boeing

MCDONALD’S CORP. $45.78, New York symbol MCD, has sold only Coca-Cola soft drinks at its restaurants since 1955. But demand for carbonated sodas has weakened in the past few years, as consumers switch to healthier drinks. So McDonald’s has begun selling non-carbonated drinks from PepsiCo at some of its outlets. PEPSICO INC. $63.68, New York symbol PEP, drinks now sold at these McDonald’s outlets include Gatorade sport drinks, Tropicana fruit juices and Lipton iced teas. The deal does not cover Pepsi or Diet Pepsi colas, or fountain drinks. If this pilot project succeeds, McDonald’s will probably expand it to other stores. We see both McDonald’s and PepsiCo as buys....

DIAMONDS TRUST SHARES $125 (American Exchange symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers) hold the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Expenses are about 0.18% of assets. 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 $76.72 (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 TSE. 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 TSE....

BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $4.55 and BBD.B $4.56; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $7.7 billion; SI Rating: Extra risk) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, after Boeing and Airbus. The company is also a leading maker of passenger railway cars. Due to steadily rising demand, the company now plans to build a new 100-seat regional jet, which is slightly larger than its current 70-seat and 90-seat models. It now has 38 firm orders for the plane, and 23 conditional ones. The new plane will cost $300 million to develop; Bombardier earned $0.03 a share (total $53 million) in the three months ended October 31, 2006 (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). Each plane sells for roughly $45 million, and the company feels it can sell 400 of them over the next 20 years....

MOTOROLA INC. $19.85, New York symbol MOT, jumped 7% after billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who owns 1.4% of Motorola’s stock, said he plans to seek a seat on the company’s board of directors. Mr. Icahn says he wants Motorola to enhance its stockholder value by using its cash of $15.6 billion ($6.25 a share) to buy back stock and increase its $0.20 dividend (1.0% yield). He may also pressure Motorola to spin off some of its divisions as independent companies. That would let the company focus on improving profits and market share at its core mobile phone business. Motorola is a buy....

BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $3.91 and BBD.B $3.90; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; SI Rating: Extra risk) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial passenger aircraft behind Boeing and Airbus. The aerospace unit supplies roughly 55% of Bombardier’s revenue, and 60% of its profit. The remaining revenue and earnings come from Bombardier’s transportation division, which is the world’s largest maker of passenger railway cars. Overseas customers account for 95% of Bombardier’s total revenue. In its third fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2006, Bombardier earned $0.03 a share (total $53 million) from continuing operations (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). It lost nil per share ($1 million) in the year-earlier quarter, which included a $25 million pre-tax restructuring charge. Revenue rose 3.0%, to $3.4 billion from $3.3 billion....

WINDSTREAM CORP. $14 (New York symbol WIN; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; WSSF Rating: Average) earned $0.43 a share in the three months ended September 30, 2006, up 59.3% from $0.27 a year earlier. The company took its present form on July 17, 2006 through the merger of Alltel Corp.'s traditional phone business with Valor Communications Group Ltd. On a pro forma basis and excluding one-time items, per-share profits were unchanged at $0.22. Pro forma revenue fell slightly, to $794.8 million from $797.0 million. Access lines in service fell 4.2% in the latest quarter. But Windstream is doing a good job getting its Internet users to upgrade to high-speed service. That should help it offset these lost customers, and let it maintain its $1.00 dividend (7.1% yield). Windstream is a buy....

THE BOEING CO. $79 (New York symbol BA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; WSSF Rating: Above average) has won a contract to build a “virtual fence” along the Mexican border in Arizona, using cameras, motion sensors and unmanned planes. The three-year contract is worth just $67 million, tiny in relation to Boeing’s annual revenue of $70 billion. But it could lead to more border-security business, which is a growing field around the world. Boeing’s stock climbed to $90 in May, due to production problems at rival Airbus and strong demand for its new 787 Dreamliner plane. It now trades at 33.6 times the $2.35 a share it will probably earn this year. That’s high for a company so closely linked to the volatile airline industry....

THE BOEING CO. $76 (New York symbol BA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; WSSF Rating: Above average) plans to wind down its money-losing Connexion division, which provides high-speed Internet access to airplane and ship passengers. When Boeing launched Connexion in April 2000, it hoped to eventually install the equipment on 5,000 aircraft. After 9/11, interest in Connexion fell as weak passenger volumes forced airlines to cut costs. Right now, fewer than 150 planes use the service. The shutdown will cut Boeing’s 2006 profit by $0.26 a share, but add $0.15 to its 2007 earnings. Boeing’s stock has tripled since 9/11, as the travel industry rebounded. Airlines will soon have to replace aging aircraft, and production delays at Boeing’s chief rival Airbus have also helped drive the stock higher. Boeing now trades at 29.6 times its forecast earnings for 2006 of $2.57 a share. That’s expensive for a company closely tied to a cyclical industry like airlines....

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES LTD. $62 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; WSSF Rating: Above average) operates in two main fields. Its aerospace businesses include Pratt & Whitney (aircraft engines), Sikorsky (helicopters) and Hamilton Sundstrand (aircraft electronics). These operations supply about 40% of the company’s revenue, and 45% of its profit. It also supplies building equipment and services, which include Carrier (heating and air conditioning), Otis (elevators) and UTC Fire & Security (which provides sprinkler systems, intruder alarms and security services under the Chubb and Kidde banners)....