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CGI GROUP INC. (Toronto symbol GIB.A; www.cgi.com) is Canada’s largest provider of computer outsourcing services. CGI helps its clients automate routine functions, like accounting and buying supplies. That makes them more efficient and lets them focus on their main businesses.
CGI was our #1 stock pick for 2010 and 2011. In the past few years, the company has used acquisitions to expand outside of Canada. For example, it recently paid $2.7 billion for Logica plc, a U.K.-based firm that provides computer outsourcing services in 36 countries.
Thanks to purchases like this, CGI is more geographically diversified: it now gets 47% of its revenue from the U.S., 36% from Canada and 17% from the rest of the world.
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CGI was our #1 stock pick for 2010 and 2011. In the past few years, the company has used acquisitions to expand outside of Canada. For example, it recently paid $2.7 billion for Logica plc, a U.K.-based firm that provides computer outsourcing services in 36 countries.
Thanks to purchases like this, CGI is more geographically diversified: it now gets 47% of its revenue from the U.S., 36% from Canada and 17% from the rest of the world.
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CGI GROUP INC. $24 (Toronto symbol GIB.A;Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing &Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 307.7 million;Market cap: $7.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; No dividends paid; TSI Network Rating: Extra Risk;www.cgi.com) is Canada’s largest provider of computer outsourcing services....
SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC., $39.40, Toronto symbol SNC, fell 5% this week in response to the arrest of Pierre Duhaime, the company’s former chief executive officer. The charges relate to possible illegal payments that SNC may have paid to secure a contract to build the new McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. The company and its partners won this deal in April 2010 under a public-private partnership with the Quebec government. It’s unclear if these payments are related to the $56 million U.S. in unusual payments to agents that SNC discovered in March 2012. To put that in context, SNC earned $378.8 million (Canadian), or $2.49 a share, in 2011. This situation prompted Mr. Duhaime to step down as CEO and a director of the company. SNC also fired other executives....
ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $9.06 (American Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an exchange traded fund that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan index.
The ETF’s top holdings include Toyota, 5.2%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.8%; Honda Motor, 2.5%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.0%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.8%; Canon, 1.8%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.8%; Fanuc Corp., 1.5%; Softbank Corp., 1.4%; and Japan Tobacco Inc., 1.3%.
The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Industrials, 20.6%; Consumer Discretionary, 19.1%; Financials, 18.5%; Information Technology, 11.1%; Consumer Staples, 7.2%; Health Care, 7.2%; Materials, 6.3%; Telecommunication Services, 4.5%; Utilities, 2.7%; and Energy, 1.6%.
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The ETF’s top holdings include Toyota, 5.2%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.8%; Honda Motor, 2.5%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.0%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.8%; Canon, 1.8%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.8%; Fanuc Corp., 1.5%; Softbank Corp., 1.4%; and Japan Tobacco Inc., 1.3%.
The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Industrials, 20.6%; Consumer Discretionary, 19.1%; Financials, 18.5%; Information Technology, 11.1%; Consumer Staples, 7.2%; Health Care, 7.2%; Materials, 6.3%; Telecommunication Services, 4.5%; Utilities, 2.7%; and Energy, 1.6%.
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We think conservative investors could hold up to 10% of their portfolios in foreign stocks. One way to do that is to buy carefully chosen exchange traded funds (ETFs) that have an overseas focus. The best ETFs offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high quality stocks. ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND (American Exchange symbol EWJ; us.ishares.com) is an exchange traded fund that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan index....
We think conservative investors could hold up to 10% of their portfolios in foreign stocks. One way to do that is to buy carefully chosen exchange traded funds (ETFs) that have an overseas focus. The best ETFs offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks. Here are six international ETFs we like:...
ALCOA INC., $8.69, New York symbol AA, reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings this week. However, aluminum demand in China is slowing. That caused the stock to fall 4%. In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Alcoa lost $143 million, or $0.13 a share. That’s partly because the company agreed to pay $85 million to settle a lawsuit that accused it of overcharging for raw materials. If you exclude all unusual items, Alcoa would have earned $0.03 a share in the latest quarter. That beat the consensus estimate of nil per share. A year earlier, the company earned $172 million, or $0.15 a share. Revenue fell 9.1%, to $5.8 billion from $6.4 billion. Aluminum shipments rose 3.1%, but average prices dropped 17.4%. The company also cut its production by 1.5%. But even so, the latest revenue figure beat the consensus estimate of $5.5 billion....
Most stock markets have risen lately. But as always, they remain subject to unexpected downturns. Even so, the long-term outlook is for higher stock prices. One way to profit from rising markets is to add exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track major stock indexes to your portfolio. ETF’s trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You must pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs, but their low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds....
ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $9.50 (American Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an exchange traded fund that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan index.
The fund’s top holdings include Toyota Motor, 5.2%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.8%; Honda Motor, 2.7%; Canon, 2.2%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.1%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.8%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.7%; Softbank Corp., 1.5%; Fanuc Corp., 1.5%; and Mitsubishi Corporation, 1.5%.
The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Industrials, 20.4%; Consumer Discretionary, 19.9%; Financials, 17.4%; Information Technology, 11.9%; Materials, 6.7%; Health Care, 6.7%; Consumer Staples, 6.6%; Telecommunication Services, 4.4%; Utilities, 3.6%; and Energy, 1.6%.
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The fund’s top holdings include Toyota Motor, 5.2%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.8%; Honda Motor, 2.7%; Canon, 2.2%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.1%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.8%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.7%; Softbank Corp., 1.5%; Fanuc Corp., 1.5%; and Mitsubishi Corporation, 1.5%.
The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Industrials, 20.4%; Consumer Discretionary, 19.9%; Financials, 17.4%; Information Technology, 11.9%; Materials, 6.7%; Health Care, 6.7%; Consumer Staples, 6.6%; Telecommunication Services, 4.4%; Utilities, 3.6%; and Energy, 1.6%.
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INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $192.45, New York symbol IBM, reported higher-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter. It also raised its earnings forecast for all of 2012. That’s why the stock rose 3% this week. In the three months ended June 30, 2012, the company earned $3.9 billion. That’s up 5.9% from $3.7 billion a year earlier. IBM spent $3.0 billion on share buybacks in the latest quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 11.3%, to $3.34 from $3.00. Without unusual items, mainly costs to integrate recently purchased companies, IBM’s earnings per share would have risen 13.6%, to $3.51 from $3.09. On this basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $3.43 a share....