CoreBrand reviewed the top 100 hardest working brands for the final quarter of 2009.  Their researchers point out that “the food industry moves to the top of the list, reflecting the economy and the general improvement of consumer staples businesses. Hershey’s (HSY), Campbell Soup (CPB), and Kellogg (K) make it into the top 5.” On the other hand “troubled industries like financial services and auto manufacturers have seen dramatic decline.”

Harley-Davidson (HOG) is in the top 10 among the hardest working brands. Before rumors of a buy-out, the motorcycle firm’s stock languished at $25, down from $42 less than two years ago. Harley’s stock trades for a low 1.2 times sales. Also near the top of the list is crippled book retailer Barnes & Noble (BKS), which trades for .3 times sales. Blockbuster (BBI) is in the top 25, with a ratio of .1x sales. The firm said in its 10-K that it is at risk for filing Chapter 11.

Douglas A. McIntyre  douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com

Five years ago, Boston Scientific was a $30 stock. It dropped to a 52-week low today or $6.33 on news that it had to withdraw its table cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators. The company had not submitted the proper paperwork to the FDA to make sure that the manufacturing process comformed to government regulations. In other words, the problem was one over which the company had control.

Just last month, Boston Scientific settled a patent dispute with Johnson & Johnson which cost BSX $1.7 billion. Boston Scientific had about $1.4 billion at the end of last year, but that is on top of  the $6 billion in debt which is choking the company to death. Late last year, BSX settle another set of claims over stent patents, this with J&J again. The cost to resolve that was $700 million. So, Boston Scientific is very low on cash.

Boston Scientific’s problems are not over. New medical studies indicate that drugs are as effective at preventing heart attacks or death as stents are. There is also emerging evidence that drug-coated stents can produce clots when they are in patients for several years. Abbott (ABT) and Medtronic (MDT) have picked up market share in the stent business  over the last two years.

Boston Scientific is in such bad shape now in terms of its products, finances, and legal problems that it may never recover.

Douglas A. McIntrye

The Corporate Power Rankings are released at midnight on each Sunday based on performance during the previous week.

McDonald’s (MCD) sharp improvement in same-store sales moved it to the top of the list. Google (GOOG) was beaten down by its probably decision to exit China.  Ford, which has been near the top of the list, what hurt by news that Toyota (TM) has posted strong sales in the early days of March

	Company	Rank (last week)	Symbol	Comment
	McDonald’s	1 (9)	MCD	McDonald’s posted obscenely good February same-store sales up 4.8% from last year. People will eat fattening food even in a snow storm. Rival Burger Kings claims lousy results.
	Disney	2 (3)	DIS	Disney’s crazy “Alice In Wonderland” films holds first place for another weekend. Mouse Company wised up and shutters underperforming Robert Zemeckis’ ImageMovers Digital. Sacks 450 people and wins Employee Morale Day award.
	Berkshire Hathaway	3 (5)	BRK	Berkshire Hathaway boasts CEO Buffet as Forbes 3rd richest man in the known universe. But, best news is that Berkshire had no involvement with Lehman implosion.
	Coca-Cola	4 (4)	KO	Coca-Cola bottling affiliate posts huge profit increase. More good press mention about soda company dividend increase.
	Apple	5 (1)	APPL	Apple shares expected to rise from $226, near a 52-week high, to as much as $280 according to a new TheStreet.com poll. COO Tim Cook gets $22 million bonus, so things must be going pretty well.
	IBM	6 (7)	IBM	IBM thrashed Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and EDS in fourth quarter digital storage market share race. Company announces it plans to make money on cell phone tech for old people and students. Shows the firm’s ability to make money no matter what.
	Ford	7 (2)	F	Ford sales may not do as well near-term as expected as aggressive incentives bring customers back to Toyota. But, No.2 US car company (No.1 some months) forecasts profit in small cars.
	Abbott Labs	8 (14)	ABT	Abbott heart device operation gets big lift from new heart value replacement. Market laughs off Citigroup downgrade.
	Wal-Mart	9 (8)	WMT	Walmart comes up with bright decision to put back on its shelves items that customers miss. Maybe it should not have removed them. But, news of hot China economy is good for big box boy.
