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LEON’S FURNITURE LTD. $13.40 (Toronto symbol LNF; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (416-243-7880; www.leons.ca; Shares outstanding: 70.5 million; Market cap: $944.7 million; Dividend yield: 3.0%) has received approval from shareholders of The Brick (symbol BRK on Toronto) for its $700-million takeover of that company.

The Brick operates 230 stores across Canada, while Leon’s has 76 outlets in every province except B.C. Leon’s and The Brick will continue to operate as separate chains.

Growth by acquisition can be risky, especially with a deal this big. But The Brick looks like a good fit with Leon’s.

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SYMANTEC CORP. $20.71 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (1-408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 693.9 million; Market cap: $14.4 billion; No dividends paid) sells computer-security technology, including anti-virus and email-filtering software, to businesses and consumers. It also offers data-archiving software that helps its clients meet increasingly strict regulatory and compliance standards.

In the three months ended September 28, 2012, Symantec’s revenue rose 1.0%, $1.70 billion from $1.68 billion a year earlier. The company gets 51% of its sales from overseas. Without the positive impact of exchange rates, revenue would have risen 5% in the latest quarter.

Successful cost cutting pushed up Symantec’s earnings per share by 15.4%, to $0.45 from $0.39, excluding one-time items.

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ACI WORLDWIDE $44.87 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (402-334-5101; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 39.4 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; No dividends paid) makes software for processing transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and interbank payments. Its products also help cut fraud.

In mid-February 2012, ACI completed its $540- million purchase of S1 Corp. This acquisition has been a good fit: S1 sells transaction software for banks, credit unions, retailers and other payment processors. It has over 3,000 clients worldwide.

In the third quarter of 2012, ACI’s revenue rose 38.3%, to $155.1 million from $112.1 million a year earlier. S1’s $47.8-million contribution was the main reason for the gain.

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CAMECO CORP. $20.79 (Toronto symbol CCO; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (306-956- 6200; www.cameco.com; Shares outstanding: 395.3 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; Dividend yield 1.9%) has closed its $251-million purchase of Germany-based nuclear fuel broker Nukem Energy GmbH.

Nukem acts as an intermediary between uranium buyers and sellers. It also sells uranium from old Russian weapons and uranium mined in Uzbekistan.

The company’s supply from Russian nuclear weapons will end when the “Megatons to Megawatts” program concludes this year. The program was the result of a historic 20-year agreement signed between the U.S. and Russia in 1993.

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AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.65 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 172.3 million; Market cap: $112.0 million; Dividend yield: 6.2%) processes copper and molybdenum from the waste rock from Chile’s El Teniente, the world’s largest copper mine. The contract runs at least through 2021. Amerigo also has an agreement to process material from the nearby Colihues tailings pond.

The company gets 94% of revenue by processing copper. The remaining 6% comes from molybdenum.

In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Amerigo’s revenue rose 5.4%, to $44.2 million from $42.0 million a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). The company offset lower copper and molybdenum prices by producing more of both metals.

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One of the keys to successful investing is to avoid costly mistakes that can take months or even years to recover from—that is, to win by not losing. And the best way to avoid investment mistakes is to adopt the habits of successful investors. You can begin very profitably by cultivating these three personal mental strengths:...

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions about specific stock market advice and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle. This week, one Inner Circle member asked about a Canadian stock that plays a unique role in the transportation and utilities industries. Stella-Jones has established a niche as a maker of railroad ties and telephone poles, and Pat looks at its ambitious expansion program into the United States and the risks of this growth-by-acquisition strategy. ...

The deal that was cobbled together in Washington to avoid America’s so-called “fiscal cliff” appears to have staved off bad news, at least temporarily. But bad news about an individual stock can crop up any time—and often with far less warning than heavily reported crises like this one. It’s always upsetting, but it’s not necessarily a calamity. When you hear bad news about a stock you own, it’s easy to react impulsively and sell. But all investments come under a bad news cloud from time to time. If you always sell on bad news, you’ll pay lots of brokerage commissions, but you’ll never make money for yourself....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a beginning or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice and insights, such as how we select our top stocks. 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: “By using our ratings system, investors can make informed stock selections with a much better chance of success.” When subscribers to one of our four investment newsletters read about the stocks we recommend, they see a rating displayed with each stock. These are our TSINetwork ratings: Highest Quality, Above Average, Average, Extra Risk, Speculative and Start-up....

