wall street
ALCOA INC., $8.94, New York symbol AA, reported sharply lower earnings for 2012. However, that’s mainly because the company cut bulk aluminum production in response to low prices. It’s also moving into more profitable businesses, such as manufacturing parts for cars and airplanes. Alcoa’s earnings fell 66.7% in 2012, to $0.24 a share. This figure excludes unusual items, such as gains on asset sales and costs to close plants. On this basis, the latest earnings easily beat the consensus estimate of $0.18. The company earned $0.72 a share in 2011. Revenue fell 5.0%, to $23.7 billion from $25.0 billion. Even so, that exceeded the consensus revenue estimate of $23.4 billion. Aluminum shipments rose 3.2%, but average prices fell 11.7%....
Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a beginning or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice and insights, such as how we pick our top stocks. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investing strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Here are 5 more ways in which our exclusive ratings system helps investors make stock selections with a much better chance of success.”...
In next week’s Successful Investor Hotline, we’ll reveal our #1 stock pick for 2013. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to profit. ENCANA CORP., $20.16, Toronto symbol ECA, is selling its 30% stake in a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Kitimat, B.C., to Chevron Corp. (New York symbol CVX). The deal includes Encana’s stake in related pipelines and gas properties in B.C. However, Encana will still ship its gas through Kitimat when the terminal is completed. Chevron is also buying a further 30% of this project from EOG Resources Canada Inc. Following these deals, Chevron will sell 10% to Apache Corp. (New York symbol APA). As a result, Chevron and Apache will each own 50%. (Chevron and Apache are recommendations of Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on U.S. stocks.)...
PLEASE NOTE: One week from today, on January 11, 2013, just after the stock market closes at 4:30 p.m. Toronto time, we will reveal our #1 Canadian Stock of 2013 to subscribers of The Successful Investor. Our #1 pick for 2012, CP Rail, has surged 54% in the past year and is still on the rise. You can be among the first to hear about our #1 Pick for 2013. Because you’re a loyal subscriber, we are happy to offer you a bargain-priced, no-risk introduction to The Successful Investor. It gives you the first month—and the 2013 Stock of the Year—FREE. But you must act now. Click here. CHEVRON CORP., $110.50, New York symbol CVX, has agreed to purchase 50% of a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Kitimat, B.C., in a series of transactions. The deal includes related pipelines and gas properties in the province. The company will purchase the 30% stakes held by ENCANA CORP. $20.40, New York symbol ECA, and EOG Resources Canada Inc. Following these deals, Chevron will sell 10% to APACHE CORP., $83.20, New York symbol APA. As a result, Chevron and Apache will each own 50%....
Advanced Micro Devices, $2.53, symbol AMD on New York (Shares outstanding: 711.9 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; www.amd.com), makes computer chips. The company produces microprocessors for desktop PCs, laptops and servers, including its Athlon, Turion, and Opteron designs, which are compatible with Microsoft Windows applications. AMD also makes circuits for communications equipment and graphics processors through ATI, which it bought for $5.4 billion in 2006. AMD’s graphics division is profitable, but demand for its chips is falling along with desktop PC sales as more consumers switch to mobile devices....
A good way to diversify your Finance holdings is to look beyond the banks to firms that are leaders in their niche markets. Stocks with well-established brands should be able to keep fuelling their growth, which in turn will give them more cash for dividends. One well-known brand is a stock we cover in our advisory on U.S. investments, Wall Street Stock Forecaster. T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. (Nasdaq symbol TROW; www.troweprice.com) sells mutual funds and wealth management services....
PLEASE NOTE: This is our last Hotline for 2012. Our next Hotline will go out on Friday, January 4, 2013. GOOGLE INC., $715.63, Nasdaq symbol GOOG, is selling its Motorola Home division, which makes TV set-top boxes and modems for cable companies. The company acquired this business as part of its $12.5-billion purchase of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings in May 2012. The buyer is Georgia-based Arris Group Ltd. (Nasdaq symbol ARRS). When the deal closes in the first half of 2013, Google will receive $2.05 billion in cash plus $300 million of Arris’s common shares. That will give it a 15.7% stake in Arris....
IBM $192.95, symbol IBM on New York, shows that we don’t beat the market every time! It only eked out a 0.5% gain as our #1 pick for 2012 in Wall Street Stock Forecaster at $192.
Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline. Friday, December 14, 2012 Dear client,...
WestJet (see left) was trading at $14.10 when we made it our #1 Stock of the Year for 2011. It was a year late getting started, but it’s now hitting new highs. Alimentation Couche-Tard $49.82, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, was our #1 pick for 2012 in Stock Pickers Digest at $30.55. Its shares are now up 63.1%. Canadian Pacific $98.57, symbol CP on Toronto, was our 2012 #1 pick for The Successful Investor at $69. It’s up 42.9%....