united technologies
New York symbol UTX, has five main businesses: Carrier makes heating and air conditioning equipment; Otis makes and services elevators; Pratt & Whitney makes aircraft engines; Flight Systems makes helicopters and aircraft controls; and UTC Fire & Security provides security and fire protection services.
UNITED TECHNOLOGIES LTD. $62 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; WSSF Rating: Above average) operates in two main fields. Its aerospace businesses include Pratt & Whitney (aircraft engines), Sikorsky (helicopters) and Hamilton Sundstrand (aircraft electronics). These operations supply about 40% of the company’s revenue, and 45% of its profit. It also supplies building equipment and services, which include Carrier (heating and air conditioning), Otis (elevators) and UTC Fire & Security (which provides sprinkler systems, intruder alarms and security services under the Chubb and Kidde banners)....
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....