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GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $23.46 (NewYork symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers;www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global SilverMiners Index.

This index includes 32 international companiesthat mine, refine or explore for silver. GermanybasedStructured Solutions AG developed the GlobalX Silver Miners Index.

Canadian companies make up 45.4% of the fund’sholdings, but it also includes companies based in theU.S. (13.7%) and Mexico (13.0%). The ETF’s MERis 0.65%.
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ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEXFUND $19.04 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell throughbrokers; ca.ishares.com) aims to mirror the performanceof the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index.

This index is made up of 56 gold stocks fromCanada and around the world. The fund’s MER is0.60%. iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fundbegan trading on March 23, 2001.

The fund’s top 10 holdings are Barrick Gold at15.1%; Goldcorp, 13.1%; Newmont Mining, 9.8%;Yamana Gold, 5.7%; AngloGold Ashanti (ADR),5.2%; Kinross, 4.8%; Eldorado Gold, 4.1%;Randgold Resources, 4.1%; Agnico-Eagle Mines,3.4%; and Gold Fields (ADR), 3.8%.
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TORSTAR CORP. $7.49 (Toronto symbol TS.B;Shares outstanding: 79.9 million; Market cap:$598.5 million; TSINetwork Rating: AboveA v e r a g e ; D i v i d e n d y i e l d : 7 . 0 % ;www.torstar.com) has a great hidden asset in itsownership of romance-novel publisherHarlequin Enterprises.

Harlequin’s earnings should benefit from anew joint venture with Cosmopolitan magazinethat will publish two e-books a month, starting inMay 2013. Cosmopolitan is the world’s largestwoman’s magazine.

Called “Cosmo Red Hot Reads”, these30,000-word e-books aim to profit from fastgrowingdemand for erotica, such as the bestsellingFifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Harlequinwill use its own popular authors, which cuts the

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MARKET VECTORS VIETNAM ETF $18.95(New York symbol VNM; buy or sell through brokers) holdsshares of Vietnamese companies or foreign firms thatget a significant amount of their revenue fromVietnam.

The ETF’s top 10 holdings are Vietin CommercialBank, 7.9%; Vincom Corp. (real estate), 7.9%;Baoviet Holdings (finance and insurance), 7.3%; JSCBank, 7.3%; PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemical,5.4%; Minor International (a Thailand-based firmwith hotels and fast-food restaurants in Vietnam),4.9%; Charoen Pokphand Foods (a Thailand-basedfood conglomerate), 4.6%; Gamuda Bhd (a Malaysiabasedconstruction group), 4.6%; Premier Oil (aU.K.-based producer with stakes in the huge CuuLong basin off southern Vietnam), 4.5%; and Oil &Natural Gas Corp. (an India-based oil and gascompany), 4.0%.

Market Vectors Vietnam ETF’s industry breakdownis as follows: Financials, 45.9%; Energy,21.5%; Industrials, 10.6%; Materials, 7.9%; ConsumerDiscretionary, 6.6%; Consumer Staples, 4.7%;and Utilities, 2.9%. Its expense ratio is 0.76%.

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ISHARES FTSE/XINHUA CHINA 25 INDEXFUND $41.85 (New York symbol FXI; buy or sell throughbrokers) is an ETF that aims to track the FTSE/XinhuaChina 25 Index, which is made up of the 25 largestand most liquid Chinese stocks. All of the stocks inthe index trade on the Hong Kong exchange. Somealso trade as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)on the New York exchange.

The fund’s top holdings are China ConstructionBank, 9.6%; China Mobile, 9.4%; Industrial &Commercial Bank, 8.8%; CNOOC, 6.5%; Bank ofChina, 6.2%; Agricultural Bank of China, 4.5%;China Overseas Land & Investment, 4.2%; ChinaPacific Insurance, 4.2%; China Petroleum andChemical; 4.1%; and PetroChina, 3.9%.

