Globe today numbers globetech_encyclopedia Supplied by the Computer Language Company Inc., it has more than 15,000 definitions and explanations written in plain English on topics ranging from PCs, Macs, UNIX, networking, client/server, graphics, multimedia, Internet, World Wide Web, objects, major products and vendors, acronyms, buzzwords ... and much, much more. 2004 Friday, Jun 18, 2004 Molson,Trouble at the Brewey, branding, election, and Friday's Best Mathew Ingram, columnist, globeandmail.com. Duration:57m 41s Thur., Jun 17, 2004 David Baskin,, president, Baskin Financial, Wholesale prices rise in U.S., Potash's better bottom line and Cisco's possible partnership with Nortel Duration:27m 42s Thursday Jun 3, 2004 cbc MAY MUTUAL FUND SALES BEST SINCE '01: IFIC Net sales of mutual funds hit about $800 million in May, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) said Wednesday. Monday, May 17, 2004 Air Canada, boardroom governance and pizza and blinds dumping Joseph D'Cruz, Professor of Strategic Management, Rotman School of Management Bernie Wilson, chair, Institute of Corporate Directors Larry Herman, trade lawyer, Cassels Brock & Blackwell Peter Hodson, vice president of portfolio management, CI Funds Duration:57m 54s Tuesday Apr 27, 2004 sm Quantitative Analysis When Yields Spike Like last summer, the stock market has been fighting the head winds of the bond market as U.S. bond yields have risen from 3.7% to 4.45% in one month. Bond yields are now approaching the top end of our 3.8-4.6% range. The dramatic 20% rise in bond yields over the last month has been one of the 4 sharpest rises in bond yields in the last 40 years. The stock market has in the past generally been up or flat 3 to 6 months after a +20% spike in bond yields. Last summer the stock market was up about 6% after 3 months, and up 15% after 6 months. Gains were generally broad based, but in the previous 3 instances the sectors that were most sensitive to the runup in interest rates (utilities, financials, and construction) showed consistent positive returns after a spike in yields. So if as we suspect bond yields are at the top of their range, we believe the stock market will benefit as it refocuses on earnings, which have been spectacular, as S&P 500 earnings are up 26% year over year, according to First Call. We still believe that the Fed may be on hold until the fall, or even until 2005. In any case, our research on "steep & steady" shows that the market has never sold off before the Fed starts raising rates, but usually (5 out of 6 times) peaks in the months after the Fed starts raising rates so we believe it is still too early to be raising cash based on a Fed tightening that is likely still to be many months away. After updating last week's earnings Methanex joins the long-term sell list as ROE is now down over half a standard deviation. We downgraded TransCanada a few weeks ago on valuation, and are now moving it to our sell list for the first time in over 3 years. Abitibi, Nova Chemicals, and Sobeys remain on our long-term sell list after updating earnings. Barrick, Celestica, Imperial Oil, and Terasen are removed from our long-term sell list after updating earnings. We are moving Shell from a trading stock to a long-term buy as ROE is now increasing by over ½ a standard deviation. Encana, Shell, and Precision Drilling are the only new long-term buys in the energy sector over the last few months. Enbridge joins our long-term buy list again, as it has come down in price enough to have value relative the rest of the market. We would advocate switching from TransCanada to Enbridge at this point. Noranda and Canfor are two new long-term buys in the materials sector, as each is now showing ROE growth of over one standard deviation. Roger's Wireless is also a new long-term buy as ROE is growing by over one standard deviation, and this formerly chronically unprofitable company now has an ROE of 19% versus the TSX at 13.3%. We are still fairly evenly split between buys and sells after last week's earnings updates and many of the companies we updated are still long-term buys: Astral, Canwest, Cameco, Cott, Inco, Jean Coutu, Masonite, Nexfor, Potash, Sears, Toromont, Hummingbird, and Macdonald Dettwiler. –– Edward Sollbach Tuesday 20 Apr 2004 Quantitative Analysis Objective Value of Growth: Energy versus Mines The S&P 500 has gained about 50% off the bear market lows of 2002, while the TSX has outperformed slightly with a gain of 52%. Despite this significant short-term price appreciation, the quant work is still generally balanced between buys and sells on both a short and long-term basis. Given this balanced outlook, we believe that the stock market can grind its way upwards through this earnings season, although leadership will become narrower, so that stock selection will be important. Energy is the top sector in our S&P 500 weekly summary this week, as we are now finding many