2019

On Monday, the S&P 500 was down 0.6% and Toronto was down 0.4%.
Tomorrow is of course the last day of trading for the year. We will also get the last dividends of the year including from Melcor and Boston Pizza among others.
 
 
 
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The report on Restaurant Brands (Tim Hortons, Burger King & Popeyes) is updated and rated (lower) Buy at Canadian $83.56. The report is in U.S. dollars and the U.S. price is $63.89.
At the last update last Summer, I thought the stock was quite ex...

Royal Bank of Canada is updated and rated Buy at $103.47. Its valuation ratios are quite attractive such that it could be rated in the Strong Buy range. But it is facing lower growth and it is possible that loan losses could cause problems in 2020. I...

There are just two trading days left in the year. 
On Friday, the S&P 500 was up another 0.1% and I believe likely set yet another all time closing high. Toronto was down 0.1%
CRH Medical (see update just below) was down 3.3% in Toronto.
AutoCana...

CRH Medical is updated and rated Speculative (higher) Buy. This is a small company with a market cap of U.S. $250 million. It is very much in a niche industry as it mainly provides anesthesia services for colonoscopies. Demographics are certainly fav...

Our report on Starbucks is updated and rated (lower) Buy. This is an extremely high quality company. But it's not cheap and therefore is rated only (lower) Buy. Since the last update in August its price fell about 5% while the market in general rose....

Our report on Canadian Tire is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $142. This company has been the subject of a short-seller report. They forecast lower earnings growth ahead. They also believe that Canadian Tore could get a credit rating downgrade. Th...

On Friday, the U.S. markets set yet another new high.
The S&P 500 was up 0.5% and Toronto was up 0.4%
It appears that markets will finish 2019 at around record highs and with stellar gains in 2019.
On Friday, lululemon was up 2.75%. 
Canadian Wes...

This CWB rate reset preferred share is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $17.75. It yields 6.06% and will not reset until April 30, 2014. This is not an exciting investment. But for those seeking yield and particularly yield eligible for the dividend...

Canadian Western Bank is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $31.89.
...

Wednesday was another interesting day in the markets. The S&P 500 was little changed while Toronto was down 0.25%.
SNC Lavalin (not on our list but one I have mentioned) was up 19% after avoiding a trial by pleading guilty to one charge of defrau...

On Tuesday, markets overall were little changed. The S&P 500 was approximately unchanged and Toronto as up 0.1%.
The Canadian Western Bank Series 5 rate reset preferred share CWB.PR.B was up 1.5% to $17.66. It yields 6.1%. Rate reset preferred sh...

Monday was a strong day in the markets.
The S&P 500 was up 0.7% to yet another new high and Toronto was up 0.3%.
Accordingly, most of the stocks on our list were up.
Toll Brothers was down 0.6% despite a report that the home builders sentiment in...

Linamar is updated and now rated only Speculative (lower) Buy. Perhaps that is too low a rating given a trailing P/E that is highly attractive at 6.2 and given that as of the Q3 conference call, the company was predicting operating earnings growth in...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was about unchanged. The Phase I China / USA trade agreement had already been reflected in the market by the close on Thursday and so there was no further impact on Friday. In fact, the way positive for markets goes is usua...

Thursday was a strong day in the U.S. markets as Trump signed some kind of Phase I trade deal with China.
The S&P 500 was up 0.9% while Toronto was about unchanged.
Linamar benefited from the news on the trade file adn was up 4.8% to $48.24. That...

Wednesday saw the S&P 500 rise 0.3% while Toronto as down 0.1%.
Melcor was up 2.8% adding to recent gains. But it tends to be volatile due to its thin trading volume.
Toll Brothers was up 1.7% recovering a portion of yesterday's decline.
After th...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% while Toronto was unchanged.
Despite apparently beating market expectations for earnings and revenue, Toll Brothers was down 4.9%. 
Restaurant Brands was up 1.8%.
Linamar was up 1.1% which was likely due to t...

Markets were down somewhat on Monday. The S&P 500 and Toronto were each down 0.3%.
Stantec was up 1.8%. 
Linamar was up 1.0% which is not bad on a day the market was down.
Constellation Software was down 3.5%. Any pull back in that stock has hist...

On Friday markets were strong. The S&P 500 was up 0.9% and Toronto was up 0.8%.
Oil and gas stocks were mostly up. XEG, the big Canadian oil and gas ETF was up 4.5%.
Trade related stocks mostly rose. CN Rail was up 2.1%. FedEx was up 2.2%, Linama...

Canadian National Railway Company is updated and rated Buy at Canadian $119.00 or U.S. $89.70. This has been a stellar investment for many years.  While it does not look cheap at about 19 times earnings, it is fairly priced. It will almost certainly ...

Thursday was not a good day for our stock picks.
The S&P 500 was up 0.15% while Toronto was down 0.25%.
Canadian Western Bank was down 6.9% after posting disappointing results for Q4. It has not increased its loan loss provisions. As long as it d...

Canadian Western Bank is down 7.3% as Q4 earnings declined 5%. (Correction, the decline mentioned here was versus Q3, earnings were up 5% versus Q4 of the prior year). Net interest margin was down slightly and expenses are up. Management indicates th...

On Wednesday, markets rebounded somewhat with the S&P 500 up 0.6% although Toronto was about unchanged.
Shopify surged 5.2% to almost $491. That's on top of a big gain yesterday. 5.2% is a LOT of money when you consider that Shopify has a market ...

