Forex Investment

U.S. gold ended higher and above the key $900-an-ounce mark and corn hit a record high, lending support to soybeans and wheat, as commodities rebounded Wednesday.

U.S. crude oil closed up nearly 4% after losing 6% over three previous sessions.

The surge in oil helped the energy-laden Standard & Poor’s-Goldman Sachs commodity index rise 2.8%, outperforming rival indexes tracking the energy, metals and agricultural markets. The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index rose 1.7% and the Dow Jones-AIG advanced 1.8%.

The rebound in commodities came despite a stronger dollar which naturally heralded a weaker inflation environment surprising some analysts, who said the action could be nothing more than fund repositioning.

“We seem to go through a type of trading catharsis every time we approach a new quarter, as funds reposition their holdings by jettisoning recent winners and embracing the losers,” said Edward Meir, an energy and metals commentator at MF Global.

Gold futures for June settled up $12.40, or 1.4%, at $900.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex metals division.

The contract fell nearly 5% on Tuesday, breaking below the $900 level critical to the confidence of market bulls and touching a two-month low of $876.30.

Traders said Wednesday’s recovery in gold came as investors sought refuge in the precious metal, known for its safe-haven quality, after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the world’s largest economy may face a recession after all.

Gold was also boosted by the higher price of oil.

U.S. crude futures settled up $3.85 at $104.83 a barrel. Prices rose after a government report showing a steep draw in refined fuel inventories ahead of the country’s peak summer driving season.

London Brent crude gained $3.58 to settle at $103.75 a barrel.

Corn for July 2009 hit a record high of $6.15 on the Chicago Board of Trade. There were also contract highs in seven front-month CBOT corn contracts.

Traders attributed the rally to wet weather in the Midwest, which they said could lead to a shift away from corn plantings to soy.

CBOT soybeans for May settled up 32 cents at $12.43 per bushel. May wheat on the same exchange finished up 41 1/2 cents at $9.36 1/2 per bushel.

Comex May copper rose 7.10 cents, or nearly 2%, to settle at $3.8775, its highest closing basis since March 7.

Big Blue has had its share of ups and downs through its long history. But if you look at the past five years, its annual earnings have been on the up and up since sliding in 2002.

That helps IBM, () which has a five-year profit growth rate of 13%. Though that’s lower than the typical growth rates of many other technology stocks, keep in mind that if you’re a long-term investor, steady growth is key.

For that approach, the lower the EPS Stability Rating, the better. IBM earns a 4 Stability Rating.

The provider of IT services, computer hardware and software has posted spotty sales growth, with declines in 2005 and the first half of ‘06. But it has since turned things around. Revenue grew 5% to 11% the past six quarters.

Late Wednesday, IBM reported first-quarter earnings that rose 36% from last year and topped expectations by 20 cents a share. That was the best quarterly gain in at least four years and the fifth quarter of accelerating growth.

Sales also beat forecasts, helped by the dollar’s weakness. A big chunk of its business comes from overseas.

Big Blue boosted its full-year outlook. Canaccord Adams on Thursday raised the stock to buy from hold; Bear Stearns and Morgan Stanley upped their price targets.

IBM’s 2007 return on equity of 36% was its highest since ‘01 and well above the 17% minimum seen in most winning stocks. In fact, its ROE has consistently held above 25% for at least the past nine years.

IBM is trading at six-year highs after clearing the 119.89 buy point of a handle in a double-bottom base on Wednesday. The stock had already cleared a 112.29 buy point Feb. 26.

to view an Excel spreadsheet of the screen below with expanded data.

Long-Term Investor Screen

Symbol Company Name EPS
Stability
Rating EPS
Rating Additional
Research
Covance Inc 2 89
L 3 Communications Hldgs 2 86
Genzyme Corp 3 90
Praxair Inc 3 86
Bard C R Inc 3 82
Amphenol Corp Cl A 4 94
Ametek Inc 4 88
Emerson Electric Co 4 87
Northern Trust Corp 4 86
Stericycle Inc 4 86
Flir Systems Inc 5 88
Biogen Idec Inc 6 93
Hewlett-Packard Co 6 92
C H Robinson Worldwide 6 89
Smith International 7 94
Harsco Corp 7 92
Thermo Fisher Scientific 7 92
Fastenal Co 7 92
Blackrock Inc 9 97
Schlumberger Ltd 9 95
Honeywell Intl Inc 9 77
Halliburton Company 10 87
Exxon Mobil Corp 10 83
Weatherford Intl Ltd 11 95
Parker-Hannifin Corp 11 88
General Cable Corp 12 99
Denbury Resources Inc 12 93
Gamestop Corp Cl A 13 95
Mastercard Inc Cl A 14 97
Monsanto Co 14 97
Range Resources Corp 18 98
Atwood Oceanics Inc 19 99
National Oilwell Varco 20 98

This screen excludes stocks under $25 and average daily volume less than 350,000 shares. Sorted by EPS Stability Rating and then EPS Rating. to view an Excel spreadsheet of this screen with expanded data. Your computer should have Excel 5.0 or a later version to view the spreadsheet. Data as of Monday, April 14, 2008 1:50 p.m. Pacific time.

