Reasons Markets are Surging in the New Year in 2013 $CAT $HPQ $AAPL

1) Manufacturing: The Institute for Supply Management reported on Wednesday that U.S. manufacturing grew in December following an unexpected month of contraction in November. The PMI grew 1.2 points to 50.7, and investors celebrated by bidding up shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) as much as 4.2 percent in morning trading. The Dow-component stock is also enjoying an industry upgrade from ISI Group, following channel checks that indicate inventory levels at distributors are reducing, which precedes a long-awaited production increase. Positive December PMI numbers from Brazil (51.1), China (51.5), and India (54.7) are also fueling optimism for the sector, despite continuing contraction in euro-area PMI, which came in at 46.1 for December. 2) Technology: Tech companies that got beat up at the end of 2012 appear to be winning back the faith of investors who no longer fear a fiscal cliff-induced recession. Shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) jumped over 5 percent in morning trading following 2012 declines of over 45 percent. There is speculation that the struggling PC giant will put under-performing business units up for sale. Shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are also beating index gains on Wednesday morning, adding up to 3 percent after closing up 4.43 percent on Monday. Apple was also beat up at the tail-end of 2012, but loyal investors or those who bought the dip could be rewarded for their good judgement if the company continues to deliver industry-defining technology in 2013. It’s also likely that consumer spending behavior will enjoy some vitality now that worst of the fiscal cliff shadow has been removed. Consumer dollars, previously held in a rainy-day fund, could easily find their way into the pockets of tech companies expected to release must-have devices in 2013, like wearable tech. 3) Financials: Some of the top headlines that came out of 2012 dealt with a series of tremendous financial scandals that rocked the banking industry and generated a huge amount of uncertainty. The financial sector went through dramatic restructuring and layoffs and continues to suffer fallout from the LIBOR rate-fixing scandal. With the 2008 crisis still fresh in Mr. Market’s memory, many investors were hesitant to put their money back into financial stocks. But with the cliff averted and confidence returning to the financial sector, Dow-component Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is beating index gains, soaring over 3 percent in morning trading on Wednesday. A strong start to the New Year follows 100 percent gains in 2012, and comes with continued bullish calls from many analysts, such as those at Evercore. Shares of JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) also popped as much as 2 percent on Wednesday morning. The bank, which made headlines for losing over $6 billion in the so-called London Whale Trade fiasco, joins Bank of America as a target of speculation regarding the potential divestment of its asset-management division. Ongoing banking reform is expected to do nothing but strengthen the financial industry and increase already attractive returns for their stock holders.

2013 Dow stocks not to buy (HPQ, INTC, MCD, CAT, AA)

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) was a runner-up for the more properly named Dogs of the Dow for 2013, but that is solely because it was such a poorly performing stock in 2012. With this stock at $14.01, its shares are down about 44% in 2012. HP has a 52-week range of $11.35 to $30.00 and its yield is 3.78%. Analysts have a consensus target of $13.53 on HP, but the stock has fallen so much that we consider this an abandoned company due to its deep troubles. What can fix HP at this point? A miracle, or a sudden revolt against Apple products.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is a member of the Dogs of the Dow, and its yield has risen handily due to the poor performance of its shares in 2012. At $20.64, this chip and processor giant has fallen by about 12% in 2012, and its dividend yield is 4.36%. The 52-week trading range is $19.23 to $29.27. and the consensus price target is $23.14. Intel has significant challenges ahead with PC sales sucking wind. Intel is just not even acknowledged as having any presence yet in smartphones and mobile devices.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) had a poor 2012, but that was after it was the single best performing stock of the 30 DJIA stocks in 2011. At $88.29, this stock is down about 8% so far in 2012. Things were looking far worse just a few weeks ago when the stock was sliding daily. Its 52-week range is $83.31 to $102.22, and its yield is 3.4%. What is amazing is that analysts still have a consensus price target north of $97 for this fast-food giant.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is currently on the list of the Pigs of the Dow because it is in negative territory so far in 2012. At $87.48, this one is down in part because of its ex-dividend date being right at the end of December, and due to shares selling off so much due to a weaker macro and emerging market picture. If you adjust the share price for dividends, the stock is down only 0.8% and it only has to get back above $88.20 for it to be positive, if you back out the dividend payments. On a nominal basis, this one closed out at $90.60 in 2011. Analysts have a consensus price target of $97.93 for a year out and its 52-week range is $78.25 to $116.95.

