investment

The Italian economy has recovered well from the pandemic setback, but growth slowed last year as high energy costs and interest rates weighed on consumers. Unemployment, especially among the youth, has improved, but a large, untaxed informal sector (see box next page) and high government debt remain challenges.


Still, the country is home to some exceptional companies, such as Ferrari, that flourish despite the difficult overall economic situation.


Here is one ETF that provides exposure to the top public companies in Italy.


ISHARES MSCI ITALY ETF $37.51 (New York symbol EWI; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $412.5 million) invests in publicly listed Italian companies.


Financial companies account for 32% of its assets, while Consumer Cyclicals (22.0%), Utilities (16%), Energy (8%), and Industrials (9%) are other key segments.


The ETF holds a portfolio of 24 stocks; the top 10 comprise 66% of its assets....

Many investors overlook mid-cap stocks, thinking that a combination of large- and small-cap stocks will provide their portfolios with all the diversification they need. However, as a group, U.S. mid-cap stocks have often performed better than large caps and are generally less risky than small caps....

Look for Canadian income trusts or REITs that focus on investment inputs as well as investment outputs. Here are 9 criteria.

You Can See Our Income-Seeking Portfolio For June 2024 Here.

This month we update our Portfolio for Income-Seeking Investors.


In light of the current market volatility, investors are paying more attention to dividend yields (dividends paid per share divided by the current stock price)....

Royal Bank recently completed its acquisition of HSBC’s Canadian operations. While big and complex acquisitions like this add risk, particularly if technical disruptions prompt HSBC clients to switch to a rival bank, we’re confident the deal will spur Royal’s profits higher over the next few years.


ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $140 is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $196.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) is Canada’s largest by market cap....

We’ve said for a long time that growth by acquisition is inherently riskier than internal growth, since it carries an above-average chance of unpleasant surprises. Under the rules of financial physics, a buyer of something rarely knows as much about it as the seller.

Of course, some companies do a better job than others of choosing acquisition targets....

Flowserve’s focus on stable, recurring, higher-profit-margin business should continue to boost performance over the coming years

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST, $16.91, is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 128.0 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 10.6%; www.alliedreit.com) owns 201 office buildings and nine properties under development, mainly in major Canadian cities....

Cenovus Energy remains committed to a 100% free cash flow distribution once it pays down its debt - meanwhile its shares continue to surge.

A: Veeva Systems Inc., $199.89, symbol VEEV on New York (Shares outstanding: 161.6 million; Market cap: $32.6 billion; www.veeva.com), is a leading provider of cloud solutions for the global life sciences industry. The company’s offerings span cloud software, data, and business consulting and are designed to meet the unique needs of its customers—from research and development through commercialization.

Veeva’s products are aimed at helping life sciences companies develop and bring products to market faster and more efficiently, market and sell more effectively, and maintain compliance with government regulations.

The San Francisco-based company has more than 1,432 customers, ranging from large pharmaceutical firms to biotech startups.

Veeva operates in a number of areas....