The Investment Reporter regularly monitors 10 top building materials companies. Eight of these manufacturing stocks offer capital gains potential over the next few years.
Since we last reviewed our building supply   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

In a tough market, there are good opportunities for top U.S. retail stocks . . . but only for those firms that are rewriting the rules. John Stephenson, an award-winning   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

Despite warnings of rich valuations from the U.S. Federal Reserve, investors in biotech stocks continued to snap up anything that moved. Elvis Picardo, vice president, research, and portfolio manager at   Read More

PPG Industries Inc. is a U.S.-based world class manufacturing stock supplying paints, coatings, optical products, specialty materials, glass and fiber glass to customers in industrial, transportation, consumer products, and construction   Read More

The price of gold seems stuck at low levels with no recovery in sight. While you might hold some gold stocks for diversification purposes, remember gold’s drawbacks.
Gold trades at US$1,173   Read More

Most individual investors tend to be ‘homers’ or ‘chauvinists’. As a result, they overweight their portfolios from their home stock market. It’s known as the equity ‘home bias’ puzzle. Buying   Read More

Keith Richards, portfolio manager at Barrie, Ont.-based Value Trend/Wealth Management has spotted a long legged doji, or rickshaw man, on his candlestick charts. This rickshaw man pattern indicates indecision and   Read More

Vancouver-headquartered Odlum Brown’s technology stocks analyst, Steven Zicherman, says the view that Microsoft is primarily a consumer-oriented PC/Windows-and-Xbox-dependent company is wrong. More than 70 per cent of Microsoft’s profit now   Read More

Alternative investments such as gold and silver bullion are stuck in a bear market that is still intact. So says Toronto-based Brian Hoffman, CPA, CA, a member of the Canadian   Read More

In a market with heightened volatility and increasing correlations, investors should be looking to the most defensive sectors. That’s the view of John Stephenson, president and CEO of Stephenson &   Read More

In the second quarter of 2015, the value of takeovers in the pharmaceutical and biotech sector topped US$1 trillion. And now Montreal-based drug giant Valeant Pharmaceuticals is offering US$1 billion   Read More

Selling snow to Eskimos has always been a whimsical benchmark for successful sales reps here in the Great White North. But, selling water to Californians? Creating demand is certainly not   Read More

Procter & Gamble: The street says ‘hold’. We say ‘buy’. This dividend aristocrat is one of a few dividend kings—stocks that have raised their dividends for more than 50 consecutive   Read More

Oil prices are at multi-month lows. Why? And where are the opportunities for investors? John Stephenson, president and CEO of Toronto-based Stephenson & Company Capital Management Inc. says savvy investors   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

It’s still summer here in the Great White North. So while you’re lounging by the pool or lake or wherever you do your summer lounging with a cool drink near   Read More

Healthcare stock Johnson & Johnson offers attractive, rising dividends. It’s what’s known as a “dividend aristocrat”. In the U.S., that’s a firm that has hiked its dividend for at least   Read More

Some lesser-developed countries look attractive. But investing abroad exposes you to considerable risks. So your strategic investment objectives should include finding safer ways to profit. One is to buy the   Read More

Paychex, Inc. is rated a ‘buy’ for long-term gains and attractive, rising dividends. It earned record profits for the second year in a row—and expects to set a new record   Read More

The Investment Reporter regularly monitors 10 top industrial stocks on “The Back Page”, a weekly feature that examines the market outlook with a focus on a particular industry. Here are   Read More

 A recent Globe and Mail story highlighted one of the market’s occasional paradoxes: investors are using exchange-traded funds (or “ETFs”) to short the consumer staples sector, but aren’t shorting the   Read More

The Investment Reporter has upgraded U.S. tech stock IBM from a hold to a buy. IBM should leave behind its recent rough patch and earn record profits next year. It’s   Read More

With both stocks and commodities having traded in fairly confined ranges, the S&P 500 is now due for a healthy pullback. That’s the market outlook from Toronto-based Brian Hoffman, CPA,   Read More

The 10 conglomerates followed by The Investment Reporter have out-performed the market recently. But they can suffer from some of the drawbacks outlined below. Often strategic investment planning for ‘De-conglomeration’   Read More

Overall, the stock market outlook remains volatile, while the bond market outlook could be on the verge of a tantrum. Here’s where to find some comfort food for the soul—and   Read More

Conventional wisdom is, well, conventional—and often inappropriate. Sunil Vidyarthi, president of Oakville, Ont.-based Value Sciences Inc., says the wisdom of putting bonds in your RRSP is flawed. In fact stocks   Read More

McDonald’s, a high-dividend-paying multinational corporation, is trying to revive its results—as it always has. When it does, the shares will jump. Meanwhile, it also remains a buy for its high   Read More

John Stephenson, portfolio manager and president of Toronto-based Stephenson & Company Capital Management Inc., says the recent dramatic decline in the greenback is unlikely to be sustained for an extended   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

Former Investor’s Digest of Canada editor Carlyle Dunbar argues that deflation is on its way. But when? In the meantime large-cap healthcare and information technology stocks are now starring on   Read More

It’s late to sell cheaper Canadian stocks, convert to pricey U.S. dollars and buy costlier U.S. stocks. This strategy is apt to backfire. Many of The Investment Reporter’s Key Canadian   Read More

U.S. Key stock PepsiCo earned more in 2014, excluding currency changes and one-time items. It expects to earn more in 2015. This gives this global consumer goods stock the means   Read More

Johnson & Johnson has gone through a spate of recent problems, but its size, earnings record, dividend record, productivity and R & D still make this healthcare solutions giant a   Read More

Here’s a low-cost mutual fund that ranks among the best Canadian index funds and that’s easily within reach of the small investor. You need only a $100 commitment to get   Read More

In mid-2015 Baxter will split into two companies. One will focus on medical products for healthcare solutions; the other on developing and marketing biopharmaceuticals.
On March 9, there was an anniversary   Read More

New digital initiatives, such as the “buy online, pick up in store” sales channel, are important drivers in attracting long-term, repeat customers.
After speaking with Home Depot Inc.’s (NYSE─HD) management, equity   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

PPG Industries (NYSE─PPG), one of our U.S. Key stocks, earned record profits in 2014. It’s expected to earn more this year and next. The world’s leading coatings and specialty-materials company   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

Oil prices have plummeted since June, 2014. Other commodity prices have declined. This has hurt the share prices of the producers. Oil companies are a lot cheaper than they were. The same is true of many mining companies that we review   Read More

Among U.S.-based mining companies that focus primarily on producing silver, Coeur Mining, Inc. (TSX—CDE; NYSE–CDE) is the largest. It is also a growing gold producer. As with other silver and   Read More

Forecasting market performance is notoriously tricky. That would be true even if you were handed information about significant economic factors predestined to play out in the year ahead. Writing in   Read More

Sometimes when the outlook for growth at a company stalls, it can present an opportunity to scoop up valuable shares at bargain prices. On the other hand, it may be   Read More

Dividend Re-Investment Plans, or “DRIPs,” can assist you in building your wealth. You can instruct companies with DRIPs to reinvest your dividends into new shares. You can build your wealth   Read More

Alimentation Couche-Tard is earning record profits again. We expect the company to earn record profits this year and next. It remains a buy for further long-term gains and small but   Read More

Wall Street strategists have started to issue their 2015 forecasts. And if a report by Goldman Sachs is any indication of the forecasts to follow, you might want to forget   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