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INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $106 (New York symbol IBM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $148.4 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is the world’s largest supplier of computers and information services. It operates in over 170 countries. IBM has long been a leader in large, mainframe computers for corporations and governments. As well, in the past five years, IBM has expanded its services and software operations through the purchase of over 60 companies for $20 billion. The company is now the world’s second-largest software company after Microsoft Corp. IBM now gets over 50% of its revenue from services, which include designing and maintaining computer systems for its customers. Services also give IBM steady, long-term revenue streams, which helps cut the risk of these acquisitions....

YAMANA GOLD $15.33 (Toronto symbol YRI; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www.yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 619.9 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion) recently completed the acquisition of Meridian Gold and Northern Orion for $4.5 billion in cash and stock. Yamana now has nine operating mines in Latin America, along with six development stage properties. It also holds exploration properties and land positions in all major mineral areas in the region. Yamana’s cash flow jumped in the three months ended September 30, 2007, to $105 million or $0.30 a share, from $14.6 million or $0.05 a share. (All figures except share price in U.S. dollars.) Revenues rose to $199.7 million from $50.3 million. The increases came from the start-up of new mines, including the Chapada mine in Brazil....

EUROPEAN GOLDFIELDS $6.35 (Toronto symbol EGU; SI Rating: Speculative) (44 (20) 7408 9534; www.egoldfields.com; Shares outstanding: 178.6 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion) owns properties in Greece and Romania. The company is headquartered in the UK. European Goldfields holds a 95% interest in Hellas Gold, after its recent purchase of an additional 30% interest. Hellas owns three gold and base metal deposits in Northern Greece. The deposits are the Stratoni zinc/lead/silver property, the Olympias gold/zinc/lead/ silver project and the Skouries copper/gold property. European Goldfields also owns 80% of the Certej gold/silver project in Romania, where it has completed a positive feasibility study, and applied for a mining permit....

CENTERRA GOLD $13.85 (Toronto symbol CG; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-204-1953; www.centerragold.com; Shares outstanding: 216.3 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion) owns 100% of the large Kumtor gold mine in Central Asia and 95% of the Boroo gold mine in Mongolia. The two mines have proven reserves of over 7 million ounces. Centerra expects to report production from the two mines for 2007 of around 550,000 ounces. Cameco Corp. owns 40.5% of Centerra. Centerra’s main exploration prospect is the 62%-owned REN project in Nevada. Its partner there is Barrick Gold, which operates mines nearby. Its other prospect is the 100%-held Gatsuurt property in Mongolia. In the three months ended September 30, 2007, Centerra’s revenues rose 28.5%, to $98 million from $76.3 million. (All figures except share price in U.S. dollars.) Earnings were $0.02 a share, down from $0.05 a year earlier, mostly due to higher costs and an increased tax rate. Cash flow was $0.07 a share in the latest quarter, down from $0.10 a share....

IAMGOLD $9.19 (Toronto symbol IMG; SI Rating: Speculative) (1-888-464-9999; www.iamgold.com; Shares outstanding: 293.8 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion) has interests in eight operating gold mines: 100% of the Mupane gold mine in Botswana, 38% of the Sadiola gold mine and 40% of the Yatela gold mine, both located in Mali, 18.9% interests in both the Tarkwa and Damang gold mines in Ghana, 100% of the Doyon mine and the sleeping Giant mine, both in Quebec, and 100% of the Rosebel mine in Suriname, South America. IAMGold also a 1% royalty interest in the Diavik diamond mine in northern Canada and 100% of the Niobec niobium mine in Quebec. IAMGold also has development projects and exploration activities in Africa, as well as in North and South America....

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $49 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $63.7 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s largest bank, with assets of $600.3 billion. Royal has built up its operations in the United States in the past few years, mainly through acquisitions. The U.S. now accounts for about 15% of its total earnings. Despite its sizable American operations, Royal does not originate subprime mortgages. Securities backed by subprime mortgages and other risky loans account for less than 1% of its assets....

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $66 (Toronto symbol TD; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 717.8 million; Market cap: $47.4 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s second-largest bank, with assets of $422.1 billion. In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007, TD’s earnings rose 23.4%, to $5.75 a share (total $4.2 billion) from $4.66 a share ($3.35 billion) in 2006. These figures exclude several unusual items, including a $135 million after-tax gain on the Visa restructuring. Revenue rose 8.3%, to $14.3 billion from $13.2 billion. Despite its expanding operations in the United States, which now supply 8% of its earnings, TD’s exposure to U.S. subprime mortgages is minimal. TD’s bad loans remained unchanged in 2007 at 0.2% of total loans. It also cut its efficiency ratio to 59.6% from 62.4%....

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $47 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 984.0 million; Market cap: $46.2 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is the third-largest Canadian bank, with assets of $411.5 billion. Bank of Nova Scotia prefers to focus on developing markets, such as Asia and Latin America, for new growth. These areas give it a better opportunity to quickly improve its market share than more established countries like the U.S. The bank wrote down $191 million (pre-tax) worth of asset-backed securities in fiscal 2007. However, this was more than offset by a $202 million (pre-tax) gain from the Visa restructuring. That helped earnings grow to $4.01 a share (total $4.0 billion), up 13.0% from $3.55 a share ($3.6 billion) in 2006. Revenue rose 11.6%, to $12.5 billion from $11.2 billion....

BANK OF MONTREAL $57 (Toronto symbol BMO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 498.6 million; Market cap: $28.4 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is the fourth-largest Canadian bank, with $366.5 billion in assets. Bank of Montreal owns Harris Bank, a major bank in Chicago. Harris’s conservative lending policies have limited Bank of Montreal’s exposure to the problems in the U.S. mortgage market. However, Bank of Montreal still had to write down the value of asset-backed securities it holds by $211 million (after-tax) in fiscal 2007. Another problem for Bank of Montreal is its commodity trading operations, which lost $440 million (after-tax) on natural gas futures contracts. The bank is making progress cutting the risk of its trading operations, but further losses are possible....

CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE $69 (Toronto symbol CM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 335.0 million; Market cap: $23.1 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s fifth-largest bank, with assets of $342.2 billion. CIBC has the most exposure to the U.S. subprime mortgage market among the top five Canadian banks. It has already written down its holdings by about $1 billion. CIBC now faces a further $2 billion charge due to growing uncertainty over hedges it purchased from troubled U.S. bond insurer ACA Financial Guaranty Corp. to protect it from subprime losses. In 2005, CIBC paid $2.5 billion (after-tax) to settle Enron-related claims. If you exclude writedowns and a gain on the restructuring of the Visa credit card system, CIBC’s earnings in the year ended October 31, 2007 rose 27.3%, to $9.24 a share (total $3.1 billion) from $7.26 a share ($2.5 billion) in 2006. Revenue grew 6.6%, to $12.1 billion from $11.35 billion, due to strong growth at its retail banking division plus an acquisition....

HOME CAPITAL GROUP INC. $38 (Toronto symbol HCG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 34.5 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; SI Rating: Extra risk) is the parent company of Home Trust Company, a federally regulated trust company that specializes in residential first mortgages to small business owners, the self-employed and others who don’t meet the stricter criteria of larger, traditional lenders. Home Trust’s mortgage lending is primarily funded by retail deposits. Home Trust takes deposits in the form of short-term deposits, guaranteed investment certificates, registered retirement savings plans and registered retirement income funds. The trust earns money on the spread between the interest it receives from homeowners, and the interest it pays out to the buyers of these securities. The company operates just six branches in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Alberta and British Columbia, so it gets most of its business through independent deposit and mortgage brokers....

SUN LIFE FINANCIAL $54.45 (Toronto symbol SLF; SI Rating: Above-average) offers savings, retirement, pension and life and health insurance products and services to individuals and corporations. The company operates mainly in Canada, the U.S. and the UK, and also in Asia, China and India. It has assets under administration of $427 billion. In the three months ended September 30, 2007, Sun Life’s earnings rose 6.7%, to $577 million or $1.02 a share, from $541 million or $0.94 a share a year earlier. Revenue fell 16.9%, to $3.5 billion from $4.2 billion, due to new accounting rules for investments. Sun Life’s shares yield 2.4%. Sun Life is still a buy.

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $34.93 (Toronto symbol GWO; SI Rating: Above-average) is a leading Canadian insurance company, with $404 billion in assets under administration. The company also provides wealth management and other financial services. It also operates in the U.S. and Europe. Power Financial controls about 75% of Great-West. Great-West’s earnings in the three months ended September 30, 2007 excluding one-time items rose 17%, to $558 million or $0.63 a share from $477 million or $0.54. Revenues rose 1.2%, to $6.64 billion from $6.57 billion. The shares yield 3.2%. Great-West closed the $3.9 billion U.S. acquisition of U.S.-based investment management firm and mutual fund company Putnam Investments Trust in August, 2007. The purchase more than doubled Great-West’s assets under administration. Great-West is also making a series of small acquisitions in the U.S. employer-sponsored health insurance market....

MANULIFE FINANCIAL $39.51 (Toronto symbol MFC; SI Rating: Above-average) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment management services. It operates in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Manulife has assets under administration of $399 billion. In the three months ended September 30, 2007, Manulife’s earnings rose 9.9%, to $1.1 billion or $0.70 a share, from $967 million or $0.62 a share a year earlier. Revenue rose 11.3%, to $9.4 billion from $8.4 billion. Manulife has raised its dividend 9.1%, to $0.24 from $0.22. The shares now yield 2.2%. Manulife’s operations are diversified among life and health insurance, segregated mutual funds, and reinsurance. Its geographic diversification in the U.S. and Asia, including China, offers growth prospects....

AIC DIVERSIFIED CANADA FUND $44.27 (CWA Rating: Conservative) mainly holds shares of Canadian companies of average or above-average quality. It also holds stocks of some U.S. firms. The $1.4 billion fund’s 10 largest holdings are Power Financial, Canadian Oil Sands Trust, TD Bank, Shoppers Drug Mart, FedEx, Thomson Corporation, Brookfield Asset Management, Royal Bank of Canada, Manulife Financial and Royal Bank of Scotland. AIC Diversified Canada holds just 19 stocks. The fund holds 53.0% of its assets in Financial services stocks. The rest of the portfolio breaks down as follows: Consumer staples, 16.1%; Energy, 9.9%; Consumer discretionary, 7.4%; Health care, 7.0%; Industrials, 4.0%; and Conglomerates, 1.6%....

AIC AMERICAN ADVANTAGE FUND $6.20 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (AIC Group of Funds, 1375 Kerns Road, Burlington, Ont., L7R 4X8, 1-800-263-2144; Web site: www.aicfunds.com. Buy or sell through brokers) invests mostly in U.S. stocks, with over 99% of assets in the financial services area. The fund’s holdings in this segment break down as follows: Life & health insurance, 19.5%; Diversified banks, 13.0%; Multi-line insurance, 12.8%; Property & casualty insurance companies, 12.6%; Investment banking & brokerage, 10.7%; Wealth management, 7.0%; Diversified financials, 6.5%; Thrifts & mortgage finance, 6.2%; Insurance brokers, 5.8%; Consumer finance, 5.7%; and Conglomerates, 0.4%. The $85.0 million AIC American Advantage’s top 10 holdings are Toronto-Dominion Bank, Prudential Financial, JP Morgan Chase, American International Group, Manulife Financial, AFLAC, Hartford Financial Services, Northern Trust, Merrill Lynch and Willis Group Holdings. This fund holds just 21 stocks....

TELUS CORP. $48.42 (Toronto symbol T.A; SI Rating: Above average) provides local and long distance telephone service in B.C., Alberta and parts of Quebec, and wireless service across Canada. In the three months ended September 30, 2007, Telus’s earnings per share excluding unusual items rose 10.5%, to $0.95 from $0.86 a year earlier. Revenue rose 4.5%, to $2.31 billion from $2.21 billion. Strong gains at its wireless and high-speed Internet operations offset lower local and long-distance revenues. The company recently raised its dividend rate by 20%. The new annual rate of $1.80 yields 3.1%. Recent auctions of new radio frequencies (or wireless spectrum) to let new cell phone firms such as Videotron and Shaw Cable enter the market will increase competition. Ottawa will also force incumbents like Telus to lease towers and other equipment to these new competitors for five years while they build their own networks....

HONDA MOTOR CO. LTD. ADRs $33 (New York symbol HMC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $59.4 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) gets just over 50% of its revenue from North America, so it’s more vulnerable to a falling U.S. dollar than Toyota. In Honda’s latest six-month period, overall car sales rose 5.8%. Sales rose 5% in North America, 28% in Europe and 15% in Asia (excluding Japan, where sales fell 15%). Revenue grew 11.5%, to $49.5 billion from $44.4 billion a year earlier. Earnings per ADR rose 38.1%, to $1.74 from $1.26. (Each Honda American Depository Receipt represents one Honda common share.) Despite tougher conditions in the U.S., Honda’s new models should let it increase its current market share of 9.3%. Honda is also preparing to meet tougher U.S. fuel economy standards with new hybrid cars....

TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. ADRs $106 (New York symbol TM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADR’s outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $169.6 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) reported that its North American sales in the six months ended September 30, 2007 rose 2.3%, due to strong demand for the new Tundra pickup truck and Prius hybrid compact. Sales grew 18% in Japan, and 8% in Europe. Consequently, Toyota’s six-month revenue rose 9.3%, to $101.0 billion from $92.4 billion a year earlier. Earnings improved 18.8%, to $4.86 per ADR from $4.09 per ADR. (Each Toyota American Depository Share represents two of Toyota’s common shares.) North America accounts for about 40% of Toyota’s sales. Toyota’s sales in North America will probably slow in the second half of 2008. Florida and California account for 25% of its U.S. sales, so falling housing prices in these markets could force Toyota to rely on special incentives to keep inventories down. However, rising sales in developing countries will help offset slowing North American sales. For example, Toyota currently has 5% of China’s car market, but it aims to double its market share by 2010....

