2020

The first few comments for 2021 will appear here until I get a new page setup for 2021.
January 3, 2021
Our report on TFI International (a large Canadian trucking company with now substantial operations in the U.S) is updated and rated (lower) Buy at...

On Wednesday. the S&P 500 was up 0.1% while Toronto was virtually unchanged.
Melcor Developments was up 14.5% to $9.79. It's nice to see it showing some life. But even with the volume higher than normal today, it is a thinly traded stock. Only 27...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was down 0.5%.
Stantec was up 2.2%.
Melcor showed a bit of life rising 4.4% and with the Melcor REIT rising 3.6%. 
...

On Monday, Toronto markets were closed. But the S&P 500 rose 0.7%. 
Apple was a notable winner, rising 3.6%. And Amazon was up 3.5%. Starbucks was also strong, rising 2.3%.
The usual pattern would be that Toronto will play catch-up tomorrow. But ...

Our report on American Express is updated and rated (lower) Buy at $117.35. Its revenues and particularly its earnings are down due to the pandemic such that it looks somewhat expensive in relation to earnings. But if we assume that it will recover a...

On Monday, the U.S. markets will be fully open while Toronto will be closed. 
Trump has signed the COVID relief bill which should be positive for markets.
I am working on an update for American Express. It should be a decent long term hold. I expect ...

On Christmas Eve, markets were mostly positive as the S&P 500 rose 0.35% and Toronto rose 0.2%.
There were no big movements in the stocks on our list. But Shopify was up 1.7% and Visa Inc. was up 1.7%.
 New York markets and probably most world ma...

Our report on Royal Bank of Canada or RBC trading under symbol RY is updated and rated (higher) Buy.  This is Canada's largest bank and it continues to grow in size year after year. It is has five major divisions all of which are consistently profita...

An otherwise good day in the markets on Wednesday was rather spoiled by bad news from one of the stocks I own and that is on our list.
The S&P 500 was up 0.1% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
Canadian Western Bank was up 1.9%.
CRH Medical was down 21% to...

CRH Medical is down about 25% this morning after announcing that one of its major contracts representing 20% of its EBITDA is set to not renew as expected at the end of 2021. This is an ugly development. CRH operates in various clinic and relies on c...

Markets were "mixed" on Tuesday with the S&P 500 down 0.2% and Toronto up 0.3%.
Shopify surged 7.3% to a new record high close. Apple was up 2.85% and Constellation Software was up 4.6%. A great day for these digital economy stocks. 
RIWI was dow...

Markets were mostly down on Monday although the Dow Jones ended the day up 0.4%. The S&P 500 was down 0.4% and Toronto was down 0.2%.
Canadian Tire was down 3.3%, RioCan was down 2.5% - both of these probably related to the Ontario lockdowns. Lin...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.35% and Toronto was down 0.7%.
AutoCanada slipped 4.8%. Possibly it just ran up too fast, so not a surprise.
FedEx was down 5.7% despite supposedly beating estimates and have a very strong quarter. I will likely ...

My "links" page is a collection of links that I found useful over the years. some of those links I use a lot and some I had not looked at in years. I just went through and made sure all the links worked and deleted some that no longer worked. I added...

Some investors really like dividend reinvestment plans. They allow your dividends to be used to purchase more shares and with no broker fee. And sometimes you even get a discount of around 2% or even 5%!
I can definitely see the attraction when there...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.6% and Toronto was up 0.5%
The Boston Pizza units were up 6.7% to $10.82 after it announced the 20 cent special  distribution. The 20 cents really just results from the six months of zero distributions as cash bu...

Markets were mostly up moderately on Wednesday as the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and Toronto rose 0.35%.
Shopify surged another 8.3%. And Amazon was up 2.4%.
But many of the stocks on our list were down somewhat.
AutoCanada was down 5.7%. This morning Des...

Air Canada managed to sell its desired $850 million worth or 35 million shares in the over night marketed deal. As I expected the price came in at the lower end being $24.
Also as would be expected this has knocked the share price down in the market....

Our report for Linamar is updated and rated (lower) Buy at $68.65. Its results in 2020 are not indicative of normal because of the pandemic. But even with the pandemic it has done okay. There was a loss in Q2 despite the federal wage subsidy but they...

Air Canada is out with a share offering attempting to raise $850 million in "an overnight marketed deal".
I'm certainly not surprised that they need money. I saw the CEO claim recently that their balance sheet is very strong. I am not going to attemp...

Markets rose on Tuesday apparently due to hopes that a stimulus / COVID relief package would be passed soon in the U.S.
The S&P 500 was up 1.3% and Toronto was up 0.7%.
Apple was up 5.0%. Alcanna was up 4.3%.
TFI increased its quarterly dividend ...

On Monday, the S&P 500 finished the day down 0.4% while Toronto declined 0.9%.
Constellation Software was up 2.85%.
RioCan was up 2.5% and has help up surprisingly well after its distribution cut and in the face of the challenges to the physical ...

There is nothing more central to economic activity than banks. Our pay cheques are deposited to bank accounts. The great majority of our spending and bill paying consists of the money in our bank accounts being transferred to the bank accounts of var...

Our report on Canadian Western Bank is updated rated Speculative Buy at $29.00 (it closed today at $29.09)
There are many pluses and minuses to consider about buying shares in CWB at this time:
The biggest minus is that it is already expecting a cont...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and Toronto was down 0.25%
About the biggest gainer on the list I monitor was WSP Global up another 2.0%.
lululemon was notable to the downside with a loss of 6.7% despite a strong earnings report. But it has ...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.8% and Toronto was down 0.45%.
Shopify was down 6.0%.
Toll Brothers was down another 2.9% to $43.99. I read through the conference call transcript today and and most of the call discussed all the ways Toll has...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 and Toronto were each up 0.3%.
Toll Brothers was down 7.9% to $45.32 despite its strong earnings report. It remains one of my larger positions. If that were not the case I would be very tempted to buy more shares at this p...