attractive stocks in this sector in the U.S. We believe this is a validation of our view that the energy sector still has upside in this cycle, and is still the most attractive sector from a risk/reward viewpoint. The energy subsectors generally have profitability greater than the market overall. The TSX integrated oil companies have a 26% ROE and TSX oil and gas profitability is two to three times greater than the overall market. Profitability is stable or rising with the exception of TSX integrated oil companies where ROE has declined 200 basis points. Valuations on a P/E basis are still attractive relative to the market overall. Price to book ratios (P/B) are in the two to three times range in both Canada and the U.S., which compares with TSX P/B of 2.3 times and S&P 500 P/B of 2.7 times. These valuations are cheaper than other commodity stocks such as metals, paper and forest, steels and gold. Valuations for energy stocks are still below historical norms versus historical levels. The quantitative work currently has Compton, EnCana, Ensign Resources, Precision Drilling, and Trican rated as long-term buys. –– Edward Sollbach Sunday Sep 21, 2003 ts ANOTHER TRIPLE-DIGIT LOSS FOR THE TSX Investors retreated from TSX-listed issues for a second straight day on Wednesday, as a broadly-based sell-off that began Tuesday continued unabated. : Saturday 27 Mar 2004 Biotechnology and Health Care Servicesbr> Scotia Capital reiterated its cautious investment thesis toward Canadian biotech and health care stocks today and maintained its preference for higher quality stocks with promising news flow, relatively attractive valuations and that provide predictable, visible sales and EPS prospects. As volatilities have begun to climb from recent lows and general investor sentiment has weakened in this area, there has been and continues to be profit taking on second-tier biotechnology and pharmaceutical company stocks. We note that investors are prepared to pay more in absolute terms for better quality companies. The top picks for Canadian health care stocks include MDS[22] Inc. (1-Sector Outperform, Target: $26.00) and Axcan Pharma (1-Sector Outperform, Target: US$34.00). Sunday 21 Mar 2004 ts Proposed mutual fund rules are `dangerous` to the investor Canadian securities regulators are proposing fundamental changes to the way mutual funds are regulated. Investors beware. This philosophical sea change comes at a dangerous cost to established investor protections. Sunday 21 Mar 2004 ts A chronology of regulatory change March 2002: The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issue a concept proposal entitled, "Striking a New Balance: A Framework for Regulating Mutual Funds and their Managers." In it the CSA calls for two major changes: 1) Registration of mutual fund managers and minimum competency requirements. 2) The establishment of Independent Review Committees for each mutual fund and the re-evaluation of many regulatory restrictions specific to conflicts of interest and other investor protection rules. Tuesday 2 Mar 2004 cbc MUTUAL FUND INDUSTRY HAS BEST SALES MONTH IN 4 YEARS Canada's mutual fund industry had its best sales month in four years in February, as investors poured billions of new dollars into the products during what turned out to be a busy RRSP season. Mutual Fund Sales 2004 RRSP season was the strongest since 2000, as mutual funds recorded net sales of $4.8 to $5.2 billion. This is up significantly from net sales of $1.8 billion in January and net sales of $485 million last year. Assets under management (AUM) are estimated to be in the range of $463 billion to $468 billion, up approximately 3.2% from the end of January and 24.1% from a year earlier. Assets under management are at historic highs. The bank group captured net sales of $2.8 billion, or 56% of industry sales. The top ten companies captured $4.1 billion in net sales for February, representing 81% of industry sales. CI Fund Management led all non-banks with strong net sales of $319 million in the month, versus net sales of $56 million in January and net sales of $154 million in February 2003. IGI posted strong net sales of $241 million in the month, compared to net sales of $19 million in January and net sales of $29 million a year earlier. Mackenzie also recorded strong net sales of $184 million in February versus net redemptions of $54 million in the prior month and net sales of $13 million in February 2003. On a 12-month trailing basis, assets under management at IGI and MKF combined have increased 22.2%, versus the industry average of 20.6%. AGF posted net redemptions of $90 million in February, compared with net redemptions of $197 million and $129 million in January and December, respectively. AGF had net redemptions of $119 million a year ago, and has remained in a net redemption position since March 2002. We maintain a 1-Sector Outperform rating on shares of CI, with a 12-month share price target of $17 per share, based on its leverage to the equity markets and recently announced acquisitions. We maintain a 2-Sector Perform rating on IGI and our 12-month share price target is unchanged at $38 per share. We maintain a 3-Sector Underperform rating on shares of AGF, as its net sales performance remains weak, with a 12-month share price target of $18 per share. –– Kevin Choquette Thursday 26 Feb 2004 ts Investment confidence stable Investor confidence has stabilized after falling for two consecutive quarters, according to a poll conducted last week. Tuesday Jan 13, 2004 ts TSX set to launch U.S.