"The Contra Guys" is a column that appears in the Exclusive Insight section of the subscription-based GlobeinvestorGOLD website every other Friday. The column may also appear in the print edition of the Globe and Mail's Report on Business. Links to past columns are provided below.

• December 9, 2011 "Is the Time Right for Trickle-Up Economics?"
• November 25, 2011 "Searching for Coffee Plays as Smooth as Lou Rawls' Vocals"
• November 11, 2011 "Zarlink: After Tribulation and Self-Recrimination, Success"
• November 1, 2011 "Bank of America: Where the Money Is?"
• October 14, 2011 "Strategizing About Natural Gas"
• September 29, 2011 "How the U.S. Can Reduce Its Deficit"
• August 25, 2011 "Akita: In Tough Times, Tightly Held High-Quality Stocks Can Be Shaken Loose"
• August 11, 2011 "Magnetek Looked Mighty Sweet from Contrarian Perspective"
• July 15, 2011 "The Play's the Thing"
• June 24, 2011 "IFRS vs. GAAP: What's the Effect on the Bottom Line?"
• June 3, 2011 "Lights! Camera! Profits!"
• May 13, 2011 "Are Banks Where the Money Is?"
• April 27, 2011 "What to Do While U.S. Public Debt Piles Up?"
• April 7, 2011 "Deswell Epitomizes Contra Criteria"
• March 17, 2011 "Gravity's Not Just Fun and Games"
• February 2, 2011 "Tough to Bet Against Norsat"
• January 12, 2011 "2010 in Review: U.S. Stocks"
• December 23, 2010 "2010 in Review: Canadian Stocks"
• December 15, 2010 "Theragenics: A Study in Contrasts"
• November 29, 2010 "Hemisphere GPS Provokes Food for Thought"
• November 11, 2010 "Cadence Takeover Points Way to M&A Activity in Regional Banking"
• October 8, 2010 "Can Algonquin Regain Its Power?"
• September 24, 2010 "GE: Can It Bring Good Things Back to Life?"
• September 14, 2010 "Material Sciences: Turnaround Is Fair Play"
• August 27, 2010 "Can Consumers Turn Up the Heat?"
• August 16, 2010 "Motorola on the Move?"
• July 29, 2010 "BCE: Is Appreciation a Long Distance Away?"
• July 9, 2010 "Cangene: Balance Sheet Clean as a Lab"
• June 28, 2010 "What's Brick Brewing These Days?"
• June 10, 2010 "Fairborne Energy: Drilling for a Turnaround"
• May 21, 2010 "National Bank of Greece: A High-Risk Odyssey"
• May 10, 2010 "CDI: A Bet on Jobs Recovery"
• April 22, 2010 "Who'll Succeed Buffett? It's Time to Make It Known"
• April 6, 2010 "Stewart Enterprises Should Hire Some Trained Babboons"
• March 18, 2010 "Iteris: Will All the Lights Turn Green?"
• March 5, 2010 "Novell Attracts Takeover Interest"
• February 19, 2010 "Extra! Extra! Betting on a Torstar Comeback"
• February 5, 2010 "South Korea: Going for the Green?"
• January 25, 2010 "2009 in Review: U.S. Stocks"
• January 6, 2010 "2009 in Review: Canadian Stocks"


