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Bruce Campbell.

Bruce Campbell is president and portfolio manager at Campbell, Lee & Ross. His focus is on Canadian large caps.

Top Picks:

Bank of America (BAC.N)
Recently purchased around $17 but have owned since it was $9 or so about 3 years ago. You get exposure to improvements in U.S. housing and their economy and well-leveraged to higher interest rates and a possible dividend increase.

BlackRock (BLK.N)
Recently purchased in at the $340 level. A safe way to get overseas and non-North American exposure. Less sensitivity than other asset managers and can drive 5 percent organic base fee growth over the next couple of year. Based on 17x next year's earnings, target would be close to $400. Manager of iShares and large institutional funds.

Merus Labs (MSL.TO)
Recently purchased whenever the stock drops below $3. Merus Labs is a specialty pharma company that is focused on acquiring prescription drug products with the potential for creating value over and above the purchase price. They will do this by capitalizing on strategic growth opportunities, while growing product sales. They have the combination of enhanced critical mass, cash in the bank from a recent issue and new management. Also, filed a large shelf prospectus which is fueling the thought that they are getting close on an acquisition.

Past Picks: July 21, 2014

Argonaut Gold (AR.TO)
Then: $4.18; Now: $1.21; -71.05%; Total return: -71.05%

Paramount Resources (POU.TO)
Then: $55.59; Now: $19.66; -64.63%; Total return: -64.63%

Cineplex (CGX.TO)
Then: $39.15; Now: $47.88; +22.30%; Total return: +26.50%

Total Return Average: -36.39%

Market outlook:
June was a weak month globally as the TSX was down 3.1 per cent while the S&P 500 and Dow were down 2.1 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively. Europe was worse with Germany, France and the U.K. down 4.1 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 6.6 per cent. Lastly, China was down 7.2 per cent in June and has further weakened in July. The primary reasons are Greece and China although Greece is now receding but the 8.5-per-cent drop in China overnight has sparked another round of commodity weakness. The Fed is still optimistic about the prospects for growth during the second half of this year. Moreover, above potential growth is still expected in 2016 and 2017 and will continue to take interest rate decisions on a meeting-by-meeting basis. The tone of the minutes continues to suggest that the Fed is on pace to raise rates later this year depending on how readings on the economy evolve. Toronto has now corrected 10 percent and oil is down 20 percent from its highs. Even the S&P is weaker than it appears, more than 100 per cent of the increase this year is due to retail and healthcare. Stick to quality names with good balance sheets, there are values on a stock by stock basis.

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