We have one other company as a runner-up for the worst performing DJIA stocks of 2012. That means that if its shares drop in the next three sessions then this one could make the list of the Pigs of the Dow for 2013. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) just has refused to do anything in 2012. At $8.62, this stock is up less than 1% in 2012, and its 1.4% dividend yield is just not very impressive for a company that many investors believe is not representative of a DJIA stock any longer. Analysts have an upside price target of $10.41 on this, so maybe a recovery of any sort would be a great harbinger in 2013

Mad Money Fund Top 10 Companies To Buy Now !

Stock  top 10 Company Sector Friday's close YTD (%)

AT&T (T, news, msgs)

Telecommunications

$26.45

-5.7

9



El Paso (EP, news, msgs)

Natural gas

$11.50

17.1

9



Verizon Communications (VZ, news, msgs)

Telecommunications

$29.37

-11.4

9



ABB (ABB, news, msgs)

Industrial equipment

$19.17

0.3

10



CA (CA, news, msgs)

Software

$18.35

-18.3

10



Electronic Arts (ERTS, news, msgs)

Video games

$15.79

-11.0

10



Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, news, msgs)

Computer systems

$39.85

-22.6

10



JPMorgan Chase (JPM, news, msgs)

Financial services

$37.14

-10.9

10



National Oilwell Varco (NOV, news, msgs)

Oil and gas drilling

$38.23

-13.3

10



Western Union (WU, news, msgs)

Money transfers

$15.94

-15.4

10









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Stock Of The Day - 3PAR Inc Common Stock(NYSE: PAR)

3PAR Inc Common Stock(NYSE: PAR)

"With no major announcements due out of the U.S. and the earnings calendar looking almost empty, we could be in for a quiet session here," said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index.


acquisition activity as Hewlett-Packard made a $1.6 billion counterbid for 3PAR.


“HP’s proposal offers superior value to 3PAR’s shareholders. Our global reach, strong routes to market and commitment to innovation uniquely position HP as the ideal fit for 3PAR,” HP EVP Dave Donatelli said in a statement.
PAR this morning is up $6.95, or 38.5%, to $24.99, blowing past the HP bid; clearly the Street sees the potential for a higher offer from Dell (or someone else) in response.


Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33 points to 10235 and Standard & Poor's 500-stock index futures added five points to 1075.30.



Nasdaq Composite 100 futures gained 10.50 points to 1,836.00.



Hewlett-Packard is bidding $24 a share in cash for data-storage specialist 3PAR. The bid represents a 33% premium on Dell's offer for the company. 3PAR shares rallied 37% in premarket trade.



The news came as the market prepared for what looked like an uneventful session



"Overall, stock markets remain under some pressure, so it would not be surprising to see these early gains eroded, as markets struggle for any real reason to build on the short-term positive momentum," Mr. Jones said in a note to clients.