Tuesday was another negative day in the markets due to deteriorating hopes for a near-term "Phase I" trade deal between China and the U.S.
The S&P 500 was down 0.7% and Toronto was down 0.5%.
FedEx, which certainly relies on increased trade for g...

Aecon is updated and rated (lower) Buy at $17.92.
Aecon Group Inc. is an interesting Canadian company that constructs vital infrastructure including light rail transit, bridges, pipelines, electricity transmission and distribution lines, chemical pla...

December has started off with a negative day on the markets as the S&P 500 was down 0.9% and Toronto was down 0.3%. Apparently the reson was increased trade tensions.
WSP Global bucked the trend and was up 1.5%. And Linamar was up 0.6% which seem...

On Friday, the S&P 500 and Toronto were each down 0.4%.
This week the Canadian market will be interested in the reports from the banks. Royal Bank reports on Wednesday. The level of actual bad debts and any changes to the level of provisions for ...

Our report on Andrew Peller (which is in the wine business) is updated and rated (lower) Buy. This is a tough business that faces stiff competition. The update may be more of interest to those who already own shares or who have a particular interest ...

Toronto was on ts own on Thursday and gained 0.1% as U.S. markets were closed. 
Canadian Tire was up 0.8% to just under $156. I think Canadian Tire will continue to do well. They are doing lots of promotions with their Triangle reward card to pull cu...

Wednesday was yet another positive day for stocks. The S&P 500 and Toronto were each up 0.4%. Both set record highs.
lululemon was up another 2.7% to almost $229. It has risen very steadily for the past year. It looks very expensive on a P/E rati...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto as about unchanged.
Shopify was up 5.1%
Toll Brothers was up 1.1%. A report today indicated that new home sales in the U.S. just reported their strongest two month figures in 12 years. But the repor...

The report for Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund Units has been updated and is rated (higher ) Buy at $14.05.
The report goes onto various details. But whether this is a good investment comes down to some questions which are not easy to predict:
Wit...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.75% and Toronto was up 0.5%.
Couche-Tard was up 3.5%. They are set to release earnings tomorrow. This has been fantastic comp[any and investment for many years.
Their exposure to selling vaping products is a potent...

The Boston Pizza units are down 3.0% to $14.02 this morning. Volume is heavier than normal. This on a morning when markets are higher.
It's hard to say if this is a good buying opportunity or not. Could it be that someone has information that a distr...

These shares, like most rate reset shares also offered the option to convert to a floating rate preferred share. The time to make that option has passed as the deadline was November 18th. But those holding ENB.PF.A could still sell those and buy the ...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% while Toronto was down 0.3%.
FedEx was up 2.9%. 
TFI International was up 2.45%. I don't know if it will benefit from the CN Rail  strike. On the one hand shippers may look to switch to trucks. On the other hand...

Our report on the Enbridge rate reset preferred share ENB.PF.A is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $15.60.
These shares will reset on December 1 which locks in the distribution for five years. They new dividend has already been set. The yield at $15...

Markets were not much changed on Thursday.
The S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was about unchanged.
I have a few orders in to add to some positions. 
I picked up some Melcor REIT at $7.95 today. 
If Boston Pizza dips to $14.30, I have an order ...

On Wednesday, markets were mostly a bit lower.
The S&P 500 was down 0.4% while the Toronto index was about unchanged.
CN Rail was down 1.8% due to a strike there. 
Linamar was down 4.4% due to concerns about progress on the China  / U.S. trade wa...

This morning Stats Canada reports that restaurant sales are still rising in 2019 versus 2018. Given new restaurants opening up, and changing tastes some restaurants are certainly facing lower sales but the industry overall is doing okay.
Sales of the...

On Monday, markets were about flat.
The S&P 500 was up just 0.05%. The TSX was about unchanged.
CRH Medical was down 1.7%.
Couche-Tard was up 1.2%.
TFI International was up 1.3%
...

Constellation Software is updated and rated Weak Buy / Hold at $1342. It reports in U.S. dollars and so our report is in U.S. dollars. It has been and is a fantastic company. Most of the time it looks expensive but it has been a mistake to sell this ...

On Friday markets set new record highs.
The S&P 500 was up 0.8% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
AutoCanada was up another 7.4% to $12.73. It's low was $7.33. Things had been looking scary until the latest earnings finally showed decent signs of a turn a...

Melcor Developments is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $12.04 (Wednesday's closing price). This has been a frustrating stock that has seemed significantly under-valued for some time. But it just seems to get cheaper. It suffered from a total lack o...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Toronto were each up 0.1%.
AutoCanada was up another 9.8% today. As I mentioned, it seems the analysts have let it out of the penalty box after its decent Q3 report. 
There were no other moves of particular note for t...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.1 and Toronto was up 0.3%
Apparently hopes for progress in the trade war with China are fading. FeddEx, probably as a result, was down 3.1%. 
CRH Medical was down 4.5% despite no news from the company.
Stantec w...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 and Toronto were each up 0.2%
Stantec was up another 2.3%. Recall it was let out of the dog house after reporting good Q3 numbers. 
Toll Brothers slipped 1.6% adn Limamar was down 1.8%.
Boston Pizza down to $14.40 I might ...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was about unchanged.
AutoCanada was up another 4.2% and was about the only noticeable move in the stocks on our list.
I'm somewhat tempted to buy back some Boston Pizza at $14.62. If it turns out t...

