Dow 30 adds Nike Goldman and Visa, and drops HP BofA and Alcoa

Dow Jones is adding Nike, Goldman and Visa to the Industrial Average, and dropping Hewlett-Packard, Bank of America and Alcoa. They are adding youth and dropping the old guard. Young people wear Nikes and use Visa to purchase them. Goldman may be wily but smart and cool. HP makes money on ink; the B of A can't get over its past mistakes; and Alcoa? Well, aluminum stopped being cool when people started drinking bottled water - about 20 years ago? The inclusion in the Dow should not have any effect on the index, but the included stock will make their way into some passive portfolios tied to the Dow index.

Verizon Sells $49 Billion Bonds at T10+225

Verizon is selling $49 billion 10-year bonds priced at 225bp over the 10-year Treasury. The issue is twice oversubscribed. Investment-grade corporate bonds continue to be popular with investors as safe alternative to super low yielding Treasuries. The bond issue will help finance Verizon's buyout of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. It sounds crazy, but why wouldn't you want to earn 5.2% annually on a super safe investment. Cell phone service revenues have only one way to go - up.