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GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $11.65 (New York symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330 -796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 244.7 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; No dividends paid) has announced a major expansion of its global off-the-road (OTR) tire business: The company has acquired 100% of its Nippon Giant Tire subsidiary in Japan. (OTR tires are used for heavy equipment.)

Goodyear now plans to spend $250 million to upgrade and expand Nippon Giant Tire’s manufacturing facility. When these improvements are completed, the plant will be able to make a complete line of 57-inch tires, as well as 63-inch tires at a future date.

OTR tire demand is growing rapidly in the mining and road construction industries, and this expansion will let Goodyear tap into that growth. It will also help the company grow further in the Asia-Pacific region, primarily in Australia, which is one of the world’s largest markets for OTR tires.

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FAIRFAX FINANCIAL HOLDINGS $392.57 (Toronto symbol FFH: TSINetwork Rating: Average) (416-367-2612; www.fairfax.ca; Shares outstanding: 19.9 million; Market cap: $7.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.5%) has agreed to buy 77% of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd., a publicly traded company that sells travel, insurance and foreign exchange services in India.

Fairfax is buying this stake from struggling U.K.- based parent company Thomas Cook Group plc for $150 million U.S.

This investment should help Fairfax profit from increasing business travel to India.

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CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $19.04 (New York symbol CHK; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-848 -8000; www.chkenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 662.3 million; Market cap: $12.6 billion; Dividend yield: 1.8%) has moved up from its low of $13.32 in mid-May. That’s mainly because activist investor Carl Icahn has gotten involved in the company’s restructuring. Icahn, who has a long history of pushing companies to make changes that increase shareholder value, has acquired a 7.6% stake in Chesapeake.

Pressure from Icahn has already prompted Chesapeake to announce that it will replace four of its eight board members with nominees of its largest shareholders—Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management Inc., which holds a 13.6% stake.

Icahn now plans to push for cost-cutting measures and a more conservative approach to spending. His proposals will likely include cutting drilling budgets and selling certain pipelines and gas-processing plants.

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CAMECO CORP. $21.63 (Toronto symbol CCO; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (306- 956-6200; www.cameco.com; Shares outstanding: 395.3 million; Market cap: $8.6 billion; Dividend yield 0.7%) is buying Germany-based nuclear fuel broker Nukem Energy for $300 million.

Nukem acts as an intermediary between uranium buyers and sellers. It also sells uranium from two different sources: it has 4.5 million pounds recycled from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons, as well as newly mined uranium from mines in Uzbekistan.

Adding Nukem raises Cameco’s share of the global uranium market to 25% from 18%.

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NEW GOLD $10.16 (Toronto symbol NGD; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (888-315-9715; www.newgold.com; Shares outstanding: 461.7 million; Market cap: $4.7 billion; No dividends paid) has three operating mines: the Mesquite mine in the U.S., the Cerro San Pedro mine in Mexico and the Peak mine in Australia. It also owns 30% of the El Morro copper/gold project in Chile (Goldcorp owns the other 70%) and 100% of the New Afton gold/copper/silver project in B.C.

El Morro contains an estimated 4.7 million ounces of gold and 3.7 billion pounds of copper. New Afton holds 2.7 million ounces of gold, 2.5 billion pounds of copper and 8.3 million ounces of silver.

New Gold also owns the Blackwater property in central B.C., which could hold as much as 7.8 million ounces of gold.

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YAMANA GOLD $16.36 (Toronto symbol YRI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www.yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 746.0 million; Market cap: $12.2 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) owns seven operating gold mines in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. It also holds a 12.5% stake in the Alumbrera copper/gold mine in Argentina, and has three other properties in advanced stages of development.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2012, Yamana’s revenue rose 17.6%, to $559.7 million from $476.1 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). The company increased its production and benefited from higher gold prices. Earnings per share rose 19.0%, to $0.25 from $0.21.

Yamana held a high cash balance of $867.6 million, or $1.16 a share, on March 31. Its $766.0 million of debt is just 6.3% of its market cap. Thanks to the improved results, the company is raising its quarterly dividend by 18.2% with the July 2012 payment, to $0.065 from $0.055. The shares now yield 1.3%.

