The Banker: Top 500 Banking Brands of 2010

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The Banker magazine has released the Top 500 Banking Brands of 2010.  The top 10 banks are listed below.

“The methodology employed by Brand Finance in this Top 500 Banking Brands listing uses a discounted cash flow (DCF) technique to discount estimated future royalties at an appropriate discount rate, to arrive at a net present value (NPV) of the trademark and associated intellectual property: the brand value.”

Top 10 Global Banking Brands for 2010 listed in ascending order:

1. HSBC (HBC)
2. Bank of America (BAC)
3. Santander (STD)
4. Wells Fargo (WFC)
5. Citi (C)
6. BNP Paribas (OTC: BNPQY)
7. Goldman Sachs (GS)
8. Chase (JPM)
9. Banco Bradesco (BBD)
10. Barclays (BCS)

Winners-2010-Bank-Brands

The highest ranked banking brand is HSBC Holdings of the UK. Bank of America of the US and Santandar of Spain came in at the second and third places.Among the emerging bank, Brazil’s Banco Bradesco and Banco do Brasil, India’s State Bank of India and China’s CBC, China Construction Bank and Bank of China all increased their brand values.

The complete list of 500 banking brands can be downloaded here.

Top 10 British Dividend Stocks for 2010

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Recently Thisismoney website of the UK listed the top 10 dividend paying stocks for this year. These stocks were selected by investment management professionals who anticipate them to offer high yields and capital growth.

The stocks listed in the article are:

1. British American Tobacco (BTI)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.77%
Sector: Tobacco

2. BP Plc (BP)
Current Dividend Yield: 6.09%
Sector: Integrated Oil

3. Cable & Wireless (OTC: CWPUY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.19%
Sector: Telecom

4. Centrica
Sector: Utility

5. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
Current Dividend Yield: 5.04%
Sector: Drugs

6. Imperial Tobacco  (OTC: ITYBY)
Current Dividend Yield: 5.29%
Sector: Tobacco

7. National Grid (NGG)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.53%
Sector: Utility

8. Vodaphone plc (VOD)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.96%
Sector: Mobile Telecom

9. HMV Group
Sector: Retail

10. Halfords plc
Sector: Retail

Top Global Energy Industry-Related Companies

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The top global companies in four different areas in the energy industry are listed below. These firms were ranked for 2009 by the consultancy PFC Energy.

1. Top Companies in Exploration and Production

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2. Top Companies in Refining and Marketing

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3. Top Equipment Makers and EPCI

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4. Top Companies in Alternative Energy

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The exploration and production winners is dominated mostly by companies from Canada and the U.S.  Many world-class mining and energy-related companies are based in Canada since the country is rich in natural resources. Four companies from the emerging country of India appear in the refining and marketing category list. In the equipment maker category, six US firms are included. Due to government regulations and demand for green technologies, European firms lead the world in the alternative energy industry. Accordingly 8 of the 15 winners in this category are from Europe.

The Top 15 Global Oilfield Services Providers

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The integrated oil giants such as Exxon Mobil(XOM), Royal Dutch Shell(RDS.A, RDS.B), Total(TOT), BP(BP), etc. depend on the oil field services firms that offer the equipment, the infrastructure and the technology needed to extract, store and transport oil and natural gas. These firms form a very important part of the oil and gas industry by offerering their highly technical know-how and specialized personnel to the industry.

Some of the oilfield services providers such as Schlumberger(SLB),Halliburton(HAL),Baker Hughes(BHI), etc. generate billions in revenues each year and have operations globally. For example, Baker Hughes operates in over 90 countries and offers “advanced products and services to help customers drill, evaluate, complete and produce oil and gas wells.”

The Top 15 Global Oil Services Firms based on rankings by PFC energy are:

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