Our updates for safety-conscious investors: IBM, Arc Resources and BCE Inc.

Article Excerpt

IBM, $204.11, is still a buy. The company (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 921.1 million; Market cap: $188.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Divd. yield: 3.3%) is shutting down its China research and development department and moving those functions to other overseas facilities. That includes one in Bengaluru, India. The closure will affect more than 1,000 people, most of them working for the company’s R&D labs and focusing on the development and testing of products such as enterprise software. IBM’s market share in China has fallen in recent years as local competitors upgrade their services and the government pushes Chinese buyers to purchase more from those domestic technology companies. What’s more, U.S. firms operating in China and working in strategic areas, such as artificial intelligence, also face stricter scrutiny by American lawmakers. IBM is a buy. ARC RESOURCES, $23.57, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol ARX; Shares o/s: 597.5 million; Market cap: $14.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 2.9%; www.arcresources.com) produces natural gas as well as oil. ARC…