The Pacific Fleet Today

The U.S. Pacific Fleet epitomizes the Navy's combat power.Its 180 ships and their aircraft patrol more than half of the planet.Admiral Robert F. Willard is Commander of the Fleet's more than 125,000 personnel,including sailors,Marines and civilians,who make it one of the most exceptional military groups in the world.The Pacific Fleet is based at Pearl Harbor,Hawaii,even as it was during World War II.Now as then,USPACFLT is a shield for democracy and its free markets.San Diego,California and Sasebo,Japan are also centers of the Fleet's operations.Admiral Timothy J. Keating is Commander,U.S. Pacific Command,one of the unified combatant commands,which oversees all U.S. forces in the vast region.

Biotech Firm Praised

RBC Capital Markets has an outperform rating on Genentech(DNA).Its price target for the stock is 100 dollars.Lazard Capital Markets says Genentech is best in class,producing lifesaving drugs for double digit earnings.

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In the event of inclement weather,publication schedules are subject to change without notice.

Honors:Afghan War Toll

As of Sunday,634 U.S. personnel had died serving in Operation Enduring Freedom.One of them was a Department of Defense civilian.Among the military deaths recently were two Marines.Lance Cpl.Alberto Francesconi of the Bronx,New York was killed in action on 1 January in Helmand Province.He was 21.On 11 January,Lance Cpl.Daniel R. Bennett of Clifton,Virginia also died in Helmand Province,but of non-combat causes at age 23.Both Marines were members of 3rd Battalion,8th Marine Regiment,2nd Marine Division,2nd Marine Expeditionary Force,out of Camp Lejeune,North Carolina.Besides Afghanistan itself,Operation Enduring Freedom is supported from Ethiopia,Jordan,Yemen and at least 12 other countries,where some of the deaths have occurred.

Recent Upgrades

Merrill Lynch has upgraded Kimberly Clark(KMB)from an underperform to a buy.Microsoft(MSFT)is the top large cap pick at Oppenheimer,which has given it an outperform rating.

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Because of the Inauguration next Tuesday,publication may be pushed back to later in the week.

Navy Photos Show Cargo

U.S. Navy photos depict a cargo of what is apparently three million dollars in ransom,dropping by parachute onto a Saudi oil tanker that pirates have held since 15 November,2008.A negotiator told The Associated Press the Somali pirates had released the ship in exchange for the money.The pirates had originally demanded 25 million for the ship and its two million barrels of oil,which was worth about 100 million dollars.The tanker had been taken more than 500 miles,or 804.65 km,out to sea in the Indian Ocean.This was despite the patrols of warships in the region.Although the security effort has been stepped up,with ships from the U.S.,U.K.,Germany,France,India and China now participating,it is unlikely maritime patrols alone can stop all,or even most,of the pirates.There are too many pirates with too many weapons for that.Only a stable Somalia with good economic prospects can ultimately solve the problem,and those conditions are nowhere in sight.

Farr's Recommendations

Michael Farr of Farr,Miller and Company likes the following stocks:CVS Caremark(CVS),Colgate Palmolive(CL),Microsoft(MSFT),Johnson and Johnson(JNJ),Cisco Systems(CSCO),Medtronic(MDT),Staples(SPLS),Danaher(DHR) and JP Morgan Chase(JPM).

Three-War Marine Dies

Lt.General Victor H. Krulak,who led U.S. Marines through three major conflicts,has died in San Diego.In poor health for some time,he was 95.General Krulak won the Navy Cross for his actions in World War II.Leading a diversionary raid in the Pacific theater to mask the Bougainville invasion,he declined evacuation despite being badly wounded.In Korea,he was chief of staff to the 1st Marine Division.During the Vietnam War,he was commander of Fleet Marine Force Pacific,championing the cause of small unit tactics to win hearts and minds.He could thus be seen as a precursor to General David Petraeus,whose surge approach bases troops in Iraqi neighborhoods.His son,General Charles Krulak,served as Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1995-99.Lt.General Krulak's book "First to Fight" is considered a classic of Marine Corps literature.

An Economist's View

Jan Hatzius,Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs,says 2009 is still going to be a tough year.We do have a stabilization in the second half,but unemployment will rise into the first half of 2010.We've got 10% positive growth in the second half of 2009.I am absolutely in favor of an activist approach,both from the Federal Reserve and a very aggressive stimulus from the new administration.My biggest concern for 2009 is that the feedback effect,the harm that can be done by the reining in of spending,will be more dramatic than people are anticipating,Mr.Hatzius cautioned.