investment

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO., $166.91, New York symbol PG, is a buy.

The company is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal-care goods. Major brands include Tide (laundry detergent), Pampers (diapers), Gillette (razors), Crest (toothpaste) and Vicks (cold remedies).

Procter will now raise your quarterly dividend by 5.0%....

You Can See Our Exchange-Traded Funds Portfolio For May 2025 Here.

ETFs in brief

Exchange-traded funds are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index....

The traditional bear market threshold is a 20% drop from a market peak. And although, in our view, looking at past market movements is no guide to what happens next, it’s interesting to note that stocks have always bounced back from market downturns.


The market disruption that started in mid-February of 2025, and continued in March and April, has seen declines for the U.S....

This month we highlight a diversified ETF launched by the Toronto-based alternative asset manager, Arrow Capital Management—and managed by WaveFront Global Asset Management.


The second fund is a short-dated U.S. dollar money market ETF launched by TD Asset Management.


WaveFront All-Weather Alternative Fund $20.39 (Toronto symbol WAAV) invests in a range of investment assets with the aim of delivering consistent returns across diverse market conditions.


The ETF launched in January 2025, charges an MER of 0.95%....

For decades Germany was considered to be the economic growth engine of Europe generating growth between 2% to 4% per year. But growth has slowed sharply since 2000, averaging about 1% per year. In the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness Report, Germany continued to slide and is now ranked 24th out of 67 countries.


The relative stagnation of the German economy is due to various factors:


• Bureaucratic obstacles—complex regulatory frameworks and lengthy approval processes are stifling entrepreneurial initiatives, making it difficult for businesses to adapt swiftly to changing market conditions.


• An aging population—this poses significant challenges for its workforce and productivity....

Germany was the only country in the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations to suffer an economic contraction in both 2023 and 2024. One reason was the country’s “debt brake.” In place since 2009, it sharply limits the government’s ability to borrow and run economy-stimulating deficits.


However, newly elect German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has now secured backing to remove the debt brake and pave the way for a massive increase in state borrowing.


This will spur a boom in defence and security spending as well as 500 million euros ($545 billion U.S.) in infrastructure investment....

LEON’S FURNITURE LTD. $23(www.leons.ca) is a buy. The retailer gets less than 15% of its products from the U.S., which limits its risk to tariffs. It should also benefit from the “Buy Canadian” trend. As well, Leon’s still aims to set up a new real estate investment trust (REIT) that will hold its real estate assets....

U.S. tariffs apply only to goods, not services. As a result, the share prices of these three service providers from our Aggressive Growth Portfolio have held up better than manufacturing companies.


For your new buying, we prefer Stantec and Colliers, particularly as the current economic turmoil could make it easier for them to keep buying smaller competitors at possibly lower prices....

ENBRIDGE INC. $59 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 2.2 billion; Market cap: $129.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 6.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) is part of a consortium that plans to build the new Traverse Pipeline.


This 260-kilometre line will connect two natural gas hubs along the Texas Gulf Coast....

Broadridge Financial Solutions just grew earnings 69.6% with 13.1% higher revenues as internal growth and strategic acquisitions continue to pay off.