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POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $76.42 (Nasdaq symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers; www.invescopowershares- .com), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds stocks that represent the Nasdaq 100 Index, which consists of the 100 largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange, based on 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 companies. The fund’s expenses are about 0.20% of its assets.

The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel, Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences, Comcast Corp. and Amgen.
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SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $154.54 (New York symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron, 3M, Travelers Companies, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, Caterpillar, United Technologies and Boeing. The fund’s expenses are about 0.17% of its assets.

SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy.
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SPDR S&P 500 ETF $169.18 (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. stocks 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, IBM, Chevron, General Electric, Pfizer, Berkshire Hathaway, Google, AT&T and Wells Fargo. The fund’s expenses are just 0.10% of its assets.

If you want exposure to the S&P 500 Index, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a buy.
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ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $22.31 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of its assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. It yields 4.5%.

The fund’s top holdings are Bonterra Energy, 6.5%; CIBC, 6.3%; National Bank, 5.9%; TD Bank, 5.7%; Bank of Montreal, 5.3%; Royal Bank, 4.5%; IGM Financial, 4.4%; Telus Corp., 4.2%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.1%; and BCE Inc., 4.0%.

The fund holds 53.4% of its assets in financial stocks. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects. However, 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 FUND $17.88 (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 0.17% of assets.

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, 8.2%; TD Bank, 7.1%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 6.2%; Suncor Energy, 4.5%; CN Railway, 3.9%; Bank of Montreal, 3.7%; Enbridge, 3.4%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.2%; TransCanada Corporation, 3.0%; Manulife Financial, 3.0%; BCE, 2.9%; CIBC, 2.8%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 2.8%; Potash Corp., 2.3%; Cenovus Energy, 2.0%; and Goldcorp, 2.0%.
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ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $15.05 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the 15 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of each REIT is limited to 25% of the ETF’s value.

iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are 0.60% of its assets. The fund yields 5.2%.

The ETF’s largest holding is RioCan REIT at 19.4%, followed by H&R REIT (14.5%), Dundee REIT (8.3%), Canadian REIT (7.4%), Calloway REIT (6.7%), Cominar REIT (6.1%), Boardwalk REIT (5.9%), Canadian Apartment REIT (5.7%), Allied Properties REIT (5.5%), Artis REIT (4.8%), Chartwell REIT (4.4%), Granite REIT (4.3%), Dundee International REIT (2.3%), Northern Property REIT (2.3%) and Crombie REIT (1.9%).
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INNERGEX RENEWABLE ENERGY $8.40 (Toronto symbol INE; Shares outstanding: 94.5 million; Market cap: $802.8 million; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield 6.9%; www.innergex.com) operates 23 hydroelectric facilities, five wind farms and one solar-power plant in Quebec, Ontario, B.C. and Idaho. Innergex gets 55% of its power from hydroelectric facilities. Wind farms supply 39% and solar generates 6%.

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

But like Algonquin, Innergex makes sure it has firm long-term power-purchase contracts in place before it starts building new facilities.
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ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES CORP. $6.96 (Toronto symbol AQN; Shares outstanding: 205.0 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.9%) has nearly tripled in size over the last year through a series of acquisitions.

The company’s regulated utility businesses now provide water, electricity and natural gas utility services to over 470,000 customers, up from 120,000 a year ago. Its hydroelectric, thermal energy and wind plants currently generate 1,100 megawatts of power, up from 460 megawatts.

Emera (Toronto symbol EMA), a recommendation of The Successful Investor, our conservative growth advisory, owns 24.5% of Algonquin.
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GEORGE WESTON $85.19 (Toronto symbol WN; Shares outstanding: 127.9 million; Market cap: $11.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 2.0%; weston.ca) owns 63.1% of Loblaw. It will help it pay for Shoppers by buying $500 million of new shares. After Loblaw completes the purchase, Weston will own 46% of Loblaw.

Loblaw will operate Shoppers as a separate chain and does not plan to close any stores. That makes sense, because most Shoppers stores are small outlets in urban areas where there is little overlap with Loblaw’s mainly suburban supermarkets.

Shoppers will also keep its own brands and loyalty program. However, combining marketing and distribution should save the company $300 million annually by the end of the third year.
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LOBLAW COS. $47.97 (Toronto symbol L; Shares outstanding: 283.0 million; Market cap: $13.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.0%; www.loblaw.ca) is buying Shoppers Drug Mart (Toronto symbol SC), which operates 1,240 drugstores across Canada.

Assuming regulators and Shoppers shareholders approve, Loblaw aims to complete the $12.5-billion purchase in six to seven months.

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $30.31 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 951.5 million; Market cap: $29.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 4.1%; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s largest insurance company. It also offers mutual funds, retirement planning and wealth management. Power Financial owns 68.2% of Great-West.

In the quarter ended June 30, 2013, earnings rose 6.8%, to $521 million, or $0.55 a share, from $488 million, or $0.51, a year ago. On June 30, Great-West had $596.0 billion of assets under administration.