• December 11, 2009 "Hewlett-Packard Closes Book on 3Com's Story"
• November 27, 2009 "Drug Makers Have the Fever for Vaccine Profits"
• November 16, 2009 "Japan's Banks Offer Lessons for U.S., European Governments"
• November 2, 2009 "Mace: Can Company Spray Away Memory of Past Management?"
• October 14, 2009 "P/E Ratios: Are Stocks Too Expensive?"
• September 28, 2009 "A Ten-bagger Worthy of an Irish Jig"
• September 14, 2009 "Can Prosperity Be Hazardous to Your Health?"
• August 28, 2009 "Banks and Mortgage Lenders: Betting on a Rebound"
• August 14, 2009 "Viterra: A Time to Reap, or Just to Mind the Silo?"
• July 27, 2009 "Two to Hook Up With?"
• July 3, 2009 "Material Sciences: Plucky Survivor or On the Ropes?"
• June 19, 2009 "Searching for Gains at Yahoo"
• June 5, 2009 "Inflazyme Puts Down New Roots in Forestry"
• May 22, 2009 "Painting a Different Picture of Investment Strategy"
• May 11, 2009 "On the Rebound: A Baker's Dozen of Stocks with Eye-Popping Rebounds"
• April 14, 2009 "Auto Industry: Government, Union Slow to Adopt Innovative Solutions"
• March 27, 2009 "Ten That Have Raised Their Dividends"
• March 12, 2009 "Marriott: Worth Checking Into?"
• February 24, 2009 "Newalta: One to Leave by the Curb Rather than Recycle"
• January 30, 2009 "Ban on AON Trades Bad for Investors"
• January 16, 2009 "2008 in Review: U.S. Stocks"
• January 5, 2009 "2008 in Review: Canadian Stocks"


• December 12, 2008 "Futures Prices: A Window into the, um, Future?"
• November 28, 2008 "Richmont Redux: Seeking to Debunk the Efficient Market Hypothesis"
• November 14, 2008 "RV Builders Hit Economic Speed Bumps"
• October 31, 2008 "Oil: Too Slippery a Subject for Price Prognosticators"
• October 17, 2008 "Poking Holes in Harper's Ark"
• October 3, 2008 "High Executive Pay? We Say No Way"
• September 19, 2008 "Keep a Laser-Like Gaze on Those Partial Fills"
• September 4, 2008 "We Weren't Manic Over Franklin's Dutch Auction"
• August 22, 2008 "Integrated Silicon Solution: Will It Chip in a Healthy Return?"
• August 8, 2008 "Will Funeral Home Takeover Get Buried?"
• July 30, 2008 "Don't Bank on Financial Stocks Yet"
• July 11, 2008 "Takeover Plays Offer Their Own Risks"
• June 27, 2008 "Value Traps Can Cause Nightmares"
• June 13, 2008 "A Dialogue about Plato"
• May 30, 2008 "Why the Housing Bubble Blew Up"
• May 16, 2008 "Iomega: A Healthy Scratch from the Contra Lineup"
• May 1, 2008 "Pebercan: Political Risk, but Potential Value"
• April 18, 2008 "Magic Software: A Hat Trick, or a Vanishing Act?"
• April 4, 2008 "Infocus: What, Us Cheap?"
• March 20, 2008 "Gold Prices: Sock It to Us"
• March 6, 2008 "Norsat Gaining Altitude"
• February 22, 2008 "Credit Crunch Means It's Still Sub-Prime Time for Banks"
• February 8, 2008 "Intertape: A Rare Chance to Buy Canadian"
• January 25, 2008 "Insights and Hindsights from Lunchtimes Past"
• January 11, 2008 "2007 in Review: U.S. Stocks"


• December 21, 2007 "2007 in Review: Canadian Stocks"
• December 7, 2007 "Magellan Aerospace: Still Waiting for Take-Off"
• November 23, 2007 "Furniture Industry Could Use Support"
• November 9, 2007 "Investors Overreact to Trust Tax Announcement"
• October 25, 2007 "Nashua: Sometimes, Boring Can Be Good"
• October 12, 2007 "Business Cycle Makes Autozone a Short Candidate"
• September 27, 2007 "A Spar-ring Partner Outside the Portfolio"
• September 17, 2007 "What Next for the Hedge Fund Young Lions?"
• August 30, 2007 "Gambling Stocks: Knowing When (Not) to Hold 'Em"
• August 15, 2007 "Tip-toe Thru the Market, 'Cause It's No Bed of Roses"
• August 3, 2007 "Hartco's Hopping and We're Happy to Hold"
• July 20, 2007 "Still Dragging a Line for High Liner"
• July 6, 2007 "Zarlink: Will Chips Put Us on the Gravy Train?"
• June 8, 2007 "U.S. Economy: Are the Coal-Mine Canaries Chirping Their Last?"
• May 24, 2007 "Analysts: Still In for the Long Haul"
• May 11, 2007 "Wheat Pool Gets Deeper with Agricore Takeover"
• April 27, 2007 "Summer: How Recharged Batteries Can Raise Returns"
• April 12, 2007 "Blackstone IPO Defies Logic"
• March 30, 2007 "Solectron and Profitability: Does It Compute?"
• March 19, 2007 "Learning from History"
• February 23, 2007 "Of Blogs and Bogs"
• February 8, 2007 "Moore Wallace/R.R. Donnelley: Patience Pays Off Handsomely"
• January 28, 2007 "'Entertaining' Stocks Also Risky"
• January 12, 2007 "2007 in Review: U.S. Stocks"


