ENCANA CORP. $33 (New York symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 741.7 million; Market cap: $24.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 2.4%; WSSF Rating: Average) is a leading North American natural-gas producer. The company focuses on unconventional reserves, such as shale gas deposits. (Shale gas is natural gas that is trapped in rock formations. To extract it, companies must pump water and chemicals into the rock. This fractures the rock and releases the natural gas.) The company took its present form on December 1, 2009. That’s when the old EnCana Corp. split itself into two separate companies: the new Encana and Cenovus Energy. If you assume the split occurred at the start of 2009, Encana’s earnings per share fell 22.2% in the three months ended March 31, 2010, to $0.56 from $0.72 a year earlier. These figures exclude several unusual items, such as gains on hedging contracts that Encana uses to lock in its selling price for natural gas. Cash flow per share fell 15.1%, to $1.57 from $1.85. Revenue fell 3.7%, to $3.5 billion from $3.7 billion....

CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $28 (New York symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 751.7 million; Market cap: $21.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 2.7%; WSSF Rating: Extra Risk) operates three oil-sands properties in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan. It ships the tar-like oil (called bitumen) from these projects to refineries in Illinois and Texas. ConocoPhillips (New York symbol COP) owns 50% of these refineries, as well as 50% of the company’s two main oil-sands projects. Cenovus also owns conventional oil and gas properties. Cenovus believes its oil and natural-gas reserves will last 14.7 years. These large reserves mean that the company does not need to spend heavily on exploration. That cuts its risk. In the three months ended March 31, 2010, Cenovus earned $353 million, or $0.47 a share (all amounts except share price and market cap in Canadian dollars). That’s down 14.7% from $414 million, or $0.55 a share, a year earlier. Cash flow per share fell 3.0%, to $0.96 from $0.99. Lower natural gas prices and a drop in earnings at its refining operations were the main reasons for the declines....

CHEVRON CORP. $72 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $144.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 4.0%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is the second-largest integrated oil company in the U.S., after ExxonMobil. Chevron gets 95% of its earnings by producing oil and natural-gas. The remaining 5% comes from its refineries, petrochemical operations and gas stations. In response to the BP oil spill, the Obama administration has banned some drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. This forced Chevron to temporarily shut down an operational well and an exploratory well. However, these shutdowns will probably have little impact on Chevron. That’s because these wells represent a small fraction of its operations in the gulf. As well, the gulf accounts for just 9% of its overall production....

In the first quarter of 2010, India’s economy grew by 8.6% compared to the same period last year. That’s the world’s second-fastest growth rate. Only China, with an 11.9% expansion, saw stronger growth. India’s gain was largely the result of a 16.3% increase in manufacturing, as the country continued its faster-than-expected recovery from the global economic slowdown. India’s strong economic performance is expected to continue: the World Bank recently projected that the country’s economy could grow at an annual rate of 8% to 9% over the next two years....

It pays to be skeptical of growth stocks that rely too heavily on acquisitions. That’s because the buyer of something rarely knows as much about it as the seller. So it follows that if a company makes enough acquisitions, it might eventually buy something that has hidden problems. At some point, those problems will come out into the open and hurt the buyer’s earnings.

Big acquisitions can burden growth stocks with high debt

...

Hidden value is one of the key factors we look for when we’re picking high return investments to recommend in our investment advisories, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that covers the U.S. stock market. By hidden value, we mean valuable assets that are not getting the attention they deserve from investors. When a company’s assets are wholly or partially hidden, the stock trades for less than it’s really worth, so you get to buy at a bargain price. Hidden assets come in many forms. For example, companies often carry their real-estate assets on the corporate books at its purchase price, even though its value has multiplied many times over the years....

FPL GROUP INC. $48 (New York symbol FPL; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 414.7 million; Market cap: $19.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 4.2%; WSSF Rating: Average) operates through two wholly owned subsidiaries. Florida Power and Light Company (which accounted for 73% of FPL Group’s 2009 revenue and 49% of its earnings) sells electricity to 4.5 million customers in eastern and southern Florida. This subsidiary’s power stations operate under some form of government regulation. That limits the prices Florida Power and Light can charge, but it also gives the company steady revenue streams. FPL Group also owns NextEra Energy Resources, which operates unregulated electrical-power projects in Canada and 26 U.S. states. NextEra mainly sells its power to other utilities, and is free to sell at the market price or under long-term contracts. In all, its projects generate 18,148 megawatts....

Our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter helps you find the aggressive investing stocks that could greatly enhance your portfolio’s results. These undervalued, often overlooked companies have the potential to explode for large returns of 50% or more in six months or less. It’s important to keep in mind that all aggressive investing stocks – including those we recommend in Stock Pickers Digest – expose you to a higher degree of risk than conservative selections. However, there are many ways to cut your risk in aggressive investing and still put yourself in position for large returns. Here are three key strategies you can easily apply to the part of your portfolio you devote to aggressive investments. They form the core of the advice we give you in Stock Pickers Digest....

Investor concerns continue to mount over high debt levels in many European countries. That’s especially true of the so-called PIIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain). Right now, the European Union and International Monetary Fund are working on a bailout of Greece. However, negotiations are moving slowly, mainly because Germany, which would shoulder most of the bailout, is insisting that the Greek government sharply cut its spending before any restructuring can go forward.

Most European economies still need considerable reform

...

In December, Nissan Motor Co. (symbol NSANY on Nasdaq) will ship the Nissan LEAF to selected U.S. dealers. The company aims to begin selling the car nationwide in 2011. The Nissan LEAF is the first electric car to be widely sold in the U.S. So far, 115,000 customers have paid a $99 reservation fee for the new car. The company aims to convert at least 25,000 of these reservations into firm orders by the time the car begins shipping. In light of recent developments surrounding this new electric car, we’ve updated our buy/sell/hold advice on Nissan in a just-published issue of Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing....