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BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $65 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $78.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.6; Dividend yield: 4.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) has now completed its purchase of 51% of the credit card operations of Cencosud S.A., Chile’s largest retailer.

The deal makes the bank Chile’s third-largest credit card issuer, with 2.5 million cards in use and $1 billion U.S. in loans outstanding.

Bank of Nova Scotia paid $280 million U.S. for this business, which is equal to 20% of the $1.7 billion (Canadian), or $1.35 a share, the bank earned in the three months ended January 31, 2015.

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THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $48 (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 784.8 million; Market cap: $37.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.thomsonreuters.com) (All amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars) now plans to buy back up to $1 billion worth of its shares by the end of 2016.

Meantime, the company’s revenue fell 2.7% in the three months ended March 31, 2015, to $3.0 billion from $3.1 billion a year earlier. Without the effect of the high U.S. dollar, revenue rose 2%.

Earnings per share declined 4.3%, or $0.44 from $0.46, but gained 8.7% if you disregard changes in currency exchange rates. Banks and brokerages are buying more of Thomson’s information products. Sales to tax, accounting and legal professionals also remain strong.

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SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $36 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap: $54.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.suncor.com) has started work on its Fort Hills oil sands project in northern Alberta. Suncor owns 40.8% of Fort Hills; France’s Total SA holds 39.2%, while Teck Resources owns the remaining 20.0%. This $13.5-billion project (Suncor’s share is $5.5 billion) should start up in late 2017, and its reserves should last 50 years.

The company produced 602,400 barrels a day in the first quarter of 2015, up 10.5% from 545,300 a year earlier. That’s mainly because shut downs for maintenance hurt last year’s output.

However, lower oil prices cut Suncor’s earnings by 90.2%, to $175 million, or $0.12 a share, from $1.8 billion, or $1.22. Cash flow per share fell 48.0%, to $1.02 from $1.96.

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IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $49 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios; Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 848.0 million; Market cap: $41.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) produced an average of 333,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (93% oil and 7% natural gas) in the first quarter of 2015, up 0.9% from a year earlier.

Excluding properties Imperial sold in the past year, production gained 5.7%. The increase is mainly due to rising output at the Kearl oil sands project in Alberta. Imperial owns 71% of Kearl; Exxon- Mobil (New York symbol XOM) holds the other 29%. Exxon also owns 69.9% of Imperial.

However, a 50% drop in crude oil prices cut Imperial’s revenue by 32.8%, to $6.2 billion from $9.2 billion. Earnings fell 55.5%, to $421 million, or $0.50 a share. A year earlier, the company earned $946 million, or $1.11. Cash flow per share dropped 39.9%, to $0.86 from $1.43.

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MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $23 (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 143.1 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mapleleaf.ca) is Canada’s largest food processing company. It mainly sells its products, including fresh and prepared meats and poultry, under the Maple Leaf and Schneider brands.

Maple Leaf is close to finishing an overhaul of its meat-processing operations that mainly involves closing older plants and shifting their operations to newer facilities. It has also cut the number of warehouses in its distribution business from 19 to two.

The company is beginning to benefit from this plan: in the three months ended March 31, 2015, it lost $2.9 million, or $0.02 a share, compared to a year-ago loss of $132.9 million, or $0.95. If you exclude restructuring costs, Maple Leaf earned $0.05 a share in the latest quarter.

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LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $63 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 412.5 million; Market cap: $26.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) continues to benefit from its March 2014 purchase of the 1,250-store Shoppers Drug Mart chain for $12.3 billion in cash and stock.

In the three months ended March 28, 2015, the company’s overall sales jumped 37.8%, to $10.0 billion from $7.3 billion a year earlier. Shoppers contributed $2.6 billion to the latest quarterly sales.

Same-store sales at Loblaw’s supermarkets rose 4.0%, excluding gasoline sales. Shoppers’ same-store sales gained 3.1%. Without unusual items, earnings jumped 96.7%, to $301 million from $153 million. Per-share profits rose 35.2%, to $0.73 from $0.54, on more shares outstanding.

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MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $27 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 78.5 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mtsallstream.com) recently completed a strategic review of its operations. As a result, it now plans to cut 25% of the workforce at its Allstream division, which sells telephone, Internet and other communication services to businesses across Canada.

In addition, the company will cut Allstream’s capital spending by 20% to 30% in 2015. Manitoba Telecom expects these moves to save it $50 million annually by the end of 2016.

In addition, it will contribute $120 million to its underfunded employees’ pension plan, eliminating the need for additional payments over the next two years. The company has also cut its dividend by 23.5%. The new annual rate of $1.30 yields 4.8%.

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ATCO LTD. (Toronto symbols ACO.X [class I non-voting] $44 and ACO.Y [class II voting] $44; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 115.1 million; Market cap: $5.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.atco.com) holds 53.2% of Canadian Utilities (see page 53). The company also owns 75.5% of ATCO Structures & Logistics, which makes temporary buildings for construction, mining and energy exploration firms; Canadian Utilities owns the other 24.5%. In the three months ended March 31, 2015, the company earned $94 million, or $0.82 a share. That’s down 26.0% from $127 million, or $1.10. Revenue declined by 12.6%, to $1.1 billion from $1.2 billion.

