STOCKCHASE

18.610

(A Top Pick June 22/10. Down 69.16%.) Still a very big player in the smart phones. Had some short-term stumbles but expected to have some new products come out but execution wasn't as good as it should have been. 1st quarter in 2012 will be very critical.

2011-11-14

TOP PICK

32.450

(A Top Pick June 22/10. Down 2.43%.) Performance has been held back somewhat by what has happened in the Middle East. Now that they are growing the oil sands side there will be more growth and you’ll see the valuation come up closer to what it used to be.

2011-11-14

BUY

Viterra Inc

VT-T

10.160

Favours the agriculture sector. This is the handling and processing company will benefit from the upper trend in agriculture. Doesn't have as much of a direct play but is a slower and steadier player. Good networking Canada and they're getting into Australia. Good play for the long-term.

2011-11-14

Comment

Equity Financial Holdings

0.020

Economy. European economy is in recession but the US economy is growing stronger. Looking for a positive movement in the next little while.

2011-11-14

BUY

Silver Wheaton

SLW-T

36.210

Business model of taking silver from operating property mines instead of getting involved makes a lot of sense. Extend well over the past year and should continue so. Very bullish on precious metal prices.

2011-11-14

BUY

Penn West Petroleum

PWT-T

18.120

Aggregated a lot of assets through a few big takeovers in the last 5 years. This will give them a lot of upside. Their problem has been all the acquisitions which they haven’t properly digested. Operationally have been letting their guard down over the last few years. Things are getting better in the last year or so. Pays a good yield.

2011-11-14

Comment

Bankers Petroleum

BNK-T

5.210

Heavy oil player in Albania. Some concern about European financial crisis but so far has had no impact. Have done very well in taking old fields and applying new technology. Road has been a little bit bumpy in the last couple of quarters because of how well horizontal wells have been performing but they continue to execute in adding reserves and production. Long-term it could easily trade at double the price.

2011-11-14

PAST TOP PICK

EQI-T

9.000

(A Top Pick June 22/10. Up 45.15%.) Likes their nonprime mortgage business with experienced management from Home Capital (HCG-T). Still a lot of upside.

2011-11-14

Comment

WesternZagros Resources Ltd.

WZR-X

0.800

Early stage exploration. Have production, which they're not getting fully paid for. Feels Kurdistan is a high risk region.

2011-11-14

BUY

Ithaca Energy Inc.

IAE-T

2.320

UK North Sea player. Its specialty is taking projects that are too small for large companies. Have been very creative in terms of financing and getting production going. Looks cheap.

2011-11-14

Comment

BioExx Specialty Proteins Ltd.

BXI-T

0.275

Have a proven and innovative project to separate proteins from canola but in terms of manufacturing is going to have to get its yield up and they are having trouble executing. Also running a little short on cash. High risk.

2011-11-14

Comment

Avalon Rare Metals Inc.

AVL-T

3.390

Good rare earth project up north. Huge, heavy rare earth resources that everyone is interested in. Because of the location and the logistics, it will cost a lot of money to build a mine and process. The project makes sense, but there are other names that you could own as well.

2011-11-14

BUY

Great Western Minerals Group

GWG-X

0.630

In partnership with the Chinese company for a rare earth project in Africa, which is scheduled to be completed soon. It's in the interests of both sides to get this done. He feels the stock could be doubled from here.

2011-11-14

TOP PICK

MI Developments

MIM-T

33.420

Grossly undervalued. Leverage is 20% compared to the average real estate company of 50%-60%. Converting to a REIT so substantially increasing their dividends. Stock should be $40 plus if they can execute their strategy to become a REIT.

2011-11-14

TOP PICK

Poseidon Concepts

PSN-T

11.560

Have a new way of designing storage tanks for the fracing industry. Environmental foot print can be pretty big. Can grab a huge market share and the stock can easily double.

2011-11-14

BUY

Barrick Gold

ABX-T

46.620

Being punished because of their acquisition of a copper company. One of the biggest companies in gold and if you own, you'll benefit from the whole up trend in gold. There are other companies with more leverage to gold.

2011-07-13

HOLD

AGF Management (B)

AGF.B-T

18.180

Financial company leveraged to equity markets. Assuming stock market will have a reasonable environment, they are good franchise and pay a good dividend, which they freakily increase. Prefers others.