-dollar trading A dozen firms part of February start Move expected to boost liquidity ... it will launch the U.S.-dollar trading book Feb. 2 with a dozen companies taking part. They include Alcan Inc., Barrick Gold Corp. and Research In Motion Ltd., all with large shareholder followings in the United States. Tuesday Jan 13, 2004 cbc TSX TO BEGIN DUAL CURRENCY TRADING IN 12 COMPANIES The Toronto Stock Exchange plans to let investors trade stock in a dozen TSX-listed companies in either Canadian or U.S. dollars. Thursday Jan 1, 2004 cbc 2003's Closing Bell S&P/TSX Comp 8220.89 chart 2003 Up 24.2% for the year Dow Jones 10543.92 chart 2003 Up 25.1% for the year Nasdaq 2003.37 chart 2003 Up 49.8% for the year Canadian $ 77.13 cents US Up 21.7% vs. US $ Gold | ASA $415.30 US ASA 45.75 Up 19.7% for the year 2003 2003: THE YEAR OF THE STOCK MARKET REBOUND What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, investors were staring numbly at year-end stock market reports that chronicled the carnage of yet another year of terrible performance on Bay and Wall Streets. Thursday Oct 2, 2003 cbc MUTUAL FUNDS HIT BY MORE SELLING After two months of net sales in the mutual fund industry, Canadians became more cautious in September - selling more than they bought. Saturday Aug 23, 2003 BROKERS The Investment Dealers Association of Canada said Friday that a stock market recovery helped boost operating profits at Canada's stock brokerages. Profits were up 40% in the April-June quarter compared with the first quarter. Revenues topped $2.5 billion in the period, the highest in six quarters, and operating profits rose to $830 million. Tuesday Aug 19, 2003 Mutual Fund Industry Improving Industry Sales Canadian mutual fund industry recorded net sales of $321millioin in July, representing the first month of positive sales since the RRSP season in February. This follows industry net redemptions of $577 million in June and versus net redemptions of $1.1billion a year earlier. Industry net redemptions over the past 12 months have totaled $5.8 billion compared to net sales of $17.8 billion a year earlier. Long-term asset sales continued to improve in the month, with net sales of $463 million, following net sales of $432 million in June and $169 million in May. The $463 million in net long-term asset sales is a significant improvement from the net redemptions of $817 million in July 2002. Industry net long-term asset sales have totaled $78 million over the past 12 months, compared to net sales of $12.1 billion a year earlier. Assets under management (AUM) increased 3.2% in the month to $403.2 billion, reflecting the increase in equity market values as the S&P/TSX, S&P500, and Nasdaq composites increased 3.9%, 1.6%, and 6.9%, respectively. AUM has increased $33.8 billion or 9.1% since the low in March and is up 0.7% over the past 12 months. The public fund companies remained in a position of net redemptions with the exception of Mackenzie Financial (owned by Investors Group Inc.) The recent net inflow of funds and the continued increases in asset values are positive for the fund industry. There is typically a recovery lag of three to six months between the market and mutual fund sales. We maintain our 2-Sector Perform ratings on shares of Investors Group Inc. (IGI-TSE) and CI Fund Management Inc. (CIX-TSE), with 12-month share price targets of $31 and $13, respectively. We have a 3-Sector Underperform rating on shares of AGF Management (AGF.B-TSE) with a $16 share price target. We maintain our 2-Sector Perform rating on shares of Guardian Capital Group Ltd. (GCG.A-TSE) with a share price target of $13. –– Kevin Choquette Tue, 15 Jul 2003 cbc FUNDS DOING BETTER, REPORTS INDICATE The second quarter marked a major turnaround for Canadian mutual funds, and investors increased their holdings of bond, income and dividend funds, according to two reports released Tuesday. Saturday Jun 14, 2003 Index Analysis This week S&P announced the quarterly additions and deletions for the S&P/TSX Composite Index. The only surprise within the announcement was the decision to keep Ultra Petroleum in the Index by suspending the current maintenance criteria. The changes to the S&P/TSX Composite Index will be effective after the close on Friday, June 20. The following stocks will be removed from the Index: Corby Distilleries (CDL.A-TSE), Leitch Technology (LTV-TSE), Mullen Transportation (MTL-TSE), NQL Drilling Tools (NQL.A-TSE), Richelieu Hardware (RCH-TSE), Transat AT (TRZ-TSE). Estimates supply on deletion is as follows: Corby Distilleries (150,000 shares), Leitch Technology (1.49 million shares), Mullen Transportation (540,000 shares), NQL Drilling (1.38 million shares), Richelieu Hardware (1.14 million shares), and Transat (1.63 million shares). The only addition to the Index is Wheaton River Minerals (WRM-TSE) with demand estimated at 21.0 million shares. –– Pruyn Haskins Tuesday Jun 10, 2003 Technology - Hardware Time to Take Profits Year-to-date, the TSX Information Technology Index is up 30.8%, outperforming all other sectors. In general, we now believe the sector is fully valued and recommend investors take some profits off the table. This is a shorter-term trading call. Longer-term, we continue to believe that Nortel Networks Corp. (NT $4.27, 1-Sector Outperform, Target $5.00), Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM $28.35, 2-Sector Perform, Target $30.00) and ATI Technologies Inc. (ATY $11.04, 2-Sector Perform, Target $10.00) possess strong fundamentals and would recommend investors add or build positions in these companies should weakness arise. –– Gus Papageorgiou sm May 28, 2003 Stephen S. Poloz What are stocks and bonds telling us? - Canadian Utilities Lower Interest Rates Means Higher Target Prices Scotia Economics has lowered its one-year out interest rate call for 10-year Canada bonds to 5.6% from 6.0%. This has led us to modestly increase our one-year target prices for the utility stocks we follow. See today's Daily EDGE for a complete list of all changes. We expect the group's recent strong performance to continue given the cloudy economic picture and the potential for lower interest rates. Canadian energy stocks appear cheap relative to 10-year Canada bonds that currently yield 4.6%. Investors' appetite for defensive dividend paying equities and income trusts appears to be picking up again Wednesday May 14, 2003 cbc CANADIAN INVESTORS SITTING ON $45 BILLION 'MOUNTAIN OF CASH' Canadians reluctant to get into the stock market are sitting on mountain of cash that has grown by $45 billion over the past 30 months, CIBC World Markets brokerage said in a report released Tuesday. Wednesday May 14, 2003 cbc TRADE SURPLUS UP BY $1.1 BILLION IN MARCH After falling in three out of four previous months, Canada's trade surplus jumped by $1.1 billion in March to $5.9 billion as a surge in energy prices gave exports a shot. Wednesday May 14, 2003 cbc DOLLAR CLOSES ABOVE 72 CENTS US The Canadian passed another mark on Tuesday closing above 72 cents US for the first time in five-and-a-half years. Friday May 2, 2003 cbc INVESTORS DUMPED FUNDS IN APRIL, IFIC SAYS Investors continued to pull money out of mutual funds in April, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada said Friday. Friday May 2, 2003 cbc SARS FALLOUT TO COST TORONTO ECONOMY ABOUT $1 BILLION: CONFERENCE BOARD The fallout from the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Toronto is expected to the shave about $1 billion from the city's economy this year, the Conference Board of Canada is forecasting. Friday May 2, 2003 cbc TSX GROUP REPORTS A STRONG QUARTER ON WEAK MARKETS The company that runs the Toronto Stock Exchange is doing much better, even if the market is not. Friday Apr 4, 2003 CANADA - The Canadian economy has been roaring along for the last year. The only sour note may be exports as the US is still mired in one very slow recovery. Consumers in Canada too, have been hard hit by higher energy prices. However, with capacity utilization high and cash flows booming, real capital spending should be up by as much as 2.5% this year. At the same time, solid job growth and some fiscal help should allow real consumer spending to rise by 3% this year. Moreover, the inventory/sales ratio has plummeted recently, which should generate some impressive inventory restocking over the balance of this year. Those forces should boost real GDP by about 2.8% this year after 3.4% in 2002. Monday Mar 31, 2003 ec MUTUAL FUND REDEMPTIONS CONTINUE IN MARCH Mutual fund investors sold more than they bought in March - the twelfth month in the last 13 to record net redemptions, according to preliminary data from the fund industry. Wednesday Mar 26, 2003 S&P/TSX Composite Index (TSX : TSX : 6,384.96) Net Change: 20.92, % Change: 0.33% Is this rally the real thing, or could this be another bear market "sucker ’s rally?" Canaccord Capital Portfolio Strategist Nick Majendie thinks the odds are very high that this represents the early stages of a cyclical bull market within the secular bear. If the normal U.S. Presidential cycle unfolds – and we believe strongly that it will – then we should be looking at the sweet spot of the investment cycle with returns for the TSX