The stock market edged lower on Thursday, as defensive sectors like telecom and utilities managed to outperform. This is the fourth time in five days that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) has fallen, though the market's off less than 0.5% during that time. Today, it lost just four points, or less than 0.1%, to end at 16,264.
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) couldn't help the Dow much on Thursday, adding just 0.3%. Not much changes from day-to-day with McDonald's, whose golden arches are one of the most recognizable brand symbols in the world. But for blue chip companies like Mickey D's to maintain their dominance, they've got to fend off competition, and embrace innovation and change in the industry. McDonald's isn't doing a great job at either of these.�Yum! Brands'�Taco Bell is now using real people named Ronald McDonald to endorse the taco haven's new breakfast menu. And McDonald's has been slow to embrace smartphone payment technology, as well, even as its rivals rush to develop apps�for their consumers.
Top 5 Warren Buffett Companies To Watch In Right Now: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)
Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tim McAleenan Jr.]
And lastly, Mankiw mentions emerging markets. If you want to bet against the United States dollar and own a company that generates all of its profits outside the United States, it could be useful to take a look at Philip Morris International (PM). Asia makes up 37% of its profits. The Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe make up 27% of its profits. Smoking rates in countries like Indonesia are increasing at 10-25% annual rates. The Marlboro brand is gaining market share in Asia. The company is planning aggressive expansion into Central Africa. If you want emerging markets exposure, Philip Morris International could be a decent way to cover your bases.
Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)
McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has gained 1.1% during the past three months, to the iShares Russell 2000 ETF’s (IWM) 5.9% gain. McDonald’s (MCD), meanwhile, has dropped 4.9% during that time frame, while�Burger King (BKW) has jumped 6.8%
- [By Douglas A. McIntyre]
And Starbucks will be nagged forever by the fact it was flanked by McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) in the coffee business. Wall Street has not forgotten that one of America’s oldest fast-food companies trumped one of its newest ones using distribution heft, brand and a huge store chain size to stagger Starbucks within the business in which it claimed to be the leader.
- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Bo Rader/Wichita Eagle/MCT via Getty Images In the food world, pumpkin is the new black. The squash offshoot that was once relegated to jack o' lanterns on Halloween and whipped into pies for Thanksgiving is experiencing a foodie renaissance. A lot of coffee houses, restaurants, and fast food chains are embracing the pumpkin for a seasonal spark on their menus. Here are some of the many ways that consumers are enjoying pumpkin this season at publicly traded eateries. Starbucks (SBUX) It's safe to say that pumpkins had arrived as a trendy menu add-on when Starbucks introduced them into its seasonal latte line. The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is a combination of espresso, steamed milk, and pumpkin-flavored syrup -- topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices. It's as decadent as it sounds. A venti-sized offering made with whole milk clocks in at 510 calories and a whopping 12 grams of saturated fat -- 60 percent of the recommended daily fat intake in a single cup. But you can nix the whipped cream and go with skim milk for a fat-free indulgence. How popular is the drink? Starbucks claims to have sold 200 million of them over the years before it began pouring them out last month. The grande 16-ounce option will set you back $4.55, on average (prices do vary from location to location). McDonald's (MCD) It's been a few years since the world's largest fast food chain ripped a page out of the Starbucks playbook with its McCafe line of premium coffee beverages. This season, it's moving a step closer to Starbucks by offering its own Pumpkin Spice Latte. McDonald's knows how to price its offerings aggressively. It's 16-ounce version sells for $2.89, and it will be available through mid-November. It's not the only way that McDonald's is playing up the gourd this season. Customers can also order a pumpkin pie treat, served in the same turnover style as its baked apple pie. Jamba (JMBA) You know it's fall when pumpkin finds its way into Jamba Juice's blender
Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)
Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Kashafa Investment Research]
What works in P&G�� advantage is the fact that the company is already ahead of its peers in the emerging markets. As of 2012, P&G had sales of $33 billion in developing markets as compared to $24 billion for Unilever (UL) and $10 billion for Colgate (CL). This competitive edge over peers will sustain as P&G has product quality, innovation and has a significant marketing budget given its comfortable cash position.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Moreover, it's starting to appear that Clorox has weathered a tough part of its business cycle. Throughout the industry, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG ) , Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL ) , and Clorox all had to deal with rising costs for the inputs they needed to make their respective products. The companies responded by implementing price-cutting measures and passing on part of their higher costs to their customers. For its part, Clorox was able to expand its gross margins by a full percentage point, with a worse-than-normal flu season contributing to sales. Now that input-cost inflation is easing, P&G and Clorox expect to see better profitability, with growth starting to approach the faster rates that Colgate has enjoyed.
Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)
Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Paul Ausick]
Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) is off about 0.7% in mid-afternoon trading at $111.33 in a 52-week range of $109.27 to $127.83. The high was posted all the way back in late July, but the stock traded over $125 in late December, and like Exxon, the price has dropped nearly 11% since then. With a consensus price target of $129.80, the potential upside based on today�� price is almost 17%.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Pemex has been unable to coax more oil from the offshore Cantarell field, the largest conventional oil field in the western hemisphere. From a peak production level of about 2.1 million barrels a day in 2003, production today is barely 400,000 barrels. Mexico�� suspected deepwater and ultra-deepwater have yet to be accurately measured, but Pemex estimates reach as high as 50 billion barrels. The company has neither the cash nor the expertise to develop those deepwater resources and will have to turn to foreign firms like Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), which can bring the required experience and cash to deepwater.
- [By Robert Rapier]
Over the past 12 months, domestic integrated oil companies like Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) are up 13 percent and 8 percent respectively, while Statoil (NYSE: STO) is down by 8 percent over the same period. Results were mixed for Statoil’s European peers, with Total (NYSE: TOT) up 11 percent and Eni (NYSE: E) down 6 percent.
- [By Aaron Levitt]
Three more rigs will delivered this year and next. Those rigs in operation are contracted out to energy giants Chevron (CVX), Total (TOT) and Petrobras (PBR). And having three of the largest oil majors sending you checks every day has worked in PACD�� favor.
Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Visa Inc.(V)
Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was the big DJIA gainer, and it being the largest DJIA stock by weighting made all the difference in the world. Its stock was up 4.1% at $231.00 in the final minutes before the closing bell. The gains of AmEx were the big driving force here, and Visa’s nearly 9% weighting in the DJIA makes it three times more dominant than the average DJIA stock.
- [By Sean Williams]
And then there's payment processing company Visa (NYSE: V ) , perhaps one of the very few long-term investments you can get charged up about that combines the potential for rapid growth with consistency in nearly all economic environments. The way I see it, Visa has five opportunities that put it at the head of the class.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Stocks bucked their recent Monday weakness today as Visa (V), International Business Machines (IBM), United Technologies (UTX), Micron Technology (MU) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) gained. But your view of today likely depended on the index you were watching.
Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesThe S&P 500 gained 0.5% to 1,872.34, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to 16.457.66. Those benchmarks were trumped by the Nasdaq Composite, which advanced 1% to 4,198.99, and the small-cap Russell 2000, which finished up 1.8% at 1,173.04.
The price-weighted Dow was given a boost by its big weightings in Visa, which rose 1.8% to $215.86, International Business Machines, which advanced 1.1% to $192.49 after Morgan Stanley named it a top alpha generator among mega-cap stocks, and United Technologies, which gained 1.8% to $116.83. United Technologies’ Sikorsky division agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle claims that it charged too much for spare parts. Micron Technology gained 8% to $23.66 after a positive report at RBC Capital Markets and Drexel, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) rose 4.3% to $70.72.
