It looks like the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) is set to break its run of triple-digit movements -- and take away investors' streak of gains for the week, as well. The blue chip index has turned down by around 25 points as of 2:15 p.m. EDT, with most stocks in the red -- although few Dow members have made big movements on this Friday. It's a nice breather for investors after the volatility of the past few weeks, but expect more of that to come as questions surrounding quantitative easing's inevitable tapering heat up.
The future of stimulus isn't something long-term investors need to worry about, but keeping an eye on stocks is key to maintaining the best portfolio you can. Who's making waves today? Let's catch up on the stories -- and movers -- you need to know about.
Signs of strength from consumers
Housing, and rising consumer sentiment, have dominated talk around the economic recovery this year, and the University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer confidence�report for May showed a better-than-expected reading of 84.1 for the month, down only slightly from April's score. That combination of economic strength has done wonders for Home Depot (NYSE: HD ) , today's Dow leader with shares up 1.8%. Home Depot's pulled ahead�of rival Lowe's (NYSE: LOW ) , particularly after last quarter's earnings report, where the former�raised its guidance, but the latter missed projections. That separation for leadership in the industry has Home Depot poised to continue soaring as the economy's rebound picks up.
Hot Paper Stocks To Buy Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)
Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bob Ciura]
It's a tough time for the integrated super-majors like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) , whose profits were walloped last year due to a horrible climate for downstream activities. Pricing spreads between domestic crude oil and the Brent international benchmark narrowed significantly, which resulted in drastically thinner margins on refined products. On the upstream side, a production dip was marked by field declines and disappointing new project returns.
- [By Tyler Crowe]
Cleanliness is a must
Despite the potential for so much oil in the region, many people in the industry may still be a little skeptical of working offshore Brazil after watching the political fiasco following the Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) spill back in 2011. After spilling about 2,500 barrels of oil, both Chevron and rig manager Transocean (NYSE: RIG ) were threatened with over $20 billion in fines and civil litigation, as well as a permanent expulsion from the country. That would put the spill at about $8 million per barrel spilled, which is astronomical compared to the about $5,000 per barrel BP spent so far on the Macondo spill that occurred back in 2010. - [By Wallace Witkowski]
This will be a ��ow-a-day��week of quarterly results with Merck & Co. (MRK) �on Monday, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) �on Tuesday, Visa Inc. (V) �on Wednesday, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) �on Thursday, and Chevron Corp. (CVX) �on Friday.
5 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)
McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tim McAleenan Jr.]
Mankiw mentions that investors should get European exposure. Why not just buy McDonald's (MCD) stock? That accounts for 40% of McDonald's sales and operating profit, and gives investors exposure to Europe. McDonald's has 1,400 restaurants in Germany and over 1,200 chains in France. In fact, part of McDonald's explanation for weak earnings numbers lately has been the strength of the dollar against the euro. If you want to bet on a strengthening euro, you could do it on the backs of Big Macs and McNuggets by purchasing shares of a company that would allow a strengthening euro to translate into growing quarterly dividend checks in your pocket.
- [By Jessica Alling]
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) is still hurting from the news that same-store sales dropped due to economic issues overseas. Down 0.59%, the fast-food chain represents the fourth-highest-weighted stock on the index. With a new strain of avian flu working its way through China, the Golden Arches said that usual customers may have been wary to leave the house, leading to lower sales in April. The 2.9% drop in same-store sales for the segment that includes Asia was nowhere near the drop that Yum! Brands�reported due to the avian flu outbreak -- a staggering 30% in April.
- [By Patrick M. Sheridan]
The fight for higher wages has been a recent theme across the retail and fast-food industries. McDonald's (MCD) workers and union organizers have staged strikes, even taking protests to the annual shareholder meeting last month.
- [By Chuck Carnevale]
With this article we��e going to take an in-depth look at McDonald's Corp. (MCD) based on its fundamental value by the numbers. There are two primary reasons for writing this particular article at this particular time, both of which were instigated by reader comments and suggestions.
5 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)
Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Dan Burrows]
Rival Colgate-Palmolive (CL) has different concerns, namely sluggishness in emerging markets where it enjoys commanding market share and derives more than half its revenue.
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target is now $68 (versus a $59.93 close) at Morgan Stanley.
- [By Dividend Growth Investor]
In a previous article, I outlined that it is getting more difficult to find quality dividend paying stocks to buy. Most of the usual suspects like Kimberly-Clark (KMB) or Colgate-Palmolive (CL) are very overvalued today, which prevents me from adding to my positions there. Other companies like Chevron (CVX) are attractively valued today, but unfortunately my portfolio is overweight in them. Currently I find the oil sector to be cheap and have some of the lowest P/E ratios in the market. However, I would hate to be concentrated in one sector which is exposed to the fluctuating prices in its commodity products.
5 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Visa Inc.(V)
Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Which isn’t to say there weren’t some winners. United States Steel (X) gained 3.7% to $27.31 this week on the back of a Cowen upgrade, while Visa (V) rose 2.7% after Mastercard (MA) announced a buyback, dividend increase and stock split.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Two credit-card companies, two different responses to their earnings. While disappointed investors have sold off shares of Visa (V), MasterCard (MA) is relatively unchanged.
- [By Kyial Robinson]
What will they do next?
(Photo Credit) Visa Previous 1/6 Next Visa (NYSE: V) is also taking action in France, reducing cash-machine fees and cutting credit card processing fees for transactions. - [By David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer]
In this video, Motley Fool financial analysts David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer discuss three reasons American Express is well-positioned and a possibly better than Visa (NYSE: V ) or MasterCard (NYSE: MA ) �as�way to play the growth in plastic.�
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