A: Republic Services Inc., $148.95, symbol RSG on New York (Shares outstanding: 316.3 million; Market cap: $46.7 billion; www.republicservices.com), is a U.S....

Automakers are shifting away from traditional gasoline-powered vehicles to battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs). That’s partly due to government mandates—Ottawa wants 20% of all passenger cars, SUVs and trucks sold in Canada by 2026 to run on electricity. The requirement will rise to 60% in 2030, and 100% by 2035....

FLOWSERVE CORP., $35.71, symbol FLS on New York, manufactures industrial pumps, valves, and other machinery, for several industries that use difficult-to-handle or corrosive fluids. These include power, oil and gas, chemicals, and several others. It operates facilities in more than 300 locations worldwide, selling its products in over 50 countries.

In February 2023, Flowserve announced that it would acquire Velan Inc....

ALAMOS GOLD INC., $15.47, is a buy. The gold miner (symbol AGI on Toronto) took its current form in July 2015, when Alamos Gold merged with Stock Pickers Digest recommendation AuRico Gold. The combined firm owns the Mulatos and El Chanate mines in Mexico, and the Young-Davidson and Island mines in northern Ontario....

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST, $20.56, Toronto symbol AP.UN, remains a buy.

The REIT owns 199 office buildings and 13 properties under development, mainly in major Canadian cities.

Starting with the January 2023 payment, Allied raised its monthly distribution by 2.9%....

INTEL CORP., $33.00, Nasdaq symbol INTC, is still a buy for long-term gains.

The company is the world’s leading maker of computer chips: its products power 65% of all personal computers and 80% of all datacentres.

Intel is now selling a 20% stake in IMS Nanofabrication GmbH to private equity firm Bain Capital....

CANADIAN PACIFIC KANSAS CITY LTD., $105.57, Toronto symbol CP, is your #1 Conservative Buy for 2023.

The company took its current form on April 14, 2023, when Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. completed its acquisition of U.S.-based railway Kansas City Southern.

CP paid $31 billion U.S....

A: We still feel that investors will profit the most with a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality individual stocks, but ETFs can also play a role in a portfolio. Here’s a look at the ETFs you’ve asked about:

Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF, $78.97, symbol XLE on New York (Units outstanding: 423.3 million; Market cap: $33.4 billion; www.ssga.com), provides exposure to companies in the oil, gas and consumable fuel, energy equipment and services industries.

The fund’s MER is just 0.10%....

A: Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc., $26.43, symbol ZZZ on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 34.7 million; Market cap: $920.5 million; www.sleepcountry.ca), is Canada’s dominant specialty mattress retailer....

A: The short answer is no. $1.00 U.S. equals $1.34 Canadian. You get back the exchange differential when you sell. If the U.S./Canada exchange rate is about the same as when you bought, you’ll only lose the cost of the trade, perhaps 1%.

The thing is that using Canadian dollars to buy U.S....