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ISHARES DEX UNIVERSE BOND INDEX FUND $30.34 (CWA Rating: Income) (Toronto symbol XBB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the DEX Universe Bond Index. The 762 bonds in the portfolio have an average term to maturity of 9.53 years. The fund’s MER is 0.33%.

The bonds in the index are 68.0% government and 32.0% corporate.

The fund yields 3.2%, compared to the Short-Term Bond Fund’s 2.6%. Its yield to maturity is 2.79%, 0.95% above the Short-Term Fund. That reflects the added risk of holding long-term bonds.
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ISHARES DEX SHORT-TERM BOND INDEX FUND $28.63 (CWA Rating: Income) (Toronto symbol XSB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the DEX Short-Term Bond Index.

This index consists of a wide range of investmentgrade federal, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds with between one- and five-year terms to maturity. The fund holds 379 bonds with an average term to maturity of 2.87 years. The bonds in the index are 60.9% government and 30.1% corporate. The fund’s MER is 0.28%.

iShares DEX Short-Term Bond Index Fund yields 2.6%. However, 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, which means the portfolio will incur predictable capital losses. These losses will offset some of the appeal of the above-market yields.
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ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS EASTERN EUROPE INDEX FUND $27.58 (New York symbol ESR; buy or sell through brokers) has 73.6% of its assets invested in Russia, followed by Poland at 20.3%; Czech Republic, 3.0%; and Hungary, 2.4%.

The fund’s top holdings are Gazprom (Russia: gas utility), 17.3%; Sberbank (Russia: bank), 10.8%; Lukoil (Russia: oil), 10.2%; Magnit OJSC (Russia: retailing), 5.1%; and Novatek (Russia: natural gas), 3.9%. Its expense ratio is 0.67%.

The fund’s concentration in Russia, and in resources, adds risk. But the long-term outlook for commodities, including oil, is positive.
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MARKET VECTORS VIETNAM ETF $18.84 (New York symbol VNM; buy or sell through brokers) holds shares of Vietnamese companies or foreign firms that get a significant amount of their revenue from Vietnam.

The ETF’s top holdings are Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, 9.1%; Vincom Corp. (real estate), 7.7%; PetroVietnam Fertilizer & Chemical, 7.0%; Baoviet Holdings (finance and insurance), 6.5%; PetroVietnam Technical Services (oilfield services), 5.2%; Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, 5.1%; Minor International (a Thailand-based firm with hotels and fast-food restaurants in Vietnam), 5.1%; Charoen Pokphand Foods (a Thailand-based food conglomerate), 4.6%; PetroVietnam Drilling & Well Services (oilfield services), 4.6%; and Gamuda Bhd (a Malaysia-based construction group), 4.6%.

Market Vectors Vietnam ETF’s industry breakdown is as follows: Financials, 37.5%; Energy, 23.1%; Industrials, 11.7%; Materials, 9.7%; Consumer Discretionary, 9.1%; Consumer Staples, 4.4%; and Utilities, 2.9%. Its expense ratio is 0.76%.
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ISHARES FTSE/XINHUA CHINA 25 INDEX FUND $37.54 (New York symbol FXI; buy or sell through brokers) is an exchange traded fund that aims to track the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index, which is made up of the 25 largest and most liquid Chinese stocks. All of the stocks in the index trade on the Hong Kong exchange. Some also trade as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the New York exchange.

The fund’s top holdings are China Mobile, 9.6%; China Construction Bank, 9.0%; Industrial & Commercial Bank, 8.0%; Tencent Holdings, 7.1%, Bank of China, 6.1%; China Overseas Land & Investment, 4.1%; PetroChina, 4.1%, Agricultural Bank of China, 4.0%; and CNOOC, 3.9%.

The fund’s holdings give it the following industry breakdown: Financials, 56.0%; Telecommunications, 16.0%; Oil and Gas, 12.1%; Technology, 7.1%, Basic Materials, 3.7%; and Consumer Goods, 3.2%. Its expense ratio is 0.74%.
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BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERS L.P. $28.64 (Toronto symbol BEP.UN; Units outstanding: 265.2 million; Market cap: $7.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.3%; www.brpfund.com) owns 196 hydroelectric generating stations, 11 wind farms and two natural-gas-fired plants. In all, it has 5,900 megawatts of generating capacity.

Roughly 35% of Brookfield Renewable’s generating capacity is in Canada, with another 50% in the U.S. and 15% in Brazil.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Brookfield’s revenue rose 43.6%, to $484 million from $337 million a year earlier. Cash flow jumped sharply, to $187 million, or $0.71 a share, from $87 million, or $0.33.
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BELL ALIANT INC. $26.76 (Toronto symbol BA; Shares outstanding: 227.8 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 7.1%; www.aliant.ca) sells phone and Internet services to 2.5 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural Ontario and Quebec. It also provides wireless services through an alliance with BCE, which owns 45% of Bell Aliant. The company continues to replace copper wires with fibre optic cable. That’s attracting more highspeed Internet and digital TV customers. Strong demand for these services is also helping offset lower revenue from traditional phone services, which still supply 52% of the company’s revenue. Bell Aliant’s high-speed fibre optic systems now reach 725,000 homes, up from 650,000 at the start of this year. By the end of 2013, it plans to expand its network to 800,000 homes....

LOBLAW COS. $48.12 (Toronto symbol L; Shares outstanding: 282.1 million; Market cap: $13.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.0%; www.loblaw.ca) is cutting 275 jobs, mostly managerial and administrative positions at its head office. That’s about 1% of its total workforce.

The company did not say how much it expects to pay in severance and other costs. However, lower operating expenses will help Loblaw compete with other supermarket operators and big U.S.-based retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, which are selling more groceries in their Canadian stores.

In addition, the cuts will help eliminate duplication ahead of its $12.4-billion takeover of Shoppers Drug Mart.
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INNERGEX RENEWABLE ENERGY $9.15 (Toronto symbol INE; Shares outstanding: 95.0 million; Market cap: $869.4 million; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield 6.3%; www.innergex.com) operates 23 hydroelectric facilities, five wind farms and one solar-power plant in Quebec, Ontario, B.C. and Idaho. Innergex gets 59% of its power from hydroelectric facilities. Wind farms supply 36% and solar generates 5%.

In contrast to Algonquin, Innergex is growing slowly, mostly by building its own hydroelectric and wind plants, rather than through acquisitions. Right now, it is developing or building eight projects.

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ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES CORP. $6.79 (Toronto symbol AQN; Shares outstanding: 205.6 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.0%) has nearly tripled in size over the last year through a series of acquisitions.

Algonquin made four acquisitions in 2012, and it has completed another four so far in 2013. Most recently, it paid $140.7 million U.S. for a natural gas distributor in Georgia that serves 64,000 clients.

The company’s regulated utility businesses now provide water, electricity and natural gas to over 470,000 customers, up from 120,000 a year ago. In addition, Algonquin’s hydroelectric, thermal energy and wind facilities generate 1,100 megawatts of power, up from 460.
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TRANSCANADA CORP. $47.15 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 707.0 million; Market cap: $33.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.transcanada.com) has completed the purchase of two more Ontario solar power facilities from Canadian Solar (Nasdaq symbol CSIQ) for $470 million.

TransCanada now owns three of the nine solar farms it agreed to buy from Canadian Solar in December 2011. It expects to take possession of the remaining six by the end of 2014.

The company has 20-year deals to sell the power from these nine solar farms, which cuts the risk of this investment.
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SUN LIFE FINANCIAL $35.32 (Toronto symbol SLF; Shares outstanding: 606.0 million; Market cap: $21.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.1%; www.sunlife.ca) sells savings, retirement, pension and life insurance products to individuals and corporations.

The company mainly operates in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., but it has expanded into Asia, China and India. Sun Life has $590 billion of assets under management.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Sun Life’s earnings per share jumped 69.0%, to $0.71 from $0.42. Revenue rose 18.5%, to $3.7 billion from $3.1 billion.
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MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $29.44 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 67.8 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.8%; www.mts.ca) is down over 9% since the federal government’s October 8, 2013, decision to block the company’s recent deal to sell its Allstream subsidiary to an Egyptian billionaire.

Allstream provides integrated telephone, Internet and other communication services to over 50,000 businesses across Canada, as well as government agencies. Ottawa felt that selling Allstream to a foreign investor could risk national security.

Manitoba Tel’s main telecom business continues to perform well, thanks to strong demand for wireless and high-speed Internet services. However, Allstream is still incurring big losses.
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CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $151.56 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 175.1 million; Market cap: $26.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.9%; www.cpr.ca), transports freight between Montreal and Vancouver and connects with hubs in the U.S. Midwest and northeast.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2013, CP’s revenue rose 5.7%, to $1.53 billion from $1.45 billion a year earlier. Earnings jumped 144.7%, to $331 million, or $1.88 a share, from $224 million, or $1.31.

CP’s operating ratio improved to 65.9% from 74.1% a year ago. (Operating ratio is calculated by dividing regular operating costs by revenue. The lower the ratio, the better.) The company shipped more goods and made better use of its assets in the latest quarter. CEO Hunter Harrison feels he can cut CP’s operating ratio even further.
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ENCANA CORP. (Toronto symbol ECA; www.encana.com) is one of North America’s largest natural gas producers. The company is now cutting its reliance on natural gas, as rising shale gas production has cut prices from $11.50 U.S. per thousand cubic feet in 2008 to just $3.60 U.S. today. Encana plans to narrow its focus from around 30 properties to five: Montney (B.C.), Duvernay (Alberta), DJ Basin (Colorado), San Juan Basin (New Mexico) and Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (Louisiana)....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific investment advice. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investing strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “The best analyst research reports are full of valuable data, but that alone doesn’t mean investors should fall in line with their buy, hold or sell recommendations.”...

WAJAX CORP. (Toronto symbol WJX; www.wajax.ca) sells and services cranes, forklifts and other heavy equipment. It also provides related parts (such as bearings, motors, hoses and fittings) and power systems (including diesel engines and transmissions). Wajax operates through 128 dealerships across Canada. Its customers are in the natural resource, construction, manufacturing, industrial processing and transportation industries....

THOMSON REUTERS CORP. (Toronto symbol TRI; www.thomsonreuters.com) gets 55% of its revenue by selling news and information to professionals in the banking industry. The remaining 45% comes from providing specialized information products to clients in the legal, accounting and scientific research fields....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on stocks as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle....

BELL ALIANT INC. (Toronto symbol BA; www.aliant.ca) sells phone and Internet services to 2.5 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural Ontario and Quebec. It also provides wireless services through an alliance with BCE, which owns 45% of Bell Aliant....

When you know what to look for with these 3 financial ratios, you improve your chances of uncovering the best value stocks. Price-earnings ratios, Price-to-book-value ratios, Price-cash flow ratios.

Oil prices have soared from around $18 U.S. a barrel in 1993 to close to $100 U.S. today. However, new drilling technologies have made it easier to extract oil from hard-to-reach deposits, such as oil sands and shale rock formations. Rising production from these sources could hurt oil prices in the same way the shale gas boom has depressed natural gas prices....

Certain technology firms have dominated their markets for years, only to discover that changing consumer tastes and business trends have hurt their recent growth....

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $27 (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 10.2 billion; Market cap: $275.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ge.com) plans to spin off its North American retail finance business as a separate company.

This business, part of its GE Capital subsidiary, provides credit card loans through a variety of retailers, such as Wal-Mart and J.C. Penney. It also loans money directly to consumers. GE will hang on the international portion of the retail finance business.

The spinoff is part of the company’s plan to cut GE Capital’s assets to half of what they were prior to the 2008 financial crisis.

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CHEVRON CORP. $122 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $231.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.chevron.com) has suspended work on its $10-billion Rosebank offshore oil project in the North Sea due to rising costs. Chevron owns 40% of this project. The company and its partners will make a decision on whether to proceed with Rosebank by late 2014.

Meanwhile, the company recently began pumping oil at its Papa-Terra offshore platform near Brazil. Chevron owns 37.5% of this operation, while Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (New York symbol PBR) owns the remaining 62.5%.

Papa-Terra should produce 140,000 barrels a day by the end of 2014. Chevron’s share of 52,500 barrels is equal to 2% of its current daily output.

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