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>ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX FUND $20.64 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Ex
The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.

The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.1%; TD Bank, 7.1%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 6.0%; Suncor Energy, 4.3%; CN Railway, 4.0%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 4.0%; Bank of Montreal, 3.7%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.4%; Enbridge, 3.0%; Manulife Financial, 3.0%; BCE, 2.9%; CIBC, 2.8%; TransCanada Corporation, 2.7%; Potash Corp., 2.5%; CP Rail, 2.1%; and Goldcorp, 1.9%.
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MTS SYSTEMS CORP. $59 (Nasdaq symbol MTSC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 14.8 million; Market cap: $873.2 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mts.com) makes equipment and software that manufacturers use to test the behaviour of materials, machines and structures. This helps its clients reduce errors and costs. The company also makes sensors for industrial equipment. MTS’s strong reputation continues to help it win new orders: in its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended January 2, 2016, new orders totaled $168.2 million. That’s up 24.3% from $135.3 million a year earlier. However, MTS’s sales declined 1.5%, to $140.5 million from $142.6 million a year earlier. If you exclude currency rates, sales increased 2.8%....

MCKESSON CORP. $157 (New York symbol MCK; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 229.0 million; Market cap: $36.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.2; Dividend yield: 0.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mckesson .com) is buying the Rexall chain of 470 drug stores in Canada for $2.2 billion. The company expects to complete the purchase by the end of 2016. McKesson already distributes prescription drugs and other products to Rexall, and this familiarity helps cut the risk of an unpleasant surprise. Excluding integration charges and currency exchange rates, the company expects the new operations will add to its earnings in the first year. McKesson is a hold.

APACHE CORP. $50 (New York symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 378.3 million; Market cap: $18.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apachecorp.com) continues to sell overseas properties to focus on its less-risky onshore oil and gas operations here in North America. As a result, its production in 2015 fell 9.9%, to 486,775 barrels a day from 540,212 in 2014. Due to lower oil and gas prices, it lost $130 million, or $0.34 a share, in 2015 compared to a profit of $2.0 billion, or $5.21. The company plans to spend $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion on capital projects in 2016, down from $4.7 billion in 2015. That should let it continue to pay quarterly dividends of $0.25 a share, for an annualized yield of 2.0%. In 2015, dividend payments totaled $377 million....

DIAGEO PLC ADRs $107 (New York symbol DEO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; ADRs outstanding: 630.0 million; Market cap: $67.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.4; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.diageo.com) is the world’s largest premium alcoholic beverage company. Its major brands include Guinness stout, Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker whisky and Captain Morgan rum. Diageo recently sold its wine operations in Australia and its Jamaican brewing operations. That freed up cash it can use to expand its main spirits businesses. They include its upcoming deal to buy Australian whisky maker Starward. In the six months ended December 31, 2015, Diageo’s sales fell 5.0% to 5.6 billion pounds from 5.9 billion a year earlier (1 pound=$1.85 Canadian). If you exclude the brands that Diageo recently sold and the negative impact of currency exchange rates, sales gained 1.8%. Earnings per ADR fell 4.7%, to 2.05 pounds from 2.15. (Each American Depositary Receipt represents four common shares.)...

MOLSON COORS BREWING CO. $95 (New York symbol TAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 214.4 million; Market cap: $20.4 billion; Price-tosales ratio: 5.6; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) is buying the 58% stake of MillerCoors it doesn’t already own. This business took its current form in 2008 when Molson and SABMiller combined their U.S. brewing operations. SABMiller is now merging with rival Anheuser- Busch InBev to create the world’s largest brewer. To satisfy competition regulators, SABMiller will sell its stake in MillerCoors to Molson for $12.0 billion. Paying for this business will add to Molson’s longterm debt of $2.9 billion, which is equal to 14% of its market cap. However, the deal will add $4.7 billion to its annual revenue. It totaled $3.6 billion in 2015....

QUAKER CHEMICAL CORP. $85 (New York symbol KWR; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 13.2 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.quakerchem.com) make lubricants that keep mechanical parts from rusting. Sales in 2015 fell 3.7%, to $737.6 million from $765.9 million in 2014. That’s mainly due to unfavourable exchange rates and lower demand from steel producers. However, a cost-cutting plan lifted its earnings per share by 4.0%, to $4.43 from $4.26. Quaker needs oil to make its products, so lower crude prices are cutting its costs. Its earnings should improve to $4.58 a share in 2016. The stock trades at a reasonable 18.6 times that forecast....

