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IBM $197 (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $236.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.5%) is now developing software that helps prevent online data theft.

The company’s analytics software already helps businesses and governments quickly gather and analyze a wide range of data. This technology is used in many ways, from easing traffic congestion to making power grids more efficient.

IBM recently demonstrated software that can detect and prevent unauthorized access to databases by analyzing certain patterns, such as failed login attempts. This product could be in huge demand, particularly in light of recent high-profile attacks on U.S. government websites.

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ISHARES MSCI BRAZIL INDEX FUND $69.18 (New York Exchange symbol EWZ; buy or sell through brokers), is an exchange traded fund that is designed to track the Brazilian stock market.

The fund’s top holdings are Petrobras preferred shares (energy), 10.2%; Cia Vale do Rio Doce (mining) preferred, 8.7%; Itau Unibanco Multiplo SA (banking), 8.1%; Petrobras common, 7.7%; and Banco Brandesco (banking) preferred, 5.7%.

The fund’s concentration in certain stocks, such as Petrobras and Cia Vale do Rio Doce, adds risk, as does its focus on the resource sector. However, both are high-quality stocks. Brazil’s economy is forecast to grow at a rate of 4.5% in 2012.

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ISHARES MSCI CHILE INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND $67.90 (New York Exchange symbol ECH; buy or sell through brokers), is an ETF that aims to track the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index. This index consists of stocks that are mainly traded on the Santiago Stock Exchange.

The fund’s top holdings are Empresas Copec SA (conglomerate), 10.3%; Quimica y Minera de Chile (mining), 7.7%; Cencosud SA (retailer), 7.6%; Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (electric power), 7.4%; Enersis AS (electric power), 6.7%; Banco Santander Chile (banking), 6.6%; Empresas CMPC (pulp and paper), 5.2%; LAN Airlines SA (Chilean national airline), 4.8%; S.A.C.I. Falabella (retail), 4.7%; and CAP SA (iron mining and steel), 4.6%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Utilities, 22.4%; Materials, 18.3%; Industrials, 18.0%; Financials, 17.4%; Consumer Staples, 13.0%; Consumer Discretionary, 6.1%; Telecommunications, 2.7%; and Information Technology, 1.3%.

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ISHARES MSCI GERMANY FUND $22.95 (New York Exchange symbol EWG; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that aims to track 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 fund’s top holdings are Siemens AG (engineering conglomerate), 9.2%; BASF (chemicals), 8.9%; SAP (software), 6.9%; Bayer (diversified chemicals), 6.4%; Daimler AG (automobiles), 6.4%; Allianz (insurance), 6.2%; Deutsche Bank AG, 4.9%; E.ON (energy), 4.6%; Deutsche Telekom, 3.7%; and BMW AG (automobiles), 3.5%.

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ISHARES MSCI SOUTH KOREA INDEX FUND $59.87 (New York Exchange symbol EWY; buy or sell through brokers), is an exchange traded fund that aims to track the MSCI Korea Index.

The fund’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics, 20.8%; Hyundai Motor Co., 5.3%; Posco (steel), 4.4%; Hyundai Mobis (auto parts), 3.0%; LG Chemical, 3.0%; Shinhan Financial, 3.0%; Kia Motors, 2.7%; KB Financial, 2.4%; Hynix Semiconductor, 2.4%; and Hyundai Heavy Industries, 2.1%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Information Technology, 30.8%; Consumer Discretionary, 16.3%; Industrials, 14.7%; Financials, 13.9%; Materials, 13.0%; Consumer Staples, 4.5%; Energy, 3.3%; Telecommunication Services, 0.9%; Utilities, 1.2%; and Health Care, 0.6%.

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ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $44.33 (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, 17.6%; Brazil, 15.6%; South Korea, 14.7%; Taiwan, 10.7%; South Africa, 7.4%; India, 6.8%; Russia, 6.5%; Mexico, 4.4%; Malaysia, 3.3%; and Indonesia, 2.6%.

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics (South Korea: electronics), 3.2%; Gazprom (Russia: gas utility), 1.8%; China Mobile, 1.7%; Petrobras Petroleo preferred (Brazil: energy), 1.6%; Vale SA (Brazil: mining), 1.3%; Taiwan Semiconductor (Taiwan: computer chips), 1.3%; China Construction Bank (China: banking), 1.3%; America Movil (Brazil: wireless), 1.3%; Itau Unibanco Holding (Brazil: banking), 1.3%; and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (China: banking), 1.2%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Financials, 24.0%; Energy, 14.4%; Materials, 13.4%; Information Technology, 13.3%; Consumer Staples, 7.7%; Consumer Discretionary, 7.7%; Telecommunication Services, 7.6%; Industrials, 7.0%; Utilities, 3.7%; and Health Care, 1.0%.

