Apple
NASDAQ symbol AAPL, makes computers under the Mac name. It also makes consumer electronic devices such as the iPod and iPhone.
APPLE INC. $261 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 913.6 million; Market cap: $238.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.2; No dividends paid; WSSF Rating: Average) will give users of its new iPhone 4 smartphone a free rubber bumper that fits over the device. This bumper seems to solve the reception problems that some users have …read more »
SYMANTEC CORP. $14.59 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; SI Rating: Average) (1-408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 798.9 million; Market cap: $11.7 billion; No dividends paid) has signed a multi-year extension of its agreement with Hewlett-Packard to distribute its Norton Internet Security software. Norton Internet Security is a set of programs that fight hackers, viruses and other online threats.
Under the deal, Hewlett-Packard will …read more »
POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $43.96 (Nasdaq symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds the stocks that represent the Nasdaq 100 Index. That index is made up of the 100 largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange based on market cap.
The Nasdaq 100 Index contains firms from a number of major industries, including computer hardware and …read more »
SPDR S&P 500 ETF $106.11 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers) holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 major U.S. stocks that are chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group.
The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Apple, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Johnson & Johnson, …read more »
MOTOROLA INC. $7.30 (New York symbol MOT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 2.3 billion; Market cap: $16.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; No dividends paid since January 2009; WSSF Rating: Average) has settled a three-year-long patent dispute with Research in Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq symbol RIMM). Research in Motion makes the popular BlackBerry smartphone.
Research in Motion will pay …read more »
ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $32.44 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; SI Rating: Average) (408-536-6000; www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 526.4 million; Market cap: $17.1 billion) makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use Adobe’s software to create print publications and web pages.
The company also makes Adobe Flash, which lets web site developers …read more »
VANGUARD GROWTH ETF $52.22 (New York symbol VUG; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI U.S. Prime Market Growth Index, a broadly diversified index that mainly consists of stocks of large U.S. companies. The fund has an MER of just 0.14%.
The $17.1-billion fund’s top holdings are Microsoft, IBM, Apple Inc., Cisco Systems, Wal-Mart Stores, Google Inc., Hewlett-Packard, …read more »
Pennsylvania-based Vanguard Group is one of the world’s largest investment-management companies. It manages over $1 trillion U.S. in 150 mutual funds.
Vanguard, which went into business in 1975, offers low-fee index mutual funds. Generally speaking, Canadians can’t buy units of mutual funds that are registered in the U.S., because they aren’t registered with provincial securities commissions. For that matter, some Canadian …read more »
TELUS CORP. (Toronto symbols T $40 and T.A $38; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 333.6 million; Market cap: $13.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 5.0%; SI Rating: Above Average) recently upgraded its wireless networks to handle a wider variety of cellphones, including Apple’s hugely popular iPhone smartphone.
These investments are starting to pay off: In the three months …read more »
Demand for wireless services is rising sharply in North America. That’s partly because device makers continue to release new cellphones and wireless devices, such as Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader.
As well, more customers are switching from traditional phones (or land lines) to wireless services.
Tap into wireless growth with blue chip stocks that operate networks
We think wireless carriers …read more »
