boeing

NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. $26.66, New York symbol NWL, fell 8% this week after it warned that its fourth-quarter sales would be unchanged from a year earlier. That’s mainly due to slowing sales of office products such as pens and desktop accessories. Despite the lower sales, Newell still expects to earn $1.80 a share in 2007 thanks to its cost-cutting plan. The stock trades at just 14.8 times that estimate. Newell Rubbermaid is a buy. SONY CORP. ADRs $55.00, New York symbol SNE, gained over 10% this week after state-owned Dubai International Capital announced that it had acquired a “substantial” stake in the company. The stake is likely under 5%, because Japanese securities law requires a full public disclosure from Sony on any holding over 5%....

THE BOEING CO. $94 (New York symbol BA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 777.2 million; Market cap: $73.1 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is the world’s second-largest maker of commercial aircraft, behind Europe’s Airbus. This business accounts for 50% of its revenue and 60% of its profits. Boeing’s other main business is its defense and space operations, which make advanced military fighters and helicopters, missiles and communication satellites. Sales to the U.S. Defense Department account for roughly 85% of this division’s revenue. The stock fell below $25 in 2003, as 9/11 and the Iraq war cut air travel volumes plus demand for new aircraft. At that time, Boeing decided to go ahead with a new plane called the 787 Dreamliner....

Boeing continues to win new orders for its 787 Dreamliner plane. The company has now sold over 700 Dreamliners, and aims to begin deliveries next year. Sales could expand further if the aircraft performs as expected. Boeing already profits as the one of the world’s largest makers of commercial aircraft. It’s also a leading defence and space contractor. The prospects for the 787 just add to its appeal. THE BOEING CO. $94 (New York symbol BA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 777.2 million; Market cap: $73.1 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is the world’s second-largest maker of commercial aircraft, behind Europe’s Airbus. This business accounts for 50% of its revenue and 60% of its profits....

MOLSON COORS BREWING CO. $55.05, New York symbol TAP, has agreed to merge its operations in the United States and Puerto Rico with those of rival brewer SAB Miller PLC. Each will have 50% voting interest in this new venture, called MillerCoors, but Miller will have a 58% economic interest while Molson Coors will have 42%. This new joint venture will account for about 27% of the beer market in the United States. That should help it compete with Anheuser-Busch (see below), which accounts for about half of U.S. beer sales. Assuming regulators approve, the new company should begin operations in 2008. Like the earlier merger of Molson and Coors, the main attraction of this plan is cost savings. Molson Coors expects to save $500 million a year by sharing its distribution networks and other assets with Miller. To put that in context, Molson Coors earned $184.3 million or $1.02 a share in the second quarter of 2007....

BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $6.29 and BBD.B $6.26; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $10.6 billion; SI Rating: Extra risk) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, after Boeing and Airbus. It specializes in small business jets, and regional jets that carry around 100 passengers. The company also makes passenger railcars. In its second fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2007, Bombardier earned $0.05 a share, up 66.7% from $0.03 a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. funds). The most recent quarterly figure excludes a one-time writedown of its investment in a group that’s refurbishing the London, UK subway system. Strong demand for business jets and railcars, particularly in China and Russia, expanded sales by 14.3%, to $4.0 billion from $3.5 billion. Bombardier should earn $0.21 U.S. a share in 2007, and the stock trades at 28.8 times that estimate. That’s reasonable in light of its improving prospects....

Air travel has rebounded strongly since 9/11. But high oil prices could hurt the ability of airlines to invest in new planes and simulators. Although riskier, we feel Bombardier’s wider sources of income gives it greater earnings potential right now than CAE. BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $6.29 and BBD.B $6.26; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $10.6 billion; SI Rating: Extra risk) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, after Boeing and Airbus. It specializes in small business jets, and regional jets that carry around 100 passengers. The company also makes passenger railcars. In its second fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2007, Bombardier earned $0.05 a share, up 66.7% from $0.03 a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. funds). The most recent quarterly figure excludes a one-time writedown of its investment in a group that’s refurbishing the London, UK subway system. Strong demand for business jets and railcars, particularly in China and Russia, expanded sales by 14.3%, to $4.0 billion from $3.5 billion....

APPLE INC. $131.77, Nasdaq symbol AAPL, aims to solidify its 70% share of the digital music player market with its new line of iPods, including a version that can wirelessly connect to the Internet. A new alliance with the Starbucks coffee chain will also make it easier for iPod users to wirelessly download music from Apple’s iTunes music store. However, the stock fell 10% on news Apple is cutting the price of its iPhone by a third. The company will soothe the feelings of customers who bought an iPhone prior to the price cut by giving them a $100 credit toward future purchases. Investors took the price cut as a sign that iPhone demand is already weakening, just two months after its heavily hyped launch. But Apple may hope to make up the lost revenue in bigger iPhone sales volumes, particularly in the Christmas selling season, and possibly from the benefit of introducing Apple products to a larger segment of the public....

DIAMONDS TRUST SHARES $133 (American Exchange symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers) hold the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Currently, the fund’s top 10 holdings are IBM, 3M, Boeing Co., United Technologies, Caterpillar, Altria Group, American International Group, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Exxon Mobil....

The best exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios with very low management fees. Due to buyback and share issue arrangements, ETFs always trade close to their net asset value. Here are some of the best deals available in ETFs. We’ve also analysed one we don’t like. ISHARES CDN LARGECAP 60 INDEX FUND $79.86 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through a broker) (formerly called iUnits S&P/TSX 60 Index Participation Fund) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units hold a basket of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index. The index is made up of the 60 largest and most heavily traded stocks on the TSX. Expenses on the units are just 0.17% of assets....

FEDEX CORP. $109.96, New York symbol FDX, earned $1.96 a share in its fourth fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2007, up 7.7% from $1.82 a year earlier. If you disregard a one-time gain from a contract settlement, earnings in the most recent quarter would have grown 4.4%, to $1.90 a share. Revenue rose 7.6%, to $9.15 billion from $8.5 billion, thanks to an acquisition at its trucking division and higher volumes and prices at its air transport businesses. The company recently started offering overnight delivery service in China, and the costs have hurt its earnings growth. But growing economic activity in China should help shield FedEx from a possible slowdown in the United States, and from higher fuel costs. FedEx is a buy....