2011-07-13

DON'T BUY

Bank of America

BAC-N

10.200

Difficult to call the bottom on the US banking sector. If the economy recovers and to be no more loans, they will do better. Doesn't think US banking will be the next leading sector however you probably have a reasonable return.

2011-07-13

HOLD

Canadian Western Bank

CWB-T

30.120

Very well run bank and they are in the right region to enjoy resource growth. High growth compared to the big 6 banks. They also trade at high multiples. Not cheap.

2011-07-13

DON'T BUY

Husky Energy

HSE-T

26.630

Has one of the highest dividend yields in oil/gas companies. Operationally, in the last several years, they have not done very well. Recently raised money to shore up their capital expenditure program. Still a “wait and see” situation.

2011-07-13

BUY

Johnson Controls

JCI-N

41.070

Leading auto parts supplier but also diversified into building controls and automation systems. Has been operating well and not very expensive. Good choice for a medium to long-term Hold.

2011-07-13

DON'T BUY

JP Morgan Chase & Co

JPM-N

39.620

2011-07-13

BUY

Kinross Gold

K-T

16.380

They are acquisitive driven and a lot of their properties acquired are in debatable places such as Russia, Ecuador, etc. Relatively cheap and have good leveraged gold prices and will probably do as well as others.

2011-07-13

PAST TOP PICK

Magna Int'l. (A)

MG-T

50.250

(A Top Pick June 22/10. Up 45.52%.) Still likes.

2011-07-13

DON'T BUY

Microsoft

MSFT-Q

26.630

Stock hasn't done much. They're stuck in the trap looking for the next great thing, which they have not done yet. Questions their purchase of Skype with the high price they paid for it. Company needs rethinking. Cheap and making tons of money and will probably pay a good dividend. There are better tech companies available.

2011-07-13

TOP PICK

Potash Corp of Saskatchewan

POT-T

55.820

Potash is very strategic and concentrated in only a few parts of the world. This company is the biggest producer and continues to build out capacity to maintain their place in the market.

2011-07-13

PAST TOP PICK

27.000

(A Top Pick June 22/10. Down 55.38%.) They're still holding their subscriber growth. There is tremendous value in this stock if they can get the execution right.

2011-07-13

HOLD

Royal Bank

RY-T

53.350

Has under performed the other banks. Used to be the premium bank with great franchises and it's big size. Has some issues with the US banking and has spent a lot of money buying wealth management companies. Market is unsure about their strategy.

2011-07-13

TOP PICK

Crescent Point Energy Corp

38.070

(A Top Pick June 22/10. Up 15.86%.) Bullish on oil prices. This is one of the preeminent oil sands companies. Have one of the best policy leases in the country.

2011-07-13

BUY

Talisman Energy

TLM-T

18.440

Has been hit quite hard in the last little while. Have restructured and he likes what they have done. Given time they should do well. Quite cheap.

2011-07-13

HOLD

CPG-T

40.780

A preeminent Bakken player in Saskatchewan. Valuation very well reflects the upside in their existing play. Not cheap. Should be up to maintain the dividend.

2011-07-13

BUY

Lake Shore Gold

LSG-T

3.280

Have had very good exploration results. Had trouble moving from exploration into production. Performance has improved and if they can continue and get the costs under control, they should do well.

2011-07-13

Comment

0.020

Markets. Expect there will be some consolidation and then it goes sideways over the summer time and then have a second wind in the 4th quarter. Correction in April, May and June was more severe than what he expected. In Europe, they will have to put Greece to bed in terms of having a solution for the next couple of years.

2011-07-13

Comment

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp.

0.020

Gold. He is a bull on gold. It’s an alternative to paper currency. If you're not in the US$, where are you going to be? Could get to $2300 per ounce at some point.

2011-07-13

HOLD

Daylight Energy Ltd

DAY-T (Dead)

9.030

Pretty high dividend payout after converting from a trust. Good package of assets that is balanced in liquids and natural gas. Good management. Operational results still need some improvement, which will take time.

2011-07-13

DON'T BUY

Eastern Platinum Ltd.

ELR-T

0.900

Platinum as a commodity is doing very well because of their use in auto catalysts. This company has had all kinds of operational issues. Not confident that management can get this under control.

2011-07-13

WATCH

Petaquilla Minerals Ltd.

PTQ-T

0.650

Hit by the Panama mining law that was passed and then repealed. Existing operation is not affected by any mining restriction, but political environment has probably got a little bit worse for them and they need to be careful with environmental enforcement. In the process of buying a copper/zinc mine in Spain so questions their strategy. Probably a lot of upside once they get their hands on it.

2011-07-13

Comment

Detour Gold

DGC-T

30.950

Looks like they are past the stage of being a take out as they are fully committed to putting their project into production themselves. Good solid company with tons of resources.

2011-07-13

Comment

PRE-T

23.960

Big oil play in Colombia. The big challenge for them now is that their contract is up for their bread-and-butter fields in the next 5 years. Trying an oil recovery project, which is an unproven technology and it is not known it will work or not. Would be cautious on this for the moment.

2011-07-13

DON'T BUY

WesternZagros Resources Ltd.

WZR-X

0.620

Drilling for oil in northern Kurdistan and-Iraq. Suffered a series of operational setbacks. There are issues as to whether or not they will get paid. In a precarious cash situation and 1 or 2 more wells drilled and they'll be out of cash. High risk.

2011-07-13

HOLD

PetroBakken Energy

PBN-T

12.590

Spent a lot of money getting land and into the Cardium oil play. Results so far have not been good. Stock has dropped so much it is no longer expensive and at some point could become a takeover target. Wouldn't short. Would like to see some operational momentum before abandoning.

2011-07-13

BUY

Argonaut Gold

AR-T

6.140

Very credible management. Got into a Mexican operation, which they improved on greatly by lowering costs. They are looking for more projects to grow.

2011-07-13

DON'T BUY

Orbite Aluminae

ORT-T

3.380

New technology for cheaply extracting aluminum. Successful on a small pilot scale and the next critical step is to do it on an industrial scale. Almost too good to be true. Too risky for him at this time.

2011-07-13

TOP PICK

MI Developments

MIM-T

29.200

Real estate that owns the property where Magna Plants are. Now that Frank Stronach is totally out of the stock, they have a new board and new management and the balance sheet is way under levered.

2011-07-13

HOLD

BCE Inc.

BCE-T

35.400

Not seeing a lot of organic growth. Doing better in their wireless and taking market share from Rogers (RCI.B-T). Trying to push the IPTV, which is having some growing pains. The big thing for them in the next couple of years is cost cutting. Good management. Should be good dividend growth.

2011-02-24

BUY

Connacher Oil and Gas

CLL-T

1.510

Good oil sands project. A lot of leverage both financially and operationally to oil prices so has done well. Big challenge has always been to bring oil sands into production and bring in cash flow to reduce financial leverage. Not without risk.

2011-02-24

DON'T BUY

CitiGroup

C-N

4.690

Still a big global bank. Gone through the depths of 2008 and was rescued by the government. Have a lot of leverage so it global recovery continues to pick up they’ll be able to take advantage of it. Prefers other US financials.

2011-02-24

DON'T BUY

Husky Energy

HSE-T

29.070

Under performing their peers because they haven’t really executed in the last 4-5 years. Production growth has been disappointing. New CEO comes from an outside industry and he’ll watch to see how it goes. Last quarter has done better but not tremendously so. Has to show that they can execute better.

2011-02-24

HOLD

Inmet Mining

IMN-T

67.270

Proposed merger between Inmet (IMN-T) and Lundin (LUN-T). Both are copper companies and are trying to get bigger. Inmet just reported and production was quite a bit behind schedule and earnings fell short as well. Stock has not been performing well. A lot of these issues are temporary and will be resolved over the next quarter or so. He is bullish on copper.

2011-02-24

WATCH

Kinross Gold

K-T

15.330

Likes gold as a hedge against the current geopolitical issues. This one has under performed because it has been perceived to be doing expensive acquisitions and executing in political risky places. Thinks their acquisition of Red Back Mining will probably turn this around so they can catch up to the rest of the producers over the next couple of years.

2011-02-24

HOLD

Manulife Financial

MFC-T

18.290

Historically they have taken too much risk and not hedged enough on their balance sheet. If you have a 2-year horizon, this is a good entry point.

2011-02-24

TOP PICK

64.790

(A Top Pick April 19/10. Down 9.98%.) Smart phone market continues to expand. Will continue to have a strong position in the business market and will continue developing new products for the consumer. Strong internationally.

