MERCK & CO. INC., $91.97, is a buy. The drugmaker (symbol MRK on New York) is a pharmaceutical leader in oncology, acute-care and animal health drugs as well as vaccines.

Merck is now launching Merck Digital Sciences Studio (MDSS) to promote new innovative technologies for drug discovery and development.

MDSS will support early-stage biomedical startups with direct investment, access to Azure Cloud computing and opportunities to move forward their technologies in collaboration with discovery and clinical scientists at Merck.

Merck will start by partnering with two startups....

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO., $144.79, Toronto symbol CNR, remains a buy.

CN operates Canada’s largest railway. Its 32,200-kilometre network stretches across the country. It also travels down through the U.S. Midwest, connecting Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

With the March 2022 payment, CN raised its quarterly dividend by 19.1%....

J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO., $112.61, New York symbol JPM, remains a buy.

The stock lets investors tap the largest banking firm in the U.S., with its total assets of $3.95 trillion as of March 31, 2022.

The bank has passed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest stress test, which measures how financial firms would cope with a jump in unemployment, falling stock prices and other unfavourable developments.

However, Morgan will have to set aside more capital as a buffer against a possible recession....

CGI INC., $102.54, Toronto symbol GIB.A, is your #1 Aggressive Buy for 2022.

The stock lets investors tap Canada’s largest provider of computer outsourcing services. It helps its clients automate certain routine functions like accounting and buying supplies....

TD BANK, $84.77, (Toronto symbol TD; Shares o/s: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $152.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.2%; www.td.com) is a buy. The bank now expects to complete its $13.4 billion U.S. acquisition of Tennessee-based First Horizon Corporation (New York symbol FHN) in early 2023....

IBM, $141.86, is still a buy. The company (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 899.4 million; Market cap: $127.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.7%) is one of the world’s largest computer companies, with operations in over 175 countries.


Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, IBM is now winding down its Russian operations.


The company has not yet said how much this move will impact its earnings....

CENOVUS ENERGY, $26.18, remains a buy for long-term gains. The company (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $51.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 1.6%; www.cenovus.com) has agreed to buy the 50% of the Sunrise oil sands property in northern Alberta that it doesn’t already own from U.K.-based oil giant BP plc (New York symbol BP).


In exchange, Cenovus will pay $600 million in cash, plus up to an additional $600 million over the next two years....

The shares of oil and gas stocks remain high as the U.S. and other economies recover—and with the Ukraine conflict. We continue to recommend that most investors maintain some exposure to the oil and gas industry as part of a balanced portfolio. But to cut risk, you should stick with producers that have positive cash flow even in times of low energy prices....

IMPERIAL OIL LTD., $63.54, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares outstanding: 636.7 million; Market cap: $40.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.1%; www.imperialoil.ca) has completed its plan to buy back $2.5 billion of its common shares through a Dutch auction process.


Under the plan, Imperial repurchased 32.47 million (4.9% of the total) of its shares at $77.00 a share....

ISHARES MSCI TAIWAN INDEX FUND, $51.78, is a buy for aggressive investors. The ETF (New York symbol EWT; buy or sell through brokers) gives you direct exposure to some of the top public companies of this East Asian powerhouse economy.


The fund’s largest holding is Taiwan Semiconductor at 22.0% of assets....