| 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. | |||||||||||||