Canadians investing more of their paycheques + MORE Jul 7th

A settlement over how to divide up a portion of the $7.3 billion US made from the sale of certain Nortel Networks assets may be nearing completion.

Canadian investors now invest 14% of their income, up from 12.6% in 2013, according to the latest TD Investor Insights Index, and it may have something to rising stock markets and the confidence they have instilled. Nearly half of investors polled for the study said their portfolio has seen gains in the past 12 months and nearly as many expect the gains to continue.
Bob Gorman, chief portfolio strategist at TD Wealth, says this rising confidence is helping investors get closer to their ideal goal of investing about a quarter of their income each year to meet their long-term financial goals. “With many investors expressing similarly positive views this year, we could see even higher levels of investment going forward.”
In fact, one in five investors said they’re planning to increase the proportion of income they invest if stock markets continue to improve.
“Even if markets slip back somewhat, there are great opportunities for investors to continue to earn solid returns if they choose a balanced portfolio that offers the prospect of growth while respecting their individual tolerance for risk,” Gorman said in a press release Monday…

TORONTO – Some of the most active companies traded Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (15,172.93, down 42.03 points):
Orbite Aluminae Inc. (TSX:ORT). Miner. Up seven cents, or 11.67 per cent, to 67 cents on 7.6 million shares.
Eastern Platinum Ltd. (TSX:ELR). Unchanged at 11 cents on 7.3 million shares.
BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB). Communications equipment. Up 64 cents, or 5.63 per cent, to $12.01 on 4.5 million shares.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSX:FM). Miner. Up 91 cents, or 3.63 per cent, to $25.95 on 3.3 million shares.
Fortis Inc. (TSX:FTS.IR). Utilities. Up 64 cents, or 1.68 per cent, to $38.63 on 2.9 million shares.
Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC). Insurance. Down seven cents, or 0.32 per cent, to $21.75 on 2.8 million shares.
Toronto Venture Exchange (1,030.63, down 7.13 points):
Cap-Ex Iron Ore Ltd. (TSXV:CEV). Miner. Down one cent, or 50 per cent, to one cent on 6.7 million shares.
Canamex Resources Corp. (TSXV:CSQ)…

National Bank Financial forecasts that the Big Six will report a gain of 7 per cent to $2.5-billion in the third quarter

SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung Electronics Co. said its second-quarter operating income has declined to a two-year low hit by the strong local currency and slowing demand for smartphones in China.
The South Korean company said Tuesday in its earnings preview its operating income was 7.2 trillion won ($7.1 billion) for the three months ending June 30.
The quarterly profit represents a 24 per cent drop from the previous year. It is below analysts’ expectations of about 8 trillion won.
The figure was the lowest since the second quarter of 2012 when Samsung’s income stood at 6.5 trillion won. Since then, Samsung’s operating profit never fell below 8 trillion won, largely driven by robust sales of Galaxy smartphones.
Sales fell 10 per cent from the previous year to 52 trillion won in the latest period. It did not provide its quarterly net profit and breakdown for its four business divisions.
Samsung, which had usually not elaborated on its financial performance during the earnings preview and waited until its full earnings release at the end of the month, issued a rare statement to explain its disappointing result…