Saturday, February 28, 2015

2/28/15 Sat. Exxon Settles NJ Pollution Case for $250 Mil


 
http://www.dowjonesmonitor.com/
by Dan Kolber

Post No. 3,074 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, and a   recent ranking of the Dow 30 components by market capitalization  and a summary of recent Dow 30 components'  SEC filings.

A  read of the print editions of  Monday's Barron's & Investor's Business Daily; the combined Sat/Sun issues of each of the Wall Street Journal &  Financial Times; & Saturday's New York Times, &  Atlanta Journal 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 a separate table of Dow component's symbol and Friday's  closing   stock prices and related data in alphabetical order.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Friday at 18132.70 down 81.72 or 0.45%  from Wednesday's close of 18224.57. For the week the Dow was done 7.74 from last Friday's close of 18140.44. For the month the Dow was up 5.6%. For the year the Dow is up 1.74%. Of the Dow components 7   gained  and 23   declined. The  biggest gainer dollar-wise was IBM up $1.07 and percentage-wise was Coke up 1.98%. The  biggest decliner dollar-wise   was  Visa down $2.44 and percentage-wise was American Express down 1.99%.

IBD pB8 "Stocks indexes take hits; first distribution in weeks" by Paul Whitfield says Friday's action was down in rising volume while the current outlook is confirmed uptrend.

WSJ pB5 "Dow jumps 5.6% for the month" by Corrie Driebusch says US stocks ended Feb with their biggest monthly percentage gains in more than 2 years.

FT p14 "Wall street" by Eric Platt says US equity markets remained near record highs as pending home sales climbed and consumer sentiment eclipsed Wall Street forecast.

Sat. NYT pB6 "Hot month for markets goes out on chilly note" & Sat. AJC pA13 "Indexes dip on GDP report" by AP says US stocks closed lower Fri. due to news that US economic growth slowed more sharply than estimated in the final 3 months of '14.

As of the open of  the market on Monday the current divisor for the Dow Jones Industrial Average found at page B6 of  Saturday's Wall St. Journal is 0.15571590501117.  Monday's trailing P/E   ratio is 17.03 down  from Friday's   trailing P/E ratio of 17.10 (last year it was 16.05).  Monday's P/E estimate is 16.92 up from Friday's P/E estimate of 16.68 (year ago it was 14.55) and  Monday's dividend yield is 2.47 up from  Friday's dividend yield of 2.43  (last year it was 2.18). The Dow's all-time high was 18224.57 on February 25,  2015. The 12 year low close for the Dow was on March 9, 2009 when it fell to 6,547.05.

Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average numerator is 2823.54 down 12.73  from  Thursday's   numerator of 2836.27.   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 change for today by the divisor (0.15571590501117) you get the change in today's Dow. A dollar increase or decrease in a Dow stock results in a $6.42 change in the Dow Index.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of  Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $94.12 down 42  cents  from Thursday's  average closing price of $94.54.  The median closing price of  Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $86.84  (PG/XOM) down 7 cents from Thursday's median closing price of $86.91 (PG/XOM).  The lowest volume was 3M  and the highest volume was GE.

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 or dividends) and sold at the close you would have lost $1,273  ($283,627 - $282,353).

2/27/15 Fri. 4:33 pm MarketWatch by Anora Mahmudova says  it’s quietly been a bumper month for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.30%   has crept higher since the end of January, leaving the index with a 5.5% gain in February — its largest since October 2011.Cribbing from the Grateful Dead: What a long, strange trip its been. There were no conspicuous rallies to speak just a steady rise. The average daily move on the S&P 500 in February was less than 0.5% in either direction. That number in January was 0.9%. There were only four sessions in which the S&P 500 moved more than 1% this month and all of them were positive days—primarily driven by geopolitical news.There are several factors that contributed to this sneaky rally, but the key pair are liquidity and relative stability in oil prices, say analysts.Extremely accommodative central banks around the world — which translated into liquidity slushing around capital markets — removed fears and pushed investors into risky assets.“Markets clearly like ECB’s announcement of a quantitative easing program. After empty promises of the past four years, the ECB actually launched a bigger-than-anticipated monetary stimulus measure, which equity markets welcomed” said Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. markets strategist at RBC Capital Markets, referring to the European Central Bank’s Jan. 22 monetary policy decision.The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s volatility index, or VIX VIX, -4.10% which measures the implied volatility of the S&P 500 and is known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” steadily declined from around 20 at the beginning of the month to 13.5 on Friday, the final trading day the month. Upbeat news from, Russia, Ukraine and China helped boost stocks and positive developments in Europe, in particular Greece, are easing fears of deflation hitting U.S. shores soon. All of this has pointed to the Federal Reserve staying on track with its plans for hiking rates. “Over the past month, interest rates in the U.S. have risen and indicate that expectations for deflation have fallen. Investors are more optimistic about economic growth than they were in January,” Golub said.Let’s not forget the biggest drivers of market sentiment, lately: Crude oil. Brent crude-oil futures LCOJ5, +4.05%   rose 18% for the month — breaking a seven-month losing streak and posting the biggest monthly percentage rise since May 2009.

Saturday's Dow News followed by Friday's Closing Dow Numbers:

AT&T: WSJ pA11 "The net neutrality crack-up" by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. criticizes the new FCC rules.

American Express:  Barron's p18 "A bad month for AmEx is an opportunity for investors"  by Avi Salzman says American Express lost its deal with Costco and a case with the Justice Dept.  American Express remains committed to boosting earnings by 12 to 15% a year.

Boeing:  IBD pA2 "Airbus to boost production", WSJ pB3 "Airbus to boost jet output" by Robert Wall say Boeing's  rival said that '14 net income soared 59% to 2.34 bil euros ($2.62 bil).

Caterpillar:  No mentions found.

Chevron:  No mentions found.

Cisco:  Barron's p20 "Google: time to return cash to shareholders" by Andrew Bary says Google remains an outlier since most big tech firms pay dividends and buy back stock.  A chart shows Microsoft with a 2.8% div yield, IBM at 2.7, Intel at 2.9 and Cisco at 2.8 and four of the have buyback programs in the billions.

