3/14/11 Mon. pm Dow Closes at 11,933.16 down 51.24 or 0.43%

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Post No. 920 The following is brought to you by Intellivest Securities Research, Inc. Toward the end of this Blog is a list of the Dow 30 current CEOs, a ranking of the Dow 30 components by market capitalization and Dow 30 components' SEC filings as of February 14, 2011.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Monday at 11,933.16 down 51.24 points or 0.43% from Friday's close of 12,044.4. Of the 30 Dow Jones component companies 7 gained and 23 declined. The biggest gainer dollar-wise and percentage wise was Caterpillar CAT $102.1 +2.08 2.08% 7,965,846 NYSE. The biggest decliner dollar-wise was McDonald's MCD $75.67 -1.06 1.38% 7,982,501 NYSE and percentage-wise was GE $19.92 -0.44 2.16% 91,079,857 NYSE.

As of the open of the market Monday, the current divisor for the Dow Jones Industrial Average found at page C4 of Monday's Wall St. Journal is 0.132129493. The trailing P/E is 14.64 up from Friday's 14.56 (year ago it was 16.56); the P/E estimate is 12.42 down from Friday's 12.79 (year ago it was 13.56), and the dividend yield is 2.42 down from Friday's 2.43 (last year it was 2.57). The Dow's all-time high was 14,164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007. The 12 year low close for the Dow was on March 9, 2009 when it fell to 6,547.05.

Monday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing numerator was 1,576.72 down 14.64 from Friday's closing numerator of 1,591.36. 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 decrease for today by the divisor (0.132129493) you get the decrease in today's Dow. A $1 change in the price of any DJIA stock = a 7.57 change in the average.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of Monday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $52.56 down $0.49 from Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average average closing price of $53.05. The median closing price of Monday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $44.61 (JPM/AXP) down 0.54 from Friday's median closing price of $45.05. The lowest volume was Travelers TRV $58.86 -0.02 0.03% 3,453,116 NYSE and the highest volume was again Bank of America BAC $14.23 -0.15 1.04% 112,014,918 NYSE.

If Monday 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 lost $1,464 ($159,136 - $157,672).

MarketWatch Monday 3/14/11 5:39 by Donna Kardos says US stocks fell Monday as investors struggled to assess the financial fallout of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 11,993, -51.62, -0.43%) closed down 51.24 points, or 0.43%, at 11,993.16. Earlier in the session, the measure dropped to its lowest intraday level in six weeks. General Electric (GE 19.92, -0.44, -2.16%) was the measure’s worst performer with a 2.2% drop. The company supplied reactor No. 1 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant about 150 miles from Tokyo. There was an explosion Saturday at the reactor following Friday’s 8.9-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami. GE Chairman Jeffrey Immelt said the U.S. conglomerate will offer technical assistance to its nuclear energy joint-venture partner Hitachi Ltd. and the Japanese government. Shares of Walt Disney Co.(DIS 42.13, -0.11, -0.27%) were also weak with a 1.6% decline. The company’s Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea theme parks on the outskirts of Tokyo were closed for what is expected to be a 10-day period following the earthquake. Helping limit the Dow’s drop, Caterpillar Inc. (CAT 102.08, -0.02, -0.02%) climbed 2.1%, Chevron Corp. (CVX 100.80, +0.87, +0.87%) added 0.9%, and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM 82.38, +0.26, +0.32%) edged up 0.3%, boosted late in the session as crude-oil futures rose to above $101 a barrel. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP 2,701, -14.64, -0.54%) fell 14.64, 0.54%, to 2,700.97. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index (SPX 1,296, -7.89, -0.60%) shed 7.89, or 0.6%, to 12,96.39. The energy sector was the only category that ended the session in the black, boosted by the late turnaround in crude prices. Read more on oil prices. The declines followed a steeper slump in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NI225 9,620, -633.94, -6.18%) fell 6.2%, its worst one-day performance in more than two years, as the country’s unfolding nuclear crisis deepened in the aftermath of the quake and tsunami. See story on Asia stocks. “The triple issue of the earthquake, tsunami and now the nuclear plant is enough to make anyone afraid,” said James Dailey, portfolio manager of the Team Asset Strategy Fund. Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel, said he continues to worry about the situation in the Middle East and North Africa as well. Japan’s earthquake “may have knocked the Middle East turmoil off the TV screen, but it’s still there,” he said. Forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi pressed their offensive further into eastern Libya on Monday, lending urgency to an Arab League request to the United Nations Security Council to enforce a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace. Some market watchers are predicting that the recent stock declines — with the Dow on track for its third down day in the past four sessions — could be the start of a full 10% correction. However, others noted the market’s resilience in recent months, saying the recent slip could be short-lived.
A 10% drop “certainly could happen,” said Stephen Carl, head equity trader at The Williams Capital Group. “However, any time we have any kind of dip, it seems to be viewed more as a buying opportunity.”
Among the stocks hit hardest by worries over Japan, uranium producers tumbled, with Denison Mines Corp. (DNN 2.55, -0.74, -22.49%) down 22% and Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC 3.89, -0.03, -0.77%) down 19%. Shares of North American life insurers with exposure to Japan also lost ground, as Moody’s Investor Service warned that insurance and reinsurance companies around the world face heavy losses following the earthquake, resulting in negative credit implications. Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG 26.82, +0.00, +0.00%) fell 2.8% and Manulife Financial Corp. /(MFC 17.28, +0.04, +0.20%) shed 3.5%. Shares of international insurer Aflac Inc. (AFL 53.90, +0.01, +0.02%) were also weak with a 3% drop. Some 70% to 75% of Aflac’s earnings come from Japan, although the company said it isn’t changing its earnings guidance for the year. Shares of companies linked to renewable energy sources climbed, with American depository receipts of ReneSola Ltd. (SOL 9.15, +0.10, +1.11%) up 3.9% and Suntech Power Holdings Ltd. (STP 8.42, +0.14, +1.69%) up 3%. Among other stocks in focus, Lubrizol Corp. (LZ 133.93, -0.75, -0.56%) jumped 28%. The lubricants and fuel-additives producer agreed to be bought by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in a $9.7 billion deal. Class A and Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 126,400, -1,600.00, -1.25%) (BRK.B 84.10, -0.11, -0.13%) lost 1.3% each.Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan sought to temper the economic blow of the disasters, doubling the size of its asset-purchase program and pouring a record 15 trillion yen ($183.17 billion) into money markets to ease liquidity concerns. The dollar fell against the euro (EURUSD 1.3987, +0.0002, +0.0143%) , which climbed after euro-zone leaders agreed to expand the European Financial Stability Facility to its full capacity of €440 billion ($611.73 billion).The dollar spent part of the session stronger against the yen / (USDYEN 81.6600, -0.0100, -0.0122%) , though it ended the session lower. U.S. Treasurys rose, pushing the yield on the 10-year note (UST10Y 3.37, -0.04, -1.09%) down to 3.36%. Crude-oil futures edged higher, staging a last-minute comeback to close up 3 cents to $101.19 a barrel, while gold futures rose.

