Janet Yellen�� first press conference as Chair of the Federal Reserve created a bit of a stir, as a rather offhand remark about the timing of the first increase to the fed funds rate since May 2006 created a mini-selloff for yield-focused equities.
As we stand here on the cusp of rising rates–and rates can only head higher from here, barring another economic downturn–it�� important to keep in mind that, despite the long-term challenges they face, utilities��fundamentals remain solid.
The Australian dollar has pushed out to a four-month high, as evidence continues to mount that the economy Down Under is gaining momentum.
The Canadian dollar, meanwhile, came under renewed pressure, as traders weighed Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz�� dovish monetary policy stance against Ms. Yellen�� relatively hawkish tone.
Utility-stock indexes continue to push out to near-term highs, Australian equities are well off the near-sixth-month low set in early February and the S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index, despite the loonie�� weakness, actually established a post-Global Financial Crisis/Great Recession high on March 20, 2014.
The most hated stock rally of all time continues, providing a compelling backdrop for the latest installment of our monthly Australian Edge/Canadian Edge/Utility Forecaster subscriber chats, which took place Wednesday afternoon, March 26.
Top 5 Forestry Companies To Buy Right Now: Silver Wheaton Corp(SLW)
Silver Wheaton Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a silver streaming company worldwide. The company has 14 long-term silver purchase agreements and 2 long-term precious metal purchase agreements whereby it acquires silver and gold production from the counterparties located in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Greece, Sweden, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Portugal. Silver Wheaton Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Doug Ehrman]
If you've been paying any attention to the financial markets lately, you know that gold has gotten absolutely crushed over the past few weeks. There is, however, an asset that has been hit even harder: silver. With silver hovering around a critical technical level, the price action over the next days and weeks could be critical. In the meantime, Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS ) and Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) offer attractive dividends for investors who want to keep an allocation to silver.
- [By Itinerant]
Barrick Gold also has obligations to pay Royal Gold (RGLD) a royalty on some of the precious metal output from the mine once operational; and more importantly, the company has given a completion guarantee to Silver Wheaton (SLW) as part of a deal that saw Silver Wheaton contribute $625M towards capex in 2009 in exchange to buy 25% of the produced silver for a discounted price of $3.90. If the mine is not completed by December 31, 2015, then Silver Wheaton has the right to ask for its money back. Silver Wheaton will be thinking of ways to manage its share of the disaster as confirmation has now been given that Pascua-Lama will not be completed by that dead line. For the moment, Silver Wheaton has extended the deadline by one year to December 31, 2016, and has reduced the guidance for 2017.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Yet there could be another shoe to drop. Across the industry, companies that have tied their dividends to prevailing bullion prices or financial results have had to pull back on their payouts. For instance, Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) reduced its second-quarter dividend from $0.14 per share to $0.12, and the drop would have been larger if the company hadn't changed its calculation method to smooth changes in operating cash flow by looking back over four quarters. Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL ) cut its dividend by 80% in May, and with silver prices having fallen further, the dividend could potentially disappear in the future. Newmont reduced its dividend by 18% in the first quarter, reversing its most recent increase the previous quarter. But with gold another 20% lower, further cuts could be imminent.
- [By Doug Ehrman]
In the following video, Fool.com contributor Doug Ehrman discusses macroeconomic factors driving silver prices and why Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) remains one of the best ways to get exposure to silver.
Top 5 Canadian Stocks For 2014: BCE Inc. (BCE)
BCE Inc. provides communications solutions to residential, business, and wholesale customers primarily in Canada. The company offers local and long distance telephone services under the Bell Home Phone brand; direct-to-home satellite television (TV) services under the Bell TV name; Internet protocol TV services under the Bell Fibe TV brand; and personal video recorders and online access services. It also provides data services, including Internet access services under the Bell Internet name; Internet protocol based services; and information and communications technology solutions. In addition, the company engages in the rental, sale, and maintenance of business terminal equipment; sale of TV set-top boxes; and provision of network installation and maintenance services for third parties. Further, it offers wireless voice and data communications products and services, such as call display and voicemail, e-mail, Web browsing, social networking, text, picture and video messagi ng, music downloads, ring tunes, ringtones, games and applications, video streaming, live TV, mobile Internet, roaming, and global positioning system navigation services under the Bell and Virgin Mobile brands. Additionally, the company provides media services comprising TV programming services to broadcast distributors. It operates approximately 28 conventional over-the-air stations and 30 English and French-language specialty TV channels; 33 FM and AM radio stations and their related Websites; and Theloop.ca Website. As of December 31, 2012, the company served approximately 2.1 million high-speed Internet access customers through fiber-optic, digital subscriber line, or wireless broadband technology; and 7.7 million wireless customers. BCE Inc. offers its services through call centre representatives, independent dealer stores, and value-added resellers, as well as through its Websites. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Verdun, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jonathan Yates]
The economy is also expected to recover quickly from the storm's devastation, making Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (NYSE: PHI) more attractive to long-term investors than other communications firms such as BCE (NYSE: BCE), AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ).
