Bell Canada , the subsidiary of incumbent Canadian telecom carrier BCE Inc (BCE), and Telus Corp (TU) have reportedly inked agreements with Apple Inc (AAPL) to market iPhone (3G and 3GS) in Canada in November 2009. This will effectively end the country’s largest wireless carrier Rogers Communication’s (RCI) exclusive distribution rights to the popular handset. Since July 2008, Rogers Communication has been the sole Canadian carrier to market iPhone in the country as the device is compatible with the company’s GSM and HSPA (high speed packet access) based wireless networks. In contrast, both Telus and Bell Canada currently operates CDMA based networks which does not support the revolutionary smartphone. Rogers continues to enjoy greater share of the Canadian wireless market driven by strong customer additions on a quarterly basis, given its iPhone advantage. Bell Canada and Telus remain behind in terms subscriber growth. ...

Bell Canada, the subsidiary of incumbent Canadian telecom carrier BCE Inc. (BCE), has reportedly accelerated the deployment process of its next-generation high-speed wireless network. The Canadian operator will begin commercial launch of the much anticipated 3G high speed packet access (“HSPA") network in November, ahead of the originally scheduled launch in February 2010.     The 3G HSPA network represents an upgrade to Bell Canada’s existing CDMA based wireless network and is set to emerge as the largest HSPA network in Canada . The company has collaborated with its Canadian peer Telus Corp. (TU) for sharing the expenditures (estimated to be US$1.05 billion) related to this advancement which will support a vast range of next-generation smartphones (including iPhone). Moreover, Bell Canada has signed a North American roaming agreement with AT&T (T).   Bell Canada is expediting the HSPA network launch as the company targets to leverage ...

Telus Corp (TU), Canada’s second largest telecom carrier, has reportedly acquired Black’s Photo Corporation (Black’s), a leading imaging and digital retailer in Canada , for C$28 million (US$26 million). For nearly 80 years, Black’s has been a premier distributor of cameras, accessories, albums and printing services that are complementary to Telus’ wireless offerings.  Telus’ wireless devices will feature in Black’s nationwide retail outlets, addressing the growing demand for mobile handsets embedded with high quality photo and video capability. Telus remains the industry leader in offering the broadest assortment of smartphones in Canada. Strong smartphone adoption and the associated increase in data service usage continue to catalyze wireless data revenue growth.  Telus contends with a weakening Canadian economy and domestic competition, which would intensify with the entry of new wireless players (including Globalive Communications and Quebecor Inc) in late 2009 and early 2010. The company continues to ...

Telus Corp.'s (TU) share price has entered into oversold territory with a stochastic value of 3.04. Analysts have been raising their estimates on the Zacks #1 Rank ("Strong Buy") company's full-year earnings, with the consensus up 27 cents over the past 2 months to $3.02 per share. The most accurate estimate is even bullish at $3.05 per share.

"TU" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Acxiom Corp (ACXM) Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd (ACH) Associated British Foods Plc (ASBFY) Biovail Corp (BVF) Borders Group Inc (BGP) Capitol Federal Financial (CFFN) Children's Place Retail Stores Inc (PLCE) China Medical Technologies Inc (CMED) Flanders Corp (FLDR) Forest Oil Corp (FST) Fuqi International Inc (FUQI) Hanesbrands Inc (HBI) Heartland Financial USA Inc (HTLF) HMS Holdings Corp (HMSY) Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd (LFT) Luxottica Group SpA (LUX) Netflix Inc (NFLX) Nordson Corp (NDSN) North American Energy Partners Inc (NOA) PennantPark Investment Corp (PNNT) Phillips-Van Heusen Corp (PVH) PLATO Learning Inc (TUTR) Rent-A-Center Inc (RCII) J Sainsbury Plc (JSAIY) Sanderson Farms Inc (SAFM) Sturm Ruger & Co (RGR) TELUS ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - April 14, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: BCE Inc. (BCE), TELUS Corp. (TU), Avalon Bay Communities, Inc. (AVB), Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Bell Canada Wooing Investors

At the end of 2008, BCE Inc. (BCE), Canada's largest telecom company, announced the termination of the C$51.7 billion (US$43.1 billion) privatization initiative. To partially offset this setback and reinvigorate investor confidence, BCE has resumed paying quarterly dividends

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At the end of 2008, BCE Inc. (BCE), Canada's largest telecom company, announced the termination of the C$51.7 billion (US$43.1 billion) privatization initiative. To partially offset this setback and reinvigorate investor confidence, BCE has resumed paying quarterly dividends (with 5% increase in annual payout) and also announced a new share repurchase plan.While operating results in the fourth quarter 2008 were limited by weakness in wireline business, respectable gains were registered in wireless and high-speed Internet business segments. Moving forward, the company faces a greater degree of risk as it is exposed to an intensely competitive environment due to the entry of additional wireless carriers.The company competes directly with TELUS Corp. (TU) and other telephone and cable operators in Canada. We also anticipate that the weak economic backdrop will negatively affect business performance through 2009. We reiterate our Hold recommendation for BCE with a ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Aaron Rents Inc (RNT) Access National Corp (ANCX) Acxiom Corp (ACXM) American Financial Group (AFG) Amerisafe Inc (AMSF) Applied Micro Circuits Corp (AMCC) ARM Holdings plc (ARMH) AsiaInfo Holdings Inc (ASIA) Baxter International Inc (BAX) Briggs & Stratton Corp (BGG) Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc (BR) Canadian Natural Resource Ltd (CNQ) Capella Education Co (CPLA) Chinacast Education Corp (CAST) Churchill Downs Inc (CHDN) Citi Trends Inc (CTRN) Cooper Companies Inc (COO) Cosan Ltd (CZZ) DaVita Inc (DVA) DTS Inc (DTSI) Energy Recovery Inc (ERII) EZCORP Inc (EZPW) Flanders Corp (FLDR) FPIC Insurance Group Inc (FPIC) HMS Holdings Corp (HMSY) Horsehead Holding Corp (ZINC) Immucor Inc (BLUD) Jarden Corp (...