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Major Drilling, symbol MDI on Toronto, is a large contract-drilling firm that mainly serves the mining industry. Major Drilling is one of the stocks we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that contains stock investing tips for the part of your portfolio you devote to aggressive investing. In the three months ended April 30, 2011, the company’s revenue jumped 41.0%, to $137.3 million from $97.4 million a year earlier. The gain came despite floods in North Dakota and Queensland, Australia, and severe winter weather in Canada. Earnings per share jumped 225.0%, to $0.13 from $0.04. During the quarter, the company expanded its workforce to 4,000 from 3,400. It also bought 25 new rigs and retired 21 as part of a modernization program. It added 15 of its new rigs to its Resource Drilling (Mozambique) operations, which it acquired on March 24, 2011....

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 on how to spot the top stock picks. 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: “How you can profit from our TSI Network ratings: Part 2” In last week’s Investor Toolkit, we analyzed 4 of the 9 factors we use to assign one of our TSI Network ratings (Highest Quality, Above Average, Average, Extra Risk, Speculative and Start-up) to every stock we recommend in our newsletters, including our flagship publication, The Successful Investor. Click here to read that article....

Reitmans (Canada) Ltd., symbol RET.A on Toronto, owns 965 women’s clothing stores across Canada. These include 363 Reitmans, 160 Penningtons, 157 Smart Set, 122 Addition Elle, 73 Thyme Maternity, 67 RW & Co. and 23 Cassis stores. Reitmans continues to actively monitor its regional markets, and open and close stores as necessary. Reitmans is one of the Canadian stocks we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing. In the three months ended April 30, 2011, the Canadian stock’s earnings fell 98.3%, to $624,000 from $37.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 95.7%, to $0.01 from $0.23. Sales were down 7.0%, to $219.3 million from $235.7 million. Same-store sales declined 8.7%....

Demand for wireless services is rising sharply in North America. That’s partly because device makers continue to release new cellphones and other wireless devices, like the Kobo e-book reader and Apple iPad. As well, more customers are switching from traditional phones (or land lines) to wireless services. Smartphones, in particular, have become increasingly popular. Today’s top-selling smartphones are Apple’s iPhone, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry, and devices that run Internet search provider Google’s Android operating system....

Delphi Energy, symbol DEE on Toronto, explores for oil and gas in Alberta and B.C. Natural gas makes up 74% of its daily output; the remaining 26% is oil. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, the natural gas stock’s production rose 8.0%, to an average of 8,259 barrels of oil equivalent (including natural gas) per day from 7,647 barrels a year earlier. Delphi’s cash flow rose 2.0%, to $15.1 million from $14.8 million. Higher production and oil prices were the main reason for the gain. The company’s operating costs also fell. Delphi sold 3.2 million shares to raise $9.0 million in the quarter. Due to more shares outstanding, cash flow per share fell 13.3%, to $0.13 a share from $0.15....

We’re happy to see that more investors are commenting on the articles we post on TSI Network. The site’s comments feature lets investors share their thoughts on our investment advice, and read other visitors’ opinions. Your comments also help us choose the best topics to write about in our TSI Network Daily Updates. Adding your comments couldn’t be easier: just scroll to the bottom of the article you’d like to comment on and type in your thoughts (you’ll have to log in first). Even if you don’t comment yourself, you’ll be surprised at the investment advice you can pick up just by reading comments posted by other investors just like you....

Tim Hortons (symbol THI on Toronto) has long been seen as an iconic Canadian company. Co-founded by Canadian hockey player Tim Horton, the company opened its first outlet in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1964. At the time, the shop offered only two menu items: coffee and donuts. The company added a variety of new menu items over the following years, such as the Timbit (a bite-sized donut ball) and new muffins and cakes. In 1999, Tims added iced cappuccinos to its menu....

Adobe Systems Inc., Nasdaq symbol ADBE, makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use the tech stock’s software to create print publications and web pages. The company also makes Adobe Flash, which lets web site developers make web pages more interactive by adding animation and video. The company reports that its earnings jumped 54.4% in its 2011 second quarter, which ended June 3, 3011, to $229.4 million from $148.6 million a year earlier. The tech stock’s earnings per share rose 60.7%, to $0.45 from $0.28, on fewer shares outstanding. If you exclude one-time items, such as restructuring charges and investment losses, the tech stock’s earnings per share would have risen 25.0%, to $0.55 from $0.44. On this basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.51 a share....

We see investment clubs as a good way to learn stock trading, and gather investment information. Investment clubs can offer social and educational benefits. For example, they may be a good place to learn stock trading if you are a beginning investor and think you would feel more comfortable learning about investments with others. Some clubs let you invest as little as, say, $50 a month. Investment clubs do have hidden risks that can hurt your profits. That’s because investment clubs make decisions by committee, where responsibility for mistakes is diffused. When committees make mistakes, they sometimes make big ones....

FedEx Corp., New York symbol FDX, delivers packages and documents in the U.S. and over 220 countries and territories. FedEx is one of the stocks we analyze in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that offers stock market recommendations for the U.S. markets. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, FedEx’s revenue rose 13.2%, to $39.3 billion from $34.7 billion in 2010. The company earned $1.45 billion, or $4.57 a share, up 22.6% from $1.2 billion, or $3.76 a share. If you exclude unusual items, FedEx earned $4.90 a share in 2011. That matched the consensus estimate....

How you can make winning stock picks with our TSINetwork ratings We display our ratings next to every stock we recommend in our newsletters

Leon’s Furniture Ltd., symbol LNF on Toronto, has built its chain of over 69 furniture stores in Canada on its four main strengths: a huge selection of furniture, appliances and electronics; a lowest-price guarantee; strong after-sales service; and aggressive TV, radio and print advertising. We analyze Leon’s in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that recommends stocks that may be appropriate for your aggressive portfolio. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Leon’s sales fell 6.0 %, to $191.6 million from $203.8 million a year earlier. Weaker consumer spending and a drop in new-housing starts held back sales. The aggressive portfolio stock’s earnings fell 14.0%, to $9.8 million, or $0.14 a share, from $11.4 million, or $0.16 a share. The slower sales were the main reason for the earnings decline. The company also spent more on advertising....

U.S. restaurants are always looking for ways to give themselves an edge in their intensely competitive industry. Some, like Yum! Brands (a stock we analyze in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter), are focusing on expanding in fast-growing overseas markets, like India and China. (Yum, whose restaurant chains include KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, was the first fast-food company to enter China, in 1987). Other U.S. restaurants have been looking to attract more diners by launching innovative new menu items, renovating restaurants, and improving their service....

Transcontinental Inc., Toronto symbol TCL.A, is the largest commercial printer in Canada and Mexico, and the fourth-largest in North America. It also publishes newspapers and magazines. Transcontinental is one of the income investing stocks we analyze in our flagship newsletter, The Successful Investor. Transcontinental also has over 300 web sites. These web sites will become more important to the company’s growth in the next few years, as advertisers spend more on the Internet than on print products....

Prices of copper and many copper stocks have moved down lately, along with stock markets. That’s because of investor concerns about the global economic recovery, ongoing European debt problems and continued weakness in U.S. housing markets. In addition, the March earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan crippled many of that country’s factories. These facilities are now resuming production, but Japanese consumption of metals, including copper, will need more time to return to pre-disaster levels. (You can get our latest outlook on copper prices—and our top picks in copper stocks—ABSOLUTELY FREE in our new report, “Copper Mining: How to Choose the Best Copper Stocks and ETFs to Profit from the Reconstruction of Japan.” Click here to download your copy today.)...

