FISE Investment Club Current Portfolio

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FISE Investment Club

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Northwestern Corporation. *NOR* (NYSE): NorthWestern Corporation (formerly Northwestern Public Service Company) is the holding company for Northwestern Public Service, an electricity and natural gas regulated public utility company. It serves 56,000 electricity and 79,000 gas customers in a 15,000-sq.-mi. region of eastern South Dakota and central Nebraska. The company partially owns and operates three electric plants, all fueled by coal. Its gas division purchases natural gas from more than 20 US and Canadian suppliers. Subsidiary Northwestern Growth Corp. manages the parent company's nonutility investments, which includes operations in multi-image photographic printers, air conditioners, and TV entertainment systems
Thomas & Betts *TNB* (NYSE): Thomas & Betts makes electrical connectors, electronic components, installation tools, and housings used by the automotive, communications, and construction industries. The company also produces steel poles and towers for the utility and telecommunications industries. Its electrical connectors, such as fittings for electrical raceways, are designed for industrial, commercial, and residential construction and renovation. The company operates more than 100 manufacturing and distribution facilities in 20 countries, selling to such customers as distributors of electrical and electronic products, original equipment manufacturers, mass-merchandisers, catalog merchandisers, home centers, and consumers.
Pfizer Inc. *PFE* (NYSE): It's the older but Pfizer pharmaco for me. The sesquicentenarian drugmaker is the developer of the much-heralded erectile dysfunction drug Viagra. Pfizer's drugs include Norvasc (its leading product) for cardiovascular disease, antidepressant Zoloft, antibiotic Zithromax, and Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering drug co-marketed with its developer, Warner-Lambert Co. The drugmaker is also one of the world's top producers of veterinary medicine for domestic animals. The company's consumer health products include such items as BenGay muscle rub and Visine eyedrops. Pharmaceuticals account for more than 85% of sales. Pfizer is selling its Bain de Soleil product line to Schering-Plough.
Exxon Corp. *XON* (NYSE): The tiger is on top: Exxon is the world's #1 oil company (ahead of Royal Dutch/Shell). The integrated oil and gas giant, which explores for and produces oil around the world, has proved reserves of 1.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. It also produces petrochemicals and mines coal and other minerals. The company has large oil and gas assets in Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the UK) and the US. It operates more than 32,000 gas stations worldwide, putting "a tiger" in the tanks of eight million drivers daily. Exxon doesn't stop there -- it plans to gobble up Mobil, creating a new beast, Exxon Mobil.
Harley-Davidson Inc. *HDI* (NYSE): The #1 road hog and proud of it, Harley-Davidson is the only major US maker of motorcycles and the nation's #1 seller of heavyweight motorcycles. Harley-Davidson offers 24 models of touring and custom cycles through a worldwide network of more than 900 dealers. The company's legendary, high-powered Harley motorcycles include the Electra Glide, the Sportster, and the Fat Boy. Besides its bikes, Harley-Davidson also sells attitude; goods licensed with the company name include a line of clothing (MotorClothes), toys, and more. Many of Harley-Davidson's biking brethren are members of the Harley Owners Group, cruising along with 430,000 devotees.
Lucent Technologies. *LU* (NYSE): Lucent Technologies is the company which was spun off from telecommunications giant AT&T, is North America's leading maker of telecom equipment and software, including business communications systems, switching and transmission equipment, and wireless networks. Lucent also makes integrated circuits and telecommunications power systems and is a major supplier to the personal communications services market. Technology developed by Bell Laboratories provides the basis for many of Lucent's products, but the company has become a force in the broadband (voice, data, and video) networking market through acquisitions. Most of Lucent's customers are telecom network operators such as AT&T (15% of sales).
Staples Inc. *SPLS* (NASDAK): Staples is clipping along as the #2 office supply superstore company in the US (behind Office Depot). It sells office products, furniture, computers, and printing and photocopying services at more than 1,000 stores (under the Staples and Staples Express names), most of them in the US and Canada, but also in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Offering 8,000 office products primarily to small- and medium-sized businesses, the Staples superstores generate most of the company's sales and profits. The company also has mail-order and contract stationery businesses. Staples is expanding its direct-selling subsidiary, Quill, to Europe and is investing in Internet firms that provide business services.
