2014

Onex Corporation (a private equity investment fund corporation) is added to the list but is rated only Speculative Weak Buy. It's a complex entity and I may be able to come to a more definitive buy or sell rating over time. (I have emailed the compan...

Friday was a weak day on the U.S. markets as the S&P 500 fell 0.8%. Meanwhile, Toronto fell 0.1%
Most of our stocks fell including Melcor down 1.8%, Canadian Tire down 1.9%, Stantec down 2.1%, Toll Brothers down 1.5% and Bank of America down 2.4%...

On Thursday the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto was up 0.1%.
Some of my favorite stocks did well. Toll Brothers was up 3.3%, Melcor was up 1.9% (but it's so thinly traded that it's movements are sometimes just "noise", nevertheless it feels good)...

The S&P 500 was and Toronto were both down 0.2% on Wednesday.
Alimentation Couche-Tard has split its stock 3 for 1 and was up 3.6% today. I had called it only a (lower) Buy in December and it up quite a bit since then. I have to admit to being a ...

Tuesday, the S&P 500 and Toronto each gained 0.4%
Yesterday's chart showed that over 30-year periods the S&P 500 total return (including reinvested dividends) had never failed to compound wealth at at least 4% on a real basis, 4% after deduct...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% while Toronto fell 0.1%
Lately, I was thinking about the fact that even if markets were to provide only say a 7% nominal return over the say the next 30 years, that might still work out to a fairly good real ret...

Constellation Software is updated and rated (lower) Buy at $265. This has been a wonderful investment. It is up some 369% since we first rated it (lower) Strong Buy in February 2011. (Admittedly our analysis and following my own actions would have no...

American Express is updated and rated Buy at $86.22. It seems like a decent investment. Not one that I am really excited about, but decent. I did add to my position in it very recently.
...

On Friday the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Most of our stocks were up but Toll Brothers was down 1.4% to $34.16. It remains a speculative choice. I have added to my position recently at about this price.
Bank of America is updated...

On Wednesday the S&P 500 and Toronto were both up 1.0%
Most stocks were up. Bank of America was down 1.6% on disappointing earnings. Earlier int he day it was down at least 2.5%. I plan to update the report on Bank of America in a few days and I ...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% and Toronto rose 0.1%
Bank of America was up 2.4%. Toll Brothers fell 1.1%. Earlier in the day it got as low as $34 and I grabed a few more shares at $34.17.
Element Financial fell 3.7% to $13.77. Possibly the pu...

On Monday, stocks rebounded based on stronger retail sales figures in the U.S.. The S&P 500 was up 0.8% and Toronto was up 0.2%
Visa was up 2.2% and American Express was up 1.1%.
If one has a decent selection of investments in good companies, the...

I have added a Wells Fargo preferred share to the list above. These are the shares that have been in my personal portfolio since December.
I noted on December 19, 2013 (see below) that I had bought these shares at $19.81 to yield 6.5% and I described...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 1.0% and Toronto was down 0.4%
Some weaker stocks of note included:
Visa, down 2.4% to $197. We had last rated this a Buy back in 2012 at $147 and thereafter called it a Weak Buy, most recently at $220. It might be...

The Good Times Stop Rolling (at least for a day)
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 2.1% and Toronto fell 0.9%.
Most of the stocks I watch were down. Notably Visa down 2.9% to $201.55. Possibly it's chance to buy but I am not keen on it. American Expr...

The Good Times Roll On...
On Wednesday the S&P 500 rose 1.1% after apparently the FED minutes proved palatable to the market. Toronto rose 0.4%
Canadian Tire rose another 2.4% to $108.23. This has been a huge winner for us. Personally I sold too ...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% and Toronto was up 0.7%.
The first quarter earnings season has kicked off with Alco reporting a loss but overall the results were better than expected as was their outlook.
...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was down 1.1%and Toronto was down 0.9%
Not surprisingly, most of our stock picks were down as well. In particular American Express was down 2.9%. I don't know any particular reason for this stock going down 2.9% while the m...