	Philip Morris	10 (10)	PM	Philip Morris declares $.58 dividend which now drives yield of 4.7%. Refinancing of debt pushes expensive obligations into the future.
	Cisco	11 (6)	CSCO	Al Gore invented the internet. Router company makes big deal about making worldwide web as much as 12 times faster. Announcement falls flat.
	Johnson & Johnson	12 (12)	JNJ	Johnson & Johnson is one of the drug companies that Barron’s say will lose $100 billion in sales to over the next five years. But, with medical device and consumer lines, JNJ is safest haven.
	Oracle	13 (11)	ORCL	Oracle stock runs up sharply for the week, perhaps because Forbes named Larry Ellison one of the world’s richest men. Probably not, actually. Rebound in tech spending is best guess on Wall St.
	Verizon	14 (16)	VZ	Verizon makes bizarre decision to list on NYSE and NASDAQ. On a better note, company will put NFL on wireless phones which should help sell handsets and wireless subs.
	Proctor & Gamble	15 (20)	PG	P&G recalls Pringles. The good news is no one eats them anymore. On the other hand firm gets good PR for its “green cleaning” products.
	GE	16 (13)	GE	GE faces uphill battle with regulators on NBCU deal with Comcast. Conglomerate tries to make big deal out of financing deal with Navistar. Wall St. won’t buy it.
	Intel	17 (19)	INTC	Intel may benefit from PC companies push to get tablet PC to market ahead of Apple iPad. Gartner research operation says global chip gear spending to soar.
	FedEx	18 (15)	FDX	FedEx warns of slow economic growth hinting results will be poor. Competitor Deutsche Post misses outlook which means FedEx could be taking market share. Or, whole industry may be weak.
	Microsoft	19 (24)	MSFT	Microsoft wins big if Google leaves China and leaves Bing to graze. Mr. Softy also posts good numbers for Xbox 360 sales in February. Wack-a-moles Wii.
	Dow Chemical	20 (17)	DOW	Dow Chemical gets hit by earnings estimate downgrade by Morgan Stanley. If Lyondell restructuring works, Dow has a new competitor.
	Pfizer	21 (18)	PFE	Pfizer faces failure of early stage experiments on breast and lung cancer drugs. But, research shows doctors should prescribe more cholesterol lowering drugs like PFE Lipitor.
	Exxon-Mobil	22 (27)	XOM	Exxon Mobil gets natural gas deal cleared in New Guinea. Makes gutsy call by increasing capital spending to $28 billion for this year. Leaves competition in the dust.
	Hewlett-Packard	23 (29)	HPQ	Hewlett-Packard is best positioned to launch PC to flank iPad. Forecasts of substantial PC sales worldwide this year should help HP which holds No.1 market share position.
	JP Morgan	24 (30)	JPM	JPMorgan settles pay-out for WaMu leaving major legal headache behind. Examination of Lehman collapse may mean some liability for JPM, but it gets Brownie points for saving Bear Sterns.
	Goldman Sachs	25 (32)	GS	Goldman Sachs gets “buy” rating from Societe Generale. GS does not seem to have much exposure to Lehman fallout, yet. China chairman leaves firm, but no one liked him anyway
	Caterpillar	26 (21)	CAT	Caterpillar should benefit from overheating Chinese economy and building spree. But, company economist only forecast 3.4% US GDP growth the year, a signal of bad earnings.
	Google	27 (22)	GOOG	Google hints it is highly likely to close China search site which could cost it hundreds of millions of dollars over time. Company faces fed scrutiny over AdMob buy. But, all’s well as research shows Google maintaining huge market share lead in US.
	American Express	28 (23)	AXP	American Express tells some customers that records were stolen by one of its employees. Signs consumer spending is still weak do not favor credit card firms.
	Boeing	29 (25)	BA	Boeing told that FAA will inspect some 737s and Air Force grounds 104 FA-18. BA does pass important trial with 747-8 and looks a lock to get Air Force tanker deal, if the plane in not grounded.
	AT&T	30 (26)	T	AT&T could face heavy costs if FCC gets it way on broadband expansion. CEO gets extraordinary pay package for weak results. Ma Bell one of the DJIA components that sharply underperforms index since historic March 2009 lows.
	Bank of America	31 (28)	BAC	Bank of America loses tens of millions of dollars as it cuts debit card overdraft fees. Gets credit for accelerating home loan modification program. But, new data shows foreclosures still rising.
	Home Depot	32 (31)	HD	Home Depot still on its back because of home building and home sales troubles. Analysts seem to like competitor Lowe’s better. It shows LOW stock outperforms HD recently.