Monday's session saw the S&P 500 down 0.2% and Toronto up 0.35%.
Shopify was up 2.9%.
Canadian Western Bank was down 3.5% after analysts suggested its non-interest (mostly staff) expenses were too high. It has added staff to position itself for g...

Markets pushed higher once again on Friday as the S&P 500 rose 0.9% and Toronto was up 0.7%.
Intact Financial was up 3.7%. 
Canada's energy exchange traded fund XEG was up 5.6%
WSP Global was up another 5.6% as the market digested the news of its...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 finished the day down 0.1% while Toronto was up 0.2%.
Toll Brothers had a strong day, rising 4.3%. 
WSP Global jumped 11.6% after announcing it will acquire the large environmental consulting firm Golder Associates. Golde...

On Wednesday, markets edged upwards once again. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto was up 0.35%.
Linamar was up another 2.5%.
AutoCanada bounced up 3.6%
Couche-Tard was up 2.5%
RIWI was down 8.4% to $2.61. It's speculative but worth considering ...

Markets rose on Tuesday with the S&P 500 up 1.1% and Toronto up 0.6%.
Linamar jumped 5.2% which may have been due to analyst recommendations to buy.  After the close, DesRosiers reported that light vehicle sales in Canada in November were down 10...

Markets gave back a little ground on Monday as the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 1.2% 
Shopify had another strong day gaining 4.1%.
RioCan was down 3.5%. That is not surprising after the recent gains and given the partial lock-downs ...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
There were no particularly note worthy movements in the stocks on our list.
As of Sunday evening, indications are that he markets will open modestly down on Monday morning.
We have had a...

Our Tiny R&D penny stock company Ceapro is out with Q3 earnings this morning. At a QUICK look:
Definitely looks good. Seems like we are back to the point where the legacy products are allowing  cash to build and maybe almost justifies the share p...

U.S. markets were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Toronto was up 0.2%.
Alcanna continues to rise and was up 2.45% today.
The Boston Pizza units were up 4%. This may have been driven by Ontario's decision to cap the fees that the like...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% but Toronto was up 0.2% as the price of oil continues to rise.
West Texas Oil, WTI is now just over U.S. $46. That's about $60 Canadian which is actually not a low oil price except in relation to some of th...

This post was sent by email on November 24th:
Anyone trying to log into investorsfriend.com in the past couple of days will have seen a security warning and not been able to get in. My apologies for that. I need a new SSL security certificate and it ...

Markets ended moderately higher on Thursday after starting the day in negative territory. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% and Toronto was up 0.1%.
Futures markets on Thursday evening are suggesting that the market will be moderately weaker on Friday. App...

Markets were down somewhat on Wednesday as the S&P 500 was down 1.2% and Toronto ws down 0.3%.
The Boston Pizza Royalties units were up 8.4% to $9.76 and yielding 8.0%. The gain surprises me given the current virus situation but it may be that th...

U.S. Markets were slightly negative on Tuesday as the S&P 500 fell 0.5% but Toronto managed a 0.3% gain.
There were no many stocks on our list rising or falling more than 2% or so. The Melcor REIT was up 5.4% to $4.77. It had spend most of the la...

Markets were strong on Monday on the news that a proposed vaccine has achieved a 94.5% success rate so far in a Phase III clinical trial.  And this one does not require ultra cold storage in distribution. While it would be some months before the vacc...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 1.4% and Toronto was up 0.6%.
AutoCanada was up 10.6% after releasing earnings. This has been a story of good management since the new management took over a couple of years ago. Part of the story is that auto sales ...

In updating the report on Alcanna, I noticed it has a convertible denture that pays 4.7% and is trading right around par value and maturing in 15 months. The symbol is CLIQ.DB
This might be of interest as a fixed income investment. It is also temptin...

Melcor Developments is updated and rated Buy at $7.00 This has admittedly been a poor and frustrating investment for a long time. It's now trading at just 21% of book value and is still profitable although with low profits. For those holding it, I ca...

Alcanna Inc. is updated and rated Speculative Buy at $5.47. This is the formerly named Liquor Stores N.A. It came under new management over two years ago and they have taken a lot of actions to improve things. It reported good earnings on Friday afte...

On Thursday the markets took more notice of the pandemic and the S&P 500 was down 1.0% and Toronto was down 1.1%.
Alcanna was down 4.3%. I like its chances of doing well as lockdowns lead to more home consumption of alcohol as restaurants and bar...

Although it was Remembrance Day in Canada and Veteran's Day in the U.S.; the markets were open today.
The S&P 500 was up 0.8% and Toronto was up 1.0%. 
Linamar surged 16% after releasing earnings.
Some of the "tech" stocks that had declined on Mo...

Our report on Canadian Tire is updated and rated Buy at $165.25.   The Canadian Tire stores came though the pandemic extremely well. Even in Q@ when stores in Ontario were shut down for several weeks sales were up 20% for the quarter. Then in Q3 same...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.1% (but the DOW was up 0.9%) and Toronto was up 0.85%.
Toll Brothers bounced up 7.3%
Canadian Western Bank was up 3.8%.
Melcor Developments was up 6.6%. It then reported Q3 earnings after the close which were pr...

Monday was a very strong day in the markets after pfiser reported extremely promising preliminary results from its Coronavirus vaccine phase II trial.
The S&P 500 closed up 1.2%, The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 2.95% and Toronto was up 1....

On Friday, the S&P 500 was about unchanged and Toronto was down a tiny 0.1%.
Aurora Cannabis was up a huge 56% but still remains down 62% year to date. There was no news from Aurora to explain this gain. There was speculation it was due to the em...

Despite some uncertainty in the election result and despite Trump's antics, markets were strong once again on Thursday.
The S&P 500 was up 1.95% and Toronto was up 1.9%.
Notable gainers included:
Canadian Tire - up 6.65% after releasing strong Q3...

For most of the last four years the market has greatly cheered the Trump Presidency. In the lead up this election it cheered the hoped for a decisive Biden victory. Today as it appeared that we will instead get a squeaker of a Biden win, the market (...

Markets were fearless on election day as the S&P 500 was up 1.8% and Toronto was up 1.8% and Toronto was up 1.5%.
The vast majority of stocks were up. Once again there were no notable declines among the stocks on our list with the exception that ...

On Monday there were images of U.S. store fronts being boarded up out of fear of rioting and associated property damage and/or looting that could occur with the U.S. election.
There is also more and more news about second-wave economic shutdowns happ...

Election day looms. The big question is whether markets are likely to rise as soon as the election is out of the way - in which case deploying some cash on Monday or Tuesday would be wise, or will they decline on Wednesday especially if Trump loses b...

I have never analyzed any convertible debentures and I don't recall ever owning one. In updating the Aecon report I also took a look at its convertible debenture.
Aecon has $184 million worth of convertible debentures that were issued by prospectus i...

Our report on Aecon is updated and rated Weak Sell / Hold at $14.22.  The company reported sharply higher earnings in Q3. But it seems that this was entirely due to government emergency wage subsidies without which earnings would have declined. Perha...

On Thursday, markets recovered a portion of yesterday's losses. The S&P 500 was up 1.2% and Toronto was up 0.5%.
This week stocks are reacting to the pandemic as well as numerous earnings reports and the pending U.S. election.
Oil prices have dec...

The report for FedEx is updated and it is rated Weak Buy / Hold at U.S. $264.  I had rated FedEx a Sell in early February becasue it had reported a string of very weak quarters and was forecasting that to continue in the short term. It had already ta...

On Wednesday it seems that the markets accepted a doze of reality regarding the pandemic and the S&P 500 fell 3.5% while Toronto fell 2.7%.
FedEx was one of the bigger decliners - down 5.25%. I have been working on an update for FedEx. It's lates...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.3% and Toronto was down 0.4%.
It appears that the market is taking more notice of the worsening pandemic situation.
Stocks on the rise included Shopify (3.7% after announcing a deal with TicToc that is intended ...

On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 1.9% and Toronto was down 1.4%.
This is really a minor pull back and should come as no surprise given the worsening pandemic and the U.S. election risk.
The biggest decline in the stocks I follow was Toll Brothers, dow...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was up 0.15%.
TFI International (formerly Transforce) was up another 3.8% after releasing earnings. 
Toll Brothers bounced up 3.3%.
American Express was down 3.6%. It releases earnings on Friday. Its...

CN Rail is updated but rated only Weak Buy / Hold at $138. It looks somewhat expensive but this has been a tremendous company to own over the long term and it will continue to increase earnings. It suffered an earnings decline with the pandemic but i...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.5% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
AutoCanada was up 4.9% and is basically at a 52 week high. Analysts mostly rate it a Buy. It will be interesting to see how their Q3 went.
Toll Brothers was down 2.6%. 
After the close...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.2% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
Toll Brothers was down 4.3%. 
CN Rail was down 6.1% after reporting Q3 earnings. This gives back a little of its recent strong gains. I plan to update the report on this company a...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.5% while Toronto was unchanged.
CRH Medical bounced up 5.6%. Linamar was up 3.2%.
AutoCanada was down 3.7%.
CN Rail reported earnings after the close which were apparently a little below analyst expectations. Tran...

Markets were lower on Monday due to fears that a U.S. economic stimulus package may be delayed.
The S&P 500 was down 1.6% and Toronto was down 1.0%.
However, AutoCanada was up 7.8%. It has been bouncing up and down without any apparent news to ex...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was about unchanged while Toronto was down 0.4%.
Canadian Tire was strong with a 2.8% gain.
Toll Brothers was down 2.4%.
Stock futures suggest that stocks will rise on Monday du to optimism about economic stimulus talks in ...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.15% and Toronto was up 0.3%. 
Ceapro was up 10.9%. But it's a penny stock and tends to be quite volatile.
Canadian Tire was up 2.3%. One aspect of Canadian Tire that looks weak to me is its Party City chain. I ...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.7% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
CRH Medical was down 4.4%. Possibly this is due to fears that the clinics provides anesthesia services in will  be closed due to lock-downs or that patients will stay away due to ...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.6% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
AutoCanada was down 4.8% giving back a little of its recent strong gains.
RIWI was up 4.1%.
The Boston Pizza units were down 3.3%. After rising in response to the resumption of mont...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up another 1.6%. Toronto was closed for the holiday.
Most of the recent U.S. market strength is ties to hopes for a giant government stimulus package. There is something pathetic and wrong when the private sector stock ...

On Friday, the S&P 500 gained another 0.9% and Toronto rose 0.2%.
Amazon was up another 3.0%.
AutoCanada was notable with a 5.1% gain to close at $22.18. I am surprised how strong it has been. Apparently the analysts that cover it have mostly bee...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.8% and Toronto was up 0.65%.
Toll Brothers was up 3.8% to $49.23. It's very close to a 52 week high. It got over $50 in February. But it was also over $50 in late 2017. Before that it had an all-time high of some...

Market were up sharply on Wednesday. The S&P 500 was up 1.7% and Toronto was up 1.2%.
Among the bigger gains were:  TFI International - up 4.1% to a new high. Shopify - up 3.0%, Alcanna- up 5.6%. FedEx - up 3.5%, AutoCanada - up 7.9%,  Linamar - ...

