Updates on MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC., TRANSCANADA CORP. and POWER CORP.

Article Excerpt

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $32.72 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 65.5 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.mts.ca) plans to deploy Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless technology in 2012. LTE networks are up to five times faster than its current high-speed wireless systems. The company did not reveal the cost of these upgrades. However, this technology should help Manitoba Telecom sell more smartphones, including the hugely popular Apple iPhone. That’s good news for the company, because it earns higher fees from these devices than regular cellphones. Manitoba Telecom is a buy. TRANSCANADA CORP. $41.86 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 703.0 million; Market cap: $29.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.transcanada.com) earned $0.59 a share in the latest quarter. That’s up 9.3% from $0.54 a share a year earlier. Revenue rose 12.4%, to $2.4 billion from $2.1 billion, thanks to the start up of new pipelines and power plants. Higher electricity rates in Alberta also contributed to…