Monday's Closing Dow Numbers:
T $28.19 -0.27 0.95% 25,259,254 NYSE
AA $16.12 +0.09 0.56% 17,788,935 NYSE
AXP $43.91 -0.37 0.84% 6,194,171 NYSE
BAC $14.23 -0.15 1.04% 112,014,918 NYSE
BA $70.74 -0.90 1.26% 4,372,306 NYSE
Caterpillar CAT $102.1 +2.08 2.08% 7,965,846 NYSE
CVX $100.8 +0.87 0.87% 7,355,242 NYSE
CSCO $17.85 -0.10 0.56% 45,099,914 NASDAQ-GS
KO $63.94 -0.87 1.34% 8,870,330 NYSE
DIS $42.24 -0.69 1.61% 10,976,338 NYSE
DD $53.02 +0.12 0.23% 8,277,050 NYSE
XOM $82.38 +0.26 0.32% 16,381,515 NYSE
GE $19.92 -0.44 2.16% 91,079,857 NYSE
HPQ $41.49 -0.24 0.58% 17,417,340 NYSE
HD $36.68 -0.46 1.24% 8,701,778 NYSE
INTC $20.84 -0.03 0.14% 48,905,925 NASDAQ-GS
IBM $161.39 -1.04 0.64% 4,296,197 NYSE
JPM $45.3 -0.44 0.96% 24,482,456 NYSE
JNJ $59.13 -0.56 0.94% 11,775,756 NYSE
KFT $31.36 -0.34 1.07% 6,787,774 NYSE
McDonald's MCD $75.67 -1.06 1.38% 7,982,501 NYSE
MRK $32.38 -0.35 1.07% 13,792,889 NYSE
MSFT $25.69 +0.01 0.04% 54,389,682 NASDAQ-GS
PFE $19.81 +0.34 1.75% 169,504,698 NYSE
Procter & Gam PG $61.35 -0.14 0.23% 9,128,986 NYSE
MMM $91.02 -0.59 0.64% 3,546,841 NYSE
Travelers TRV $58.86 -0.02 0.03% 3,453,116 NYSE
UTX $80.74 -0.54 0.66% 3,693,004 NYSE
VZ $35.18 -0.67 1.87% 23,367,078 DualListed
WMT $52.32 -0.27 0.51% 10,204,862 NYSE




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The following are excerpts from Monday's Blog.

A read of Monday's Barrons, Wall St. Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, USA Today, Atlanta Journal Constitution & Daily Report (Ga. - carries Bloomberg) 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 stock prices and related data.

Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Friday at 12,044.4 up 59.79 points or 0.05% from Thursday's close of 11,984.61. For the week the Dow was down points 125.48 points or 1.03% from last Friday's close of 12,169.88. For the year the Dow is up 4.03%. Of the 30 Dow Jones component companies 24 gained, Procter & Gamble was unchanged and 5 declined. The biggest gainer dollar-wise was Caterpillar CAT $100.02 +1.63 1.66% 8,152,575 NYSE and percentage wise was 3M MMM $91.61 +1.60 1.78% 3,504,714 NYSE. The biggest decliner dollar-wise and percentage-wise was Verizon VZ $35.85 -0.55 1.51% 16,779,168 Dual Listed.

Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing numerator was 1,591.36 up 7.84 from Thursday's closing numerator of 1,583.52. 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 for today by the divisor (0.132129493) you get the increase in today's Dow. A $1 change in the price of any DJIA stock = a 7.57 change in the average.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $53.05 up $0.27 from Thursday's Dow Jones Industrial Average average closing price of $52.78. The median closing price of Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $45.05 (JPM/AXP) up 0.28 from Thursday's median closing price of $44.77. The lowest volume was Travelers TRV $58.88 +0.36 0.62% 2,797,992 NYSE and the highest volume was again Bank of America BAC $14.38 +0.12 0.84% 111,324,078 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 $784 ($159,136 - $158,352).