HP INC. $12 (New York symbol HPQ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $20.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.2; Dividend yield: 4.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.hp.com) earned $645 million in its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended January 31, 2016. That’s down 15.7% from $765 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 12.2%, to $0.36 from $0.41, on fewer shares outstanding. Sales declined 11.6%, to $12.2 billion from $13.9 billion. Personal computer sales (62% of the total) fell 12.8%. Weak demand for new machines forced HP to cut its selling prices. Sales of printers (38%) dropped 17.0%. HP holds cash of $3.7 billion, or $2.12 a share. Its long-term debt of $6.7 billion is a manageable 33% of its market cap....

HEWLETT-PACKARD ENTERPRISE CO. $18 (New York symbol HPE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $30.6 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.hpe.com) sells computer servers and analytics software to businesses. It saw its earnings fall 14.9% in the quarter ended January 31, 2016, to $731 million from $859 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings declined 12.8%, to $0.41 from $0.47 on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue dipped 2.5%, to $12.7 billion from $13.1 billion. However, excluding currency rates, revenue rose 4%. The company’s long-term debt of $15.2 billion is a high 50% of its market cap. It also holds cash of $8.5 billion, or $4.91 a share. This new firm is in a strong position to profit as more businesses expand their e-commerce activities and buy cloud-based data storage services. The stock trades at 9.6 times the $1.88 a share it will probably earn in 2016. That low p/e reflects uncertainty over the growth of business spending on new technology this year. The $0.22 dividend yields 1.2%....

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $93 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 497.8 million; Market cap: $46.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 9.6; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) continues to see strong demand for its subscription services, particularly the Creative Cloud package of photoediting and desktop-publishing programs. In the quarter ended February 29, 2016, the company added 798,000 Creative Cloud subscribers (net of cancellations). This service now has around 7 million users. However, the stock trades at an expensive 33.2 times the $2.80 a share Adobe will likely earn in the year ending November 30, 2016. Moreover, Adobe gets 40% of its revenue from outside the U.S., and the high U.S. dollar is hurting the contribution of its overseas businesses. Adobe is still a hold.

GENERAL MILLS INC. $61 (New York symbol GIS, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 593.4 million; Market cap: $36.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.generalmills.com) plans to change the labels on its packaged food products to indicate if they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). That’s mainly to comply with new GMO-labelling rules in Vermont. They take effect in July 2016. The change will also help the company prepare for the likelihood of new national labelling standards. General Mills is currently phasing out GMO versions of oats in its cereals. However, it will continue to use GMO crops for other products. That’s because they use corn and wheat, and finding sufficient supplies of non-GMO versions would be difficult....

SYMANTEC CORP. $19 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 652.2 million; Market cap: $12.4 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.symantec.com) has launched a new service that aims to improve the security of Internet websites. Called “Encryption Everywhere,” this software makes it easier for web hosting firms to embed encryption when they create new websites. This will help protect users from cybercriminals and online intruders. Symantec is giving away this software for free. It feels this approach will encourage hosting firms to adopt the technology and eventually buy more security services and software. Just 3% of the world’s websites use encryption technology, so there’s plenty of room to grow. Symantec is a buy.

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $27 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 529.2 million; Market cap: $14.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) has sold its 19.45% stake in Australian gold mining firm Regis Resources for $182 million. This sale is part of Newmont’s plan to sell less important assets, and use the proceeds to pay down its debt. Since 2013, it has sold $1.9 billion of assets. Newmont cut its long-term debt in 2015 by 6.1%, to $6.1 billion. That’s still a high 43% of its market cap. Newmont is a hold.

STATE STREET CORP. $59 (New York symbol STT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 400.0 million; Market cap: $23.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.statestreet.com) sells accounting and administrative services to large institutional investors, such as mutual funds and pension plans. State Street’s fee income rises and falls with the value of the mutual funds and other securities it manages. Recent stock market weakness reduced the value of its assets under custody and administration. In addition, low interest rates are hurting the interest income it gets from its loan portfolio. It’s also paying more to comply with tougher securities and banking regulations....