This morning markets are higher as both the Canadian and U.S. jobs reports were considered positive news.
Toll Brothers is up 1.9% and Wells Fargo has pushed above $50.
...

Today, Friday, started out well but ended negative.
The S&P 500 was down 1.3% but Toronto was down only 0.1%
As for our stock picks, most were down.
Bank of America was down 2.5% to $16.72. While its a more speculative stock, it likely offers goo...

Today, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and Toronto rose 0.5%.
Canadian Tire rose 1.1% to $106.29. Back in the middle of 2011 this stock had been hammered down by fears of what Target would do to it. I updated it on August 28, 2011 at $52.40 rated Strong Bu...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to close at a new record high. Toronto rose 0.3%. Toronto remains below the peak it reached around June 2008.
Notable gainers today included Bombardier up 3.4%, Dollarama up 2.7%, and Toll Brothers up 2.2%
I thoug...

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% and Toronto rose 0.5%.
Almost all of the stocks on our list were up today.
It's been a good start to the year and those of us who have been brave enough to be owners of corporations via the stock market have been ...

Costco is updated and rated Weak Buy / Hold at $112. It always seems expensive. But it is almost certain grow its earnings over the years. Every time it opens a store it seems to create a traffic jamb, at least in Alberta.
On Friday the S&P 500 w...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was about unchanged.
After the news yesterday about most U.S. banks passing stress tests by the FED, Wells Fargo was up 1.2% to $49.10. This stock is up 83% since it was first rated a Strong buy ...

On Wednesday the S&P 500 was down 0.7% and Toronto was down 0.8%.
Canadian Tire was up 2.9%. This may have been based on a presentation that Canadian Tire made this morning at a CIBC retail analyst conference.
There was news about most of the Ame...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and Toronto 0.1%.
Liquor Stores N.A. was down about 30 cents most of the day both yesterday and today before closing about unchanged. As my report indicates, this stock should be considered somewhat speculative. O...

On Monday the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.4%.
Before the market opened today I entered orders to Buy additional Melcor at $21.60 and Boston Pizza at 19.60 and both were filled at the open. Later I noticed Toll Brothers was down u...

Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $19.55. This entity is an ownership in the the 4% franchise fees on the food (not alcohol) sales of Boston pizza restaurants. The cash distributions essentially are almost unchan...

North American markets were positive today with the S&P 500 up 0.6% and Toronto up 0.2%.
U.S. bank stocks did well in anticipation of stress tests results. Which all the large banks passed. (All except for one whichh I had never heard of). I am n...

Wednesday was a weaker day in the markets with the S&P 500 down 0.6% and Toronto down 0.2%.
But the Canadian dollar fell 9 tenths of one percent which adds to the value of U.S. stocks in Canadian dollar terms.
Couche-Tard was up 5.4%. Melcor was ...

Tuesday was a strong day in the markets with the S&P 500 up 0.7% and Toronto up 1.0%. Also the Canadian dollar fell 6 tenths of one percent which adds to the value of U.S. stocks in Canadian dollar terms.
In terms of our stock picks, gains almost...

On Monday, the market decided that so far at least it was okay with the situation in Ukraine and focused on stronger manufacturing data. The S&P 500 was up 1.0%. Toronto was flat as gold miner shares declined.
Among our stock picks notable gainer...

I have updated the composition of my personal portfolio.
Indications on Sunday evening are that the market is not bothered by the situation in Russia. If the resounding support for Crimea joining Russian is viewed as accurate then it may be difficult...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 1.2% and Toronto was down 0.5%.
Most of the stocks that I keep an eye on were.
Obviously, the troubles in Ukraine could cause further market declines but I generally never sell on such fears because for one thing...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was flat while Toronto was up 0.4%.
Liquor Stores N.A. was up 4.9%
After the close Melcor reported strong earnings and a positive outlook. I may add to my position.
I would continue to rate it in the Strong Buy range.
...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.2%.
I grabbed a bit more Liquor Stores N.A as it fell 3.4%
I believe Melcor will release earnings tomorrow Wednesday after the close and I believe it will likely be a strong earnings re...

