STOCKCHASE

18.630

(A Top Pick Jan 27/09. Up 25.12%.) Likes the outlook for drug stocks. Still a Buy.

2010-01-28

Comment

Inter Pipeline Fund

IPL.UN-T

11.260

Had owned because it was a good defensive name with a good yield. When investors started chasing yields, a number of these stocks started getting overvalued and this one started getting expensive. If it comes back down, he may buy it again.

2010-01-28

HOLD

Sunlife Financial

SLF-T

31.290

The 3 large lifecos in Canada are Great West (GWO-T), Sun Life (SLF-T) and Manulife (MFC-T) and this would be the order of his preferences. Conservatively run. Doesn't give you the highs or the lows and are trying to increase presence in the US at a good time.

2010-01-28

SELL

19.900

This would be his 3rd choice in Canadian lifecos. It ended up being a leveraged play on the US stock market. Still has 75% of their equity exposure unhedged. Has not been shareholder friendly. Have raised massive amounts of money twice to build up their balance sheet as well as cutting the dividend in half.

2010-01-28

Comment

Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Ltd.

0.020

Market corrections. Charts show uptrend and moving averages have been broken. Could be heading further south. Surprised at how far the market went before correcting. Could drop another 10%-15% without any trouble. If you own quality, dividend-paying stocks, they won't go down as much as the market so continue to hold.

2010-01-28

WAIT

Cameco Corporation

CCO-T

29.960

Starting to come up on his radar but not ready to buy yet. Pumping water out of cigar Lake is almost finished. Outlook for uranium is improving.

2010-01-28

HOLD

Suncor Energy Inc

SU-T

34.350

Hasn't done much in the past year. Have now merged with Petrocan and is basically in a sideways trading range. Longer term it is going to be a great company. He particularly likes the outlook for the oil sands.

2010-01-28

BUY

LIM-T

5.880

This is the royalty trusts. Outlook for iron ore is actually quite good. Stock got ahead of itself temporarily but for longer-term investors it is pretty good.

2010-01-28

HOLD

Bell Aliant

BA.UN-T

26.210

You won't get rich with this one. An old wire line company that is having steady erosion but has been cutting costs faster than it is losing its wire line. Has also been increasing penetration in TV in the Maritimes. Once converted to a corp, yield will probably be within 15%-20% of where it is now.

2010-01-28

HOLD

Exxon Mobil

XOM-N

64.960

In the process of acquiring XPO Energy. Probably the largest publicly traded oil company globally. Big oil companies are having a problem finding enough reserves to replace what they are producing. Also, a lot of the countries where they produce are unstable.

2010-01-28

BUY on WEAKNESS

Atrium Biotechnologies Inc.

0.020

Canadian banks, especially those with US exposure? Canadian banks are looking vulnerable largely because they moved up so far when investors were chasing yield. The new Basil Accord could be tough on Canadian banks because of their high preponderance to increase dividends regularly.

2010-01-28

TOP PICK

Syngenta AG

SYT-N

55.780

(A Top Pick Jan 27/09. Up 43.6%.) World's largest herbicide/pesticide manufacturer and 3rd largest seed company. Outlook for grain plantings globally, especially in the US, is quite good for next year. Grain prices are high. #2 seed company had a very promising seed, which they pulled from the market because of problems in this company will be able to fill the void.

2009-12-23

TOP PICK

Power Financial Corp

PWF-T

31.050

In the financial sector banks have seen their best for a while but insurers have a better outlook and better value. This one is a holding company for Great West (GWO-T), IGM (IGM-T) and Putnam in the US. Stock got overdone on the downside. Good dividend of about 4.5%, which it regularly raises.

2009-12-23

TOP PICK

ATB-T

15.150

Growth stock with lots of potential and not much downside. Largest North American company that produces and sells high quality nutritional supplements to practitioners. Major player in Europe with a major product that is the #3 painkiller that has been declassified as a food for wider distribution. Good cash position and lots of borrowing capacity to make acquisitions.

2009-12-23

PAST TOP PICK

18.580

(A Top Pick Jan 27/09. Up 17.5%.) The world hated pharmaceutical stocks but started to like them more. All the major pharmas have patents coming off in the next 5 years. This is already built into the price. Companies have all built up big cash reserves.

2009-12-23

PAST TOP PICK

Talisman Energy

TLM-T

19.650

(A Top Pick Jan 27/09. Up 64.23%.) Change in management has been very positive. Shedding non-critical assets and concentrating more on what they are good at. Becoming a more important player in non-conventional shale gas.

