysts said strength in aluminum prices led them to increase their already bullish estimates on Alcoa. Consumer firms were helped by reports that retail sales rose last month and a consumer sentiment index beat expectations. Home Depot rose 1.8%.

Johnson & Johnson JNJ $64.85 +0.08 0.12% 7,150,315 NYSE: No mentions found.

Kraft KFT $26.79 +0.11 0.41% 6,188,729 NYSE: No mentions found.

McDonald's MCD $61.66 +0.61 1% 5,835,670 NYSE: Fin Times p16 "Stocks struggle despite improved retail picture" by Samantha Pearson says US stocks struggled Fri after encouraging retail sales helped strengthen the dollar, erasing early gains on Wall St. the market had edged higher after data showed that retail sales growth in Nov. had been twice as high as expected. But the dollar soon strengthened as concerns resurfaced over the prospect of higher interest rates. After last week's disappointing Nov sales results from retailers, investors had been nervously awaiting yesterday's reading on the sector. McDonald's also heightened investor anxieties on Tues. by reporting its second straight month of sales declines at is US restaurants, sending its shares down more than 2%. Boeing said it would finally test its 787 Dreamliner jet, which has been facing more than years of delays. United Technologies rose 1.7% after the diversified manufacturer said profit would rise 10% next year. The group said it expected commercial construction to remain weak in the US and Europe but hoped that a year of aggressive cost cutting would pay off. Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer goods firm, bought Sara Lee's air freshener biz, including the Ambi Pur brand, for $470 mil. Wile P&G edged 0.5% higher, Sara Lee gained 0.3%.

Fin Times p22 "The graceful revolution" by Harry Eyres talks about the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Slow Food Manifesto in Pris in Dec '89 which was about resisting the implications of a world and an economy to which food was being turned to industrialized fodder. There is a very interest photo, in color, by Reuters, with the caption "Symbolic The emblem of the McDonald's chain is carried during a protest surrounding Jose Bove's trial in 1999" which pictures a huge crowd holding above their heads and passing it through the crowd a statue of Ronald McDonald but the statue looks like a person in a costume with arms outstretched to keep his balance. A really interesting photo.

Merck MRK $37.07 -0.47 1.25% 13,699,009 NYSE: WSJ pB5 "Glaxo Will Develop Needle Free Vaccines" by Jeanne Whalen says GlaxoSmithKline PC struck a deal with an Austrian firm, Intercell AG, based in Vienna, to develop needle free vaccines delivered through a patch, a technology that could broaden vaccine use by eliminating irksome needle jabs and the need for vaccine to be refrigerated. Intercell is developing needle vaccines, as well, and has licensed the marketing rights to some of its experimental shots to big drug makers including Novartis AG< Merck & Co.

Microsoft MSFT $29.85 +0.02 0.07% 43,700,640 NASDAQ-GS: No mentions found.

Pfizer PFE $18.3 -0.02 0.11% 30,796,836 NYSE: NYT pA12 "Battle Over Drug Imports" by Duff Wilson says the pharma industry predicted Fri that the safety of the nation's prescription drugs would be imperiled if the Senate passed a newly proposed bill to let Americans buy cheaper drugs from foreign nations. The re-importation amendment was introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota who says that Americans can save $100 bil buy buying drugs from Canada, Europe or Japan. Prices there thanks to gov controls are 35% to 55% ower than in the US. The Dorgan amendment is not up for an immediate vote but it could pass. Under the Dorgan amendment it would penalize any drug firm that restricted sales or charged higher prices to a foreign importer, unless the drug maker pulled out of the importing country altogether so, for example, Pfizer couldn't limit the supply of lower priced Canadian Lipitor to keep it from entering the US.

