intel

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS INC. $17.94, New York symbol BR, has outlined details of a recent transaction by its clearing services subsidiary, Ridge Clearing & Outsourcing, in response to last week’s downgrade of its credit rating by Standard & Poor’s. In late 2007, Ridge Clearing accepted $380 million worth of securities as collateral. That transaction increased Broadridge’s short-term debt to just $426 million, which is equal to only 17% of its current market cap of $2.5 billion. The transaction involved 143 pools of AAA-rated mortgage-backed bonds issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association. The company states “there were no exotic or illiquid mortgage-backed derivative securities in this transaction”. As well, the party who had committed to purchase these bonds is a global financial services company rated A+ by Standard & Poor’s. This party completed the transaction on January 17, 2008, and Broadridge repaid the related short-term loan....

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $36 (New York symbol VZ) will merge its local telephone operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont with FairPoint Communications Inc. on March 31, 2008. Verizon stockholders will receive about 0.0188 shares of FairPoint common stock as a special dividend for each share of Verizon they hold. This is a tax-deferred distribution, so investors will only be liable for capital gains taxes on their new shares when they sell. Best Buy. INTEL CORP. $22 (NASDAQ symbol INTC) has raised its quarterly dividend twice in the past six months. The new annual rate of $0.56 yields 2.5%. Buy. ANHEUSER-BUSCH COMPANIES INC. $48 (New York symbol BUD) plans to build up to four amusement parks near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. These are its first parks outside of the United States. The new parks will be part of the world’s largest man-made island, which will also include shopping districts, resort hotels and restaurants. The first phase should be ready by 2012. Buy.

MICROSOFT CORP. $28.42, Nasdaq symbol MSFT, has dropped $4 since it made a hostile takeover bid for Internet search provider Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq symbol YHOO) at the start of February. Yahoo has rejected the offer, leading to speculation that Microsoft may have to raise its bid. Concerns over Microsoft’s ability to meet cost reduction targets after the takeover have also weighed on the stock. As well, a hostile takeover could also prompt Yahoo’s programmers and other key employees to quit. Yahoo is now exploring alliances with other media and technology companies to fend off Microsoft. Regardless of the outcome, we still see Microsoft as a buy....

NASDAQ-100 TRUST SHARES $44.37 (Nasdaq Exchange symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers) or ‘Qubes’, hold the stocks that represent the Nasdaq-100 Index. This index is made up of the 100 largest and most heavily traded stocks on the Nasdaq Exchange. The index reflects firms across major industry groups including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial companies. Expenses are about 0.20% of assets. The top 10 highest-weighted stocks are Apple Inc., Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, Cisco, Intel, Research in Motion, Gilead Sciences, Oracle and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Nasdaq-100 Trust Shares are a buy for aggressive investors only.

We think high-quality mutual funds with a long term focus will beat indexes over long periods. If funds invest as we advise — sticking with well established companies and spreading their assets out across the five main economic sectors — they will tend to lose a lot less than the market indexes in periods when the indexes fall sharply. That’s because big market slides are particularly hard on the hottest, most popular stocks of the preceding market rise, and investing as we do leads you to avoid excessive investment in the hot stocks. Index funds, in contrast, do tend to load up on the hottest, most popular stocks as they rise. That’s because, as they rise, these stocks make up a rising proportion of the index. Index funds are a better deal than the majority of funds now available, however. So if you merely want to equal the indexes, here are some of the best deals available in ETFs. We’ve also analysed one we don’t like....

Today many people seem sure that the subprime situation and associated problems will bring on a long-term market decline that could carry stock prices much lower. When conclusions like these become widespread, the conclusion or the timing or both are often wrong. Think back to how many people agreed with former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan’s famous (or notorious) ‘irrational exuberance’ speech, in December, 1996. Yet nearly four years passed before the market hit its ultimate peak. In between the Greenspan speech and 2000 market peak, we went through a market setback in response to an economic crisis that started in Thailand in 1997....

INTEL CORP. $22.67, Nasdaq symbol INTC, fell 15% this week on fears that rising loan writedowns at major banks would hurt sales of new computers. Banks are large buyers of computer technology. A slowing economy could also hurt new computer demand at other big corporations. However, Intel’s recent restructuring will help it stay profitable even if sales weaken. The launch of new, faster chips in the second half of 2008 should also expand its lead over rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, particularly in the corporate server segment. Intel is a buy. NEWMONT MINING CORP. $52.42, New York symbol NEM, gained $4 this week as gold surged to a new record of $869.05 an ounce, surpassing the old peak of $850 reached in 1980....

TD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FUND $15.36 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W1P9. 1-800-386-37 57; Web site: www.tdcanadatrust.com. No load — deal directly with TD) invests mostly in U.S. firms engaged in the research, development and production of products or services related to science and technology. TD Science & Technology’s top holdings include: Microsoft Corporation, Google, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, American Tower, Qualcomm, Electronic Arts, Foxconn International, Adobe Systems, Marvell Technology Group, Samsung, Nokia, Intel and Apple. The fund’s gain in Canadian dollars over the last year was 11.0%. The Nasdaq index rose 6.9% in Canadian funds. The $115.3 million fund’s manager is well-respected U.S. mutual fund manager T. Rowe Price Associates. Its MER is 2.70%....

ALTAMIRA SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FUND $8.82 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (Altamira Investment Services, The Exchange Tower, 130 King St. West, Suite 900, Toronto, Ont. M5X 1K9. 1-800-263-2824; Web site: www.altamira.com. No load — deal directly with the company) invests in the telecommunications, biotechnology, environmental technology, health care and computer industries. Top holdings are Microsoft, Oracle, VeriSign, Sun Microsystems, Intel, Medco Health Solutions, Google, Research in Motion and Cisco Systems. The $64.2 million fund gained 11.8% in Canadian dollars over the last year. The Nasdaq index rose 6.9% in Canadian funds. The fund’s MER is 2.70%....

Many tech stocks have moved up lately, and the Nasdaq composite index is now at 2,859, its highest level since early 2001. Consumer spending for computers and electronics in the United States remains steady despite overall lower consumer confidence, due in part to higher gasoline prices and volatile housing markets. Spending by corporations for information technology products and services continues to rise steadily, along with the U.S. economy. The recent launch of Microsoft’s Window’s Vista operating system will likely prompt many businesses and consumers to upgrade to new computers and software designed to run on the new platform....