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FAIR ISAAC CORP. $36.31, New York symbol FIC, fell about 10% after the company cut its earnings and revenue forecasts for the rest of the fiscal year ending September 30. The company now expects to earn between $1.55 and $1.65 a share, on revenue of $795 million to $805 million. Fair Isaac had previously forecast 2007 earnings of $2.15 a share on revenue of $870 million. The stock now trades at 23.0 times the midpoint of its new fiscal 2007 profit range. But Fair Isaac continues to spend close to 10% of its revenue of $14 a share on research, so it’s more profitable than it appears. The company did not immediately provide a reason for the lower forecasts, which helped fuel the drop. But it seems to be having trouble reorganizing its salesforce into teams that serve clients, rather than specializing in product lines. Fair Isaac feels this will help it develop better relationships with its clients, and spur them to buy more of its products....

DIAMONDS TRUST SHARES $125 (American Exchange symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers) hold the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Expenses are about 0.18% of assets. Currently, the fund’s top 10 holdings are IBM, 3M, Boeing Co., United Technologies, Caterpillar, Altria Group, American International Group, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Exxon Mobil....

The best exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios with very low management fees. Due to buyback and share issue arrangements, ETFs always trade close to their net asset value. Here are some of the best deals available in ETFs. We’ve also analysed one we don’t like. ISHARES CDN LARGECAP 60 INDEX FUND $76.72 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through a broker) (formerly called iUnits S&P/TSX 60 Index Participation Fund) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSE. The units hold a basket of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index. The index is made up of the 60 largest and most heavily traded stocks on the TSE....

DOW JONES & CO. INC. $34 (New York symbol DJ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 83.8 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) publishes The Wall Street Journal, which is the second most widely read newspaper in the United States. It also publishes Barron’s magazine, and over 20 smaller newspapers. Dow Jones recently redesigned The Wall Street Journal to make it easier to read, and added more general interest features to expand its appeal beyond its traditional readership and advertisers. The company also shrank the width of the paper, which cuts its newsprint and delivery costs by roughly $18 million a year. Other cost cutting initiatives will save it $46 million a year. Thanks to these moves, earnings before restructuring costs and other unusual items rose 13.3% in 2006, to $1.11 a share (total $92.6 million) from $0.98 a share ($81.8 million) in 2005. Revenue grew 6.6%, to $1.78 billion from $1.67 billion....

Advertisers continue to shift spending to Internet sites and away from newspapers and other print publications. But these three leading publishers are doing a good job adapting their businesses to the Internet, and profiting from it. They own some of the best-known brands in this industry, which gives their online properties instant credibility. Strong web sites also make it easier for them to attract advertisers with custom packages that include a variety of platforms. We feel all three will thrive as they expand their Internet activities. But only two are buys right now....

As we said in our March 2 Successful Investor Hotline, North American stock markets could be sluggish or weak for a month or two. Since then, investor fears have shifted from China to so-called “sub-prime” lending to home buyers with less-than-sterling credit ratings. Investors fear that if tighter lending standards shut these buyers out of the market, it will have a negative effect on U.S. consumer spending. That’s a possibility — but it’s not a certainty, nor an overwhelming factor. We’d worry more if interest rates or unemployment were much higher than they are today, or if countries were raising barriers to world trade, or if any of several other risk factors were raising concerns....

MCCORMICK & CO. LTD. $40 (New York symbol MKC; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; WSSF Rating: Average) is thinking about acquiring a controlling stake in one of India’s biggest makers of spices and other foods. Demand for processed foods in India is growing strongly as average incomes rise. McCormick could use it to expand sales in other parts of Asia. The company has also raised its quarterly dividend 11.1%, from $0.18 a share to $0.20. The new annual rate of $0.80 yields 2.0%. But at 24 times earnings, the stock is vulnerable to a sharp drop on any earnings setback. McCormick is a hold....

DOW JONES & CO. $34 (New York symbol DJ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; WSSF Rating: Above average) publishes The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s magazine. It also owns several smaller publications, and provides newswire and specialized information services. The company has suffered in this decade, like all publishers, from fiercer competition for ads. Its profits have stagnated in the past five years, although sales have risen from $1.56 billion in 2002 to a likely level of $1.9 billion or so this year. The stock now trades at 30.9 times its forecast 2006 profit of $1.10 a share. The $1.00 dividend yields 2.9%. Dow Jones is doing a good job of controlling its costs, which gives it more cash to expand faster- growing businesses such as Internet sites. Its latest restructuring plan should save it $15 million a year, mainly by streamlining management and outsourcing more administrative functions....

Demand for financial and business information is ballooning. A great deal of this information is available for free on the Internet, but users have doubts about its accuracy. So they are willing to pay for data they can trust from reputable sources, such as these four top providers of specialized business information. Investors see a lot of value and long-term growth potential in these companies. That helps explain why they often trade at above-average p/e ratios (the S&P 500’s p/e is currently 17.4).We see only two of these stocks as buys right now. DOW JONES & CO. $34 (New York symbol DJ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; WSSF Rating: Above average) publishes The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s magazine. It also owns several smaller publications, and provides newswire and specialized information services....

The market downturn that began last month looks like a correction, rather than a bear market. It’s a crucial difference. A correction may last three to six months and shave 5% to 15% off the market. A bear market can last for years, and the toll on the market can run much deeper. This downturn has already knocked 6% or so off the Dow and S&P 500. So, though it’s doubtful that prices have already hit bottom, that is a possibility. My best guess is that the correction will run through this fall’s mid-term Congressional election. The market often presents a particularly attractive buying opportunity around the time of the mid-term election, and it may do so this year....