enbridge

VERESEN INC. $12.83 (Toronto symbol VSN; Shares outstanding: 145.6 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 7.8%) is the new name of Fort Chicago Energy Partners L.P. after it converted to a corporation on January 1, 2011. Veresen owns and operates energy pipelines and processing plants across North America. One of its major holdings is a 50% interest in the Alliance natural-gas pipeline, which runs 3,000 kilometres from Fort St. John, B.C., to Chicago. Enbridge Inc. owns the other 50%. Veresen and Enbridge also own 85.4% of the Aux Sable natural gas liquids plant. As well, Veresen owns 100% of the 1,324-kilometre Alberta Ethane Gathering System....

SCITI Trust, $13.53, symbol SIN.UN on Toronto, (Shares outstanding: 15.3 million; Market cap: $206.8 million; www.scotiamanagedcompanies.com) first issued units at $10, and began trading on Toronto in April 2003. It was scheduled to wind up on April 29, 2008. However, unitholders voted in March 2008 to continue the trust. SCITI Trust is now scheduled to wind up on August 13, 2013. Unitholders also voted to change the trust’s investment mandate. Previously, SCITI Trust’s portfolio consisted of the 100 largest income trusts by market capitalization included in the Scotia Capital Income Trust Index. The trust’s portfolio is now based on a new index, the Scotia Capital High Yielding Equity Index (the “Scotia HYE Index”). This index tracks the highest-yielding stocks and income trusts on the Toronto exchange. The trust now holds the top 50 highest-yielding issues in the Scotia HYE Index, on an equal-weight basis....

A number of wind power stocks have emerged over the past few years as concern over the environment has grown. However, like many other alternative-energy firms, wind power stocks face significant costs and risks. For example, varying wind speeds cause a wind turbine’s electricity output to fluctuate. In many areas, the wind is stronger in the daytime, when demand is lower, and dies down in the evening, when consumers use more appliances. As well, electrical power can’t be stored efficiently, so to make economic sense it must be used when it is produced. As a result, utilities must maintain back-up power capacity that is equal to their reliance on wind power....

ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $20.26 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. It yields 5.3%. The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 8.0%; Bank of Montreal, 6.4%; National Bank, 5.7%; TD Bank, 5.6%; Telus, 5.2%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.6%; Manitoba Telecom, 4.5%; IGM Financial, 4.2%; Royal Bank, 4.0%; Enbridge, 3.5%, TMX Group, 3.5%; and TransCanada Corp., 3.3%. The fund holds 60.1% of its assets in financial stocks. Utilities are next, at 23.0%. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects. However, if you invest in this ETF, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector....

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may have a place in your portfolio. That’s because, unlike many other financial innovations, they don’t load you up with heavy management fees, or tie you down with high redemption charges if you decide to get out of them. Instead, they give you a low-cost, flexible, convenient alternative to mutual funds. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You’ll have to pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs. However, ETFs’ low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most conventional mutual funds. As well, shares are only added or removed when the underlying index changes. As a result of this low turnover, you won’t incur the regular capital-gains bills generated by the yearly distributions most conventional mutual funds pay out to unitholders....

CAPITAL POWER INCOME L.P. $18.80 (Toronto symbol CPA.UN; Shares outstanding: 55.1 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; SI Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 9.4%) has interests in 20 power plants in Canada and the U.S. These facilities generate a total of 1,378 megawatts, and are mostly natural-gas fired. Capital Power sells all of its power under long-term contracts. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, Capital Power’s cash flow per unit fell 22.5%, to $0.55 from $0.71. That’s because low water volumes held back power production at its Curtis & Palmer plant in New York State. As well, a lack of plant materials and wood waste pushed down production at its Ontario biomass plants. Capital Power’s production should return to normal for the rest of this year....

DUNDEE CORP. $12 (Toronto symbol DC.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 71.2 million; Market cap: $854.4 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; No dividends paid; SI Rating: Average) is a holding company with subsidiaries in three main areas: wealth management, real estate and resources. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, Dundee earned $51.2 million, or $0.64 a share. That’s up 71.5% from $29.9 million, or $0.39 a share, a year earlier. In the latest quarter, Dundee realized a $45.7-million gain on the sale of securities. A year earlier, these gains totalled just $120,000. That was the main reason for the higher earnings. Dundee is a hold....

FORT CHICAGO ENERGY PARTNERS L.P. $11.72 (Toronto symbol FCE.UN; Units outstanding: 143.8 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; SI Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 8.5%) owns and operates energy pipelines and processing plants across North America. One of its major holdings is a 50% interest in the Alliance natural-gas pipeline, which runs 3,000 kilometres from Fort St. John, B.C., to Chicago. Enbridge Inc. owns the other 50%. Fort Chicago and Enbridge also own 85.4% of the Aux Sable natural gas liquids plant. As well, Fort Chicago owns 100% of the 1,324-kilometre Alberta Ethane Gathering System. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, Fort Chicago’s revenue rose 12.5%, to $168 million from $149.3 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 17.2%, to $0.34 from $0.29....

TRANSALTA CORP. $21 (Toronto symbol TA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 218.6 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; Price-to-sales: ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 5.5%; SI Rating: Average) is working on Project Pioneer, which will capture and store carbon emissions from its coal-fired power plants in Alberta. The company plans to sell the reclaimed carbon to oil producers, who would use it to extract more oil. Enbridge Inc. (Toronto symbol ENB) recently agreed to participate in Project Pioneer. Enbridge’s pipeline and carbon-sequestration expertise should help ensure the project’s success. TransAlta is a buy.

FORT CHICAGO ENERGY PARTNERS L.P. $10.11 (Toronto symbol FCE.UN; Units outstanding: 140.7 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; SI Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 9.9%) owns and operates energy pipelines and processing plants across North America. One of its major holdings is a 50% interest in the Alliance natural-gas pipeline, which runs 3,000 kilometres from Fort St. John, B.C., to Chicago. Enbridge Inc. owns the other 50%. Fort Chicago and Enbridge also own 85.4% of the Aux Sable natural gas liquids plant. As well, Fort Chicago owns 100% of the 1,324-kilometre Alberta Ethane Gathering System. In the three months ended March 31, 2010, Fort Chicago’s revenue rose 6.1%, to $160 million from $150.8 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit was unchanged at $0.23....