Procter & Gamble PG $62.34 +0.10 0.16% 8,910,139 NYSE: WSJ pB "P&G Seals Deal For Sara Lee Unit" by Nathan Becker & IBD pA2 say consumer products giant Procter & Gamble said Fri it has agreed to buy Sara Lee Corp.'s European air freshener biz for $470 mil. For its fiscal year ended in June, Ambi Pur had sales of about 260 Euros and WSJ isn't kind enough on this amount to give the US equiv. The deal will help Cincinnati based P&G to extend its reach globally. Ambi Pur operates in more than 80 nations with its toilet care products having a strong presence in W. Europe and Asia. The deal is expected to close by June. In Oct, P&G said its fiscal first quarter earnings fell 1%, but the firm raised its full year projections, signaling that its recent efforts to boost sales might be paying off.

NYT pB1 "P&G Sees The World As Its Client" by Leslie Wayne says Robert A. McDonald, CEO of Procter & Gamble says he wants to add 548,000 new customers each day for the next 5 years. McDonald's predecessor, A.G. Lafley, spent the last decade, revitalizing the 172 year old firm and doubling its sales. I think the article is making a mistake because although A.G. Lafley recently said he is stepping down as Chairman and will be handing that title to McDonald, McDonald has already been CEO and the article implies he is getting that title from Lafley. P&G, best known as the maker of Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Pampers diapers is trying to expand its reach beyond its core markets of the US, W. Europe and Japan and wants to start winning over new customers in places like Nigeria, India and Somalia. Its rivals Unilever and Colgate have long had a presence in many of these far flung nations, so much so that they are called walled cities within the industry because of the difficulties new competitors face in penetrating these new markets. Today, sales from developing markets represent 32% of P&G's $78 bil in annual rev, up from 23% 4 years ago. Sales from developing countries are doubling every 4 years. Unilever and Colgate, get about 45% of their sales from emerging markets. McDonald is pictured speaking to a crowd without a tie, looking like a professor making a point.

Fin Times p16 "Stocks struggle despite improved retail picture" by Samantha Pearson says US stocks struggled Fri after encouraging retail sales helped strengthen the dollar, erasing early gains on Wall St. the market had edged higher after data showed that retail sales growth in Nov. had been twice as high as expected. But the dollar soon strengthened as concerns resurfaced over the prospect of higher interest rates. After last week's disappointing Nov sales results from retailers, investors had been nervously awaiting yesterday's reading on the sector. McDonald's also heightened investor anxieties on Tues. by reporting its second straight month of sales declines at is US restaurants, sending its shares down more than 2%. Boeing said it would finally test its 787 Dreamliner jet, which has been facing more than years of delays. United Technologies rose 1.7% after the diversified manufacturer said profit would rise 10% next year. The group said it expected commercial construction to remain weak in the US and Europe but hoped that a year of aggressive cost cutting would pay off. Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer goods firm, bought Sara Lee's air freshener biz, including the Ambi Pur brand, for $470 mil. Wile P&G edged 0.5% higher, Sara Lee gained 0.3%.

3M MMM $81.75 +1.07 1.33% 4,776,933 NYSE: No mentions found.

Travelers TRV $50.7 +0.06 0.12% 4,176,091 NYSE: No mentions found.

United Technologies UTX $69.4 +1.47 2.16% 5,804,817 NYSE: Fin Times p16 "Stocks struggle despite improved retail picture" by Samantha Pearson says US stocks struggled Fri after encouraging retail sales helped strengthen the dollar, erasing early gains on Wall St. the market had edged higher after data showed that retail sales growth in Nov. had been twice as high as expected. But the dollar soon strengthened as concerns resurfaced over the prospect of higher interest rates. After last week's disappointing Nov sales results from retailers, investors had been nervously awaiting yesterday's reading on the sector. McDonald's also heightened investor anxieties on Tues. by reporting its second straight month of sales declines at is US restaurants, sending its shares down more than 2%. Boeing said it would finally test its 787 Dreamliner jet, which has been facing more than years of delays. United Technologies rose 1.7% after the diversified manufacturer said profit would rise 10% next year. The group said it expected commercial construction to remain weak in the US and Europe but hoped that a year of aggressive cost cutting would pay off. Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer goods firm, bought Sara Lee's air freshener biz, including the Ambi Pur brand, for $470 mil. Wile P&G edged 0.5% higher, Sara Lee gained 0.3%.

