Our #1 safety-conscious pick for 2013

Bank of Nova Scotia is the most international of Canada’s banks, and it’s in a particularly good position to profit from rising prosperity in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. That cuts its reliance on slower-growing regions like North America and Europe. BANK OF NOVA… Read More

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $58 – Toronto symbol BNS

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $58 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $69.6billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 3.9%;TSI Network Rating: Above Average;www.scotiabank.com) recently bought ING Direct, which offers a wide variety of no-fee banking services, mainly over… Read More

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $52.46 – Toronto symbol BNS

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $52.46 (Toronto symbol BNS: Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $57.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Div. yield: 4.4%, www.scotiabank.com) has agreed to buy ING Bank of Canada, which operates as ING Direct, from Netherlands-based ING Group.

ING Direct offers a wide… Read More

BNS buys ING Direct

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $52.46 (Toronto symbol BNS: Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $57.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Div. yield: 4.4%, www.scotiabank.com) has agreed to buy ING Bank of Canada, which operates as ING Direct, from Netherlands-based ING Group.

ING Direct offers a wide… Read More

Hi Pat: We have held ING Group for a number of years. It has dropped considerably since we bought it. We are wondering whether we should sell and take the loss or hold on for better days.

ING Group NV (ADR), $8.15, symbol ING on New York (ADRs outstanding: 3.8 billion; Market cap: $30.8 billion), is a Netherlands-based global financial institution that offers banking, insurance and asset management to about 85 million clients in Europe, the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Asia and… Read More

Dear Pat: Thank you very much for your valuable advice. I was wondering about the following fund, and what your opinion is: ING Risk Managed Natural Resources Fund. Looking forward to your response. Thank you!

ING Risk Management Natural Resources Fund, $15.92, symbol IRR on New York (Units outstanding: 22.4 million; Market cap: $357.4 million), is a closed-end fund that holds stocks of companies in the energy, natural-resources and basic-materials industries.

Most of ING Risk Management Natural Resources Fund’s portfolio… Read More