12/13/09 Sun. DuPont Downgraded by Credit Suisse

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Post #259 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.

A read of Sunday's 12/13/09 print editions of: The New York Times, Atlanta Journal Consitution, 12/14/09 (Monday) issue of Investor's Business Daily, Barron's, 12/21 BusinessWeek, 12/28 Forbes, Forbes, Nov/DEC Chief Executive Magazine, 12/21 Time, Jan/Feb ARP 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,):

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 0.80% from last Friday's Dow Close of 10,388.14. For the past 52 weeks, the Dow is up 21.34. 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.

Inv. Bus. Daily pA1 "Stocks Close Mixed As Volume Once Again Drops" by Paul Whitfield 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.

WSJ (Sat) 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.

As of the close of the market Friday, the current divisor for the Dow found at page B4 of Saturday'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: NYT pBus. 4 "AT&T Takes the Blame, Even for the iPhone's Faults" by Randall Stross says the iPhone is the best handset but Verizon wireless is the best carrier according to Consumer Reports. Verizon's 3G coverage is much better in less populated areas than AT&T. Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T mobility and consumer markets said last week that AT&T's wireless service in NY and San Fran was below their standards. iPhones design may be contributing to performance problems because its air interface, the electronics in the phone that connect it to the cell towers, has shortcomings that affect voice and data. AT&T should redesign the iphone to make better use of the nation's fastest wireless network.

BusWk p36 "Handling a Wounded Tiger" by Burt Helm says big brands are sticking with him for now, but the public may never again look at Woods the same way. Nike, Gatorade, AT&T, Accenture, Tag Heuer, Gillette, and other Woods sponsors are aware that Tiger will never command the kind of public admiration he did at his peak. For 13 years, Woods has been a dream spokesperson. His precise golf game exuded reliability and quality, while his biography, doting Army vet father, Thai mother, gave him an almost Obama like global appeal. At the same time, Woods was wonderfully dull; he didn't distract consumers from the products. Altogether, these qualities earned him $100 mil annually.

Barron's p13 "DirecTV: The Picture Brightens" by Christopher C. Williams says shares of DirecTV have rallied 60% since Barron's praised the firm's prospects in March. DirecTV's recent merger with Liberty Media's spinoff Liberty Entertainment simplifies DirecTV's ownership structure, and cold make it a takeover target by AT&T or another telecom provider.

Barron's p18 "Week in Review" says AT&T said it wold introduce financial incentives in '10 to discourage consumers who suck up too much bandwidth.

Barron's pM34 on their list of largest NYSE sort positions as of 11/30 lists GE as 8th, Bank of America at 12, Alcoa at 20, Disney 21, Pfizer 32, AT&T at 33 and Verizon at 38.

Alcoa AA $14.61 +1.11 8.22% 75,068,293 NYSE: Barron's pM8 listed Bank of America number 2 for the week on the NYSE most active list by share volume (after Citigroup), GE fifth, Pfizer sixth, JPMorgan 12th and Alcoa 14th. On their list of NASDAQ most active by share volume, the 3 NASDAQ Dow components are ranked 2, 4 & 5 as follows: Intel, Microsoft and Cisco.

Barron's pM34 on their list of largest NYSE sort positions as of 11/30 lists GE as 8th, Bank of America at 12, Alcoa at 20, Disney 21, Pfizer 32, AT&T at 33 and Verizon at 38.

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: Barron's pM8 listed Bank of America number 2 for the week on the NYSE most active list by share volume (after Citigroup), GE fifth, Pfizer sixth, JPMorgan 12th and Alcoa 14th. On their list of NASDAQ most active by share volume, the 3 NASDAQ Dow components are ranked 2, 4 & 5 as follows: Intel, Microsoft and Cisco.

Barron's p43 "Beware Banks Bearing Offerings" by Bob O'Brien says after BofA struck a deal recently with regulators to accelerate the repayment of TARP money, the bank took out newspaper ads thanking Washington and the taxpayers for helping it through the financial crisis. BofA's stock rose 7% the day after it unveiled its repayment plan, the shares traded up to nearly $17, the highest in 6 weeks.

BusWk p6 says BofA's 12/2 announcement that it plans to return $45 bil of TARP loans left Citigroup and Wells Fago as the only two large banks that haven't repaid. Related story at Buw Wk p26 "TARP: Last Bank Out is a Rotten Egg" by Bradley Keoun, David Mildenberg.

