Jim Bates

Jim is an associate editor at TSI Network. He is the lead reporter and analyst for The Successful Investor and Wall Street Stock Forecaster and a member of the Investment Planning Committee. Jim has held the Chartered Financial Analyst designation since 1992 and spent more than a decade at the Financial Post DataGroup before joining TSI Network. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto.

Posts by the author
Value Stocks
Finning International Has a Surging Backlog Amid Mining and Infrastructure Boom
Finning Int’l Inc. has a bright outlook spurred by mining and infrastructure growth.
2 min read
Jim Bates
McDonald's Corp. plans to keep aggressively opening locations to continue to power its sales.
Blue Chip Stocks
McDonald’s Reports Higher Sales Despite Economic Headwinds
2 min read
Jim Bates
Dividend Stocks
T. Rowe Price Group Offers a High 4.8% Yield Enhanced by a Key New Strategic Alliance
1 min read
Jim Bates
Wealth Management
Stock portfolio: Acquisition helps boost ACI’s latest results
ACI Worldwide, symbol ACIW on Nasdaq, makes software used to process transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and interbank payments.

We analyze ACI in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that recommends investments for the aggressive part of your stock portfolio.

In March 2011, ACI bought ICD Corp....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Growth Stocks
Aggressive portfolio: Aastra Technologies’ earnings rise on lower costs
Aastra Technologies, symbol AAH on Toronto, develops and markets products and systems for accessing communication networks, including the Internet. Its technology is centred around business telephone systems, and includes products that integrate land lines and mobile phones. Aastra is one of the companies we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that recommends stocks that may be appropriate for your aggressive portfolio. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, Aastra’s sales rose 2.2%, to $174.1 million from $170.3 million a year earlier. That’s mainly because the euro and Swiss franc rose against the Canadian dollar (the company gets three-quarters of its sales from Europe.)...
1 min read
Jim Bates
Growth Stocks
U.S.A. stock market: Genuine Parts’ earnings soar on strong industrial demand
Genuine Parts Co., New York symbol GPC, distributes auto parts to over 4,800 independent stores in North America. The company also operates about 1,000 auto parts stores under the NAPA banner. Auto parts account for roughly 50% of its sales, and 52% of its earnings. The company also distributes industrial parts (33% of sales, 32% of earnings), office furniture (13%, 12%), and electrical equipment (4%, 3%). Genuine Parts’ exposure to a variety of businesses helps protect it from slowdowns in certain industries. Genuine is one of the companies we analyze in Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter, our newsletter for U.S.A stock market investing. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, Genuine Parts earned $151.8 million. That’s up 22.0% from $124.5 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 23.1%, to $0.96 from $0.78. That easily beat the consensus forecast of $0.89 a share. Sales rose 11.9%, to $3.2 billion from $2.8 billion. All of the company’s divisions reported higher sales, led by the electrical division, with a 28% rise....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Growth Stocks
Investing in China continues to pay off for Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands Inc., New York symbol YUM, operates 38,000 fast-food restaurants in over 110 countries. Its main banners include KFC (fried chicken), Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Mexican food). Yum is also a leader in investing in China. It was the first fast-food company to enter the country, in 1987. We analyze Yum in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for investing in the U.S. markets. In the three months ended June 11, 2011, Yum’s revenue rose 9.4%, to $2.8 billion from $2.6 billion a year earlier. Earnings rose 10.5%, to $316 million, or $0.65 a share, from $286 million, or $0.59 a share. Excluding unusual items, mostly gains and losses on sales of restaurants to franchisees, earnings per share would have risen 13.8%, to $0.66 from $0.58. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.61 a share....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Energy Stocks
Natural gas stocks: Production increases ahead for Bellatrix Exploration
Bellatrix Exploration, symbol BXE on Toronto, produces oil and natural gas in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. Gas makes up about 62% of its output; the remaining 38% is oil. Bellatrix is one of the natural gas stocks we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, the natural gas stock’s production fell 2.9%, to 11,783 barrels of oil equivalent per day (including natural gas) from 12,141 barrels. However, the decline was mostly due to wet weather conditions....
1 min read
Jim Bates
How To Invest
Stock trading information: IBM earnings jump in latest quarter
International Business Machines Corp., symbol IBM on New York, is the world’s biggest computer company. In the past few years, IBM has shifted its focus from making computers to designing computer systems and managing them on behalf of clients. We analyze IBM in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that gives you stock trading information and advice on U.S. companies. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, IBM earned $3.7 billion. That’s up 8.2% from $3.4 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 14.9%, to $3.00 from $2.61, on fewer shares outstanding. If you exclude unusual items, mainly costs to integrate acquisitions, IBM’s earnings per share rose 17.9%, to $3.09 from $2.62. On this basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $3.03 a share....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Wealth Management
Portfolio management: Risks and rewards of margin investing
Investors sometimes ask us whether they should buy stocks “on margin.” That is, whether they should borrow money from their broker to buy securities.

(When you become a member of Pat McKeough’s Inner Circle, you get to ask me and my team of investment experts anything about your investments—from portfolio management strategies to questions about individual stocks....
2 min read
Jim Bates
How To Invest
Canadian stock tips: Couche-Tard earnings rise as acquisitions continue
Alimentation Couche-Tard, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, is the largest convenience-store operator in Canada, with over 2,000 outlets. It also has over 3,500 U.S. stores. The Canadian stores operate under the Couche-Tard and Mac’s banners, while the U.S. stores mainly use the Circle K brand. Couche-Tard sells fuel at over 68% of its stores. We analyze Couche-Tard in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that gives you Canadian stock tips for the part of your aggressive investing. In the three months ended April 24, 2011, earnings excluding one-time items rose 19.0%, to $64.0 million, or $0.35 a share. A year earlier, Couche-Tard earned $53.8 million, or $0.30 a share (all figures except share prices in U.S. dollars). The latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.30 a share....
1 min read
Jim Bates
How To Invest
Canadian stock picks: Gennum earnings decline in latest quarter
Gennum Corp., Toronto symbol GND, makes equipment for TV broadcasters that stores, manipulates and transfers video signals. It also makes chips that make computer networks work more quickly. Gennum is one of the Canadian stock picks we analyze in The Successful Investor. On April 6, 2011, Gennum acquired Nanotech Semiconductor Limited for $35.9 million. Based in Bristol, U.K., Nanotech designs chips for high-speed communication networks....
1 min read
Jim Bates
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