Investment Q&A

Q: when you look stupid up in the dictionary i'll be looking at you.here's another piece of junk i own,sau.its been 2 years and am in the ditch 60% after avg. in at .23 good thing i membered up with 5i, i was going to buy a monkey and a spinning wheel and let the monkey make my picks seeing as i can't.

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Q: In reference to a moneysaver article, Buffett Value Stocks p.37 of the Jan-13 edition, can you please briefly comment on the return on retained earnings metric presented? I have been trying to rationalize it but I don't really see the direct relationship between earning growth vs retained earnings as growth can also be finance by debt if capital is needed. Thank you for your help!

Q: hi, what is your valued opinion on (fvi} fortuna silver, thanks?

Q: Hello, I was just wondering if you have received my question about STM.TO (Strathmore minerals)? I believe I sent it on Sunday. Thanks, Gervais

Q: Hey,guys.

Any thoughs on the mrg.un deal this afternoon? Looks like the amount paid for the new assets are more than twice the market cap of mrg.un! Is an equity offering almost a sure thing here. Thanks for your thoughts.

Q: Based on your previous comments, I believe you like National Bank and TD but what are your thoughts on Laurentian Bank (LB)? I have been considering taking a position for some time. It seems to be a conservative bank with steady growth, a good and improving brand (in Quebec at least), good dividend and low payout. Also, its small size and domestic operations seem positive to me. Thank you!

Q: Hi Peter,
Could you give me your opinion on Vermilion Energy, VET in Toronto. Also, where do you see oil prices going the next few months.
Thanks,
Barry

Q: IFC-held for 4 yr -ACB is $33.60. History of > dividends-was thinking of buying more -200 share only-small part of portfolio (RRSP). Should have bght in Sept.?

Q: What do you think of IBD (Investor's Business Daily) as a publication and William O'Neil's method of stock selection?

Q: NTB and APO This question was triggered by the NTB question earlier. Would APO be a better investment, since they are corporate relatives and APO seems to have generated a lot of interest in the last year?

Or are they both suspect at least for now?

Thank you.

Q: Hi Peter are you familiar with Valeura Energy (vle)? It's a Canadian oil and gas management team currently operating in Turkey with a focus on nat gas. The mgmt team has had good historical track records with previous companies but so far this has been a huge dissapointment over the last 2.5 years or so. I see Scott Lamacraft ( CEO of Cormark Securities former Sprott Securities)has recently acquired a large position and is now the largest shareholder. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

Q: Hi Peter & co.
Would you recommend Reitmans at this point? I see a number of analysts are thinking Target will be a threat, and they did poorly over the holidays. It's the only stock on my watch list for dividend TFSA that's wouldn't be a high buy at this point. Perhaps there's a good reason for that? Thnaks

Q: Hello, Great site. MRD has announced that they intend to start up a REIT and sell many of their producing assets to that REIT. I would like your opinion on what impact that might have on my shares in MRD.
Bill

Q: Hi Peter & 5i: In your answer to john's bonds question you referred to investments "exposed to" fixed income securities. I'm interested in how an eventual move off the bottom for bond interest rates will impact valuations of different kinds of equities. Aside from the obvious link to income stocks, that to some extent trade off of their yields, what kinds of companies have material exposure to fixed income securities, in terms a foreseeable negative impact on a company's growth, profitability, cash flow, or other relevant valuation metrics? For example, Cdn banks. I've heard that banks generally benefit from rising interest rates. But given their involvement in the fixed income market, would parts of their businesses suffer in a significant rates-driven market shift from bonds to equities? Thanks!

Q: Hi Peter/Team I would like your opinion about ELD please Thanks!!!

Q: Peter,

What are your thoughts on CGI Group after the $7B contract? Do you plan to cover it in the future?

Q: Enercare Inc ECI or Extendicare Inc EXE which of the 2 would recommend if at all. For long term for income and safety.
Thanks
Yossi

Q: Hi Peter- This question is about Fairfax Financial Rate Reset Preferred Shares. FFH.C can be called in Dec./2014. Between now and then you will get 8 dividend payments totalling $2.88. It currently trades at $25.87. There will be a loss of 87 cents meaning that your profit is $2.01 share or 3.9% over 2 years.
FFH.G gets called in Sept/2015. There will be 11 payments totalling 3.44. It is trading at $24.70, so add a 30 cent gain for a profit of $3.74 a share or 5.5% per year over 2.75 years.
The one that seems to be too good to be true is the FFH.PR.E which expires in between these two in March 2015. It trades currently at only $23.11. A gain of $1.89. With 9 payments totalling $2.67, you have a total gain of $4.56 on an investment of $23.11 or an amazing 8.8% average annual return over 2.25 years. What am I missing? You have 3 pref issues with a relatively close annual dividend and relatively close call date but with extremely different market values. Same company. All Rate Reset. Is FFH.E a buy?

Q: Hi, Peter. Could you let me have your thoughts on Purepoint Uranium (PTU), please. From about two weeks ago, it went from 6 cents to 9 cents on Mon 7 Jan, after being almost dead for over a year. They recently (a few months ago)struck some kind of deal with Cameco, who hasn't been doing that well either. Thanks, Dale

Q: Neptune Tech and Bioresources (NTB). On the one hand expert opinion and copycat attempts indicate there seems to be value in the Krill oil patents, but I am concerned about the quality of management (apparently so are some other investors who filed a lawsuit today). After holding the stock for years they seem to nearer to producing earnings. I understand they have an excuse in that the plant blew up but again that poses questions as to quality of management. Are the management unlucky or simply incompetent? Is it worth hanging on or better to cut losses?