Scott Clayton

Scott is an associate editor at TSI Network. He is the lead reporter and analyst for Dividend Advisor, Power Growth Investor and Canadian Wealth Advisor and a member of the Investment Planning Committee. Scott began his investment and financial career working with Pat McKeough at The Investment Reporter in the 1980s. Subsequently, he worked at the Financial Post Corporation Service for 10 years. He joined TSI Network in 1998. He is a Bachelor of Economics graduate of York University, and he also has an M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business.

Posts by the author
How To Invest
The Ins and Outs You Need to Know About Investing in Real Estate vs Stocks
Recognizing the significant added risks that investing in real estate vs stocks can lead to is key to making smart decisions
3 min read
Scott Clayton
How To Invest
5 Facts About Investing in Stocks You Should Know to Maximize Profits
4 min read
Scott Clayton
Growth Stocks
Successful Investors Use These Key Tips to Find the Best Growth Companies to Invest In
4 min read
Scott Clayton
Daily Advice
Stock market: C.R. Bard’s earnings rise 9.1% in latest quarter
C.R. Bard Inc, symbol BCR on New York, makes medical devices in four main areas: vascular products (28% of sales) such as stents and catheters; oncology products (27%) that detect and treat various types of cancer; urology products (26%) such as drainage and incontinence devices; and surgical tools (16%). Other medical products supply the remaining 3%. We analyze C.R. Bard in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for investing in the U.S. stock market. In the first quarter of 2011, Bard’s sales rose 7.6%, to $700.3 million from $650.8 million a year earlier. Earnings gained 9.1% to $131.9 million, or $1.49 per share. The stock market pick earned $121.2 million, or $1.24 a share, a year earlier....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Growth Stocks
Aggressive portfolio: Rising vacation travel pushes up Wyndham’s earnings
Wyndham Worldwide Corp., symbol WYN on New York, is the third-largest hotel company in the world with 7,190 franchised hotels. It operates under a number of brands, including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Wingate by Wyndham, Baymont Inn & Suites, Microtel Inns & Suites, Hawthorn Suites, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn and Ameri-host Inn. We analyze Wyndham in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for stocks that are appropriate for your aggressive portfolio. In addition to hotels, Wyndham manages a number of vacation resorts, rental properties, luxury clubs and time-shares. The aggressive portfolio stock now has 97,000 vacation rental properties worldwide....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
How To Invest
Best stocks: Automotive recovery helps spur Genuine Parts’ earnings
Genuine Parts Co., symbol GPC on New York, distributes auto parts through more than 5,700 NAPA Auto Parts stores in the U.S. and 690 wholesalers in Canada. The company also distributes industrial parts, office furniture, and electrical equipment. We analyze Genuine Parts in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that helps you find the best stocks in the U.S. markets. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Genuine Parts earned $126.5 million. That’s up 25.7% from $100.6 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 27.0% to $0.80 from $0.63, on fewer shares outstanding....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Growth Stocks
Growth stocks: Linamar earnings rise on rebounding vehicle sales
Linamar Corp., symbol LNR on Toronto, is an international engineering company that mainly makes transmission and driveline systems for carmakers in North America, Europe and Asia. The growth stock’s products also include engines and self-propelled, scissor-type elevating work platforms, which it makes under the Skyjack name, plus consumer products, such as lawn mowers and cargo trailers. Excluding one-time items, such as writedowns and severance costs, Linamar earned $86.1 million, or $1.33 a share, in 2010. That’s a big improvement over the $1.1 million, or $0.02 a share, that Linamar earned in 2009. The 2010 turnaround reflects the recovery of worldwide vehicle sales from the depressed levels of 2009. The growth stock’s sales rose 33.0%, to $2.2 billion from $1.7 billion. Most of the gain was the result of a 37.1% increase in sales at the powertrain/driveline division, which accounted for 93.1% of the growth stock’s total 2010 sales....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Energy Stocks
Canadian oil stocks: How to tap into the Bakken oil bonanza
Oil now trades at around $110 U.S. a barrel. That’s up over 29% from $85 U.S. a year ago, and 175% higher than its low of $40 U.S. in February 2009. We think oil prices could rise even further if the global economy continues to rebound, as we expect. Even so, we continue to advise against overindulging in Canadian oil stocks. That’s because the Resource sector (including oil) is highly volatile, and no one can accurately predict future oil prices. However, you can profit nicely over long periods by investing a reasonable portion of your portfolio in well-established or well-managed Canadian oil stocks, especially those with high-quality reserves and rising production. These companies are well-positioned to profit during periods of high oil prices, and are able to at least partly offset price declines by producing more oil....
3 min read
Scott Clayton
Mining Stocks
Gold stocks: The best way to profit from rising gold
Gold closed at an all-time high of $1,475.00 U.S. in Friday’s trading. It now trades at around $1,468, up 27.4% from a year ago. Gold’s recent gains have partly resulted from investor fears about the sovereign debt of European countries after Portugal requested a bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Investors are also worried about political turmoil in Libya and other Middle Eastern countries, as well as the possibility that today’s artificially low interest rates and governments injecting money into their economies will spur a huge rise in inflation. These fears are prompting more investors to buy gold and gold investments, because they believe investing in gold will provide them with additional security....
3 min read
Scott Clayton
Growth Stocks
This technology stock’s earnings soared in the latest quarter
Adobe Systems Inc., symbol ADBE on Nasdaq, makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use the technology stock’s software to create print publications and web pages. We analyze Adobe in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on stocks in the U.S. market. 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 the technology stock’s Flash Player viewer for free....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Blue Chip Stocks
Blue chip stocks: FedEx reports lower earnings, higher sales
FedEx Corp., symbol FDX on New York, delivers packages and documents in the U.S. and over 220 other countries and territories. Its fleet of 80,000 trucks and 684 aircraft delivers over eight million packages a day. In its fiscal 2011 third quarter, which ended February 28, 2011, FedEx earned $231 million or $0.73 a share. That’s down 3.3% from $239 million, or $0.76 a share, a year earlier. The decline was mainly the result of $43 million in one-time costs associated with the combination of the blue chip stock’s FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL (less than truckload) divisions into a single business unit. The company also paid more for fuel and reinstated merit salary increases. As well, bad winter weather in the U.S. increased its aircraft-maintenance costs. Revenue rose 11.0%, to $9.7 billion from $8.7 billion, as the improving economy continues to spur demand for delivery services....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
How To Invest
Investing in stocks: Aeropostale sales and earnings rise in latest quarter
Aeropostale Inc., symbol ARO on New York, is a mall-based retailer of casual clothing and accessories. The company has 965 Aeropostale stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. It mainly sells its clothing to 14-to-17-year-olds. Aeropostale’s 47 “P.S. from Aeropostale” stores in the U.S. are aimed at seven-to-12-year-old elementary-school children. In the fiscal year ended January 29, 2011, Aeropostale’s sales rose 7.6% to $2.4 billion from $2.2 billion the previous year. Same-store sales rose only 1%, compared to a gain of 10% in the prior year, but online sales rose 24.2% to $160.2 million from $129.0 million. The company’s earnings rose 0.8%, to $231.3 million from $229.5 million. Earnings per share rose 9.7%, to $2.49 from $2.27, on fewer shares outstanding. In the latest fiscal year, Aeropostale bought back 10.3 million shares for $257.5 million....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
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