Updating Barnes & Noble Inc., Intel Corp., McKesson Corp. and The Stanley Works

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BARNES & NOBLE INC. $34 (New York symbol BKS; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; WSSF Rating: Average) fell 5% after an investor sued it, alleging the company improperly issued stock options to its top executives. The SEC is now conducting an informal probe into Barnes & Noble’s stock options policy and procedures. We’ll have more to say as information becomes available. For now, we see the stock as a buy. INTEL CORP. $18 (Nasdaq symbol INTC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; WSSF Rating: Above average) plans to invest $600 million in Clearwire Corp., which specializes in high-speed wireless data networks. The price is equal to 68% of the $885 million or $0.15 a share that Intel earned in the second quarter of 2006. Intel feels this purchase will help speed up the development of chips that will make it easier for portable computer users to access the Internet. It hopes that its technology will become an industry standard for highspeed wireless…