Monday, March 29, 2010

3/29/10 Mon. pm Dow Closes at 10,895.86 or 45.5 or 0.42%

www.DowJonesMonitor.com

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Post No. 355. The following is brought to you by Intellivest Securities Research, Inc. Towards the end of this Blog is a list of the Dow 30 current CEOs, a ranking of the Dow 30 components by market capitalization as of 3/1/10 and an update of the Dow 30 component's most recent SEC filings as of 3/1/10.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Monday at 10,895.86 up 45.5 or 0.42% from Friday's close of 10,850.36. Of the 30 Dow Companies: 22 gained and 8 declined. The biggest gainer dollar-wise and percentage-wise was Boeing BA $74.11 +1.52 2.09% 9,036,493 NYSE. The biggest decliner dollar-wise was IBM $128.59 -0.67 0.52% 4,631,829 NYSE and percentage-wise was Hewlett-Packard HPQ $52.97 -0.45 0.84% 10,156,958 NYSE.

As of the open of the market Monday, the current divisor for the Dow Jones Industrial Average found at page C4 of today's Wall St. Journal is 0.132319125 unchanged, the trailing P/E ratio is 16.92 (year ago it was 25.79) the P/E estimate is 13.85 (year ago it was 20.24) and the current dividend yield is 2.51 4 (it was 3.99 a year ago).

Monday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing numerator was 1,441.73 up 6.02 from Friday's closing numerator of 1435.71. 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 6.02 for Monday by the divisor you get the increase in Monday's Dow close of 45.5. A $1 change in the price of any DJIA stock = a 7.56 change in the average.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of Monday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $48.06 up 0.20 from Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing price of $47.86. The median closing price of Monday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was 43.17 up 0.10 from Friday's median closing price of $43.07. The lowest volume was 3M MMM $81.36 +0.36 0.44% 3,101,958 NYSE and the highest volume again was Bank of America BAC $18.04 +0.14 0.78% 152,261,147 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 made $600 ($144,180 - $143,580).

Market Watch 3/29/10 4:08 pm By Kate Gibson U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday after another monthly rise in consumer spending offered further evidence of a sustained economic recovery. A weakened dollar helped support buying of oil futures and energy-related shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU 10,896, +45.42, +0.42%) added 45.5 points, or 0.4%, to 10,895.86. The S&P 500 Index (SPX 1,173, +6.63, +0.57%) rose 6.63 points, or 0.6%, to 1,173.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index +9.23, +0.39%) climbed 9.23 points, or 0.4%, to 2,404.36.

Monday's Closing Dow closing numbers:
Symb/Last/Change/% Change/Vol./Market

AT&T T $26.51 +0.27 1.03% 19,926,146 NYSE
Alcoa AA $14.44 +0.17 1.19% 23,774,869 NYSE
American Express AXP $41.48 +0.36 0.88% 5,820,621 NYSE
Bank of America BAC $18.04 +0.14 0.78% 152,261,147 NYSE
Boeing BA $74.11 +1.52 2.09% 9,036,493 NYSE
Caterpillar CAT $63.48 +1.04 1.67% 6,944,055 NYSE
Chevron CVX $75.23 +0.80 1.07% 8,741,291 NYSE
Cisco CSCO $26.51 +0.041 0.15% 30,196,194 NASDAQ-GS
Coca-Cola KO $54.77 +0.12 0.22% 6,851,162 NYSE
Disney DIS $35.16 -0.15 0.42% 12,518,419 NYSE
DuPont DD $37.72 +0.03 0.08% 8,247,882 NYSE
ExxonMobil XOM $67.3 +0.76 1.14% 26,067,039 NYSE
GE $18.4 +0.06 0.33% 83,886,117 NYSE
Hewlett-Packard HPQ $52.97 -0.45 0.84% 10,156,958 NYSE
Home Depot HD $32.6 -0.15 0.46% 8,880,868 NYSE
Intel INTC $22.33 +0.09 0.4% 34,310,245 NASDAQ-GS
IBM $128.59 -0.67 0.52% 4,631,829 NYSE
J.P.Morgan Chase JPM $44.86 -0.16 0.36% 30,468,500 NYSE
Johnson & Johnson JNJ $64.82 +0.44 0.68% 7,578,178 NYSE
Kraft KFT $30.54 -0.09 0.29% 10,116,237 NYSE
McDonald's MCD $67.07 -0.19 0.28% 6,499,060 NYSE
Merck MRK $37.89 +0.46 1.23% 11,048,648 NYSE
Microsoft MSFT $29.59 -0.07 0.24% 33,075,668 NASDAQ-GS
Pfizer PFE $17.28 +0.14 0.82% 48,482,465 NYSE
Procter & Gamble PG $63.73 +0.04 0.06% 8,165,508 NYSE
3M MMM $81.36 +0.36 0.44% 3,101,958 NYSE
Travelers TRV $54.76 +0.41 0.75% 2,644,610 NYSE
United Technologies UTX $74 +0.38 0.52% 3,026,331 NYSE
Verizon VZ $30.45 +0.08 0.26% 13,386,930 DualListed
WalMart WMT $55.74 +0.23 0.41% 9,731,727 NYSE