ENBRIDGE INC. $39.81 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 796.9 million; Market cap: $31.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above A v e r a g e ; D i v i d e n d y i e l d : 2 . 8 % ; www.enbridge.com) has formed a new joint venture with Pennsylvania-based Canopy Prospecting Inc.

This new firm, called Eddystone Rail, will build and operate a $68-million railway and pipeline system. These new joint-venture assets will ship crude from Canopy’s shale oil property in North Dakota’s Bakken region to refineries near Philadelphia.

Enbridge will own 75% of this joint venture, and will operate it. The project is forecast to begin operating in the third quarter of 2013.

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ISHARES DEX UNIVERSE BOND INDEX FUND $31.52 (CWA Rating: Income) (Toronto symbol XBB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the DEX Universe Bond Index. The 719 bonds in the portfolio have an average term to maturity of 9.78 years. The fund’s MER is 0.33%.

The bonds in the index are 71.1% government and 28.9% corporate.

The fund yields 3.2%, compared to the Short-Term Bond Fund’s 2.8%. Its yield to maturity is 2.29%, 0.72% above the Short-Term Fund. That reflects the added risk of holding long-term bonds.

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ISHARES DEX SHORT-TERM BOND INDEX FUND $28.91 (CWA Rating: Income) (Toronto symbol XSB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the DEX Short-Term Bond Index. This index consists of a wide range of investmentgrade federal, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds with between one- and five-year terms to maturity. The fund holds 347 bonds with an average term to maturity of 2.85 years. The bonds in the index are 66.5% government and 33.5% corporate. The fund’s MER is 0.28%.

iShares DEX Short-Term Bond Index Fund yields 2.8%. However, this high yield is due to the fact that some of the fund’s bonds pay above-market interest rates. As a result, they trade above their face value. When these bonds mature, holders will only get the bonds’ face value, which means the portfolio will incur predictable capital losses. These losses will offset some of the appeal of the above-market yields.

The key figure when looking at the long-term return of this fund is yield to maturity. This yield takes into account the series of capital losses the fund will experience as its above-market-rate bonds mature. iShares DEX Short-Term Bond Index Fund’s yield to maturity is around 1.57%—less than the 2.8% yield but still higher than the 1.08% you’d earn by investing in, say, a one-year T-bill.

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NEWMONT MINING $47.31 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 491.2 million; Market cap: $23.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 3.0%; www.newmont.com) operates gold mines in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Indonesia and Ghana.

The company’s worldwide diversification, plus its strong cash flow and balance sheet, make it our favourite gold stock for safety-conscious investors.

In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Newmont’s cash flow fell 20.4%, to $849 million, or $1.72 a share, from $1.1 billion, or $2.12 a share, a year earlier. Lower gold prices and higher costs were the main reason for the decline. The company holds cash of $1.5 billion, or $3.07 a share.

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ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS EASTERN EUROPE INDEX FUND $24.70 (New York symbol ESR; buy or sell through brokers), is an ETF that aims to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Eastern Europe Index. The fund’s geographic breakdown is as follows: Russia, 72.2%; Poland, 18.6%; Czech Republic, 3.7%; and Hungary, 3.7%.

The fund’s top holdings are Gazprom (Russia: gas utility), 16.9%; Lukoil (Russia: oil), 11.0%; Sberbank (Russia: bank), 8.7%; Uralkali (Russia: potash), 3.5%; Rosneft Oil Company (Russia: oil and gas), 3.4%; Novatek (Russia: natural gas), 3.4%; Magnit OJSC (Russia: retailing), 3.3%; Tafneft (Russia: oil and gas), 3.2%; Mobile TeleSystems (Russia: wireless), 3.1%; and PKO Bank Polski SA (Poland: banking), 2.9%.

