Alcoa Inc., symbol AA on New York, is one of the world’s largest aluminum producers. The U.S. stock’s customers are mainly in the aerospace, automotive, construction and beverage industries. Alcoa operates in 31 countries. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, the U.S. stock’s sales rose 21.9 %, to $6.0 billion from $4.9 billion a year earlier. Even so, the latest sales fell short of the consensus estimate of $6.1 billion. Alcoa earned $309 million, or $0.27 a share. If you exclude unusual items, such as costs to integrate firms Alcoa recently bought, it would have earned $0.28 a share. On that basis, the U.S. stock’s latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.27 a share. A year earlier, Alcoa lost $194 million, or $0.19 a share....

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....

There’s no limit to the types of investment questions Inner Circle members can ask me and my team of investment experts. Members often ask us about the best ways to profit from specific trends in society. For example, we’ve gotten more questions from members about green energy stocks as concern for the environment has risen. An Inner Circle member recently asked for our recommendation on Electrovaya Inc. This green energy stock’s lightweight batteries can be used in renewable-energy projects and hybrid cars. To give you a sense of how the Inner Circle works, I’d like to share this question, and our answer, with you. I hope you enjoy and profit from it. Q: Hello Mr. McKeough: Recently there has been interest in Electrovaya Inc., which has signed an agreement to provide batteries to Chrysler. What is your opinion on this stock? Regards....

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. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investing strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “The top 3 ways to earn higher profits in world stock market investing” High-quality foreign stocks are a great way to diversify your portfolio. Moreover, many fast-growing markets, like China and India, have positive outlooks. That’s because their people are generally younger than North Americans, and rising incomes are helping more of them advance into the middle class....

McCormick & Co. Inc., New York symbol MKC, makes spices, herbs, seasonings, specialty foods and flavours, and markets them to the food industry. In addition to North America and Europe, the company operates in Mexico, Central America, Australia, China, Singapore, Thailand and South Africa. The U.S. stock’s brands include McCormick, Old Bay, Thai Kitchen and Billy Bee. In the three months ended February 28, 2011, earnings rose 13.1%, to $76.8 million from $67.9 million a year earlier. The company spent $50.3 million on share buybacks during the quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 11.8 %, to $0.57 from $0.51. That beat the consensus earnings estimate of $0.54 a share. Sales rose 2.4%, to $782.8 million from $764.5 million a year earlier. Strong sales in China, India and Mexico offset weak or flat sales elsewhere. The company also raised its prices to offset the higher ingredient costs....

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....

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....

Green stocks continue to appeal to many investors on an emotional and conceptual level. However, many of these companies offer limited investment potential. That’s because green stocks may need a long time to move from the research or concept stage to profitability. As well, many green stocks need government subsidies to be profitable, and the future of these subsidies is uncertain as governments around the world struggle with high budget deficits. To cut your risk in green stocks, we continue to recommend that you focus on established firms that have a sound base of other operations, or whose products have many different uses....

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....

MCKESSON CORP. $78 (New York symbol MCK; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 254.3 million; Market cap: $19.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.2; Dividend yield: 0.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mckesson.com) is the largest wholesale drug distributor in the U.S. and Canada. It also owns 49% of Mexico’s largest drug distributor. McKesson’s customers include 40,000 pharmacies, as well as doctor’s offices, hospitals and clinics. The company also supplies surgical tools and health and beauty products. McKesson continues to see strong growth from its technology-solutions division, which makes computers and software that help pharmacies and clinics manage their drug inventories. This division accounted for just 3% of McKesson’s sales, but around 25% of its earnings. In its 2011 third quarter, which ended December 31, 2010, McKesson’s earnings fell 52.5%, to $155 million, or $0.60 a share. It earned $326 million, or $1.19 a share, a year earlier. The drop was mainly due to a $189-million charge related to a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of inflating prescription-drug prices. If you exclude all unusual items, McKesson would have earned $1.22 a share in the latest quarter....