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WAL-MART STORES INC. $60 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio: Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.2 billion; Market cap: $192.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.walmart- .com) has launched Walmart Pay, an app that lets customers pay for their purchases at Wal-Mart stores with their Apple or Androidpowered mobile devices. Users can download the app and link it to their credit cards, debit cards or gift cards. They can then scan their device at the checkout, and the system will email a receipt. The company plans to install the service in all of its U.S. stores by the end of 2016. The app will also let Wal-Mart track users’ shopping habits, which it can then use to create unique discounts and other promotions. Moreover, introducing its own mobile payment system means Wal-Mart doesn’t have to share any processing fees with rival services like Apple Pay....

HONDA MOTOR CO. LTD. ADRs $33 (New York symbol HMC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $59.4 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.honda.com) has received approval from U.S. regulators to start selling its new business plane, called the HondaJet. The aircraft’s engines are on top its wings instead of below; it’s 15% more fuel efficient than comparable models; and it has 20% more cargo room. The company has orders for over 100 of these planes, which it is currently building at its North Carolina plant. It should begin delivering them in 2016. Honda is a buy.

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $95 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 887.0 million; Market cap: $84.3 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.utc.com) has announced a new restructuring plan that mainly involves closing high-cost plants in the U.S. and Europe and shifting their operations to other facilities. The company expects these moves to cost $1.5 billion. However, they should cut $900 million from United Technologies’ annual expenses when they’re finished in 2018. The savings will help the company offset weaker demand for its Otis elevators in China, as well as higher-than-expected expenses related to the development of a new jet engine at its Pratt & Whitney division....

NCR CORP. $27 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 169.9 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ncr.com) makes automated teller machines, cash registers, self-serve checkouts and kiosks for theatres and arenas. Private equity firm Blackstone Group (New York symbol BX) recently purchased $820 million worth of preferred shares that can be converted to common shares at $30.00 each. If Blackstone converted all of these holdings, it would own 17% of NCR. Blackstone’s expertise should help NCR expand its software and services businesses, which are more profitable than making ATMs and other equipment....

NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. $45 (New York symbol NWL; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 267.1 million; Market cap: $12.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newellrubbermaid.com) is buying Jarden Corp. (New York symbol JAH), which makes a wide variety of consumer products, including Sunbeam kitchen appliances, Mr. Coffee coffee makers, Ball jars, Crock-Pot cookers and Rawlings baseball mitts. Jarden shareholders will receive $21.00 a share in cash plus 0.862 of a Newell common share. The offer is worth a total of $13.2 billion. Shares of Jarden are trading at 3.7% below the offer’s value, which indicates investors do not expect a higher bid. Newell expects to complete the deal in the second quarter of 2016....

CHEVRON CORP. $93 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $176.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.chevron.com) produced an average of 2.54 million barrels of oil a day (including natural gas) in the three months ended September 30, 2015. That’s down 1.1% from 2.57 million barrels a day a year earlier. The decrease is mainly because Chevron has sold $11 billion worth of less important businesses since 2014; the company aims to sell another $5 billion to $10 billion worth of assets by the end of 2017. In addition to the lower production, Chevron’s realized oil price plunged 51.7% in the latest quarter, while gas prices fell 43.4%....

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $19 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 529.1 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) is one of the world’s largest gold and copper producers, with major mines in the U.S., Peru, Suriname, Australia, Ghana and Indonesia. In August 2015, Newmont paid $821 million for the Cripple Creek & Victor mine in Colorado. This project will produce 350,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold a year once the company completes the mine’s current expansion in 2016. The Cripple Creek acquisition helped increase Newmont’s gold production by 16.1% in the three months ended September 30, 2015, to 1.34 million ounces from 1.15 million ounces a year earlier. Copper output surged 269.2% on higher ore grades at the Batu Hijau mine in Indonesia....

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $47 (New York symbol VZ, Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 4.1 billion; Market cap: $192.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.verizon.com) has 110.8 million wireless users, 18.7 million traditional phone clients and 19.7 million high-speed Internet and TV subscribers. The company recently paid $4.4 billion for AOL, which operates several popular websites, including The Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engadget. Verizon has since launched go90, a free app that lets users watch videos on mobile devices. This service incorporates AOL’s unique technology, which uses analytics software to place ads on websites. That should help it attract advertisers and offset its costs....

AT&T INC. $34 (New York symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 6.2 billion; Market cap: $210.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 5.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.att.com) is the largest wireless provider in the U.S., with 126.4 million subscribers. It also sells phone, TV and high-speed Internet access to 64.1 million users. The company recently completed its $48.5-billion purchase (70% stock and 30% cash) of DirecTV, which has 19.6 million satellite TV customers in the U.S. and 12.5 million in Latin America. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, DirecTV boosted AT&T’s revenue by 18.6%, to $39.1 billion from $33.0 billion a year earlier. Excluding costs related to the deal and other unusual items, earnings rose 13.8%, to $0.74 from $0.65....

FORD MOTOR CO. $14 (New York symbol F; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 3.9 billion; Market cap: $54.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.ford.com) plans to spend $4.5 billion to develop new electric-powered cars. Under this initiative, Ford will launch 13 new allelectric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2020. This will help it achieve its goal of controlling 40% of this market, up from 13% now. Offering more electric vehicles also helps Ford comply with tougher emission standards that will take effect in 2025. Ford is a buy.