- [By Rich Duprey]
As mobile commerce continues to grow worldwide, Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY ) this week announced its�customers will be able to securely purchase goods and services with debit or credit using smartphones compatible with Bell Canada's (NYSE: BCE ) wireless network as part of a new�mobile payment system the two are launching.
- [By Holly LaFon]
Dalio�� next largest purchase was Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B), and three new buys: BCE Inc. (BCE), The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), and Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU).
- [By Tom Taulli]
BCE (BCE) is the largest telecom operator in Canada … and sports one whopper of a dividend.
As should be no surprise, the traditional wired voice services segment continues to be weak for BCE, and that’s something we can expect in perpetuity. However, BCE has diversified into other businesses, such as broadband, IPTV, satellite television, radio and mobile, which is helping to smooth its transition.
Top 5 Canadian Stocks For 2014: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company(DD)
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company operates as a science and technology company worldwide. It operates in seven segments: Agriculture & Nutrition, Electronics & Communications, Performance Chemicals, Performance Coatings, Performance Materials, Safety & Protection, and Pharmaceuticals. The Agriculture & Nutrition segment provides hybrid seed corn and soybean seed, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, value enhanced grains, and soy protein under the Pioneer brand name. The Electronics & Communications segment supplies materials and systems for photovoltaic products, consumer electronics, displays, and advanced printing. The Performance Chemicals segment offers fluorochemicals, fluoropolymers, specialty and industrial chemicals, and white pigments for various markets, such as plastics and coatings, textiles, mining, pulp and paper, water treatment, and healthcare. The Performance Coatings segment supplies high performance liquid and powder coatings for motor vehicle origi nal equipment manufacturers (OEM); the motor vehicle after-market; and general industrial applications, such as such as coatings for heavy equipment, pipes and appliances, and electrical insulation. The Performance Materials segment provides polymers, elastomers, films, parts, and systems and solutions for the automotive OEM and associated after-market industries, as well as electrical, electronics, packaging, construction, oil, photovoltaics, aerospace, chemical processing, and consumer durable goods. The Safety & Protection segment primarily offers nonwovens, aramids, and solid surfaces for the construction, transportation, communications, industrial chemicals, oil and gas, electric utilities, automotive, manufacturing, defense, homeland security, and safety consulting industries. The Pharmaceuticals segment represents its interest in the collaboration relating to Cozaar/Hyzaar antihypertensive drugs. The company was founded in 1802 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Dela ware.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Heavyweights in the S&P 500 such as Apple Inc. (AAPL) , Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) �, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) , Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) , AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) , Honeywell Corp. (HON) , Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN) , DuPont (DD) , Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) , Monsanto Co. (MON) , and Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) �all saw a 20% or more jump in the number of short-interest positions in the past two weeks alone, according to FactSet data.
- [By Matt Thalman]
Shares of DuPont (NYSE: DD ) fell slightly more than 1% today despite a favorable Supreme Court ruling earlier in the day. The court ruled that farmers can't use later-generation seeds or previously genetically engineered seeds without paying the owners of the patented product. While DuPont wasn't directly involved in the case, Monsanto (NYSE: MON ) a DuPont competitor and a seed developer with which DuPont has licensing deals, was the plaintiff in the case. The high court ruled in favor of Monsanto, which sued a farmer for using second- and third-generation seeds that came from plants grown from first-generation genetically engineered Monsanto soybean seeds. Today's ruling will sustain the business model of both Monsanto and DuPont when it comes to their seed technology units.
- [By Matt DiLallo]
With a market that seems to hit new highs every day, it's getting tougher to find a good business trading at a fair price. One stock that i'm starting to look at is�DuPont (NYSE: DD ) . Unfortunately, for me at least, so far this year the stock is up just over 24% while the S&P 500 is up about 17%. That's pretty good outperformance, though, if you look out over the past year you'll see a slightly different story:
- [By Rich Duprey]
Whether from outside pressure or internal decision making, the specialty chemicals industry is seeing more streamlining going on. DuPont (NYSE: DD ) �sold its performance coating unit in 2012 for $4.9 billion�and, last year, announced the spinoff of its performance chemicals unit, having received�input from another activist investor, Nelson Peltz, who had taken a $1.3 billion stake in the company.
Top 5 Canadian Stocks For 2014: Yamana Gold Inc.(AUY)
Yamana Gold Inc. engages in gold and other precious metals mining, and related activities, including exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation. It also explores for copper, molybdenum, zinc, and silver metals. The company's portfolio includes 7 operating gold mines namely Chapada; El Pen Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Jim Jubak]
In this context, I can't say whether this is the time to start buying shares of Yamana Gold (AUY). If gold moves lower, so will the shares of gold miners. Those shares have, by and large, outperformed gold itself in 2014.
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