Unlike the United States, which has more than 4,000 domestic banks, Canada has just 35. Of that total, the top six (Royal Bank, TD Bank, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC and National Bank) control over 90% of this country’s banking assets.

That… Read More

In June 2015, the old Gannett spun off its newspaper operation as a separate company operating under the Gannett name. The remaining broadcasting and Internet unit was then renamed Tegna. Under the deal, for every two shares investors held, they received one share of the… Read More

Prominent investor Warren Buffett once remarked that “Common yardsticks such as dividend yield, the ratio of price to earnings or to book value, and even growth rates have nothing to do with valuation except to the extent they provide clues to the amount and timing… Read More

In May 2016, cardboard maker WestRock spun off its Ingevity chemical business to create two pure-play firms. Shareholders received one Ingevity share for every six WestRock shares they held.
WestRock recently merged with Irish packaging firm Smurfit Kappa. At the time of the merger, investors enjoyed… Read More

QUARTERHILL INC., $1.82, symbol QTRH on Toronto, is a provider of ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) solutions for operators of toll roads. Its tolling products manage over 1,500 toll lanes worldwide, generating over $3 billion in annual revenue for operators of these tolls.

In addition to its… Read More

A: Pacer U.S. Cash Cows 100 ETF, $57.17, symbol COWZ on the CBOE (Units outstanding: 386.5 million; Market cap: $22.1 billion; www.paceretfs.com) aims to provide capital appreciation over time by picking and holding the top 100 companies of the Russell 1000 based on free cash… Read More

Since March 2022, the Bank of Canada has raised its benchmark interest rate 10 times, from just 0.25% to 5.0%. The rapid increase is meant to counter rising inflation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply chain disruptions. So far, the plan… Read More

We continue to recommend investors diversify their Finance sector holdings with non-bank stocks. Here are three stocks that dominate their niche markets yet have little exposure to the current turmoil in the U.S. banking system. However, only aggressive investors should consider adding them to their… Read More

Barrick has moved up recently—along with gold prices. The gains were likely spurred by the growing belief among investors that interest-rate increases have started to slow as inflation eases. That should push up investor demand for gold as the appeal of interest-bearing investment and the… Read More