A: Dream Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust, $11.93, symbol DIR.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 277.3 million; Market cap: $3.5 billion; www.dream.ca/industrial/), is a real estate investment trust, or REIT....

In recent Inner Circles and Quarterly Client Letters, we’ve noted that good and bad changes have taken place lately in law and politics, in the U.S. and around the world. In my view, a good change took place in Canada in the first week of 2025, when Prime Minister Trudeau decided to step down as leader of Canada’s Liberal party.

Odd coincidence: Prime Minister Trudeau and President Biden, though far apart in age, have some things in common....

TIMKEN CO., $71.54, symbol TKR on New York, is a global leader in tapered roller bearings, engineered bearings, and industrial motion products. The company’s globally diverse customer base includes companies in industrial distribution, renewable energy, automation, automotive original equipment, agriculture/turf, rail, aerospace, auto/truck aftermarket, construction, and services.

Founded in 1899 by Henry Timken, the company has 142 manufacturing facilities and service centres, 28 technology and engineering centres, and 73 distribution centres and warehouses....

CORTEVA INC., $55.94, is a buy. The company (symbol CTVA on New York) is a leading developer of new seeds and crop chemicals, including herbicides and insecticides, for the agriculture industry. Corteva separated from DowDuPont in June 2019.

The company has announced what it believes is a breakthrough in one of the world’s most important staple crops—wheat—with a proprietary non-GMO hybrid technology....

PFIZER INC., $26.59, New York symbol PFE, is a buy.

The company is one of the world’s largest makers of prescription drugs. Its top-selling brands include Enbrel (arthritis), Ibrance (breast cancer) and Prevnar (pneumonia).

With the March 2025 payment, Pfizer will raise your quarterly dividend by 2.4%....

FEDEX CORP., $274.41, New York symbol FDX, remains a buy for long-term gains.

The company delivers packages in the U.S. and 220 other countries.

FedEx now plans to spin off its FedEx Freight operations as a separate company. This business is a leading provider of less-than-truckload (LTL) services, which combines freight from multiple customers into a single vehicle....

CAE INC., $35.19, Toronto symbol CAE, is still a buy for long-term gains.

The company is a leading maker of flight simulators for commercial and military aircraft. It also operates pilot-training schools in over 40 countries.

Activist investment firm Browning West LP recently disclosed that it now owns 4.3% of CAE’s shares.

Browning wants to participate in the selection of a new chief executive officer now that current CEO Marc Parent will retire in August 2025....

ProShares Ultra Gold ETF, $92.36, symbol UGL on New York (Units outstanding: 3.1 million; Market cap: $286.3 million; www.proshares.com), aims to move 200% in the same direction as the price of gold.

The fund relies on futures contracts and other derivatives to boost the returns on gold....

The shortages of computer semiconductors during the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the production of a wide variety of products, from computers to cars. It also highlighted the importance of those computer chips to the modern global economy.

The shortage, in fact, prompted the U.S....

AGNICO EAGLE MINES LTD., $112.41, symbol AEM on Toronto, owns currently producing gold mines in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico.

Specifically, it owns the La Ronde, Canadian Malartic, Goldex, Maccassa, Detour Lake, Meliadine, Meadowbank and Hope Bay mines in Canada....