-Douglas A. McIntyre   douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com

The Corporate Power Rankings are released at midnight on each Sunday based on performance during the previous week.

Apple took the top spot as its market cap moved toward $200 billion and it set April 3 to launch the iPad.  Ford moved into second place as its February sales topped GMs for the first time in 12 years.

Home Depot dropped to 31st as home sales dropped.

	Company	Rank (last week)	Symbol	Comment
	Apple	1 (5)	APPL	Jobs & Co.’s stock hits all-time has as market value reaches $200 billion. Market anticipates new iPad launch on April 3. Planned Microsoft competing PC tablet is a non-issue.
	Ford	2 (6)	F	February sales move up 43% as firm passes GM in monthly market share for the first time in 12 years. Toyota implosion should help the house that Henry built keep momentum.
	Disney	3 (4)	DIS	“Alice in Wonderland” film hits $116 million on first weekend. ABC pulls signal from Cablevision and cable firm’s customers will riot to force CVC to pay ABC the $40 million it wants.
	Coca-Cola	4 (3)	KO	Coca-Cola gets flack for its deal to buy it bottlers. But, Wall St. seems unconcerned. UBS upgraded Coke to a “buy”. Board member Herb Allen shows support by buying $6 million in shares.
	Berkshire Hathaway	5 (1)	BRK	New data claims Buffett’s performance has beat any and all mutual funds over last 45 years. But, shares downgraded by KBW after BRK releases earnings.
	Cisco	6 (8)	CSCO	Should release faster routers next week and widen core revenue stream. Shares hit 52-week high and competitor Ciena stumbles. Did Cisco take its market share?
	IBM	7 (2)	IBM	Claim to make gains in chip speed, but the market does not think that will get business from Intel. Is pushing patent reform in Congress, but there is no guarantee IBM’s plan will prevail.
	Wal-Mart	8 (12)	WMT	Retail sales post largest gain since 2007, according to government stats. To the delight of shareholders, sons of Walton increase dividend 11%.
	McDonald’s	9 (7)	MCD	Rival Wendy’s/Arby’s moves to local pricing and $1 menu. Competition seems more likely to cut costs to get Kroc & Co. market share points.
	Philip Morris	10 (9)	PM	Morgan Stanly applauds cigarette company’s $12 billion share buyback program. Credit Suisse says it favors PM over rival British American Tobacco.
	Oracle	11 (13)	ORCL	Barron’s gives Sun buyout an endorsement as earnings engine hums along. Private equity firm offers big premium to buy rival Novell, a sign ORCL may be underpriced.
	Johnson & Johnson	12 (10)	JNJ	FDA expresses concerns about firm’s insulin pumps. Rival Pfizer offers anti-clotting pill that may take JNJ share.
	GE	13 (11)	GE	ABC job cuts an indication 2010 will be hard for networks and NBC already lost money on Olympics. Chief Immelt takes no bonus, but other top managers become rich with 2090 comp.
	Abbott Labs	14 (15)	ABT	FDA favors transplant drug over new treatment from Bristol-Myers. Head of Abbott Medical Optics takes over powerful position at top of medical device lobby.
	FedEx	15 (17)	FDX	Problems at US Postal Service likely to cause cutback in service sacrificing business to FDX. Morgan Keegan upgrades stock based on anticipation of big earning increase.
	Verizon	16 (16)	VZ	FCC plan to aggressively expand broadband will help providers like VZ. Microsoft to launch new cellular handset with carrier, but no one may buy it.
	Dow Chemical	17 (14)	DOW	Firm will sell ill-fitting division Styron plastics for $1.6 billion. Rival Reliance Industries fails in key strategic bid to buy LyondellBasell and improve hand against DOW.
	Pfizer	18 (20)	PFE	Good showing in trial with new anti-clotting drug. May buy generic firm Ratiopharm which would allow diversification away from patents. Tough hit on Alzheimer’s candidate failure.
	Intel	19 (21)	INTC	iSuppli experts say global chip revenue will rise 21%. UBS says overall industry expansion is faster than expected. It’s good to own 70% of the market.
	Proctor & Gamble	20 (24)	PG	Cramer says he likes company, so how bad could it be? PG finishes 6th in Fortune “Most Admired” ratings, but who cares?
	Caterpillar	21 (18)	CAT	China says GDP will be up at least 8% and infrastructure expansion should be strong. Options trading suggest upward pressure on stock.
	Google	22 (19)	GOOG	Buys DocVerse to broaden competition with MSFT PC software. Finishes 2nd in Fortune “Most Admired” completion, which will not offset antitrust problems in EU and Justice Department concern about settlement with book publishers.
	American Express	23 (22)	AXP	Federal Reserve seeks limits on what credit card company can charge for consumer penalties. Raised rates on some of its cards, tempting Congressional fury.
	Microsoft	24 (27)	MSFT	Forecast of sharp rise in PC sales this year will help Windows 7 sales. Antitrust case against Google could help Mr. Softy in Europe. Plans to launch handset preposterous.
	Boeing	25 (23)	BA	Rival Airbus gets much-needed bailout for A400M model keeping BA competitor alive in military transport business. Boeing will bid on Air Force tanker but may not get the critical win.
	AT&T	26 (29)	T	Dispute between Cablevision and ABC should help T fiber optic business stronger ties with network TV. Apple iPad launch should lift AT&T 3G subscriptions.
	Exxon-Mobil	27 (32)	XOM	Crude at $80 always a plus. Rival BP makes optimistic noises about the industry. Market concern about XOM Baytown refinery turns out to be empty.
	Bank of America	28 (26)	BAC	Volcker rule and new credit card penalty restrictions each undermine BAC prospects. Congress tells rival Citi that days of government support of big banks are over.
	Hewlett-Packard	29 (25)	HPQ	Company has to revise last quarter’s earnings because of bad lawsuit against EDS division. Acute embarrassment worse than impact on EPS.
	JP Morgan	30 (28)	JPM	Pressure from Congress to cut vitally important proprietary trading. Faces limits on credit card charges. Washington dark mood about financial firms shows no sign of improving.
	Home Depot	31 (30)	HD	Relentless bad news on housing with new forecasts that rising defaults could push home prices down this year and in 2011. Investors want big payout of HD cash through dividend. Tough luck.
	Goldman Sachs	32 (31)	GS	Between question about Greek financing transaction and Washington witch hunts about compensation and proprietary trading, GS problems get worse by the day.

Douglas A. McIntyre

A new study from Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business which questioned 455 current Toyota owners found  that “the level of overall satisfaction with their vehicles’ quality was equally high among Toyota owners and owners of other vehicles.”

It may seem as though Toyota owners have a cult-like loyalty especially since the company’s 8.5 million vehicle recall has been in the headlines of every newspaper, online news site, and television news broadcast. The Rice survey found that owners believe that ”Toyota appropriately handled issues with the brake-pedal recall.” Most evidence presented to Congress indicates that this may not be true.

Another result of the survey was that owners of Toyotas believe that  ”this incident is an outlier.” In reality, Toyota’s accelerator problems cover eight million cars, and brake recalls involved over half a million Prius’s. Together, the vehicles recalled are more than Toyota’s annual global sales.

The other shocking results of the poll is that owners believe that “the recall shows Toyota’s commitment to customer safety.” There is a great deal of evidence to the contrary. Possible criminal charges may be filed against the Japanese car company for keeping data about the dangers of its cars secret, and the federal government is examining the same issue. E-mails and documents from Toyota show that there was, at the very least, only a casual regard for customers safety.

New data from Consumer Reports and Fortune show that Toyota’s reputation was extremely high before the recalls. The Fortune survey was released last week and Toyota placed 7th among the Top Fifty World’s Most Admired Companies. The list also included Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Amazon (AMZN), and Procter & Gamble (PG). Each has had product or investor trouble over the years. Google faces antitrust charges in Europe and its proposed settlement with authors and book publishers in under siege by the Justice Department. J&J survives the 1982 Tylenol recall after someone tampered with packages and killed seven people. Procter & Gamble faced charges that it was affiliated with the church of satan in 1997.

The Rice research demonstrates what fools consumers can be when the memories about a brand trump rational thinking.

Douglas A. McIntyre

If that holds, it will be the #4 position in US market cap on our list per Interactive Data calculations for real-time market cap calculations.  We would note that other lists may show it as being ranked #5.  The position is not the point exactly.  The issue that needs to start being considered is the actual market capitalization or market cap.

