canadian

CANADIAN TIRE CORP. (class A non-voting) is a buy. The retailer (Toronto symbols CTC (voting) $267 and CTC.A (non-voting) $151; Conservative Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 59.0 million; Market cap: $8.9 billion; Dividend yield: 4.3%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.canadiantire.ca) raised your quarterly dividend by 25.0%....

These two insurers remain a great choice for steady dividend income, despite the recent volatility of stock markets and the resulting hit to their asset management income.


MANULIFE FINANCIAL CORP. $22 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MFC; Conservative-Growth Payer Portfolio; Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $41.8 billion; Dividend yield: 6.0%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.manulife.ca) is Canada’s largest life insurer....

Preferred shares offer similar security to bonds, but can also provide investors a better after-tax yield. In addition, they rank ahead of common shares in the payment of dividends and in claims on the company’s assets.


Preferreds, however, are a fixed-return investment, so in general, they drop in value when interest rates go up (as they are likely to continue doing over the next year or so); they rise in value when interest rates go down.


As well, the underlying credit quality of the company issuing the preferred shares can be a negative factor; for example, when its share price falls, the value of its preferred shares typically fall, too.


However, if you want to own preferred shares as part of the fixed-income segment of your portfolio, and you can accept some risk, then preferreds are okay to hold.


That’s especially true of preferreds from high-quality issuers, including the Big Five banks, many Canadian utility companies and other major issuers....

When considering a mutual fund vs ETF for your portfolio, it’s important to have a strong understanding of each.

Molson Coors now expects merger savings from its acquisition of MillerCoors to save $700 million between 2017 and 2019 and it has formed a joint venture with HEXO to develop a cannabis-infused beverage.

Investors interested in dividends should only buy the highest-yielding Canadian dividend stocks if they meet these criteria.

A: Canadian General Investments Ltd., $29.00, symbol CGI on Toronto (Units outstanding: 20.3 million; Market cap: $601.8 million; www.mmainvestments.com), is a closed-end fund that mainly invests in shares of Canadian companies that it sees as average or above-average in quality.

Established in 1930, it is one of the oldest closed-end investment companies in North America....

TECK RESOURCES LTD., $39.63, Toronto symbol TECK.B, remains a buy for investors seeking long-term gains from the Resources sector of their portfolio.

The company is a leading producer of metallurgical coal, a key ingredient in steelmaking. It also produces copper and zinc....

First, the good news: widening cannabis legalization will eventually lead to some great business successes. The bad news is that only a few of the multitude of cannabis stocks today will pay off for investors.


Consumer cannabis demand is high, but growing and distributing it across multiple markets is more difficult....

VALVOLINE INC. $28 is a buy. The company (New York symbol VVV; Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 177.0 million; Market cap: $5.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.8%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.valvoline.com) is a leading provider of automotive services and a marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants.


In September 2016, Ashland Global Holdings Inc....