The Globe and Mail attempts to identify stocks that combine growth and stability in its Thursday edition. The Globe's Ian Tam writes in the Number Cruncher column that despite uncertainty with the North American free-trade agreement and the effect of interest rates on high household debt, the S&P/TSX composite total return index is faring well. Although nowhere near the monstrous 20-per-cent-plus returns achieved in 2016 driven largely by energy and commodity prices, the S&P/TSX composite total return index is up 6.4 per cent year to date. Mr. Tam ranked the largest 250 companies in Canada, excluding real estate investment trusts, based on: quarterly earnings momentum; five-year historical beta (a safety factor, measuring how sensitive a stock is historically to the S&P/TSX composite total return index. Stocks with lower beta are preferred). To qualify, companies needed have a market capitalization greater than $1-billion. Cautious investors who believe companies will continue to grow in this environment but do not want to be met with substantial volatility may want to ponder buying Fairfax Financial Holdings, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Emera, Empire and Corus Entertainment.