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ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $17.25 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the 13 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of any one REIT is limited to 25% of the ETF’s value.

iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are 0.55% of its assets. The fund yields 4.3%.

RioCan REIT is the fund’s largest holding at 22.0%, followed by H&R REIT (12.2%), Dundee REIT (8.9%), Canadian REIT (7.7%), Calloway REIT (7.5%), Boardwalk REIT (6.8%), Cominar REIT (6.4%), Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (6.2%), Primaris Retail REIT (5.7%), Artis REIT (5.0%), Allied Properties REIT (4.5%), Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT (2.9%), and Northern Property REIT (2.8%).

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BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERS L.P. $29.56 (Toronto symbol BEP.UN; Units outstanding: 132.8 million; Market cap: $3.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.brpfund.com) owns 170 hydroelectric generating stations, seven wind farms and two natural-gas-fired plants. In all, it has 4,909 megawatts of generating capacity.

Roughly 35% of Brookfield Renewable’s generating capacity is in Canada, with another 45% in the U.S. and 20% in Brazil. The company sells virtually all of its power under agreements that are an average of 24 years in length.

In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Brookfield’s revenue rose 31.1%, to $430 million from $328 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 45.6%, to $0.67 from $0.46. The company started up new plants in the quarter. Heavy rainfall also helped it generate more hydroelectric power.

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BELL ALIANT INC. $25.09 (Toronto symbol BA; Shares outstanding: 227.8 million; Market cap: $5.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 7.6%; www.aliant.ca) sells telephone and Internet services to 2.8 million customers in Atlantic Canada, as well as rural parts of Ontario and Quebec. The company also sells wireless services through an alliance with BCE, which owns 43.8% of Bell Aliant.

The company faces strong competition from cable providers. In addition, many of its phone customers are switching to wireless devices. However, Bell Aliant’s wireless agreement with BCE, plus upgrades to its high-speed Internet network, are helping it hold on to its current clients and attract new ones.

Bell Aliant’s high-speed fibre optic systems now reach 458,000 homes. The company plans to increase that to 650,000 by the end of 2012. Its capital expenditures were $177 million in the latest quarter, up 14.8% from a year earlier.

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PENGROWTH ENERGY $6.44 (Toronto symbol PGF; Shares outstanding: 498.5 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 7.5%; www.pengrowth.com) has cut its monthly dividend by 42.9%, to $0.04 a share from $0.07. With the cut, the new annual dividend rate of $0.48 a share yields 7.5%.

The company’s selling prices for oil and natural gas have fallen, and it wants to conserve cash for potential acquisitions and investments in promising new projects, such as its Lindbergh oil sands development in Alberta.

The savings will also help Pengrowth integrate oil producer NAL Energy Corp., which it recently purchased.

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PENN WEST PETROLEUM $13.81 (Toronto symbol PWT; Shares outstanding: 472.9 million; Market cap: $6.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 7.8%) is one of North America’s largest oil and gas producers. Its average daily output of 167,420 barrels of oil equivalent is weighted 64% to oil and 36% to natural gas.

In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Penn West’s cash flow per share fell 7.8%, to $0.71 from $0.77, mostly due to lower gas prices.

The company’s shares yield a high 7.8%, but it paid out just 38% of its cash flow as dividends in the latest quarter. That gives it the funds to keep dividends high and yet keep increasing production.

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CRESCENT POINT ENERGY CORP. $39.62 (Toronto symbol CPG; Shares outstanding: 329.1 million; Market cap: $13.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 7.0%; www.crescentpointenergy.com) produces oil and natural gas in western Canada. Its production is weighted 91% toward oil and 9% to gas.

The company continues to focus on its Bakken light-oil development in southeastern Saskatchewan.

In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Crescent Point’s cash flow per share rose 21.8%, to $1.34 from $1.10. The company’s shares yield a high 6.8%. Crescent Point paid out just 53% of its cash flow as dividends in the latest quarter, so its current dividend rate looks sustainable.

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RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $28.36 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 285.9 million; Market cap: $8.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 4.9%; www.riocan.com) is purchasing the Georgian Mall, a shopping centre in Barrie, Ontario, with over 150 stores. This will be RioCan’s largest, most prominent enclosed mall property.

The trust will pay $318 million for the shopping centre when the deal closes in the third quarter of 2012. That’s equal to 93% of the $342 million, or $1.20 a unit, that RioCan earned in the first quarter of 2012.

This mall is 97% leased and gets 91% of its rental revenue from national chains. That cuts the risk of this purchase. Moreover, Barrie’s population should rise by 20% over the next decade.

