Top Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2014

U.S. blue chips suffered their biggest drop in five weeks recently because the latest round of economic reports are fostering a lot of uncertainty about the prospects for continued global growth.

For most investors, it's been that kind of year.

But I continue to believe that the tech sector - especially here in the U.S. - still has a lot of fuel left in its tank.

Because I know a lot of you folks are concerned, I thought we'd take the time to alleviate some of those fears... and make some money along the way.

And the best way to alleviate fears is to initiate a plan of action.

So that's just what we're going to do.

Today I'm going to show you a strategy that will help you put the odds in your corner.

And I'm even going to give you a tech stock that will get you started.

When you're done reading this, you'll be ready to laugh at the next sell-off.

Beware of the Bears

The volatility we've seen over the last few weeks has many of you feeling like you're on a wild roller-coaster ride - and probably has you thinking about getting off.

Top Chemical Stocks For 2015: 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 Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: MSFT is a member of the S&P 500. The company's peer group includes: Apple Inc. (AAPL) with a 2.5% yield, Oracle Corp. (ORCL) with a 1.5% yield and Google Inc. (GOOG) with a 0.0% yield.

• [By Eric Bleeker, CFA]

  Second, Apple� (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) hired Hulu VP Pete Distad, who will take a key role in securing new content deals for the company. The hiring of Distad shows that Apple is getting more aggressive around securing content for its "TV" hobby.

• [By Roger Conrad]

  Steve Halpern: You recently wrote a pretty controversial article that I'd like to go through regarding Apple (AAPL). You say Apple is a company that you like, but you wouldn't necessarily be buying the stock and you don't recommend it, either for growth, or income investors. Could you explain?

• [By jaggom]

  Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) have been in a battle for a long time. The Cupertino-based organization spent a ton of its $40 billion war chest to cut down Google's Android. Then again, Apple has done well despite stiff rivalry. Its results are presently superior to Google, and the organization is picking up footing with its iphones. Also, with a strong quarterly dividend and a share buyback in the billions, Apple stock is a superior purchase to Google. Give us a chance to examine whether Apple can produce further solid results going ahead.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2014: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Among blue-chip stocks, oil majors have surged higher. ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) shares have jumped 1.2% to rank among the top Dow leaders, and fellow firm Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) has seen its stock rise 1.6%. Chevron got a boost today when a Canadian court turned away a $19 billion Ecuadorian claim against the company that stems from alleged pollution in the 1970s and '80s. While that's one less headache for Chevron, Exxon has run into trouble despite its stock's surge: The company's dealing with a small oil leak in Missouri from the same pipeline that leaked in Arkansas in March. While the spill is minuscule, it's another PR hit for a company that could use some good news.

• [By Charley Blaine]

  Oil prices, in fact, weighed on the Dow. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) reported a 5.8 percent drop in its third-quarter earnings. Shares fell 1.6 percent to $118.01. The decline subtracted 12.5 points from the Dow.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  There are numerous drillers making major investments in the Permian Basin. The list is long, but it includes Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD), Concho Resources (NYSE: CXO), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and Apache (NYSE: APA).

• [By Sara Murphy]

  For example, Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) is embroiled in a take-no-prisoners battle with its shareholders over a $19 billion lawsuit in Ecuador for its pollution of that country's rainforests. Last year, in connection with the Ecuador debacle, more than a third of Chevron's shareholders voted to strip the CEO of his other role as chairman of the board. Investors also continue to propose resolutions requesting greater transparency from Chevron on its decision-making process with regard to entering countries with poor human rights records. These salvos from shareholders are becoming increasingly difficult for companies to ignore.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Moreover, there's no guarantee that an employer will continue offering a cash-balance plan even once it's established. For instance, IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) froze its cash-balance plan five years ago.

• [By Matt Koppenheffer]

  Again, Buffett doesn't just talk the talk here. Buffett wrote in his 2011 letter to Berkshire shareholders that he'd been reading�IBM's (NYSE: IBM  ) annual report for�more than 50 years! Yet he hadn't bought it. But then, suddenly, in 2011 he purchased a massive position for Berkshire because, he says, his "thinking�crystallized." He probably came to understand that IBM has become far more than a race-for-the-latest-innovation technology company and that companies around the world depend on it for comprehensive solutions.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2014: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kashafa Investment Research]

  What works in P&G�� advantage is the fact that the company is already ahead of its peers in the emerging markets. As of 2012, P&G had sales of $33 billion in developing markets as compared to $24 billion for Unilever (UL) and $10 billion for Colgate (CL). This competitive edge over peers will sustain as P&G has product quality, innovation and has a significant marketing budget given its comfortable cash position.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Procter & Gamble have dropped 3.2% during the past 12 months, lagging Unilever’s (UL) 2.5% rise, Colgate-Palmolive’s (CL) 8.7% advance and Kimberly-Clark’s (KMB) 3.1% gain.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Own 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 Jayson Derrick]

  McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) announced Mike Andres will replace Jeff Stratton as the new U.S. chief after Stratton resignation in October. Shares lost 0.08 percent, closing at $94.45.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  We'll hear from a number of the Dow's components this week. First up is McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) , which is scheduled to release results on Monday before the opening bell rings. Wall Street's estimate for earnings per share is $1.40, which will be important for the company to beat, though perhaps it's not the most important detail of the report. This has been a rough year for the fast-food restaurant, which has struggled with beating same-store sales figures. For most investors, that will be what they want to see in the report.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2014: 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 Holly LaFon]

  GuruFocus: You��e buying a lot of global brands, and they all had in common emerging market growth, like Proctor and Gamble (PG), Pepsi (PEP), Philip Morris (PM), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ). Is that was a conscious investment theme or is that a coincidence?