Markets in both Canada and the U.S. are open despite the holiday. Markets are down a little right now but nothing unusual to report.
Friday was another mostly positive day for our stocks. That was despite Trump throwing some cold water on the China t...

Thursday was a big day for earnings reports and a strong day in the markets.
The S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Stantec was up almost 16% after reporting Q3. It my well rise more as it has likely earned its way out of the penalty bo...

Our report for Amazon is updated and rated Speculative (lower) Buy at $1800. Historically, Amazon traded at extremely high multiples of earnings. In the past two years or so the P/E has come down but is still very high. It's quite possible that GAAP ...

BP Royalties units earnings are out. The results are poor with a decrease in same-store franchise-fee-eligible sales of 3.6%. It could be worse but this is quite weak. No cut to the distribution but the payout ratio on a trailing year basis now at 10...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
lululemon rebounded 3.3% recovering a recent decline.
WSP Global was up 1.5%. Earlier in the day it had been down in reaction to its earnings release but presumably the conference cal...

Markets were "mixed" on Tuesday with the S&P 500 down 0.1% and Toronto up 0.1%
Constellation Software was down 3.3%. This has been a fantastic company in the long term. I will update the report soon.
WSP Global reported after the close. The resul...

Monday was another positive day in the markets due to optimism that the U.S. and China will sign some sort of partial trade deal.
The S&P 500 was up 0.4% and Toronto was up 0.5%.
FedEx was up 5.3%.
TFI International was up 2.4%.
Linamar was up 2....

Markets were up sharply on Friday as the U.S. jobs report came in  strong. The S&P 500 was up 1.0% and Toronto was up 0.7%.
Notable gains included FedEx and Toll Brothers each up 2.5%.
Apple was up 2.8%.
SNC Lavalin (not on our list but one I fol...

Our report on the Melcor REIT is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $7.99. The REIT just released Q3 earnings which had a number of positives. After about six quarters of declining adjusted earnings per share, they reported an 8% increase in Q3. This ...

Stocks were mostly down on Thursday as the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and Toronto was down 0.1%.
But SNC Lavalin was up 20% after announcing Q3 results that included the big gain on the sale of most of its stake in highway 407 and that included positive p...

Warning - do not open any attachment in an email that you receive from me. I never send attachments to my investorsfriend lists. I use links.
On Tuesday, my email system was attacked when I opened a so-called secure PDF file that appeared to be from ...

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada held firm on interest rates at 1.75%  while the FED lowered by 0.25% to 1.50%. But the Canada statement was interpreted as signalling a possible cut ahead and the FED statement was interpreted as signalling this may b...

Our report on Heineken is updated and rated Weak Buy / Hold at 90.90 euros. Or you can buy in the U.S. as HEINY for U.S.$ 50.55 (these were yesterday's closing prices). Two HEINY are equivalent to one common share. The stock is not cheap. It may be o...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% while Toronto was up 0.2%.
Apple was down 2.3%. Shopify was down 3.2% after reporting a loss but sharply higher revenue. 
Tomorrow, the FED is expected to cut interest rates by 0.25 while the Bank of Canada i...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.6% while Toronto was down 0.1%.
Restaurant Brands was down 3.7% after "meeting earnings expectations" in Q3 but reporting a reduction in same-store sales at Tim Hortons. 
Toll Brothers was down 2.6%
Rate reset pref...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
Linamar was up 1.6%. Fed Ex was up 2.6%.
It will be interesting to see if the market reacts positively to the death of the ISIS leader. Definitely a big win for Trump. He's had a nice we...

Our report for BHP Group (formerly BHP Billiton) is updated and rated Speculative Buy for the BBL ADR (American Depository Receipt) that trades in New York at $42.49. It also trades as the BHP ADR at $49.22. The two types of shares are said to be eco...

In Thursday's action, the S&P 500 and Toronto were each up 0.2%.
Shopify was up 8.8% continuing its recent gyrations. 
Visa was up 2.8% and then released yet another strong earnings report after the close.
Linamar was down 2.5%.
After the close, ...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% while Toronto was down by 0.3%.
Linamar was up 1.5% and has had a good bounce back from recent lows. 
CRH Medical announced that it has arranged with its lenders to increase its credit lines to $200 million f...

Well, Albertans stayed up late only to find that the election did no go their way.
But the stock market opened as usual and life goes on. The S&P 500 finished the day down 0.4% and Toronto was down 0.2%.
Shopify was down 6.2%. It will take a very...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.7% and is once again over 3000. Toronto was up 0.25%.
American Express was up 2.0%. I added to my modest position today.
Andrew Peller was up 3.3%.
Statistics Canada reported that investment in building constructio...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.4% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
Shopify was down 5.4%. lulu lemon was up 1.0% to $207.
Over the weekend a new BREXIT deal failed to get passed. Boris Johnson was forced to write a letter to the EU to ask for a n ex...

Our report on American Express is updated and rated Buy at $116.74. It has done well since we rated it (higher) Buy on January 19th. The stock price is up 16% since then and this is justified by its earnings and revenue gains. It's not quite as attra...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 ended the day up 0.3% while Toronto was about unchanged.
The market has not pushed Boston Pizza any lower as a result of the distribution cut by the smaller restaurant royalty entity SIR (main brand Jack Astor's) which an...

