stanley

The major Canadian and U.S. stock markets, while still subject to volatility, continue to offer attractive returns for investors—and especially if you buy the top stocks. All in all, we think that if you can afford to stay in the market for several years or longer, now is a good time for new buying....

AT&T INC. $18 is a buy. The telecom giant (New York symbol T; Income-Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 7.2 billion; Market cap: $129.6 billion; Dividend yield: 6.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.att.com) merged its WarnerMedia business with Discovery Inc....

QUAKER CHEMICAL CORP. $190 (www.quakerhoughton.com) is a buy. This maker of specialty chemicals saw its sales in the quarter ended September 30, 2022, rise 9.6%, to $492.2 million from $449.1 million a year earlier....

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND, $50.28, is a buy. The ETF (New York symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) aims for the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan Index.


The fund’s top holdings include Toyota, 5.1%; Sony Corp., 2.9%; Keyence (sensors), 2.6%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.0%; Daiichi Sankyo (pharma), 2.0%; Softbank, 1.8%; KDDI (telecom), 1.7%; Nintendo (gaming), 1.6%; and Recruit Holdings (human resources), 1.5%....

CONAGRA BRANDS INC., $32.85, New York symbol CAG, is a buy.

Through your shares, you tap the maker of some of North America’s most popular food brands. They include Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Orville Redenbacher popcorn and Reddi-wip whipped cream.

Conagra reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, mainly because the company raised its selling prices to offset increasing costs for ingredients, packaging and shipping.

Its sales in its fiscal 2023 first quarter, ended August 28, 2022, rose 9.5%, to $2.90 billion from $2.65 billion a year earlier....

The major Canadian and U.S. stock markets, while still subject to volatility, have moved back up since their initial COVID-19 drop. Nonetheless, we think that if you can afford to stay in the market for several years or longer, now is still a good time for new buying....

SAPUTO INC. $33 is still a hold. The dairy producer (Toronto symbol SAP; High-Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 418.1 million; Market cap: $13.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.saputo.com) last raised its quarterly dividend by 2.9% with the September 2021 payment....

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND, $55.67 is a buy. The ETF (New York symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan Index.


The fund’s top holdings include Toyota, 5.4%; Sony Corp., 3.3%; Keyence (sensors), 2.5%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.1%; Recruit Holdings (human resources), 1.7%; Tokyo Electron (computer chips), 1.6%; KDDI (telecom), 1.6%; Softbank, 1.5%; and Shin Etsu Chemical, 1.5%....

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $130.79, New York symbol IBM, is a buy.

The company is one of the world’s largest computer firms, with operations in over 175 countries.

With the June 2022 payment, IBM raised your quarterly dividend by 0.6%, to $1.65 a share from $1.64....

STANLEY BLACK & DECKER INC. $117 is a buy. The company (New York symbol SWK; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 163.4 million; Market cap: $19.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.stanleyblackanddecker.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of hand and power tools for consumers....