On Monday the S&P 500 and Toronto were both about flat while the Dow was down 0.2%.
I sold off my Constellation Software. Possibly a bad decision because it is really great company. But it is expensive.
Toll Brothers was down 2.5% to $38.26. It i...

On Friday the S&P 500 was flat, remaining at a record high while Toronto was up 0.2%
Constellation software released earnings and was up 12% to $265. It's a great company and has exceptionally good management. Still, the stock is expensive. I may...

On Thursday the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto was down 0.2%.
Our stocks picks has a reasonable good day. American Express was up 1.5% to $93.52.
The Canadian Tire voting shares, inexplicably, were up another 3.3% to $140.00. Meanwhile the non-v...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was flat while Toronto was up 0.1%.
Element Financial was up 5.5%. Bank of America was up 3.2%.
Melcor will release its earnings next week, Wednesday March 12, probably after the close of trading.
I notice that Canadian ...

I think most of us were surprised to see such a strong market on Tuesday with the S&P 500 up 1.5% to 1874 and another new record close. Toronto was up 0.5%.
Most of our Buy rated stocks were up including American express up 2.9%, Element Financia...

On Monday the S&P 500 was down 0.7% while Toronto was flat.
I would not have minded seeing a bigger decline today since it might have given me a chance to pick up some Berkshire at a better price.
Buffett was on CNBC's Squawk Box for 3 hours this mo...

Canadian Tire is updated and rated Buy at $99.85.
On Friday the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was flat.
Warren Buffett came out with his annual letter yesterday. As always it is full of excellent investment advice.
http://www.berkshirehathaway....

On Thursday the S&P 500 rose to a new closing high and finished up 0.5% at 1854. Toronto was up 0.2%. Most of the stocks we follow were up including Stantec up 2.9% and Element Financial up 2.1%.
...

Markets were about flat today. But Toll Brothers was up 1.7% to $38.90. I had sold about 15% of my Toll shares last week at $38.00. I still have a lot of shares and given normal volatility, I may get a chance to buy these back at $34. If it continues...

Toll Brothers is out with relatively strong earnings this morning. The stock has a high P/E as it is still ramping up earnings from the lows of the housing crisis. I consider it more speculative due to that but it is worth considering.
Also, I am wil...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
I was not able to enter an order to buy Melcor due to system problems at TD Bank. I may enter the order tomorrow.
Reaction to Toll Brothers report was mixed (glass half full, half em...

Monday was a strong day in the markets with the S&P 500 up 0.6% (and hitting a new high before dropping back a little. Toronto was up 0.1%.
Almost all of the stocks on our list were up today.
Our Stock Picks have done well and I believe my own ac...

On Friday, some of my Toll Brothers shares got sold at $38 based on an order I had in place. I then sold a little more at $38.
I am visiting just south of Tampa this week. Went to Branden Mall at noon today, Sunday. On one side of the Mall there was ...

On Thursday the S&P 500 was up 0.6% and Toronto was also up 0.6%.
Toronto is at a three year high. And its quite close to its all time high. The S&P 500 is just a little below its all time high reached in late December. This all seems pretty ...

On Wednesday the S&P 500 was down 0.7% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
Most of the stocks we follow here were down although none precipitously. Some stocks that gained included Canadian Tire, up 1.1% and FirstService up 2.2%
The Bombardier pref share wa...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was up 0.1%.
I'm not sure it was a wise move but I did buy some Bombardier as a speculative pick at $3.60 today (before it fell another 2.2%). I don't expect any quick turn around here since the next...

Bombardier is updated and rated Speculative (lower) Buy at $3.60. This stock is down 25% this year and in general the stock has done poorly for many years. The most recent decline was due to delays and higher costs on its new C-Series airplane. The q...

Canadian Tire released excellent earnings this morning (I might even say blow-out earnings given decent growth when others are struggling). Should be a good day for the stock.
...

It was a strong day in the markets on Thursday with the S&P 500 up 0.6% and Toronto up 0.7%.
Canadian Tire was up 3.1% to $97.39 on its strong earnings. I'd still rate it a Buy (or higher). Constellation Software was up another 3.8% to $249.49. I...

