Filed under: Before the bell, Google (GOOG), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Blockbuster Inc ‘A’ (BBI), Campbell Soup (CPB)

Main market news here: Before the bell: Futures fall on funds’ suspension

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is testing a feature that will display comments from figures in the news alongside any stories featuring them.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JJ) is suing the American Red Cross, seeking to stop Red Cross’ business partners from using the cross emblem on first aid products sold to the public.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) both lowered their sales forecasts for the auto industry Wednesday, saying rising fuel prices and credit market weakness had softened the automobile market.

Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) has acquired Movielink LLC, an online film download service owned and operated by six major movie studios.

Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) said Thursday that it may sell off its money-making Godiva Chocalatier business because the decadent sweets don’t fit with its focus on healther foods.

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Filed under: Launches, Consumer experience, Newspapers, Google (GOOG)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will allow people mentioned in Google news stories to post comments about the content. The reactions will be posted next to the content. Google News includes 4,500 English-language news sources.

According to The Wall Street Journal: “One key issue concerns who Google allows to comment on a given story and how it authenticates their identities.”

Allowing sources for news stories and reporters to comment on articles seems like a fairly good idea at first blush, but on second thought is is probably an awful idea. Google says it will try to check the identifies of sources, but for tens of thousands of stories each day from 4,500 news organizations, that would appear to be as hard as searching for pirated content on YouTube. In other words, it can’t be done.

Google’s news response mechanism is likely to take on all of the bad aspects of message boards with people who have old agendas leaving anonymous comments that may be false or inflammatory. The idea is very different from letters to the editor sections where a very few responses can be checked accurately.

It sounds like a train wreck in the making.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St. He was editor-in-chief and publisher of Financial World Magazine.

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Filed under: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)

It’s a big deal whenever Warren Buffett so much as sneezes, and this morning was no different. Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE: BRK.A) decision to boost its stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) made the expected splash, and up went Burlington’s stock 3%.

Back in April, Berkshire disclosed an 11% stake in Burlington, and then in May it announced investments in two other railroads: Norfolk Southern Corp (NYSE: NSC) and Union Pacific Corp (NYSE: UNP). Buffett clearly sees value in riding the railroads.

Then today came Berkshire’s disclose that it had raised its stake from August 3 through August 7 to 11.5% from 11% — which, while not exactly earth shaking, is a strong indicator that Buffett sees the recent price weakness enveloping the market as a buying opportunity. Usually when the “oracle” Mr. Buffett sees something, it is worth paying attention.

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Filed under: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)

It’s a big deal whenever Warren Buffett so much as sneezes, and this morning was no different. Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE: BRK.A) decision to boost its stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) made the expected splash, and up went Burlington’s stock 3%.

Back in April, Berkshire disclosed an 11% stake in Burlington, and then in May it announced investments in two other railroads: Norfolk Southern Corp (NYSE: NSC) and Union Pacific Corp (NYSE: UNP). Buffett clearly sees value in riding the railroads.

Then today came Berkshire’s disclose that it had raised its stake from August 3 through August 7 to 11.5% from 11% — which, while not exactly earth shaking, is a strong indicator that Buffett sees the recent price weakness enveloping the market as a buying opportunity. Usually when the “oracle” Mr. Buffett sees something, it is worth paying attention.

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Filed under: Google (GOOG)

It’s tough to get a feel for the status of the government-sponsored WiFi project in San Francisco.

Interestingly enough, the city has actually submitted a ballot that asks: do you want free wireless access?

Hmmm……

As far as I know, Earthlink (NASDAQ: ELNK) is going to provide the infrastructure. There is also supposed to be advertising monetization from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).

To get some insight on the matter, I interviewed Craig Settles, who is the author of Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless:

“First, asking people if they want free wireless in a measure that has no binding power is like asking a room full of 17-year old guys if they’d like a date with Angelina Jolie. Not only are you wasting resources asking a question with an obvious result, you’re pandering to a desire for something not likely to happen.

“The upside to this exercise is that the resulting publicity should deep-six this fantasy of the ‘free’ muni network in whatever pockets of America that still believe. This is a good thing. Almost every article that covers this election is going to point out that vendors in the industry have decidedly turned thumbs down on freebies.

