We’ve long relied on these 4 tips when picking stocks to recommend in our investment newsletters and services. We think they can help you pick winners in today’s stock market, too.

1. Always ask yourself, “What can go wrong with this investment?” What upcoming event/technology/political trend could derail its profitability? In other words, don’t fall in love with a stock just because

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Macy’s Inc., symbol M on New York, operates 850 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores in 45 states, as well as in District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. It also sells goods over the Internet.

Macy’s is one of the U.S. stock market investments we analyze in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter.

Macy’s makes a point of tailoring its lines …read more »

Over the years, we’ve met a number of investors who favour a stock market strategy of buying stocks only when economic and financial conditions seem good, if not ideal. If these investors hear talk of rising oil prices or interest rates, for example, they are inclined to stay out of the market, or get out if they’re in.

In contrast, when …read more »

Arkansas Best Corp. (symbol ABFS on Nasdaq) specializes in “less-than-truckload” shipping, which involves loading freight from a number of customers onto a single truck.

In 2010, Arkansas Best’s revenue rose 12.6%, to $1.7 billion from $1.5 billion on 2009. The company lost $32.7 million, or $1.30 per share, in 2010. However, that was a big improvement on the $127.5 million, …read more »

Tempur-Pedic (symbol TPX on New York), reported higher revenue and earnings in the latest quarter. Tempur-Pedic manufactures and distributes mattresses and pillows made from its proprietary Tempur pressure-relieving material.

In the three months ended December 31, 2010, Tempur-Pedic’s earnings rose 59.0%, to $46.3 million from $29.1 million a year earlier. The company bought back $250 million of its shares in 2010. …read more »

You’ve probably heard of Facebook, a “social-networking” site with more than 500 million users worldwide. Facebook was started by a group of Harvard University students in 2004. It then expanded to other schools before it was opened to anyone aged 13 and over.

Facebook: An outstanding way to keep in touch with family and friends

In just six years, Facebook has expanded …read more »

Royal Bank of Canada (Toronto symbol RY), is Canada’s largest bank, with total assets of $726.2 billion. The bank is one of the stock market investments we analyze in our Successful Investor newsletter.

The bank has about 79,000 employees, and serves close to 18 million personal, business, public-sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 50 other countries …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 making successful stock market investments. 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: “In …read more »

We are now including company web sites for each investment we cover.

Company web sites can give you further information on stocks we recommend, including press releases, newspaper articles, financial reports and shareholder information, plus dividend reinvestment plan details.

Of course, our in-house investment experts thoroughly research each company we recommend.

However, maintaining an attitude of persistent curiosity is a …read more »

On Thursday, October 29, two directors of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (symbol MFI on Toronto) from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan resigned their positions.

Maple Leaf is Canada’s largest food processor. It sells most of its products, which include fresh and prepared meats and poultry, under the Maple Leaf and Schneider brands. The company is one of the stock market picks …read more »