MarketWatch Friday 3/11/11 4:32 by Donna Kardos says US stocks climbed Friday despite the strongest earthquake to hit Japan in at least 300 years as some companies benefited from expectations for increased demand from rebuilding efforts, while investors were also relieved that protests in Saudi Arabia were relatively orderly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 59.79 points, or 0.50%, to 12044.40. Industrial giants 3M and Caterpillar led the climb, with 3M gaining 1.8% and Caterpillar adding 1.7%, as investors bet that the companies might benefit from rebuilding efforts in Japan following the earthquake. Exxon Mobil was also strong, up 0.9%, while Alcoa added 1.5% and Chevron gained 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 14.59, or 0.54%, to 2715.61, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 9.17, or 0.71%, to 1304.28, with its energy, materials and industrial sectors leading the ascent. Still, the market posted a weekly drop, with the Dow falling 1.03%, the S&P 500 off 1.28% and the Nasdaq down 2.48% for the week. For all three measures, it marked the second weekly decline in the past three weeks. The earthquake in Japan, one of the five biggest in history with a magnitude of 8.9, rocked the country's eastern coast, triggering a 30-foot tsunami that engulfed cars and buildings in its path in northern Japan. It set off tsunami warnings for 53 countries, including the U.S. The quake inflicted particularly severe damage to areas facing the northern Pacific coast and caused panic around Tokyo. The natural disaster could derail the country's nascent economic recovery and increase Japan's already massive public debt, which is 200% of gross domestic product. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.7%, and the iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund, an exchange-traded fund that tracks Japanese stocks, shed 1.7%. U.S.-listed shares of Japanese companies also fell, with American depositary shares of Honda Motor slipping 2.4% while U.S. shares of Toyota Motor declined 2.1% and U.S. shares of Sony shed 2.4%. However, U.S. investors expected that the quake wouldn't significantly hurt global economic growth. Rather, traders bet that the quake would actually drive increased demand for a host of economically sensitive companies when Japan starts to rebuild what was damaged by the quake. Among the stocks that benefited, AK Steel jumped 6.4%, Titanium Metals added 4.6%, and Fluor climbed 4.2%. "The obvious thing would be to look at companies or sectors that may benefit from increased demand in their services or capital equipment," said Peter Andersen, portfolio manager at Congress Asset Management Co. The likely candidates, he said, include companies involved with "earth-moving equipment, and heavy infrastructure companies." Friday's climb in U.S. stocks was also due in part to relief that the so-called Day of Rage in Saudi Arabia was more peaceful than investors had been fearing. While hundreds of protesters took to the streets in the eastern Saudi Arabian cities of al-Hofuf and Awamiya, a day after police broke up a march in the same region, it appeared to be relatively orderly. "It's giving the market a little bit of a breather," said Russ Koesterich, iShares global chief investment strategist and global head of investment strategy for BlackRock Scientific Active Equities. "Saudi Arabia is the critical oil-producing company. If there's no more strife after yesterday's events, you're going to see the [oil] market pull back a little bit." Friday's round of U.S. economic data came in mixed. U.S. retail sales rose less than expected, and consumer sentiment dropped back in early March as expectations plunged. But U.S. business sales increased in January by the largest amount in 10 months, while inventories grew more than expected as companies anticipated greater demand.

Friday's Closing Dow Numbers and Monday's News:

AT&T T $28.46 -0.15 0.52% 21,853,610 NYSE: WSJ pB3 "Apple iPad enjoys storng debut" by Yukari Kane says Apple's iPad 2 flew out of the shelves on its first weekend having sold up to 600,000 units during its first 3 days on the market. It is sold at mass market retailers like Walmart as well as Apple's partners AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Alcoa AA $16.03 +0.23 1.46% 22,792,926 NYSE: No mentions found.

American Express AXP $44.28 +0.26 0.59% 6,415,468 NYSE: No mentions found.

Bank of America BAC $14.38 +0.12 0.84% 111,324,078 NYSE: Barron's p39 "BofA shares could rise 40%" by Jacqueline Doherty says Bank of America could earn more than $2 a share in coming years as its credit portfolio improves & its share count shrinks. Bank of America's stock rose 1.8% last week and JPMorgan's rose 0.5%.

Barron's pM13 "Research reports" by Anita Peltonen says MP Securities has a report on Bank of America with a "Market Perform" said BofA will have long term earnings growth in the mre mid single digits & returns on equity of 11%. Report believes BofA's eventual price/book value and price/tangible book value could be 1.1 times and 1.5 times respectively.

WSJ pB9 "Banking on bank dividends" by Jane J. Kim says Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have recently said they hope to raise their dividends soon, pending approval from the Fed.

Boeing BA $71.64 +0.35 0.49% 3,863,935 NYSE: No mentions found.

Caterpillar CAT $100.02 +1.63 1.66% 8,152,575 NYSE: Barron's p19 "The Money whirl" - Cover Story" by Sandra Ward says as the dollar plunges, individual investors are moving into the currency market. It is getting easier for individuals to take their own dollar positions by investing in firms such as Coke, IBM or Exxon which derive ever increasing portions of their profits from overseas sources, which gives them a natural hedge for a dropping dollar. The article notes that in the past 6 months Caterpillar & McDonald's have received approval from the Chinese gov to issue bonds in Hong Kong based on the Chinese renmimbi, so called "dim sum bonds" to finance their business projects in China.

