enbridge

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $127.99 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 174.7 million; Market cap: $22.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.1%; www.cpr.ca) continues to benefit from its aggressive plan to improve its efficiency with new locomotives, upgraded tracks and software that optimizes train loads and speeds.

For example, CP has cut the time it takes to ship intermodal containers between Toronto and Calgary by 20 hours....

BLACKBERRY INC., $11.08, Toronto symbol BB, fell 26% on Friday after the company reported lower-than-expected earnings. In its 2014 first quarter, which ended June 1, 2013, BlackBerry shipped 6.8 million smartphones, down 12.8% from 7.8 million a year ago. The latest quarter’s shipments included 2.7 million of its new, higher-priced BlackBerry 10 models, which fell short of the consensus estimate of 3.3 million. BlackBerry also lost $84 million, or $0.16 a share (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). Still, that’s a big improvement over the $510 million, or $0.97 a share, it lost a year earlier....

ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX FUND $17.66 (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, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.17% of assets.

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, 7.8%; TD Bank, 6.7%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 6.0%; Suncor Energy, 4.6%; Bank of Montreal, 3.6%; CN Railway, 3.6%; Potash Corp., 3.3%; Enbridge, 3.1%; Trans- Canada Corp., 3.0%; BCE, 3.0%; CIBC, 2.9%; Canadian Natural Resources, 2.9%; Barrick Gold, 2.9%; Goldcorp, 2.6%; Manulife Financial, 2.3%; Cenovus Energy, 2.2%; and Telus, 1.9%.
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ENBRIDGE INC. $47.11 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 806.5 million; Market cap: $38.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above A v e r a g e ; D i v i d e n d y i e l d : 2 . 7 % ; www.enbridge.com) has formed a 50/50 partnership with France’s EDF Energies Nouvelles to buy the Blackspring Ridge wind farm in Alberta for $600 million.

This facility will produce 300 megawatts of power when it’s finished in mid-2014; Enbridge now generates 1,169 megawatts of wind power.

Blackspring Ridge has long-term, fixed-price deals in place for its power. That cuts the risk of this investment. Expanding its renewable energy holdings also helps Enbridge improve its relationships with regulators and environmentalists.
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VERESEN $13.32 (Toronto symbol VSN; Shares outstanding: 198.4 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Yield: 7.5%) owns pipelines, power plants and gas processing facilities across North America. A major holding is 50% of the Alliance gas line, which runs 3,000 kilometres between Chicago and Fort St. John, B.C. Enbridge owns the other 50%. Veresen also owns the Alberta Ethane Gathering System, and Veresen and Enbridge together hold 85.4% of the Aux Sable NGL plant.

In February 2012, Veresen paid Encana Corp. $920 million for the Hythe/Steeprock natural gas gathering and processing complex. Encana signed a long-term deal to buy most of this facility’s gas.

To diversify beyond pipelines and gas-processing plants, Veresen continues to expand its power generation business. It now owns hydroelectric facilities in New York State and B.C.; natural gasfired plants in Ontario, California and Colorado; and waste-heat plants in B.C. and Saskatchewan.
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Most U.S. markets have risen lately, while Canada’s resource-heavy Toronto Stock Exchange has lagged. But as always, both remain subject to unexpected downturns. One way to profit from rising markets is to add exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track major stock indexes to your portfolio. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You must pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs, but their low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds....

Growth by acquisition can be risky, as newly purchased companies may develop unforeseen problems, especially in an unsettled economy. However, Veresen aims to cut that risk by adding plants with long-term contracts already in place.

VERESEN (Toronto symbol VSN; www.vereseninc.com) owns pipelines, power plants and gas processing facilities across North America. A major holding is 50% of the Alliance gas line, which runs 3,000 kilometres between Chicago and Fort St. John, B.C. Enbridge (Toronto symbol ENB) owns the other 50%....

Growth by acquisition can be risky, as newly purchased companies may develop unforeseen problems, especially in an unsettled economy. But Pembina cut that risk with last year’s purchase of a rival in a business where it’s already a leader. Meanwhile, Veresen aims to add plants with longterm contracts already in place.

PEMBINA PIPELINE $32.69 (Toronto symbol PPL; Shares outstanding: 294.9 million; Market cap: $10.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Divd....

ENBRIDGE INC. $47.11 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 806.5 million; Market cap: $38.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above A v e r a g e ; D i v i d e n d y i e l d : 2 . 7 % ; www.enbridge.com) has formed a 50/50 partnership with France’s EDF Energies Nouvelles to buy the Blackspring Ridge wind farm in Alberta for $600 million.

This facility will produce 300 megawatts of power when it’s finished in mid-2014; Enbridge now generates 1,169 megawatts of wind power.

Blackspring Ridge has long-term, fixed-price deals in place for its power....

Most U.S. markets have risen lately, while Canada’s resource-heavy Toronto Stock Exchange has lagged. But as always, both remain subject to unexpected downturns. Even so, the long-term outlook is for higher stock prices.

One way to profit from rising markets is to add exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track major stock indexes to your portfolio.

ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks....