Crystal Easterling August 31, 2010 POB, 1st Period Stock Up or Down Wal-Mart; Stock Down No real reason

given. McDonalds; Stock Down Last week, this column detailed some restaurants that pay a dividend and could be strong plays if consumers start to trade down as they did earlier in the recession. While some sit-down restaurants would gain, fast food giants such as McDonald's (MCD) could also thrive in a double-dip recession. If GDP does contract again, the low prices at McDonald's could be appealing for many. In 2008, it was just one of two Dow stocks to post gains. But McDonald's success isn't tied to just a down economy. The burger giant has a history of innovating its menu and of growing. From 2003 to 2008, the stock more than doubled the S&P 500's gains, with the exception of 2005 when it still outperformed but was up 5% vs. the S&P 500's 3%. A driving force behind these gains is international growth. Coca-Cola; Stock Down We like CEOs who actually work for shareholders like us. After all, we're the true owners of the business. When you're deciding whether to invest in a company, failing to vet its CEO is a big mistake. In fact, if you've overlooked the study of a company's leadership, then that's the one important area you should know about before finalizing your investment in the company. After reviewing thousands of companies over dozens of years, we've found several crucial characteristics of quality management. Today, we'll size up the recent performance of Coca-Cola's (NYSE: KO) leadership. Kent actually owns $10 million worth of Coca-Cola, or 0.01% of shares outstanding. We Fools prefer CEOs who have higher ownership stakes in their businesses, since that better aligns their interests with shareholders'. However, while we think high insider ownership is a good sign, low insider ownership isn't necessarily a bad one. CEOs may be relatively new, or may have a low percent of shares outstanding, but a high total value of ownership. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Home Depot; Stock Down Here are the top 15 highest yielding stocks the screen produced: Market Cap (in Dividend Yield Payout Ratio No. Company Name millions) (%) (%) Barnes & Noble (NYSE: 1 BKS) $932.8 6.43 NM 2 Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) $1,908.8 4.91 NM 3 J. C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) $4,772.9 3.96 62.5

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC) The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) Buckle (NYSE: BKE) American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) Cato (NYSE: CATO) Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) Tiffany (NYSE: TIF) Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) Gap (NYSE: GPS) Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) Lowe's. (NYSE: LOW) Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS)

$6,766.3 $48,293.4 $1,145.4 $2,634.0 $675.2 $6,634.1 $5,176.4 $8,116.8 $11,079.6 $2,887.9 $30,025.3 $13,171.2

3.82 3.29 3.27 3.27 3.23 2.64 2.46 2.4 2.35 2.25 2.09 2.0

59.3 52.8 NM 61.0 NM 28.6 NM NM 20.6 36.0 21.0 30.3

American express; Stock Down August 31, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down Lawsuit claims unlawful agreement with Netflix. Wal-Mart Stores Inc has agreed to settle a private antitrust lawsuit over its exit from the online DVD market, according to court documents. The lawsuit, brought by a eight Netflix subscribers, accused Wal-Mart and Netflix Inc of entering into an improper marketing agreement in which Wal-Mart left the online DVD market and Netflix agreed not to sell new DVDs. McDonalds; Stock Up NEW DELHIMcDonald's Corp. plans to step up its expansion in India this year and next after finding that the country's new middle class will line up for its fast food, even in the smaller cities. After opening about 35 new stores this year, Indian franchisees of the U.S. burger chain plan to open 45 branches or more next year, said Vikram Bakshi, managing director of McDonald's operations in the north and east of ... Coca-Cola; Stock Up We'd all like to invest as successfully as the legendary Warren Buffett. He calculates return on invested capital to help determine whether a company has an economic moat -- the ability to earn returns on its money beyond that money's cost. ROIC is perhaps the most important metric in value investing. By determining a company's ROIC, you can see how well it's using the cash you entrust to it and whether it's actually creating value for you. Simply put, ROIC divides a company's operating profit by the amount of investment it took to get that profit: ROIC = Net operating profit after taxes / Invested capital. This onesize-fits-all calculation cuts out many of the legal accounting tricks (such as

excessive debt) that managers use to boost earnings numbers, and provides you with an apples-to-apples way to evaluate businesses, even across industries. The higher the ROIC, the more efficiently the company uses capital. Ultimately, we're looking for companies that can invest their money at rates that are higher than the cost of capital, which for most businesses lands between 8% and 12%. Ideally, we want to see ROIC greater than 12%, at minimum. We're also seeking a history of increasing returns, or at least steady returns, which indicate that the company's moat can withstand competitors' assaults. Kraft Foods; Stock Up The ripple effect But food markets have significant effects well beyond the agricultural space. Consider the following: Higher coffee prices have already led several companies, including Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) and J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM), to raise the prices they charge customers. Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) has resisted price increases -having recently reaffirmed its earnings guidance despite the higher costs -- but in the long run, higher coffee prices can and will have an impact on its bottom line, as well. In a story resembling tales of the Hunt Brothers cornering the silver market in the late 1970s and early 1980s, hedge fund manager Anthony Ward is believed to have spent $1 billion buying up more than 240,000 tons of cocoa beans. The story has some concerned about stocks such as Kraft, which recently bought chocolate maker Cadbury, and Hershey (NYSE: HSY), even though cocoa is only a small component of chocolate production. In the broader picture, rising food prices may well be a sign of things to come. With the world population continuing to expand and quality of life in emerging markets like China and Brazil steadily improving, demand for food could continue to rise sharply. Unless technological advances can continue to improve crop yields to help supplies keep pace with demand, then gains that food commodities have seen could well be just the tip of the iceberg. Home Depot; Stock Up Whether you're a beginning investor or a near-retiree, the importance of purchasing stocks that pay dividends cannot be overstated. Not only do companies that have quarterly or annual payouts provide you with a steady stream of income, they also have the potential for capital appreciation. Simply put, dividend stocks can you give your portfolio what almost no other investment can -- both income and growth. At The Motley Fool, we're avid fans of dividends -- and not just because we like that steady stream of cash. Studies have shown that from 1972 to 2006, stocks in the S&P 500 that don't pay dividends have earned an average annual return of 4.1%; dividend stocks, however, have averaged a whopping 10.1% per year. That is an incredible difference -- one that you'd be crazy to not take advantage of! But investing in dividends can be dangerous -- companies can cut, slash, or suspend dividends at any time, often without notice. Fortunately, there are several warning signs that may alert you, and these red flags could be the crucial factor in determining whether or not a company is likely to continue paying its dividend. Today, let's drill beneath the

surface and check out Home Depot (NYSE: HD). What's on the surface? Home Depot, which operates in the home improvement retail industry, currently pays a dividend of 3.40%. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at, as the average dividend payer in the S&P 500, in 2009, sported a yield of 2%. But what's more important than the dividend itself is Home Depot's ability to keep that cash rolling. The first thing to look at is the company's reported dividends versus its reported earnings. If you happen to see dividend payments that are growing faster than earnings per share, it may be an initial signal that something just isn't right. Check out the graph below for details of the past five years: Clearly, there doesn't seem to be a problem here. Home Depot has been able to boost its earnings at an adequate pace and keep its dividends in check at the same time. The more secure, the better One of the most common metrics that investors use to judge the safety of a dividend is the payout ratio. This number tells you what percentage of net income is paid out to investors in the form of a dividend. Normally, anything above 50% is cause to look a bit further. According to the most recent data, Home Depot's payout ratio is 52.78%. While this payout ratio isn't necessarily outrageous, it would serve us well to dig a bit deeper. Let's take a look at Home Depot's free cash flow to see if there are enough greenbacks to support that 52.78% payout ratio. Free cash flow -- all the cash left over after subtracting out capital expenditures -- is used by firms to make acquisitions, develop new products, and of course, pay dividends! We can use a simple metric called the cash flow coverage ratio, which is cash flow per share divided by dividends per share. Normally, anything above 1.2 should make you feel comfortable; anything less, and you may have a problem on your hands. Home Depot's coverage ratio is 2.64, which is more than enough cash on hand to keep pumping out that 3.40% yield. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there really shouldn't be any major problems moving forward. Either way, it's always beneficial to compare an investment with its most immediate competitors, so in the chart below, I've included the above metrics with those of Home Depot's closest competitors. In addition, I've included the five-year dividend growth rate, which is also a very important indicator. If Home Depot can illustrate that it's grown dividends over the past five years then there's a good chance that it will continue to put shareholders first in the future. Check out how Home Depot stacks up below: Dividend Payout Coverage 5-Year Compounded Company Yield Ratio Ratio Dividend Growth Rate Home Depot 3.40% 52.78% 2.64 3.68% Target (NYSE: TGT) 1.94% 18.63% 7.25 17.45% Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) 2.18% 21.03% 3.20 33.39% Costco (Nasdaq: COST) 1.47% 25.30% 5.26 12.41% American express; Stock Down

AXP has been building a top formation since November of last year and since April has been using the 200-week MA, currently at 42.10, as a pivot point in the process. The stock recently retested the 27-month weekly closing high at 48.05 with a close 6 weeks ago at 44.79. Soon thereafter the stock fell back down below the 200-week MA and has been giving further signs that a top has been formed. During the last 9 months, AXP has traded 80% of the time between $37 and $43 and since June 2009, the stock has held firm above the 50-week MA, currently at 40.10. Nonetheless, this past week the stock began to show additional weakness having broken intra-week below the 50-week MA, though due to the late rally in the indexes was able to close above the line one more time. On a weekly closing basis, resistance is strong between the 200week MA, currently at 42.10 and up to 42.67. Above that level, resistance is strong again at 44.79. On a daily closing basis, resistance is minor at 40.97, decent at 41.35, and decent to strong at 42.67. On a weekly closing basis, there is minor support at 40.76, minor again at 39.42 and then decent to strong between 37.66 and 38.41. On a daily closing basis, support is minor at 39.57 and again at 39.21. Below that level, there is decent support at 37.71 and again at 36.69. AXP should see decent follow through to the upside on Monday, with a possible objective of the 200-day MA, currently at 41.35 or even perhaps as high as the 200-week MA currently at 42.10. Should the stock be able to get above those levels intra-week, there is additional strong intra-week resistance at 43.14 and at 43.25. As far as the downside is concerned, the fact the stock has been trading consistently over the past 9 months with an array of lows (more than 5) between 36.60 and 37.26, suggests that a drop down to that area is highly probable. Nonetheless, having broken intra-week below the 50-week MA this past week, suggests that the stock is weakening and having built a strong top formation, drops down to the 100-week MA, currently at 31.20, could be seen if the stock fails to hold the support seen at $37. Sales of AXP between 41.35 and 42.10 and using a stop loss at 43.35 and having an objective of 31.20 offers a 51 risk/reward ratio. My rating on the trade is a 3.75 (on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the strongest). My name is Tony and I am a chartist. I have been trading for over 30 years. In the 80's I was a broker/trader/analyst for Merrill Lynch, Dean Witter, and Pru-Bache. I offer an inexpensive chart evaluation service on stocks of your choice through membership to my newsletter and message board. When or where do I get in? When or where do I get out? What is the trend for the next week? For the next 3 months? Where are the strong buyers and where are the strong sellers (based on past action)? What is the risk/reward ratio on my trade (based on chart objectives)? What looks good right now (chart-wise)? These are some of the questions that I try to answer through chart evaluation. I offer a monthly service that includes a weekly newsletter with chart evaluations on 4 stocks that I believe have attractive chart patterns and good risk/reward ratios as well as 1 chart evaluation per week on a stock of your choice. Evaluations include entry and stop loss points as well as likely objectives. The service also includes membership to a message board where daily updates on all stocks and stock indexes are given. Cost of the service is only $27.95 per month. A 2-week Free Trial is offered. If you want a lesser package, I do offer one for

$4.95 that only talks about the Stock Indexes. If you are interested in learning more about the service, click on my nick and get the website address from the profile area. September 1, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s intense focus to correct merchandising mistakes will result in revenue improvement in the second half of the company's fiscal year. A discounter reported its fifth consecutive quarter of declines in revenue at stores open at least a year, dragged down by its U.S. Wal-Mart division. The world's largest retailer has been restoring items it cut last year and to return to everyday low pricing after steep rollbacks failed to excite shoppers. It's also returning to basics like socks and underwear as part of its new clothing strategy. McDonalds; Stock Up Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coca-Cola Co. said Wednesday it has bought Nidan, a major juice producer in Russia, as part of its expansion into that country's growing market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company said in March it was looking at buying Nidan. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and its rival, PepsiCo Inc., have been increasing their presence in Russia, China and other emerging countries to offset weakness at home and in developed markets, where people are curbing spending in the down economy. Both are also expanding their offerings of juices, teas and other drinks that are not soft drinks. People are switching away from soft drinks for health reasons. The company said the deal for Nidan has already closed. Coca-Cola has invested $2 billion since the early 1990s into Russia and plans to invest another $1 billion in the next three to five years. Nidan's product facilities in Moscow and Novosibirsk make and distribute brands Moya Semya, Da! and Caprice. Shares of Coca-Cola rose 97 cents to $56.85 in morning trading Wednesday. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Pass the salt? How about the low- or no-salt? Campbell Soup now offers up a variety of low-sodium soup options and has reduced the salt content of its vegetable juices by about 30%. Kraft announced this year that it would reduce sodium in its snack products by 10%, removing 750 million teaspoons of salt from the North American diet by 2010. PepsiCo jumped on board, too. The food and beverage giant aims to cut salt in its products, including Doritos and Rice-ARoni, by 25% in the next five years. The National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI) launched in New York City last year intends to persuade more food companies and restaurants to voluntarily cut salt. Advocates of the NSRI hope to reduce Americans intake of sodium 20% by 2015 because they believe it will save tens of thousands of lives each year. Home Depot; Stock Up

American express; Stock Up September 2, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Marts has had a rapid international expansion and a long-term trend of declining capital spending. Its project Impact remodeling program for US stores. Both efforts should be largely completed by 2013, which explains why subsequent capital requirements are likely to come down. Capital spending is also likely to decline because Wal-Mart is in the process of reducing the size of its stores, particularly overseas. McDonalds; Stock Up In the past year, McDonald's is also credited with being innovative in launching a line of espresso drinks as an alternative to Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX). McDonald's has a $79.15 billion stock market capitalization, compared with $3.18 billion for Burger King and $1.84 billion for Wendy's. McDonald's gross margins are 39.52 percent versus 33.09 percent for Burger King and 24.22 percent for Wendy's, according to Yahoo Finance. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coca-Cola (KO) announced it would acquire a Siberia-based juice company at a reported price of around $450 million, part of a strategy to invest billions more in Russia over the next few years. Gas giant Gazprom beat analysts estimates with its (very late) first quarter 2010 earnings report, racking up a whopping $10.6 billion in profit. More important as a Russian bellwether was a swing to first-half profit for Rusal, the worlds biggest aluminum producer. The company lost $868 million in the first half of 2009, and the Russian state had to send billions in life support to save ruling oligarch Oleg Deripaska from bankruptcy. This year Rusal earned $1.27 billion from January through June. Its shares have climbed 20% from mid-June lows, though they are still far underwater for investors in the companys January 2010 IPO. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Home Depot; Stock Up EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND SELECTED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS DATA For the second quarter of fiscal 2010, we reported Net Earnings of $1.2 billion and Diluted Earnings per Share of $0.72 compared to Net Earnings of $1.1 billion and Diluted Earnings per Share of $0.66 for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. For the first six months of fiscal 2010, we reported Net Earnings of $1.9 billion and Diluted Earnings per Share of $1.14 compared to Net Earnings of $1.6 billion and Diluted Earnings per Share of $0.96 for the first six months of fiscal 2009. The results for the first six months of fiscal 2010 include a $51 million pretax charge related to the extension of our guarantee of a senior secured loan of HD

Supply, Inc. ("guarantee extension"). The results for the second quarter and first six months of fiscal 2009 reflect the impact of several strategic actions initiated in fiscal 2008. These strategic actions resulted in store rationalization charges related to the closing of 15 underperforming U.S. stores and the removal of approximately 50 U.S. stores from our new store pipeline, business rationalization charges related to the exit of our EXPO, THD Design Center, Yardbirds and HD Bath businesses (the "Exited Businesses") and charges related to the restructuring of support functions (collectively, the "Rationalization Charges"). These actions resulted in pretax Rationalization Charges of $137 million for the first six months of fiscal 2009, including $20 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Excluding the charges noted above, Diluted Earnings per Share were $0.72 and $1.16 for the second quarter and first six months of fiscal 2010, respectively, compared to $0.67 and $1.01 for the second quarter and first six months of fiscal 2009, respectively. American express; Stock Down The ratio that you end up with represents the percent of each invested dollar that a company is returning to shareholders. This simple calculation handily allows us to adjust for shares issued through employee stock options and other forms of shareholder dilution. Some companies will spend a lot of money buying back shares just to counteract the dilutive effect of their stock compensation programs, without creating any value for shareholders. Here are the net payout yields for a few companies in the credit card industry: Dividend Net Payout Payments Net Share Market Company Yield (TTM) (TTM) Repurchases (TTM) Cap Visa (NYSE: V) 1.9% $356 $616 $50,822 MasterCard (NYSE: MA) 0.2% $79 ($16) $26,525 American Express (NYSE: AXP) 0.1% $433 ($378) $47,996 Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) -6.7% $0 ($524) $7,791 Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Payout yield is author's calculation. All dollar figures in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months. September 3, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Mart received a fine of $32,300 because of a crackdown by the state on price labeling. By law, grocery stores and stores that sell food must put a price label on each individual item. McDonalds; Stock Up A couple of years ago, McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - News) took a shot across Starbucks' (NMS:SBUX) bow when it started rolling out its own line of premium coffees. This summer, the burger giant aimed at the likes of Jamba (NMS:JMBA) and others, with a new line of fruit smoothies. With recession-weary consumers cutting back, higher-margin beverages have become more important to the fast-food industry to keep old customers and lure in new ones between

typical meal times. McDonald's said those new McCafe drinks, both coffee-based and fruit smoothies, were a big part of its same-store growth in the June quarter and bigger gains in the month of July. But fresh fruit in a blender has been Jamba's domain. The California-based smoothie chain struck back with a witty online ad campaign for its own Cheeseburger Chill smoothies, a burger in a blender. (Mercifully, it was a joke.) Coca-Cola; Stock Up The Coca Cola Company (NYSE: KO - News) has acquired Nidan, the fourth largest juice manufacturing company in Russia. The acquisition is a part of the company's strategic plan to expand its presence in the fast growing emerging markets through strategic acquisitions. Nidan's products include Moya Semya, Da! and Caprice; and the company has its facilities in Moscow and Novosibirsk. Coca Cola already has a presence in the Russian juice market and commands a 22% market share through Multon. Now, with the acquisition of Nidan, which has a 14% market share, the company is expected to become the market leader in the Russian juice market. In 2008, the company's rival, PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP News) had acquired Lebedyansky, a major juice company in Russia, through which it currently controls a 32% market share. The acquisition also compliments management's plans to expand in the water and juices categories, due to the growing awareness of healthy living among consumers of carbonated beverages. Over the last two decades, the company has already invested about $2 billion and plans to spend about another $1 billion over the next three to five years. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Home Depot; Stock Up Although a lot has remained the same at Fairfax, there's plenty of change, so let's look closer at a few of his most recent choices below. Average Current CAPS Rating (out Stock Price Price % Change of 5) CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) $34.64 $28.31 22.4% **** Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) $38.89 $33.15 (14.8%) ***** Home Depot (NYSE: HD) $33.53 $29.41 14% *** Price is what you pay As much as Hussman has seemingly been trying to rival Nouriel Roubini as the leading advocate of doom and gloom -- for instance, he says all that cash that companies are supposedly sitting on is only there because of an incredible issuance of debt that will come to haunt them soon enough -- he's obviously found a number of companies he believes worthy of an investment, such as the value he's found in health-care stocks. Along with CVS Caremark, he's also made some big bets on Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT). That quite a number of them are also focused on the consumer perhaps suggests he's betting the economy won't fall as staggeringly far as some predict.

Or maybe they're just hedges for his shorts. The pending home sales numbers that came out the other day has given hope that the housing industry may have finally hit bottom. The index of unclosed contracts to buy a home increased from 75.5 to 79.4 a turnaround from two prior months that showed demand had been in freefall. While a turnaround would obviously be good for builders, Home Depot and Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) would obviously also benefit. Of course, while the uptick is good, when you view where the index sits, you see it's still mired in the muck. American express; Stock Up The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 127.83 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 10,447.93. The blue-chip index snapped a three-week losing streak with its best performance before a Labor Day holiday since 2006, rising 2.9 percent. All 30 Dow components rose, led by JPMorgan [JPM 42.03 010009000003e10300000000e60200000000e602000026060f00c205574d46430 10000000000010076130000000001000000a005000000000000a005000001000 0006c00000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000057010 0001801000020454d4600000100a00500000f0000000100000000000000000000 0000000000000400000003000040010000f000000000000000000000000000000 000e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c00000 0100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000001c0200001002000 0454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c000000000000002440010 00c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c000000 0000000008400005680100005c0100000210c0db010000000000000000000000 00000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b 000000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffff015353105d5d3 c7a7a4b848486aaaaa4bdbdd0dbdb248e633d9a74017e3e209c5647c97251cb 7a71d291a5deb843cc6b62d38277cb8c35d756caead000d41589e993d5edd71 2f21d00ff0077f777eeeeeeffffff0000000000009386e5720000001e74524e53ffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff00ec181c5e00000001624b47440088051 d480000000c636d50504a436d703037313200000003480073bc0000004b49444 154185735c8d90e80200c44d1a6e08238821b6ee9ffffa66d94fb30391912ed1c6 c856c5268aa330277ff3fa9dde704357b73063032732bb4cfd8aebb44763d2d2a ab444fc7535b5fb46807c35b0e89000000000049454e44ae42608200084001082 4000000180000000210c0db01000000030000000000000000000000000000001 b40000040000000340000000100000002000000000000bf000000bf0000304100 00104103000000000000b3000000b3ffff2f41000000b3000000b3ffff0f41210000 0008000000620000000c00000001000000150000000c00000004000000150000 000c00000004000000460000001400000008000000544e505006010000510000 00a400000000000000000000000a000000080000000000000000000000000000 00000000000b0000000900000050000000300000008000000024000000000000 008600ee000b00000009000000280000000b0000000900000001000100000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff00ffe00000ff e04dfeffe000007fc000003f8040061f0040061f0078c10e0078c10c00000051000 0005401000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000 000000000000b000000090000005000000098000000e80000006c00000000000 000c60088000b00000009000000280000000b000000090000000100080000000

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000000000000010000000140000000400000003010800050000000b020000000 0050000000c0209000b00030000001e000400000007010400040000000701040 037000000410b8600ee0009000b000000000009000b0000000000280000000b0 0000009000000010001000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000ffffff000c0000001e004dfe1f0000003f8000003f8040067fc04006 ffe078c1ffe078c1ffe0000095000000410bc600880009000b000000000009000b 0000000000280000000b00000009000000010008000000000000000000000000 00000000001f0000000000000000000000ffffff003c3cf2003c3cd3003c3ccb003 c3cc2004b4bb3006969f8000000ff000000e7000000c7000000bf000000b30000 009b0000008f008585c400dfdfef001e1efd000000b7003c3ca700eeeeee00b2b2 f2000000ab000f0f9500d0d0e2006969f400dfdfeb002d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f70 06969c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d160f01010101000101011c 081617180101010001011a1b08160e13140101000101190808160e0e0f0101000 115080808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e1314000708090a0b0b0b0c0 d0e0f000203040404040404040506000c00000040092900aa0000000000000009 000b0000000000040000002701ffff030000000000 -0.58 (-1.34%) ] The S&P 500 also snapped a three-week losing streak to end the week 3.8 percent higher. On Friday, the broad index ended 14.41 points higher, or 1.3 percent, to close at 1,104.51. September 7, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down So what's behind Wal-Mart's latest push into banking? According to company news releases, it's all about providing customers with greater convenience and lower-cost services. But retailing experts say it has a lot more to do with a focus on top-line growth. Financial services are an additional way to attract customers-and revenue--to the low-cost retailing behemoth's 4,300 stores in the U.S. (It has another 4,000 stores in 15 other countries around the world, including Canada and Mexico.) "When you have 4,300 platforms to sell stuff, you are trying to sell whatever you can [under one roof]," says Nelson Lichtenstein, professor of history at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and author of Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business. "All you have to do is carve out a little space and see what keeps customers coming back." McDonalds; Stock Up McDonald's Corp.'s revenue at stores open at least a year should rise higher than previously expected around the world, an analyst said Tuesday as he raised estimates on the restaurant chain. THE OPINION: Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski raised his target share price to $83 from $76 and maintained his "Buy" rating on the fast food operator. The company, based in Oak Brook, Ill., is due to announce a key revenue figure on Thursday before the market opens. Kalinowski said he expects revenue at stores open at least a year to rise 5.8 percent in August, higher than the 2 percent he predicted earlier. He expects the figure to rise 5 percent in the U.S. and 5.5 percent in Europe, and 8 percent in Asia, Pacific, and the Middle East. Previously he expected a rise of 2 percent in each region. The figure is a key one for restaurant operators because

it measures growth at existing locations, and does not include new or closed locations. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Kraft Foods; Stock Down Based on the aggregated intelligence of 165,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, specialty coffee company Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) has received the dreaded one-star ranking. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Green Mountain's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now. Green Mountain facts Headquarters (Founded) Waterbury, Vt. (1981) Market Cap $4.2 billion Industry Packaged foods Trailing-12-Month Revenue $1.2 billion CEO Lawrence Blanford (since 2007) Management CFO Frances Rathke (since 2003) Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 21% Cash/Debt $9.0 million / $274.0 million Price-to-Earnings (GMCR and S&P 500) 61.8 and 13.7 1-Year Return 64% Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) Competitors Peet's Coffee & Tea On CAPS, 36% of the 306 All-Star members who have rated Green Mountain believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include Motley Fool Hidden Gems co-advisor Seth Jayson (TMFBent) and TMFDeej, both of whom are ranked in the top 1% of our community. A few months ago, Seth encouraged Fools to look past Green Mountain's soaring sales: "Wow, folks sure seem impressed by topline growth. My look at earnings of various types finds, well, not much. All the revenue growth in the world isn't going to help if [Green Mountain] ain't making much dough for shareholders." Despite whopping sales growth, Green Mountain has habitually posted negative to low single-digit cash king margins over the past decade. In fact, Green Mountain's lack of cash generation, coupled with a soaring stock price, has it currently trading at a stiff price-to-operating cash flow of over 100. For perspective, rivals Starbucks, Sara Lee, and Peet's sport price-to-cash flow ratios ranging from the low to mid-teens. While a few Wall Street analysts have listed Green Mountain as the perfect takeover target for food giants hankering to get into the specialty coffee game, including Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Kraft (NYSE: KFT), and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), it's tough to imagine a substantially higher offer than today's already super-rich price. Home Depot; Stock Down

Home Depot Inc. plans to sell debt for the first time since 2006 to replace cash funds used to repay notes that matured last month. The largest U.S. homeimprovement retailer may issue $1 billion of notes as soon as today, according to a person familiar with the transaction, who declined to be identified because terms arent set. Home Depot plans to sell 10- and 30- year bonds to replace cash used to repay 4.625 percent senior notes that matured Aug. 15, the Atlantabased company said today in a regulatory filing that didnt specify the size or timing of the sale. The retailer is marketing debt as borrowing costs for investment-grade companies fall to record lows. Yields on investment-grade debt fell to 3.911 percent yesterday, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynchs U.S. Corporate Master index, near the record 3.74 percent on Aug. 24, the lowest in the measures history dating to October 1986. Home Depot last sold debt in December 2006, issuing $5 billion of bonds to finance the repurchase of shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. American express; Stock Down Shares of American Express were down 3.09% to $40.51 in late morning trading. Down market rival Discover Financial(DFSHYPERLINK "http://www.thestreet.com/quote/DFS.html"_) shares were down by an equal amount, though Amex shares have trailed Discover by a wide margin over the past one- and three-month periods. Analyst Kathleen Shanley of Gimme Credit thinks recession fears are part of the problem, but also, she argues, "investors are uncertain about whether or not the company's long-term earnings growth will be constrained by new regulations." Nonetheless, Shanley is mostly positive on the company's ability to weather the new environment. She rates the bonds a "buy," citing strong liquidity at the company. She also argues the Durbin amendment, which will reduce fees card issuers get from merchants, may not be so bad for American Express as many fear since it "has done a good job of persuading merchants that Amex merits a premium, because acceptance of the card helps companies grow their sales." September 8, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down It was down because Toys R Us added 600 pop-up stores. McDonalds; Stock Up The world's largest pork producer said it earned $76.3 million, or 46 cents a share, in the latest quarter, in line with the average target of analysts polled by FactSet Research. In the year-earlier quarter, Smithfield (SFD 17.72, -0.01, -0.06%) lost $107.7 million, or 75 cents a share. Sales rose 7% to $2.9 billion, compared to analysts' average forecast of $2.98 billion. Much tighter pork supplies and rebounding exports are helping Smithfield, which has spent the past two years shoring up its battered balance sheet by closing plants and cutting other costs. This, along with other industry-wide supply cuts, is bolstering margins. Smithfield, which sells ham, bacon and sausage to supermarkets and fast-food chains such as McDonald's Corp. (MCD 78.86, -1.48, -1.84%) and Subway, said retail sales dipped below last year's levels.

Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coca-Cola Co. still sees "tremendous opportunity" in the U.S. market although its growth is being outpaced by emerging markets such as India and China. Chief Financial Officer Gary Fayard said the market is the company's "flagship" and changes in the U.S. in the coming years, including having a population that skews younger and is more diverse, will be good for its brands. But overall, the company's business in the U.S. and western Europe is still "fragile," he said at the Barclays Capital Back-To-School conference on Wednesday. People in more developed economies have been limiting their purchases of soft drinks amid the ongoing economic slump and switching to healthier juices and teas. But business has been improving, he said. "We saw some growth in the second quarter. And so while it is fragile, we are starting to see a little bit of a lift," he said, adding the company was cautiously optimistic on those markets. The company has been expanding abroad to counteract weakness at home. China, India and Brazil are providing growth opportunities for the company, though Fayard said the growth has been "more of a stairstep." "It's going to grow significantly, probably take a little breather and then take off again," he said. Japan and Eastern Europe will have a delayed recovery because of the economy there as well, including high unemployment and an aging population. So far this year, the company's total amount of drinks sold is up 4 percent from the same period last year and revenue is up 3 percent. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Home Depot; Stock Up Large-cap home improvement retailers like Home Depot (NYSE: HD News) and Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW - News) have offered notable hurricane commentary during past conference calls, and while the firms could be traded as diversified beneficiaries of hurricane-related sales, they can also offer some actionable insights in other segments. In 2005, Home Depot noted "unprecedented" demand for extension cords, among other products following hurricane Katrina. While Coleman Cable (NASDAQ: CCIX - News) made no mention of hurricane-driven demand during 2005, Home Depot's discussion points to potential drivers for the firm's products, which range from extension cords to welding cable. American express; Stock Down Wary of the economy, shoppers are increasingly shying away from credit cards, opting to use cash, checks or debit cards rather than to "pay later" on a credit card. In fact, use of debit cards surpassed that of credit cards last year, according to a new study released by Javelin Strategy & Research. The study found that in 2009, only 56 percent of consumers surveyed during a particular month had used a credit card, down sharply from 87 percent in in 2007. September 9, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Just in case some consumers forget about Wal-Mart, Mike Duke (CEO) has upped the ad spending to remind them of every-day-low-prices and other

good things. Ad cost was $2.4 billion last year vs. $1.8 billion two years earlier. It helps foot traffic, but sales have still been sluggish. McDonalds; Stock Down The #1 fast food chain in the world, McDonalds (MCD) said today its global same-store sale rose 4.9% in August.Same-store sales were up 4.6% in the US, where sales of McCafe Real Fruit Smoothies and Frappes fueled growth. Samestore sales grew 2.2% in Europe, and 7.8% in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Kraft Foods; Stock Up Cocoa and chocolates maker Barry Callebaut has signed a long-term agreement with Kraft Foods Inc. to supply the food maker with cocoa products and other chocolate ingredients. The agreement, which also includes some of the Cadbury liquid chocolate deliveries, will more than double Barry Callebaut's existing business with the Northfield, Ill.-based food maker. Because of that, the company said that it plans to spend about $65 million in the next two years to boost its production capacity. Terms were not disclosed in a news release Thursday by the Geneva, Switzerland-based company. Barry Callebaut said it will increase production capacities in the U.S., Canada, Cote D'Ivoire, Malaysia and in Europe. Home Depot; Stock Down Costco's margins rarely go over 15%. I believe that their average margins or markup is around 11%, where, for example, home improvement chains are in the mid-20s in percentage markups, like Lowe's (LOW) and Home Depot (HD). Also Costco treats their employees wonderfully, and people who shop at Costco love it. It is almost like a treasure hunt because about 40% of what Costco carries is not going to be there the next month or two. American express; Stock Up The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up almost 50 points, led by Bank of America [BAC 13.23 010009000003e10300000000e60200000000e602000026060f00c205574d46430 10000000000010076130000000001000000a005000000000000a005000001000 0006c00000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000057010 0001801000020454d4600000100a00500000f0000000100000000000000000000 0000000000000400000003000040010000f000000000000000000000000000000 000e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c00000 0100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000001c0200001002000 0454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c000000000000002440010 00c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c000000 0000000008400005680100005c0100000210c0db010000000000000000000000 00000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b 000000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffff015353105d5d3c 7a7a4b848486aaaaa4bdbdd0dbdb248e633d9a74017e3e209c5647c97251cb7a7

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101010102030101010101000c00000040092900aa0000000000000009000b000 0000000040000002701ffff030000000000 0.17 (+1.3%) ], Johnson & Johnson [JNJ 61.93 010009000003f10300000000f00200000000f002000026060f00d605574d464301 000000000001002b230000000001000000b405000000000000b4050000010000 006c00000000000000000000000a000000080000000000000000000000570100 001801000020454d4600000100b40500000f00000001000000000000000000000 000000000000400000003000040010000f0000000000000000000000000000000 00e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c000000 100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000002402000018020000 454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c0000000000000024400100 0c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c0000000 00000000840000570010000640100000210c0db0100000000000000000000000 0000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b0 00000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffffff0000e70000c700 00bf0000b70000b30000ab00009b00008f0000950f0ffd1e1efc2d2df23c3cd33c3c cb3c3cc23c3ca73c3cb34b4bf86969f46969f77777c76969c48585f2b2b2f1c1c1e2 d0d0efdfdfebdfdfeeeeeeffffff087958ec0000002074524e53ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffff005c5c1bed00000001624b47440088051d480000000c636d5050 4a436d703037313200000003480073bc0000005149444154185725ca47128030 0c43518f2190981e5a68d6fd6f498a169ab7f8344e73d9b2d2c6556d8c699d047a7 be6aa71225e0917335b91ee01017b7640f237447bcdc6cd3616c57ad8581443cff 4f801439d0761d0a9a52b0000000049454e44ae42608200084001082400000018 0000000210c0db01000000030000000000000000000000000000001b40000040 000000340000000100000002000000000000bf000000bf0000304100001041030 00000000000b3000000b3ffff2f41000000b3000000b3ffff0f412100000008000000 620000000c00000001000000150000000c00000004000000150000000c0000000 4000000460000001400000008000000544e50500601000051000000a40000000 0000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000 b0000000900000050000000300000008000000024000000000000008600ee000 b00000009000000280000000b000000090000000100010000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff000c0000001e004dfe1f000 0003f8000003f8040067fc04006ffe078c1ffe078c1ffe00000510000006001000000 000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b 0000000900000050000000a4000000f40000006c00000000000000c60088000b0 0000009000000280000000b00000009000000010008000000000000000000000 00000000000001f0000000000000000000000ffffff003c3cf2003c3cd3003c3ccb00 3c3cc2004b4bb3006969f8000000ff000000e7000000c7000000bf000000b300000 09b0000008f008585c400dfdfef001e1efd000000b7003c3ca700eeeeee00b2b2f20 00000ab000f0f9500d0d0e2006969f400dfdfeb002d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f7006969 c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d160f01010101000101011c08161 7180101010001011a1b08160e13140101000101190808160e0e0f010100011508 0808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e1314000708090a0b0b0b0c0d0e0f0 0020304040404040404050600460000001400000008000000544e50500701000 04c0000006400000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000 00b000000090000002900aa0000000000000000000000803f0000000000000000

0000803f000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000220000000c000000ffffffff460000001c00000010000000454d462b02400 0000c000000000000000e0000001400000000000000100000001400000004000 00003010800050000000b0200000000050000000c0209000b00030000001e000 400000007010400040000000701040037000000410b8600ee0009000b0000000 00009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff000c0000001e004dfe1 f0000003f8000003f8040067fc04006ffe078c1ffe078c1ffe0000095000000410bc60 0880009000b000000000009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010 00800000000000000000000000000000000001f0000000000000000000000ffffff0 03c3cf2003c3cd3003c3ccb003c3cc2004b4bb3006969f8000000ff000000e70000 00c7000000bf000000b30000009b0000008f008585c400dfdfef001e1efd000000b 7003c3ca700eeeeee00b2b2f2000000ab000f0f9500d0d0e2006969f400dfdfeb00 2d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f7006969c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d 160f01010101000101011c081617180101010001011a1b08160e1314010100010 1190808160e0e0f0101000115080808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e13 14000708090a0b0b0b0c0d0e0f000203040404040404040506000c00000040092 900aa0000000000000009000b0000000000040000002701ffff030000000000 -0.32 (-0.51%) ] and AT&T [T 29.35 010009000003e10300000000e60200000000e602000026060f00c205574d46430 10000000000010076130000000001000000a005000000000000a005000001000 0006c00000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000057010 0001801000020454d4600000100a00500000f0000000100000000000000000000 0000000000000400000003000040010000f000000000000000000000000000000 000e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c00000 0100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000001c0200001002000 0454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c000000000000002440010 00c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c000000 0000000008400005680100005c0100000210c0db010000000000000000000000 00000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b 000000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffff015353105d5d3c 7a7a4b848486aaaaa4bdbdd0dbdb248e633d9a74017e3e209c5647c97251cb7a7 1d291a5deb843cc6b62d38277cb8c35d756caead000d41589e993d5edd712f21d 00ff0077f777eeeeeeffffff0000000000009386e5720000001e74524e53ffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff00ec181c5e00000001624b47440088051d480000000c6 36d50504a436d703037313200000003480073bc0000004b49444154185735c8d 90e80200c44d1a6e08238821b6ee9ffffa66d94fb30391912ed1c6c856c5268aa33 0277ff3fa9dde704357b73063032732bb4cfd8aebb44763d2d2aab444fc7535b5fb 46807c35b0e89000000000049454e44ae4260820008400108240000001800000 00210c0db01000000030000000000000000000000000000001b4000004000000 0340000000100000002000000000000bf000000bf000030410000104103000000 000000b3000000b3ffff2f41000000b3000000b3ffff0f41210000000800000062000 0000c00000001000000150000000c00000004000000150000000c000000040000 00460000001400000008000000544e50500601000051000000a4000000000000 00000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b0000 000900000050000000300000008000000024000000000000008600ee000b0000

0009000000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff00ffe00000ffe04dfeffe000007fc00 0003f8040061f0040061f0078c10e0078c10c00000051000000540100000000000 0000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b00000 0090000005000000098000000e80000006c00000000000000c60088000b00000 009000000280000000b000000090000000100080000000000000000000000000 0000000001c0000000000000000000000ffffff00d7edd500749a3d0091d2710063 8e240084844b00b8dea50072c9470053530100bdbda4007acb51005d5d10007a 7a3c00569c2000aaaa8600d0eaca006bcc430056d735001df2120000ff000015d4 00003e7e0100dbdbd00082d3620093e9890077f777008ccb7700191a1a1a1a1a1 a1a1a1a1b00181213141414141415160d001011081213141516090c170001070 808080e0909090f010001010408080509090d0101000101010b0805090c010101 00010101070805090a0101010001010101040506010101010001010101020301 0101010100460000001400000008000000544e5050070100004c000000640000 0000000000000000000a0000000800000000000000000000000b000000090000 002900aa0000000000000000000000803f00000000000000000000803f0000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000002200000 00c000000ffffffff460000001c00000010000000454d462b024000000c0000000000 00000e0000001400000000000000100000001400000004000000030108000500 00000b0200000000050000000c0209000b00030000001e000400000007010400 040000000701040037000000410b8600ee0009000b000000000009000b000000 0000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000ffffff00ffe00000ffe04dfeffe000007fc000003f80 40061f0040061f0078c10e0078c10c0000008f000000410bc600880009000b0000 00000009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010008000000000000 00000000000000000000001c0000000000000000000000ffffff00d7edd500749a3 d0091d27100638e240084844b00b8dea50072c9470053530100bdbda4007acb5 1005d5d10007a7a3c00569c2000aaaa8600d0eaca006bcc430056d735001df212 0000ff000015d400003e7e0100dbdbd00082d3620093e9890077f777008ccb7700 191a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1b00181213141414141415160d001011081213141516 090c170001070808080e0909090f010001010408080509090d0101000101010b0 805090c01010100010101070805090a010101000101010104050601010101000 101010102030101010101000c00000040092900aa0000000000000009000b000 0000000040000002701ffff030000000000 0.15 (+0.51%) ], after rising half a percent in the previous session. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also higher. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, fell near 23. Stocks rallied throughout the morning after new jobless claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to a twomonth low last week to 451,000. Economists had expected a more modest drop to 470,000. September 10, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Wal-Mart(WMT)is opting not to hire a new chief merchandising officer, for now, instead naming four new heads of product to adopt these responsibilities. The discount behemoth sent around an internal memo to employees earlier this month outlining its strategy for merchandising.

Recently appointed CEO Bill Simon said Wal-Mart has created four core merchandising areas around general merchandise and replenishment, food, softlines, and consumables, health and wellness, as well as Walmart.com. John Westling, Jack Sinclair, Andy Barron and Duncan MacNaughton, will head up those divisions, respectively. "This structure aligns similar categories and allows us to be even more competitive in each customer channel, improving how we target and localize merchandise," Simon wrote. McDonalds; Stock Up This decade pushed CSR into strategy. Corporate governance and ethics became central to every departmental function, much like the graph on the left. For Bannan, this translates into a 360-degree view of the company and an oversight of not only employee engagement but also active participation in catalyzing a cultural shift. We set priorities according to what we call the Smart Zone, which basically means what efforts will result in win-win solutions, she explained. Those solutions include things like investing in energy efficiency solutions and analyzing an environmental scorecard across departments to chart progress as well as identify struggle points. Accompanying her presentation, attendees received a copy of McDonalds CSR Report for 2008, titled: Responsible Food for a Sustainable Future. A couple of the goals on the back cover include: Continue to enhance our employment value proposition to drive employee engagement. Continue to integrate McDonalds values into people programs, from hiring to training to career development. That these goals tie in with those of the talent acquisition and education teams is not coincidental. It is this common Global Inclusion and Diversity umbrella that is ensuring a strategic approach across departments at McDonalds. While CSR remains a small piece of the equation for them, it is clear that progress is underway as well as the recognition that CSR is, indeed, everybodys business. Coca-Cola; Stock Up First, we'll look at most investors' favorite metric: the price-to-earnings ratio. It divides the company's share price by its earnings per share -- the lower, the better. Then, we'll take things up a notch with a more advanced metric: enterprise value to unlevered free cash flow. This divides the company's enterprise value (basically, its market cap plus its debt, minus its cash) by its unlevered free cash flow (its free cash flow, adding back the interest payments on its debt). Like the P/E, the lower this number is, the better. Analysts argue about which is more important -- earnings or cash flow. Who cares? A good buy ideally has low multiples on both. Coca-Cola has a P/E ratio of 18.1 and an EV/FCF ratio of 19.1 over the trailing 12 months. If we stretch and compare current valuations to the five-year averages for earnings and free cash flow, Coca-Cola has a P/E ratio of 22.6 and a five-year EV/FCF ratio of 23.8. A oneyear ratio under 10 for both metrics is ideal. For a five-year metric, under 20 is ideal. Coca-Cola is 0 for 4 on hitting the ideal targets, but let's see how it compares against some competitors and industry mates.

Kraft Foods; Stock Up An on-site worker with a walkie-talkie may have prevented more deaths at Thursdays fatal shooting at a Kraft Foods plant in Philadelphia, police said Friday. Two people died in the rampage and a third was injured by gunfire. Suspect Yvonne Hiller, 43, had been suspended by the Kraft site earlier in the day and returned at around 8:30 p.m. Thursday with a .357 Magnum, according to authorities. She was a 15-year employee of the plant, most recently working in the mixing area. She has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The Kraft site, on Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia, produces cookies and crackers under the Nabisco brand. It is closed until further notice, said Joyce Hodel, a spokeswoman for Northfield, Ill.based Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT). Hiller had had disputes with employees in recent years, including verbal altercations and at least one physical altercation with one of the victims, a woman, said Philadelphia Police spokesman Cpt. James Clark, lead homicide investigator. In at least one case, the suspect believed co-workers were spraying chemicals at her. After killing two co-workers, she looked for her manager, but he avoided her gunfire. An alert worker, a Kraft mechanic carrying a walkie-talkie and personal cell phone, trailed the suspect. He called 911, radioed to co-workers to warn them of the shooters presence and yelled to employees to hide. He also avoided gunfire when shot at, Clark said. Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan called him a hero. He was trailing her so we knew where she was. Its a very large facility, Sullivan said. Hiller closed herself in a room and turned off the lights just feet from seven employees who had barricaded themselves in an adjacent room. She eventually called 911, and a dispatcher helped diffuse the situation. By the time police located her, she put her hands on her head and her gun on the floor. She had additional ammunition in her pockets, police said. This is a sad time for the Kraft Foods family, Kraft Foods said in a statement. We are saddened that two employees died as a result of this incident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families. The loss of a loved one is a great sorrow. Employees will be offered counseling services. Home Depot; Stock Up The current price multiples First, we'll look at most investors' favorite metric: the price-to-earnings ratio. It divides the company's share price by its earnings per share -- the lower, the better. Then, we'll take things up a notch with a more advanced metric: enterprise value to unlevered free cash flow. This divides the company's enterprise value (basically, its market cap plus its debt, minus its cash) by its unlevered free cash flow (its free cash flow, adding back the interest payments on its debt). Like the P/E, the lower this number is, the better. Analysts argue about which is more important -- earnings or cash flow. Who cares? A good buy ideally has low multiples on both. Home Depot has a P/E ratio of 16.6 and an EV/FCF ratio of 12.4 over the trailing 12 months. If we stretch and compare current valuations to the five-year averages for earnings and free cash flow, Home Depot has a P/E ratio of 12.4 and a five-year EV/FCF ratio of 15.2. A one-year ratio under 10 for both metrics is ideal. For a five-year metric, under 20 is ideal. American express; Stock Down

American Express, a consumer finance company, pays a dividend of 1.8%. That dividend yield may not seem like much, but considering that more than 100 companies in the S&P 500 don't pay anything at all, it's nothing to complain about. Plus, don't forget, dividends typically grow with time, so that 1.8% has the potential to skyrocket. But what's more important than the dividend itself is American Express' ability to keep that cash rolling in. The first thing to look at is the company's reported dividends versus its reported earnings. If you happen to see dividend payments that are growing faster than earnings per share, it may be an initial signal that something just isn't right. Check out the graph below for details of the past five years: Clearly, there doesn't seem to be a problem here. American Express has been able to boost its earnings at an adequate pace and keep its dividends in check at the same time. September 13, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up BENTONVILLE, Ark., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- To help families stay connected while saving money, Walmart (NYSE:WMT - News) announced it will launch Walmart Family Mobile powered by T-Mobile, a new brand of post-paid cell phone service that offers the best value for unlimited talk and text. Walmart Family Mobile is a new monthly post-paid plan available without a contract or multi-year commitment, and offers a family of three savings of up to $1,200 per year compared to the leading national unlimited talk and text plans*. The service will be provided by T-Mobile over its nationwide network, and will be sold exclusively by Walmart in nearly 2,500 stores starting Sept. 20. McDonalds; Stock Down Consumer Discretionary You don't want to panic and sell good stocks in this sector for the same reason you'd keep a worthy industrial stock during a downturn. When the economy starts to recover, it's going to come back. And if it sells something people really seem to want, a crash and recession might not slow it up much at all. Take McDonald's ( MCD - news - people ), for example. The company has consistently made money for investors through good times and bad with nearly half the volatility of the overall stock market, as indicated by a beta of 0.55. Coca-Cola; Stock Down New Coke has a honored place in the ranks of the Stupid. The mid-1980s beverage was more than just a marketing fiasco, or a "good idea at the time." It was a dunderheaded Coca-Cola(KO) neglecting to ask itself a simple question, "Is the old Coke, the one that built our business, the one that millions of people were weaned on, so awful that we, uh, have to take it off the market?" Kraft Foods; Stock Up After a lackluster start to 2010, the iPath Dow Jones-UBS Coffee Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE: JO - News) surged higher in June, and is now up by 30% year-to-date, and as of this writing, the ETF's three-month rally is second only to the iPath Dow Jones-AIG Grains Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE:

JJG - News) among components of the Commodity ETFs Index. However, Bloomberg notes the bull run in coffee bean futures could be nearing its conclusion as hedge funds pare their bets. Last week, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR - News) announced that it would hike its K-Cup prices by 10% to 15% to account for input costs, most notably the recent surge in coffee beans. According to Bloomberg, packaged foods giant Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT - News) has increased the U.S. prices of certain Maxwell House and Yuban coffees twice since May, Folgers parent JM Smucker (NYSE: SJM News) boosted its coffee prices by an average 9%, and coffeehouse giant Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX - News) announced that the rising commodity value will contribute 4 cents in expenses for the year ending September 2011. As a whole, the Coffee Stocks Index has outperformed the S&P 500 by 3% over the last month, during which Green Mountain and Starbucks were top performers, gaining more than 7%. On a three-month basis, however, Green Mountain and small-cap coffeehouse operator Caribou Coffee Company (NASDAQ: CBOU News), which also offers coffee in K-Cups compatible with Green Mountain's Keurig roasters, are the Index's only winners. Bloomberg cites ABN Amro Bank NV and VM Group, noting that supplies of the world's most common coffee bean variety will exceed demand by 6.67 million 60-kilogram bags in the year ending September 2011, and speculators have begun paring their exposure to the commodity. It will be interesting see where coffee prices and the related equity segments to from here. Investors can track the Coffee Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com. Fun and informative, tickerspy.com is a free investing website where you can track multiple stock portfolios and compare against 250 proprietary Indexes tracking themes from dividends to ETFs to green energy to precious metals. Best of all, tickerspy.com lets you spy on the portfolios of nearly 3,000 Wall Street institutions and hedge funds and see graphs of their performance. Try tickerspy.com today and find out how you stack up against investing legends like Warren Buffett! Home Depot; Stock Up Home Depot (NYSE: HD) just sold $1 billion in bonds at an interest rate below 4%. What will the home improvement chain do with the proceeds? Buy back stock, just as it has before. The retailer had 2.3 billion shares outstanding in 2004. Six years later, the share count has dropped by 700 million, thanks to ongoing buybacks. That's a sure-fire way to boost earnings per share, and why many expect the company to post sharply higher EPS when the housing market is finally back on track. American express; Stock Up September 14, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up On Tuesday afternoon, the estate of John Walton filed insider sales transactions with the Securities and Exchange Commission showing a sale of

just over 30,000 shares of First Solar at a price of $140.15. The sales were made on Sept. 10 and Sept. 13. First Solar watchers, and solar investors more generally, often look to the Walton sales of First Solar as a sign of a ceiling in the value of First Solar shares. Many solar insiders contend that the Waltons -- early backers of First Solar among many green investments form the Wal-Mart heirs -are exiting First Solar at every chance they get, and the recent rally in the solar sector seemed to represent the latest chance to sell some First Solar stock. McDonalds; Stock Down McDonald's Corp. is the target of a new television commercial set to air in Washington, D.C., Thursday that blames the burger giant for heart disease. In the commercial, produced by the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a woman weeps over a dead man lying in a morgue. In his hand is a hamburger. At the end, the golden arches appear over his feet, followed by the words, "I was lovin' it," a play on McDonald's longtime ad slogan, "I'm lovin' it." A voiceover says, "High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian." PCRM's president, Neal Barnard, was once on the board of the Foundation to Support Animal Protection, now known as the PETA Foundation, which provides accounting, legal and other services to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other animal-protection groups. A PCRM spokeswoman says the organization has no link to PETA. "McDonald's is committed to providing balanced menu choices and a variety of options to meet our customers' needs and preferences," said Cindy Goody, director of nutrition for McDonald's. Scott DeFife, an executive vice president at industry group the National Restaurant Association, called the ad "irresponsible" and said it "attempts to scare consumers into making choices and promotes a limited view of good nutrition." Coca-Cola; Stock Down Kraft Foods; Stock Up Home Depot; Stock Down The collapse in home sales, both new and used, also probably depressed sales on the appliance side. On the other hand, sporting goods and Hobby stores had a solid month with sales up 0.9% after falling 0.1% in July and are up 4.0% from a year ago. Sales in the Building Materials and Garden Center stores like Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News) were unchanged on the month after falling 0.4% in July but are up 4.9% from a year ago. Given how weak the construction industry has been, up 4.9% from a year ago is a fairly solid showing, but then again, a year ago things were pretty depressed. American express; Stock Down The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.64 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,526.49, following an 80-point rally in the previous session. Boeing [BA 64.8745 010009000003f10300000000f00200000000f002000026060f00d605574d464301

