2015

June 4, 2015 Canadian Western Bank update

The report for Canadian Western Bank Group is updated and the stock is rated Strong Buy a $28.27. The Q2 report showed continued good growth and only a minimal increase in bad loans. The market remains worried about the low oil prices and potential r...


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June 3, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
Couche-Tard was up 2.8%.
Canadian Western bank is expected to release earnings this evening but the report has not come out yet. It was up 1.4% today.
 
...


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June 1, 2015

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Dollarama was up 3.6%. Element Financial was up 2.4%. There were no major declines for the stocks on our list.
The Canadian dollar was down about 0.6 cents and is currently at 79.9 cents...


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June 1, 2015 CNR Update

Canadian National Railway Company Ltd. is updated and rated Buy at CAN $74.88 or U.S. $58.98. It had reached a high of CAN $88.89 in February and returned close to that again in march. It then fell about 17% despite an excellent Q1. The fall was like...


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May 31, 2015

On Friday, the S&P 500 and Toronto were each down 0.6% apparently due to weak figures for GDP growth in the first quarter.
Melcor was down 4.2% to $18.30. Due to its low trading volume, Melcor is inherently volatile and I would not read anything ...


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May 31, 2015 VISA update

VISA Inc. is updated and rated Weak Buy at $68.68. I have said many times that it has monopoly characteristics to some degree in that most retailers have effectively no choice but to accept its cards and pay the merchant discount fees. And those merc...


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May 28, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was about unchanged.
Rising stocks included Couche-Tard up 2.0%, e-Bay up 2.0%, and Onex up 1.9%.
The Bombardier pref share on our list fell 2.8% to $17.40. Whole it is definitely a riskier preferr...


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May 27, 2015

Berkshire Hathaway is updated and rated Buy at $144.75. What Buffett has accomplished with Berkshire is almost beyond comprehension (stock price up 1.8 million per cent from the 1965 starting price which was in the range of about $12 for the A shares...


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May 26, 2015

Tuesday was a negative day in the markets with the S&P 500 down 1.0% and Toronto down 0.9%.
Melcor was one of the rare stocks on the rise and it was up 2.7% to $19.00.
Element Financial was up 4.7% on confirmation that it is in talks to buy "flee...


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May 25, 2015

Monday was the Memorial Day holiday int he U.S. and stock trading was closed. Toronto was down 0.1%.
Melcor was up 2.3% on higher-than-average (but still low) volume.
...


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May 25, 2015 Wells Fargo Preferred Shares

The report on the Wells Fargo preferred shares is updated and rated Weak Buy / Hold at $24.49
I had first mentioned these shares on December 19, 2013 when I had bought them at $19.90. At that time they looked like a bargain because they had fallen fr...


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May 24, 2015

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was about flat.
Element Financial was up 3.4% to $18.34. The stock price ahs done well as the company continues to grow by acquisition. It appears to be expensive but could continue to do well if i...


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May 21, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% while Toronto rose 0.9%.
Oil (West Texas Intermediate July futures contract) was up almost 3% to $60.61.
The biggest gainer on my list today was Agrium, up 2.5%.
My next update will be for Wells Fargo, which i...


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May 20, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
Most of the stocks on my list were down. The seemingly unstoppable Constellation Software was up 2.7% to $511 after announcing another acquisition.
...


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May 19, 2015 (sent by email)

Yesterday, it was reported that new home starts are up sharply in the U.S. This should bode well for Toll Brothers which reports earnings on May 27.
The Canadian dollar has recently declined about 2 cents. This was after having risen about five cents...


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May 18, 2015

Monday was a holiday in Canada but not in the U.S. The S&P 500 was up 0.3%.
Toll Brothers was up 1.4% to $37.90. It's my second largest position and should continue to do well over time. It reports earnings on May 27.
 
...


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May 17, 2015 Stantec

Stantec is updated and remains rated Buy, now at $35.78.
Stantec is a wonderful business (has earned ROE in the range of 17% to 19% for years despite a rapidly growing equity base). It has excellent management. And its available at a reasonable price...


