STOCKCHASE

129.790

(A Top Pick May 13/09. Up 28.38%.) Very solid company and good dividend growth.

2010-06-15

TOP PICK

JP Morgan Chase & Co

JPM-N

38.250

Management skill avoided a lot of the issues, especially with the subprime. All US financials are getting hit with headline risks because of financial regulation discussions.

2010-06-15

BUY

Kraft Foods Inc

KFT-N

29.713

Longer term, the Cadbury acquisition makes sense. Food industry is relatively stable at this point. Commodity prices have dropped, which has helped their margins. 3.9% dividend.

2010-06-15

BUY

Research In Motion

RIM-T

64.490

New product coming out in September. Also announced a tablet for January. With product cycle behind them, they have definite advantages with a change in the tiering system for mobile broadband in US from AT&T, which would favour this company over an iPhone. Only trading around 11 times.

2010-06-15

TOP PICK

Starbucks

SBUX-Q

27.930

Relatively stable store growth in North America but the big growth is Europe, Asia, China and India. Launching a new product, single serve coffee, for the home, which has great potential.

2010-06-15

BUY

Symantic Corp

SYMC-Q

15.010

Security in general is a good place to be. Has had its challenges but going forward you could own the stock.

2010-06-15

BUY

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

WMT-N

51.640

Benefited when consumer was concerned about the future. As consumers started to get more confidence, they began moving to branded names. Good core position though.

2010-06-15

PAST TOP PICK

Yum! Brands

YUM-N

43.380

(A Top Pick May 13/09. Up 38.39%.)

2010-06-15

TOP PICK

Skyworks Solutions Inc.

SWKS-Q

17.240

Tied in to basically all cell phone manufacturers globally. Wide breadth of products. Provide chips that enable a lot of cell phone functions and features. With the news coming out from Rim (RIM-T) and Apple (AAPL-Q), demand for the product has increased.

2010-06-15

PAST TOP PICK

57.580

(A Top Pick May 13/09. Up 63.4%.)

2010-06-15

Comment

Activision Blizzard

ATVI-Q

11.340

Gaming stocks, as well as electronic arts, have been challenged recently. Has a new product, Star Craft II coming out and it looks like demand will be pretty strong for it. Because it is subscription based, it has an ongoing recurring revenue stream. If you own, take profits when the Christmas numbers start coming out.

2010-06-15

BUY

Expedia

EXPE-Q

21.500

Generally likes travel companies because of consumers starting to come back. Biggest concern he can see is a slowdown in Europe travel.

2010-06-15

BUY

Apple

AAPL-Q

160.030

Likes the stock short and long term. Beat estimates on both earnings and revenues. Laptop and notebook sales were better than expected and sees this continuing.

2009-07-29

PARTIAL SELL

Adobe Systems

ADBE-Q

32.060

The quarter was fine but has had a good run. If you own, consider pulling back a little bit.

2009-07-29

Comment

Boeing

BA-N

43.370

Market is concerned about the delay in the 787, which is a critical component to their growth story going forward. Cost overruns have continued. Their defence business has been going quite strongly. On a 3-year time horizon they should be in full production.

2009-07-29

BUY

Cisco

CSCO-Q

21.720

Relatively cheap. A lot of intentional catalysts going forward. Looking to go into more than network equipment but have gone into servers. Could be one of the clear winners in the future.

2009-07-29

Comment

Chevron Texaco

CVX-N

67.120

Chevron (CVX-N) and Exxon (XOM-N) major integrateds have so many opportunities to grow through acquisition, upstream through downstream and chemicals. Also have stable dividends and great cash flow.

2009-07-29

BUY

Deere & Co.

DE-N

41.180

Tied to the resurgence in the overall economy. Their agricultural business is going to be tied to a growth in the international markets. Until the inventory equipment is drawn down there will be demand for new products. For a 3-year time horizon you could Buy or Hold.

2009-07-29

DON'T BUY

General Electric

GE-N

12.260

The issues are surrounding their industrial side but the financial side was actually not that bad over the last quarter although part of the gain was because they reduced provisions for losses. There has also been some weakness on the healthcare side. Would look at other stocks.