000000000001002b230000000001000000b405000000000000b4050000010000 006c00000000000000000000000a000000080000000000000000000000570100 001801000020454d4600000100b40500000f00000001000000000000000000000 000000000000400000003000040010000f0000000000000000000000000000000 00e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c000000 100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000002402000018020000 454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c0000000000000024400100 0c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c0000000 00000000840000570010000640100000210c0db0100000000000000000000000 0000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b0 00000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffffff0000e70000c700 00bf0000b70000b30000ab00009b00008f0000950f0ffd1e1efc2d2df23c3cd33c3c cb3c3cc23c3ca73c3cb34b4bf86969f46969f77777c76969c48585f2b2b2f1c1c1e2 d0d0efdfdfebdfdfeeeeeeffffff087958ec0000002074524e53ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffff005c5c1bed00000001624b47440088051d480000000c636d5050 4a436d703037313200000003480073bc0000005149444154185725ca47128030 0c43518f2190981e5a68d6fd6f498a169ab7f8344e73d9b2d2c6556d8c699d047a7 be6aa71225e0917335b91ee01017b7640f237447bcdc6cd3616c57ad8581443cff 4f801439d0761d0a9a52b0000000049454e44ae42608200084001082400000018 0000000210c0db01000000030000000000000000000000000000001b40000040 000000340000000100000002000000000000bf000000bf0000304100001041030 00000000000b3000000b3ffff2f41000000b3000000b3ffff0f412100000008000000 620000000c00000001000000150000000c00000004000000150000000c0000000 4000000460000001400000008000000544e50500601000051000000a40000000 0000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000 b0000000900000050000000300000008000000024000000000000008600ee000 b00000009000000280000000b000000090000000100010000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff000c0000001e004dfe1f000 0003f8000003f8040067fc04006ffe078c1ffe078c1ffe00000510000006001000000 000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b 0000000900000050000000a4000000f40000006c00000000000000c60088000b0 0000009000000280000000b00000009000000010008000000000000000000000 00000000000001f0000000000000000000000ffffff003c3cf2003c3cd3003c3ccb00 3c3cc2004b4bb3006969f8000000ff000000e7000000c7000000bf000000b300000 09b0000008f008585c400dfdfef001e1efd000000b7003c3ca700eeeeee00b2b2f20 00000ab000f0f9500d0d0e2006969f400dfdfeb002d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f7006969 c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d160f01010101000101011c08161 7180101010001011a1b08160e13140101000101190808160e0e0f010100011508 0808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e1314000708090a0b0b0b0c0d0e0f0 0020304040404040404050600460000001400000008000000544e50500701000 04c0000006400000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000 00b000000090000002900aa0000000000000000000000803f0000000000000000 0000803f000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000220000000c000000ffffffff460000001c00000010000000454d462b02400 0000c000000000000000e0000001400000000000000100000001400000004000 00003010800050000000b0200000000050000000c0209000b00030000001e000

400000007010400040000000701040037000000410b8600ee0009000b0000000 00009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff000c0000001e004dfe1 f0000003f8000003f8040067fc04006ffe078c1ffe078c1ffe0000095000000410bc60 0880009000b000000000009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010 00800000000000000000000000000000000001f0000000000000000000000ffffff0 03c3cf2003c3cd3003c3ccb003c3cc2004b4bb3006969f8000000ff000000e70000 00c7000000bf000000b30000009b0000008f008585c400dfdfef001e1efd000000b 7003c3ca700eeeeee00b2b2f2000000ab000f0f9500d0d0e2006969f400dfdfeb00 2d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f7006969c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d 160f01010101000101011c081617180101010001011a1b08160e1314010100010 1190808160e0e0f0101000115080808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e13 14000708090a0b0b0b0c0d0e0f000203040404040404040506000c00000040092 900aa0000000000000009000b0000000000040000002701ffff030000000000 -0.1855 (-0.29%) ], American Express [AXP 43.02 010009000003e10300000000e60200000000e602000026060f00c205574d46430 10000000000010076130000000001000000a005000000000000a005000001000 0006c00000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000057010 0001801000020454d4600000100a00500000f0000000100000000000000000000 0000000000000400000003000040010000f000000000000000000000000000000 000e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c00000 0100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000001c0200001002000 0454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c000000000000002440010 00c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c000000 0000000008400005680100005c0100000210c0db010000000000000000000000 00000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b 000000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffff015353105d5d3c 7a7a4b848486aaaaa4bdbdd0dbdb248e633d9a74017e3e209c5647c97251cb7a7 1d291a5deb843cc6b62d38277cb8c35d756caead000d41589e993d5edd712f21d 00ff0077f777eeeeeeffffff0000000000009386e5720000001e74524e53ffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff00ec181c5e00000001624b47440088051d480000000c6 36d50504a436d703037313200000003480073bc0000004b49444154185735c8d 90e80200c44d1a6e08238821b6ee9ffffa66d94fb30391912ed1c6c856c5268aa33 0277ff3fa9dde704357b73063032732bb4cfd8aebb44763d2d2aab444fc7535b5fb 46807c35b0e89000000000049454e44ae4260820008400108240000001800000 00210c0db01000000030000000000000000000000000000001b4000004000000 0340000000100000002000000000000bf000000bf000030410000104103000000 000000b3000000b3ffff2f41000000b3000000b3ffff0f41210000000800000062000 0000c00000001000000150000000c00000004000000150000000c000000040000 00460000001400000008000000544e50500601000051000000a4000000000000 00000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b0000 000900000050000000300000008000000024000000000000008600ee000b0000 0009000000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff00ffe00000ffe04dfeffe000007fc00 0003f8040061f0040061f0078c10e0078c10c00000051000000540100000000000 0000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b00000

0090000005000000098000000e80000006c00000000000000c60088000b00000 009000000280000000b000000090000000100080000000000000000000000000 0000000001c0000000000000000000000ffffff00d7edd500749a3d0091d2710063 8e240084844b00b8dea50072c9470053530100bdbda4007acb51005d5d10007a 7a3c00569c2000aaaa8600d0eaca006bcc430056d735001df2120000ff000015d4 00003e7e0100dbdbd00082d3620093e9890077f777008ccb7700191a1a1a1a1a1 a1a1a1a1b00181213141414141415160d001011081213141516090c170001070 808080e0909090f010001010408080509090d0101000101010b0805090c010101 00010101070805090a0101010001010101040506010101010001010101020301 0101010100460000001400000008000000544e5050070100004c000000640000 0000000000000000000a0000000800000000000000000000000b000000090000 002900aa0000000000000000000000803f00000000000000000000803f0000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000002200000 00c000000ffffffff460000001c00000010000000454d462b024000000c0000000000 00000e0000001400000000000000100000001400000004000000030108000500 00000b0200000000050000000c0209000b00030000001e000400000007010400 040000000701040037000000410b8600ee0009000b000000000009000b000000 0000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000ffffff00ffe00000ffe04dfeffe000007fc000003f80 40061f0040061f0078c10e0078c10c0000008f000000410bc600880009000b0000 00000009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010008000000000000 00000000000000000000001c0000000000000000000000ffffff00d7edd500749a3 d0091d27100638e240084844b00b8dea50072c9470053530100bdbda4007acb5 1005d5d10007a7a3c00569c2000aaaa8600d0eaca006bcc430056d735001df212 0000ff000015d400003e7e0100dbdbd00082d3620093e9890077f777008ccb7700 191a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1b00181213141414141415160d001011081213141516 090c170001070808080e0909090f010001010408080509090d0101000101010b0 805090c01010100010101070805090a010101000101010104050601010101000 101010102030101010101000c00000040092900aa0000000000000009000b000 0000000040000002701ffff030000000000 0.25 (+0.58%) ] and Bank of America [BAC 13.26 010009000003e10300000000e60200000000e602000026060f00c205574d46430 10000000000010076130000000001000000a005000000000000a005000001000 0006c00000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000057010 0001801000020454d4600000100a00500000f0000000100000000000000000000 0000000000000400000003000040010000f000000000000000000000000000000 000e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c00000 0100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000001c0200001002000 0454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c000000000000002440010 00c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c000000 0000000008400005680100005c0100000210c0db010000000000000000000000 00000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b 000000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffff015353105d5d3c 7a7a4b848486aaaaa4bdbdd0dbdb248e633d9a74017e3e209c5647c97251cb7a7 1d291a5deb843cc6b62d38277cb8c35d756caead000d41589e993d5edd712f21d 00ff0077f777eeeeeeffffff0000000000009386e5720000001e74524e53ffffffffffffffffff

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0003f8040061f0040061f0078c10e0078c10c00000051000000540100000000000 0000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b00000 0090000005000000098000000e80000006c00000000000000c60088000b00000 009000000280000000b000000090000000100080000000000000000000000000 0000000001c0000000000000000000000ffffff00d7edd500749a3d0091d2710063 8e240084844b00b8dea50072c9470053530100bdbda4007acb51005d5d10007a 7a3c00569c2000aaaa8600d0eaca006bcc430056d735001df2120000ff000015d4 00003e7e0100dbdbd00082d3620093e9890077f777008ccb7700191a1a1a1a1a1 a1a1a1a1b00181213141414141415160d001011081213141516090c170001070 808080e0909090f010001010408080509090d0101000101010b0805090c010101 00010101070805090a0101010001010101040506010101010001010101020301 0101010100460000001400000008000000544e5050070100004c000000640000 0000000000000000000a0000000800000000000000000000000b000000090000 002900aa0000000000000000000000803f00000000000000000000803f0000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000002200000 00c000000ffffffff460000001c00000010000000454d462b024000000c0000000000 00000e0000001400000000000000100000001400000004000000030108000500 00000b0200000000050000000c0209000b00030000001e000400000007010400 040000000701040037000000410b8600ee0009000b000000000009000b000000 0000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000ffffff00ffe00000ffe04dfeffe000007fc000003f80 40061f0040061f0078c10e0078c10c0000008f000000410bc600880009000b0000 00000009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010008000000000000 00000000000000000000001c0000000000000000000000ffffff00d7edd500749a3 d0091d27100638e240084844b00b8dea50072c9470053530100bdbda4007acb5 1005d5d10007a7a3c00569c2000aaaa8600d0eaca006bcc430056d735001df212 0000ff000015d400003e7e0100dbdbd00082d3620093e9890077f777008ccb7700 191a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1b00181213141414141415160d001011081213141516 090c170001070808080e0909090f010001010408080509090d0101000101010b0 805090c01010100010101070805090a010101000101010104050601010101000 101010102030101010101000c00000040092900aa0000000000000009000b000 0000000040000002701ffff030000000000 0.38 (+0.68%) ] rose. The S&P 500 fell 0.80 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 1,121.10, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 4.06 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,289.77. The CBOE Volatility Index, the mostly widely used gauge of fear in the market, rose above 21. September 15, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up NEW YORK (MarketWatch) Faced with declining same-store sales at Walmart U.S., the flagship of No. 1 retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the divisions new president and chief executive pledged Wednesday to revive business in the fourth quarter. We are reviewing billions of items and store combinations in restoring anything thats profitable for us, according to Simon. The message Im delivering [to our suppliers] is We are open for business and we want to sell your products. Assortment is important for us. We are a house of brands. The promise of one-stop shop is what we have to deliver. He also added that the company

will decide what to stock based on customer demand, instead of directing shoppers to certain categories. Walmart also is working more closely with its branded suppliers, including product-launch partnerships. Private brands will still be important and will be used to fill gaps in the chains offerings, he commented. Walmart U.S., which had promoted so-called rollbacks, or temporary price cuts on select items, has switched its pricing focus back to its everyday low prices since the July 4th weekend, Simon said. McDonalds; Stock Up There's no foolproof way to know the future for McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result. Rest assured: Even if you're not monitoring these metrics, short-sellers are. I often use accounts receivable (AR) and days sales outstanding (DSO) to judge a company's current health and future prospects. It's an important step in separating the pretenders from the market's best stocks. Alone, AR -- the amount of money owed the company -- and DSO -- days worth of sales owed to the company -- don't tell you much. However, by considering the trends in AR and DSO, you can sometimes get a window onto the future. AR that grows more quickly than revenue, or ballooning DSO, can suggest a desperate company that's trying to boost sales by giving its customers overly generous payment terms. Or it can indicate that the company sprinted to book a load of sales at the end of the quarter, like used-car dealers on the 29th of the month. (Sometimes, companies do both.) Why might an upstanding company like McDonald's do this? For the same reason any other company might: to make the numbers. Investors don't like revenue shortfalls, and employees don't like reporting them to their superiors. Is McDonald's sending any warning signs? Take a look at the chart below, which plots revenue growth against AR growth, and DSO: Coca-Cola; Stock Down PepsiCo is an old hand at the Super Bowl, having spent more than $266 million on game-day ads in the last 21 years, including $33 million in 2009, Kantar Media said. Along with Coca-Cola Co (KO.N), it was the third-largest advertiser at this year's game at two minutes, trailing beer maker AnheuserBusch InBev (ABI.BR) and Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), according to Kantar. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Home Depot; Stock Down JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA--(Marketwire - 09/15/10) www.stockcall.com/ offers investors comprehensive research on the home improvement stores industry and has completed analytical research on The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD - News) and Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW News). Register with us today at www.stockcall.com/ to have free access to these researches. While retail figures rose slightly in August, sales in the home improvement stores sector remained unchanged from July. Compared to the same time last year, they are up around 5 percent but many feel that considering

last year's rate was so depressed, this gain is relatively unimpressive. Register now at https://stockcall.com/development/stockcall/page.php?name=register.html to have free access to our reports on the home improvement stores industry. www.stockcall.com/ is an online platform where investors doing their duediligence on the home improvement stores industry can have easy and free access to our analyst research and opinions on The Home Depot Inc. and Lowe's Companies Inc.; investors and shareholders of these companies can simply register for a complimentary membership at https://stockcall.com/development/stockcall/page.php?name=register.html With unemployment still high, and up again last month, consumer spending remains frugal. Given the economic uncertainty, people have been putting off purchasing big ticket items and taking on costly home improvement projects. Thus although customer traffic is high and small purchases have risen of late, the money making high cost items are not shifting. Stores are trying to tackle this issue by offering more do-it-yourself lessons for customers and having promotions on larger bathroom and kitchen items. Visit www.stockcall.com/ to see how companies in this industry have grown over the past years and how they are expected to perform in the future. Many stores like The Home Depot Inc. and Lowe's Companies Inc. are also focusing their efforts on providing energy efficiency solutions. Home Depot has made a great leap forward in the good direction with the introduction of the first affordable 40W equivalent LED. Energy efficient products not only appeal to the ecologically aware, of which there are more every day, but also to the thrifty looking to cut the costs of their energy bills in the coming months and years. Investors can register for free to access the research reports on The Home Depot Inc. and Lowe's Companies Inc. American express; Stock Up Led by Banga, MasterCard has been working to tap the significant market potential in China, India and Asia as a whole. (See "MasterCard's New Master.") Wednesday's comments come a day after the credit card company announced a billion dollar share buyback program. The company also says it doesn't expect new legislation restricting merchant fees on debit card use will hurt sales. Visa offered similar commentary on Tuesday, saying it would likely affect only a small portion of its sales. Shares of MasterCard increased 5.1%, or $10.13, to $209.88, while Visa ( V - news - people ) gained 2.9%, Discover Financial ( DFS - news people ) 0.5% and American Express ( AXP - news - people ) 0.5%. In August MasterCard reported its second-quarter earnings surged 31% thanks to costcutting. (See "Cost-Cutting Pays Off For MasterCard.") September 16, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up McDonalds; Stock Up The valuations that we've done here are pretty simple and, particularly when it comes to the DCF, investors would be well advised to play with the numbers further before making a final decision on McDonald's stock. That said, the range of $64 to $66 that we got from the two valuation methods seems to say

that McDonald's stock is likely overvalued right now. At the midpoint between the two estimates we get $65 -- 13% below today's stock price. Speaking as a Mickey D's shareholder myself, I don't have a burning desire to sell my shares. It's a solid company that produces attractive returns on its equity, has a very valuable brand, and a strong global presence. Plus, McDonald's is a member of Standard & Poor's "dividend aristocrats" and I can continue to collect that 3% dividend the company is kicking out to me. Of course, I am always careful to not fall in love with any stock, so as much as I like McDonald's, if the stock continues to run I will start to consider taking advantage of the high valuation and finding a better home for my money. Do you agree that McDonald's stock is overvalued? Head down to the comments section and share your thoughts. Even though McDonald's looks a bit overvalued, it's not a scary stock. These, however, might be another story. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coca-Cola India (KO) offered to buy Rajesh Yadav a refrigerator for his New Delhi store if he would sell only the company's drinks. He kept his part of the bargain, and lines of Coke and Diet Coke cans glisten behind the fridge's glass front. A red-and-white banner, featuring Bollywood film star Aishwarya Rai chugging a bottle of the cola, adorns his storefront. Yet Yadav doesn't mention his partner when he describes his shop. "I sell Pepsi and cigarettes," said Yadav in Hindi, elongating the first syllable to pronounce the word "Pay-psee." Yadav isn't reneging on his deal with Coke. Pepsi became a common synonym for cola in India's most widely spoken language after having the market to itself in the early 1990s. PepsiCo's (PEP) linguistic advantage translates into higher sales for its namesake cola. Atlanta-based Coke has larger total beverage sales in India because it owns a host of non-cola drink brands there. Yet the 4.5 percent share of India's beverage market held by Pepsi's cola market share eclipses the 2.6 percent share of Coke's flagship drink, says consultant Euromonitor. That's a notable exception to much of the rest of the world, where Coke's cola roundly beats its rival. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Home Depot; Stock Up This coincides with progress on a larger fixer-upper, namely Home Depot (HD). After a sickening four-year slide in same-store sales (-2.8% in 2006; -6.7% in 2007; -8.7% in 2008; -6.6% in 2009), the DIY giant eked out same-store gains of 4.8% and 1.7% in the first and second quarters of this year, respectively. Must be where the neighbors have been buying all that stuff, eh? Heres a look at revenue growth at Home Depot and its main competitor, Lowes (LOW). And in the backroom at Home Depot, changes are afoot, too. Bob Nardelli, the vastly unpopular CEO who walked off with the famous $210 million exit package, gave way to a CEO, Frank Blake, far more focused on rebuilding Home Depots service and on making its stores and distribution system more efficient. While the number of stores, 2,244, is essentially unchanged over the last three years, Blake has been investing heavily in training and logistics so that Home Depot

stores actually have what people want and so that sales people there can actually help customers find and use the stuff. Sure the collapse of the housing bubble extended the turnaround time for Home Depot, goes the argument of the bulls; but the recovery of the economy and the eventual recovery of the housing market, coupled with Blakes spit and polish, ought to bring Home Depot roaring back. Perhaps its looking cheap: Before loading up the cart with Home Depot shares, however, its worth examining just how deep a decline Nardelli and Blake have presided over. Home Depots business, after all, is selling goods from stores that average about 105,000 square feet of enclosed space. Hows that been going? Not so well, and for a long time, it turns out. Sales per square foot have been in a near-continuous, 10-year decline, starting out at $415 in 2000 and hitting $279 last year. And average-weekly-sales per store also have been in freefall during the past decade: $864,000 in 2000, sliding to $563,000 by last year. Thats a 35% decline. Sure doesnt seem like a company getting better at what it does. American express; Stock Up and have failed to extend an frequent flyer miles program operated by the two companies. After Sept. 30, 2011, cardholders enrolled in American Express Membership Rewards program will no longer be able to redeem miles for Houston-based Continentals (NYSE: CAL) OnePass frequent flyer program. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an agreement with Continental to continue these benefits beyond September 30, 2011, said Lynne Biggar, senior vice president and general manager of membership rewards for American Express, in a statement. While these changes will not take effect for quite some time, we are telling cardmembers now so that they have a year to convert any of their points to the OnePass program and can also learn more about other benefits and options available. September 17, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down India may decide in two to three months whether to allow companies including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Carrefour SA to open retail stores in Asias third-largest economy, an official said. McDonalds; Stock Down Coca-Cola; Stock Up The Coca-Cola Companys most successful new sparkling beverage in a generation, Coke Zero, turns five this year, and its run as the only soft drink on the market to post double-digit sales gains for five straight years is showing no signs of slowing. Among more than 350 sparkling beverage brands launched since 2001, Coke Zero is one of only six to surpass one percent market share, and the only one to maintain it. The brand is available in more than 130 countries and continues to experience strong growth both in the U.S. and around the world making it the best-selling addition to The Coca-Cola Companys sparkling beverage portfolio since Diet Coke debuted in 1982. Coke Zero was created in

2005 to meet consumer demand for real Coke taste with zero calories -- joining Coca-Cola and Diet Coke to form a perfect trio of brands offering a choice to anyone seeking great cola taste. A half-decade later, Coke Zero is poised to break into the top 10 most popular U.S. sparkling beverages an unprecedented feat for such a young brand. Coke Zero also has broken new ground with its innovative marketing campaigns. By using irreverent, humorous communication, the brand has established a strong connection with young adult males, a previously untapped market for diet soft drinks. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Pepperidge Farm Inc. says it will cut the sodium levels in the majority its breads, rolls and bagels by 2011, making it the latest of many food makers to respond to demands for healthier products. The company, owned by Campbell Soup Co., said the reductions will ultimately result in sodium levels 10 to 33 percent lower in 69 of its U.S. bakery products. Health experts say Americans eat too much salt and the vast majority is from processed food. That excess is dangerous because sodium can contribute to high blood pressure, which can lead to stroke, kidney disease, heart disease or heart failure. The issue has become so pressing that the Institute of Medicine issued a report in April that urged the federal government to limit salt allowed in food. Pepperidge Farm said it has already begun some of the reductions, such as cutting sodium in its original white bread from 225 milligrams per slice to 150 milligrams last year. Based on positive response to those changes and growing consumer demand, the company said it decided to aim to lower sodium levels 80 percent of its products by February 2011. "We would like to think we were involved in reducing sodium before it was fashionable," said Bibi Wu, business director for Pepperidge Farm Fresh Bakery. A number of food makers have announced recently that they are lowering sodium in their products based on consumer demand and increasing scrutiny by health groups. Bumble Bee Foods, General Mills Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc. all announced sodium reductions to their products in this spring alone. Campbell has been cutting sodium for years. It makes more than 200 reduced-sodium products, an eight-fold increase compared to just five years ago, when the company offered 25. Lowering sodium levels in canned soup, notoriously high in salt, is one thing. Doing the same in the bakery was a notable achievement, given that complex role salt plays in bread -- affecting flavor, texture, shelf life and interacting with the yeast that helps it rise. "Neither one is easy," said David Smith, vice president of research and development and quality assurance for Pepperidge Farm. "It's very complex." The company said it relied on the move to sea salt, which Campbell used in its soups, to help make the transition. Home Depot; Stock Down The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) earned $0.72 per diluted share on a GAAP basis in fiscal 2010's second quarter, which ended on 1 August 2010. Earnings per share were 8.6 percent more than the $0.66 Home Depot made in the same quarter of 2009. A previous article examined Home Depot's Income Statement for the latest quarter in some detail. Reported earnings were $0.01 better than the $0.71 per share we had forecast. We have now updated the

various financial metrics we use to analyze Cash Management, Growth, Profitability and Value. This post reports on the metrics for Home Depot and the associated financial gauge scores. The metrics were calculated using data from Home Depot's current and historical financial statements, including those in the latest 10-Q report. Before getting into the details, we will take a step back to introduce the subject of today's analysis. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) is the largest retailer of do-it-yourself merchandise, which includes building materials, home improvement supplies, and lawn and garden products. The company operated 2,244 retail stores at last count, of which 1,976 (88 percent) were in U.S. states or territories. Home Depot competes with Lowe's (NYSE: LOW), cooperatives such as Ace and True Value, and a multitude of smaller hardware stores. Additional background information about Home Depot and the business environment in which it is currently operating can be found in the lookahead. In summary, Home Depot's latest quarterly results produced the following changes to the gauge scores: Cash Management: 7 of 25 (unchanged from April) Growth: 7 of 25 (down from 8) Profitability: 11 of 25 (down from 12) Value: 1 of 25 (up from 0) Overall: 22 of 100 (unchanged) American express; Stock Up American Express (AXP), issuer of the green charge cards that are synonymous with the expense account life, has long competed against banks and, by some measures, out-earned the deposit-and-loan crowd. Heres Amex, as the company is known, in recent years leaving Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) in the dust when it comes to return-on-equity. Investors appreciate that, so Amex also has tended to trade at a higher multiple of book value vs. the big banks, and also vs. banks that specialize in credit cards. Amex pulled off this trick because its less reliant on loans than are the banks, getting lots of fee income from merchants who pay Amex a small percentage of every purchase made with the card. While Amex does loan money on its credit cards, its traditional green (and other colors) charge card typically gets paid off every month. So, Amex needs less capital relative to its charge activity because fewer of the purchases turn into loans. The companys financial goals have been lofty, but until the recent financial crisis, Amex often met them: Revenue growth of 8% or more; Earnings per-share growth of 12-to-15%; Return-on-equity of 33-to36%. September 20, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up (Reuters) - Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) plans to expand the use of renewable energy in its stores by installing thin-film solar panels in up to 30 of its locations. This would be first time that Wal-Mart, which already has solar installations in 31 other sites in California and Hawaii, would use thin-film solar technology to generate power. "Until now, all of our solar projects have been with traditional crystalline panels," a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said in an email

statement. The solar systems, which will be installed in up to 30 sites in California and Arizona, will supply up to 20 to 30 percent of the total energy needs for each location, the company said. Wal-Mart has a broad goal to one day use only renewable energy and create zero waste McDonalds; Stock Up Bacon has experienced an historic surge in popularity, dubbed Bacon Mania," as restaurants have more prominently featured the ingredient. McDonald's (MCD: 78.83*, -1.51, -1.87%) recently introduced a beef and bacon wrap, while Wendys (WEN: 4.81*, -0.05, -1.02%) has featured the ingredient on its premium Bacon Deluxe and Bacon & Blue burgers. In April, Subway launched a bacon and egg breakfast sandwich. Coca-Cola; Stock Up At a plenary session on empowering women at the Clinton Global Initiative, Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company, today pledged to empower 5 million women entrepreneurs throughout Coca-Colas global business system by 2020. This pledge builds upon a commitment made by The Coca-Cola Company in 2008 to the United Nations Business Call to Action to grow the Companys Micro Distribution Centers (MDCs) in Africa. MDCs are an independent network of entrepreneurs who distribute Coca-Colas beverage products to retailers, often by bicycle or pushcart. At last years Clinton Global Initiative, the Company committed that 50% of all new MDCs would be run by women. The Company is well on track to achieve both targets as part of its commitments to the UN Millennium Development Goals. Our experience on the great continent of Africa and the model of our existing MDC program provides an expanded platform to empower an additional five million women worldwide over the next ten years. We need to increase awareness that better societies can be created as a result of empowering women, Mr. Kent said. Research conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School and engagement with local stakeholders on Coca-Colas MDC business in Africa indicates that women face three main barriers to success: 1) Lack of access to finance; 2) Lack of business skills training; and 3) Lack of access to mentors and networks of peers. The Company plans to conduct further research with potential partners to better understand how to empower women across its global system. Kraft Foods; Stock Up They've won trophies, medals and rings. Now four of the world's greatest athletes football champ Eli Manning, basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal, tennis icon Venus Williams and gold medal-winning speed skater Apolo Ohno team up for a power play of twisting, licking and dunking in the newest Oreo Double Stuf Racing League (DSRL) campaign. In what insiders at Oreo are calling "the best ad yet," Shaquille and Apolo join DSRL veterans Eli and Venus to challenge a mysterious "hooded menace" who threatens to overtake the league. In the first :30 spot, premiering Sept. 20, Eli assembles a dream team of athletes to fend off the lick racing nemesis. Viewers may speculate about the identity of the shadowy adversary who confronts the heroes of "Team DSRL," but the figure (another notable celebrity) will not be revealed until January 2011. The

