general electric

McGill University recently came out with a report that looked at the possibility that powdered metal fuels—made of iron or aluminum particles—could be an effective replacement for fossil fuels. That would simultaneously cut carbon emissions and environmental costs. McGill’s goal was to come up with an alternative fuel considering the limitations of solar and wind power. Neither provides enough electricity to directly drive a car. While battery technology can fill this gap to some extent, improvements aren’t growing fast enough to fully replace gasoline as a fuel. The major announcement from McGill was that its research team has demonstrated that a stable flame can be sustained in a flow of metal particles suspended in the air....

J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO., $61.88, New York symbol JPM, is the largest banking firm in the U.S., with assets of $2.4 trillion. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, Morgan earned $5.5 billion, or $1.35 per share. That’s a 6.7% drop from $5.9 billion, or $1.45, a year earlier. Even so, earnings beat the consensus forecast of $1.26 a share. Revenue fell 3.0%, to $24.1 billion from $24.9 billion, but that also beat the consensus forecast of $23.4 billion....

WAL-MART STORES INC., $69.06, New York symbol WMT, has successfully defeated a new law in Puerto Rico that would have tripled the tax bill for companies with local yearly revenue of $2.75 billion or higher. Wal-Mart operates 48 retail stores on the island. It is the only company that would have been affected by the law. A federal judge has now struck down the tax plan. Wal-Mart will still go ahead and shut down seven of its Puerto Rico stores. That’s part of the previously announced closure of 269 underperforming locations. Worldwide, the retailer has over 11,500 outlets....

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO., $31.11, New York symbol GE, is in a strong position to profit as the U.S. government normalizes relations with Cuba. This week, the company and the Cuban government agreed to explore potential deals. For example, GE’s turbines and expertise would help modernize Cuba’s oil-fired power plants. It’s also likely the Cuban government will want to upgrade its hospitals with GE’s X-ray, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), ultrasound machines and other medical products. OUR RECOMMENDATION: GE is a buy....

BCE Inc. continues to grow revenue, earnings, dividends by investing in networks and keeping long-term debt manageable.

BANK OF MONTREAL, $74.15, Toronto symbol BMO, reported better-than-expected results this week, thanks mainly to strong gains from its U.S. operations. In its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended January 31, 2016, the bank’s revenue rose 0.4%, to $5.08 billion from $5.06 billion a year earlier. That beat the consensus forecast of $4.88 billion. Overall earnings increased 13.2%, to $1.2 billion from $1.0 billion. Earnings per share gained 14.4%, to $1.75 from $1.53, on fewer shares outstanding. These figures exclude unusual items such as the cost to integrate recent acquisitions. On that basis, they exceed the consensus estimate of $1.72 a share....

General Electric Co. is selling 90% of the assets of its financing division. That should free up capital for new joint venture deals focused on renewable energy projects and nuclear power equipment. The company will also use the cash to pay for a $50 billion share buyback. GE is a buy.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. (New York symbol GE; www.ge.com has agreed to sell $157 billion in assets of its GE Capital financing division. So far, it has completed transactions equalling $104 billion.
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SPDR S&P 500 ETF $191.30 (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. companies chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group. The fund’s MER is just 0.10%, and it yields 2.5%. The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, 3.2%; Microsoft, 2.6%; Alphabet, 2.6%; Exxon- Mobil, 1.9%; Johnson & Johnson, 1.7%; General Electric, 1.6%; Facebook, 1.5%; Berkshire Hathaway, 1.4%; Wells Fargo & Co., 1.4%; Amazon.com, 1.3%; AT&T, 1.3%; Procter & Gamble, 1.3%; and JPMorgan Chase, 1.3%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a top ETF pick for 2016.

We feel that investors will profit the most by holding a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality stocks. However, if you don’t want to build a portfolio, or you want to supplement your individual stock holdings, then ETFs can provide a great alternative. The main factors we use to evaluate ETFs are the stocks they hold, the diversification of their holdings across the five economic sectors and the fees (MERs) they charge. In general, investors holding mainly ETFs would want, say, 60% in Canadian ETFs and 20% to 30% in U.S. ETFs....

WELLS FARGO & CO. $49 (New York symbol WFC; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 5.1 billion; Market cap: $249.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.wellsfargo .com) earned $21.6 billion in 2015, down 1.0% from $21.8 billion in 2014. However, earnings per share rose 1.2%, to $4.15 from $4.10, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue gained 2.0%, to $86.1 billion from $84.3 billion. Low interest rates continue to spur demand for residential mortgages, business and car loans while encouraging consumers to make more credit card purchases. The bank also recently bought the commercial lending and leasing operations of General Electric (see page 18). Those businesses offer loans to help manufacturers boost their inventory, as well as other forms of financing. However, Wells Fargo is earning less interest income on its loans, which hurts its earnings. Higher salaries and federal deposit insurance premiums also slowed its profit growth....