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ENCANA CORP. $4.86 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 849.8 million; Market cap: $4.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.encana.com) plans to spend $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion upgrading its properties in 2016, down 25% from 2015 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Even with the drop, it expects production at its four main oil projects—Montney (B.C.), Duvernay (Alberta) and Eagle Ford and Permian (both in Texas)—will rise 12% this year. It has also cut its annual dividend rate by 78.6%, to $0.06 a share from $0.28. In addition, Encana has eliminated the 2% price discount it offered to shareholders who chose to reinvest their dividends in new shares. In all, these moves will save $185 million a year. Encana is still a buy for long-term gains.

CGI GROUP INC. $57 (Toronto symbol GIB.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 313.4 million; Market cap: $17.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.cgi.com) is one of eight firms the U.S. Navy has chosen to help it upgrade its computer systems. CGI hasn’t yet said how much it would receive under its initial one-year contract. However, the Navy has set aside a total of $809.5 million U.S. for this project, which it expects to complete in 2020. The company’s strong reputation should continue to help it win more contracts from military clients. Moreover, CGI’s $21.5-billion backlog of contracts (at December 31, 2015) is equal to 2.1 times its annual revenue....

IGM FINANCIAL INC. $33 (Toronto symbol IGM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 244.8 million; Market cap: $8.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 5.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.igmfinancial.com) had $131.0 billion worth of assets under management as of January 31, 2016, down 9.9% from $145.5 billion a year earlier. The company’s fee income rises and falls with the value of the mutual funds and other securities it manages, so its revenue and earnings decline when the price of these assets falls. The drop is mainly due to the recent volatility in global stock markets. In January 2016, the S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 1.4%, while the S&P 500 Index declined 5.1%. However, IGM sells most of its funds through its own salesforce. This leaves it less dependent on selling through the brokerage industry than its competitors. This salesforce also lets IGM form close relationships with clients, and keep redemption rates down....

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. $43 (Toronto symbol QSR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 467.6 million; Market cap: $20.1 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.rbi.com) is the world’s thirdlargest fast-food operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 4,845 Tim Hortons and 14,669 Burger King outlets locations in 100 countries. The company recently announced that its North American locations plan to use only eggs from chickens raised outside of cages. The move will help enhance its appeal with health-conscious, environmentally aware consumers. It will also help it compete with other fast-food chains also switching to cage-free eggs. Farmers need time to adjust, so Restaurant Brands plans to complete the switch by 2025....

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $40 (Toronto symbol SNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 149.8 million; Market cap: $6.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.snclavalin.com) has won a contract from the United Arab Emirate’s state-owned aluminum company to supply engineering services to its two smelters. SNC did not say how much the deal is worth, but it should complete the work in July 2018. The company’s $12.7-billion order backlog, as of September 30, 2015, is equal to 1.3 times its annual revenue. However, oil and mining jobs account for a third of that total. Low commodity prices could force these clients to postpone or cancel these projects. SNC-Lavalin is a hold.

AGRIUM INC. $114 (Toronto symbol AGU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 138.2 million; Market cap: $15.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agrium.com) continues to benefit from its shift away from making fertilizers to selling them, along with seeds and other products, to farmers. That cuts its exposure to volatile bulk-fertilizer prices. In 2015, Agrium’s 1,250 retail stores in North America, South America and Australia supplied 82% of its sales, and 70% of its earnings. The remaining 18% of sales and 30% of earnings came from making nitrogen-based fertilizers from natural gas. Agrium also operates potash and phosphate fertilizer mines....

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $50 (www.td.com) owns 41.54% of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (Nasdaq symbol AMTD), one of the largest online brokerage firms in the U.S. TD expects Ameritrade will contribute $109 million (Canadian) to its earnings in its 2016 first quarter, which ended January 31, 2016, up 21.1% from $90 million a year earlier....

ATCO INC. $38 (www.atco.com) has increased its quarterly dividend by 15.2%, to $0.285 a share from $0.2475. The new annual rate of $1.14 yields 3.0%. ATCO has now raised the rate each year for the past 22 years. Best Buy.

An RRSP meltdown strategy sounds like a great way to collapse an RRSP without paying taxes—but in reality it’s a lot riskier than it sounds.

Revenue for DIRTT Environmental Solutions climbs on strong U.S. dollar and new clients in financial services

Investing in the best dividend stocks is key to your long-term investment results. Here are six tips to help you find them.

Birchcliff Energy will cut spending on oil exploration and development by 45% to protect cash flow in this down market

Amex revenue fell 4% last year but a plan to sell its Costco loans and reduce expenses by $1 billion should raise earnings

NISSAN MOTOR CO. ADR $19.90 (Nasdaq symbol NSANY; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average) (310-771-3111; www.nissanmotors.com; Shares outstanding: 2.3 billion; Market cap: $45.8 billion; No dividends paid) reported that its earnings rose 3.2% in the three months ended December 31, 2011, to 82.7 billion yen ($1.07 billion U.S.) from 80.1 billion yen ($1.04 billion U.S.) a year earlier.

