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TRANSCANADA CORP. $44 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 707.1 million; Market cap: $31.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 4.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) expects to complete the southern portion of its Keystone XL pipeline by the end of 2013. This $2.3-billion U.S. project will pump crude oil from terminals in Cushing, Oklahoma, to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Demand for this pipeline from oil shippers is strong, because rising shale oil production in North Dakota has increased inventories at Cushing and hurt crude prices.

The company still hopes to win approval for Keystone XL’s northern portion, which would pump oil from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. The U.S. government will probably announce its decision in 2014.

TransCanada is a buy....

EMERA INC. $29 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 132.4 million; Market cap: $3.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) is Nova Scotia’s main power supplier. It also holds interests in electrical utilities in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

The company continues to invest in promising new projects. For example, it recently agreed to pay $541 million U.S. for three natural-gas-fired power plants in New England. Emera also plans to pay $390 million for a 34.5% stake in a power plant in Labrador. In addition, it will spend $1.5 billion to build an undersea cable that will transmit 20% of this facility’s power to Nova Scotia.

Closing a non-regulated power plant for maintenance helped cut Emera’s second-quarter earnings by 8.0%, to $42.6 million from $46.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 13.5%, to $0.32 from $0.37, on more shares outstanding. However, overall revenue still rose 1.0%, to $506.5 million from $501.3 million, thanks to colder-than-normal weather in Nova Scotia and higher power rates.
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FORTIS INC. $31 (Toronto symbol FTS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 211.7 million; Market cap: $6.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.fortis.ca) is the main electricity supplier in Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. It also distributes natural gas in B.C. and operates power plants in other parts of Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean.

On June 27, 2013, Fortis paid $1.5 billion U.S. for CH Energy, which distributes gas and electricity in New York State.

Without costs related to this acquisition and other unusual items, Fortis earned $61 million, or $0.32 a share, in the second quarter of 2013. That’s down 10.3% from $68 million, or $0.36, a year earlier. The decline is mainly due to lower rates and volumes at its B.C. gas utility. Revenue fell 0.3%, to $790 million from $792 million.
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PRECISION DRILLING CORP. $10 (Toronto symbol PD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resource sector; Shares outstanding: 276.9 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.precisiondrilling.com) provides contract-drilling services to land-based oil and gas producers, mainly in North America. As of June 30, 2013, it had 324 rigs in service.

Wet weather in Western Canada and low gas prices have hurt demand for Precision’s rigs. In the second quarter of 2013, its revenue fell 0.8%, to $378.9 million from $382.0 million a year earlier.

However, demand for the company’s Super Series rigs, which can reach deeper pockets of oil and gas, remains strong.
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TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $91 (Toronto symbol TD; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 917.6 million; Market cap: $83.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.td.com) has agreed to pay $52.5 million U.S. to settle charges that it failed to report suspicious transactions related to a fraudulent investment scheme in Florida. Separately, the bank is appealing a court ruling that it pay $67 million U.S. related to this case.

These amounts are small next to the $1.6 billion (Canadian), or $1.65 a share, that TD earned in the quarter ended July 31, 2013. Still, settling these charges cuts TD’s risk, especially in light of tighter enforcement from U.S. securities regulators.

TD Bank is a buy....

BLACKBERRY LTD. $8.44 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 524.6 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.blackberry.com) lost $965 million, or $1.84 a share, in the three months ended August 31, 2013 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). That’s mainly because it wrote down the value of its unsold Z10 touchscreen smartphones by $934 million. A year earlier, it lost $229 million, or $0.44 a share. Revenue fell 45.0%, to $1.6 billion from $2.9 billion.

The company has accepted a $9.00 U.S.-a-share takeover offer from Fairfax Financial Holdings (Toronto symbol FFH). However, it’s unclear if Fairfax can complete the deal. That’s why the stock is trading at 9.8% below the offer price.

Due to its worsening financial condition, we’ve cut BlackBerry’s TSINetwork Rating from “Average” to “Speculative.”
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CGI GROUP INC. $36 (Toronto symbol GIB.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 310.9 million; Market cap: $11.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.cgi.com) is Canada’s largest provider of computer outsourcing services. CGI helps its clients automate routine functions, like accounting and buying supplies. That makes them more efficient and lets them focus on their main businesses.

CGI was our Stock of the Year for both 2010 and 2011. We first recommended it as our top choice at $15, which works out to a 140.0% gain.

The company continues to benefit from its August 2012 purchase of U.K.-based outsourcing firm Logica. Thanks to Logica, CGI earned $200.4 million in its 2013 third quarter, which ended June 30, 2013. That’s up 115.3% from $93.0 million a year ago. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings rose 80.0%, to $0.63 from $0.35.
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CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $134 (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 175.0 million; Market cap: $23.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.9; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cpr.ca) transports freight between Montreal and Vancouver and connects with hubs in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast. It gets 25% of its revenue from the U.S.

CP was our top pick for 2012 at $69. Since then, the stock has jumped 94.2%.

The company continues to improve its efficiency, mainly with more efficient locomotives, better tracks, and software that optimizes train loads and speeds. In the quarter ended June 30, 2013, CP’s earnings soared 144.7%, to $252 million from $103 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings gained 138.3%, to $1.43 from $0.60, on more shares outstanding.
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TECK RESOURCES LTD. $26 (Toronto symbol TCK.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 576.3 million; Market cap: $15.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.teck.com) is a leading producer of metallurgical coal, a key ingredient in steelmaking. It also produces copper and zinc.

The stock is down 29.7% from $37 when we named it our top pick for 2013. That’s mainly because slowing industrial activity, mainly in Asia, has hurt commodity prices.

In quarter ended June 30, 2013, earnings fell 50.5%, to $197 million, or $0.34 a share. These figures exclude unusual items, such as foreign exchange losses and writedowns. A year earlier, Teck earned $398 million, or $0.68 a share.
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MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $29 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 67.8 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 5.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mts.ca) fell 10% after the federal government blocked its 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.

If you disregard costs related to the sale, Manitoba Telecom now expects to earn $1.15 to $1.45 a share in 2013. Without Allstream, it probably would have earned around $1.75 a share. The stock trades at a high 22.3 times the midpoint of the new range.
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AGRIUM INC. $87 (Toronto symbol AGU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 147.0 million; Market cap: $12.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agrium.com) has expanded its retail operations in the past few years.

This business is now the world’s largest seller of seeds, fertilizers and other products to farmers, with over 1,200 stores in North America, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil. In 2012, the retail division accounted for 65% of Agrium’s revenue and 32% of its earnings.

In addition, Agrium makes nitrogen-based fertilizer at four wholly owned plants in Canada and one in the U.S. It also owns 50% of a nitrogen facility in Argentina and 26% of one in Egypt. Operating in these countries adds risk, but these plants only account for a small part of Agrium’s revenue. In addition, this division makes potash and phosphate fertilizers.
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MANULIFE FINANCIAL $18.66 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $33.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.8%; www.manulife.ca) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment-management services. It operates globally and has $567 billion of assets under management.

Excluding one-time items, Manulife’s earnings per share rose 3.3% in the three months ended June 30, 2013, to $0.31 from $0.30. That fell short of the consensus estimate of $0.34. Revenue rose slightly, to $6.50 billion from $6.42 billion.

Insurance sales were down 3%, mostly due to lower sales in Asia, where sales were unusually high a year earlier ahead of tax changes. That offset stronger demand for mutual funds and investment products.
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CENOVUS ENERGY $30.31 (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares outstanding: 755.8 million; Market cap: $23.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 3.2%; www.cenovus.com) operates three heavy oil projects in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan. It gets about half its output from the oil sands. Conventional oil and natural gas wells supply the other half. The company’s reserves should last 23 years.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Cenovus’s production rose 2.2%. The increase helped push up revenue to $4.5 billion from $4.2 billion. However, higher operating costs from new projects caused the company’s earnings to decline 8.1%, to $0.34 from $0.37. Cash flow per share fell 5.7%, to $1.15 from $1.22.

Cenovus’s outlook is positive, and it plans to spend $3.3 billion to $3.7 billion annually over the next 10 years to increase its production.
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ENERPLUS CORP. $17.05 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 200.3 million; Market cap: $3.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.3%) produces an average of 90,037 barrels of oil equivalent a day (54% gas and 46% oil).

The company’s properties are mainly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C., North Dakota and Montana, as well as the Marcellus Shale, which passes through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013 Enerplus’s cash flow per share rose 37.8%, to $1.02 from $0.74 a year earlier. Production increased 9.6%, oil prices gained 11.6% and gas prices jumped 79.6%.
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ARC RESOURCES $26.49 (Toronto symbol ARX; Shares outstanding: 312.4 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 4.5%; www.arcresources.com) produces oil and natural gas in Western Canada. The company’s average daily output of 93,436 barrels of oil equivalent (including gas) is weighted 61% to gas and 39% to oil.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, cash flow per share rose 14.0%, to $0.65 from $0.57. Production fell slightly, but a 91.6% rise in gas prices more than offset the lower output.

ARC’s long-term debt is $755.0 million, or a low 9.2% of its market cap. It trades at 10.3 times its forecast 2012 cash flow of $2.56 a share.
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ISHARES AUSTRALIA INDEX FUND $25.47 (New York symbol EWA; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that holds the 70 largest Australian stocks. Its MER is 0.50%.

The fund’s top holdings include Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 10.7%; BHP Billiton, 10.6%; Westpac Banking Corp., 9.4%; Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, 7.8%; National Australia Bank, 7.5%; Woolworths, 4.0%; Wesfarmers, 3.8%; CSL Ltd., 2.9%; Rio Tinto, 2.5%; Woodside Petroleum, 2.3%; and Westfield Group, 2.1%.

Australia benefits from its stable banking and political systems. It is also rich in natural resources, and it’s close to key Asian markets with vast potential, including India and China.
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MANITOBA TELECOM $32.55 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 67.8 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.mts.ca) has paid an undisclosed sum for privately held EPIC Information Solutions.

Winnipeg-based EPIC provides computer and networking services to over 700 businesses in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Its expertise will help Manitoba Telecom offer more communication services to its business clients, particularly in the fast-growing field of cloud computing.

