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GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $15.44 (New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes 20 to 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for copper. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG created this index. Canadian firms make up 36.6% of the ETF’s holdings. They also include companies based in Australia (14.2%), Peru (5.1%), Mexico (5.0%) and China (4.5%). The fund’s MER is 0.65%. Its top holdings are Teck Resources at 7.7%; Oz Minerals, 7.0%; CST Mining Group, 6.5%; Glencore plc, 5.8%; First Quantum Minerals, 5.8%; Capstone Mining, 5.6%; Kaz Minerals plc, 5.5%; Lundin Mining, 5.0%; Southern Copper, 4.8%; Freeport-McMoran, 4.7%; Sandfire Resources, 4.5%; and Grupo Mexico, 4.5%....

PEYTO EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT CORP. $30.95 (Toronto symbol PEY; Shares outstanding: 159.2 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.peyto.com) produces and explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta. Its average daily production of 97,028 barrels of oil equivalent is 93% gas and 7% oil. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Peyto’s cash flow fell 15.9%, to $0.95 a share from $1.13 a year ago. It raised its production by 16.5%, but that was offset by lower oil and gas prices. Its realized oil price year over year fell 28.1%, and natural gas prices fell 20.9%. The company has cut it’s original 2016 capital spending of $600 million to $650 million down to between $500 million and $550 million. It spent $594 million in 2015....

BONAVISTA ENERGY $2.76 (Toronto symbol BNP; Shares outstanding: 214.0 million; Market cap: $626.1 million; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.4%; www.bonavistaenergy.com) explores for oil and gas in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. Its output is 68% gas and 32% oil. In the quarter ended December 31, 2015, Bonavista’s cash flow per share fell 30.2%, to $0.44 from $0.63 a year earlier. Most of that drop came from lower oil and gas prices, but also because of falling output. It declined 6.9%, to 79,862 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 85,810 barrels. Like many producers, the company will cut its exploration and development. In 2016, it plans to spend $145 million to $190 million. That’s a reduction from Bonavista’s initial announcement of $210 million, which is down from the $283.4 million it spent in 2015. It spent $639.6 million in 2014....

CENOVUS ENERGY $18.88 (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares outstanding: 833.2 million; Market cap: $15.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.1%; www.cenovus.com) owns oil sands operations and conventional wells in Western Canada. It ships its oil to its 50%- owned refineries in Illinois and Texas. Due to low oil prices, Cenovus has shrunk its workforce by 31% since the start of 2015. These cuts will save it $200 million this year. They should also help expand its cash flow when oil prices recover. In the first quarter of 2016, the company’s cash flow was just $26 million, or $0.03 a share, Meanwhile, the balance sheet is strong: Cenovus holds cash of $3.9 billion, or $4.68 a share. Long-term debt of $6.1 billion is a manageable 38% of its market cap....

ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX ETF $20.09 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index—the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.18% of assets, and it yields 2.9%. The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include. The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.6%; TD Bank, 7.7%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.9%; CN Railway, 4.6%; Suncor Energy, 4.4%; Bank of Montreal, 3.9%; BCE, 3.8%; Enbridge, 3.6%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.1%; CIBC, 3.0%; and Brookfield Asset Management, 2.8%....

ISHARES CANADIAN SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX ETF $21.88 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highestyield Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of the ETF’s assets. The fund’s MER is 0.55%, and it yields 4.3%. iShares Canadian Select Dividend’s MER is higher than, say, the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF because it’s more actively managed. Most market indexes are set up so that the stocks in the index are those with the highest market capitalization and also the most widely traded. However, the iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF aims to zero in on the 30 stocks that it sees as having the highest dividend yields—and yet also the best propects for dividend growth and sustainability. The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 8.4%; Agrium, 7.4%; Bank of Montreal, 6.0%; Royal Bank, 5.8%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.0%; BCE, 4.5%; IGM Financial, 4.1%; Laurentian Bank of Canada, 4.1%; National Bank, 4.0%; TransCanada Corp., 4.0%; TD Bank, 3.5%; and Emera, 3.1%....

SPDR S&P 500 ETF $205.01 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 major U.S. companies chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group. The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Facebook, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, AT&T, General Electric, Berkshire Hathaway and Wells Fargo. The fund’s MER is just 0.11%, and it yields 2.1%. SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a top ETF pick for 2016.

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $176.32 (New York symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This ETF’s top holdings are Goldman Sachs, IBM, Home Depot, Travelers Cos., Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth, United Technologies, McDonald’s, 3M and Boeing. The fund’s expenses are about 0.17% of its assets, and it yields 2.4%. SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy.

POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $105.05 (Nasdaq symbol QQQ; buy or sell through brokers; www. invescopowershares.com), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds stocks representing the Nasdaq 100 Index. That consists of the 100 largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange by market cap. The Nasdaq 100 Index contains shares of companies in a number of major industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial firms. The fund’s expenses are about 0.20% of its assets. It yields 1.2%. The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Alphabet Inc., Cisco Systems, Intel Corp., Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences, Comcast and Facebook....