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The following are excerpts from Mon. morning's Blog:

A read of Monday's Wall St. Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, USA Today, Atlanta Journal & Constitution & the 3/29/10 issue of Barron's & the 4/5/10 issue of Business Week 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:The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Friday at 10,850.36 up 9.15 or 0.08% from Thursday's close of 10,841.21 and up 108.38 or 1% from last Friday's close of 10,741.98. Of the 30 Dow Companies: 19 gained and 11 declined. The biggest gainer dollar-wise was Chevron CVX $74.43 +0.63 0.85% 10,407,410 NYSE and percentage-wise was Alcoa AA $14.27 -0.16 1.13% 32,146,776 NYSE. The biggest decliners dollar-wise were Merck MRK $37.43 -0.35 0.93% 13,482,383 NYSE and Microsoft MSFT $29.66 -0.35 1.17% 55,591,331 NASDAQ-GS and percentage-wise was Pfizer PFE $17.14 -+0.25 1.44% 54,130,115 NYSE.

WSJ pC8" A Week in the Life of the DJIA" says to date a $1,000 i9vnetment on Dec. 31 in each DJIA stock would have returned $31,696 or a gain of 5.65% including reinvested dividends. The best performer last week was Bank of America up 6.42% and the worst was Merck down 1.66%.

Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing numerator was 1435.71 up 1.21 from Thursday's closing numerator of 1434.5. 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 1.21 for Friday by the divisor you get the increase in Friday's Dow close of 9.15. A $1 change in the price of any DJIA stock = a 7.56 change in the average.

The average closing price (the closing numerator divided by 30) of Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was $47.86 up 0.04 from Thursday's Dow Jones Industrial Average closing price of $47.82. The median closing price of Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average was 43.07. The lowest volume was 3M MMM $81 0.07 0.09% 3,814,223 NYSE and the highest volume again was Bank of America BAC $17.9 +0.16 0.9% 220,939,129 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 $120 ($143,580 - $143,460).

Market Watch 3/2610 9:42 pm By Kate Gibson -- The U.S. stock market in the week ahead will likely close out the quarter on a high note after its longest winning stretch since last summer. On Friday, all three stock major indexes chalked up a fourth straight week of gains, the longest winning streak for all three since the first week of August 2009. The markets head into holiday-shortened week off 18-month highs, with global political turmoil leading to some jitters. Look for a deal for Volvo by Chinese holding company, along with auto-sales figures. The winning run came even as daily gains largely evaporated in the final two days of the week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU 10,850, +9.15, +0.08%) up 19.15 points at 10,850.36, giving the blue chips a 1% gain for the week. The S&P 500 Index (SPX 1,167, +0.86, +0.07%) rose less than 1 point to 1,166.59, leaving it up 0.6% from the prior week's close, while the Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP 2,395, -2.28, -0.10%) declined 2.28 points to 2,395.13, leaving it up 0.9% for the week. Treasury prices fell for the week by the most this year as worries increased over the government's ability to finance its debt. Retreating from a 10-month high versus the euro, the U.S. dollar still tallied a weekly gain, with the dollar index (DXY 81.61, -0.01, -0.01%) at 81.628 on Friday afternoon. Commodities were down for the week, with gold off 0.2% from the prior Friday's close at $1,105.4 an ounce. Crude-oil futures lost 1.2% for the week, with a barrel of crude ending at $80 a barrel. Equities marched to 18-month highs on light volume, on complacency brought on by thinking that the market had more work to do on the downside. Among the remarkable aspects to the recent weekly climb was that the consumer discretionary sector led the gains. In addition, investors were buying small capitalized, no-dividend-paying, highly volatile stocks, as evidenced by the Russell 3000 hitting new highs ahead of the S&P 500. On Monday, data on personal income for February is due, with analysts looking for a very modest rise, while consumer confidence data for March hits the next day. And Wednesday brings the ADP jobs report for March, with the report on the private sector likely to show its first growth since January 2008. The week ahead also includes a report on factory orders for February, due on Wednesday, and a measure of manufacturing activity for March, slated for release on Thursday, a day that also brings data on auto sales for March. Yet the equities market will be on hiatus when the much-awaited employment report is released early Friday, with the New York Stock Exchange closed for Good Friday ahead of the Easter holiday. Last month, the Labor Department's closely watched jobs report had the unemployment rate holding steady at 9.7% in February. Payrolls fell by 36,000. The jobs report for March is expected to yield the first positive result, with consensus forecasts calling for a gain of 200,000 jobs, with the range of plus 65,000 to 300,000. The 200,000 estimate is up from 184,000 found in the Action Economics survey. The temporary addition of as many 100,000 census workers to U.S. payrolls is a factor in the count, along with thinking the March thaw brought additional workers to construction and other projects stalled by the winter weather the month before.

AT&T T $26.24 0.09 0.34% 18,038,651 NYSE: USA Today p1B "Landscape of S&P leaders shifts" by Matt Krantz says tech firms reclaimed market cap crown. The S&P's 500 index has risen 4% this year and 66% from its '09 law. 4 of its most 10 most valuable firms, WalMart, Apple, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, weren't among the top 10 at the market's peak in '07. Tech has risen but there are exceptions such as Cisco which was the 8th most valuable firm at the peak in '07 but is now 15. At&T was in the top 10 in '07 but is now 14.

Barron's p42 Safety Net for Dividends" by Andrew Bary says firms with low-yielding bonds are more likely to maintain and boost their payouts on stock. To identify firms with "safe" dividends, Goldman Sachs recently screened for those with dividend yields exceeding those on their 5 year debt. It focused only ont he firms that its analysts expect to maintain or increase their payouts in '10 and that they rate Buy or Neutral. 11 firms matched those criteria, including Verizon Communications, AT&T, Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Philip Morris and Altria. Verizon, for instance, has a 6.3 dividend yields, more than double the 2.9% on its 5 year debt.

Barron's p14 says AT&Ts aid the health care form law would result in a $1 bil first quarter non cash charge.

Bus. Wk. p50 "CEO Pay Drops, But Cash Is King" Lists Ken Lewis of Bank of America as among those taking a big decrease in pay in '09 with the CEOs taking the biggest increases in '09 in pay being Randall Stephenson of AT&T, John Brock of Coca-Cola Enterprises, partially owned by Coke.

Bus Wk p.76 says the Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent Exchange Traded Fund tracks an index of 300 firms that boast quality patent portfolios and their tops holdings are 1st is Microsoft, third is GE, 6th top holding is Johnson & Johnson followed by IBM, AT&T, Cisco and Chevron.

Alcoa AA $14.27 -0.16 1.13% 32,146,776 NYSE: No mentions found.

American Express AXP $41.12 +0.30 0.72% 6,820,301 NYSE: No mentions found.

Bank of America BAC $17.9 +0.16 0.9% 220,939,129 NYSE: WSJ pC8" A Week in the Life of the DJIA" says to date a $1,000 investment on Dec. 31 in each DJIA stock would have returned $31,696 or a gain of 5.65% including reinvested dividends. The best performer last week was Bank of America up 6.42% and the worst was Merck down 1.66%.

Fin. Times p15 "BofA targets global expansion of coproate banking" by Patrick Jenkins says BofA's Merrill Lynch will press ahead with expansion of its corporate banking worldwide as its head Paul Donofrio sets out a plan to expand BofA's presence in Europe and Asia, mimicking the group's strength in corporate banking services for US clients. Merrill Lynch, bought by BofA in '08, has long had powerful investment banking operations around the world. In Europe and Asia, it had 3 times the clients of BofA. JPMorgan Chase recently announced an initiative to roll out a corporate banking operation globally.

Bus. Wk. p24 "A Double Flop for the Founainebleau" by Beth Jinks, Jonathan Keehner says Fountainebleau Miami Beach hasn't made loan payments since Sept. after borrowing more than $620 mil to redevelop the property. BofA is one of the lenders but won't comment.

Bus. Wk. p50 "CEO Pay Drops, But Cash Is King" Lists Ken Lewis of Bank of America as among those taking a big decrease in pay in '09 with the CEOs taking the biggest inceases in '09 in pay being Randall Stephenson of AT&T, John Brock of Coca-Cola Enterprises, partially owned by Coke.

Boeing BA $72.59 +0.10 0.14% 4,930,688 NYSE: No mentions found.

Caterpillar CAT $62.44 +0.30 0.48% 7,878,331 NYSE: No mentions found.

Chevron CVX $74.43 +0.63 0.85% 10,407,410 NYSE: WSJ pC10 "Toyota Can Withstand the Legal Heat" by Liam Denning, Dionne Searcey says tht Toyota is facing a lot of litigation due to the failed break issue. It compares its situation with Merck's Vioxx case where Merck's value slid $28 bil when Vioxx was withdrawn. Then the stock fell sharply in '05 and '06 when it lost some cases but then after that most judgments d\had little impact on its stock price, suggesting the stock markets had moved on. Similar situation happened when Chevron mounted a legal and public relations offensive over a $27.5 bil environmental damages lawsuit in Ecuador when its stock started lagging behind Exxon Mobil's. Once investors priced in a $15 bil judgment against Chevron, Chevron's stock has opened up a sizable lead over Exxon's.

Bus Wk p.76 says the Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent Exchange Traded Fund tracks an index of 300 firms that boast quality patent portfolios and their tops holdings are 1st is Microsoft, third is GE, 6th top holding is Johnson & Johnson followed by IBM, AT&T, Cisco and Chevron.

Cisco CSCO $26.469 +0.039 0.15% 37,525,280 NASDAQ-GS: USA Today p1B "Landscape of S&P leaders shifts" by Matt Krantz says tech firms reclaimed market cap crown. The S&P's 500 index has risen 4% this year and 66% from its '09 law. 4 of its most 10 most valuable firms, WalMart, Apple, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, weren't among the top 10 at the market's peak in '07. Tech has risen but there are exceptions such as Cisco which was the 8th most valuable firm at the peak in '07 but is now 15. At&T was in the top 10 in '07 but is now 14.

Barron's p29 "The Best CEO's" by Andrew Bary says Alan Lafley was off the list as he has retired from Procter & Gamble after 32 years. John Chambers of Cisco, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Mark Hurd of Hewlett-Packard, Samuel Palmisano of IBM, James Skinner of McDonald's and Rex Tilerson of ExxonMobil are returness on the list.

Bus Wk p.76 says the Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent Exchange Traded Fund tracks an index of 300 firms that boast quality patent portfolios and their tops holdings are 1st is Microsoft, third is GE, 6th top holding is Johnson & Johnson followed by IBM, AT&T, Cisco and Chevron.

Coca-Cola KO $54.65 -0.15 0.27% 8,129,148 NYSE: Bus. Wk. p50 "CEO Pay Drops, But Cash Is King" Lists Ken Lewis of Bank of America as among those taking a big decrease in pay in '09 with the CEOs taking the biggest inceases in '09 in pay being Randall Stephenson of AT&T, John Brock of Coca-Cola Enterprises, partially owned by Coke.

Disney DIS $35.31 +0.22 0.63% 22,902,651 NYSE: Barron's p18 "When Sumner Met Betty" by Sandra Ward says the consensus on Wall St. is that Viacom will earn $2.97 a share in its '11 fiscal year,which ends in Sept and they have a 10.6 price/earnings ratio that is the lowest in a comparable group that includes Disney, New Corp, Time Warner, Discovery Comm. and Scripps Networks Interactive.

DuPont DD $37.69 -0.14 0.37% 12,047,536 NYSE: No mentions found.

ExxonMobil XOM $66.54 +0.24 0.36% 30,535,301 NYSE: WSJ pC10 "Toyota Can Withstand the Legal Heat" by Liam Denning, Dionne Searcey says tht Toyota is facing a lot of litigation due to the failed break issue. It compares its situation with Merck's Vioxx case where Merck's value slid $28 bil when Vioxx was withdrawn. Then the stock fell sharply in '05 and '06 when it lost some cases but then after that most judgments d\had little impact on its stock price, suggesting the stock markets had moved on. Similar situation happened when Chevron mounted a legal and public relations offensive over a $27.5 bil environmental damages lawsuit in Ecuador when its stock started lagging behind Exxon Mobil's. Once investors priced in a $15 bil judgment against Chevron, Chevron's stock has opened up a sizable lead over Exxon's.

Barron's p29 "The Best CEO's" by Andrew Bary says Alan Lafley was off the list as he has retired from Procter & Gamble after 32 years. John Chambers of Cisco, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Mark Hurd of Hewlett-Packard, Samuel Palmisano of IBM, James Skinner of McDonald's and Rex Tilerson of ExxonMobil are returness on the list.