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LEON’S FURNITURE $10.95 (Toronto symbol LNF; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (416-243-7880; www.leons.ca; Shares outstanding: 69.9 million; Market cap: $765.4 million; Dividend yield: 3.7%) reports that its sales rose 4.4% in the quarter ended March 31, 2012, to $157.4 million from $150.8 million a year earlier. However, earnings fell 16.5%, to $8.6 million, or $0.12 a share. A year earlier, the company earned $10.3 million, or $0.15 a share.

Leon’s spent more on marketing in the latest quarter, and it had to deduct some expenses left over from its opening of four new stores late last year.

Leon’s plans to continue its expansion by opening roughly five new stores a year over the next five years.

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TIM HORTONS $54.48 (Toronto symbol THI; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.timhortons.com; Shares outstanding: 155.8 million; Market cap: $8.5 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%) operates 3,295 coffee-and-donut shops in Canada and 714 in the U.S.

The company earned $0.56 a share in the three months ended April 1, 2012. That’s up 16.7% from $0.48 a share a year earlier.

Sales rose 12.1%, to $721.3 million from $643.5 million. Tim Hortons opened 22 outlets in Canada and seven in the U.S. during the quarter. Same-store sales (which exclude new outlets) rose 8.5% in the U.S. and 5.2% in Canada.

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CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES $20.20 (Toronto symbol CTY; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (613-599-8600; www.calian.com; Shares outstanding: 7.7 million; Market cap: $155.5 million; Dividend yield: 5.2%) operates in two areas: the business and technology services division (which supplies 70% of Calian’s revenue) provides engineers, health care workers and other skilled professionals to clients on a contract basis. The systems engineering division (30% of revenue) sells hardware and software for testing, operating and managing satellite and other communication systems.

In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Calian’s revenue rose 3.7%, to $61.6 million from $59.4 million a year earlier. Earnings rose 12.8%, to $3.7 million, or $0.48 a share, from $3.3 million, or $0.42 a share.

Just before the quarter ended, Calian bought Primacy Management Inc., of Burlington, Ontario. Since 2003, Primacy has been designing, building and managing in-store health clinics for Loblaw Companies (symbol L on Toronto). Primacy now operates 112 such clinics in Loblaw’s stores across Canada.

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FORTRESS PAPER $19.87 (Toronto symbol FTP; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-888-820-3888; www.fortresspaper.com; Shares outstanding: 14.3 million; Market cap: $284.1 million; No dividends paid) has moved up over 20% since early June, mostly on a couple of positive developments.

First, Fortress’s facility in Thurso, Quebec, which it bought in early 2010, is now operating at 92% capacity. The pulp is meeting customer specifications, and shipments to China are increasing.

Second, the company’s Landqart banknote division in Switzerland has announced that a customer has reinstated a significant order that had been postponed. That should take up the excess capacity at the plant.

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DUNDEE REIT $37.67 (Toronto symbol D.UN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-365-3535; www.dundeereit.com; Shares outstanding: 86.0 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Dividend yield: 5.8%) owns and manages 18.9 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space. The trust has a 95.6% occupancy rate. In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Dundee’s revenue jumped 64.9%, to $150.0 million from $91.0 million a year earlier. Most of the increase came from properties the trust recently purchased.

The best way to assess a real estate investment trust’s operating performance is to look at its cash flow, and Dundee’s cash flow rose 62.6% in the latest quarter, to $41.0 million from $25.2 million. Cash flow per unit rose 14.5%, to $0.63 from $0.55, due to more units outstanding (the trust issued new units to pay for the acquired properties).

Dundee’s growth-by-acquisition strategy adds risk, but it is diversifying outside western Canada. At the start of 2010, about 70% of its properties were in western Canada. That’s now down to less than 55%.

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CHEMTRADE LOGISTICS INCOME FUND $15.05 (Toronto symbol CHE.UN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-496-5856; www.chemtradelogistics.com; Units outstanding: 41.7 million; Market cap: $627.6 million; Dividend yield: 8.0%) is one of North America’s largest providers of removal services for resource firms, such as oil refineries and base-metal processors. These companies create sulphur, acid and other by-products as part of their processing activities. Chemtrade converts these substances into useful chemicals, like sulphuric acid.