Coke:  FT p9 "Within arm's reach of desire" by Michael Skapinker reviews 2 books about Coke, one of which is critical and says the public pays the cost for Coke due to Coke's use of water, the use of public sanitation to pick up the litter and the resulting obesity from Coke's products.

Disney:  No mentions found.

DuPont:  No mentions found.

Exxon:  Barron's p17 Week preview" says on Wed. 3/4 ExxonMobil hosts investors and analysts.

sat. NYT pA15 "Exxon settles $9 billion pollution case in New Jersey for far less" by Benjamin Weiser says Exxon settled with NJ for $250 mil for damages to 1,500 acres of meadows. 

GE:  No mentions found.

Goldman Sachs:  No mentions found.

Home Depot:  No mentions found.

Intel:   FT p18 "Intel: against discretion" says Intel is pinning its hopes on the Sofia chip, a processor that combines an application processor and a 3G radio chip.  Intel was late to the mobile market.

Barron's p20 "Google: time to return cash to shareholders" by Andrew Bary says Google remains an outlier since most big tech firms pay dividends and buy back stock.  A chart shows Microsoft with a 2.8% div yield, IBM at 2.7, Intel at 2.9 and Cisco at 2.8 and four of the have buyback programs in the billions.

IBM:      Barron's p20 "Google: time to return cash to shareholders" by Andrew Bary says Google remains an outlier since most big tech firms pay dividends and buy back stock.  A chart shows Microsoft with a 2.8% div yield, IBM at 2.7, Intel at 2.9 and Cisco at 2.8 and four of the have buyback programs in the billions.

BRN'S p27 "Deal fever: What will IBM, HP< SAP and Oracle buy?" by Tiernana Ray says IBM says it will spend $4bil to big data initiatives insteat of hardware.

Barron's p20 "Google: time to return cash to shareholders" by Andrew Bary says Google remains an outlier since most big tech firms pay dividends and buy back stock.  A chart shows Microsoft with a 2.8% div yield, IBM at 2.7, Intel at 2.9 and Cisco at 2.8 and four of the have buyback programs in the billions.

JPMorgan:  Barron's p16 "Week review" says JPMorgan will charge big institutional customers for deposits due to new rules.

Johnson & Johnson:  No mentions found.

McDonald's:  No mentions found.

Merck:  No mentions found.

Microsoft:   IBD pB15 "Microsoft offers healthy yield" by Vincent Mao, Barron's p20 "Google: time to return cash to shareholders" by Andrew Bary say Google remains an outlier since most big tech firms pay dividends and buy back stock.  A chart shows Microsoft with a 2.8% div yield, IBM at 2.7, Intel at 2.9 and Cisco at 2.8 and four of the have buyback programs in the billions.

Nike:  No mentions found.

Pfizer:  No mentions found.

Procter & Gamble:  No mentions found.

3M:  No mentions found.

Travelers:  No mentions found.

United Technologies:  No mentions found.

UnitedHealth:  No mentions found.

Verizon:  WSJ pA11 "The net neutrality crack-up" by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. criticizes the new FCC rules.

Visa:  No mentions found.

Walmart:  WSJ pA10 "Walmart, the market combine in minimum wage hike" are letters from Mary Beth Smykowski and Larry Penner says market forces should drive wages and Walmart stores are good for communities.

WSJ pA2 "Restaurant wages make outsize gains" by Eric Morath, Jeffrey Sparshott discusses the impact on restaurant wages caused by Walmart increasing its wages.

Friday's Closing Dow Numbers:

Symbol Last Sale Change % Change Share Volume Market
T▲ NYSE
AXP▼ NYSE
BA▼ NYSE
CAT▼ NYSE
CVX▼ NYSE
CSCO▼ NASDAQ-GS
KO▲ NYSE
DIS▼ NYSE
DD▼ NYSE
XOM▼ NYSE
GE▲ NYSE
GS▼ NYSE
HD▼ NYSE
INTC▼ NASDAQ-GS
IBM▲ NYSE
JPM▼ NYSE
JNJ▼ NYSE
MCD▼ NYSE
MRK▼ NYSE
MSFT▼ NASDAQ-GS
NKE▲ NYSE
PFE▼ NYSE
PG▼ NYSE
MMM▼ NYSE
TRV▼ NYSE
UTX▼ NYSE
UNH▼ NYSE
VZ▲ DualListed
V▼ NYSE
WMT▲ NYSE

*************
 Here are the current CEOs of the Dow 30 Companies:

AT&T T Randall L. Stephenson (Dallas, TX)

American Express AXP Kenneth I. Chenault (NY, NY)

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)

Goldman Sachs GS Lloyd Blankfein (NY, NY)

Home Depot HD Craig Menear (Atlanta, GA)

Intel INTC Brian M. Krzanich (Santa Clara, CA)

IBM Virginia M. Rometty (Armonk, NY)

JPMorgan Chase JPM Jamie Dimon (NY, NY)

Johnson & Johnson JNJ Alex Gorsky (New Brunswick, NJ)

McDonald's MCD Donald Thompson (to be replaced by Steve Easterbrook on 3/1) (Oak Brook, Ill)

Merck MRK Kenneth Frazier (Whitehouse Station, N.J.)

Microsoft MSFT Satya Nadella (Redmond, WA)

Nike NKE Mark Parker (Beaverton, OR)

Pfizer PFE Ian Read (NY, NY)

Procter & Gamble PG A. G. Lafley (Cincinnati, OH)

3M MMM Inge Thulin (St. Paul, MN)

Travelers TRV Jay S. Fishman (NY, NY)

UnitedHealth UNC Stephen Hemsley (Minnetonka, MN)

United Technologies UTX Greg Hayes (Hartford, CT)

Verizon VZ Lowell McAdam (NY, NY)

Visa V Charles W. Scharf (San Francisco, CA)

Wal-Mart WMT Doug McMillon (Bentonville, ARK)
***************************
Here are the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 as of 1/2/15  ranked in order of market capitalization in billions:

