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TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $15 (Toronto symbol TCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 78.1 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.tctranscontinental.com) saw its earnings rise 13.7% in the quarter ended April 30, 2015, to $39.1 million, or $0.50 a share, from $34.4 million, or $0.44, a year ago. The gain largely came from two recent acquisitions: in May 2014, the company bought U.S.-based Capri Packaging, a maker of plastic bags and pouches for cheese and other dairy products, for $146.5 million. And in June 2014, it paid Sun Media $78.8 million for 74 weekly newspapers in Quebec. Revenue rose 2.7%, to $490.5 million from $477.5 million. Contributions from acquisitions offset lower revenue from printing flyers, particularly after Target closed its 133 Canadian stores....

IGM FINANCIAL INC. $40 (Toronto symbol IGM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 248.5 million; Market cap: $9.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 5.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.igmfinancial.com) had $136.0 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2015. That’s down 3.9% from $141.4 billion a year earlier. The drop resulted from the recent decline in major stock markets; IGM’s fee income rises and falls with the value of the mutual funds and other securities it manages. Even with the current volatility, IGM’s overall mutual fund sales, net of redemptions, rose by $66.5 million in June. Net gains at the company’s Investors Group (up $74.2 million) and Counsel (up $12.3 million) subsidiaries offset $20.0 million of net redemptions at its Mackenzie division....

TECK RESOURCES LTD. $12 (Toronto symbol TCK.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 576.2 million; Market cap: $6.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.teck.com) has postponed its plan to develop its 100%-owned Frontier oil sands project in Alberta due to weak crude prices. The company had planned to start construction in 2019 and complete it in 2021. However, it now feels commercial production will begin in 2026. If Teck decides to build Frontier, it will cost $20.6 billion. Meanwhile, the company continues to work on its 20.0%-owned Fort Hills oil sands project; Suncor Energy (Toronto symbol SU) owns 40.8% of Fort Hills, while France’s Total SA holds the remaining 39.2%. Teck’s share of Fort Hills’ development costs is $2.94 billion. This project should begin operating in late 2017, and its reserves should last 50 years....

EMERA INC. $42 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 144.8 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) owns 100% of Nova Scotia Power, that province’s main electricity supplier. This business supplies 45% of Emera’s revenue and a third of its earnings. In the past few years, the company has steadily expanded into other regions, mainly through acquisitions. It now owns or invests in several power plants and natural gas pipelines in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Thanks to these new operations, Emera’s revenue rose 85.0%, from $1.6 billion in 2010 to $3.0 billion in 2014. Erratic earnings history...

BANK OF MONTREAL $75 (Toronto symbol BMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 644.3 million; Market cap: $48.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 4.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bmo.com) is selling its U.S. retirement-services division to OneAmerica Financial Partners for an undisclosed sum. This business manages retirement plans on behalf of employees and businesses, including 401(k) accounts, which are similar to Canadian RRSPs. Bank of Montreal expects to close the deal by September 30, 2015. Following the sale, it will focus on its larger U.S. Harris Bank retail banking and wealth management operations, which mainly serve individual investors....

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $29 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 78.5 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mtsallstream.com) gets 60% of its revenue from its MTS division, which has 1.3 million telephone, wireless and TV customers in Manitoba. The other 40% comes from Allstream, which sells phone and Internet services to businesses across Canada. The company recently completed a strategic review of its operations. As a result, it now plans to cut 25% of Allstream’s workforce and reduce the subsidiary’s capital spending by 20% to 30% in 2015. These moves should save Manitoba Telecom $50 million annually by the end of 2016. In addition, the company will contribute $120 million to its underfunded employees’ pension plan, eliminating the need for additional payments over the next two years. It has also cut its dividend by 23.5%: the new annual rate of $1.30 a share yields 4.5%....

BCE meets our “buy” criteria for blue chip stocks as it adds new services, speeds up its network and keeps its dividend safe and rising.

TELUS $43.67 (Toronto symbol T; Shares outstanding: 60750 million; Market cap: $26.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.telus.com) is closing its remaining 59 Black’s photography stores.

Telus paid $28 million for the 113-store Black’s chain in 2009. It felt these outlets would help it sell more mobile phones and service plans. However, digital camera sales have suffered as more people take pictures with their smartphones.