GE $18.34 +0.04 0.22% 84,328,446 NYSE: Bus Wk p.76 says the Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent Exchange Traded Fund tracks an index of 300 firms that boast quality patent portfolios and their tops holdings are 1st is Microsoft, third is GE, 6th top holding is Johnson & Johnson followed by IBM, AT&T, Cisco and Chevron.

Hewlett-Packard HPQ $53.42 -0.08 0.15% 14,219,585 NYSE: Barron's p29 "The Best CEO's" by Andrew Bary says Alan Lafley was off the list as he has retired from Procter & Gamble after 32 years. John Chambers of Cisco, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Mark Hurd of Hewlett-Packard are returness on the list.

Bus. Wk. "How to Play It" says the top recipients of US invention patents in '09 were first was IBM with 4,914 patents, Microsoft third with 2,906, intel 8th with 1,537 and 10th was Hewlett-Packard with 1,273.

Home Depot HD $32.75 +0.13 0.4% 12,345,213 NYSE: No mentions found.

Intel INTC $22.24 -0.11 0.49% 45,700,322 NASDAQ-GS: Barron's p43 "Tech Trader" by Eric J. Savitz says in '04 Intel and others tired to make the case of Internet connected refrigerators. At the CTIA Wireless trade show in las Vegas last week there was enthusiasm for th en notion that soon more or less everything will be connected to the Internet.

IBM $129.26 +0.02 0.02% 5,548,005 NYSE: Bus. Wk. "How to Play It" says the top recipients of US invention patents in '09 were first was IBM with 4,914 patents, Microsoft third with 2,906, intel 8th with 1,537 and 10th was Hewlett-Packard with 1,273.

Barrons '15 says a former IBM official is expected to plead guilty int he Galleon insider trading case on Mon.

Barron's p29 "The Best CEO's" by Andrew Bary says Alan Lafley was off the list as he has retired from Procter & Gamble after 32 years. John Chambers of Cisco, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Mark Hurd of Hewlett-Packard, Samuel Palmisano of IBM, James Skinner of McDonald's and Rex Tilerson of ExxonMobil are returness on the list.

Bus Wk p.76 says the Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent Exchange Traded Fund tracks an index of 300 firms that boast quality patent portfolios and their tops holdings are 1st is Microsoft, third is GE, 6th top holding is Johnson & Johnson followed by IBM, AT&T, Cisco and Chevron

J.P.Morgan Chase JPM $45.02 +0.08 0.18% 39,731,914 NYSE: WSJ pC1 "FDIC Stands Between J.P. Morgan & a Tax Windfall" by Dan Fitzpatrick says the FDIC backed away from its support for a $1.4 bil tax break benefiting JPM setting up a battle between it and JPM. The benefit stems for JPM's acquisition of Washington Mutual and is part of the bankruptcy proceedings of WAMU. WAMJU is eligible for about $2.8 bil in refunds based on a '09 economic stimulus bill but there is an issue about them being eligible to receive it.

WSJ pC2 "Centerview lands Cohen" by Jeffrey McCracken says David M. Cohen, J.P.Morgan's former co-head of North American mergers and acquisitions is leaving for a post with Centerview Partners.

USA Today p1B "Landscape of S&P leaders shifts" by Matt Krantz says tech firms reclaimed market cap crown. The S&P's 500 index has risen 4% this year and 66% from its '09 law. 4 of its most 10 most valuable firms, WalMart, Apple, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, weren't among the top 10 at the market's peak in '07. Tech has risen but there are exceptions such as Cisco which was the 8th most valuable firm at the peak in '07 but is now 15. At&T was in the top 10 in '07 but is now 14.

Fin. Times p15 "BofA targets global expansion of coproate banking" by Patrick Jenkins says BofA's Merrill Lynch will press ahead with expansion of its corporate banking worldwide as its head Paul Donofrio sets out a plan to expand BofA's presence in Europe and Asia, mimicking the group's strength in corporate banking services for US clients. Merrill Lynch, bought by BofA in '08, has long had powerful investment banking operations around the world. In Europe and Asia, it had 3 times the clients of BofA. JPMorgan Chase recently announced an initiative to roll out a corporate banking operation globally.

WSJ pC3 "Deal Journal" by Michael Corkery says One Equity partners, JPMorgan's private equity arm, is buying out CKX Inc. the owner of the tv show "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" for $6 a share.