• [By abirk]

  Philip Morris International (PM) is reaching new heights in 2013. With its products being sold in 180 countries it is the proud owner of about 15 cigarette brands- Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, and Chesterfield being some of them. FY2013 looks bright for this tobacco giant. Reasons Why 2013 Is Looking Bright

• [By Holly LaFon]

  A: The stock market is a market of individual stocks that represent fractional ownership interests in real businesses. The key to investment success is first and foremost to identify individual, highly durable businesses and then have the discipline to buy them when prices are attractive and the risk/reward trade-off is compelling. We invest in what we understand, continuing to pour over the universe of businesses within our many circles of competence that meet our management, capital allocation, business model, and valuation criteria. Some areas that we believe offer the greatest opportunity in terms of prospective returns include:

  Global market leaders such as Nike (NKE), Colgate-Palmolive (CL) and Philip Morris International (PM) that are beneficiaries of a growing global middle class and consumer culture. The global wealth effect, particularly in developing economies, is a real and very powerful force that should serve as a tailwind for these types of global brands over the long term. Well-managed financial services companies with true franchise value due to the success of their particular products or brand that have the ability and management prowess to build market share over time in a highly fragmented marketplace. Wells Fargo and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) are representative examples in this category. The depth of the recent financial crisis is well known. What is less understood is that certain market leaders used the downturn to dramatically strengthen their capital base and significantly grow their market share at the expense of weaker competitors. Certain health care-related businesses such as UnitedHealth Group and Laboratory Corporation of America that stand to benefit from growing health care spending by aging populations around the world. Workhorse technology companies such as Texas Instruments (TXN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Google that are market leaders with durable competitive moats and that also offer an attractive risk/reward proposition at
• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Phillip Morris (PM) have been performing about as well as a soggy cigarette–but Morgan Stanley still hopes they will catch fire.

  Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

  How bad has performance of Phillip Morris been? Its shares have dropped 1.9% during the past 12 months, while American-focused Altria Group (MO) has gained 15%. British American Tobacco (BTI) has gained 3%, Reynolds American (RAI) has advanced 14%, and Lorillard (LO) has jumped 26%.

  And now Morgan Stanley’s David Adelman and team have cut their earnings-per-share forecast for Phillip Morris by 11 cents thanks to the strong dollar, after cutting it by 41 cents six weeks ago. Adelman explains why:

  While PM�� significant EM exposure has been an important driver of its 8%+ constant-currency 2008-2013 EBIT CAGR, recent weakness in a number of important EM currencies (e.g., Argentina, Turkey and Indonesia) will undoubtedly weigh on 2014 reported results. Further, it remains somewhat unclear the extent to which added Yen weakness will impact results, as PM�� F/X guidance already suggests that it was somewhat hedged on USD/Yen. Finally, with ~60% of its operating expenses denominated in ��ard dollar��currencies (USD, EUR and CHF), we have also incorporated a significant estimated transactional F/X impact (+40% of our $0.52/share est.).

  Still, Adelman kept Phillip Morris rated Overweight. He explains why:

  Remain OW, as stock should benefit from recent weakness and achievable 2014 targets: After underperforming US Tobacco and Staples by 18% and 24%, respectively, in 2013, and with expectations already lowered to a conservative level of 6-8% currency-neutral underlying EPS growth in 2014, we believe current valuation of ~14.5x 2015e P/E and <10x EV/EBITDA remains attractive. We continue to view local-currency earnings risk as to the upside, particularly as no new issues have appeared to emerge entering 2014 (such as unforeseen outsized excise

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Own 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 Brianna Valleskey]

  Instead, Theron suggests investing in something like Visa (NYSE: V), because it's real money moving between real financial institutions.

  “Small amounts of money being made on a multitude of transactions -- that is the real world,” he said. “The bitcoin seems like a pipe dream.”

• [By Jim Jubak]

  And it's easy to understand why. Alibaba's offering��ikely in New York rather than Hong Kong��ould well come in as the biggest IPO ever, easily surpassing the $16.1 billion Facebook (FB) raised in 2012 and the $19.65 billion raised in Visa's (V) 2008 offering.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Visa (V) gained 3.1% to $210.81 this week, making it the biggest winner in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Investors seem to have gotten over the risk posed to Visa by Russia.

• [By Don Miller]

  By way of example, let's take a look at three solid companies with some of the best profit margins in their sectors:

  By the very nature of their business, financials tend to have wide profit margins, and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is no exception. The fourth-largest bank in the country in terms of assets, with outstanding customer service and a strong brand, WFC has a current profit margin of 25.5%. WFC offers a broad range of banking services, including retail banking, asset management, and retirement planning. WFC carries a market cap of $219 billion and a price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.3; the overall return for the past 52 weeks is 20.5%. Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) holds an 80% share of the world's microprocessor market, giving them a moat as wide as any brand on the planet. Intel invested $12 billion in research and development last year, far more than any of its competitors. Even though it briefly lost its technology edge in the smartphone and tablet market, its Atom processors are becoming much more competitive. This should achieve more design wins and give Intel pricing power. Even though the stock is off 11% in the last year, its sheer scale and profit margins of 18.1% make Intel a sleeping giant that's about to wake up. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) has a coveted gatekeeper's role in the financial services marketplace, with the bulk of its revenue coming from transaction fees. As e-commerce and mobile payments continue to grow, Visa and counterpart MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) are in the catbird seat. Visa sports a fat profit margin of 47.2%, and the stock has more than doubled over the past five years.� Earnings are projected to increase by 19.6% per year over the next five years. With a presence in virtually every country on the planet and the explosion of e-commerce payments, Visa is a great way to tap into a business with unlimited growth opportunities.

  Now that you know where to invest, find out how to prot