Barron's pM34 on their list of largest NYSE sort positions as of 11/30 lists GE as 8th, Bank of America at 12, Alcoa at 20, Disney 21, Pfizer 32, AT&T at 33 and Verizon at 38.

Boeing BA $55.6 +0.59 1.07% 7,354,632 NYSE: No mentions found.

Caterpillar CAT $57.51 +0.57 1% 5,339,383 NYSE: Barron's p34 "American Giants Extend Their Global Reach" by Robin Goldwyn Blumenthal says big US firms are now generating 40% of their profit overseas, twice the level of a decade ago. There is a list of five big US firms that derive at least half their rev overseas which makes them good backdoor bets on foreign markets, Apache, Caterpillar, Qualcomm, Nike, and Yum Brands and says Caterpillar at a share price of 56.94 is up 28% year to date with a 2010 estimated price earnings of 21.2. CAT has 66 of sales and nearly 0% of profits generated abroad. The stock has outperformed the S&P this year.

BusWk p68 "Companies Jump Into The Fianncing Gap" by David Henry says as banks pull backm more firms are extending credi to their customers. The strategy isn't new. many large industrial players such as Paccar and Caerpillar established financing arms years ago to make loans to customers.

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: Barron's pM8 listed Bank of America number 2 for the week on the NYSE most active list by share volume (after Citigroup), GE fifth, Pfizer sixth, JPMorgan 12th and Alcoa 14th. On their list of NASDAQ most active by share volume, the 3 NASDAQ Dow components are ranked 2, 4 & 5 as follows: Intel, Microsoft and Cisco.

Barron's pM36 on their list of largest NASDAQ sort positions as of 11/30 lists Microsoft as 6, Intel at 9, and Cisco Systems at 13.

Coca-Cola KO $59.11 +0.53 0.9% 15,164,789 NYSE: CEO Mag p26 "Agenda 2010" by Dale Buss" asked 12 CEOs of major firms what concerns the CEO most about the year ahead? Jim Skinner, CEO of McDonald's said when you have 6 years of success he worries about complacency. Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coke says the growth of the middle class will strain the world's energy and commodities resources.

Disney DIS $31.7 +0.40 1.28% 15,443,166 NYSE: Barron's pM2 charts Disney saying echoing the comments of other execs at an investor conference, CEO Robert Iger said that the advertising market was starting to improve.

Barron's pM34 on their list of largest NYSE sort positions as of 11/30 lists GE as 8th, Bank of America at 12, Alcoa at 20, Disney 21, Pfizer 32, AT&T at 33 and Verizon at 38.

DuPont DD $32.23 +0.32 1% 6,646,312 NYSE: Barron's pM12 says Credit Suisse has issued a research report on DuPont on 12/7 as "neutral" as a downgrade from outperform and decreased the price target to 31 from 36 because the recent near term positive trends for the chemical industry due to modestly improving demand and lean inventories, resulting in better than expected customer operating rates will likely result in sold 4Q/1Q earnings but it won't be enough to offset a multitude of headwinds over the intermediate term such as the recent setbacks tied to DD's agriculture platform.

ExxonMobil XOM $72.83 +0.43 0.59% 16,786,473 NYSE: Barron's pM2 "A Shrug Despite Real Recovery Mode" by Jacqueline Doherty says crude oil prices fell 5.60 on the week to $69.87 as the dollar gained 1.48% against the euro. The move in crude dragged down ExxonMobil which fell.

Barron's pM12 says Raymond James has issued a research report on ExxonMobil on 12/8 as "outperform" because Exxon said it will proceed with a 6.6 mil ton per year liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea. Also significant construction & dev. activity is set for 2010. At present, the valuation is near the middle of the pack within the integrated oil majors with the shares at 11.5 times '10 earnings per share. The target is 85.

GE $15.92 +0.31 1.99% 56,344,460 NYSE: CEO mag p46 "GE and Its Naysayers" by William E. Rothschild, Sephen M. Rothschild says GE CEO, Jeff Immelt, has become the target of naysayers. Third quarter profits slumped 44% this year on revs that were lighter than last year's, prompting critics to question Immelt. Several of the major stakeholder groups, with the exception of the board of directors, are calling for a change of leadership. GE stock collapsed in Oct. '97, dropping from $2 a share to as low as $5. It is now way below its 52 week high of 21.04. Its Triple A credit rating was lowered and dividends were reduced 75%. The side bar lists all 16 member of GE's board of directors, which includes Alan G. Lafley, currently the retiring Chairman of the Board of Procter & Gamble.

