Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014

Blue chip stocks edged lower for the second consecutive session amid mixed results from the Black Friday holiday shopping weekend and investors looked ahead cautiously at Friday�� jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 77.6 points, or 0.5%, to end at 16,008.7. On Friday, the Dow fell 11 points, snapping a five-session streak of record-high closes.

The S&P 500 index lost nearly five points, or 0.27% to close at 1,800.9. The Nasdaq Composite Index discarded 14.6 points, or 0.36%, to close at 4,045.26.

Stocks suffered despite a series of reports showing a pickup in manufacturing. In fact, the Institute for Supply Management surprised the market when it said manufacturing activity gained momentum in November. Economists had expected a decline.

On the surface, that�� the kind of news that bolsters investor confidence. Instead, it stoked worries that the Federal Reserve will soon begin scaling back its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program credited with driving the 2013 stock market rally.

Best Transportation Stocks To Watch For 2015: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) has experienced more than impressive growth in both its share price and its profits in the past four years. Lately its gains have petered out. The problem is that much of that growth has come from a few countries in Asia, and if one analyst report is accurate, there will be little to no growth from those areas ahead. Nomura Securities is downgrading Philip Morris to a Reduce rating from Neutral, but for all practical purposes it is a Sell rating. The firm’s $76 price target suggests downside of more than $10 ahead.

• [By Editor , Dividend Growth Investor]

  Philip Morris� (PM), through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes and other tobacco products. This dividend machine has rewarded shareholders with a dividend increase since being spun-offs from Altria Group (MO) in 2008.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The name change reflected the company's wish to have consumers and investors see beyond its tobacco business, which at the time was plagued by more substantial legal battles with billions in potential liability hanging in the balance. Shareholders approved the name change in 2002. The irony, of course, is that Altria has since spun off both Kraft and its Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) global tobacco divisions, leaving Altria holding the old core Philip Morris USA division.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  McDonald's� (NYSE: MCD  ) �is one of the big laggards, dropping 1.2% on continued pressure after weak same-store sales numbers. Global same-store sales dropped 0.6% on weakness in Asia. The drop in sales was short-term in nature because of the avian flu concerns in China so I would see the drop as an opportunity to buy. The stock has just a 16 forward P/E ratio and pays a 3% dividend so investors are getting a solid value right now.�

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: Apple Inc.(AAPL)

Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Bleeker, CFA]

  The following slideshow looks at Nintendo's current predicament and the pros and cons of the company moving some of its classic games and franchises to new sales channels like�Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) App Store. With over 50 billion downloads, that's a huge opportunity. However, Nintendo also fears releasing games on the app store could endanger its strength in mobile gaming. With the DS having shipped more than 150 million units, that's a very real concern.�

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  Over the past year, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) have traded places in the minds of many investors. A year ago, Apple was a Wall Street darling that was nearing its all-time high above $700, with many analysts predicting a run to $1,000 or higher. Meanwhile, Netflix stock was down in the dumps, trading for as little as $53 -- a far cry from its all-time high of more than $300 in 2011.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Getty Images Depending on your personal investing philosophy, risk profile, strategy, and a host of external factors, there's a long list of traits you could put on your checklist for what makes a stock right for your portfolio. And then there are the exceptions -- companies that, for good reason, fall outside of the parameters you've set, but that you can't help thinking are a "good investment" But picking a good investment doesn't always have to be so complex. You can use simpler screen -- a checklist of just a few traits that are universally good markers of an appealing long-term holding. Here are three key traits that will key you in to a good investment, regardless of the company's sector, whether it's considered a growth or value stock, or even whether it's a market favorite or a pariah. 1. A brand that's synonymous with the product Technology companies largely rely on human capital for their ongoing competitiveness. Needless to say, people are highly unpredictable assets that can, and do, change quickly. So, products with an Apple logo will only stay popular so long as the mechanics and technology created by its people are cutting-edge. In other words, it's the talent that made Apple (AAPL) what it is today. And in order to remain great, Apple needs to retain its best people and be better than its competitors in acquiring the top minds in its industry. That's why, despite the company's incredible growth and ability to shape the future of multiple industries, Apple will never be as sound an investment as, say, Coca-Cola (KO). Sure, Coca-Cola has an amazing manufacturing and distribution system, along with a super-secret formula to make its signature soft drink. But its true beauty as a company, a brand, and an investment, is that it has taken the simplest of ingredients and through brilliant branding turned its core product into one of the biggest, most recognizable brand names in the world (actually, the third biggest, according to Interbrand's 2013

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: Visa Inc.(V)

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  What we would first refer you to is our prediction of the six major dividend hikes before the end of 2013. Then we would focus on Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) as well, even if it was not included in our recent dividend hike predictions. Frankly, it should have been obvious but for some reason was not.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  This will be a ��ow-a-day��week of quarterly results with Merck & Co. (MRK) �on Monday, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) �on Tuesday, Visa Inc. (V) �on Wednesday, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) �on Thursday, and Chevron Corp. (CVX) �on Friday.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  A week of calm turned stormy for the major stock indexes, as American Express (AXP),�Boeing�(BA), Visa (V), Noble Corp. (NE) and Johnson Controls (JCI) tumbled.