2009-12-23

BUY

Vodafone Group PLC

VOD-Q

22.830

Wireless provider based in the UK with worldwide operations. Owns half of Verizon Wireless, which he likes. Dropped quite a bit because cell phone usage globally was curtailed during the recession as well as heavier competition in India, but things are getting better.

2009-12-23

BUY

Bell Aliant

BA.UN-T

27.980

At the end of 2010 it will have to convert to corporation distribution will likely be cut to 80%. Not a growth story. Manages its costs very well so will be able to pay a dividend for quite some time.

2009-12-23

DON'T BUY

Sears Holdings Corp.

SHLD-Q

81.560

Stock scares him a lot because the man that holds and runs it has been systematically destroying the Sears brand/stores in the US for some time by not reinvesting in the product. Highly speculative.

2009-12-23

DON'T BUY

Pembina Pipeline Income Trust

19.110

Had owned what he thought was the best run, highest quality, best growing life insurance company in North America with opportunities in the far east. Ended up owning a leveraged play on the US stock market so he sold. Stock recovered and then they cut the dividend in half as well as doing 2 financings. Wouldn't go near this one. (See Top Picks.)

2009-12-23

HOLD

PIF.UN-T

17.650

Has been on quite a tear since March. Company intends continuing the same rate after they convert from a trust. Payout rate is pretty high, so if there is any hiccup, that may not happen. Pretty expensive.

2009-12-23

Comment

Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund

CGX.UN-T

17.980

Has had the benefit of Hollywood providing it with some very excellent product in the last year or two. 100% dependent on Hollywood.

2009-12-23

Comment

Crescent Point Energy Corp

CPG-T

39.500

Excellent oil/gas, mostly oil company that converted from a trust and kept its payout at a high level. Made some very good acquisitions especially in the Bakken area.

2009-12-23

Comment

RioCan Real Estate Investment

REI.UN-T

19.040

Basically big box retail centres. Great management. Retail sales have been poor and the prognosis is mediocre and they are not earning their pay out but plan to continue the payout until times get better. If you are a long-term investor, this is a good time to buy.

2009-12-23

Comment

Parkland Income Fund

PKI.UN-T

13.220

Owns rural gas stations, mostly in western Canada but spreading into Atlantic provinces and Ontario. Likes it but doesn't own as much as he used to. 1) What will happen when they have to convert and 2) what will happen to their PetroCan agreement, which is coming up for renewal.

2009-12-23

BUY

Trans Canada Corp

TRP-T

35.410

Would buy this one over some of the pipeline income trusts is the valuation is much more reasonable and the dividend is better covered. Also better growth prospects.

2009-12-23

HOLD

Barrick Gold

ABX-T

42.180

3 stocks he would look at in gold would be Barrick (ABX-T), GoldCorp (G-T) or Newmont (NMC-T). They are all seniors and well run. The problem is, gold stocks have not kept up with the commodity. Gold had been in a short-term bubble and is now coming off.

2009-12-23

HOLD

Goldcorp Inc

G-T

42.140

2009-12-23

HOLD

Newmont Mining

NMC-T

50.430

2009-12-23

Comment

Bank of Montreal

BMO-T

54.390

Had gone from being the most conservative Canadian bank to the riskiest one making the yield the highest. Raised a lot of capital and it is not an issue any more. His only bank holding is National (NA-T).

2009-12-23

BUY

Student Transport of America Ltd.

STB-T

4.720

School bus company. Nominally a Canadian company but vast majority of operations are in the US. Very high payout so doesn't expect dividend growth. Analyst statement they are not properly depreciating school buses was in error as they lease, not buy buses. Will have good steady growth and do lots of equity issues as it grows.

2009-12-23

DON'T BUY

Inter Pipeline Fund

IPL.UN-T

11.050

Sold his holdings because the quest for yield has driven the stock price beyond its proper value. Very well run company and its payout is secure as they have enough tax pools for some period of time.

2009-12-23

HOLD

Shoppers Drug Mart Corp

SC-T

43.970

(Market Call Minute.) Hold for now but coming up soon as a Buy.

2009-12-23

BUY

Thomson Reuters Corp

TRI-T

33.530

(Market Call Minute.)

2009-12-23

HOLD

Research In Motion

RIM-T

70.750

(Market Call Minute.) Hold, with a possible Sell. Competition is getting much more intense.

2009-12-23

N/A

0.020

Tortoise and the Hare. Stocks that faired the worst on the way down have faired the best on the way up. This is coming to an end. Slow and steady wins the race. Tortoise is the dividend paying stocks like utilities, drugs, consumer, and non-durables. The ones that are left behind are resource, cyclicals and have lead the market on iffy fundamentals. Higher quality stocks are starting to outperform. Over the next year or so will be a muted recovery.

2009-12-08

DON'T BUY

Student Transport of America Ltd.

0.020

GOLD: Bubble bubble, toil and trouble. Gold was starting to go parabolic. It is a big beneficiary of the US$ but has been gaining against all the currencies. Gold does not deserve to be as high as it is now. You only want to own gold when it is moving and it usually results in tears afterwards. It is a commodity and sometimes they go up but usually they don’t. Gold stocks have not kept up with the price of gold. They will be less volatile.

2009-12-08

BUY

STB-T

4.600

It has become a corporation, dividend is 12% yield. It will not grow, nor be cut. He likes it very much. This is an under followed stock with great potential.

2009-12-08

BUY

0.020

When to invest in US stocks again: No one knows when dollar will stabilize. You should look at your portfolio and if it is not properly diversified, you will have to buy the US. In the long run, currencies go up and down and tend to be neutral. Now is as good a time as ever, with the dollar in the mid-90s.

2009-12-08

WEAK BUY

Pembina Pipeline Income Trust

17.870

It is the premier North American life insurance company. One of the attractions is the operation in the far east. They could benefit from distressed asset purchases. Variable annuity product makes them a leveraged play on the US market. If there is another big correction in the market, they are still very vulnerable.

2009-12-08

WEAK BUY

Sunlife Financial

SLF-T

28.360

Prefers it to MFC because they couldn’t sell a variable annuity if their life depended on it.

2009-12-08

SELL

Royal Bank

RY-T

55.230

Would not own too many banks. Would take profits. They have a huge US exposure and he prefers banks with less US exposure.

2009-12-08

PAST TOP PICK

PIF.UN-T

16.780

(Top Pick Dec 15/08, Up 21.6%) Not buying it now. Under $16 would be an entry point. One of their divisions is involved in marketing. He is not a bull on Natural Gas – It’s not going to $8-$10, but if it is a cold winter, it will help. There are no drilling rigs drilling for gas right now.

2009-12-08

BUY

Diageo PLC

DEO-N

67.760

World’s biggest liquor company. Stock hurt somewhat because people traded down from premium liquor with higher margins. It’s a very shareholder-friendly company. 4.3% yield.

2009-12-08

BUY

Canadian Natural Rsrcs

CNQ-T

66.910

Price of oil in short term is very different from price in the long term. Demand is soft. Good opportunity to buy CNQ. Could fall to $62 (200 day moving average).

2009-12-08

DON'T BUY

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

WMT-N

54.410

When times were bad everyone wanted to be here. If people see economic recovery is not going to be so robust, they may return to Walmart. No one buys for the dividend, but it’s nice it’s there. He doesn’t think retail is a great place to be.

2009-12-08

BUY

Atrium Biotechnologies Inc.

ATB-T

14.800

It is the leading company in Europe and N.A. in high quality vitamin and supplement business. It is the consolidator, slowly buying up companies, supplying practitioners. Well run company, earnings outlook is good. As population ages, more people are going to naturopaths. Doesn’t expect a dividend for a long time. It’s keeping cash for acquisitions. Their history is excellent for acquisitions.

2009-12-08

BUY

Crescent Point Energy Corp

CPG-T

38.540

Was a royalty trust that converted to a corporation successfully. They didn’t slash their payout. They are oil heavy rather than gas heavy. They are a major acquirer in the Saskatchewan area. Could have a correction in the short term.

2009-12-08

DON'T BUY

Research In Motion

RIM-T

65.090

He is a value investor and is not likely to own this one, but one might get tempted and he is, but he is worried about the increase in competition in this space. One day Nokia may come up with a product that is a hit in North America.

2009-12-08

WEAK BUY

Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund

CGX.UN-T

17.800

Box office revenues have been quite robust and near term outlook is quite good. 3-D movies are high margin. They make their money on concessions. They are a virtual monopoly and are priced that way. Downside is that they have no control over their product. Whatever Hollywood sends them they have to show.

2009-12-08

BUY

Suncor Energy Inc

SU-T

36.040

Major player that bought Petro Canada, a major player. He likes that in the sort and long term. Was a fan of the merger.

2009-12-08

PAST TOP PICK

Trans Canada Corp

TRP-T

34.680

(Top Pick Dec 15/08, Up 13%) They increase the dividend regularly. More and more into the electrical generation process. They are not into unrelated businesses. Stock held back by massive stock issues but they are done.

2009-12-08

PAST TOP PICK

BCE Inc.