LIMITED BRANDS INC. $18 (New York symbol LTD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 353.1 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) operates two retail chains: Victoria’s Secret (lingerie) and Bath & Body Works (personal care products). In the past few months, the company has sold 75% of the Limited and Express casual clothing chains as part of its strategy to focus on its more profitable operations. The two sales gave Limited Brands a net pre-tax gain of $230 million. In its third fiscal quarter ended November 3, 2007, Limited Brands earned $0.03 a share (total $12 million). Due to the timing of the Limited and Express sales, the latest quarterly earnings included a pre-tax gain of just $0.04 a share ($24.5 million). The company earned $0.06 a share ($24 million) in the year-earlier quarter. Sales fell 9.5%, to $1.9 billion from $2.1 billion....

LIZ CLAIBORNE INC. $21 (New York symbol LIZ; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 99.5 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) designs a wide variety of clothing and accessories for men and women. It sells most of its products though department stores. Liz Claiborne recently sold four of the roughly 40 brands it owns. It also merged two clothing lines with existing brands. The company aims to sell 12 more of its slower growing brands in the next few months. These sales will let Liz Claiborne focus on brands with higher profit potential, particularly brands aimed at younger shoppers such as Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand. An aggressive cost-cutting plan should also save the company $265 million a year by the end of 2010....

JONES APPAREL GROUP INC. $16 (New York symbol JNY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 85.3 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) designs clothing, accessories and footwear under several brands, including Jones New York, Gloria Vanderbilt and Nine West. In September 2007, Jones sold its Barneys New York upscale clothing chain for $858.7 million. The company used the cash to buy back $496.9 million worth of its shares. Jones still has roughly $300 million remaining under its current authorization plan. If you exclude the gain from the Barneys sale and other unusual items, Jones’s earnings in the third quarter of 2007 fell 22.1%, to $51.7 million from $66.4 million a year earlier. Thanks to the share buyback, per-share earnings fell just 13.6%, to $0.51 from $0.59. Sales slipped to $1.03 billion from $1.08 billion, as warm weather in September hurt demand for winter clothing and boots....

AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $36 (New York symbol A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 370.0 million; Market cap: $13.3 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) makes electronic test and measurement equipment. Manufacturers use these products to improve the reliability of a wide variety of electronic products, such as cell phones and communication network components. This business accounts for 60% of Agilent’s revenue. The remaining 40% comes from measurement equipment for medical research labs and drug developers. Agilent’s products also help government agencies test for biological and chemical contaminants in air, water, soil and food. Agilent’s revenue rose from $6.1 billion in 2003 (fiscal years end October 31) to $7.2 billion in 2004, but slipped to $6.9 billion in 2005. In 2006, revenue fell to $5.0 billion after Agilent sold its struggling chipmaking business. On October 31, 2006, Agilent handed out its remaining shares in its chip-testing subsidiary Verigy Ltd. (Nasdaq symbol VRGY) to its own stockholders as a special dividend. Despite the spin-off, Agilent’s revenue in 2007 rose to $5.4 billion....

CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $73 (Toronto symbol CTC.A; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 81.6 million; Market cap: $6.0 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is one of Canada’s leading retailers. Its 468 Canadian Tire stores sell a unique mix of automotive, household and sporting goods. The company also operates smaller retail chains Mark’s Work Wearhouse (casual clothing) and PartSource (auto parts), as well as 265 gas stations. In the mid-1990s, Canadian Tire began a major overhaul of its stores to make them more friendly to shoppers, including wider aisles and better signage and lighting. This helped it compete with big U.S. retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot....

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $66 (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 153.2 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; SI Rating: Average) has also run into problems with its plan to buy a U.S. railway. In September 2007, it agreed to pay $1.48 billion U.S. for Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp. (DM&E), which operates a 4,000-km rail network in eight Midwestern states. DM&E mainly transports agricultural products, coal and ethanol to key ports such as Chicago and Minneapolis. CP also plans to spend $300 million U.S. to upgrade DM&E’s tracks and railcars. This is a big investment for CP, which earned $603.9 million (Canadian) or $3.87 a share in the first nine months of 2007. Like CN, this acquisition also faces local opposition. While this will prolong the regulatory review process, CP will likely win approval for the takeover....