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May 16, 2016 Market Comment

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% to a new record high close and Toronto was up 0.5%.
Canadian Tire was up 4.2% and this was on top of yesterday's rise of 1.7% after it released earnings on Thursday morning. It appears that after having time to st...


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May 16, 2015 Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire is updated and rated Buy at $133.55
It just released earnings which were exceptionally strong in terms of same-store sales.
We have been rating it a (lower) Buy since last year (May 10, 2014 at $111.29). It has done better than I would ...


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May 14, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% and is basically at its record high. (Which is in no way a danger signal.) Toronto was up 0.3% and is about 4.5% below its all time high.
Stantec was up 4.6% to $34.52 after reporting good earnings. We had last ...


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May 13, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was about unchanged and Toronto was down 0.4%.
Canadian National Railway was down 3.2% to $74.11. I think it would be good value at this price.
Couche-Tard was down 2.3% to $46.08. It still seems expensive at that price ...


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May 12, 2015

On Tuesday the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and Toronto was down 0.7%.
But oil (West Texas Intermediate on the futures market) rose around 1.5% today and is currently up another 0.45% this evening to $61.20.
Melcor reported earnings after the close and ever...


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May 11, 2015

On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.1%
Bond yields were up modestly (10 year U.S. Treasury up to 2.28% from 2.16% on Friday and from 2.12% on May 1. That 2.28% is still an incredibly low rate and I am not sure the increase con...


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May 10, 2015

Friday was a good day to own stocks. Actually, on average, most days are good days to own stocks. When you own stocks you own a slice of the corporate world. Most large corporations are profitable. The gyrating prices of stocks often makes them seem ...


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May 7, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and Toronto also rose 0.4%
Bombardier rose 6.7% after announcing it would sell a portion of its Transportation (rail) business in an IPO while retaining control. The company also announced first quarter earnings...


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May 6, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 1.0%.
Agrium was one of the few stocks on our list that rose and it was up 3.2% to $129.01 This was due to the dividend increase and the increase came despite a projection that earnings...


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May 5, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and Toronto fell 1.3%
Melcor was up 4.9% on higher than usual volume.
Agrium reported earnings after the close which were apparently below expectations but if also raised its dividend 12%. I am not sure which way...


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May 4, 2015

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
Notable gainers included Couche-Tard up 4.6%, Liquor Stores N.A. up 3.2%,  Constellation Software up 2.8%, and Bank of America up 2.0%.
In the next two weeks we will get a number of Q1 rep...


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May 3, 2015

The report for Bank of America is updated and the stock is rated Speculative (higher) Buy at $16.11. The thesis for owning Bank of America is that its stock price could rise substantially once it is able to string together four quarters without a large litigation settlement to matters dating back to the financial crisis. Also it may soon announce an increase to the dividend. (It has to have permission from the Fed to do that and I am not sure where that stands.)

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% and Toronto was up 0.8%.

Canadian National Rail was up 2.8%. The RioCan pref share rose 2.5% and the rate reset pref shares in general had a strong week.

April 30, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 1.0% and Toronto was down 0.8%.
Notable decliners included Couche-Tard down 5.1%, Constellation Software down 4.1%.
I don't hold any Berkshire Hathaway but am tempted to grab some with the price now at about $141 dow...


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April 29, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% while Toronto was about unchanged.
Melcor recovered some of yesterday's decline and was up 3.0%. I found out today that, to my surprise, Melcor has not bought back any shares under its normal course issuer bid ...


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April 28, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% while Toronto was about unchanged.
I was surprised to see Melcor down 5.4% to $17.00. Most of the decline was in the last hour of trading but was on more than a tiny volume. It could be that someone was just in...


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April 27, 2015

On Monday, the S&P 500 was down 0.4% and Toronto also declined 0.4%.
Among the decliners was Melcor, down 2.1% to just under $18.00. I continue to think it offers excellent value.
Bombardier was down 4.7%. I did not see any news to cause that. I ...


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April 26, 2015

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto was up 0.1%.
Most preferred shares rose which was likely associated with a rise in interest rates in the bond market in the past few days.
My pace of updates to the stocks reports has been quite slow...


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April 23, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Toll Brothers was down another 4.2%. I did not see any reason for that. Then again, stocks have NEVER really needed a reason to rise or fall. Much of the fluctuations are essentially r...