On Tuesday, stocks were down after President Trump announced that he would end negotiations (with the Democrats) on a hoped for stimulus package until after the election. 
It's rather sad and ironic  that the private sector and stock markets, the sup...

Monday was a very positive day for stocks as the S&P 500 gained 1.8% and Toronto gained 1.3%.
Among the more notable gains: Boston Pizza Royalties was up 7.1%, TFI International was up 4.7%, AutoCanada was up 3.9%,and  Andrew Peller was up 4.3%.
...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 1.0% and Toronto was down 0.5%. That was a modest decline in the face of news that the President has the corona virus.
Apple was down 3.2%, Amazon was down 3.0%.
The big winner was the Boston Pizza Royalties Income...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.4%.
Shopify was up 2.9%.
Constellation Software was up 3.5%.
AutoCanada was up 3.7%. September light vehicle sales were released today (amazing that we get them this quick). and showed...

Markets apparently took little notice of last night's presidential debate as the S&P 500 rose 0.8%. Toronto, however was down 0.6%.
Toll Brothers bounced up 3.3%.
I notice Bombardier is down to a pathetic 33 cents. That's basically pricing in the...

Markets were negative on Tuesday with the S&P 500 down 0.5% and Toronto down 0.2%.
Toll Brothers was down 4.5%.
Melcor Developments was down 4.55% to $5.87. Today's dip may have been related to lower oil prices. I continue to find it difficult to...

Markets were strong on Monday as the S&P 500 rose 1.6% and Toronto rose 1.1%.
Some of the more notable gain on our list were: AutoCanada - up 4.2%, Canadian Western Bank up 3.2%, and Linamar - up 3.4%.
As mentioned this morning, our report on Tol...

Markets are noticeably higher this Monday morning.
AutoCanada is up 8% and Canadian Western Bank is up 3%.
The report on Toll Brothers is updated and rated (lower) Buy. It has done very well and its next quarterly report should be very strong. New ho...

Friday's trading session ended with the S&P 500 up 0.3% and Toronto up 0.6%.
Costco reported earnings after the close that were said to exceed expectations for both revenue (where expectations were already high) and earnings. But the shares fell ...

Wednesday was a negative day for markets which was blamed on the U.S. FED suggesting that the government needs to act to stimulate the economy while the market fears this will not happen anytime soon. The ongoing pandemic as we roll into the Fall of ...

Markets were positive on Tuesday with the S&P 500 and Toronto both up 1.0%.
Notable gainers included lululemon, up 6.1%, Toll Brothers up 2.5% and Canadian Tire up 3.3%.
Indications are that the market will open moderately higher this morning.
Ca...

Monday was a negative day for most stocks as the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and Toronto fell 1.3%. During much of the the trading day the decline was closer to about 2% but there was some recovery near the end of the trading day.
AutoCanada was one of the...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 1.1% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
Shopify was up 4.0%. 
Apple was down 3.2% to $106.84. That's a significant drop from its peak of $137.98 reached at the start of September when there was a lot of excitement around i...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.8% and Toronto was down 0.3%.
RIWI, which has been volatile was up 10.8%.
Toll Brothers was down 1.3% and announced before the close that it had made a small acquisition in Colorado which has has been one of th...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.8%.
Shopify was down 4.9% to CAN $1166 or U.S. $ 885 as it announced that it will issue about 1.3 million shares in the U.S. at U.S. $900. This will increase the share count by only a...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose another 0.5% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Restaurant Brands was up 3.1%.
AutoCanada was down 3.5%. As mentioned, I took advantage of its higher price yesterday to sell about 40% of my shares in this company. I was over-ex...

Markets rose once again on Monday with the S&P 500 up 1.3% and Toronto up 0.85%.
American Express was up 3.8%. Restaurant Brands was up 3.5% and Apple was up 3.0%.
Riwi Corporation was down 12.1% and is worth considering as a speculative pick.
Au...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.05% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
AutoCanada was up 7.4%. It has made a very strong recovery off its lows. At this point, it might be wise to trim the position for those who are over weight it. It has had a history of c...

On Thursday, markets bounced down with the S&P 500 down 1.8% and Toronto down 1.2%. 
Apple was down 3.3%.  Couche-Tard was down 3.7%.
Possibly the market is starting to focus on the U.S. election which certainly appears set to be ugly and divisiv...

Stocks moved higher on Wednesday as the S&P 500 rose 2.0% and Toronto was up 1.7%.
Notable gainers included: Couche-Tard up 5.0%, Metro Inc. up 3.3%,  Apple up 4.0%,  Toll Brothers up 3.7%, Amazon up 3.8%,  AutoCanada up 3.5%, And Andrew Peller u...

Markets were down on Tuesday with the S&P 500 down 2.8%. Toronto was only down 0.7% and that was in spite of a big drop in oil prices.
The recently high flying tech names that I follow were down. Apple - down 6.7%, Shopify - down 4.4%, Amazazon d...

Markets declined on Friday as the S&P 500 fell 0.8% and Toronto fell 1.4%.
Notable decliners included:  lululemon - down 4.4%, Shopify - down 4.5%,  Dollarama - down 3.1% and Constellation Software -down 3.0%.
As of Monday evening, stock futures ...

On Thursday, markets had their first significantly down day in quite some time. The S&P 500 fell 3.5% and Toronto was down 1.5%.
Accordingly, most stocks were down on the day. Some of the biggest declines among the stocks on my list were:
Apple- ...

Wednesday was a very strong day in the markets as the S&P 500 rose 1.5%. Toronto, however, managed only a 0.3% gain.
Notable gainers included:
Couche-Tard up 7.5% on its strong earnings report.Restaurant Brands - up 3.9%.Fortis - up 2.6%Starbucks...

Stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday. The S&P 500 was up 0.75% and the Toronto index was up 0.8%.
Shopify was up another 6.7%. lululemon was up 4.2%. Apple was up 4.0%, Toll Brothers was up 4.0%. AutoCanada was up 7.3%.
After the close, Couche-Ta...

Stocks were mostly lower on Monday as the S&P 500 declined 0.2% and Toronto was down 1.15%.
But Apple was up 3.4% as it began trading on a four for one stock split basis. And Shopify was up 2.3%.
AutoCanada closed down 2.85%.
RioCan was down 1.7%...

The report for Stantec is updated and rated Weak Buy / Hold at $42.35. 
Penny stock Ceapro has doubled since it was last updated in June and is now updated and rated Speculative Buy at 80 cents. After a few years of reporting losses it is once again ...

Friday was yet another positive day for U.S. stocks as the S&P 500 rose another 0.7%. Meanwhile, Toronto was down  0.15%.
Canadian Western Bank was up 7.6% after reporting good earnings on Friday morning. It's provision for loan losses was lower ...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 managed yet another small gain - rising 0.2%. Meanwhile, Toronto was down 0.35%.
American Express was up 3.2% and RIWI, which is a very small company was up 9.0%. 
My next update will be for Stantec. 
 
 
...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up another 1.0%. Toronto was also up 1.0%.
Shopify was up an impressive 5.1%. Canadian Tire was up 3.4%. Constellation Software was up 3.3%.
AutoCanada was down 5.9%
The latest rail car loading report out today shows...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose another 0.4% while Toronto was down 0.1%.
Starbucks was up 5.1%. Shopify was up 3.8%.
After the close, Toll Brothers reported strong results. How the stock price reacts will depend on the extent to which strong result...

Monday was another positive day for stocks. In large part due to hopes for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines as Trump accelerates certain approvals.
The S&P 500 was up 1% and Toronto was up 0.7%.
Among the gainers: Linamar was up 3.25%, AutoCanada...

On Friday. the S&P 500 was up 0.3% while Toronto was down 0.5%.
Penny stock Ceapro continued to climb, rising 6.7% to 96 cents. 
Toll Brothers rose 3.7% as American home building continued to be surprisingly strong.
Apple soared another 5.1%.
Aut...

Having just updated the Melcor REIT and RioCan REIT it seems appropriate to compare the two.
Looking at yield, the Melcor REIT is at 9.1% and RioCan at 9.3%.  On that basis (in isolation of other facts) RioCan would be the clear choice.  However, the...

The report for RioCan is updated and rated (higher) Buy at $15.56. The yield is attractive at 9.3%. There is some potential for a cut to the distribution due to the impacts of the pandemic. But management maintains they are comfortable with the curre...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
Various "tech" stocks continue to soar including Amazon - up , Apple - up 2.2%, Shopify - up 2.6%, and Constellation Software - up 3.5%, 
Ceapro was up another 9.9% after reporting a s...

Markets were mostly moderately lower on Wednesday with the S&P 500 down 0.4% and Toronto down 0.3%.
My next update will be for RioCan. Reading its (very detailed) Q2 report I was very impressed with this entity and its prospects. Sure, it has its...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 closed at a new record high as it rose 0.2%. Toronto was down 0.2%
Penny stock Ceapro was up 21% to a 52 week high  after it announced progress on its research into "an inhalable therapeutic for COVID-19.  However, this is ...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% while Toronto was up 0.9%.
Toll Brothers was up 6.1% to $42.15 as U.S. home builder sentiment was reported to be very strong.
Going the other way, AutoCanada gave back 7.9%. This comes after its recent sharp inc...

Friday was a relatively quiet day in the markets with the S&P 500 about unchanged and Toronto down 0.1%.
Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund was up 10.3% after reporting (obviously very weak) Q2 results and indicating it will reinstate some level ...

Markets were modestly lower on Thursday as the S&P 500 fell 0.2% and Toronto fell 0.3%.
CRH Medical bounced up 9.2%. 
AutoCanada was up 7.1% and has certainly had an impressive recovery from its lows.
 
...

Greetings from Waterton National Park Alberta.
On Wednesday, markets continued to push higher as the S&P 500 rose 1.4% and Toronto rose 0.5%.
AutoCanada was up a further 8.0% on its Q2 earnings release.
Apple was up another 3.3%.
Checking the lat...

On Tuesday the S&P 500 was down 0.8% and Toronto was down 0.65%. 
AutoCanada was up 7.3%. That suggests maybe a leak of information since it reported results after the close that appear to be good results given the virus situation.  There has bee...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
FedEx surged 9.0%. Apparently at least partly due to an analyst upgrade. 
Canadian Western Bank was up 5.2% probably linked to higher oil prices.
Toll Brothers was up 3.2%.
Overall, it w...

On Friday the S&P 500 was up 0.1% while Toronto was down 0.2%.
I am certainly surprised at how strong the markets have been. low interest rates are  a key driver as is expectations for a virus vaccine.
I'm surprised that some of Trump's actions h...

Markets were higher once again on Thursday with the S&P 500 up 0.6% and Toronto up 0.5%.
Canadian Tire was down 6.3% after reporting a loss in Q2 . Its sports stores were closed for much of the quarter and the Canadian Tire stores had limited ope...

Markets were once again higher on Wednesday. The S&P 500 was up 0.6% and Toronto gained 0.8%.
Some of the gainers included lulu lemon - up 3.7%,  Canadian tire up 3.3%,  Linamar up 4.9%.
After the close, Stantec, WSP and Andrew Peller reported ea...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.4%. Toronto which was playing catch-up, due to the holiday yesterday was up 1.2%.
Costco was up 3.2% 
I mentioned Ceapro in my last post. I bought some  in a family member's account that I manage. It was down 2.9%...

I got an interesting email from a local business.
"Evolution Golf Sherwood Park will be closed for the month of August due to a shortage of staffing. The hours at the North and South locations will remain unchanged."  (This is an indoor golf simulato...

