TIP SHEET

Printer GTC: In the April edition of The Successful Investor newsletter, editor Patrick McKeough calls Montreal-based printer and publisher GTC Transcontinental Group Ltd. (GRT.A-TSE) a "buy." Mr. McKeough writes that GTC has recently extended its contract to print The Globe and Mail in Eastern Canada until the end of 2010 and has won a 15-year contract to print Montreal's La Presse newspaper. The two contracts are worth more than $2-billion, he says. In addition, the company has expanded its own newspaper portfolio. In February, it purchased 18 weekly and six daily publications in Quebec and Florida from Power Corp. of Canada. GTC has become the second-largest publisher of weekly newspapers in Canada. The company also owns 75 per cent of Metro in Montreal, a free daily French-language newspaper aimed at transit users. In the three months ended Jan. 31, GTC earned $14-million or 38 cents a share, up 18.6 per cent from $11.8-million or 32 cents a year earlier. GTC closed yesterday at $17.75 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Change of view: The shares of Akita Drilling Ltd. (AKT.A-TSE) have been raised to "buy" from "hold" by analyst Dana Denner at National Bank Financial.

The 12-month target price was increased to $15 from $14.25 a share. Shares of the Calgary-based oil and gas driller closed at $11 on the TSE. Investing ABCs: A "buy" rating. Sometimes, things aren't what they seem at first glance. A buy recommendation may seem to be an urging to run right out and purchase that specific stock. But first of all, buy ratings aren't the highest rating at some brokerage firms. Those would be "focus buy," "strong buy," or "top pick." Moreover, sometimes the buy rating is a long-term rating even though that may not be specified. And sometimes, an analyst may feel that he or she shouldn't lower a recommendation from buy on a stock that has fallen sharply because it is a little like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted, as one analyst put it.