The markets rattled many investors this week with steep one-day drops. At times like this, it’s good to remember that even when a further decline lies ahead, high volatility generally signals that it’s “a good time to buy”, rather than “a good time to sell”. It’s also encouraging to see that despite the steep one-day drops, most major market indexes are still at or above the lows they hit in January. MAJOR DRILLING, $57.65, symbol MDI on Toronto, reports that revenues rose 34.1% in the three months ended January 31, 2008, to $120.8 million from $90.1 million. Excluding one-time items, earnings rose 35.1%, to $7.7 million from $5.7 million. Earnings per share rose 28%, to $0.32 from $0.25 on more shares outstanding. Cash flow per share rose 7.7%, to $0.70 from $0.65. Despite the strong results, revenues and earnings were held back as heavy rains in Africa, Australia, Mexico and Ecuador and extreme weather in Canada slowed operations. The high Canadian dollar also lowered revenues and profits....

The markets rattled many investors this week with steep one-day drops. At times like this, it’s good to remember that even when a further decline lies ahead, high volatility generally signals that it’s “a good time to buy”, rather than “a good time to sell”. It’s also encouraging to see that despite the steep one-day drops, most major market indexes are still at or above the lows they hit in January. UNITED TECHNOLOGIES INC. $67.49, New York symbol UTX, has launched a hostile offer to buy DIEBOLD INC. $37.51, New York symbol DBD. United Technologies is offering $40.00 a share in cash, or roughly $3 billion in total. United had cash flow of $5.1 billion ($5.16 a share) in 2007, so it can comfortably afford this purchase. Diebold’s building security operations would be good fit with United Technologies elevator, ventilation and fire alarm businesses. Diebold also gets 60% of its revenue from automated teller machines (ATMs). While big writedowns of mortgages at banks have hurt demand for new ATMs, United Technologies feels its large international operations will help it expand ATM sales in fast-growing countries such as China and Russia....

CEDAR FAIR L.P. $24 (New York symbol FUN) lost $0.08 a unit in 2007. However, that figure included a $1.00 a unit charge related to the restructuring of its Geauga Lake amusement park in Ohio. The company earned $1.59 a unit in 2006. Revenue grew 18.7%, to $987.0 million from $831.4 million. Cedar Fair has also increased its quarterly distribution 1.1%. The new annual rate of $1.92 yields 8.0%. Best Buy. BUCKEYE PARTNERS L.P. $49 (New York symbol BPL) is evaluating a plan to build a pipeline to transport ethanol from production facilities in the Midwest to major markets such as Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York. Demand for renewable fuels such as ethanol is growing fast, and this line could become a major cash flow generator. If it proceeds, Buckeye would build the new pipeline with rival Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P., which would cut the project’s risk. Best Buy. THE STANLEY WORKS $51 (New York symbol SWK) continues to enjoy the benefits of its diversification plan, including acquisitions of industrial tool and building security systems businesses. In 2007, sales to home improvement retailers accounted for 17% of total sales, down from 40% five years earlier. Stanley’s improved business mix should expand its 2008 earnings to $4.30 a share. Buy.

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS INC. $20 (New York symbol BR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 140.0 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; WSSF Rating: Extra risk) provides communication, processing and other back-office services to the investment industry. These services help reduce the need for its clients to make significant capital investments in operations infrastructure, thereby allowing them to focus on core business activities. Broadridge’s clients include 250 banks, 500 mutual fund families and over 5,000 publicly listed companies. Broadridge began trading on April 2, 2007 after former parent Automatic Data Processing Inc. distributed its shares to its own stockholders as a special dividend....