As far as how Apple ranks, the company is worth more in stock market dollars than JPMorgan Chase & Company (NYSE: JPM) at $169 billion, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) at $174 billion, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) at $176 billion, and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) at $184 billion.  These values and rankings of course change each day based upon share prices.

Apple is still far behind the market cap of the #2 position of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) at $250.9 billion.  Microsoft’s market cap is deemed by some investors as one of the issues that has prevented its stock from rising year after year as it once did.  But it is not far behind the $206 billion market cap of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) still of course dwarfs all market capitalization rates with a monster figure of $313 billion as its market cap.  Exxon’s biggest problem even during the height of the oil craze is that its stock lagged many of the smaller players.  Some attribute this to the notion that it just took too much investor inflows of capital to keep moving the needle compared to peers with market caps under the mega-cap status.

Sales and sales alone can never be used to show a true value, but it does show how each company contributes to the overall US economy and to GDP.  Thomson Reuters has annual sales expectations for these companies.  Apple sales are expected to be over $53 billion in 2010.  Here is how that ranks in comparison for the other companies in their fiscal 2010:

• Exxon Mobil Corp. is expected to be about $390 billion.
• Microsoft Corporation sales are expected to be almost $61.5 billion (June).
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sales expectations are over $428 billion.
• General Electric Co. sales are expected to be over $155 billion.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) sales are expected to be over $64 billion.
• The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) sales are expected to be almost $80 billion (June-end).

Apple keeps growing and keeps surprising.  It keeps bringing out a cooler and better mousetrap for those who crave consumer electronics.  The iPhone, iPod, iTouch, and Mac are all about to be joined by the iPad.

Does this mean that Apple’s day is over?  No.  In fact, stocks which hit new 52-week highs or all-time highs tend to put in even higher highs.  Only time will be the judge of whether or not Apple’s stock will keep soaring.  But size does matter when it comes to investing, and eventually it starts taking larger and larger sums of money to move the needle in share prices.  Theoretically anyway.

JON C. OGG

The Corporate Power Rankings are released at midnight on each Sunday based on performance during the previous week.

Ford was thrashed in the rankings due to the likelihood that February car sales in the US will be extremely weak. Buffett’s company climbed after it released his annual letter and strong financial results. Abbott moved up on news that stents, one of its major products, are effective in fighting strokes. And, Goldman Sachs (GS) stayed near the bottom of the list as investigations into the bank’s role in the Greek debt debacle grew.

	Company	Rank (last week)	Symbol	Comment
	Berkshire Hathaway	1 (2)	BRK	Buffett has a big week as he releases his much-anticipated letter to shareholders and Berkshire posts more sold financial results. With the flame-out of the NetJets business Buffett would post extraordinary numbers. At least his family gets to travel in class.
	IBM	2 (9)	IBM	Computer geek & co. comes up with a new way to extend the life of oil fields with partner Shell. IDC research shows IBM as No.1 is global servers sales in the fourth quarter.
	Coca-Cola	3 (6)	KO	Move to buy North American bottling operation is clever, low-cost integration even if the idea came from Pepsi. Market jitters make “flight to quality” a magnet for Coke shares.
	Disney	4 (8)	DIS	Improves terms of $2.25 billion credit agreement which helps balance sheet. Harsh cuts at ABC may hurt program quality, but save money short-term.
	Apple	5 (3)	APPL	Jobs company finds child labor violations at suppliers. Bad PR. And worse for the youngsters. Nintendo launches an iPad killer, which would be OK if the world’s No.1 video game firm was involved. Apple says “no dice” on dividend.
	Ford	6 (1)	F	Ford’s market share improvement in February, much of it due to Toyota’s stumble, will not offset the weak sales month which may continue the rest of the first half and damage Ford’s recovery.
	McDonald’s	7 (5)	MCD	big news is test of McItaly menu. Worrying news for Pizza Hut. Crumbling economy may be good for the low-priced fast food chain, as long as people don’t go back to eating at home.
	Cisco	8 (7)	CSCO	Plans to get into the internet speed race with Google. But, consumers don’t want a new improved online world. Just lower rates. Rising demand for servers should help Cisco’s new business.
	Philip Morris	9 (14)	PM	Deal in Philippines good for business. Rival British Tobacco says price increases holding. Good for everyone in smokes biz.
	Johnson & Johnson	10 (12)	JNJ	Obamacare has a foot in the grave which is good for JNJ pharma and medical device business. New research shows stents as good as surgery for strokes. Hurry for JNJ.
	GE	11 (13)	GE	Conglomerate may sell Garanti banks shares and get out of business it should never have been in. Late days of Olympics not delivering strong numbers for NBC.
	Wal-Mart	12 (10)	WMT	Makes nutty decision to get into movie streaming business. Also goes further “green” by forcing enviro standards on suppliers. It won’t work in China.
	Oracle	13 (9)	ORCL	Sun buyout off to bad start as its server business drops 20% in last quarter of 2009. Bill of goods. If first quarter enterprise software sales are weak, Ellison turns in bad numbers.
	Dow Chemical	14 (19)	DOW	Picks up tax credits in Michigan for energy deal. But Thailand project may be taken off hold by the end of the year.
	Abbott Labs	15 (22)	ABT	News that stents are effective in preventing strokes should cause a rush of sales. New study shows some concern about firm’s Norvir HIV drug. But, it doesn’t matter. Healthcare reform is dead.
	Verizon	16 (18)	VZ	Positive grade for customer loyalty in a business where the term is thrown around without regard to fact. Gets blame for failure or Palm to sell new handsets.
	FedEx	17 (16)	FDX	Two Asia rivals Air China and Cathay team to squeeze Team FDX. Teamsters try to create union for firm’s Canadian employees which would drive up costs.
	Caterpillar	18 (15)	CAT	Jobless claims point to slowing in overall economy likely to hit construction. Will back out of most sales in Iran. Good PR but bad for business.
	Google	19 (11)	GOOG	Every shareholder’s nightmares just came true. EU will begin to look into search monopoly. If concerns move to Justice Department, it’s years and years in the halls of justice.
	Pfizer	20 (17)	PFE	Under investigation for improper promotional tactics for the drug Rapamune. Morgan Stanley makes positive comments on the shares. Dying healthcare reform net positive.
	Intel	21 (24)	INTC	Global server surge is good for sales. RBC analyst starts shares at “outperform”. Research firm Gartner forecasts global chip revenue up 20% this year.
	American Express	22 (20)	AXP	Increase in credit card default in January. New US borrowing standards for consumers can only hurt over time.
	Boeing	23 (17)	BA	United Air finalized plan to buy 25 787s for $4.2 billion. New Pentagon rules for air tanker business should favor the company.
	Proctor & Gamble	24 (21)	PG	Betting the consumer will come back to premium brands is basis for 2010 improvement in numbers. Latest consumer confidence figures undercut that.
	Hewlett-Packard	25 (26)	HPQ	Pick-up in global server business should help earnings as early as this Q. War with Cisco over reselling network products is overblown. HP will just make its own.
	Bank of America	26 (28)	BAC	Sen. Dodd’s consumer banking super robo cop plans won’t make it. B of A can keep squeezing those retail customers. Head of investment bank more than CEO last year, which is as it should be. He had the better year.
	Microsoft	27 (30)	MSFT	Server sales increase good for Microsoft enterprise and Windows sales. Google’s antitrust problems could be more important for Redmond than anything Redmond can do on its own.
	JP Morgan	28 (25)	JPM	CEO warns of concern about double-dip recession and is cautious about the bank’s dividend plans. Legal settlement over claims on Lehman assets is tiny win.
	AT&T	29 (32)	T	Apple iPad may help sales but those sales may not be profitable. AT&T can boast it added more customer in the fourth quarter than archrival Verizon
	Home Depot	30 (27)	HD	Earnings look OK, but home sales and consumer spending are awful. HD is about to find out it did not cut enough costs last year.
	Goldman Sachs	31 (31)	GS	Firm’s trouble with trades to hide Greek debt may extend to damaging investigation. But, if Goldman is blocked from Greek deals, there is always Spain.
	Exxon-Mobil	32 (29)	XOM	Bump from heavy winter weather on oil and gas prices over. Now comes the harsh reality of slowing consumer demand and unemployment. Who can afford home heating and gasoline?

