On the pin action off of the William Wrigley Jr. Co. (WWY) deal...
JJC:    People have to understand that WWY is a very well-managed company. Bill Perez has done a great job. He came in and it was at 27x earnings, obviously now going out at 30+x earnings... General Mills Inc. (GIS), HJ Heinz Co. (HNZ)... a very substantial discount to this... at 17x earnings. ConAgra Foods, Inc. (CAG), even lower... Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) lower still... All of these companies, I think are... should be re-evaluated upwards after this, because these companies are every bit as good as WWY. You had GIS's management on. That stock seems downright cheap to me. So does HNZ. CAG is reinventing itself. I think this group has been forgotten about... Those who think we're not coming out of a recession for some time... you've got to consider this group. Buffett sure did this weekend, and I want to take the multiples higher... I really want to emphasize that WWY, because of Perez who came in, who's really a great, great manager... It's not like they're going to come and butcher the company... They're going to keep Perez. These other companies, therefore, I think are worth more. HNZ is very well-run... So is GIS... CAG... I do not think KFT is well-run... That's a company that it seems unlikely as a takeover target, but it does have very good brands... Yeah, KFT could be right here. This is one of those situations... where the frequent thinkers (as possible suitors to acquire these companies) are Nestle's... You know, I've got to tell you, that GIS, K... as a combination would be pretty interesting. At the same time, again, that's an under-managed brand. Buffett went after an over-managed brand, as did Mars. By the way, Mars... I've worked with that company from time to time, and know management... That is a superior company than most of the public companies... I think it's a fantastic company... and I don't blame them one bit. Being public is really not fun anymore. Mars is the best-run company in the food business. Everyone has always known that and they're private. What does that say?...

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On  the potential bid from Cadbury Schweppes plc (CSG) for Hershey Co. (HSY)...
JJC:   Well, HSY seems to be... there are a lot of self-inflicted wounds at HSY... and I think the time has come and gone. The stock seems very cheap to me... A very under-managed brand. At the same time, Cadbury itself, has got a series of issues. I think that neither one of those companies necessarily is in shape to do a big deal. I think Campbell's is very much in shape to do a big deal, and that would be an interesting combination. But, for packaged group, I keep coming back to your interview with General Mills Inc. (GIS), which was really terrific... People should go back and realize that this company, at 18x earnings, may be a steal. GIS may be a steal, because it's every bit as good as Wrigley (WWY), if not better...

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On  Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) and Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) and Apple (AAPL)...
JJC:   RL, PVH... These are $600 names... In other words, they are names that people are presuming are going to get the $600 (e.g., federal government tax rebate that started being direct deposited into individual accounts today)... AAPL, an iPod in every pocket... Wealthier people are going to go to their Apple store, and I don't blame them. It's my favorite thing to do when I'm not working...

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