oil prices

According to the International Energy Agency, global oil demand grew by 2.3 million barrels per day in 2023 to 103 million barrels. The agency now expects oil use to increase by 1.3 million barrels a day in 2024. That higher demand has helped push up crude oil prices by 20% since the start of the year to $86 U.S....

IMPERIAL OIL LTD., $97.84, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares o/s: 535.8 million; Market cap: $51.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.5%; www.imperialoil.ca) gets over 90% of its production from oil sands operations in Alberta....

J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO., $200.30, New York symbol JPM, is a buy.

Morgan is the largest banking firm in the U.S., with total assets of $3.89 trillion as of December 31, 2023.

With the April 2024 payment, Morgan will increase your quarterly dividend by 9.5%, to $1.15 a share from $1.05....

IMPERIAL OIL LTD., $92.16, Toronto symbol IMO, is still a buy.

The company gets over 90% of its production from oil sands operations in Alberta. Imperial also has conventional oil and natural gas operations in the West and holds stakes in offshore projects in Atlantic Canada.

Its other operations include three refineries (one in Alberta, two in Ontario) and a petrochemical plant in Sarnia, Ontario.

The company has shut down its Winnipeg Products Pipeline, which transports gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from the U.S....

QUAKER CHEMICAL CORP. $199 (www.quakerhoughton.com) remains a buy for long-term gains. The company completed its acquisition of rival specialty chemicals maker Houghton International in August 2019....

We have singled out these two stocks and one ETF as your #1 buys for 2024. Each offers investors long-term growth prospects at a reasonable price. At the same time, all three companies successfully weathered the pandemic and are poised for solid gains as the economy rebounds.


TD BANK, $81.67, is a #1 Buy for 2024. The lender (Toronto symbol TD; Shares o/s: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $148.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.0%; www.td.com) continues to benefit from rising interest rates....

Here’s the text of my latest letter to our Portfolio Management clients, sent in November 2023:

“As I began work on this letter to our portfolio clients, an interesting and thought-provoking question came in from a member of our Inner Circle.

The member asked,

“Pat, I know you recommend diversification among individual stocks and stock groups, and between the U.S....

Here are two of our leading safety-conscious oil and gas recommendations. Both are in strong positions to profit from higher energy prices and to keep rewarding investors with higher dividends and share buybacks. Each is a buy.


IMPERIAL OIL LTD., $79.80, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares o/s: 535.8 million; Market cap: $41.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.5%; www.imperialoil.ca) is Canada’s third-largest publicly traded oil company after Canadian Natural Resources (No....

In the past few years, Suncor and Imperial Oil have used their improving cash flow to pay down debt. That put them in a better position to cope with the current slump in crude oil prices, and to keep raising their dividends.


SUNCOR ENERGY INC....

OPEC and Russia (together accounting for about 40% of the world’s oil production) recently agreed to extend their current production cuts until the end of 2023, and likely into 2024. That has helped lift oil prices from about $67 U.S. a barrel in June to around $76 U.S.


We feel Imperial will move steadily higher given the company should benefit from the start up of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion in the first quarter of 2024....