dividends paid

MOSAID TECHNOLOGIES INC. $39.66 (Toronto symbol MSD; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (613-599-9539; www.mosaid.com; Shares outstanding: 12.1 million; Market cap: $479.9 million; Dividend yield: 2.5%) is now the subject of a takeover bid from Wi-LAN Inc. (symbol WIN on Toronto). The offer is for $38 a share in cash for all of Mosaid’s shares. Mosaid mainly licenses patented computer chip and telecommunications technology, including patents for technology used in smartphones and laptops. Mosaid is now trading at $39.66 a share, or above Wi-LAN’s bid. This indicates that investors are anticipating a higher or rival offer....

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $13.34 (New York symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 247.0 million; Market cap: $3.4 billion; No dividends paid) is the world’s largest tire maker. The company operates over 60 plants in 25 countries. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, the company’s sales rose 24.1%, to a record $5.6 billion from $4.5 billion a year earlier. North American sales climbed 17.7%. Sales rose 33.5% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; 21.0% in Latin America; and 36.4% in the Asia-Pacific region. Before one-time items, the company earned $0.65 a share, compared with $0.12 a share a year earlier. The latest earnings were much higher than the consensus estimate of $0.27 a share. The record sales and a shift toward higher-priced items were the main reasons for the higher earnings. The company also cut its costs, including pension expenses....

Slowing economic growth and concerns about high U.S. and European debt continue to dampen prices for commodities, like oil, coal and copper. However, rising demand from fast-growing regions, such as Asia and Latin America, should help support resource prices over the long term. The best way to protect the Resources part of your portfolio from volatile commodity prices is with high-quality companies, such as these three. They also trade at attractive multiples to earnings and cash flow. CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $37 (Toronto symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 754.1 million; Market cap: $27.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.cenovus.com) operates three oil-sands properties in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan. Cenovus ships the heavy bitumen from these projects to refineries in Illinois and Texas. ConocoPhillips (New York symbol COP) owns 50% of these refineries, as well as 50% of Cenovus’ two main oil-sands projects. Cenovus also owns conventional oil and natural gas properties....

GOOGLE INC. $607 (Nasdaq symbol GOOG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 322.3 million; Market cap: $195.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.0; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.google.com) operates the world’s leading Internet-search engine. The company’s search dominance helps it sell ads on its web sites and on sites owned by others. Ads now account for 97% of Google’s revenue. Google continues to expand rapidly. It now offers a range of other services, such as Gmail (email), YouTube (video sharing) and Google Chrome (web browser). These services help draw more users to Google’s sites. That lets it sell more ads and charge higher ad rates. The company recently launched two new services that should continue to fuel its growth: Its Android smartphone operating system will help it profit as more people access the Internet through mobile devices instead of computers. As well, its new Google+ social-networking site has already attracted over 20 million users since late June 2011. At this rate, it could soon rival market-leader Facebook, which has 750 million users....

FORD MOTOR CO. $12 (New York symbol F; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 3.8 billion; Market cap: $45.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; No dividends paid since June 2006; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.ford.com) sold 1.5 million cars and trucks in the three months ended June 30, 2011. That’s up 7.1% from 1.4 million a year earlier. The higher sales are largely due to the success of several new models. The company has 16.7% of the U.S. auto market, unchanged from a year earlier. In Europe, Ford’s market share rose to 8.4% from 7.9%. However, the extra costs to develop these new cars and trucks, along with higher prices for steel and plastics, caused Ford’s earnings to fall 7.7%, to $2.4 billion, or $0.59 a share. It earned $2.6 billion, or $0.61 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 13.4%, to $35.5 billion from $31.3 billion. The company expects its earnings in the second half of 2011 to be lower than the first half. Even so, Ford’s new cars should continue to increase its sales, particularly overseas....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SERVICES INC. $23 (New York symbol BR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 123.4 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.broadridge.com) has been chosen by Charles Schwab Corp. (Nasdaq symbol SCHW) to help operate a new online service that will let Schwab’s customers trade stocks and currencies in 12 foreign markets. Schwab plans to launch this service next year. Broadridge will provide the technology to process the currency trades, and handle accounting and reporting. Schwab is the world’s largest online brokerage firm. Broadridge could benefit further as Schwab expands its services for investing in international markets....

NCR CORP. $20 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 158.6 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ncr.com) has developed a new self-serve kiosk that will help immigrants to the U.S. fill out government forms. The machines will help users save time, and will be much cheaper than using an immigration consultant. ClearPath Inc., a private firm founded by former U.S. immigration officials, will supply the software for the kiosks. The U.S. government receives more than 100 million immigration forms each year, so these kiosks could see strong demand. The company will install the first five machines in stores that provide financial services to new immigrants in Houston, Texas....

MART RESOURCES $0.59 (Toronto symbol MMT; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-270-1841; www.martresources.com; Shares outstanding: 340.2 million; Market cap: $188.2 million; No dividends paid) trades at a low multiple to cash flow. That reflects investor concern about operating in politically unstable Nigeria. Right now, Mart is producing oil from its 50%-held Umusadege field in southern Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. This field is about 150 kilometres northeast of the major port city of Warri. The Niger Delta region accounts for over 90% of the company’s proven reserves. This area is the scene of many long-standing ethnic conflicts, including a failed breakaway attempt by the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra between 1967 and 1970. The Nigerian army is still active in the Niger Delta, where it suppresses attacks on oilfields and pipelines, as well as hostage-taking by militant groups and criminal gangs....

EUROPEAN GOLDFIELDS $12.57 (Toronto symbol EGU; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (44 (20) 7408 9534; www.egoldfields.com; Shares outstanding: 182.8 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; No dividends paid) got a big boost recently when Greece’s Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change said it will grant the company a long-delayed permit to build new mines on two of its mineral deposits in Greece. The Olympias mine could start up later this year, followed by a new mine at Skouries in 2012. The two mines should boost the company’s gold output from 70,000 ounces per year to over 420,000 ounces. The new mines could also make it a takeover target. European Goldfields is a buy.

INTUITIVE SURGICAL $397.47 (Nasdaq symbol ISRG; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (515-507-5000; www.intuitivesurgical.com; Shares outstanding: 40.3 million; Market cap: $14.7 billion; No dividends paid) makes the “da Vinci,” a computerized surgical system. 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 process is safer and far less invasive than regular surgery, and helps cut a patient’s recovery time and post-operative discomfort. It also reduces scarring and the risk of infection. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, Intuitive earned $117.4 million, or $2.99 a share. That’s up 32.4% from $88.7 million, or $2.26 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 21.4%, to $425.7 million from $350.7 million....