• December 29, 2006 "2006 in Review: Canadian Stocks"
• December 15, 2006 "Will Forestry Be Next Industry to Soar?"
• December 1, 2006 "Loonie Makes Us Whistle a Happy Tune"
• November 17, 2006 "A King-Size Karmic Boost
• November 3, 2006 "Diversify, But Don't Overdo It"
• October 19, 2006 "Algoma: Power Play or Penalty Box?"
• October 6, 2006 "Amaranth: Hedge Funds an Accident Waiting to Happen"
• September 20, 2006 "No Contra Plays Among Canadian Furniture Sector"
• September 8, 2006 "Atlas Exemplifies Pitfalls of Business Trusts"
• August 11, 2006 "The Word on the Book Biz"
• July 28, 2006 "Contrarian Gambling?"
• July 13, 2006 "Network's Double Bottom"
• June 30, 2006 "Clean Power Fund Zaps One Contra Guy"
• June 16, 2006 "Real Estate Looks Risky"
• June 2, 2006 "Slimming Down the Portfolio"
• May 23, 2006 "Fonar: On Life Support?"
• May 19, 2007 "You Won't Be-Leaf This One"
• April 21, 2006 "Sea Containers Runs Aground"
• April 7, 2006 "Mining for Value"
• March 24, 2006 "Tale of Two Investors"
• March 10, 2006 "Avoid Thinking of Companies as 'Bad' or 'Good'"
• February 24, 2006 "Signs of Life in the Funeral Industry"
• February 10, 2006 "Air France Soars"
• January 27, 2006 "We're Sticking with Cygnal"
• January 16, 2006 "2005 in Review: U.S. Stocks"


• December 30, 2005 "2005 in Review: Canadian Stocks"
• December 2, 2005 "It's Never Too Soon to Become a Contrarian"
• November 18, 2005 "The Bargain Hunter: Zucker's Offer for HBC"
• October 28, 2005 "Refco Fiasco: Same Old Shenanigans"
• October 14, 2005 "Blowing the Whistle on Stelco Bailout"
• September 19, 2005 "A Positive Prognosis for Fonar?"
• September 6, 2005 "Harris Tunes in to a Takeover of Leitch"
• August 19, 2005 "A Closer Look at July's Mutual Fund Boom"
• July 22, 2005 "Is Telecom in Turmoil?"
• July 8, 2005 "Can Junior Miners Yield Major Returns?"
• June 24, 2005 "Book Reveals Why Almost Everybody but You Gets Rich off Your RRSP"
• June 10, 2005 "Google IPO: Sometimes It Pays to Break Rules"
• May 26, 2005 "Looking Back in Our Rear-View Mirror"
• May 24, 2005 "SR Telecom: Here's One We're Glad We Missed"
• April 29, 2005 "NQL a Classic Contrarian Play"
• April 15, 2005 "Bombardier Still Not Ready"
• April 1, 2005 "Goodwill Distorts Valuations"
• March 18, 2005 "Look Carefully at Impressive Stats"
• March 4, 2005 "eBay Won't Get Our Bid"
• February 18, 2005 "In for the Long Haul with Analysts"
• February 4, 2005 "CPP Fund Is Solid as Cement"
• January 21, 2005 "Smaller Brewers Are Hopping, Too"
• January 10, 2005 "2004 in Review: U.S. Stocks"


