Apple

Pennsylvania-based Vanguard Group is one of the world’s largest investment-management companies. It manages over $1 trillion U.S. in 150 mutual funds.

Vanguard, which went into business in 1975, offers low-fee index mutual funds. Generally speaking, Canadians can’t buy units of mutual funds that are registered in the U.S. because they aren’t registered with provincial securities commissions. For that matter, some Canadian …read more »

APPLE INC. $208 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 906.3 million; Market cap: $188.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.1; No dividends paid; WSSF Rating: Average) has gained 2,089.5% since we first recommended it at $9.50 (adjusted for splits) in our November 2000 issue.

Back then, the iPod was still a year away and Apple was struggling …read more »

BCE INC. $28.54 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 767.2 million; Market cap: $21.9 billion; SI Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 6.1%) will face pressure from three new wireless providers (Globalive’s WIND Mobile, DAVE Wireless and Public Mobile) that will probably enter the Canadian market this year. But BCE has dealt with strong competition from wireless and cable companies for years.

For …read more »

Many U.S. corporations cut their information-technology spending while they waited for the economy to start growing again. At the same time, U.S. consumers were buying less computer equipment as job losses pushed up the unemployment rate and eroded confidence.

Spending has started to recover. As well, many U.S. technology companies have increased their international sales. At the same time, the high …read more »

TELUS CORP. $32.34 (Toronto symbol T.A; Shares outstanding: 335.6 million; Market cap: $10.9 billion; SI Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.9%) expects its revenue to rise by 2% to 5% in 2010, to between $9.8 billion and $10.1 billion.

Most of the gain will come from its wireless division, which accounts for half of Telus’s revenue and earnings. This division recently …read more »

Smartphones have become increasingly popular in recent years. Aside from functioning as mobile phones, these devices have many computer-like functions, including Internet access and email.

The smartphone market is highly competitive. Two large cap stocks, Apple and Research in Motion, are the dominant players. However, other firms, such as Motorola, Palm and Garmin, have introduced new smartphones in recent months, as …read more »

AT&T INC. $27 (New York symbol T; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 5.9 billion; Market cap: $159.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; WSSF Rating: Average) sells traditional telephone services to 45.7 million consumer and business customers in 13 states. Its wireless division has 81.6 million customers nationwide.

Since 2007, AT&T has been the exclusive U.S. carrier of the hugely popular Apple …read more »

The best way to profit from rising use of smartphones and other wireless devices is through carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon. That’s because they have more revenue sources than smartphone makers. These include traditional phone, Internet and TV services. This diversity limits their reliance on a single device.

AT&T INC. $27 (New York symbol T; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares …read more »

APPLE INC. $204 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 900.7 million; Market cap: $183.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; WSSF Rating: Average) has won its court case against Psystar Corp., a Miami-based company that sells computers that run on Apple’s Mac operating system. Apple refuses to let other computer makers use its software, and the …read more »

The U.S. dollar is down 22% against the Canadian dollar so far this year. Many investors fear it will keep falling.

If you knew the U.S. dollar would keep falling, the best strategy would be to sell all of your U.S. stocks and buy them back when the dollar stabilizes. However, you don’t know where the U.S./Canada exchange rate is …read more »