Recurring seasonal effects can and do occur even in so-called efficient markets that are supposed to reflect all relevant news and information. (For example, the cost of heating your home   Read More

U.S.-based global stock 3M Co. is expected to earn record profits this year and next. This will give it the means to keep rewarding its shareholders. While not cheap, 3M   Read More

“…there are known knowns; …there are known unknowns; …there are also unknown unknowns.”–Donald Rumsfeld.  “Don’t pretend to know the unknowable.”–Ken Norquay.
Behavioural finance strategist Ken Norquay is a frequent contributor to   Read More

The financial sector’s exposure to the energy sector is driving banking stocks down world-wide. John Stephenson is portfolio manager and President and CEO of Stephenson & Company Capital Management Inc.   Read More

Chartered Market Technician Don Vialoux combines technical, fundamental and seasonality analysis to predict that Canadian metals and mining companies and U.S. industrial companies are set to rise this spring. He   Read More

Global Securities in Vancouver has picked the three best sectors of the economy that they say are built to last: network security, green energy, and infrastructure. Global’s research vice president   Read More

The tech stock favourites of the stock market have fallen back and precious metals and the companies that produce them may pull back after a brief rally. Toronto-based Brian Hoffman,   Read More

Chartered Market Technician Don Vialoux combines technical, fundamental and seasonality analysis to predict that Canadian metals and mining companies and U.S. industrial companies are set to rise this spring. He   Read More

Fortis Inc. has agreed to acquire U.S. stock ITC Holdings. This company will cost a lot. But ITC should also add a lot to Fortis’ earnings and growth potential. Fortis   Read More

The financial sector’s exposure to the energy sector is driving banking stocks down world-wide. John Stephenson is portfolio manager and President and CEO of Stephenson & Company Capital Management Inc.   Read More

McDonald’s global branding campaign based on the “i’m lovin’ it” slogan and song was clearly meant to promote the sale of its fast food products. But this dividend aristocrat’s shareholders   Read More

When consumers have to spend less on gasoline, they have more disposable cash to spend elsewhere. Two groups which benefit from low oil prices are automobile manufacturing stocks and consumer   Read More

Toronto-based portfolio manager Mike Vinokur has named two financial stocks for his picks as currently-rated “best buys”. Canadian bank stock Scotiabank is “cheap on a P/E basis” and U.S. private   Read More

The Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years. This should help stocks outperform bonds. Most forecasters expect the U.S. central bank to   Read More

For the markets, these are indeed turbulent times. But while there are sectors to avoid, others offer opportunity. So says John Stephenson, portfolio manager and president of Stephenson & Company   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 the best stocks to   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

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer, and marketer of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. New York based consumer goods stock analyst, Bill Schmitz of   Read More

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