Deutsche Bank’s David Bianco notes that small-caps and non-mega caps need interest rates to stay low…
On 2014E EPS, Russell 2000 (R2000) PE is 23.6 and S&P 500 PE is 15.6. The relative forward PE of the R2000 vs. the S&P at 1.5x is amongst the highest since 1995. Within the S&P, the PE at non-mega caps is also demanding vs. history. The median trailing PE of S&P 500 stocks at 18.5x is 2 points higher than its average since 1983 and is well into the late 1990s range. EPS growth, while expected to accelerate, is unlikely to reach the mid to low teens pace of the last two cycles. Hence, we think small and non mega-cap stocks are more dependent on interest rates staying below historical norms to justify current valuations and are more susceptible to moderation in growth expectations.
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- [By Grace L. Williams]
Many critics of that settlement have said Amex’s existing surcharging rules would prevent them from surcharging Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) credit cards.
Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Apple Inc.(AAPL)
Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
Ever since 2011, virtual voice assistants have been all the rage. First,�Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL ) Siri came out to much fanfare, followed by�Google� (NASDAQ: GOOG ) Now.�Nuance Communications� (NASDAQ: NUAN ) , which powers the voice recognition behind Siri, even has its own Nina assistant.�Amazon.com� (NASDAQ: AMZN ) has now reportedly purchased Evi, a mobile assistant app for iOS and Android. The e-tailer has also separately acquired several small voice recognition companies over the years.
- [By Jake Keator]
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) : I run my life on Apple products. I am an iPhone user and it is impossible for me to imagine using anything else. As a college student, I see many other students who use Apple products as well, from Macbooks to iPads. I am also an athlete and I cannot imagine a workout without my iPod Nano clipped to my shorts.
- [By Sam Mattera]
Perhaps Microsoft's most notable response concerned digital books. Microsoft confirmed that yes, like Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL ) iBooks, it plans to incorporate digital book sales into the Windows ecosystem. Given that Microsoft already has a large investment in Barnes & Noble's (NYSE: BKS ) NOOK division, the long-rumored acquisition could finally come to fruition.
Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
IBM (NYSE: IBM )
IBM sent the Dow plunging on the day after it reported earnings, missing expectations by a nickel per share despite posting a 3% increase in net income for the quarter. Sales fell 5% from the year-ago quarter, as orders from the U.S. and Chinese governments were particularly weak. - [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
IBM is a global technology company that provides essential products and services to companies and consumers worldwide. A recent earnings release has the markets disappointed with the company. The stock has been struggling over the last couple of years and continues to see lower highs and lower lows. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been rising while revenues have been declining which has produced conflicting feelings about IBM’s earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, IBM has been a weak year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what IBM does this coming quarter.
- [By DAILYFINANCE]
Brian Smale/Microsoft via Getty ImagesNewly named Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. SAN FRANCISCO -- After compiling a list of more than 100 CEO candidates, Microsoft settled on Satya Nadella a homegrown leader who joined the software maker in the early 1990s. That's back when Google's founders were teenagers and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was in elementary school. Tuesday's hiring of Nadella as Microsoft's CEO after a five-month search is a safe move that's likely to be greeted with sighs of relief around the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters, industry analysts say. But the methodical, almost predictable decision is likely to reinforce perceptions that Microsoft (MSFT) is a plodding company reluctant to take risks as it competes against younger rivals who relish going out on a limb. While Google (GOOG) founder and CEO Larry Page boasts about his company taking "moon shots" and Zuckerberg promises to "move fast and break things," Microsoft has fallen behind the technological curve after underestimating the importance of Internet search more than a decade ago and reacting too slowly to the rise of mobile devices during the past seven years. Meanwhile, the sales of personal computers running on Microsoft's Windows software are shrinking. Microsoft's malaise may have narrowed the field of up-and-coming visionaries interested in running a company founded in 1975. Just as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Apple (AAPL) founder Steve Jobs would never have considered working at IBM (IBM) in the 1980s, today's entrepreneurial whiz kids scoff at Microsoft's overtures. "Going to work at Microsoft could make it look like you are going back to the dark ages," says Richard Metheny, a management coach for the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer in Chicago. "It's a well-entrenched business that has had trouble lately figuring out how to play in this new world." Despite its challenges, Microsoft remains a moneymaking machine that sits atop an $84 billion cash pile. Tha
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