BCE Inc.

We still think investors will profit most—and with the least risk—by buying shares of well-established, dividend-paying stocks with strong business prospects.



These are companies that have leading positions in healthy industries. They also have strong management that will make the right moves to remain competitive in a changing market.



Stocks like these give investors an additional measure of safety despite today’s volatility....

BCE INC. $62 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 868.6 million; Market cap: $53.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 4.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) sells landline telephone services in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces....

BCE INC. $62 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 868.6 million; Market cap: $53.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 4.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) sells landline telephone services in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces....

BCE INC. $60.87 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 868.6 million; Market cap: $52.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.5%; www.bce.ca) recently agreed to acquire MANITOBA TELECOM $37.67 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 74.4 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 3.5%; www.mts.ca)....

BCE INC. $60.87 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 868.6 million; Market cap: $52.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.5%; www.bce.ca) recently agreed to acquire MANITOBA TELECOM $37.67 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 74.4 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 3.5%; www.mts.ca)....

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the Canada Day holiday, our next Hotline will go out on Thursday, June 30, 2016.

BCE INC., $59.89, Toronto symbol BCE, is Canada’s largest provider of landline telephone service, with 6.6 million customers in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces....

Dear Reader: Most successful investors describe themselves as buy-and-hold investors. But for many, their strategy is more like buy-and-hold-till-I-get-bored, or until I see or hear about something better on TV or the Internet.

Instead, rather than ―buy and hold‖, we prefer a “buy and watch closely” strategy....

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) give you a low-cost, flexible alternative to mutual funds. Here are five ETFs we recommend and one to sell.

SUNCOR ENERGY INC., $33.84, Toronto symbol SU, has had to reduce production at its main oil sands operations about 25 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, due to severe wildfires. In the quarter ended March 31, 2016, these operations accounted for 95% of Suncor’s bitumen production. The fires have also slowed production at the Syncrude oil sands facility, about 35 kilometers north of Fort McMurray. Suncor recently purchased an additional 5.0% interest in the operation. It now owns 53.74% of project. Its latest share purchase was for $937 million. That’s equal to 1.4 times the company’s first quarter cash flow of $682 million, or $0.45 a share....

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES $37.43 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 78.3 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 3.5%; www.mts.ca) has attracted a $3.1 billion takeover offer from BCE Inc. (see page 38). Under the deal, Manitoba Tel shareholders can choose either $40 in cash or 0.6756 shares of BCE for every MBT share they hold. However, BCE plans to limit its overall cash spending, so most Manitoba Tel investors will likely receive 55% of their payout in stock and the remainder in cash....