DSRL celebrates the fun of bringing friends and families together in an exciting head-to-head competition to see who can twist, lick, dunk an Oreo Double Stuf cookie and drink a glass of milk the fastest. "In Team DSRL we've assembled the most unique collaboration of world-class athletic talent I've ever seen," said Eli Manning, who helped launch the campaign in 2008. "We may excel in different sports but when united behind an Oreo Double Stuf cookie and a glass of milk, we are a lick racing force to be reckoned with." Shaquille O'Neal, whose colorful nicknames have included "The Diesel" and "The Big Aristotle," may add "The Big Dunker" to his alias list. "People don't realize how much precision, speed and concentration it takes to win a lick race," Shaq said. "You may have seen me take down a backboard or two in my time, but I guarantee no shattered glass when I dunk my Double Stuf Oreo Heads or Tails." New Oreo Cookie a Slam Dunk The Team DSRL ad campaign also launches the new Double Stuf Oreo Heads or Tails cookie. The Double Stuf Oreo Heads or Tails cookie features a chocolate wafer on one side and a vanilla wafer on the other, with the classic double creme in between. Chocolate and vanilla lovers in every family can now enjoy both the delicious Golden Oreo and classic chocolate flavor at the same time. The new variety is now available on store shelves nationwide. The Hall of Fame-Worthy DSRL League For more DSRL action, visit Oreo's Facebook Fan Page at Facebook.com/Oreo to see behind-the-scenes videos from the making of the Team DSRL ad, watch sneak previews and get up-to-theminute Oreo product news. The "Create Your Own Team" tab allows fans to create their own Team DSRL, by uploading photos of their face and their friends' faces to the bodies of the Team DSRL athletes. Customized team photos, including a personalized team name, can be posted to the fan's Facebook profile to share with friends. Finally, 10 lucky DSRL fans have the chance to meet the real Team DSRL in person by playing the new interactive "Twist It" game available now at Facebook.com/Oreo. The Oreo Double Stuf Racing League officially launched in January 2008. To compete in a DSRL lick race, each person twists their cookie open and licks off all the creme. Then, each person shows their cookie to their opponent, dunks it, eats it and drinks the glass of milk. The first to finish twisting, licking and dunking wins! Home Depot; Stock Up Those results fostered hope that demand will pick up for home-related goods. Home Depot (HD 35.15, +0.07, +0.19%) shares rose 2%, while Lowes (LOW 25.79, +0.11, +0.43%) gained 2.2%. Home-furnishings retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY 48.08, +0.53, +1.12%) shares rose 2.3%. The company reports its quarterly results on Wednesday. The S&P Retail Index (RLX 510.73, +3.84, +0.76%) rose 1.6% to 445.42. Also factoring into sentiment, the National Bureau of Economic Research also said the U.S. recession that started in December 2007 ended in June 2009. Meanwhile, the National Association of Home Builders said home-builder confidence remains mired at multi-month lows. See the NAHB story Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS 14.12, -0.02, -0.14%) shares rose 1.5%. The Wall Street Journal reported that proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended that the companys shareholders vote for the board directors nominated by billionaire investor Ronald Burkle in his

proxy fight against the company. Another proxy advisory firm, Glass Lewis, last week recommended Barnes & Noble shareholders to vote for the companys nominees instead. Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (KCP 12.86, -0.12, -0.92%) shares fell 3.3%. The designer is in talks to sell the company bearing his name to his brothers Iconix Brand Group Inc. (ICON 19.98, -0.28, -1.38%) , Bloomberg News reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. Shares of athletic-shoe giant Nike Inc. (NKE 86.85, -5.45, -5.91%) rose 2%. It reports its results on Thursday. American express; Stock Up SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) U.S. financial stocks rallied 2% Monday after Discover Financial Services results showed improving credit and sales trends, and the broader market rallied on tech mergers and a call that the recession had ended. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund /quotes/comstock/13*!xlf/quotes/nls/xlf (XLF 15.97, +0.10, +0.62%) , which tracks the financial stocks included in the S&P 500 Index /quotes/comstock/21z!i1:in\x (SPX 1,257, +0.59, +0.05%) , ended up 1.9%. The sector ended up just over 2%, and has gained 10% this month as investors gambled that summertime worries over a double-dip recession were overdone. Financial Select Sector SPDR, year to date. shares closed up 3.8% after the card company and transaction processor reported a profit for the third quarter ended Aug. 31 that plunged from the year-ago period -- when it booked a large legal gain -- but topped expectations. Profit jumped 81% in its card business as sales volume rose, with net charge-offs dropping to 7.18% from 8.4% earlier. Shares of fellow card-company American Express Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!axp/quotes/nls/axp (AXP 43.03, +0.26, +0.61%) rose 4.2%, leading gainers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 11,559, -14.79, -0.13%) , while Capital One Financial Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!cof/quotes/nls/cof (COF 42.50, +0.14, +0.33%) climbed 1.7%. September 21, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Low and behold Wal-Mart (WMT) was stealing headlines Monday following a report in the Financial Times that suggested an aggressive foray into smaller format stores is waiting in the wings. It's about time is all we can mutter. Wal-Mart has been testing the Marketside (four stores in operation) concept since 2008, which largely places an emphasis on fresh food, and the Neighborhood Markets concept, which offers a mix of fresh food, staples, and select discretionary categories. Marketside stores are on average 15K square feet in size, Neighborhood Markets 42K. The Financial Times article points to Wal-Mart scouring the commercial real estate market for 20K to 50K square foot sites, essentially leading to a Wal-Mart supercenter store format busting at the seams. Any new concept will likely fuse the Market side and Neighborhood Markets formats (fresh food plus staples plus discretionary). However, this is all speculation pending confirmation from management.

McDonalds; Stock Up Coca-Cola; Stock Up At a plenary session on empowering women at the Clinton Global Initiative, Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company, today pledged to empower 5 million women entrepreneurs throughout Coca-Colas global business system by 2020. This pledge builds upon a commitment made by The Coca-Cola Company in 2008 to the United Nations Business Call to Action to grow the Companys Micro Distribution Centers (MDCs) in Africa. MDCs are an independent network of entrepreneurs who distribute Coca-Colas beverage products to retailers, often by bicycle or pushcart. At last years Clinton Global Initiative, the Company committed that 50% of all new MDCs would be run by women. The Company is well on track to achieve both targets as part of its commitments to the UN Millennium Development Goals. Our experience on the great continent of Africa and the model of our existing MDC program provides an expanded platform to empower an additional five million women worldwide over the next ten years. We need to increase awareness that better societies can be created as a result of empowering women, Mr. Kent said. Research conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School and engagement with local stakeholders on Coca-Colas MDC business in Africa indicates that women face three main barriers to success: 1) Lack of access to finance; 2) Lack of business skills training; and 3) Lack of access to mentors and networks of peers. The Company plans to conduct further research with potential partners to better understand how to empower women across its global system. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Aggressive discounting and super-low prices for brand name packaged foods is hurting. Since July, Kraft Foods (KFT 31.78, +0.14, +0.45%) , Kellogg (K 51.28, +0.14, +0.27%) , Campbell Soup (CPB 35.04, -0.06, -0.17%) and others have warned sales growth will be a challenge this year. ConAgra said operating profit in its consumer food business -- which makes up 65% of total company sales -- fell 14%. Intense price competition forced the company to boost its own promotions more than it had planned. But those deals werent enough to draw consumers. This is not how we want to do business, ConAgra Chief Executive Gary Rodkin said in a conference call, referring to the heightened promotional activity in the grocery aisles. For its fiscal May 2011, ConAgra said it would earn between $1.83 and $1.86 a share. Analysts were looking for $1.91 a share, according to FactSet Research. The food makers June 24 forecast had projected earnings to be as high as $1.91 a share. Home Depot; Stock Up Home-improvement retailers Home Depot Inc. and Lowes Cos. were among the few bright spots and rose slightly after a government report showed construction of new homes and apartments in August unexpectedly rose to the highest level since April. The S&P Retail Index (RLX 512.35, +1.62, +0.32%) fell 0.2% to

445.88. Home Dept (HD 35.14, +0.06, +0.18%) rose 0.5% while Lowes (LOW 25.79, +0.11, +0.43%) was up 0.4%. The home category has of late seen some positive signals. On Monday, builder Lennar Corp. released a stronger-thanforecast quarterly report. American express; Stock Down But a report last week suggested that there might be more pain to come, as several credit card issuers saw their charge-off rates rise in August. Capital One (NYSE: COF) reported its first increase since March, charging off 8.19% of balances. Likewise, Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS) saw its first increase since May, and American Express (NYSE: AXP), which has had a much lower chargeoff rate than other big issuers, saw write-offs hold steady at 5.5% in August, after months of decline. September 22, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up It is certainly not the first time that the topic of Wal-Mart opening small stores has come up, but a Financial Times report that the retailer is scouting locations between 20,000 and 50,000 square-feet in markets across the country has many people thinking this move could be a game changer. Speculation has Wal-Mart opening more of its Neighborhood Market grocery formats along with its smaller Marketside by Walmart concept. Typical Neighborhood Markets have run about 42,000 square-feet, but the company is testing smaller 20,000 squarefoot versions in the Southwest, along with 10,000 square-foot Marketside stores, which are more akin to large convenience stores. The company is said to be looking at new locations in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Reno, Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area. Bill Simon, CEO of Wal-Mart Stores' business in the U.S., has also indicated that the company may open a convenience concept based on those it operates in Latin America. "We are going to beg, borrow, steal and learn from them as quickly as we can," said Mr. Simon. McDonalds; Stock Down Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) plans to invest up to 5.5 billion rupees ($121 million) in a new plant it would set up in south India, a senior company official said, as it expands capacity in one of the fast-growing markets. Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd, a unit of Coca-Cola Co, will build the plant in Karnataka state to make sparkling and still beverages, juices and juice drinks, T. Krishnakumar, CEO of the unit said in a statement to Reuters. "We want to ensure that we create adequate capacity to meet the projected growth in the packaged beverage market over the coming years," he said. The company plans to invest 2.5 billion rupees to set up the facility and has also provisioned to spend 3 billion rupees in the second phase, Krishnakumar said, adding Coca-Cola had so far invested more than $1 billion in its Indian operations. The new plant would be in addition to two bottling plants already operational in the state, he said. Coca-Cola currently has 23 company owned bottling facilities, 22 franchise-owned plants

and 11 contract packing units in India. ($1=45.6 rupees) (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan) Kraft Foods; Stock Down Small changes can bring big success. And small changes start at home with the family. That's the inspiration for the Kraft Foods Foundation three-year, $1.5 million partnership with the National Latino Children's Institute (NLCI) and YMCA of the USA to expand the successful Salsa, Sabor y Salud (Food, Fun and Fitness) healthy lifestyles program. Kraft Foods has invested more than $6 million in the program over the past eight years in collaboration with NLCI, helping reach more than 32,000 Latinos across the United States. Now, Kraft Foods Foundation is stepping up its efforts to make a delicious difference in communities through the collaboration with NLCI and the Y. Through the expanded program, the three partners hope to reach up to 13,000 Latinos in 130 communities over the next three years. Through the work with NLCI and the Y, the Kraft Foods Foundation is bringing a unique solution to help address the growing obesity rates and levels of inactivity in Latino children. NLCI is the only national organization that concentrates exclusively on young Latinos and is committed to working within the community to find solutions to the challenges they face. The Y is committed to helping more kids reach their potential, helping more families and individuals achieve better health outcomes, and encouraging everyone to get involved and make the community a better place. The Y is an ideal partner for the program because they have the presence and expertise to mobilize communities for positive change. Home Depot; Stock Down In a very active discussion on RetailWire.com, retail business consultant Doug Stephens referred to a broad demographic "fragmentation" trend that is chipping away at the big-box store dynasty. "Mass merchants such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot ( HD - news - people ), Costco ( COST - news - people ) and others will have to fragment their broad business models into smaller and more specifically targeted retail concepts, each addressing diverse [consumer] segments," wrote Mr. Stephens. "This is clearly coming to pass and will continue to do so as the big bulls eye in the market -- the Baby Boomer consumer -- gives way to a myriad of segments and sub-segments with niche needs and localized preferences." American express; Stock Up Wednesday morning, Susquehanna initiated coverage on shares of American Express with a positive rating as the firm believes earnings will surpass Wall Street estimates for the third quarter. With the positive rating, Susquehanna set a price target of $53 per share. Shares of American Express ( AXP - news people ) were lower, falling 0.5%. UBS ( UBS - news - people ) initiated coverage on shares of both Starwood Hotels ( HOT - news - people ) and Marriott with a buy ratings as a recovery in the sector appears to be underway. Starwood is expected to perform well with luxury travelers and UBS has set a price target of $60 per share, and Marriott is keeping capital costs low with higher franchise fees leading UBS to set a price target of $42. Shares of Starwood are lower by 0.8% today, and Marriott is lower by 1.3%

September 23, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A Wal-Mart Stores data system failure left shoppers unable to use some credit and debit cards on Thursday, a spokesman for the world's largest retailer said. The outage lasted about 90 minutes at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores nationwide, and was caused by a failure of a back-up breaker while the main system underwent required maintenance. McDonalds; Stock Down Coca-Cola; Stock Down The Coca Cola Company (NYSE: KO - News), the largest global producer and marketer of still and sparkling beverages, announced its intention to invest about $121 million in a new plant in Karnataka, Southern State of India. The investment is in line with the companys strategy to expand its operations in developing and emerging markets. Coca Cola has also been expanding its presence in emerging markets through the introduction of water and juices. Apart from making sparkling and still beverages the company intends to manufacture juices and juice drinks in the proposed facility. Further, in the most recently reported quarterly earnings, the company witnessed high volume growth in the Eurasia & Africa division with markets such as India, Turkey and Russia posting volume growth of 22%, 10% and 6%, respectively. Earlier this month, Coca Cola expanded its presence in Russia through the acquisition of Nidan, the fourth largest juice manufacturing company in Russia. Over the last two decades, the company has already invested about $2 billion and plans to spend about another $1 billion over the next three to five years. Coca Colas arch rival Pepsi Co. (NYSE: PEP - News) has also been focusing on emerging markets for growth. Both companies are expanding market shares primarily in few major markets such as India, China and Russia. Coca Cola currently has a Zacks #3 Rank, implying a short-term Hold recommendation. We are also maintaining our Neutral rating on the stock, due to the sluggish volume trends in North America and Europe, intense competition and exposure to adverse fluctuations in commodity prices and foreign currency. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Starbucks ( SBUX - news - people ) said it will maintain or lower the price of some of its most popular beverages, and in most markets, the $1.50 tall brewed coffee. It will raise price of labor-intensive and larger-sized beverages, although it did not specify which drinks or which regions will see increases. Starbucks noted that other coffee sellers have been raising prices for months. J.M Smucker ( SJM - news - people ), producer of Folgers and other coffee brands, and Kraft Foods ( KFT - news - people ), maker of Maxwell House, raised prices on coffee in early August. Home Depot; Stock Down Oh sure, it is very important to the income of realtors, and when people move in to a new for them house they tend to redecorate. That is great for paint

firms like PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG - News), retailers like Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News) that sell the paint and perhaps for furniture stores like Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH - News), but it pales to the amount of activity that takes place when a new home is built and sold. New homes also need paint, but they also need lumber, wall board, roofing materials and especially labor. Turnover of existing homes does nothing in that regard. American express; Stock Down September 24, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Unfortunately, that table doesn't tell us much about where Wal-Mart has been, or where it's going. A company with rising gross and operating margins often fuels its growth by increasing demand for its products. If it sells more units while keeping costs in check, its profitability increases. Conversely, a company with gross margins that inch downward over time is often losing out to competition, and possibly engaging in a race to the bottom on prices. If it can't make up for this problem by cutting costs -- and most companies can't -- then both the business and its shares face a decidedly bleak outlook. McDonalds; Stock Up On September 23, 2010, McDonald's Corporation issued an investor release announcing that on September 22, 2010 the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend. A copy of the investor release is attached as Exhibit 99 to this Form 8-K. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Foolish surgeon general says ... Stifel's chart is clean To my Foolish way of thinking, the valuations on these stocks make it plain as day that Stifel's right about Lorillard and Altria. But for any investors needing further convincing, a quick look at Stifel's record on other consumer goods stocks may be in order: CAPS Company Rating Stifel's Picks Beating (Lagging) Stifel Says (out of 5) S&P by McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) Outperform **** 60 points Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) Outperform **** 45 points PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) Outperform ***** (<1 point) While I readily admit that Mickey D's, Coke, and Pepsi aren't quite in the same category of "sin stocks" as tobacco, they are akin inasmuch as they cater to consumer vices on an international scale. More importantly, if memory serves, each has had its run-ins with the trial lawyer's bar, and been accused of contributing to increased mortality rates. So the similarities are more than cursory. Kraft Foods; Stock Up

Home Depot; Stock Up Why am I spilling so much ink (or electrons) over the months of supply? Because it is the biggest factor in the future direction of existing home prices. It is existing home prices that are important to the economy, not the level of turnover. The sale of an existing asset, like a used home, creates almost no economic activity. Oh sure, it is very important to the income of realtors, and when people move in to a new for them house they tend to redecorate. That is great for paint firms like PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG - News), retailers like Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News) that sell the paint and perhaps for furniture stores like Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH - News), but it pales to the amount of activity that takes place when a new home is built and sold. New homes also need paint, but they also need lumber, wall board, roofing materials and especially labor. Turnover of existing homes does nothing in that regard. American express; Stock Up September 27, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's plan to buy its way into the South African market with a $4 billion acquisition is a pricey move that highlights how much the retailer is betting on growth outside the sluggish U.S. markets. While it could take some time for an acquisition of South Africa's Massmart Holdings Ltd to pay off, analysts said the move is one the world's largest retailer -- with a market capitalization approaching $200 billion and more than $10 billion in cash on the books at the end of July -- could afford to make. McDonalds; Stock Down McDonald's Corporation celebrates with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) the opening of the world's 300th Ronald McDonald House this week in St. Louis on the campus of St. John's Mercy Medical Center. Hundreds of families each year will now be able to refresh, relax and support each other at the House while their children are receiving life-saving treatment for conditions such as cancer, heart disease and birth defects. A dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting will be held at the 300th Ronald McDonald House on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2010 at 11 a.m. Central. Coca-Cola; Stock Down The Coca-Cola Co. agreed to protect competitive business information of rival Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. as a condition for U.S. and Canadian approval of acquiring the North American operations of a bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Canadas Competition Bureau announced today that they have approved Coca-Colas $12.3 billion purchase of the bottler. Coca-Cola, the worlds biggest soda maker, agreed on Feb. 25 to buy the bottler, in which it already owned a 34 percent equity stake. The acquisition followed PepsiCo Inc.s move to bring its bottling operations in-

house as both companies try to reduce expenses and turn around the U.S. market, where soft- drink volume sales have declined since 2005. In the agreement with the FTC, Coca-Cola will set up a firewall so that information Dr Pepper Snapple provides to the bottler wont be given to Coca-Cola executives, the agency said. The remedy is similar to the one worked out between the FTC and PepsiCo in February after the company bought its two largest bottlers and distributors. Canadas Competition Bureau also reached an agreement with Coca-Cola to restrict the use of Dr Peppers information, appointing an independent monitor to ensure the company complies, according to an agency press release. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Home Depot; Stock Down American express; Stock Up September 28, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up In addition, Wal-Mart Stores said that it had made a proposal to acquire Massmart Holdings, which is based in South Africa. McDonalds; Stock Down The economic downturn forced down prices on many restaurant ingredients, which allowed operators to offer deep discounts. During that time, Arby's introduced a value menu to make it more competitive with operators like McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) and Burger King BKC.N. But costs for ingredients such as wheat, beef, bacon, coffee, milk and cocoa are rising, threatening to squeeze profits at some restaurants. As a result, restaurants and food and beverage companies have begun raising prices. [ID:nN24241859] Coca-Cola; Stock Up NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Coca-Cola Co. (KO 65.14, -0.20, -0.31%) said Tuesday it plans to invest $1 billion in the Philippines over the next five years. The soft drink giant will spend money on production, distribution and new products. Coca-Cola Pacific Group President Glenn Jordan met with Filipino President Benigno Aquino Jr. during a meeting in New York while Aquino was attending the United Nations General Assembly. Kraft Foods; Stock Down In this Brand Innovator Spotlight, Ed Kaczmarek, director of innovation & consumer experiences for Kraft Foods, discusses how marketers can build more meaningful interaction with its consumers. Brandon Gutman: You say marketers need to put utility above branding. Please explain and provide an example. Ed Kaczmarek: A marketers top priority should be to engage with consumers in

meaningful ways to make their lives easier and more enjoyable. For my team, our objective is to offer innovative solutions that fit our consumers needs. Therefore, were leveraging technology like mobile platforms and the iPad to go beyond the functionality of our products and connect with consumers in a more personal and relevant way. Our iFood Assistant App is a perfect example of this approach. We know people are always looking for tools and technology that can keep up with their multitasking and on-the-go lifestyles. With iFood Assistant, we can provide consumers with inspiration consumers for timely food ideas whenever and wherever its convenient whether its at home, at work or in the grocery store. Its about providing our consumers with tools to help them simplify their lives. How can marketers build deeper consumer engagement? At Kraft Foods, we always begin with consumer insights: how can we make lives easier and more delicious? Based on those insights, we go beyond the functionality of our products and build solutions that are relevant and meaningful. And this enables us to connect with our consumers in a more personal way. Home Depot; Stock Up That could help some retailers more than others. So making a bold bet on the consumer is probably a mistake -- especially after how much retail stocks have run up in the past few weeks. Stephen Jones, co-manager of the Jones Villalta Opportunity fund in Austin, said that he likes The Gap (GPS, Fortune 500) and Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), for example. He thinks consumers may be looking to shop more at lower-priced clothing stores like The Gap's Old Navy. And Home Depot could benefit from the fact that fewer consumers are looking to buy new homes and would rather make lasting improvements to the place where they currently live. American express; Stock Up September 29, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down McDonalds; Stock Down McDonalds Corp. has asked federal healthcare regulators for a waiver of a new law that may force the company to seek an alternative plan for some workers, a spokeswoman said. McDonalds does not plan to drop health-care coverage for employees, Danya Proud, a McDonalds spokeswoman said in an interview. She declined to provide the memo to U.S. Health and Human Services, which she called proprietary. The company doesnt know how many employees could be affected if a change is made, she said. Were not going to walk away from healthcare insurance completely but were going to have to look for alternatives if we cant get the resolution were seeking from Health and Human Services, she said. Coca-Cola; Stock Down Coke has been The Real Thing and even simply It, but it now is also among the most desirable places where college students from around the world

would like to work. In an annual survey by employer branding firm Universum Group, Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) ranked eighth on the list of 50 top companies, up from 13th in 2009. The global rankings are based on the employer preferences of students from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, U.K., and United States. American multinationals increased their lead over the rest of the world. It seems that despite the challenges to the supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon capitalist model, the American corporations are increasingly the preferred destination for global top talent, said Michal Kalinowski, Universum CEO, in a statement. They are often perceived as the true international organizations, where nationality will not stand in your way to the top. The top 10 most attractive employers are: 1. Google 2. KPMG 3. Ernst & Young 4. PricewaterhouseCoopers 5. Deloitte 6. Procter & Gamble 7. Microsoft 8. The Coca-Cola Co. 9. J.P. Morgan 10. Goldman Sachs Kraft Foods; Stock Down JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA--(Marketwire - 09/29/10) www.wallstreetequityresearch.com brings investors market knowledge on the aspects moving the food makers stocks, and offers complete analytical research on companies like Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT - News) and HJ Heinz Co. (NYSE:HNZ - News). Register with www.wallstreetequityresearch.com today to gain full access to our complimentary research on these food producers stocks. Home Depot; Stock Same American express; Stock Down The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.86 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,835.28. Dupont [DD 49.715 010009000003f10300000000f00200000000f002000026060f00d605574d464301 000000000001002b230000000001000000b405000000000000b4050000010000 006c00000000000000000000000a000000080000000000000000000000570100 001801000020454d4600000100b40500000f00000001000000000000000000000 000000000000400000003000040010000f0000000000000000000000000000000 00e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c000000 100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000002402000018020000 454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c0000000000000024400100 0c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c0000000 00000000840000570010000640100000210c0db0100000000000000000000000

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2d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f7006969c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d 160f01010101000101011c081617180101010001011a1b08160e1314010100010 1190808160e0e0f0101000115080808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e13 14000708090a0b0b0b0c0d0e0f000203040404040404040506000c00000040092 900aa0000000000000009000b0000000000040000002701ffff030000000000 -0.055 (-0.11%) ], American Express [AXP 43.05 010009000003e10300000000e60200000000e602000026060f00c205574d46430 10000000000010076130000000001000000a005000000000000a005000001000 0006c00000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000057010 0001801000020454d4600000100a00500000f0000000100000000000000000000 0000000000000400000003000040010000f000000000000000000000000000000 000e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c00000 0100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000001c0200001002000 0454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c000000000000002440010 00c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c000000 0000000008400005680100005c0100000210c0db010000000000000000000000 00000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b 000000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffff015353105d5d3c 7a7a4b848486aaaaa4bdbdd0dbdb248e633d9a74017e3e209c5647c97251cb7a7 1d291a5deb843cc6b62d38277cb8c35d756caead000d41589e993d5edd712f21d 00ff0077f777eeeeeeffffff0000000000009386e5720000001e74524e53ffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff00ec181c5e00000001624b47440088051d480000000c6 36d50504a436d703037313200000003480073bc0000004b49444154185735c8d 90e80200c44d1a6e08238821b6ee9ffffa66d94fb30391912ed1c6c856c5268aa33 0277ff3fa9dde704357b73063032732bb4cfd8aebb44763d2d2aab444fc7535b5fb 46807c35b0e89000000000049454e44ae4260820008400108240000001800000 00210c0db01000000030000000000000000000000000000001b4000004000000 0340000000100000002000000000000bf000000bf000030410000104103000000 000000b3000000b3ffff2f41000000b3000000b3ffff0f41210000000800000062000 0000c00000001000000150000000c00000004000000150000000c000000040000 00460000001400000008000000544e50500601000051000000a4000000000000 00000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b0000 000900000050000000300000008000000024000000000000008600ee000b0000 0009000000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff00ffe00000ffe04dfeffe000007fc00 0003f8040061f0040061f0078c10e0078c10c00000051000000540100000000000 0000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b00000 0090000005000000098000000e80000006c00000000000000c60088000b00000 009000000280000000b000000090000000100080000000000000000000000000 0000000001c0000000000000000000000ffffff00d7edd500749a3d0091d2710063 8e240084844b00b8dea50072c9470053530100bdbda4007acb51005d5d10007a 7a3c00569c2000aaaa8600d0eaca006bcc430056d735001df2120000ff000015d4 00003e7e0100dbdbd00082d3620093e9890077f777008ccb7700191a1a1a1a1a1 a1a1a1a1b00181213141414141415160d001011081213141516090c170001070 808080e0909090f010001010408080509090d0101000101010b0805090c010101 00010101070805090a0101010001010101040506010101010001010101020301

