The Canadian energy sector just got yet another vote of confidence from the world�� most famous investor. Last August, Warren Buffett�� Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-B) disclosed that it held nearly 17.8 million shares of Canadian energy giant Suncor Energy Inc�� (NYSE: SU, TSX: SU) stock, a position which was then valued at roughly USD500 million.
Berkshire subsequently pared its holdings in Suncor by about 5 million shares during the fourth quarter, as the stock ascended to a two-year high. Buffett still holds 13 million shares of Suncor, worth about USD543.7 million, making it the 47th largest position in Berkshire�� portfolio of 70 securities.
More recently, in early May, Berkshire announced it would be acquiring Calgary-based electricity transmission company AltaLink for an estimated CAD3.2 billion from the Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc (TSX: SNC, OTC: SNCAF). The deal fetched a premium far beyond what most observers had anticipated, and it�� expected to close by the end of the year.
Hot Asian Stocks To Buy Right Now: Agrium Inc.(AGU)
Agrium Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces and markets agricultural nutrients, industrial products, and specialty products worldwide, as well as involves in the retail supply of agricultural products and services in North and South Americas. The company?s Retail segment markets crop nutrient products, including nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphur, and micronutrients; crop protection products, such as herbicides, fungicides, adjuvants, and insecticides; and seeds. This segment also offers agronomic services, as well as product application, soil and leaf tissue testing and analysis, and crop scouting services. This segment operates 1,192 outlets in the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The company?s Wholesale segment produces, markets, and distributes nitrogen, phosphate, potash, sulphate, and other crop nutrient products for agricultural and industrial customers. This segment also owns and operates facilities that upgrade ammonia t o other nitrogen products, such as urea, nitric acid, and ammonium nitrate, as well as provides Rainbow plant food products. Agrium?s Advanced Technologies segment produces and markets controlled-release crop nutrients and micronutrients for the agriculture, specialty agriculture, professional turf, horticulture, and consumer lawn and garden markets. The company was formerly known as Cominco Fertilizers Ltd. and changed its name to Agrium Inc. in 1995. Agrium Inc. was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Canpotex, the cartel's rival North American potash marketing association, comprised of Mosaic (NYSE: MOS ) , PotashCorp (NYSE: POT ) , and Agrium (NYSE: AGU ) , is a major supplier of potash to Brazil, with some analysts estimating it owns 38% of the market. In years past, Latin America -- primarily the Brazilian market -- has comprised as much as 26% of Canpotex's potash sales.
Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Thomson Reuters Corp(TRI)
Thomson Reuters Corporation provides intelligent information for businesses and professionals worldwide. The company allows market participants to connect, access content, and trade in a secure environment through Thomson Reuters Eikon desktop, Thomson Reuters Elektron network, content integration and management technology, content feeds and databases, and transactions infrastructure solutions that support buy- and sell-side customers to trade in foreign exchange, fixed income and derivatives, equities, exchange-traded instruments, and commodities and energy markets. It also offers information, analytics, workflow, and technology solutions to buy-side and off-trading floor customers; access to liquidity in over-the-counter markets, trade execution, and connections for market participants and financial professionals? communities; and a suite of solutions offering informed outcomes to regulated industries and law firms. In addition, the company provides critical information , decision support tools, and software and services to legal, investigation, business, and government professionals; integrated tax compliance and accounting software and services for accounting and law firms, corporations, and government professionals; intellectual property and scientific resources that enable its customers to discover, develop, and deliver innovations; and data analytics, and performance benchmarking solutions and services to healthcare sector. Further, it offers coverage of global, regional, and national news in 20 languages covering politics, business, finance, entertainment, lifestyle, technology, health, science, and sports; and engages in advertising-supported direct-to-consumer publishing activities of Reuters.com and its network of Websites, mobile applications, and electronic out-of-home displays. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bill Smith]
FDS operates in a highly competitive industry, some with more resources. Their competitors include:
Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI)BloombergInteractive (IDC)MSCI Inc. (MXB)Morningstar Inc. (MORN)Track Data Corp. (TRAC)Edgar Online (EDGR)McGraw-Hill (MHP ) - [By Monica Wolfe]
Thomson Reuters (TRI)
On Feb. 11, Thomson Reuters declared a dividend of $0.330 per share, representing 3.80% dividend yield for the company. This dividend is payable on March 17 to shareholders of the record at the close of business on Feb. 24, 2014.
Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: (AMC)
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a theatrical exhibition company in the United States and internationally. As of June 30, 2011, it owned, operated, or had interests in 357 theatres and 5,098 screens in 31 states and the District of Columbia, and 4 countries outside the United States. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. As of August 30, 2012, AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Dalian Wanda Group Corporation Ltd.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Frederic J. Brown, AFP/Getty Images Moviegoers aren't heading out the multiplex the way they used to, but that doesn't mean that Hollywood is toast. AMC Entertainment (AMC) reported quarterly results Tuesday. The nation's leading exhibitor -- 345 theaters with 4,976 screens -- went public two months ago. The headline numbers are positive. Revenue increased a better than expected 2.3 percent to $713 million. Profitability also expanded nicely. However, revenue increased as a result of a 5.5 percent increase in ticket prices and a 3.7 percent uptick in concessions purchased by patrons. Obviously you don't see those kind of gains against a mere 2.3 percent lift in revenue without dealing with more empty seats, and that's just what happened. There was a 3.2 percent decline in attendance. AMC's ticket takers welcomed 50.4 million guests during the holiday quarter, well below the 52.1 million guests that it entertained a year earlier. That's bad, and what makes things worse is that it had fewer theaters -- from continuing operations -- a year earlier. It wouldn't be wise to hold out for a Hollywood ending. Customers Want Bigger and Better Things Apologists will argue that it wasn't a bumper crop of movies hitting theaters, but that's not accurate at all. Last year's biggest box office winner -- "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" -- opened in November. Disney's "Frozen" also opened ahead of the holidays, and it's the family entertainment giant's biggest non-Pixar earner since 1994's "The Lion King." Moviegoers still come out for the big movies, and they're also willing to pay more for a premium setting. IMAX (IMAX) reported blowout quarterly results a few days earlier. IMAX screens rang up a record $244 million in ticket sales worldwide. IMAX is also closing out the year with a record backlog of 384 commercial theaters to deploy. RealD (RLD) is also holding up nicely as a leading provider of 3-D systems for exhibitors. It enjoyed a major boost with "Gravity," a
- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
Getty Images From a popular multiplex operator going public to a retailer getting hacked at the worst possible time, here's a rundown of the week's best and worst news from the business world. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) -- Winner Chipotle is getting a new stamp in its ethnic cuisine passport. Having mastered Mexican, it was already giving Asian a shot with its new ShopHouse chain. And now, we can add Italian to its map after Chipotle revealed this week that it's a financial backer of Pizzeria Locale. The fast casual concept gives pizza a Chipotle-like makeover with folks ordering at the counter, customizing their 11-inch pies along the assembly line, after which they are baked in a speedy oven that serves up tasty pies in just two minutes. Chipotle's growing just fine with its flagship burrito chain, but it never hurts to diversify before expansion-fueled growth plateaus, or tastes change. Target (TGT) -- Loser Holiday shopping at Target may ultimately prove to more trouble than bargain seekers were hoping for this season. The cheap chic discounter revealed that hackers installed software that stole the info on more than 40 million credit and debit card transactions from Nov. 27 through Dec. 15. This is naturally going to be bad news for those that had their plastic compromised. Everyone that shopped at Target this season is being advised to carefully look over their statements. However, it's also very bad for the retailer at the worst possible time. Shoppers may not be too comfortable heading into Target during these last few shopping days before Christmas. AMC Entertainment (AMC) -- Winner Lights! Camera! IPO action! It may not have been the blockbuster IPO of the year, but the debut of the leading movie theater chain proved to be a success this week. AMC Entertainment went public at $18, opening 7 percent higher and staying above its IPO price. The leading exhibitor operates 343 movie theaters housing 4,950 screens. AMC entertains 200 million guests
- [By DailyFinance Staff]