That’s a particularly strong performance in light of the fact that flooding in Thailand cut Nissan’s production by 33,000 vehicles in the quarter. The strong yen also hurt the company’s profits from overseas sales. Even so, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of 71.7 billion yen.

Nissan’s sales are rising in all of its markets outside Japan, including Europe and the U.S., as well as China and emerging markets like India, Russia and Brazil. Overall, the car-maker sold 1.2 million vehicles during the quarter, up 19.5% from a year earlier.

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These 13 tips will let you create a list of penny stocks that will help you generate investment profits.

Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund had debt equal to 87% of its market cap, but double-digit revenue growth is keeping cash flow steady

General Electric Co. is selling 90% of the assets of its financing division. That should free up capital for new joint venture deals focused on renewable energy projects and nuclear power equipment. The company will also use the cash to pay for a $50 billion share buyback. GE is a buy.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. (New York symbol GE; www.ge.com has agreed to sell $157 billion in assets of its GE Capital financing division. So far, it has completed transactions equalling $104 billion.
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Spot the most undervalued stocks in three steps and by using these nine financial, safety and growth factors

Asset allocation funds aim to improve returns and/or reduce risk by switching back and forth among stocks, bonds and cash. We think they are likely to hurt your portfolio returns rather than enhance them.

ISHARES MSCI GERMANY FUND $24.15 (New York symbol EWG; buy or sell through brokers) tracks the stocks in the MSCI Germany Index. This index aims to replicate 85% of the market capitalization of the German stock market. The remaining 15% is unavailable for investment, partly due to limitations on foreign ownership. The ETF’s top holdings are Bayer (diversified chemicals), 8.9%; SAP (software), 7.6%; Siemens (engineering conglomerate), 7.3%; Allianz (insurance), 7.1%; Daimler (automobiles), 6.5%; BASF (chemicals), 5.9%; Deutsche Telekom, 5.5%; Munich Reinsurance, 3.1%; BMW AG, 2.7%; Fresenius (health care), 2.5%; Linde AG (industrial gases), 2.4%; Deutsche Bank AG, 2.4%; and Deutsche Post AG, 2.3%....

POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $101.65 (Nasdaq symbol QQQ; buy or sell through brokers; www. invescopowershares.com), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds stocks representing the Nasdaq 100 Index, which consists of the 100 largest companies on the Nasdaq exchange by market cap. The Nasdaq 100 Index contains shares of companies in a number of major industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial firms. The fund’s MER is about 0.20%. It yields 1.4%. The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, 10.9%; Alphabet Inc., 10.2%; Microsoft, 8.8%; Amazon.com, 5.4%; Facebook, 5.4%; Intel Corp., 2.9%; Comcast, 2.8%; Gilead Sciences, 2.5%; Cisco Systems, 2.4%; and Qualcomm, 1.3%....

SPDR S&P 500 ETF $191.30 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 major U.S. companies chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group. The fund’s MER is just 0.10%, and it yields 2.5%. The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, 3.2%; Microsoft, 2.6%; Alphabet, 2.6%; Exxon- Mobil, 1.9%; Johnson & Johnson, 1.7%; General Electric, 1.6%; Facebook, 1.5%; Berkshire Hathaway, 1.4%; Wells Fargo & Co., 1.4%; Amazon.com, 1.3%; AT&T, 1.3%; Procter & Gamble, 1.3%; and JPMorgan Chase, 1.3%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a top ETF pick for 2016.

ISHARES CANADIAN SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX ETF $20.37 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highestyielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of the ETF’s assets. The fund’s MER is 0.55%, and it yields 5.0%. Its top holdings are CIBC, 9.7%; Bank of Montreal, 7.4%; Royal Bank, 6.8%; BCE, 6.5%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.6%; Rogers Communications, 5.2%; Laurentian Bank of Canada, 5.0%; Manitoba Telecom, 5.0%; TD Bank, 4.7%; IGM Financial, 4.4%; and TransCanada Corp., 4.4%. The ETF holds 58.6% of its assets in financial stocks. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects, but if you invest in this ETF, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector....

ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX ETF $18.65 (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. The ETF’s MER is just 0.18% of assets, and the units yield 3.2%. 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, 8.7%; TD Bank, 8.0%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.6%; CN Railway, 4.8%; BCE, 4.0%; Bank of Montreal, 3.9%; Suncor Energy, 3.8%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 3.5%; Enbridge Inc., 3.3%; and Manulife Financial Corp., 3.1%....

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $159.03 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 153.8 million; Market cap: $25.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 0.9%; www.cpr.ca) reported 5.9% lower freight volumes in the latest quarter, mainly because of falling prices for oil, minerals and other commodities. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, CP earned $419 million, down 8.9% from $460 million a year earlier. However, per-share earnings gained 1.5%, to $2.72 from $2.68, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue fell 4.1%, to $1.69 billion from $1.76 billion. Still, revenue from forest products jumped 20.4%, and fertilizer shipments rose 18.0%....