NYT pB2 "says United Technologies said it had agreed to acquire a 49.5% stake in Clipper Windpower, a struggling Cal. based turbine maker, for $270 mil to expand in alternative energy sources as reported in this Blog yesterday.

Verizon VZ $33.73 +0.07 0.21% 10,425,406 NYSE: AJC pA15 say AT&T said it expects to comlete early next year the purchase of 1.5 mil Alltel subscribers in 18 states that Verizon Wireless had to divest to win regulatory approval for its purchase of Alltel this year.

WalMart WMT $54.65 -0.04 0.07% 11,393,599 NYSE: WSJ pA3 "Better Tidings for Reailers" by Elizabeth Holmes, Justin Lahart says retailers saw sales rise in Nov., a turnaround from the battering they took last Xmas and much of this year. The Commerce Dept said sales rose 1.3% last month from Oct. Walmart slashed $10 off orders of bestseller books and DVDs on its Web site which prompted Amazon.com and Target to match its rockbottom prices.

Inv Bus Daily pA11 "Tis the Season To Be Frugal" by Amy Reeves says he holiday season hasn't exactly started off with a bank for dept. stores. Although overall retail sales rose 1.3% in NNov, nearly twice as much as expected, same store sales dropped almost universally vs. year ago levels. Big box stores like WalMart and Target are technically department stores but IBD considers them discounters because they focus on price o the near exclusion of everything else. Dept. stores generally charge higher prices in exchange for a warmer ambience and better service.
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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
11/30/09 followed by number of shares outstanding rounded to the nearest 1/2 billion:

1. Exxon Mobil XOM $360 [5]
2. Microsoft MSFT 260 [9]
3. WalMart WMT 211 [4]
4. Chevron CVX 191 [2.5]
5. Procter & Gamble PG 183 [3]
6. Johnson & Johnson JNJ 174 [3]
7. GE 170 [10.5]
8. IBM 165 [1.5]
9. JPMorgan Chase 163 [4]
10. AT&T 159 [6]
11. Pfizer PFE 147 [8]
12. Cisco CSCO 134 [6]
13. BAC 134 [6.5]
14. Coke KO 132 [2]
15. Hewlett-Packard HPQ 116 [2]
16. Intel INTC 107 [5.5]
17. McDonald's MCD 106 [1]
18. Verizon VZ 90 [3]
19. Merck MRK 77 [2]
20. United Technologies UTX 63 [1]
21. Disney DIS 56 [2]
22. 3M MMM 54 [.5]
23. American Express AXP 49 [1]
24. Home Depot 47 [2]
25. Kraft KFT 39 [1.5]
26. Boeing BA 38 [1]
27. Caterpillar CAT 36 [.5]
28. DuPont DD 31 [1]
29. Travelers 28 [.5]
30. Alcoa AA 12 [1]

Here are the latest SEC filings as of 11/30/09 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 re:the acquisition of Centennial Communications Corp. a regional provider of wireless and wired communications services for $945 million in cash.

Alcoa AA: 11/20/09 8K re: that it will temporarily idle production at its two aluminum smelters in Fusina and Portovesme, Italy while appealing a European Commission decision that Italy’s extension of the existing electricity tariff after 2005 did not comply with European Union state aid rules and that a portion of the benefit received by Alcoa must be refunded. The curtailments in Italy will bring Alcoa’s total global smelting system curtailments to approximately 24 percent. Alcoa expects to take a 4Q '09 charge of between $300 million and $500 million, pre-tax, including the temporary curtailment and recovery actions.

American Express AXP: 11/18/09 8K re: acquisition of Revolution Money, a Revolution LLC company which was launched by AOL Co-founder Steve Case's Revolution LLC in '07 & provides secure payments through an internet based platform. No names or account numbers appear on Revolution cards and transactions are authorized by using a PIN number. Their online person-to-person payment accounts are FDIC insured and suited for social and instant messaging networks.