I am selling the rest of the BP units in an RRSP account today. I have kept the units I hold in a taxable account. I see a downside risk if they have to cut the distribution. And I don't hold out much hope of any near-term big upside surprise such as...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was little changed.
Stantec was up 2.2%. Toll Brothers was up 2.9%.
Linamar was up 2.4%. This was likely related to General Motors reaching a tentative union deal. That's good. On the other hand...

I am selling as much as half of my BP units today. A smaller restaurant royalty entity that owns Jack Astors has cut their distribution and cited lower sale. I have been worrying about BP needing to cut their distribution due to their payout ratio be...

Markets moved higher on Tuesday. This was likely due to continued optimism about progress on China / USA trade tensions. The outlook for a trade deal is likely to continue to cause volatility in the markets.
The S&P 500 was up 1.0% but Toronto wa...

Our report on Dollarama is updated with a rating of (lower) Buy at $47.28. This has long been an extremely well-managed and successful retailer. Usually its shares have looked too expensive. It is probably about fairly priced at this time. It has had...

On Monday, the Toronto stock exchange was closed for the holiday while the S&P 500 was down 0.1%.
In U.S. trading, Shopify was up a hefty 4.6%.
In Edmonton, it was announced that Toyota will move its west-end Mayfield dealership into West Edmonto...

Markets rose of Friday as Trump hinted that some kind of at least partial trade deal with China was pending. Later on Friday he confirmed it was a partial deal and markets retreated somewhat from the highs of the day. 
U.S. markets are open on Monday...

Markets were higher Thursday on (faint) hopes of progress in the China / USA trade talks.
The S&P 500 was up 0.6% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
TFI International was up 3.6%. 
Couche-Tard was down 1.9%. It may be under pressure due to its exposure to ...

The Melcor REIT and Melcor Developments have announced that the REIT is acquiring, for $55 million, a retail shopping "power centre" in Grande Prairie which will increase the REIT's square footage by 9.7%. As part of the deal, Melcor Developments wil...

FedEx is updated and now rated only Speculative (lower) Buy at $138.39 (Its moved slightly higher at $140.49 as I post this). FedEx has been hurt early and hurt hard by the global slowdown in the manufacturing and industrial sector and the associated...

On Wednesday, markets were positive due to some optmisim about the China / USA trade talks.
The S&P 500 was up 0.9% and Toronto was up 0.5%.
Costco was up 1.7%. Then, after the close it reported September same-store sales up a strong 5.6%. That i...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 1.6% and Toronto was down 0.6%.
Correspondingly, most of the stocks on our list were down. 
TFI International was down 3.0% to $37.76. The company has been buying back shares aggressively and the shares do appear ...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was down 0.45% and Toronto was down 0.2%.
Dollarama was down 2.65%. 
Apparently, Alberta is about to announce that it has sold some of its crude-by-rial contract commitments to the private sector. I would have thought the g...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 1.4% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Linamar rebounded somewhat, up 4.4%. Most stocks were up.
The U.S. added fewer jobs than expected. But the unemployment rate is a record low 3.5%. Virtually, it seems there is almost no ...

On Thursday, markets started out negative but finished positive with the S&P 500 up 0.8% and Toronto up 0.4%.
Linamar got hammered down 10.3% after indicating that sales were slowing in all three of its categories (auto parts, access - i.e. sciss...

 
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 1.8% and Toronto was down 0.8%.
Accordingly, most of the stocks on our list were down. The bigger decliners were Apple down 2.5%, BHP Billiton - down 2.9%, Visa - down 2.6%, American Express -down 3.3%, and Au...

Tuesday was a down day in the markets as the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and Toronto was down 1.3%.
With the economy softening, I would be inclined to hold more cash. But I always find it difficult to part with most of the stocks I own and so I have very l...

Today marks the end of the third quarter. Soon, the next round of earnings report will start to flow in.
On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.5% while Toronto was down 0.2%.
Toll Brothers was up 2.4%
TFI International was up 2.7% after announcing that...

I have updated two articles that go into detail on specific ETFs to consider investing in.
The first article covers the relatively new balanced fund ETFs from Vanguard and iShares. These could be especially useful for newer investors and for anyone w...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.6%.
One of the old favorites on this site but no longer on the list, Wells Fargo, was up 3.8% after announcing its new CEO. Apparently he will work out of New York and not have to bother...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% while Toronto was about unchanged.
So far, it appears that the market is ignoring Trump's problems regarding favors from Ukraine. But it does look like those problems are real.
The most notable move in the ...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.6% while Toronto was down 0.1%.
Shopify recovered some of its recent losses, gaining a hefty 6.9%.
Toll Brothers was up 1.7%. But that was a modest gain considering that the report on new home sales was very st...

Markets were mostly negative on Tuesday with the S&P 500 down 0.8% and Toronto down 0.4%. This was blamed on trade tensions. Also, the Democrats moved to explore impeaching Trump - but in this strange world that was not really big news.
TFI Inter...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was about unchanged while Toronto was down 0.2%.
lululemon was up 3.1%
FedEx was down 2.2%.
Statistics Canada reported that Wholesale sales rose in July and that "the personal and household goods subsector and the motor veh...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.5%. But Toronto was up 0.25% and sits at a record closing high.
Canadian Tire was up 3.35% to $148.82. This is a good recovery from the $133.43 level of our update of last month. The recovery is likely due to ana...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 ended the day unchanged while Toronto was up 0.35%.
Couche-Tard was up 2.4% and has recovered a good portion of its recent decline from its high.
Toll Brothers was little changed despite a report this morning indicating t...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 ended the day about unchanged and Toronto was down 0.2%
The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 0.25% in light of potential risks to the economy posed by trade tensions.
FedEx fell 13% due to its poor quarterly ea...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was up 0.5%.
Restaurant Brands was up 3.4%. Dollarama was up 2.4%.
Shopify was down 2.6% to $435.67. or U.S. $328.82. That's actually pretty strong considering the company sold shares today at U.S....

On Monday, the S&P 500 was down 0.3% in a mild reaction to the partial destruction of Saudi Arabia's oil refining infrastructure. Toronto was up 0.4% as oil rose about 10% in reaction to the reduced capacity of Saudi Arabia.
The large cap energy ...

The big news for markets over the weekend was the major attack on the Saudi oil refining. This morning the S&P 500 is down 0.3% which is not a big reaction. Toronto is up 0.4% because oil prices are up a hefty 10%.
The large cap energy ETF, XEG i...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was up 0.2%
Toronto hit a new within-trading-day high.
The European Central Bank announced anew round of bond-buying which will keep interest rates lower-than-low in Europe.
Shopify was up for the...

Markets were strong on Wednesday with the S&P 500 up 0.7% and Toronto up 0.45%
Canadian Tire was up 1.9%.
Toll Brothers was up 3.2% and then after the close announced a relatively small acquisition of a builder of mostly more moderately priced ho...

Although overall markets did not move much today there was a lot of movement in various stocks. The S&P 500 was almost unchanged and Toronto as up 0.3%.
Restaurant Brands was down 4.2%. Possibly, this was related to Wendy's announcing it would ro...

Costco is updated and rated (lower) Sell at $296.05. Basically, if I owned it I would sell at least half of the position at this price or avoid having a very large position. On the other hand it is a great company and although the valuation would sug...

"Couche-Tard", as the company is often referred to, has been a very long term winner. And, after several years where the share price did not do much, the stock is up about 60% versus a low point in May of 2018.
For quite a few years I thought that de...

Markets were relatively flat on Monday with the S&P 500 unchanged and Toronto down 0.2%.
Stocks on our list that moved up included FedEx - up 3.4%, TFI International - up 1.7%, and Linamar - up 1.7%.
lulu lemon was down 4.3%, giving back some of ...

Our report on Visa Inc. is updated and rated Weak Buy / Hold at $181.55.
Visa certainly has wonderful economics and is extremely profitable and is growing earnings rapidly. But with a price/earnings ratio of 35, the stock is arguably fully valued. A...

Markets were strong on Thursday as the S&P 500 rose 1.3% and Toronto was up 0.8%.
lululemon was up 4.3% and that was before it released a strong earnings report with revenues up 22% and beating expectations on earnings as well and it rose a furt...

On Wednesday the S&P bounced up 1.1% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
FedEx was up 2.4% and Dollarama was also up 2.4%.
TFI International was up only 0.1%. With the company recently increasing its already very large share buy back program because they th...

Markets were weak on Tuesday with the S&P down 0.7% and Toronto down 0.3%. This was due in part to a decline in U.S. manufacturing activity likely related to the trade war.
Most stocks were down. CRH Medical was down 4.6% despite announcing it w...

Autocanada is updated and now rated Speculative (lower) Buy at $8.45.
In their Q2 report recently released there is a lot of improvement. Higher sales and gross profits. It appears that they have turned the corner on losses and should be profitable ...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was up 0.35%.
Most stocks on our list were up.
I read the conference call Transcript for Canadian Western Bank today. While there are always risks related to the economy, the tone of that conferenc...

Markets were strong on Thursday with the S&P 500 up 1.3% and Toronto up 0.7%.
Linamar was up 2.35%. And FedEx was up 2.7%. Presumably both related to more optimism or less pessimism about trade wars.
Canadian Western Bank reported Q3 earnings whi...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.65% and Toronto was up 0.5%.
Most stocks were up while most of the rate reset preferred shares were down a little.
National Bank reported good results. Hopefully, Canadian Western Bank will as well.
Checking the...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% - probably because the market's faith that a China trade deal is closer started to wane. Toronto was up 0.5% as oil prices were higher.
Couche-Tard was up 2.1%. This has been a winning company for many years. And...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 1.1% and Toronto was up 0.4%. This came after President Trump said that China was ready to negotiate a trade deal. There is probably little reason to believe it but the market of course wants to believe it, so they d...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 2.6% after Trump escalated the trade war with China. And Toronto got pulled down 1.3%.
Almost all of the stocks on our list were down. Among the hardest hit were Apple - down 4.6%, and FedEx - down 3.9%, and TFI In...

The report on Toll Brothers is updated and rated Buy at $35.97. It looks like a Buy based on its numbers. I completed this report this morning before Trump's tweets sent the price for most stocks lower.
...

In Thursday's markets the S&P 500 was about unchanged and Toronto was down 0.3%
Toll Brothers was up 2.0% presumably because the analyst comments were somewhat positive today after they digested the Q3 earnings report and conference call.
With RB...

Markets were up on Wednesday with the S&P 500 up 0.8% and Toronto up 0.6%.
Shopify was up another 4.0%.
Lululemon was up 2.0%,
Toll Brothers fell 4.5% despite reporting Q3 earnings that beat expectations. They also increased their full year gui...

Tuesday was a moderately negative day in the markets.
The S&P 500 was down 0.6% and Toronto was down 0.5%.
Shopify was up 3.6% to $499 and traded above $500 today.
Toll Brothers was up 1.4% to $36.91. It then reported Q3 earnings after the close...