ISHARES MSCI CANADA INDEX FUND $24.16 (New York symbol EWC; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the stocks in the Morgan Stanley Capital International Canada Index. The fund has a 0.48% MER and yields 2.4%. The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 7.9%; TD Bank, 7.1%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.4%; CN Railway, 4.2%; Suncor Energy, 4.0%; Bank of Montreal, 3.6%; Enbridge, 3.3%; Canadian Natural Resources, 2.8%; and CIBC, 2.8%. If you want to own a Canadian index fund, you should buy the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (see previous page). You’ll pay about a third of the management fees....

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $36.60 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 993.2 million; Market cap: $36.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 3.8%; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is one of Canada’s largest insurance firms. The company also offers mutual funds and wealth management services. Power Financial owns 67.2% of Great-West. In the past few years, the insurer has expanded its presence in Ireland. In July 2013, it paid $1.75 billion for Irish Life, that country’s largest pension manager and life insurance provider. Irish Life has now announced two purchases: it is buying Aviva Health, and increasing its stake in GloHealth from 49% to 100%....

RIOCAN REIT $27.17 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 322.4 million; Market cap: $8.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.riocan.com) formed a 50/50 joint venture in July 2012 with ALLIED PROPERTIES REIT $35.35 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 78.5 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.2%; www.alliedreit.com). Their goal was to purchase buildings in urban areas and “intensify” their revenue and cash flow, mainly by adding tenants. RioCan manages the retail portion of these developments, while Allied handles the office portion. The partners own the King-Portland Centre in downtown Toronto, among others. They are now building a new office/retail structure on the site. This week, online shopping firm Shopify Inc. agreed to become the anchor tenant for the building. RioCan and Allied expect to complete this project in 2018....

BCE INC. $59.10 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 868.1 million; Market cap: $50.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.6%; www.bce.ca) is Canada’s largest provider of telephone, Internet and wireless services. It also offers satellite and Internet TV across the country. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, the company’s earnings per share rose 1.2%, to $0.85 from $0.84 a year earlier. Revenue increased slightly, to $5.27 billion from $5.24 billion. Revenue from wireless services (30% of the total) rose 5.3% as the company’s network upgrades continued to attract new subscribers. BCE also benefited from the rising use of smartphones. It can charge higher service fees for those devices than for regular cellphones....

TELUS $39.66 (Toronto symbol T; Shares outstanding: 593.3 million; Market cap: $23.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.6%; www.telus.com) is Canada’s second-largest wireless carrier (behind Rogers Communications) with 8.4 million subscribers. In addition, its wireline division serves 3.1 million landline phone customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. This business also has 1.5 million Internet users and 980,000 TV customers. Telus will now extend its reach into Manitoba with BCE’s takeover of Manitoba Tel (see page 33). To satisfy Canadian telecom regulators, BCE plans to sell to Telus about one-third of Manitoba Telecom’s current postpaid wireless accounts, or a block of about 140,000 subscribers. BCE will also transfer one-third of Manitoba Tel’s retail outlets to Telus. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, the company earned $414 million, down 3.0% from $427 million a year earlier. However, earnings per share were unchanged at $0.70, due to fewer shares outstanding. Revenue gained 2.6%, to $3.11 billion from $3.03 billion....

TD BANK $55.77 (Toronto symbol TD; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $103.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.td.com) is the first Canadian bank to use Visa’s new tokenization technology in its mobile banking app. This system uses encrypted “tokens” instead of credit card numbers and other account information. That helps protect sensitive client information from online intruders. It also speeds up mobile payments and other transactions. Better security should encourage more of TD’s customers to do their banking online. That would cut its costs as electronic transactions are cheaper to process than those in physical branches....

ENBRIDGE INC. $50.95 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 924.3 million; Market cap: $47.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Divd. yield: 4.2%; www.enbridge.com) has received Canadian regulatory approval to replace its Line 3 pipeline, which began operating in the 1960s. It pumps crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wisconsin. U.S. regulators have already approved the plan. The project will also enlarge the line’s capacity, from 390,000 barrels a day to 760,000 barrels. Enbridge expects to complete these upgrades by 2019. Regulators have imposed 89 conditions on the project—mainly additional measures to improve safety and environmental protections. But these conditions are unlikely to increase the project’s $7.5 billion cost....

PENGROWTH ENERGY $1.82 (Toronto symbol PGF; Shares outstanding: 543.0 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; No dividends paid; www.pengrowth.com) started up its Lindbergh oil sands project in Alberta in April 2015. The project includes an electrical power plant that provides the operation with steam used to melt the tar-like bitumen. That makes it easier to pump to the surface. The provincial power grid then buys the company’s excess power. Pengrowth is now selling this plant to a local First Nations group for $35 million. As part of the deal, Pengrowth will lease back the facility for 20 years and continue to operate it....