Canadian markets were closed on Monday but the S&P 500 was up another 0.7%. 
Shopify was up 5.8%. 
The owner of the massive 7-11 chain of stores made a huge U.S. $21 billion deal to buy some 3,900 gas stations from Marathon Petroleum. The headlin...

It's Monday but the Canadian stock markets are closed for the civic holiday while the U.S. markets are open.
On Friday Toronto was down 0.8%. Losers included Canadian Western Bank down 2.8% to $22.80. Shopify bounced down 3.1%. RioCan was down 2.7% a...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 0.4% while Toronto was about unchanged.
Intact Financial was up 2.6%. Constellation Software was up (another) 3.4%. 
Apple and Amazon had better than expected earning reports. 
RIWI was up 12% to $3.59 and has mo...

Wednesday was a strong day in the markets as the S&P 500 rose 1.2% and Toronto 1.1%.
Intact Financial was up 3.0% after it released strong Q2 earning.
Shopify surged another 7.0%.
TFI International was up another 3.0%.
Linamar was up 3.4%.
Starbu...

Markets were down modestly on Tuesday as the S&P 500 fell 0.65% and Toronto was down 0.25%.
TFI International was up 2.35% on its earnings release.
RIWI a very small company that was recently added to our list posted a good strong earnings report...

Monday was another positive day in the markets. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% and Toronto was up 1.0%.
Some of the larger gains included Shopify - up 4.7%, Toll Brothers - up 3.8%, AutoCanada up 3.5%.
With the huge gains on so many stocks since the Mar...

Markets were lower on Friday as the S&P 500 was down 0.6% and Toronto was down 0.1%.
AutoCanada was up 2.6%. 
The Melcor REIT was down 9.1% to $3.50. 
Looking at AECON Group's Q2 report there was an interesting aspect regard the 75% federal wage ...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was down 1.2% and Toronto was down 0.9%.
AutoCanada had a atrong day rising 17%. Presumably there was an analyst upgrade. I did not see any news. 
Aecon Inc. reported after the clsoe a Q2 loss but emphasized their record ...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 0.2% while Toronto was down 0.1%.
Shopify bounced down 6.4%.
Energy stocks were generally higher and the Energy ETF XEG was up 8.9%.
After the close, CN Rail reported Q1 earnings that were down but which beat expect...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.6% while Toronto was about unchanged.
Linamar was up 5.0% to $40.81. Toll Brothers was up 6.9% to $36.69 and AutoCanada was up 3.9%.
Ceapro slipped back 5.6% to 67 cents.
The latest rail car loading statistics w...

Stocks were mostly higher on Monday as the S&P 500 rose 0.8% and Toronto 0.4%.
Amazon soared another 7.9%. That is a HUGE amount of wealth creation. About U.S. $120 billion in new added wealth based on investors bidding up the price in a single d...

Markets were positive once again on Friday as the S&P 500 rose 0.3% and Toronto gained 0.6%.
Couche-Tard was up 2.2% and sits at a recoird high. 
Ceapro was up 7.7%. But that's not such a big move for a volatile penny stock. 
This week will featu...

Markets were down a little on Thursday as the S&P 500 declined 0.3% and Toronto ws down 0.2%.
Penny stock Ceapro was up 14% to 65 cents. There was no news to explain this and so we should not read too much into it.
Toll Brothers was up 4.0%.
Most...

Markets were higher once again on Wednesday as the S&P 500 rose 0.9% and Toronto ws up 1.0%.
Restauant Brands was up 3.9%. AutoCanada was up 8.6%, CRH Medical was up 5.7%.
Penny stock Ceapro jumped 11.7% to a new 52 week high of 57 cents but rema...

Tuesday markets ignored the virus situation as the S&P 500 went up 1.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.1% and Toronto was up 1.7%. I can't help but wonder if investors are "whgistling past the graveyard" in ignoring the virus situatio...

Markets were initially higher on Monday but went lower late in the trading day and the S&P 500 ended the day down 0.9% while Toronto ended the day down 0.5%. The late-day decline was blamed on the virus situation and the reversal of some of the e...

Markets had another strong day on Friday with the S&P 500 up 1.05% and Toronto up 0.9%.
Toll Brothers bounced up 4.7% but this comes after a 4.8% loss on Thursday.
Berkshire Hathaway was up 2.3% and this was likely because of a report that it app...

Stock indexes were down modestly on Thursday as the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and Toroto was down 0.4%.
Couche-Tard was up 3.9%. Amazon rose another 3.3%.
Costco was up 2.9% after announcing strong June sales.
Toll Brothers was down 4.8%.
...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.8% and Toronto was up 0.2%.
Toll Brothers was up 5.1%. Constellation Software was up 3.6%.
Yesterday I mentioned the convertible debenture that Cineplex was offering. The reason the exact interest rate and conve...

Markets were down somewhat on Tuesday as the S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Toronto stock index fell 0.5%.
Canadian Western Bank was down 3.0%. Possibly this was due to bad news on the pipeline front as courts are at least temporarily blocking the con...

Cineplex is out with a convertible debenture offer that looks very strange. On the one hand it could be a reasonably safe way to play the potential upside if Cineplex wins its massive legal settlement with Cineworld or if Cineplex recovers greatly as...

Markets were strong once again on Monday as the S&P 500 was up 1.6% and Torontow as up 0.5%.
Amazon was up 5.8% which is rather astounding for such a huge company.
Toll Brothers was up 3.4%.
Shopify had a rare down day and fell 3.8%.
AutoCananda ...

As of Sunday evening, U.S. stock futures suggest that Monday will be another positive day for stocks. That despite the virus situation.
On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.5% while Toronto was down 0.2%.
CRH Medical was up 9%.
Over the weekend Berksh...