Monday was yet another non-boring day in the markets as the S&P 500 was up 1.2% and Toronto was up 1.0%.
Canadian Western Bank was up 5.0% although there was no news from the company. Linamar was up 2.5%, and Toll Brothers was up 3.5%.
The bank...

Friday's action saw the S&P 500 up 1.4% and Toronto up 0.9%. Markets are gyrating up and down mostly based on the latest word on the trade wars.
Notable gainers included CN Rail -up 1.9%, Apple - up 2.4%, FedEx - up 2.1%, TFI International - up ...

Canadian Tire is updated and rated (lower) Strong Buy at $133.43. The recent slide in the share price seems unwarranted and results in Canadian Tire trading at an attractive price.
...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.25% while Toronto was down 0.2%.
Canadian Tire was down 2.4% to $131.47. I plan to update the report shortly. My initial impression was that its Q2 earnings report was good, but the market obviously found somethi...

WSP Global is updated and rated Buy at $69.82. It has a great history of growth and trades at a reasonable although not particularly compelling valuation.
Compared to Stantec, WSP trades at a higher multiple to trailing earnings and book value. But...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 2.9% and Toronto was down 1.9%.
Market sentiment seems to be on a hair trigger with stocks rising or falling materially each day depending if news developments are considered bad or good.
The fact is that being ...

Markets rebounded on Tuesday after it was announced that the new 10% September 1 U.S. tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports would be delayed until December for most consumer goods.
The S&P 500 was up 1.5% and Toronto was up 0.7%.
Linamar rec...

Monday was a negative day in the markets with the S&P 500 down 1.2% and Toronto down 0.6%.
Rate reset preferred shares were mostly particularly hard hit. This was due to the plunge in the five year government of Canada bond yield to 1.20%. It had...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.7% and Toronto was down 0.4%.
Linamar was hammered down 8.1% (see update). I will be interested to see if the analysts lower their forward earnings estimates. According to Yahoo Finance, the forward P/E is just 4...

Linamar is updated and remains rated Strong Buy, now at $37.92. It is in a period of declining earnings. But its valuation seems extremely low in relation to earnings and book value. The near-term stock price is dependent on how trade tensions evolve...

Stantec is updated and rated Buy at Canadian $28.50 and U.S. $21.56.
The market was disappointed with its Q2 earnings report that featured good revenue growth but also a decline in adjusted earnings of 9.5%. The company blamed this on a delay in impl...

Never a dull day in the markets it seems...
S&P 500 was up 1.9% and Toronto was up 0.9%.
Shopify was up 4.3%.
Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund reported earnings before the open. Same-store sales subject to the franchise fee (excludes alcohol) w...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down most of the day but ended the day up 0.1%. Toronto was up 0.7%.
Restaurant Brands was strong with a 3.6% gain in Toronto and 3.4% in New York.
Rate reset shares were lower due to the declining 5 year Canada bond...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 had a partial recovery from yesterday's losses and was up 1.3%. Toronto, playing catch-up, was down 0.75%.
Some stock movements of note included: Canadian Tire- down 2.1%, TFI International - down 2.6% (I was happy to grab...

On Monday, Canadian markets were closed while the S&P 500 declined 3.0% due to Trump's escalating trade war with China. A 3% decline in the U.S. markets is not a huge deal considering all the recent gains. Obviously, the declines could continue. ...

TFI International is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $39.69. Based on valuation I would have rated the company a Strong Buy. But the company does see some softness in the outlook. I believe a rating of (higher) Buy is conservative. I just listened ...

Markets fell on Friday probably due to Trump's escalating trade war with China and disappointment that the FED did not promise more interest rate cuts.
The S&P 500 was down 0.7% and Toronto was down 0.6%.
Restaurant Brands was one of the few gain...

Having recently looked in detail at Starbucks and at Restaurant Brands, I wanted to look at some of the big similarities and differences between the two businesses.
Both are in the quick-service food and beverage industry with tens of thousands of lo...

Restaurant Brands is updated and remains rated Weak Buy / Hold now at U.S. 77.22 or Canadian $101.02.
This was only added to our list in late July but is now updated for its just released Q2 earnings report. Q2 has strong same-store sales of 3.6% at ...

Markets fell on Thursday after Trump escalated his trade war with China announcing new 10% tariffs on most remaining Chinese goods starting September 1. This will be for most of the goods that he has not already imposed tariffs on.
Stocks that fell ...

Our report on Starbucks is updated and rated Weak Buy / Hold at $95.38. Normally, I would not rate a mature company like this as high as even hold give the P/E ratio of 35. But low and going lower interest rates do support high P/E ratios. And Starbu...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1% after the FED gave the markets a 25 basis point interet rate cut but apparently did no promise firmly enough to do more of the same in future. Toronto was down 0.4%.
Canadian Western bank was up 3.9% after lend...

Tuesday was a moderately negative day with the S&P 500 down 0.3% and Toronto down 0.2%.
Most stocks that I follow were down a little.
Toll Brothers however was up 2.1%. I don't follow lumber prices but I saw where they are down. That should be go...

On Monday, the S&P 500 and Toronto were each down 0.2%.
TFI International was up 4.1% probably because analysts further digested its Q2 results from last week and liked what they saw.
AutoCanada was down another 3.1% to $8.82. With the recent we...