• December 23, 2004 "2004 in Review: Canadian Stocks"
• December 10, 2004 "Muddling Through a 'Muddle-Through' Economy"
• November 26, 2004 "Will Franklin Covey Prove a Highly Effective Purchase?"
• November 12, 2004 "Sodisco's Urge to Merge is Sated"
• October 29, 2004 "Economic Uncertainty Demands More Flexible Thinking"
• October 22, 2004 "Kelman Going Nowhere Slow"
• October 1, 2004 "Steaming Away from Westshore Terminals"
• September 17, 2004 "HBC: Play the Canadian Card"
• September 3, 2004 "Krispy Kreme Offers No Sugar Buzz for Investors"
• August 20, 2004 "Time for Leafs to Make a Contrarian Play"
• August 6, 2004 "Give Us a (Longer) Break!"
• July 23, 2004 "Forzani Not Low Enough for Contra Portfolio"
• July 9, 2004 "Grubb & Ellis: Taking a Flyer on Real Estate"
• June 25, 2004 "Will Theragenics Yield Glowing Results?"
• June 11, 2004 "Sodisco Seeks a Matchmaker"
• May 31, 2004 "Analysts Ignored Novell, but We Didn't"
• May 14, 2004 "When Management Is Paid Too Much, We Just Say No"
• April 30, 2004 "KLM Deal Encounters Turbulence"
• April 16, 2004 "Base Metals: When Does a Boom Become a Bubble?"
• April 2, 2004 "Thoughts about Betting on a Gold Bull"
• March 18, 2004 "KLM: A Survivor in a Troubled Industry"
• March 5, 2004 "Penn Treaty American: Walking on the Wild Side"
• February 22, 2004 "Algonquin Power Income Fund: Which Guy Is Right?"
• February 6, 2004 "Denison's All Aglow Amid Renewed Interest from Investors"
• January 23, 2004 "Is the Copper Vein Tapped Out?"
• January 9, 2004 "2003 in Review, Part 2: The Canadian Stocks"


• December 29, 2003 "2003 in Review, Part 1: The U.S. Stocks"
• December 15, 2003 "A Year-End Look (Back in Anger) at Air Canada"
• November 28, 2003 "For Now, There May Be Better Ideas Than Ford"
• November 21, 2003 "Moore Wallace: Another Year, Another Four Takeovers"
• November 6, 2003 "What's So Nutty 'Bout a 'Strong' Loonie?"
• October 24, 2003 "Vive l'Air France?"
• October 10, 2003 "Market Timing Isn't Everything, But It's Not Nothing"
• October 1, 2003 "Guide for the Young Contrarian"
• September 26, 2003 "Those Swingin' Small Caps"
• September 15, 2003 "Economic Policies Will Have Unintended Consequences"
• August 29, 2003 "Getting a Feel for Copper"
• August 15, 2003 "Stelco: Our Big Fat Hamiltonian Tax Loss"
• August 1, 2003 "Our Japanese Turn Is Textbook Contrarianism"
• July 18, 2003 "OfficeMax: Finally a Takeover Target"
• July 4, 2003 "High Liner: Waiting to Sail into the Sunset"
• June 20, 2003 "Pantorama Pitfall: Thinly Traded and Underperforming"
• June 6, 2003 "Magna a Contra Play? Not on Your Life"
• May 23, 2003 "The US Dollar Bubble Has Burst"
• May 3, 2003 "Bombay: Classic Contrarian Redemption"
• April 25, 2003 "Not Sure How Far to Trust the Legacy REIT"
• April 11, 2003 "Betting on the Reaper"
• March 28, 2003 "Corel a Takeover Target?"
• March 14, 2003 "When to Begin Tax-Loss Selling? Decisions, Decisions!"
• February 28, 2003 "High-Yield Bonds Evidence of a Corporate Credit Crunch"
• February 14, 2003 "Ethical Investing: Are Social Returns as Important as Financial Results?"
• January 31, 2003 "The Bombay Bus Was Driverless, But Making Good Time"
• January 17, 2003 "Year-End Review, Part 2: The Losers Were Few"
• January 3, 2003 "Year-End Review, Part 1: The Winners Were Many"


• December 20, 2002 "Xerox Not Poised to Copy Past Success"
• December 6, 2002 "Call Us Morons For Saying So, But Bank Mergers Are Dumb"
• November 22, 2002 "Time for Microsoft to Grow Up"
• November 8, 2002 "Time to Consider Turnin' Japanese?"
• October 25, 2002 "Takin' the Rite Strides to Minimize Risk"
• October 11, 2002 "Service Corp.: Fearing Not the Reaper"
• September 27, 2002 "We're Back ... and Backing Corriente"
• June 22, 2002 "One Last Trip to the Buffet"
• May 18, 2002 "Still Not Time to Dial Up Telecom Stocks"
• April 20, 2002 "Goin' on a Roman Holiday"
• March 30, 2002 "A New Accounting Standard: Before Bad Stuff"
• March 2, 2002 "Now Is the Time to Make an '02 RRSP Investment"
• February 23, 2002 "Can Sodisco Co-Exist with 800-Pound Retail Gorillas?"
• January 26, 2002 "KLM Our Choice in the Airline Sector"


• December 29, 2001 "Year-End Review -- 64.8 percent Return for '01 OK by Us"


• December 22, 2001 "Aur Resources Hedges Cautiously"
• December 8, 2001 "'Tis the Season to Score Some Deals"
• November 24, 2001 "Moore: Shining Example of a Turnaround Play"
• November 3, 2001 "Contra Portfolio Battered but Not Beaten"
• September 22, 2001 "Watching Gold But Sitting on Cash for Now"
• September 8, 2001 "JDS: Cheap but No Bargain"
• September 1, 2001 "Denison: Almost Time to Bottom Fish?"
• August 4, 2001 "Contrarians Are Misunderstood"
• July 14, 2001 "Distress Is the Road to Understanding"
• June 30, 2001 "Will Diamonds Be Forever?"
• June 16, 2001 "Taking Profits During a Questionable Rally"
• June 2, 2001 "Mining Stocks: Should You Still Moil for Gold?"
• May 5, 2001 "Diversify with Online Brokers"
• April 18, 2001 "Sell Isn't Always a Four-Letter Word"
• April 4, 2001 "The Luscar Compromise"
• March 17, 2001 "Weighting: How Much Is Too Much?"
• March 3, 2001 "Nortel Debacle: Who's to Blame?"
• February 17, 2001 "Investing Software Steals the Show"
• February 3, 2001 "Defensive Investing: There's No Easy Formula"
• January 20, 2001 "Similarity Between Cigarettes & Cellphones?"
• January 6, 2001 "Looking for Stone-Cold Sectors"


• December 30, 2001 "Year-End Review -- U.S. Stocks"
• December 23, 2000 "Year-End Review -- Canadian Stocks"
• December 9, 2000 "OfficeMax a Takeover Candidate?"
• November 25, 2000 "Can Harry Potter Save Enesco?"
• November 11, 2000 "The Art of Buying Thinly Traded Stocks"
• October 28, 2000 "Sheer Luck and Stock Prices"
• October 14, 2000 "Luscar and Westshore"
• September 30, 2000 "High Liner"
• September 16, 2000 "Big Boppers"
• August 26, 2000 "Market Distortions"
• July 29, 2000 "Bombay and Stride Rite"
• July 8, 2000 "Share Buybacks"
• June 24, 2000 "Buy and Hold"
• June 10, 2000 "Dow Facelift"
• May 27, 2000 "Mattel Is Hurting"
• May 13, 2000 "Bear Funds"
• April 29, 2000 "AmeriQuest"
• April 15, 2000 "Biotech Speculation"
• April 1, 2000 "Tobacco Opportunities"
• March 18, 2000 "Oil Patch Opportunities"
• March 11, 2000 "Y2K and Internet Propaganda"
• March 4, 2000 "Stop Loss Orders"
• February 19, 2000 "Moore in the Digital Age"