wall street

American Express Co., New York symbol AXP, gets most of its revenue from the fees it charges merchants when consumers use its credit and charge cards. It also provides travel-agency services. American Express is one of the blue chip stocks we analyze in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for investing in the U.S. stock markets. The company continues to set aside less money to cover bad loans as more of its cardholders pay their bills on time....

The main benefit of annuities is that they offer stable, predictable income. That may make them suitable for part of your assets, depending on your age and investment experience.

Hidden value is one of the key factors we look for when we’re looking for winning stock picks to recommend in our investment advisories, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for investing in the U.S. markets. By hidden value, we mean valuable assets that are not getting the attention they deserve from investors. Here’s how that can translate into making winning stock picks: When a company’s assets are wholly or partially hidden, the stock trades for less than it’s really worth, so you get to buy at a bargain price....

I hope you are enjoying and profiting from our free TSI Network daily updates. Our dailies aim to educate you on the best practices in investing. They cover a range of investment topics—from how to make the best value stock picks to gold investing and capital gains tax—and explain conservative investment strategies you can use to grow your wealth with less risk.

Look to our investment newsletters for advice on specific value stock picks

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Genuine Parts Co., New York symbol GPC, distributes auto parts to over 4,800 independent stores in North America. The company also operates about 1,000 auto parts stores under the NAPA banner. Auto parts account for roughly 50% of its sales, and 52% of its earnings. The company also distributes industrial parts (33% of sales, 32% of earnings), office furniture (13%, 12%), and electrical equipment (4%, 3%). Genuine Parts’ exposure to a variety of businesses helps protect it from slowdowns in certain industries. Genuine is one of the companies we analyze in Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter, our newsletter for U.S.A stock market investing. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, Genuine Parts earned $151.8 million. That’s up 22.0% from $124.5 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 23.1%, to $0.96 from $0.78. That easily beat the consensus forecast of $0.89 a share. Sales rose 11.9%, to $3.2 billion from $2.8 billion. All of the company’s divisions reported higher sales, led by the electrical division, with a 28% rise....

Yum! Brands Inc., New York symbol YUM, operates 38,000 fast-food restaurants in over 110 countries. Its main banners include KFC (fried chicken), Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Mexican food). Yum is also a leader in investing in China. It was the first fast-food company to enter the country, in 1987. We analyze Yum in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for investing in the U.S. markets. In the three months ended June 11, 2011, Yum’s revenue rose 9.4%, to $2.8 billion from $2.6 billion a year earlier. Earnings rose 10.5%, to $316 million, or $0.65 a share, from $286 million, or $0.59 a share. Excluding unusual items, mostly gains and losses on sales of restaurants to franchisees, earnings per share would have risen 13.8%, to $0.66 from $0.58. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.61 a share....

Apple Inc., symbol AAPL on Nasdaq, makes computers and a wide range of electronic devices, including the iPhone and iPad tablet computer.

Apple is one of the tech stocks we analyze in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for investing in U.S....

Demand for medical devices and supplies will undoubtedly continue to grow as the population ages. Companies in this fast-changing field make a wide range of products, from wheelchairs to syringes and surgical instruments. Some medical-equipment firms are large and well-established, like Baxter International (symbol BAX on New York), one of the stocks we cover in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter. Baxter gets most of its sales from its Medical Products division, which makes intravenous pumps, syringes and kidney-dialysis equipment. Overall, the company has over $12.8 billion U.S. in annual sales. It also has a long history of paying dividends....

International Business Machines Corp., symbol IBM on New York, is the world’s biggest computer company. In the past few years, IBM has shifted its focus from making computers to designing computer systems and managing them on behalf of clients. We analyze IBM in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that gives you stock trading information and advice on U.S. companies. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, IBM earned $3.7 billion. That’s up 8.2% from $3.4 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 14.9%, to $3.00 from $2.61, on fewer shares outstanding. If you exclude unusual items, mainly costs to integrate acquisitions, IBM’s earnings per share rose 17.9%, to $3.09 from $2.62. On this basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $3.03 a share....

J.C. Penney Co. Inc., symbol JCP on New York, operates more than 1,100 department stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It also sells its goods over the Internet.

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