2011-02-24

DON'T BUY

Superior Plus Corp

SPB-T

10.990

Always has trouble with their model. Mish-mash mix of business such as propane, building materials, chemicals, etc. Could never understand the advantage of having that together. Doesn’t thinks the operational performance is there.

2011-02-24

TOP PICK

44.000

(A Top Pick April 19/10. Up 31.27%.) Expecting oil prices to continue going higher over time. This is the premier oil sand operator. Good experience and tons of production. Great management.

2011-02-24

BUY

Teck Resources Ltd. (B)

TCK.B-T

52.580

Premier base metal mining company in Canada. Good exposure to coking coal, which he likes as well as copper and zinc. Should be a core position in your portfolio. Once it gets below the low $50s and high $40s you can start to accumulate and over the next year or two it should do very well.

2011-02-24

HOLD

Trans Canada Corp

TRP-T

38.150

Dominate gas pipeline company in Canada. Good candidate as a long-term hold. Also building a pipeline into the US that could have a strategic advantage over the other pipelines. Quite stable. If you are a dividend player, you should probably hold.

2011-02-24

HOLD

Grande Cache Coal Corp.

GCE-T

8.800

Underlying leverage is coking coal price. High cost producers so you have to be positive on prices staying high. He thinks it will and maybe goes higher. Should do well in the next couple of years.

2011-02-24

Comment

0.020

Market. A civil war in Libya could have big implications for oil supplies, oil prices and global economic recovery. Assuming the situation calms down and there is a peaceful resolution, he presumes it is a temporary situation.

2011-02-24

Comment

Equity Financial Holdings

0.020

Natural Gas ETFs? You need to have an outlook on gas in order to play these. He is bearish over the near term. Beyond the next 12 months he expects gas to go from the current $4 to perhaps $6-$6.50 and will stay in that range for quite a wile.

2011-02-24

Comment

Anderson Energy Ltd.

AXL-T

1.160

Have been able to develop an oil play prospect on top of the gas prospect. A lot of prospective drilling over the next couple of years and really increase production and improve their cash flow profile. Prospective takeover target but the price will have to go up a bit more before they would be willing to sell.

2011-02-24

HOLD

Quadra FNX Mining Ltd

QUX-T

12.990

Bullish on copper over the next couple of years and thinks that the price can go even higher. This company also has some nickel exposure. The issue is that operations have had all kinds of problems that they really need to fix. As long as they can to make improvements and are able to finance their South American project, they’ll do very well.

2011-02-24

HOLD

Lundin Mining Corp.

LUN-T

6.460

2011-02-24

WATCH

Mosaic Company (The)

MOS-N

82.200

Produce a lot of potash as well as phosphate. A big controlling shareholder wanted to sell and the complex transaction needs approval, so there’s going to be a short-term overhang. Once they get beyond this in about 18 to 24 months, they’ll be a takeover target and catch up to their peers.

2011-02-24

BUY

Thompson Creek Metals

TCM-T

13.340

Biggest molybdenum producer in North America, which is a big additive to steel. Reasonable low costs and so can make money. Should do well in the next little while.

2011-02-24

TOP PICK

EQI-T

7.530

2 sided business. Base business is a custodian business i.e. trust, transfer agency for stocks, proxies, etc. 2nd business is an alternative mortgage business for people who can’t get mortgages from a regular lender. When they get the regulatory approval they should grow quickly.

2011-02-24

BUY on WEAKNESS

United States Steel

X-N

57.130

One of the biggest steel manufacturers globally. Demand for steel depends on global recovery and infrastructure in the emerging markets, which are doing quite well. Their challenge will be input costs. Coal and iron ore prices are skyrocketing. Fortunately they have a very good hedge position and internally supply their own inputs. Looking at their peak earning power, they are very cheap.

2011-02-24

BUY

Hemisphere GPS Inc.

HEM-T

1.400

GPS guidance equipment for farmers so they can do more precision farming. Basically an after market player as their equipment can go on existing equipment. Seem to have come through their problems and are doing better but hope they’ll do better in managing inventory, etc. Underlying theme is good. Worthwhile name to play in the agriculture space.

2011-02-24

BUY

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp.

PRE-T

31.420

One of the first companies that were successful in South America by developing a heavy oil field and have since got a lot bigger. Have size, flexibility in terms of cash flow and should be a core name for a South American or Colombia name.

2011-02-24

BUY

Ithaca Energy Inc.