“What you should see happening as a result is that cities will start to seriously look at viable business models, if they aren’t doing so already. With luck, they’ll look at San Francisco’s 3-year ordeal and learn some lessons on how to avoid a similar fate. Since Philadelphia is slowly coming online with its network and low income folks there are receiving bundles with hardware, training and highspeed access, EarthLink would do well to trumpet this success story at every opportunity to counter the painful experience with San Francisco.”

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

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Filed under: Google (GOOG)

It’s tough to get a feel for the status of the government-sponsored WiFi project in San Francisco.

Interestingly enough, the city has actually submitted a ballot that asks: do you want free wireless access?

Hmmm……

As far as I know, Earthlink (NASDAQ: ELNK) is going to provide the infrastructure. There is also supposed to be advertising monetization from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).

To get some insight on the matter, I interviewed Craig Settles, who is the author of Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless:

“First, asking people if they want free wireless in a measure that has no binding power is like asking a room full of 17-year old guys if they’d like a date with Angelina Jolie. Not only are you wasting resources asking a question with an obvious result, you’re pandering to a desire for something not likely to happen.

“The upside to this exercise is that the resulting publicity should deep-six this fantasy of the ‘free’ muni network in whatever pockets of America that still believe. This is a good thing. Almost every article that covers this election is going to point out that vendors in the industry have decidedly turned thumbs down on freebies.

“What you should see happening as a result is that cities will start to seriously look at viable business models, if they aren’t doing so already. With luck, they’ll look at San Francisco’s 3-year ordeal and learn some lessons on how to avoid a similar fate. Since Philadelphia is slowly coming online with its network and low income folks there are receiving bundles with hardware, training and highspeed access, EarthLink would do well to trumpet this success story at every opportunity to counter the painful experience with San Francisco.”

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

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Filed under: Good news, Apple Inc (AAPL), Pfizer (PFE), Next big thing, electronics

I bring an interesting tidbit for those who are involved in alternate energy source investment. This concept may actually turn into the world’s greatest scientific discovery in the realm of energizing consumer devices. It would appear that an exciting development has been made that claims to harvest usable electrical energy from the operating temperature of the human body. This energy is created by utilizing the difference in temperature between the body and the surrounding ambient temperature. The technology is called the principle of thermoelectricity generators (TEG), and it seems to have incredible potential.

Imagine for instance if Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) could make available a dynamic blood sugar monitor that would give a diabetic patient a constant blood sugar readout simply by being put in contact with the body and would never require a battery change. Could I interest you in a wrist watch that uses you as its power source? How about a battery free iPhone, might that pique your curiosity? Has it already aroused the curiosity of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)?

Scientists are focusing their efforts on bringing this technology more to the forefront. They have successfully harnessed an electrical current of 200 millivolts from human thermoelectricity, but they came up against a problem with that. Given the fact that many of today’s gadgets require between 1 to 2 volts for operation, 200 millivolts is not about to do the job. That is, of course, unless you create new types of circuitry that will operate at such low voltages. Creating that lower voltage circuitry, which can be energized with as little as 50 millivolts, has reportedly been accomplished. It might be time to cut loose some of those investments in battery manufacturers.

Peter Spies, manager of this sub-project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits stated, “We combined a number of components in a completely new way to create circuits that can operate on 200 millivolts. This has enabled us to build entire electronic systems that do not require an internal battery, but which draw their energy from body heat alone.”

Some scientists are convinced that thermoelectrical power generation is the way of the future. It is said that the greater the difference in temperature, the greater the voltage that can be generated. The concept not only applies to human body heat but can be utilized in any situation where a disparity of temperatures exists between surfaces or between a surface and the surrounding ambient temperature.

How soon will it be possible for us to not only conceive of, design, and build spectacular gadgets, but to also power them by our own individual electricity? Science is saying that day could come very soon. If you don’t think this concept will someday be manufacturing reality, might I remind you that not so long ago computers weighed several tons and took up entire rooms. That’s food for thought my friends.

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Filed under: Good news, Apple Inc (AAPL), Pfizer (PFE), Next big thing, electronics

I bring an interesting tidbit for those who are involved in alternate energy source investment. This concept may actually turn into the world’s greatest scientific discovery in the realm of energizing consumer devices. It would appear that an exciting development has been made that claims to harvest usable electrical energy from the operating temperature of the human body. This energy is created by utilizing the difference in temperature between the body and the surrounding ambient temperature. The technology is called the principle of thermoelectricity generators (TEG), and it seems to have incredible potential.