Markets were higher on Friday as the S&P 500 rose 0.7% and Toronto rose 0.3%.
Aecon jumped 9.8% after reporting earnings. This company takes on risky fixed price construction contracts but has done well. That's in sharp contrast to SNC Lavalin's ...

Restaurant Brands which owns Tim Hortons and Burger King and Popeyes and trades in Canada and the U.S. under symbol QSR is added to our list. This company definitely has reliable cash flows and will likely continue to grow. But it is also quite expen...

Markets took a little rest from their gains on Thursday as the S&P 500 declined 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.7%.
AutoCanada was down the most as far as the stocks on my list - down 3.3%. Nothing else declined by a notable amount.
After the close, ...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.5% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
CN Rail was up 3.3% after releasing a strong earnings report.
lululemon was up 1.7%
Aecon was up 1.5% possibly benefiting from SNC getting out of the fixed price business which Aecon ...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.7% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
Linamar rebounded 3.6% probably due to potential progress on trade talks between China and the U.S.
FedEx was up 2.5%.
SNC Lavalin got hammered down another 9.6% as investors bail. Pre...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
Nothing good to report on most of the stocks on our list. Rate reset shares were generally down today as the 5 year government of Canada bond yield rate has slumped down to 1.4%. At tha...

In Friday's session, the S&P 500 was down 0.6% while Toronto was close to unchanged although slightly down.
America Express was down 2.8% after reporting earnings. It's earnings were strong but it forecast increasing costs for card holder rewards...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% boosted by more indications that the FED will cut interest rates later this month.
Toronto was up 0.1%.
Most of the Canadian stocks on our list and that I otherwise monitor were down somewhat.
Couche-Tard was...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.65% while Toronto was down 0.1%.
TFI International slumped 4.1%. This was likely driven by declines in other transport related stocks after U.S. railroad CSX reported lower profits and, of more concern, lower ...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.3% as Trump warned that he could impose further Tariffs on China and as a stronger-than-expected retail spending report cast doubt on the extent of expected FED interest rate cuts.
Toronto meanwhile was relative...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was about unchanged and Toronto as up 0.1%
The Melcor REIT announced / confirmed that its distribution will remain unchanged for the next three months and announced that it will release Q2 earnings on July 30th.
Regarding M...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.5% while Toronto was down 0.2%.
lululemon jumped 3.5% to $189.52. I had added it to our list less than two weeks ago at $180.86. I had been predisposed to rate it at least a Weak Buy but it seemed to rich. It's a f...

Couche-Tard is updated and rated (lower) Buy at $84.57 (yesterday's closing price).
What a wonderful success story this has been for Canadian investors. Remarkably, it is now the largest Canadian-based company by revenue!
Since I added it to this si...

Thursday saw a new record close for the S&P 500 up 0.2% to 2999.9 (so rounded = 3000) and the Dow Jones closed above 27,000 for the first time. Toronto was down 0.2%.
AutoCananda was down 3.2%.
Costco was up 1.9% after reporting strong same-stor...

This morning I sold what amounted to 8.5% of my Boston Pizza Royalties shares. These were in an RESP account and (although this is not supposed to matter) I had a capital gain on those shares over and above the distributions received. I also may redu...

U.S. markets were higher on Wednesday on indications that the FED may lower interest rates.
The S&P 500 index was up 0.45% to 2994. It poked its head above 3000 for the first time during the day.
Toronto was up 0.1%. West Texas oil is back abov...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was up 0.5%.
Amazon was up 1.8% to $1988.
AutoCanada lost more ground ans it was down 2.7% to $10.81.
Toll Brothers was down 2.2% to $36.25 and continues to lanquish despite the strong U.S. economy...

Monday was a moderately negative day in the markets with the S&P 500 and Toronto each down 0.5%.
Shopify was up 2.65% after a positive analyst comment.
Lululemon climbed another 2.0%.
See the list of stocks on the subscriber home page for updates...

On Friday the markets took a breather from recent gains and the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
BHP was down 4.5% possibly linked to calls for a probe into a recent spike in iron ore prices.
Melcor Developments was down 2.4%.
Rat...

On Thursday, while U.S. markets were closed, Toronto was up 0.1%.
AutoCanada was down 1.9%. After the close it announced it has hired a new CFO who will start on August 12. The person hired has significant experience as CFO of a number of public comp...

Wednesday was a strong day in the markets with the S&P 500 rising 0.8% to close at a new record high and just a hair below 3000. Toronto was up 0.6%.
Among the gainers were: Couche Tard up 2.9%, Dollarama up 2.4%, Starbucks up 2.7%.
The great m...

Tuesday was a positive day in the markets as the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and Toronto as up 0.5% despite a drop in oil prices as it played catch up due to the holiday on Monday.
Home Capital, which is not on our list but which has been mentioned from ti...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.8% to a new record closing high of 2964. Toronto was closed and had risen 0.5% on Friday.
Notable gains included: CN rail up 2.2% on Monday in U.S. trading, CRH Medical up 2.9% on Friday and Linamar, up 1.7% on Fri...

Our report on an Enbridge rate reset preferred share is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $15.81 for those seeking tax efficient yield and willing to hold for the long term. Rate resets and in particular the Enbridge rate rests have disappointed inve...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and Toronto was down 0.4%.
Melcor Developments was one of the larger decliners on our list - down 2.7% to $12.55. That means the shares are trading at about 40% of book value. And the book value consists of...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 1.0% and Toronto was down 0.9%.
Accordingly, the great majority of the stocks on our list were down.
FedEx was down 3.1% and then released earnings after the close. While the earnings beat estimates on an adjuste...

