Exxon, Chevron: The cure for your gas pump blues

If you're like me, you don't like paying north of $3 bucks a gallon for gas. What's a driver to do? Buy energy company stocks, like Exxon or Chevron! Both pay a decent dividend, and Exxon reported big earnings today, as did Chevron Friday. Exxon was up $1.69 to $80.68 today, and Chevron was up $1.56 to $94.93 after a bit of profit-taking Friday. They were the #2 & 4 rising stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Alcoa and IBM were #1 & 3, respectively).

When you curse the extra $5 bucks it takes to fill your tank, just think of the $72 dividend Chevron is going to give you in a couple of months, and all your troubles will go away....

Now, it's time for me to enjoy the cure for sitting at the computer all day; I'm getting a massage. Ciao!

State of the Union...Up, Up, Up

Walmart climbed $1.23 today to $57.26, close to our target of $58. Maybe this strength is in response to the rise of the dollar today. Also getting some good press from Michelle Obama's initiatives on healthy eating.

Chevron holding steady at $94.08. Gotta think it's ready for some "back-filling", a good opportunity to buy some more. Heck, if I'm gonna pay $3.50 a gallon at the pump, I'm gonna want Chevron to at least lay some of that $72 dollars-a-quarter dividend on me.

Coke steady at $62.96 after a minor correction. Positioned well for any "flight to quality" buying should the market correct.

Looking for a correction in February/March...have your puts in place.

Now it's time to listen to the President...the state of the union is indeed strong....huah! huah!

Hu's in Town? Let's Go to Walmart!

Chinese President Hu Jintao came to Chicago today & met Mayor Daley. Maybe Da Mayor tried some Mandarin on him; God knows the President wouldn't have been able to understand any English coming from Daley.

Speaking of China, how bout dat Walmart! Was up over a buck today for a while. We're long, looking at a target of $58; it closed at penny shy of $56 today.

Chevron and Coke are experiencing some profit-taking. We're looking for them to rise into the inevitable February/March correction.

I mean, come on, does anyone expect this Bull rally to last much longer? I give it 2 to 4 weeks, then, have your puts in place for a hedge.

Liking IShares MSCI Singapore Index (EWS) as a way to get into the Asian market. It's at $13.71 today. Down 16 cents, but the future is bright.

We think gold still has a way to go before it corrects.

Bracing for a sub-zero night here in Chicago.....Go Bears!

You can take my Happy Meal, but Don't Touch my Coke!

San Francisco succeeded in stifling the Happy Meal last week. Will the Nutrition Police curtail Coke and sugary beverages as well? Who knows. For now, Coke is trading at all time highs. Writing covered calls as a hedge doesn't seem doable, since it seems to fade down a few points and then skyrocket again. Up 20% this year...it'll retrace, but for now enjoy the gain.

Chevron still riding the oil boom, up above 84.

Wal-Mart is steady but pretty stagnant. A safe investment, with a decent dividend.

AVII not doing much.

EWS, iShares Singapore, looking good. Up 5% over the last month.

Looking at Iron Mountain. Hasn't done much but there is a real need out there for secure data storage. IRM closed at $22.82 today.

Looking forward to the trip to San Diego Thursday for Kathryn's wedding. Staying at Torrey Pines. Fore!

GE Light Burning Bright

GE broke to the upside last week. It's now trading near $17 a share. GE will release its 3rd quarter earnings Friday. Coca-Cola continues to climb, flirting with the $60 mark. Chevron (CVX) rising as well; it closed at $83.71 today. Walmart (WMT) is holding its own at $54.61. Could the world's biggest retailer challenge its 2010 high of $56.27?

AVI Biopharma has been disappointing; AVII is at $1.85 and going nowhere. I guess there's a reason it's trading below $2 a share. May be time to trade it in for a steady, dividend generating stock like, Hawkins (Chemicals) HWKN (1.56% dividend, stock price $38.48) or Calumet Specialty Products Partnership (CLMT), a pipeline concern (8.86% dividend, stock price $20.34).

Stocks are expected to move after tomorrow's release of the minutes to the Fed's September monetary policy meeting.

Earnings Up, Govt. Data Down, The Roller Coaster Continues

Today actually ended on a positive note, thanks to Chicago Manufacturing Data which saved the day after a disappointing 2.4% rise in GDP for the second quarter (expectations were for a 2.5 to 3% rise). The S&P 500 ended up .01%. Okay, it's only a fraction, but in this market we'll take any good news we can get.

Chevron did not disappoint. Earnings tripled & both sales and earnings smashed through expectations. The stock wallowed in the general market malaise during the day but finally managed a 19¢ gain to $76.21 by day's end.

Gold rebounded after all the dour economic news, but we're hoping this is just a bump in the road for DZZ, the Deutsche Bank Power Shares Gold Double Short ETN. Stay the course.

A good weekend to all! Go out and enjoy life!

KISS YOUR GOLD GOODBYE!

Today gold took a tumble, falling to $1,162/oz. Our favorite DZZ shares soared, closing up 37¢ to $12.15. We've made a nice profit, buying in at the height of the yellow metal's euphoria, when DZZ was at $10.60. Now the quandry: hold on for a year for the long-term capital gains, or get out while the getting's good. Market Edge Second Opinion® just upgraded the ETF to a buy, so we'll hold on for a while. It's gonna be a crazy ride!

IS THERE LIFE IN CURIS?

We took a big hit a couple of weeks ago when this biotech had some disappointing trial results, but we like its partnership with Genentech and we're holding on. May even add some shares at these reduced prices. It closed down 6¢ at $1.74 today.

COKE IS IT!

Despite Charles Schwab's D rating, we like Coke and its just released strong earnings proved us right. It gained another 11¢ today to $55.05. Ned Davis, S&P, Argus & Market Edge all give it their highest rating.

GE BRINGING GOOD SHARES TO LIFE!

GE just upped its dividend 20% and the stock has bounced to $16.18. What's not to like? Ride this one all the way up to $18 and watch the profits roll in.

Well, it's time to enjoy some Shiraz and watch the sun set on this beautiful summer day. Happy investing to all!

LPM