0101010100460000001400000008000000544e5050070100004c000000640000 0000000000000000000a0000000800000000000000000000000b000000090000 002900aa0000000000000000000000803f00000000000000000000803f0000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000002200000 00c000000ffffffff460000001c00000010000000454d462b024000000c0000000000 00000e0000001400000000000000100000001400000004000000030108000500 00000b0200000000050000000c0209000b00030000001e000400000007010400 040000000701040037000000410b8600ee0009000b000000000009000b000000 0000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000ffffff00ffe00000ffe04dfeffe000007fc000003f80 40061f0040061f0078c10e0078c10c0000008f000000410bc600880009000b0000 00000009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010008000000000000 00000000000000000000001c0000000000000000000000ffffff00d7edd500749a3 d0091d27100638e240084844b00b8dea50072c9470053530100bdbda4007acb5 1005d5d10007a7a3c00569c2000aaaa8600d0eaca006bcc430056d735001df212 0000ff000015d400003e7e0100dbdbd00082d3620093e9890077f777008ccb7700 191a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1b00181213141414141415160d001011081213141516 090c170001070808080e0909090f010001010408080509090d0101000101010b0 805090c01010100010101070805090a010101000101010104050601010101000 101010102030101010101000c00000040092900aa0000000000000009000b000 0000000040000002701ffff030000000000 0.28 (+0.65%) ] and JPMorgan [JPM 42.405 010009000003e10300000000e60200000000e602000026060f00c205574d46430 10000000000010076130000000001000000a005000000000000a005000001000 0006c00000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000057010 0001801000020454d4600000100a00500000f0000000100000000000000000000 0000000000000400000003000040010000f000000000000000000000000000000 000e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c00000 0100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000001c0200001002000 0454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c000000000000002440010 00c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c000000 0000000008400005680100005c0100000210c0db010000000000000000000000 00000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b 000000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffff015353105d5d3c 7a7a4b848486aaaaa4bdbdd0dbdb248e633d9a74017e3e209c5647c97251cb7a7 1d291a5deb843cc6b62d38277cb8c35d756caead000d41589e993d5edd712f21d 00ff0077f777eeeeeeffffff0000000000009386e5720000001e74524e53ffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff00ec181c5e00000001624b47440088051d480000000c6 36d50504a436d703037313200000003480073bc0000004b49444154185735c8d 90e80200c44d1a6e08238821b6ee9ffffa66d94fb30391912ed1c6c856c5268aa33 0277ff3fa9dde704357b73063032732bb4cfd8aebb44763d2d2aab444fc7535b5fb 46807c35b0e89000000000049454e44ae4260820008400108240000001800000 00210c0db01000000030000000000000000000000000000001b4000004000000 0340000000100000002000000000000bf000000bf000030410000104103000000 000000b3000000b3ffff2f41000000b3000000b3ffff0f41210000000800000062000 0000c00000001000000150000000c00000004000000150000000c000000040000

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1005d5d10007a7a3c00569c2000aaaa8600d0eaca006bcc430056d735001df212 0000ff000015d400003e7e0100dbdbd00082d3620093e9890077f777008ccb7700 191a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1b00181213141414141415160d001011081213141516 090c170001070808080e0909090f010001010408080509090d0101000101010b0 805090c01010100010101070805090a010101000101010104050601010101000 101010102030101010101000c00000040092900aa0000000000000009000b000 0000000040000002701ffff030000000000 0.18 (+0.43%) ], Boeing [BA 64.84 010009000003f10300000000f00200000000f002000026060f00d605574d464301 000000000001002b230000000001000000b405000000000000b4050000010000 006c00000000000000000000000a000000080000000000000000000000570100 001801000020454d4600000100b40500000f00000001000000000000000000000 000000000000400000003000040010000f0000000000000000000000000000000 00e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c000000 100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000002402000018020000 454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c0000000000000024400100 0c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c0000000 00000000840000570010000640100000210c0db0100000000000000000000000 0000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b0 00000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffffff0000e70000c700 00bf0000b70000b30000ab00009b00008f0000950f0ffd1e1efc2d2df23c3cd33c3c cb3c3cc23c3ca73c3cb34b4bf86969f46969f77777c76969c48585f2b2b2f1c1c1e2 d0d0efdfdfebdfdfeeeeeeffffff087958ec0000002074524e53ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffff005c5c1bed00000001624b47440088051d480000000c636d5050 4a436d703037313200000003480073bc0000005149444154185725ca47128030 0c43518f2190981e5a68d6fd6f498a169ab7f8344e73d9b2d2c6556d8c699d047a7 be6aa71225e0917335b91ee01017b7640f237447bcdc6cd3616c57ad8581443cff 4f801439d0761d0a9a52b0000000049454e44ae42608200084001082400000018 0000000210c0db01000000030000000000000000000000000000001b40000040 000000340000000100000002000000000000bf000000bf0000304100001041030 00000000000b3000000b3ffff2f41000000b3000000b3ffff0f412100000008000000 620000000c00000001000000150000000c00000004000000150000000c0000000 4000000460000001400000008000000544e50500601000051000000a40000000 0000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000 b0000000900000050000000300000008000000024000000000000008600ee000 b00000009000000280000000b000000090000000100010000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff000c0000001e004dfe1f000 0003f8000003f8040067fc04006ffe078c1ffe078c1ffe00000510000006001000000 000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b 0000000900000050000000a4000000f40000006c00000000000000c60088000b0 0000009000000280000000b00000009000000010008000000000000000000000 00000000000001f0000000000000000000000ffffff003c3cf2003c3cd3003c3ccb00 3c3cc2004b4bb3006969f8000000ff000000e7000000c7000000bf000000b300000 09b0000008f008585c400dfdfef001e1efd000000b7003c3ca700eeeeee00b2b2f20 00000ab000f0f9500d0d0e2006969f400dfdfeb002d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f7006969 c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d160f01010101000101011c08161 7180101010001011a1b08160e13140101000101190808160e0e0f010100011508

0808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e1314000708090a0b0b0b0c0d0e0f0 0020304040404040404050600460000001400000008000000544e50500701000 04c0000006400000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000 00b000000090000002900aa0000000000000000000000803f0000000000000000 0000803f000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000220000000c000000ffffffff460000001c00000010000000454d462b02400 0000c000000000000000e0000001400000000000000100000001400000004000 00003010800050000000b0200000000050000000c0209000b00030000001e000 400000007010400040000000701040037000000410b8600ee0009000b0000000 00009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff000c0000001e004dfe1 f0000003f8000003f8040067fc04006ffe078c1ffe078c1ffe0000095000000410bc60 0880009000b000000000009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010 00800000000000000000000000000000000001f0000000000000000000000ffffff0 03c3cf2003c3cd3003c3ccb003c3cc2004b4bb3006969f8000000ff000000e70000 00c7000000bf000000b30000009b0000008f008585c400dfdfef001e1efd000000b 7003c3ca700eeeeee00b2b2f2000000ab000f0f9500d0d0e2006969f400dfdfeb00 2d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f7006969c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d 160f01010101000101011c081617180101010001011a1b08160e1314010100010 1190808160e0e0f0101000115080808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e13 14000708090a0b0b0b0c0d0e0f000203040404040404040506000c00000040092 900aa0000000000000009000b0000000000040000002701ffff030000000000 -0.22 (-0.34%) ], and IBM [IBM 145.558 010009000003f10300000000f00200000000f002000026060f00d605574d464301 000000000001002b230000000001000000b405000000000000b4050000010000 006c00000000000000000000000a000000080000000000000000000000570100 001801000020454d4600000100b40500000f00000001000000000000000000000 000000000000400000003000040010000f0000000000000000000000000000000 00e2040080a90300460000002c00000020000000454d462b014001001c000000 100000000210c0db010000006000000060000000460000002402000018020000 454d462b224004000c000000000000001e4009000c0000000000000024400100 0c000000000000003040020010000000040000000000803f214007000c0000000 00000000840000570010000640100000210c0db0100000000000000000000000 0000000000000000100000089504e470d0a1a0a0000000d494844520000000b0 00000090803000000d3ba261f00000060504c5445000000ffffffff0000e70000c700 00bf0000b70000b30000ab00009b00008f0000950f0ffd1e1efc2d2df23c3cd33c3c cb3c3cc23c3ca73c3cb34b4bf86969f46969f77777c76969c48585f2b2b2f1c1c1e2 d0d0efdfdfebdfdfeeeeeeffffff087958ec0000002074524e53ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffff005c5c1bed00000001624b47440088051d480000000c636d5050 4a436d703037313200000003480073bc0000005149444154185725ca47128030 0c43518f2190981e5a68d6fd6f498a169ab7f8344e73d9b2d2c6556d8c699d047a7 be6aa71225e0917335b91ee01017b7640f237447bcdc6cd3616c57ad8581443cff 4f801439d0761d0a9a52b0000000049454e44ae42608200084001082400000018 0000000210c0db01000000030000000000000000000000000000001b40000040 000000340000000100000002000000000000bf000000bf0000304100001041030 00000000000b3000000b3ffff2f41000000b3000000b3ffff0f412100000008000000

620000000c00000001000000150000000c00000004000000150000000c0000000 4000000460000001400000008000000544e50500601000051000000a40000000 0000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000 b0000000900000050000000300000008000000024000000000000008600ee000 b00000009000000280000000b000000090000000100010000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff000c0000001e004dfe1f000 0003f8000003f8040067fc04006ffe078c1ffe078c1ffe00000510000006001000000 000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000000000000000000000b 0000000900000050000000a4000000f40000006c00000000000000c60088000b0 0000009000000280000000b00000009000000010008000000000000000000000 00000000000001f0000000000000000000000ffffff003c3cf2003c3cd3003c3ccb00 3c3cc2004b4bb3006969f8000000ff000000e7000000c7000000bf000000b300000 09b0000008f008585c400dfdfef001e1efd000000b7003c3ca700eeeeee00b2b2f20 00000ab000f0f9500d0d0e2006969f400dfdfeb002d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f7006969 c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d160f01010101000101011c08161 7180101010001011a1b08160e13140101000101190808160e0e0f010100011508 0808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e1314000708090a0b0b0b0c0d0e0f0 0020304040404040404050600460000001400000008000000544e50500701000 04c0000006400000000000000000000000a00000008000000000000000000000 00b000000090000002900aa0000000000000000000000803f0000000000000000 0000803f000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000220000000c000000ffffffff460000001c00000010000000454d462b02400 0000c000000000000000e0000001400000000000000100000001400000004000 00003010800050000000b0200000000050000000c0209000b00030000001e000 400000007010400040000000701040037000000410b8600ee0009000b0000000 00009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010001000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffff000c0000001e004dfe1 f0000003f8000003f8040067fc04006ffe078c1ffe078c1ffe0000095000000410bc60 0880009000b000000000009000b0000000000280000000b00000009000000010 00800000000000000000000000000000000001f0000000000000000000000ffffff0 03c3cf2003c3cd3003c3ccb003c3cc2004b4bb3006969f8000000ff000000e70000 00c7000000bf000000b30000009b0000008f008585c400dfdfef001e1efd000000b 7003c3ca700eeeeee00b2b2f2000000ab000f0f9500d0d0e2006969f400dfdfeb00 2d2dfc00c1c1f1007777f7006969c70001010101141e010101010100010101141d 160f01010101000101011c081617180101010001011a1b08160e1314010100010 1190808160e0e0f0101000115080808160e0e171801001011080809120d0e0e13 14000708090a0b0b0b0c0d0e0f000203040404040404040506000c00000040092 900aa0000000000000009000b0000000000040000002701ffff030000000000 -0.332 (-0.23%) ] rose. September 30, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Mart Stores Inc.s prices rose in September to the highest level in at least 21 months, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., as the worlds largest retailer scaled back discounts from earlier this year. The cost of a 31-item basket of goods at a Wal-Mart in Virginia was $95.75, a 2.7 percent increase from August and a 5 percent gain from the start of 2010, analyst Charles Grom said

today in a report. The price is the most since the New York- based analyst began the survey in January 2009. McDonalds; Stock Up McDonald's denies it cutting health insurance. U.S. officials also deny report (Adds background on mini-med use, analyst and restaurant industry comment. (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) and federal health officials denied on Thursday a newspaper report that the fast-food chain may drop health insurance for nearly 30,000 of its hourly workers. The Wall Street Journal, citing a company memo, reported that McDonald's might cut the insurance unless U.S. regulators waived a requirement of new U.S. healthcare laws. McDonald's officials called the report "completely false." "This story is wrong," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Jessica Santillo said in a statement. "The new law provides significant flexibility to maintain coverage for workers." The fast-food restaurant chain is at odds over the new law's stipulation that so-called "mini-med" insurance plans spend at least 80 percent of premium revenue on medical care, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Wednesday. That rule was designed to put limits on funds being used for marketing, executive salaries, and other nonmedical uses. McDonald's told federal regulators in the memo that it would be "economically prohibitive" for its insurance carrier to continue to cover hourly workers unless it receives a waiver to the 80 percent minimum requirement, the newspaper reported. It said federal officials said there was no guarantee a waiver would be granted. Coca-Cola; Stock Down I attended the Opportunity Green Business Conference from Sept. 22-24 at Los Angeles Center Studios in Downtown Los Angeles. The conference was nothing you would expect. It was not flashy and it didn't really resemble what one would usually experience with most conferences. What really impressed me was the fact that "profits" was not touted as the offspring of evil. The message was: prepare your company for a world where profits, people and the environment are truly interconnected. I had a long discussion with Coca-Cola's Global Director of Sustainable Packaging, Scott Vitters, and Global Director of Marketing Innovations Gopal Krishnan. I was surprised and at the same time impressed after my meeting with Scott and Gopal. Coca-Cola is not just THE soft-drink company; it puts a tremendous effort in creating recycling programs that create jobs in third world countries, re-use resources efficiently and employ new energy efficient, low pollutant bio-materials. Here are some very interesting key facts: Coca-Cola's new PlantBottle More than 2.5 billion bottles already in the market after year of entry in 9 global markets To date in this short time it is like removing 5,600 cars from the road, eliminate 30,000+ metric tons of carbon dioxide this year alone the equivalent of over 70,000 barrels of oil. Across full portfolio it will be significantly more impacting.

Plans to expand each year until the entire company profile (3,000+ brands globally) utilize PlantBottle packaging Currently made from 30% renewable, plant-based materials working toward a firm goal of 100% plant-based, carbon neutral bottle The plant material currently used is from sugar cane extract a waste byproduct (not food source) and farmed sustainably as overseen by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) PlantBottle if 100% recyclable in current infrastructure (competitive technology has not been) PlantBottle was developed in-house in Cokes innovation labs (which employ approximately 1,000 PhDs globally) Recycling Coke is the worlds largest recycler with the worlds largest recycling plant here in the U.S. in South Carolina ($40M investment) Coke works with and funds partners like RecycleBank to incentivize recycling and work with municipalities, waste management, etc to ensure collection, as well as funds massive recycling education initiatives globally Coke currently collect 35% of all the bottles and cans it pus out, with a firm goal to collect the equivalent of 100% by 2020 Coke believes it is the responsibility of business to solve waste and sustainability issues Water Coke, as one of the worlds largest packaging users of water in its products, has set a firm goal to give back 100% of the water it uses in every community, through rain water collection, conservations, refine and clean reuse technology, etc. Delivery Coke has the worlds largest fleet of hybrid trucks 637 in North America alone replacing more monthly

Not to make this a Coke commercial but these guys really impressed me,. and I am all about true value instead of fluff. No fluff here, folks. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Competitor and peer checkup Competitor Normalized Net Income Growth (3 yrs.) Green Mountain Coffee Roasters 95.9% Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) 3.1% Peet's Coffee (Nasdaq: PEET) 32.1% Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) 1.8% Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) 4.8% Starbucks Coffee (Nasdaq: SBUX) 10.7% Green Mountain is the overwhelming winner in this table, no doubt due in part to its acquisition and successful marketing of the K-Cup single-cup brewing system, which Starbucks has since copied with its VIA instant brand. So be it. Success breeds imitators.

Home Depot; Stock Down The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD - News) is the leading player in the highly fragmented home improvement industry. The company has reinvigorated itself with a shift in focus from new square footage growth to maximization of productivity through its existing store base. In addition, the company has implemented significant changes to its store operations in an effort to make them simpler and more customer friendly, thereby inducing more customer traffic. Home Depot enjoys large economies of scale while purchasing products and offers 30,000 to 40,000 proprietary and exclusive brands annually through strategic alliances with selected suppliers across the globe. The company follows a global sourcing merchandise program that enables it to purchase market leading innovative products directly from the manufacturers, giving it a competitive price advantage. Due to the continued economic downturn, Home Depot has taken strategic steps to optimize its capital allocation and concentrate on core business activities. The company has closed its underperforming stores, reduced its new store opening pipeline, and exited businesses like EXPO, THD Design Center, Yardbirds, and HD Bath. Home Depot follows prudent inventory management policies that maintain a favorable in-stock rate. Moreover, the company has improved its supply chain and streamlined its operations. Home Depot recently posted second-quarter 2010 earnings of 72 cents a share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Net sales in the quarter increased marginally by 1.8% but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $19,584 million. Although the economy is showing signs of improvement, we believe that spending on big remodeling projects will likely remain under pressure until the housing market stabilizes, inventory levels regularize and consumer-spending rebounds. However, we continue to witness strength in consumer spending on small projects such as basic repair and maintenance projects and simple dcor. The company forecasts fiscal 2010 sales growth of 2.6%. Currently, we remain Neutral on Home Depot. Moreover, the stock holds the Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold recommendation and correlates with our longterm view. American express; Stock Down American Express Co. (AXP) and Discover Financial Services (DFS) are interesting because they participate in both the transaction processing side of the business AND the consumer lending side. As such, the companies can be vulnerable to both a weakening in consumer spending as well as rising credit risks for consumers. AXP is expected to increase earnings by 139% in 2010 due largely to more attractive metrics on its existing loan portfolio compared to the turbulent 2008 and 2009 periods. The stock has been range-bound between $36 and $50 and this past month the stock surged higher on strong volume after DFS reported surprisingly strong earnings. From a trading perspective, we are keeping a close eye on AXP as a trading vehicle to express further weakness for the global consumer. If the rally from earlier this month does not hold, and other stocks in the sector confirm the weakness, we may very well play for a decline back to the $36-$38 range with the outside chance of retracing a good bit of the 2009 advance. Below is a weekly chart which shows just how far the stock has

rallied and gives an idea of the vulnerability should the consumer stumble along with the unstable economy. October 1, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down HOUSTONAt midnight on the first of the month, a scene unfolds at many Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sites that underscores the deep financial strains that many low-income American consumers still face. Parking lots come to life after 11 p.m. as customers start to stream into the stores, cramming their shopping carts full of milk, infant formula and other necessities. Then at midnight, when the government replenishes their electronic-benefit accounts with their monthly allotments of food stamps, nutritional grants for mothers with babies or other aid for needy families, they head for the registers. McDonalds; Stock Up Senator Jay Rockefeller opened a probe into the limited benefit mini-med plans that McDonalds Corp., the worlds largest restaurant chain, offers employees. Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, asked Scott Beacham, chief executive officer of BCS Financial Corp., whether the companys health offerings amount to a good deal for many of McDonalds low-wage and hourly employees. Closely held BCS Financial, based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, offers limitedbenefit plans that cover 30,000 employees of McDonalds, based about a mile away in Oak Brook, Illinois. Mini-med programs are designed to offer a low-cost way to cover part-time employees with limited benefits. McDonalds told the Obama administration it may re-evaluate the plans if it cant get a waiver from new rules governing insurance products. The company said yesterday it will keep offering coverage, and the government has waived some of the new rules. Coca-Cola; Stock Up The soft drink bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. said Friday that its stockholders approved the sale of its North American operations to Coca-Cola Co. This clears the way for the deal to be completed within the coming days. Coca-Cola, based in Atlanta, announced in February that it would pay $3.4 billion for the North American operations of Coca-Cola Enterprises, its biggest bottler. It would also assume $8.88 billion in debt. In exchange, the bottler would buy certain foreign bottling operations from Coca-Cola, and its shareholders would get shares for a new company and $10 a share. Once the transaction is complete, Coca-Cola Enterprises will become a new public company that comprises its existing European territories as well as bottling operations in Norway and Sweden acquired from Coca-Cola. The new Coca-Cola Enterprises is expected to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday under the existing ticker "CCE." Kraft Foods; Stock Up Home Depot; Stock Up In addition, this is not a very profitable business -- operating margins are a meager 1.2%. Just a few years ago, Barnes & Noble handily posted 5% or 6%

operating margins, but those days are likely gone forever as e-reader book sales start to cannibalize business at the brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, it's unclear that Barnes & Noble will even be able to generate net profits in coming years, unless the company seriously prunes its store base. Yet it's clear that the business is quite undervalued on an enterprise value-to-sales basis (EV/sales), sporting the lowest ratio. (EV/sales is a handy measure of what each dollar of a company's sales is worth to investors.) Of those five stocks listed here, Best Buy(BBYHYPERLINK "http://www.thestreet.com/quote/BBY.html"_) appears to be the best value, thanks to a combination of decent operating margins and a still-low EV/sales ratio. For Home Depot(HDHYPERLINK "http://www.thestreet.com/quote/HD.html"_), the measure is fairly high, which partially reflects wide profit margins and also anticipates an eventual strong sales rebound when the housing sector turns up. No such upturn is expected for Barnes & Noble. American express; Stock Down Chase is chasing after the safe, affluent customers of American Express. American Express has spent the past 50 years building a reputation for cardholder loyalty, a generous rewards program and good customer service. Chase has begun courting the well-heeled customers, as well as Amex executives, to expand the business. We want the very best customers from all of our competitors, said Chase spokesman Paul Hartwick. October 4, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Last week, Wal-Mart (WMT) made a $4.6 billion offer for Massmart Holdings, a major South African retailer with operations in 12 other African nations, too. Whats the attraction? Massmart operates low-cost, high-volume stores in general retailing, making it a good fit. The buyout will serve as an entry point to the entire continent. Yet there are risks aplenty. South Africa is only beginning to emerge from recession. Its plagued by high crime and unemployment and has a heavily unionized work force known for long, sometimes violent, strikes. McDonalds; Stock Up I have been a McDonalds (MCD) shareholder for some time now. The stock has been a good investment for the past five years. My reasons for owning the stock were plenty. McDonalds has over 32,000 restaurants around the world and has plans to continue expanding internationally. According to the company website, McDonalds serves over 60 million customers a day. The company has become a staple in the foodservice retail industry. Lets take a look at the pros and cons of an investment in McDonalds. McDonalds is the most popular fast food restaurant in the industry. Everyone goes to McDonalds. Whether its the Big Mac, the milkshakes, salads, crispy chicken wraps, ice cream cones or the fries; customers flock to McDonalds by the millions. Its drive-thrus are often packed as customers drive in to get an early morning McMuffin or a late night snack. McDonalds is an earnings giant with nearly $24 billion dollars in annual revenue. The margins are incredible at McDonalds. McDonalds has a 20% profit margin, 40% gross margin and an operating margin approaching 30%. Thats

better than competitors Yum Brands (YUM) and Burger King (BKC). The king of fast food has been able to grow earnings at a remarkable 19% clip per annum. McDonalds has made efficient use of its assets and capital earning a 15% return on assets and 36% return on equity. Although McDonalds has all of these things going for it; the stock is not cheap. The stock currently trades at just under $75 per share. This values the company at 16.5 times earnings. This is not a high multiple based on past growth but is high compared to future forecasts. McDonalds is projected to grow earnings at a 10% clip over the next few years. That means the stocks trades at 1.6 time projected earnings. Coca-Cola; Stock Down Shares of a new, smaller Coca-Cola Enterprises plunged almost 31% Monday following the close of the sale of its North American bottling operations to CocaCola Co. and the subsequent hefty cash payout to shareholders. Under the terms of the deal, Coca-Cola Enterprises will keep its name and run as a new public company that keeps its existing European territories, along with operations in Norway and Sweden acquired from Coca-Cola Co. Early this year, Coca-Cola Co. agreed to acquire CCEs North American business for $12.3 billion, including the assumption of $8.88 billion in debt. But, as part of the deal, CCE had to pay out a $10 cash distribution to all shareholders of record -- accounting for much of the stock drop. Shares of CCE (CCE 25.51, +0.14, +0.55%) closed off $9.79 at $22.01 while Coca-Cola (KO 65.12, -0.22, -0.34%) was flat at $58.89. The transaction is the start of a new chapter in our history, said John Brock, CCEs chief executive, in announcing the finalization of the transaction. Europe represents an outstanding platform for long-term, profitable growth, as evidenced by our recently announced, increased long-term financial objectives. See previous MarketWatch report on the strategy shift represented by the Coca-Cola deal with Coca-Cola Enterprises. Last month, the company said it is targeting revenue growth of 4% to 6% with earnings per share rising in the high single-digit range. It added that next year, it expects earnings per share to exceed long-term objectives due to share-repurchase activity. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Home Depot; Stock Down American express; Stock Down WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department on Monday sued the three largest U.S. credit card companies for anticompetitive practices and reached a proposed settlement with two of them, MasterCard and Visa. "We want to put more money in consumers' pockets, and by eliminating credit card companies' anticompetitive rules, we will accomplish exactly that," Attorney General Eric Holder told an afternoon news conference. "The companies put merchants and their customers in a no-win situation" and "consumers are being held hostage." American Express Co. said it is willing to wage a multiyear fight against the federal lawsuit, arguing that the Justice Department's proposed remedy would