Chevron CVX $99.93 +0.85 0.86% 6,844,604 NYSE: Barron's p17 "Week Preview" says on Monday 3/14 Chevron meets with analysts & on Thursday 3/17 3M meets with analysts.

Cisco CSCO $17.95 +0.03 0.17% 68,144,822 NASDAQ-GS: No mentions found.

Coke KO $64.81 -0.48 0.74% 6,005,257 NYSE: Barron's p19 "The Money whirl" - Cover Story" by Sandra Ward says as the dollar plunges, individual investors are moving into the currency market. It is getting easier for individuals to take their own dollar positions by investing in firms such as Coke, IBM or Exxon which derive ever increasing portions of their profits from overseas sources, which gives them a natural hedge for a dropping dollar. The article notes that in the past 6 months Caterpillar & McDonald's have received approval from the Chinese gov to issue bonds in Hong Kong based on the Chinese renmimbi, so called "dim sum bonds" to finance their business projects in China.

Disney DIS $42.93 +0.46 1.08% 6,937,662 NYSE: No mentions found.

DuPont DD $52.9 +0.31 0.59% 5,446,136 NYSE: No mentions found.

ExxonMobil XOM $82.12 +0.74 0.91% 17,511,886 NYSE: Barron's pM10 "A Gas pump hedge" by Steven Sears says you should buy Exxon, the world's largest energy firm, with operations in 200 nations. At 85 a share, Exxon is up about 16% this year, & could trade higher in concert with crude, which recently reached about $106 a barrel. The nationwide average price of gas is $3.50 a gallon and prices are unlikely to decline anytime soon. You can buy Exxon's Oct $85 call and sell the Oct $95 call, which reduces the trade's price, as Exxon's bullish call options are elevated in widespread anticipation that Exxon will keep climbing. the total position cost $2.86 when the stock was 82.16. If Exxon's stock advances to 95, investors will make a 250% return on their money. If the stock goes to 87.86, the trade beaks even. This is a gas pump hedge and is credited to Michael Schwartz, Oppenheimer's chief options strategist. Also Sears says hedge funds are trading "alpha versus beta" or buying strong stocks outperforming their benchmarks & shorting laggards. Example: buy Netflix and short Microsoft.

Barron's p19 "The Money whirl" - Cover Story" by Sandra Ward says as the dollar plunges, individual investors are moving into the currency market. It is getting easier for individuals to take their own dollar positions by investing in firms such as Coke, IBM or Exxon which derive ever increasing portions of their profits from overseas sources, which gives them a natural hedge for a dropping dollar. The article notes that in the past 6 months Caterpillar & McDonald's have received approval from the Chinese gov to issue bonds in Hong Kong based on the Chinese renmimbi, so called "dim sum bonds" to finance their business projects in China.

GE $20.36 +0.26 1.29% 56,095,816 NYSE: Fin Times p21 "GE chief bullish despite rise in tax bill" by Ed Crooks says Jeff Immelt, CE's CEO said GE expects to pay a substantially highe tax charge this year but GE's best days are ahead in a letter to shareholders.

Hewlett-Packard HPQ $41.73 +0.25 0.6% 16,473,943 NYSE: WSJ pB3 "H-P's chief to disclose strategy" by Ben Worthen, Fin times p18 "HP chief faces Wall St scrutiny" by Joseph Menn & Barron's p17 "Week Preview" say on Mon 3/14 Hewlett-Packard's investor meeting debuts CEO Leo Apotheker. He is expected to unveil his strategic plan for the firm, detailing how he intends to take advantage of tech trends such as a shift to online services. He is expected to say HP will grow at least as fast the tech industry as a whole, move into new higher margin businesses, & achieve double digit growth in earnings per share.

Fin Times p15 "IBM in challenge ahead of key HP meeting" by Richard Waters says IBM is years ahead of Hewlett-Packard in building the integrated software & services business needed in a modern IT firm.

Barron's p33 "HP's new vision" by Mark Veverka says under Leo Aotheker, Hewlett-Packard is expected to focus on software rather than lower-margin hardware. HP's forward price/earnings ratio is just 7.9, versus 12.4 for IBM due to HPQ missing rev forecasts. HPQ's competitors such as Oracle, IBM & EMC have been expanding rapidly into software for the better part of a decade.

Home Depot HD $37.14 +0.07 0.19% 7,728,574 NYSE: WSJ pC8 "The sweet music for Amazon goes click, click, click" by John Jannarone says neither Loewe's nor Home Depot discloses online sales figures, but they don't appear to be benefiting much from the online shift as Amazon.com's low prices are becoming a handful for the nation's biggest retailers. On Thurs, Walmart offered free pickup at local stores for customers who bought online.

Barron's "Week Review" p16 says Mattel is closing its Barbie concept store in Shanghai. The move came on theheels of Home Depot shuttering its 5 stores in China.

Intel INTC $20.87 +0.08 0.38% 45,585,842 NASDAQ-GS: WSJ pC1 "Motive for stock leak can e respect, love" by Susan Pulliam says that when a 52 year old former manager in Intel's treasury dept, testifies later in the Galleon trial he is likely to say he gave inside tips about Intel due to his 25 year friendship with Raj Rajaratnam.

