Canadian trusts backed by good businesses will make money no matter what the Canadian government does. Read More

260-plus Canadian income trusts, 260-plus different tax strategies: That’s what smart money was saying in the wake of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's Halloween night announcement... Read More

Versacold Income Fund (ICE.UN, VCLDF) isn’t in the Canadian Edge Portfolios. But the takeover of this long-time buy recommendation at a 23.5 percent premium to its 90-day moving average is... Read More

For the second month in a row, no oil and gas producer trust cut its distribution. Read More

Canada’s minority government rolled out a package of environment proposals April 26, delivering on a promise Prime Minister Stephen Harper made in his crown speech... Read More

As a self-directed investor, you have to carve out the time to do research. You’re minding your own empire, and you better know what’s going on with the exchequer. Read More

On the afternoon of Oct. 31, 2006, the S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Income Trust Index (SPRTCM) closed at 164.86. In the ensuing two weeks, it gave up 17.8 percent of its value, bottoming at 135.51 on Nov. 14, 2006. Read More

Just Like Heaven? Daimler is actually paying about USD1.5 billion to get out from under Chrysler’s healthcare obligations to workers and retirees. What seemed manageable nine years ago when the automakers combined to form DaimlerChrysler is now driving the companies apart. (Cerberus is investing USD7.4 billion in cash, of which… Read More

At the top of all company earnings-results conference calls, the emcee will remind investors that the discussion is likely to include predictions about the future of the business and that they shouldn’t assume anything will happen for certain. Read More

Private capital buyouts of trusts accelerated again last month. We’re up to 22 deals and counting since Halloween, the vast majority involving US-based investment entities. Read More

“It should come as no surprise to investors that highly rated income funds have been involved in many initial strategic initiatives during the first four months of 2007. Good businesses with capable management are desirable investments regardless of the entity structure.” Read More

There’s a lot of junk out there that’s rapidly melting away in today’s challenged environment. And no matter how much private capital is looking for places to invest—or how friendly Canadian politicians may become to the trust structure—complete failure is only a matter of time. Read More

No oil and gas producer trusts trimmed distributions in April. And with oil and gas prices rising this year, it’s likely we’ve seen the worst for all but the very weakest trusts. Read More

The one element we’ve emphasized as critical to whether the Tax Fairness Plan survives as currently conceived is the continuation of Conservative rule. Read More

One is a relatively new entity backed by a powerful multinational Australian bank and attempting to double in size with a merger. The other is a leader in a highly cyclical business that’s selling for peanuts and is ripe for consolidation. Read More

Three new offers for Canadian trusts have been unveiled in recent days. All were from foreign-based private capital, and two outbid offers from Canadian firms. Read More

It’s been a solid month since Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty dropped a bomb on his country’s thriving royalty and income trust sector. Read More

We were all shocked Tuesday night with the announcement by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty that Canadian trusts will now be subject to entity-level taxation. The best tip I can give this month is to contact the Canadian Ministry of Finance and express your concern over this. Read More

The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency takes 15 percent off the top of distributions due to US investors if the trusts aren’t held within an IRA. Read More

The good news is there appears to be several ways of avoiding the 15 percent Canadian tax on trust dividends paid to US investors. The bad news: They’ll take a little effort to capitalize on. Read More