The Globe and Mail attempts to identify stocks that provide balanced value, stability and growth in its Thursday, Dec. 8, edition. The Globe's Ian Tam writes in the Number Cruncher column that he looked for stocks with a historical sensitivity to a benchmark, particularly shares that have moved less than the benchmark in trending market. He looked for how consistent a company's reported earnings have been historically. As well, Mr. Tam looked at price-to-earnings, price-to-sales and price-to-book ratios, preferring low valuations. He looked at trailing return on equity. He considered the expected earnings-per-share growth rate (calculated as the median EPS estimate for a company's current fiscal year as a percentage change from the median EPS estimate from the previous fiscal year). To qualify, a stock must be part of the S&P/TSX composite index. Mr. Tam's select Canadian stocks with value, growth and stability are George Weston, Magna International, Great-West Lifeco, Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust and National Bank of Canada.