1. Exxon Mobil XOM $370.18
2. Microsoft MSFT 331.43
3. Johnson & Johnson JNJ 280.3
4. Wal-Mart WMT 273.91
5. GE 240.09
6. Procter & Gamble PG 227.63   
7.  JPMorgan Chase JPM 202.89
8. Pfizer PFE 196.90
9.  Chevron CVX 193.83
10. Verizon VZ 189.93
11. Coke KO 180.33
12.  Merck MRK 171.85
13.AT&T T 170.76
14. Visa V 160.15
15. Intel INTC 157.57  
16. Disney DIS 154.24
17. IBM 151.93
18. Home Depot HD 137.61 
19. Cisco CSCO 134.82
20. UnitedHealth UNH 103.38
21.  3M MMM 103.08 
22. United Technologies UTX 102.73  
23. Boeing BA 102.79 
24. McDonald's MCD 89.96   
25. American Express AXP 82.95
26. Nike NKE 79.70
27. Goldman Sachs GS 77.84
28. DuPont DD 64.44
29. Caterpillar CAT 48.45
30. Travelers TRV 33.13
****************************************
Here are the latest 8K, 10Q & 10K & Proxy & certain other SEC filings as of 1/2/15  for the prior 90 day period:

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

AT&T T:
1/30/15 8K re: results of FCC wireless licenses auction
1/28/15 8K, 1/27/15 8K & 1/16/15 8K re: fin'l results of 4Qtr ended 12/31/14
1/22/15 8K re: credit agreement
12/19/14 8K re: amendment to Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan
12/2/14 8K re: closing of sale of Global Notes
11/10/14 2 10/A's & 10Q re: qtr. ended 9/10/14
11/10/14 8K re: closing of sale of Global Notes
11/7/14 8K re: increased of Board to 15 & election of William E. Kennardd & agrmt to buy Mexican wireless firm GSF telecom

American Express AXP:
1/21/15 8K re: 4Q fin'l results
1/15/15 8K re: delinq. & write-off delinq. stats. for 3 mos ended 12/31/14.
12/15/14 8K re: Delinq. & write-off stats for 3 mos. ended 11/30
12/5/14 8K re: issuance of Sub. Notes
12/4/14 8K re: retirement of Director Richard A. McGinn
11/17/14 8K re: delinq. & write off stats for 3 mos. ended 10/31
11/12/14 8K re: issuance of Series B Preferred Shares

Boeing BA:
1/27/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/19/14 8K re: retirement of Shephard W. Hill, Pres. of Boeing Int'l & Sr. VP, Bus. Dev/Strategy
12/15/14 8K re: increase of quarterly div & authorization of $12 bil share buyback

Caterpillar CAT:
1/27/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
1/26/15 8K re: 3 mos ended 12/31/14 retail sales stats
12/18/14 8K re: retirement of Group VPs Stuart L. Levenick & Steven H. Wunning
12/18/14 8K & 11/20/14 8K re: FD disclosures re: retail sales of machines & power systems
12/11/14 8K re: retirement of director Peter A. Magowan

Chevron CVX:
1/30/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/12/14 8K re: election of Alexander B. Cummings Jr. to Board
11/18/14 8K re: issuance of Floating Rate Notes
11/7/14 10Q for Qtr ended 9/30/14

Cisco CSCO:
12/19/14 & 12/18/14 8Ks re: Pre-arranged stock trading plan for execs
11/24/14 8K re: amendment to employee stock purchase plan
11/12/14 8K; 11/14/14 8K & 11/20/14 10Q re: results of 1 Qtr. ended 10/25/14

Coke KO:
12/11/14 8K re: increase Board to 17 & election of Marc Balland & David B. Weinberg

Disney DIS:
1/16/15 Def. 14A Proxy re: Annual Mtg. of Shareholders at 10 am 3/12/15 at Palace of Fine Arts, SF
12/23/14 8K re: adoption of Def. Comp. Plan
11/19/14 10K & 11/6/14 8K re: results of fiscal year ended 9/27/14
11/6/14 8K re: 4Qtr & FY ended 9/27/14

DuPont DD:
1/27/15, 1/15/15, 1/14/15, 1/13/15, 1/9/15 (five) 14A Proxy: re: Nelson Peltz's Train's proposal to break-up DuPont
1/12/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/18/14 8K re: FD disclosures re: presentation re: Performance Chemicals segment
12/18/14 8-K/A re: pre-tax charges re: restructuring plan

ExxonMobil XOM:
11/24/14 8K re: retirement of VP S.D. Pryor
11/5/14 10Q & 10/31/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

GE:
1/23/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
11/10/1 8K re: incentive grant to CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt
11/4/14 10Q & 10/17/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

Goldman Sachs GS:
1/23/15 8K re: issuance of notes
1/16/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/19/14 8K re: election to Board of Mark A. Flaherty & Mark D. winkelman
12/17/14 & 12/16/14 8Ks re: issuance of notes
11/5/14 10Q & 10/16/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

Home Depot HD:
1/16/15 8K re: replacement of Chairman of Board Francis S. Blake with Craig A. Menear
11/25/14 10Q & 11/18/14 8K re: Qtr. ended 11/2/14
11/6/14 8K re: breach of payment data system

Intel INTC:
1/15/15 8K re: fin'l results of 4Qtr ended 12/27
12/16/14 8K re: trigger of  interest change on debentures
11/21/14 28Ks & 11/18/14 8K re: FD Disclosure re: Annual investor meeting
11/20/14 8K re: increase of quarterly div. & '15 Business Outlook

IBM:
1/30/15 8K re: compensation amounts for execs for 2014
1/21/15 & 1/20/15 8Ks re: 4Qtr ended 12/31/14 fin'l results
1/7/15 8K re: exec promotions and amendment to bylaws to increase Board to 14 & election of Peter R. Voser to Bd
12/8/14 8K re: retirement of Robert C. Weber sVP, Legal
11/25/14 8K re: issuance of debt securities
11/12/14 8K re: investors conference
11/5/14 8K re: underwriting contract with JPMorgan

JPMorgan Chase JPM:
1/23/15 8K re: closing of note offering
1/14/15 8Ks (two) re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/9/14 8K re: close of public offering of Sub. Notes
11/12/14 8K re: payment of $1.01d bil to settle foreign exchange trading allegations
11/3/14 &  2 8Ks (10/14) re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

Johnson & Johnson JNJ:
1/20/15 8K re: 4Qtr ended 12/28/14 fin'l results
11/21/14 8K re: issuance of notes
11/10/14 8K re: closing of purchase of Alios BioPharma, Inc. for $1.75 bil