CINTAS CORP. $90 (Nasdaq symbol CTAS; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 108.1 million; Market cap: $9.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 1.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cintas.com) started out by offering laundry services to businesses in 1929. The company is now North America’s largest provider of corporate uniforms, with over 1 million customers. In addition to renting and cleaning uniforms, Cintas also rents out a variety of related products, such as mats, towels, mops and cleaning supplies. In all, these services account for 77% of its revenue. It gets a further 10% selling uniforms. The remaining 13% of its revenue come from selling first aid kits, fire extinguishers, sprinklers and emergency-exit lights. Big gain from Shred-it sale...

ALCOA INC. $9.85 (www.alcoa.com) has suffered lately as slowing industrial activity in China continues to dampen aluminum prices. In response, Alcoa is closing unprofitable smelters. Even so, declining cash flow could hurt its ability to service its debt of $9.1 billion....

BOEING CO. $135 (www.boeing.com) is cutting production of its 777 passenger jet planes. Airlines are ordering fewer new planes, as lower fuel costs have reduced the need to buy new fuel-efficient models. In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how Boeing accounts for the costs to develop new planes....

Low commodity prices slow Caterpillar dealer Finning International but cost savings and a high dividend make this value stock a buy.

Loblaw Companies Ltd. has integrated Shoppers operations to cut costs, debt and grow earnings, but it will also close less-profitable food stores

Two international ETFs offers low MERs and exposure to strong foreign markets through tax-efficient, high-quality portfolios.

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $27.20 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 317.8 million; Market cap: $8.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.riocan.com) is Canada’s largest real estate investment trust (REIT), with interests in 338 shopping malls containing over 92 million square feet of leasable area. That total includes 48 U.S. malls with over 13 million square feet.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, RioCan’s revenue rose 7.7%, to $331.0 million from $307.4 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 4.8%, to $0.44 from $0.42.

The trust’s latest acquisitions increased its rental space by 1.7%. It’s also doing a good job of renewing current tenants at higher rates: rents on renewals rose 9.8% in Canada and 8.3% in the U.S.

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ISHARES MSCI AUSTRALIA ETF $22.29 (New York symbol EWA; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that holds the 71 largest Australian stocks. Its MER is 0.48%.

The fund’s top holdings include Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 11.1%; Westpac Banking Corp., 8.4%; BHP Billiton, 7.6%; Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, 7.4%; National Australia Bank, 7.1%; Wesfarmers, 3.9%; CSL Ltd., 3.6%; Woolworths, 2.8%; Woodside Petroleum, 2.2%; Telstra Group, 2.1%; Rio Tinto, 2.0%; Macquarie Group, 1.9%; and Scentre Group, 1.7%.

Australia benefits from its stable banking and political systems and is rich in natural resources. Low commodity prices have hurt its economy, but its proximity to Asian markets with vast potential, including India and China, gives it strong long-term prospects.

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McDonald’s Corp. will sell more of its company-owned restaurants to cut costs, grow revenue and increase share buybacks – that’s in addition to raising its dividend.

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $59.93 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couchetard. com; Shares outstanding: 567.4 million; Market cap: $34.6 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) operates 7,979 convenience stores throughout North America.

In Europe, the company operates 2,218 stores across Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), Poland, the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and Russia.

In the three months ended January 31, 2016, Couche-Tard’s sales rose 2.5%, to $9.33 billion from $9.11 billion a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S....

NEW GOLD $5.06 (Toronto symbol NGD; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (888-315-9715; www.newgold.com; Shares outstanding: 509.5 million; Market cap: $2.5 billion; No dividends paid) has moved up 43% since the start of the year on higher gold prices—and its strong operating performance. New Gold has four mines: the Mesquite project in the U.S.; Cerro San Pedro in Mexico; the Peak mine in Australia; and the New Afton mine in B.C. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, New Gold’s cash flow per share rose 7.1%, to $0.15 from $0.14 a year earlier. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.) Production rose 24.2% in the latest quarter, to 131,700 ounces from 106,000. That offset falling gold prices in 2015....