Chevron Corp.

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $154.54 (New York symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron, 3M, Travelers Companies, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, Caterpillar, United Technologies and Boeing. The fund’s expenses are about 0.17% of its assets.

SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy.
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SPDR S&P 500 ETF $169.18 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) 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 Apple, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan Chase, IBM, Chevron, General Electric, Pfizer, Berkshire Hathaway, Google, AT&T and Wells Fargo. The fund’s expenses are just 0.10% of its assets.

If you want exposure to the S&P 500 Index, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a buy.
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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or subindex. They hold a more-or-less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings that go into the calculation of the index or sub-index.

ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks....

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $193.54, New York symbol IBM, reported lower second-quarter earnings this week, although they still beat the consensus forecast. The company also raised its earnings estimate for all of 2013. In the three months ended June 30, 2013, the company earned $3.2 billion, down 16.9% from $3.9 billion a year earlier. IBM spent $3.6 billion on share buybacks in the latest quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share fell at a slower pace of 12.9%, to $2.91 from $3.34. If you exclude unusual items, such as costs to integrate recently purchased companies, IBM’s per-share earnings would have risen 8%, to $3.91. That easily beat the consensus forecast of $3.77....

U.S. oil production is up 40% since 2008. That’s largely because of new technologies like hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. This involves injecting water, sand and chemicals to break up shale and other tight rock formations and allow access to the oil and gas. The best way to profit from this volatile industry is through companies with high-quality reserves and diverse operations. Here is one of the diversified U.S. energy stocks we cover regularly....

U.S. oil production is up 40% since 2008. That’slargely because of new technologies like hydraulicfracturing, or fracking. This involves injecting water,sand and chemicals to break up shale and other tightrock formations and allow access to the oil and gas.

The global economy continues to recover from therecession, so rising demand from industry and consumersshould help stabilize oil and gas prices, even asoutput from shale increases.

The best way to profit from this volatile industry isthrough companies with high-quality reserves and diverseoperations, such as these four....

CHEVRON CORP. $118 (New York symbol CVX;Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector;Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $224.2billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 3.4%;TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.chevron.com) is the second-largest integrated oilcompany in the U.S. after ExxonMobil.

Chevron continues to make progress on two bigAustralian projects. The first is its 47.3%-owned Gorgonnatural gas development off the country’s westcoast. Gorgon, which includes afacility to liquefy gas for shipping,is now 60% complete and shouldstart producing in 2015. Chevron’sshare of Gorgon’s $52-billioncost is $24.6 billion. Its reserveswill last 40 years.

Another big Australian projectis Chevron’s 64.14%-ownedWheatstone LNG facility on thecountry’s west coast. An offshoreoil field will supply 80% of thegas for this plant; Chevron owns80.17% of the joint venture thatwill build and operate the platformsand supply lines. Thisproject is 10% complete andshould start up in 2016. Wheatstone’sreserves should last 30years. Chevron’s share of the $29-billion cost is $18.6billion.
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YUM BRANDS INC., $67.75, New York symbol YUM, has opened a new KFC fried chicken restaurant in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. This is the first fast-food restaurant in Mongolia. The local franchisee that owns and operates this outlet plans to open 15 more over the next five years. This business’s outlook is bright. Mongolia’s economy is growing strongly, and chicken is becoming more popular. Yum and its partner will also develop new dishes that cater to local tastes....

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $146.74 (New York symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron, 3M, Travelers Companies, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, Caterpillar, United Technologies and Boeing. The fund’s expenses are about 0.17% of its assets.

SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy.
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Most U.S. markets have risen lately, while Canada’s resource-heavy Toronto Stock Exchange has lagged. But as always, both remain subject to unexpected downturns. Even so, the long-term outlook is for higher stock prices.

One way to profit from rising markets is to add exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track major stock indexes to your portfolio.

ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks....