Canadian Dollars Blog

On August 2nd, I sold SINA for a decent return . Since then it has been on a wild ride rising to over $45.00 and then with the recent fears of a double dip recession, it has taken a beating. I'm going to patiently wait this one out and have put in a stink bid under $40.00 should it dip. I still view this as a good play long term, but I sold out earlier this month to lock in some gains. Patience is the key word here.

For the fiscal year ended June 26, 2010, Danier Leather (TSX: DL) reported year earnings of $1.58 per share. As their business is seasonal, a quarterly loss of 0.14 per share was recorded. This was down significantly from the same quarter last year in which they lost 0.47 per share. Although there has been quite a run up in the last several months, this one is still a very compelling buy. Here are some reasons why we continue to believe this one to be a hold. 1. Increasing sales and earnings From 2009 to 2010, EBITDA more than tripled to $15.2 million from $4.3 million last year. Despite the sluggishness of Canadian retail, this brand has still managed to increase sales by a decent 4%. 2. Share repurchase Management continues to believe that the stock is undervalued, in the last fiscal year, the company has repurchase 28.9% of the prior year's outstanding subordinate voting shares. Specifically, 1,352,700 voting shares were repurchased. This is nothing to sneeze

Been looking at this one. They are generating 1 billion in free cash and trading a fraction over 3x earnings. From this perspective the stock looks cheap. They also own the DRAM space. Unfortunately end of June, the CEO sold a sizable amount of stock (4.2 million) . What do you think? Is this one a buy? Is there something we don't know about?

You know that savers have an image problem when they're mocked on television. I'm not a regular watcher of Two and a Half Men, but while flipping channels I caught a bit of the show. One of the dorkier characters was giving the little kid some advice about saving money and watching his money grow - prudent advice. However, when he leaves, Charlie Sheen tells the kid how ridiculous that strategy that is - making the other guy out to be a loser. Since when was it uncool to be a saver? If anything it's probably cool to be a saver now than any other time in history. Why? Because everyone is out there saving so little, you'd be a leader and not just following the status quo. It's a shame that popular culture makes fun of those that save. I hope that people with some brains can see through this and realize the true importance of saving and not just to live life paycheque to paycheque if they don't have to.

As per the Globe and Mail this morning: Canada's largest telecommunications company, BCE posted strong profit growth of just over 70 per cent as it reported second quarter earnings on Thursday that were slightly ahead of analysts' forecasts... ...On the strength of the company's performance, Bell increased its common share dividend by 5 per cent to $1.83 a year and increased its financial guidance for the second half of the year. At yesterday's closing price of $31.60, the dividend yield on BCE is now an impressive 5.8%. Not bad for what I view as a defensive play in this volatile market. Plenty of good upside and excellent yield. What's there not to like from a dividend investor?

With Apple’s run in the last couple of years a lot of investors are probably wondering if there’s still fuel in the tank for additional growth. With the recent antennagate issue, there are some Apple loyalists that are noticing that their shiny Apple isn’t as bulletproof as it once was. The way Apple dealt with the antenna problem was viewed as arrogant and disingenuous. By dragging other ‘smartphone’ makers into the fold and claiming that all ‘smartphones’ have the same antenna issue is very troublesome. Up until now, Apple has focused on one thing - innovating ahead of their competitors instead of slinging mud at them. It’s worked well for them up and until now, so I’m not sure why they’re doing it - other than to deflect attention from themselves. Being customer focused means making products that people love (which Apple succeeds in doing). It also means taking care of them when things go bad. Is the solution to give out free cases the ideal solution? Time will tell. Th

My first sell within my TFSA: bought: SINA at 37.56 sold: SINA at 43.17 I plan to deploy the cash into a high dividend stock. This stock wasn't intended for a long term hold either. With the recent run up in Danier Leather shares, I am considering trimming my position as well. With the stock up 78% year to date, I may consider taking 1/3 off the table and deploying for another use. Will report further.

Did you know that at Research in Motion (RIM), they have a rule where if anyone talks about the company’s share price at work, they have to buy a doughnut for everyone in the company? Apparently this rule has been in place since the first day that the company went public. The last time the rule was violated was just under 10 years ago when the Chief Operating Officer was caught mentioning the share performance right before a call with analysts. This mistake cost him 800 doughnuts. While some may view this as being insensitive to shareholders, I believe it’s a good strategy. There are a lot of fluctuations in the stock market and focusing and talking about the day to day ups and downs will distract the employees from the long term goals of the company. The company can’t prevent individuals from checking the stock prices on various finance websites, not encouraging people to discuss the stock price is a smart move. The street is definitely concerned about RIM’s future prospects w