Indigo Books & Music Inc., Toronto symbol IDG, is Canada’s largest bookseller. The company operates 97 superstores under the Chapters and Indigo banners. It also has 149 mall-based stores, and sells books, movies and music through its web site. Indigo is one of the Canadian stock picks we analyze in our Successful Investor newsletter. In its latest fiscal year, which ended April 2, 2011, the Canadian stock pick’s revenue rose 5.0% to $1.0 billion from $968.9 million in the prior year. Even so, earnings fell 67.5%, to $11.3 million, or $0.45 a share, from $34.9 million, or $1.39 a share....

Investors often ask us how often they should sell investments they own and buy new ones. The answer: as rarely as possible. That’s because turnover in your portfolio cuts into your profits. (How much turnover you should have in your portfolio is one of the subjects we examine in our free report, “Canadian Stock Market Basics: How to Trade Stocks and Make Good Investments in Canada.” Click here to download your copy right away.) Here are three costs you face every time you buy and sell a stock:...

H.J. Heinz Co., New York symbol HNZ, makes a wide variety of processed foods, including condiments, sauces, soups, baked beans, pastas and infant food. Its flagship product is Heinz Ketchup. We analyze Heinz in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for U.S.A. stock market investing. In its latest fiscal year, which ended April 27, 2011, Heinz earned $989.5 million. That’s up 8.2% from $914.5 million in the prior year....

If you’ve been following our TSI Network Daily Updates, or subscribe to one of our paid newsletters or investment services, you’re likely familiar with our three-part TSI Network investing program. One key part of our program is to spread your money out across the five main sectors of the economy: Manufacturing & Industry; Resources; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities....

Computer Modelling Group Ltd., symbol CMG on Toronto, makes software and supplies services that help its clients get as much oil as possible from their existing wells. The stock market pick makes mostly recurring revenue from software licences and consulting contracts. That gives it long-term stability. Computer Modelling Group is one of the stocks we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Computer Modelling’s revenue rose 0.6%, to $14.4 million from $14.3 million a year earlier. A 17% increase in consulting and contract research revenue more than offset a 2% drop in software licence sales due to the strong Canadian dollar....

Growth stocks are companies whose earnings growth has been above the market average, and is likely to remain above average. These firms often pay little or no dividends.

Dun & Bradstreet Corp., symbol DNB on New York, is the world’s largest provider of credit reports on individual companies. Companies use these reports to make lending and purchasing decisions, and to cut their credit losses. We analyze Dun & Bradstreet in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for stock market trading in the U.S. markets The company gets two-thirds of its revenue from credit reports. The rest comes from other information products, including software to help other companies manage customer data and Internet sites....

Sherwin-Williams Co., symbol SHW on New York, is North America’s largest paint producer. The stock market investment also operates over 3,900 paint stores, which account for half its sales. Sherwin is one of the stocks we analyze in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for investing in the U.S. markets. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Sherwin’s sales rose 18.5%, to $1.9 billion from $1.6 billion a year earlier. Acquisitions and higher selling prices were the main reason for the higher sales. Earnings more than doubled, to $68.3 million or $0.63 per share, from $32.6 million or $0.30 per share. However, the year-earlier results included an $11.4-million charge related to changes in the U.S. healthcare laws....

When you’re looking for stock market investments with the potential for strong gains, it pays to be skeptical of companies that mainly grow through 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. ...

Ameren Corp., symbol AEE on New York, sells electricity and natural gas to 3.4 million customers in Illinois and Missouri. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, the Wall Street stock’s earnings fell 36.8%, to $60.0 million, or $0.25 a share, from $95.0 million, or $0.40 a share, a year earlier. These figures exclude unusual items, mainly gains and losses on hedging contracts that the company uses to lock in its fuel prices. The lower earnings were mainly due to lower prices for electricity and natural gas. Higher fuel and transportation costs, plus higher income taxes in Illinois, also hurt its earnings. Moreover, severe storms added to the company’s costs, and cut electricity sales during widespread power outages....