IAE-T

2.880

Explorer and developer in the North Sea. Doing quite well in bringing older fields into production and exploring for them. Enjoying the higher prices they have been getting in the last little bit, which benefits their cash flow. Doesn’t see any impediments on regulatory issues.

2011-02-24

Comment

European Gold Fields Limited

EGU-T

11.180

Its main assets are 2 gold mines in Greece and construction was ready to go but government changed its mind on permitting. Another company had the same kind of issues 10 years ago. Could still be a worthwhile investment but just know your risks.

2011-02-24

PAST TOP PICK

Guestlogix

GXI-T

1.020

(A Top Pick April 19/10. Down 34.61%.) Provides a platform for selling things electronically. Very successful signing up airlines globally but they haven’t used it much. Paying a good fee but not getting the leverage or selling much. They have to sell more things. Still likes it.

2011-02-24

Comment

Talison Lithium Ltd.

TLH-T

5.680

One of the biggest lithium producers outside of China. Main use of lithium is for batteries but they are trying to broaden its applications. Acquired some assets in South America. If he owned any lithium names, this would probably be it. He is not as bullish on lithium as some others.

2011-02-24

BUY

Alcoa

AA-N

15.210

Expects reasonable earnings. They cut costs. China has the biggest production but has been cutting back as part of energy conservation.

2010-12-30

BUY

Agrium

AGU-T

91.830

Winter is seasonally weak for these stocks, but from a general market point of view he expects a pull back on this one. It is at a pretty reasonable valuation. Likes the company and the way it is conservatively managed.

2010-12-30

SPECULATIVE BUY

American International Group

AIG-N

57.530

A lot of people thought it would go to zero. AIG had some really solid assets. It is still a long way back to what it used to be. They are making a lot of progress. This is for very high-risk clients only.

2010-12-30

WEAK BUY

Cisco

CSCO-Q

20.230

Had some setbacks because business was not growing as fast.

2010-12-30

BUY

Encana Corp

ECA-T

28.950

No way gas can stay at this level for the long term. The turnaround will probably take a little longer than everybody thinks. Gas should go to $6 in the 4-6 year time horizon. It may be dead money for a while.

2010-12-30

WEAK BUY

Empire Company (A)

EMP.A-T

55.700

A name you can rely on for the long term. He prefers WN.

2010-12-30

BUY

General Motors Corporation

GM-N

36.820

Done reasonably well. A good way to play the recovery of the North American market. Thinks there is further upside. GM is cheaper than ford. He prefers to play auto industry with parts manufacturers.

2010-12-30

WEAK BUY

Intel

INTC-Q

21.020

Hasn’t done as well as rest of tech sector because PC business is slow growing. Some of their efforts will probably bear fruit over the next year or two.

2010-12-30

HOLD

Inter Pipeline Fund

IPL.UN-T

14.950

Well-managed pipeline company and has leverage to the continued growing Alberta oil scene. It’s only a hold because it is a trust and payout is unsustainably high and continued growth would have to be financed by issuing new units. Prefers Enbridge or Transcanada pipeline.

2010-12-30

PAST TOP PICK

Manulife Financial

MFC-T

17.140

(Top Pick Jan 29/10, Down 9.53%) Made some descent recovery recently. A booming equity market will really help them. But there are better place to put your money in the shorter term.

2010-12-30

WEAK BUY

Petrobank Energy and Resources

PBG-T

25.050

The remaining shares are probably a buy. It might take a little bit of time to work it out. You should do well in the next 6-12 months.

2010-12-30

TOP PICK

Potash Corp of Saskatchewan

POT-T

152.920

(Top Pick Jan 29/10, Up 44.34%) The demand for food will continue to increase. You want to go for a company that has strategic reserves. Potash rocks only occur in 3 places in the world. People who own strategic rocks have strategic value. You can expect it to do well, double in the next 5 to 10 years.

2010-12-30

TOP PICK

58.140

(Top Pick Jan 29/10, Down 13.86%) There is no inherent weakness in their technology and they are coming out with new products. International is a huge growth area for them and more than for apple. Blackberry messenger is particularly addictive to young people. Their product is secure, with the others the gov’t could be listening.

2010-12-30

DON'T BUY

Royal Bank

RY-T

52.190

The banks are very much the same so if one under performs then it usually comes back. Good for the long term but thinks they will take a while to turn around.

2010-12-30

TOP PICK