Articles are promoting the idea that a split of $500 Apple (AAPL) stock and $600 Google (GOOG) stock could unleash buying by individual investors. The logic is that owning 10 shares of a $500 stock is unacceptable to many, but they would happily buy if they could acquire 100 shares at $50.

Although that rationale is usually incorrect, Apple and Google represent a special case. With lower-priced stock, each company could be added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and that would be rewarding to shareholders. Here’s the story…

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The press and pundits are wrestling with the “Is it or isn’t it?” question of whether U.S. stocks are in a bull market. But that isn’t the question that matters. Rather, it’s “What type of bull market are stocks in?”

We know that the economic indicators have improved across the board and that mega-fears have evaporated. With these risk factors dissipating, the current good earnings season has provided the impetus for the stock market’s rise. However, there is more going on beneath the index returns.

The return opportunity is moving to non-blue chip stocks…

This article is posted on SeekingAlpha.com

The Wall Street Journal described the excitement surrounding Microsoft’s (MSFT) next “growth” product: Windows 8! It is a highlight of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show.

However, while looking at the photo of smiling CEO Ballmer with Intel (INTC) CEO Otellini, I was hit with déjà vu visions of the Pennsylvania Railroad, U.S. Steel (X), General Motors (GM) and Kodak (EK). Like Microsoft, each company once controlled its industry in size, wealth and influence. Then, each came tumbling down.

This article is posted on SeekingAlpha.com

Buy-and-hold investing carries a wonderful vision:

Find a successful company
Buy the company’s stock
Sit back, relax, and watch the money grow

The problem is that most successful companies peter out, either meandering around some plateau, producing no return — or, worse, falling back with mounting losses.

Many events and conditions can cause firms to succeed or fail. A common risk occurs when a technological development occurs. How the company responds can determine whether its future will be filled with success, mediocrity or failure.

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Cerner (CERN) caught my interest last year because of its outstanding stock performance. It is a part of the healthcare field’s modernization developments that focus on coordinating and improving medical care through technology. The company’s growth shows in its results – long-term double-digit percentage gains in both sales and earnings. The outlook for 2012: sales growth of 13+% to $~2.5 billion and earnings growth of 22+% to $2.25 per share.

This article is posted on SeekingAlpha.com

I was doing some Dow Jones index analysis and happened across flaws on a CME Group (CME) website that makes me question management’s skill. The misfit finding is one of those odd facts, like a bad puzzle piece, that doesn’t match the picture of a desirable investment.

This article is posted on SeekingAlpha.com

I recently wrote about U.S. stocks recovering their valuations after this year’s sell-off. However, that doesn’t mean the market’s rise is over. There is another source of gains that is potentially very large. However, to view it, we need to take a contrarian stance.

This article is posted on SeekingAlpha.com

Last month I described a 3-stock Wall Street portfolio that I believed offered a good – and diversified – approach to investing in Wall Street’s activities. However, I’ve had a change of heart and have cut two of the positions.

The three holdings were Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and KKR (KKR). Now, the one holding is KKR.

This article is posted on SeekingAlpha.com

The 3rd quarter earnings report season is about over, allowing analysts and investors to incorporate both the company results and outlooks into their thinking. On Monday we examined the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) overall. Today we will see how individual firms have fared.

This article is posted on SeekingAlpha.com