On Wednesday, markets ere basically flat with the S&P 500 down less than 0.1% and Toronto up 0.1%.
FirstService jumped 4.4% to $47.25 after releasing a good earnings report. I have consistently admired the management of this company. However it h...

It was only eight days ago that markets were (as we now know) reaching a low point markets fell most days in January and entered February with a down day. Suddenly everyone seemed to accept that we in the middle of a market correction and that it pro...

On Monday the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and Toronto rose 0.1%
Liquor Stores N.A. fell 3.8% to $12.41. There was further news on the company to my knowledge. I am mildly tempted to add to my position at this or lower prices but will likely just stick with...

American Express is added to the list above rated Buy at $87.
...

On Friday, the markets ended the week strongly with the S&P 500 up 1.3% and Toronto up 0.5%.
Most of our stock picks were up. Liquor Stores N.A. recovered another 4.5% to $12.90.
...

The last few weeks have been a reminder that markets can certainly fall. Anyone holding stocks has to be prepared for periodic declines. With the market up today, perhaps it is appropriate to think about your risk tolerance and consider reducing your...

On Thursday the S&P 500 was up 1.2% and Toronto was up 1.1%.
Almost all of our stock picks were up.
A notable gainer was Liquor Stores N.A., up 4.6% $12.34. I was looking into the report that recommended liquor sales be allowed by grocery stores....

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.2% and Toronto rose 0.4%. Most of our stock picks were up.
Liquor Stores N.A fell another 3.8% to $11.80. I added modestly to my position in that stock today. I consider that to be a speculative purchase to some d...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 rose 0.8 % and Toronto rose 0.1%.
Most of our stock picks were up. Liquor Stores was down another 4.6%. I resisted the urge to buy any more of that.
Canadian Tire was down 1.2% to $93.71. I don't think we can know much more...

As most of you are no doubt aware, on Monday markets were down fairly sharply. The S&P 500 was down 2.3% and Toronto was down 1.5%.
The only stocks on our list that escaped the damage were some preferred shares. Bonds had a comparatively good day...

On Friday the S&P 500 was down 0.7% and Toronto was down 0.3%. Toll Brothers was up 1.7% to $36.75. My order to trim Toll Brothers at $37.50 was filled as Toll reached a high of $37.58 on Friday. This trimming was a minor one indeed as I only sol...

This morning the Dow had been down 225 points but then recovered and is currently down 117 points or 0.7%.
With the market gyrations this weak and with some reports of lower earnings, difficulties in retail and given that market P/E ratios are somewh...

On Thursday we had the S&P 500 up 1.1% and Toronto up 0.7%.
In something of a mirror image of yesterday, almost everything on our list was up.
Regarding the Royal Bank preferred shares that I mentioned yesterday, they started trading today. Symbo...

On Wednesday the S&P 500 was down 1.0% and Toronto was down 0.3%. The futures had been positive Tuesday night but turned negative by the opening on Wednesday. In part, this seems to be due to the FED continuing to taper its bond buying, though th...

Markets were down somewhat on Monday with Toronto down 1.0% and the S&P 500 down a small amount. Markets were set to open higher on Tuesday.
With emerging markets down, perhaps one should consider some of the emerging market ETFs. These are specu...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 rose 0.6% and Toronto rose 0.8%
Toll Brothers was up 4.1%, Bank of America was up 2.6% and Couche-Tard was up 3.5%.
I don't put much faith in anyone's ability to predict the short-term direction of markets but perhaps today...

Element Financial is added to the list of stocks and rated Speculative Buy at $12.98. It's an interesting company whereby an aggressive management has undertaken a a very aggressive growth strategy and turned a small financial company into a much lar...

On Thursday the S&P 500 was down 0.9% and Toronto was down 0.4%.
The Canadian dollar had fallen another half cent on Thursday but in the end closed about unchanged.
Most of our stock picks were down with the market. A few managed gains today incl...