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April 23, 2015 (11:05am eastern)

With Toll Brothers down a bit more I grabbed a few more shares this morning. I see a couple of Home Builders reported good earnings reports, one today and one yesterday. So it seems to me that buying on this dip could work out well. Toll Brothers sho...


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April 22, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
Visa was up 4.1% on news it might be free to do business in China before long. Visa has acted as a financial toll booth for years now. The stock has looked expensive for some years ...


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April 21, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.2% and Toronto fell 0.4%.
CN rail was down 3.1% after reporting earnings. Melcor was up 2.0%.
The federal budget was investor friendly. It's nice to get a bigger opportunity to shield investments from tax including ...


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April 21, 2015 (9:15 am eastern)

Markets were strong on Monday.
Boston Pizza Royalties as down about 1% to $21.30. I was perhaps over-zealous buying into the recent rights offering at $22.10. But it was as high as $23 before the rights offering and with the planned distribution incr...


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April 18, 2015

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 1.1% and Toronto was down 0.2%.
A notable decliner was American Express down 4.4% to $77.32. Its earnings per share for Q1 were up 11% but "the market" seemed to have been taken somewhat by surprise by the currency...


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April 18, 2015

Constellation Software is updated and rated Weak Sell at $491.30.
There is no doubt that this is a great company and one of the very best managed Canadian companies. Nevertheless, the stock may now be too expensive in relation to earnings. For the ne...


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April 16, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.1% and Toronto fell 0.4%.
The Canadian dollar rose and now sits at 82.0 cents. Oil (West Texas Intermediate futures New York) rose and now sits at $56.13.
The dollar had bottomed out at just under 78 cents and so i...


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April 15, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and Toronto rose 0.4%
The Canadian dollar rose 1.2%, Oil rose several percentage points to just under $56.
Canadian Western Bank was up 1.5%. Melcor was up 1.4%.
Rate reset pref shares have continued to slide i...


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April 14, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto was about flat.
There were no big gains among the stocks on our list but Canadian Western Bank and Stantec each edged up 1.2%.
Meanwhile FirstService declined 3.4%. It will soon split into two separ...


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April 13, 2015

On Monday the S&P 500 was down 0.5% while Toronto was about unchanged.
The RioCan pref share that I mentioned yesterday was up 3.3%. But that is a bt misleading . Upon checking it was really just a few low traces on Friday that has pushed it down...


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April 12, 2015

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Element Financial was up 4.8%. Constellation Software was up 2.2%.
The RioCan rate reset share was down 2.5% to $19.36. This decline appears to be related to the fact that these shares are...


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April 9, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and Toronto was up 0.7%.
Costco fell 2.1% as it reported lower same-store sales in March due to the lower U.S dollar. Its international same store sales were down 9% due to currency but would have been up 4% if ...


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April 8, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
Toll Brothers followed up its 2.6 % loss of yesterday with a 2.6% gain today. I chalk this sort of thing up to random noise in the market. Constellation Software was up another 3.3% a...


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April 7, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was up 0.6% as oil rose about 3%.
FedEx was up 2.7% on news of an acquisition.
Canadian Western Bank was up 1.6%.
Toll Brothers fell 2.6% to $38.86 apparently because some advisors suggested takin...


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April 5, 2015k

American Express is updated and rated Buy at $79.70. It has suffered a blow due the upcoming loss of its co-branded Costco card. Sometimes it pays to buy good companies when they suffer a problem. On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto ...


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April 3, 2015

Agrium is updated and rated Speculative (lower) Buy at U.S. $104.83 or CAN $131.72. While I am not a buyer at this time, I do like this company. It makes its living in a very honest way. Manufacturing and distribution fertilizers is something that is...


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April 2, 2015 7:20 am western (9:20 am eastern time)

U.S. markets are set to open slightly to the down side.
Gainers yesterday included FirstService up 2.3% and RioCan REIT up 2.1%.
Target is now set to have all its stores closed by April 12. Most Canadians will say good riddance. They leave a path of ...


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March 31, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.9% while Toronto was relatively flat.
Melcor was up 2.5% to $19.45. This stock has risen modestly from the $18.00 level since the company announced on Friday a modest share buy-back program and indicated that the sh...


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March 30, 2015

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 1.2% and Toronto rose 0.6%.
FirstService was up another 2.25% to $81.68 I have often indicated a great respect for the management of this company but I thought it looked somewhat expensive in December at $58.49. Most o...


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March 29, 2015

The Canadian Western Bank rate re-set preferred share report is updated and rated Buy at $24.81.
Our popular article on the valuation of the S&P 500 is updated and suggests that the S&P 500 is somewhat over-valued at this time.
...


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March 28, 2015

Alimentation Couche-Tard is updated and rated Weak Buy / Hold at $50.54. This company just reported exceptionally strong growth in Q3. It is one of the very best managed companies in Canada and has an exceptional history of growth. It is one of very ...


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March 27, 2015 7:10 am Mountain time (9:10 eastern)

U.S. markets are set to open slightly to down side which would add to the declines of this week.
Oil markets are "volatile" due to escalating conflicts in Yemen.
As the first quarter draws to a close there is increasing emphasis on the earnings hit t...


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March 25, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 1.5% and Toronto was down 1.0%.
One of the few stocks going the other way was Dollarama, up 2.7%. While Dollarama had a great Q4, it also reported that the sharply lower Canadian dollar is hurting its profits in Q1....


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March 24, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.6% while Toronto was up 0.8%.
Notable gainers included Couche-Tard up 4.0%, Melcor up 2.2% (on typical low volume), Stantec up 1.9%, CN rail up 1.7%.
Boston pizza Royalties Income fund was down 3.6% to $22.12 af...


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March 23, 2015

Overall markets were relatively flat today.
Melcor is updated and rated Strong Buy at $17.82. It's earnings will almost certainly decline in 2015. However, that appears to be more than fully priced in. But those that believe that Alberta is more or l...


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March 22, 2015

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.9% and Toronto was up 0.5%.
I spent time reading Melcor's annual report today. Based on the numbers Melcor appears to be a clear bargain. There are always scenarios that could happen involving sustained low oil pri...


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March 19, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.5%.
Melcor fell 2.5% to $17.40 which is no surprise really given the drop in oil prices and announced layoffs in Alberta. Couche-Tard was down 2.7%. Element Financial was up .5%.
Canad...


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March 18, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 ended the day up 1.2% and Toronto was up 0.4%
The Candadian dollar rose more than one cent.
Oil has fallen and there have been more layoffs. Canadian interest rates are lower and this hurts bank profits. On the other han...


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March 18, 2015 (9:45 am eastern)

Markets are down moderately at this hour but as always some stocks are up, Couche-Tard and the Bombardier pref share are up. Melcor is hanging in at about the $18 level. I have an order in for a family account that I just took over at $17.55 but may ...


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March 16, 2015

Greetings from Puerto Vallarta (which in on the West coast of Mexico south of the baha peninsula).
On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 1.3% and Toronto was up 0.9%.
Most stocks were up today. Notably, Melcor was up 4.0% and this despite oil being down ...


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March 13, 2015

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.6% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
Oil was down about 4%.
The report for Liquor Stores N.A. is updated and the company is rated Strong Sell at $15.26. Perhaps I am too negative on this company and perhaps I am biased ...


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March 12, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 1.3% and Toronto was up 0.3%
Notable gainers included Wells Fargo up 3.5%, American Express up 2.7% and Onex up 3.1%.
Melcor gained 3.2%. This is a thinly traded stock and even after releasing earnings it traded on...


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March 11, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.2% while Toronto was up 0.7%
Canadian National Railway was up 2.6%, The Bombardier Series 4 preferred share was up 2.3% to $19.00, Bombardier was up 6.4% to $2.49. The RioCan preferred share was up 3.5% to $22.00....


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March 10, 2015

Stocks declined on Tuesday. The S&P 500 was down 1.7% and Toronto was down 1.4%. Of such a day, it is often said "investors sold off stocks". But of course, as always, for every sale there was also a buyer.  I would describe today's action as "in...


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March 9, 2015

Today marks exactly six years since the market bottomed out after the financial crisis. We were buying stocks near the bottom and that certainly worked out well.
You can see what we were saying in March, 2009 by clicking this link and scrolling to th...