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GUGGENHEIM CHINA SMALL CAP ETF $19.04 (New York Exchange symbol HAO; buy or sell through brokers; www.guggenheimfunds.com) aims to track the AlphaShares China Small Cap Index, which is made up of all Chinese stocks that are legal for foreign investors and have market caps between $200 million and $1.5 billion.

The $155.7-million fund’s top holdings are Shimao Property Holdings, 1.7%; Longfor Properties, 1.6%; Sino-Ocean Land Holding, 1.5%; Guangdong Investment, 1.5%; Tsingtao Brewery Co., 1.4%; China Railway Group, 1.4%; China Railway Construction Corp., 1.4%; Zoomlion Heavy Industry, 1.4%; Agile Property Holdings, 1.3%; and China State Construction International Holdings, 1.2%.

As China’s economy matures, domestic spending should continue to rise. As well, China’s leaders will likely need to increase spending on programs and services to ease the growing gap between the rich and poor. Guggenheim China Small Cap ETF is well positioned to benefit from both of these trends.

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SPDR S&P CHINA ETF $63.27 (New York Exchange symbol GXC; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) is an exchange traded fund that aims to track the S&P China BMI Index, which is made up of all the publicly traded Chinese stocks that are available to foreign investors. Right now, SPDR S&P China ETF holds 184 stocks.

The $783.8-million fund’s top holdings are China Mobile, 9.1%; China Construction Bank, 6.9%; Baidu, 5.1%; CNOOC, 4.8%; Industrial & Commercial Bank, 4.7%; Tencent Holdings, 4.5%; Petro- China, 4.0%; Bank of China, 3.6%; China Life Insurance, 3.2%; and China Petroleum & Chemical, 2.3%.

The fund’s breakdown by industry is as follows: Financials, 31.7%; Oil and Gas, 15.2%; Information Technology, 13.2%; Telecommunication Services, 10.1%; Industrials, 10.4%; Consumer Staples, 5.0%; Consumer Discretionary, 4.3%; Basic Materials, 4.0%; Utilities, 2.8%; and Health Care, 1.7%.

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $45.95 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 704.4 million; Market cap: $32.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.transcanada.com) operates 68,500 kilometres of pipelines that pump natural gas in Canada and the U.S.

The company also owns or has interests in over 10,800 megawatts of power generation. That includes Bruce Power LP, a nuclear power plant in Ontario.

In the three months ended June 30, 2012, TransCanada’s revenue rose slightly, to $1.81 billion from $1.80 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 9.8%, to $0.46 from $0.51, mostly due to the negative impact of lower natural gas and power demand on its operations.

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ENBRIDGE INC. $40.50 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 794.9 million; Market cap: $33.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.8%; www.enbridge.com) gets 80% of its revenue by operating pipelines that pump crude oil and natural gas from western Canada to eastern Canada and the U.S. The remaining 20% mainly comes from distributing gas to consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State.

Enbridge has spent over $12 billion on new growth projects in the past three years. This includes new pipelines to handle rising oil sands and shale gas production. Meanwhile, the company expects to complete another $13 billion in projects by the end of 2015. Additional projects are likely to follow.

In the three months ended June 30, 2012, revenue fell 17.5%, to $5.7 billion from $6.9 billion on lower gas prices. However, earnings per share before one-time items rose 5.9%, to $0.36 from $0.34.

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No experienced, successful investor will be surprised at the suspicions that cling to hedge funds in the wake of repeated financial crises. When that much money floods into an investment area that fast, unpleasant financial events are bound to happen. The huge investment attracts unscrupulous characters, and converts more than a few amoral individuals into thieves. The returns in Bernie Madoff’s hedge fund turned out to be pure fiction....

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 that will help you develop a successful approach to investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Financial ratios will tell you a lot about a stock—but look closer and you may get an even clearer picture.”...

In the wake of the financial crises that have occurred in recent years, there has been a good deal of pressure in favour of stricter securities regulation. One company that serves the financial community could benefit substantially from tighter securities regulations. BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SERVICES INC. (New York symbol BR; www.broadridge.com) gets 70% of its revenue from its Investor Communication Solutions division, which distributes proxy materials such as ballots to investors in stocks and mutual funds. It also counts the votes. Broadridge’s ProxyEdge software helps centralize and simplify shareholder voting, particularly in meetings involving multiple ballots. The company mails and processes material for 60% of proxy votes worldwide....

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on specific stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. 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 the Inner Circle. This week, an Inner Circle member asked a question about one of China’s biggest budget hotel operators. In response, Pat gives an assessment of the potential rewards—and many risk factors—that come with investing in China. ...

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $53 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $74.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) is Canada’s largest bank, with $800.4 billion of assets.