EPIC’s existing management and staff will remain with the company, which will operate as a separate, wholly owned subsidiary of Manitoba Telecom.
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IBM $184.96 (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $204.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.1%; www.ibm.com) recently paid an undisclosed sum for U.K.-based Daeja Image Systems. This company’s products make it easier to view digital images in hundreds of different computer file formats without first installing the program that created the original image.

This is key for businesses that need to manage huge volumes of information, and access data from multiple devices, such as PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Daeja’s products also help businesses mask sensitive information on computer images, and restrict access to certain files.
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ISHARES MSCI BRAZIL INDEX FUND $48.89 (New York Exchange symbol EWZ; buy or sell through brokers) is an exchange traded fund that is designed to track the Brazilian stock market.

Top holdings are Petrobras (oil and gas), 11.8%; Vale do Rio Doce (mining), 9.6%; Cia Itau Unibanco Holding (banking), 7.5%; Banco Brandesco preferred, 6.1%; Cia de Bebidas das Americas (beer and beverages), 5.7%; and BRF SA (food), 4.0%.

The ETF was launched on July 10, 2000. It has an expense ratio of 0.62%.
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ISHARES MSCI CHILE INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND $51.39 (New York Exchange symbol ECH; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that aims to track the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index, which consists of stocks that are mainly traded on the Santiago Stock Exchange.

The fund’s top holdings are S.A.C.I. Falabella (retail), 9.2%; Empresas Copec SA (conglomerate), 8.5%; Enersis AS (electricity), 8.3%; Cencosud SA (retailer), 6.7%; Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (electricity), 5.9%; Banco Santander Chile (banking), 5.5%; LATAM Airlines SA, 5.1%; Empresas CMPC (pulp and paper), 4.4%; Banco de Chile, 4.2%; and Quimica y Minera de Chile (mining), 3.7%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is: Utilities, 24.4%; Financials, 17.9%; Consumer Staples, 13.3%; Materials, 11.2%; Consumer Discretionary, 10.9%; Energy, 8.5%; Industrials, 8.2%; Telecommunications, 3.0%; and Information Technology, 2.1%.
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ISHARES MSCI GERMANY FUND $28.10 (New York Exchange symbol EWG; buy or sell through brokers) tracks the stocks in the MSCI Germany Index.

This index aims to replicate 85% of the total 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%; Siemens (engineering conglomerate), 8.7%; BASF (chemicals), 8.0%; Daimler (autos), 6.8%; Allianz (insurance), 6.6%; SAP (software), 6.2%; Deutsche Bank, 4.3%; Deutsche Telekom, 3.7%; and Linde AG (industrial gases), 3.3%.
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ISHARES MSCI SOUTH KOREA INDEX FUND $62.49 (New York Exchange symbol EWY; buy or sell through brokers) is an exchange traded fund that aims to track the MSCI Korea Index.

The ETF’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics, 21.3%; Hyundai Motor Co., 6.2%; Posco (steel), 3.4%; Hyundai Mobis (auto parts), 3.2%; Shinhan Financial, 3.0%; Kia Motors, 2.8%; SK Hynix Semiconductor, 2.5%; Naver Corp. (Internet content), 2.5%; LG Chemical, 2.1%; and KB Financial, 2.2%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Information Technology, 31.4%; Consumer Discretionary, 19.0%; Financials, 14.2%; Industrials, 13.8%; Materials, 10.5%; Consumer Staples, 5.1%; Energy, 2.6%; Utilities, 1.5%; Telecommunication Services, 1.0%; and Health Care, 0.8%.
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ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $41.73 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) is an exchange traded fund that aims to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Its geographic breakdown includes China, 18.6%; South Korea, 15.7%; Brazil, 11.6%; Taiwan, 11.3%; South Africa, 7.4%; Russia, 6.2%; India, 5.8%; Mexico, 5.2%; Malaysia, 3.7%; and Thailand, 2.5%.

The ETF’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 3.7%; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 2.3%; China Mobile, 1.8%; China Construction Bank, 1.5%; Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 1.5%; Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, 1.4%; Gazprom (Russia: gas utility), 1.4%; and America Movil (Brazil: wireless), 1.0%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Financials, 26.8%; Information Technology, 14.8%; Energy, 11.7%; Materials, 9.8%; Consumer Staples, 8.8%; Consumer Discretionary, 8.8%; Telecommunication Services, 7.6%; and Industrials, 6.4%.
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ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $11.81 (New York Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an exchange traded fund that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan index.

The ETF’s top holdings include Toyota, 6.6%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 3.1%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.4%; Softbank Corp., 2.4%; Honda Motor, 2.3%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.9%; Japan Tobacco, 1.5%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.4%; Canon, 1.3%; and Hitachi, 1.2%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Financials, 21.4%; Consumer Discretionary, 21.1%; Industrials, 19.6%; Information Technology, 9.6%; Consumer Staples, 6.3%; Materials, 6.2%; Health Care, 5.9%; Telecommunication Services, 5.1%; Utilities, 2.8%; and Energy, 1.2%.
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