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MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. $57 has won U.S. regulatory approval for its joint venture with rival brewer SABMiller plc. Called MillerCoors, this new company will own Molson Coors’ and Miller’s operations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Molson Coors will own 42% of the new company....

BCE INC. $35 has delayed declaring its second-quarter dividend of $0.365 a share. The company is currently appealing a ruling by the Quebec Court of Appeal in favour of BCE’s bondholders that could threaten the company’s $42.75-a-share privatization plan. The case will go to the Supreme Court of Canada on June 17, 2008....

TORSTAR CORP. $14 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 78.8 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; SI Rating: Above average) has paid an undisclosed sum for Central Ontario Web Ltd., a commercial printing company in Barrie, Ontario....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $21 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 212.0 million; Market cap: $4.5 billion; SI Rating: Average) has formed a second joint venture with U.S.-based real estate developer Kimco Realty Corp....

ARBOR MEMORIAL SERVICES INC. $27 (Toronto symbol ABO.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 10.7 million; Market cap: $288.9 million; SI Rating: Average) owns 41 cemeteries, 27 crematoria, four reception centres located on cemetery premises and 90 funeral homes in eight provinces....

CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $56 (Toronto symbol CTC.A; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 81.5 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; SI Rating: Above average) operates 473 stores that specialize in automotive, household and sporting goods. It also operates gas stations, casual clothing stores (Mark’s Work Wearhouse) and auto parts stores (PartSource). Canadian Tire has had great success in the past few years with its re-designed stores, which improve customer satisfaction and encourage repeat visits. It now plans to test two new formats this year: a store for smaller cities and rural markets that is about one-third the size of a typical Canadian Tire outlet; and a “smart” store featuring in-store boutiques and self-service checkouts. Meanwhile, higher fuel costs and harsh winter weather hurt customer traffic in the company’s core markets of Ontario and Quebec. In the three months ended March 29, 2008, earnings before unusual items fell 4.2%, to $0.68 a share from $0.71 a year earlier. Revenue rose 5.9%, to $1.8 billion from $1.7 billion, mostly due to strong gains at its gas station and finance operations. Same-store sales fell 4.0%....

TRANSALTA CORP. $36 (Toronto symbol TA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector;Shares outstanding: 202.2 million; Market cap: $7.3 billion; SI Rating: Average) operates 50 unregulated power plants in Canada, the United States and Australia. Coal-fired plants account for about 60% of TransAlta’s production. However, the company owns two coal mines in Alberta, which helps balance its exposure to rising coal prices. Natural gas accounts for 30% of its output, and long-term supply contracts cut its price risk. The remaining 10% of TransAlta’s power comes from hydroelectric and renewable sources. Due to increasing concern over the environmental impact of burning coal and gas, TransAlta continues to expand its wind farm operations. It now plans to spend $123 million to expand capacity at its Summerview wind farm in southern Alberta by 94%. TransAlta has also earmarked $115 million for a new Alberta wind farm called Blue Trail....

FORTIS INC. $27 (Toronto symbol FTS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 156.6 million; Market cap: $4.2 billion; SI Rating: Above average) distributes electricity to over 2 million customers in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. The company also owns power utilities in the United States and the Caribbean, plus hotels and commercial real estate, mainly in Atlantic Canada. Fortis prefers to operate regulated utilities, which account for 90% of its assets. That limits its growth, but gives it steady income. The company owns several generating stations, but buys much of its power from other producers under long-term agreements at regulated rates. These contracts help shield Fortis from rising fuel costs at these suppliers....

EMERA INC. $23 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 111.6 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; SI Rating: Average) generates and distributes electricity to over 600,000 customers in Nova Scotia and Bangor, Maine. Emera uses coal to generate nearly 70% of its electricity. Oil and natural gas supply 15% of its output, while wind and power purchased from other suppliers provides the remaining 15%. Power regulators in Nova Scotia recently approved a new fuel adjustment formula that will make it easier for Emera to cover its rising fuel costs....

ENCANA CORP. $93 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 750.0 million; Market cap: $69.8 billion; SI Rating: Average) is a leading North American producer of natural gas and oil. The company took its current form in April 2002 through the merger of PanCanadian Energy Corp. and Alberta Energy Corp. Soon after, it sold most of its conventional properties to focus on what it calls “key resource plays”, including early-stage natural gas fields and oil sands. We thought this was a great idea. These assets cost more to develop, at least initially, but can last decades longer than conventional properties. Thanks to this strategy, plus higher oil and gas prices, EnCana’s earnings jumped from $1.44 a share (total $1.4 billion) in 2003 to $5.36 a share ($4.1 billion) in 2007 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Cash flow per share rose from $3.90 in 2003 to $11.06 in 2007. Revenue grew from $10.2 billion in 2003 to $21.5 billion in 2007....

CIBC CANADIAN EQUITY FUND $27.83 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (CIBC Securities, 5140 Yonge Street, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6X7. 1-800-631-7008; Website: www.cibc.com. No load — deal directly with the company.) uses a “bottom-up” approach (using fundamentals such as earnings, cash flow and low debt) to identify companies that trade at reasonable valuations and also have growth potential. The $560.8 million fund’s top holdings are EnCana, Manulife Financial, Research in Motion, Bank of Nova Scotia, TD Bank, Teck Cominco, Suncor Energy, Canadian Natural Resources and Petro-Canada. The fund’s MER is 2.22%. CIBC Canadian Equity holds 40.3% of its portfolio in Resource sector stocks and 31.5% in Financial services stocks....

BMO EQUITY FUND $33.80 (BMO Mutual Funds, 77 King Street West, Suite 4200, Royal Trust Tower, Toronto, Ont., M5K 1J5, 1-800-665-7700; Web site: www.bmo.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) (CWA Rating: Conservative) generally invests mostly in ‘blue-chip” Canadian companies. These stocks are selected based on the manager’s outlook for the industry they operate in, the earnings record of each company, the strength of management and the potential for growth. BMO Equity Fund’s 10 largest holdings are Potash Corp., Manulife Financial, EnCana Corporation, Suncor Energy, Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, Canadian Natural Resources, Bank of Nova Scotia, Sun Life Financial and Research in Motion. The $2.1 billion fund currently holds 43.6% of its portfolio in the Resources sector. Its next-largest holding is Financial services at 24.4%....

RBC CANADIAN EQUITY FUND $29.08 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (RBC Funds, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W 1P9. 1-800-463-3863; Web site: www.royalbank.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) invests mostly in larger-capitalization stocks, but also looks for opportunities in small and mid-cap stocks. The fund’s 10 largest holdings are EnCana, Potash Corp., Research in Motion, Manulife, Royal Bank, Suncor Energy, TD Bank, Canadian Natural Resources, Bank of Nova Scotia and Goldcorp. The $5.1 billion fund holds 45.3% of its holdings in Resources stocks. It also holds 27.7% in Finance. Over the last ten years, RBC Canadian Equity posted an 8.7% annual rate of return. That’s just over the S&P/TSX’s gain of 8.1%. The fund made 5.9% over the last year, less than the gain of 6.6% for the S&P/TSX. The fund’s MER is 1.99%....

TRANSCANADA CORPORATION $39.62 (Toronto symbol TRP; SI Rating: Above average) operates a 59,000-km network of natural gas pipelines in Canada and the United States. This business supplies 70% of its profit. The remaining 30% comes from its electrical power operations. In the three months ended March 31, 2008, the company’s revenues fell 4.5%, to $2.1 billion from $2.2 billion a year earlier, due to the temporary shutdown of a power plant in Quebec. However, earnings excluding one-time items rose 30.4%, to $326 million from $250 million. Per-share earnings rose 22.4%, to $0.60 from $0.49 on more shares outstanding. Most of the higher earnings came from the acquisition of pipelines and natural gas storage facilities in February, 2007. The company trades for 17.8 times the $2.23 a share it’s likely to make this year. The shares currently yield 3.6%....