promote steering customers from one payment network to another and "will do nothing to enhance competition." In papers filed in federal court in Brooklyn, the department and various state attorneys general sued all three companies, saying they were attempting to insulate themselves from competition. At the same time, the Justice Department filed a settlement it has reached with Visa and MasterCard. Court approval of such settlements is usually a formality. Under the settlement, Visa and MasterCard agree not to prohibit merchants from offering customers discounts or rebates for using a particular kind of card. Visa and MasterCard also must allow merchants to express preferences for the use of a low-cost card within a network or other form of payment. The lawsuit says the card companies are impeding merchants from promoting the use of competing credit or charge cards with lower acceptance fees. Each time consumers use a credit card to make a purchase, the merchant must pay a fee. Such fees brought in $35 billion last year to the three credit card companies and their affiliated banks. October 5, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Companies like Wal-Mart (WMT), for example, which in 2005 set a goal to get 100% of its power from renewable resources. A few weeks ago Walmart announced it would begin installing two different types of thin film solar on its stores: cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). The company likes the technology because: it can be installed on flat roofs, even in snow-prone areas it's more efficient in fog and smog-prone locations it can actually be incorporated into the building it can provide 20%-30% of each store's electricity needs The project will be one of the largest business installations of thin film solar, will help Wal-Mart save money and reach its sustainability goals, and will help to quickly commercialize this still-young technology. McDonalds; Stock Up Last week McDonald's insisted that it wasn't planning to drop the bare-bones health insurance that it offers its hourly employees. But maybe it should -- this is some pretty terrible insurance coverage. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) had warned federal regulators that its insurance carrier might be forced to drop the coverage next year because it won't meet a requirement of the health care reform law. Many other media outlets then picked up the story but, along with the Journal itself, oversimplified it, saying that McDonald's was being forced to drop coverage for 30,000 workers because of health care reform. Indeed, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires that insurers spend 80% to 85% of premium revenue on medical care, as opposed to administrative costs and marketing. McDonald's told the Department of Health and Human Services that its insurer, BCS Insurance Group, would drop coverage once the requirement kicked in. After the story made the rounds, both the government and McDonald's downplayed the case by indicating that the insurance most likely wouldn't actually be dropped. Some commenters, mainly of the right-wing and firebreathing variety,

mischaracterized the situation as evidence of flaws in "Obamacare." They almost universally ignored the appalling level of coverage offered by McDonald's "mini-med" insurance plan. Coca-Cola; Stock Up The Coca-Cola Co. on Tuesday completed its acquisition of the North American operations of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. and the sale of the companys Norway and Sweden bottling operations to CCE. Last week, CocaCola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) shareholders gave their stamp of approval to the $13 billion sale of its North American operations to Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). With the deal now complete, Coca-Cola renamed the sales and operational elements of the North American businesses -- Coca-Cola Refreshments USA Inc. (CCR) and Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada Co. -- which will be wholly-owned subsidiaries led by CCR President and CEO Steve Cahillane. CCR will integrate CCE North America, CCNA Foodservice, the Minute Maid and Odwalla juice businesses, CCNA Supply Chain Operations and the company-owned bottling operations in Philadelphia. Once integrated, Coca-Cola expects operational synergies of at least $350 million a year. Coca-Cola also said it is still committed to buying back at least $1.5 billion in shares in 2010. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Home Depot; Stock Up Shares of Home Depot(HD) have edged lower Tuesday after the stock was downgraded by Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs has lowered its rating for Home Depot to neutral from buy on less compelling valuation and upside. "The company is executing well, but as the stock has bounced off the bottom in the midst of choppy macro data and soft channel checks and into tougher sales and margin compares over the next two quarters, valuation and upside are less compelling," Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Fassler explained in an investor note. "The exceptional HD turnaround story is still very much under way but is well understood by the market today." Fassler said he's becoming increasingly selective on the do-it-yourself sector in the face of "tough" macro data and "uninspiring" channel check. He added that housing data remains weak. "While we have noted a diminished correlation between sector sales and housing turns, leading indicators are subdued." Goldman Sachs currently has a $35, 12-month price target for Home Depot stock. Home Depot shares are down 1.3% to $31.27 shortly after the market open. American express; Stock Down American Express Co. fell 2 percent in New York trading, adding to yesterdays 6.5 percent drop, after choosing to fight a U.S. antitrust complaint while larger rivals Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. settled the case. AmEx, the days worst performer of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, had skidded as much as 4.4 percent before rebounding to $38.28 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Visa, based in San Francisco, advanced 2.4 percent to $74.99 and Purchase, New York-based MasterCard

climbed 1.5 percent to $225.90. Visa and MasterCard, the worlds biggest payment networks, will no longer bar merchants from steering customers to alternative forms of payment, including credit cards with lower acceptance costs. AmEx, based in New York, will keep its rules in place as it challenges the Justice Departments lawsuit, widening the perceived gap between its prices and those of its competitors, said Scott Valentin of FBR Capital Markets. That may reduce a merchants incentive to accept American Express cards and negatively affect billed business, Valentin said today in a note to clients. The primary concern is that American Express has more to lose, given its higher merchant fee, if merchants have the ability to steer toward competing networks. October 6, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up McDonalds; Stock Down Coca-Cola; Stock Up Dr. Pepper's License Deal Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS - News) announced the completion of the transaction with The The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO - News) to license some of its brands. The agreement grants Coca-Cola the distribution rights for Dr Pepper in the U.S. and Canada Dry in North East U.S. for a one-time payment of $715 million. Dr Pepper Snapple has plans to use a fraction of the cash proceeds to augment its share repurchase program. The 20-year deal (with a provision for 20-year renewals) with Dr Pepper Snapple Group is part of CocaColas acquisition of the North American bottling operations of Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE - News), announced in February 2010, and consummated recently. The deal also provides Dr Pepper Snapple with the option to sell Squirt, Canada Dry, Schweppes and Cactus Cooler, which were formerly sold by the bottler, in certain U.S. territories where it has a distribution footprint. The addition of non-Coke brands, such as Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper will increase the array of choices to Coke's new high-tech Freestyle machine (fountain drink dispenser) that is expanding gradually. Freestyle is a touch screen technology, which allures customers with its more than 100 flavors, allowing them to fix their drinks as per personal preferences. Dr Pepper Snapples shares maintain a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold recommendation. Our long-term recommendation for the stock remains Neutral. Overall, we believe that the distribution right will be potent enough to take the Coke a step further, thereby gaining market share, increasing sales volume and winning consumer loyalty. Coca-Colas shares maintain a Zacks #2 Rank, which translates into a short-term Buy recommendation. Our long-term recommendation for the stock remains Neutral. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Kraft Foods Inc. Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld told CNBC that the company is hiring. We continue to hire, even in the current environment in

markets, Rosenfeld said in an interview on CNBC today. In our developing markets, were growing at double-digit rates, and need to continue to keep pace with that kind of growth. In some more developed markets, we are less aggressive. Even there, we are making hires disproportionately in areas like marketing and sales. Home Depot; Stock Same U.S. holiday retail sales will climb 2.3 percent, for the best season in four years, as customers lured by promotions purchase apparel and electronics, the National Retail Federation said. The increase in retail sales to $447.1 billion in November and December will be the biggest since a 3.1 percent gain in 2006, the Washington-based trade group said. Holiday sales rose 0.4 percent last year after a 3.9 percent drop in 2008. Consumers have begun buying again as the economy has recovered, after cutting expenses during the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Retailers, which have controlled inventories and made supply chains more efficient, will use planned promotions to drive sales, NRF President Matthew Shay said. American express; Stock Down American Express Co. begins trading today without the right to receive a $0.18 dividend declared Sept. 27. Investors had to own the stock before today to receive the payout, which traders deduct from the company's share price on the ex-dividend date. October 7, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down Li & Fung Ltd., the biggest supplier to retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said it expects a lot of orders for next year as purchases and sourcing deals boost its market share. With the acquisitions we have done, outsourcing deals we have done and the new business, next year looks very good, President Bruce Rockowitz said in a phone interview late yesterday. It looks less and less likely that there will be a double-dip recession. McDonalds; Stock Up For Rothbort's preview heading into the Yum! Brands conference call, please click here. Last evening, Yum Brands! reported third-quarter 2010 EPS of $0.73 (excluding special items) on total revenue of $2.862 billion. Furthermore, the company announced an increase of the quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.25, which equates to an annual yield of about 2.13%. I would note that this is lower than the 3.22% payout by McDonald's , Yum!'s closest rival. Same-store sales rose 1% in both the U.S. and Yum! Restaurants International (YRI) and rose 6% in China. (Note: In the future, operations in Thailand and Taiwan will be reported in YRI rather than China segments.) Global margins improved by 1.6%. International segment profit growth (excluding foreign currency) was strong, with China rising 23% and YRI rising 16%. Chinese unit growth was 12%, with 245 new units opened year-to-date and 475 expected to open Coca-Cola; Stock Down PepsiCo dropped $2.01, or 3 percent, to $66.10 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the largest decline since June. The shares

have gained 8.7 percent this year, compared with a 4.3 percent increase for Coca-Cola Co. Sales Performance: PepsiCos sales rose 40 percent to $15.5 billion in the third quarter. The Latin America Foods, PepsiCo Americas Beverages and European units all posted sales gains as Nooyi pushed versions of Doritos and juices tailored to local tastes. Net income rose to $1.92 billion, or $1.19 a share. Excluding some items, third-quarter profit was $1.22, matching the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. A year earlier, profit at Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo amounted to $1.72 billion, or $1.09. PepsiCo reiterated that the acquisition of its two largest bottlers, completed in March, will cost $650 million and generate $400 million in annual savings by 2012. The move helped more than double sales in the PepsiCo Americas beverage unit to $5.79 billion, the companys biggest business last quarter. PepsiCo got a head start on Coca-Cola in taking control of its U.S. distribution system. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola closed the purchase of the North American operations of its largest bottler this week. Both companies expect to boost revenue by streamlining sales forces and marketing various types of products together, such as chips and drinks for PepsiCo. Kraft Foods; Stock Down KFT Stock Chart So, Rosenfeld didnt waste much time in announcing, on September 15, that Kraft had a new global growth strategy. Maybe that would get the Old Boy in Omaha off her back. The plan actually sounds more like a set of financial promises 5% organic revenue growth, meaning excluding acquisitions; margins in the mid-to-high teens; and per share net growth of 9-to-11%. Squeezing out costs to boost margins seems doable, and Kraft can certainly get closer to its EPS goals with the aid of share buybacks, if need be. Kraft spent about $7 billion on buybacks during the years 2004-2008, watching the stock slide sideways, but reducing shares outstanding and thus boosting EPS. The growth part will be trickier, and Kraft seems to be counting on poorer countries to scarf up more Oreos and such. Developing countries should account for one third of sales by 2013, Kraft said, vs. about one fourth now. Everyone likes an Oreo, but Kraft may find that pricing gets tougher as it pushes deeper into developing economies, and that could make hitting its goal on profit margins more difficult. The early going in 2010 isnt entirely encouraging. Kraft had been predicting revenue growth without acquisitions (organic) of 4% for this year. But by August 5, management had apparently lost confidence in even that meager improvement, adjusting the projection to a range of 3-to-4% growth. Perhaps the five-year restructuring plan, completed in 2008, was just a warm-up for whats to come. Rosenfeld, in announcing her new growth plan, spoke of establishing a world-class cost structure. To workers who spent years waving goodbye to those 18,600 colleagues, Rosenfelds goal might sound a little frightening. Of course Rosenfeld didnt rejoin Kraft and become CEO until June 2006 with Kraft well into the earlier restructuring and every boss deserves her own swing of the ax. Home Depot; Stock Same Home Depot (HD): "Oh... two downgrades, including one today that just...

it hurt me. The downgrade hurt me. It did. It like crushed me to my core...I am a believer in housing. I think that Home Depot is not done. I saw that the stock didn't even pull back on the downgrade... buy, buy, buy... What does that tell you? It tells you to buy, buy, buy." American express; Stock Down American Express (AXP: 43.16, +0.40, +0.95%) plans to challenge a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit by arguing this simple premise: We cost more, but were worth it and merchants want us. Like Visa (V: 70.75, +2.02, +2.94%) and MasterCard (MA: 224.92, +6.64, +3.04%) before it, American Express stands accused of crafting anticompetitive contracts that make it difficult for merchant clients to encourage any form of payment other than the more costly AmEx card. Based on comments from the companys legal counsel and outside experts in the field, American Express plans to defend itself by arguing that merchants voluntarily choose to accept millions of those green, gold, platinum and black Centurion cards at their place of business. AmExs lawyers will also argue that AmEx is much smaller than its competitors and doesn't have the leverage to force itself on merchants. AmEx markets itself as a premium service giving access to a select group of consumers, not as a ubiquitous payment network like Visa or MasterCard. October 8, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest private employer, plans to end automatic profit-sharing contributions for its employees in a revamp of its benefits package that it says will give workers more chance to share in its financial success. The discounter will replace profit-sharing starting in February with retirement plan contributions of up to 6 percent of pay -- as long as workers sign up and contribute an equal amount, Wal-Mart said in a memo it provided The Associated Press late Friday. The payments added up to 4 percent to the compensation of employees who'd worked more than 13 months for the world's largest retailer. McDonalds; Stock Up We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it. -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, March 9, 2010. She wasnt kidding. The public got to peek under the hood last week when the Wall Street Journal reported that McDonalds Corp. wanted out: out of a requirement in the new health-care law that compels employers to spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on medical benefits. Who knew? For McDonalds mini-med health-care plan, a low-cost, limited plan covering about 30,000 hourly fast-food workers, the minimum medical loss ratio was economically unfeasible. The company asked for a waiver, according to memos provided to the Journal. Coca-Cola; Stock Down Bottom Line Shares of Pepsi fell after the earnings report and reflected disappointment that it tightened its earnings expectations for the year. It remains to be seen if the folding in of the bottling operations will revitalize trends in the more mature beverage business segments and developed markets including the U.S. and

Europe. Archrival Coca Cola (NYSE:KO) chose to emulate Pepsi's strategy and just finalized the acquisition of Coca-Cola Enterprises' (NYSE:CCE) North American operations. Its international bottling operations, including Coca-Cola FEMSA (NYSE:KOF) and Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling (NYSE:CCH) will remain independent. Uncertainty over the success of integrating the bottlers and a forward P/E of nearly 16 imply that investors are best leaving Pepsi's stock on the shelf for the time being. The shares also recently reached a 52-week high and could be due for a breather. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Home Depot; Stock Up American express; Stock Up October 11, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will start selling Apple Inc.'s iPad on Friday at hundreds of stores throughout the U.S. Wal-Mart landed the tablet computer a little later than two of its largest retail rivals: Best Buy Co., which has been selling the iPad since its launch in April, and Target Corp., which began carrying it this month. McDonalds; Stock Down Over the past few years, theres been a fierce competition among the worlds biggest companies for who would win the First Branded Farm in a Virtual Alternate World. Well, ladies and gentlemen, game over! McDonalds (MCD) seized the title this past Thursday when it joined with the Facebook phenomenon FarmVille. For one dayand one day only!Mickey Dees had its own farm where players could do, well, whatever the hell it is people do on virtual farms. At stake were prizes both real and virtual, including coupons for the restaurant and McDonalds-branded hot air balloons. The effort is part of McDonalds ongoing social-marketing campaign aimed at reaching young consumers. Manny Anekal, director of global brand advertising at FarmVilles parent company Zynga, told USA today: "We expect a supersized audience. Millions of people will visit the McDonald's farm." Well, good thing theyre visiting the virtual farm. Naturally, the real McDonalds farm looks, shall we say, slightly less appetizing. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., which completed the sale of its North American operations to Coca-Cola Co. earlier this month, said Monday that it elected Jan Bennink as a director, effective immediately. Bennink, 54, was most recently CEO of Royal Numico, a baby food maker that is now owned by Danone Group. Before that, he was president of the dairy division of Danone Group. Also,

Fernando Aguirre, CEO of Chiquita Brands International Inc., will leave the board, effective Nov. 30. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Kraft Foods Inc. said two European executives are leaving, the latest of former Cadbury Plc officials to depart since the food companys $20 billion takeover of the U.K. confectioner this year. Ignasi Ricou, who joined Cadbury in 2003, ran European sales and the gum and candy business, Michael Mitchell, a spokesman for Kraft, said in an e-mail. Tamara Minick-Scokalo, a Cadbury executive currently running Krafts European chocolate business, is the other executive departing. Both are leaving for personal reasons, Mitchell said. Given Cadbury were seen as having the stronger confectionery management team, the loss of another senior former Cadbury manager must increase concerns amongst Kraft shareholders, Chris Bones, a former Cadbury human-resources executive, said in an e-mail regarding Ricous departure. Bones is now a professor at Manchester Business School in the U.K. About 25 percent of Northfield, Illinoisbased Krafts sales come from Europe, according to a recent investor presentation. Revenue, excluding divestitures and other items, rose 3.9 percent in the region in the second quarter, helped by sales of Jacobs coffee and Philadelphia cream cheese, the company said in August. Krafts European chief, Mike Clarke, aims to improve profitability in Europe amid rising commodity prices and competition from Nestle SA and Unilever. While integrating Cadbury will take effort, the process is going well, he said in August. Ricous Contribution I would like to say a huge thank you to Ignasi for his tremendous commitment, passion and leadership, Clarke said in an internal memo to employees obtained by Bloomberg. He credited Ricou with driving great execution in our gum and candy business over many years, and more recently setting up our new European sales strategy and organization. Kraft rose 15 cents to $31.08 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have advanced 14 percent this year, compared with a 4.5 percent increase in the Standard & Poors 500 Index. Cadburys three top officers -- Chairman Roger Carr, Chief Executive Officer Todd Stitzer and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Bonfield -- said they would step down soon after Cadbury shareholders approved the takeover this year. Former Cadbury managers make up about one-third of the top 50 executives, Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld said in an August interview. Mark Reckitt, who was Cadburys chief strategy officer and co-head of the integration team, left his post in July to take a part-time consulting role with one of the companys brands. Phil Rumbol, Cadburys head of marketing for the U.K. and Ireland, also left that month. Ricous role will be split between two executives, Mitchell said. The European sales team will now report to Trevor Bond, a former Cadbury executive, while Maurizio Brusadelli, a Kraft veteran, has been appointed president of gum and candy. Minick- Scokalo will be replaced by be Patrick Satamian, a Kraft executive currently based in Dubai, Mitchell said. Home Depot; Stock Down ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - 10/12/10) - LogFire, a global provider of supply chain software and services for retail and consumer goods companies, announced today the appointment of retail expert, Neil Thall, as the company's

new Executive Vice President, Strategy. He will also hold a seat on the company's Board of Directors. Mr. Thall's background includes over 30 years of experience in the retail arena where he has held various distribution, technology, and executive management roles, including positions with a number of highgrowth software and services organizations. "Neil's experience with high-growth companies combined with his first-hand knowledge of complex, multi-channel retail distribution operations makes him an ideal addition to our company's executive team," said Diego Pantoja-Navajas, Founder and CEO of LogFire. "His insights into the challenges our customers face both inside and outside their distribution centers will enable him to make a significant contribution to our expansion efforts in the US, Latin America and Europe." Mr. Thall's executive management experience includes serving as Chief Executive Officer of Aldata Solution, Inc., a global leader in the supply of integrated business solutions. During his time with Aldata, Mr. Thall spearheaded the company's initial entry into the US market and helped secure Aldata's first North American customers including Albertsons, Giant Eagle and Trader Joe's. Prior to joining Aldata, Mr. Thall served for five years as Executive Vice President at Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ:MANH - News), where he oversaw global operations, including the company's consulting and implementation practices. Mr. Thall has also held senior leadership positions with The Garr Consulting Group, an international supply chain consulting focused on the direct-to-consumer, retail, wholesale, distributor and consumer goods industries and Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA), a management consulting firm specializing in the consumer products, retail, and healthcare sectors. He has also been the CEO of NTA, a firm specializing in forecasting consumer demand employing artificial intelligence. American express; Stock Down

October 12, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may fail to turn its sales around by the holiday season as executives have forecast since the discount retailer has yet to lure customers back to stores, according to Cleveland Research Co. Wal-Mart aimed to revive sales at U.S. stores open at least a year by returning items to shelves and revamping promotional displays. Those moves havent worked yet because of poor in- store execution and a lack of advertising to explain changes to customers, Clevelands Jeff Stinson said in a report today. Sales have drifted south again over the last couple months, and the outlook for the fourth quarter is now more questionable, said the analyst, who is based in Cleveland. We are less optimistic that the business will inflect favorably in time for the holidays. McDonalds; Stock Down According to the press release of July 22, 2010 related to the Q2 2010 earnings of the company (see earnings call transcript here), 3M Company (MMM) expects EPS for the fiscal year 2010 in a range of $5.65 to $5.80. We

take this opportunity to analyze the past of MMM in order to figure where the value of the stock could be in 10 years. 3M Company, formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company is a global manufacturer, technology innovator and marketer of a variety of products. 3M is a technology company with a global presence in the six businesses: Industrial and Transportation; Health Care; Consumer and Office; Safety, Security and Protection Services; Display and Graphics; and Electro and Communications. At $89.16, MMM is trading at 8.08% from its all-time high of $97.00 reached on October 10, 2007. Actually, MMM has momentum; the stock is trading at only 1.50% from its year high of $90.52 reached on May 6, 2010. MMM is a stock slightly less volatile than the market. The volatility of MMM is measured by its beta ratio of 0.85, which signifies that the stock has a theoretical volatility 15% lower than the market. Coca-Cola; Stock Up "We're going through a revolution in food," Thomas Pirko, president of Bevmark consulting, whose clients include Coke (KO), Kraft (KFT), and Nestl, told Forbes. "It's a whole new consciousness -- every product has to be adding to your health or preventing you from getting sick." If you find the perfect additive, he said, "you get rich." Kraft Foods; Stock Up Home Depot; Stock Down The new Chapter 11 case is to be financed with a $20 million loan from Black Diamond that will have priority over existing secured debt. The existing secured lenders are consenting to being primed, court papers say. On an interim basis, $5 million will be available. Court papers say that definitive documents on the loan are being worked out. Hines has 800 customers, including Home Depot Inc., Lowes Cos. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The press release said customers can place orders for 2011 with confidence. The $48.6 million asset-backed loan is a revolving credit with a first lien on inventory and accounts receivable. The term loan has a first lien on real estate and fixed assets, and a second lien on collateral for the revolving credit. American express; Stock Up Overall, Pottow notes, the seniors were poorer and might simply have relied on credit cards as a way to pay necessary expenses, including medical bills. In other words, structural problems with the economics of retirement, not the marketing machines at American Express, Visa and MasterCard, may be to blame. So how big a difference will the new federal law regulating credit card practices and disclosures make for seniors, particularly if theyre getting in trouble with cards primarily because theyre having trouble making ends meet? I would like to think that with greater and simpler disclosure (of interest rates and fees) some subset of elderly people wouldnt take out the cards or rely on them so much, Pottow says. But, hes adds, Maybe you can scream, `if you pay the

minimum, youre going to be paying 300% interest over the life of the loan and they could say `it doesnt matter. Ill be dead in four years. October 13, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down CHICAGO, Oct 13 (Reuters) -Wal-Mart Stores Inc will increase store building in the United States next year, including adding more smaller stores to try to reach more customers, even as it expects sales at existing stores to improve in coming months. Most of the stores the company plans to build in the United States will be larger than 60,000 square feet. But Wal-Mart plans for 30 to 40 of its 185-205 new U.S. discount stores to be smaller than that, Bill Simon said at the company's annual meeting with analysts and investors in Rogers, Arkansas. Both Wal-Mart and rival discounter Target Corp (TGT.N) are trying out smaller store formats to get into densely populated urban areas and increase sales. Some of the new Wal-Mart stores will be less than 30,000-square feet and will be targeted at those urban areas and small towns, the company said. McDonalds; Stock Up Next month, for six weeks or so, McDonalds restaurants nationwide will offer a sandwich called the McRib. That may not mean anything to you, but to a certain set of people, its big, big news. And if you happen to try one, you just might find yourself among the unlucky hordes who go through life forever searching for their next McFix. The McRib is not a rib sandwich -- its ground pork (we hope) pressed into a rib-like shape and slapped on a bun with barbecue sauce, pickles, and onions. But that hasnt stopped the McDonalds contrivance from becoming a cult menu item, with a legion of obsessed followers who will go to great lengths to get their hands on it. The sandwichs mystique arises from its scarcity: Its only offered at a small fraction of McDonalds franchises at a time, seemingly at random, and then it moves on after a few tantalizing weeks. (It doesn't sell well all year long because people get tired of it, McDonald's USA President Jan Fields tells the Wall Street Journal.) Coca-Cola; Stock Up Kraft Foods; Stock Up Kraft Foods Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets snacks, confectionery, and quick meal products worldwide. The company offers snacks, including cookies, crackers, salted snacks, and chocolate confectionary; beverages, including coffee, packaged juice drinks, and powdered beverages; cheese, including natural, process, and cream cheeses; and grocery, including spoonable and pourable dressings, condiments, and desserts. It also offers convenient meals, including primarily frozen pizza, packaged dinners, lunch combinations, and processed meats. Kraft Foods markets its products primarily under various brand names, including Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Maxwell House, Jacobs, Nabisco, Oreo, Milka, and LU. The company, through its subsidiary, Cadbury Plc, also offers chocolate products under the Cadbury Dairy Milk, Flake, Creme Egg, and Green & Black&apos;s brands; gum products under