Barron's p14 says the US Justice Dept. identified JPMorgan Chase, Lehman and UBS amond more than a dozen Wall St. firms involved in a conspiracy to pay below market interest rates to state and local govs but none have been charged.

Johnson & Johnson JNJ $64.38 -0.19 0.29% 9,442,586 NYSE: Bus Wk p.76 says the Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent Exchange Traded Fund tracks an index of 300 firms that boast quality patent portfolios and their tops holdings are 1st is Microsoft, third is GE, 6th top holding is Johnson & Johnson followed by IBM, AT&T, Cisco and Chevron.

Kraft KFT $30.63 -0.17 0.55% 17,082,997 NYSE: No mentions found.

McDonald's MCD $67.26 +0.36 0.54% 5,980,518 NYSE: Barron's p29 "The Best CEO's" by Andrew Bary says Alan Lafley was off the list as he has retired from Procter & Gamble after 32 years. John Chambers of Cisco, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Mark Hurd of Hewlett-Packard, Samuel Palmisano of IBM, James Skinner of McDonald's and Rex Tillerson of ExxonMobil are returness on the list.

Merck MRK $37.43 -0.35 0.93% 13,482,383 NYSE: WSJ pC10 "Toyota Can Withstand the Legal Heat" by Liam Denning, Dionne Searcey says tht Toyota is facing a lot of litigation due to the failed break issue. It compares its situation with Merck's Vioxx case where Merck's value slid $28 bil when Vioxx was withdrawn. Then the stock fell sharply in '05 and '06 when it lost some cases but then after that most judgments d\had little impact on its stock price, suggesting the stock markets had moved on. Similar situation happened when Chevron mounted a legal and public relations offensive over a $27.5 bil environmental damages lawsuit in Ecuador when its stock started lagging behind Exxon Mobil's. Once investors priced in a $15 bil judgment against Chevron, Chevron's stock has opened up a sizable lead over Exxon's.

WSJ pC8" A Week in the Life of the DJIA" says to date a $1,000 i9vnetment on Dec. 31 in each DJIA stock would have returned $31,696 or a gain of 5.65% including reinvested dividends. The best performer last week was Bank of America up 6.42% and the worst was Merck down 1.66%.

Barron's p42 "Safety Net for Dividends" by Andrew Bary says firms with low-yielding bonds are more likely to maintain and boost their payouts on stock. To identify firms with "safe" dividends, Goldman Sachs recently screened for those with dividend yields exceeding those on their 5 year debt. It focused only ont he firms that its analysts expect to maintain or increase their payouts in '10 and that they rate Buy or Neutral. 11 firms matched those criteria, including Verizon Communications, AT&T, Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Philip Morris and Altria. Verizon, for instance, has a 6.3 dividend yields, more than double the 2.9% on its 5 year debt.

Microsoft MSFT $29.66 -0.35 1.17% 55,591,331 NASDAQ-GS: WSJ pB4 "Microsoft Office Faces Challenge From Free Google Tools" by Nick Wingfield says MSFT has beat most competitors with its Office suite of software but a new version will be challenged by free or low cost Web based alternatives from Google which some businesses are adopting.

Bus. Wk. "How to Play It" says the top recipients of US invention patents in '09 were first was IBM with 4,914 patents, Microsoft third with 2,906, Intel 8th with 1,537 and 10th was Hewlett-Packard with 1,273.

Pfizer PFE $17.14 -+0.25 1.44% 54,130,115 NYSE: Barron's pM11 "The Striking Price - Options" by Steven M. Sears examines an options strategy that entails buying a dividend paying stock and selling a strangle to increase the returns. Pfizer is given an example. Buy the stock and sell the Sept. $16 put and Sept. $19 call for $1.05 increasing the stock's yield by 6%. The dividend adds another 4% yield, and if the stock is called away, investors pick up another 8% yield. All in,the total yield is 18%, and investors can sell the strangle again in Sept. if the stock remains within the options range at maturity. The trade works if the market does nothing, if the market rallies, and as long as the market does not sell off past your lower strike.

Barron's p42 "Safety Net for Dividends" by Andrew Bary says firms with low-yielding bonds are more likely to maintain and boost their payouts on stock. To identify firms with "safe" dividends, Goldman Sachs recently screened for those with dividend yields exceeding those on their 5 year debt. It focused only ont he firms that its analysts expect to maintain or increase their payouts in '10 and that they rate Buy or Neutral. 11 firms matched those criteria, including Verizon Communications, AT&T, Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Philip Morris and Altria. Verizon, for instance, has a 6.3 dividend yields, more than double the 2.9% on its 5 year debt.

