Definition
Blue chip company = (Ro: companie performanta apartinand categoriei «jetoanelor albastre» ; Fr. : entreprises type «jetons bleus»)(See also: market capitalization, High yield investments, Fortune 100 Companies, CAC 40 index, Green chips, Alpha stocks, Penny stock investment) = a financially sound company that has operated in its industry for many years, building a strong name and offering dominant products or services, which is seen as a profitable and safe investment on the market.
~ stocks = the stocks of a ~ company, usually seen as high-priced and valuable stocks. While dividend payments are not necessary for a stock to be considered a blue-chip, most ~ companies have a record of paying stable dividends on a regular basis
~ index = an indicator that ranks the best blue chip companies, used as a benchmark for the actors of the financial markets. It is often price-weighted, so that stocks with the highest prices will have the most influence, but profit-earnings ratios, debt equity ratio, management efficiency, nature of business also matter.
The term is believed to have been derived from poker as a comparison, where blue chips are the most expensive chips; it therefore does not have a legal basis. Practitioners came up with it and today it is a widely used concept.
Useful resources
Case law
http://uniset.ca/other/cs6/mcdo2.pdf - McDonald's Corporation v Steel & Morris, U.S. Supreme Court [1997] - Libel lawsuit against environmental activists
[subsequent action] http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-68224#{"itemid":["001-68224"]} - Steel & Morris v United Kingdom, European Court of Human Rights [2005] - right to freedom of expression
http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FDCO%2020140221826.xml/BROWN%20v.%20ABERCROMBIE%20 - Alexander Brown and Arik Silva (individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated), v. ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO. AND ABERCROMBIE & FITCH STORES, U.S. District Court, N.D. California [2014] - class action against the company’s look policy
http://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?n=2008%20CA%20000098&s=FL&d=70449 - Cynthia Robinson v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Circuit Court, Escambia County, Florida [2014] - $23.6 billion in punitive damages to the family of a man who alleged that his death from lung cancer was caused by smoking. Negligence in informing consumers
[ongoing lawsuit] http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/26/us-autos-ignition-lawsuit-idUSKCN0QV1PH20150826 - Draeger et al. v. Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. et al., U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 15-06491, Federal Court in Los Angeles [2015] Reuters, Stempel, J., Ten automakers are sued in U.S. over 'deadly' keyless ignitions, Aug 26, 2015
http://www.scribd.com/doc/32136379/Rosenberg-v-Harwood-sGoogle#scribd - Rosenberg v. Harwood & Google, U.S. District Court – Utah [2010] - Woman who followed Google Maps "Walking" Directions got hit
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1353575.html - Honda of America Mfg., Inc. v. Norman, Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st Dist.) [2003] - products liability suit
http://www.leagle.com/decision/1994464205MichApp259_1441/OVERTON%20v.%20ANHEUSER-BUSCH%20CO. - OVERTON v. ANHEUSER-BUSCH CO, Michigan Court of Appeals, [1994] - Misleading advertising for Bud Light beer
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/mi-court-of-appeals/1162141.html - Graves v. Warner Bros., Michigan Court of Appeals [2004] - wrongful death
Online publications
http://www.bluechiplist.com/ - Blue Chip Companies. Your guide to the world's best stocks
http://www.cityam.com/224948/ftse-100-carbon-reporting-after-volkswagen-emissions-scandal-how-do-britains-blue-chip - Guibourg C, FTSE 100 carbon reporting: After the Volkswagen emissions scandal, how do Britain's blue chip companies stack up?, September 2015
http://moneycrux.com/blue-chip-stocks/ CHAKRABORTY M, Blue chip stocks, November 2014
http://companiesinindia.in/blue-chip-companies-in-india/ - Pritam N., Top 10 Blue Chip Companies in India, November 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/thestreet/2012/06/11/10-century-old-blue-chip-stocks-still-earning-their-keep/ - The Street – Contributor to Forbes, 10 Century-Old Blue Chip Stocks Still Earning Their Keep, June 2012
http://www.goodreturns.in/classroom/2012/07/what-are-blue-chip-stocks-135016.html - Sneha B K, What are blue chip stocks?, July 2012
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/banks-still-dominate-high-court-cases-involving-blue-chip-firms-9909372.html – Dunkley J., Banks still dominate High Court cases involving blue-chip firms, December 2014
https://books.google.ro/books?id=uZxOG9LWDC0C&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=blue+chip+companies+trials&source=bl&ots=niGhxBj-Kx&sig=cBYw1HKIO8JkVcmeO5KIqyKoqNc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC4Q6AEwA2oVChMI46W4rduLyQIVRZUPCh1CTwPi#v=onepage&q=blue%20chip%20companies%20trials&f=false O’Brien J., Wall Street On Trial. A Corrupted State?, Wiley, 2003
Publications
Moore R., Blue Chip Financial Forecasts. Blue Chip Publications, Aspen Publishers, April 2014. (Appears yearly since 1976)
Wright K., Dividends Still Don't Lie: The Truth About Investing in Blue Chip Stocks and Winning in the Stock Market, Wiley, 2010
Morris, Kenneth M., Virginia B. Morris, Siegel A., The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money & Investing. Fireside, 1999
Siegel A., Jeremy J, Peter L. Bernstein. Stocks for the Long Run. McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, 1998
By Diana Buzilă