IBM $162.43 +0.41 0.25% 4,267,473 NYSE: Fin Times p15 "IBM in challenge ahead of key HP meeting" by Richard Waters says IBM is years ahead of Hewlett-Packard in building the integrated software & services business needed in a modern IT firm.

Barron's p19 "The Money whirl" - Cover Story" by Sandra Ward says as the dollar plunges, individual investors are moving into the currency market. It is getting easier for individuals to take their own dollar positions by investing in firms such as Coke, IBM or Exxon which derive ever increasing portions of their profits from overseas sources, which gives them a natural hedge for a dropping dollar. The article notes that in the past 6 months Caterpillar & McDonald's have received approval from the Chinese gov to issue bonds in Hong Kong based on the Chinese renmimbi, so called "dim sum bonds" to finance their business projects in China.

Barron's p33 "HP's new vision" by Mark Veverka says under Leo Aotheker, Hewlett-Packard is expected to focus on software rather than lower-margin hardware. HP's forward price/earnings ratio is just 7.9, versus 12.4 for IBM due to HPQ missing rev forecasts. HPQ's competitors such as Oracle, IBM & EMC have been expanding rapidly into software for the better part of a decade.

JPMorgan Chase JPM $45.74 +0.21 0.46% 20,325,374 NYSE: Barron's p39 "BofA shares could rise 40%" by Jacqueline Doherty says Bank of America could earn more than $2 a share in coming years as its credit portfolio improves & its share count shrinks. Bank of America's stock rose 1.8% last week and JPMorgan's rose 0.5%.

WSJ pB9 "Banking on bank dividends" by Jane J. Kim says Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have recently said they hope to raise their dividends soon, pending approval from the Fed.

Johnson & Johnson $69 +0.08 0.13% 10,425,456 NYSE: No mentions found.

Kraft $1.7 +0.20 0.63% 6,475,833 NYSE: No mentions found.

McDonald's MCD $76.73 +0.05 0.07% 4,436,719 NYSE: Barron's p19 "The Money whirl" - Cover Story" by Sandra Ward says as the dollar plunges, individual investors are moving into the currency market. It is getting easier for individuals to take their own dollar positions by investing in firms such as Coke, IBM or Exxon which derive ever increasing portions of their profits from overseas sources, which gives them a natural hedge for a dropping dollar. The article notes that in the past 6 months Caterpillar & McDonald's have received approval from the Chinese gov to issue bonds in Hong Kong based on the Chinese renmimbi, so called "dim sum bonds" to finance their business projects in China.

Merck MRK $32.73 -0.17 0.52% 12,256,248 NYSE: No mentions found.

Microsoft MSFT $25.68 +0.27 1.06% 49,858,798 NASDAQ-GS: USA Today p3B "Microsoft sets its sights on having best phone apps" by Byron Acohido says Microsoft has been an also ran when it comes to supplying cool smartphones. But last fall, MSFT fired up a fresh strategy to close the gap on Apple's iPHones, RIM's Blackberrys & Google's Andorids. Microsoft is now catering to the best app developers.

Barron's pM10 "A Gas pump hedge" by Steven Sears says you should buy Exxon, the world's largest energy firm, with operations in 200 nations. At 85 a share, Exxon is up about 16% this year, & could trade higher in concert with crude, which recently reached about $106 a barrel. The nationwide average price of gas is $3.50 a gallon and prices are unlikely to decline anytime soon. You can buy Exxon's Oct $85 call and sell the Oct $95 call, which reduces the trade's price, as Exxon's bullish call options are elevated in widespread anticipation that Exxon will keep climbing. the total position cost $2.86 when the stock was 82.16. If Exxon's stock advances to 95, investors will make a 250% return on their money. If the stock goes to 87.86, the trade beaks even. This is a gas pump hedge and is credited to Michael Schwartz, Oppenheimer's chief options strategist. Also Sears says hedge funds are trading "alpha versus beta" or buying strong stocks outperforming their benchmarks & shorting laggards. Example: buy Netflix and short Microsoft.

Barron's p31 "Tech trader" by Tiernan Rays gives Microsoft as an example of a firmw ith soldi balance sheets & good earnings prospects that pays dividends and buy back their stock but trades at weak P/E multiples.

Pfizer PFE $19.47 +0.11 0.57% 40,025,629 NYSE: No mentions found.

Procter & Gamble PG $61.49 unch unch 9,579,100 NYSE: No mentions found.

3M MMM $91.61 +1.60 1.78% 3,504,714 NYSE: Barron's p17 "Week Preview" says on Monday 3/14 Chevron meets with analysts & on Thursday 3/17 3M meets with analysts.

Travelers TRV $58.88 +0.36 0.62% 2,797,992 NYSE: No mentions found.

United Technologies UTX $81.28 +0.36 0.44% 4,174,665 NYSE: Daily Report p6 "Untied Technologies CEO says Obama makes business-friendly shift" says UTX CEO Louis Chevert says Oama has become more businesess friendly, a step that will spur investment and help the reovery.

