Stock market setbacks do happen. So it can pay to buy defensive beverage stocks. Their valuations and dividends are usually favourable compared with those of, say, tech stocks.

We regularly review   Read More

“In a world where things are changing fast / Ain’t too many things that are made to last / Hang on to her, boy / They don’t make them like   Read More

Companies that raise their dividends each year enable you to beat inflation and maintain or improve your lifestyle over the long haul. The 16 dividend stocks below remain buys.
Stocks that   Read More

Toromont Industries remains a buy. This manufacturing company’s stock has raised its dividends for 26 years in a row. This attracts income-seeking investors. The company’s growing earnings should lead to   Read More

BCE Inc. earned more last year and expects to earn more in 2015. Given its aim of paying out 65 to 75 per cent of its earnings in profits, the   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

We continue to include Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX─POT; NYSE─POT), among our best buys for income.

In December we wrote, “It’s important to hold some resources stocks for proper diversification. The   Read More

Mention Tahoe and you might think of the lake — specifically, the resort on the California-Nevada border that’s popular with skiers.

And although Michael Curran, Toronto-based managing director and research analyst   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

 In fiscal 2014, Richelieu Hardware (TSX─RCH) earned record profits for the fifth year in a row. It’s expected to earn record profits again in fiscal 2015 (fiscal years end November   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

 In the first quarter of fiscal 2016, Shaw Communications’ existing businesses generated lower revenue and operating income than a year earlier. But newly-acquired ViaWest offset the shortfall.

The company has   Read More

 One day, the Cassandras are warning us we’re about to run out of oil; the next day, we’re glutted with the stuff and the price is plunging.

So says Sunil Vidyarthi,   Read More

 Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX—ATD.B), one of our Key stocks, is acquiring The Pantry in the U.S. That company operates 1,512 convenience stores in 13 states. This transaction is large. But given   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

PotashCorp (TSX—POT; NYSE–POT) is a buy for long-term price gains and high dividends that have risen each year since 2010.

Potash says it is “the world’s largest crop nutrient company and   Read More

Montreal-based Gildan Activewear Inc. (TSX—GIL; NYSE—GIL) earned more in the year to October 5. It expects to earn more in the year ahead. This supplier of branded basic family apparel   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

Canadian small-cap stocks have lost ground this year, but IA Clarington Canadian Small Cap Fund has bucked the trend. Its strong, consistent track record and relatively low volatility makes it,   Read More

For Odlum Brown analyst Steven Zicherman, Constellation Software Inc. (CSU–TSX) is definitely a star. Based in Toronto, Constellation Software buys, runs and grows business software. It boasts more than 30,000   Read More

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam-based Peter Pham wrote recently in Investor’s Digest of Canada that the Greenback’s growing strength shows continued confidence in the American economy. He told readers how   Read More

Recently, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (or “OPEC”) decided against cutting its production. This sent the price of oil down further.

OPEC could have cut back its production to raise   Read More

Metro Inc. earned more in fiscal 2014, which sent its share up. This supermarket chain is expected to earn more in fiscal 2015 (which began on September 28) and fiscal   Read More

B.C.-based Kelso Technologies describes itself as a “railroad equipment supplier that produces and sells proprietary tank car service equipment used in the safe loading, unloading and containment of hazardous materials   Read More

The supply of oil and gas has risen. The demand growth for oil and gas has decreased. Both factors have sent down the price of oil. West Texas Intermediate—North America’s   Read More

“In the stock market — or in any widely traded market — there’s an inevitable fact of life: bear markets happen. It’s a topic I’d just as soon avoid. After   Read More

If Calgary-based Mainstreet Equity Corp. (MEQ–TSX) is anything, it’s a growth story. Just ask Jeffrey Olin, president and chief executive officer of Toronto-based Vision Capital Corp., an investment counseling and   Read More

Despite the negativity surrounding the state of manufacturing, especially in Canada, things are beginning to look decidedly better, says John Stephenson, CEO of Toronto-based Stephenson & Company Capital Management Inc.   Read More

CAE’s share price has fallen recently but it did better than it seems in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. It has also sharpened its strategic focus. The company raised   Read More

Charles Ellis, author of Winning the Loser’s Game, believes that you should build your portfolio as you would a house. Your house should be suitable to the climate, not last   Read More

More and more, it seems, people are waking up to the importance of graphite.

Some of this simply reflects its increased demand as a raw material in the manufacture of brake   Read More

The advantage of investing internationally lies mainly in broadened diversification, which cuts risk. Similarly, you can cut risk by investing in dividend-paying stocks.

Here are two complementary exchange-traded funds that together   Read More

Atco Ltd. (TSX—ACO.X) suffered temporary setbacks in the second quarter and the first half of 2014. But its earnings are expected to recover in the second half of the year   Read More

Technology and health care analyst Steven Zicherman of Vancouver-based Odlum Brown reiterates his “buy” recommendation and 12-month target price of $117 for health-care giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ—NYSE).

The company, which   Read More

In recent years, it’s been fashionable to take a bearish view of energy stocks. But not everybody is an energy bear. The manager of CI Canadian Investment Fund thinks energy   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

State Street Corp. provides big institutional investors with investment research, investment management, investment servicing and trading services. It recently reported on the cash holdings of individual investors. In Canada, individual   Read More

PPG Industries’ earnings per share keep setting new records. This lets it reinvest and reward its shareholders with attractive dividends and buybacks.

PPG operates three segments in nearly 70 countries worldwide.   Read More

Valuations for smaller biotechnology and internet stocks are stretched, the U.S. Federal Reserve warned in its Monetary Policy Report delivered to the U.S. Congress recently.

But writing in The MoneyLetter, John   Read More

“Believe it or not, one asset class I’ve always found that stacks up well is timberland. This is especially true when stock market indexes seem on the verge of tumbling   Read More

Emera’s subsidiary, Nova Scotia Power Maritime Link, has entered into the first of the Maritime Link project’s major contracts: the supply and installation of the high-voltage direct current submarine cable.   Read More

“This year’s Annual General Meeting could not have mirrored today’s real-life world and stock markets better. What a template! Talk about proven – and inspirational – value investing.”

So enthused Michael   Read More

Apple Inc. – both the business and the stock – has fanatically devoted fans, but Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha is not among them.

His maintaining a “neutral” recommendation almost looks   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

Optical component manufacturer LightPath Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ-LPTH) has its eye on the prize of three growing markets: glass aspheres (i.e., laser tools and gun sights), specialty optics (such as scientific   Read More