THUMBS UP: Admired Stocks

What stocks are the mostadmired? According to Fortune'sannual "America's Most AdmiredCompanies" issue, here are thetop 10 respected stocks (withtheir average annual return from1997 to 2002): Wal-Mart (21.3%),Southwest Airlines (13.9%), BerkshireHathaway (9.6%), Dell Computer(20.6%), General Electric(1.4%), Johnson & Johnson(11.7%), Microsoft (9.9%), FedEx(12.2%), Starbucks (16.3%), andProcter & Gamble (3.3%). Thecompanies rated as the mostfinancially sound were Microsoft,Berkshire Hathaway, and PhilipMorris. The companies rated ashaving the best long-term investmentvalue were Medtronic, CardinalHealth, and Cintas.