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
Growth Stocks
RTX Keeps Adding to Its Strong Backlog
RTX Corp. (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corp.) hits new all-time highs on unprecedented global demand.
4 min read
Jim Bates
Value Stocks
Finning International Has a Surging Backlog Amid Mining and Infrastructure Boom
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
Growth Stocks
Strong dollar held back this aggressive investing stock’s earnings
International Road Dynamics, symbol IRD on Toronto, makes products and systems that manage highway traffic, including automated toll-road and weigh-station systems for trucks. The aggressive investing stock’s weigh-in-motion system weighs trucks while they’re moving, rather than at less-efficient roadside weigh stations. International Road also makes advanced traffic-control, driver-management and data-collection systems. In the three months ended November 30, 2010, International Road’s sales fell 16.4%, to $10.7 million from $12.8 million a year earlier. The drop was due mainly a stronger Canadian dollar, which pushed down the company’s U.S. sales by 36.8%, to $4.8 million from $7.6 million. As the U.S. economy improves and government spending on roadways increases, the company’s U.S. sales should pick up. In Canada, sales rose 58.3% in the latest quarter, to $1.9 million from $1.2 million a year earlier. Offshore sales were unchanged at $4.0 million. In the quarter, the company lost $335,000, or $0.03 per share, compared to earnings of $337,000, or $0.03 per share a year earlier. The lower sales were the main reason for the earnings decline....
1 min read
Jim Bates
How To Invest
Stock investing: Pulse Seismic’s earnings soar on strong oil demand
Pulse Seismic, symbol PSD on Toronto, buys, sells and licenses seismic data to clients in western Canada. The company is one of the aggressive stock investing picks we analyze in our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. Pulse’s main business is seismic-data licensing. It has built a library of seismic research that it licenses to clients, mostly oil and gas companies. Pulse usually buys seismic-survey data from oil and gas firms. It also performs what it calls “participation seismic surveys.” Oil and gas producers pay Pulse to participate in these surveys in return for a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use the newly generated data. Pulse owns the data the surveys generate, and adds it to its library. Oil and gas firms, which may use different scientific models in their exploration, can then lease various selections and combinations of the data....
1 min read
Jim Bates
How To Invest
Stock picks: Cost cuts boosted Dorel’s earnings in the latest quarter
Dorel Industries, symbol DII.B on Toronto, makes a wide range of products, including bicycles, ready-to-assemble home and office furniture; juvenile products, such as car seats, strollers, high chairs, toddler beds and cribs (including Eddie Bauer and Disney Baby licensed products); home furnishings, including chairs, tables, bunk beds, futons and step stools; and recreational products. In the three months ended December 30, 2010, the stock pick’s sales fell 1.0%, to $539.5 million from $545.3 million a year earlier. The home furnishing division’s sales declined 19.6%. That’s mainly because of slower sales in the U.S. The juvenile division’s sales dropped 5.0%, mainly due the rising Canadian dollar and lower sales in the U.S. However, the stock pick’s recreational/leisure division’s sales climbed 17.2%, due to strong sales of new products, including a new Schwinn bike....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Growth Stocks
Hot small cap stocks: Strong demand pushes up AlarmForce’s earnings
AlarmForce Industries, symbol AF on Toronto, sells two-way voice alarm systems and monitoring services in Canada and the U.S. AlarmForce’s system differs from others because it lets emergency operators verify an alarm by establishing immediate two-way voice contact with homeowners. It then dispatches security personnel to the client’s home. If intruders are present, the two-way contact can frighten them away. In the three months ended January 31, 2011, the company’s sales rose 10.0%, to $9.9 million from $9.0 million a year earlier. Earnings rose 32.7%, to $1.6 million, or $0.13 a share, from $1.2 million, or $0.10 a share. The company holds cash of $10.2 million, or $0.84 a share, and has no debt....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Dividend Stocks
Lower production hurt this income trust’s latest results
Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund, symbol CHE.UN on Toronto, is one of North America’s largest suppliers of sulphuric acid, sulphur, liquid sulphur oxide and sodium hydrosulphite. It also supplies sodium chlorate, phosphorous pentasulphide and zinc oxide. In addition to selling chemicals, Chemtrade processes spent acid. Chemtrade has three divisions: the Sulphur Products and Performance Chemicals division supplies 54.5% of the income trust’s revenue. Pulp Chemicals accounts for 8.5% of revenue. The International division supplies the remaining 37.0%. This division removes and markets sulpur and sulphuric acid outside of North America. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, the income trust’s cash flow per unit fell 31.7%, to $0.28 from $0.41 a year earlier. This was partly due to reduced production from a few of its larger sulphuric-acid plants, especially the plant in Beaumont, Texas, which had been damaged by a fire in 2008. That plant was shut down for half of the fourth quarter, forcing the company to use higher-cost supply sources and routes to make deliveries to customers....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Dividend Stocks
This Canadian bank stock’s dividend is rising
We’ve long recommended that all Canadian investors own two or more of the big five Canadian bank stocks. That’s mainly because of their importance to Canada’s economy. Like most stocks, the top five banks slumped deeply during the 2007-2009 market downturn and financial crisis. But since the market turnaround of March 2009, several of the top five have recovered and gone on (at least briefly) to all-time highs. Few other stock groups have done as well. (In a recent Successful Investor Hotline, we updated our buy/sell/hold advice on Toronto-Dominion Bank, which is the second biggest of the big-five Canadian bank stocks, after Royal Bank. Read on for further details.)...
2 min read
Jim Bates
How To Invest
This real estate investment trust’s earnings rose sharply in 2010
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, symbol REI.UN on Toronto, operates 297 retail properties in Canada, mainly outdoor shopping malls. It also owns 31 malls in the U.S. through joint ventures, including its partnership with Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. (New York symbol CDR). RioCan owns 80% of the joint venture with Cedar, and 14% of Cedar itself. In 2010, the real estate investment trust’s revenue rose 17.0%, to $887.0 million from $758.0 million in 2009. The real estate investment trust’s earnings jumped 166.0%, to $303.0 million from $113.9 million in 2009. Earnings per unit rose 151.0%, to $1.23 from $0.49, on more units outstanding. The increase was mostly due to a one-time non-cash reversal of future income tax charges. In 2010, RioCan acquired 19 properties in Canada and 29 in the U.S. for a total of $986 million....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Wealth Management
This portfolio management strategy can help you avoid big losses
A key part of our three-part tsinetwork.ca portfolio management advice is to downplay stocks that are in the broker/public-relations limelight.