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ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $9.99 (American 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 fund’s top holdings include Toyota Motor, 5.1%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.9%; Honda Motor, 2.7%; Canon, 2.2%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.1%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.7%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.6%; Mitsubishi Corporation, 1.5%; Fanuc Corp., 1.5%; and Mitsui & Co., 1.3%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Industrials, 21.3%; Consumer Discretionary, 20.0%; Financials, 17.8%; Information Technology, 12.2%; Materials, 7.1%; Health Care, 6.1%; Consumer Staples, 5.9%; Telecommunication Services, 4.1%; Utilities, 3.6%; and Energy, 1.8%.

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ENCANA CORP. $20.16 (Toronto symbol ECA; Shares outstanding: 735.4 million; Market cap: $14.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.encana.com) has agreed to sell 40% of its undeveloped Cutbank Ridge shale gas property in northeastern B.C. to Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp.

Encana will receive $1.45 billion (Canadian) when the sale closes at the end of February 2012. Mitsubishi will also invest an additional $1.45 billion over the next five years to develop this property. To put these figures in context, Encana’s cash flow was $4.2 billion U.S., or $5.66 U.S. a share, in 2011.

Adding a partner to help develop this field cuts Encana’s risk. Mitsubishi’s involvement will also help Encana open up new markets for its gas in Asia.

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ARC RESOURCES $25.55 (Toronto symbol ARX; Shares outstanding: 288.5 million; Market cap: $7.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.arcresources.com) produces oil and natural gas in western Canada. Its average daily production of 892,021 barrels of oil equivalent is weighted 64% to gas and 36% to oil.

In the three months ended December 31, 2011, ARC’s cash flow per share rose 25.4%, to $0.79 from $0.63. That’s because the company raised its production by 8.7%. It also benefited from higher oil prices.

ARC has $2.4 billion of tax pools that are letting it offset taxes and maintain its 4.7% yield. The company’s long-term debt is $721.2 million, or a low 9.7% of its market cap. The shares trade at 8.5 times ARC’s forecast 2012 cash flow of $2.98 a share.

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ENERPLUS CORP. $23.94 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 181.2 million; Market cap: $4.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 9.0%) produces an average of 77,221 barrels of oil equivalent per day (weighted 55% to natural gas and 45% to oil). Its 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 December 31, 2011, Enerplus’ cash flow per share fell 5.4%, to $0.87 from $0.92. That’s mainly due to lower gas prices, which offset gains from higher oil prices.

In 2011, the company sold 91,000 of its 201,000 acres of natural gas properties in the Marcellus Shale for $568 million U.S. It used the funds to continue rapidly expanding its exploration drilling.

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TELUS $57.67 (Toronto symbol T.A; Shares outstanding: 324.5 million; Market cap: $18.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.2%; www.telus.com) plans to merge its common shares and its non-voting class A into a single class of shares.

Telus created the non-voting shares in 1998, when U.S.-based Verizon Communications (symbol VZ on New York) held a major stake in the company. The move let Telus comply with regulations preventing foreign control of Canadian telecom firms. Verizon sold its non-voting shares in 2004. Non-Canadian investors now hold less than 20% of Telus’s stock.

Telus now has about 174.9 million common shares and 149.9 million non-voting shares outstanding. Under the proposal, each non-voting share will become one common share. Investors holding two-thirds of each share class, voting separately, must approve the change.

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CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $74.14 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 170.0 million; Market cap: $12.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.6%; www.cpr.ca), transports freight between Montreal and Vancouver, and connects with hubs in the U.S. midwest and northeast.

In the three months ended December 31, 2011, CP’s revenue rose 8.8%, to $1.41 billion from $1.29 billion a year earlier. Earnings rose 18.8%, to $221 million, or $1.31 a share, from $186 million, or $1.10. CP’s $4.7 billion of debt is a manageable 37.3% of its market cap.

CP’s operating ratio worsened to 78.5% from 77.0%, mostly due to 29% higher fuel costs. (Operating ratio is calculated by dividing regular operating costs by revenue. The lower the ratio, the better.) But CP plans to lower that to between 70% and 72% in the next three years with a number of upgrades, like new snow-clearing equipment, new trains and software that optimizes train loads and speeds.

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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 advice on successful investing, and not least on successful retirement planning. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Tip of the week: “When you’re planning for retirement, make sure you make realistic calculations rather than indulging in wishful thinking.”...

Yesterday, we discussed U.S. drug store chain Walgreen, a name familiar to many Canadian investors. Today we examine a U.S. drug distributor that has a strong and growing Canadian presence, but is not as well known. We first included this stock in the Aggressive Growth portfolio of Wall Street Stock Forecaster in June, 2002. McKesson Corp. (New York symbol MCK; www.mckesson.com) is the largest wholesale drug distributor in the U.S. and Canada. It also owns 49% of Mexico’s largest drug distributor....

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 a selection of 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. This week, we heard from an Inner Circle member asking for investment advice on America’s largest drug store chain. Pat discussed the company’s prospects following a big acquisition last year, and this year’s decision to put an end to a key commercial relationship....

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $80 (www.tdbank.com) is looking for new ways to cut its costs, as low interest rates have shrunk the revenue the bank earns from loans. However, its credit losses continue to fall as more borrowers repay their loans on time....