BCE-T

28.330

(Top Pick Dec 15/08, Up 40.75%) Bought it the day the teacher’s takeover was cancelled. Getting rid of old management. It is turning around, but will take a coupled of years.

2009-12-08

TOP PICK

Syngenta AG

SYT-N

54.960

A Swiss Company. Third largest seed and largest pesticide company in the world. Undervalued on its own and compared to piers. Dupont’s latest generation of seed has problems and wont be available.. Thinks next year will be a good season for planting and prices will stay high.

2009-12-08

TOP PICK

Vodafone Group PLC

VOD-Q

22.910

English-based worldwide wireless carrier. Own 50% of Verizon wireless, which is a huge revenue spinner. May increase dividend or buyback a lot of stock. Wireless business is stabilizing

2009-12-08

TOP PICK

Fortis Inc.

FTS-T

26.610

Canada’s Growth utility. Started in Newfoundland only and spread west and to 3 Caribbean countries. Raises capital and buys utilities. Dividend gone up in each of last 37 years. 3.9% dividend.

2009-12-08

HOLD

Saputo Inc.

SAP-T

30.350

(Market Call Minute) Cheese prices are going up in the states but here they are so high, making demand so-so.

2009-12-08

HOLD

Barrick Gold

ABX-T

43.100

(Market Call Minute) Price of gold has run up, due for correction, gold stocks have not run up so much so you might get another run in gold

2009-12-08

SELL

Rogers Communcations (B)

RCI.B-T

33.600

(Market Call Minute) Still very worried about increased competition in wireless business.

2009-12-08

HOLD

Canadian National R.R.

CNR-T

58.210

(Market Call Minute) Best run railway in N.A and stock got a little ahead of itself.

2009-12-08

HOLD

National Bank of Canada

NA-T

58.490

(Market Call Minute) Favorite bank but banks are vulnerable for a correction.

2009-12-08

BUY

Stanley Works, The

SWK-N

49.020

Building, in process of buying Black and Decker. Market viewed this as a match made in heaven. Likes the long-term outlook.

2009-12-08

TOP PICK

Trans Canada Corp

TRP-T

32.200

Good yield of 4.7%. This type of stock has been left behind in this market and when things start to correct, they'll start to do well. Good growth profile. Good for conservative yield seeking investors.

2009-11-16

TOP PICK

Atrium Biotechnologies Inc.

ATB-T

15.500

(A Top Pick Nov 11/08. Up 21.4%.) Canadian healthcare supplements with most operations in the US and Europe. Acquiring and growing organically and margins are increasing. Sells at a lower multiple than its comparables in the US.

2009-11-16

TOP PICK

Constellation Software Inc.

17.940

US healthcare stocks were ignored until recently. Recently completed its acquisition of Wyeth, which gives them a new product pipeline. 3.7% yield.

2009-11-16

PAST TOP PICK

CSU-T

31.970

(A Top Pick Nov 11/08. Up 25.84%.) Still likes.

2009-11-16

PAST TOP PICK

Teva Pharmaceutical

TEVA-Q

52.810

(A Top Pick Nov 11/08. Up 24.69%.) Still likes.

2009-11-16

BUY

Loblaw Companies Ltd

L-T

30.400

2 things have hurt supermarkets recently. Grocery prices have been deflating that is hurting their margins. Also a consumer non-durable and interest is elsewhere. Great turnaround story.

2009-11-16

BUY

General Electric

GE-N

16.000

Financial side seems to have calm down and rating agencies, which cut it from AAA to AA have said that's as far as they are going. Most operations are outside of the US. Has a lot of cyclicality behind it, which will do well when the economy comes back. Still trades like a financial services stock but think this will start to fade away.

2009-11-16

DON'T BUY

Sprott Inc.

SII-T

4.200

Money manager fund with a specialty in the commodity market. Have never traded above what they were issued at. Expensive and more speculative compared to many other money managers.

2009-11-16

Comment

Barrick Gold

ABX-T

46.150

Canadian stocks have lagged gold because gold is priced in US$'s. Since Cdn$ has appreciated against US$, gold price movement has not been that much for them. Right now commodity is leading stocks so there is some potential for them to catch up.

2009-11-16

WATCH

Shoppers Drug Mart Corp

SC-T

43.520

Lower quality, more cyclical stocks have been leading the market as opposed to consumer/non-discretionary have lagged. Also Ontario government are looking at their reimbursement policy for pharmacies. Looking at this one and may invest in it in the near future.

2009-11-16

SELL

Fannie Mae

FNM-N

1.010

Nobody knows what these things are really worth. It's like betting at the casino.