Trident, Dentyne, Hollywood, and Bubbaloo brands; and candy products under the Halls, Cadbury Eclairs, Bassett&apos;s, and The Natural Confectionery Co. brand names. It sells its products to supermarket chains, wholesalers, super centers, club stores, mass merchandisers, distributors, convenience stores, gasoline stations, drug stores, value stores, and other retail food outlets. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Northfield, Illinois. Kraft Foods Inc. operates independently of Altria Group Inc. as of March 30, 2007. Home Depot; Stock Down Perhaps the most pivotal point in the growth of an industry or business is when a previously bespoke or niche product makes its way into the mainstream market. CREE has been the leader in LED lighting at least since 2003. Its sales have largely been to corporations looking to cut energy bills. Up until a year ago LED bulbs seldom cost less than $100 a pop. However, in years to come we will perhaps look back on the recent push Home Depot (HD) has made into this market as a pivotal moment which finally pushed LED lighting into the consumer sector in a meaningful way. With their EcoSmart brand, Home Depot now offers recessed 65 watt equivalent LED lights produced with CREE for $49.95. And they have an EcoSmart LED bulb produced with Lighting Science for $18. These products save up to 85% on energy bills and are now on the radar screen for consumers and they will likely now grow in popularity. This will no doubt only be helped as States hopefully follow Vermonts initiative in offering significant rebates via Utilities on the introduction of LED bulbs and fixtures via their Efficiency Vermont program. American express; Stock Up NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In spite of continued concerns over the economy, small businesses hiring plans are stable compared to the spring, with one-in-four planning to hire over the next six months, according to the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, a semi-annual survey of business owners now in its ninth year. Concurrently, small business owners view on the economy has deteriorated. Roughly four-in-ten (45%) have a positive outlook on the economy and prospects for their business, down from more than half in spring (51%) and last fall (55%). Over the last eighteen months, business owners have been streamlining business operations and cutting costs. Now, as a result of those tough decisions, many business owners appear to be in stronger financial position to jump on growth opportunities that might materialize. Fewer report having cash flow issues (53%, down from 60% this spring), and while hiring plans remain stable overall, the number of business owners who plan to hire full time employees in the next six months has doubled to 10% versus spring 2010. While their confidence in the overall economy declined, more business owners said they thought sales over the next six months would be higher compared to last year (39% vs. 34% in the spring) and employee morale has shown modest improvements. October 14, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down Wal-Mart Stores Inc. pledged to dramatically boost the locally grown produce it purchases from small farmers in the U.S. and abroad over the next

five years. The move adds a new leg to the world's largest retailer's efforts to improve its corporate image by reducing its environmental footprint. But some questions remain, including how much of the costs will be borne by its suppliers. The giant retailer disclosed a wide-ranging set of goals related to its food supply chain Thursday, including doubling the amount of food bought from local farmers in the U.S. in the next five years. McDonalds; Stock Up The Dairy Road McDonalds in Kahului must pay $5.67 million to Beverly and Ruben Munguia as the result of a civil case in U.S. District Court. In November 2007, Beverly Munguia slipped on a puddle of previously spilled liquid and fell to the floor at the Maui McDonalds location, according to court documents. She suffered a compression fracture of the L1 vertebrae, along with other injuries, according to court documents. The jury awarded the couple $2.67 million in special damages and $3 million for general damages, according to the documents. In a written statement, Grelyn Rosario of Grelyn of Maui LLC, the company that owns the McDonalds, expressed his sympathy to Munguia and her family, but also expressed disappointment about the verdict reached in the case Coca-Cola; Stock Down Bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. plans to buy back about $1 billion of its stock within the next 18 months. The company, which sold its North American operations to Coca-Cola Co. for $3.4 billion and is now a new public company, said Thursday that it expects to start the buyback in the fourth quarter. CocaCola Enterprises plans to finance the repurchase program with existing cash, cash from future operations and incremental debt. The company, based in Atlanta, had about $475 million in cash and $1.9 billion of net debt at the third quarter's end. Coca-Cola Enterprises also said it anticipates paying a fourthquarter dividend of 12.5 cents. The sale of its North American operations also included about $8.8 billion in assumed debt, bringing the transaction's total value to almost $12.3 billion. Coca-Cola Enterprises bought certain Coca-Cola bottling operations as part of the deal, and its shareholders get stock in a new company and $10 per share. The new CCE is a Coke bottler in Belgium, France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Coca-Cola Enterprises plans to release its third-quarter results on Oct. 28. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Many experts see prices for key food items heading higher in the coming months, which could benefit all grocers. Kraft Foods (KFT.N), J.M. Smucker Co (SJM.N) and Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) already have passed on price increases for coffee at commodity level, and a recent jump in corn prices could soon push up prices for everything from meat to soft drinks. Home Depot; Stock Down A one-year ratio under 10 for both metrics is ideal. For a 5-year metric, under 20 is ideal. Lowe's has a mixed performance in hitting the ideal targets, but lets see how it compares against some competitors and industry mates. Company 1-Year P/E 1-Year EV/FCF 5-Year P/E 5-Year EV/FCF Lowe's 17.0 18.3 12.6 26.6 Home Depot (NYSE: HD) 18.0 13.3 13.4 16.3

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) 13.5 15.3 15.4 24.2 Costco (Nasdaq: COST) 21.7 371.4 24.1 42.7 Numerically, weve seen how Lowe's valuation rates on both an absolute and relative basis. Next, let's examine American express; Stock Up NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- American Express today announced the return of its signature Travel with Your Mind philanthropic program to New York City. Launched in 2009, the program is designed to help support deserving schools through a series of travel-themed beautification projects and multicultural initiatives across several U.S. cities. Inspired by its ongoing commitment toward education and desire to promote cultural awareness, American Express, working with New York Cares, selected PS 636K Elementary School as the 2010-2011 Travel with Your Mind beneficiary. The first project in New York City will take place at PS 636K Elementary School on Thursday, October 21, 2010 from 9:00 AM 2:00 PM. October 15, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up What Happened to Wal-Mart's Low Prices? Wal-Mart's (NYSE: WMT) name is practically synonymous with rock-bottom prices. However, as the discount giant navigates the current economic landscape (and confronts investors' fears about slowing domestic sales growth), it's doing the unthinkable. The Bentonville Behemoth is actually raising some of its prices. The discount juggernaut's earlier attempts to woo shoppers in "the new normal" U.S. economy with drastic price reductions backfired. Instead of spurring sales growth, Wal-Mart customers tended to simply snap up the bargains, then restrain themselves from filling their cart with other merchandise. McDonalds; Stock Up Hong Kong has to figure out what to do with all this yuan. One solution is for its citizens and companies to take the yuan they get and spend it in China, an approach Beijing is allowing. "You can use [yuan] to pay salaries, settle bills cross-border, pay your electricity and water in China," says Stephen Chan, deputy general manager for corporate banking at Bank of China (Hong Kong). Another way to soak up Hong Kong yuan is to issue yuan-denominated securities. In August, McDonald's (MCD) became the first U.S. company to sell a 200 million-yuan bond to Hong Kong investors. The proceeds will boost the company's working capital in China. Hong Kong insurers now have permission to settle Hong Kongers' life insurance and savings plans in yuan. Hong Kong banks can invest their yuan holdings in the Chinese interbank bond market. Hong Kong's securities regulator authorized Shanghai's Haitong Securities to raise as much as 5 billion yuan from Hong Kong investors for a fixed-income fund. "The pace of relaxation has been particularly spectacular the past few months," says H.S. Tong, chief operating officer at Bank of East Asia. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Earlier this year, Rutgers University student Daniel Moran noticed that his investment portfolio was being dragged down by tech stocks. To reverse the slide, Moran, 22, took a page from Warren Buffett, buying shares of recognizable

companies Coca-Cola (KO) and Kraft Foods (KFT), and investing in Ford Motor (F) after reading about the automaker's growth in emerging markets. His total return since April has been about 6.5 percent, beating the Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq Composite Index. Moran is no stockpicking prodigy. He learned how to improve his returns using a new investing site called Kapitall, designed for people who know little about the ways of Wall Street. The site lets newbies search for stocks by popular brandssay, Mustangand packages the portfolios of investing luminaries like Buffett into square, app-like icons that can be popped open and browsed at will. "Everything is so visual," says Moran. "It's simple for someone who just wants to jump in as a casual investor." Kraft Foods; Stock Down Earlier this year, Rutgers University student Daniel Moran noticed that his investment portfolio was being dragged down by tech stocks. To reverse the slide, Moran, 22, took a page from Warren Buffett, buying shares of recognizable companies Coca-Cola (KO) and Kraft Foods (KFT), and investing in Ford Motor (F) after reading about the automaker's growth in emerging markets. His total return since April has been about 6.5 percent, beating the Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq Composite Index. Moran is no stockpicking prodigy. He learned how to improve his returns using a new investing site called Kapitall, designed for people who know little about the ways of Wall Street. The site lets newbies search for stocks by popular brandssay, Mustangand packages the portfolios of investing luminaries like Buffett into square, app-like icons that can be popped open and browsed at will. "Everything is so visual," says Moran. "It's simple for someone who just wants to jump in as a casual investor." Kapitall aims to open up the financial-services business to a broader range of investors by making trades easier. "Just as Apple made the computer for the rest of us, we see this as building a brokerage for the rest of us," says Cordell Ratzlaff, the creative director for Kapitall, who in the 1990s headed the unit of Apple (AAPL) that designed the Macintosh operating system. Home Depot; Stock Down The pick-up in sales in these categories is thus encouraging. While the year-over-year increase in sales at the auto dealers can be discounted due to the end of the Cash for Clunkers program a year ago, there was not any comparable special factor going on in August, and a 1.6% month-to-month increase is encouraging (even if the overall level of sales is still quite depressed). Sales in the Building Materials and Garden Center stores like Home Depot (NYSE: HD News) were up 0.6% on the month after rising 0.5% in August and are up 7.3% from a year ago. Given how weak the construction industry has been, up 7.3% from a year ago is a very solid showing, but then again, a year ago things were pretty depressed. American express; Stock Down First National Bank of Omaha will issue American Express credit cards, joining only two other issuers that offer all four big credit card-network brands: MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover. The other issuers with all four brands are GE Money and HSBC, First National spokesman Kevin Langin said.

October 18, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Mart Stores Inc. priced a $5 billion, four-part bond offering Monday and tied a recent Microsoft Corp. issue for the lowest interest rates on record in three- and five-year unsecured corporate debt across those maturities. A $750 million, three-year tranche bearing a 0.75% coupon sold at a discount to yield 0.866%, or 0.30 percentage point above Treasurys, while a $1.25 billion five-year tranche with a coupon of 1.50% sold at a discount to yield 1.613%, or 0.48 percentage point above Treasurys McDonalds; Stock Down Key sales for McDonald's Corp. will rise more than expected when the company reports results third quarter results Thursday, an analyst said as he raised his estimates for the world's largest burger chain. THE OPINION: Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski told clients in a note Monday that revenue at stores open at least a year is improving in the U.S. That's a key figure for restaurants because it measures growth at existing stores, while excluding those that open and close during the period. He said his own survey of franchisees has led him to believe September revenue will rise from 2 percent to 6.1 percent. He believes October revenue figures will rise from 2 percent to 5.7 percent. For Europe in September, Kalinowski raised his estimates slightly, to 2.5 percent growth from 2 percent. In the rest of the world, he expects the figure to rise 4.5 percent, up from his prior estimates of 2 percent. Because of the increases, the analyst raised his third quarter earnings per share estimate by 2 cents to $1.27. Analysts expect the company to earn $1.24 per share in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters. He rates the stock a "Buy" with a $83 target share price. THE STOCK: Shares of the Oak Brook. Ill.-based company slipped 4 cents to $77.44 in morning trading Monday, after earlier setting a new 52-week high of $77.94. The stock has traded as low as $58 in the same span. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coca-Cola Co. reports results for its third fiscal quarter on Tuesday, before the market opens. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Investors will be looking to see if the company is continuing its progress in North America. Soft drink sales had been slipping as people cut them out to save money or switched to juices and teas for health reasons. But the market seems to be on the rebound, and investors will want to see if that trend continues. Beyond the domestic market, investors will also want to see if Coca-Cola is continuing to expand its presence abroad and in growing countries such as China and Brazil. That business is becoming more important as it's a way to buffer domestic sales. UBS analyst Kaumil Gajrawala expects the company to have sold 4 percent more of its beverages this quarter, driven by growth in emerging countries. He said the company is one of the few in its sphere to show solid volume growth. He recently raised his target share price by $3 to $65 for the company, which is based in Atlanta. WHY IT MATTERS: The company is the world's largest soft drink maker. Its products are sold to people around the world at all income levels. Its performance gives key insight to shoppers everywhere. WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts expect the company to earn 89 cents per share on revenue of $8.3

billion, according to Thomson Reuters. LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Last year during the third quarter, the company reported net income of $1.9 billion, or 81 cents per share, on revenue of $8.04 billion. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Home Depot; Stock Down American express; Stock Up Here's another reason businesses should improve their customer service: Customers are willing to spend more with companies that do. That commonsense nugget is also supported by recent surveys by American Express of 12,000 consumers around the globe. More than 60 percent of U.S.respondents ranked great customer service as important, but only one-third believe they're getting it. Alice Bredin, author and small business adviser to AmericanExpress OPEN (AXP), says that small companies are missing out on the opportunity to deliver service that could differentiate them from larger competitors. She spoke recently to Smart Answers columnist Karen E. Klein. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow. October 19, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down Wal-Mart Stores Inc.s four-part, $5 billion bond offering jumped in the first day of trading, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The worlds largest retailers $1.25 billion of 5 percent securities due in October 2040 were the most-traded corporate bonds and rose more than those Wal-mart sold with shorter maturity dates. They climbed 1.7 cents to 100.46 cents on the dollar, Trace data show. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based companys $1.75 billion of 3.25 percent bonds due in October 2020 increased 0.4 cent to 100.02 cents on the dollar and its $1.25 billion of 1.5 percent notes due in October 2015 rose 0.32 cent to 99.78 cents. Wal- Marts $750 million of 0.75 percent debt due in October 2013 rose 0.49 cent to 100.15 cents on the dollar, Trace data show. McDonalds; Stock Down McDLT In 1984, McDonalds introduced the McDLT. It was nothing more than a hamburger with lettuce and tomato, but it was packaged in a double-sided Styrofoam container that kept the hot side hot and the cool side cool by storing the beef patty half in one compartment and the lettuce and tomato half in the other. The customer would then put the two sides together and experience climate-controlled nirvana on a bun. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO ) reported a higher quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by volume increases in its North American and international businesses. The world's largest soft drink maker's third-quarter net income was $2.06 billion, or 88 cents per share, up from $1.90 billion, or 81 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $8.43 billion as worldwide volume rose 5 percent. Volume in North America rose 2 percent in the third quarter. That follows a 2 percent increase in the second quarter, which was its first increase in over two years. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Krafts Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld was recently interviewed by Steve Forbes. In that interview, she discussed her companys corporate strategy with recent acquisition Cadbury and making the Most Powerful Women list. When asked why she thinks women and other groups are not often making the top corporate ranks, Rosenfeld said its about the pipeline of candidates for those positions. She noted that some women arent getting the right experiences to make themselves eligible for these roles and that Kraft is working on finding ways to provide those experiences. Rosenfeld also addressed the companys recent acquisition of Cadbury, which drew criticism from Warren Buffett. (See Buffett Gets Krafty). Cadbury gives Kraft greater exposure in some emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico. Rosenfeld also referenced another powerful woman, Lady Gaga, when she discussed Krafts marketing efforts. Regarding Miracle Whip, one of Krafts products, Rosenfeld noted that Lady Gaga featured it in the middle of her Telephone music video. She certainly gave it an uplift, Rosenfeld said. For more insights from Rosenfeld, watch her Intelligent Investing interview coming up after Steve Forbes interview with Omniture co-founder Josh James. Home Depot; Stock Down American express; Stock Down American Express today announced the kickoff of its signature Travel with Your Mind philanthropic program for the second year in a row in Detroit. Launched in 2009, the program is designed to help support deserving schools through a series of travel-themed service projects and multi-cultural initiatives across several U.S. cities. Inspired by its ongoing commitment toward education and desire to promote cultural awareness, American Express, working with United Way for Southeastern Michigan, selected Cody High School as the 20102011 Travel with Your Mind beneficiary. The first project in Detroit will take place at Cody High School on Saturday, October 23 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. For the first of the three projects planned during the school year, American Express and Delta employees together with local parents, students, teachers and community members (including student volunteers from Henry Ford Community College, Schoolcraft College, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Wayne State University, University of Detroit Mercy, Oakland Community College-Farmington and Waterford) will beautify the school grounds with plantings and benches, as well as paint classrooms, lockers and globally-themed murals. The projects were decided upon in advance at a Design Day meeting in which key community members discussed and selected proposed revitalization projects based on the schools needs. Making a difference in the communities where our Cardmembers and employees live and work is important to American Express,

said David Rabkin, vice president, Delta Co-brand, American Express. We know that schools are at the heart of communities and an issue that many people care about deeply, so were extremely gratified to bring the Travel with Your Mind program to a second deserving school in Detroit this year. October 20, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Its people such as Twesigye, members of Africas burgeoning middle class, who prompted Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Sept. 27 to propose purchasing Massmart, the continents third- largest retailer, for $4.6 billion. With 288 stores in 14 African countries, purchasing Johannesburg-based Massmart would enable Wal-Mart to profit from one of the worlds fastest- growing retail markets. McDonalds; Stock Up Investors should buy bullish McDonalds Corp. options because the worlds largest restaurant chain may beat analyst estimates on rising sales when it reports third-quarter results tomorrow, UBS AG said. Equity derivatives strategist Mitchell Revsine recommended buying a December $80 call while selling a December $70 put, a strategy known as a risk reversal that is a proxy for owning the stock. The shares climbed 0.6 percent to $77.41 as of 4 p.m. in New York to extend this years gain to 24 percent, or more than four times the rise for the Standard & Poors 500 Index. McDonalds may exceed earnings estimates tomorrow on strong domestic sales and benign food costs, industry analyst David Palmer wrote in the report. The Oak Brook, Illinois-based company may report profit of $1.25 a share, the average of 20 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Palmer rates the stock at buy and has an $83 share-price forecast. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coke sales are sizzling, and it cant all be attributed to Lindsay Lohan. Li may be Lo but The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is on a high, standing at its best level since April of 2008 as we speak. The worlds biggest soft drink maker and key Dow component yesterday reported an 8.4% increase in third-quarter net income. It earned $2.06 billion, equivalent to $0.88 per share, easily ahead of year-ago figures of $1.9 billion and $0.81. Excluding one-time restructuring items, the Atlanta outfit actually posted EPS of $0.92 with revenue rising 4.7% to $8.43 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.89 and $8.3 billion, respectively. Its global beverage unit gained 5% but investors can arguably take even greater encouragement from a 2% increase in a mature North American market. This is the second such quarterly improvement in their home base and represents a rebound after four successive down years. Coca-Cola Zero, with double-digit volume growth, Sprite, and Fanta were all standouts and Powerade sales volumes jumped 32%. Although CEO Muhtar Kent said on a company-sponsored conference call that "in no way are we declaring victory in a still sluggish economy, analysts are rushing to sing the praises of a company that once taught the world to warble. Edward Jones researcher Jack Russo appluads the firm for having gone in sooner to lucrative emerging markets than many rivals, while Caroline Levy at CLSDA today wrote, We believe Coke is in the early stages of a multi-year period of sales and profit expansion. Nitpickers will note that

favorable weather, not reliably replicated, improved results in important areas including Japan and Russia. However, with a full 50% share of the worlds carbonated soft drink market and boasting admirers with the caliber of Warren Buffett -- who puts his money where his mouth is in owning 8.68% of its stock at last look -- Cokes success remains a lot less secretive than its closely guarded recipe. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld explains what it's like to be a female executive, and what the future of more females in the C-suite looks like. Steve Forbes: Getting to being a female, one of the most powerful in the world. You're No. 2 on our list. What advice would you give to younger women? First, what you had to go through that they may not have had to go through--you were a pioneer at a time when sensitivities might not have been what they were today--and what more specific advice can you give to a young woman who might aspire to corporate leadership or business leadership? Irene Rosenfeld: I am happy to say that I think the opportunities are much more obvious and much more available to today's young women than, perhaps, they might have been when I was starting out. But there's still not--I think we're still not making as much use of half the population as we could. So we still have a lot of work to do. Forbes: Why do you think that is, after-Rosenfeld: I think the biggest problem is the pipeline. One of the things that we at Kraft ( KFT - news - people ) focus on as we look at our talent is to look at who [is] on the bench ... for our key positions. And very often we find that, particularly in sales and manufacturing, where our representation is relatively lower than it might be in the marketing ranks, we find that often ... we have women and other diverse candidates [that] don't necessarily have the experiences that are necessary to move up in that pipeline. So we spend a lot more time now talking about what sorts of experiences we need to provide to these candidates to ensure that, as they move along, that they are, in fact, qualified. Home Depot; Stock Up This post describes our model of Home Depot's (NYSE: HD) Income Statement for fiscal 2010's third quarter, which will end on 31 October. The purpose of the model is to establish a baseline for identifying surprises, positive or negative, in the quarterly results the company will report. Estimates for each line of the Income Statement are derived from management's guidance, the company's historical financial results, and other publicly available data. We begin by reviewing background information about Home Depot and the business environment in which it is currently operating. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) is the largest retailer ofdo-it-yourself merchandise, which includes building materials, home improvement supplies, and lawn and garden products. The company has 2,244 retail stores, of which 88 percent are in U.S. states or territories. Home Depot also operates in Canada, China, and Mexico. Home Depot earned nearly $2.7 billion in fiscal 2009, which was nearly 18 percent more

than in 2008. Revenue slipped 7 percent to $66.2 billion. (Fiscal 2009 ended on 31 January 2010.) The market value of the company is currently near $50 billion. A big drop in sales in 2008 affected most retailers, and stores dependent on the housing market were doubly challenged. Home Depot chose to consolidate operations and reduce capital outlays. The first step, announced in May 2008, was to relinquish 50 planned stores in the U.S. and to close 15 existing stores. The second step , taken in January 2009, was to exit the EXPO Design Center and a few other peripheral businesses. These actions led to asset impairment, severance, and other charges over $1.1 billion. The U.S. Census Bureau's Monthly Retail Trade Report indicates that sales have been recovering, modestly and somewhat erratically. The Bureau estimated U.S. retail and food services sales in September were a seasonally adjusted $367.7 billion, up 0.6 percent (0.5 percent) from August and up 7.3 percent (0.7 percent) from September 2009. Persistent high unemployment and the still-fragile housing market in the U.S. remain concerns. Consumer sentiment was down in one recent report. Home Depot competes with Lowe's (NYSE: LOW), cooperatives such as Ace and True Value, and a multitude of smaller hardware stores. These rivals took advantage several years ago of lapses in Home Depot's customer service, which had deteriorated. American express; Stock Up NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today at the Government Contracting Procurement and Networking Event in New Orleans, American Express OPEN, the small business division of the financial services company, recognized three small business owners for their outstanding achievements in government contracting with the first-ever Victory in Procurement (VIP) Awards. Today we are celebrating the persistence and ingenuity of three unique small businesses. Our award winners exemplify what it takes to thrive in government contracting and are proof that small businesses can be profitable when working with the worlds largest customer, says Karen-Michelle Mirko, Director of Customer Advocacy at American Express OPEN. Persistence and starting with small contracts are two important factors to success and can lead to larger opportunities, according to contractors who participated in OPENs VIP survey. In 2009, the U.S. government spent $96.8 billion on products and services supplied by small businesses, including $33.5 billion with small, disadvantaged firms and $16.4 billion with women-owned small businesses. At todays event, hundreds of business owners were given the opportunity to network and learn the tools and strategies around marketing their business to the government, planning for federal contracting as a revenue stream and executing tactics such as teaming and subcontracting to better their chances of securing contracts. October 21, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB, the countrys largest retailer, plans to invest 4.1 billion pesos ($331 million) in the state of Nuevo Leon from 2011 to 2015. The retailer plans to open 71 stores, creating 10,000 permanent jobs, Wal-Mart de Mexico said in an e-mailed statement. McDonalds; Stock Up

Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coca-Cola Refreshments USA (CCR) today announced that operations at its Elmsford, New York production facility are being powered by two UTC Power fuel cells. UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp. company (NYSE:UTX News), installed and is operating two PureCell Model 400 fuel cell systems that provide 35 percent of the electricity and heat required by the facility. The clean, efficient power plants will help the Company lower its energy costs and further its sustainability efforts, specifically around energy conservation and water stewardship. A ceremony to commission the fuel cells was attended by leaders from Coca-Cola Refreshments USA and UTC Power, and representatives of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), which provided funding to support Coca-Cola's fuel cell project. "By producing clean power on-site with fuel cells, Coca-Cola Refreshments will reduce the amount of electricity drawn from the utility grid, which will result in less air pollution and greater water savings," said Neal Montany, director of UTC Power stationary fuel cell business. "UTC Power is delighted to be associated with CCR and we are proud that our fuel cells are helping CCR achieve its sustainability goals." The UTC Power fuel cells on-site at CCR are capable of operating independent of the local utility power company. If there's a large-scale power outage in the Elmsford area, the fuel cells will allow select operations to continue at the facility, while grid power is being restored. Fuel cells are one of the cleanest energy-generation sources available in the world and meet the strictest U.S. emission standards. Highly energy efficient and virtually pollution-free, fuel cells produce electricity, heat and water through an electrochemical process. Coca-Cola Refreshments will prevent the release of more than 2,635 metric tons of carbon dioxide and more than 4 metric tons of nitrogen oxide emissions by using the fuel cells instead of non-base load utility power plants. Kraft Foods; Stock Up The list of ETF plays on Christmas have already been flying for a couple of weeks now, but we cannot forget about Halloween. Whether you're dressing up to trick-or-treat around your neighborhood or heading to Vegas for an "adult" party, there are some ETF and stock plays on Halloween. Obviously, we're talking candy and that means Hershey (HSY), Kraft (KFT) Nestle (NSRGY.PK) and Tootsie Roll (TR). Here are the ETF plays on Halloween with little in the way of tricks and plenty in the way of treats. 1. Rydex S&P Equal Weight Consumer Staples (RHS): This thinly offering offers exposure to both Hershey (2.58%) and Kraft (2.4%). 2. PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage (PBJ): Of the 67 ETFs that offer exposure to Hershey, PBJ is tops with an allocation of 2.7%. 3. Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC): VDC offers a 4.3% allocation to Kraft and is one of the more liquid ETFs to offer exposure, albeit slight, to Tootsie Roll. 4. Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP): Of the 60 ETFs that hold