Imagine for instance if Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) could make available a dynamic blood sugar monitor that would give a diabetic patient a constant blood sugar readout simply by being put in contact with the body and would never require a battery change. Could I interest you in a wrist watch that uses you as its power source? How about a battery free iPhone, might that pique your curiosity? Has it already aroused the curiosity of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)?

Scientists are focusing their efforts on bringing this technology more to the forefront. They have successfully harnessed an electrical current of 200 millivolts from human thermoelectricity, but they came up against a problem with that. Given the fact that many of today’s gadgets require between 1 to 2 volts for operation, 200 millivolts is not about to do the job. That is, of course, unless you create new types of circuitry that will operate at such low voltages. Creating that lower voltage circuitry, which can be energized with as little as 50 millivolts, has reportedly been accomplished. It might be time to cut loose some of those investments in battery manufacturers.

Peter Spies, manager of this sub-project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits stated, “We combined a number of components in a completely new way to create circuits that can operate on 200 millivolts. This has enabled us to build entire electronic systems that do not require an internal battery, but which draw their energy from body heat alone.”

Some scientists are convinced that thermoelectrical power generation is the way of the future. It is said that the greater the difference in temperature, the greater the voltage that can be generated. The concept not only applies to human body heat but can be utilized in any situation where a disparity of temperatures exists between surfaces or between a surface and the surrounding ambient temperature.

How soon will it be possible for us to not only conceive of, design, and build spectacular gadgets, but to also power them by our own individual electricity? Science is saying that day could come very soon. If you don’t think this concept will someday be manufacturing reality, might I remind you that not so long ago computers weighed several tons and took up entire rooms. That’s food for thought my friends.

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Filed under: International markets, Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Forecasts, Rants and raves, Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Time Warner (TWX), Home Depot (HD), China, Indices, Halliburton (HAL), Altria Group (MO), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Duke Energy (DUK), Dow Chemical (DOW), Top Picks 2007, Valero Energy (VLO), PetroChina Co Ltd ADR (PTR), Huaneng Power Intl ADS (HNP), iPhone, Level 3 Communications (LVLT), Kraft Foods’A’ (KFT), Chasing Value, S and P 500, DJIA, Rite Aid Corp (RAD), Savient Pharmaceuticals (SVNT)

July started off so promising and ended in the dumps. After the DJIA triumphantly closed above 14,000 it beat a hasty retreat scared off by a tumbling housing market, continued worries about sub-prime loans, record highs in oil prices, continued turmoil in Iraq and perhaps a dose of summer vacationitus. In addition, market darlings Apple and Google exited the month with a few unanswered questions. Nothing could be more telling than people speculating about a Dow 15,000…16,000…17,000 the moment it passed the 14,000 mark. And silly guy that I am…thoughts of repeating my 29% 2006 return entered my mind when I reached a 24% IRR earlier. That no longer looks like a possibility although I’m still doing fine - so far.

The month of July started off about stock picking and finished about stock picking as James Cramer of TheStreet.com would support. However, among the good picks were plenty of bad ones and anything remotely associated with housing, and sub-prime loans paid a heavy price by month end. Google maintained its leadership but did take a dive after reporting earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) set so many new highs that it is not news anymore, but then there was news, most of it bad enough to put doubt in investors minds, and the market traded down. Earnings reports still trickle in but nothing major unexpected affected the market. Mergers and acquisitions are showing some signs of slowing, but deals are getting done. This is my seventh follow-up report. For reference, check out my original Dec. 28, 2006 post on this topic.

Although the DJIA has been the market leader among the indices and may indicate that investors are giving large cap stocks their due, it has retreated lately. It also may indicate that the global economy is doing better as a whole than the national economy, creating opportunity for the multi-national corporations.