On Wednesday the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was up 0.3%
The Canadian dollar declined approximately one cent which benefits Canadian investors how have U.S. investments (at least as measured in Canadian dollars, that is. It's not of much cons...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was down 0.3% and the Canadian dollar slipped a bit lower.
Bombardier fell 3.9% after announcing layoffs. I think this company needs new management. But it is also an inherently tough industry. Of mo...

On Monday the U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King day. Toronto was up 0.7%.
I notice Boston Pizza was down 2.0% to $21.00. It's worth considering for those wanting yield (and it should grow its distribution slowly over the years).
I plan ...

Bank of America is updated and rated Speculative (higher) Buy at $17.01. It's not as well run as Wells Fargo but it should do well in 2014 as it continued to recover from the financial crisis.
On Friday the S&P 500 was down 0.4% and Toronto was u...

Today the S&P 500 fell 0.1% while Toronto rose 0.4%
Bombardier common shares fell 7.7% to $4.17. I fist rated Bombardier on this site as a Buy at $12.80 back on November 10, 1999. It subsequently went over $25 in the year 2000 but then soon colla...

On Wednesday the S&P 500 was up 0.5% and was at a record high today of 1851 before closing at 1848. Toronto was up 0.6%.
Bank of America released higher-than-expected Q4 earnings this morning and rose 2.3% to $17.15. This stock is up 10% since Ja...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 was up 1.1% and Toronto was up 0.1%.
The Canadian dollar slipped about a half scent and is now at 91.1 cents. This is quite grand for Canadians holding U.S. investments and terrible for Americans owning Canadian investments...

On Monday the S&P 500 was down 1.3% and Toronto was down 0.5%.
Most of our stock picks were down. The Canadian dollar however rose a third of a cent.
It's certainly not surprising or alarming to get a down a day like this. As for the next move, I...

On Friday the S&P 500 rose 0.2% while Toronto climbed 0.9%. The Canadian dollar fell another half cent and can now be purchased for 91.8 U.S. cents.
Stantec was up 3.4%, Liquor Stores N.A was up 1.5% and Toll Brothers was up 2.0% to $36.73 (I hav...

On Thursday the S&P 500 was flat while Toronto was up 0.1%. The Canadian dollar slipped about another quarter of a cent and is at 92.19 cents U.S. per Canadian dollar.
Bank of America was up another 1.5%. Costco which always seems to look too exp...

On Wednesday the S&P 500 was flat (although the DOW was down 0.4%) and Toronto was up 0.1%
The Canadian dollar was down about a half cent.
I have U.S. stocks and U.S. cash. To hedge a bit of the U.S. cash (against a rise in the Canadian dollar) I...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 was up 0.6% and Toronto was up 0.7%.
Couche-Tard and First Service were each up 3.7% today, which is impressive.
The Canadian dollar was down about one cent and is now at 92.7 cents and this pushes up the value of U.S. doll...

On Monday the S&P 500 was down 0.3% and Toronto was down 0.4%
Some of stocks did okay, Liquor Stores N.A was up 1.9%. Bank of America was up another 1.5%.
Fedex is going to borrow $2 billion to buy back shares. Strange that they would do this jus...

Monday was a negative day in the markets.
The S&P 500 was down 1.8% and Toronto was down 2.5%
Canadian Western Bank was down 5.0%.
Among the few gainers was RioCan REIT up 1.6% and Toll Brothers up 1.6%.
Is it time to scoop up bargains? Well that...

I have updated the reference article on Global Exchange Traded ETFs. These can give exposure to different regions and countries around the world. Unfortunately there were no real bargains in evidence. Possibly Russia and China could be considered as ...

On Friday the S&P 500 was about flat and Toronto fell 0.3%. Bank of America was up another 1.9%
...

On this first trading day of 2014 the S&P 500 fell 0.9% and Toronto fell 0.2%
Bank of America however was up 3.4%
...

I have updated the composition of my own portfolio. It's not the intention that anyone copy it but it is provided for the sake of transparency and disclosure.
For purposes of performance tracking for 2014, the above ratings will be used as the start ...