IMPERIAL OIL $40.37 (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $34.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.5%; www.imperialoil.ca) is raising its quarterly dividend by 7.1% with the July 2016 payment, to $0.15 from $0.14. The company has paid dividends every year for over a century and has increased its annual dividend payment for 21 consecutive years. Imperial Oil is a buy....

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $181.49 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 153.0 million; Market cap: $27.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.1%; www.cpr.ca) has abandoned its plan to merge with U.S.-based railway Norfolk Southern Corp. (New York symbol NSC). Norfolk rejected CP’s latest offer of about $30 billion U.S. in cash and shares. In addition, U.S. transportation regulators probably would have blocked any deal no matter how CP structured the transaction. The company will now use some of the cash it had set aside for the takeover to raise its quarterly dividend by 42.9%, starting with the July 2016 payment. The new annual rate of $2.00 a share yields 1.1%....

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $80 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $216.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal care goods. It began operating in the U.S. in 1837, and now sells its products in over 180 countries. Overseas markets account for 60% of its total sales. The company has five main business lines: fabric and home care products such as Tide laundry detergent (29% of fiscal 2015 sales, 24% of earnings); baby and family care goods, including Pampers diapers (27%, 26%); beauty items such as Olay cosmetics (24%, 23%); grooming products, including Gillette razors (10%, 16%); and health care items such as Crest toothpaste (10%, 11%). Wal-Mart accounts for 14% of the company’s sales. In response to rising competition from generic products, Procter is narrowing its focus from 166 different brands to 65. Of those remaining brands, 21 have annual sales of over $1 billion. Another 11 have annual sales of between $500 million and $1 billion....

GANNETT CO., INC. $18 (New York symbol GCI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 116.5 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.gannett.com) publishes daily newspapers in 107 U.S. markets, including its flagship newspaper, USAToday. It also has 19 papers in the U.K., and over 200 magazines and other publications. The company has offered to buy Tribune Publishing Co. (New York symbol TPUB). This firm owns 11 daily papers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, as well as 160 weekly papers and 120 websites. Including Tribune’s debt, the offer is worth $815 million. Eliminating overlapping operations would let Gannett cut $50 million from its annual costs; it earned $209.1 million, or $1.79 a share, in 2015....

KRAFT HEINZ CO. $79 (Nasdaq symbol KHC; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $94.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.2; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.kraftheinzcompany.com) makes condiments and sauces (such as Heinz Ketchup) as well as other packaged foods. These include Velveeta and Philadelphia Cream Cheese, processed meats (such as Oscar Meyer hot dogs) and beverages (such as Maxwell House coffee). Kraft Heinz took its current form on July 2, 2015, through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz. The combined firm is the fifth-largest food and beverage producer globally. The new company’s sales fell 5.8%, to $27.5 billion in 2015 from $29.1 billion in 2014. Adjusting for currency exchange rates and businesses it sold, sales for 2015 fell just 1.6%....

MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC. $44 (Nasdaq symbol MDLZ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $70.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mondelezinternational.com) makes cookies and biscuits (Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, Ritz), chocolate bars (Cadbury, Toblerone), gum and candy (Trident, Chiclets) and Halls cough drops. In the first quarter of 2016, Mondelez’s revenue fell 16.8%, to $6.5 billion from $7.8 billion a year earlier. Factoring out currency rates, sales rose 2.1%. Due to savings from plant closures and better efficiency, earnings per share jumped 23.1%, to $0.48 from $0.39. As of March 31, 2016, Mondelez held cash of $1.3 billion. Its long-term debt of $13.8 billion is a moderate 20% of its market cap....

GENERAL MILLS INC. $61 (New York symbol GIS, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 594.4 million; Market cap: $36.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.generalmills.com) is one of the world’s largest food makers. Its top brands include Cheerios, Wheaties and Trix (cereals), Pillsbury and Betty Crocker (baking products), Haagen-Dazs (ice cream), Old El Paso (tacos), Progresso (soups and salads) and Yoplait (yogurt). The company recently sold its North American Green Giant frozen vegetable business for $788 million. It will continue to use the Green Giant brand outside of North America. Partly due to that deal, General Mills’ overall sales in its fiscal 2016 third quarter, which ended February 28, 2016, fell 8.0%, to $4.00 billion from $4.35 billion a year earlier. Excluding exchange rates, sales declined just 4.0%....

CONAGRA FOODS INC. $45 (New York symbol CAG; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 436.4 million; Market cap: $19.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.conagra foods.com) makes packaged foods, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter, Orville Redenbacher popcorn and Reddi-wip whipped cream. The company recently sold its private-label foods business to TreeHouse Foods (New York symbol THS) for $2.6 billion. Excluding these operations, ConAgra sales for its fiscal 2016 third quarter, which ended February 28, 2016, rose 0.6%, to $2.92 billion from $2.91 billion a year earlier. Earnings fell 11.6%, to $187.6 million from $212.3 million. Due to more shares outstanding, earnings per share fell 16.3%, to $0.41 from $0.49....