McDonald's MCD:
1/23/15 8K re: 4Qtr ended 12/31/14 fin'l results
12/8/14 8K re: Nov. '12 sales
11/12/14 8K re: Oct. '12 sales
11/3/14 10Q & 10/21/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

Merck MRK:
11/10/14 10Q re: Qtr. ended 9/30/14

Microsoft MSFT:
1/26/15 10Q & 1/26/15 8K re: fin'l results for qtr ended 12/31/14
12/4/14 8K re: results of votes at 12/3 Annual Shareholders Meeting
11/14/14 Proxy Letter from Bd Chair John W. Thompson re: Annual Mtg

Nike NKE:
1/7/15 10Q & 12/2214 8K re: results of qtr ended 11/30
12/18/14 8K & 10/7/14 10Q re: results of Qtr. ended 11/30/14

Pfizer PFE:
1/27/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
11/6/14 10Q for quarter ended 9/28/14
11/6/14 10Q & 10/28/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/28/14

Procter & Gamble PG:
1/27/15 10Q & 1/27/15 8K re: 2Qtr ended 12/31/14 fin'l results
1/13/15 8K re: quarterly div. of 0.6436 cents payable 2/17 to record holders as of close of business 1/23/15
12/22/14 8K re: changes to presentation of fin'l info due to sale of Duracell business
11/21/14 8K re: pre-arranged stock trading plan of CEO A.G. Lafley
11/13/14 8K re: '14 Analysts Mtg & sale of Duracell to Berkshire Hathaway
11/4/14 8K re: closing of sale of floating rate notes due '64
11/3/14 8K re: sale of notes
11/3/14 re: Argentina regulatory problems re: taxes

3M MMM:
1/31/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/16/14 8K re: dividend for 1Q '15 & '15 outlook
11/10/14 8K re: sale of Floating rate Notes

Travelers TRV:
1/22/15 8K re: qtr ended 12/31/14 fin'l results

United Technologies UTX:
1/26/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
1/23/15 8K re: separation agreement for ex-CEO Louis Chenevert
1/15/15 8K re: departure of exec Alain M. Bellemare
12/19/14 8K re: rejection of mini tender offer by TRC Capital
12/10/14 8K re: appointment of Akhil Johri, Sr. VP & CFO
11/24/14 Retirement of Louis Chenevert replaced by Gregory J. Hayes & election of Dir. Edward A. Kangas as Chairman of Bd. & appointment of Peter F. Longo as Acting CFO

UnitedHealth Group UNH:
1/21/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/8/14 8K re: sale of notes
12/1/14 8K re: annual investor conference
11/12/14 8K re: appointment of David S. Wichmann Pres/CFO & Larry Renfro as Vice-Chair
11/10/14 10Q for Qtr. ended 9/30/14

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ:
1/30/15 8K re: results of bidding for AWS-3 spectrum licenses in FCC auction
1/22/15 & 1/16/15 8Ks re: 4Qtr fin'l results
1/14/15 8K re: retirement from Board of Robert W. Lane
12/8/14 28Ks re: change of duties for Randal S. Milch EVP & GC
12/1/14 8K re: 4Q results
11/26/14 8K re: trading of shares in UK

Visa V:
1/29/15 10Q & 1/29/15 8K re: 1Qtr ended 2/31/14 fin'l results
1/29/15 8K, 1/21/15 Proxy & 1/14/15 Proxy  re: amendment of Cert of Incorp. for stock split
1/28/15 8K re: dividend of 48 cents payable 3/3 for record holders on 2/13
12/19/14 8K re: exec's pre-arranged stock trading plans
12/12/14 & 1/21/15  & 12/23/14 Proxies re: Annual Stockholders Meeting 1/28/15 8:30 am Crowne Plaza, Foster City, CA
11/21/14 10K for fiscal year ended 9/30/14

WalMart WMT:
12/16/14 8K re: latest ruling re: class action lawsuit in Phil for underpaying employees - Braun/Hummel v. Walmart
12/1/14 10Q & 11/13/14 8K re: quarter ended 10/31/14
11/24/14 8K re: election of Thomas W. Horton to Board

THAT'S ALL MY FRIENDS


Friday, February 27, 2015

2/27/15 Fri. pm Dow Closes at 18132.70 down 81.72 or 0.45%


 
http://www.dowjonesmonitor.com/
by Dan Kolber

Post No. 3,073 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, and a   recent ranking of the Dow 30 components by market capitalization  and a summary of recent Dow 30 components'  SEC filings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Friday at 18132.70 down 81.72 or 0.45%  from Wednesday's close of 18224.57. For the week the Dow was done 7.74 from last Friday's close of 18140.44. Of the Dow components 7   gained  and 23   declined. The  biggest gainer dollar-wise was IBM up $1.07 and percentage-wise was Coke up 1.98%. The  biggest decliner dollar-wise   was  Visa down $2.44 and percentage-wise was American Express down 1.99%.

As of the open of  the market on Friday the current divisor for the Dow Jones Industrial Average found at page C5 of  Friday's Wall St. Journal is 0.15571590501117.  Friday's trailing P/E   ratio is 17.10 down  from yesterday's   trailing P/E ratio of 17.11 (last year it was 16.00).  Today's P/E estimate is 16.68 unchanged from Thursday's P/E estimate of 16.68 (year ago it was 14.50) and  today's dividend yield is 2.43 up from  yesterday's dividend yield of 2.42  (last year it was 2.17). The Dow's all-time high was 18224.57 on February 25,  2015. The 12 year low close for the Dow was on March 9, 2009 when it fell to 6,547.05.

Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average numerator is 2823.54 down 12.73  from  Thursday's   numerator of 2836.27.   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 change for today by the divisor (0.15571590501117) you get the change in today's Dow. A dollar increase or decrease in a Dow stock results in a $6.42 change in the Dow Index.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of  Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $94.12 down 42  cents  from Thursday's  average closing price of $94.54.  The median closing price of  Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $86.84  (PG/XOM) down 7 cents from Thursday's median closing price of $86.91 (PG/XOM).  The lowest volume was 3M  and the highest volume was GE.

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 or dividends) and sold at the close you would have lost $1,273  ($283,627 - $282,353).

