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Canadian National Railway Co. (Toronto symbol CNR) operates Canada’s largest freight rail network, and serves 16 U.S. states. CN is one of the Canadian stock picks we analyze in our Successful Investor newsletter. In 2010, CN earned $2.1 billion, or $4.48 a share. That’s up 13.5% from $1.8 billion, or $3.92 a share, in 2009. Excluding one-time items in both years, such as an after-tax gain of $131 million on the sale of a southern Ontario rail line, the company earned $1.9 billion, up 28.7% from $1.5 billion in 2009. Earnings per share rose 29.6%, to $4.20 from $3.24, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 12.6% to $8.3 billion from $7.4 billion in 2009. Sharply higher freight volumes were the main reason for the revenue increase. The company also raised its fuel surcharges and shipping rates....

When we’re picking stocks to recommend in our newsletters, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our publication for conservative investing in U.S. stocks, we like to see companies that benefit from steady revenue streams from high-quality assets, long-term contracts or other reliable sources. That’s because this type of revenue helps cut a stock’s risk. It also cuts its exposure to the ups and downs of the economic cycle. ...

Intuitive Surgical (symbol ISRG on Nasdaq) makes the “da Vinci,” a computerized surgical system. Intuitive’s shares trade at a high price, but you can buy as few as you wish through any broker. Intuitive is one of the aggressive stock investing picks we analyze in our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. Guided by a miniature camera connected to a 3-D monitor, surgeons use the da Vinci to operate by remotely manipulating tiny robotic arms. This is safer and far less invasive than regular surgery. It reduces the patient’s recovery time, post-operative discomfort, scarring and infection risk....

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 advice on successful investing, including portfolio diversification. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investment strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away....

Apple Inc. (symbol AAPL on Nasdaq) makes computers and a variety of other electronic devices. Portable devices, such as the iPod music player, the iPhone smartphone and the iPad tablet computer, dominate Apple’s overall sales. Users of these products also buy music, movie and video-game downloads at Apple’s iTunes online store. Apple is one of the large cap stocks we analyze in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter. In its fiscal 2011 first quarter, which ended December 25, 2010, Apple sales rose 70.5%, to $26.7 billion from $15.7 billion a year earlier. Earnings jumped 77.7%, to $6.0 billion, or $6.43 a share. A year earlier, the company earned $3.4 billion, or $3.67 a share....

On January 28, Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on U.S. stocks, will unveil a company with the right mix of strong fundamentals and emerging-market exposure to earn big profits in 2011 and beyond. In fact, we think this U.S. stock’s prospects are so bright we’ve named it Wall Street Stock Forecaster’s #1 stock pick for the coming year. This company is solidly focused on fuelling its growth, mainly by focusing on fast-growing markets like Brazil, China and India, where rising prosperity is making its products more affordable to more consumers....

We’re pleased to see that many investors now follow our brand-new Facebook page. You can view our new Facebook page — www.tsinetwork.ca/facebook — by clicking here. We’d like even more investors to follow our Facebook page and profit from the free, lower-risk investment advice we post there. That’s why we’re offering a new free special report for Facebook followers only, “Case Study: How TSINetwork.ca Picked 5 Takeover Stocks in 11 Weeks.” When you indicate that you “like” our new Facebook page (more on that below), you can download this new free report....

Tempur-Pedic (symbol TPX on New York), reported higher revenue and earnings in the latest quarter. Tempur-Pedic manufactures and distributes mattresses and pillows made from its proprietary Tempur pressure-relieving material.

In the three months ended December 31, 2010, Tempur-Pedic’s earnings rose 59.0%, to $46.3 million from $29.1 million a year earlier....

Aggressive investments have the potential to generate large returns compared to more conservative selections. But they can also give you bigger losses. As well, aggressive stocks tend to be more highly leveraged and volatile than conservative stocks. But there are ways to earn large returns with less risk in the part of your portfolio you devote to aggressive investing. Here are 4 principles we use to select stocks to recommend in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing:

1. Limit aggressive holdings to 30% of your overall portfolio. Because aggressive stocks expose you to a greater risk of loss, we recommend limiting your aggressive holdings to no more than, say, 30% of your overall portfolio....

Intel Corp. (symbol INTC on Nasdaq), is the world’s largest computer chip maker.

For 2010, the company reported record revenue of $43.6 billion. That’s up 24.2% from $35.1 billion in 2009.

Earnings jumped 76.1%, to a record $11.6 billion from $6.6 billion in 2009....

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 advice on successful investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investment advice, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Tip of the week: “The 4-year rule is one of the most valuable rules you can use as an investor.” One of our long-standing pieces of investment advice is the 4-year rule. It goes like this: an attractive buying opportunity appears in North American stocks about every 4 years, usually within a few months of the U.S. mid-term election (the last one of these took place in November 2010). Investors who buy around this time tend to make substantial profits over the next couple of years....

On January 21, Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing, will unveil a stock that’s well positioned for big gains in 2011. In fact, we think this potentially high return investment’s prospects are so bright we’ve named it Stock Pickers Digest’s #1 stock pick for the coming year. This Canadian firm is in a great position profit as the North American economy and consumer confidence continue to improve. Plus, it has recently signed agreements with other international firms that let it tap into rich new markets with less risk.

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Investors are paying more attention to dividend yields (a company’s total annual dividends paid per share divided by the current stock price) as stock markets continue to recover. Companies are responding by doing their best to maintain, or even increase, their dividend payments. That’s good news for investors, because dividends are more dependable than capital gains as a source of income. A couple of decades ago, you could assume that dividends would contribute up to a third of your long-term investment returns, without even considering the tax-cutting effects of the dividend tax credit. Earlier in this decade, dividend yields were generally too low to provide a third of investment returns. But now that yields have moved up and interest rates have moved down, it’s realistic to assume they will once again contribute as much as a third of your total return....

CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE $77 (Toronto symbol CM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 392.7 million; Market cap: $30.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cibc.com) is Canada’s fifth-largest bank, with total assets of $352.0 billion. CIBC continues to expand its main retail-banking business, which is less volatile than its trading activities. Retail banking now accounts for 74% of CIBC’s business, up from 69% a year earlier. The bank aims to raise this to 75%. This focus on retail banking is paying off. In fiscal 2010, CIBC’s earnings jumped 125.6%, to $2.3 billion. It earned $1.0 billion in fiscal 2009. Earnings per share rose 121.5%, to $5.87 from $2.65, on more shares outstanding. If you exclude several one-time items, including writedowns of securities the bank holds, earnings per share would have risen 9.8%, to $6.37 from $5.80....

BANK OF MONTREAL $58 (Toronto symbol BMO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 568.1 million; Market cap: $32.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bmo.com) is Canada’s fourth-largest bank, with assets of $411.6 billion. The bank earned $2.8 billion in its 2010 fiscal year. That’s up 57.2% from $1.8 billion in fiscal 2009. Earnings per share rose 54.2%, to $4.75 from $3.08, on more shares outstanding. Unusual items, such as severance costs and writedowns of securities the bank holds, depressed its fiscal 2009 earnings. If you exclude these items, earnings per share would have risen 19.9%. In fiscal 2010, loan-loss provisions fell 34.6%, to $1.05 billion from $1.6 billion. Revenue rose 10.4%, to $12.2 billion from $11.1 billion....

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $56 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $56.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) is Canada’s third-largest bank, with assets of $526.7 billion. The bank recently agreed to buy the 82% of DundeeWealth Inc. (Toronto symbol DW) that it does not already own. Dundee- Wealth manages investments and operates a brokerage. The company also owns the Dynamic family of mutual funds, and provides financialplanning and investment advice. The deal will double the size of Bank of Nova Scotia’s mutualfund business, and make it Canada’s fifth-largest mutual-fund company. Bank of Nova Scotia will pay $2.3 billion in cash and stock for the rest of DundeeWealth. If Dundee- Wealth shareholders approve, the sale should close in the first half of 2011. The new operations should add $0.12 a share to the bank’s annual earnings in the third year following the purchase....

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $74 (Toronto symbol TD; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 878.5 million; Market cap: $65.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.td.com) is Canada’s second-largest bank, with total assets of $619.5 billion. TD recently agreed to buy privately held Chrysler Financial, which provides car loans and leases to buyers of Chrysler vehicles in Canada and the U.S. The purchase will make TD one of the top five car-loan providers in North America. The bank will pay $6.3 billion U.S. for Chrysler Financial when the deal closes in April 2011. This purchase will let TD profit from rising new-car demand. It will also add $100 million to TD’s annual earnings, starting in fiscal 2012....

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $53 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $74.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) is Canada’s largest bank, with total assets of $726.2 billion. In its 2010 fiscal year, which ended October 31, 2010, Royal earned $5.2 billion, or $3.46 a share. That’s up 35.4% from $3.9 billion, or $2.57 a share, in fiscal 2009. The fiscal 2010 earnings figure includes a $116-million loss on the sale of one of the bank’s main holdings, U.S.-based Liberty Life Insurance Co. Without unusual items, such as the loss on Liberty Life, Royal would have earned $5.3 billion, up 9.9% from $4.9 billion a year earlier....

Alcoa Inc. (New York symbol AA) is one of the world’s largest aluminum producers. The company is one of the blue chip stocks we analyze in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter. In 2010, Alcoa’s sales rose 14.0%, $21.0 billion from $18.4 billion in 2009. The company saw higher demand in most of its markets. In 2010, overall aluminum demand rebounded 13%, the biggest increase in 14 years. The company earned $262 million, or $0.25 a share, compared to a net loss of $985 million, or $1.06 a share, in 2009. The higher sales and higher aluminum prices were the main reasons for the improved earnings. The company also improved its productivity during the year....

When you need tax advice, business associates and friends can be a valuable source of ideas and referrals. However, non-professionals can be mistaken or out of date in their tax knowledge, no matter how confident they seem. This is also true of some semi-professionals—tax preparers, bookkeepers, insurance agents and so on. Court rulings or tax-department crackdowns can close tax loopholes. People sometimes get away with borderline tax maneuvers for lengthy periods, only because the tax authorities never take a close look at their affairs. But the more money you have, the more likely it is that your affairs will one day get a close look from someone at the tax department. Then too, some maneuvers work for some taxpayers but not others, mainly because of differing circumstances....

GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $25.72 (New York symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index. This index includes between 20 and 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for silver. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG developed this index. Global X Silver Miners ETF came out in April 2010 in response to a hot theme — in this case, strong investor interest in precious-metals stocks. But although it’s new, Global X Silver Miners ETF holds only well-established silver miners....

I hope you are enjoying and profiting from our free TSI Network daily updates. Our dailies aim to educate you on best practices in investing. They cover a wide range of investment topics, and explain conservative strategies you can use to build the best portfolio for you, and expand your wealth with less risk. The advice you get in our daily updates, as well as our investment newsletters and services (more on these below) is based on the experience I’ve built up in more than three decades in the investment business (starting with a part-time job in high school)....

SuperValu Inc. (New York symbol SVU) operates about 2,500 company-owned and franchised supermarkets. Major banners include Save-A-Lot, Albertsons and Jewel-Osco. Supervalu gets 76% of its revenue from its retail stores. It gets the remaining 24% by supplying food to 1,890 independent stores. The company continues to focus on its core business of food retailing, and has stopped selling other items, such as automotive goods and perfumes, in its stores. In its fiscal 2011 third quarter, which ended December 4, 2010, the Wall Street stock’s sales fell 5.9% to $8.7 billion from $9.2 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales declined 4.9%. The company closed underperforming stores, and was forced to cut its prices due to stronger competition from discount retailers, including Wal-Mart, which is selling more groceries in its stores....

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 advice on successful investing. 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: “Cut risk in your aggressive portfolio with our ‘sell-half’ rule.” Our “sell-half” rule says that if a stock you own has doubled, you should sell half so you get back your initial stake. Once you’ve recovered your initial investment, you’ll be able to think more clearly about the stock....

ISHARES FTSE/XINHUA CHINA 25 INDEX FUND $44.32 (New York Exchange symbol FXI; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that aims to track the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index, which is made up of the 25 largest and most liquid Chinese stocks. All of the stocks in the index trade on the Hong Kong exchange. Some also trade as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the New York exchange. The fund’s top holdings are China Mobile, 9.7%; China Construction Bank, 9.6%; CNOOC, 8.3%; Industrial & Commercial Bank, 8.0%; China Life, 5.7%; Petrochina, 4.3%; Ping An Insurance, 4.2%; Bank of China, 4.2%; China Petroleum & Chemical, 4.2%; and China Unicom Hong Kong, 4.1%. The fund’s holdings give it the following industry breakdown: Financials, 47.3%; Telecommunications, 17.7%; Oil and Gas, 16.7%; Basic Materials, 10.3%; Industrials, 6.1%; and Consumer Services, 1.8%. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.72%....