Forestry company Tembec said Friday it is indefinitely eliminating three shifts at mills in British Columbia and Ontario, and taking short-term closures at five mills in Quebec and Ontario.

The company said it will shut down the third shift at its Elko sawmill and planer milland the second shift at its Cranbrook finger joint mill, both in B.C., and the third shift at its sawmill and planer mill in Cochrane, Ont.

The company did not disclose how many jobs will be lost through the elimination of the shifts.

In July and August, the company’s mills in Senneterre, Taschereau and Bearn in Quebec and Hearst and Chapleau in Ontario will take two-week full or partial closures.

Tembec said those production losses will be partially offset by a nine-week re-opening of its La Sarre, Que., sawmill.

The company said the latest cuts, when combined with existing closures at mills in Timmins, LaSerre, and Kirkland Lake, reduce its annual production by about 300 million board feet.

Dennis Rounsville, executive vice president at Tembec, said falling demand for lumber, low prices, the impact of the rising Canadian dollar and holiday scheduling were behind the closures.

A day earlier, Commonwealth Plywood said it will shut down 18 of its plants in Quebec next month, affecting 1,200 workers.

The July 1 shutdown is indefinite, the company said. About 10 of the plants had already closed their doors previously for varying lengths of time.

Also on Thursday, PricewaterhouseCoopers said the Canadian forestry sector lost $152 million in the first quarter of this year, due to a slowdown in the U.S housing sector.

Growth in new house prices slowed slightly for an eleventh straight month in July, as contractors’ prices rose by 7.7 per cent year-over-year, Statistics Canada said.

In June, the 12-month price increase came in at 7.8 per cent.

Price growth has been decelerating since August 2006 when the year-over-year rate of growth peaked at 12.1 per cent.

On a monthly basis, prices increased by 0.9 per cent from June to July, Statistics Canada said in a report released Tuesday.

Saskatchewan saw the some of the biggest price increases in the country in July.

Prices in Saskatoon set a record high year-over-year increase for the fifth consecutive month with a rise of 51.4 per cent. Regina also registered a record 12-month increase of 23 per cent.

New house prices in Edmonton recorded a year-over-year increase of 38.4 per cent. A cooling trend continued in Calgary, where the year-over-year increase was only 9.8 per cent, the slowest gain in almost two years.

While new home prices showed slower growth in July, new home starts in August were up, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said in a separate monthly report released Tuesday.

CMHC said the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 226,500 units in August, up from 215,600 units in July.

“The rise in August housing starts reflects a rebound in the volatile multiple starts segment,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHCs market analysis centre.

“In particular, the strong results achieved this past month can be attributed to multiple starts in the Atlantic region, British Columbia and the Prairies,” Dugan said. “Despite the increase in August, the pace of housing starts remains consistent with our view that residential construction will decrease gradually between now and the end of 2008.”

CMHC said starts of urban single homes were up 1.8 per cent to 91,300 units in August, while multiple starts, such as condominiums, increased 10.1 per cent to 101,400 units.

Billy Bee Honey Products,maker ofCanada’sleading brand of honey, has been bought by McCormick& Co., a Maryland-based spice and seasonings giant,for $75 million US.

The private Toronto company,in business since1958,was owned by the family of its 91-year-old founder, Jack Grossman.

McCormick issued a statement Thursdaydescribingitsheftin the Canadian market:

- Its Billy Bee and Doyon brands (the lattermarketed in Quebec)share 60 per centof branded honey sales in Canada.
- It supplieshalf of the private-label honeysold byCanadian retailers.
- It supplies an estimated 50 per centof the honeyused as an ingredient in Canadian food manufacturing.
- It has developed new products using honey, including mustard, sauces and salad dressings.
- Ithas about 40 employees and annual sales of about $37 million.

“This is a terrific complement to our savory products in Canada and a great extension of the sweet products we currently market in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region,” McCormick president Alan Wilson said in the statement.

As things stand, Billy Beeyields operating cash flow of about $9 million a year,the U.S.companyindicated. (Itsaid thatthe purchase price was about eight times EBITDA, a measure of cash flow. EBITDAmeans earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.)

That makes the Toronto companya smallpartof McCormick, which had sales of $2.9 billion and profit of $230 million in its latest full year.

McCormick hailed Billy Beeas a well-run businesswith non-perishable raw materials,a straightforward manufacturing process and alimited number of SKUs (meaning stock-keeping units, or distinct sizes, brands and packages).

It makes its products in Canada and has abundant supplies of Canadian honey but uses othersources as well, McCormick said.

“Over the past 50 years, the management and employees of Billy Bee have created a well-established business, and in recent years have launched some exciting value-added products,” Wilson said.

“We look forward to working together to achieve further growth through innovation and distribution expansion.”