(The other two parts are to invest mainly in well-established, dividend-paying companies and spread your money across the five main economic sectors: Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities.)

Portfolio management: Why “in the limelight” stocks are riskier than most investors think


It’s especially crucial to downplay stocks that are getting a lot of attention from brokers in the media....
2 min read
Jim Bates
Growth Stocks
Growth stocks: Acquisitions push Stantec’s revenue higher
Stantec Inc., symbol STN on Toronto, sells a range of consulting, project delivery, design/build and technology services. The company’s clients operate in a number of markets, including industry, environment, transportation and construction. Stantec has over 9,400 employees in 150 locations throughout North America. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, the growth stock’s revenue rose 11.9%, to $383.7 million from $342.8 million a year earlier. Acquisitions were the main reason for the revenue increase. The growth stock’s earnings rose 9.6%, to $22.9 million, or $0.55 a share, from $25.1 million, or $0.50 a share. The company continues to grow through acquistions. In October 2010, it acquired Street Smarts, a Georgia company that specializes in roadway engineering. In December it bought Burt Hill, a 600-employee Pennsylvania architectural and engineering firm that focuses on health care and higher education. In February 2011, Stantec acquired QuadraTech, Inc., an engineering-services firm in Newfoundland and Labrador....
1 min read
Jim Bates
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