Canada’s telephone companies continue to face rising competition. Along with wireless and cable companies, Internet-based phone services, such as Skype, have also gained in popularity.

Now, three new wireless providers (Globalive’s WIND Mobile, DAVE Wireless, and Public Mobile) are set to enter the Canadian market.

This new competition will put pressure on BCE Inc. (symbol BCE on Toronto), Canada’s largest telephone …read more »

Grocery retailer Metro Inc. (symbol MRU.A on Toronto) is a good example of a stock that has graduated from Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investors, to The Successful Investor, which focuses on more conservative selections.

Stock Pickers Digest is where we analyze stocks that are attractive but not yet suitable for The Successful Investor’s conservative investing focus. Ideally, …read more »

LOBLAW COMPANIES $33.02 (Toronto symbol L; Shares outstanding: 276.6 million; Market cap: $9.1 billion; SI Rating: Above Average) reported better-than-expected earnings in the latest quarter. However, the food retailer’s revenue fell short of analysts’ predictions.

Loblaw earned $0.69 a share in the three months ended October 10, 2009, up 21.1% from $0.57 a year earlier. That beat the $0.62 a share …read more »

Last week, the Persian Gulf nation of Dubai asked creditors of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World for a stay in payments on its roughly $60 billion U.S. of debt.

The news raised fears that the country could eventually default on its debt, and caused a drop in world stock markets. Asian and U.S. banks were particularly hard hit.

Like their international counterparts, …read more »

WEYERHAEUSER CO. $39 (New York symbol WY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 211.4 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; WSSF Rating: Extra Risk) is a major North American lumber and paper producer. It owns or leases over 37 million acres of timberland in the U.S. and Canada.

Slow housing markets continue to weigh on lumber demand. In …read more »

SYSCO INC. $27 (New York symbol SYY; Conservative Growth Portfolio; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 591.8 million; Market cap: $16.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; WSSF Rating: Average) distributes food and other supplies to over 400,000 restaurants in North America. The weak economy has prompted more people to eat at home. As a result, Sysco’s revenue fell 8.1% in its first quarter, …read more »

SARA LEE CORP. $12 (New York symbol SLE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 697.3 million; Market cap: $8.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is a leading maker of fresh and frozen baked goods, meats and other foods. Its major brands include Sara Lee (bread, cheesecake), Ball Park (wieners), Jimmy Dean (sausages), Hillshire Farms (deli meats) …read more »

TELUS CORP. (Toronto symbols T $33 and T.A $31; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 318 million; Market cap: $10.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; SI Rating: Above Average) earned $280 million in the three months ended September 30, 2009. That’s down 2.1% from $286 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 1.1%, to $0.88 from $0.89, on …read more »

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway recently offered $44 billion U.S. for 77% of U.S.-based railway Burlington Northern Santa Fe. (Berkshire already owns 23%.) This lifted the shares of other big railways, including CN and CP. Despite the jump, both still trade at reasonable multiples of their earnings. As well, both are cutting costs. This will help their earnings grow as the …read more »

If you need steady income and want to hold bond funds, we advise you to focus on those with short-term maturity dates (see below for more on bond funds). That’s because bonds with shorter terms face a lower risk from interest-rate increases. You should also avoid funds that take part in any kind of speculative trading.

This bond ETF offers …read more »

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES $31.45 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 64.7 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; SI Rating: Average) has lowered its 2009 earnings outlook. It now expects to earn between $2.60 and $2.90 a share, compared to its earlier forecast of $2.80 a share. The stock trades at 11.4 times the midpoint of the new range.

Because of the recession and …read more »

INVACARE CORP. $23 (New York symbol IVC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 32.1 million; Market cap: $738.3 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; WSSF Rating: Average) makes wheelchairs, motorized scooters and other mobility and home-care products.

Invacare spends much less on research than Baxter, Bard and Beckman— typically less than 2% of its revenue. That’s because it mainly focuses on improving …read more »

C.R. BARD INC. $76 (New York symbol BCR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 96.5 million; Market cap: $7.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; WSSF Rating: Above Average) makes medical devices in four main areas: urology products, such as drainage and incontinence devices (29% of 2008 sales); vascular products, such as stents and catheters (26%); oncology products that detect and …read more »

BECKMAN COULTER INC. $66 (New York symbol BEC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 68.6 million; Market cap: $4.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; WSSF Rating: Average) makes lab equipment that doctors and researchers use to detect substances in bodily fluids. Beckman gets 90% of its sales from hospitals and clinics. Research labs account for the remaining 10%.

In …read more »

BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC. $55 (New York symbol BAX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 602.7 million; Market cap: $33.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; WSSF Rating: Average) makes medical equipment through three main divisions. BioScience (43% of 2008 sales), makes vaccines and drugs; Medical Delivery (37%) makes intravenous equipment and systems; and Renal (19%) makes dialysis equipment. Other …read more »

GENERAL MILLS INC. $65 (New York symbol GIS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 326.6 million; Market cap: $21.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is the second-largest cereal maker in the U.S., after Kellogg. Its main brands include Cheerios, Wheaties, Lucky Charms, Total and Chex.