The company will transfer many Black’s employees to its other retail outlets, so any severance costs will be low.

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MANULIFE FINANCIAL $22.70 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $45.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.0%; www.manulife.ca) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment management services.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, Manulife’s earnings per share gained 5.4%, to $0.39 from $0.37 a year earlier. Revenue rose 25.1%, to $7.83 billion from $6.26 billion.

The company continues to expand in growing Asian markets. Right now, about 40% of its insurance premiums come from that region, which is adding to its revenue and profits.

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SUN LIFE FINANCIAL $41.43 (Toronto symbol SLF; Shares outstanding: 612.1 million; Market cap: $25.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.7%; www.sunlife.ca) sells life insurance, savings, retirement and pension products to individuals and corporations. It has $812.6 billion of assets under management and mainly operates in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. It’s also expanding in Asia.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, Sun Life’s revenue rose 2.2%, to $3.72 billion from $3.64 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 16.7%, to $0.84 from $0.72.

The company continues to expand its asset management business, which generates high profit margins and requires little capital investment. It recently paid $560 million for Bentall Kennedy Group, which manages more than $27 billion in real estate for over 550 institutional clients across the U.S. and Canada.

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LOBLAW COMPANIES $63.46 (Toronto symbol L; Shares outstanding: 412.6 million; Market cap: $26.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.6%; www.loblaw.ca) has sold 38 of its stores to Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Toronto symbol CHP.UN).

Loblaw received $201.3 million, which is equal to 66.9% of the $301.0 million, or $0.73 a share, it earned in the three months ended March 28, 2015.

That total included $102.2 million worth of Choice Properties’ units. As a result, Loblaw now owns 83.1% of this REIT. It also accounts for 91.0% of Choice’s earnings.

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NEWMONT MINING $22.52 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 529.0 million; Market cap: $11.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.4%; www.newmont.com) is buying the Cripple Creek & Victor gold mine in Colorado from AngloGold Ashanti (New York symbol AU) for $820 million.

Cripple Creek will produce 350,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold a year once it finishes an expansion in 2016. To put that in context, Newmont expects to produce 4.6 million to 4.9 million ounces this year. The mine should last until at least 2026.

To help pay for Cripple Creek, the company will sell 29.0 million common shares for a total of $682 million. Newmont also recently agreed to sell its Waihi gold mine in New Zealand for $101 million.

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ISHARES MSCI CANADA INDEX FUND $25.90 (New York symbol EWC; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the stocks in the Morgan Stanley Capital International Canada Index. The fund has a 0.48% MER and yields 1.6%.

The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 7.2%; TD Bank, 6.4%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 6.0%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.1%; CN Railway, 3.9%; Suncor Energy, 3.3%; Enbridge, 3.3%; Bank of Montreal, 3.1%; and Manulife Financial, 3.0%.

If you want to own a Canadian index fund, you should buy the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index Fund (see previous page). You’ll pay about a third of the management fees.

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POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $106.09 (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 shares 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 expenses are about 0.20% of its assets. It yields 1.0%.

The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Amgen, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel Corp., Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences, Comcast and Facebook.

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SPDR S&P 500 ETF $204.53 (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 that are chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group.

The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan Chase, Pfizer, General Electric, Berkshire Hathaway and Wells Fargo & Co. The fund’s MER is just 0.10% and it yields 2.0%.

If you want exposure to the S&P 500 Index, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a buy.

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ISHARES CANADIAN SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX ETF $23.07 (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 4.5%. The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 8.5%; Bank of Montreal, 6.3%; Royal Bank, 6.3%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.4%; BCE, 5.3%; Laurentian Bank of Canada, 4.4%; IGM Financial, 4.3%; TD Bank, 4.1%; National Bank, 4.1%; Rogers Communications, 4.1%; and TransCanada Corp., 4.0%.

The ETF holds 53.7% 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.

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ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX ETF $21.18 (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. Expenses are just 0.18% of assets, and it yields 3.0%.

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, 7.9%; TD Bank, 7.1%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 6.6%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.6%; CN Railway, 4.2%; Suncor Energy, 3.6%; Enbridge, 3.6%; Bank of Montreal, 3.4%; BCE, 3.3%; Manulife Financial, 3.3%; Brookfield Asset Management, 2.8%; and Canadian Natural Resources, 2.6%.

iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF is a buy.
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IBM $163.16 (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 984.7 million; Market cap: $162.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.2%; www.ibm.com) has formed an alliance with Box Inc. (New York symbol BOX), which sells cloud-storage services to businesses.

Under the deal, IBM will develop programs that combine its analytics software with Box’s cloud-based data. It will also integrate some of Box’s programs with its business email and online collaboration services, while Box’s clients will gain access to IBM’s consultants and online security technologies.

Teaming up with Box should help IBM compete with cloud-computing providers like Amazon.com and Oracle.

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ENERPLUS CORP. $10.14 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 206.2 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.9%) produces an average of 100,855 barrels of oil equivalent a day (57% gas and 43% oil). Its properties are mainly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C., North Dakota and Montana, as well as in the Marcellus shale, which passes through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.

Enerplus’s production rose 2.1% in the quarter ended March 31, 2015, but that wasn’t enough to offset sharply lower oil and gas prices; cash flow per share fell 51.4%, to $0.53 from $1.09.

Like ARC, Enerplus will cut spending this year. Its outlays will now total $480 million, down 40.8% from $811.0 million in 2014.

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ARC RESOURCES $21.14 (Toronto symbol ARX; Shares outstanding: 340.0 million; Market cap: $7.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 5.7%; www.arcresources.com) produces oil and natural gas in Western Canada. Its average daily output of 120,354 barrels of oil equivalent is 64% gas and 36% oil. In the quarter ended March 31, 2015, ARC’s cash flow per share fell 38.7%, to $0.57 from $0.93 a year earlier. Production gained 13.9%, but its realized oil price fell 49.0% and its gas price declined 45.5%. Like many oil and gas producers, ARC is cutting back on exploration and development spending. This year, it will devote $550.0 million to this purpose, down sharply from $945.5 million in 2014....

BCE INC. $52.91 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 847.9 million; Market cap: $45.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.9%; www.bce.ca) continues to expand its Fibe TV and high-speed Internet networks.

BCE aims to increase Fibe speeds in Toronto to 1,000 megabits a second, or 5.7 times faster than its current top speed of 175 megabits. Faster networks will help BCE hang on to its current customers and compete with cable companies.

The company will spend $1.14 billion on these improvements, which will eventually reach 1.1 million Toronto homes and businesses. It will also speed up its Fibe networks in other cities in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

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ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $36.94 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 77.6 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.alliedreit.com) owns 142 office buildings, mostly in major Canadian cities. These mainly Class I properties contain over 9.5 million square feet of leasable area. Class I refers to 19th- and early-20th-century light industrial buildings that have been converted to retail space. They usually feature exposed beams, interior brick and hardwood floors.

Allied spent $400 million on properties in 2012, $182.4 million in 2013 and $234.9 million in 2014. In the first quarter of 2015, it added two more for $31.8 million.

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CENOVUS ENERGY $18.66 (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares outstanding: 828.5 million; Market cap: $15.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.7%; www.cenovus.com) gets 35% of its revenue from its oil sands projects and conventional oil and gas wells in Western Canada.

Refining supplies the remaining 65% of Cenovus’s revenue. The company ships oil to its 50%-owned refineries in Illinois and Texas. Phillips 66 (New York symbol PSX) owns the other 50% of these operations.

Cenovus has now agreed to sell its royalty lands to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for $3.3 billion. The company collects royalties from firms that drill for oil and gas on these properties, which total 4.8 million acres in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

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GREAT-WEST LIFECO $36.57 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 997.4 million; Market cap: $36.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 3.6%; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is one of Canada’s largest insurance firms. It also offers mutual funds and wealth management. Power Financial owns 67.1% of Great-West.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, Great-West’s earnings per share rose 18.6%, to $0.70 from $0.59 a year earlier.

The company’s expansion in the U.S. and Ireland continues, helping it end the latest quarter with $1.2 trillion of assets under administration. That’s up 46.0% from $805.9 billion a year earlier and 102.6% from $581.9 million on March 31, 2013.

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Emera is both a high-yielding utility and a growth stock aiming to raise its dividend with the help of new projects: our recommendation.