Kraft, XLP offers one of the larger weights at over 4.5%. 5. iShares MSCI Switzerland Index Fund (EWL): The surprise member of this list, EWL allocates almost 22% of its weight to Nestle, one of the largest food and candy companies in the world. Home Depot; Stock Up In one of the most classic cases, Home Depot's (NYSE: HD) Bob Nardelli left the retailer after several years of stunted growth. Not only did he end up landing another job at Chrysler, but he also left Home Depot with a mammoth $210 million in cash and stock options for his lackluster performance. American express; Stock Up NEW YORK (AP) -- American Express Co. Chairman and CEO Kenneth Chenault took time at the beginning of the company's third-quarter earnings conference call Thursday to discuss recent regulatory changes and a lawsuit brought by the Justice Department against the company. Chenault said the New York-based company is taking the lawsuit "very seriously," but regulatory changes "are likely to have far greater impact on industry growth, pricing, consumer behavior and merchant relationships than the DOJ suit alone." The CEO maintained that the lawsuit is about steering customers between different credit products, specifically between American Express and Visa and MasterCard. "Merchants are already allowed to offer a discount or incentive for customers who pay by cash, check, or debit card, but few do," he said. While it costs merchants slightly more to accept American Express, "it seems questionable whether merchants would disrupt the transaction at the point-ofsale and risk a potential loss of customer goodwill for the sake of a relatively small differential." "For me, the core issue of the lawsuit is a simple one. It's about consumer choice and the right of a customer to select the card they want to use at the point of sale." Chenault also said he thinks the government's suit rests in part on a claim that American Express has market power, which he denied. "Merchants choose to accept Amex because they understand the value we bring them -- higher spending customers, our superior service, and our marketing expertise to help them expand their business." He maintained the end result of the lawsuit could be merchants pushing more customers to use Visa and MasterCard, or in effect, increasing the market share of the larger card networks. In terms of regulatory changes, Chenault said new credit card regulations, a provision in the financial overhaul bill that limits charges to merchants for processing debit card transactions and new limits on debit overlimit fees combine to be "the most significant in the history of the card industry." But each will have a different impact on the market. The credit card law has changed how banks charge interest rates, he said, while simplifying terms for consumers and making disclosure more transparent. "And it forced some issuers to stop practices that were misleading or, at best, very hard for customers to understand." It also may cause some banks to limit access to credit "to all but the most financially secure borrowers" and increase the overall cost of borrowing. October 22, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the worlds largest retailer, and PepsiCo Inc. helped

lead $29 billion of company bond sales this week, as issuance accelerated amid better-than-expected earnings and sales forecasts. Wal-Mart issued $5 billion of debt on Oct. 18, including three- and five-year notes with the lowest interest rates on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. PepsiCo sold $2.25 billion of notes in its first offering since July. Company bond offerings jumped 27 percent from the five days ended Oct. 15, when volume was $22.9 billion, as pershare earnings topped estimates at 106 of the 124 companies in the Standard & Poors 500 Index that reported results since Oct. 7, Bloomberg data show. Borrowing costs for investment-grade companies have remained near the lowest on record this week, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data. McDonalds; Stock Up This morning, Citigroup boosted its EPS estimates on shares of Hershey through 2011 as earnings visibility has improved. With the higher EPS estimates, Citigroup reiterated its buy rating and set a new price target of $60 per share. UBS ( UBS - news - people ) increased its price target on shares of McDonald's ( MCD - news - people ) to $86 per share as sales growth continues to accelerate at the fast food restaurant chain. With the higher price target, UBS also increased its EPS estimates while maintaining its buy rating. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. on Friday declared a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share. It is the first quarterly dividend for the newly created company, which is a bottler for Coca-Cola Co. The dividend is an increase of more than 30 percent over the dividend rate paid by the former company. The dividend is payable Dec. 9 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 26. Coca-Cola Enterprises recently sold its North American operations to Coca-Cola Co. for $3.4 billion and became a new public company. It is the largest Western European marketer, distributor and producer for Coca-Cola. Kraft Foods; Stock Up One thing's for sure: If you don't look, you'll never find truly great investments. So let's first take a look at what you'd want to see from a perfect stock, and then decide whether Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) fits the bill. The quest for perfection When you're looking for great stocks, you have to do your due diligence. It's not enough to rely on a single measure, because a stock that looks great based on one factor may turn out to be horrible in other ways. The best stocks, however, excel in many different areas, which all come together to make up a very attractive picture. Some of the most basic yet important things to look for in a stock are: Growth. Expanding businesses show healthy revenue growth. While past growth is no guarantee that revenue will keep rising, it's certainly a better sign than a stagnant top line. Margins. Higher sales don't mean anything if a company can't turn them into profits. Strong margins ensure a company is able to turn revenue into profit. Balance sheet. Debt-laden companies have banks and bondholders competing with shareholders for management's attention. Companies with strong balance sheets don't have to worry about the distraction of debt. Money-making opportunities. Companies need to be able to turn their

resources into profitable business opportunities. Return on equity helps measure how well a company is finding those opportunities. Valuation. You can't afford to pay too much for even the best companies. Earnings multiples are simple, but using normalized figures gives you a sense of how valuation fits into a longer-term context. Dividends. Investors are demanding tangible proof of profits, and there's nothing more tangible than getting a check every three months. Companies with solid dividends and strong commitments to increasing payouts treat shareholders well. Kraft's score of 4 doesn't reflect its dominant status within the food industry. Kraft was part of Altria (NYSE: MO) until the cigarette giant did an initial public offering of Kraft shares back in 2001, and spun off the rest of its holdings of the food company in 2007. By freeing Kraft's assets from potential liability from tobacco lawsuits, the separation from Altria added value for shareholders. Looking at Kraft's financials, you'll see many of the same pros and cons as food-services company Sysco (NYSE: SYY) and ketchup king Heinz (NYSE: HNZ). The industry doesn't sport fast growth or high net margins, but it's a cash cow for its leaders. Kraft is neither extremely cheap nor obviously overpriced, and its dividend is healthy but not outrageous. Kraft had raised its payout every year since its IPO. Kraft falls short only in free cash flow, which hampers its ability to pay down debt and threatens its balance sheet. Both Kellogg (NYSE: K) and General Mills (NYSE: GIS) do a consistently better job producing cash flow from total revenue. But with a strong brand and plenty of consumer awareness, Kraft has the potential to get a lot closer to perfection than it is today. Home Depot; Stock Down An FBR Capital Markets analyst lowered his rating on Home Depot Inc.'s shares on Monday, citing flat industry trends heading into the fourth quarter. THE OPINION: FBR analyst Stephen Chick said sales are decelerating in the third quarter, as are existing home sales trends. That made FBR more cautious about the trends in the second half of the year. Chick lowered his earnings rating to "market perform" from "outperform" but maintained a $32 price target on its shares. THE STOCK: Shares of Home Depot fell 2 cents to $31.46 in midday trading. The company's shares have traded between $24.47 and $37.03 in the past 52 weeks American express; Stock Down Revenue fell 3% to $26.5 billion. Adjusted earnings of $0.56 per share, as well as revenue, were just ahead of analyst expectations. Late yesterday, fellow Dow Component American Express ( AXP - news - people ) posted a 71% jump in third quarter earnings. AmEx said profits totaled $1.1 billion, or $0.90 per share, compared to $640 million, or $0.53 per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 17%, to $7 billion. October 25, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down McDonalds; Stock Up

Last week, some major food brands began signaling their intent to raise prices of some of their products. General Mills Inc. said it would increase prices in November on a quarter of its breakfast cereals and fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. said it would raise menu prices. Coca-Cola; Stock Down Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd. shares fell 2.2 percent in Sydney trading after the company reaffirmed its earnings growth target for 2010. Kraft Foods; Stock Up SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Food inflation will "accelerate" during the final months of 2010 and into the first six months of 2011, the U.S. Agriculture Department said Monday. "Although inflation has been relatively weak for most of 2009 and 2010, higher food commodity and energy prices are now exerting pressure on wholesale and retail food prices," USDA food economist Ephraim Leibtag said. In its monthly update, the USDA left its 2010 forecast unchanged for food prices to increase 0.5% to 1.5% -- the lowest rate of annual inflation in 18 years. The USDA further kept its 2011 forecast for food prices to rise 2% to 3% over 2010. In early trading Monday, shares of Kraft Foods (KFT 31.84, -0.09, -0.28%) , H.J. Heinz (HNZ 50.20, -0.55, -1.08%) and J.M. Smucker (SJM 65.60, -0.26, -0.40%) all rose. Home Depot; Stock Down An FBR Capital Markets analyst lowered his rating on Home Depot Inc.'s shares on Monday, citing flat industry trends heading into the fourth quarter. THE OPINION: FBR analyst Stephen Chick said sales are decelerating in the third quarter, as are existing home sales trends. That made FBR more cautious about the trends in the second half of the year. Chick lowered his earnings rating to "market perform" from "outperform" but maintained a $32 price target on its shares. THE STOCK: Shares of Home Depot fell 2 cents to $31.46 in midday trading. The company's shares have traded between $24.47 and $37.03 in the past 52 weeks. American express; Stock Up American Express Company is a "go-to" stock in the Financials sector, the same way that Freeport McMoran (FCX) is a go-to stock in Materials. When portfolio managers speak of financials, they always want to know about AXP. We have not been able to say anything good about American Express for a long time, but this may be changing. AXP is a $47b market cap company. The company is trading at 3.2x book value, 11.0x times the calendar 2011 consensus EPS estimate of $3.55, with an annualized dividend of $0.72 and yield of 1.8%. The stock sold off 3% this past Friday following its 3Q10 report on Thursday the night before. Revenue and earnings beat consensus, helped in part by rising card usage, lower defaults, and a release of bad debt reserves. That sounds like positive developments to us, but a number of analysts expressed concern about higher expenses and increasing risk of a decline in its merchant discount rate. They also fear ongoing pressure related to the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act. The risks in the details are real, but perhaps they are embedded enough in current valuations, likely ongoing analyst revision

momentum and relatively low but still likely positive operating momentum. By focusing on the big picture relative to other Financial sector stocks, AXP as of today deserves a look as both a short-term and long-term holding idea. October 26, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Strong sales of smartphones like Apple's (NasdaqGS:AAPL - News) newest iPhone did help the company beat analysts expectations, but the market for that business is highly competitive, with retailers from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - News) to Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY - News) to wireless companies themselves battling it out. McDonalds; Stock Up Thank you, Mary Kay, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to share McDonald's latest business results that reflect our continued global strength. For the third quarter, global comparable sales were up 6%. Operating income increased 11% on constant currencies and earnings per share reached $1.29, a 15% increase in constant currencies. Our momentum is continuing into October with global comparable sales expected to increase 5% to 6%. Our strength remains broad-based with each area of the world contributing to our growth. And we're continuing to grow market share in our major markets. In an informal eating-out category that varies from markets that are in decline to markets that are just growing slightly. These results marked our 30th consecutive quarter of comparable sales increases and this is truly a testament to our ability to perform in any economy. We continue to deliver what our customers are looking for: great value, outstanding convenience, a modern restaurant experience and relevant menu offerings, with an emphasis on local taste. And it's all resonating with our customers. In the United States, comparable sales for the quarter were up 5.3% and operating income grew 7%. And most important, we continue to significantly increase traffic into our restaurants. On the big menu news, this summer was the extension of our Beverage platform with the launch of strawberry, banana and wild berry smoothies and the rehit of frappes. Sales from the smoothies launch well exceeded our expectations in both products are being purchased throughout the day. Both of these high-margin beverages continue to sell at a strong pace. U.S. also drove quarterly results with value across the menu including the continuation of our Breakfast Dollar Menu. And on the convenience front, we're continuing to be available for more guests more often with nearly 40% of our U.S. restaurants now open 24 hours and more than 80% open by 5:00 a.m. in the morning. In August, we launched the Angus Snack Wrap line with three choices at $1.99. This new introduction performed very well and has lifted sales of our entire Angus Burger category. Our new beverage and snack wrap platforms contributed to the trailing 12-month period ending in August and delivered the highest guests counts in more than 20 years in the U.S., even as the overall industry continued to be stagnant. Coca-Cola; Stock Up These S&P 1500 companies have paid and increased their dividend for at least 25 years. Because the S&P 1500 comprises small-, medium-, and large-

cap stocks, you can get dividends from fast-growing mighty mites and king-sized major leaguers alike. Let's examine the top dividend aristocrats by yield in the Food, Beverage, and Tobacco industry. For context, I've also included their fiveyear annualized dividend growth rate. Company Trailing Yield 5-Yr Dividend Growth Rate 1. PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) 3% 13.7% 2. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) 2.9% 9.7% 3. Brown-Forman (NYSE: BF-B) 1.9% 9.3% 4. Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) 1.8% 12.6% These aren't formal recommendations -- just ideas for your own further research. Still, they could give you a great start toward find companies capable of paying rising dividends for a quarter-century or more. Kraft Foods; Stock Down NBC's Des Moines affiliate, WHO-13, reports: "Klement's Sausage Company, Inc. based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is recalling one of its products, Market Pantry Beef Sticks, Original." Okay...tell me more. "The Department of Agriculture has reported consumers finding meat and glass in the 8 ounce sticks. The jerky was sold in retail stores nationwide, including at Target stores." Wait a second -- the glass I can live with. But meat in my beef jerky? Now they've crossed the line. Home Depot; Stock Down Home Depot (HD: NYSE) By FBR Capital Markets ($31.48, Oct. 25, 2010) DOWNGRADE HOME DEPOT shares to Market Perform, from Outperform, for the time being. Commentary out of our "proxy" home-improvement companies (mostly suppliers) points to flattish-industry trends heading into the fourth quarter. This keeps us conservative with the share price, given that same-store-sales guidance is 2% for second-half 2010, while sales comparisons are notably difficult in the fourth quarter. American express; Stock Up American Express Co., the biggest U.S. credit-card issuer by purchases, hired former executives of Sprint Nextel Corp. to bolster its online and mobile unit and is rebranding Revolution Money, an Internet-based payments network. David Messenger, former chief administrative and corporate development officer at Sprint unit Virgin Mobile USA, is joining New York-based AmEx to help shape the Enterprise Growth Group led by Dan Schulman, the company said today in a memo to employees. Schulman, 52, also left Sprint this year. AmEx hired Peter Lurie, Virgin Mobiles former general counsel, as senior vice president of strategic partnerships and business development, and Jason Alexander, a former Nokia Oyj executive, as vice president of strategic program management, according to the memo. Messengers team will be responsible for developing new online and mobile payment capabilities and associated services and applications that will enable us to tap into the mobile- based digital revolution in a meaningful way, Schulman said in the memo. Revolution Money, which AmEx bought in January for about $305 million, has been renamed Serve Enterprise. It will be transformed from a separate business unit into a companywide platform to support our future digital initiatives, Schulman said. Jason Hogg, who founded

Revolution Money in 2005, will be president of Serve Enterprise and establish standards to open up the companys payments platform to third-party developers. Growth Opportunities Eric Feldstein, former chief executive officer of GMAC Financial Services and more recently a partner at hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management, will join AmEx in November as executive vice president of feebased services, AmEx said. The growth opportunities for payment forms outside of our traditional charge and credit products -- such as prepaid, payroll cards, remittances and virtual currencies -- are expanding quickly, Schulman said in the memo. The market for these payment forms is well in excess of $1 trillion and generates disproportionately high growth rates. Capturing even a small market share represents the potential to add billions of dollars of revenue in the coming years. Schulman, a former CEO of Priceline.com Inc., joined Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint last year after the carriers acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA, where he had been CEO. Sprints prepaid business has become its fastestgrowing, with brands including Virgin, Boost Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless. American Express climbed 80 cents, or 2 percent, to $40.10 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, and was the days second-best performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. October 27, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Down As Wal-Mart Stores Inc. expands overseas and its U.S. growth slows, the retail giants chief executive lobbied Tuesday for India, boasting more than one-sixth of the global population, to open its retail sector to 100% foreign direct investment. Wal-Mart (WMT 54.71, -0.38, -0.69%) , which currently operates four wholesale cash- and-carry stores there through a partnership with Indian conglomerate Bharti, will be able to help lower inflation, reduce waste and increase food safety and efficiency in the countrys supply chain once India opens its retail market, CEO Mike Duke said in a speech in India to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, relying on getting more than 90% of its products from local sources in India, also will be able to help their Indian suppliers and manufacturers expand overseas, he said. McDonalds; Stock Down Drive down just about any commercial strip in the country, and youre treated to a blur of garish signs burgers, wings, pizza, tacos each trying to lure you into the drive-through. With 311,483 outlets classified as limited service eateries by the market research firm Technomic, as of the end of 2009, if anything the country would seem to be over-supplied with it's fast food. And American waistlines certainly back that up. But even fast food suffers in a recession, with fewer outlets opening and more being shut down. And comparing the total outlets to U.S. population, one gets a gruesome but meaningful ratio (mouths per deep fryer?), and sees that during the years 2007-2009 fast food outlets grew scarcer relative to the overall population. In 2007, the people at Technomic found there were 968 mouths per outlet. Two years later, with a stagnant industry and six million new Americans, there 18 more mouths, or a total of 986, for each outlet. Less competition. Coca-Cola; Stock Down

Samsung Electronics Co. is a better stock investment than Apple Inc., Coca-Cola Co., Google Inc. or any of the largest multinational companies, according to analyst recommendations compiled by Bloomberg. The CHART OF THE DAY shows the South Korean electronics maker has a 4.9 investment rating out of a possible 5, based on 40 analyst recommendations compiled by Bloomberg. Samsung is followed by Coca-Colas 4.78 rating and Apples 4.75 in the Dow Jones Global Titans Index, which tracks the 50 biggest companies based on market capitalization outside of China. Samsung, the worlds top maker of televisions, memory chips, flat screens and the No. 2 producer of mobile phones, is better positioned to capitalize on a recovery in the global economy because of its range of products, said Hwang Yu Sik, a Seoul-based analyst at SK Securities Co. The company may widen its lead as it invests 26 trillion won ($23 billion) this year, more than any technology company, for upgrading its production facilities and on research and development. Kraft Foods; Stock Down Kraft Foods Inc Rated New 'Outperform' at Wells Fargo. Home Depot; Stock Down American express; Stock Up When TechCrunchs Michael Arrington complained that he was having a hard time getting accepted for an American Express card, I was one of the many readers that thought it comical that an ad for Amexs new Zync card appeared alongside the rant.

The ad agency that represents Amex didnt get the joke. In fact, they took the idiotic step of asking Arrington to remove the post and hinted they may not do business with TechCrunch if it happened again If you are not able to monitor this more closely, we unfortunately will not be able to run with TechCrunch in the future. So many lessons here, so little time. First, surely they should have known that this is the kind of stuff that TechCrunch relishes. The blog has publicly posted countless legal threats, cease and desists, and other empty threats. You should be careful when making such requests of any blogger, but Amexs ad agency should have done a better job of understanding Arringtons personality. October 28, 2010

Wal-Mart; Stock Up McDonalds; Stock Same But now, according to the Wall Street Journal, national brands have taken notice and are gearing up to muscle in on the action. Which, will obviously lead to the ruination of the food truck industry as we know it. "By the end of next year, you'll begin to see some big brands rolling this out," says Robert Stidham, president of Franchise Dynamics LLC. Mr. Stidham tells the Journal that "he's been involved in 'serious' discussions with about a half-dozen national food franchises on strategies for going mobile." Alisa Harrison, a spokeswoman for the International Franchise Association, says food trucks are "a natural fit for many franchises." "It's replicable, which is one of the most important things about being able to franchise a business," she says. Can't the major players sit this one out? They've already got a disproportionate share of the nation's bellies. And besides, they already have their own food trucks: McDonalds. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Muhtar Kent, chief executive officer of Coca-Cola Co., talks with Bloomberg's Duane Stanford about the company's expansion plans in Africa. Coke plans to spend $12 billion in Africa during the next decade, more than twice as much as the previous decade. Kraft Foods; Stock Up Home Depot; Stock Up American express; Stock Up October 29, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has made a non-binding offer for South African retailer Massmart Holdings for 148 rand (or about $21.24) a share, may decide to acquire a partial stake instead, Massmart said Thursday. After consulting with major Massmart shareholders and key South African stakeholders, Wal-Mart (WMT 54.71, -0.38, -0.69%) is investigating potential options for and the merits of retaining Massmart's listing on the country's exchange, the Johannesburg-based company said, adding Wal-Mart could instead make a partial offer to acquire a stake in excess of 50% at the original per-share price offer. Wal-Mart's original proposed offer to buy Massmart [za: msm] for $4.26 billion at the time of the announcement, if it proceeds, would mark its biggest deal in more than 10 years. Wal-Mart shares fell 0.5%. Massmart shares were up 1% in Johannesburg trading. McDonalds; Stock Up

Judge Joao Filho of Brazil has awarded a former McDonalds (MCD) franchise manager $17,500 in damages, after the 32 year-old man sued the chain for making him fat. According to the 32 year-old man, whose name has not been made public, the free lunches provided by the chain were to blame -obviously, a band of rogue Big Macs managed to render him immobile, pry his unwilling mouth open, and force-feed their sorry victim like a goose being fattened for foie gras. But, therein lies what really elevates this case beyond the heights of absurdity. Fat, in this instance, is a total weight-gain of 65 lbs. over the course of 12 years. Thats 5.4 lbs. per year. 0.10 lbs. per week. 0.01 lbs. a day. We're disappointed with this preliminary court ruling, as its not an accurate representation of our highly regarded work environment and culture, McDonald's said in a statement. This case is still a pending legal matter and it would be premature to draw conclusions at this time. The conclusion that must be drawn, premature or otherwise, is that these sorts of legal actions must be brought to, well, a conclusion. Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, President of the American Council on Science and Health tells Minyanville, Obesity is a very complex problem and people always want simple solutions. Blaming a food chain is a very simple solution. Im horrified, frankly. Timothy H. Lee, Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs at the Center for Individual Freedom in Washington, D.C., says: The good news is that this case is attracting international attention because its so absurd. The bad news is that its clear the members of the plaintiffs bar is devising new ways to feed themselves. It may be ridiculed, but its certainly something to be wary of because its not the last were going to be seeing of it. Lee notes that chains like McDonalds, Burger King (BKC), Taco Bell (YUM), Wendys (WEN), and Jack in the Box (JACK) need to remain vigilant. Its certainly not the first time weve seen this sort of activity. In 2002, attorney Samuel Hirsch filed a lawsuit alleging that fast food operators create de facto addictions in their consumers, most notably the poor and young people. You don't need nicotine or an illegal drug to create an addiction, youre creating a craving, Hirsch said. I think well find that the fast-food industry has not been totally up front with the consumers. The lead plaintiff, 56-year-old maintenance supervisor Caesar Barber, ate at fast-food restaurants four or five times a week on which he blamed his obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and two heart attacks. "I trace it all back to the high fat, grease and salt, all back to McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King. There was no fast food I didn't eat, and I ate it more often than not because I was single, it was quick and Im not a very good cook," he said in an interview. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Oct 29 (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co (KO.N), the world's largest soft-drink maker, opened on Friday three bottling plants across China, with a combined 1.6 billion yuan ($239.3 million) investment, in a bid to cash in on one of the world's fastest-growing beverage markets. The maker of Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid and vitaminwater will produce its beverages in the new factories in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, Luohe in Henan province and Sanshui in Guangdong province. "Our business has experienced strong growth year on year in China, which is now our third largest market," Coke Chief Executive Muhtar Kent said in a statement. The

three factories will employ 2,000 people, Coke said. The investments are part of Coke's three-year $2 billion investment plan in China. ($1=6.686 Yuan) (Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee, Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Kraft Foods; Stock Up Kraft Foods Chairman & CEO Irene Rosenfeld is our featured guest on Intelligent Investing With Steve Forbes, beginning Monday, November 1st. Here is a brief excerpt and highlight video from the interview: Steve Forbes: Mac and cheese. Kraft had been taking cheese out of it? Or you decided, No, youve got to make it tasty again. Irene Rosenfeld: Well, we had a bunch of products. One of the things I found as I came back to the company a number of years ago was that we had denigrated product quality on a number of our businesses, partly in response to rising commodity costs. And so one of the very first things I did was to make the necessary investments in product quality. And weve taken our whole franchise from about 44% of our products preferred to competition to almost two thirds. And Im very proud of that. We will continue to make progress. But I think at the base of anything else that we do, we have to insure that we have superior products. And I think mac and cheese is a terrific example of the power of those kinds of investments. We not only invested in the product, which does taste delicious, but also we invested in the marketing support. Weve got noodles in Fenway Park and in Wrigley Field and in a number of iconic places around the world. Forbes: Is something like a mac and cheese open to what you might call Haagen Dazs-ing, where you can put in more of the good stuff and charge three times as much? Rosenfeld: I dont think we quite get to Haagen-Dazs, but we certainly do have the opportunity. We have a home style product that weve launched recently which allows consumers to create the kind of mac and cheese that they look for in restaurants. And its doing nicely for us. And thats the kind of opportunity we see as we invest in these franchises. Forbes: What does Kraft bring to the game now that it wasnt bringing before in terms of justifying the size and the strategies youre pursuing? Rosenfeld: Well, I think certainly we bring product quality and superior products. It starts with that. I think weve done a lot of good work in packaging to help to bring better value to our consumers. So we have a number of different formats for a number of our iconic brands, like Oreo, for example, where we have varying sizes available for the consumer so that we can hit different price points. And also think just the equity support. Brands like Miracle Whip. It was sort of, people hadnt heard from it, about Miracle Whip, for quite some time. We put a lot of money into the product itself, as well as into marketing support. And we had celebrities like Lady Gaga sticking it in the middle of her Telephone video. So it its created a lot of Forbes: Not putting it on her meat. Rosenfeld: Well, she hasnt put it on her meat costume yet, but she certainly gave it an uplift. So I think its been a combination of investment in quality, investment in brand equity and marketing, as well as investment in new products.

Home Depot; Stock Down American express; Stock Up I tell you Doris, he was making $150,000 a year and had been working at the same place for a decade and they wouldnt approve his loan! They told him straight up that no credit history means no loan all because he didnt have a credit card. It has become a bit of an urban legend, but with the rising prices of houses and the need for almost everyone to carry a mortgage, credit ratings have taken on greater importance. In this article, we will look at credit cards, their relationship to your credit rating, and what you can do about both. There is still a sizable amount of the population with no credit cards. According to a 2001 Federal Reserve study, about 24% of American households dont have even one credit card. However, this is not the norm. In fact, most households have more than one credit card, and the average household has about four active cards, according to 2000 U.S. Census data. About 15% of the population has more than 10 cards. For many people, credit cards have become a part of everyday life. Those without them, it would seem, are being left behind but that isnt entirely true. The original appeal of credit cards was the ability to make purchases without carrying cash (that could be stolen) and the protection against unauthorized purchases. These days, however, these benefits can be achieved with a run-of-the-mill debit card. It is in new areas that credit cards have the edge, specifically shopping over the internet. There are still shopping sites that run C.O.D., but by and large, its a plastic world. In short, credit cards arent necessary, but they are useful. Besides, if the average person only used credit cards for online shopping, one card rather than five, or 10 would be enough. November 1, 2010 Wal-Mart; Stock Up Walmart (NYSE:WMT - News) today announces aggressive plans to provide consumers with the best selection of the hottest toys at the best prices this holiday season, helping families bring home more toys for less. To help parents identify the most sought-after toys, the retailer unveils today its Top Toys. Later this week, Walmart is launching the ultimate in-store and online resources for toys, offering parents its first ever 52-page toy catalog, and a dedicated section online for Top Toys at www.walmart.com/toptoys, featuring toy demos and customer ratings and reviews. Walmart's exclusive savings on Top Toys start nationwide Nov. 5, and to help customers save even more, Walmart will also offer free shipping on all of its "Top Toys" at Walmart.com. McDonalds; Stock Up Shares of McDonald's Corp (MCD - Analyst Report) have been on a roll lately. The world renowned fast-food giant went through the Great Recession virtually unscathed as cash-strapped consumers flocked to the company's Value Menu. Investors have flocked to the stock as McDonald's continues to deliver impressive results by sticking with what it does best - delivering food fast and cheap - and also expanding its menu to offer deluxe coffees and smoothies. The

company recently delivered another strong quarter, prompting analysts to raise their estimates. Third Quarter Results On October 21, McDonald's reported third quarter earnings per share of $1.29, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents. It was a 15% increase over the same quarter in 2009. Total sales grew 6.0%, including a 5.3% jump in the U.S. Same-store sales in the U.S. improved 5.3%, largely due to strong sales from the company's Frappes and Smoothies. Sales growth was particularly strong in the company's Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa division, which saw a 16% increase year-over-year. The company was able to manage expenses well, as operating income grew 11%. Coca-Cola; Stock Up Kraft Foods; Stock Down Home Depot; Stock Down American express; Stock Up NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Members Project from American Express and TakePart is teaming up with the HandsOn Network, the largest mobilizer of volunteers in the nation, to engage volunteers to help improve Alexander Elementary and WG Pierce Middle schools alongside HandsOn Tampa Bay. On Saturday, November 13th volunteers will brighten the exterior cafeteria area and school breeze ways with much-needed fresh coats of paint and bright murals based on the Small Steps Make a Big Difference theme. Additionally, round picnic tables with umbrellas will be built and placed in areas throughout the campus, classrooms will be cleaned and much more. American Express recently donated funds to DonorsChoose.org, an organization that empowers people to help students in need by funding teacher submitted projects, such as helping provide art supplies and musical instruments. $100,000 of that donation will bring an estimated 250 classroom projects to life, impacting up to 6,500 students and teachers in the Tampa Bay area. Members Project from American Express and HandsOn Network will also host volunteer events in New York, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Cleveland that will ultimately harness the efforts of close to 2,000 volunteers to help transform local schools and impact thousands of students.