The fund’s holdings give it the following industrybreakdown: Financials, 59.2%; Telecommunications,15.7%; Oil and Gas, 14.5%; Basic Materials, 8.9%;and Industrials, 2.1%. Its expense ratio is 0.74%.

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $47.25 (Torontosymbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 705.1 million;Market cap: $33.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating:Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.7%;www.transcanada.com) has formed a 50/50 jointventure with privately held Phoenix EnergyHoldings Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary ofPetroChina Co. Ltd. (New York symbol PTR).

The partners plan to build a 500-kilometrepipeline that would pump crude oil from Phoenix’soil sands properties in northern Alberta toEdmonton. TransCanada will operate the newpipeline.

TransCanada’s share of the project’s $3.0-billion cost is $1.5 billion. The partners aim tobegin construction in 2014, and the pipelineshould start up in early 2017.

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VERESEN $11.97 (Toronto symbol VSN; Sharesoutstanding: 197.5 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion;TSINetwork Rating: Average; Yield: 8.4%) ownspipelines, power plants and natural gas processingfacilities across North America. One of its majorholdings is 50% of the Alliance gas pipeline, whichruns 3,000 kilometres between Chicago and Fort St.John, B.C. Enbridge owns the other 50%. Thecompany also owns the Alberta Ethane GatheringSystem, and Veresen and Enbridge together hold85.4% of the Aux Sable natural gas liquids (NGL)plant.

In December 2011, Veresen paid Encana Corp.$920 million for the Hythe/Steeprock natural gasgathering and processing complex in the Montneyregion of B.C. and Alberta. Encana also signed along-term deal to buy most of this facility’s gas.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, cashflow rose 12.9%, to $61.4 million from $54.4 milliona year earlier. Cash flow per share fell 6.1%, to $0.31from $0.33, on more shares outstanding.

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PEMBINA PIPELINE $28.71 (Toronto symbolPPL; Shares outstanding: 292.3 million; Market cap:$8.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividendyield: 5.6%; www.pembina.com) owns pipelinesystems that transport half of Alberta’s conventionaloil production, 30% of the natural gas liquids(NGLs) produced in western Canada and virtually allof B.C.’s conventional oil output.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, Pembina’srevenue rose 171.2%, to $815.3 million from$300.6 million a year earlier. In April 2012, it boughtrival Provident Energy, which extracts, transports andstores NGLs, for $3.2 billion. Provident was themain reason for the higher revenue.

Cash flow rose 62.4%, to $133.2 million from$82.0 million. However, cash flow per share fell6.1%, to $0.46 from $0.49, because the companyissued more shares to pay for Provident.

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LOBLAW COMPANIES $42(Toronto symbol L; Sharesoutstanding: 281.6 million; Marketcap: $11.8 billion; TSINetworkRating: Above Average; Dividendyield: 2.1%; www.loblaw.ca) is upover 25% since December 6, 2012,when it said that it plans to form areal estate investment trust (REIT) tohold the bulk of its real estate assets.

The company currently owns 47million square feet of real estate witha value between $9 billion and $10billion.

Loblaw will transfer 35 millionsquare feet of these holdings—includingstores, warehouses andoffice buildings—to the REIT. In all,these assets are worth about $7billion. Loblaw will then rent theseproperties from the new trust.

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GREAT-WEST LIFECO $24.20 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 950.5 million; Market cap: $23.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.1%) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $532.0 billion in assets under administration. It also sells mutual funds, retirement-planning and wealth management services. Power Financial owns 68.2% of Great-West.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, earnings rose 13.8%, to $520 million, or $0.55 a share. A year earlier, it earned $457 million, or $0.48 a share. Revenue rose 1.5%, to $8.6 billion from $8.5 billion.

Earnings from the Canadian division (which supplies 54% of the total) rose 19.6%. Stronger sales to individuals offset lower demand for group policies. As well, the value of the assets this division manages rose, which pushed up its fee income.

