wall street

MOTOROLA INC., $6.76, New York symbol MOT, has announced some of the details of its planned breakup into two companies. The company aims to complete the split in the first quarter of 2011. Motorola Mobility Inc. will make mobile phones and home-entertainment equipment, such as set-top boxes for receiving cable and satellite TV signals. The other company, Motorola Solutions Inc., will make communication equipment for large corporate clients, including telephone companies. Each of these businesses accounted for roughly half of Motorola’s 2009 revenue. The breakup makes sense for Motorola. That’s because its two main businesses have little overlap: The mobility business focuses on individual consumers, and the solutions business sells its products to large corporations. It also provides companies with financing for their purchases....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on the fundamentals of successful investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away.

Today’s tip: “Stock portfolio turnover costs money, so buy investments that you might want to hold on to indefinitely.”

Investors often wonder how often they should sell investments they own and buy new ones....

It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since we launched TSI Network. When we flicked the switch in June 2009, after months of hard work, the web site already contained a wealth of investment information and stock advice — over 2,000 individual articles, in fact. TSI Network is built on the strengths of our four newsletters: Canadian Wealth Advisor, Stock Pickers Digest, The Successful Investor and Wall Street Stock Forecaster. The site has come a long way in its first year. Its online investment library now contains more than 5,000 articles on stock advice and investment strategy. Plus, we’ve further expanded the information and stock advice you get on the site by adding new free reports and features, such as our “Investor Toolkit” series of Daily Updates. Every Wednesday, these articles give you a fundamental piece of stock advice and show you how you can put it into practice right away....

Oil prices fell from their July 2008 peak of $148 U.S. a barrel to just under $40 U.S. in February 2009. Prices have roughly doubled since then, but are unlikely to get back to their 2008 highs any time soon. We think oil prices could rise further if the global economy continues to recover, as we expect. Even so, we continue to advise against overindulging in natural gas and oil stocks. That’s because the Resource sector (including oil and natural gas) is highly volatile, and no one can accurately predict future commodity prices.

This oil stock’s diversity and high-quality reserves give it a strong foundation

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When you join Pat McKeough’s Inner Circle, you get to address investment questions directly to me and my research associates; AND you get to see all other members’ questions, and our answers (of course, we eliminate any personal information). Plus, you get all 4 of my investment advisories, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that covers the U.S. markets. (See below for more on one of the global stock market investments we cover in Wall Street Stock Forecaster. The stock has risen over 57% in the past year — and we think it could go even higher.) So you can get a sense of how the service works, I’d like to share a recent question from an investor who is interested in global stock market investing through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)....

We’ve long recommended these 4 stock market research tips in our newsletters and investment services. They can help you cut risk — and increase profits — in your stock portfolio. (Our special report, “Canadian Stock Market Basics: How to Trade Stocks and Make Good Investments in Canada,” is full of safe investing strategies that you can easily put into practice right away. Click here to download your copy today.) 1. Look beyond financial indicators: When they first set out to formulate an investment strategy, many investors decide to focus their stock market research on a handful of measures. For instance, they may want to see a p/e ratio (the ratio of a stock’s price to its per-share earnings) below 15.0, say, along with an earnings growth rate of 20% or more a year, and perhaps a 2% dividend yield....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on the fundamentals of successful investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can use it to increase your chances of making winning stock picks. Today’s tip: “Corporate earnings statements can help you find winning stock picks if you read between the lines.” A company’s earnings are different from an employee’s salary. Earnings are indefinite and subject to revision, even years later. Companies have to estimate many costs, and make yearly write-offs against earnings, according to arbitrary rules....

Computer Sciences Corp., $49.19, symbol CSC on New York (Shares outstanding: 154.2 million; Market cap: $7.6 billion), sells software and computer-outsourcing services to businesses and government agencies. The company’s products and services help its customers automate routine functions, such as accounting and purchasing. That lets Computer Sciences’ clients focus on their main businesses, and improve their efficiency. The company typically enters into long-term contracts with its clients. That gives it steady, predictable revenue streams. Long-term contracts also let Computer Sciences build customer loyalty, and sell more services to its existing clients....

NEW GOLD INC., $6.79, symbol NGD on Toronto, will be added to the FTSE Gold Mine Index on June 21, 2010. FTSE is an independent company that is jointly owned by the U.K.-based Financial Times newspaper and the London Stock Exchange. The FTSE Gold Mine Index includes all gold-mining companies that have sustainable gold production of at least 300,000 ounces a year, and get 51% or more of their revenue from mining gold. New Gold expects to produce a total of 330,000 to 360,000 ounces of gold in 2010. The company’s production will probably rise to over 400,000 ounces in 2012....

Hidden value is one of the key factors we look for when we’re picking high return investments to recommend in our investment advisories, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that covers the U.S. stock market. 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. Hidden assets come in many forms. For example, companies often carry their real-estate assets on the corporate books at its purchase price, even though its value has multiplied many times over the years....