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March 8, 2015

Toll Brothers is updated and remains rated Buy at $36.92. In June 2011, I added this company to the site and rated it Speculative Buy at $21.03 as one way to "play" the expected recovery in U.S. house prices.  The share price has been volatile but th...


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March 7, 2015

Canadian Western Bank is updated and rated Strong Buy at $27.06. The price has fallen due to concerns about bad loans due to lower oil and gas prices. The bank indicates that it does not expect to experience excessive bad loans. It seems reasonable t...


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March 5, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was up a similar amount.
Canadian Western Bank fell 7.1% despite releasing a fairly good earnings report and despite the fact that it is still expecting to grow earnings in 2015. The stock appears ...


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March 4, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.4% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
Bombardier was down 4.6% after QATAR Airlines said it was no longer interested in the C Series after all the delays and had basically forgotten about it (ouch).
Canadian Western B...


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March 3, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.9%.
Couche-Tard was down 2.5%. The Liquor Stores N.A. convertible debenture was down 6.8% to $102.54 indicating that yesterday's rise to $110 was, as suspected, some kind of anomaly.
Af...


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March 2, 2015

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.6% while Toronto was up 0.2%.
Notable gainers included the RioCan preferred share up 3.0% to $21.66. Visa, up 2.6% on news it will be the new exclusive credit card at Costco. Constellation Software up 2.9%.
The Liq...


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March 1, 2015

On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and Toronto was about flat.
Canadian Tire is updated and rated (lower) Buy at $131.72. On the numbers it would be a Buy but I it also faces almost certain headwinds due to the sharply lower Canadian dollar. The im...


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February 26, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and Toronto was up 0.1%
Canadian Tire rose 8.8% to a new record high on a very strong earnings report. This company has been very well managed and has been firing on all cylinders for at least several years....


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February 25, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% while Toronto was up 0.4%.
It seems my comments of yesterday that the banks could suffer due to low interest rates and bad loans related to oil prices and the weaker economy may have been misplaced. Royal B...


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February 24, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% while Toronto fell 0.2%
Toll Brothers released a good earnings report and the stock rose 3.8%. I plan to update the report by Sunday. It will remain rated Buy or possible drop to (lower) Buy. I am not planning to...


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February 23, 2015

On Monday, the S&P 500 was about flat while Toronto was up 0.2%.
Canadian Western Bank was down 2.8%, Melcor was down 3.6%. I continue to believe that these will be good long term investments but the short-term is hard to predict. (They are already "...


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February 22, 2015

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.6% (to another new record high) while Toronto was down 0.1%.
Stocks (from our list) that were on the move included Melcor up 2.2% and the Bombardier Preferred share up 6.6%
The RioCan preferred A share report is up...


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February 19, 2015

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and Toronto was down 0.2%.
Stocks on the move included; Canadian Western Bank down 2.5%,
FirstService up 6.0% (illustrating once again that it can be good to stick with high quality companies even when they ...


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February 18, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was essentially unchanged while Toronto was down 0.5%.
In yesterday's post I said that the yield on a 5-year Bank of Canada bond was 0.42%. Actually, I should have said 0.73%, and the latest update is 0.79%. If the rate ...


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February 17, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto was up 0.1%
Stantec and Canadian Tire were each up 2.0%. Couche-Tard was up 2.2%, Liquor Stores N.A. was up 5.3%.
Meanwhile the RioCan pref shares REI.PR.A were down 3.2% to $21.23. These are rate r...


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February 15, 2015

Bombardier Inc. is updated and rated Highly Speculative (lower) Buy at Canadian $2.58. I just spent many hours reading its brand new 2014 annual report. This is a sad story. It's a huge company with 74,000 employees. It's profitable on an adjusted ba...


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February 13, 2015 New Web Site

Welcome to our new look Web Site. It was developed by the expert developers at the Edmonton offices of ARC Business Solutions Inc.
...


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February 13, 2015 12:20 p.m. eastern time

With American Express down another 3% today to $78, I decided to add a small amount to my relatively modest position. Basically I am showing the courage of my convictions in having recently rated it a a Buy at $93. I don't know the impact of losing t...