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $56 (www.rbc.com) has completed the sale of its struggling U.S. retail-banking business, which consists of 424 branches in six southeastern states. That will free up cash that the bank can invest in its more profitable banking operations in Canada and the Caribbean....

LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $35 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 281.4 million; Market cap: $9.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) is Canada’s largest food retailer. George Weston Ltd. (Toronto symbol WN) owns 64% of the company’s shares.

Loblaw continues to make progress with its multi-year plan to streamline its supply chain and avoid product shortages. These actions mainly included closing 11 distribution centres and opening eight new ones, and installing new computer systems. The company claims that about 99% of its products are now in stock at its 1,000 supermarkets across Canada.

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MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $12 (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 139.5 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mapleleaf.ca) is starting to see the benefits of its a major restructuring plan, which mainly involves closing older meat-processing plants and bakeries and shifting their operations to modern facilities. Excluding all unusual items, earnings per share would have risen 38.4%, to $1.01 in 2011 from $0.73 in 2010.

Sales for the year fell 1.5%, to $4.9 billion from $5.0 billion. If you disregard operations that the company sold and unfavourable foreign currency rates, sales would have risen by 4.7%.

The company plans to raise its selling prices, which will help it offset rising ingredient costs. The savings from the restructuring plan, which Maple Leaf expects to complete in 2014, will also help it absorb these higher costs.

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TORSTAR CORP. $9.63 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Shares outstanding: 79.5 million; Market cap: $765.6 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 5.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.torstar.com) owns 90% of a company that publishes free commuter newspapers under the “Metro” banner in major Canadian cities; Sweden’s Metro International SA owns the remaining 10%.

The company now plans to expand Metro to Saskatoon and Regina. It will also launch Internet-only versions for four more cities: Hamilton, Kitchener and Windsor, in Ontario, and Victoria, B.C. These free publications should help the company attract more younger readers, who tend to avoid traditional newspapers.

Torstar is a buy.

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THE WESTAIM CORP. $0.60 (Toronto symbol WED, Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 586.8 million; Market cap: $352.1 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.westaim.com) owns Jevco Insurance Co., which sells insurance to high-risk drivers, as well as owners of motorcycles, snowmobiles and recreational vehicles.

Westaim earned $32.9 million, or $0.05 a share, in 2011. That’s down 40.3% from $55.1 million, or $0.11 a share, in 2010. However, the 2010 earnings included a $25.1-million gain stemming from the company’s reorganization and purchase of Jevco in March 2010.

The company’s combined ratio, or claims paid out divided by premiums taken in (the lower, the better), improved to 95.5% from 97.6%. Westaim is a hold for aggressive investors only.

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $44 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 703.0 million; Market cap: $30.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) is expanding its Tamazunchale pipeline, which pumps natural gas from Mexico’s state-owned oil company to gas-fired power plants.

This extension will cost $500 million U.S., which is roughly equal to 30% of the $1.6 billion (Canadian), or $2.23 a share, that TransCanada earned in 2011. The company expects to complete the project in 2014.

The company has a 25-year supply deal with the state-owned power company, which cuts the risk of this project. Mexico continues to convert oil-fired power plants to gas, and TransCanada’s expertise should help it win more pipeline contracts.

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SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $34 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $54.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.suncor.com) produced an average of 361,000 barrels of oil per day at its oil-sands projects in February 2012. That’s up 1.7% from 355,000 barrels in January 2012.

Suncor aims to expand its oil-sands production by 10% a year. That will help it reach its goal of producing over 1 million barrels (including conventional oil and natural gas) per day by 2020.

Suncor is a buy.

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AGRIUM INC. $81 (Toronto symbol AGU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 158.0 million; Market cap: $12.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agrium.com) owns stores that sell fertilizer, seeds and other agricultural products to farmers. These retail stores account for two-thirds of its revenue, and half of its earnings.

The company also makes fertilizers from natural gas at 14 plants in North America and Argentina, as well as other fertilizers such as potash and phosphate.

Good weather and high grain prices continue to spur demand for fertilizers. Moreover, low gas prices continue to cut Agrium’s operating costs.

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POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN $43 (Toronto symbol POT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 858.7 million; Market cap: $36.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.0; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.potashcorp.com) is the world’s largest fertilizer producer. It has six potash mines in Saskatchewan and one in New Brunswick.

Thanks to a 30.4% rise in potash prices, the company’s earnings rose 73.6% in 2011 to $3.1 billion from $1.8 billion in 2010 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Earnings per share rose 80.0%, to $3.51 from $1.95, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue gained 33.3%, to $8.7 billion from $6.5 billion.

The company sold 9.05 million tonnes of potash in 2011, up 4.7% from 8.6 million tonnes in 2010. However, sales fell 33.5% in the fourth quarter of 2011 due to lower demand from North American farmers. As a result, Potash Corp. has temporarily shut down three of its mines. That should help stabilize prices ahead of the spring planting season.

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