Verizon VZ $35.85 -0.55 1.51% 16,779,168 Dual Listed: WSJ pB3 "Apple iPad enjoys storng debut" by Yukari Kane says Apple's iPad 2 flew out of the shelves on its first weekend having sold up to 600,000 units during its first 3 days on the market. It is sold at mass market retailers like Walmart as well as Apple's partners AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Walmart WMT $52.59 -0.06 0.11% 14,534,263 NYSE: WSJ pC8 "The sweet music for Amazon goes click, click, click" by John Jannarone says neither Loewe's nor Home Depot discloses online sales figures, but they don't appear to be benefiting much from the online shift as Amazon.com's low prices are becoming a handful for the nation's biggest retailers. On Thurs, Walmart offered free pickup at local stores for customers who bought online.

Barron's pM5 "The Trader" by Kopin Tan says profit margins at grocers are thin thanks to cutthroat competition from discounters like Walmart.

WSJ pB3 "Apple iPad enjoys storng debut" by Yukari Kane says Apple's iPad 2 flew out of the shelves on its first weekend having sold up to 600,000 units during its first 3 days on the market. It is sold at mass market retailers like Walmart as well as Apple's partners AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

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Here are the current CEOs of the Dow 30 Companies:

AT&T T Randall L. Stephenson (Dallas, TX)
Alcoa AA Klaus Kleinfeld (NY, NY)
American Express AXP Kenneth I. Chenault (NY, NY)
Bank of America BAC Brian T. Moynihan (Charlotte, N.C.)
Boeing BA W. James McNerney, Jr. (Chicago, Ill)
Caterpillar CAT Douglas Oberhelman (Peoria, Ill.)
Chevron CVX John Watson (San Ramon, CA)
Cisco CSCO John Chambers (San Jose, CA)
Coca Cola KO Muhtar Kent (Atlanta, GA)
Disney DIS Robert Iger (Burbank, CA)
DuPont DD Ellen Kullman (Wilmington, DE)
ExxonMobil XOM Rex W. Tillerson (Irving, Tx)
GE Jeffrey R. Immelt (Fairfield, CT)
Hewlett-Packard HPQ Leo Apotheker (Palo, Alto, CA)
Home Depot HD Frank Blake (Atlanta, GA)
Intel INTC Paul S. Otellini (Santa Clara, CA)
IBM Samuel J. Palmisano (Armonk, NY)
JPMorgan Chase JPM Jamie Dimon (NY, NY)
Johnson & Johnson JNJ William C. Weldon (New Brunswick, NJ)
Kraft KFT Irene Rosenfeld (Northfield, Ill.)
McDonald's MCD Jim Skinner (Oak Brook, Ill)
Merck MRK Kenneth Frazer (Whitehouse Station, N.J.)
Microsoft MSFT Steve Ballmer (Redmond, WA)
Pfizer PFE Ian Read (NY, NY)
Procter & Gamble PG Bob McDonald (Cincinnati, OH)
3M MMM George W. Buckley (St. Paul, MN)
Travelers TRV Jay S. Fishman (NY, NY)
United Technologies UTX Louis Chenevert (Hartford, CT)
Verizon VZ Ivan Seidenberg (NY, NY)
Wal-Mart WMT Mike Duke (Bentonville, ARK)

Here are the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 ranked in order of market capitalization rounded to the nearest 1/2 billion as of 2/14/11 followed by number of shares outstanding rounded to the nearest 1/2 billion:

1. Exxon Mobil XOM $428 [5]
2. Procter & Gamble PG 258.5 [4]
3. GE 229 [10.5]
4. Microsoft MSFT 233 [8.5]
5. IBM 203 [1]
6. WalMart WMT 195 [3.5]
7. Chevron CVX 195 [2]
8. JPMorgan Chase JPM 182 [4]
9. AT&T T 169 [6]
10. Johnson & Johnson JNJ 166.5 [3]
11. Pfizer PFE 152.5 [8]
12. Bank of America BAC 150 [10]
13. Coke KO 146.5 [2.5]
14. Intel INTC 120.5 [5.5]
15. Verizon VZ 106.5 [3]
16. Hewlett-Packard HPQ 105 [2]
17. Cisco CSCO 104 [5.5]
18. Merck MRK 101 [3]
19. Disney DIS 82 [2]
20. McDonald's MCD 80.5 [1]
21. United Technologies UTX 78.5 [1]
22. 3M MMM 65.5 [.5]
23. Caterpillar CAT 65.5 [.5]
24. Home Depot 61.5 [1.5]
25. American Express AXP 56 [1]
26. Kraft KFT 53 [2]
27. Boeing BA 53 [1]
28. DuPont DD 50 [1]
29. Travelers TRV 27 [.5]
30. Alcoa AA 18 [1]

Here are the latest 8K, 10Q & 10K & Proxy SEC filings as of 2/14/11:

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

AT&T T: 1/27/11 2 8Ks re: 4Q results
1/13/11 8K re: change of accounting for pension
12/21/11 8K re: borrowing up to $8 bil
12/20/11 8K re: purchase of spectrum licenses from Walcomm
12/7/10 8K re: replacement of existing 5 year $9.4 bil revolving credit facility
12/1/10 8K re: redemption of all 7.8% notes due 3/1/11

Alcoa AA: 2/11/11 8K re: resignation of Carlos Ghosen, CEO of Nissan, from Board of Directors
2/3/11 8K re: FD disclosaure re: flat rolled growth opport'ties in Europe
1/25/11 & 1/21/11 8Ks re: contributions to pension plan
1/13/11 8K re: transcript of 4Q earnings call
1/11/11 8K re: 4Q results
12/8 8K Olivier Jarrault named Pres. Alcoa Engineered Products
11/30/11 8K re: pesonnel changes in management

