From the universe of top financial stocks, we continue to advise you to buy the big five Canadian bank stocks. They’re safer than most companies, such as suffering commodities producers.   Read More

Analysts follow as many as 20 stocks, most of which are rated ‘buys’. Of those buys, an analyst has one or two special favourites seen as most suitable for new   Read More

Are you concerned about rising interest rates effect on stocks in the U.S.? Keith Richards, portfolio manager at Barrie, Ont.-based ValueTrend Wealth Management and a frequent contributor to The MoneyLetter,   Read More

Keith Richards, portfolio manager of Barrie, Ont.-based ValueTrend Wealth Management says his favorite market indicators are flashing ‘buy’ signals in five market sectors. He names his favorite stock picks in   Read More

John Embry, a Toronto-based senior market strategist with Sprott Asset Management, is appalled that, in just one week, bullion banks boosted their short positions by a staggering 35,000 contracts. One   Read More

“I haven’t lost interest” goes the old kids’ joke. So does professional courtesy get in the way when one of the top investment banks in the world rates another one?   Read More

TD Bank has reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings and its US exposure should help offset potential Canadian weakness. TD is a full financial services provider to buy for growth and income.   Read More

Financial technology, or FinTech, refers to the business activity of technology stocks that provide software to help financial services providers conduct business with their customers. FinTech stock DH Corp. has   Read More

This choppy, sideways market is no place for a buy-and-hold investment strategy. The best approach is one of constant sector rotation. So says Keith Richards, a portfolio manager at Barrie,   Read More

Despite falling short of analysts’ expectations, core earnings are still impressive. Manulife Financial Corporation is a Canadian global financial stock to buy for growth and some income.
Manulife Financial Corporation (TSX─MFC)   Read More

Despite hand-wringing over America’s rising debt levels, U.S. markets continue to lead the world and the S&P 500 Composite Index has risen sharply over the past six years. Keith Richards,   Read More

CIBC, one of the Big 5 Canadian bank stocks, is a primary target for short-sellers. This has driven its P/E ratio below ten times its likely fiscal 2015 earnings and   Read More

Canadian bank stocks reported better-than-expected core earnings in their second quarter, and that includes Bank of Montreal. The bank reported adjusted earnings of $1.71 a share, up five per cent   Read More

A pillar of Bay Street, Toronto-Dominion is also one of Canada’s big-five bank stocks. Based in its namesake city, TD is a full range financial services provider including retail banking,   Read More

Basing patterns are often a buy signal and Canadian banks, global agriculture stocks and U.S. junk bonds are poised to take off says Keith Richards, portfolio manager at Barrie, Ont.-based   Read More

The TSX Venture Exchange is not your father’s stock exchange. Elvis Picardo, vice president of research and portfolio manager at Global Securities Corp. in Vancouver, notes that instead of being   Read More

Examine the risk-versus-reward relationship of a security before you take the plunge. Strategic investment planning starts with an honest appraisal of your own risk tolerance.
There are many investments you can   Read More

Manufacturing stock General Electric will focus on its technology and advanced manufacturing businesses. It’s disposing of most of its financial companies. It remains a buy for high dividends and long-term   Read More

GE Capital’s assets are seen as a good fit for TD Bank. But Toronto-Dominion is likely to face competition from other financial sector companies if it submits a bid.
At first   Read More

Nature is springing back to life. But the markets are likely to correct significantly. Rebalance to emphasize cash and low-beta stocks. Keith Richards, portfolio manager at Barrie, Ont.-based ValueTrend suggests   Read More

Remember all the talk a year or so ago how gold would take off? Well, guess what? It didn’t. In fact, it’s now trading at an even lower price. Keith   Read More

While the United States is entering an extended period of monetary tightening, Europe is beginning its experiment of unbridled and unrestrained monetary stimulus. One thing that investors know from the   Read More

Look to iShares CDN S&P/TSX Capped Financials Index Fund for a signal that Canadian stocks are due for a correction. When trying to gauge market outlook, financial stocks are a   Read More

There appears to be lots of cheer as the markets keep rising. But the 200-day moving average suggests this is a bear . . . in bull’s clothing. Understanding institutional   Read More

Two Canadian companies with a global reach─one focused on tangible assets, the other on intangible assets─are rated ‘best buys’. These two Canadian multinationals are most suitable for new buying now.
When   Read More

Although cheap gas is great for motorists, it could wreak havoc with Canada’s energy sector, as well as the market for junk bonds.
Central banks throughout the West last year found   Read More