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GOOGLE INC. (Nasdaq symbol GOOG; www.google.com) is the world’s top Internet search engine, with about two-thirds of this market. The company makes money by selling advertising on its websites. Google gets 96% of its revenue from advertising....

Picking stocks whose share prices will rise is not the only goal that successful investors set for themselves. You also add a great deal of value to your portfolio when you select stocks that are prepared to distribute their profits to the shareholders. A company can share the wealth in two main ways—it can buy back its own shares, or it can pay dividends. Both pay off for investors, which is why a number of the best stocks we recommend have a history of doing both....

BOMBARDIER INC. $3.98 (www.bombardier.com) has won a$226-million U.S. contract to build 35 passenger railcars for Germany’s Abello Rail. The company will deliver these trains by December 2015. In addition, it announced new orders for its CSeries passenger jets worth up to $3.7 billion U.S....

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $42 (www.snclavalin.com) owns 50%of a joint venture that has won a contract to design and build a new natural-gas-fired power plant in New Jersey. Thanks to new turbines and other technology, this facility will be one of the most environmentally friendly power plants in the U.S....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $27(www.riocan.com) is raising its monthly distribution by 2.2% with the January 2013 payment, to $0.1175 a unit from $0.115. The new annual rate of $1.41 yields 5.2%. This is the first increase since 2008. Buy.

CGI GROUP INC. $24 (Toronto symbol GIB.A;Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing &Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 307.7 million;Market cap: $7.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; No dividends paid; TSI Network 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 #1 stock pick for 2010 and 2011.

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TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $11 (Toronto symbol TCL.A;Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 78.2 million; Market cap: $860.2 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 5.3%; TSI Network Rating: Average;www.tctranscontinental.com) has amended the terms of its contract to print the San Francisco Chronicle, which runs to 2024.

The newspaper’s print circulation is falling, so it needs fewer copies. To compensate, the Chronicle will pay Transcontinental$200 million U.S.

To put that in context, Transcontinental earned $149.4 million(Canadian), or $1.85 a share, in its 2012 fiscal year, which ended October 31, 2012. That’s down 3.8% from $155.3 million, or $1.92a share, in fiscal 2011. However, revenue rose 6.2%, to $2.1 billion from $2.0 billion, mainly because it bought new printing plants.That offset lower ad revenue at its newspapers, as well as the completion of a big contract to print census forms in 2011.

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LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $41 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 281.5 million; Market cap: $11.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSI Network Rating: Above Average;www.loblaw.ca) has launched a new line of gluten free baked goods for people who can’t digest wheat.These products include breads, cakes and cookies.The company plans to launch more gluten-free foods over the next few months.

Only about 1% of the population has trouble digesting wheat, so consumer concerns about gluten levels could pass quickly. Even so, these products should help Loblaw attract more customers.

Loblaw is a buy.

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FORTIS INC. $34 (Toronto symbol FTS;Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector;Shares outstanding: 190.7 million; Market cap: $6.5billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8;D i v i d e n d y i e l d : 3 . 6 % ;TSI Network Rating: Above Average; www.fortis.ca) has raised its quarterly dividend by3.3%, to $0.31 a share from$0.30. The new annual rate of$1.24 yields 3.6%. Fortis has raised its payout every year for the past 40 years.

The company should complete its takeover of CH Energy Group (New York symbol CHG)in the first quarter of 2013. CH is a regulated utility that supplies electricity to 300,000 customers in the Mid-Hudson River Valley in New York State.

Fortis will pay $1.5 billion U.S. for CH Energy, including assuming $500 million U.S. of debt. That’s a high 23% of the company’s market cap. Large acquisitions, even of stable regulated utilities like CH Energy, can come with unpleasant surprises.

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ENBRIDGE INC. $43 (Toronto symbol ENB;Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector;Shares outstanding: 799.9 million; Market cap: $34.4billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.9%;TSI Network Rating: Above Average;www.enbridge.com) has bought 50% of the Massifdu Sud wind project in Quebec. This is the company’s second wind power investment in that province.