In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Chemtrade’s revenue rose 34.4%, to $227.9 million from $169.6 million. That mostly reflects the contribution of Marsulex Inc., which Chemtrade bought for $419.5 million in cash and stock in June 2011.

Cash flow rose 6.0%, to $27.5 million from $25.9 million. Cash flow per share fell 28.6%, to $0.66 from $0.84, on more shares outstanding from the Marsulex purchase.

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WESTJET AIRLINES $15.73 (Toronto symbol WJA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 130.1 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%) is upgrading its interline agreement with Korean Air to a full codesharing deal.

WestJet will now be able to sell seats on Korean Air flights. That will let WestJet serve more cities without having to add flights of its own.

Code-sharing agreements are especially valuable for attracting business passengers, because they let customers seamlessly connect between flights and gain frequent flyer points for the entire distance travelled.

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ADOBE SYSTEMS $31.99 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (408-536-6000; www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 496.1 million; Market cap: $15.9 billion; No dividends paid) makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use its software to create print publications and web pages.

The company also makes Adobe Flash, which lets website developers make their pages more interactive by adding animation and video. Around 98% of the world’s computers have Flash installed on them.

Last year, Adobe stopped making Flash for smartphones and other mobile devices. Instead, it’s focusing on developing products that are based on the newer HTML5 Internet standard.

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FAIR ISAAC CORP. $42.44 (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (415-472-2211; www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 34.3 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; Dividend yield: 0.2%) makes FICO Scores, the computer program that dominates the market for software that businesses use to evaluate customer creditworthiness. The company is also profiting by selling software that helps credit card issuers control fraud and analyze their clients’ spending patterns.

In its fiscal 2012 second quarter, which ended March 31, 2012, Fair Isaac’s earnings per share excluding one-time items jumped 41.0%, to $0.55 from $0.39. The company’s ongoing cost cuts were a major reason for the increase. Sales rose 4.4%, to $159.5 million from $152.8 million.

Fair Isaac spends around 10% of its sales on research. That lets it keep producing innovative new products that help it stay ahead of its competitors.

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We first recommended WAJAX CORP. $47.35 (Toronto symbol WJX; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (905-212-3300; www.wajax.ca; Shares outstanding:16.6 million; Market cap: $786.0 million; Dividend yield: 6.8%) in the May 2012 Stock Pickers Digest.

We thought the company had considerable hidden value. It’s not a household name, but its 117 dealerships across Canada sell to a range of customers in growing markets like mining, oil sands, pipelines and public infrastructure.

Wajax also trades at a low price-to-earnings ratio of 11.5, based on this year’s forecast profits, and its recent 35% dividend increase gives it a high 6.8% yield.

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ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES $9.19 (Toronto symbol AF; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-800-267-2001; www.alarmforce.com; Shares outstanding: 12.2 million; Market cap: $112.1 million; Dividend yield: 1.1%) sells two-way voice alarm systems and monitoring services in Canada and increasingly in the U.S. It’s also adding to its prospects with its VideoRelay system, which it launched in October 2011.

In the three months ended April 30, 2012, AlarmForce’s sales rose 10.2%, to a record $11.1 million from $10.1 million a year earlier. Even so, the company lost $0.02 a share, compared to a profit of $0.07 a share. Earnings fell because it increased its advertising spending as it expanded into Florida.

AlarmForce also invested more in VideoRelay, which lets subscribers watch their homes through computers and smartphones. Users can either view live video or receive alerts when the system detects motion. VideoRelay also lets you establish two-way voice communication through the camera, which could scare off burglars.

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ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES $9.19 (Toronto symbol AF; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-800-267-2001; www.alarmforce.com; Shares outstanding: 12.2 million; Market cap: $112.1 million; Dividend yield: 1.1%) sells two-way voice alarm systems and monitoring services in Canada and increasingly in the U.S. It’s also adding to its prospects with its VideoRelay system, which it launched in October 2011.