2009-07-29

Comment

Goldman Sachs

GS-N

159.440

Time to short trade this one? Wouldn't recommend this. Last quarter was fantastic and beat expectations handily. Also sitting on excess liquidity, which could be as high as $70 billion that can be redeployed and could add up to $1 in earnings.

2009-07-29

TOP PICK

117.260

(A Top Pick Feb 9/09. Up 20.9%.) Beat earnings estimates handily by $.30. Revenue side was a little light but not unexpected. Earnings guidance was raised. Still a Buy.

2009-07-29

BUY

Johnson & Johnson

JNJ-N

61.160

Large-cap fully integrated global pharmaceutical. Earnings beat expectations. Competition from generics but their pipeline going forward looks extremely robust.

2009-07-29

TOP PICK

JP Morgan Chase & Co

JPM-N

37.770

Strong management team. Essentially skated through the banking problems of 2007/2008. Have paid TARP off and are looking to get the warrants back from the government.

2009-07-29

WATCH

Microsoft

MSFT-Q

23.800

Acquiring Yahoo and not having to give up a lot for it. Coming up with the launch of Windows7 in October and there is a pent-up demand for a new operating system that won't be reflected until 2010-2011. Earnings were disappointing.

2009-07-29

DON'T BUY

Nokia

NOK-N

13.000

Has been challenged over the past several years. Criticized for largely missing the boat on the smart phone trend without enough models in that space. Have reversed this and have improved their offerings but are still not penetrating into the US, which is a critical area.

2009-07-29

BUY

Power Share QQQQ ETF

QQQ-Q

39.340

If you are looking at a basket of tech stocks this will mitigate your risk.

2009-07-29

HOLD

RF Micro Devices

RFMD-Q

5.040

Semiconductor player in network and wireless space. Supplies Cisco (CSCO-Q) and Motorola (MOT-N). Latter has struggled over the last year or so but supposed to change in the 2nd half because of new management. Although this has done well he would use caution going forward and perhaps take a little bit, not all, off the table.

2009-07-29

DON'T BUY

Teva Pharmaceutical

TEVA-Q

54.250

Once generic stocks have their products in place they can milk it for several years to come. He wouldn't be looking at this right now.

2009-07-29

Comment

Verizon Communications

VZ-N

31.980

Very good at managing cash flow so it is good for growth and protection of dividend so dividend should be safe. 5.8% yield. Growth is going to be challenged because of problems on the enterprise side. Wire line side continues to lose lines.

2009-07-29

Comment

Exxon Mobil

XOM-N

71.430

Chevron (CVX-N) and Exxon (XOM-N) major integrateds have so many opportunities to grow through acquisition, upstream through downstream and chemicals. Also have stable dividends and great cash flow. This one is one of the premier ones but because of its size is becoming more challenging to increase production growth.

2009-07-29

DON'T BUY

Yahoo!

YHOO-Q

15.140

Some disappointment earnings and guidance was very conservative. Continue to struggle against Google (GOOG-Q). Being acquired by Microsoft (MSFT-Q) but there is no upfront fee being paid.

2009-07-29

BUY

HOLDRs Semiconductor

SMH-N

24.830

If you are looking at a basket of tech stocks this will mitigate your risk.

2009-07-29

Comment

Valero Energy Corp

VLO-N

17.700

Refiners have had a very challenging period. Going forward there are other opportunities to put your money, as he doesn't see a dramatic recovery in the sector.

2009-07-29

BUY

Transocean Inc.

RIG-N

77.990

Deepwater oil drilling play. Have a lot of growing opportunities in the deep waters off Brazil. Day rates have held up relatively strongly.

2009-07-29

Comment

0.020

Natural Gas. Down about 40% year-to-date were oil is up 50%. There have been dramatic supplies through the shale plays in the US. Rig count has dropped off dramatically meaning the cost for them is going to come down and could cause a shift in the price of natural gas. Weather is always a factor. His choice is XTO Energy (XTO-N), a shale play and one of the better managed companies.

2009-07-29

DON'T BUY

Hess Corp.