-Douglas A. McIntyre

The good news here is that Warren Buffett is less cautious than in the past and is far less pessimistic and depressed compared to how he sounded a year ago.  Buffett claims to have added at least 650,000 shareholders to the 500,000 or so already on Berkshire’s books.  What is going to be different here is that Buffett is appealing to the new shareholders to understand what the company is and what it is not by directing holders to its principles…. Buffett notes, “Berkshire has adhered to these principles for decades and will continue to do so long after I’m gone.”

And there are many more zingers and explanations throughout, along with constant references to Charlie Munger.

As everyone wants to know how they can chase Warren Buffett investing, we have gone way out-of-order and shown his largest public common stocks first.  If you want to know why Buffett is more confident today regardless of tones, take a look at the largest Buffett and Berkshire public common stocks.  There are far better cost basis versus market value comparisons compared to a year ago:

151,610,700 American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) at a 12.7% stake with a $1.287 billion cost basis with a $6.143 billion market value.

200,000,000 The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) at a 8.6% stake with a cost basis of $1.299 billion and a market value listed as $11.400 billion.

37,711,330 ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) for a 2.5% stake with a cost basis of $2.741 billion and an implied market value of $1.926 billion.

28,530,467 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) for a 1.0% stake with a cost basis of $1.724 billion and an implied market value of $1.838 billion.

130,272,500 Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) for an 8.8% stake with a cost basis of $4.33 billion and an implied market value of $3.541 billion.

83,128,411 The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) for a 2.9% stake.  We would double-check this but the cost basis is listed as $533 million and given a value of $5.04 billion.

76,633,426 U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) for a 4.0% stake with a cost listed as $2.371 billion and an implied market value of $1.725 billion.

39,037,142 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) for a 1% stake with a cost basis of $1.893 billion and a market value of $2.087 billion.

334,235,585 Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a 6.5% stake with a cost basis of $7.394 billion and an implied market value of $9.021 billion.

Other stocks come to $6.68 billion in adjusted cost basis and had/have a market value of $8.636 billion.  The foreign largest common stock holdings are as follows:

• 225,000,000 shares of BYD Company, Ltd. for a 9.9% stake with a cost of $232 million and a current value of $1.986 billion.
• 3,947,554 POSCO for a 5.2% stake with a cost of $768 million and an implied value of $2.092 billion.
• 25,108,967 Sanofi-Aventis for a 1.9% stake with a cost of $2.027 billion and a market value of $1.979 billion.
• 234,247,373 Tesco plc for a 3.0% stake with a cost of $1.367 billion and a cost of $1.620 billion.

Total Common Stocks Carried at Market are listed as $34.646 billion cost basis and $59.034 billion in market value.  Due to BNSF and other rails being held, that number will look grossly different ahead in the future on both a cost and market value.

In addition, Berkshire Hathaway owns positions in non-traded securities of Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS), Swiss Re and Wrigley with an aggregate cost of $21.1 billion and a carrying value of $26.0 billion.

As far as performance, size does matter. Buffett noted something very specific here which new Berkshire Hathaway holders and potential holders need to consider very closely….. “The big minus is that our performance advantage has shrunk dramatically as our size has grown, an unpleasant trend that is certain to continue.” Buffett highlighted that certainty himself.

