This'n'That; November 24th[Politics;Econ;Stocks]

Ya Gonna Git Whatcha Voted For? I have discussed the current political climate with several "30-somethings" who, if not Obama supporters they at least either voted FOR Obama or AGAINST McCain. Several [of both genders] have expressed disappointment in what they're seeing in the news. The Obama cabinet as the media is reporting it, appears it's gonna be "Clinton-Lite." "Slick-Willie" didn't do the country any favors during his administration!! The presidency was a platform for his "one-world government" philosophy. Oh..... and as a "talent agency" to search for 20-somethings for him to boink!! I'll betcha a-dollar-to-a-doughnut..... Michelle Obama had some [read; alotta] input into the choice for Secretary of State!! With Hillary close at hand, Michelle will have a ready source of information as to the ins-and-outs [excuse the pun!!] of Oval Office philandering. Remember, "Slick Willie" honed philandering to a fine art!! Another "point-to-ponder" Since the election, PEBO has NOT been to church once!! The last time he attended regularly was during his campaign in North Carolina, surprisingly, home of a large number of CHRISTIAN VOTERS!! Stocks, The Market, etc Well, here we go again... another week in the market. Don't expect the "hills and valleys" to disappear; we're gonna be seeing them for months, if not years, to come. Remember all those stocks that, years ago, were too pricey to invest in? Although they were good values, ya jis didn't have the money to jump in. NOW IS THE TIME to revisit them, like IBM, Nike, eBay, Microsoft, etc. While their prices may not have dropped all that much, relative to the Dow-Jones, most of them have had tremendous advances in profits, cash flow, dividend rates, P/Es, etc. It's kinda like going to the store and finding nearly all the products on sale!! Let's have a look at a few of the better ones: IBM [Ticker:IBM]-dividends paid since 1913; past 5 years dividend raised 20%; since 2006 dividend nearly doubled-now $2.00/share; company generates gobbs of cash [2007=$17.4billion]; 11/21 stock price: $74.88/share. NIKE Sportswear [Ticker:NKE]-Largest market share in U.S. [36%]; 2/3 of sales OUTSIDE U.S.; uses cash flow to pay dividends, acquire companies, buy back it's stock; since 2003, raised dividend 27% annually-now $0.92/share; price: 11/20-$43.61/share. STRYKER -Ticker:SYK]-Maker of hospital supplies and surgical-implant devices; generates $1billion in free cash flow annually; more than $2.5billion in the bank; spends on acquisitions and dividends; dividends doubled in 2007, another +50% in 2008, to $0.33/share; growth prospects good due to aging "boomer" population; stellar management track record; price: 11/21=$37.39/share. Expeditors International of Washington-[Ticker: EXPD]-Leases airline and ship cargo space for resale; last 5 years revenues risen 15% annually; profit margin just under 30%; no debt; low investment requirements; dividend has risen 13 continuous years-currently $0.32/share; $704million in the bank; price:11/20-$26.56/share [about 50% of 52 week high]. Canadian National Railway [Ticker:CNI]-Trackage from Atlantic to Pacific Oceans and Gulf of Mexico; diversified customer base-wood products, oil, chemicals, grain, oil and auto parts; intermodal [containers] transportation=18% of revenue-up 15% in 2007; average annual earnings growth 26% over last 5 years; average annual dividend 24% over 5 years; current dividend: $0.86/share; repurchased 31 million shares in 2007; price:11/21-$32.95/share. eBAY [Ticker:EBAY]-May be too cheap to pass with a P/E of 9; auctions only 33% of revenue; PayPal revenue rose 33% in 2007; Skype revenue rose 51% in 2007; also owns StubHub, Shopping.com and several classified ad sites; will buy BillMeLater-similar to PayPal prefered by large retailers; expected 2008 earnings growth-14%; expected 2009 earnings growth-10%; no debt; $3.7Billion in the bank; $2Billion in annual free cash flow; no dividend; price:11/21-12.01. AT&T [Ticker:T]-Out of favor due to slow growth in wire-line phone service [18% of revenues]; largest U.S. wireless carrier [73Million]; earnings growth forecasts: 2008-7%, 2009-9%; annual dividend-$1.60/share; price:11/21-$25.19. Microsoft [Ticker-MSFT]-Profits nearly quadrupled since 2002, stock price has been stagnant; this has caused it's P/E ratio to contract [a good thing!]; company expected earnings growth of only 13-16%; company's programs run 90% of world's computers; $24Billion in the bank; $18Billion in annual free cash flow; it's corporate-server-software business now 22% of $60Billion annual revenues; dividend $0.52/share; price: 11/20-$19.68. Illinois Tool Works [Ticker:ITW]- Company owns 825 companies in 52 countries-368 purchased since 1998; companies focused to best serve the 20% of customers that provide 80% of profits; long term, company expects to realize 10-13% annual revenue growth; reasonable debt load, plenty of cash; dividend-$1.24/share; price: 11/19-$31.01/share. Although all this information is on the internet for the taking; I found most of it in the latest [Dec-'08] issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. REMEMBER:Due diligence pays dividends all it's own!!! Til Nex'time.....................