SAP
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer very low management fees. As well, the best ETFs offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks. However, the quality of ETFs varies widely. All too many exist to tap into popular, but risky, themes and fads. So you need to be highly selective with your ETF holdings. Here are six foreign ETFs we like:...
RESEARCH IN MOTION LTD., $24.26, Toronto symbol RIM, fell slightly this week, because of technical problems that stopped or slowed the delivery of emails to BlackBerry smartphone users. The outage also disrupted the company’s popular BlackBerry Messenger instant-messaging service. It did not affect voice calls.
The problems began when a critical part of RIM’s infrastructure in Europe failed. An automatic backup system also failed. The outage eventually spread to other parts of the world, including Africa, Asia and North America.
Unlike other smartphone companies, RIM compresses and encrypts email and messages before sending it through carrier networks. That makes its systems more secure, and relieves the load on wireless carriers. Still, wireless carriers that have offered refunds to their customers may seek compensation from RIM.
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The problems began when a critical part of RIM’s infrastructure in Europe failed. An automatic backup system also failed. The outage eventually spread to other parts of the world, including Africa, Asia and North America.
Unlike other smartphone companies, RIM compresses and encrypts email and messages before sending it through carrier networks. That makes its systems more secure, and relieves the load on wireless carriers. Still, wireless carriers that have offered refunds to their customers may seek compensation from RIM.
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When investors see a day like Thursday, with a drop of more than 500 points in the Dow Jones Industrials, they can’t help but wonder if we face a replay of the 2007-2009 market plunge. However, though today’s situation could turn out badly, that’s not inevitable. It’s much different from a few years ago. The 2007-2009 drop was mostly about the collapse of the housing boom and everything that went with it. Today there is no boom that could deflate and bring down the economy. Today’s problem grows out of government attempts at ‘fixing’ the economy in recent years. These fixes, which were mostly unsuccessful, bloated government spending and created huge debts. Today’s main market worry is how the U.S. federal government will attempt to fix its budget deficit and bring its debt down to a manageable level. To top things off, the Obama administration has also brought in big changes in health care, union and environmental rules and so on. Some of these changes face court challenges and political opposition. But some are sure to survive and go into effect. Others are sure to follow....
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer very low management fees. As well, the best ETFs offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks. But the quality of ETFs varies widely. All too many ETFs exist to tap into popular, but risky, themes and fads. So you need to be highly selective with your ETF holdings. Here are six foreign ETFs we like:...
If you’ve been following our TSI Network Daily Updates, or subscribe to one of our paid newsletters or investment services, you’re likely familiar with our three-part TSI Network investing program.
3 easy steps to lower-risk profits in Canadian stocks
One key part of our program is to spread your money out across the five main sectors of the economy: Manufacturing & Industry; Resources; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities....
TRANSCONTINENTAL INC., $14.65, Toronto symbol TCL.A, is the largest commercial printer in Canada and Mexico, and the fourth-largest in North America. It also publishes newspapers and magazines, and has over 300 web sites. The stock rose 3% after the company reported better-than-expected earnings this week. Transcontinental also raised its dividend for the second time in the past six months. In its 2011 second quarter, which ended April 30, 2011, Transcontinental’s revenue rose 0.9%, to $514.7 million from $510.0 a year earlier. Excluding unusual items, earnings rose 17.6%, to $40.1 million from $34.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 16.7%, to $0.49 from $0.42, on more shares outstanding. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.44 a share....
Investors continue to be concerned about high debt levels in many European countries. That’s especially true of the so-called PIIGS countries (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain). Portugal recently accepted a 78-billion euro ($107 billion Canadian) bailout package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. That’s in addition to previous bailouts for Ireland (67 billion euros) and Greece (110 billion euros). Worries persist that Greece, in particular, may not be able to cut its spending enough to avoid defaulting on its debt.
Why we recommend that you focus on Canadian stocks—and limit your European holdings
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SAPUTO INC. $46 (Toronto symbol SAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 204.6 million; Market cap: $9.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.saputo.com) continues to use acquisitions to expand its dairy operations. Since it became a public company in 1997, it has spent roughly $2.8 billion buying related firms. Expanding by acquisition adds risk. However, Saputo usually buys smaller dairy companies that it can easily integrate with its existing operations. The company is now Canada’s largest producer of dairy products, including milk, butter and cheese. Its main brands include Neilson, Stella and Dairyland. Saputo also has operations in the U.S., Argentina and Europe. Dairy products account for 97% of Saputo’s sales. The remaining 3% comes from snack cakes and tarts.
U.S. is a prime target for Saputo
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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer very low management fees. As well, the best ETFs offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks. But the quality of ETFs varies widely. All too many exist to tap into popular, but risky, themes and fads. So you need to be highly selective with your ETF holdings. Here are six foreign ETFs we like:...
TRANSCANADA CORP., $38.01, Toronto symbol TRP, recently opened the second phase of its four-phase Keystone pipeline project, which pumps crude oil from the Alberta oil sands to refineries in the U.S. Midwest. The third phase, called Keystone XL, will pump oil from Oklahoma to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The fourth phase will run from Alberta to Nebraska. Regulatory delays and higher-than-expected construction costs have pushed up the entire project’s cost to $13 billion U.S. That’s 8.3% higher than TransCanada’s earlier estimate of $12 billion U.S. So far, the company has spent $7.4 billion U.S. on Keystone. It aims to complete the remaining two phases by mid-2013....