NUTRIEN LTD. $106 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol NTR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 520.2 million; Market cap: $55.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.nutrien.com) is the world’s largest producer of agricultural fertilizers: it ships about 27 million tonnes annually.


Due to economic sanctions, Nutrien expects that Russia’s potash exports declined 25% in 2022....

Crude oil prices have steadily declined to the current $74 U.S. per barrel after soaring to about $124 U.S. in March 2022. That was following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Note, however, that today’s price is still above the pre-pandemic price of around $60 U.S.


It’s likely crude prices will remain elevated for some time as Canadian oil producers, like Imperial Oil, and their U.S....

A: BrightView Holdings Inc., $6.57, symbol BV on New York (Shares outstanding: 93.0 million; Market cap: $621.2 million; www.brightview.com), is the largest provider of commercial landscaping services in the U.S. This includes designing, creating, and maintaining landscapes at premier properties across the U.S., including business parks and corporate offices, homeowners’ associations, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, retail centers, resorts and theme parks, municipalities, golf courses, and sports venues....

We’ve long recommended payment card issuer American Express as a great way for investors to diversify their Finance sector holdings beyond the big Canadian and U.S. banks.

The stock took a hit in 2016 when warehouse retailer Costco ended its long-term alliance with Amex and selected Visa as its exclusive credit card partner for its U.S....

SPIN MASTER CORP., $34.50, symbol TOY on Toronto, designs and markets children’s toys, games and puzzles. It outsources the manufacturing to third parties.

The company’s best-known brands include PAW Patrol, Bakugan, Kinetic Sand, Air Hogs, Hatchimals, Rubik’s Cube and Gund....

CORTEVA INC., $67.31, 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. It separated from DowDuPont in June 2019.

Corteva has now agreed to buy biologicals firm Stoller Group for $1.2 billion to accelerate its expansion into the growing market for nature-based crop protection products.

Stoller is a privately held Houston-based company with operations and sales in more than 60 countries and $400 million in annual revenue....

ENBRIDGE INC., $54.69, Toronto symbol ENB, is a buy.

The company operates pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to eastern Canada and the U.S. It also distributes gas to 3.8 million consumers in Ontario.

With the March 2023 payment, Enbridge will raise your quarterly dividend by 3.2%....

STATE STREET CORP., $77.72, New York symbol STT, remains a buy.

The company sells accounting and administrative services to operators of mutual funds and pension plans.

In 2021, State Street agreed to buy the investor services division of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co....

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, $134.21, Toronto symbol RY, is still a buy.

The bank has agreed to pay $13.5 billion in cash for the Canadian operations of U.K.-based HSBC Holdings plc (New York symbol HSBC). Those include 130 branches, which mainly cater to businesses in industries that trade and bank internationally....

ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES, $10.16, is a buy. The utility (Toronto symbol AQN; Shares o/s: 677.8 million; Market cap: $6.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Yield: 9.5%; www.algonquinpower.com) is down 33% since the company reported lower-than-expected earnings for the third quarter of 2022....