If ever the time was ripe for reforming farm subsidies, this would be it. Food prices are soaring, the farm economy is thriving and Washington faces large budget deficits. But horse trading both figuratively and literally has largely preserved the $25 billion in direct payments aimed at giant farms. The Senate-passed farm bill included a provision making it easier for horse breeders to qualify for the 15% long-term capital gains rate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and...

One way a conservative investor can gain foreign exposure is to buy a U.S. stock with an international footprint.

Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin () is such a stock.

While many stocks are slipping amid the U.S. slowdown, Parker Hannifin is charging ahead.

The NYSE composite is down 5% from a year ago; Parker Hannifin’s stock rose 30% in the same period.

The reason is foreign exposure.

In 2001, international industrial sales made up about 21% of Parker Hannifin’s net sales. In the most recent quarter, that figure was 42%.

That 42% figure may understate the foreign exposure because of the way Parker reports segments.

North American industrial sales make up about 34% of net sales; aerospace, 15%; and climate and industrial controls, 9%. It isn’t clear how much of the latter two segments are foreign sales.

It is clear, however, that Parker Hannifin is firing on all cylinders.

Earnings jumped 30% in fiscal Q3 ended in March. Sales grew 14%.

That prompted Chief Executive Don Washkewicz to note at the April earnings call that while he thinks the U.S. has been in a recession for at least eight months, Parker Hannifin is not in a recession.

Growth is particularly strong in Asia and Latin America.

Plus the weak dollar is boosting sales. Six percentage points of Parker’s 14% sales increase in fiscal Q3 were tied to currency exchange.

That prompted analyst Alex Blanton of Ingalls & Snyder to ask the big question at the earnings call: What if the dollar strengthens?

Management had no easy answer.

“We just need to manage through it,” Chief Financial Officer Tim Pistell said.

Parker Hannifin’s dividend yield is 1%, and the annual payout has risen for 51 consecutive years.

Jerry Yang began his biggest public presentation since becoming chief executive of Yahoo with something of an apology. “Im guessing that a lot of you are here today to see what the new look and new face of Yahoo is all about,” he told an audience of some 1,500 technology enthusiasts at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. “Well, Im sorry to disappoint you. Its still the same old face. Ive been around since the beginning.” Yang, a co-founder of Yahoo,...