The looming Fed taper has been the talk of Wall Street for months, but it still came as a surprise to investors when it actually happened. Stocks rallied Wednesday following the Fed's decision to cut its $85 billion a month purchase of bonds by $10 billion, beginning in January. Outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy continues to "make progress." The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) soared 292 points on the news, its third biggest one-day gain this year. The Dow also hit a closing high, as did the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC), which gained 29 points. And the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) rose 46 points. Consider it Bernanke's final present to the market before he retires from his position atop the Fed. Among the big blue chip winners, 3M (MMM) rose 3 percent, while Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and Goldman Sachs (GS) all rose 2 percent. But Microsoft (MSFT) was flat, reflecting across the board weakness in tech stocks. Many of the biggest players on the Nasdaq lost ground despite the overall market rally. Apple (AAPL) and Twitter (TWTR) ended lower and Tesla (TSLA) lost nearly 3 percent. Part of the reason for the tech weakness was an earnings miss and a weak forecast from Jabil Circuits (JBL), a key maker of electronics. Its shares plunged 20 percent. But homebuilders were strong following a report showing that housing starts last month rose to highest level in nearly six years. Lennar (LEN), which also posted strong earnings, jumped 6 percent. William Lyon Homes rose 4 percent, KB Homes (KBH) and Toll Brothers (TOL) each rose 3.5 percent. Ford (F) shares skidded more than 6 percent after lowering its profit forecast for next year. The company also warned that it may not meet its target for 2015 and 2016. In part, Ford blames the high expenses tied its planned launch of a record number of new vehicles next year. Finally, the movie theater chain AMC Entertainment (AMC) rose 5 percent from its $18 a share IPO price. This is exp
Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Rhino Resource Partners LP(RNO)
Rhino Resource Partners LP produces, processes, and sells coal of various steam and metallurgical grades in the United States. The company holds interests in various surface and underground coal mines located in Central Appalachia, Northern Appalachia, the Illinois Basin, and the Western Bituminous region. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 10 mines, including 5 underground and 5 surface mines located in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. The company markets its steam coal primarily to electric utility companies as fuel for their steam-powered generators; and metallurgical coal for steel and coke producers. It also engages in mining limestone from reserves located at its Sands Hill mining complex and sells it as aggregate to various construction companies and road builders. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Lexington, Kentucky.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dorothee Tschampa]
Volkswagen AG (VOW) (VOW), PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG) and Renault SA (RNO) (RNO), Europe�� three largest carmakers, all dropped 5 percent or more after preliminary data showed Chinese manufacturing is unexpectedly contracting.
- [By Alexis Xydias]
Investors are regaining confidence, squeezing pessimists who say the economy remains sluggish outside of Germany and point to record-low trading volume as a lack of conviction in the Euro Stoxx�� 61 percent rally of the past two years. Besides gains in stocks from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA to Renault SA (RNO), yields on Spanish and Italian bonds have declined to a two-year low compared with German bunds and the euro has strengthened 4.6 percent to $1.35 in the past six months.
- [By Robert Rapier]
The National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships (NAPTP) lists five MLPs in the category ��atural Resources – Coal,��although two of the five are Alliance Holdings (NYSE: AHGP) and its operating affiliate, Alliance Resource Partners (NYSE: ARLP). The other three are Natural Resource Partners (NYSE: NRP), Rhino Resource Partners (NYSE: RNO), and Oxford Resource Partners (NYSE: OXF).
- [By Namitha Jagadeesh]
Peugeot gained 3.7 percent to 10.61 euros after two people familiar with the matter said CEO Philippe Varin plans to step down next year and hire former Renault SA (RNO) Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares as his replacement. Pierre-Olivier Salmon, a Peugeot spokesman, declined to comment. Europe�� second-largest carmaker is also likely to benefit from the Iran accord. Peugeot sold 458,000 vehicles in Iran in 2011, before the trade sanctions, making it the company�� second-biggest market after France.
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