Best of the Best  -- 2012 Top Quality Investment Companies & ETFs
Symbol Company Name Comments
AGRICULTURE:
CF CF Industries Holdings Inc. Manufactures and distributes nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer products in North America.
MON Monsantos Co. Provides agriculture products for farmers in the U.S and Internationally.
MOS Mosaic Co. Agriculture sector company -- provides fertilizers & feed.
POT Potash Corp. Agriculture sector company -- provides fertilizers & feed.
EDUCATION:
APOL Apollo Group Inc. Provides various educational programs and services at high school, college, and graduate levels.
ESI ITT Educational Services Inc. Provides postsecondary degree programs in the United States.
ENERGY-OIL&GAS-COAL:
APA Apache Corp. Exploration, production, transportation and sale of crude oil and natural gas.
COG Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. Operates as an independent oil and gas company in the United States.
WLT Walter Industries Inc. Provides a line of products and services, including coal and natural gas, furnace and foundry coke, slag fiber, and home construction worldwide.
ETF'S (Exchange Traded Funds)
NDX CBOE Nasdaq 100 Index Nasdaq 100 Index ($NDX.X on Ameritrade).
OEX S&P 100 Index S & P 100 Index ($.SPX.X on Ameritrade).
OIH Oil Services Holdrs Trust Diversified investments in Oil Services sector.
RUT (RUT) Russell 2000 Index Russel 2000 Index ($RUT.X on Ameritrade).
SPX S&P 500 Index S & P 500 Index ($SPX.X on Ameritrade).
FINANCIALS (CREDIT CARD CO.)
AXP American Express Co. Credit Card Payment Processor Company.
MA Mastercard Inc. Credit Card Payment Processor Company.
V Visa Inc. Credit Card Payment Processor Company.
FINANCIALS/FINANCIAL LENDERS:
CME CME Group, Inc. CME Globex Exchange Trading Platform.
DB Deutsche Bank AG Financial Services/Investment Banking.
GS Goldman Sachs Group Financial Investment Services Company.
JEF Jefferies Group Inc. Financial Investment Services Company.
JPM JP Morgan Chase & Co. Financial Investment Services Company.
FREIGHT & TRANSPORTATION:
BNI Burlington Northern Santa Fe Freight & Rail Transportation Company.
CSX CSX Corp. Freight & Rail Transportation Company.
FDX FedEx Corp. Freight Transportation Company.
NSC Norfolk Southern Freight & Rail Transportation Company.
UNP Union Pacific Corp. Freight & Rail Transportation Company.
UPS United Postal Service Inc. Freight Transportation Company.
INTERNET SEARCH:
BIDU Baidu.Com Inc. Japan's  Internet Search Engine Company.
CTRP Ctrip.com International Ltd China Online Travel Agency.
GOOG Google Inc. U.S Internet Search Engine Company.
PCLN Priceline Com Inc. Travel Agency Booking Company.
INDUSTRIAL SECTOR:
CAT Caterpillar Inc. Heavy Equipment manufacture worldwide.
CMI Cummins Inc. Diesel Engine Manufacture.
DE Deere & Co. Inc. Machinery Manufacture.
MEDICAL SERVICES/PHARMACEUTICALS
ISRG Intuitive Surgical Inc. Medical Services -- Designs/Markets Medical Surgical Systems for use in general surgeries.
METALS/MINING/COAL:
CLF Cliff Natural Resources Inc. Mining and natural resources company, produces iron ore pellets, lump and fines iron ore, and metallurgical coal products.
JOY Joy Global Inc. Manufacture of Mining Equipment.
X United States Steel Corp. Metals Sector Company.
RETAIL/RETAIL SERVICES:
AZO AutoZone Inc. Operates as a specialty retailer and distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories.
CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill Mexican Restaurant Chain.
DECK Decker Outdoors Corp. Design, production and brand management of footwear for outdoor activities and casual lifestyle use.
JNJ Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Manufacture.
MCD McDonald Corp. Fast Food Restaurant Franchise.
NKE Nike Inc. Fashion Shoe & Apparel Designer.
PII Polaris Indusries  Inc. Designs, engineers, and manufactures off-road vehicles
PNRA Panera Bread Co. Retail Franchise baker-cafes in the U.S.
RL Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. Major Retailer (Fashion Apparel).
TGT Target Corp. Major Retailer of specialty products.
TIF Tiffany & Co. Major Retailer (Women's Apparel & Accessories).
SOLAR ENERGY:
FSLR First Solar Inc. Solar Energy Sector Company.
TECHNOLOGY:
AAPL Apple Inc. Computer Maker -- Developer of IPOD/Apple Computers.
AMZN Amazon.com Inc. Internet Website Retail - Provides Online Retail.
CRM Salesforce.com Inc. Provides customer and collaboration relationship management (CRM) services to various businesses and industries worldwide.
FFIV F5 Networks Inc. Technology Sector - provides technology that optimizes the delivery of network-based applications
IBM IBM (International Business Machines) Computing/Consulting Services Corporation.
MSFT Microsoft Corp. Windows O.S. software developer, Software/Hardware Game Design.
QCOM QualComm Inc. Designs, develops, manufactures, and markets digital telecommunications products and services.