2/27/15 Fri. 4:33 pm MarketWatch by Anora Mahmudova says  it’s quietly been a bumper month for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.30%   has crept higher since the end of January, leaving the index with a 5.5% gain in February — its largest since October 2011.Cribbing from the Grateful Dead: What a long, strange trip its been. There were no conspicuous rallies to speak just a steady rise. The average daily move on the S&P 500 in February was less than 0.5% in either direction. That number in January was 0.9%. There were only four sessions in which the S&P 500 moved more than 1% this month and all of them were positive days—primarily driven by geopolitical news.There are several factors that contributed to this sneaky rally, but the key pair are liquidity and relative stability in oil prices, say analysts.Extremely accommodative central banks around the world — which translated into liquidity slushing around capital markets — removed fears and pushed investors into risky assets.“Markets clearly like ECB’s announcement of a quantitative easing program. After empty promises of the past four years, the ECB actually launched a bigger-than-anticipated monetary stimulus measure, which equity markets welcomed” said Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. markets strategist at RBC Capital Markets, referring to the European Central Bank’s Jan. 22 monetary policy decision.The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s volatility index, or VIX VIX, -4.10% which measures the implied volatility of the S&P 500 and is known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” steadily declined from around 20 at the beginning of the month to 13.5 on Friday, the final trading day the month. Upbeat news from, Russia, Ukraine and China helped boost stocks and positive developments in Europe, in particular Greece, are easing fears of deflation hitting U.S. shores soon. All of this has pointed to the Federal Reserve staying on track with its plans for hiking rates. “Over the past month, interest rates in the U.S. have risen and indicate that expectations for deflation have fallen. Investors are more optimistic about economic growth than they were in January,” Golub said.Let’s not forget the biggest drivers of market sentiment, lately: Crude oil. Brent crude-oil futures LCOJ5, +4.05%   rose 18% for the month — breaking a seven-month losing streak and posting the biggest monthly percentage rise since May 2009.

Friday's Closing Dow Numbers:

Symbol Last Sale Change % Change Share Volume Market
T▲ NYSE
AXP▼ NYSE
BA▼ NYSE
CAT▼ NYSE
CVX▼ NYSE
CSCO▼ NASDAQ-GS
KO▲ NYSE
DIS▼ NYSE
DD▼ NYSE
XOM▼ NYSE
GE▲ NYSE
GS▼ NYSE
HD▼ NYSE
INTC▼ NASDAQ-GS
IBM▲ NYSE
JPM▼ NYSE
JNJ▼ NYSE
MCD▼ NYSE
MRK▼ NYSE
MSFT▼ NASDAQ-GS
NKE▲ NYSE
PFE▼ NYSE
PG▼ NYSE
MMM▼ NYSE
TRV▼ NYSE
UTX▼ NYSE
UNH▼ NYSE
VZ▲ DualListed
V▼ NYSE
WMT▲ NYSE

*************
The following are excerpts from Friday morning's Blog:

A  read of the print editions of  Friday's Wall Street Journal,  Financial Times,  Investor's Business Daily, 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 a separate table of Dow component's symbol and Thursday's  closing   stock prices and related data in alphabetical order.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Thursday at 18214.42 down 10.15 or 0.06%  from Wednesday's close of 18224.57. For the year the Dow is up 2.20%. Of the Dow components  16  gained  and  14  declined. The  biggest gainer dollar-wise  and percentage-wise was Johnson & Johnson up $1.59 or 1.57%. The  biggest decliner dollar-wise   was  IBM down $1.94 and percentage-wise was Caterpillar down 1.59%.

WSJ pC4 "Apple rebound lifts Nasdaq; Dow drops" by Dan Strumpf says the Nasdaq resumed its climb toward its 15 year old record, boosted by a rebound in Apple.

NYT pB8 "Dow and S&jP close slightly lower on falling energy stocks" by AP says Chevron and Exxon were among the biggest decliners in the Dow as the slump in oil prices deepened.

FT p21 "Wall street" by Eric Plattt says US equity markets hovered near record highs as economic data showed steady core inflation and a better than expected rise in durable goods orders in Jan.

IBD pB3 "Stock indexes end mixed, but leaders leap ahead" by Paul Whitfield says Thursday's action saw Nasdaq up, S&P down in higher volume while the current outlook is confirmed uptrend.

Thursday's Dow Jones Industrial Average numerator is 2836.27 down 1.59  from  Wednesday's   numerator of 2837.86.  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 change for today by the divisor (0.15571590501117) you get the change in today's Dow. A dollar increase or decrease in a Dow stock results in a $6.42 change in the Dow Index.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of  Thursday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $94.54 down 6  cents  from Wednesday's  average closing price of $94.60.  The median closing price of  Thursday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $86.91  (PG/XOM) down 62cents from Wednesday's median closing price of $87.53 (PG/XOM).  The lowest volume was 3M  and the highest volume was GE.

If  Thursday 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 or dividends) and sold at the close you would have lost $159  ($283,786 - $283,627).

2/26/15 Thurs. 4:50 pm MarketWatch by Anora Mahmudova & Barbara Kollmeyer says 
Small-cap companies outperformed large firms Thursday, as downbeat economic reports and selling pressure from the energy sector weighed on the benchmark S&P 500. The Russell 2000 RUT, +0.32%   an index that measures the performance of small-cap companies, also outperformed large-cap stocks and scored its eighth record close this year. The small-cap index added 3.9 points, or 0.3%, to 1,239.00.Meanwhile, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.15%  closed down 3.12 points, or 0.2% lower, at 2,110.74, while six of its 10 main sectors finished with losses. A 5.5% drop in oil prices prompted investors to dump energy companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.06%  closed off 10.15 points at 18,214.42, stepping back from the record level reached on Wednesday.  The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.42%  defied the general trend and rose 20.75 points, or 0.4%, to 4,987.89, only 12 points shy of 5,000. In economic news, data showed that the inflation trend turned negative for the first time since 2009, thanks to cheaper gasoline prices, in part. However, core consumer prices, excluding food and energy costs, inched up. Persistent disinflation could complicate the Federal Reserve’s desire to begin normalizing interest rates sometime this year. However, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen in her testimony to Congress on Tuesday said inflation is likely to move higher toward the 2% target after initially declining due to a drastic plunge in oil prices.
First-time weekly jobless claims jumped more than expected, coming in above 300,000. However, the four-week average trend is still below that number. Meanwhile durable-goods orders were higher than expected. Recent record levels on the main indexes prompted some analysts to sound alarms, calling the market overvalued.Albert Edwards, chief global strategist at Société Générale, and a notoriously bearish strategist, pointed to a deteriorating economic picture and a growing disconnect between the stock market and economic reports, in a note to investors Thursday. “With equity markets galore hitting record highs clearly I must be missing something big! We are at that stage in the cycle where I begin to doubt my own sanity,” Edwards wrote.

