(The PBR1000 Says Welcome To The New York Stock Exchange. Other than DisneyLand, Maybe the Happiest Place on Earth in 2013!)
By Larry C. Paxton
First of all, Happy New Year from the staff of PBRMarketTools! We sincerely wish you and your family the best year yet. Hopefully The PBR1000 can be a part of your success and happiness.
We are also sure that 2014 will be an interesting year for The PBR1000. For that reason we are also pleased to announce that The PBR1000 will move from a quarterly to a monthly release starting with the January report, which should be released in the next business day or so.
This will make it easier for subscribers to keep up to date. Rather than update and sync The PBR1000 Quarterly Progress Report with each month’s recap, they can just get The PBR Monthly Update Report which includes those news releases.
This decision is based on the feedback from several of The PBR1000 subscribers. As always, your comments are welcomed and greatly appreciated. This is an example where we were able and happy to respond to subscriber wishes. In the coming months we look forward to also providing additional fields of helpful information.
Like the snowstorms that are crossing the US today, there was a big flurry of year end activity from The PBR1000. However, the big news was Wall Street itself where stock indices closed at record highs for the year, far higher than most people predicted at the beginning of 2012. Here are the stats. The first number is the closing price, the first percentage is the change from the quarter ending 09/30/13, and the second percentage is the change for the year:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average, 16,576.66, up 9.56% over 09/30/13, up 26.50% over 12/31/12;
- NASDAQ, 4,176.59, up 10.74% over 09/30/13, up 38.32% over 12/31/13;
- S&P 500, 1,848.36, up 9.92% over 09/30/13, up 29.60% over 12/31/12;
- Gold, 1,202.30/ounce, down 9.40% over 09/30/13, down 28.52% over 12/31/12;
- Silver, 19.37/ounce, down 10.78% over 09/30/13, down 36.20% over 12/31/12;
- Oil, 98.42/barrel, down 3.82 over 09/30/13, up 5.04% over 12/31/12.
In the next few days we will be publishing The PBR1000 Forecast for 2014. This is always a little risky, no one has consistently done this successfully, which is why only those few who came close mention it at the end of a year. But we will give it our best shot, hope it is a little entertaining for you, too, and that we get a chance to gloat at the end of 2014!
Following are the many news summaries involving The PBR1000 for December, 2013, by descending date order. Please note that The PBR1000 ranking in parentheses is from The PBR1000 2013 4th Quarter Report:
Monday, December 31, 2013:
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co(PBR521) terminates its $2.5 billion merger with India’s Apollo Tyres. Click here for Cooper’s press release.
Reuters reports that Hewlett-Packard(PBR15) to lay off 5,000 more people in 2014, total 34,000. Click here for the Reuters article.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Mondelez International(PBR84) has sold its majority stake in Snackwell’s to private equity firm Brynwood Partners.
Monday, December 30, 2013:
Berkshire Hathaway(PBR5) to acquire flow improver Phillips Specialty Products Inc. from Phillips 66(PBR4). Click here for the Phillips 66 press release.
Wells Fargo(PBR24) agrees to pay Fannie Mae(PBR11) $541 million for loan liabilities prior to 2009. Click here for the Wells Fargo press release.
Sunday, December 29, 2013:
Crocs(NR) announces Blackstone Group(PBR544) to buy $200 million in Class A Preferred stock, Crocs CEO to retire in April, 2014. Click here for the Crocs press release.
Friday, December 27, 2013:
Tribune Co(NR) announced completion of its acquisition of Local TV Holdings, LLC. Tribune Co is now the largest US independent broadcast group.Click here for the Tribune press release.
Thursday, December 26, 2013:
Textron(PBR210) acquiring Beechcraft for $1.4 billion, to close in 1st half of 2014. Click here for the Textron press release.
Tuesday, December 24, 2014:
Time Warner Cable(PBR124) & Viacom(PBR188) reach long-term multi-platform distribution agreement. Click here forViacom’s press release.
Monday, December 23, 2013:
Kinder Morgan(PBR252) announces acquisition of US Jones Act Shipping Containers for $962 million. Click here for the Kinder Morgan press release.
Bloomberg News reports that W.R. Grace(PBR630) has reached an agreement with banks, to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy probably around January 31, 2014. Click here for the Bloomberg article.
Tribune Co(NR) announces agreement with Sony Corp of America to purchase its Gracenote subsidiary, the largest source of music data in the world, for $170 million, to close 1st quarter 2014. Click here for the Tribune press release.
Regency Energy Partners(PBR1010) to acquire Eagle Rock Energy Partners midstream assets for $1.3 billion. Click here for Regency’s press release.
Regency Energy Partners(PBR1010) to purchase the midstream assets of Hoover Energy Partners LP for $290 million. Click here for Regency’s press release.
Service Corp Intl(PBR770) announces completion of Stewart Enterprises acquisition based on FTC settlement. Click here for SCI’s press release.
Pall Corp(PBR717) acquiring ATMI’s LifeSciences business for $185 million. Click here for Pall’s press release.
Sunday, December 22, 2013:
Apple(PBR6) and China Mobile announce multi-year agreement to make iPhones available on world’s largest mobile network. Click here for Apple’s announcement.
In arbitration ruling Tiffany & Co(PBR582) to pay Swatch Group Ltd $449.5 million. Click here for Tiffany’s announcement.
Tribune Co & Time Warner Cable(PBR124) announce new multi-year retransmission agreement. Click here for the Tribune press release.
Friday, December 20, 2013:
Cathay Pacific orders 21 777-9X Boeing Co(PBR31) airliners for $7+ billion, first Asia customer, part of Dubai show anticipated purchases. Click here for Boeing’s announcement.
Morgan Stanley(PBR89) to sell its Global Oil Merchanting business to Russia’s Rosneft. Click here for the Morgan Stanley announcement.
Oracle Corp(PBR77) to buy cloud-based B2C marketing company Responsys for $27/share, $1.5 billion transaction value, to close in 1st half of 2014. Click here for Oracle’s announcement.
Thursday, December 19, 2013:
Facebook(PBR451) CEO Mark Zuckerburg to include 41+ million Class A shares as part of a 70 million Class A shares public offering. Click here for Facebook’s announcement.
NV Energy(PBR662) becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway’s(PBR5) MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.
Briston-Myers Squibb(PBR148) is selling its global diabetes business to alliance partner AstraZeneca for $3.4 billion, to close 1st quarter 2014. Click here for the BMS press release.
The Hershey Co(PBR363) to acquire private China based Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Joint Stock Co. Click here for the Hershey press release.
MetLife(PBR39) to acquire stake in Malaysia based AMMB’s AMLife and AMTakaful units for $249 million. Click here for MetLife’s press release.
Darden Restaurants(PBR312) announces plan to enhance business, will spin-off Red Lobster. Click here for Darden’s press release.
Target Corp(PBR37) confirms unauthorized access to 40 million credit/debit cards, issue resolved. Click here for the Target announcement.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013:
Patriot Coal(PBR890) emerges from bankruptcy well capitalized & as a private company. Click here for Patriot’s press release.
Privately held Harland Clarke Holdings Inc to acquire Valassis Communications(PBR823) for $34.04/share, transaction valued at $1.84 billion, to close in 1st quarter of 2014. Click here for the Valassis press release.
Blackstone Group(PBR544) to acquire 3 Texas power stations with 1295MW capacity from Centrica plc for $685 million. Click here for the Centrica press release.
Boeing Co(PBR31) announces key leadership promotions. Click here for the Boeing announcement.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013:
3M(PBR92) ups plan, to spend $17-22 billion in 2013-2017 for share repurchases. Click here for the 3M press release.
Monday, December 16, 2013:
General Motors(PBR7) announces it is investing $1.3 billion in 5 US plants. Click here for the GM press release.
KKR(PBR259) to acquire KKR Financial Holdings in stock-for-stock deal valued at $2.6 billion. Click here for the Boeing press release.
Endo Health(PBR650) to acquire NuPathe Inc (NASDAQ: PATH) for $2.85/share, $105 million. Click here for the Endo press release.
Boeing(PBR31) board okays $10 billion stock repurchase program, raises dividend. Click here for the Boeing press release.
Archer-Daniels-Midland(PBR27) board approves increased dividend, buyback of 18 million shares by end of 2014, valued at around $725 million. Click here for ADM’s press release.
American International Group(PBR42) to sell its International Lease Finance Corporation to AerCap Holdings NV for $5.4 billion. Click here for AIG’s press release.
Intel(PBR53) to acquire the MindSpeed Technologies Wireless Infrastructure division. Click here for Intel’s press release.
LSI Corp(PBR746) to be acquired by Singapore based Avago Technologies for $11.15/share, $6.6 billion, to close during 1st half of 2014. Click here for LSI’s press release.
SingularityHub reports on Google(PBR56) buying military robots developer Boston Dynamics, 8th robots acquisition in 6 months. Click here for the SingularityHub article.
Friday, December 13, 2013:
Simon Property(PBR467) to spin off strip center & smaller malls business. Click here for Simon’s press release.
Las Vegas Sands Corp(PBR226) stops pursuing $30 billion Spain development, will focus on Asian markets. Click here for the Sand’s announcement.
Reuters reports US judge says Anadarko(PBR194), Kerr-McGee liable for $5+ billion spin-off Tronox(PBR919) cleanup costs. Click here for the Reuters article.
QUALCOMM(PBR137) announces Pres/COO Steve Mollenkopf to become Pres/CEO in March, 2014. Click here for the QUALCOMM announcement.
Thursday, December 12, 2013:
Ford(PBR10) announces new jobs, plants, and product plans for 2014. Click here for Ford’s press release.
The Coca-Cola Co(PBR57) announces that the North America unit will be split into North American & Refreshments operating units. Click here for Coca-Cola’s press release.
General Motors(PBR7) announces the sale of its 7% equity stake in Peugot. Click here for the GM press release.
The Merrill Lynch unit of Bank of America(PBR21) agrees to pay $132 million for misleading investors in CDOs. Click here for the SEC announcement.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013:
UNS Energy(PBR990) agrees to be acquired by Canada based energy company Fortis, Inc. for $60.25/share, $4.3 billion total transaction value, to close by end of 2014. Click here for the UNS press release.
Avon(PBR234) provides details on $400 million cost savings plan, 650 positions to be eliminated. Click here for the Avon press release.
AECOM Technology(PBR302) announces that Michael Burke to succeed John Dionisio as CEO on March 6, 2014. Click here for the AECOM press release.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings (No PBR ranking yet) announces IPO, opening at $20.00 share, NYSE: HLT. Click here for Hilton’s press release.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013:
MasterCard(PBR328) announces 10:1 stock split, dividend, $3.5 billion stock repurchase plan. Click here for MasterCard’s press release.
Outerwall(PBR809) announces organizational & capital restructuring. Click here for the Outerwall press release.
General Motors Co(PBR7) announces Dan Ackerson to retire as Chairman/CEO, Mary Barra to become CEO, other C level staff changes. Click here for the GM press release.
Monday, December 9, 2013:
Sprint(PBR82) offering $2.5 billion in 2024 notes to institutions & non US persons. Click here for the Sprint press release.
WhiteWave Foods(PBR791) to acquire organic produce company Earthbound Farm for $600 million. Click here for the WhiteWave press release.
Abercrombie & Fitch(PBR527) announces new agreement to extend term of Michael Jeffries as CEO. Click here for A&F’s press release.
Privately held Koch Bros completes its acquisition of Molex(PBR600), which is now de-listed.
The US Treasury announced that it has sold all remaining shares in General Motors(PBR7). Click here for the US Treasury announcement.
Hologic(PBR871) appoints former Pres/CEO of Stryker Corp(PBR288) Steve MacMillan as its new CEO. Click here for the Hologic press release.
Sysco Corp(PBR64) & private equity owned US Foods to merge, $8.2 billion total transaction, expected to close 3rd quarter 2014. Click here for the Sysco press release.
Alpha Natural Resources(PBR347) exchanging its interest in Alpha Shale Resources joint venture for $300 million. Click here for the AlphaNR press release.
Reuters-Incoming Time Warner Cable(PBR124) CEO Robert Marcus says not in a hurry to sell company. Click here for the Reuters article.
AMR Corp(PBR109)/US Airways(PBR189) merger completed, now American Airlines Group, now trading as NASDAQ: AAL. Click here for the AAL press release.
Friday, December 6, 2013:
On Assignment(PBR1037) completes its acquisition of $55 million in revenues CyberCoders Holdings Inc for $94 million + $11 million incentives. Click here
for On Assignment’s press release.
Sears Holding Corp(PBR68) files SEC paperwork to separate Land’s End from its holdings. Click here for the Sears announcement.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 203,000 non-farm new jobs in November, unemployment rate drops to 7.0%. Click here for the US BLS press release.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013:
ADP(PBR236) reports that private sector employment rose 215,000 in November. Click here for the ADP press release details.
Career Education Corp(PBR987) completes the sale of its European operations to private equity firm Apax Partners. Click here for Career Education’s press release.
The Wall Street Journal reports that General Motors(PBR7) is selling its remaining stake in Ally Financial for around $900 million. Will focus on using GM Financial for loans.
Deere & Co(PBR81) board authorizes purchase of up to $8 billion of additional common stock. Click here for the Deere press release.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013:
The Carlyle Group’s(PBR663) Paradigm Precision unit completes purchase of 8 units of GE Aviation’s subsidiary Unison Engine Components. Click here for Carlyle’s press release.
Monday, December 2, 2013:
Blackstone Group’s(PBR544) Hilton Worldwide Inc looking at $2.37 billion IPO this month. Click here for the Reuters article.
Calpine Corp(PBR428) to acquire Guadalupe County, TX, 1050MW power plant for $625 million from MinnTex Power Holdings. Click here for Calpine’s press release.
Cognizant Technology(PBR334) to hire 10,000 people in US over next 3 years. Click here for the Reuters article.
In 2 agreements Hess Corp(PBR72) has sold its Indonesian assets for $1.3 billion. Click here for the Hess press release.
Forest Laboratories(PBR487) announces operations streamlining and stock repurchase plans. Click here for Forest Lab’s press release.
Dow Chemical(PBR51) to carve out $5 billion in revenues from its chlorine segment. Click here for the Dow announcement.
Bank of America Corp(PBR21) to pay Freddie Mac(PBR32) $404 million to settle residential mortgage claims through 2009. Click here for the BofA press release.
AAR Corp(PBR851) to acquire the cargo loading systems assets from German based PFW Aerospace GmbH. Click here for the AAR press release.
(The purpose of The PBR1000 is to provide a wide range of interested people with key demographic, industry, financial, personnel, and comments/news briefs on over 1,000 of the largest publicly traded companies with principal offices in the US, companies that have a huge impact on the US and world economies. This information is updated monthly and published in Excel format as The PBR1000 Monthly Update Report. During a month several supplementary reports are published as well.
Larry C. Paxton is the President/CEO of Pax Business Resources, LLC. PBRMarketTools is the marketing research unit. For several years Larry has worked for and provided products and services to The PBR1000 companies.)
