BUY
Fast-food restaurants have been doing quite well. This stock has been acting very well. There had been a build up prior to the issue of Tim Horton's spin off. Expect things got a little ahead of themselves. Expect you can't go too far wrong with this one.
DON'T BUY
Made a lot of acquisitions from J.C.Penney’s in the US hoping to turn them around. This left them with a weak balance sheet and not much cash to spend.
WEAK BUY
Likes the gold sector right now. This one is in Brazil and political risks are probably limited. Would suggest that you own a small basket of gold stocks to limit the risks.
BUY
At the top as far as quality goes in Canadian steel. Not expensive at about 10 X earnings. Likes the outlook on energy, which will keep upper pressure on steel.
HOLD
US banking stocks have been under performing other parts of the market. Very well run company and you probably won't get hurt with this one.
HOLD
Over the last few years, has done a lot better than the industry. One of the largest generic drugs. Pharmaceutical sector has really gone to sleep.
SELL
The semiconductor group, year-to-date, has done quite well. This one is the largest in the group and is doing very poorly. Their market focus on is the desktop and the PC and has been in a price war with AMD. They are about a year away from the next-generation chip.
PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Jan 4/06. Up 25%.) Still buying.
TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Jan 4/06. Up 24%.) If you're going to have energy exposure, this is the stock you want to own. There was a correction from the end of January through the end of February. The average oil stock went down 20% to 30%. This company held in very, very well.
PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Jan 4/06. Up 24%.) Asset management continues to be hot and doesn't expect the market to roll over any time soon.
TOP PICK
A great copper stock. Feels there will be continued consolidation in the mid-tier of the metal stocks. He sees copper stocks continuing strong.
TOP PICK
Was a chronic underperformer for a number of years. Some of the restructuring efforts have really started to take hold. Had two quarters in a row were they have beaten the estimates. Feels we are into a 2/3 years cycle.
DON'T BUY
Seating increased strength in growth oriented stocks in North America. Semiconductors is one of these. Competitor, Nvidia (NVDA-Q) has been outperforming. Prefers companies in this sector with a broader global outlook.
BUY
Japanese security firm and a direct beneficiary of trading volumes, increased financing, etc. Feels the secular bear market in Japan is over.
DON'T BUY
Over the last couple of years, there was a strong focus on stocks that generated a strong cash flow. For the first time, there is a marked decline in the use of tobacco products. 4.5% dividend.