Friday's Dow News followed by Thursday's Closing Dow Numbers:

AT&T:  WSJ pA1 "FCC sets new era of net oversight" by Thomas Grysta, WSJ pC8 "A wake-up call for net neutrality" by Miriam Gottfried, FT p1 "US watchdog votes to safeguard net neutality" by Barney Jopson USAT p1B "Net neutrality wins; why you should care" by Mike Snider, Roger Yu, Emily Brown, NYT pB1 "FCC votes to regulate the Internet as a utility" by Rebecca R. Ruiz, Steve Lohr say the FCC voted to regulate broadband providers as public utilities and overruled laws in 2 states that made it harder for cities to offer their own Web services, both ruling were setbacks for AT&T & Verizon that have invested billions of dollars in their networks.

IBD pA2 "Verizon, AT&T unlikely to enter Canada" by Reinhardt says they are not signed up for spectrum auction in Canada.

American Express:  NYT pB3 "With revamped gold cards, bruised American Express returns focus to affluent" by Hilary Stout says Amex announced new benefits for holders of its gold cards including double points for restaurant purchases in the US. 

Boeing: No mentions found.

Caterpillar:  No mentions found.

Chevron: NYT pB8 "Dow and S&jP close slightly lower on falling energy stocks" by AP says Chevron and Exxon were among the biggest decliners in the Dow as the slump in oil prices deepened.

Cisco:  No mentions found.

Coke:  WSJ pC1 "Coke deal adds fizz in euro bond market" by Mike Cherney, Josie Cox says Coke taped the European bond market by selling $9.5 bil worth of new bonds, the largest euro denominated debt from a US firm and the 2nd largest by any firm in the currency.

Disney: No mentions found.

DuPont: No mentions found.

Exxon: NYT pB8 "Dow and S&jP close slightly lower on falling energy stocks" by AP says Chevron and Exxon were among the biggest decliners in the Dow as the slump in oil prices deepened.

GE: No mentions found.

Goldman Sachs: No mentions found.

Home Depot: No mentions found.

Intel: No mentions found.

IBM: WSJ pB1 "IBM shifts $4 billion to cloud and mobile" by Don Clark, IBD pA2 "IBM targets $4 bil to key items" say this is due to the strategic imperatives of cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security technologies.

JPMorgan:  WSJ pC1 "J.P> Morgan's CEO bloodline" by Robin Sidel, Emily Glazer says the latest of Dimon's deputies to become a CEO elsewhere is Bill Winters who will become CEO of Standard Chartered PLC.

Johnson & Johnson: No mentions found.

McDonald's: No mentions found.

Merck:  WSJ pB2 "Bayer chief pushes ahead with revamp" by Christoperh Alessi says Bayer bought Merck's over the counter business for $14.2 bil as part of Bayer's efforts to refocus on its core health care and crop science businesses.  Its drugs, like Xarelto, face stiff competition from Pfizer.

Microsoft: No mentions found.

Nike:  IBD pA9 "Basketball shoe trend helps Foot Locker win" by Marilyn Much says Nike on 2/21 released the Air Jordan 4 Oreo and the Kobe X Blackout.

Pfizer:   WSJ pB2 "Bayer chief pushes ahead with revamp" by Christoperh Alessi says Bayer bought Merck's over the counter business for $14.2 bil as part of Bayer's efforts to refocus on its core health care and crop science businesses.  Its drugs, like Xarelto, face stiff competition from Pfizer.

Procter & Gamble: No mentions found.

3M: No mentions found.

Travelers: No mentions found.

United Technologies: No mentions found.

UnitedHealth: No mentions found.

Verizon:   WSJ pA1 "FCC sets new era of net oversight" by Thomas Grysta, WSJ pC8 "A wake-up call for net neutrality" by Miriam Gottfried, FT p1 "US watchdog votes to safeguard net neutality" by Barney Jopson USAT p1B "Net neutrality wins; why you should care" by Mike Snider, Roger Yu, Emily Brown, NYT pB1 "FCC votes to regulate the Internet as a utility" by Rebecca R. Ruiz, Steve Lohr say the FCC voted to regulate broadband providers as public utilities and overruled laws in 2 states that made it harder for cities to offer their own Web services, both ruling were setbacks for AT&T & Verizon that have invested billions of dollars in their networks.

IBD pA2 "Verizon, AT&T unlikely to enter Canada" by Reinhardt says they are not signed up for spectrum auction in Canada.

Visa: No mentions found.

Walmart:  FT p9 "It takes more than $10 an hour to make a good employer" by Linda Tirado says quality of life is more about the size of the paycheck and Walmart has a way to go in that area.

Thursday's Closing Dow Numbers:

Symbol Last Sale Change % Change Share Volume Market
T▲ NYSE
AXP▲ NYSE
BA▼ NYSE
CAT▼ NYSE
CVX▼ NYSE
CSCO▲ NASDAQ-GS
KO▲ NYSE
DIS▼ NYSE
DD▲ NYSE
XOM▼ NYSE
GE▼ NYSE
GS▲ NYSE
HD▼ NYSE
INTC▼ NASDAQ-GS
IBM▼ NYSE
JPM▲ NYSE
JNJ▲ NYSE
MCD▲ NYSE
MRK▲ NYSE
MSFT▲ NASDAQ-GS
NKE▲ NYSE
PFE▼ NYSE
PG▼ NYSE
MMM▲ NYSE
TRV▲ NYSE
UTX▼ NYSE
UNH▼ NYSE
VZ▲ DualListed
V▲ NYSE
WMT▲ NYSE
******************
 Here are the current CEOs of the Dow 30 Companies:

AT&T T Randall L. Stephenson (Dallas, TX)

American Express AXP Kenneth I. Chenault (NY, NY)

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)

Goldman Sachs GS Lloyd Blankfein (NY, NY)

Home Depot HD Craig Menear (Atlanta, GA)

Intel INTC Brian M. Krzanich (Santa Clara, CA)

IBM Virginia M. Rometty (Armonk, NY)

JPMorgan Chase JPM Jamie Dimon (NY, NY)

Johnson & Johnson JNJ Alex Gorsky (New Brunswick, NJ)

McDonald's MCD Donald Thompson (to be replaced by Steve Easterbrook on 3/1) (Oak Brook, Ill)

Merck MRK Kenneth Frazier (Whitehouse Station, N.J.)