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Eastern Europe Index Fund’s expense ratio is 0.68%.

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ISHARES S&P INDIA NIFTY 50 INDEX FUND $23.67 (Nasdaq symbol INDY; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an ETF that aims to track the S&P CNX Nifty Index, which represents the 50 largest, most liquid Indian securities. The fund’s top holdings are ITC Ltd. (conglomerate), 8.8%; Reliance Industries Ltd. (conglomerate), 7.2%; HDFC Bank, 6.9%; Housing Development Finance, 6.8%; ICICI Bank, 6.7%; Infosys Technologies (software), 6.4%; Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (conglomerate), 4.8%; Tata Consultancy Services (information technology), 3.7%; Hindustan Unilever (consumer goods), 3.1%; and State Bank of India, 3.1%.

The fund’s industry breakdown includes Banks, 20.7%; Computers, 12.2%; Cigarettes, 8.8%; Refineries, 7.6%; Housing, 6.8%; Pharmaceuticals, 5.1%; Engineering, 4.8%; Automobiles, 3.6%; and Oil Exploration/Production, 3.6%. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.89%.

India’s economy likely slowed to a 5.5% growth rate in the third quarter of 2012 from 6.9% a year earlier. But that could rise to over 7.0% next year.

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RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $26.69 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 296.3 million; Market cap: $7.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.riocan.com) recently formed a 50/50 joint venture with ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $30.71 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 60.0 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.alliedpropertiesreit.com).

RioCan, Allied and privately held Diamond Corp. have now agreed to buy the headquarters of The Globe and Mail newspaper in downtown Toronto. RioCan and Allied will each own 40%, while Diamond will hold 20%.

The three partners plan to redevelop the site into a complex with residential, retail and office units. RioCan will manage thestores, and Allied will operate the office portion.

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GUGGENHEIM CHINA SMALL CAP ETF $22.33 (New York Exchange symbol HAO; buy or sell through brokers; www.guggenheimfunds.com) aims to track the AlphaShares China Small Cap Index, which is made up of all Chinese stocks that are legal for foreign investors and have market caps between $200 million and $1.5 billion.

The $231.4-millon fund’s top holdings are Great Wall Motor Co., 2.4%, Shimao Property Holdings, 1.8%; Sino-Ocean Land Holdings, 1.8%; Longfor Properties, 1.7%; China Railway Group, 1.6%; Guangdong Investment Ltd., 1.4%; China Railway Construction Corp., 1.3%; Zoomlion Heavy Industry, 1.3%; China State Construction International Holdings, 1.3%; and Agile Property Holdings, 1.2%.

As China’s economy matures and wages rise, domestic spending should continue to increase. As well, China’s leaders will likely need to spend more on programs to ease the growing gap between the rich and poor. Guggenheim China Small Cap ETF is well positioned to benefit from both of these trends.

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SPDR S&P CHINA ETF $68.92 (New York Exchange symbol GXC; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) is an ETF that aims to track the S&P China BMI Index, which is made up of all publicly traded Chinese stocks that are available to foreign investors. Right now, SPDR S&P China ETF holds 184 stocks.

The $919.1-million fund’s top holdings are China Mobile, 7.6%; China Construction Bank, 7.5%; Industrial & Commercial Bank, 6.1%; CNOOC Ltd., 4.4%; Tencent Holdings Limited, 4.4%; PetroChina Corp., 3.7%; Bank of China, 3.7%; Baidu, 3.3%; China Life, 2.8%; and China Petroleum & Chemical, 2.4%.

The fund’s breakdown by industry is as follows: Financials, 33.4%; Oil and Gas, 14.9%; Information Technology, 11.4%; Telecommunication Services, 9.7%; Industrials, 9.5%; Consumer Discretionary, 6.1%; Consumer Staples, 5.8%; Basic Materials, 4.9%; Utilities, 2.6%; and Health Care, 1.8%.

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ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $16.40 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the 13 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of each REIT is limited to 25% of the ETF’s value.

iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are 0.60% of its assets. The fund yields 4.5%.

