But there is one tiny piece of the bullish puzzle missing in the bull's latest run for the roses: Virtually every stock index with name-recognition has notched a new record high except the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average.
The Standard & Poor's 500 made news Thursday after posting a fresh closing record. The small-fry Russell 2000 stock index was already in new-high territory, as was the Wilshire 5000 index, to name a few.
But despite a 74-point jump to 16,272.65 on Thursday, the Dow remains more than 304 points, or 1.8%, below its Dec. 31, 2013, record close of 16,576.66.
The Dow is lagging, and that's a negative. Wall Street likes it better when all the hot-shot indexes are powering to new highs at the same time.
Top 5 Healthcare Technology Stocks To Invest In 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]
A look at the stocks that are leading the Dow lower today reveals the contribution higher interest rates have made to the overall market's declines. Despite strong consumer confidence, you'll find consumer giants McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) , Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ ) , and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) all among the worst performers in the Dow today, with losses of more than 2%. Ordinarily, you'd expect these defensively oriented stocks to perform well in a downturn, as their businesses enjoy largely stable demand from loyal customers who rely on having those products regardless of economic conditions.
- [By Thomas Scarlett]
McDonald�� (NYSE: MCD), the world�� largest retail food chain, revealed this week that it plans to return $18 billion to $20 billion to shareholders between 2014 and 2016 through a combination of dividends and share repurchases. It�� yet another sign that this company, which virtually invented the fast food concept, is still staying ahead of the competition.
Since bottoming out below $15 in January of 2003, the share price recently crested above $100 again, and now has a market cap of $100 billion. Yet it still trades at a price-earnings ratio of 18, about the same as the market (actually, a slight discount to the market) and pays a dividend yield of more than 3 percent. If you didn�� know it was a restaurant and just looked at the financial stats, you might mistake it for a tech stock.
McDonald�� has long been the leader in providing tasty food to people in a hurry. As Americans��tastes have shifted toward healthier fare in recent years, some analysts questioned McDonald’s ability to keep up with the times. But by expanding its menu with more salads and other healthy options, and adjusting its marketing accordingly, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company has kept pace with the times.
The proof is in the numbers. The corporation recently announced that global comparable sales increased 1.2% in April over the same month in 2013. Even in a market with more fast food choices than ever, McDonald�� has found a way to increase revenue.
The global reach of the company is a key factor here. Comparable sales were actually flat in the United States during April ��not all that surprising considering the state of the economy (the government just reported that the U.S. economy actually contracted by 1 percent in the first quarter of 2014) and eating out is always one of first things consumers cut back on.
So why did revenues increase overall? Because sales in the Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa were up 2.9 per
Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: 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 WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
Getty Images Recent events like the data breach that affected Target (TGT) customers across the nation have made consumers think twice before using credit and debit cards. In particular, prepaid cards -- onto which customers load a certain amount of money, and which can be used anywhere that accepts debit cards -- have created a great deal of confusion, as many people aren't clear about whether they offer the same fraud protections as credit cards or debit cards. Moreover, with wide variations in fees, it can be hard to figure out which prepaid card is best for you. To make it easier for consumers to choose among prepaid cards, Visa (V) came out on June 3 with a new set of standards. Although issuers won't be required to follow those standards, those cards that meet the requirements will receive Visa's designation, which it hopes will spur customers to demand those positive characteristics. But do Visa's moves go far enough? Let's look. What Visa Did Some of the most important standards are for fees. Visa wants to see banks set flat monthly fees that include everything that cardholders would generally want to do with a prepaid card. Specifically, Visa wants prepaid card issuers not to charge separate fees for declined transactions, in-network ATM transactions, PIN or signature purchase transactions, getting cash back at the point of sale or general customer service. In addition, Visa wants cards not to charge overdraft fees or provide overdraft coverage, which makes sense given that the entire point of the prepaid card is to limit users to the amount loaded on the card. Moreover, Visa wants prepaid card issuers to communicate their fee structures clearly, using some of the same methods that they are now required to use with credit cards, such as fee boxes and simple disclosures. In addition, a quick-use guide for consumers will help them minimize the costs of using particular cards. Protecting the Consumer Visa is including several important provisions fo
Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 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 Rich Bieglmeier]
[Related -Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) Or Chevron Corporation (CVX): Which One Should You Own?]