Microsoft MSFT Satya Nadella (Redmond, WA)

Nike NKE Mark Parker (Beaverton, OR)

Pfizer PFE Ian Read (NY, NY)

Procter & Gamble PG A. G. Lafley (Cincinnati, OH)

3M MMM Inge Thulin (St. Paul, MN)

Travelers TRV Jay S. Fishman (NY, NY)

UnitedHealth UNC Stephen Hemsley (Minnetonka, MN)

United Technologies UTX Greg Hayes (Hartford, CT)

Verizon VZ Lowell McAdam (NY, NY)

Visa V Charles W. Scharf (San Francisco, CA)

Wal-Mart WMT Doug McMillon (Bentonville, ARK)
***************************
Here are the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 as of 1/2/15  ranked in order of market capitalization in billions:

1. Exxon Mobil XOM $370.18
2. Microsoft MSFT 331.43
3. Johnson & Johnson JNJ 280.3
4. Wal-Mart WMT 273.91
5. GE 240.09
6. Procter & Gamble PG 227.63   
7.  JPMorgan Chase JPM 202.89
8. Pfizer PFE 196.90
9.  Chevron CVX 193.83
10. Verizon VZ 189.93
11. Coke KO 180.33
12.  Merck MRK 171.85
13.AT&T T 170.76
14. Visa V 160.15
15. Intel INTC 157.57  
16. Disney DIS 154.24
17. IBM 151.93
18. Home Depot HD 137.61 
19. Cisco CSCO 134.82
20. UnitedHealth UNH 103.38
21.  3M MMM 103.08 
22. United Technologies UTX 102.73  
23. Boeing BA 102.79 
24. McDonald's MCD 89.96   
25. American Express AXP 82.95
26. Nike NKE 79.70
27. Goldman Sachs GS 77.84
28. DuPont DD 64.44
29. Caterpillar CAT 48.45
30. Travelers TRV 33.13
****************************************
Here are the latest 8K, 10Q & 10K & Proxy & certain other SEC filings as of 1/2/15  for the prior 90 day period:

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

AT&T T:
1/30/15 8K re: results of FCC wireless licenses auction
1/28/15 8K, 1/27/15 8K & 1/16/15 8K re: fin'l results of 4Qtr ended 12/31/14
1/22/15 8K re: credit agreement
12/19/14 8K re: amendment to Supplemental Employee Retirement Plan
12/2/14 8K re: closing of sale of Global Notes
11/10/14 2 10/A's & 10Q re: qtr. ended 9/10/14
11/10/14 8K re: closing of sale of Global Notes
11/7/14 8K re: increased of Board to 15 & election of William E. Kennardd & agrmt to buy Mexican wireless firm GSF telecom

American Express AXP:
1/21/15 8K re: 4Q fin'l results
1/15/15 8K re: delinq. & write-off delinq. stats. for 3 mos ended 12/31/14.
12/15/14 8K re: Delinq. & write-off stats for 3 mos. ended 11/30
12/5/14 8K re: issuance of Sub. Notes
12/4/14 8K re: retirement of Director Richard A. McGinn
11/17/14 8K re: delinq. & write off stats for 3 mos. ended 10/31
11/12/14 8K re: issuance of Series B Preferred Shares

Boeing BA:
1/27/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/19/14 8K re: retirement of Shephard W. Hill, Pres. of Boeing Int'l & Sr. VP, Bus. Dev/Strategy
12/15/14 8K re: increase of quarterly div & authorization of $12 bil share buyback

Caterpillar CAT:
1/27/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
1/26/15 8K re: 3 mos ended 12/31/14 retail sales stats
12/18/14 8K re: retirement of Group VPs Stuart L. Levenick & Steven H. Wunning
12/18/14 8K & 11/20/14 8K re: FD disclosures re: retail sales of machines & power systems
12/11/14 8K re: retirement of director Peter A. Magowan

Chevron CVX:
1/30/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/12/14 8K re: election of Alexander B. Cummings Jr. to Board
11/18/14 8K re: issuance of Floating Rate Notes
11/7/14 10Q for Qtr ended 9/30/14

Cisco CSCO:
12/19/14 & 12/18/14 8Ks re: Pre-arranged stock trading plan for execs
11/24/14 8K re: amendment to employee stock purchase plan
11/12/14 8K; 11/14/14 8K & 11/20/14 10Q re: results of 1 Qtr. ended 10/25/14

Coke KO:
12/11/14 8K re: increase Board to 17 & election of Marc Balland & David B. Weinberg

Disney DIS:
1/16/15 Def. 14A Proxy re: Annual Mtg. of Shareholders at 10 am 3/12/15 at Palace of Fine Arts, SF
12/23/14 8K re: adoption of Def. Comp. Plan
11/19/14 10K & 11/6/14 8K re: results of fiscal year ended 9/27/14
11/6/14 8K re: 4Qtr & FY ended 9/27/14

DuPont DD:
1/27/15, 1/15/15, 1/14/15, 1/13/15, 1/9/15 (five) 14A Proxy: re: Nelson Peltz's Train's proposal to break-up DuPont
1/12/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/18/14 8K re: FD disclosures re: presentation re: Performance Chemicals segment
12/18/14 8-K/A re: pre-tax charges re: restructuring plan

ExxonMobil XOM:
11/24/14 8K re: retirement of VP S.D. Pryor
11/5/14 10Q & 10/31/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