The ETF’s largest holding is RioCan REIT at 20.8%, followed by H&R REIT (11.6%), Dundee REIT (9.1%),Canadian REIT (7.4%), Calloway REIT (7.3%), Cominar REIT (6.7%), Boardwalk REIT (6.6%), Canadian Apartment REIT (6.0%), Primaris Retail REIT (5.5%), Allied Properties REIT (4.9%), Chartwell Seniors REIT(4.6%), Artis REIT (4.6%), Northern Property REIT (2.6%) and Crombie REIT (2.0%).

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PENN WEST PETROLEUM $10.70 (Toronto symbol PWT; Shares outstanding: 476.8 million; Market cap: $5.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 10.1%) is one of North America’s largest oil and gas producers. Its production is 66% oil and 34% gas. In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, Penn West’s cash flow per share fell 2.7%, to $0.72 from $0.74 a year earlier. Lower oil and gas prices hurt cash flow, as did a fall in daily output, to 160,339 barrels of oil equivalent from 161,323 barrels.

Penn West has taken on debt, but the resulting investments have failed to increase its production. To improve its performance, it has fired four senior executives and will likely hire outside the company to bring in new expertise.

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CRESCENT POINT ENERGY CORP. $39.03 (Toronto symbol CPG; Shares outstanding: 350.1 million; Market cap: $13.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 7.1%; www.crescentpointenergy.com) produces oil and natural gas in western Canada. Its production is weighted 90% toward oil and 10% to natural gas.

The company continues to focus on its Bakken light-oil development in southeastern Saskatchewan.

In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Crescent Point’s cash flow per share rose 3.7%, to $1.13 from $1.09 a year earlier. The company’s shares yield a high 7.0%. Crescent Point paid out just 62% of its cash flow as dividends in the latest quarter, so its current payout rate looks sustainable.

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GREAT-WEST LIFECO $23.52 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 949.9 million; Market cap: $22.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $532.0 billion in assets under administration. It also operates in the U.S. and Europe.

In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Great-West’s earnings rose 13.8%, to $520 million, or $0.55 a share. A year earlier, it earned $457 million, or $0.48. Revenue rose 1.5%, to $8.6 billion from $8.5 billion.

The company’s balance sheet is strong. As well, Great-West trades at just 11.5 times the $2.05 a share that it is likely to earn in 2012. The stock yields a high 5.2%.

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BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERS L.P. $29.47 (Toronto symbol BEP.UN; Units outstanding: 262.5 million; Market cap: $7.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.brpfund.com) owns 172 hydroelectric generating stations, seven wind farms and two natural-gas-fired plants. In all, it has 4,909 megawatts of generating capacity.

Roughly 35% of Brookfield Renewable’s generating capacity is in Canada, with another 45% in the U.S. and 20% in Brazil. The company sells virtually all of its power under agreements that are an average of 24 years in length.

In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Brookfield’s revenue declined 26.4%, to $229 million from $311 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit fell sharply, to $0.04 from $0.46.

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BELL ALIANT INC. $27 (Toronto symbol BA; Shares outstanding: 227.8 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 7.0%; www.aliant.ca) sells telephone and Internet services to 2.5 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural parts of Ontario and Quebec. The company also sells wireless services through an alliance with BCE, which owns 45% of Bell Aliant.

The company faces strong competition from cable providers. In addition, many of its phone customers are switching to wireless devices. However, Bell Aliant’s wireless agreement with BCE, plus upgrades to its high-speed Internet network, are helping it hold on to its current clients and attract new ones.

Bell Aliant’s high-speed fibre optic systems now reach 621,000 homes. The company plans to increase that to 650,000 by the end of 2012.

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TORSTAR CORP. $6.85 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Shares outstanding: 79.9 million; Market cap: $547.3 million; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 7.7%; www.torstar.com) publishes The Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper by circulation. It also publishes three other daily papers and over 110 weeklies.

As well, the company owns Harlequin Enterprises, the world’s leading romance novel publisher.

In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Torstar earned $14.1 million, or $0.18 a share. That was down 44.0% from $25.2 million,or $0.32 a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 6.2%, to $355.3 million from $378.7 million.

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