dividends paid

strong>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. That was down 6.4% from $485.3 million a year earlier. Same-store sales declined 15%.

The slow U.S. economy has increased the unemployment rate among teens, which has hurt sales at most teen-focused retailers. Aeropostale lost $0.34 a share in the latest quarter, compared to nil per share a year earlier.

The company now has a new product development team in place, which should let it better react to changes in teenage fashion trends. Aeropostale will likely be able to repeat its past success at attracting customers, but its sales may remain weak in the near term.
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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. The system is an extension of Nissan’s current Safety Shield technology, which monitors a 360-degree area around the vehicle, warns the driver of risks and takes action if necessary. The technology can also be integrated with a standard in-car navigation system, so the vehicle knows which turns to take to reach its destination.

The company believes it will only cost $1,000 to add self-driving technology to a luxury sedan. It hopes the system will cut the number of accidents and free up the driver’s time for more productive uses.
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ADOBE SYSTEMS $52.58 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (408-536-6000; www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 502.3 million; Market cap: $24.2 billion; No dividends paid) makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use its software to create print publications and web pages.

In the three months ended August 30, 2013, Adobe’s revenue fell 7.9%, to $995.1 million from $1.1 billion. That missed the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion.

Excluding one-time items, Adobe’s earnings fell 43.5% in the latest quarter, to $164.4 million, or $0.32 a share, from $291.2 million, or $0.58 a share, a year earlier. That’s because the company’s costs rose sharply as it transitions to selling its software as a subscription service instead of a one-time purchase. The latest earnings missed the consensus estimate of $0.34 a share.
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GOOGLE INC. $849 (Nasdaq symbol GOOG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 333.2 million; Market cap: $282.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.google.com) has started selling Chromecast, a new $35 device that connects to the back of a television set....

BLACKBERRY LTD. $11 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 524.2 million; Market cap: $5.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.blackberry.com) is looking at alternatives for increasing shareholder value. Options the company is examining include the sale of some or all of its operations and joint ventures with other firms.

That’s because its new smartphones, powered by its BlackBerry 10 software, continue to face intense competition from Apple’s iPhone and devices running Google’s Android operating system.

The company will probably complete this review quickly. If not, the uncertainty may prompt its corporate and government clients to switch to competing wireless email systems.
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DOMINO’S PIZZA $61.50 (New York symbol DPZ; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (734-930-3030; www.dominos.com; Shares outstanding: 55.7 million; Market cap: $3.5 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) is the world’s largest chain of pizza stores that offer takeout and delivery....

These two juniors have done better that most recently by taking on partners to pay a big part of their drilling costs. That leaves them in a great position to rise even further when natural gas prices turn upward.

BELLATRIX EXPLORATION $6.97 (Toronto symbol BXE; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-266- 8670; www.bellatrixexploration.com; Shares outstanding: 107.9 million; Market cap: $756.5 million; No dividends paid) produces natural gas (70% of output) and oil (30%) in Alberta, B.C....

ALARMFORCE $10.01 (Toronto symbol AF; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-800-267-2001; www.alarmforce.com; Shares outstanding: 12.2 million; Market cap: $122.7 million; Div. yield: 1.0%) has fired Joel Matlin, its long-time and high-profile president and CEO.

AlarmForce recently completed the strategic review of business opportunities that it launched in August 2012....

BLACKBERRY LTD. $11 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 524.2 million; Market cap: $5.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.blackberry.com) is looking at alternatives for increasing shareholder value....

GOOGLE INC. $849 (Nasdaq symbol GOOG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 333.2 million; Market cap: $282.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.google.com) has started selling Chromecast, a new $35 device that connects to the back of a television set. Chromecast makes it easy to stream movies, TV shows and other video content from a home wireless network to a television.

The company is also interested in securing exclusive content for YouTube, such as NFL football. Programming like this would let Google earn subscription fees and charge advertisers higher rates.

Google is a buy.
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