"The defensives, the Pepsis (PEP) and General Mills (GIS), remain incrementally positive for the quarter, so I do not foresee a lot of profit-taking occurring." "The Post-Mark-Up Could Sting Industrials," 6-30-09

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Or are we going to challenge the lower strike levels once again because the data -- unemployment claims, horrible news out of the autos -- cannot support this level and because the rotation into the General Mills (GIS) cohort blinds us?

The $1.4 billion growth fund, holding 44 companies, is packed with Minnesota names like multinational manufacturer 3M (MMM), food giant General Mills (GIS), medical-device makers Medtronic (MDT) and St. Jude Medical (STJ), discount retailer Target (TGT), industrial-filter producer Donaldson (DCI), nuts-and-bolts distributor Fastenal (FAST), paint-sprayer supplier Graco (GGG), and water-cleaning-equipment firm Pentair (PNR). "The Minneapolis-St. Paul area has one of the highest concentrations of large, multinational industrial and financial companies in the U.S.," Frels observes. "Local surveys claim that Minnesota public companies consistently have outperformed the general stock market, year after year, with the exception of the past two years."

"What's amazing about this one is it has created a bizarre confluence that has simultaneously lifted the soft-goods stories -- General Mills (GIS) and Pepsi (PEP) (although not the drug stocks, which remain in massive purgatory) -- without depressing the red-hot industrials or techs." ("Flu Panic Led Shorts to Lean too Far," 4-30-09)

Of course, what isn't working you can buy a ton of: Abbott (ABT) and General Mills (GIS) and Pepsi (PEP) as usual are for sale, and I own enough of those for certain.

"It's terrific to see the moribund stocks rally, Pepsi (PEP), General Mills (GIS), Bristol-Myers (BMY) and the like, but we have to be realistic that without the flu epidemic, these would be doing their same old 'off 27 cents a day' dance that has disheartened so many and caused so many to sell." Read more here.

In the high 40s, General Mills is trading near its 52-week low. But the company's sales are strong, and its balance sheet is solid. A dividend yield of 3.4% adds to the stock's allure. Some bulls see the shares in the low 60s in a year.

The International Dairy Foods Association tried, unsuccessfully to prevent the FDA from saying cloned food is safe. KFT and GIS are among the companies represented by this association.