The acquisition and future operations of the company will remain in simple businesses…. “Charlie and I avoid businesses whose futures we can’t evaluate, no matter how exciting their products may be… At Berkshire we will stick with businesses whose profit picture for decades to come seems reasonably predictable. Even then, we will make plenty of mistakes.”

Buffett even talks about investing and lending during the crisis…. “We will never become dependent on the kindness of strangers. Too-big-to-fail is not a fallback position at Berkshire.” Also noted…. “When the financial system went into cardiac arrest in September 2008, Berkshire was a supplier of liquidity and capital to the system, not a supplicant. At the very peak of the crisis, we poured $15.5 billion into a business world that could otherwise look only to the federal government for help.”

Buffett does not bash the ratings agencies for downgrading Berkshire Hathaway, but he did note… “We pay a steep price to maintain our premier financial strength. The $20 billion-plus of cash equivalent assets that we customarily hold is earning a pittance at present. But we sleep well.”

As far as whether or not Berkshire will make more mergers?  Yes it seems, with a caveat…. “With our acquisition of BNSF, we now have about 257,000 employees and literally hundreds of different operating units. We hope to have many more of each. But we will never allow Berkshire to become some monolith that is overrun with committees, budget presentations and multiple layers of management.”

And to hell with trend and populism here from Warren…. “We make no attempt to woo Wall Street. Investors who buy and sell based upon media or analyst commentary are not for us. Instead we want partners who join us at Berkshire because they wish to make a long-term investment in a business they themselves understand and because it’s one that follows policies with which they concur.”

Buffett even backpedaled on the negativity of last year’s (interpreted) message… “Among the 12,830 words in the annual letter was this sentence: “We are certain, for example, that the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 – and probably well beyond – but that conclusion does not tell us whether the market will rise or fall.” Many news organizations reported – indeed, blared – the first part of the sentence while making no mention whatsoever of its ending.” He even calls it terrible journalism and goes on to say how he and Charlie Munger were not predicting the stock market at all.

GEICO’s growth may slow in 2010…. Buffett also noted that the company sold the small credit card business of a $98 million portfolio of troubled receivables for $0.55 on the dollar.

Buffett explains praise at National Indemnity for Ajit Jain… “If Charlie, I and Ajit are ever in a sinking boat – and you can only save one of us – swim to Ajit.”

The MidAmerican operations, the regulated utility section, gave $1.071 billion to Berkshire, down from $1.704 billion in 2008.  The HomeServices of America unit, the second largest real estate firm in America, is under the MidAmerican unit.  “The BNSF operation has certain important economic characteristics that resemble those of our electric utilities.  It is inconceivable that our country will realize anything close to its full economic potential without its possessing first-class electricity and railroad systems. We will do our part to see that they exist.  In the future, BNSF results will be included in this “regulated utility” section.”

Construction has suffered…. “Every business we own that is connected to residential and commercial construction suffered severely in 2009. Combined pre-tax earnings of Shaw, Johns Manville, Acme Brick, and MiTek were $227 million, an 82.5% decline from $1.295 billion in 2006, when construction activity was booming. These businesses continue to bump along the bottom, though their competitive positions remain undented.”

The major small problem for Berkshire last year was NetJets… “debt has soared from $102 million at the time of purchase to $1.9 billion in April of last year. Without Berkshire’s guarantee of this debt, NetJets would have been out of business.” Ouch.

More on Housing… “On the housing front, addressing Clayton Homes, In 2009, starts were 554,000, by far the lowest number in the 50 years for which we have data. Paradoxically, this is good news.Even under these conditions, I believe Clayton will operate profitably in coming years, though well below its potential.”

On commercial real estate…. At the end of 2009, Berkshire became a 50% owner of Berkadia Commercial Mortgage (formerly known as Capmark).  This is the third-largest servicer of commercial mortgages. “In addition to servicing a $235 billion portfolio, the company is an important originator of mortgages, having 25 offices spread around the country.  Though commercial real estate will face major problems in the next few years, long-term opportunities for Berkadia are significant.”

If you want the classic Buffett on his investing strategies versus cash, it all boils down to this…. Buffett states, “We entered 2008 with $44.3 billion of cash-equivalents, and we have since retained operating earnings of $17 billion. Nevertheless, at year-end 2009, our cash was down to $30.6 billion (with $8 billion earmarked for the BNSF acquisition). We’ve put a lot of money to work during the chaos of the last two years. It’s been an ideal period for investors: A climate of fear is their best friend. Those who invest only when commentators are upbeat end up paying a heavy price for meaningless reassurance. In the end, what counts in investing is what you pay for a business – through the purchase of a small piece of it in the stock market – and what that business earns in the succeeding decade or two.”

The other 90 or so pages hold interesting tidbits and one-liners, of which you can see right at the Berkshire site.

JON C. OGG
jonogg@247wallst.com

These twelve companies are  also involved in most of the large product liability actions and class action suits regarding prescription drugs. The largest pharmaceutical firms spend tens of million of dollars in legal fees and lobbying expenses every year to protect the intellectual property they have created and  to defend themselves when side effects from their products injure customers.

The twelve CEOs on this list are the global drugs lords. They operate in a heavily regulated industry and have close and often fractious relationships with the governments whose agencies work with them. 24/7 Wall St. has looked at each company, its blockbuster drugs, and  its most valuable board members. These members are often not the most well-known people on the boards. They are, however, individuals from the medical community, former regulators, academicians involved in the medical research world, and fixers who serve on large numbers of boards and whose contacts in the world of government and industry are invaluable.

The drug industry is under seige by generics and rising costs of R&D. Many of the largest firms in the sector, the companies on this list,  have been though substantial restructurings and have fired tens of thousand of people, cutting R&D budgets in the process. This generation of CEOs and board members will shape the rapidly changing industry more than any other group in decades.