American Express AXP: 1/18/11 8K re: comp to CEO Chanault
1/24/11 & 1/19/11 8K re 4Q results
1/18/11 8K re: write-off statistics for quarter ending 12/31/10
12/16/11 8K re acquisition of Loyalty Partner

Bank of Am BAC: 1/31/11 8K re: compensation of officers
1/21/11 8K re: 4Q & FY 2010 results
1/3/11 8K re: Agreement with Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae to repurchase $3 bil of loan to settle Countrywide dispute

Boeing BA: 2/9/11 10K & 1/26/11 8K re: 12/31/10 results & FY 2011 guidance
1/11/11 8K re: resignation of William M. Daley from Board to be Chief of Staff to Pres. Obama
12/3/10 8K re: election o Ronald A. Williams to Board of Directors and the Audit & Finance Committees
11/16/10 8K re: $2.3 bil 364 day revolving credit agreement

Caterpiller CAT: 1/27/11 8K re 12/10 deale statistics
1/27/11 8K re: results for 4Q and FY ended 2010
1/21/11 8K re: stocholders approval of acquisition of Bu8cyrus Int'l Inc.
1/20/11 8K re: Justice Dept. request for Hart-Scott-Rodino iinfo re: Bucyrus purchase
12/16/10 8K re: Nov. dealer statistics
12/14/10 8K re: changes to By-laws re: holding of Board meetings
12/10/10 8K re: election of Jesse J. Greene, Jr. & Miles D. White to Board of Directors and Greene to the Audit Committee & White to Governance Committee
12/7/10 8K re: entering into bridge loan of up to $8.6 bil
11/18/10 8K re: status of acquisition of Bucyrus
11/18/10 8K 3 month dealer statistics
11/15/10 8K re: acquisition of Bucyrus for $8.6 bil to close mid '11
11/12/10 8K/A resignation of Gail D. Foster from Board of Directors

Chevron CVX: 2/1 8K re: compensation to officers including CEO John Watson
1/28/11 & 1/11/11 8K re 4Q results

Cisco CSCO 2/9/11 8K 2Q results
1/31/11 8K re: agreement re: issuance of $3 bil of commercial paper
12/17/10 8K re: pre-arranged exec stock trading plan

Coke KO 2/9/11 8K re: results for 4Q and FY 2010
12/15/10 8K re: expiration of tender offer for notes
12/15 & 12/9/10 8Ks re: election of Howard G. Buffett to Board of Directors & Public Issue & Diversity Relations Committees
11/23/10 8K re: result of cash tender offer for debt
11/18/10 8K re: completion of note offering
11/16/10 8K re: resignation of Cathleen P. Black from Board to become Chancellor of NYC Schools
11/8/10 8K re: underwriting agreement for issuance of notes
11/4/10 8K re tender offer for CCE debt

Disney DIS 2/8/11 10Q & 2/8/11 8K re: 1Q results
1/28/11 Proxy statement for annual sahreholder meeting to be held 3/23/11 at Salt Lake City, Utah
12/14/10 8K re: issuance of $5 bil of Notes
11/24/10 10K for year ending 10/2/10

DuPont DD: 2/8/11 10K re FY 12/31/10
1/27/11 8K re: compensation for CEO Ellen Kullman
1/25/11 8K re: results for quarter ended 12/31/10
1/12/11 8K re: acquisition of Danish firm, Danisco
12/10 8K re: retirement of Jeffrey L. Keefer as EVP

ExxonMobil XOM: 1/31/11 8K re: 4Q and FY 2010 results
11/30/10 8K re: revisions to officers' compensation plan

GE: 2/14/11 8K re: amendments to bylaws re: calling of special meetings of shareholders
1/31/11 8K re: closing of Comcast deal giving it control of NBC Universal
1/21/11 8K re: 4Q and FY '10 results
12/16/10 8K re: departure of Director Sir William M. Castell

Hewlett-Packard HPQ: 2/1/11 Proxy statement re: 3/23/11 shareholders meeting
1/20/11 8K re: election of 5 new members to Board of Directors
12/15/11 10K re: FY 10/31/10
12/2/10 8K re: underwriting agreement for issuance of notes
11/22/10 8K re: 4Q results
10/18/10 8K re: election of Leo Apotheker as Pres/CEO

Home Depot HD: 1/12/11 8K re: promotion of Aaron Carmack as Pres. of Home Depot Canada
12/2/10 10Q re: results for period ending 10/31/10
11/16/10 8K re: update of fiscal year '10 guidance

Intel INTC: 1/31/11 8K re: 4Q results & 2011 guidance
1/26/11 8K re: amendment to stock option plan
1/24/11 8K re: dividend and shre repurchase program (increase)
1/14/11 & 1/13/11 8Ks re: results of quarter ended 12/25/11 & 2011 guidance
1/10/11 8K re: patent agreement with NVIDIA Corp.
11/12/10 8K re: 15% increase of quarterly cash dividend

