Barron's Digest November 20, 2006 Issue

Stocks: (AMR)(LUV)(CAL)(SNE)(CCE)(KO)(MTG)(DD)(MDT)(STJ)(BSX)(JNJ)(ATHR)(SIRF)(BRCM)(HAL)

The US Air bid for Delta is driving up other airline shares. Lower fuel prices and low valuations may help prices of American and Continental continue to rise.

Even with the introduction of the Playstation 3, Sony faces several challenges that could hurt its stock price performance. These include laptop battery recalls and competition in flat-panel TV sales.

Coca-Cola made its bottling operations independent a number of years ago. But, it may want to buy back it former unit, Coca-Cola Enterprise. It could bring the price of the bottler up to $27 a share and help Coke with its integrated growth strategy.

MGIC is the countries No.1 mortgage insurer. But the weakening housing market may hurts its performance.The stock is at $61.50 but a rise in claims could cut earnings in half.

DuPont has been working on transforming itself from a chemical company to a biotech firm. After a number of restructurings, that promise could come true. The shares have been flat for a decade but have started to move. At $47.48, some analysts believe they could run 15% to 20% in the year ahead.

Improved results of safety studies of cardiac devices are improving sales of the manufacturers. But,shares of Medtronic, St Jude, and Boston Scientifc are still down for the year. The prices of the shares are based on slow growth due to concerns about these devices and the coated stents that some of them make. But, any accerleration in revenue growth could give the stocks a lift.

As wireless technologies like WiMax, WiFi, and BlueTooth grow in acceptance, several companies could benefit including Atheros and SiRF. However, Broadcom is entering the Bluetooth radio chip market and that could hurt smaller competitors.

Following years of decline, the value of the dollar may start to rise following the path of short-term interest rates.

The spin-off of KBR may help Halliburton present a much clearer profile to investors. The company has an international footprint and a number of  huge oil companies as customers.This is helping the company get new businesses in areas as diverse as Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Douglas A. McIntyre