dividends paid

NISSAN MOTOR (ADR) $20.55 (Nasdaq symbol NSANY; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average) (310-771-3111; www.nissan-global.com; Shares outstanding: 2.3 billion; Market cap: $45.2 billion; No dividends paid) plans to make multiple models of self-driving vehicles by 2020.

The technology will include laser scanners, cameras and advanced artificial intelligence....

AEROPOSTALE $10.08 (New York symbol ARO; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (646- 485-5410; www.aeropostale.com; Shares outstanding: 78.5 million; Market cap: $798.2 million; No dividends paid) reported sales of $454.0 million in the three months ended August 3, 2013....

MART RESOURCES $1.19 (Toronto symbol MMT; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-270-1841; www.martresources.com; Shares outstanding: 356.6 million; Market cap: $449.3 million; Dividend yield: 16.8%) produces oil at its 50%-held Umusadege field in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria.

The company recently completed construction of a new central processing facility at the Umusadege field....

AMAZON.COM $312.03 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206- 266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 456.9 million; Market cap: $139.0 billion; No dividends paid) has entered into a partnership with magazine publisher Condé Nast.

For a fee, Amazon will handle print and digital subscriptions for seven of Condé Nast’s publications, including Vogue, Golf Digest and Wired.

For Amazon, the deal offers an opportunity to sell magazine subscriptions to its more than 200 million customers and crosssell goods to Condé Nast subscribers....

CARFINCO FINANCIAL GROUP $10.10 (Toronto symbol CFN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-888- 486-4356; www.carfinco.com; Shares outstanding: 26.4 million; Market cap: $266.6 million; Dividend yield: 4.8%) has now expanded into the U.S. through its $9.5-million purchase of Persian Acceptance Corp., an automotive lender that also caters to less affluent borrowers.

Persian operates in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut and Vermont....

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $52 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 502.3 million; Market cap: $26.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.1; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) earned $164.4 million, or $0.32 a share, in its fiscal 2013 third quarter, which ended August 30, 2013. That’s down 43.5% from $291.2 million, or $0.58 a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 7.9%, to $995.1 million from $1.1 billion.

The company is doing a good job of selling its Creative Cloud package of photo-editing and desktop-publishing programs as a subscription service instead of a one-time purchase. It added 331,000 Creative Cloud subscribers during the third quarter, compared to 221,000 in the second quarter. It now has 1.03 million subscribers and should reach its goal of 1.25 million by the end of fiscal 2013.

However, the stock trades at 35.9 times Adobe’s likely 2013 earnings of $1.45 a share. That’s a high p/e ratio for a company that’s shifting to a new business model. As well, its revenue and earnings could suffer if fewer users than expected sign up for the full version of Creative Cloud when their trial periods end.
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IDEXX LABORATORIES INC. $98 (Nasdaq symbol IDXX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 52.5 million; Market cap: $5.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.1; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.idexx.com) gets 85% of its sales by making equipment that veterinarians use to detect diseases in pets. The remaining 15% comes from sales of systems that detect contaminants in livestock, water and dairy products.

Idexx is benefiting as the improving economy encourages people to take their pets to the vet more often. That has pushed up sales of Idexx’s equipment, such as its Pro-Cyte Dx hematology analyzer, which processes animal blood tests in just two minutes.

Rising equipment sales have also spurred higher demand for consumables, such as test tubes and slides, that veterinarians must constantly replenish.
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GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $30 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $33.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) earned $521 million in the three months ended June 30, 2013, up 6.8% from $488 million a year earlier....

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $22.17 (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 245.5 million; Market cap: $5.4 billion; No dividends paid) has signed an important new labour contract with the United Steelworkers. The four-year deal covers about 8,000 workers at its six U.S. plants.

The agreement provides Goodyear with flexibility to reduce staffing and continues medical-benefit cost sharing.

Wages and benefits remain in line with the prior agreement. The contract protects Goodyear against strikes over its four-year term, but it also protects workers against closures at the six plants.
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AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.43 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 172.3 million; Market cap: $72.4 million; No dividends paid) processes copper and molybdenum from waste rock at Chile’s El Teniente, the world’s largest copper mine. The contract runs at least through 2037. Amerigo also has an agreement to process material from the nearby Cauquenes tailings pond.

Amerigo gets 94% of its revenue by processing copper. The remaining 6% comes from molybdenum.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Amerigo’s revenue fell 22.0%, to $31.4 million from $40.0 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). That’s because Amerigo’s copper production fell 17.5%, and molybdenum output declined 23.1%.
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