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Low stock prices whet M&A players’ appetites
When Mike Ser saw the price of Research In Motion Ltd. fall about 14 per cent in early May, he pounced on the stock.
The Toronto-based trader didn’t buy the company because he thinks it will bounce back. On the contrary, it’s the poor performance that’s attractive. The low stock price, he says, makes it ripe for a takeover.
Mr. Ser has a history of buying companies for the takeover potential....
Investing in the steel industry
The S&P 500 has been on a tear lately, climbing more than 20% since October. While that’s been good news for most people’s portfolios, it’s made hunting for undervalued companies a challenge. The index’s price-to-earnings ratio has jumped from about 12 times earnings back then to around 14.5 times today. One industry, however, continues to be undervalued: steel.
After three stellar...
Buffett cancer diagnosis hits stock, raises succession questions
When Susy Abbondi heard on April 17 that Warren Buffett had prostate cancer, she quickly turned to CNBC to find out just how severe the diagnosis was. Like most people, she wanted to know what had happened to the world’s most famous investor. But she had another reason to tune in: her company owns Berkshire Hathaway stock.
The president of Montreal-based Duncan Ross Associates has owned the...
Higher resource prices lead to more deals done
This has been a busy year for Brian Pukier, a partner with law firm Stikeman Elliott LLP and head of its Toronto mergers and acquisitions group. After a slow summer last year, the M&A space is finally back to normal, he says. “We’d always like more deals, but our firm is keeping busy,” he says.
Mr. Pukier’s firm does a lot of work in the resource space; he’s seen a lot of deals...
Emerging markets offer investment upside
For many years, billionaire investor Warren Buffett promoted a “main street” approach to investing that favours companies you know well over companies in far-off lands. But take a closer look at some of his recent investments and you’ll find buys that have significant exposure to rapidly growing overseas markets. In March of last year, for instance, Buffett bought Lubrizol Corp. for US$9...
Stock market to underperform in Q2
Investors who bought into the market six months ago are feeling pretty good right now. Since early October, the S&P 500 has climbed an amazing 24%, while the S&P/TSX composite index has risen nearly 6%. Not bad, especially considering the losses many experienced in 2011. Some hold out hope this market rally will finally replenish lean retirement portfolios. But if the past few weeks...
U.S. bank stocks are a good investment
Here’s one more sign the U.S. economy is getting back on track: the banks are starting to call the shots again. On March 13, Jamie Dimon upstaged—some would say told off—the U.S. Federal Reserve by revealing that the bank he runs, JPMorgan Chase, had essentially passed its government-mandated stress test. The announcement was supposed to have taken place two days later, but Dimon, who...
Apple dividend benefits income funds
You have to know that Tim Cook, Apple Inc.’s new CEO, will never win, competing with the ghost of founder Steve Jobs. He’s overseen two product launches since his late former boss stepped down last August: the iPhone 4S and the new iPad, neither a significant improvement over its predecessor. But his biggest moment so far had nothing to do with technology. On March 19, he revealed that Apple...
Bryan Borzykowski is a Toronto-based writer and editor working mainly for business publications. He writes for the New York Times, Canadian Business magazine, Globe and Mail, Bloomberg Businessweek Custom Publishing, Toronto Star, MoneySense and more. Bryan's the editor of Review magazine and is a senior editor with Connected for Business magazine. He's also a contributing writer with Hello! Canada and was once a weekly music columnist for Metro News. He's been nominated for several National Magazine Awards and he's co-authored