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2 tips that will help you leave a more profitable estate to your heirs. From time to time, we hear from investors asking us how they might

The fast food industry is notoriously competitive. It can give rise to some powerful growth stocks—but it is not always easy for companies to keep growing. Today we examine the world’s largest pizza takeout chain to see whether it can sustain the success it has had in 2011. DOMINO’S PIZZA $32.21 (New York symbol DPZ; www.dominos.com) is the world’s largest chain of pizza stores that offer takeout and delivery. The company operates 9,541 stores in the U.S. and over 70 other countries. Franchisees run most of these outlets....

On Friday, in response to a question from a member of my Inner Circle, I talked about Cisco Systems and the challenges technology stocks face in a highly competitive industry. (View the article: Technology stocks: Cisco Systems strives to maintain its leadership in cutting-edge technology.) Today I’d like to follow up by discussing the risks and rewards investors can expect with tech stocks in general. Fast-changing technology offers huge opportunities in these stocks. However, fast change can also bring danger....

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. An intriguing question this week concerned one of the world’s best-known technology stocks. Cisco Systems offers leading-edge products in a highly competitive industry. Pat examined just how it plans to maintain its position in the face of rapid change and overseas competition....

Dividends rarely get the respect they deserve, especially from beginning investors. That’s because a dividend paying stock’s yearly 2% or 3% or 5% yield barely seems worth mentioning alongside yearly capital gains of 10%, 20% or 30% or more. But dividends are far more reliable than capital gains. A stock that pays a dividend of $1 this year will probably do the same next year. It may even raise it to $1.05....

How to cut your risk with ‘thin-trading’ stocks. Many speculative or aggressive stocks are inactive or “thin” traders. These stocks may trade

Canada’s real estate investment trusts (REITs) were the only category of trusts exempted from the federal government’s income trust tax. This has helped them remain popular with investors seeking both income and capital gains. Today we examine the expansion plans of the largest of those trusts, a specialist in shopping malls. RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; www.riocan.com) is the largest of Canada’s REITs. It specializes in big-box-style outdoor malls, and owns 314 retail properties, 10 of which are under development. Most are in suburban areas, where land is generally cheaper than in towns and cities....

There is plenty of bad news plaguing the markets these days. But bad news about an individual stock can crop up any time, in good markets or bad. 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....

Commodity investments: Acquisitions help offset weakness in other operations. Ag Growth International Inc. (symbol AFN on Toronto;)), is a

When we select the best stocks for our newsletters and investment services, we use a number of different factors, of course. Below we examine three factors that can be easily overlooked by many investors. When you use these tips wisely, they can give you a distinct advantage in spotting the best stocks for your portfolio....

How we use three financial ratios to uncover bargain stocks. When you’re looking for bargain stocks, it’s best to focus on shares of quality companies

PEYTO EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT CORP. (Toronto symbol PEY; www.peyto.com) continues to generate higher cash flow. And it’s reinvesting that cash flow to expand production in order to deliver greater returns for its shareholders. The company produces and explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta. Peyto’s average daily production of 34,443 barrels of oil equivalent (including natural gas) is weighted 89% toward gas and 11% to oil....

Owning your primary residence has all the earmarks of a great financial deal. Mortgage payments amount to forced savings, a home is an inflation hedge, and capital gains are tax-free. However, you can easily fritter away these solid real estate investments by upgrading excessively, or moving frequently. Here are 4 reasons why:...

J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO. $34 (New York symbol JPM; Income Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 3.9 billion; Market cap: $132.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.jpmorganchase.com) is one of the world’s largest financial-services companies, with 5,400 retail bank branches in the U.S. It also offers credit cards, wealth-management and investment-banking services. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, Morgan earned $4.3 billion, down 3.5% from $4.4 billion a year earlier. However, earnings per share rose 1.0%, to $1.02 from $1.01, on fewer shares outstanding. If you exclude unusual items, such as costs to settle lawsuits related to subprime mortgages, Morgan would have earned $0.97 a share in the latest quarter. Revenue fell 0.3%, to $23.76 billion from $23.82 billion. Loan-loss provisions fell 25.2%, to $2.4 billion from $3.2 billion. However, the latest figure is up from $1.8 billion in the second quarter of 2011....

WELLS FARGO & CO. $26 (New York symbol WFC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 5.3 billion; Market cap: $137.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.wellsfargo.com) provides a wide variety of financial services through roughly 9,000 branches in the U.S. It also operates in Canada, the Caribbean and Central America. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway holding company owns 7% of Wells Fargo’s shares. In the quarter ended September 30, 2011, Wells Fargo earned $4.1 billion, up 21.4% from $3.3 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 20.0%, to $0.72 from $0.60, on more shares outstanding. More clients are repaying their loans on time. As a result, loan-loss provisions fell 47.4%, to $1.8 billion from $3.4 billion. That was the main reason for the earnings increase. Even so, revenue fell 6.0%, to $19.6 billion from $20.9 billion. That’s largely because Wells Fargo is getting less interest income from borrowers due to today’s low interest rates. As well, it has a smaller investment banking business than J.P. Morgan (see below), so it is more reliant on traditional lending....

