Media companies continue to face a number of challenges, including the slowing economy, which is hurting advertising revenue, and the explosion of free information available on the Internet.

However, we feel high-quality information providers like these three will adapt and thrive. All three are market leaders, and they own some the industry’s best-known brands. What’s more, they are building strong Internet …read more »

ANDREW PELLER LTD. $8.99 (Toronto symbol ADW.A; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 14.3 million; Market cap: $128.6 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.andrewpeller.com) is Canada’s second-largest wine producer, after Vincor Canada.

In its 2012 first quarter, which ended June 30, 2011, Peller’s sales rose 7.7%, to $69.4 million from $64.5 million a year earlier. …read more »

We still think safety-conscious investors should focus on well-established stocks with strong businesses. The best of these stocks offer an attractive combination of low p/e ratios, steady or rising dividend yields and promising growth prospects. BCE has raised its dividend six times since December 2008. The stock now yields a high 5.3%. The shares are also inexpensive in relation to …read more »

PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. $9.21 (Toronto symbol PGF; Shares outstanding: 303.2 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield : 9.1 %; www.pengrowth.com) produces oil and natural gas in western Canada and off the Nova Scotia coast. Its production is weighted 50% to oil and 50% to gas.

Even with higher oil prices, Pengrowth’s cash flow per share fell 23.3% …read more »

ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $14.20 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) holds the 13 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of any one REIT is limited to 25% of iShares CDN REIT Sector Index Fund’s value.

iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are just 0.55% of its assets.

RioCan REIT …read more »

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $43 (New York symbol MSI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 343.1 million; Market cap: $14.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.motorolasolutions.com) makes specialized equipment, such as bar-code scanners and radios for police and fire vehicles. It gets two-thirds of its revenue by selling its products to governments; The …read more »

MCCORMICK & CO. INC. $46 (New York symbol MKC; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 132.3 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mccormick.com) is the world’s leading maker of spices, herbs, seasonings, flavourings, sauces and extracts. It sells its products to consumers, restaurants and industrial food processors. Top brands include McCormick, Club …read more »

COMPUTER MODELLING GROUP $13.93 (Toronto symbol CMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403- 531-1300; www.cmgroup.com;
Shares outstanding: 37.6 million; Market cap: $502.5 million; Dividend yield: 3.2%) reports that its revenue rose 32.2% in the three months ended June 30, 2011, to $15.9 million from $12.1 million a year earlier.

Earnings rose 57.6%, to $6.7 million, or $0.18 a share, from $4.2 million, or $0.12 …read more »

Companies that pay dividends have a “record” date. That raises two interesting questions investors often ask.

Does the record date determine who owns the stock on that day and who gets the dividend? If so, why not buy stock the week before the day of record, collect the dividend and then sell the stock? Here is what you need to know. …read more »

BCE, Telus and Manitoba Telecom are facing rising competition from cable companies, as well as new entrants in the wireless market.

However, all three companies have spent heavily on their wireless and high-speed Internet networks in the past few years. That’s letting them launch new services, like Internet-based TV. The extra cash flows from these services should let all three firms …read more »