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Alcoa Inc., symbol AA on New York, is one of the world’s largest aluminum producers. The U.S. stock’s customers are mainly in the aerospace, automotive, construction and beverage industries. Alcoa operates in 31 countries. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, the U.S. stock’s sales rose 21.9 %, to $6.0 billion from $4.9 billion a year earlier. Even so, the latest sales fell short of the consensus estimate of $6.1 billion. Alcoa earned $309 million, or $0.27 a share. If you exclude unusual items, such as costs to integrate firms Alcoa recently bought, it would have earned $0.28 a share. On that basis, the U.S. stock’s latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.27 a share. A year earlier, Alcoa lost $194 million, or $0.19 a share....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific investment advice. 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 to invest in the stock market with less risk” Many people come up with unrealistic answers to the question of how much risk is right for them. For instance, when they’re young and just starting out, many investors decide to move away from a conservative investment strategy and speculate. They expect to build a small portfolio into a big one in a hurry, then shift their money into boring, but more dependable investments. Key points to remember:...

Reitmans (Canada) Ltd., symbol RET.A on Toronto, owns 968 women’s clothing stores across Canada. We analyze Reitmans in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing in today’s stock market. These include 364 Reitmans, 161 Penningtons, 158 Smart Set, 121 Addition Elle, 75 Thyme Maternity, 67 RW & Co. and 22 Cassis stores. Reitmans continues to actively monitor its regional markets, and open and close stores as necessary....

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) resemble income trusts, but with a key difference: REITs invest in income-producing real estate, such as office buildings and hotels. High-quality real estate investment trusts can make attractive, lower-risk additions to your portfolio. Even so, we continue to advise against overindulging in REITs. But if you’re thinking of investing in some of Canada’s top REITs, here are 2 reasons why now is a great time to do so:...

TRANSCANADA CORP. $39 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 699.5 million; Market cap: $27.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) operates a 60,000-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. TransCanada also owns, or has interests in, over 10,900 megawatts of power generation. That includes Bruce Power LP, a nuclear facility in Ontario, and the Ravenswood facility, which serves New York City. TransCanada has spent about $10 billion of the $20 billion it has set aside for new growth projects. It will spend the remaining $10 billion over the next two years. Its biggest project is the Keystone pipeline, which it is building in three phases. Keystone’s first phase is now pumping crude oil from Alberta to refineries in Illinois. The second phase will extend to Oklahoma, and should be ready in 2011. The third phase, called Keystone XL, will pump oil to refineries in Texas. U.S. environmentalists and politicians have criticized this project. Even so, TransCanada aims to finish Keystone XL by the end of 2013....

Linamar Corp., symbol LNR on Toronto, is an international engineering company that mainly makes transmission and driveline systems for carmakers in North America, Europe and Asia. The growth stock’s products also include engines and self-propelled, scissor-type elevating work platforms, which it makes under the Skyjack name, plus consumer products, such as lawn mowers and cargo trailers. Excluding one-time items, such as writedowns and severance costs, Linamar earned $86.1 million, or $1.33 a share, in 2010. That’s a big improvement over the $1.1 million, or $0.02 a share, that Linamar earned in 2009. The 2010 turnaround reflects the recovery of worldwide vehicle sales from the depressed levels of 2009. The growth stock’s sales rose 33.0%, to $2.2 billion from $1.7 billion. Most of the gain was the result of a 37.1% increase in sales at the powertrain/driveline division, which accounted for 93.1% of the growth stock’s total 2010 sales....

These 3 tips for finding the best Canadian stocks have long been part of the advice we give you in our investment services and newsletters, including Canadian Wealth Advisor, our newsletter for conservative investing. We think they can help you spot the best Canadian stocks for your portfolio, too.

1. No stock can ever be so undervalued or desirable that it overcomes a lack of integrity on the part of company insiders: If you have any doubts about the integrity of insiders, sell immediately. There are no limits to the ways in which unscrupulous operators can and will cheat you.
   However, to enhance your long-term returns, not just avoid loss, you need to apply this tip in a moderate fashion. You need to distinguish between lack of integrity on the one hand, and naivete or poor judgment on the other. Many of the best Canadian stocks eventually run afoul of tax rules or regulatory decisions, for instance. If you take that as a sign of low integrity, you can wind up selling solid investments at market lows.

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FirstService Corp., symbol FSV on Toronto, serves the following areas of the real-estate market: commercial real estate; residential property management; and property improvement. FirstService is one of the stocks we cover in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, the real estate investment’s revenue jumped 18.5%, to $552.1 million from $465.8 million a year earlier. (All figures except share prices in U.S. dollars.) Earnings per share rose 37.0%, to $0.37 from $0.27....

