Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014

Last week, the Canadian government announced�that it will enforce more stringent standards for pipelines under its jurisdiction.

The Honorable Joe Oliver, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, said that pipelines will need to have the financial capability to "respond to any incident and remedy damage."

Major crude oil pipelines, for instance, must have "a minimum financial capability of $1 billion," he said. He also announced additional measures, including new safety rules for pipeline operators and new financial penalties for violators, which are set to come into effect shortly.

According to Canada's Department of Natural Resources, some of these additional measures include:

1) New fines that will soon come into force that will preventatively address contraventions quickly so that larger issues do not arise in the future. The penalties to companies and individuals for a range of infractions can range from $25,000 to a maximum of $100,000;
2) Requiring companies to appoint an accountable senior officer whose duty is to ensure their management system and programs are in compliance;
3) Ensuring companies' emergency and environmental plans are transparent and easily available to the public; and
4) Enshrining in law the 'polluter pays' principle explicitly in law. Currently it is only implicit; Some pipelines are regulated by the federal government and others by the province.

Why pipeline safety is crucial
The announcement came at the end of a month in which a seemingly unusual number of Canadian pipeline spills were reported. In early June, Apache (NYSE: APA  ) reported�a pipeline spill in northern Alberta that released 2.5 million gallons of contaminated water, impacting an area of about 100 acres.

Top 10 Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Ormat Technologies Inc.(ORA)

Ormat Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the geothermal and recovered energy power business in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electricity and Product. The Electricity segment develops, builds, owns, and operates geothermal and recovered energy-based power plants; and sells the electricity. The Product segment designs, manufactures, and sells power units for geothermal and recovered energy-based electricity generation; fossil fuel powered turbo-generators; and heavy duty direct-current generators. It also provides services relating to the engineering, procurement, construction, operation, and maintenance of geothermal and recovered energy power plants. This segment serves contractors and geothermal power plant owners and operators; and interstate natural gas pipeline owners and operators, gas processing plant owners and operators, cement plant owners and operators, and companies in other energy-intens ive industrial processes. The company was founded in 1965 and is based in Reno, Nevada. Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a subsidiary of Ormat Industries Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Orange SA (ORA), the phone company formerly known as France Telecom, retreated 3.9 percent to 9.75 euros as Bouygues SA unveiled a new Internet and calls package for 15.99 euros a month. The price is ��articularly aggressive,��Jacques de Greling, an analyst at Natixis SA, wrote in a report.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA  ) reported earnings on May 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Ormat Technologies met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: OPTT) just sank 34% on news that they have fired their CEO "for cause,��meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock to see if there is anything to salvage (shares were rising more than 6% in after hours) plus take a look at the performance of potential renewable energy related peers like Ormat Technologies, Inc (NYSE: ORA), Broadwind Energy Inc (NASDAQ: BWEN) and China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd (NYSE: MY).

Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014: Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc.(SPB)

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer products company worldwide. It offers consumer batteries, including alkaline and zinc carbon batteries, rechargeable batteries and chargers, and hearing aid batteries and other specialty batteries; pet supplies, such as aquatic equipment and supplies, dog and cat treats, small animal foods, clean up and training aids, health and grooming products, and beddings; and home and garden control products comprising household insect controls, insect repellents, and herbicides. The company also provides electric shaving and grooming devices; small appliances, including small kitchen appliances and home product appliances; electric personal care and styling devices; and portable lighting. Its sells its products through various trade channels, including retailers, wholesalers and distributors, hearing aid professionals, industrial distributors, and original equipment manufacturers primarily under t he Rayovac, Remington, Varta, George Foreman, Black & Decker, Toastmaster, Farberware, Tetra, Marineland, Nature?s Miracle, Dingo, 8-in-1, Littermaid, Spectracide, Cutter, Repel, Hot Shot, Black Flag, and TAT brands. The company was headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. As of January 7, 2011, Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Harbinger Group Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Energizer have jumped 15% to $112.37 at 10:24 a.m. today, while Spectrum Brands (SPB) has risen 1.4% to $76.88 and Kimberly Clark (KMB) has gained 1% to $112.14.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Consumer products manufacturer Spectrum Brands (SPB) raised its quarterly dividend 20% to 30 cents per share, payable on Mar. 18 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 19.
  SPB Dividend Yield: 1.58%

Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014: Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT)