Markets continued to move higher on Thursday with the S&P 500 up 0.45% and Toronto up 0.7%.
Shopify romped up another 8.4% as enthusiam for this company seems to know no bounds.
TFI International was up 2.4% and is at an all-time high.
Linamar wa...

Markets were higher on Tuesday as the S&P 500 rose 1.5% and Toronto 0.8%.
lululemon was up 6.0% on news of an acquisition it will make.
FedEx was up 4.2% and then rose a further 9.1% in after hours trading after it released earnings.
Toll Brother...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down a hefty 2.4% and Toronto was down 1.7%.
A few stocks on our list managed to buck the trend. TFI Interenational was up 1.1%. AutoCanada was up 1.0% and Stantec was up 1.2%.
Futures were reportedly down earlier this ...

On Thursday, stocks moved higher near the close and the S&P 500 ended the day up 1.1% while Toronto was up 1.0%.
U.S. bank stocks were strong as certain regulations were loosened. But then after the close the FED expressed concern and moved to re...

Park Lawn Corporation has a new issue out - a five year debenture (the word debenture signifies a bond that is not secured by assets) that pays 5.75% annually and matures December 31, 2025.
As of 12:30 pm eastern time the issue was still "open" for p...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 2.6% and Toronto fell 1.7%.
The great majority of stocks on our list were down.
Markets seem to have started to take notice of the higher virus cases in much of the U.S.
Penny stock Ceapro had reached a 52 week high...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
A notable gainer was AutoCanada - up 11.9% 
Boston Pizza did not react to the news I mentioned yesterday. Probably becasue it was still very unclear what the duistribution might be once...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was up 0.65% and Toronto was up 0.3%.
Boston Pizza provided an update after the close but it was not clear what the cash distribution will be after it is re-started. Most of the information was about the parent Boston Pizza...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was down 0.6% while Toronto was about unchanged.
On Sunday evening, stock futures are down about 0.6%. Virus cases continue to rise in the U.S. but so far the stock market is not expecting this to lead to a reversal of the ...

Markets were not much changed on Thursday with the S&P 500 up 0.1% and Toronto up 0.3%.
Shopify had another strong day rising 5.9%.
I added some updated comments in the stock table on the Subscriber home page. For the preferrred shares I added th...

Stocks were mostly down on Wednesday as the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and Toronto fell 0.65%.
The increased virus cases in the southern U.S. could cause the market to cool its enthusiasm.
I'm going to take a look at Alcanna, symbol CLIQ,  which owns liqu...

Stocks rose on Tuesday as the FED indicated that interest rates will stay low and in continued reaction to strong retail sales gains in May and perhaps due to positive news regarding COVID-19 treeatments.
Ceapro was up 10%, Heineken was up 3.5%.
...

Markets were initally down noticeably on Monday but ended the day with the S&P 500 up 0.8% and Toronto up 0.7%.
A notable gainer was our one Penny Stock, Ceapro, up 25% after announcing progress in one of its research efforts. It has a number of ...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 1.3% and Toronto was up 1.4%.
Boston Pizza Royalties recovered 12.0%.
Stock futures are down somewhat on Sunday evening.
...

Markets were down sharply on Thursday as the S&P 500 fell 5.9% and Toronto fell 4.1%.
This is not exactly shocking given the huge run up and given the unemployment levels. But optimism remains and the futures are higher this morning.
The report f...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and Toronto was down 0.8%.
Most stocks were down. Notable exceptions included: Couche-Tard - up 4.3%, Dollarama -up 2.5%, Apple - up 2.6%, Amazon - up 1.8% and lululemon up 2.6%.
Markets have of course rise...

Markets were down modestly on Tuesday with the S&P 500 down 0.8% and Toronto down 0.9%.
CRH Medical was down 6.9%, giving back some of its recent gains.
Apple was up 3.2% and is at an all-time high.
My next update will be for Amazon which will no...

Markets were highere once again on Monday with the S&P 500 up 1.2% and Toronto up 0.8%.
CRH Medical was up 22%.
Canadian Western Bank was up 6.1%.
RioCan was up 5.2% to $18.14. A week ago it was under $15.
Boston Pizza was up 17% to $9.94. That's...

Markets were sharply higher on Friday in response to employment gains in May when the forecasts had predicted further job losses.
The S&P 500 was up 2.6% and Toronto was up 2.1%.
The great majority of stocks were up. 
Oil prices were sharply high...

Wednesday was yet another positive day in the markets. The S&P 500 was up 1.4% and Toronto was up 1.2%.
Toll Brothers was up 9.2% and AutoCanada was up 11.4%.
Rail car loadings in the U.S. were down again last week but that was likely mostly due ...

Tuesday was another positive day for stocks as the S&P 500 was up 0.8% and Toronto was up 1.0%.
Canadian Tire was up 5.4%.
Auto Canada was up 7.2%.
Canadian Western Bank was up 4.2%.
Our one penny stock, Ceapro, is updated and rated Speculative B...

Ignoring the riots, stocks were higher on Monday with the S&P 500 up 0.4% and Toronto up 0.3%.
Canadian Western Bank was up 4.0%.
Canadian Western Bank is updated and rated Speculative Buy at $23.59. It looks quite cheap. But the extent of loan l...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.5% while Toronto was down 0.5%.
lululemon was up 5.5% to reach a new high at $300. I'm certainly surprised at that given that some of its stores are still closed and given that unemployment levels. 
Canadian Wester...

Markets ended the day moderatley lower with the S&P 500 down 0.2% and Toronto down 0.1%.
Penny stock Ceapro was up 44% after releasing Q1 earnings. 
CIBC and TD reported earnings today and, as expected, their earnings were sharply lower due to mu...