In the three months ended April 30, 2012, AlarmForce’s sales rose 10.2%, to a record $11.1 million from $10.1 million a year earlier. Even so, the company lost $0.02 a share, compared to a profit of $0.07 a share. Earnings fell because it increased its advertising spending as it expanded into Florida.

AlarmForce also invested more in VideoRelay, which lets subscribers watch their homes through computers and smartphones. Users can either view live video or receive alerts when the system detects motion. VideoRelay also lets you establish two-way voice communication through the camera, which could scare off burglars.

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Activist U.S. investment firm Pershing Square Capital continues to make its presence felt at CP Rail (Canadian symbol CP). With 14.2% of the company’s shares in its hands, Pershing Square has replaced seven of the 16 directors with its own nominees. And it may also aim to install Hunter Harrison, the man who made CNR more efficient, as CEO of Canadian Pacific Railway. Pershing’s involvement is just one reason why we made CP our #1 Stock Pick for 2012. It’s one of many reasons that CP Rail remains at the top of our list of Canadian stocks....

Media companies continue to look for ways to cut their costs in response to rising competition from free information on the Internet. In some cases, the reductions are drastic. Recently, Postmedia’s Ottawa Citizen, Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald all dropped their Sunday editions. But one Canadian media stock with a more specialized clientele aims to remain profitable and maintain its dividend thanks to a major cost cutting measure. The company has also been expanding its presence in international markets....

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on specific stocks 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. This past week, one Inner Circle member requests Pat’s stock investing advice on a company that has a chance to profit from the growing global demand for clean water. One of the company’s biggest areas of growth could be in the highly-publicized area of “fracking” for oil and gas, where it has acquired a new water monitoring service. ...

This is the latest in a series of video interviews in which Pat McKeough gives his advice on a variety of topics. Some will deal with his overall investment philosophy, others on specific investment strategies and still others offer stock market advice related to events that are affecting the markets and the economy. This week, the Financial Post asked Pat whether investors should sell in the wake of the latest European crisis and the tremors it has sent through the market. Following up in today’s video, Pat explains why it’s not a good idea to bail out when you don’t really know the outcome.
Q: Pat, in today’s Financial Post, you were interviewed about the European economic crisis and whether investors should sell before it gets worse?...

Successful investors never “go for broke,” as the saying goes. Instead, they try to arrange their portfolios so that they profit more or less automatically over long periods. You do that by tapping into the long-term growth that inevitably comes to well-established companies when they operate in relatively free economies during relatively prosperous years and decades. To do this, start by following our three-part investing philosophy. First, invest mainly in well-established companies, since they tend to continue to prosper over long periods. Second, diversify across most if not all of the five main economic sectors. Third, downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight, where high investor expectations tend to expand risk....

IMPERIAL OIL $45.93 (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $38.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.1%; www.imperialoil.ca) has slowed work on its proposed Mackenzie pipeline project, which would pump natural gas from the Arctic to Alberta. (Imperial owns 34.4% of this project, which has already received regulatory approval.)

That’s because rising production of natural gas from shale rock has depressed gas prices in the past few years. As well, higher raw material prices would add to the project’s estimated cost of $16.2 billion.

If Imperial decides to proceed, the new line could start up in 2018. The company feels that gas prices will be higher by then, as more coal-fired power plants switch to this cleaner burning fuel. Proposed shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asian markets could also push up prices.

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VANGUARD GROWTH ETF $71.05 (New York symbol VUG; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI U.S. Prime Market Growth Index, a broadly diversified index that mainly consists of stocks of large U.S. companies. Its MER is just 0.10%.

The $24.6-billion fund’s top holdings are Apple Inc., IBM, Google, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Philip Morris International, Oracle Corp., Wal-Mart, Cisco Systems and Qualcomm.

Vanguard Growth ETF is broken down by economic segment as follows: Information Technology (32.3%), Consumer Discretionary (18.0%), Industrials (11.9%), Consumer Staples (11.5%), Health Care (9.5%), Energy (8.1%), Financials (5.0%), Materials (3.1%), Telecommunication Services (0.4%) and Utilities (0.2%).

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