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POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN, $157.06, Toronto symbol POT, jumped 35% this week after Australia-based BHP Billiton Ltd. (New York symbol BHP) launched a hostile takeover bid for the company. (BHP is the world’s largest mining company, and a recommendation of our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter.) Potash Corp. is the world’s largest fertilizer producer. It has six potash mines in Saskatchewan and one in New Brunswick. Five of its mines have reserves of between 60 and 97 years. BHP is developing a potash mine near Potash Corp.’s operations in Saskatchewan, so a takeover of Potash Corp. would let it cut some costs. In October 2009, rumours of a takeover bid by BHP helped push up Potash Corp.’s shares to around $106 from $93....

Market Vectors Global Agribusiness ETF, $44.20, symbol MOO on New York (Shares outstanding: 39.1 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion), aims to track the DAXglobal Agribusiness Index. The index includes 46 agricultural companies from around the world. To be included in the index, a company must be publicly traded, have a market cap over $150 million U.S., and meet certain minimum trading requirements. The index contains five major sub-sectors: agriculture chemicals and fertilizers (39.3%), agricultural product operations (32.6%), agricultural equipment (15.2%), livestock operations (10.1%) and biofuels, including ethanol and biodiesel (2.7%). Geographically, the DAXglobal Agribusiness Index is broken down as follows: the U.S., 45.8%; Singapore, 14.7%; Canada, 8.5%; Switzerland, 8.0%; Germany, 4.5%; Malaysia, 4.1%; Japan, 4.0%; Norway, 3.3%; Hong Kong, 1.8%; Indonesia, 1.8%, the U.K., 1.2%; and other countries, 2.3%....

Gold now trades at around $1,226.00 U.S. an ounce. That’s up 28.2% from $956 a year ago, but down from its all-time high of $1,261.00 U.S., where it closed on June 28, 2010. Gold’s recent gains have partly resulted from investor fears about the sovereign debts of European countries, especially Greece and Spain. That’s creating uncertainty about the strength of the euro. These fears are prompting more investors to buy gold and gold investments, because they believe investing in gold will provide them with additional security. We think gold could well move higher over the longer term, due to investor concern that low interest rates and large amounts of government stimulus spending will spur inflation. This could prompt even more investors to flock into gold —and drive prices up even higher....

Apple Inc. (symbol AAPL on Nasdaq) continues to see strong sales of its iPad tablet computer: in April and May of 2010, the company sold 2 million of these devices. At this rate, Apple should sell many more iPads than the 6 million it was expected to sell in the first year. As well, Apple is now selling the iPad outside the U.S. That should further push up sales.

Dividend paying stocks that provide content offer lower-risk iPad profits

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Theme investing can pay off from time to time. Today’s popular investment themes include alternative energy, such as solar wind and geothermal, and emerging markets, such as China and India. However, theme investing can turn out badly for investors, especially those who get in late or forget about investment quality. The reason why is straightforward. When you indulge in theme investing, you allow a theme or concept to take a central place in your investing decisions. Usually the theme or concept includes some prediction about the future that has some truth in it, and will make noticeable changes in society. You may assume that if you can just get aboard that theme or find an investment whose future is tied up with it, you are bound to make money....

Smartphones have become increasingly popular in recent years. Aside from functioning as mobile phones, these devices have many computer-like functions, including Internet access and email. There are a couple of ways for investors to profit from rising use of smartphones. The obvious approach is to buy shares of companies that make these devices. Apple and Research in Motion are the most dominant smartphone makers. However, other firms, such as Motorola, Palm and Garmin, have introduced new smartphones in recent months, as well. Another way to profit from rising use of smartphones and other wireless devices is by holding stocks of wireless carriers. Many of these firms have more revenue sources than smartphone makers. Aside from wireless operations, they may provide traditional phone, Internet and television services. This diversity lowers their reliance on a single device. In addition, they get continuing revenue from their customers. This cuts their risk....

Hidden value is one of the key factors we look for when we choose stocks to recommend in our newsletters and investment services, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our advisory that covers the U.S. stock markets. (In a recent Wall Street Stock Forecaster hotline, we updated our buy/sell/hold advice on a technology stock that uses one of our favourite hidden assets to maximum effect. Read on for further details.) By hidden value, we mean valuable assets that are not getting the attention they deserve from investors. 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....

Desalination is the process of removing excess salt and other minerals from seawater. It’s also used where saltwater has entered underground fresh-water aquifers. Right now, there are more than 13,000 desalination plants operating in over 120 countries. In all, these plants produce more than 12 billion gallons of fresh water a day. About three-quarters of these plants are in the Middle East. That’s because desalination plants are very expensive to build, so they’re only really cost-effective where there is no fresh water. When fresh water is available, it can be pumped up to 1,600 kilometres and still cost less per litre than water from a desalination plant. The world’s largest desalination plant is the Jebel Ali Desalination Plant (Phase 2) in the United Arab Emirates. This plant can produce 219 million gallons of water per day. By comparison, the largest desalination plant in the U.S. is in Tampa Bay, Florida. That plant can produce 25 million gallons of water per day....

Calpine Corp., $13.87, symbol CPN on New York (Shares outstanding: 444.2 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion), is a major U.S. power company. Calpine sells its power to individuals, towns and cities in Canada and 21 U.S. states. The company can generate nearly 29,000 megawatts of electricity from its 93 power plants, and is the largest generator of natural-gas-fuelled electricity in the U.S. The recession and high unemployment drove down power demand and prices in the U.S. That hurt electricity producers like Calpine. The company does benefit from its hedging strategy, which has let it lock in prices for most of the gas its plants will use this year. Lower natural-gas prices have also helped Calpine. That’s because lower gas prices, combined with its efficient plants, let it earn higher profit margins on the power it sells. Calpine needs a continued economic recovery to post higher revenue and earnings. As well, the stock is expensive in relation to earnings: it trades at 51.4 times this year’s forecast earnings of $0.27 a share. Moreover, unlike most utilities, Calpine doesn’t pay a dividend. Its high debt also adds risk: the company’s $9.2 billion of long-term debt is 148.4% of its market cap....

BECKMAN COULTER INC., $47.26, New York symbol BEC, makes lab equipment that doctors and medical researchers use to detect substances in blood and other bodily fluids. The stock fell 21% on Friday after the company warned that problems with a test kit are hurting its sales and earnings. This test kit determines whether a patient has suffered a heart attack. Earlier this year, Beckman recalled the test kit, which accounted for 1% of its 2009 sales. The company is now working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fix the problem. Beckman plans to begin clinical trials of the upgraded test kit next year....