Lower earnings at Canadian Utilities hurt ATCO’s profits. As well, the structures business completed two big contracts in late 2014. As a result, this division’s earnings fell by $11 million in the latest quarter.

However, ATCO recently started working on a $125-million contract to build worker shelters at the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia. It expects to finish these buildings by the end of the year.

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CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $37 and CU.X [class B voting] $37; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 264.5 million; Market cap: $9.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadian utilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia. It also operates 18 power plants in Canada, Australia and the U.K. ATCO Ltd. owns 53.2% of the company.

Canadian Utilities plans to spend $5.8 billion on upgrades between 2015 and 2017. It will devote $5.1 billion of that to its regulated operations, including $1.2 billion to make Alberta’s power grid more reliable.

The remaining $700 million will go to unregulated businesses, including $500 million for new power lines in the Fort McMurray area. The company owns 80% of a joint venture that will build this project. Quanta Services (New York symbol PWR) will own the remaining 20%. Meanwhile, Canadian Utilities earned $174 million, or $0.61 a share, in the three months ended March 31, 2015.

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ENBRIDGE INC. $61 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 855.0 million; Market cap: $52.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) gets 90% of its revenue from pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to Eastern Canada and the U.S. The remaining 10% mainly comes from distributing gas to 2.1 million consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State.

The company plans to spend $44 billion on new pipelines and expansions between 2014 and 2018. It completed $9.8 billion worth of that total in 2014 and expects to finish another $8.7 billion worth this year. Enbridge has already secured shipping contracts for $34 billion worth of these projects, which cuts its risk.

These outlays exclude the $6.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline, which would pump crude from Alberta to the B.C. coast. Regulators have approved the line, but it still faces a number of political and other hurdles. If Enbridge decides to build Northern Gateway, it could begin operating in 2019.

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LINAMAR CORP. $82 (Toronto symbol LNR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 65.1 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Yield: 0.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.linamar.com) rose to an all-time high of $84.13 after reporting record first-quarter results.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, sales rose 22.5%, to $1.3 billion from $1.0 billion a year earlier. That’s partly because Linamar recently bought hot-forging businesses in the U.S. and Germany for $107.6 million.

These operations bring expertise that will improve the company’s ability to make specialized parts. That will make its transmissions lighter and quieter, with less vibration.

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $53 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 709.0 million; Market cap: $37.6 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 3.8; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) operates a 68,000- kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to Eastern Canada and the U.S. The company’s pipelines supply 20% of North America’s natural gas needs. In 2014, they provided 48% of TransCanada’s revenue and 53% of its earnings.

The company also owns or invests in 21 power plants in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and the northeastern U.S. In all, these facilities have over 11,800 megawatts of generating capacity. This division supplies 37% of revenue and 26% of earnings.

The remaining 15% of TransCanada’s revenue and 21% of earnings comes from its oil-pipeline division, which it started up in 2011. This business mainly consists of the Keystone pipeline, which pumps crude from Alberta to refineries in Illinois, and a distribution hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. Keystone accounts for 20% of Canada’s crude exports to the U.S.

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Pharmaceutical drugs are the biggest growth area for Johnson & Johnson today, as its strong brand helps it sustain a strong dividend yield.

One of the tech stocks that has had the greatest success for us, Apple is banking on Apple Pay and Apple Watch for its next growth spurt.

RIOCAN REIT $30.05 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 315.8 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.riocan.com) continues to hit new all-time highs, even with the closure of the Future Shop chain.

Electronics retailer Best Buy (New York symbol BBY) recently closed 66 of its 131 Future Shop outlets in Canada and will convert the remaining 65 to Best Buy stores.

There are only 10 Future Shops in RioCan’s malls, so these closures and conversions should have little impact on its results. Combined, 32 Best Buy and Future Shop stores rent space from RioCan, accounting for just 1.5% of its 2014 rental revenue.

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CANADIAN REIT $45.51 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 72.6 million; Market cap: $3.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.8%; www.creit.ca) owns 198 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, across Canada and in Chicago. These holdings contain 24.9 million square feet of leasable area. The trust’s occupancy rate is 95.1%.

In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Canadian REIT’s revenue rose 1.7%, to $108.5 million from $106.7 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 4.2%, to $0.75 from $0.72.

In 2014, the trust added one industrial property in Toronto and another in Edmonton for a total of $42.3 million. That followed $199.1 million of purchases in 2013 and $401.9 million in 2012.

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ENCANA $17.05 (Toronto symbol ECA; Shares outstanding: 741.2 million; Market cap: $14.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.1%; www.encana.com) has sold its natural gas pipelines and compression facilities in B.C.’s Montney region. The buyer is a partnership between Veresen (Toronto symbol VSN and a buy recommendation of Canadian Wealth Advisor) and investment firm KKR & Co. (New York symbol KKR).