GE:
1/23/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
11/10/1 8K re: incentive grant to CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt
11/4/14 10Q & 10/17/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

Goldman Sachs GS:
1/23/15 8K re: issuance of notes
1/16/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/19/14 8K re: election to Board of Mark A. Flaherty & Mark D. winkelman
12/17/14 & 12/16/14 8Ks re: issuance of notes
11/5/14 10Q & 10/16/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

Home Depot HD:
1/16/15 8K re: replacement of Chairman of Board Francis S. Blake with Craig A. Menear
11/25/14 10Q & 11/18/14 8K re: Qtr. ended 11/2/14
11/6/14 8K re: breach of payment data system

Intel INTC:
1/15/15 8K re: fin'l results of 4Qtr ended 12/27
12/16/14 8K re: trigger of  interest change on debentures
11/21/14 28Ks & 11/18/14 8K re: FD Disclosure re: Annual investor meeting
11/20/14 8K re: increase of quarterly div. & '15 Business Outlook

IBM:
1/30/15 8K re: compensation amounts for execs for 2014
1/21/15 & 1/20/15 8Ks re: 4Qtr ended 12/31/14 fin'l results
1/7/15 8K re: exec promotions and amendment to bylaws to increase Board to 14 & election of Peter R. Voser to Bd
12/8/14 8K re: retirement of Robert C. Weber sVP, Legal
11/25/14 8K re: issuance of debt securities
11/12/14 8K re: investors conference
11/5/14 8K re: underwriting contract with JPMorgan

JPMorgan Chase JPM:
1/23/15 8K re: closing of note offering
1/14/15 8Ks (two) re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/9/14 8K re: close of public offering of Sub. Notes
11/12/14 8K re: payment of $1.01d bil to settle foreign exchange trading allegations
11/3/14 &  2 8Ks (10/14) re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

Johnson & Johnson JNJ:
1/20/15 8K re: 4Qtr ended 12/28/14 fin'l results
11/21/14 8K re: issuance of notes
11/10/14 8K re: closing of purchase of Alios BioPharma, Inc. for $1.75 bil

McDonald's MCD:
1/23/15 8K re: 4Qtr ended 12/31/14 fin'l results
12/8/14 8K re: Nov. '12 sales
11/12/14 8K re: Oct. '12 sales
11/3/14 10Q & 10/21/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/30/14

Merck MRK:
11/10/14 10Q re: Qtr. ended 9/30/14

Microsoft MSFT:
1/26/15 10Q & 1/26/15 8K re: fin'l results for qtr ended 12/31/14
12/4/14 8K re: results of votes at 12/3 Annual Shareholders Meeting
11/14/14 Proxy Letter from Bd Chair John W. Thompson re: Annual Mtg

Nike NKE:
1/7/15 10Q & 12/2214 8K re: results of qtr ended 11/30
12/18/14 8K & 10/7/14 10Q re: results of Qtr. ended 11/30/14

Pfizer PFE:
1/27/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
11/6/14 10Q for quarter ended 9/28/14
11/6/14 10Q & 10/28/14 8K re: 3Qtr ended 9/28/14

Procter & Gamble PG:
1/27/15 10Q & 1/27/15 8K re: 2Qtr ended 12/31/14 fin'l results
1/13/15 8K re: quarterly div. of 0.6436 cents payable 2/17 to record holders as of close of business 1/23/15
12/22/14 8K re: changes to presentation of fin'l info due to sale of Duracell business
11/21/14 8K re: pre-arranged stock trading plan of CEO A.G. Lafley
11/13/14 8K re: '14 Analysts Mtg & sale of Duracell to Berkshire Hathaway
11/4/14 8K re: closing of sale of floating rate notes due '64
11/3/14 8K re: sale of notes
11/3/14 re: Argentina regulatory problems re: taxes

3M MMM:
1/31/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/16/14 8K re: dividend for 1Q '15 & '15 outlook
11/10/14 8K re: sale of Floating rate Notes

Travelers TRV:
1/22/15 8K re: qtr ended 12/31/14 fin'l results

United Technologies UTX:
1/26/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
1/23/15 8K re: separation agreement for ex-CEO Louis Chenevert
1/15/15 8K re: departure of exec Alain M. Bellemare
12/19/14 8K re: rejection of mini tender offer by TRC Capital
12/10/14 8K re: appointment of Akhil Johri, Sr. VP & CFO
11/24/14 Retirement of Louis Chenevert replaced by Gregory J. Hayes & election of Dir. Edward A. Kangas as Chairman of Bd. & appointment of Peter F. Longo as Acting CFO

UnitedHealth Group UNH:
1/21/15 8K re: 4Qtr fin'l results
12/8/14 8K re: sale of notes
12/1/14 8K re: annual investor conference
11/12/14 8K re: appointment of David S. Wichmann Pres/CFO & Larry Renfro as Vice-Chair
11/10/14 10Q for Qtr. ended 9/30/14

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ:
1/30/15 8K re: results of bidding for AWS-3 spectrum licenses in FCC auction
1/22/15 & 1/16/15 8Ks re: 4Qtr fin'l results
1/14/15 8K re: retirement from Board of Robert W. Lane
12/8/14 28Ks re: change of duties for Randal S. Milch EVP & GC
12/1/14 8K re: 4Q results
11/26/14 8K re: trading of shares in UK

Visa V:
1/29/15 10Q & 1/29/15 8K re: 1Qtr ended 2/31/14 fin'l results
1/29/15 8K, 1/21/15 Proxy & 1/14/15 Proxy  re: amendment of Cert of Incorp. for stock split
1/28/15 8K re: dividend of 48 cents payable 3/3 for record holders on 2/13
12/19/14 8K re: exec's pre-arranged stock trading plans
12/12/14 & 1/21/15  & 12/23/14 Proxies re: Annual Stockholders Meeting 1/28/15 8:30 am Crowne Plaza, Foster City, CA
11/21/14 10K for fiscal year ended 9/30/14

WalMart WMT:
12/16/14 8K re: latest ruling re: class action lawsuit in Phil for underpaying employees - Braun/Hummel v. Walmart
12/1/14 10Q & 11/13/14 8K re: quarter ended 10/31/14
11/24/14 8K re: election of Thomas W. Horton to Board

THAT'S ALL MY FRIENDS