Preview of Banks' Q4 2010 Earnings

Scotia Capital, 17 November 2010Banks Begin Reporting November 30 – Earnings Sluggish• Banks begin reporting fourth quarter earnings with National Bank (NA) on November 30 (after market close), followed by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) and Toronto-Dominion (TD) on December 2, Royal Bank (RY) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) on December 3, Bank of Montreal (BMO) and Canadian Western (CWB)

Golf - Australian Masters

Tiger Woods, 5 units to win @ $4.25 (Flem SportsBet)
Clearly the man to beat this week with his game seemingly back on track. Especially the putting side of it and that will be crucial this week. Its actually quite a rubbish field when you look at it with all the other world class players either badly out of form (Ogilvie, Villegas) or with putting problems (Garcia, Allenby, Appleby) that will only be accentuated this week. Woods used to regularly start $3.50 or less in hot fields on the US Tour yet is $4.25 against a very average group of players if we were being honest.

Also with rain predicted for a lot of the week, it could soften the course making it a pitch and putt event. Conditions which Woods excels on.

Wade Ormsby, 1.5 units top 25 @ $3.50 (Sportingbet)
Plays well on the sandbelt courses and is one of the better local putters. Happy to be on him to finish top 25.

Scott Laycock, 1.5 units top 25 @ $4.50 (Sportingbet)
Ditto the above.

Melb Cup Day 02/11/10

Its a special day so why not bets for every race (except race 1)

Race 2 : No 9 Tio Rosso, 0.5 units e/w. Next best in order. 4,3,10,13
Race 3 : 14,13,7 box quin for 0.3 units (total 1 unit)
Race 4 : No 1 Montana Flyer clear top rater. 2 units to win at good odds.
Race 5 : No 3 Sleepers, 0.5 units e/w. Next best in order 12,13,2
Race 6 : 2,9,3, box quin for 0.3 units (total 1 unit)
Race 7 : 5 units to win the champ - So You Think

Races 8,9 & 10 to come in a couple of hours.

Okay - good start with the R3 quinella paying $36....

Race 8 : No 10 Hidden Wonder, 0.5 units e/w. Dangers 6,9,11,2,4
Race 9 : No 7 Ahdashim, 1 unit to win. Dangers 6,11,12
Race 10: No 4 Amaethon, 1 unit to win. Dangers 5,18,16,13

Good luck to all..

RBC Investor Day

Scotia Capital, 28 October 2010Royal Bank Investor Day - Canadian Banking• Royal Bank (RY) held an Investor Day yesterday focusing on its Canadian Banking segment. The bank highlighted its track record of outperformance and leading market position, breadth of distribution network and cross-sell ability, and operational efficiency as key areas for the bank in light of the potential for slower

Races 16th October

Wet tracks all over Australia today and even though its Caulfield Cup day, I can't possibly have a bet there (well, not a serious one anyway - lol). Track is likely to be a quagmire and you may as well throw the form out the window.

Sydney r5 n1 Buffering 1.5 units to win
Randwick seems to have escaped the big wet so thats where my main interest will be today. Buffering should cross and lead here in this small field and its form against similar company is first class. Stable is in form and looks the one to berat here and a good anchor if taking quadrellas.

Golf - McGladery Classic

Course experience not really necessary here as it is a new course. Players who do well on links types courses could be advantaged.

Jeff Quinney - 1.25 units to win @ $190 (betfair) & 2 units, top 25 @ $5.00 (sportsbet)
Perpetual non winner who has never won on tour. However has a few things in his favour this week. Is a a good putter and quite accurate once he gets to the 150 yard mark and with only 2 par 5s this week, playing the par 4s well will be advantageous. His links form stands up okay as well. If we look at Pebble Beach he has finished T35, T22 and T24 his last three times there. Nothing earth shattering I know but it is excellent compared to his general form.
Is currently 126th on the money list (right on the bubble) and needs a good performance this week. Has made 7 cuts from his past 8 starts and is probably in the best form (for him) of his PGA Tour career.
Great value in the top 25 market in my opinion.

Brett Wetterich - 0.75 units to win @ $90 (betfair) & 2 units, top 25 @ $3.00 (sportsbet).
Three top 25s from his past four tournalments means he comes into this in pretty good form. Has good all round figures for this type of course. Currently on a medical extension and needs to earn approx 300K for the rest of the season to get himself a ticket for next year. Does have a lot of ability when right.

A costly 8 on a par 5 in the final round cost Quinney a chance to win the tournalment overal - finished equal 9th but it could have been so much better.

But then again thats what non-winners do.

CIBC Investor Forum

BMO Capital Markets, 1 October 2010Scotiabank has been upgraded to Outperform, while Royal Bank’s rating slipped to Market Perform. Greater clarity on new bank capital rules has mitigated our concern they would hinder BNS’s international growth strategy. Moreover, we believe that the bank’s international operations provide a clear growth path, relative to its peer group, after credit costs have `