3PAR Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides utility storage systems in the United States and internationally. The company offers InServ storage servers, which consolidate data from various applications and user groups onto a single storage array. Its InServ storage servers consist of InSpire architecture, a storage array for open systems; InServ T-Class storage servers for enterprise and cloud computing storage infrastructures; and InServ F-Class storage servers for traditional midrange storage arrays. The company also provides 3PAR InForm Operating System and associated management tools that incorporate automation of storage configuration, provisioning, and management for InServ Storage Server models. In addition, it offers various software applications, such as thin provisioning, thin conversion, and thin persistence and thin copy reclamation software; rapid provisioning, autonomic groups, dynamic optimization and policy advisor, and adaptive optimization software; virtual copy and remote copy software; virtual domains and virtual lock software; and management plug-in for VMware vCenter, host explorer, and system reporter software. Additionally, the company provides various maintenance support programs. 3PAR Inc. markets and sells its products through its direct sales force, as well as indirect resellers. It serves various enterprises, financial services firms, cloud computing service providers, consumer-oriented Internet/Web 2.0 companies, and government entities. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Jim Cramer Lighting Round Stock Picks

Mad Money Recap

Segment 1: The Obama Accountability Index
Cramer said that things were much better today than they were yesterday with IBM (IBM), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Abbott Labs (ABT), Forest Labs (FRX), Northern Trust (NTRS), and PNC (PNC) all reporting good earnings today, Wal-Mart (WMT) reporting good numbers, mineral plays announcing that they are cutting back on production, which is good for stocks like Freeport McMoran (FCX), and Apple (AAPL) and Research in Motion (RIMM) reporting good sales as well. Cramer said that the high yielding stocks are back at the lows that they bounced off of in November, and that they will bounce back again.
However, said many of the financials are still weighing us down, like Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC). As long as they don't go under, the stock indexes should be OK.
Cramer thinks Obama needs to save the good banks like J.P. Morgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) from the bad ones like C and BAC. He added that the bonds and preferred stock of C and BAC need to be preserved, because if they go down, investors will be even more afraid of the financials. To track Obama's performance, Cramer created an index of 6 Dow stocks, made up of Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Caterpillar (CAT), General Electric (GE), General Motors (GM), and J.P. Morgan (JPM). It will start at a value of 100 as of the closing price at the end of today, and all the stocks have an equal weight. They were picked because it includes good and bad banks, a test of the infrastructure stimulus, the auto sector, and a large conglomerate that represents a large section of the overall economy.

Segment 2: Dow All Stars Review
In the first week of 2009, Cramer recommended Verizon (VZ), Caterpillar (CAT), Hewlett Packard (HPQ), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Home Depot (HD), and he wanted to review how they did after the big drop in the market recently. His group is down 3%, which isn't great, but is better than the Dow and S&P 500, which are down 8% and 9% respectively. He thinks this is good news because they should go up more than the index when times get better, plus they all have a yield over 3%, except HP. He still likes HP because they have great management, recently made a smart acquisition of EDS, and is beating their printer competition. Cramer is still bullish on Verizon because of its high yield, good CEO, and strong Blackberry Storm and FiOS sales. He also still likes J&J because it is a good defensive play and a strong balance sheet. Cramer is bullish on CAT because of its accidentially high yield and because it is in position to benefit from the U.S. and Chinese infrastructure stimulus plans. He is also still bullish on Home Depot because he thinks housing will bottom in about 5 months, and people will begin making home improvements then.

Segment 3: Interview with Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt
Cramer talked to Schmidt about his experience on Obama's transition team, and his ideas to reduce unemployment. He didn't make any stock picks in this segment.

Segment 4: Lightning Round!
Zions Bancorp (ZION): Cramer won't recommend any regional bank right now, so he gave it a "Don't buy".
CME Group (CME): Cramer would rather own NYSE Euronext (NYX) because it has a higher yield, or Ameritrade (AMTD) or Charles Schwab (SCHW).
Electronic Arts (ERTS): Cramer is bearish because it is not cheap right now, and the company doesn't have any momentum.
Barclays (BCS): Cramer is bearish because he thinks it is in serious trouble.
Huntsman (HUN): Cramer thinks it is too risky and recommended PPG (PPG) instead.
CBS (CBS): Cramer is bearish because media companies have not been doing well, and the ownership structure of CBS is unusual.

Segment 5: Quiz Cramer
Cramer had a live audience for the show today, and he took general questions but didn't make any stock picks.