IDEARC INC. $7 (New York symbol IAR; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 146.8 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) is down 80% from its peak of $38 in August 2007. That’s largely due to fears that a slowing economy would hurt revenue growth at its Yellow Pages telephone directories business, which accounts for 90% of its total revenue. Revenue at Idearc’s Internet division, including the popular SuperPages.com search site, is growing strongly partly due to an acquisition. But that’s not enough to offset weakness in the print operations. In 2007, Idearc’s revenue fell slightly to $3.19 billion from $3.22 billion in 2006. Earnings per share grew 0.9%, to $3.32 from $3.29. Cash flow per share fell 37.0%, to $4.64 from $7.37. Idearc’s main appeal is its $1.37 dividend, which now yields a high 19.6%. Capital expenditures in 2007 were just $0.32 a share, so Idearc should be able to maintain the current rate for now. Even if it cut the dividend in half, it would still yield around 10%....

APACHE CORP. $114 (New York symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 332.9 million; Market cap: $38.0 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) will pay a special dividend of $0.10 a share on March 18, 2008. Apache will also continue to pay its regular quarterly dividend of $0.15 a share, for a yield of 0.5%. Apache is a hold. INVACARE CORP. $25 (New York symbol IVC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 30.9 million; Market cap: $772.5 million; WSSF Rating: Average) is enjoying the benefits of a recent restructuring plan. Earnings in 2007 rose 13.6%, $1.34 a share from $1.18 in 2006. These figures exclude unusual items. Sales rose 6.7%, to $1.6 billion from $1.5 billion. Recent stability in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements has helped spur demand for wheelchairs and related equipment. The weaker U.S. dollar is also fueling Invacare’s overseas sales....

ALCOA INC. $39 (New York symbol AA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 814.4 million; Market cap: $31.8 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) has teamed up with Aluminum Corporation of China to buy 12% of UK-based mining company Rio Tinto plc. Alcoa contributed $1.2 billion of the $14 billion cost of this investment. To put that in context, Alcoa earned $2.6 billion in 2007, up 18.2% from $2.2 billion in 2006. Per-share earnings rose 19.4%, to $2.95 from $2.47, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue grew just 1.0%, to $30.7 billion from $30.4 billion. Higher aluminum prices offset lower production. Rio Tinto is now the target of a hostile takeover offer from rival BHP Billiton Ltd. It’s possible Alcoa and its Chinese partner could make a counter offer for Rio Tinto. That would expand Alcoa’s exposure to base metals besides aluminum, as well as gold. In any event, Alcoa should realize a profit on this investment....

Top-quality bank stocks are a sound addition to the Finance sector of most portfolios. However, you should also diversify your holdings with high-quality non-bank stocks such as these two. H&R BLOCK INC. $19 (New York symbol HRB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 325.0 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) prepares income tax returns through offices in the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK. Other services include investment planning and insurance. In December 2007, the company canceled a deal to sell its Option One mortgage business due to the problems in the mortgage securities market and slumping home prices. Instead, H&R Block will now wind down its mortgage operations....

THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS CO. $55 (New York symbol SHW; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 122.8 million; Market cap: $6.8 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) has agreed to acquire Becker Powder Coatings Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, which makes powdered paints. Manufacturers use these products to apply even coatings to appliances and metal furniture. In exchange, Sherwin will transfer its North American coil coating coatings operations to Becker’s parent company. This transaction strengthens the company’s industrial paint operations. However, Sherwin’s exposure to the sluggish housing market and lead paint class-action lawsuits add to its risk. Sherwin-Williams is still a hold.

SYMANTEC CORP. $18 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 846.4 million; Market cap: $15.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) has launched a service called Symantec Protection Network, which lets small and mid-sized businesses back up their data and have it protected at an off-site facility. This new service nicely complements the company’s Backup Exec on-site backup and restore software. Products and services like these help businesses protect sensitive data, and quickly recover from hardware failure or other problems. Meanwhile, Symantec’s earnings rose 16.3% in the three months ended December 31, 2007, to $291.7 million from $250.8 million a year earlier. These figures exclude unusual items. Earnings per share rose 26.9%, to $0.33 from $0.26 on 9% fewer shares outstanding. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, revenues rose 15.3% to $1.53 billion from $1.32 billion. Symantec is a buy for aggressive investors.