Markets were relatively quiet on Monday as the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was about unchanged.
Shopify was down 4.8% giving back a little of its recent massive gains as some analysts think it has ran up too far.
FedEx was down 2.7%.
The Ca...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
Couche-Tard was down 3.1% as it retreats from recent record highs. Experience suggests that this is a stock to hold for the long term perhaps adding on dips. Selling when it seemed t...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.9% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Couche-Tard was down 2.7% but that was likely just due to some analysts deciding that it has run too far too fast.
Penny Stock Ceapro was down 8.3% to 33 cents. That was on significa...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% as the FED held interest rates unchanged but signaled it might now be more open to a cut but that depends on future data. Toronto was roughly unchanged.
Canadian energy stocks did not react much to the Trans ...

Tuesday was a strong day in the markets as President Trump announced that he would meet with the Chinese leader. This was taken as good news for trade and the economy.
The S&P 500 was up 1.0% and Toronto was up 0.9%
SNC Lavalin was up 5.5% as it ...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto up 0.3%.
CRH Medical was up 3.1%. Couche-Tard was up 1.9% as it has continued to make new highs this year.
There are more signs of lower interest rates. RBC lowered its posted rate for a 5 year fixed...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% while Toronto was up 0.4%.
AutoCanada gave back 2.5%.
On a year to date basis the markets and most of the stocks on our list have done well. But that came after a sharp decline at the end of 2018.
The overall...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% and Toronto was up 0.1%.
Dollarama soared 11.3% after reporting better than expected results and an improved outlook.
AutoCanada was up 4.3% after announcing the sale and lease-back of three more of its dealer...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was down 0.1%.
There were no particularly noteworthy moves in the stocks on our list.
Today, I attended Stantec's "Investor Day". In reality this is a day for analysts and institutional investo...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was about unchanged while Toronto was up 0.2%.
SNC Lavalin was up 7.0% after a surprise announcement that its CEO will retire and that an existing executive was named interim CEO and has been asked to perform an expedited ...

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.1%
Trump who, love him or hate him, it seems clear longs to be a dictator called into CNBC this morning to complain about the FED acting independently. Trump has been good for the markets - ...

Linamar is up 2.1% likely due to Trump's agreement with Mexico to not impose the new (illegal-under-NAFTA) 5% and rising tariffs on everything that he had threatened. The reaction would likely be more positive if the market was more certain that the...

Posting from Kelowna this Sunday evening.
The big news on Friday was Trump’s new agreement with Mexico. This should be quite positive for markets on Monday. Linamar should benefit from this news.
...

Thursday's markets saw the S&P 500 rise 0.6% as there was some optimism that Trump would delay the new 5% tariff on Mexico. Toronto was up 0.1%.
The biggest gainer on our list was Starbucks - up 1.8%.
After the close, Canadian Western Bank announ...

Wednesday was a mostly positive day in the markets with the S&P 500 up 0.8% and Toronto up 0.3%.
Shopify surged 6.6%.
RioCan was up 2.2%.
Linamar was down 2.3% and is very close to its 52 week low. Fears of continued trade wars and slower auto ...

Stock markets were up sharply on Friday as the FED chair indicated that the FED would consider lowering interest rates if economic data indicate that this is an appropriate response.
The S&P 500 was up a hefty 2.1% while Toronto was up 0.9%.
Amon...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was down 0.3% while Toronto was down 0.1%.
Shopify was down 4.3%. Amazon was down 4.6%.
Toll Brothers was up 2.4%.
May auto sales were down 5.9% versus 2018 but it was still the third best May on record. Fiat Chrysler sale...

Friday was a down day in the markets due to Trump announcing escalating tariffs on all Mexican imports starting June 10. This despite the existence of NAFTA which is still in place and the USMCA which (was?) soon to be ratified.
The S&P 500 was d...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% while Toronto was down 0.3%.
Canadian Tire was down 2.0%. The recent decline would appear to provide a buying opportunity. The stock has often had periods of declines but has certainly trended up in the long t...

Wednesday was a negative day in the markets as the S&P 500 was down 0.7% and Toronto down a full 1.0%.
The Canadian dollar slipped under 74 U.S. cents as the Bank of Canada left interest rates unchanged.
Among the bigger declines were: Shopify - ...

Tuesday's market saw the S&P 500 close down 0.8% and Toronto down 0.3%.
Canadian Western Bank was down 1.7%, probably dragged down by Bank of Nova Scotia reporting higher loan losses even though that was largely in their international business. ...

The report for CN Rail is updated and rated (lower) Buy at $124.50. I have consistently said that CN is a great company given its duopoly position with CP Rail and the rails' cost advantage over trucking and CN's excellent history. But it usually ten...

U.S. markets were closed on Monday while Toronto was up 0.7%.
Boston Pizza International announced that it has a new CFO effective immediately. That sounded a bit scary depending on why the incumbent was gone. But it turns out that the incumbent was ...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Gaining stocks included BHP Billiton - up 2.6%, toll Brothers - up 1.8% and Linamar - up 2.0%.
Aecon Group was down 2.6%.
Canadian Western Bank is set to report earnings on Wednesday. In...

CIBC is out with a 5.15% rate reset preferred share. This is not an exciting investment but for those looking for yield in a portfolio and especially for tax efficient yield in a taxable portfolio it is worth considering. As of about an hour after TD...