Coming trend boosts GT

Article Excerpt

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $34.88 (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; s/o: 251.8 million; Market cap: $8.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.2%) is up over 11% after major U.S. bro ker Morgan Stanley raised the company to a buy. It pointed to the rapid growth of self-driving technology and car-sharing services. They should increase the number of miles the average family drives. Morgan Stanley also believes other innovations, such as better and cheaper electric cars, will further raise demand for tires. Specifically, Morgan Stanley predicts that the number of miles travelled by vehicles on roads worldwide could double by 2030 to 20 trillion miles from today’s 10 trillion. By 2040, it could triple. Those gains will come as technological improvements to electric and self-driving vehicles lower the cost of driving. Goodyear Tire & Rubber is a buy. buy…