Looking for investing ideas? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies plus what investors need to know for the week ahead.
Blowing smoke: Does Aurora Cannabis really know what it’s doing?
Blowing smoke: Does Aurora Cannabis really know what it’s doing?
Cannabis entrepreneur Terry Booth wants to be the king of pot. Today, he is more like a Trumpian master of superlatives, Christina Pellegrini writes. Ask him about the quality of marijuana his company produces and he’ll assure you it’s “the best bud without a doubt.” His cultivators? “The best growers in the world.” His executive team? “Better than anyone else’s.” Everything is the best or the biggest.
Uncouth and unapologetic, the 54-year-old chief executive officer of Aurora Cannabis Inc. is miles apart from your typical public-company executive overseeing a business that is worth $5-billion. He is not shy about admitting that this is his second turn as a marijuana dealer; his first was in high school. But the stakes are a lot bigger this time around.
Aurora CEO Terry Booth, pictured amongst marijuana plants, at their facility in Edmonton Alberta, May 23, 2018. Jason Franson/The Globe and Mail.JASON FRANSON/Globe and Mail
Canada Goose stock soars 22%
Shares of Canada Goose Holdings soared to a fresh record after the maker of $1,000 parkas swung to a surprise fourth-quarter profit as revenue more than doubled. With the company recently announcing expansion plans for China and expecting annual revenue growth of at least 20 per cent over the next three years, investors are feeling all warm and cozy, John Heinzl writes in this week’s look at investing stars and dogs.
Related: Canada Goose shares surge to record as sales gains drive surprise profit
Analyzing Canada’s 100 largest mutual funds: ‘Mediocre is kind in some cases’
Judge by hype alone and you might think that dividend stocks and exchange-traded funds are all Canadians invest in. But mutual funds are still the investment of the masses, Rob Carrick writes. How do fund companies repay this loyalty? For answers, we analyzed the 100 largest mutual funds by assets as of Dec. 31, 2017, with a 10-year history at least. With help from Fundata Canada Inc., we looked at their long-term returns, and we looked at how these funds fit into the wave of fee-cutting that the entire investing industry has seen in recent years. We found big funds that really deliver for investors, but also many that do not.
Related: Table: Rob Carrick evaluates Canada’s 100 largest mutual funds
Don’t be spooked by Scotiabank’s buying binge
Bank of Nova Scotia’s acquisition binge is weighing on its share price amid concerns about the bank’s ability to digest new assets valued at a whopping $7-billion, David Berman writes. But while some analysts are growing nervous about the stock and slashing their outlook, contrarians should see the recent turbulence as a gift.
Read more: This Big 6 bank has the highest expected return
Steve Bannon buys into bitcoin
Steve Bannon, 10 months removed from the job of chief strategist to President Donald Trump and five months after his ouster from the arch-conservative news site Breitbart News, is betting that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can disrupt banking the way Trump disrupted American politics. He won’t reveal very much about his cryptocurrency plans, but has had private meetings with cryptocurrency investors and hedge funds where he has discussed working on so-called initial coin offerings through his investment business, Bannon & Co. He has even floated the possibility of creating a new virtual currency, the “deplorables coin.”
Related: No letup for bitcoin as biggest cryptocurrency extends drop
Why the picture at Cineplex is improving for dividend investors
In action movies, the hero always escapes from perilous situations, John Heinzl writes. Can Cineplex Inc.’s struggling stock do the same? In the past year, shares of Canada’s largest movie theatre chain have plunged about 40 per cent, hurt by falling box-office results, worries about the threat from streaming services such as Netflix and skepticism about the company’s diversification strategy. Yet some analysts say Cineplex’s stock is getting unduly punished for what may turn out to be a temporary lull at the box office.
What investors need to know for the week ahead
Economic data to be released this week include Canada’s inflation figures for May. Companies posting earnings include BlackBerry, FedEx and Oracle.
Looking for more investing ideas and opinion?
Gordon Pape: After a tough stretch, it’s time to adjust my TFSA Income Portfolio
The time to dump dividend stocks and turn to bonds is coming
Could your loved ones figure out your finances if you died?
Watch out for tax traps with U.S. index funds
Should you invest in small bits or big chunks?
Loonie is now ‘the world’s most hated currency’
Foreign investment in Canadian securities hits five-month high
International fund managers turn to financials, tech as trade worries rise