Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific investment advice, based on our stock market research. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investment strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away.

Tip …read more »

Canada Bread Company Ltd., symbol CBY on Toronto, is Canada’s second-largest producer of baked goods after Weston Bakery. It also makes specialty pastas and sauces. The company’s main brands include Dempster’s, New York Bakery, Tenderflake, and Olivieri.

Earnings fell 21.3% to $61.0 million, or $2.40 a share, in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010. In 2009, it earned $77.5 million …read more »

FORD MOTOR CO. $15 (New York symbol F; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 3.6 billion; Market cap: $54.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; No dividends paid since June 2006; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.ford.com) has agreed to form a 50/50 joint venture with Russian carmaker Sollers. This new business should start making passenger cars and light commercial vehicles …read more »

Some investors rely on technical analysis (or chart reading) when they’re looking to add high return investments to their portfolios. That’s because relying on charts seems much simpler than delving into and weighing a company’s fundamentals.

We always do some technical analysis when we look for high return investments to recommend in our newsletters, including Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for …read more »

C.R. Bard Inc. (symbol BCR on New York) makes medical devices in four main areas: urology products, such as vascular products, including stents and catheters (28% of 2010 sales); oncology products that detect and treat various types of cancer (27%); drainage and incontinence devices (26%); and surgical tools and other products (19%).

Bard is one of the stock market picks we …read more »

Briggs & Stratton (symbol BGG on New York) is the world’s largest lawnmower engine maker. This business accounts for 62% of Brigg’s revenue. It gets the remaining 38% by making other home and garden equipment, such as portable and standby generators, pressure washers and snow blowers.

In the three months ended December 26, 2010, sales rose 14.6%, to $450.3 million from …read more »

Adding a stock market pick from the Consumer sector can add stability to your portfolio. That’s because these companies sell items, like food, that consumers must buy regardless of the direction of the economy. The best consumer stocks have built brands that have strong customer loyalty and produce steady, predictable revenue streams.

In a just-published issue of Wall Street Stock …read more »

Canadian National Railway Co. (Toronto symbol CNR) operates Canada’s largest freight rail network, and serves 16 U.S. states. CN is one of the Canadian stock picks we analyze in our Successful Investor newsletter.

In 2010, CN earned $2.1 billion, or $4.48 a share. That’s up 13.5% from $1.8 billion, or $3.92 a share, in 2009. Excluding one-time items in both years, …read more »

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on successful investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away.

Tip of the week: “2 risks of following …read more »

Adobe Systems Inc. (Nasdaq symbol ADBE) makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use Adobe’s software to create print publications and web pages.

The company also makes Adobe Flash, which lets web site developers make web pages more interactive by adding animation and video. Computer users can download …read more »