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Investors are interested in wind power stocks, solar power stocks and other green stocks because they like the idea of making money and helping the environment. But they need a healthy sense of skepticism in order to succeed.
Many stock promotions have an environmental angle. A number of penny stocks have dropped their old, unsuccessful business plans and become a …read more »
Growth stocks are companies that are expected to have earnings growth above the market average. Frequently, growth stocks pay little or no dividends, instead re-investing any extra money to promote further growth.
These are not to be confused with momentum stocks. Momentum stocks are stocks that are moving higher in the market. While individual definitions may differ, the overall goal from …read more »
Bond funds are mutual funds that specifically invest in different government and corporate bond offerings.
Many bond funds posted strong results in the past, with yields of 6%, 8% or 10% over five or 10 years. This, though, was a function of the trend in interest rates; at the start of those periods, the funds were buying bonds with …read more »
If you are interested in gold investing, we recommend staying away from buying gold bullion, coins (unless you collect them as a hobby) or certificates representing an interest in bullion. Unlike stocks, commodity investments like gold bullion do not generate income. Instead, they come with a continuing cash drain, for management, insurance and so on.
However, if you do want …read more »
One challenge with researching investments over time is that companies sometimes change names as they grow and mature. As you search through our archives, one such example of this you will find is Trimark investments.
Long known as Trimark Investments or AIM Trimark, the company changed its name in August 2008 to Invesco Trimark to reflect its relationship with Invesco Ltd., …read more »
Tax-loss selling (or tax-loss harvesting) occurs when you deliberately sell a security at a loss in order to offset capital gains in Canada. You can then use these losses to offset your taxable capital gains.
For example, the 2008 deadline for tax-loss selling on the Toronto Stock Exchange was December 24, 2008. If you sold at a loss on or before …read more »
Uranium prices peaked at 1979 to $43 U.S. a pound, on fears of production shortages. Many nuclear power plants then began hoarding uranium. However, supply disruptions never materialized. As operators used up their uranium inventories in subsequent years, the price of uranium fell to as low as $7.10 U.S. a pound in December 2000. Prices moved up steadily after that, …read more »
Cautious investors wonder if they own enough different stocks, or perhaps even too many.
The right number of stocks for investors to own for portfolio diversification depends, in part, on where they are in their investing careers.
When they’re just starting out, most people have modest amounts of money to invest. Even so, it generally pays to invest at least several …read more »
Ethanol is a liquid alcohol obtained from fermenting sugar, or starch converted to sugar. In Canada and the U.S., fuel ethanol is made from grains, such as corn, wheat and barley. Small quantities have been made on an experimental basis from low-cost agricultural cellulosic biomass, like trees and grasses. This has led to two different groups of companies amongst ethanol …read more »
Registered education savings plans (RESPs) are one of the best ways to save for a child’s post-secondary education. RESPs are a government-assisted form of savings, similar to registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs).
How RESPs work
There are no annual limits for contributions to RESPs. However, RESPs have a lifetime limit (from birth to age 17) per child of $50,000. Only the first …read more »