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. This week, an Inner Circle member asked Pat about one of Canada’s major mining stocks. Labrador Iron Ore Royalty has quietly built a position as a world leader in iron ore. Now it faces several challenges in today’s volatile commodity markets....

NVIDIA CORP. $15 (Nasdaq symbol NVDA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 603.7 million; Market cap: $9.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.nvidia.com) develops 3D graphics chips and related technology for computers, gaming consoles and other devices. The company’s chips make computer games run more smoothly and appear more lifelike. Nvidia focuses on design, and outsources production to other chipmakers. The company continues to see strong demand for its chips from makers of smartphones and other mobile devices; Motorola and Samsung are now using Nvidia’s new Tegra chips in their latest smartphones. Rising sales to mobile device makers are also offsetting slower sales of chips for desktop and notebook computers. In its 2011 second quarter, which ended July 31, 2011, Nvidia earned $193.5 million. That’s up 306.2% from $47.6 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 300.0%, to $0.32 from $0.08, on more shares outstanding. Sales rose 25.3%, to $1.0 billion from $811.2 million....

TERADATA CORP. $57 (New York symbol TDC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 168.3 million; Market cap: $9.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.4; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.teradata.com) makes computers and software that capture and store large amounts of a business’s data, including its sales and inventory. Teradata then analyzes this information and identifies buying habits and trends. This helps its clients make better business decisions. The company continues to add to its expertise in cloud computing, which involves storing data and software on one or more centralized servers. Users access these programs or files over the Internet, or through some other computer network. For example, in January 2011 Teradata paid $525 million for privately held Aprimo, which uses a cloud computing model to sell software and services to over 150,000 clients. Aprimo’s products help its customers evaluate their marketing campaigns....

Economic forecasts attract far more investor attention than they deserve, in view of the meagre advantage, if any, they provide in terms of investing advice. That’s especially true today in light of the debt crisis that keeps flaring up in Europe and the uncertainty that lingers in the U.S. Small wonder, then, that most experienced, successful investors feel skeptical, if not downright cynical, about economic forecasts, for three reasons....

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $28 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 490.9 million; Market cap: $13.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use Adobe’s software to create print publications and web pages. The company also makes Adobe Flash, which lets web site developers add animation and video. In its third quarter, which ended September 2, 2011, Adobe’s earnings fell 15.2% to $195.1 million, or $0.39 a share. A year earlier, it earned $230.1 million, or $0.44 a share. Without one-time items, earnings per share would have risen 1.9%, to $0.55 from $0.54. Revenue rose 2.3%, to $1.01 billion from $990.3 million....

How to be a successful investor by cutting down on your risk. Many people come up with unrealistic answers to the question of how much risk is right for them.

CONAGRA FOODS INC. $25 (New York symbol CAG; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 414.5 million; Market cap: $10.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.conagrafoods.com) makes a wide variety of packaged foods, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter and Orville Redenbacher popcorn. The company gets 65% of its sales from consumers. Businesses, such as restaurants, account for the remaining 35%. The company’s sales fell 3.5%, from $12.0 billion in 2007 to $11.6 billion in 2008. That’s because ConAgra sold its commodity trading operations. Sales rebounded to $12.7 billion in 2009, but fell 5.1%, to $12.1 billion, in 2010. Sales rose to $12.3 billion in 2011, thanks to acquisitions and price increases....

Dividend reinvestment plans, or DRIPs, are plans some companies offer to allow shareholders to receive additional shares in lieu of cash dividends. DRIPs bypass brokers, so shareholders save on commissions. DRIPs also eliminate the nuisance effect of receiving small cash dividend payments. Second, some DRIPs let you reinvest your dividends in additional shares at a 5% discount to current prices. Third, many DRIPs also allow optional commission-free share purchases on a monthly or quarterly basis. Generally, investors must first own and register at least one share before they can participate in a DRIP. Registration will generally cost $40-$50 per company. The investor must then notify the company that he or she wishes to participate in the company’s DRIP....

Companies with dominant market shares of widely used products are in an enviable position. But as markets become more saturated, those companies must look elsewhere for growth. Diebold aims to take on this challenge in several ways. DIEBOLD INC. (New York symbol DBD; www.diebold.com) is a leading maker of automated teller machines (ATMs). It also makes safes, vaults and building-security systems. To cut its reliance on ATMs, the company now offers more services, such as software, ATM maintenance and processing customer transactions. The company now gets over 50% of its revenue from services. That gives it recurring revenue and helps cut its risk....

H.J. HEINZ CO. $53 (New York symbol HNZ; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 321.0 million; Market cap: $17.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.heinz.com) makes a wide variety of processed foods, including condiments, sauces, soups, baked beans, pastas and baby food. Its flagship product, Heinz ketchup, accounts for about 60% of U.S. ketchup sales. Heinz’s sales rose 18.9%, from $9.0 billion in 2007 to $10.7 billion in 2011 (fiscal years end April 30). Earnings rose 16.6%, from $791.6 million in 2007 to $923.1 million in 2009. Earnings per share rose 21.8%, from $2.38 to $2.90, on fewer shares outstanding. Unfavourable foreign-exchange rates cut Heinz’s earnings to $914.5 million, or $2.87 a share, in 2010. In 2011, earnings rebounded to $991.9 million, or $3.08 a share....