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Trading stocks online can look like a great way to build wealth. But it’s fraught with risks, and only really works when stock prices are rising steadily. Investors who see early success in a bull market can face devastating losses when markets retreat.
Today, you often see references to trading stocks online in the media, as if there’s something magical about …read more »
Ottawa’s new Tax-Free Savings Accounts (or TFSAs) let you earn investment income — including interest, dividends and capital gains — tax free.
A tax-free savings account can generally hold the same investments as an RRSP. This includes cash, mutual funds, publicly traded stocks, GICs and bonds.
However, you are best to hold lower-risk investments in your TFSA. That’s because you don’t want …read more »
Part-time real estate investing can be very profitable. However, the best returns are mainly a result of three key factors that are easy to overlook when investing in real estate: leverage, sweat equity and higher risk.
It’s easier to get financing to buy real estate than stocks, because real estate tends to be less volatile and easier to appraise, and it …read more »
BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $3.78 and BBD.B $3.65, Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; SI Rating: Extra Risk) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, after Boeing and Airbus. Bombardier’s aerospace division supplies about half of its revenue and two-thirds of its profits.
The remaining revenue and …read more »
Investor response to bad economic news often seems like an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Many investors take each new tidbit of economic news as the sure sign of an ominous new trend. But in fact, there’s a large random element in the economic news.
Economic statistics vary between one reporting period and the next, due to a variety of …read more »
AGRIUM INC. $52 (Toronto symbol AGU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 157 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; SI Rating: Average) makes fertilizers from natural gas, mainly at five facilities in North America. It also owns 50% of a plant in Argentina. This business supplies 45% of its revenue, but 70% of its earnings.
Most of Agrium’s …read more »
SHAWCOR LTD. $21 (Toronto symbol SCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 71.3 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; SI Rating: Average) will pay a special dividend of $0.26 on May 29, 2009. It has also increased its regular quarterly dividend by 7.7%, to $0.07 a share from $0.065. The new annual rate of $0.28 …read more »
TORSTAR CORP. $5.32 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 78.9 million; Market cap: $419.7 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; SI Rating: Above Average) reported a first-quarter loss of $21.4 million, or $0.27 a share. However, that was largely caused by a $0.23-a-share charge related to employee layoffs and a change in Torstar’s senior management. The company lost …read more »
TELUS INC. (Toronto symbols T $30 and T.A $29; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 318 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; SI Rating: Above Average) hopes to improve its sales by bundling its phone and Internet services with satellite TV.
Under a new deal with BCE INC. $24 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; …read more »
George Weston shares have risen from a low of $41.83 last July. That’s mainly because of improved performance at 62%-held Loblaw, Canada’s largest grocery-store operator. Weston has also sold off some of its other assets. It now has lots of cash — and lots of options for using it to the benefit of its shareholders.
GEORGE WESTON LTD. $63.25 (Toronto symbol …read more »