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. produces and sells fertilizers and related industrial and feed products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company mines and produces potash, which is used as fertilizer. It also offers solid and liquid phosphate fertilizers; animal feed supplements; and industrial acids that are used in food products and industrial processes. In addition, the company produces nitrogen fertilizers, as well as nitrogen feed and industrial products, including ammonia, urea, nitrogen solutions, ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid. Further, it holds the right to mine 785,759 acres of land in Saskatchewan; and 58,263 acres of land in New Brunswick in Canada. The company sells its fertilizers primarily to retailers, dealers, co-operatives, distributors, and other fertilizer producers; industrial products primarily to chemical product manufacturers; and purified phosphoric acid directly to consumers of the product. Potash Corporation was founded i n 1953 and is based in Saskatoon, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Potash producers Mosaic (MOS) and Potash Corp. (POT) have been hammered this year as changes to the market leave their shares wracked with uncertainty.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Yet even with those sizable gains, SQM has faced large macroeconomic challenges. The financial crisis in Europe has hurt its business, with the company citing the weakness in European markets as having an impact on SQM's prospecst. Moreover, as a producer of potash-based fertilizers, the company has suffered from weak fertilizer prices. That's consistent with what we've seen from North American giants PotashCorp (NYSE: POT  ) and Mosaic (NYSE: MOS  ) , both of which have struggled from competition from cheaper nitrogen-based fertilizer producers have that capitalized on extremely cheap natural-gas input prices to offer their products at a much more competitive price.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) was up 25 at $33.12 in Monday afternoon trading. Monday’s gain puts shares up within striking distance of its breakout point from the aftermath this summer that took shares from $38 to $31 and ultimately back under $30 before recovering.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Finally, Farallon's biggest closed positions included Nexen and Check Point Software Technologies. Other closed positions of interest include PotashCorp (NYSE: POT  ) . Potash is a fertilizer giant, with a low-cost structure giving it healthy profit margins. It recently yielded a solid 3.3%, and the dividend has been raised 25% this year and some 700% over the past few years. There's a lot to like about the company, but its stock doesn't appear to be a screaming bargain these days.

Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014: UniSource Energy Corporation(UNS)

UniSource Energy Corporation engages in the electric generation and energy delivery businesses. The company?s TEP segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 403,000 retail electric customers, including residential, commercial, industrial, and public sector customers in southeastern Arizona. It also sells electricity to other utilities and power marketing entities. As of December 31, 2010, this segment owned or leased 2,245 MW of net generating capacity, as well as owned or participated in electric transmission and distribution system consisting of 512 circuit-miles of 500-kV lines; 1,087 circuit-miles of 345-kV lines; 379 circuit-miles of 138-kV lines; 478 circuit-miles of 46-kV lines; and 2,621 circuit-miles of lower voltage primary lines. TEP segment generates electricity from coal, gas, oil, and solar sources. The company?s UNS Gas segment distributes gas to approximately 146,500 retail customers in Mohave, Yavapai, Coconino, and Navajo c ounties in northern Arizona, as well as Santa Cruz County in southeastern Arizona. As of December 31, 2010, this segment?s transmission and distribution system consisted of approximately 30 miles of steel transmission mains, 4,211 miles of steel and plastic distribution piping, and 136,439 customer service lines. The company?s UNS Electric segment transmits and distributes electricity to approximately 91,000 retail customers consisting of residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Mohave and Santa Cruz counties. As of December 31, 2010, UNS Electric?s transmission and distribution system consisted of approximately 56 circuit-miles of 115-kV transmission lines, 271 circuit-miles of 69-kV transmission lines, and 3,599 circuit-miles of underground and overhead distribution lines. This segment also owns the 65 MW Valencia plant, as well as 39 substations having an installed capacity of 1,788,050 kilovolt amperes. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Tucson, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  UNS Energy (NYSE: UNS) shot up 27.75 percent to $58.56 after the company agreed to be acquired by Fortis Utility Group for $60.25 per share in cash.

• [By David Dittman]

  And with its December 2013 offer to buy Arizona-based UNS Energy Corp (NYSE: UNS) for $2.5 billion in cash St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador-based Fortis Inc (TSX: FTS, OTC: FRTSF), making its second foray in the US in two years, signaled its interest in regulated utility assets in states with favorable population and economic trends as a means of driving its growth going forward.