Tonight at 6 p.m., we’ll issue 2 urgent “sell” recommendations in our Successful Investor Email/Telephone Hotlines. If you’re holding these 2 companies, we think it’s crucial that you sell them immediately to take profits—and avoid the potential for big losses—in your investment portfolio. Read on to learn how you can be among the first to get full details on these stocks with no cost and no obligation. ...

Cintas Corp., Nasdaq symbol CTAS, designs, makes and sells uniforms to about 800,000 business, mainly in North America. Cintas also offers related services, including office cleaning and document shredding. Cintas is one of the U.S. stocks we analyze in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter. In the three months ended February 28, 2011, the company’s sales rose 8.8%, to $937.8 million from $861.8 million a year earlier (all figures in U.S. dollars). Earnings rose 20.6%, to $59.1 million from $49.0 million. Earnings per share rose 28.1%, to $0.41 from $0.32, on more shares outstanding. The latest earnings easily beat the consensus estimate of $0.36 a share....

There’s no limit to the types of investment questions Inner Circle members can ask me and my team of investment experts. Members often ask us about the best ways to profit from specific trends in society. For example, we’ve gotten more questions from members about green energy stocks as concern for the environment has risen. An Inner Circle member recently asked for our recommendation on Electrovaya Inc. This green energy stock’s lightweight batteries can be used in renewable-energy projects and hybrid cars. To give you a sense of how the Inner Circle works, I’d like to share this question, and our answer, with you. I hope you enjoy and profit from it. Q: Hello Mr. McKeough: Recently there has been interest in Electrovaya Inc., which has signed an agreement to provide batteries to Chrysler. What is your opinion on this stock? Regards....

Delphi Energy, symbol DEE on Toronto, explores for oil and gas in Alberta and B.C. Natural gas makes up 76% of its daily output; the remaining 24% is oil. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, the commodity investment reported combined daily output of natural gas, liquid natural gas and crude oil rose 24.0%, to 8,539 barrels of oil equivalent from 6,888 barrels a year earlier. Delphi’s cash flow rose 26.5%, to $18.0 million from $14.2 million. Its cash flow per share rose 14.3%, to $0.16 a share from $0.14 a share....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific investment advice. 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: “The top 3 ways to earn higher profits in world stock market investing” High-quality foreign stocks are a great way to diversify your portfolio. Moreover, many fast-growing markets, like China and India, have positive outlooks. That’s because their people are generally younger than North Americans, and rising incomes are helping more of them advance into the middle class....

PRT Forest Regeneration Income Fund, Toronto symbol PRT.UN, is the largest producer of container-grown forest seedlings in North America. It grows its seedlings in 13 greenhouses and open outdoor compounds. PRT expects to produce about 170 million seedlings in 2011. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, PRT reported cash flow of $0.07 per unit, compared to $0.12 per unit a year earlier. The fund received payment for an insurance claim in early 2010, and used a portion of the funds to pay off its $3.7-million bank debt. That significantly lowered its interest costs. However, that was not enough to offset a 9.4% drop in revenue, to $6.8 million from $7.5 million....

Oil now trades at around $110 U.S. a barrel. That’s up over 29% from $85 U.S. a year ago, and 175% higher than its low of $40 U.S. in February 2009. We think oil prices could rise even further if the global economy continues to rebound, as we expect. Even so, we continue to advise against overindulging in Canadian oil stocks. That’s because the Resource sector (including oil) is highly volatile, and no one can accurately predict future oil prices. However, you can profit nicely over long periods by investing a reasonable portion of your portfolio in well-established or well-managed Canadian oil stocks, especially those with high-quality reserves and rising production. These companies are well-positioned to profit during periods of high oil prices, and are able to at least partly offset price declines by producing more oil....

Alimentation Couche-Tard, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, is the largest convenience store operator in Canada, with over 2,000 outlets. It also has over 3,500 U.S. stores. The Canadian stores operate under the Couche-Tard and Mac’s banners, while the U.S. stores mainly use the Circle K brand. The fuel pumps at most of the Canadian stock’s stores provide 68.0% of the company’s sales. In the three months ended January 30, 2011, Couche-Tard’s earnings rose 29.6%, to $71.0 million, or $0.38 a share, from $54.8 million, or $0.29 a share, a year earlier (all figures except share prices in U.S. dollars). The latest earnings beat the consensus earnings forecast of $0.37 a share. The Canadian stock’s revenue rose 13.7%, to $5.6 billion from $4.9 billion. Same-store merchandise sales climbed 3.9% in the U.S., and 0.4% in Canada. U.S. sales make up 77.9% of total sales. Revenue from gasoline and diesel fuel rose 18.5%, mainly due to rising prices. The company also installed fuel pumps at more of its outlets....