Procter & Gamble PG $63.69 0.07 0.11% 10,608,905 NYSE: Bus. Wk. p68 "Attention, Shoppers" This Patent Expired" by Susan Decker says P&G and Pfizer and others are being sued by organizations and individuals who claim that patents for some of their products have expired such as Oral-B toothbrses. The same problems faces Pfizer's Advil.

Barron's p29 "The Best CEO's" by Andrew Bary says Alan Lafley was off the list as he has retired from Procter & Gamble after 32 years. John Chambers of Cisco, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Mark Hurd of Hewlett-Packard are returness on the list.

3M MMM $81 0.07 0.09% 3,814,223 NYSE: No mentions found.

Travelers TRV $54.35 ++0.27 0.5% 3,419,775 NYSE: No mentions found.

United Technologies UTX $73.62 +0.35 0.48% 4,790,939 NYSE: No mentions found.

Verizon VZ $30.37 0.06 0.2% 12,115,146 Dual Listed: Fin Times p19 "Vodafone claim of upper hand in Verizon fight" by Andrew Parker says Vodafone is confident that the balance of power in its relationship with Verizon Communications is shifting in the UK mobile phone group's favor. It thinks its negotiating position over the future of Verizon Wireless that the 2 firms jointly own, is getting stronger. Verizon Comm. owns 55% OF Verizon Wirelss and won't make dividend payments (since '05) so it can pay down debt despite Vodafone's objections.

Barron's p42 "Safety Net for Dividends" by Andrew Bary says firms with low-yielding bonds are more likely to maintain and boost their payouts on stock. To identify firms with "safe" dividends, Goldman Sachs recently screened for those with dividend yields exceeding those on their 5 year debt. It focused only ont he firms that its analysts expect to maintain or increase their payouts in '10 and that they rate Buy or Neutral. 11 firms matched those criteria, including Verizon Communications, AT&T, Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Philip Morris and Altria. Verizon, for instance, has a 6.3 dividend yields, more than double the 2.9% on its 5 year debt.

Wal-Mart WMT $55.51 -0.10 0.18% 9,939,682 NYSE: Fin Times p16 "Walmart targets Asian online growth" by Jonathan Birchall says WMT is drawing up plans to launch ecommerce operations in China and Japan, as part of a focus on driving sales by expanding its online presence into new global markets. It already has 282 stores in China and 371 Seiyu stores in Japan but no direct online sales.

USA Today p1B "Landscape of S&P leaders shifts" by Matt Krantz says ech firms reclaimed market cap crown. The S&P's 500 index has risen 4% this year and 66% from its '09 law. 4 of its most 10 most valuable firms, WalMart, Apple, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, weren't among the top 10 at the market's peak in '07. Tech has risen but there are exceptions such as Cisco which was the 8th most valuable firm at the peak in '07 but is now 15. At&T was in the top 10 in '07 but is now 14.

Bus. Wk p70 "A Three-Way Food Fight In Brazil" by Ladka Bauerova, Chris Burritt, Joao Oliveira says in Latin America's largest market, Brazil, Wal-Mart is spending big to overtake Carrefour and a local rival.

Bus. Wk p75 "Retail Rally" says Firms such as Advance Auto Parks, WalMart and dollar General may have benifitted from a change in consumer behavior brought on by the recession such as repairing cars instead of trading them in.

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Here are the current CEOs of the Dow 30 Companies:

AT&T T Randall L. Stephenson
Alcoa AA Klaus Kleinfeld
American Express AXP Kenneth I. Chenault
Bank of America BAC Brian T. Moynihan
Boeing BA W. James McNerney, Jr.
Caterpillar CAT Douglas Oberhelman
Chevron CVX John Watson
Cisco CSCO John Chambers
Coca Cola KO Muhtar Kent
Disney DIS Robert Iger
DuPont DD Ellen Kullman
ExxonMobil XOM Rex W. Tillerson
GE Jeffrey R. Immelt
Hewlett-Packard HPQ Mark Hurd
Home Depot HD Frank Blake
Intel INTC Paul S. Otellini
IBM Samuel J. Palmisano
JPMorgan Chase JPM Jamie Dimon
Johnson & Johnson JNJ William C. Weldon
Kraft KFT Irene Rosenfeld
McDonald's MCD Jim Skinner
Merck MRK Robert Clark
Microsoft MSFT Steve Ballmer
Pfizer PFE Jeffrey Kindler
Procter & Gamble PG Bob McDonald
3M MMM George W. Buckley
Travelers TRV Jay S. Fishman
United Technologies UTX Louis Chenevert
Verizon VZ Ivan Seidenberg
Wal-Mart WMT Mike Duke

Here are the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 ranked in order of market capitalization rounded to the nearest billion as of 3/1/10 followed by number of shares outstanding rounded to the nearest 1/2 billion:

1. Exxon Mobil XOM $314 [5]
2. Microsoft MSFT 258 [9]
3. WalMart WMT 205 [4]
4. Chevron CVX 178 [2.5]
5. Procter & Gamble PG 184 [3]
6. Johnson & Johnson JNJ 175 [3]
7. GE 170 [10.5]
8. IBM 167 [1]
9 JPMorgan Chase 164 [4]
10. AT&T 148 [6]
11. BAC 145 [8.5]
12. Pfizer PFE 143 [8]
13. Cisco CSCO 142 [6]
14. Coke KO 123 [2]
15. Hewlett-Packard HPQ 121 [2]
16. Intel INTC 115 [5.5]
17. McDonald's MCD 106 [1.5]
18. Verizon VZ 82 [3]
19. Merck MRK 79 [2]
20. United Technologies UTX 65 [1]
21. Disney DIS 61 [2]
22. 3M MMM 57 [.5]
23. Home Depot 53 [2]
24. Boeing BA 48 [1]
25. American Express AXP 45 [1]
26. Kraft KFT 42 [1.5]
27. Caterpillar CAT 36 [.5]
28. DuPont DD 31 [1]
29. Travelers 27 [.5]
30. Alcoa AA 14 [1]

Here are the latest SEC filings as of 3/1/10 market close other than ownership filings, registration of shares for employee benefit plans, free writing prospectuses 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: 2/25/10 10K Annual Report

Alcoa AA: 2/23/10 8K re: Personnel Changes

2/19/10 Prelim. Proxy on Form 14A

2/18/10 10K Annual Report

American Express AXP: 2/26/10 10K Annual Report

Bank of Am BAC: 2/26/10 10K Annual Report

2/26/10 Prelim, Proxy Statement on Form 14A

Boeing BA: 2/26/10 8K re: departure and compensation of certain officers

2/8/10 10K Annual Report

Caterpiller CAT: 2/19/10 10K Annual Report

Chevron CVX: 2/25/10 10K Annual Report

Cisco CSCO: 2/17/10 10Q Quarterly Report

Coke KO: 2/26/10 10K Annual Report

Disney DIS: 2/25/10 8K re: 3 year credit agreement

2/9/10 10Q Quarterly Report

DuPont DD: 2/17/10 10K Annual Report

ExxonMobil XOM: 2/26/10 10K Annual Report

GE: 2/19/10 10K Annual Report

Hewlett-Packard HPQ: 2/17/10 8K re: results of operations for quarter ended 1/31/10

2/5/10 10K/A Amended Annual Report

Home Depot HD: 2/23/10 8K re: quarterly results

Intel INTC: 2/22/10 10K Annual Report

IBM: 2/23/10 10K Annual Report

JPMorganChase JPM: 2/26/10 8K re: Investor Day FD Disclosures

2/24/10 10K Annual Report

Kraft KFT: 2/25/10 10K Annual Report

McDonalds MCD: 2/26/10 10K Annual Report

Merck MRK: 3/1/10 10K Annual Report

Microsoft MSFT: 1/28/10 10Q.

1/28/10 8K re: record revenue of $19.02 bil for 2Q ended 12/31/09, a 14% increase from the same period of the prior year. Operating income, net income & diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $8.51 bil, $6.66 bil & $0.74 per share, which represented increases of 43%, 60% and 57%, respectively, when compared with the prior year period.

12/4/09 8K re: the resignation of Christopher P. Liddell, the former chief financial officer and his settlement agreement.

Pfizer PFE: 2/261/0 10K Annual Report

Procter & Gamble PG: 2/18/10 8K re: FD disclosures re: guidance given at an analyst conference

3M MMM: 2/16/10 10K Annual Report

Travelers TRV: 2/18/10 10K Annual Report

United Technologies UTX: 2/26/10 Def. Proxy Statement on Form 14A

2/11/10 10K Annual Report

Verizon Communications Inc. VZ: 2/26/10 10K Annual Report

WalMartWMT: 2/18/28/10 8K re: 4th quarter and annual results of operations; guidance