Time p33 says Comcast agreed to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal from GE. The deal would creae a giant firm whose assets pulled in $51 bil in rev last year. Thriving NBC Universal cable channels such as USA and MSNBC were especially attractive to Comcast, though the flagship NBC broadcast network remains mired in 4th place. Regulatory approval of the deal could take more than a year. Comcast has 24 mil subscribers, the Golf Channel & E! and the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers while NBC Universal has NBC, Bravo, USA, CNBC, Telemundo tv netowrks, digital of Hulu, MSNBC.com and iVillage as well as Universal Studios and theme parks.

Barron's pM8 listed Bank of America number 2 for the week on the NYSE most active list by share volume (after Citigroup), GE fifth, Pfizer sixth, JPMorgan 12th and Alcoa 14th. On their list of NASDAQ most active by share volume, the 3 NASDAQ Dow components are ranked 2, 4 & 5 as follows: Intel, Microsoft and Cisco.

Forbes p54 "Follw the Bonds" by Jack Gage says Peter Anderson, a portfolio manager at Congress Asset Management, a Boston firm that oversees $4bil says forget equity research and pick stocks based on ow firms' bonds are performing. He gives the example of how a firm like GE had stock pickers blind to the fact that because GE had some a complex capital structure, it posed a far greater default risk than GE's earnings or equity values implied.

Barron's pM34 on their list of largest NYSE sort positions as of 11/30 lists GE as 8th, Bank of America at 12, Alcoa at 20, Disney 21, Pfizer 32, AT&T at 33 and Verizon at 38.

Hewlett-Packard HPQ $50.05 -0.09 0.18% 11,618,454 NYSE: BusWk p50 "Why Tech Bows to Best Buy" by Cliff Edwards says as the last major electronics retailer standing, Best Buy has unparalleled clout. Rather than waiting for electronics makers to ship Best Buy the same products that its rivals get, Best Buys execs are walking factory floors with execs from firms such as Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba,influencing product development and design. Best Buy is pushing suppliers to use standardized software and digital services so consumers can listen to music or watch movies on any device. Best Buy has set up its own venture capital fund to pour millions of dollars into startups from Silicon Valley to Asia with the goal of shaping development of new technologies in promising fields such as green vehicles, digital health, and home monitoring.

Home Depot HD $28.49 +0.50 1.79% 16,287,121 NYSE: No mentions found.

Intel INTC $19.9 -0.25 1.24% 38,989,740 NASDAQ-GS: Barron's pM8 listed Bank of America number 2 for the week on the NYSE most active list by share volume (after Citigroup), GE fifth, Pfizer sixth, JPMorgan 12th and Alcoa 14th. On their list of NASDAQ most active by share volume, the 3 NASDAQ Dow components are ranked 2, 4 & 5 as follows: Intel, Microsoft and Cisco.

Barron's pM36 on their list of largest NASDAQ sort positions as of 11/30 lists Microsoft as 6, Intel at 9, and Cisco Systems at 13.

BusWk '76 "Still Wanted: Foreign Talent and Visas" by Moira Herbst says with the US jobless rate at 10%, continued hiring for workers from abroad may stoke controversy. There is a list of the top firms that in fiscal '09 brought the most foreign workers into the US on H-1B visas that has a 65,000 visa quota for the year which will end Oct. '10. Microsoft is 2 on the list with 1,318 visa approval followed by Intel at third with 723, and IBM India fourth with 695 approved visa.

IBM $129.68 +0.34 0.26% 6,390,889 NYSE: BusWk '76 "Still Wanted: Foreign Talent and Visas" by Moira Herbst says with the US jobless rate at 10%, continued hiring for workers from abroad may stoke controversy. There is a list of the top firms that in fiscal '09 brought the most foreign workers into the US on H-1B visas that has a 65,000 visa quota for the year which will end Oct. '10. Microsoft is 2 on the list with 1,318 visa approval followed by Intel at third with 723, and IBM India fourth with 695 approved visa.