over the next 12-18 months in the 20-30% range. Majendie has just committed cash reserves to move his equity weighting in his managed portfolio to 65% - his highest equity weighting in the last three years. Thursday Mar 20, 2003 sm Mutual Fund Industry Weakest RRSP Season Since 1995 The Canadian mutual fund industry captured $485 million in net sales in February, representing the weakest sales performance during the RRSP season since 1995. Long-term assets sales were $633 million versus compared with net sales of $4.2 billion a year earlier. February represents the height of the RRSP season and the weak net sales performance in the month is not a good sign. Long-term assets (equity) funds are higher margin business for the mutual fund companies. Not surprising, net sales of dividend and income funds were remained resilient. Dividend and income funds have been the only funds to post positive net sales over the past 11 months. We maintain our 2-Sector Perform recommendations on Investors Group Inc. (IGI-TSE $25.00, Target: $32.00) and CI Fund Management (CIX-TSE $9.91, Target: $12.00). Both companies reported net sales for the month, albeit very modest net sales figures. AGF Management Ltd. posted net redemptions of $129 million in February. AGF remains ranked a 3-Sector Underperform. by Kevin R. Choquette Tuesday Mar 18, 2003 cbc MUTUAL FUND STATS CONFIRM DISMAL RRSP SEASON Canadians' reluctance to sink money into mutual funds this year because of jittery stock markets sent net mutual funds sales in January and February - the traditional RRSP season - plunging 99.8 per cent from last year. Tuesday Mar 18, 2003 cbc INDEX OF LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATORS POSTS BIGGEST INCREASE IN 7 MONTHS A renewed burst in housing demand pushed Statistics Canada's composite leading economic index in February to its largest increase in seven months. The index gained 0.3 per cent. Thursday Mar 6, 2003 cbc MUTUAL FUND SALES PLUNGE IN FEBRUARY Mutual fund sales in February - normally the busiest for the industry as RRSP season draws to a close - plunged to just a fraction of what they were last year, industry statistics show. Tuesday Mar 4, 2003 cbc INDUSTRY WATCHERS CALL THIS YEAR'S RRSP SEASON 'SLOWEST IN MEMORY' Canada's financial institutions are preparing to wrap up one of the worst RRSP seasons ever, industry watchers say. Tuesday Feb 11, 2003 globe R.O.B. NETdex Friday Jan 10, 2003 MUTUAL FUND SALES PLUNGE 88 PER CENT IN 2002 Net sales of mutual funds fell by a whopping 88 per cent in 2002 to levels that haven't been seen in years, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) reported Wednesday. This commentary is not a recommendation to buy or sell, but rather a guideline to interpreting the specified indicators. This information should only be used by investors who are aware of the risk inherent in securities trading. Equis accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss arising from any use of this expert or its contents. R.O.B. NETdex 2002 Monday Feb 18, 2002 bbc EQUITY FUND SALES RISE; CANADIAN EQUITIES SHUNNED Canadians have begun pouring money into equity mutual funds again, reversing an almost year-long trend that saw nervous investors parking their money in money-market funds. But they aren't buying Canadian. Stats & news Globe today Wednesday Nov 20, 2002 cbc 2001 RRSP CONTRIBUTIONS FALL 3 PER CENT Fewer Canadians contributed to RRSPs in 2001 and they contributed less money than they did in 2000, according to figures released by Statistics Canada Tuesday. Monday Nov 18, 2002 Mutual Fund Industry Net Redemptions Continue Mutual fund redemptions remained at seven-year highs, with net redemptions of $1.1 billion in October, unchanged from September and compared with net sales of $3.2 billion a year earlier. The mutual fund industry has recorded net redemptions over the past seven months, with net outflows totalling $4.8 billion versus net sales of $11.9 billion over the same period a year earlier. Net sales of dividend and income funds in October remained strong despite the industry downturn, with net sales of $111 million. Dividend and income funds have been the only funds to consistently post positive net sales over the past four months. Sales of balanced funds have weakened over the past four months with net redemptions of $231 million in October. Net redemptions of Canadian funds continued while redemptions of foreign equity funds was heavy. National Bank lead the bank sector with net sales of $77 million, while all other major banks experienced net redemptions. Royal Bank, AGF Management and Investors Group experienced the largest declines. The declines at AGF and Investors Group represented 1.1% and 0.3% of assets under management, respectively. Investors Group remains our top pick in the sector with its relatively stronger sales and operating performance, its low risk profile, and attractive dividend yield of 3.4%. –– Kevin R. Choquette Friday Nov 15, 2002 cbc MUTUAL FUNDS STAGE TURNAROUND IN OCTOBER Mutual funds regained some ground last month as more than two-thirds of fund sectors posted positive results, ending a string of six months of negative returns, research firm Morningstar Canada said Thursday. Tuesday Nov 5, 2002 cbc EXIT FROM MUTUAL FUNDS CONTINUED IN OCTOBER Investors yanked more money out of mutual funds last month as stock market weakness continued to scare off people. Wednesday Oct 16, 2002 Mutual Fund Industry Mutual fund net redemptions returned to historical highs, with net outflows of $1.1 billion in September versus net redemptions of $100 million in August and net sales of $1.0 billion a year ago. September net redemptions of $1.1 billion were similar to June and July levels. Equity fund net redemptions increased significantly in September to $817 million with weakness in domestic, U.S. and foreign equity funds. Dividend and income fund sales remained solid. Assets under management as at September 30, 2002 totalled $381.1 billion, down 1.1% from a year earlier and 4.8% from August. Elliott & Page, with net sales of $28 million, posted the strongest results. Elliott & Page was followed by Guardian Group of Funds and Bank of Montreal with $24 million and $18 million in net sales, respectively. AGF Management, Royal Bank and Investors Group reported the weakest sales figures with net redemptions of $215 million, $191 million and $138 million, respectively. The declines as a percentage of assets under management were less than 1.0%. Investors Group for example manages about $37 billion in assets so net redemptions represented only 0.37% of assets under management. Invstors Group (IGI $24.46, Target: $32) remains our top pick within the group because of its strong relative sales and operating performance. –– Kevin R. Choquette Thursday Sep 26, 2002 TORONTO: INDUSTRY MINISTER WANTS SINGLE SECURITIES REGULATOR Canada's industry minister, Allan Rock, says the country should have a single stocks regulator to make the country's capital markets more attractive to foreign investors. Mr. Rock says the system of each of the 10 provinces and three territories having their own regulators is an obstacle to foreign investment. The minister says that at a time when international investment is extremely mobile, Canada can no longer afford 13 separate regulators, each with their own sets of rules. Critics of the existing regulatory system complain that it creates too many delays for companies trying to raise capital. The provinces of British Colombia and Alberta have said they won't accept a single national regulator because it would give too much power to Ontario. The Ontario Securities Commission regulates the Toronto Stock Exchange. Thursday Sep 19, 2002 TORONTO: TSX STIFFENS RULES FOR CORPORATIONS The president of the Toronto Stock Exchange, Barbara Stymiest, says Canada's biggest exchange will increase the severity of the regulations governing the ethics of corporate directors and executives. Mrs. Stymiest says it will require that all companies listed on the TSX have a majority of directors who are not company executives. And board audit committees must have a majority of independent directors. Mrs. Stymiest says the exchange wants federal legislation requiring that CEOs make annual declarations of the accuracy of their statements to investors. The changes fall short of those contained in legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in reaction to recent corporate scandals in the U.S. Mrs. Stymiest says the more severe legislation would constitute an unfair burden to smaller Canadian companies. Friday Jun 14, 2002 cbc 23 STOCKS DROPPED, 3 ADDED IN BIG TSX INDEX SHAKE-UP Standard & Poor's is dropping 23 stocks from Canada's benchmark stock index because they no longer meet the more stringent requirements for membership in the index - things like a minimum trading price, liquidity, or size. Saturday, December 22, 2001 Good year ahead 3 professionals are optimistic about 2002 A year ago, most investment managers seemed to feel stock markets in Canada and the U.S. were poised for a positive year in 2001. That wasn't happening even before the events of Sept. 11, which sent markets into a deeper swoon. Since then, there's been a healthy rebound, though markets remain in negative territory. Is the recovery under way? 1) 15 per cent or more. 2) possibly 15 per cent or more 3) anywhere from 12 to 15 per cent, in 2002 Saturday, December 08, 2001 MARKET WATCHERS SEE TSE REBOUND IN MID-2002 bbc As investors ponder what's been a tumultuous 2001, the inevitable question arises: What about next year? Most who play the market have likely toyed with this question already. What about the pros? Saturday, December 08, 2001 YORKTON SECURITIES CEO PATERSON FIRED BY BOARD bbc The chief executive of Yorkton Securities was dismissed on Friday by the company's board of