The bank has come under fire recently over allegations that it colluded with other global banks to manipulate the benchmark London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Banks around the world base their own lending rates on LIBOR. Royal has denied these charges.

Royal also continues to cut its exposure to the PIIGS countries. As of April 30, 2012, it held $1.2 billion of loans and securities from these nations. That’s down from $1.4 billion on October 31, 2011.

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MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $34 (www.mtsallstream.com) continues to see rising demand for wireless and high-speed Internet services. However, higher depreciation expenses caused its earnings per share to fall 11.8% in the second quarter of 2012, to $0.67 from $0.76 a year earlier....

ATCO LTD. $74 (www.atco.com) earned $73 million, or $1.28 a share, in the three months ended June 30, 2012. That’s up 19.7% from $61 million, or $1.07 a share, a year earlier. The company reported strong earnings at its structures business, which builds temporary shelters for resource-exploration firms, and its natural gas distribution operations in Australia....

POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN $42 (Toronto symbol POT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 859.1 million; Market cap: $36.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.2; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.potashcorp.com) is the world’s largest fertilizer producer....

BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $3.90 and BBD.B $3.76; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bombardier.com) has received a firm order for 20 of its Q400 turboprop planes from WestJet Airlines Ltd. (Toronto symbol WJA); WestJet is a recommendation of Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that focuses on aggressive investing.

WestJet will use these planes for its new regional airline, which will serve smaller Canadian cities. Bombardier will begin delivering these planes in 2013.

The order is worth $683 million (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). If WestJet exercises all of its options to buy an additional 25 planes, the entire order would be worth $1.6 billion. That’s equal to 9% of Bombardier’s 2011 revenue of $18.3 billion.

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SHAWCOR LTD. $36 (Toronto symbol SCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 70.6 million; Market cap: $2.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.shawcor.com) has won a contract from Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned oil company, to coat an underwater pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico.

The order is worth $40 million U.S., which is equal to 3% of the company’s annual revenue of $1.2 billion (Canadian). ShawCor will begin working on this project in the third quarter of 2012.

ShawCor is a buy.

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IGM FINANCIAL INC. $37 (Toronto symbol IGM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 256.1 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 5.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.igmfinancial.com) is selling fewer mutual funds due to volatile stock markets. Lower share prices are also hurting IGM because its fee income rises and falls with the value of the securities it manages.

In the three months ended June 30, 2012, IGM’s earnings fell 15.9%, to $179.0 million from $212.8 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 14.6%, to $0.70 from $0.82, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue declined 8.6%, to $637.6 million from $697.7 million.

IGM recently cut the management fees it charges on about two-thirds of its products. That should help it hang on to existing clients and attract new ones. The quarterly dividend of $0.5375 a share also seems safe; the annual rate of $2.15 yields 5.8%.

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RESEARCH IN MOTION INC. $7.56 (Toronto symbol RIM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 524.2 million; Market cap: $4.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.2; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rim.com) has launched a version of its PlayBook tablet computer that can run on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) wireless networks, which are up to five times faster than current networks. Until now, the PlayBook used slower Wi-Fi technology to access the Internet.

These upgrades will help the PlayBook compete with other LTE-capable tablets. However, RIM’s earnings will remain under pressure until it launches smartphones that use its new BlackBerry 10 operating system. The company expects to start selling these phones in early 2013.

RIM is a hold, but only for aggressive investors.

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TIM HORTONS INC. $52 (Toronto symbol THI; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 157.4 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.timhortons.com) has raised the prices of muffins, sandwiches and other items at its coffee-and-donut stores in Canada and the U.S. That’s because the drought in North America is pushing up its costs for wheat, canola oil and other ingredients.

The increases are unlikely to hurt customer traffic or sales, particularly because the company did not increase coffee prices.

Tim Hortons is a buy.

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NORDION INC. $9.66 (Toronto symbol NDN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 62.0 million; Market cap: $598.9 million; Price-tosales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.nordion.com) sells isotopes for cancer detection and research to hospitals, medical labs and clinics. It also makes products that sterilize food and surgical tools.

In Nordion’s fiscal 2012 second quarter, which ended April 30, 2012, its earnings fell 35.1%, to $4.8 million from $7.4 million a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Earnings per share fell 27.3%, to $0.08 from $0.11, on fewer shares outstanding.

Revenue declined 26.7%, to $50.0 million from $68.3 million. That’s mainly because the Chalk River reactor near Ottawa suffered two unplanned shutdowns during the quarter. (Chalk River supplies most of Nordion’s isotopes.) These shutdowns, which each lasted a week, were in addition to a planned one-month shutdown for maintenance.

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