IBM: 1/28/11 8K re: compensation to officers including CEO Sam Palmisano
1/27/11 8K re: bylaw amendment re: holding of stockholder meetings
1/19/11 & 1/18/11 8K re: 4Q results and 12/31/10 FY
1/4/11 8K re: amendment of By-laws to decrease directors to 12
12/8/10 8K re: underwriting agreement re: debt
12/6/10 8K re: resignation of Cathleen Black from Board of Directors

JPMorganChase JPM: 1/14/11 2 8Ks re: 4Q results
12/29/10 8K re: results of tender offer for 5.8% securities
12/22/11 8K re: purchase of 25 Bank St in Canary Wharf as London Investment banking headquarters
12/13/10 8K re: termination of Replacement capital Covenants
10/28/10 8K/A re: amendment to replace capital covenants re: debt
10/20/10 & 10/19/10 2 8Ks re: amendment to credit agreements

Johnson & Johnson JNJ : 1/25/11 8K re: 4Q results ending 1/2/11

Kraft KFT: 2/10/11 8K re: 4Q & FY 2010 results
1/31/11 8K re: status of lawsuit with Starbucks
1/24/11 8K re: amendment to articles of incorproation to eliminate Class B common Stock and amendment to bylaws re: shareholder meetings
12/28/10 8K re: expiration & results of tender offer for notes
12/22/10 8K re: adoption of long term exec comp. program
212/13/10 28Ks re: status of tender offerfor notes
12/6/10 8K re: seeking preliminary injunction vs. Starbucks

McDonalds MCD: 2/8/11 8K re: Jan 2011 global sales
2.7/11 8K re: election to the Board of Donald Thompson, Pres. & CEO
1/24/11 8K re: 4Q & FY 2010 results
12/20/10 8K re: departure and settlement re: Denis Hennequin as Pres. of MCD Europe
12/10 8K re: amendment of Cert. of Incorp re: designations of rights of preferred stock
12/9/10 8K re: global sales results
11/9/10 8K re: results of global sales results
11/5/10 8K re: resignation of Denis Hennequin as President of McDonald's Europe to be replaced by Steve Easterbook

Merck MRK: 2/3/11 8K re: 4Q results
12/10/10 8K re: sale of 2.2% notes due '16
11/30/10 8K re: election of Kenneth C. Frazier a CEO with Richard T. Clark staying as Chair

Microsoft MSFT: 2/8/11 8K re: underwriting agreement for $750 mil of 2.5% Notes due 2016
1/27/11 10 & 1/27/11 8K for quarter ended 12/31/10
11/19/10 8K re: results of 11/16/10 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

Pfizer PFE: 2/1/11 8K re: 4Q results & reduction of research & development facilities
12/17/10 8K re: proposed settlement of shareholder derivative lawsuit in US Dist. Ct. SDNY
12/16/10 8K re: election of George A. Lorch as non-Exec Chair
12/9/10 8K re: resignation of Jeffrey B. Kindler as CEO & election of Ian C. Read as Pres/CEO
11/12/10 10Q for quarter ending 10/3/10
11/2/10 8K re: 3Q results
10/22/10 SC TO-T & 10/12/10 8K both re: Pfizer's purchase of King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Procter & Gamble PG: 2/11/11 8K re: election of Meg Whitman to Baord of Directors
2/1/11 8K re: retirement of Blboal Health Vice-Chair Robert A. Steele
1/28/11 10Q & 1/27/11 8K re: 2Q results
1/11/11 8K re: quarterly dividend of $0.4818 per share
12/14/10 8K re: election of Susan Desmond-Hellmann, 53, Chancellor of U of Cal. SF to Board
11/18/10 8K re: close of sale of $1 bil of 1.8% notes due '15

3M MMM: 1/25/11 8K re: 4Q results & FY 2011 guidance
12/7/10 8K re: financial outlook for '11
11/5/10 10Q re: quarter ending 9/30/10'
10/28/10 8K re: 3Q results of $6.9 bil sales

Travelers TRV: 1/28/11 8K re: departure of Blythe McGarvie from Board
1/25/11 8K results of 4Q
11/10/10 8K re: completion of tender offer for 6.25% debentures
11/9/10 8K re: modification of rights of holders of 6.75% notes due '36
11/8/10 re: purchase of 43% of a Brazilian surety
11/8/10 8K & 11/5/10 8K re: amendment of consent solicitation of 6.75% notes
11/1/10 8K re: underwriting agreement for sale of notes

United Technologies UTX: 2/10/11 10K for FY 12/31/10
1/26/11 8K re: 4Q results & FY 2011 guidance
12/10/10 8K re: election of Ellen Kullman, DuPont CEO to Board of Directors
12/10/10 8K re: resignation of Carlos M. Gutierrez from Board

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ: 2/3/11 8K re: increase to stock repurchase program
1/27/11 Proxy statement & 8K re: proposed purchase of Terremark to boost cloud capacity
1/27/11 8K re: 2011 guidance
1/25/11 4Q & FY 2010 results
1/21/11 8K re: change of accounting for pension
12/29/10 8K re: updated fin'l info re: divestiture of properties as a result of acquisition of Alltel Corp. in Jan '09
12/8/10 8K/A re: Board committee assignments of Rodney E. Slater
11/10/10 8K/A re: election of Lowell C. McAdam as Pres/COO & Francis J. Shammo EVP & CFO

WalMart WMT: 12/6/10 10Q for period ending 10/31/10
11/16/10 8K re: 3 Qtr EPS 0.95 cents and raising full year EPS guidance from $3.95 to $4.05
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