L BRANDS INC. $98 (New York symbol LB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 289.4 million; Market cap: $28.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.lb.com) owns the Victoria’s Secret lingerie chain (63% of sales) and the Bath & Body Works personal care products stores (28%). Smaller chains, including La Senza (lingerie) in Canada and Henri Bendel (jewellery and accessories) in the U.S., supply the remaining 9% of sales. In November 2015 (which includes the important Black Friday promotion), the company’s sales rose 8.4% to $1.17 billion from $1.08 billion in November 2014. Overall same-store sales gained 7%. Same-store sales rose 6% at Victoria’s Secret, while this division’s online and catalogue sales jumped 12%. Seasonal home fragrances, soaps and sanitizers also spurred a 7% same-store sales gain at the company’s Bath & Body Works stores....

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $70 (New York symbol MSI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 176.7 million; Market cap: $12.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.motorolasolutions.com) is buying Airwave, which provides two-way radio and other communications services to over 300 emergency and public service agencies in the U.K....

HEWLETT-PACKARD ENTERPRISE CO. $15 (www.hpe.com) should benefit as more businesses shift to cloud computing systems. However, this new firm faces strong competition from larger, better-established cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and IBM. Hold.

HP INC. $12 (www.hp.com) took its current form on November 1, 2015, when the old Hewlett-Packard Co. split into two firms. HP Inc. focuses on personal computers and printers, while Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (see below) sells computing services and products, like servers and analytics software, to businesses and governments....

ENERFLEX LTD., $11.78 (Toronto symbol EFX; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (403-387-6377; www.enerflex.com; Shares outstanding: 77.7 million; Market cap: $915.3 million; Dividend yield: 2.4%) rents and sells equipment and services for natural gas production, including compression and processing plants, refrigeration equipment and power generators. The company has a strong position in three fastgrowing markets: U.S. and Canadian shale gas production; Australian natural gas from coal beds; and conventional Middle Eastern natural gas, which is converted to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for shipping. Natural gas prices are low, but companies continue to increase their drilling and production. In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, Enerflex’s revenue jumped 31.0%, to $369.7 million from $282.3 million a year ago. Strong demand from international customers pushed the company’s sales higher....

ALIMENTATION COUCHETARD $63.53 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couchetard. com; Shares outstanding: 567.4 million; Market cap: $35.9 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) has agreed to buy Ireland’s Topaz chain. The price was not disclosed but is likely in the $400-million range. Topaz is the country’s leading operator of gas stations and convenience stores. The chain consists of 464 locations across Ireland. This purchase is smaller than Couche-Tard’s $2.7-billion purchase of Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail gas station chain in June 2012 and The Pantry, which it bought for $1.7 billion in March 2015. The Pantry operates 1,500 convenience stores in the U.S....

TRILOGY ENERGY CORP. $3.35 (Toronto symbol TET; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-290-2900; www.trilogyenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 105.4 million; Market cap: $432.8 million; No dividends paid) owns oil and gas properties in central Alberta’s Kaybob and Grande Prairie areas. About 64% of Trilogy’s production is natural gas. The remaining 36% is oil. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Trilogy produced 25,090 barrels of oil equivalent a day (including gas), down 28.6% from 35,125 barrels a year earlier. However, pipeline outages cut about 2,600 barrels a day from the latest figure. Cash flow per share fell sharply, to $0.18 from $0.69, on the production drop and lower oil and gas prices....

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $3.62 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 152.3 million; Market cap: $542.2 million; No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area near the Alberta/B.C. border. About 87% of its output is gas. The remaining 13% is oil. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Birchcliff’s cash flow per share dropped 42.0%, to $0.29 from $0.50 a year earlier. Sharply lower oil and gas prices offset a 12.3% rise in daily production. The company continues to support its cash flow with cost cuts. As well, in response to low prices, Birchcliff cut back on exploration and development spending for 2015. It will likely spend $249 million during the full year, down 45.0% from $451 million in 2014. It hasn’t yet announced its 2016 spending plans....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $54.44 New York symbol BR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 118.6 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. The company processes 90% of all proxy votes in the U.S. and Canada. Without one-time items, Broadridge earned $39.6 million in its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended September 30, 2015. That’s up 7.9% from $36.7 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 10.0%, to $0.33 from $0.30, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue gained 7.0%, to $594.7 million from $555.8 million. The company continues to add new clients and is doing a good job of holding onto existing ones. Recurring fee revenue rose 10.0% in the latest quarter and accounted for 66% of the total....

FAIR ISAAC CORP. $92.85 (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (415-472-2211; www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 31.1 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; Dividend yield: 0.1%) makes FICO Scores, the program that dominates the market for software that businesses use to evaluate customer creditworthiness. Fair Isaac also profits by selling programs that help credit card issuers control fraud and analyze cardholders’ spending patterns. In its fiscal 2015 third quarter, which ended September 30, 2015, Fair Isaac’s revenue rose 5.0%, to $232.8 million from $221.6 million a year earlier. Sales at the company’s applications division (64% of the total) fell 1.6% on weaker demand for marketing and fraud-detection software. However, sales of creditscoring programs (25%) jumped 24.5%, while sales of analytics software (11%) gained 8.7%....