Chevron Corporation (Chevron) manages its investments in subsidiaries and affiliates and provides administrative, financial, management and technology support to the United States and international subsidiaries that engage in fully integrated petroleum operations, chemicals operations, mining activities, power generation and energy services.
- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Friday
Earnings Expected From: Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX), Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG), Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX) Economic Releases Expected: U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI, U.S. nonfarm payrolls, U.S. unemployment rate, British manufacturing PMI, eurozone manufacturing PMI, German manufacturing PMI, French manufacturing PMI, Italian manufacturing PMI, Spanish manufacturing PMIPosted-In: Earnings News Previews Global Economics Pre-Market Outlook Markets Trading Ideas Best of Benzinga
- [By Charley Blaine]
Oil prices, in fact, weighed on the Dow. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) reported a 5.8 percent drop in its third-quarter earnings. Shares fell 1.6 percent to $118.01. The decline subtracted 12.5 points from the Dow.
- [By Claudia Assis]
Major oil and gas companies were lower, with shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) �down 0.9%. Chevron Corp. (CVX) �shares retreated 0.4%, while shares of ConocoPhillips (COP) �were off 0.1%.
Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 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 Ben Levisohn]
It’s that time of the year, the one where investors buy the year’s losers–like�International Business Machines (IBM), BHP Billiton (BHP) and�Rio Tinto (RIO)–on the expectation that they will pop once the new year begins.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
The Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) had a strong week to finish the month of May, with the average emerging at an all-time record closing high on Friday. Gains in the Dow have been broad-based, with the vast majority of Dow component stocks rising for the week. But the Dow did leave a few lagging stocks behind, with Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT ) , IBM (NYSE: IBM ) , and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) among the stocks that posted declines on an otherwise positive day for the market.
Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: 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]
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) is also expected to get into wearable devices soon with an iWatch. Rumors surfaced late last year that Intel and Apple were collaborating on a smart watch. The odd part about that rumor is that Apple has also allegedly explored moving Macs away from Intel chips in favor of its own designs. An Intel-powered iWatch is a possibility, even if a remote one.
- [By James E. Brumley]
If headlines are any indication, then Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) is one again supposed to be one of the few "must have" investments heading into 2014. If the chart of SIRI is any indication though (and it is), then the SIRI party is over. Since - as they say - money talks, the smart move here may be to listen to what the chart of the satellite radio service is telling you.... that Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE:P), iTunes from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Spotify, and perhaps a handful of other alternative audio entertainment sources are finally getting enough evident traction that Sirius shareholders are spooked. The evidence that the likes of Apple and Pandora are actually stealing business SIRI would normally win is shaky, at best, mind you. Indeed, the subscriber growth trend for Sirius XM remains impressive, and should realistically continue to grow at a steady clip for years. The perception of SIRI relative to P or AAPL, though, is damaged, and changing investors' perception is a heck of a lot tougher than winning new customers is.
Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: 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 Sean Williams]
But, have you ever stopped to consider which toothpaste is America's favorite? If you've walked down the toothpaste aisle in the grocery store you've probably noticed that it goes on forever, which can make choosing a toothpaste a chore. Well, here's a big hint toward the answer: America's favorite toothpaste comes down to either Colgate, which is made by Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL ) , or Crest made by Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG ) .
- [By Dan Burrows]
Rival Colgate-Palmolive (CL) has different concerns, namely sluggishness in emerging markets where it enjoys commanding market share and derives more than half its revenue.
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