Earnings from the Canadian division, which supplies 54% of the total, rose 11.1%. Stronger sales of group policies offset lower demand for individual insurance. As well, the value of the assets this division manages rose, which pushed up its fee income.
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HECLA MINING COMPANY (New York symbol HL; www.hecla-mining.com) explores for, mines and processes silver and gold in the U.S. and Mexico. Most of its silver output comes from its Greens Creek mine in Alaska and its Lucky Friday mine in Idaho. In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Hecla’s revenue rose 27.3%, to $85.3 million from $67.0 million a year earlier. The company lost $0.03 a share, compared to a profit of $0.01. The loss mostly came from lower silver prices and costs related to its recent acquisition of Aurizon Mines....

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. (Toronto symbol SNC; www.snclavalin.com) is a leading Canadian engineering and construction company. It specializes in large-scale public works projects, such as roads, bridges, transit systems and water-treatment plants. SNC-Lavalin replaced most of its senior management following the discovery of $56 million U.S. in unusual payments it made in 2011 to help win Libyan construction contracts. SNC has also strengthened its oversight and compliance procedures in response to allegations that it used bribes to win certain contracts in Quebec....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on buying 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....

The computer chip makers who will prosper in the coming years are those who adapt best to new trends. These include the growth of mobile technology, such as smartphones and tablet computers, which is hurting demand for traditional desktop and laptop computers....

SAPUTO INC. (Toronto symbol SAP; www.saputo.com) is Canada’s largest producer of dairy products, including milk, butter and cheese. It also makes snack cakes and tarts. In addition to Canada, Saputo operates in the U.S. and Argentina....

CRESCENT POINT ENERGY CORP. (Toronto symbol CPG; www.crescentpointenergy.com) produces oil and natural gas in western Canada. Its output is weighted 90% toward oil and 10% to gas....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on Canadian stocks and other investments 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....

GANNETT CO. INC. $24 (New York symbol GCI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 229.1 million; Market cap: $5.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.gannett.com) publishes 99 newspapers in the U.S. and U.K., including USA Today, its flagship paper. It also publishes 680 magazines and weekly papers and owns 23 U.S. television stations.

Newspapers account for 70% of Gannett’s revenue, followed by TV (16%) and websites (14%).


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TOYOTA MOTOR CO. ADRs $124 (New York symbol TM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $198.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.toyota.com) sold 193,394 vehicles in the U.S. in July 2013. That’s up 17.3% from 164,898 in July 2012.

The company continues to benefit from rising demand for hybrid cars: sales of its Prius hybrid subcompact jumped 40.0%. Rising home construction also helped push up truck sales by 11.5%.

Toyota should also continue to gain from the Japanese government’s move to weaken the yen, because it makes the company’s cars cheaper for buyers outside Japan. It also raises the value of the foreign currencies that Toyota’s international operations earn.
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HILLSHIRE BRANDS CO. $32 (New York symbol HSH; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 123.3 million; Market cap: $3.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.hillshirebrands.com) makes a variety of packaged meat products. Its main brands include Ball Park hot dogs, Jimmy Dean sausages and Hillshire Farm deli meats.

The company has raised its quarterly dividend by 40.0%, to $0.175 a share from $0.125. The new annual rate of $0.70 yields 2.2%. It also plans to buy back $200 million of its shares in the next two years.

The stock trades at 18.6 times the $1.72 a share it will probably earn in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. That’s a high p/e ratio for a company that faces strong price competition from larger food makers.
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PETSMART INC. $70 (Nasdaq symbol PETM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 103.3 million; Market cap: $7.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 0.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.petm.com) operates 1,301 pet stores in the U.S. and Canada. It also has 196 in-store PetsHotels, which look after pets while their owners are away.

In the second quarter of its 2014 fiscal year, which ended August 4, 2013, PetSmart’s earnings jumped 18.9%, to $93.4 million from $78.5 million a year earlier. PetSmart bought back $24 million of its shares during the quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 25.4%, to $0.89 from $0.71.

Sales gained 5.3%, to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion. Same-store sales rose 3.4%, while sales of pet services, such as grooming, rose 7.3%. Services supplied 12.0% of PetSmart’s total sales.
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GOOGLE INC. $849 (Nasdaq symbol GOOG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 333.2 million; Market cap: $282.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.google.com) has started selling Chromecast, a new $35 device that connects to the back of a television set. Chromecast makes it easy to stream movies, TV shows and other video content from a home wireless network to a television.

The company is also interested in securing exclusive content for YouTube, such as NFL football. Programming like this would let Google earn subscription fees and charge advertisers higher rates.

Google is a buy.
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T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. $71 (Nasdaq symbol TROW; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 260.1 million; Market cap: $18.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.7; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.troweprice .com) has agreed to sell its banking subsidiary, which mainly offers certificates of deposit.

The company will receive $24 million for this business when the deal closes, probably by the end of 2013. That’s just 12% of the $206.8 million, or $0.79 a share, it earned in the second quarter of 2013. However, selling the banking business will let T. Rowe Price avoid new banking regulations that could interfere with its main mutual fund and wealth management operations.

T. Rowe Price is a buy....

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $31 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 497.7 million; Market cap: $15.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) has written down the value of its gold inventories, as well as two of its gold mines in Australia, by $1.8 billion. That’s because gold prices have dropped 21%, from around $1,800 an ounce in October 2012 to $1,420 today.

The company links its dividend to gold prices, so it has also cut the quarterly payout by 28.6%, to $0.25 a share from $0.35. The new annual rate of $1.00 yields 3.2%.

Newmont is still a hold.

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