Taking cues from a troubling and unexpected slowdown in China's growth, markets suffered their worst day in months on Monday. Two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon this afternoon drove stocks down further as investors struggled to understand the attacks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) lost 265 points, or 1.8%, to close at 14,599.
All 30 Dow stocks lost ground today, and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG ) ended as one of just five to lose less than 1%. Losing 0.5% was enough to earn P&G a spot among the day's top performers as the company raised its dividend by 7%, to an annual payout of around 3%.�
Industrials and energy stocks slipped on the Chinese slowdown, as the country saw its industrial production advance 9.5% in the first quarter. While that growth isn't shabby these days from a domestic standpoint, it's a 0.5% slowdown from last year's clip. China's GDP grew at 7.7% after growing by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. General Electric (NYSE: GE ) ended Monday as one of the worst-performing blue chips in the index, losing 2.8%.
Top Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015: 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 Traders Reserve]
General Electric (GE) also invested $105 million to buy a 10% stake in Pivotal Initiative. Best of all, EMC�� products are compatible with many different platforms including IBM (IBM) and Oracle (ORCL).
Top Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015: 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 Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Procter & Gamble have gained 0.1% to $81.44 at 2:06 p.m. today, while Unilever (UL) has risen 0.6% to $43.96, Colgate-Palmolive (CL) is little changed at $65.65 and Kimberly-Clark (KMB) has advanced 0.5% to $111.31.
- [By Ong Kang Wei]
Another example of such a product is Colgate-Palmolive (CL)'s Colgate toothpaste. I do not think I have to elaborate much here. Toothpaste is needed in our everyday life, and we will definitely have to buy more toothpaste after we have finished using a packet of it, ensuring that Colgate gets more and more sales over the years.
- [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.
- [By Lee Jackson]
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) is a top consumer staples name to make the UBS. Colgate sells its products in more than 200 countries and makes more than 75% of its revenue outside the United States, which provides geographic diversification and growth opportunities in emerging markets for the company. This diversity, matched with a huge list of consumer products, keeps revenues and dividends growing. Investors are paid a 2.3% dividend. The consensus target is $67.14. Colgate closed Tuesday at $64.34.
Top Machinery Stocks To Own For 2015: 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 Editor , Dividend Growth Investor]
Philip Morris� (PM), through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes and other tobacco products. This dividend machine has rewarded shareholders with a dividend increase since being spun-offs from Altria Group (MO) in 2008.
- [By GuruFocus]
The decade low yield of tobacco stocks can be clearly seen from our new interactive charts, which are embedded below. The chart shows the dividend yield of three tobacco stocks: Reynolds American (RAI), Philip Morris International (PM) and British American Tobacco (BTI).
- [By Alexandra Scaggs]
Then the bank appeared to backpedal a bit in its note yesterday, cutting back on its recommended holdings in Ultimate Software Group(ULTI) and Mastercard(MA) and adding to its recommended positions in Anadarko Petroleum Corp.(APC), an energy stock, and Philip Morris International Inc.(PM), a consumer-staples stock. Morgan Stanley strategist Adam Parker �and his�team found that times when value stocks outperform growth stocks by such a wide margin “are typically followed by periods where value outperforms.”
- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Thursday
Earnings Expected From: United Health Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH), Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB), Philip Morris Inc (NYSE: PM), Pepsico, Inc. (NYSE: PEP), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG), American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) Economic Releases Expected: �German PPI, Canadian CPI, Chinese house price dataFriday
Top Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015: 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 Rich Duprey]
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) as well has been stung by slowing growth, and even the expected introduction of the iPhone 5S won't be enough to prop up sales for long, while�BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY ) , which had pinned all of its hopes on its Z10 phone, is finding carriers slashing the price to just $50 from $200 a mere six months after its introduction.�Nokia was also hoping for a big splash when it switched over to Windows Phone devices, but sales cratered 27% from the year-ago period.
- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
Over the decades, there has been a long history of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) copying Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) . This trend most notably started with the graphical user interface, or GUI, that the Mac first brought to consumer PCs and was subsequently followed by Windows.
- [By Andrew Tonner]
The global smartphone industry has absolutely exploded into one of the most important segments in all of consumer tech today. And, although the competition in this space has never been fiercer, as names like�Nokia and�Blackberry attempt to regain their long-lost footholds, it's becoming increasingly apparent that the handset space truly belongs to�Apple� (NASDAQ: AAPL ) and�Samsung. Although the first half of 2013 has seen many new and competitive offerings come to market, it's clear that the Apple/Samsung duopoly is as robust as ever. Taking a look at the smartphone industry from the�lens of what matters most, profits paint quite the picture.�
- [By Rick Munarriz]
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) fans shouldn't get too excited here. It's not the iconic iTunes Music Store that's raking in the big digital bucks. Streaming through Pandora (NYSE: P ) and smaller sites is starting to generate material revenue for the record labels.
Top Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015: 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 Dan Caplinger]
Still, Chipotle has looked for ways to boost its growth even further. Plans to offer premium margaritas with Patron tequila could help drive further sales, although other food chains have had mixed results from premium beverages. McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) , for instance, has seen a rise in customer complaints as waits in line for beverages have gotten longer.
- [By Jim Jubak]
McDonald's (MCD) beat on earnings by a penny, but revenue grew year over year by just 2% and came in $15 million short of Wall Street projections.
Verizon (VZ) beat analyst estimates by four cents a share, but reported revenue $29 million below expectations.
Top Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015: 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 Dan Caplinger]
Visa (NYSE: V ) will release its quarterly report tomorrow, and anticipating continued strong growth, investors haven't hesitated to pile into the stock. Because of the company's position atop the credit card network industry, Visa earnings have been growing at a breakneck pace in recent years, and at least for now, that dominance appears likely to continue.
Top Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015: 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 Dan Caplinger]
Reduced tax preferences for energy production
Under current law, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) , Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) , and other energy producers are eligible for several tax benefits, including expensing for intangible drilling costs, percentage-based depletion for wells, and the domestic manufacturing tax deduction. The budget would remove these provisions.
No comments:
Post a Comment