Newmont Corp.

Dynamic Precious Metals Fund is a mutual fund that mainly invests in mining stocks and other resource companies. The $811.6-million fund focuses on small- to mid-cap stocks. Its MER is 2.75%. The fund holds 95.2% of its portfolio in gold and precious-metals stocks, and 2.9% in metals and minerals stocks. Its top-ten holdings are Osisko Mining, San Gold, Red Back Mining, Aurizon Mines, Agnico-Eagle Mines, Alamos Gold, Kinross Gold, Allied Nevada Gold, Eldorado Gold and Andean Resources. Dynamic Precious Metals Fund holds 85.4% of its portfolio in Canadian stocks, 10.6% in Australia and 4.2% in the U.S....

NEWMONT MINING $59.99 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 483.5 million; Market cap: $29.0 billion; SI Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.7%) will benefit from Australia’s ruling Labour Party’s replacement of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd with his deputy, Julia Gillard. The Australian government recently proposed a new 40% tax on onshore resource developments. The tax is unpopular, and Gillard has said that she would be willing to negotiate a new deal with mining companies. Australia will probably hold a general election in October 2010. Australia and New Zealand accounted for 16% of Newmont’s 2009 revenue. Its new Boddington mine in western Australia will soon reach full production, and add to that total....

PLEASE NOTE: Our next Hotline will go out on Friday, July 9, 2010. ADOBE SYSTEMS INC., $29.85, Nasdaq symbol ADBE, reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue this week. Despite the improved results, the stock fell 14%. That’s partly because the company is spending more to market new products, such as Creative Suite 5, the latest version of its graphic-design software....

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD INC., $19.22, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, will now direct its takeover offer to shareholders of Casey’s General Stores (symbol CASY on Nasdaq). In April, Couche-Tard directed its offer at Casey’s management and board of directors, hoping to win their approval. However, Casey’s rejected Couche-Tard’s all-cash, $36-a-share bid as inadequate. Casey’s is now trading at $35.66, which is just 0.9% below Couche-Tard’s offer. That suggests investors may not be expecting a significantly higher bid. Couche-Tard also plans to nominate nine candidates to replace Casey’s current board of directors....

ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEX FUND $22.72 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell through brokers) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index. This index is made up of gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The weight of any one company is capped at 25% of the index’s market capitalization. The fund’s MER is 0.55%. iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fund began trading on March 23, 2001....

If you want to invest in gold and silver, we think the best way to do it is through shares of companies that mine gold and silver. Our favourite gold stock is Newmont Mining (see box this page). But if you want to hold a number of gold or silver stocks, the two exchange-traded funds below offer a good combination of top-quality global miners and low fees. ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEX FUND $22.72 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell through brokers) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index. This index is made up of gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The weight of any one company is capped at 25% of the index’s market capitalization. The fund’s MER is 0.55%....

NEWMONT MINING $55.71 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 483.5 million; Market cap: $26.9 billion; SI Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.7%) reports that its cash flow per share rose 69.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2010, to $1.83 from $1.08 a year earlier (all figures in U.S. dollars). Revenue rose 46%, to $2.2 billion from $1.5 billion. Results rose on higher gold and copper prices. Newmont sold gold for $1,106 an ounce, up 22.1% from $906. Copper selling prices rose 97%, to $3.33 a pound from $1.69. Gold could well move higher over the longer term, although it will likely remain volatile. Higher gold would arise from investor fears that low interest rates and government stimulus spending will spur inflation. A continuing European debt crisis would just add to gold’s rise....

iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fund, $22.72, symbol XGD on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 57.1 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion), aims to replicate the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index. This index is made up of gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The weight of any one company is capped at 25% of the index’s market capitalization. The fund’s MER is 0.55%. The fund’s top ten holdings are Barrick Gold at 18.2%; Goldcorp., 13.6%; Newmont Mining, 11.5%; AngloGold Ashanti (ADR), 6.3%; Kinross, 5.3%; Agnico-Eagle, 4.1%; Gold Fields (ADR), 3.9%; Eldorado Gold, 3.8%; Lihir Gold (ADR), 3.4%; and Yamana Gold, 3.4%. If you want to own a gold fund, iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fund is okay to hold....

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $131.19, New York symbol IBM, aims to double its earnings to $20 a share by 2015. To achieve this goal, IBM will expand in developing markets like Russia, India, Brazil and China. These countries are attracting more business activity as their economies grow. That’s increasing the need for IBM’s mainframe computers and technical expertise. By 2015, IBM aims to get 25% of its revenue from these markets, up from 19% last year. The company will also continue to spur its growth by purchasing related companies and assets. It will probably spend $20 billion on these purchases through 2015. That’s equal to 12% of its $170.4-billion market cap....

If you want to buy gold, we recommend staying away from buying gold bullion, coins (unless you collect them as a hobby) or certificates representing an interest in bullion. That’s because commodity investments such as gold bullion do not generate income. Instead, they come with a continuing cash drain for management, insurance, storage and so on. You either pay these costs directly or through a premium built into the price of, say, a futures contract. That’s why we recommend that you invest in gold through gold-mining stocks. Unlike bullion, gold-mining stocks at least have the potential to generate income. Newmont Mining, $58.32, symbol NEM on New York (Shares outstanding: 491 million; Market cap: $28.6 billion), is a relatively conservative choice if you want to buy a gold stock....