The Daily Dow
Tuesday, May 14, 1996
by Robert Sheard

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 14): DuPont led the Foolish Four to another successful day today. The company's energy arm, Conoco, is in preliminary talks with Phillips Petroleum <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:P)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:P)") end if %> regarding the possibility of combining their U.S. refining, marketing and transportation operations and forming a 50/50 joint venture. Phillips said that the companies are working toward signing a letter of intent, but that there are significant issues to be resolved. The new company would market gasoline and other petroleum products under both the Phillips 66 and Conoco brands. DuPont stocks was up nearly 4% today on the news.

Eastman Kodak and Lasertechnics <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NASDAQ:LASX)") else Response.Write("(NASDAQ:LASX)") end if %> announced a strategic relationship to co-market Kodak Thermal ID Media for producing wallet-sized IDs. Sandia Imaging Systems, a majority owned subsidiary of Lasertechnics, is among the first manufacturers of direct card printers to offer Kodak's Thermal ID Ribbon in its product line.

Here is the description from the press release of how the process works: "The specially-formulated KODAK Thermal ID Ribbon is one portion of the KODAK Thermal ID Media. It is intended to print onto plastic cards made with the other portion, KODAK Polyester ID Receiver. The dyes on the ribbon chemically reacts to the receiver, enabling an ID card's core material to be thermally printed.

Kodak developed this media system, of matched ribbon and receiver, to specifically address the needs of the card personalization market. Constructed of 100-percent polyester (PET), ID cards made of this new media are expected to compete with conventional PVC cards in applications where card issuers value durability, print reliability or high quality output."

And finally, 3M held its shareholders meeting today, electing new directors and declaring its expected $0.47-per-share dividend. If ever one needed confirmation of how important dividends are within the culture of the Dow stocks, just check out the press releases when these companies declare a dividend. "This is the 319th consecutive quarterly payment on 3M common stock." Yes, we may be in an era where stock buy-backs are excellent uses of cash on hand, but don't think for a minute that these dividends are going to become obsolete for the Blue Chips. They don't call these stocks Widow & Orphan stocks for nothing. (Or as my mother calls them, Blue Hair stocks.)

Some people have complained recently that Beating the Dow hasn't been doing very well, but by my calculations, the Foolish Four has already returned more this year (12.71%) than the stock market averages in a year - half way through May and in a supposedly "down" year after last year's blowout. Granted, the year's not over and the market could still swing the other way, but I think the meteoric rise of stocks like America Online and Iomega have clouded the vision of some readers.

Don't scoff at the Dow Approach's returns. Instead, drag out a simple spreadsheet and figure where your portfolio would be in 20 or 30 years if you average 22% a year over that stretch. It's amazing, isn't it? And all for 30 minutes of work a year. It never ceases to amaze me. Enjoy!

Transmitted: 5/14/96

      THE FOOLISH FOUR MODEL (5/14/96)  

          Day   Week  Quarter   Year  History
Fool-4   0.86%  3.55%   4.49%  12.71%  12.71%
DJIA     0.75%  1.93%   0.67%   9.92%   9.92%
S&P 500  0.62%  2.07%   3.11%   8.06%   8.06%
NASDAQ   1.03%  2.64%  12.09%  17.33%  17.33%


Rec'd    #   Security  In At   Now   Change

1/2/96  142  DuPont    69.88  82.75  18.43%
1/2/96  148  E. Kodak  67.00  77.13  15.11%
1/2/96  380  Chevron   52.38  59.25  13.13%
1/2/96  149  3M        66.38  65.25  -1.69%

Rec'd  #    Security  Cost  Value  Change

1/2/96  142  DuPont      $9,922.25  $11,750.50  $1,828.25      
1/2/96  148  E. Kodak    $9,916.00  $11,414.50  $1,498.50      
1/2/96  380  Chevron    $19,902.50  $22,515.00  $2,612.50      
1/2/96  149  3M          $9,889.88   $9,722.25   $(167.63)    

      CASH        $953.38       
      TOTAL    $56,355.63         



Transmitted: 5/14/96

      
      

      
      

        

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