2009-11-16

Comment

Claymore Natural Gas Commodity ETF

0.020

We have not escaped a market correction. In either direction they overshoot. It is overshooting here. The economy is not coming out in a ‘V’ shape. The market is coming out as if we ARE in a ‘V’ shape. These things always go farther and deeper than you think. The stock and bond markets are saying two different things. The bond market is smarter than the stock market. You might want to take some profits here. He is not buying corporate bonds any more, but into provincial bonds.

2009-10-13

DON'T BUY

Research In Motion

RIM-T

70.850

It’s not what you would call cheap. The competition is fierce. They tried to expand into the consumer market. They’ve lost some momentum. It’s a growth stock and not something the value investor is after.

2009-10-13

DON'T BUY

GAS-T

6.020

Tracks price of the forward contract of natural gas. Things are starting to normalize. To own this you hope for a cold winter and that the manufacturing sector comes back strongly. There are tones of storage out there. Be careful. Would prefer stocks that drill for Nat Gas.

2009-10-13

BUY

Crescent Point Energy Corp

0.020

Gold: Gold is tied to US dollar and economy. TO look long term – no one knows what is happening there. Gold could do well for a month or 6 months. To play it, guy large cap stocks.

2009-10-13

BUY

CPG-T

37.800

One of the better companies that was a trust. It is becoming a growth stock.

2009-10-13

WAIT

Shoppers Drug Mart Corp

SC-T

43.490

He is looking at buying it. It was a growth stock and is becoming more of a value stock. There is legislation potentially coming on in Ontario that will potentially affect how they are paid for prescriptions. They are actually losing money on servicing those prescriptions. Thinks the stock is being overly pressured by this news and it would present an opportunity. He is waiting to see that the government will not do anything rash to the industry.

2009-10-13

BUY

Power Financial Corp

PWF-T

30.000

Has owned it forever. Likes that it has a long-term record of growth and of raising its dividend, even twice in the last year. Likes the assets they have in Canada and the bonus kicker is the international assets.

2009-10-13

Comment

Pembina Pipeline Income Trust

0.020

Preferreds vs. Bonds: Preferreds are more attractive outside of an RRSP or RIFF from a tax perspective. Extra risk in that preferreds rank below bonds.

2009-10-13

PAST TOP PICK

PIF.UN-T

15.320

(Top Pick Oct 14/08, Up 10%) Should keep up when it is no longer a trust. They have a high payout ratio, though.

2009-10-13

PAST TOP PICK

Bell Aliant

BA.UN-T

27.450

(Top Pick Oct 14/08, Up 28.9%) Would look for loss of revenue from wire line accelerating faster than people expect to sell it.

2009-10-13

DON'T BUY

iShares Cdn Corp Bond E.T.F.

22.080

Used to own because they were the premier life insurance company in the east. What they discovered was a leveraged play on the N.A. stock market due to the high number of annuities and segregated funds that were not hedged. Would look at it again once they look at the unhedged position.

2009-10-13

BUY

Thomson Reuters Corp

TRI-T

34.950

They have areas outside of financial such as legal. Likes the outlook. Growing faster than Bloomberg.

2009-10-13

BUY

Fortis Inc.

FTS-T

25.120

Canada’s growth utility. Always looking for something to buy that makes sense. Grows dividend every year.

2009-10-13

DON'T BUY

Telus Corp

T-T

33.510

Less attractive then BCE and a higher yield. The iPhone is less profitable than a regular due to subsidies and data volumes.

2009-10-13

DON'T BUY

XCB-T

20.130

XCB, XCO: yield between government and corporate bonds are narrowing, so risk/return is not the same as it was. Would not be chasing corporate bonds.

2009-10-13

VAGUE

Penn West Energy Trust

PWT.UN-T

16.810

Trying to build up its oil presence. It is working on becoming a growth stock. May not continue to pay out a high yield.

2009-10-13

BUY

Verizon Communications

VZ-N

29.020

There is currency risk, but he likes it because of the growth factor. Invested heavily in fiber to the homes. He likes that growth potential. It is a defensive stock.

2009-10-13

BUY

Talisman Energy

TLM-T

19.650

Under performer for some time and is coming out of that shell. People are realizing the benefit of the management. The results are coming through. New management is under promising and over delivering and stock is reacting to that. If you get a pullback it will not be a dramatic one.

2009-10-13

Comment

0.020

Why not Day Trade: Day trading is not investing but gambling. It’s not the business that he is in.

2009-10-13

BUY

Teva Pharmaceutical

TEVA-Q

51.190

More and more major drugs are coming off patent over the next few years. Being the biggest they will get the lion’s share.

2009-10-13

BUY