J.P.Morgan Chase JPM $40.96 -0.31 0.75% 46,137,972 NYSE: Barron's p42 "Speaking of Dividends" by Shirley A. Lazo says when the money center banks get ready to start boosting their dividends again, the nationls premier banking organization, JPMorgan Chase may well make the first move. It slashed its payout 87% in Feb, to a nickel a share form the 38 cents it had been paying for 7 consecutive quarters. CEO James Dimon said he wold like to pay 80 cents a share annually. But this won't happen until he banks see clear improvements in the economy. JPM went into the recession stronger than its rivals because it had backed away from subprime mortgages as early as '06 and benefited from the '08 acquisitions of Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns.

Barron's pM8 listed Bank of America number 2 for the week on the NYSE most active list by share volume (after Citigroup), GE fifth, Pfizer sixth, JPMorgan 12th and Alcoa 14th. On their list of NASDAQ most active by share volume, the 3 NASDAQ Dow components are ranked 2, 4 & 5 as follows: Intel, Microsoft and Cisco.

BusWeek p22 "Raging Agaisnt The Street" by Allison Fitzgerald says Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley & JPMorgan Chase's investment banking unit will hand out a combined $29.7 bil in bonuses, a record, beating the $26.8 bil in '07 and up 60% from last year when all three banks took billions in support from the Treasury to weather the financial crisis.

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: CEO Mag p26 "Agenda 2010" by Dale Buss" asked 12 CEOs of major firms what concerns the CEO most about the year ahead? Jim Skinner, CEO of McDonald's said when you have 6 years of success he worries about complacency. Muhtar Kent, CEO of Coke says the growth of the middle class will strain the world's energy and commodities resources.

Barron's pM2 charts McDonald's saying the world's bigest fast food chain posted a decline in US sales for Nov., a rarity for it.

Merck MRK $37.07 -0.47 1.25% 13,699,009 NYSE: BusWk p72 "My Drug's Better Than Your Durg" by Arlene Weinraub, Pat Wechsler says drug makers, once wary of head to head trials, now embrace them as marketing tools. Roche announced on Dec. 2 that is experimental diabetes drug performed better in a trial than Merck's $2 bil a year blockbuster Januvia. Buried in Roche's diabetes trial announcement is the info that patients taking its drug sometimes reported nausea and vomiting.

Microsoft MSFT $29.85 +0.02 0.07% 43,700,640 NASDAQ-GS: Barron's p31 "ow Apple Could Fill a Void in Its Year of the Tablet" by Eric J. Savitz says Apple has an opportunity for its new Apple tablet to be sold between Apple's high end iPod Touch at around $400 and the low end MacBook at $1,000. The new device will be more iPod than Mac, with no keyboard, and with significant ties to the App Store. The device may be called the iTablet and it will probably have a 10 inch screen, about the same as a netbook, but like the iPod Touch and the iPhone, will rely on touch and gestures and could be the perfect device for watching video, plaing games, reading books and magazines, and surfing the Web. It is unclear if Apple will take the carrier approach which would enable Apple a good way to launch a relationship with Verizon Wireless, which so far has been shut out of the Apple ecosystem by AT&T's position as the exclusive US carrier for the iPhone. Apple probably won't give AT&T an exclusive because of all the problems with T's wireless network being overwhelmed by heavy data usage by iPhone customers, especially in NY and San Fran. Many think Apple will launch a Verizon version of the iPhone in '10. The iTablet wiil likely compete with windows-based tablets to be launched by Microsoft because Microsoft's Windows 7 has touch screen support.

Barron's pM8 listed Bank of America number 2 for the week on the NYSE most active list by share volume (after Citigroup), GE fifth, Pfizer sixth, JPMorgan 12th and Alcoa 14th. On their list of NASDAQ most active by share volume, the 3 NASDAQ Dow components are ranked 2, 4 & 5 as follows: Intel, Microsoft and Cisco.

Barron's pM36 on their list of largest NASDAQ sort positions as of 11/30 lists Microsoft as 6, Intel at 9, and Cisco Systems at 13.

BusWk '76 "Still Wanted: Foreign Talent and Visas" by Moira Herbst says with the US jobless rate at 10%, continued hiring for workers from abroad may stoke controversy. There is a list of the top firms that in fiscal '09 brought the most foreign workers into the US on H-1B visas that has a 65,000 visa quota for the year which will end Oct. '10. Microsoft is 2 on the list with 1,318 visa approval followed by Intel at third with 723, and IBM India fourth with 695 approved visa.

