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FedEx Corp., symbol FDX on New York, delivers packages and documents in the U.S. and over 220 other countries and territories. Its fleet of 80,000 trucks and 684 aircraft delivers over eight million packages a day. In its fiscal 2011 third quarter, which ended February 28, 2011, FedEx earned $231 million or $0.73 a share. That’s down 3.3% from $239 million, or $0.76 a share, a year earlier. The decline was mainly the result of $43 million in one-time costs associated with the combination of the blue chip stock’s FedEx Freight and FedEx National LTL (less than truckload) divisions into a single business unit. The company also paid more for fuel and reinstated merit salary increases. As well, bad winter weather in the U.S. increased its aircraft-maintenance costs. Revenue rose 11.0%, to $9.7 billion from $8.7 billion, as the improving economy continues to spur demand for delivery services....

Aeropostale Inc., symbol ARO on New York, is a mall-based retailer of casual clothing and accessories. The company has 965 Aeropostale stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. It mainly sells its clothing to 14-to-17-year-olds. Aeropostale’s 47 “P.S. from Aeropostale” stores in the U.S. are aimed at seven-to-12-year-old elementary-school children. In the fiscal year ended January 29, 2011, Aeropostale’s sales rose 7.6% to $2.4 billion from $2.2 billion the previous year. Same-store sales rose only 1%, compared to a gain of 10% in the prior year, but online sales rose 24.2% to $160.2 million from $129.0 million. The company’s earnings rose 0.8%, to $231.3 million from $229.5 million. Earnings per share rose 9.7%, to $2.49 from $2.27, on fewer shares outstanding. In the latest fiscal year, Aeropostale bought back 10.3 million shares for $257.5 million....

Hidden value is one of the key factors we look for when we choose stocks to recommend in our newsletters and investment services, including Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing. (In the latest Stock Pickers Digest, we’ve updated our buy/sell/hold advice on a niche technology firm with an important hidden asset. Read on for further details.) By hidden value, we mean valuable assets that are not getting the attention they deserve from investors. When a company’s assets are wholly or partially hidden, the stock trades for less than it’s really worth, so you get to buy at a bargain price....

The Money Game, a 1968 mega bestseller about investing, was an eye-opener for a generation of investors, myself included. The author, George Goodman, wrote under the pseudonym Adam Smith. It takes a lot of chutzpah for a writer to name himself after the 18th century Scottish father of modern economics, but Goodman/Smith pulls it off. In his book, Smith introduced a number of key investing concepts that go to the heart of our Successful Investor stock investment advice. Smith has a genius for encapsulating his ideas in anecdotes, and here’s one that jumps out. It concerns the need to invest opportunistically, rather than emotionally. The story concerns a group of portfolio managers on a tour of troubled factories in the U.S. northeast. When passing by one facility, the tour’s broker-organizer commented, “I understand this company has thousands of drug addicts among its employees in that facility alone.”...

Transcontinental Inc., symbol TCL.A on Toronto, is the largest commercial printer in Canada and Mexico, and the fourth-largest in North America. It also publishes newspapers and magazines. Transcontinental also has over 250 web sites. These web sites will become more important to the Canadian stock’s growth in the next few years, as advertisers spend more on the Internet than print products. In the three months ended January 31, 2011, Transcontinental earned $29.9 million, or $0.37 a share. That’s up 10.3% from $27.1 million, or $0.34 a share, a year earlier. These figures exclude writedowns and other non-recurring items. On this basis, the Canadian stock’s latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.36 a share. Revenue rose 3.6%, to $530.1 million from $511.6 million....

Zhongpin Inc., symbol HOGS on Nasdaq, is a China-based company that processes meat and other foods. Zhongpin is one of the world stock market investments we analyze in our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. Zhongpin specializes in pork and pork products, as well as fruit and vegetables. It sells 358 meat products, including chilled pork, frozen pork and prepared meats, as well as 34 fruit and vegetable products. Zhongpin focuses on prepared meat, with its higher profit margins, rather than bulk pork....

We’ve long relied on these 4 tips when picking stocks to recommend in our investment newsletters and services. We think they can help you pick winners in today’s stock market, too.

1. Always ask yourself, “What can go wrong with this investment?” What upcoming event/technology/political trend could derail its profitability? In other words, don’t fall in love with a stock just because it has a great track record.
   When a company’s profits have been rising for years, its stock price will always be expensive in relation to its per-share profit. If something goes wrong and profit starts to erode or, worse, turns into a loss, the stock can go through a devastating drop. Too much enthusiasm for a current favourite in today’s stock market leads investors to ignore its risks and price it as if those risks don’t exist.
2. Remember that high profits attract competition. This is related to rule #1. When a company is making a lot of money, you can be sure that other companies are making plans to enter its market with a competitive product that is slightly cheaper, or better, or more effectively marketed or whatever. Unless demand is exploding, this is bound to limit sales growth and depress profit margins....