TD CANADIAN EQUITY FUND $32.66 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W 1P9. 1-800-386-3757; Web site: www.tdcanadatrust.ca. No load — deal directly with the bank) uses a “bottom-up” approach (using fundamentals such as earnings, cash flow and low debt) to identify undervalued companies with strong growth potential. TD Canadian Equity Fund’s 10 largest holdings are EnCana, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Research in Motion, TD Bank, Potash Corp., Bank of Nova Scotia, Freeport McMoran, Canadian Pacific Railway and Sun Life Financial. The $3.3 billion fund currently holds about 54.8% of its portfolio in Resources shares. It also has a bias towards Financial services stocks at 18.1%....

RBC CANADIAN EQUITY FUND $29.08 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (RBC Mutual Funds, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W 1P9. 1-800-463-3863; Web site: www.royalbank.com. No load — deal directly with the bank) mainly invests in larger-capitalization stocks, but also looks for opportunities in small- and mid-cap stocks. The fund’s 10 largest holdings are EnCana, Potash Corp., Research in Motion, Manulife, Royal Bank, Suncor Energy, TD Bank, Canadian Natural Resources, Bank of Nova Scotia and Goldcorp. The $5.1-billion fund invests 45.3% of its holdings in resource stocks. It also holds 27.7% in finance. Over the last ten years, RBC Canadian Equity posted an 8.7% annual rate of return. That’s just over the S&P/TSX’s gain of 8.1%. The fund gained 5.9% over the last year, less than the S&P/TSX’s 6.6%. The fund’s MER is 1.99%. RBC Canadian Equity Fund is a buy....

VERIGY LTD. $26 (Nasdaq symbol VRGY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 60.0 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; WSSF Rating: Extra risk) designs and makes test systems used in computer-chip production. Verigy was a subsidiary of Agilent Technologies until October 2006. Agilent investors received 0.122435 of a Verigy share for each Agilent share held. The stock is down from its peak of $30.25 in July 2007, as rising inventories of flash memory and other chips have hurt demand for Verigy’s products. However, a recent acquisition gave Verigy access to technology that helps its customers speed up chip production and reduce manufacturing errors. In its second fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2008, earnings fell 36.1%, to $0.23 share from $0.36 a year earlier. Revenue fell 11.5%, to $162 million from $183 million. Weak demand for memory and other chips prompted manufacturers to cut spending on testing systems....

AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $37 (New York symbol A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 360.0 million; Market cap: $13.3 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) was a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Co. (see page 51) until June 2000. Hewlett stockholders received 0.3814 of an Agilent share for each Hewlett share held. Agilent’s testing systems help manufacturers improve the quality of electronic products such as cellphones. The stock rose rapidly to $162 a share in March 2000, but fell to $10.50 in 2002. It has stayed between $20 and $40 for the past three years. In its second fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2008, earnings excluding unusual items rose 6.3%, to $187 million from $176 million a year earlier. However, per-share earnings grew 18.6%, to $0.51 from $0.43, due to Agilent’s aggressive share buybacks. Revenue rose 15.4%, to $1.5 billion from $1.3 billion....

TERADATA CORP. $26 (New York symbol TDC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 179.7 million; Market cap: $4.7 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) was a wholly owned subsidiary of NCR Corp. until October 1, 2007. NCR stockholders received one Teradata share for each NCR share held. Teradata helps businesses capture, store and analyze a wide variety of data, such as customer buying habits. That helps its clients make better decisions, and expand profits. The stock got as high as $30 just after it began trading. It then fell to $20 in April 2008 due to fears that the slowing economy would prompt businesses to delay or cut capital spending. In the first quarter of 2008, Teradata’s earnings grew 16.7%, to $0.28 a share from $0.24 a year earlier. The latest figure excludes costs related to the spinoff from NCR. Revenue rose 2.2%, to $375 million from $367 million, largely due to favorable foreign exchange rates. Overseas customers account for about 45% of Teradata’s total revenue....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS INC. $23 (New York symbol BR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding; 140.1 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Extra risk) was a subsidiary of Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) until April 2, 2007. ADP investors received one Broadridge share for each ADP share held. Broadridge offers services to the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications; securities processing; and transaction clearing. Broadridge mails and processes 70% of all proxy votes. The stock fell to $15.25 in April 2008 due to concerns that its clearing services subsidiary, Ridge Clearing & Outsourcing, was taking on too much risk given today’s difficult financial environment. However, Ridge Clearing accepts only high quality, readily marketable securities as collateral....

