transcanada

ENBRIDGE INC. (Toronto symbol ENB; www.enbridge.com) operates the world’s longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system. It also distributes natural gas to consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. As well, Enbridge has interests in 1,800 megawatts of renewable and alternative energy....

ENBRIDGE INC. $51.24 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 831.5 million; Market cap: $42.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.8%; www.enbridge.com) operates the world’s longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system. It also distributes natural gas to consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State....

TRANSCANADA CORP. $49.58 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 707.0 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.transcanada.com) may face higher costs for its proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would pump crude oil from Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska. From there, existing lines would carry it to refineries in the U.S.

A court recently overturned a Nebraska law that let the state’s governor force property owners to accept the pipeline. As a result, TransCanada may have to seek permission from individual landowners on the route.

So far, the company has spent $2.2 billion U.S. on the $5.4-billion U.S. project. If the U.S. government rejects the line, TransCanada could use some of the materials on other projects, which would limit any potential writedown.
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iShares 1-5 Year Laddered Corporate Bond Index ETF, $19.82, symbol CBO on Toronto (Units outstanding: 93.1 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; ca.ishares.com), invests in a portfolio of short-term bonds drawn from the DEX (formerly Scotia Capital) Bond Index. The ETF first sold units to the public at $20 each and began trading on Toronto on February 25, 2009. Its MER is 0.28%, and it currently yields 4.2%....

TRANSCANADA CORP. $49 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 707.4 million; Market cap: $34.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.8; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) could begin work on its Keystone XL oil pipeline later this year after the U.S. State Department said it wouldn’t significantly harm the environment. However, the U.S. government will probably postpone a final decision until after the November mid-term elections. So far, TransCanada has spent $2 billion on Keystone XL. If the U.S. rejects the plan, TransCanada could use some of the steel pipe, valves and pumps on its other pipelines. That would limit any potential writedown. TransCanada is a buy.

iShares MSCI World Index Fund ETF, $34.01, symbol XWD on Toronto (Units outstanding: 5.8 million; Market cap: $197.3 million; ca.ishares.com), holds large- and mid-cap stocks across 23 developed countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S. The ETF holds 1,507 stocks covering about 85% of the market in each nation. It does this by holding units of the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (54.3% of assets), the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (41.6%) and the iShares MSCI Canada ETF (4.0%). iShares MSCI World Index Fund ETF has an MER of 0.47% and yields 1.6%....

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index. They hold a more or less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings that go into the calculation of the index or sub-index.

ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks....

TRANSCANADA CORP. $49.58 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 707.0 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.transcanada.com) may face higher costs for its proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would pump crude oil from Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska....

TRANSCANADA CORP. $47.82 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 707.0 million; Market cap: $33.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.transcanada.com) has agreed to sell its Cancarb business to Japan’s Tokai Carbon Co.

Alberta-based Cancarb makes thermal carbon black from natural gas. It sells this product to carmakers and other industrial users, who use it as an ingredient in high-grade rubber and ceramics. Cancarb also uses waste heat from its manufacturing operations to generate electricity, which its sells to the local power grid.xzc Tokai will pay TransCanada $190 million when the deal closes in the next few weeks. That’s equal to 43% of the $447 million it earned in the quarter ended September 30, 2013.

TransCanada is a buy....

TIM HORTONS INC., $58.25, Toronto symbol THI, rose this week after it reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings. It also raised its dividend and announced a new share buyback plan. The company operates 3,588 coffee-and-donut stores in Canada and 859 in the U.S. It also has 38 outlets in the Persian Gulf. In the three months ended December 29, 2013, Tim Hortons’ revenue rose 10.7%, to $898.5 million from $811.6 million a year earlier. That’s mainly because it renovated more outlets, which let it charge franchisees higher fees. Same-store sales rose 1.6% at its Canadian locations and 3.1% in the U.S....