The company also makes a wide variety of other foods. These include …read more »

Consumer stocks tend to add stability to a portfolio. That’s because these firms sell items, like food, that consumers must buy, regardless of the direction of the economy.

General Mills is a top choice in the Consumer sector. The company has been cutting expenses and raising prices in response to higher ingredient costs. This should spur long-term earnings growth, especially now …read more »

CHEVRON CORP. $76 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $152.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is the second-largest integrated oil company in the U.S. by market cap, after Exxon-Mobil. Chevron gets about 85% of its earnings from producing oil. The remaining 15% comes from its refineries, its petrochemicals …read more »

TRANSCANADA CORP. $33 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 624 million; Market cap: $20.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; SI Rating: Above Average) operates a 59,000-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. It also owns or invests in 20 electrical power plants.

To diversify its operations, TransCanada is building the …read more »

FINNING INTERNATIONAL INC. $16 (Toronto symbol FTT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 170.6 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; SI Rating: Above Average) sells, rents and repairs heavy equipment made by Caterpillar Inc. This includes tractors, bulldozers and trucks. Finning’s major customers are mainly in the western Canadian mining, forest products and construction industries.

The …read more »

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $17.18 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 234.1 million; Market cap: $4.2 billion; SI Rating: Average) has bought 100% of the first phase of the RioCan Centre in Vaughan, near Toronto.

That’s double the 50% interest that the trust previously held. The first phase of this three-phase project consists of a shopping centre, which opened earlier this …read more »

Most investor sayings or rules have some truth or logic or value to them, and that’s why investors keep repeating them. However, their truth or logic may be irrelevant to your goals, and to the conservative investing philosophy we recommend in our Successful Investor newsletter.

Some rules can undermine your conservative investing decisions at crucial moments

The value of these rules …read more »

TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP. $40 (New York symbol TUP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 63 million; Market cap: $2.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; WSSF Rating: Above Average) makes plastic food and beverage containers. It also makes beauty products. The company sells its products through a network of independent dealers instead of traditional retail stores. This keeps its distribution costs …read more »

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS CO. $61 (New York symbol SHW; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 116.3 million; Market cap: $7.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is North America’s largest paint producer. The company gets 60% of its sales from its over 3,300 paint stores.

The slowdown in new U.S. housing construction has hurt demand for Sherwin’s paints. As well, …read more »

U.S. industrial production fell 1.1% in May, and by 0.4% in June, but swung to a 1.0% gain in July. Production slipped slightly in August, but was still positive, at 0.8%. That’s good news for 3M. Because of its large product line (it makes over 55,000 different items), the company’s earnings and share price tend to reflect U.S. manufacturing activity. …read more »

INVACARE CORP. $23 earned $0.30 a share in the second quarter of 2009, up 36.4% from $0.22 a year earlier. Much of the gain came from the company’s ongoing restructuring plan, which started in July 2005. Under the plan, Invacare is shifting production of wheelchairs, motorized scooters and other mobility and homecare products to low-cost countries and simplifying its product …read more »

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $8.25 (Toronto symbol BIR; SI Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Units outstanding: 112.8 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion) develops, produces and explores for oil and natural gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area near the Alberta/B.C. border.

In the three months ended June 30, 2009, Birchcliff’s production rose 18.1%, to 11,313 barrels of oil equivalent per day (this measurement …read more »

SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $35 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $56 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; SI Rating: Average) replaces Petro-Canada on our Conservative Growth Portfolio.

On August 1, 2009, Petro-Canada shareholders received 1.28 shares of Suncor for each share they owned, while Suncor investors got one share of the new company for each …read more »

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $53
(Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth
Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares
outstanding: 168.1 million; Market cap: $8.9 billion;
Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; SI Rating: Above Average)
continues to strengthen its balance sheet by selling
surplus real estate. It recently sold most of its stake
in the rail tunnel between Detroit and Windsor,
Ontario, for $110 million. CP has also sold Windsor
Station in Montreal for …read more »

TRANSCANADA CORP. $32 has started building a gas-fired power plant near Phoenix, Arizona, that should start operating in May 2011. The $500-million U.S. cost is equal to 60% of the $319 million, or $0.51 a share, that TransCanada earned in the three months ended June 30, 2009. TransCanada has a 20-year deal to sell the plant’s power to an Arizona …read more »

These five large mutual funds — one from each of Canada’s big-five banks — suffered last year and early this year. That’s because they were heavily weighted toward financial services and resource stocks. However, many shares in those sectors have moved up since March. We think they have room to go higher.

We still feel that the best way to profit …read more »

An economic recovery will increase CP Rail’s shipments of forest products, coal, potash, grain, cars and auto parts. This, in turn, will lift its revenue and profits. Meanwhile, CP has aggressively cut its costs. This should further add to profits when shipments rebound.

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $49.78 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 168.1 million; Market cap: $8.4 billion; SI Rating: …read more »

When investors ask us about our conservative investing strategy, they often wonder when they should dump a weak stock from their portfolio and replace it with something new.

Knowing when to sell is part of our conservative investing strategy that we cover in our new special report, Canadian Stock Market Basics: How to Trade Stocks and Make Good Investments in …read more »

MCGRAW-HILL COMPANIES LTD. $32 (New York symbol MHP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 314.8 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; WSSF Rating: Average) will make over 100 of its college textbooks available to users of the Kindle and Kindle DX electronic-book readers sold by online bookseller Amazon.com. That’s on top of the over 3,000 McGraw-Hill business, …read more »

LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $33 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 274.2 million; Market cap: $9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; SI Rating: Above Average) is Canada’s largest supermarket operator, with over 1,000 stores. The company’s major banners include Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Provigo and Zehrs. Franchisees operate about 40% of its stores.

Loblaw ran into trouble earlier this …read more »

CRESCENT POINT ENERGY CORP. $34.74 (Toronto symbol CPG; Shares outstanding: 159.3 million; Market cap: $5.5 billion; SI Rating: Extra Risk) is the new name of Crescent Point Energy Trust. The trust recently converted itself into a conventional corporation.

Crescent Point produces oil and natural gas in western Canada. Its production is weighted 87% toward oil and 13% to gas.

The company is …read more »

Some U.S. bank stocks have reported surprising profits lately, and some have even begun to repay loans received under the U.S. government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. However, the sector itself remains volatile.

While we recommend some high-quality U.S. bank stocks in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter, we feel that you can cut your risk by not just investing in …read more »

H&R BLOCK INC. $17 (New York symbol HRB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 334.1 million; Market cap: $5.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is the world’s largest provider of income-tax-preparation services. It operates 12,923 offices in the U.S., as well as 1,193 in Canada and 378 in Australia. Franchisees own 34% of H&R Block’s U.S. …read more »

H&R Block’s tax-preparation business has seen less traffic as more tax filers switch to do-it-yourself software. While the company’s own software is selling well, it generates fewer profits than serving clients directly. That’s partly why the stock is down 40% from the $28 it reached in September 2008.

However, tax software works best for those with simple tax situations, and upcoming …read more »

SUPERVALU INC. $14 (New York symbol SVU, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 230 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.1; WSSF Rating: Average) is the second-largest supermarket operator in the U.S. behind Kroger. Its 2,500 stores account for roughly 78% of its revenue. The remaining 22% comes from its food wholesale operations, which supply its own stores …read more »

The recession has forced many consumers to cut their restaurant visits. When they do go out, many are switching to less-expensive establishments and skipping extras, like appetizers and dessert. Consumers are also waiting for sales instead of buying groceries at regular prices. These factors are bad news for Sysco and Supervalu, two of the largest food sellers in the U.S. …read more »

SYSCO CORP. $23 (New York symbol SYY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 589.9 million; Market cap: $13.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; WSSF Rating: Average) sells food and kitchen supplies to over 400,000 restaurants, schools, hotels and hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. The company has about 16% of the North American food-service market.

In its third fiscal quarter, which …read more »

GANNETT CO. INC. $6.26 (New York symbol GCI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 232.4 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.2: WSSF Rating: Average) will start selling an online edition of USA Today, its flagship newspaper, in August. The company already sells an electronic version of USA Today through Amazon.com’s Kindle e-book reader service.

Online newspapers face strong …read more »

Many people come up with unrealistic answers to the question of how much risk is right for them. For instance, when they’re young and just starting out, many investors decide to move away from safe investing principles and speculate. They expect to build a small portfolio into a big one in a hurry, then shift their money into boring, but …read more »

CAE INC. $6.68 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 255.1 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; SI Rating: Average) stands to gain from both developments.

CAE makes flight simulators and operates pilot-training facilities. Lower fuel prices leave its airline customers with more cash to spend on new simulators and training. Falling oil prices …read more »

Oil has dropped from $74 U.S. a barrel in June to $60, and could fall further. We depend on resource industries more than the U.S. does, so the drop in oil and other commodities pushed down the Canadian dollar from $0.92 U.S. in May to $0.86 today.

CAE INC. $6.68 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares …read more »

TORSTAR CORP. $5.04 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 78.9 million; Market cap: $397.7 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; SI Rating: Above Average) publishes The Toronto Star, which is Canada’s largest daily newspaper by circulation. The company also publishes three other daily papers and over 100 weeklies, mainly in southern Ontario. Newspapers and web sites account for …read more »

TECK RESOURCES LTD. $18 (Toronto symbol TCK.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 486.9 million; Market cap: $8.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; SI Rating: Extra Risk) will see its coal-shipping costs fall by $70 million this year following a favourable arbitration ruling over CP Rail. The two companies could not agree to a new contract, so Teck opted for …read more »

MANULIFE FINANCIAL $20.19 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $32.5 billion; SI Rating: Above Average) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment-management services. It operates in 19 countries and territories worldwide, including the U.S. and Asia.

Manulife reported a loss of $1.1 billion, or $0.67 a share, in the three months …read more »

Manulife shares dropped 14% recently after the Ontario Securities Commission began looking into whether it fully informed its shareholders late last year of the business risks of a market downturn.

MANULIFE FINANCIAL $20.19 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $32.5 billion; SI Rating: Above Average) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and …read more »