HES-N

51.720

2nd tier integrated oil company with good exposure to retail outlets as well as a lot of international plays on the E&P side. At this point there are better plays than this one.

2009-07-29

Comment

Dryships

DRYS-Q

6.530

Shipping companies are tied directly to international demand for goods. Baltic Index (measure of the rate being charged) actually did quite well and, unfortunately, this company has been working in the opposite direction. Index is now looking to tail off. Have a fleet of deep-water drill ships, which is tied to the price of oil and could be a kicker.

2009-07-29

PAST TOP PICK

Stericycle Inc.

SRCL-Q

51.970

(A Top Pick Feb 9/09. Up 6.04%.) Waste management focused on healthcare. Compared to its group it is a little on the high side but not out of its realm.

2009-07-29

TOP PICK

44.400

(A Top Pick Feb 9/09. Up 38.3%.) Discount retailer of random names. Stable in a recession. Also has growth potential in opening stores and new markets.

2009-07-29

BUY

Bank of America

BAC-N

11.010

One of the banks that had the biggest problem with its balance sheets with the biggest decline and subsequent return. Had the stress test and the number was disappointing but not unexpected. Have a great deposit base and going forward can earn their way out of the current issues. Good buy looking ahead a couple of years forward.

2009-05-13

DON'T BUY

Boeing

BA-N

42.950

About 51% commercial airline and 49% defence and both sides have their issues. Defence side is clearly being impacted by the Obama administration and big programs are going to be at greater risk of being cut. On the commercial side traffic has been declining so orders have been cut back.

2009-05-13

DON'T BUY

Caterpillar

CAT-N

36.080

Great company but he is concerned about the stock and its dividend. There is also concern about the cash flow. Pension is under funded. A lot of the growth is tied to international and because it is a global recession that has been a decline for their equipment.

2009-05-13

Comment

Denbury Resources

DNR-N

16.160

A tertiary play in that they do oil recovery after-the-fact for oilfields. Primarily oil driven.

2009-05-13

TOP PICK

102.260

(A Top Pick Feb 9/09. Up 6%.) Company has reiterated their earnings expectations for 2010. It is really the services side that pushes the company. Growth numbers from the services side have been significantly better than expected.

2009-05-13

BUY

Altria Group Inc

MO-N

17.210

Tobacco is traditionally a defensive stock to play. There has been a decline in tobacco consumption in the US, but globally there is still a fairly good growth. Strong cash flow so dividend is safe.

2009-05-13

BUY

Oracle

ORCL-Q

18.070

Sun-Oracle merger is more of a financial deal than anything else.

2009-05-13

BUY

Wells Fargo

WFC-N

24.200

One of the winner stocks in the US banking sector. Had been hit by all the difficulties that every company had been hit with but weathered the storm far better. Longer-term it is a great stock.

2009-05-13

TOP PICK

Yum! Brands

YUM-N

31.610

Parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver and A&W in the US. The growth for these companies is in China. Even in this period, the sales are good and have a lot of growth ahead of them.

2009-05-13

TOP PICK

35.320

(A Top Pick Feb 9/09. Up 10%.) An off-price retailer that sells branded products at discount prices. Continues to grow their earnings and revenue at a very good clip.

2009-05-13

BUY

Bank of America

BAC-N

6.820

Still have challenges on the loan book and still a lot of consumer exposure on the mortgage side and consumer auto loans. There will be continued write-downs going forward. Have the ability to grow themselves out of these problems. For a long time horizon of 5 or 10 years it could make sense.

2009-03-31

BUY

Becton Dickinson

BDX-N

67.240

Just recently purchased this. Has good revision and good valuation in the healthcare space. Products include syringes, monitors, catheters, etc. which healthcare services are in constant need of. Good growth and demand even when everything else is weak. Have some concerns on foreign exchange and margin issues because of increase in costs of raw materials. Expecting about 10% earnings growth in 2009, which is a great earnings profile.

2009-03-31

Comment

Walt Disney

DIS-N

18.160

The ultimate consumer exposed company. Parks are going to be challenged. Have reduced prices, which will have an impact on margins. Long-term great stock and dividend is safe. There will be volatility in the near term. $16 would probably be a real steal.

