Goldman's roster of 24 stocks with the greatest operating leverage includes Amazon.com (AMZN), Safeway (SWY), Pioneer Natural (PXD), Hess (HES), Grainger (GWW) and Applied Materials (AMAT).

And the presumption going into earnings was that they would be disastrous -- everything from the big guys like Intel (INTC) to little guys like Bemis (BMS) and W.W. Grainger (GWW) to cite two stocks that were better than expected.

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David Fessler says WW Grainger (NYSE:GWW) is a great way to protect your portfolio by investing in infrastructure. The company literally provides the nuts and bolts for businesses and public institutions throughout America. And its earnings are growing despite the economic downturn. Now GWW is targeting Chinese infrastructure projects with massive potential.

http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/recession-proof-your-portfolio-with-ww-grainger-gww/7349

W.W. Grainger (GWW) enhanced its common dividend for the 37th straight year. It is one of only 20 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 that can boast such a record. The largest global distributor of products for facilities maintenance, Grainger raised its quarterly 14.3%, to 40 cents a share from 35 cents, payable June 1 to stockholders of record May 12. Ex-date: May 8. Dividends have been ongoing since 1965. The stock was recently quoted near 88, roughly 10 points under its 52-week high, and yields 1.83%. With 2007 sales of $6.4 billion, 89-year-old Grainger also authorized the repurchase of 10 million more of its shares. Since 1984, the Chicago company has bought back more than 59 million shares.

16.3

work

STRONG BUY
Price target: 101.00$-114.00$

SELL

BULL

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