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February 12, 2015

On Thursday the S&P 500 rose 1.0% and Toronto rose 0.5%
Notable gainers included Canadian Western Bank up 1.7%, Boston Pizza Royalties up 1.7%, Wells Fargo up 1.8%, Toll Brothers up 1.5% and Bank of America up 1.9%.
America Express was down 6.4% ...


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February 11, 2015

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was unchanged and Toronto was up 0.3%.
FirstService jumped 7.1% after announcing earnings and that it will split into two separate companies.  Onex was up 2.2%.
Bombardier was up 4.8% (albeit to just $3.04) after an indu...


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February 10, 2015

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 1.1% while Toronto rose 0.1%.
Couche-Tard was up 3.0%. The seemingly unstoppable Constellation Software was up 2.7%. Toll Brothers was up 2.1%.
After the close Canadian Western Bank announced that it will sell its pro...


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February 9, 2015

On Monday the S&P 500 was down 0.4% while Toronto was up 0.1%.
Liquor Stores N.A. was down 4.25% Onex, Dollarama and Boston Pizza were each up 1.6%. And that is about the extent of the excitement today in the stocks on my list.
...


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February 8, 2015

Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund is updated and rated Buy at $21.80 to yield 5.6%. It it somewhat like a perpetual preferred share except that the cash distribution can be expected to increase at perhaps 1 to 2% annual but could fall in the event o...


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February 5, 2015 Comments

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 1.0% and Toronto was up 0.9%.
Most of the stocks on my list were up roughly 1 to 2 percent.
Costco was down 4.4% a day after after reporting that January's international sales were down 4% due to currency impacts thou...


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February 4, 2015 Comments

Wednesday was another non-boring day in the markets. The S&P 500 was down 0.4% and Toronto was down 0.5%.
Notable losers included Canadian Western Bank down 3.7%, Canadian Tire down 2.0% and FirstService down 2.3% and CLO the oil sands ETF down 4.7%....


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February 3, 2015 Comments

Tuesday was another good day for stocks.
The S&P 500 was up 1.4% and Toronto was up 1.1%.
Stocks on our list that gained the most today were Canadian Western bank up another 5.6%, Stantec up 4.0%, Costco up 5.3%!, and the oilsands ETF, CLO, up 5.7%.
...


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February 2, 2015 Comments

Monday was a positive day as the S&P 500 rose 1.3% and Toronto rose 1.5%.
It was nice to see Canadian Western Bank rise 7.2%. Other notable gainers included Canadian Tire up 2.4%, Costco up 2.1%, Bank of America up 2.0% and Onex up 2.1%.
Oil has ...


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February 1, 2015 Comments

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 1.3% while Toronto was up 0.3%.
Notable losers included Canadian Western Bank down 3.1%, Walmart down 3.1%, FedEx down 2.2%.
Gainers included CLO, the oils sands ETF up 6.2%, Couche-Tard up another 3.2%, and Visa u...


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January 29, 2015 Comments

On Thursday, the S&P 500 ended the day up 0.9% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
The amazing Couche-Tard was up 4.0%. Agrium was up 1.9%, and Toll Brothers was up 3.2%
Meanwhile, Canadian Western Bank fell 2.7% to $26.60 and its rate reset preferred share...


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January 28, 2015 Comments

Wednesday was not a good day in the markets. The S&P 500 was down 1.4% and Toronto was down 1.6%.
Notable decliners included Constellation Software, down 4.7%, Canadian Western Bank down 2.9%, and Bank of America down 2.8%.
The preferred shares t...


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January 27, 2015 Comments

On Tuesday the S&P 500 lost 1.3% but Toronto was up 0.2%
Some disappointing earnings reports in the U.S. pulled the market down. In particular Caterpillar and Proctor and Gamble had earnings that were hurt by the high U.S. dollar (or the decline ...


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January 26, 2015 Comments

On Monday, the markets started off the week with the S&P 500 rising 0.3%
and Toronto up 0.1%.
Canadian Western Bank was down 2.5%. This could be due to continued fears of weakness in the western-Canada economies due to low oil prices. It could al...


