united technologies

Airlines continue to upgrade their fleets with more fuel-efficient aircraft. That will continue to improve these two aerospace firms’long-term prospects. Rising airliner demand should also help them offset a potential decline in military sales as governments cut defense spending to deal with their budget deficits.

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP....

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $83 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 916.5 million; Market cap: $76.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.utc.com) recently purchased Goodrich Corp., a North Carolina-based company that makes aircraft parts, including landing gear, wheels and brakes. United Technologies paid $18.4 billion, including $1.9 billion of assumed debt.

To win regulatory approval, United Technologies agreed to sell some of its smaller businesses. For example, it recently sold three subsidiaries in its aerospace division for a total of $3.5 billion.

United Technologies now expects overall revenue of between $64 billion and $65 billion in 2013, up 10% to 12% from $58 billion in 2012. Goodrich will supply about half of this growth. The rest will come from improving sales at its other businesses, including Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Otis elevators.

...

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $134.68 (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 Corp., 3M, Wal-Mart Stores, McDonald’s Corp., Procter & Gamble, Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies and Boeing. The fund’s expenses are about 0.18% of its assets.

SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy.

...

These three industrial stocks make a wide range of products. That helps cut their risk during periods of slow growth, such as the past year. It also puts them in a good position to profit when the global economy picks up. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $21 (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 10.6 billion; Market cap: $222.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ge.com) is one of the world’s largest manufacturers. It makes equipment for generating and distributing electricity, such as turbines; aircraft engines; health care equipment; home appliances and lighting; and locomotives. To cut the risk of further losses following the 2008 / 2009 financial crisis, the company continues to scale back its GE Capital subsidiary, which provides loans and other financial services to GE’s customers. This business now accounts for 31% of GE’s overall revenue and 45% of its earnings....

GOOGLE INC., $681.79, Nasdaq symbol GOOG, reported lower-than-expected earnings this week, mainly due to higher costs following its acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility in May 2012. The company is also earning less per online ad. These factors caused the stock to fall 8%. In the three months ended September 30, 2012, earnings fell 20.3%, to $2.2 billion, or $6.53 a share. It earned $2.7 billion, or $8.33 a share, a year earlier. If you exclude costs to integrate Motorola and other unusual items, earnings per share would have fallen 7.1%, to $9.03 from $9.72. That missed the consensus estimate of $10.63 a share. Revenue in the quarter jumped 45.1%, to $14.1 billion from $9.7 billion. Motorola accounted for 59% of the increase....

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $78 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 911.8 million; Market cap: $71.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.utc.com) has six main businesses: Pratt & Whitney (aircraft engines); Otis (elevators); Carrier (heating and air-conditioning equipment); UTC Fire & Security (burglar alarms and fire-protection services); Sikorsky (helicopters); and Hamilton Sundstrand (aircraft controls).

In July 2012, the company completed its $18.4- billion acquisition of North Carolina-based Goodrich Corp., which makes aircraft parts, including landing gear, wheels and brakes.

Meanwhile, United Technologies earned $1.25 bil- lion in the three months ended September 30, 2012. That’s down 3.3% from $1.3 billion a year earlier. Because of more shares outstanding, earnings per share fell 4.2%, to $1.37 from $1.43.

...

Most stock markets have risen lately. But as always, they 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. ETF’s trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You must pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs, but their low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds....

APPLE INC., $585.16, Nasdaq symbol AAPL, fell 3% this week after the company reported lower-than-expected revenue and earnings. That’s mainly because it will probably launch a new version of its hugely popular iPhone smartphone later this year. As a result, demand for the current model is falling. The iPhone now accounts for nearly 50% of Apple’s revenue. In its 2012 third quarter, which ended June 30, 2012, Apple sold 26.0 million iPhones, up 28.0% from 20.3 million a year earlier. However, that’s down 25.8% from the 35.1 million iPhones it sold in the second quarter....

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $123.93 (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 Corp., 3M, Wal-Mart Stores, McDonald’s Corp., Coca-Cola Co., Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies and Boeing. The fund’s expenses are about 0.18% of its assets.

SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy.

...

STANLEY BLACK & DECKER INC., $63.31, New York symbol SWK, is considering selling its consumer-hardware and home-improvement operations. These businesses make bath fixtures and other home accessories under brands such as Baldwin, Kwikset and Price Pfister. Stanley acquired these operations as part of its merger with rival toolmaker Black & Decker Corp. in March 2010. The company could receive $1.5 billion from these sales. That’s equal to 14% of its $10.8-billion market cap. Stanley will probably use the cash to add to its lineup of industrial tools and security devices, including locks, automatic doors and gates....