directors. Thursday Dec 6, 2001 Software Companies We are upgrading our recommendation and target prices on a number of software companies that we follow. We are looking for a meaningful operational recovery in mid-2002 that the market is beginning to discount now. In recent weeks we have seen a broad upward revision to earnings estimates as software companies are beginning to provide earnings guidance. We have raised our ratings to 2-Buy from 3-Hold on Cognos Incorporated (CSN-TSE), Hummingbird Communications (HUM-TSE) and Open Text Corp. (OTC-TSE). Our new one-year target prices for these companies are as follows: Cognos $40.00 (was $30.00), Hummingbird $30.00 (was $26.00) and Open Text Corp. $60.00 (was $45.00). –– Peter Misek November 7, 2001 Blue chip no more: Indexers have little use for benchmark's smaller companies Steve Maich Financial PostCorrection National Post A potential new entrant to the TSE 300 composite index is Agricore United, with an approximate market value of $448-million. Incorrect information app ... Mon 5/28/01 10:15 AM & Thu 5/24/01 9:24 AM Canadian Growth Guided Portfolio The Portfolio Advisory Group is making a number of changes to the Canadian Growth Guided Portfolio effective the close of business today. We are removing CI Fund Management Inc. (CIX-TSE) from the Portfolio. Our one-year target price was lowered after the release of the company's latest quarterly results, based on slowing net sales and asset growth momentum. The current share target suggests a potential negative rate of return from current levels. In its place we are adding Investors Group Inc. (IGI-TSE, Target: $27.00). Investors Group is Canada's largest fund company, with $75 billion in mutual fund assets under management and greater than 18% market share. The Company is a member of the Power Group of Companies, which owns 67.4% of the company. Investors recently completed the acquisition of Mackenzie Financial Corp. The acquisition solidifies the company's strategic position in the Canadian wealth management industry. Although some integration risk exists, we believe the company will benefit from its dominant strategic position and cross selling opportunities. We are also using a portion of the large cash position held in the Portfolio to purchase Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MBT-TSE, Target: $50.00). Manitoba Telecom has the highest revenue and EBITDA growth rates of its peers in 2000 and is well positioned to deliver a repeat performance this year. Growth has been driven by Bell Intrigna, the company's joint venture with BCE Inc. Bell Intrigna is Canada's fastest growing competitive local exchange carrier. The company also has the strongest balance sheet in its peer group with less than 1 times debt to EBITDA. Manitoba Telecom remains a BCE takeover candidate as well. - Portfolio Advisory Group Wed 5/18/01 9:04 AM & Tue 5/22/01 11:36 AM Canadian Equity Strategy The probability of stocks outperforming bonds is now 70% based on our quantitative methods. The probability of stocks outperforming T-bills is even higher at 85%. Overall, equity market momentum characteristics are positive. S&P profitability as measured by return on equity (ROE) rose 21 basis points in the latest quarter. Profit growth is decelerating and will likely turn negative, which is fine. All six of the major one-to-two year rallies over the past two decades have been during periods of falling ROE. Corrections tend to occur during periods of rising ROE. This seems counter-intuitive, but consider that as profitability is falling, interest rates are also declining. Lower interest rates have accounted for about 80% of the equity market's advance over the last 20 years. TSE return on equity is 14.6%. Profit growth has been driven by the oil& gas, transportation, paper & forest, pipelines and biotech sectors. Going forward we believe that double digit gains for stocks are quite possible. Companies showing strong profit growth characteristics, attractive valuation and high probabilities of outperforming the TSE 300 are Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B), Canadian Pacific Ltd. (CP) and Molson Inc. (MOL.A). The oil & gas sector shows up most favourabley in our work. Investors can purchase any of a number of companies, but consider Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) and Petro Canada (PCA). - Peter Gibson 15/Mar/2001 13:34 Bear Market Perspectives - Part Two: Market Rebounds Since the early 1970's, the average bear market in North America has lasted approximately ten months (from market peak to trough) and has seen stock prices decline 33%. Based on these figures, it would make the current correction on the TSE 300 Index about average by historical bear market standards (7 months in duration, down 32% from peak to trough). The Nasdaq's correction is its most severe in recent history (since 1970) and has lasted longer than average (12 months in