SBC Communications Inc. *SBC* (NYSE): Up the trail from Texas with a herd of telecom operations comes SBC Communications, now the #1 local phone outfit in the US (ahead of Bell Atlantic) after its purchase of Ameritech, the Midwestern Baby Bell. SBC operates nearly 60 million access lines in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin. It has taken a stake in Williams Communications, which has a national fiber-optic network, to prepare for the day it is allowed to enter the long-distance arena. SBC has more than 10 million wireless phone subscribers in 22 states, Internet access and paging businesses, and stakes in telecom operations in 22 countries outside the US. .
Oracle Co. *ORCL* (NASDAK): Oracle wages search and rescue missions with your information. The company is the leading developer of database management systems software, which lets multiple users and applications access the same data simultaneously. Its flagship database software runs on everything from notebooks to mainframes. Flamboyant chairman and CEO Larry Ellison has configured the latest version of the company's database software to support information appliances and PCs that access programs from the Web. Oracle also sells software development tools and corporate resource management applications. Consulting, technical support, and other services account for almost 60% of sales. Ellison owns 24% of Oracle.
Cisco Systems Inc. *CSCO* (NASDAK): Cisco Systems,Inc. is the big kid on the computer network block. The leading supplier of products that link LANs and WANs, Cisco Systems controls about 85% of the global market for routers and switches, which direct information on a network. Its other products include dial-up access servers and network management software. Cisco is using acquisitions to expand its scope and has moved into the fast-growing telecommunications (data, voice, and video) networking segment dominated by Lucent and Nortel Networks. Cisco has bought more than 40 firms since 1993 and has set aside another $10 billion for purchases. Alliances with companies like Alcatel, Microsoft, Qwest, Sun Microsystems, and U S WEST are boosting Cisco's influence.
Merrill Lynch *MER* (NYSE): Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. These days there's lots of bull baiting. Merrill Lynch, once the undisputed leader of the herd now finds itself in a close fight for dominance with fellow retail/wholesale financial supermarket Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Its wealth management services include retail brokerage, cash management accounts, and mutual funds. On the corporate and institutional client side, services include investment banking and mergers and acquisitions in addition to dealing in government bonds and providing clearing services. About a quarter of its sales come from overseas. Merrill Lynch has been a laggard in online services and only added Internet trading services in 1999.
Lexmark International *LXK* (NYSE): Lexmark has good peripheral vision. Lexmark International Group is a leading maker of computer printers and related products; aftermarket printer ink cartridges and other supplies account for more than half of sales. Its printer line includes laser printers (designed primarily for corporate networks and desktops) and ink jet printers (for home and business use). Unlike many of its competitors, Lexmark develops and manufactures its own devices, thereby speeding product cycles. The company also makes supplies for IBM and other name-brand printers and typewriters. To boost its market share against dominant printer potentate Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark continues to target niche corporate markets..
Home Depot *HD* (NYSE): Lots of folks embark on household projects from The Home Depot. With about 800 stores, it is the largest home improvement retailer in the US and has stores in Canada. The company targets the do-it-yourself market and stresses customer service, low prices, and a broad product assortment. Home Depot also serves professional builders. Stores are an average 130,000 sq. ft. and stock over 40,000 items, including lumber, floor and wall coverings, plumbing and gardening supplies, hardware, tools, and paint. The company also runs EXPO Design Centers (bath, kitchen, and lighting products and advice). Home Depot is expanding into Puerto Rico and South America and opening smaller US stores called Villager's Hardware.
Thomas & Betts Home Page
Staples Inc. Home Page
Oracle Co. Home
Cisco System Inc. Home Page
Lucent Home Page
SBC Comunication Home Page
Lexmark International Home Page
Merrill Lynch Home Page
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