Japan was back at the center of financial news today, not because the Nikkei is still getting rocked back and forth, but because the island-nation's central bank refused to adjust monetary policy today in the midst of a huge market correction. In April, the Bank of Japan had announced a $1.4 trillion stimulus program with room for additional funding if needed, but today passed on that opportunity, though Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda did say that the bank could unleash further stimulus if borrowing costs rise.
World markets were down on the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) finishing down 117 points, or 0.8%, in a volatile session, as the blue chips opened down 1% before climbing to breakeven at midday, and finally tanking in afternoon trading. As stocks pulled back, treasuries hit a 14-month high, with the 10-year yield climbing to 2.29% at one point.
Among the Dow's biggest losers today was Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) , which fell 1.8% as rival Sony introduced its PlayStation 4 last night and said would be priced at $399, $100 less than Microsoft's Xbox One. The two are major competitors in the gaming arena, and Sony's moves could put pressure on Microsoft. In addition to beating the Xbox on price, the PS4 also allows users to sell or reuse second-hand games and does not require a fixed Internet connection. Both consoles are due out this fall in time for the holiday season.
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks For 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 Daniela Pylypczak]
Wells Fargo announced on Monday that it has lowered its price target on McDonald’s (MCD) from $105-$110 to $102-$106. Wells Fargo also maintained its outperform rating on the fast food company.
The lower price target comes after McDonald’s reported its third quarter earnings results; EPS came in at $1.52 per share – above analyst expectations, while revenues came in slightly below expectations at $7.32 billion.
Wells Fargo also lowered its 2013 EPS estimate for McDonald’s from $5.58 to $5.55. For its 2014 estimates, EPS is now expected to come in at $5.97, down from the previous estimate of $6.15.
Wells Fargo analyst Jeff Farmer noted “While we’re disappointed with MCD�� Q4 SSS and margin outlook, we’re maintaining our Outperform rating based on our expectation for MCD to reaccelerate market share gains in 2014 as the company continues to refine its strategic focus on both new product introductions and affordability.”
McDonald’s shares slipped 0.64% during Monday’s session. Year-to-date, the stock is up 5.64%.
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Amanda Alix]
Credit card use is up, and that's great news for industry heavies Visa (NYSE: V ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA ) , both of which have been on a tear over the past few month. To make things even sweeter, delinquencies have dropped, too, and now stand at a level not seen since 1990.
- [By Motley Fool Staff]
Remer: Oh, huge opportunity to change. But it will take time. You asked about MasterCard. It will take time to potentially replace the ecosystems that exist and how are those leading organizations -- the MasterCards, the Visas (NYSE: V ) , the American Express (NYSE: AXP ) , the PayPals -- going to come down to the next generation and give them the reason why they should utilize that same payment system.
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
What we would first refer you to is our prediction of the six major dividend hikes before the end of 2013. Then we would focus on Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) as well, even if it was not included in our recent dividend hike predictions. Frankly, it should have been obvious but for some reason was not.
10 Best Casino 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 Matt DiLallo]
ExxonMobil has been struggling to grow its production in a meaningful way for a few years now. However, on a per-share basis, the company's production growth has been industry leading, thanks to its steady buybacks. Over the past five years, each share has an interest in 21% more production, which is an annualized growth rate per share of 5%. As the following chart shows, ExxonMobil easily outpaces Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) , Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A ) and BP (NYSE: BP ) :
- [By Claudia Assis]
Major oil companies, however, declined, with shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) �down 0.1%. Chevron Corp. (CVX) �shares were off 0.3%, while shares of ConocoPhillips (COP) �fell 0.4%.
- [By Dan Carroll]
Among blue-chip stocks, oil majors have surged higher. ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) shares have jumped 1.2% to rank among the top Dow leaders, and fellow firm Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) has seen its stock rise 1.6%. Chevron got a boost today when a Canadian court turned away a $19 billion Ecuadorian claim against the company that stems from alleged pollution in the 1970s and '80s. While that's one less headache for Chevron, Exxon has run into trouble despite its stock's surge: The company's dealing with a small oil leak in Missouri from the same pipeline that leaked in Arkansas in March. While the spill is minuscule, it's another PR hit for a company that could use some good news.
- [By Matt Thalman]
Shares of both the Dow's oil companies, Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) , are trading lower today as the price of light crude oil falls 2.74%. Chevron is currently down 1.02% as Exxon has declined 1.23%. Both companies are highly dependent on the price of oil, and when the value of black gold declines, the profits for the major oil companies falls right alongside. Long-time shareholders of either company know that these stocks are rather volatile and move up and down more than 1% regularly, but investors who are just considering these stocks need to determine if they can handle the roller-coaster ride before they strap into the seat. �
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Doug Ehrman]
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) has not made it a secret that China is a critical market for the company and one that it intends to focus on. Despite this reality, the iPhone 5 is not the top-seller there and faces stiff competition from local manufacturers including Samsung and Lenovo. As Samsung prepares to release its own operating system to compete with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) Android and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) Windows, Asia promises to be an exciting landscape for smartphones this year.
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: 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 Garrett Baldwin]
As the world's second-largest tobacco company, Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) is an ideal sin stock.
And with numbers like these, it's also an ideal way to play global growth...
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) has experienced more than impressive growth in both its share price and its profits in the past four years. Lately its gains have petered out. The problem is that much of that growth has come from a few countries in Asia, and if one analyst report is accurate, there will be little to no growth from those areas ahead. Nomura Securities is downgrading Philip Morris to a Reduce rating from Neutral, but for all practical purposes it is a Sell rating. The firm’s $76 price target suggests downside of more than $10 ahead.
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Wallace Witkowski]
Other earnings highlights in the coming week include Dow components McDonald�� Corp. (MCD) , DuPont (DD) , AT&T Inc. (T) , and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) . Notable S&P 500 companies include Halliburton Co. (HAL) , Netflix Inc. (NFLX) �, Amgen Inc. (AMGN) �, TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) �, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) �, Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) �, Ford Motor Co. (F) �, Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) �, and United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) �
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Dan Carroll]
HP is not the only reason the Dow is staying near breakeven. IBM (NYSE: IBM ) is up just 0.2%, but the Dow's price-weighted formula means IBM's gains make a much bigger difference than many of today's losers. IBM's per-share cost of more than $200 -- far more than any other single stock on the Dow -- gives this stock plenty of influence in the Dow's activity.
- [By Andrew Tonner]
IBM� (NYSE: IBM ) is the only tech stock Warren Buffett owns. In this video, Andrew Tonner describes why investors should be optimistic about Big Blue's future. Most analysts expect IBM earnings to grow about 9%, from $2.78 per share to about $3.50 per share. The company has a three-pronged business model that helps funnel customers from its low-margin hardware business to its higher-margin software business. IBM also has an even higher-margin consulting business, all of which position IBM well for its long-term goal of earning $20 per share. Corporate leadership looks solid and on board for achieving this goal.
- [By Dividend Growth Investor]
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. I like this global technology juggernaut, the ability to consistently repurchase shares, raise dividends for 16 years and its vision to earn $20/share by 2015. The company has increased dividends for 18 years in a row, and has managed to boost them by 18.80%/year over the past decade. Currently, the stock trades at 14 times earnings and yields 1.90%. Check my analysis of IBM.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) posted its highest-ever share of the global server market — 18.8% — as competitors International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) both lost share. That s the good news for Dell; the bad news is that the worldwide market is shrinking.
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