duration, down 62% from peak to trough) while the S&P 500 bear market is less severe (down 23%) but longer than average (12 months). While bear markets are difficult periods for investors, it is important to keep in mind that they are finite. In addition, market rebounds following bear markets can be sharp and sudden. For example, in the six months following the twenty four bear markets on record in North America since 1970, the average market rebound is 33.1% (from market bottom). In the twelve months following a bear market the average market rate of return is 39.0%. This historical evidence argues strongly against trimming equity exposure at this juncture. In fact, we recommend that investors increase exposure to equities given the attractive combination of valuation (the best in five years), falling interest rates, and stable profitability. Although it is difficult to time market rebounds, we believe we are between 30 and 120 days from market bottom. - Portfolio Advisory Group Tue 3/6/01 9:53 AM Index Changes - TSE Annual Revision The Toronto Stock Exchange's annual index revision takes effect at the close of trading on Thursday, March 8. The annual revision involves changes to index members and relative weightings within the various TSE indices including the TSE 35, TSE 100, and TSE 300. Such changes can have a significant impact on the share prices of companies involved as index funds change their share holdings in response to changes in the underlying indices. One of the major changes this year is the consolidation of multiple share classes. This means that companies with two different classes of shares in an index will see one class removed and its weighting transferred to the remain share class. The following companies will see share classes removed: Air Canada [AC] (Class A); Bombardier [BBD_B] (Class A); Canadian Utilities (Class B); Quebecor Inc. (Class A); and Telus Corporation (Class A). Investors can expect the price difference between the deleted share class and the remaining share class to widen over the short-term. Another major change involves weighting changes within the TSE 35 Index. Abitibi Consolidated, Nortel Networks [NT], and BCE Inc. will see their weightings increased while Celestica and Telus will see their weightings decreased. For more information on the index changes, please visit www.spglobal.com or www.tse.com. - Portfolio Advisory Group 17/Feb/2001 Nortel rout devastating as TSE loses 574 points By: JAN RAVENSBERGEN The stunning $47 billion of market value lost yesterday by Nortel Networks Corp. [NT] on the Toronto Stock Exchange was just part of the widespread bloodbath unleashed following the company's bombshell announcement that the crucial U.S. market for sophisticated networking equipment has abruptly run out of gas. The TSE 300 composite index tumbled 574.04 points, or 6.4 per cent, to 8393.23. Nortel, a significant component of many mutual funds, nosedived about one-third, or $15.15, to $31. 17/Feb/2001What went up has come down By: JAY BRYAN Horrors! One is shocked, shocked, to discover that the price of a high-tech stock can go down as well as up. Who would have guessed such a thing? Not Nortel analysts or the professional investors who depend on their advice, apparently. Fri 2/16/01 9:26 AM TSE 300 Index Our year-end 2001 target for the TSE 300 Index is under review as a result of the Nortel Networks announcement yesterday and the expected negative impact on the market. Our initial revised target range is between 10,300 to 10,800, down from 12,000. A target of 10,300 implies that Nortel is flat for the balance of the year from its anticipated trading price today while the balance of the TSE 300 Index appreciates 20%. If Nortel were to recover 30% from its expected trading price today while the balance of the TSE 300 Index increases 20%, the TSE 300 Index should end 2001 at the 10,800 level. Our 2001 TSE 300 target will be finalized later today. - Portfolio Advisory Group 10/4/00 TSE Index Changes - Update The TSE has announced the following index changes that are effective before the open of trading on Friday, October 20th: 1) Additions to S&P/TSE 60 Index - Sun Life Financial Services (SLC-TSE); 2) Deletions from the S&P/TSE 60 Index - Geac Computer (GAC-TSE); 3) Additions to TSE 300 Index - Sun Life Financial Services (SLC-TSE), Stratos Global Corporation (SGB-TSE), Com Dev International (CDV-TSE), Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd. (HHL.A-TSE); 4) Deletions from the TSE 300 Index - Cambior Inc. (CBJ-TSE), Call-Net Enterprises (CN.B-TSE), Dylex Ltd. (DLX-TSE), Loewen Group Inc. (LWN-TSE). Please note that Geac Computer will also be deleted from the TSE 100 Index but it will be added to the S&P/TSe Small Cap Index and the TSE 200 Index. - Portfolio Advisory Group. ..for charts Latest TSE 300 © 1996 David T. Nicholson Please phone (514) 934-0023 or 33 Rosemount Ave Westmount Que H3Y 3G6 Canada