	Drug Lord	Drug Lord Kingdom	Board VIPs
	William C. Welding – Johnson & Johnson	Market cap of $176 billion. Board made up of CEOs, retired CEOs, and academicians. Big Drugs: Topamax, Risperdal, Procrit, Levaquin, large market share in joints, stents, diabetic diagnostics and medication, and drug screening products.	David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D. – Assistant Secretary of Health and then Surgeon General under both a Democrat (Clinton) and a conservative (George W.) Has massive political clout.
	Jeffrey B. Kindler – Pfizer	Market cap of $145 billion. Bought Wyeth, which should take sales to $70 billion. Significant board links to medical community, public policy, and medical insurance. Big Drugs: Lipitor, Norvasc, Zyrtec, Viagra, Premarin and Detrol.	Chuck Hagel - A two-term moderate and respected Senator from Nebraska who retired last year. Pfizer saw a great opportunity and picked Hagel up before he made it out the Capitol building door.Constance Horner – Worked two terms under Reagan as economic and personal advisor, then as assistant to  George H. W. Bush. Capped off her political career as Deputy Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services.
	Severin Schwan – Roche	Took over biotech giant Genentech. Board heavy with academicians and bankers.  Big Drugs: Avastin, Bactrim, Boniva, CellCept, Herceptin, Nuepogen, Accutane, Tamiflu, Rocephin.	DeAnne Julius CBE, Ph.D. (Econ) – Unable to match J&J and Pfizer by netting some weighty political figure, Roche is one of the few companies that had to settle for someone who uses expertise in global politics, rather than sheer political muscle, to get what it wants. Julius spent decades analyzing the U.S. government, and also worked in DC as senior economic advisor of the World Bank.
	Joseph Jimenez, M.D. – Novartis	Market cap of $125 billion. Board heavy with Ph.Ds, M.D.s, and biopharma experts. Big Drugs: Diovan, Starlix, Femara, Zometa, Ritalin, Lucentis Lamicil.	William Brody, M.D., Ph.D. – The former president of Johns Hopkins, Brody wears many hats and has a hand in many pots. Serves on too many corporate boards to list, and has been on the advisory board of many U.S. Govt. organizations. Is also a friend of Michael Bloomberg.
	Christopher Viebacher - Sanofi-Aventis	Market cap of $94 billion. Board built with members of other large companies board members and academicians. Big Drugs: Actonel, Allegra, Lantus, Lovenox, Nasacort, Plavix.	Lord Arthur Douro – If you can’t get a former American politician, an active European one will do in a pinch. Douro is a member of the House of Lords.
	Andrew Witty – GlaxoSmithKline	Market cap of $94 billion. Board made up of med school professors and corporate managers. Big Drugs: Boniva, Avandia, Lamictal,Mepron, Tagamet.	Andrew Witty – Normally a CEO is too above-the-radar to be pulling political strings for a drug company, but before and during his tenure as CEO, Witty served as advisor to governments around the world (e.g. South Africa, Singapore, China and the UK).  He is also President of the EFPIA, the European equivalent of PhRMA.Sir Roy Anderson – A highly respected doctor with a great deal of influence in the European medical community. Is highly regarded in the U.S. as well. Chief Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defense in the United Kingdom, A foreign associate member of the Institute of Medicine at the US National Academy of Sciences. Was also knighted by the queen, for what it’s worth.
	David Brennan – AstraZeneca	Market cap of $63 Billion. Board of non-executive chairmen, financiers, and medical academicians. Big Drugs: Crestor, Diprivan, Inderal, Nexium.	Jane Henney – Served under Clinton as the first female Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Henney just might know something about how to get drugs approved with great speed and minimal questions. It’s hard to believe this is legal.
	Miles White – Abbott Labs	Market cap of $84 billion. Board built almost exclusively with execs from other big companies, with a couple of medical professionals thrown in. Big Drugs: Fosamax, Gardasil, Mevacor, Pepcid.	David Owen – A British Minister of Health from 1974-76 and a member of  House of Commons from 1966 to May 1992. Does anyone honestly think this guy is on the board because he knows how to run a business?William M. Daley – A prominent lawyer with all kinds of political influence, was U.S. Secretary of Commerce under Clinton, coordinated the successful campaign to pass NAFTA.
	Richard Clark – Merck	Market cap of $77 Billion. Board consists of lots of medical professionals and former walls street execs. Big Drugs: Depakote ER, Lexapor, Vicodin.	William N. Kelley M.D – One of the medical community’s top dogs: Kelley is Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine and Chair of the Residency Review Committee for Internal Medicine. Kelley’s presence on Merck’s board gives the company unprecedented access to the physicians’ community.Thomas Glocer – Glocer’s position on Merck’s board may be the epitome of conflict of interest. Since he also happens to be CEO of Thomson Reuters, one of the largest and most respected news organizations in the world. With that kind of influence with the press, does Merck even need to hire a PR exec?
	James Cornelius – Bristol-Myers Squibb	Market Cap of $48 billion. Board composed of academicians, former CEOs, active CEOs, economists and lawyers. Big Drugs: Coumadin, Plavix, Abilify, Erbitux.	Louis J. Freeh - A prominent lawyer with a lengthy career beginning as District Court judge and ending as Director of the FBI. With Freeh on its side, Bristol-Meyers has a strong advisor if and when it faces any liability or class-action suits.Togo D. West, Jr. – Secretary of the Army and then Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs under Clinton. Between Freeh and West, the company seems to be preparing for armed conflict.
	John Lechleiter, Ph.D. – Eli Lilly & Co.	Market Cap of $39 billion. Board is equal parts academicians (all fields) and a conglomerate of other boards. Big Drugs: Aranesp, Epogen, Neupogen, Prozac, Zyprexa,Darvocet, Forteo, Evista,and ,Humulin.	Franklyn G. Prendergast M.D., Ph.D. – One of the ranking members of the company’s policy committee, Prendergast is another one of those doctors that seems to be a member of every single board and society a prestigious physician can join.
	Kevin Sharer – Amgen	Technically a biotech company. Market cap of $55 billion. Board of former CEOs and medical academicians. Big Drugs: Aranesp, Epogen, Neupogen, Kineret, Neulasta.	David Baltimore – Dr. Baltimore has been a major figure in Washington as the Head of the National Institutes of Health AIDS Vaccine Research Committee. Received the Nobel Prize in medicine.J. Paul Reason – Not to be outdone by Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Amgen has a high-ranking military figure of their own in Reason. A four-star admiral and commander-in-chief of the US Atlantic Fleet.