The company received $461 million (Canadian) for these assets. The cash, along with the $1.4 billion (Canadian) it recently raised by selling new shares, will let Encana pay down its long-term debt of $7.3 billion U.S., which is a high 63% of its market cap.

Encana is still a buy.

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ISHARES CANADIAN UNIVERSE BOND INDEX ETF $31.99 (Toronto symbol XBB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the Canadian Universe Bond Index. The 892 bonds in the portfolio have an average term to maturity of 10.35 years. The fund’s MER is 0.33%.

The bonds in the index are 68.5% government and 31.5% corporate.

The fund yields 2.8%, compared to the Short- Term Bond Fund’s 2.5%. Its yield to maturity is 1.82%, 0.69% above the Short-Term Fund. That reflects the added risk of holding long-term bonds.

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ISHARES CANADIAN SHORT-TERM BOND INDEX ETF $28.73 (Toronto symbol XSB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the DEX Short-Term Bond Index.

This index consists of a range of investment-grade federal, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds with one- to five-year terms to maturity. The fund holds 407 bonds with an average term to maturity of 2.87 years. The bonds in the index are 64.2% government and 35.8% corporate. The fund’s MER is 0.27%.

The iShares Canadian Short-Term Bond Index Fund yields 2.5%, but this high yield is due to the fact that some of the fund’s bonds pay above-market interest rates. As a result, they trade above their face value. When these bonds mature, holders will only get the bonds’ face value, meaning the portfolio will incur predictable capital losses. These losses will offset some of the appeal of the above-market yields.

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CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $232.62 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 164.2 million; Market cap: $38.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Div. yield: 0.6%; www.cpr.ca) has reported record first-quarter results.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, the company earned $375 million, up 49.4% from $251 million a year earlier. Per-share profits jumped 59.2%, to $2.26 from $1.42, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 10.3%, to $1.67 billion from $1.51 billion.

CP saw strong gains from shipping grain, fertilizers, coal, forest products, chemicals and consumer goods. That offset fewer shipments of crude oil, automotive products and metals.

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VANGUARD GROWTH ETF $108.87 (New York symbol VUG; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) U.S. Large Cap Growth Index, a broadly diversified index that mainly consists of large U.S. companies. The fund’s MER is just 0.09%.

The $47.8-billion Vanguard Growth ETF’s top holdings are Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Oracle, Home Depot, Comcast, Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences and Walt Disney Co.

The fund’s breakdown by industry is as follows: Technology, 24.0%; Consumer Services, 21.3%; Health Care, 13.4%; Financials, 13.0%; Industrials, 11.7%; Consumer Goods, 9.4%; Oil and Gas, 5.3%; Materials, 1.5%; Telecommunication Services, 0.3%; and Utilities, 0.1%.

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ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $17.31 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the 15 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index.

iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are 0.60% of its assets. The fund yields 4.7%.

The ETF’s largest holding is RioCan REIT at 20.0%, followed by H&R REIT (13.5%), Canadian REIT (7.1%), Canadian Apartment REIT (7.0%), Allied Properties REIT (6.6%), Calloway REIT (6.6%), Dream Office REIT (6.4%), Cominar REIT (4.4%), Boardwalk REIT (5.0%), Chartwell REIT (4.5%), Artis REIT (4.3%), Granite REIT (4.3%), Crombie REIT (2.2%), Pure Industrial REIT (2.1%) and Northern Property REIT (1.7%).

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PENGROWTH ENERGY $4.09 (Toronto symbol PGF; Shares outstanding: 534.6 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.9%; www.pengrowth.com) produces oil and natural gas, mostly in Western Canada. It recently started up its Lindbergh oil sands project in eastern Alberta, which should produce 16,000 barrels a day by the end of 2015.

In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Pengrowth’s cash flow rose 10.0%, to $0.22 a share from $0.20. The company sharply cut its operating costs, offsetting a 7.2% production decline, to 71,802 barrels of oil equivalent a day from 77,371.

The company will spend $200 million on exploration and development in 2015, down 74.0% from $770 million last year. Even so, it expects to produce 73,000 to 75,000 barrels a day in 2015, up about 1.5% from 2014.

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BONAVISTA ENERGY $8.02 (Toronto symbol BNP; Shares outstanding: 203.8 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.bonavistaenergy.com) explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Its production is 70% gas and 30% oil.

In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Bonavista’s cash flow per share rose 1.6%, to $0.63 from $0.62 a year earlier.

The company’s output gained 14.3%, to 85,810 barrels of oil equivalent a day from 75,072. However, lower oil prices mostly offset the production increase and higher realized gas prices.

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LOBLAW COMPANIES $62.05 (Toronto symbol L; Shares outstanding: 412.5 million; Market cap: $25.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.6%; www.loblaw.ca) is testing a new home-delivery service with San Francisco-based Uber Technologies, which offers users rides from private drivers in 300 cities.

Users of Loblaw’s Click & Collect online service can order groceries from three of the company’s Toronto supermarkets. They can then pick up their goods at their local store and get a free ride home from Uber.

This is a limited-time promotion, but if it’s successful, Uber may offer Loblaw customers a discounted fare. That could prompt them to buy more groceries than they normally would.

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