The European Central Bank, or ECB, ushered in a new era by launching an aggressive bond-buying program in January. The euro zone is one of the global economy’s biggest trouble   Read More

Often a small mutual fund is able to outperform large funds by getting a couple of big winners early on. This may attract the attention of investors who can quickly   Read More

Investment Analyst Murray Leith likes the way the new executive team at Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX─MFC) has turned things around. For starters, he says, they’ve used hedging to take a   Read More

National Bank’s (TSX─NA) net income, earnings per share and total revenues all increased in fiscal 2014. Indeed, for all three of these measures of financial performance, 2014 marked the twelfth   Read More

It’s the job of any financial writer to see through fresh eyes, to look for traps and false assumptions in the world of money. Investors who weathered the stormy bear markets of 2000 to 2003 and 2008 to 2009 know only too well what can happen to the unwary.   Read More

Recent market action indicates why it’s essential to hold Canadian equity index ETFs as part of a larger, well-diversified portfolio. Heavy concentration in just a few industry sectors makes Canadian   Read More

TD Bank Group’s (TSX—TD; NYSE–TD) fourth-quarter results and outlook were greeted with horror by investors. They promptly punished the bank’s stock by selling it and causing the shares to fall   Read More

This past year, 2014, was a difficult one for Europe. According to estimates provided by The Economist, the euro area is likely to have grown just 0.8 per cent for   Read More

We regularly point out that it pays to buy the big five Canadian banks. They remain buys for long-term price gains as well as high and rising dividends.

All five earned   Read More

Over the past few decades, Steven Hudson started two businesses: Newcourt Capital and, later on, a hair club for men and women.  So, now that he’s started a third business,   Read More

Hamilton, Ont.-based Ken Norquay is a CMT (Chartered Market Technician) and the author of the behavioural finance book Beyond the Bull which discusses the impact of your personality on your   Read More

We’ve always held a high opinion of dollar-cost averaging. That’s because we’ve often seen this investment strategy richly reward those who follow it.

To dollar-cost average, of course, you invest equal   Read More

Our investment planning committee regularly examines MDC Partners Inc. (TSX–MDZ.A) (NASDAQ—MDCA). Since we last looked at it at the start of the summer, the shares have risen by 5.1 per   Read More

Equity analyst Dan Hincks of Vancouver-based investment firm Odlum Brown sees significant upside in the shares of Visa Inc. (V—NYSE). He reiterates his “buy” recommendation and 12-month target price of   Read More

John Bogle, Vanguard Group founder and the father of the indexing concept, takes a highly academic route to his conclusion that no one can predict the future performance of any   Read More

Great-West Financial, a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, a member of the Power family, has completed the acquisition of the J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services large-market recordkeeping business. Great-West considers the   Read More

Manulife Financial (TSX: MFC) has agreed to acquire the Canadian-based operations of Standard Life plc for about $4 billion in cash. A key reason for the acquisition is Standard Life’s   Read More

Sometimes things just go on and on and on. Take, for example, the loonie’s duel with the greenback.

So observes Keith Richards, Barrie, Ontario-based portfolio manager of Value Trend/Wealth Management, who   Read More

Analysts Doug Young and Bradley Romain of Desjardins Capital Markets are keeping the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS-TSX) on deposit as a “hold” with average risk and a 12-month price   Read More

Following the announcement that its second-quarter profit fell by nearly two-thirds from the first quarter, the CIBC’s shares fell 1.4 per cent to $97.68 on the day its results were   Read More

THE MARKET THIS MONTH: June is in the weakest six-month period for stock prices. Ongoing rising stocks and a long time with no stock market setback are risks. If a   Read More

Just in case you haven’t yet noticed, we’ve been getting mixed signals on interest rates of late.

True, yields on corporate bonds have been creeping up to around 4.5 per cent.

And   Read More

We’ve added C.I. Financial to our list of Key stocks. This wealth-management firm is a buy for attractive and rising dividends as well as a decent growth stock with long-term   Read More

World markets currently less desirable than developed markets, where some of the best opportunities lie in the oil patch..

March was a volatile month for the markets, with worries over global   Read More

What to do about common stocks

Many investors try to deal with the uncertainty of investing by diversifying. But there’s more to sound diversification than simply buying a variety of stocks.   Read More

When Scotiabank unveiled plans to sell some of its shares of CI Financial, the latter’s share price fell. This gives you the opportunity to buy CI as a bargain stock,   Read More