Apart from the immediate challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, India faces a weak health-care system, poor infrastructure, and is only very slowly implementing much-needed economic and political reforms.


Still, the country is home to a number of top global companies with bright futures....

Banks and other financial services firms suffered in early 2020 as the pandemic took hold. But most have since bounced back—and many have hit new highs. Meanwhile, once economic activity returns to normal, the best of these should continue to be strong performers....

Canadian ETFs had another outstanding year in 2021. By the end of the year, there were 1,177 listed funds with a total asset base of $323 billion. On both counts, these were all-time highs.


The long-term growth in the industry continues to accelerate. Ten years ago there were only 236 ETFs listed in Canada, with a total asset base of $44 billion....

BMO COVERED CALL CANADIAN BANKS ETF $23.26 (Toronto symbol ZWB) holds shares of Canada’s six largest banks (CIBC, TD Bank, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank and National Bank).


The fund started up in January 2011....

Oil and gas prices are up strongly as the U.S. and other economies continue to recover. That has now prompted oil and gas producers to boost exploration to meet rising demand. In fact, demand should remain elevated for several years to come as the world continues to rely on fossil fuels even as it shifts to more-sustainable renewable energy sources.


Here are two energy-services ETFs that stand to gain from what should be an expanding drilling market....

A: Hershey Co., $206.14, symbol HSY on New York (Shares outstanding: 145.4 million; Market cap: $42.2 billion; www.hersheys.com), is the largest U.S. producer of chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products.

Major brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Cadbury, Ice Breakers, Kit Kat, Almond Joy, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Good ’n’ Plenty, Heath, Whoppers, and Milk Duds.

On November 10, 2021, the company announced it would pay $1.2 billion to acquire two firms: Dot’s Pretzels LLC, the owner of Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels; and Pretzels Inc., which handles some manufacturing for Dot’s as well as third parties.

The estimated sales for the two businesses were $275 million for the 12 months ended September 2021....

A: Edwards Lifesciences, $110.46, symbol EW on New York (Shares outstanding: 624.3 million; Market cap: $69.4 billion; www.edwards.com), is focused on developing technologies and products that treat structural heart disease and critically ill patients.

The company operates in four segments: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (66% of revenue), Surgical Structural Heart (17%), Critical Care (16%), and Transcatheter Mitral and Tricuspid (1%).

Medical-device supplier Baxter International (symbol BAX on New York) spun off Edwards Lifesciences in March 2000....

A: Portillo’s Inc., $26.98, symbol PTLO on Nasdaq, (Shares outstanding: 35.8 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; www.portillos.com), is a Chicago-based restaurant chain that got its start in 1963 when founder Dick Portillo opened the restaurant “The Dog House” in a small trailer....

A: Hamilton Enhanced Canadian Bank ETF, $28.52, symbol HCAL on Toronto, (Units outstanding: 13.5 million; Market cap: $385.0 million; www.hamiltonetfs.com), aims to track the Solactive Canadian Bank Mean Reversion Index.

This index invests in the biggest six Canadian banks—TD, Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank, CIBC, Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank....

Here’s a question we’ve received in various forms from a number of clients and readers. Even those who haven’t asked may wonder about the subject:

Q: A lot of the stocks you’ve recommended, and I’ve purchased, are now at or near highs (thanks!). I’m wondering if it might be time to move into cash to wait for a market downturn....