Markets continued higher on Wednesday with the S&P 500 up 1.5% and Toronto up 0.8%.
Toll Brothers was up 9.5% to $33. Then, after the close it released earnings which at least one headline described as better than expected. But the market may be ...

U.S. markets were higher on Tuesday with the S&P 500 up 2.2% and Toronto up 0.5%.
The Bank of Nova Scotia reported lower earnings which however were better than expected. Loan loss provisions rose but not as much as feared. The Bank expensed high...

On Monday, the TSX was up 1.1% while New York was closed for the Memorial day holiday.
Canadian Tire was up 3.8%. 
Oil prices continue to recover somewhat with West Texas now at $34.11
This week the Canadian Banks begin to release quarterly earnings....

On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Toronto were each down 0.8%.
Melcor Developments was up 6.5% after releasing its Q1 report.
The report on Shopify is updated and is rated Sell or reduce at Canandian $1121. I try to fathom how its price of 53 times sa...

Markets were up on Wednesday as the S&P 500 rose 1.7% and Toronto rose 0.75%. 
After the close, Melcor Developments released Q1 earnings which were fairly good. But they reduced the dividend by a further 2 cents to 8 cents to preserve cash. They ...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 1.05% as yesterday's excitement about the early results of a vacine trial died down. Toronto was up 1.7%.
Linamar was up 8.6%.
Melcor Developments will post Q1 earnings after the close. Given low expectations, per...

American stocks had a strong day with the S&P 500 rising 3.1% while Toronto was closed for the holiday.
West Texas Oil is at U.S. $32.74 which is better news for Alberta.
Toll Brothers was up 11.8%. Wells Fargo, American Express and Bank of Ameri...

On Friday, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% and Toronto was up 0.9%.
On Sunday, West Texas oil was U.S. $30.65. Not great but still a welcome improvement for Alberta.
The Toronto stock excahbe will be closed tomorrow Monday for Victoria day while New York...

On Thursday, markets swung from negative to positive. The Dow was down over 400 points in the morning but closed up 377 points.
At the close, the S&P 500 was up 1.15% while Toronto was about unchanged.
Our report on CRH Medical is updated and rat...

Markets were down on Wednesday as the Fed chair predicted that the impacts of the pandemic would be realtively long lasting.
The S&P 500 was down 1.75% and Toronto was down 2.5%.
After the close, Linamar posted weak earnings for Q1 but strong cas...

Markets were down on Tuesday which may have been related to the realisation that the opening of the economy will be slower than hoped.
The S&P 500 was down 2.0% and Toronto was down 1.5%.
After the close, CRH Medical reported results. Revenues we...

On Monday, the S&P 500 was about unchanged while Toronto was up 0.9%.
Canadian Tire was up 7.8% in further reaction to its Q1 report and its comemnts about how it is doing in April. I will post an update for it tomorrow and it is rated (higher) B...

Berkshire Hathaway is updated and rated Buy at $173.48. This is based on the high quality of the company and ists current low price to book value at 1.14. And with the stock market recovery since March 31, it's actual price to book value today is eve...

On Thursday, the S&P 500 was up 1.15% while Toronto was about unchanged.
Markets continue to do well despite the huge unemployment figures and despite some forecasts that suggest that even after the economy reopens unemployment will remain somewh...

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 was down 0.7% while Toronto managed a 0.1% gain.
There is a lot of earnings news for the market to digest.
After the close, Costco reported April same-store sales. For the first time in a very long time they were down. B...

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 0.9% and Toronto was up 0.45%.
Oil prices have been recovering but are still very low.
Our report on VISA Inc. is updated and rated Weak Buy / Hold at $178.44. Although not bargain priced it is a good long-term hold...

On Monday, stocks were mostly down most of the day but finished the day higher with the S&P 500 up 0.4% and Toronto up 0.8%.
With RioCan under $15 today, I added to my position. It seems undervalued. But that depends on how soon the retail sector...

Markets gave back some ground on Friday with the S&P 500 down 2.8% and Toronto down 1.1%.
Amazon was down 7.6% (but this comes after it recently soared) after its Q1 earnings came in below expectations and indicated that it would incur over $4 bi...

Markets backed off somewhat on Thursday with the S&P 500 down 0.9% and Toronto was down 2.9%.
Wells Fargo has stopped accepting new applications for home equity lines of credit. J.P. Morgan had stopped in mid April. Many millions are out of work ...

Markets were up strongly on Wednesday with the S&P 500 up 2.7% and Toronto up 2.9%.
This was attributed mostly to positive early results from a drug that appears to lessen the severity of Covid-19. The results just preliminary but the market reac...

Metro Inc. is added to our list rated Buy at $58.35. It's reasonably valued and a good quality company for a long-term hold.
...

On Tuesday the Toronto stock Exchange index was up 1.1% while the S&P 500 was down 0.5%.
Markets continue to anticipate the opening up of the economy.
For example, the latest forecast of S&P 500 earnings for 2020 indicates a decline of 13% fo...

Markets continued to do well on Monday as the S&P 500 and Toronto were each up 1.5%.
Toll Brothers was up 6.9% to $23.91. New Home sales of course fell off a cliff with the shutdown situation. But a report today indicated that interest in new hom...

Markets were higher on Friday with the S&P 500 up 1.4% and Toronto up 1.2%.
Stimulus programs and signs of reopening have kept markets buoyant. Things that could push markets down include: continued weal economic data such as GDP and unemployment...

Trudeau has announced a rent subsidy for small businesses paying 75% of the rent for businesses that are shut down or where revenue is down at least 70%. This applies to monthly rent payments up to $50,000.
This could benefit many businesses and land...

On Thursday, stocks had been somewhat higher most of the day but finished slightly negative with the S&P 500 down 0.1% and Toronto down 0.3%.
Aecon Group reported Q1 results. At a quick look it appears that Q1 results were similar to last year. A...