Apple left its antitrust problems behind it and moved into the N0.1 slot based on the surging sales of iPhone 4 models and iPads. Amex made up ground on news that credit card delinquencies are falling. Ford lost ground on concerns that European sale will fall.
| Company | Rank (last week) | Symbol | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Apple | 1 (9) | APPL | Stock hits 52-week high as market leaves legal worries behind as iPhone 4 sells out and analysts see 2 million iPad sales a month by year-end. |
| McDonald’s | 2 (1) | MCD | McDonald’s benefits from media and analyst comments that fast food sales in the US are on the rise. | |
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Berkshire Hathaway | 3 (2) | BRK | Berkshire Hathaway was up 6% last week on recovery in rail freight and optimism about company’s insurance and reinsurance segments. |
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Disney | 4 (3) | DIS | Walt Disney gets a huge bump as “Toy Story 3” opens with $109 million which should boost studio results in current quarter. |
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Intel | 5 (4) | INTC | Intel may have to worry about new Chinese chip plan, but in the meantime sales of minis with its Atom chip still are dominating laptop sales. |
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Proctor & Gamble | 6 (11) | PG | Procter & Gamble benefits from large inflow of money into stock at the end of last week. EU approves purchase of Sara Lee unit. |
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IBM | 7 (7) | IBM | New auto computer technology looks promising. Trouble at Dell should help Big IBM. It picks up large India deal for communications tower services. Makes another M&A deal to expand key services by buying Coremetrics. |
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Abbott Labs | 8 (10) | ABT | Abbott cuts deal with Neurocrine Biosciences and will partner to develop and commercialize Neurocrine’s experimental drug to treat endometriosis, a gynecological medical condition. |
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Coca-Cola | 9 (5) | KO | Coca-Cola begins to feel heat as soda tax advances in several states as medical community attacks sugar and “empty calories.” |
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Philip Morris | 10 (8) | PM | Philip Morris pressing Colombian regulators to reconsider its application to buy cigarette maker Protabaco, the second-largest cigarette manufacturer in Colombia. Chances look bad. |
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Ford | 11 (6) | F | Ford moves up high on JD Power list but stock under heavy pressure over foreign sales and slowing US economy. |
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Wal-Mart | 12 (16) | WMT | Wal-Mart buys into debit-card company to expand financial services reach, the one retail business where it has no toehold. |
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Cisco | 13 (15) | CSCO | Cisco benefits from announcement that video conferencing could save businesses $19 billion annually. |
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Oracle | 14 (15) | ORCL | Oracle has large increase in call options. Faces suit that it may have overcharged the government for some services. |
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Microsoft | 15 (13) | MSFT | Microsoft releases new video game Kinect to good reviews. Ballmer say mobile strategy is working but no one believes him |
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Hewlett-Packard | 16 (12) | HPQ | Hewlett-Packard’s Palm division is working on new product launches. Industry analysts see PC growth speeding to 20% for 2010. |
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Pfizer | 17 (17) | PFE | Pfizer shuts down development of rheumatoid arthritis drugs. High yield drugs get praise as market wobbles. |
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18 (19) | GOOG | Google about to launch new TV ad business, but investors remain concerned that search will be firm’s only money-making business. | |
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American Express | 19 (21) | AXP | American Express’ lower delinquencies push shares up sharply. Market still concerned consumer spending about to draw to a halt. |
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FedEx | 20 (22) | FDX | FedEx says last quarter was strong and offers modest guidance, but modest guidance is better than immodest. |
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Dow Chemical | 21 (18) | DOW | Dow Chemical closes $1.2 billion sale of Styron division. Petrochemical purchases by China seem to pick up. |
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Boeing | 22 (20) | BA | Boeing benefits from news of increasing military budgets. Flies first 787 with GE engines, advancing market for plane. |
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Caterpillar | 23 (23) | CAT | Caterpillar says China’s agreement to revalue yuan will help its business. Company’s dealers say they see rebound in sales. |
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Exxon-Mobil | 24 (25) | XOM | Exxon Mobil takes only a modest beating at Congressional hearings. Modest exposure in Gulf should help it maintain earnings in next two quarters. |
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AT&T | 25 (27) | T | AT&T should get big benefit from iPhone 4.0 sales, but gets more bad PR as e-commerce site breaks down as demand for new Jobs’ smartphone surges. |
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GE | 26 (26) | GE | GE shows off new jet engine flying on 787. Makes new sales to supply water systems to semiconductor plant. |
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Verizon | 27 (24) | VZ | Verizon will be hurt by iPhone 4.0 launch with AT&T. Under pressure to pay dividend to Vodafone which would hurt Verizon Wireless cashflow. |
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Johnson & Johnson | 28 (29) | JNJ | Johnson & Johnson gets approval for new Acuvue lenses, but is still dogged by recalls of Tylenol and Motrin. |
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Home Depot | 29 (28) | HD | Home Depot target price cut by FBR Capital as home sales continue to crater. |
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JP Morgan | 30 (31) | JPM | JPMorgan Chase gets approval to buy RBS commodities business. Makes successful sale of more than $1 billion in notes. |
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Bank of America | 31 (30) | BAC | Bank of America says Merrill unit will add online brokerage, but loses important brokers to Morgan Stanley. |
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Goldman Sachs | 32 (32) | GS | Goldman Sachs asks for more time to respond to SEC complaints. For once, stock makes very modest gain for the week. |
Douglas A. McIntyre
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