I don't know about you, but I've felt pretty helpless this
week watching events unfold in Japan. First a massive earthquake
hit the country, then a huge tsunami and finally, a major nuclear
disaster. Death tolls are still rising and will continue to
increase for weeks, if not months. And the clean up will take
months, if not years.
But many people have been doing what they can to help the
Japanese people. Specifically, several companies sprang into
action this week, with many putting their specialties to good
use.
Aflac (
AFL
)
, which has 5,000 employees in Japan, pledged $1.2 million to the
Red Cross. The company also made headlines this week for firing
the comic Gilbert Gottfried, the voice of the company's mascot,
for publishing insulting remarks on Twitter about the disaster.
Amgen (
AMGN
)
and
McDonald's (
MCD
)
have each donated at least $1 million to the disaster relief
efforts.
Apple (
AAPL
)
is allowing users to donate up to $200 at a time through its
iTunes store. And the company is using its Japan stores as
communications hubs for people searching for family and friends
or looking to read news about the events. The staff provided
chargers and power cables and left the wireless connection on
after the stores closed so people walking by could take advantage
of the signal.
Caterpillar (
CAT
)
offered a $1 million grant through its Caterpillar Foundation to
the American Red Cross to help clean up. The company also offered
to match up to $500,000 in Caterpillar employee, retiree and
dealer employee contributions made to the Red Cross.
Additionally, the branch of Caterpillar based in Japan has
provided $1 million, mostly consisting of in-kind equipment
donations.
Coca-Cola (KO)
has provided $7.3 million in cash and other donations, including
seven million bottled beverages and activating some of its
dispensing machines to provide drinks for free.
EBay (EBAY)
is hosting auctions that give some or all of the proceeds to aid
agencies helping in Japan. And for the next month, the company's
PayPal division is crediting transactional fees to qualified
American and Canadian nonprofits that are raising funds to aid in
the disaster response.
Google (GOOG)
used its computing and Internet prowess to set up a "person
finder" database that can be used in several languages, including
Japanese, English and Chinese, among others. People can use the
database to look for a missing person or to add any information
they have about someone affected by the disaster.
The online search giant has also created a service that allows
people to take photos of the lists of people stationed at their
location that is automatically uploaded into an online photo
album. The names are being entered into a database where people
can search for names of people who might have been affected.
And recognizing that not everyone has a smart phone, Google made
some tweaks to its mobile website to make it easier for everyone
to view.
IBM (IBM)
is donating up to $1 million in services and technology to the
recovery efforts in Japan.
In addition to offering $2 million to help in the clean up,
Microsoft (MSFT)
, offered its partners and customers affected by the disaster
free technical support and software licenses. The company also
created a Web portal that governments, nongovernmental
organizations and other agencies can use to talk to each other
and the general public.
Obviously there are many more companies aiding in the relief
effort, but these have one thing in common: They are all Cabot
Benjamin Graham Value Letter stocks. Helping with the disaster in
Japan isn't why these companies are good investments, but it is
nice to see them using their money and specialties to help those
in need.
Learn more about them and other top value stocks featured in
Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter
.
---
In this week's Stock Market Analysis Video,
Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report Editor
Paul Goodwin
says It hasn't been a great week in the stock market, but there
have been some signs of support. The market was down sharply
early in the week on significant volume, so the rebounds later in
the week were welcome, but not entirely convincing. Paul says
that after a six-month run up, there's like more correction to
come. Stocks discussed are
Acme Packet (APKT), Aruba Networks (ARUN),
SuccessFactors (SFSF), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Timberland
(TBL), Oplink Communications (OPLK)
and
Spreadtrum Communications (SPRD)
.
Click to watch the video.
Until next time,
Elyse Andrews
Editor of Cabot Wealth Advisory