NORDSTROM INC. $34 (New York symbol JWN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 216.9 million; Market cap: $7.4 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) operates 105 fullservice department stores, as well as 54 smaller stores that sell shoes and clearance merchandise. Nordstrom prefers to focus on affluent shoppers. These customers are less likely to cut spending in the face of rising fuel costs. However, about a third of Nordstrom’s stores are in California, and falling home prices have hurt its overall sales. In Nordstrom’s first fiscal quarter ended May 3, 2008, sales fell 2.6%, to $1.9 billion from $1.95 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales dropped 6.5%. Earnings fell 24.2%, to $119 million from $157 million, due to costly markdown sales. However, pershare earnings declined just 10.0%, to $0.54 from $0.60, on fewer shares outstanding....

J.C. PENNEY CO. INC. $41 (New York symbol JCP, Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 220.0 million; Market cap: $9.0 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) operates 1,074 department stores throughout the United States. In response to the recent slowdown in consumer spending, Penney has scaled back its expansion plans. It also aims to cut its inventory levels. That should help it stay profitable, and let it keep paying its $0.80 dividend (2.0% yield). In the three months ended May 3, 2008, earnings fell 48.1%, to $0.54 a share from $1.04 a year earlier. Slow sales forced Penney to cut selling prices to clear unsold seasonal merchandise. Sales fell 5.8%, to $4.1 billion from $4.35 billion. Same-store sales declined 7.4%....

MACY’S INC. $23 (New York symbol M, Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 420.5 million; Market cap: $9.7 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) operates 850 department stores under the Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s banners. Macy’s now aims to cut its annual expenses by $100 million with a new restructuring plan, including consolidating seven of its regional offices into four centers. Due to these restructuring costs, Macy’s lost $0.14 a share (total $59 million) in the three months ended May 3, 2008. It earned $0.11 a share ($52 million) a year earlier. If you exclude all unusual items, earnings per share fell 87.5%, to $0.02 from $0.16. Sales in the quarter fell 3.4%, to $5.7 billion from $5.9 billion. Same-store sales declined 2.6%....

WAL-MART STORES INC. $57 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 4.0 billion; Market cap: $228.0 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is the world’s largest retailer, with over 7,200 stores. About 55% of its stores are in the United States. The company has had trouble winning approval to expand in certain urban areas. Consequently, it will probably open just 140 new stores in the U.S. this year compared with 191 in the previous fiscal year. Instead, Wal-Mart will focus on expanding its international operations, particularly in fast-growing markets such as China, India and Brazil. Wal-Mart’s low prices continue to attract customers away from other retailers....

HEWLETT-PACKARD CO. $47 (New York symbol HPQ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 2.5 billion; Market cap: $117.5 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is one of the world’s leading makers of computers and electronic devices. Products include printers and digital cameras (27% of 2007 revenue, 41% of profits); personal computers (34%, 18%); business computers (18%, 19%); computer services (16%, 17%); financing, software and other (4%, 4%). Hewlett’s profits grew from $1.16 a share (total $3.6 billion) in 2003 to $2.68 a share ($7.3 billion) in 2007, largely due to a successful restructuring plan following its 2002 acquisition of Compaq Computer. Revenue rose from $73.1 billion in 2003 to $104.3 billion in 2007. Right now, most of Hewlett’s growth comes from sales of cyclical, low-margin computers and printers. It now aims to expand its higher-margin businesses. This includes computer consulting, which helps businesses manage their computing hardware and software needs. These services give Hewlett predictable revenue streams, and generate profit margins two to three times higher than hardware sales....