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January 25, 2015 Comments

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.6% while Toronto was up 0.1%
About the only notable winners on my list was Constellation Software up 3.0% and Element Financial up 3.3%.
As far as losers FedEx was down 3.0% after UPS reported lower profits due t...


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January 22, 2015 Comments

Thursday was a good day to own stocks. To own, that is, your share of the largest and most profitable companies in the marketplace.
The S&P 500 was up 1.5% and Toronto was up 1.4%
Some of the notable gainers on our list were CNR, up 3.9% , Stante...


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January 21, 2015 Comments

It really does seem that there is never a dull day in the markets. Today we got the surprise interest rate cut followed by a steep drop in the Canadian dollar which in turn was seen as positive for stocks.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and Toronto was up...


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January 20, 2015 Comments

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was about unchanged.
Agrium was up an impressive 4.5% to $124.22. The only news that I see is that a former Board member with apparently very good credentials is returning to the Board after an offe...


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January 19, 2015 Comments

On Monday, the New York stock markets were closed for the Martin Luther King holiday. Toronto was open and finished the day about unchanged.
Bombardier took another tumble. Melcor was down 2.6% to $16.55.
So, let's take a look at both of these.
Melco...


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January 17, 2015 Comments

On Friday, the S&P 500 was 1.3% and Toronto was up 1.9%.
It has only been two week but our Stock picks have not started the year off well. Canadian Western Bank and Melcor are each down about 15% since December 31 (and down a lot more than that f...


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January 15, 2015 Comments

Markets continue to be anything but boring.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.9% and Toronto was down 0.3%
I was shocked to hear that Target will close up.
I did point out way back (see Sept 19, 2011, August 1, 2012, February 27, 2013) when it ...


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January 14, 2015 Comments

On Wednesday the S&P 500 was down 0.6% and Toronto was down 0.7%.
Melcor was down 5.7% to $17.06. Canadian Tire was down 3.0%. Agrium was down 3.0% as was Walmart, Liquores N.A> down 3.2%, Element Financial down 3.3%.
Clearly there is some lev...


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January 13, 2015 Comments

On Tuesday the S&P 500 ended the day down 0.3% and Toronto was down 0.6%.
Onex was up 6.0% on the announcement of an acquisition (I wish my overall net worth would jump 6% instantly when I bought an investment, but such is the strange world of co...


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January 12, 2015 Comments

On Monday the S&P 500 was down 0.8% and Toronto was also down 0.8%
Some notable decliners included Canadian Western Bank down 5.4% to $27.73, Stantec down 3.2% to $29.79 and the oil sands ETF, CLO down 5.5% to $8.40.
I will freely admit that I di...


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January 11, 2015 Comments

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.8% and Toronto was down 0.5%
The U.S. unemployment rate among those in the labor force and actively looking for work is down to 5.6%. Many people will argue that the true rate is far higher. But the thing is that...


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January 8, 2015 Comments

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 1.8%, and Toronto was up 1.2%.
That makes a gain of 3.0% for the S&P 500 in two days and certainly makes for a different feel to the market than Tuesday.
The reason for the gain int he U.S. was apparently in an...


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January 7, 2015 Comments

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 1.2% and Toronto was up 0.3%. Almost all the stocks on my list were up.
Liquor Stores N.A. was up 4.5%. I have to admit that this stock fell when I thought it was a Buy and lately it has risen when I thought it wa...


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January 6, 2015 Comments

Tuesday was a nasty day in rated (higher) Buy on NOvember 17, 2012 at $68.12the markets (except for new investors or those who were otherwise largely in cash and who were looking to buy)
The S&P 500 was down 0.9% and Toronto was down 1.0%
Notable...


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January 4, 2015 Comments

On Friday, the new year of trading started off with the S&P 500 about flat for the day but with Toronto up 0.8%.
Today the Canadian dollar is at 84.63 American cents. That is $1.18 Canadian to buy one U.S. dollar. Add in the bank fee and you are ...


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January 1, 2015 Comments

I have updated many of the Stock Picks as we start a new year. For performance tracking purposes for 2015 (just like the other years) I will use the closing prices from December 31 as the starting prices for 2015. I will use the ratings above. In fou...


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