-Douglas A. McIntyre and Michael B. Sauter

The total NYSE short interest rose by 3.78% to 14,002,613,200 shares versus 13,492,652,518 shares in the period ending January 29, 2010.  NASDAQ short interest was up 4.75% to 7,019,657,092 shares versus 6,701,137,021 shares ending January 29, 2010.  It turns out that the best against Warren Buffett’s core holdings were frequently far higher than these short interest averages.

• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A) was 14,752 shares, up 98% from 7,452 shares;
• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) was 29,538,177 shares, up 101% from 14,698,348 shares.

The bets against Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway were likely left over arbitrage plays or more importantly were index addition bets that the stock would drop after it was added to the S&P 500 index.  We took a look here at the few first that actually saw a decrease in the short selling.  These are Buffett stocks which saw traders making lower bets against his portfolio stocks as follows:

• Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) was a smaller position as he cut the stock holdings but short sellers couldn’t take the gains in the stock.  Short interest was 29,577,885, down by -3.6% vs 30,669,973
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is a huge warrant and preferred position but not a common stock.  Turns out that short sellers lightened up the bets against Blankfein and friends.  This was 8,283,268 shares, down by -4.8% vs. 8,696,610
• Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) 10,222,455, -7.5% vs. 11,046,783
• Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) 13,467,676, down by -7.8% vs. 14,611,297
• Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) was again decreased by Buffett, but short sellers lightened up here despite its changed model.  This was listed as 31,252,489, down -4.8% vs. 32,815,912
• Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC) 2,861,748 was down -27% vs. 3,918,130
• Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was down 3% at 8,115,812 vs 8,364,309
• Sanofi Aventis (NYSE: SNY) 1,417,016 down -27.8% vs 1,962,986
• Sun Trust Bank (NYSE: STI) is a decreased position of Buffett’s and that was shorted less at 31,858,590, down -5.5% vs 33,707,880.
• Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) 4,312,561 was -2.3% vs. 4,414,462
• Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) is one that Buffett has steadily been selling, but short sellers lightened up their bets against this stock. This was 6,306,073 shares short, down by -19.2% vs 7,800,022

This is the group where we saw increased bets against Buffett’s stocks.  Some positions were changed by Buffett as well, and some bets were with Buffett’s directional change while others were against it.  This large list is as follows:

• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) 344,401,459 was up 5.4% from 326,896,224
• Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE: BDX) was one Buffett raised his position in but shorts increased their bets against Buffett’s bet.  This was 3,598,302 shares, up 12.6% from 3,195,720
• Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) was a decreased position for Buffett and short sellers increased their bets against it.  This was 14,238,109 shares short, up 6.6% vs. 13,361,299
• Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) 17,941,700, up 15.9% from 15,469,000
• Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 48,314,070, up 13.3% from 42,632,950
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was cut in Buffett holdings and it saw a rise in short selling to 15,031,200, up 18.2% from 12,714,800  shares.
• Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 11,281,400 up 11.14% vs. 10,150,700
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was slightly cut by Buffett and shorts increased their anti-oil bets to 80,161,907 shares, up 16.7% from 68,697,731
• General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 74,962,422, up 13.2% from 66,249,225
• GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) 3,676,415, up 11.2% from 3,306,299
• Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 33,721,859, up 17.3% from 28,737,051
• Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) was a stock Buffett raised his stake in, yet shorts bet against it with 15,134,029 shares short.  That is up 6.7% from 14,180,881 shares.
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was another stock Buffett cut his stake in and the shorts increased their bets against it; 18,650,524 shares, up 13.7% from 16,408,634
• Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) 52,715,903, up 34.4% from 39,227,946
• M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) 14,557,744, up 0.1% from 14,549,915
• Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) was a smaller Buffett position, and there was a big short interest gain as a bet against P&G.  This was 29,450,930 shares, up 21.2% from 24,302,413 shares.
• Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) was a raised holding of Buffett in his chase after Bill Gates, but shorts bet harder against the garbage men here.  This was 1,806,220 shares short, a 8.3% gain versus 1,667,190.
• Travelers Cos (NYSE: TRV) 6,997,575, up 17.6% versus 5,948,204… but just tiny Buffett holding.
• USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) 14,808,631, up 4.9% versus 14,122,777 shares
• United Health Group (NYSE: UNH) was a decreased holding again from Buffett and shorts increased their short selling; 16,939,025 shares, up 39.2% from 12,169,639
• United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) 11,663,165, up 4.5% vs. 11,159,600
• Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) 178,636, up 5.9% from 168,638
• Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was an increased position again for Buffett, but short sellers increased their bets against the company.  It saw 49,549,878 shares short, up 12.5% from 44,048,977

Then there is the group that was effectively unchanged in short sales from the whole market in Buffett holdings.  These are the stock holdings which saw an increase or decrease of 2.0% or less.  These are as follows:

• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) 13,443,984, up 1.4% from 13,254,289
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) 21,200,285, up 0.4% from 21,119,310
• Wesco Financial Corp. (NYSE: WSC) 5,008,953, down only -0.6% vs. 5,039,052

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JON C. OGG