2009-03-31

BUY

Duke Energy

DUK-N

14.320

This, along with a lot of utilities in the US can be divided into regulated and unregulated. This is more into the regulated business where rates are guaranteed by the government. Yields a relatively strong. A defensive play. If your time horizon is relatively long and you are looking for a stable business this will allow you to sleep at nights.

2009-03-31

TOP PICK

96.890

One of the pre-eminent names in this space. Broadly based in terms of its exposure across the marketplace. 4th quarter earnings surprised the street dramatically, especially from the services side.

2009-03-31

DON'T BUY

Pfizer Inc

PFE-N

13.620

Has been a difficult stock. Could improve from here however there will be other opportunities in this space you could get more juice from.

2009-03-31

BUY

Proctor & Gamble

PG-N

47.090

A great stock. In terms of a long-term holding, there very few better than this one. The challenge they face has always been on the commodity side and market share. Ad spending has come down very dramatically and will help their bottom line going forward. Great dividend. Long-term hold. 3.5% yield.

2009-03-31

Comment

Sun Microsystems

JAVA-Q (Dead)

7.320

Recent rumours on IBM (IBM-N) acquiring this. Would give them the UNIX platform and a number of other assets but can't see it giving them a lot more than what they already have.

2009-03-31

Comment

FMC Corp

FMC-N

43.140

Chemical company with 3 distinct divisions. The agricultural business and industrial side are doing quite well. Their specialty chemical division has been a challenge. Looking at pretty good earnings growth going forward.

2009-03-31

Comment

0.020

US$: Going forward the Cdn$ is positioned for a fairly good recovery. Because of our commodity exposure, there will be a recovery in commodities when the local economy gets better. Could see a 10%-15% move in the Cdn$.

2009-03-31

TOP PICK

Stericycle Inc.

SRCL-Q

47.730

Combination of healthcare and waste management. They take over waste management procedures in hospitals. They also initiate government-regulated programs for meeting stringent guidelines. Big strategy going forward for them is acquisitions. Looking at 14% growth in 09, 14% in 2010 and 20% long-term growth.

2009-03-31

TOP PICK

35.880

A US equivalent of Winners. 2nd largest off-brand/off-price retailer. Consumers have traded down into this space looking for value.

2009-03-31

SELL

Advanced Micro Devices

AMD-N

2.360

(Market Call Minute.) A challenge. A Middle East investor put some capital in but it will be challenged to keep up with Intel (INTC-Q).

2009-02-09

DON'T BUY

Bank of America

BAC-N

6.890

Bank Of America (BAC-N) and Citigroup (C-N) are big challenges to invest in. Low prices are telling you that investors are concerned that equity holders are going to get wiped out. Acquired a lot of their toxic debt through the Merrill Lynch deal more than they expected.

2009-02-09

DON'T BUY

CitiGroup

C-N

3.950

Bank Of America (BAC-N) and Citigroup (C-N) are big challenges to invest in. Low prices are telling you that investors are concerned that equity holders are going to get wiped out.

2009-02-09

DON'T BUY

CitiGroup

C-N

3.950

Nationalized? It is quite possible that he is sceptical based on the news that they are trying to get private equity in there, which indicates they want to keep it in public hands. There are a lot of political issues.

2009-02-09

HOLD

ConocoPhillips

COP-N

48.530

Has performed relatively well this year. They are in some of the more challenged environments to have assets. One of the top holders of broad based assets with good exposure to E&P, refining and chemicals. Even with the decline in oil, a lot of these companies make sense.

2009-02-09

Comment

Cisco

CSCO-Q

16.850

In past recessions have acquired companies at cheap valuations and integrated them very well. Even though they guided down for the 1st quarter and pulled guidance for the rest of the year, stock was up significantly. Margins are still quite strong. Well positioned for the other side of the recession.

2009-02-09

Comment

Dow Chemical

DOW-N

10.650

Being tied to oil, growth and the overall view of the commodity cycle, it is a real challenge to see it moving up.

2009-02-09

Comment

EMC Corp

EMC-N

12.510

Great technologic company. Focus is storage. Two areas companies are reluctant to pull back on are security and storage. They always have a need for both of these products. Good exposure to VM Ware, a virtualization software suite. In a space that will continue to grow.

