A humorous look at the companies that caught our eye, for better or worse, this week.
S&P/TSX composite
TSX
Oct. 3, 2014 close: 14,789.78
down 236.99 points or 1.6% over week
Another week, another bucket of red ink for the S&P/TSX. Hammered by falling energy prices, a slowing global economy and growing investor unease which at any moment could erupt into full-on panic, Canada’s benchmark index plunged for a fifth consecutive week. Underlining the gloom, in September the index suffered its steepest monthly loss in more than two years. Surely it’s hit bottom by now. Or not.
Ford Motor
F (NYSE)
Oct. 3, 2014 close: $14.59 (U.S.)
down $1.74 points or 10.7% over week
Come in now for Ford Employee Pricing! That’s right: We’ve slashed the price of our common shares to make them more affordable for you – our valued customers. You pay what we pay. And you’ll be paying a lot less now that we’ve cut our full-year profit outlook by about $1.5-billion, largely because of all the recall and warranty costs on our awesome lineup of Ford vehicles. Hurry in today!
Canadian Pacific Railway
CP (TSX)
Oct. 3, 2014 close: $241.67
up $15.74 or 7% over week
Anyone who’s played Monopoly knows the big money isn’t in railroads; it’s in real estate. That lesson isn’t lost on Canadian Pacific: Aiming to double earnings per share by 2018, the railway operator announced plans to develop or sell up to $1-billion of property while squeezing more revenue out of the real estate it keeps. With CP’s stock soaring to a record, investors can afford to buy lots of houses and hotels.
Crude oil
Crude (WTI)
Oct. 3, 2014 close: $89.74
down $3.80 or 4.1% over week
Because of growing demand and finite supply, oil prices can only go up, up, up. Well, interesting theory, anyway. With U.S. production surging to the highest since 1986 and the global economy softening, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude slipped below $90 (U.S.) a barrel for the first time since April, 2013 – down about 16 per cent from its recent high of $107.26 in June. Did someone say something about peak oil?
Westport Innovations
WPT (TSX)
Oct. 3, 2014 close: $8.09
down $4.14 or 33.8% over week
In an internal combustion engine, fuel explodes inside a cylinder. But in the case of natural gas engine developer Westport, it’s shareholders’ money that’s exploding. Citing uncertainty in Europe, Russia and China and doubts about a customer’s ability to pay for a “significant” order, the firm cut 2014 revenue guidance by about 25 per cent. With the stock trading for less than one-fifth of its 2012 high, investors’ tempers might be the next thing to explode.