Updating Nova Chemicals Corp., Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., EnCana Corp. and ShawCor Ltd.

Article Excerpt

NOVA CHEMICALS CORP. $35 (Toronto symbol NCX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; SI Rating: Extra risk) plans to close a polystyrene plant in the UK. Writedowns and severance costs will cut Nova’s earnings by $43 million (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). The closure is part of the company’s plan to cut its annual costs by $65 million. To put these figures in context, Nova earned $108 million, or $1.30 a share in the second quarter of 2006. Nova Chemicals is a buy. CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $53 (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; SI Rating: Above average) earned $2.36 a share (total $377.5 million) in the three months ended June 30, 2006, including $234 million in non-recurring tax and foreign exchange gains. It earned $0.77 a share ($123.2 million) in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue inched up to $1.13 billion from $1.11 billion. The company is doing a good job controlling costs. Its operating ratio (regular…