Summary of Results:

• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has made a strong move upward since my last report after starting up in January, being down for a while and back up. The last month has been more erratic but it did finish at $510.00, giving it a very respectable +10.26% gain though seven months of the year holding on to the top spot.
• My picks continued strong in the early part of the month then headed south managing a 5.41% gain through July. Adding the dividend portion of (2.89% x .58) of 1.68% brings the total return to +7.09%. Clearly dividends help and are making a noticeable difference when the returns are modest. Last month PetroChina Co. (NYSE: PTR) continued to hold up but Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) which stayed my best over all pick did give back over 20% of it’s gain. My other Chinese stock Huaneng Power International ADS (NYSE: HNP)remained a big gainer and slightly contracting from a 29% gain to just over 24%.
• Jim Cramer’s average return on his nine picks was 5.63% after seven months dropping this month because of his optimism about the over all markets and weighting his portfolio accordingly. Adding the dividend portion (.66% x .58) of 0.38% brings Cramer’s gain to +6.01%. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) continued to shine with the release the iPhone on June 29. There does not seem to be much that Apple can do wrong this year. Given new product and software launches and the continuation of current products and programs there is every reason to believe 2007 should be another one for the record books.
• The Indices all gave something back in July, with the DJIA, NASDAQ and S&P shrinking they still pegged gains on average of +4.2.%. Adding its portion of the dividend yield (1.8% x .58) of 1.04% brings it up to a total gain of +5.31% which if matched in the second half of 2007 would be a decent but probably disappointing year. The over all market seems to be losing out this year to the stock pickers.

Note that portional dividends have been added to the results. This is one of the criteria I use in my stock picks and it is having an impact on the results thus far. Only three of Cramer’s picks pay dividends averaging about .66%; the Indices pay a higher average of 1.8%; my picks average still higher at about 2.89%; and Google does not pay a dividend. The flatter the market is this year the more the dividends will be a factor.

Google has not been the brightest star (or stock) this year wavering at times as more speculative stocks do, but it was the best bet last month and is this month as well. I still maintain that Value will beat Growth and ‘indexing over the long run. Google will be the wild card! Two of my picks continue to be mentioned as buyout candidates but the rhetoric has died down considerably; The Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) and The Home Depot (NYSE: HD). Home Depot continues to receive the most negative discussion in business circles these days although now the sub-prime loan mess is stealing headline space on a daily basis.

The following are the closing prices as of December 28, 2006 and seven month returns for the seven stocks I recommended plus the addition of Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE) that was spun out of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK). Among Cramer’s picks Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) which was spun out of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO), is included in the calculations

1. The Dow Chemical Company: $40.02 is UP to 43.48 (+8.65%) 3.54% yield
2. Duke Energy: $33.02 (incl. of Spectra Energry (NYSE: SE)) is Down to 29.82 (-9.69%) 4.31 yield
3. The Home Depot Inc.: $39.73 is Down to $37.17 (-6.44%) 2.31% yield
4. Huaneng Power International ADS: $36 is UP to $44.78 (+24.39%) 3.62% yield
5. PetroChina ADR: $142.12 is Up to 147.26 (+3.6%) 4.5% yield
6. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) $22.00 is Down to $19.26 (-12.45%) 1.1% yield
7. Valero Energy: $51.61 is UP to $67.01 (+29.84%) 0.84% yield

The following index comparisons are also from December 28, 2006 :

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12,501.52 is Up to 13,211.99 (+5.68%)
• NASDAQ Composite Index: 2,425.57 is Up to 2,546.27 (+4.98%)
• Standard & Poors 500 Index ($INX): 1,424.73 is Up to 1,455.27 (+2.14%)

The Cramer Speculative Stocks for 2007:

1) Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) $5.66 is Down to $5.23 (-7.6%) No dividend
2) Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) $5.49 is even to $5.51 (+.0036%) No dividend
3) Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SVNT) $12.01 is Down to $11.84. (-1.42%) No dividend

The Cramer Growth Picks are:
1) New York Stock Exchange Group (NYSE: NYX) $97.51 Down to $77.02 (-21.01%) No dividend
2) Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) $80.87 UP to $131.76 (+62.93%) No dividend
3) Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) $27.42 Up to $28.91 (+5.43%) No dividend

The Cramer Value Picks are:
1) Altria Group (NYSE: MO) $86.23 UP to $66.47 +(Kraft at .692024 x $32.75 = 22.66) to $89.13 (+3.36%) 4.12% Yield
2) Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) $200.80 Down to $188.34 (-6.21%) .72% yield
3) Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) $31.26 UP to $36.02 (+15.23%) .97% Yield

The New Powerhouse Google

Wall Street darling Google is being tracked since it is of broad interest to the investing public and internet users alike. Google closed December 28, 2006 at $462.56. After an early rise in January it slid and was trading in a range between $440 to $480 but May was a breakout month and continued strong into June, lifting the trading range considerably and closing the month at $522.70. In July Google hit another all time high of $558.58 however a 3 cent earnings miss followed (based on analysts expectations) knocking the wind our of it’s sails, sending it down about 10%. Since then it has found support at around $500 per share and ending the month at $510.00. for a solid YTD gain of (+10.26%). Google does not pay a dividend.

I will be reporting again during the week following the closing stock prices each month.

Disclosure: I own shares of DUK, HNP, PTR, SE, TWX, and VLO.

Those of you who are new to Bloggingstocks can check out my other stories and read Chasing Value or Serious Money to find more potential opportunities and verify my track record as well, including the stinkers.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the vice president for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. Check out his other posts for BloggingStocks here.

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Filed under: International markets, Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Forecasts, Rants and raves, Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Time Warner (TWX), Home Depot (HD), China, Indices, Halliburton (HAL), Altria Group (MO), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Duke Energy (DUK), Dow Chemical (DOW), Top Picks 2007, Valero Energy (VLO), PetroChina Co Ltd ADR (PTR), Huaneng Power Intl ADS (HNP), iPhone, Level 3 Communications (LVLT), Kraft Foods’A’ (KFT), Chasing Value, S and P 500, DJIA, Rite Aid Corp (RAD), Savient Pharmaceuticals (SVNT)

July started off so promising and ended in the dumps. After the DJIA triumphantly closed above 14,000 it beat a hasty retreat scared off by a tumbling housing market, continued worries about sub-prime loans, record highs in oil prices, continued turmoil in Iraq and perhaps a dose of summer vacationitus. In addition, market darlings Apple and Google exited the month with a few unanswered questions. Nothing could be more telling than people speculating about a Dow 15,000…16,000…17,000 the moment it passed the 14,000 mark. And silly guy that I am…thoughts of repeating my 29% 2006 return entered my mind when I reached a 24% IRR earlier. That no longer looks like a possibility although I’m still doing fine - so far.

The month of July started off about stock picking and finished about stock picking as James Cramer of TheStreet.com would support. However, among the good picks were plenty of bad ones and anything remotely associated with housing, and sub-prime loans paid a heavy price by month end. Google maintained its leadership but did take a dive after reporting earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) set so many new highs that it is not news anymore, but then there was news, most of it bad enough to put doubt in investors minds, and the market traded down. Earnings reports still trickle in but nothing major unexpected affected the market. Mergers and acquisitions are showing some signs of slowing, but deals are getting done. This is my seventh follow-up report. For reference, check out my original Dec. 28, 2006 post on this topic.

Although the DJIA has been the market leader among the indices and may indicate that investors are giving large cap stocks their due, it has retreated lately. It also may indicate that the global economy is doing better as a whole than the national economy, creating opportunity for the multi-national corporations.

Summary of Results:

• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has made a strong move upward since my last report after starting up in January, being down for a while and back up. The last month has been more erratic but it did finish at $510.00, giving it a very respectable +10.26% gain though seven months of the year holding on to the top spot.
• My picks continued strong in the early part of the month then headed south managing a 5.41% gain through July. Adding the dividend portion of (2.89% x .58) of 1.68% brings the total return to +7.09%. Clearly dividends help and are making a noticeable difference when the returns are modest. Last month PetroChina Co. (NYSE: PTR) continued to hold up but Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) which stayed my best over all pick did give back over 20% of it’s gain. My other Chinese stock Huaneng Power International ADS (NYSE: HNP)remained a big gainer and slightly contracting from a 29% gain to just over 24%.
• Jim Cramer’s average return on his nine picks was 5.63% after seven months dropping this month because of his optimism about the over all markets and weighting his portfolio accordingly. Adding the dividend portion (.66% x .58) of 0.38% brings Cramer’s gain to +6.01%. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) continued to shine with the release the iPhone on June 29. There does not seem to be much that Apple can do wrong this year. Given new product and software launches and the continuation of current products and programs there is every reason to believe 2007 should be another one for the record books.
• The Indices all gave something back in July, with the DJIA, NASDAQ and S&P shrinking they still pegged gains on average of +4.2.%. Adding its portion of the dividend yield (1.8% x .58) of 1.04% brings it up to a total gain of +5.31% which if matched in the second half of 2007 would be a decent but probably disappointing year. The over all market seems to be losing out this year to the stock pickers.

