boeing

After a market rise like the one we’ve had in the past few years, investors often wonder, “When should I sell?” The answer depends as much on the stocks you hold as on the market outlook. Some stocks are made to be traded. That includes many of the more speculative stocks we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our affiliated publication which focuses on riskier, more aggressive investments than we do here in Wall Street Stock Forecaster. United Technologies (see below) has more than doubled for us since we first recommended buying it in April 2000 (we called it a “dull industrial with exciting prospects”). That alone may spur some investors to sell. But United has many of the earmarks of a well-established company with great long-term potential — one that is worth hanging on to through a market setback....

DIAMONDS TRUST SHARES $114 (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 $68.83 (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....

CAE INC. $9.55 (Toronto symbol CAE; SI Rating: Above average) is thinking about building a new pilot training facility in India. CAE currently has 22 facilities, mainly in North America and Europe. The new training centre would cost CAE about $90 million, or over five times the $17.8 million or $0.07 a share that CAE earned in its first fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2005. India presently has no such facility and sends its pilots to schools in other countries, so this investment would give CAE a first-in advantage over competitors such as Boeing. It should also pay off quickly, since Indian airlines are expanding rapidly, and plan to hire 3,000 new pilots in the five years. CAE could also use the new school to train pilots for India’s air force. CAE is a buy.

BANK OF AMERICA $47 (New York symbol BAC) aims to complete its acquisition of MBNA CORP. $27 (New York symbol KRB) in January 2006. The merger seems certain to go through, so MBNA stockholders should tender their shares to avoid paying brokerage fees. Bank of America is a buy. THE BOEING CO. $71 (New York symbol BA) has raised its quarterly dividend 20%, from $0.25 a share to $0.30. The new annual rate of $1.20 yields 1.7%. But high fuel costs could slow demand for new planes. Hold. GENERAL MILLS, INC. $50 (New York symbol GIS) raised its quarterly dividend 3.0%, from $0.33 a share to $0.34. The new annual rate of $1.36 yields 2.7%. Earnings should grow 6% in the current fiscal year, despite rising marketing and other costs. Buy....