Enbridge paid $170.0 million for its stake in this facility. That’s equal to 63.2% of the $269.0million, or $0.34 a share, that it earned in the three months ended September 30, 2012.

Wind farms don’t make money on their own, but operators profit from subsidies. This project has a20-year deal to sell its power to Hydro-Quebec.

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PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. $4.97 (Toronto symbol PGF;Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 507.1 million; Market cap: $2.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 9.7%; TSI Network Rating: Average;www.pengrowth.com) has agreed to sell its 10.02% interest in the Weburn oil project in Saskatchewan.

The company will receive $315 million when the deal closes by the end of January 2013. It will use the cash to pay down its long-term debt, which was $1.75 billion on September 30, 2012.That’s a high 70% of its market cap.

Pengrowth is a buy.

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IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $43 (Toronto symbol IMO;Conservative Growth Portfolio; Resources sector;Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $36.4billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.1%;TSI Network Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca)reported that its third quarter earnings jumped21.1%, to $1.0 billion, or $1.22 a share. A year earlier, it earned $859 million, or $1.01 a share.Cash flow per share rose 18.8%, to $1.52 from$1.28, while revenue gained 4.9%, to $8.3 billion from $7.9 billion.

Overall production fell 3.7%, to 285,000 barrels a day from 296,000 a year earlier, due to asset sales and maintenance shutdowns. However, earnings from oil refining and distribution (52% of the total)rose 97.1%.

The company will soon start up its 71%-owned Kearl oil sands project, which will increase its daily production by 78,100 barrels. Exxon Mobil Corp.(New York symbol XOM) owns the remaining29%. Exxon also owns 69.6% of Imperial.

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SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $33 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap:$49.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield:1.6%; TSI Network Rating: A v e r a g e ;www.suncor.com) earned $1.3 billion in the quarter ended September 30, 2012. That’s down 27.2%from $1.8 billion a year earlier. Earnings fell 25.4%,to $0.85 a a share from $1.14, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue declined 7.9%, to $9.6 billion from $10.4 billion. However, cash flow per share rose 2.9%, to $1.78 from $1.73.

Suncor shut down some of its operations for planned maintenance. As a result, its average daily production fell 2.0% in the quarter, to 535,500barrels from 546,000 a year earlier. That more than offset a 47.8% jump in earnings at its refining and marketing division (46% of total earnings).

Suncor recently opened the fourth phase of its six-phase Fire bag oil sands project. This should help it meet its production goal of 540,000 to 580,000barrels a day for all of 2012.

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LINAMAR CORP. $25 (Toronto symbol LNR;Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing &Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 64.7 million;Market cap: $1.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5;Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSI Network Rating: Extra Risk; www.linamar.com) gets 85% of its revenue by making engines, transmissions and other precision machined parts for automakers. The company has plants in North America, Europe and Asia.

The remaining 15% of Linamar’s revenue comes from its self-propelled, scissor-type elevating work platforms, which it sells under the Skyjack name,plus consumer products, such as lawn mowers and cargo trailers.

Thanks to rising new car sales, particularly in theU.S., Linamar’s earnings jumped 33.3% in the three months ended September 30, 2012, to $0.52 a sharefrom $0.39 a year earlier.

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EMERA INC. $35 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 124.7 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion;Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSI Network Rating:Average; www.emera.com) is buying a biomass plant in Brooklyn,Nova Scotia, from that province’s government. This facility generates power by burning waste wood from nearby lumber mills.

Emera will pay $25 million for the plant when the deal closes in early 2013. That’s equal to 56% of the $44.7 million, or $0.36 a share, that it earned in the third quarter of 2012.

The company gets most of its power from coal-burning plants, so investing in renewable power facilities like this one will help it comply with tougher environmental regulations.

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