stock exchange

ISHARES MSCI BRAZIL INDEX FUND $77.55 (New York Exchange symbol EWZ; buy or sell through brokers), is an exchange-traded fund that is designed to track the Brazilian stock market. The fund’s top holdings are Petrobras preferred shares (energy), 10.3%; Cia Vale do Rio Doce (mining) preferred, 9.8%; Itau Unibanco Multiplo SA (banking), 9.2%; Petrobras common, 8.2%; Cia Vale do Rio Doce common, 7.2%; Banco Bradesco preferred (banking), 5.1%; Cia de Bebidas das Americas preferred (beer and other beverages), 3.5%; Itausa-Investimentos Itau (conglomerate), 3.1%; OGX Petroleo e Gas Patricipa (energy), 2.6%; and BM&F Bovespa (Brazilian stock exchange), 2.6%. The ETF’s industry breakdown is as follows: Materials, 25.4%; Financials, 25.0%; Energy, 21.9%; Consumer Staples, 9.1%; Utilities, 5.3%; Consumer Discretionary, 4.8%; Industrials, 3.4%; Telecommunication Services, 2.6%; and Information Technology, 1.7%. The fund has an expense ratio of 0.61%....

Exports to the U.S., Europe and other developed nations remain a strong source of growth for emerging economies. As well, rising domestic demand is increasingly supporting those economies, and letting them grow strongly. Now, the challenge for many emerging nations is to maintain their rapid growth while keeping inflation and rising currencies in check. That could entail slowly raising interest rates or restricting inflows of foreign capital. Even so, high-quality companies based in these countries should continue to gain from their strong economic growth. One of the best safe-money ways to invest in emerging markets is through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). You’ll need to be selective, but the best ETFs offer a great combination of low fees and top-quality stocks....

Ebro Foods SA, $15.45, symbol EBRO on the Madrid Stock Exchange (Shares outstanding: 153.8 million; Market cap: 2.4 billion euros, www.ebrofoods.es), is the leading Spanish food-processing company. It also the world’s largest rice producer, and the second-biggest pasta maker (its Panzani brand is the market leader in France). Ebro recently bought Sos Food Corporation SA’s rice business for 195 million euros ($257.3 million Canadian). As well, Ebro is in talks to buy Ricegrowers Ltd., Australia’s dominant rice processor and marketer, for around 425 million euros. Growth by acquisition adds risk, but Ebro is buying firms and assets in markets where it is already an established leader. The stock has moved up 23% since September. The shares trade at 15.8 times Ebro’s latest 12-month earnings, and yield 2.7%....

Equinox Minerals, $6.15, symbol EQN on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 707.9 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion; www.equinoxminerals.com) is focused on mining and exploration in Zambia. Equinox first sold shares to the public at $0.71 Cdn. each, and began trading on Toronto in June 2004. The Perth, Australia-based company subsequently listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Equinox operates its 100%-owned Lumwana copper mine in Zambia, West Africa. Lumwana began production in 2008....

ISHARES MSCI CHILE INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND $77.20 (New York Exchange symbol ECH; buy or sell through brokers), is an ETF that aims to track the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index. This index consists of stocks that are mainly traded on the Santiago Stock Exchange. The fund’s top holdings are Empresas Copec SA (conglomerate), 12.4%; Cencosud SA (retailer), 10.2%; Empresas CMPC (pulp and paper), 8.7%; Enersis AS (electric power), 8.5%; Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (electric power), 8.2%; CAP SA (iron-ore mining and steel), 5.6%; Quimiday Minera de Chile (mining), 5.3%; Lan Airlines SA (Chilean national airline), 5.1%; Banco Santander Chile (banking), 4.8%; and S.A.C.I. Falabella (retail), 4.4%. The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Utilities, 22.7%; Materials, 20.6%; Industrials, 20.1%; Consumer Staples, 13.9%; Financials, 11.1%; Consumer Discretionary, 8.5%; Telecommunication, 2.4%; and Information Technology, 0.9%. iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index Fund was launched on November 12, 2007. The exchange-traded fund has an expense ratio of 0.65%....

PEPSICO INC., $65.17, New York symbol PEP, continues to expand internationally. Right now, it gets 45% of its sales from outside the U.S. This week, the company agreed to buy Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC (New York symbol WBD). Wimm-Bill-Dann is a leading producer of dairy products, fruit juices and baby food in Russia. If Russian regulators approve, PepsiCo will pay $3.8 billion for 66% of Wimm-Bill-Dann. It will then offer to buy the remaining 34%. In all, PepsiCo will pay roughly $5.4 billion. To put this cost in context, the company earned $2.0 billion, or $1.22 a share, in the three months ended September 4, 2010. PepsiCo already has some operations in Russia, so combining plants and distribution networks should save it $100 million a year by 2014....

The quality of exchange-traded funds (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. ETFs offer very low management fees. In addition, the best ETFs offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks. Here are five foreign ETFs we like:...

Tax-loss selling (or tax-loss harvesting) is a strategy for lowering your Canadian capital gains tax that involves selling a security at a loss in order to offset your capital gains. You can then deduct these losses against your taxable capital gains in the current tax year. For example, December 24 is the 2010 deadline for tax-loss selling on the Toronto Stock Exchange. If you sell at a loss on or before that date, you get to deduct your loss against your 2010 capital gains. If you still have capital losses left over, you can carry them back up to three years (2009, 2008 and 2007), or forward indefinitely to offset past or future capital gains....

BHP BILLITON LTD. ADRs, $92.14, New York symbol BHP, rose 10% this week after the Canadian government said it would block its hostile takeover bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (New York and Toronto symbol POT). However, under the Investment Canada Act, which governs foreign takeovers of Canadian companies, BHP now has 30 days to modify its offer so that it is a “net benefit” to Canada. BHP’s offer is worth $38.6 billion. That’s equal to 15% of its $256.4-billion market cap. The company has room to raise its bid. That’s because BHP’s shares also trade on the London Stock Exchange, and British law would require BHP to hold a special shareholders’ vote if the value of any new bid is more than 25% of BHP’s market cap. At the time of the original announcement on August 17, 2010, the bid represented 21% of BHP’s market cap. If BHP drops the takeover attempt, it could use the cash it planned to spend on Potash Corp. on share buybacks. It could also raise its $1.80 dividend, which yields 2.0%. BHP could also pay a special dividend....

POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN, $141.32, Toronto symbol POT, fell 4% this week after Ottawa said it would block the hostile takeover offer by BHP Billiton Ltd. (New York symbol BHP). However, under the Investment Canada Act, which governs foreign takeovers of Canadian companies, BHP now has 30 days to modify its bid so that the takeover is a “net benefit” for Canada. The stock is now trading at 8.7% above the $130.00 U.S.-a-share that BHP is offering. That indicates that investors expect a higher offer from either BHP or another bidder. BHP still has room to raise its bid. That’s because BHP’s shares also trade on the London Stock Exchange, and British law would require BHP to hold a special shareholders’ vote if the value of a takeover offer is more than 25% of BHP’s market cap. At the time of the original announcement on August 17, 2010, the bid represented 21% of BHP’s market cap. Right now, the offer is equal to 15% of BHP’s market cap....