Gold closed at an all-time high of $1,475.00 U.S. in Friday’s trading. It now trades at around $1,468, up 27.4% from a year ago. Gold’s recent gains have partly resulted from investor fears about the sovereign debt of European countries after Portugal requested a bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Investors are also worried about political turmoil in Libya and other Middle Eastern countries, as well as the possibility that today’s artificially low interest rates and governments injecting money into their economies will spur a huge rise in inflation. These fears are prompting more investors to buy gold and gold investments, because they believe investing in gold will provide them with additional security....

McCormick & Co. Inc., New York symbol MKC, makes spices, herbs, seasonings, specialty foods and flavours, and markets them to the food industry. In addition to North America and Europe, the company operates in Mexico, Central America, Australia, China, Singapore, Thailand and South Africa. The U.S. stock’s brands include McCormick, Old Bay, Thai Kitchen and Billy Bee. In the three months ended February 28, 2011, earnings rose 13.1%, to $76.8 million from $67.9 million a year earlier. The company spent $50.3 million on share buybacks during the quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 11.8 %, to $0.57 from $0.51. That beat the consensus earnings estimate of $0.54 a share. Sales rose 2.4%, to $782.8 million from $764.5 million a year earlier. Strong sales in China, India and Mexico offset weak or flat sales elsewhere. The company also raised its prices to offset the higher ingredient costs....

Over the past few months, we’ve periodically looked at common mistakes most investors make, and given you our advice on how to avoid them. Here are 3 more common errors all investors make from time to time.

1. Following an unrealistic investment strategy: Some investors, particularly newcomers, plan to buy a few hot stocks (or funds, or options or futures), and double or triple their money in a few years. Then they’ll settle into a low-risk investing style that may only return an average 10% to 12% yearly. But if you could make 200% or 300% in a few years, why would you quit? If you could do it once, you should be able to do even better as you gain experience.
   Of course, if you doubt that you can keep it up indefinitely, you should also question whether you can pull it off the first time. Our advice is that the best approach for you is one that will work for you more-or-less indefinitely. You’ll want to be sure it suits your circumstances and temperament, that it won’t take up too much of your time, and that it doesn’t require luck or extraordinary circumstances for success.

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International Road Dynamics, symbol IRD on Toronto, makes products and systems that manage highway traffic, including automated toll-road and weigh-station systems for trucks. The aggressive investing stock’s weigh-in-motion system weighs trucks while they’re moving, rather than at less-efficient roadside weigh stations. International Road also makes advanced traffic-control, driver-management and data-collection systems. In the three months ended November 30, 2010, International Road’s sales fell 16.4%, to $10.7 million from $12.8 million a year earlier. The drop was due mainly a stronger Canadian dollar, which pushed down the company’s U.S. sales by 36.8%, to $4.8 million from $7.6 million. As the U.S. economy improves and government spending on roadways increases, the company’s U.S. sales should pick up. In Canada, sales rose 58.3% in the latest quarter, to $1.9 million from $1.2 million a year earlier. Offshore sales were unchanged at $4.0 million. In the quarter, the company lost $335,000, or $0.03 per share, compared to earnings of $337,000, or $0.03 per share a year earlier. The lower sales were the main reason for the earnings decline....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific investment advice. 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: “Base your investing strategy on these 3 good investor attitudes.” To succeed as an investor, you need to cultivate three personal mental strengths:...

Pulse Seismic, symbol PSD on Toronto, buys, sells and licenses seismic data to clients in western Canada. The company is one of the aggressive stock investing picks we analyze in our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. Pulse’s main business is seismic-data licensing. It has built a library of seismic research that it licenses to clients, mostly oil and gas companies. Pulse usually buys seismic-survey data from oil and gas firms. It also performs what it calls “participation seismic surveys.” Oil and gas producers pay Pulse to participate in these surveys in return for a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use the newly generated data. Pulse owns the data the surveys generate, and adds it to its library. Oil and gas firms, which may use different scientific models in their exploration, can then lease various selections and combinations of the data....

Over 400 investors are now following our TSI Network Facebook page. If you haven’t yet visited the page — www.tsinetwork.ca/facebook — you really should. By joining these 400 investors and “liking” our page (more on how to do that below), you’ll give yourself even better access to our free, risk-cutting investment advice. I guarantee it will make you a better investor. Here’s what you get when you “like” our page:...

Adobe Systems Inc., symbol ADBE on Nasdaq, makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use the technology stock’s software to create print publications and web pages. We analyze Adobe in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on stocks in the U.S. market. The company also makes Adobe Flash, which lets web site developers make web pages more interactive by adding animation and video. Computer users can download the technology stock’s Flash Player viewer for free....

I hope you are enjoying and profiting from the free investing advice you get in our TSI Network daily updates. Our dailies aim to educate you on best practices in investing. They cover a range of investment topics, and explain conservative investment strategies you can use to build the best portfolio for you, and grow your wealth with less risk. ...