With interest rates still near historic lows, borrowing money to invest continues to look like an attractive investment strategy. That’s especially true if you borrow to buy well-established, dividend-paying stocks. For example, you could pick from the 19 companies we recommend in our Canadian Wealth Advisor newsletter’s Safety-Conscious Stock Portfolio. These investments give you regular dividend income and cash flow to pay the interest on your investment loan. (The Safety-Conscious Stock Portfolio is one of three portfolios Canadian Wealth Advisor offers to conservative and income-seeking investors. The other two are the Index Fund and ETF Portfolio and our Safety-Conscious Income Trust Portfolio. We continually monitor and update all three portfolios.)...

J.C. Penney, symbol JCP on New York, operates 1,100 department stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It also sells its goods over the Internet. In its 2010 fiscal year, which ended January 29, 2011, the U.S. stock pick’s sales rose 1.2%, to $17.8 billion from $17.6 billion in 2009. Its same-store sales increased 2.5%. The company launched a number of new brands in 2010. As well, online sales rose 4.4%, to $1.5 billion from $1.3 billion. The stock pick’s earnings per share jumped 48.6%, to $1.59 from $1.07 in 2009. Penney is doing a good job of managing its inventories. That cuts the need for costly clearance sales. It is also renovating about a third of its stores, including building more in-store boutiques devoted to specific brands....

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, based on our stock market research. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investment strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Tip of the week: “Goodwill should play an important role in your stock market research” When we’re looking for stocks to recommend in our newsletters and investment services, we put a lot of importance on the amount of goodwill that a company carries as an asset on its balance sheet....

Canada Bread Company Ltd., symbol CBY on Toronto, is Canada’s second-largest producer of baked goods after Weston Bakery. It also makes specialty pastas and sauces. The company’s main brands include Dempster’s, New York Bakery, Tenderflake, and Olivieri. Earnings fell 21.3% to $61.0 million, or $2.40 a share, in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010. In 2009, it earned $77.5 million or $3.05 a share. If you exclude one-time items, such as restructuring expenses and costs to build a new bakery in Hamilton, Ontario, earnings per share fell 10.9% to $2.85 from $3.20. The new facility is expected to begin operating by July 1, 2011. Sales fell 6.9% to $1.6 billion from $1.7 billion. The strength of the Canadian dollar against the British pound and the U.S. dollar lowered the contribution of the company’s operations in the U.K. and the U.S. Prices of its ingredients, especially wheat, are also rising. However, the company is increasing its selling prices to offset rising costs....

Our TSI Network rating system is a key guide we use to find the top stocks to recommend in our newsletters and investment services, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on top-quality U. S. stocks. We continue to recommend that Canadian investors hold 25% to 30% of their portfolios in well-established U.S. companies. What’s more, today’s low U.S. dollar provides you with a rare opportunity to add the top stocks in the U.S. markets to your portfolio at bargain prices....

Macy’s Inc., symbol M on New York, operates 850 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores in 45 states, as well as in District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. It also sells goods over the Internet. Macy’s is one of the U.S. stock market investments we analyze in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter. Macy’s makes a point of tailoring its lines to regional tastes. It also emphasizes its exclusive brands, which account for 43% of its sales....

The Canadian retail sector is highly competitive. Aside from other domestic retailers, Canadian consumer stocks are facing increasing competition from large U.S. discount retailers, like Wal-Mart and Costco. In addition, popular U.S. retailer Target is set to enter the Canadian market. As the competition between retailers continues to heat up, it’s more important than ever for investors to focus on Canadian retail growth stocks with a proven ability to adapt and prosper in the fast-changing retail landscape. In a just-published issue of The Successful Investor, we take a close look at Canadian Tire Corp. (symbol CTC.A on Toronto). The company has been improving the layout of its stores over the last 15 years, and adding new items to the merchandise they carry. It has also acquired and launched a number of new businesses....

Computer Modelling Group, symbol CMG on Toronto, sells software to clients in the oil and gas industry. It also provides consulting services. The company is one of the small cap stock picks we analyze in our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. Computer Modelling’s software and services help its clients generate more cash flow by getting as much oil as possible from their existing wells. The company makes mostly recurring revenue from software licences and consulting contracts. That gives it long-term stability....

A good stock broker can help you manage your investments if you don’t want to do it yourself. However, good brokers have always been hard to find. And, as any good stock broker or experienced investor can tell you, bad brokers are all too common. By “bad brokers,” we mean those who put their own interests above their clients’. Keep in mind, however, that a bad stock broker can do this in a perfectly legal fashion by catering to their clients’ whims and weaknesses. Here are 3 ways to tell if brokers are putting their interests ahead of yours:...

ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX FUND $20.44 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) is a good, low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.17% of assets. Most of the stocks in the index are high-quality companies. However, as it must ensure that all sectors are represented, it holds a few we wouldn’t include, such as Yellow Media Inc. The index’s top holdings are: Royal Bank, 6.7%; Suncor Energy, 5.9%; TD Bank, 5.8%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.3%; Canadian Natural Resources, 4.4%; Barrick Gold, 4.3%; Potash Corp., 4.2%; Goldcorp, 3.1%; Bank of Montreal, 2.9%; CN Railway, 2.7%; Manulife Financial, 2.7%; CIBC, 2.7%; Research in Motion, 2.5%; and Cenovus Energy, 2.3%....

The seeming attraction of wind power stocks is obvious — these companies operate (or make parts for) wind turbines, which offer a source of clean, renewable energy that can replace fossil fuels like oil and coal. However, like many alternative-energy stocks, wind power’s potential has risk to match. For example, the government of Ontario’s recent decision to put a moratorium on offshore wind farms illustrates the mounting political opposition to new wind developments. (Our Special Report, “3 Little-Known Alternative Energy Companies that Could Double or Triple During the Obama Administration,” covers all you need to know to find the profit-making opportunities in wind power stocks. You get this Special Report at no cost when you take a one-month free trial to our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter. Read on for further details. If you’re already a Wall Street Stock Forecaster subscriber or Inner Circle member, click here to access this report right away.)...

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $30.76 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couche-tard.com; Shares outstanding: 242.4 million; Market cap: $7.5 billion; Dividend yield: 1.0%) is the largest convenience-store operator in Canada, with over 2,000 outlets. It also has over 3,900 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. Couche-Tard sells fuel at over 68% of its stores.

In the quarter ended October 9, 2011, Couche-Tard’s earnings per share rose 6.9%, to $0.62 from $0.58 a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars).

Sales rose 24.1%, to $5.2 billion from $4.1 billion. The gains came from higher fuel prices, the stronger Canadian dollar and higher merchandise sales. The company gets 30% of its sales by selling merchandise.

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Aastra Technologies, symbol AAH on Toronto, develops and markets products and systems for accessing communication networks, including the Internet. The aggressive investing stock’s technology is centred around business telephone systems, and includes products that integrate traditional and mobile phones. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, Aastra’s sales fell 0.8%, to $216.0 million from $217.8 million a year earlier. If you exclude the negative impact of exchange rates, sales would have risen 8.7%. The weaker sales pushed down Aastra’s earnings by 6.1%, to $14.4 million from $15.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share declined 8.1%, to $1.02 from $1.11, on more shares outstanding. The company gets three quarters of its sales from Europe. The weaker European economy has hurt demand for the aggressive investing stock’s products, and forced it to cut its prices. It needs a sustained European economic recovery to show a sustained rise in sales and earnings....

ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $21.65 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. It yields 1.9%. The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 6.9%; Bonterra Energy Corp., 6.3%; Bank of Montreal, 5.2%; National Bank, 5.0%; TD Bank, 5.0%; AG Growth International, 4.9%; IGM Financial, 4.2%; Telus, 4.1%; Royal Bank, 4.0%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 3.9%; BCE, 3.5%; and TMX Group, 3.4%. The fund holds 52.9% of its assets in financial stocks. Utilities are next, at 22.5%. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects. However, if you invest in this ETF, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector....

SPDR S&P 500 ETF $131.21 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 major U.S. stocks that are chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group. The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Exxon-Mobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Apple, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Chevron, General Electric, Wells Fargo & Co. and AT&T. The fund’s expenses are just 0.10% of its assets. If you want exposure to the S&P 500 Index, SPDR...

These 2 retirement planning tips can help you leave a well-organized and profitable estate

Cedar Fair L.P., symbol FUN on New York, owns and operates 11 amusement parks including Knott’s Berry Farm in California and Canada’s Wonderland, six outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels. For 2010, the U.S. stock’s revenue jumped 6.7%, to $977.6 million from $916.1 million in 2009. Park attendance rose 7.8%, and revenue from the company’s hotels rose 6.1%. Per-guest spending slipped less than 1% despite higher sales of season passes, which typically decrease the amount spent per visit. Even so, the partnership lost $31.6 million, or $0.57 a unit, in 2010, compared to earnings of $35.4 million, or $0.63 a unit, in 2009....

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $120.45 (New York Exchange symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., 3M, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s Corp., Coca Cola, Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies and Boeing Co. The fund’s expenses are about 0.18% of its assets. SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy....