Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2015

Stocks soared today as the monthly jobs report came in above expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) finished up 207 points, or 1.4%, to close the week at 15,248.

The Labor Department reported that 175,000 jobs were added in May, better than consensus projections at 159,000. However, the jobs report was not stellar across the board as private-sector jobs only beat estimates by 3,000, and the unemployment rate ticked to 7.6% from 7.5% in April. The Labor Department also revised down its estimate of jobs created in April from 165,000 to 149,000. Given the negatives in the report, the market's reaction seems to be a bit exaggerated.

Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) was the biggest winner out of the blue chips, gaining 2.7%, as the aerospace maker was a part of a $4 billion deal announced today that includes Rolls-Royce and Singapore Airlines. According to the agreement, Rolls Royce will provide engines for 50 Boeing 787 jets. The aerospace giant shares have continued to move higher now that its Dreamliner battery fire problems have been resolved. Boeing hit a five-year high today, and shares are up 35% this year.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2015: 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 John Maxfield]

  Adding to the Dow's woes are shares of General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) , which are down by 4% and 2%, respectively. While GE's earnings, announced earlier today, increased by 16% on a year-over-year basis and finished in line with analyst estimates, the company tempered forward guidance, thanks in large part to Europe.

• [By Jim Royal]

  Let's take McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) as an example. In the four quarters ending in December, the restaurateur generated $6.97 billion in operating cash flow. It invested about $3.05 billion in property, plant, and equipment. To calculate free cash flow, subtract McDonald's investment from its operating cash flow. That leaves us with $3.92 billion in free cash flow, which the company can save for future expenditures or distribute to shareholders.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2015: 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 Tyler Crowe]

  What a Fool believes
  Could a move like this squeeze the profitability of natural gas exports for the U.S.? Potentially, yes, but there are other places around the world that are more likely to suffer from a move like this. Countries like Australia, which has struggled to keep costs under control and doesn't have feedstock as cheap as in the U.S., are more likely to suffer from this. Chevron's (NYSE: CVX  ) massive Gorgon LNG project is more than $15 billion over budget, so cost overruns could make the return on investment for these kinds of projects less lucrative.

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Major oil companies declined with Exxon Mobil (XOM) down 0.6% to $93.68 and Chevron (CVX), off 0.6% to $122.02. �ConocoPhillips (COP) shares fell 0.37% to $72.66.

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Surprisingly, one of the names that's correlating the highest with the S&P 500 right now is oil and gas supermajor Chevron (CVX). Just like the S&P, Chevron is trading in a very well-defined trend channel. The key difference is that the Chevron trade is further along; this stock is bouncing off of trendline support this week. That means it's time to be a buyer.

  Commodities and materials stocks are seeing some buoyancy this week, but Chevron's price action is different -- it's been more sustained over the course of 2013. This stock's proximity to trendline support right now makes it the best-in-breed oil name in my view. As geopolitical risks propel oil prices, the real story at CVX is the fact that support is just a few points away. That makes Chevron a great setup from a risk management perspective.

  Speaking of risk management, if you decide to jump into shares here, I'd recommend keeping a protective stopprotective stop just above the 200-day moving average.

Top India Stocks To Invest In Right Now: 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 Chris Hill]

  Shares of Visa (NYSE: V  ) rose to an all-time high this week after the company reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Earlier in the week, Mastercard (NYSE: MA  ) reported a 12% increase in first-quarter profits, but shares fell on lower-than-expected revenues. In this installment of Motley Fool Money, our analysts discuss Visa, MasterCard, and the future of electronic payments.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Getty Images Holiday shopping season is in full swing, and smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices once again top many shoppers' gift lists. Given how expensive many popular gadgets have become, one big question many shoppers are facing is whether or not to tack on an extended warranty to protect themselves should their electronic devices come to harm. They're Lining Up to Sell You Protection Retailers know that the best time to get you to pay to protect expensive items is while you are making a big-ticket purchase. For years, Best Buy (BBY), Sears (SHLD), Walmart (WMT), and other major retailers have sold extended warranty protection on high-priced electronics like computers and TVs. That coverage can be pricey, with Walmart having recently charged $65 for a two-year TV service plan and Best Buy offering two-year coverage on an $800 TV for $99.99 and five-year coverage for $179.99 . Appliance warranties can also be expensive, with Sears recently charging $280 for a three-year protection plan on a $950 refrigerator. Protection plans for smartphones and tablets are also popular. Apple (AAPL) offers its AppleCare for its devices. Coverage to extend an iPhone's warranty and other protections for two years will run you $99. Other companies have sought to offer more comprehensive coverage for electronic devices, with Protect Your Bubble offering phone and tablet insurance for $7.99 to $9.99 a month that covers not only mechanical problems but also common mishaps like damage from drops and liquid spills, as well as theft or loss. Many Items Have Built-In Protection What many consumers don't realize is how much protection against common problems they already have, even without buying extra. Nearly every purchase comes with at least limited warranty protection for mechanical defects. According to Consumer Reports, most issues that would qualify for coverage under extended warranties tend to happen during the initial warranty period, making the extended co

• [By Marc Bastow]

  A total of 19 companies raised their dividends this week, led by big names like Visa (V) and Honeywell (HON). (Note: All dividend yields are as of Oct. 25.)

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy 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 Tabitha Jean Naylor]

  Whether it's between Coke and Pepsi, Nike and Reebok or Honda and Toyota, picking a clear winner in the stock purchase game isn't always a cut-and-dried decision. And now you can add one more rivalry to the mix -- as countless comparisons have been and continue to be made between tech giants Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), and debate has raged on many a trading floor about which is the better stock to purchase.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  By broadening its horizons, Amazon is taking a clear shot at the gaming community within Google's Android camp. Even though both companies operate Android-based ecosystems, this is effectively a move at cross-platform warfare. The search giant just made a similar push in May when it announced Google Play Game Services at Google I/O, which integrates across Android, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iOS, and Web platforms. Apple's Game Center, which is only available for iOS, has also grown, to 240 million users.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2015: 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 Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  )
  Colgate's shares are trading well below the $62 high they hit just last month. The consumer goods company is heavily levered to international sales, with more than 80% of its business coming from outside the U.S. and more than half coming from emerging markets.