You can be sure that the next few weeks will see plenty of activity on Wall Street, as earnings season gets into full swing. While markets eased higher today partially due to Citigroup's�beat, the main reason the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) edged higher Monday was due to the performance of just a few blue chip mainstays. Although 60% of its components actually fell today, the Dow managed to add about 20 points, or 0.1%, to end at 15,484.
The Dow is a price-weighted index, the top nine stocks with the highest share price (not largest market capitalization) account for about 50% of the benchmark's movements on any given day. Boeing (NYSE: BA ) happens to be the fourth heaviest-weighted blue chip, so its 3.7% jump today helped the average big time. Shareholders breathed a little easier after early investigations indicated that Friday's fire on a Boeing 787 was unrelated to the plane's battery. The company grounded its 787 Dreamliners for a while earlier this year after a January fire proved to originate in the battery.�
Hot Bank Stocks To Invest In 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 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.
Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: 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 Patrick M. Sheridan]
The fight for higher wages has been a recent theme across the retail and fast-food industries. McDonald's (MCD) workers and union organizers have staged strikes, even taking protests to the annual shareholder meeting last month.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Starbucks has done a good job of fending off challenges to its core coffee business in recent years. Fast-food giant McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) has had great success with its McCafe line of premium beverages, but a recent rise in customer service complaints had Fool contributor Rick Munarriz speculating that dealing with longer preparation times for premium drinks might be behind the surge in unfriendly employees and longer drive-thru waiting times. By contrast, the customer experience at Starbucks is one of its primary attractions, and customers don't hesitate to stand in long lines waiting to make their purchases.
Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: 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 Burrows]
In addition to the new position in XOM stock, other large Berkshire Hathaway holdings include Wells Fargo (WFC), General Motors (GM), International Business Machines (IBM), Walmart (WMT), American Express (AXP), Coca-Cola (KO) and Procter & Gamble (PG).
- [By Kathy Kristof]
Steve Halpern: Finally, in your article, among the other companies you discuss, you do look at International Business Machines (IBM), and you note that they're spending billions to buy back their own shares. Could you tell us a little about that?
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
What happens if two industry giants come together to say that the only way they can survive is to merge? It is a serious issue happening around PC sales, and competitors like Gateway/Acer, Lenovo, Asus and others are adding incresing competition as this becomes a commoditized cycle. HP critics might have to actually say that the Carly Fiorina�acquisition of Compaq was not as bad as they always maintained. And you also cannot forget that International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) was so tired of competing in PCs that it actually jettisoned its PC business to Lenovo in China.
- [By Tim Brugger]
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) �is making inroads in a key market, and at the rate its going, longtime stalwarts including Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ ) and IBM (NYSE: IBM ) better stand up and take notice.
Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2014: 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 Wallace Witkowski]
This will be a ��ow-a-day��week of quarterly results with Merck & Co. (MRK) �on Monday, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) �on Tuesday, Visa Inc. (V) �on Wednesday, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) �on Thursday, and Chevron Corp. (CVX) �on Friday.
- [By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]
In the company's latest earnings release domestic and international struggles surfaced in the form of year-over-year revenue decreases in its two main segments: upstream and downstream operations. Luckily, and ironically, for Exxon, its chemical division bailed it out. Did peers like Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) and BP (NYSE: BP ) suffer the same fate? Check out the video below to find out.
- [By Matt Thalman]
Last week's big losers
Oil giant Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) lost 2.13% this past week, after the company reported its third-quarter earnings that had declined from the same quarter last year. The company did report slightly higher sales figures, but profit fell on weaker margins from the refining business. Still, management and some investors still believe the company has a bright future. Two projects that should boost revenue and profits are Gulf of Mexico deepwater wells and the plan to move natural gas from Australia to Asia, where demand continues to increase and push prices higher. � - [By Matt Thalman]
Light crude is higher by 1.2% this morning and now trading in the $95 range, which is one reason shares of both ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) are moving higher today. Exxon is up 1.29% while Chevron has risen 1.1%. Chevron also announced that it would be extending a $2 billion loan to a joint venture it has with a Venezuelan state-run oil company. Chevron holds 40% of the venture and the loan will be used to increase production. �
No comments:
Post a Comment