Pfizer PFE $18.3 -0.02 0.11% 30,796,836 NYSE: BusWk p46 "What health Reform Won't Cure" by Chad Terhune says overbilling by medical suppliers has cost taxpayers billions. New legislation will do little to stem the tide. In Sept. '09, Pfizer paid a settlement of $2.3 bil for allegedly promoting unapproved uses fffor Bextra and other prescription drugs.

Barron's pM8 listed Bank of America number 2 for the week on the NYSE most active list by share volume (after Citigroup), GE fifth, Pfizer sixth, JPMorgan 12th and Alcoa 14th. On their list of NASDAQ most active by share volume, the 3 NASDAQ Dow components are ranked 2, 4 & 5 as follows: Intel, Microsoft and Cisco.

Barron's pM34 on their list of largest NYSE sort positions as of 11/30 lists GE as 8th, Bank of America at 12, Alcoa at 20, Disney 21, Pfizer 32, AT&T at 33 and Verizon at 38.

Procter & Gamble PG $62.34 +0.10 0.16% 8,910,139 NYSE: CEO mag p46 "GE and Its Naysayers" by William E. Rothschild, Sephen M. Rothschild says GE CEO, Jeff Immelt, has become the target of naysayers. Third quarter profits slumped 44% this year on revs that were lighter than last year's, prompting critics to question Immelt. Several of the major stakeholder groups, with the exception of the board of directors, are calling for a change of leadership. GE stock collapsed in Oct. '97, dropping from $2 a share to as low as $5. It is now way below its 52 week high of 21.04. Its Triple A credit rating was lowered and dividends were reduced 75%. The side bar lists all 16 member of GE's board of directors, which includes Alan G. Lfley, currently the retiring Chairman of the Board of Procter & Gamble.

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: No mentions found.

Verizon VZ $33.73 +0.07 0.21% 10,425,406 NYSE: NYT pBus. 4 "AT&T Takes the Blame, Even for the iPhone's Faults" by Randall Stross says the iPhone is the best handset but Verizon wireless is the best carrier according to Consumer Reports. Verizon's 3G coverage is much better in less populated areas than AT&T. Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T mobility and consumer markets said last week that AT&T's wireless service in NY and San Fran was below their standards. iPhones design may be contributing to performance problems because its air interface, the electronics in the phone that connect it to the cell towers, has shortcomings that affect voice and data. AT&T should redesisgn the iphone to make better use of the nation's fastest wireless network.

NYT Bus p11 "What Charges Lurk On the Phone Bill" by David Segal describes a consumer's problem centered around a mysterious $8.67 charge on the customer's Verizon Wireless bill from an outfit called MyTeleServices which the customer said he never requested, yet, apparently despite many complaints, Verizon still provides the service of billing for through Verizon's monthly invoices.

Barron's pM34 on their list of largest NYSE sort positions as of 11/30 lists GE as 8th, Bank of America at 12, Alcoa at 20, Disney 21, Pfizer 32, AT&T at 33 and Verizon at 38.

WalMart WMT $54.65 -0.04 0.07% 11,393,599 NYSE: Barron's p29 "Amazon's Daunting Challenge" by Andrew Bary ways Amazon.com whose sahres are up 164% this year is in a price war on books and DVD's started by WalMart, which was the retail growth story of the 90's. As that decade ended, WalMart's shares traded at 69 or 57 times its '99 profit of 1.20. Since then WalMart's stock hass slid to 54, even tough its earnings have tripled and rev has more than doubled. The WalMart experience shows that investors can lose money in the shares of a great firm if they pay too much.

BusWk p64 "A french WalMart's Global Blitz" by Carol Matlack says Frenchmega retailer Auchan has a powerful patriarch, a secretive culture, and an insatiable urge to expand. The patriarch is Gerard Mulliez who is described as France's Sam Walton: a frugal, plain talking, small town entrepreneur who parlayed a single storefront into a sprawling empire. In China, Auchan appeals to upwardly mobile shoppes and each of its 145 stores averages $45 bmil in annual sales vs $26 mil for WalMart's mainland outlets. WalMart's emphasis on rock bottom prices has backfired with Chinese shoppers.

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.