2009-02-09

DON'T BUY

Ford Motor

F-N

1.900

Sales numbers for January fell off the cliff. This was actually the best of the big three. Even Japanese makers wear down. Would stay away from the whole auto industry.

2009-02-09

WAIT

General Electric

GE-N

12.640

Lot of moving parts and different areas they are involved in. Some very cyclical and some more resistant to economic pressures. Their plastics business is almost a benchmark of what is going to happen and this has been really challenged. A name you will always want to have some exposure to. No need to start buying yet.

2009-02-09

TOP PICK

96.820

Great ability to execute on a business plan. Dramatically changed their business model to more of a services company than hardware. Bookings in 4th quarter were much better than expected. Cash flow is well in excess of the dividend.

2009-02-09

BUY

Intel

INTC-Q

14.910

(Market Call Minute.) Going forward it is well positioned. Has the Atom chip. Margins are going to be a little bit compressed but you will benefit longer-term.

2009-02-09

BUY

Coca-Cola Company

KO-N

42.310

Great company. One of the biggest international and most recognized brand names. Challenge has been to diversify their breakdown of assets from carbonated soft drinks into other beverages. Globally starting to get into water, teas and sports drinks, which are starting to show growth. Commodity prices will be declining, which should help them on the margins. 3.5% yield is safe.

2009-02-09

HOLD

Pfizer Inc

PFE-N

14.710

(Market Call Minute.) Just completing an acquisition.

2009-02-09

HOLD

Proctor & Gamble

PG-N

52.940

(Market Call Minute.) A fantastic company. Unfortunately given the commodity outlook and currency it is just a Hold.

2009-02-09

HOLD

A T & T US

T-N

20.350

Better positioning in the enterprise business compared to Verizon (VZ-N). Line losses are also less. 6.3% dividend is quite stable.

2009-02-09

BUY

Exxon Mobil

XOM-N

79.480

Out performed their energy peer group dramatically last year. Better positioned globally. Think there are still opportunities here.

2009-02-09

HOLD

Yahoo!

YHOO-Q

13.900

3 main elements have occurred recently. 1.) New CEO is an operator and cost cutter who will refocus the company strategically. 2.) Aggressive cost cutting. 3.) Refocusing the business. Have assets that they could monetize. 4th quarter performance was not too bad.

2009-02-09

DON'T BUY

Time Warner Inc

TWX-N

9.350

4 key segments. Some catalysts going forward but it is a big risk. AOL subscribers declining at a rapid rate. Publishing business is tied to advertising, which is very weak. Film/entertainment segment is challenged but there are opportunities. Network side is tied to advertising. Time Warner cable is being spun out for $9.2 billion and can be used for buybacks, debt reduction and acquisitions.

2009-02-09

BUY

Google

GOOG-Q

378.770

(Market Call Minute.) Commanding the market share in terms of search. They will continue to monetize this. Their products are “top of breed”.

2009-02-09

Comment

0.020

US$: - Because all countries globally will be into deficit financing, he can see the US$ remaining in its current relative position. There might be some weakness, but he doesn't see any sustainable weakness. Sees inflation ticking up but not dramatically.

2009-02-09

Comment

0.020

Verizon (VZ-N) vs. Vodafone (VOD-N). In a joint venture together with Verizon Wireless so revenue is split between the 2. Verizon has a fair number of catalysts in the US. The challenge with telcos is the competitive environment. Bread-and-butter has always been landlines and they are losing subscribers rapidly. With Verizon's broadband exposure, this would be his choice.

2009-02-09

Comment

Mosaic Company (The)

MOS-N

45.640

(Market Call Minute.) Doesn't know this as well as its competitor Bunge (BG-N) but on the fertilizer side there will be continued pressure going forward.

2009-02-09

TOP PICK

Stericycle Inc.

SRCL-Q

48.380

Health care waste management. More of a defensible area. 25% of market share in US and 10% internationally. Top player in a very fragmented market. Making a lot of tuck-in acquisitions.

2009-02-09

TOP PICK