Bank of Am BAC: 11/27/09 8K re: the Board approved amendments to the 2009 compensation arrangements for Joe L. Price, Chief Financial Officer, & Barbara J. Desoer, President, Bank of America Mortgage, Home Equity and Insurance Services.

Boeing BA: 11/20/09 8K re: Boeing issued $700,000,000 of 1.875% Senior Notes due 2012 and $500,000,000 of 3.750% Senior Notes due 2016.

Caterpiller CAT: 11/19/09 8K disclosing supplemental information concerning deliveries to users for its Machinery and Engines lines of business.

Chevron CVX: 11/5/09 10Q

Cisco CSCO: 11/24/09 8K re: Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President, Legal Services, General Counsel & Secretary of Cisco Systems adopted a pre-arranged stock trading plan to exercise Cisco stock options originally granted in 2001 and set to expire in February 2010 and sell the acquired shares of Cisco stock for up to 80,000 shares of Cisco stock.

Coke KO: 10/29/09 10QA

Disney DIS: 11/13/09 8K re: effective January 1, 2010, Thomas O. Staggs, currently Sr. Exec. VP & CFO, will become Chairman, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, & James A. Rasulo, currently Chairman, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, will become Sr. Exec. VP & CFO.

11/19/09 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 1/15 & $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: 11/23/09 8K re: financial results for its 4Q ended 10/31/09, with net rev of $30.8 billion, down 8% from a year earlier.

Home Depot HD: 11/17/09 8K re: 3Q of fiscal 2009 net earnings of $689 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $756 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, in the same period in fiscal 2008.

Intel INTC: 11/16/09 8K re: board of directors approved a 12.5 percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 15.75 cents per share (63 cents per share on an annual basis), beginning with the dividend that will be declared in the first quarter of 2010.

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: 11/20/09 re: Cazenove Group Limited (Cazenove) and J.P. Morgan have agreed a transaction under which their joint venture, J.P. Morgan Cazenove, will become a wholly owned part of J.P. Morgan.

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

Kraft KFT: 11/9/09 8K re: pursuant to Rule 2.5 of the U.K. City Code on Takeovers and Mergers Kraft disclosed its intention to make an offer to acquire each outstanding ordinary share of Cadbury plc.

11/9/09 8K re: an acquisition and refinancing bridge credit agreement for a 364-day senior unsecured term loan facility with the lenders led by Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., as joint bookrunners, and Citibank, N.A. and Deutsche Bank AG Cayman Islands Branch, as co-administrative agents for loans up to £5.5 billion with a maturity date of 364 days.

McDonalds MCD: 11/12/09 8K re: CEO Jim Skinner outlined MCD’s priorities to continue to drive growth in sales, market share and returns through a strategic focus on its customers and restaurants under the successful Plan to Win. This includes plans to open about 1,000 new restaurants and reimage 2,300 existing locations worldwide in 2010.

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: 11/24/09 8K re: Chris Liddell's departure as CFO to be replaced by Peter Klein.

Pfizer PFE: 11/5/09 10Q

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

3M MMM: 11/24/09 8K re: an amendment to its VIP Excess Plan that offers eligible highly compensated employees with the opportunity to defer the receipt of a portion of their current cash compensation on a tax-favored basis.

Travelers TRV: 11/10/09 8K re: the resignation of Robert I. Lipp from the Board.

United Technologies UTX: 11/17/09 8K re: its purchase of the GE Security business from GE for $1.82 billion. The closing is pending regulatory approvals. GE Security, part of GE Technology Infrastructure, supplies security and life safety technologies through a broad product portfolio for commercial and residential applications that include fire detection and life safety systems, intrusion alarms, and video surveillance and access control systems. Headquartered in Bradenton, Fla., the business has eight manufacturing facilities and approximately 4,700 employees in 26 countries.

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: 11/12/09 8K re: diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for 3Q of fiscal year 2010 of $0.84, exceeding WMT’s guidance of $0.78 to $0.82. Walmart earned $0.77 per share from continuing operations in the third quarter last year.