Note that portional dividends have been added to the results. This is one of the criteria I use in my stock picks and it is having an impact on the results thus far. Only three of Cramer’s picks pay dividends averaging about .66%; the Indices pay a higher average of 1.8%; my picks average still higher at about 2.89%; and Google does not pay a dividend. The flatter the market is this year the more the dividends will be a factor.

Google has not been the brightest star (or stock) this year wavering at times as more speculative stocks do, but it was the best bet last month and is this month as well. I still maintain that Value will beat Growth and ‘indexing over the long run. Google will be the wild card! Two of my picks continue to be mentioned as buyout candidates but the rhetoric has died down considerably; The Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) and The Home Depot (NYSE: HD). Home Depot continues to receive the most negative discussion in business circles these days although now the sub-prime loan mess is stealing headline space on a daily basis.

The following are the closing prices as of December 28, 2006 and seven month returns for the seven stocks I recommended plus the addition of Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE) that was spun out of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK). Among Cramer’s picks Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) which was spun out of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO), is included in the calculations

1. The Dow Chemical Company: $40.02 is UP to 43.48 (+8.65%) 3.54% yield
2. Duke Energy: $33.02 (incl. of Spectra Energry (NYSE: SE)) is Down to 29.82 (-9.69%) 4.31 yield
3. The Home Depot Inc.: $39.73 is Down to $37.17 (-6.44%) 2.31% yield
4. Huaneng Power International ADS: $36 is UP to $44.78 (+24.39%) 3.62% yield
5. PetroChina ADR: $142.12 is Up to 147.26 (+3.6%) 4.5% yield
6. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) $22.00 is Down to $19.26 (-12.45%) 1.1% yield
7. Valero Energy: $51.61 is UP to $67.01 (+29.84%) 0.84% yield

The following index comparisons are also from December 28, 2006 :

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12,501.52 is Up to 13,211.99 (+5.68%)
• NASDAQ Composite Index: 2,425.57 is Up to 2,546.27 (+4.98%)
• Standard & Poors 500 Index ($INX): 1,424.73 is Up to 1,455.27 (+2.14%)

The Cramer Speculative Stocks for 2007:

1) Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) $5.66 is Down to $5.23 (-7.6%) No dividend
2) Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) $5.49 is even to $5.51 (+.0036%) No dividend
3) Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SVNT) $12.01 is Down to $11.84. (-1.42%) No dividend

The Cramer Growth Picks are:
1) New York Stock Exchange Group (NYSE: NYX) $97.51 Down to $77.02 (-21.01%) No dividend
2) Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) $80.87 UP to $131.76 (+62.93%) No dividend
3) Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) $27.42 Up to $28.91 (+5.43%) No dividend

The Cramer Value Picks are:
1) Altria Group (NYSE: MO) $86.23 UP to $66.47 +(Kraft at .692024 x $32.75 = 22.66) to $89.13 (+3.36%) 4.12% Yield
2) Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) $200.80 Down to $188.34 (-6.21%) .72% yield
3) Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) $31.26 UP to $36.02 (+15.23%) .97% Yield

The New Powerhouse Google

Wall Street darling Google is being tracked since it is of broad interest to the investing public and internet users alike. Google closed December 28, 2006 at $462.56. After an early rise in January it slid and was trading in a range between $440 to $480 but May was a breakout month and continued strong into June, lifting the trading range considerably and closing the month at $522.70. In July Google hit another all time high of $558.58 however a 3 cent earnings miss followed (based on analysts expectations) knocking the wind our of it’s sails, sending it down about 10%. Since then it has found support at around $500 per share and ending the month at $510.00. for a solid YTD gain of (+10.26%). Google does not pay a dividend.

I will be reporting again during the week following the closing stock prices each month.

Disclosure: I own shares of DUK, HNP, PTR, SE, TWX, and VLO.

Those of you who are new to Bloggingstocks can check out my other stories and read Chasing Value or Serious Money to find more potential opportunities and verify my track record as well, including the stinkers.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the vice president for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. Check out his other posts for BloggingStocks here.

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