Barron's Recap: The World's Most Respected Companies

This weekend in

online: the annual ranking of the world's most respected companies, as well as the prospects for International Paper, NetApp, Adobe Systems, ResMed, Bank of America, Chico's FAS and more.

"

" by Vito J. Racanelli.

has reclaimed the top spot in

exclusive annual ranking, according to this week's cover story.

(NYSE:

), last year's winner, drops back down to number two. Since 2005, Barron's has surveyed institutional investors each year about their views of the 100 largest companies in the world, as measured by total stock market capitalization. See what qualities investors say most inspire their respect. See which companies have rocketed up the list in the past year, and which have plunged. See which industries are rising, and which 16 companies made the list for the first time. The article also takes a look at how Apple reclaimed its crown as the most respected company, and what might have influenced Berkshire Hathaway's slip to the second position. Berkshire's

famously said that it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. Barron's offers a peek at which companies are doing which.

Sandra Ward's "International Paper Is Packaging Up Profits" points out that this paper and packaging company is ramping up payouts and stock buybacks. See why shares of

could rise up to 40 percent. "Why NetApp Could Gain 25%" by Jack Hough suggests that, given a free cash flow yield of 14 percent, this networked storage company's shares look dirt cheap. The article also discusses whether

could be a takeover play. In "Adobe: From Box to Cloud," Reshma Kapadia explains how this software company has maintained steady earnings growth as it moved its business to a subscription mode. See why

shares could rise 20 percent. New rules on home health-care spending could spell trouble for

, according to Bill Alpert's "A Little Less Breathing Room." See how profit growth and the stock's steady gains could be curbed. See "The Flexible Quant" by Michael Shari for a profile of Justin Abercrombie, the head of the quantitative equity group at Schroders, a big London-based asset manager. He shares why he likes emerging markets, but is short

. In Lawrence C. Strauss's "A Value Hunter Finds Buys in Europe and Japan," Sarah Ketterer, chief executive at Causeway Capital, is interviewed. See how Ketterer still finds reasonably priced stocks to buy, including Komatsu and Schneider Electric. The CEO spotlight is turned on "Bank of America's Brian Moynihan" in this article by Steven M. Sears. See how Moynihan has been cleaning up his predecessors' mess, negotiating with regulators and positioning

for a more promising future. "Chico's Dresses Up for Success" by David Englander focuses on the strong position with higher-income women over 35, the stable of growing brands, cash on the balance sheet, no debt and ample free cash flow of retailer

. "The Turning Point" is an editorial commentary by Thomas G. Donlan that discusses what we can learn from General Grant's decision to pursue and destroy General Lee's army.

Columns in this weekend's

discuss:

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