The Globe and Mail attempts to identify Canadian companies with positive short-term earnings growth that are also buying back shares in its Thursday, May 14, edition. The Globe's Ian Tam writes in the Number Cruncher column that investors like share buybacks. Mr. Tam explains that share buybacks are a way to return value to investors without issuing a dividend. For the column Mr. Tam looked for companies that have reduced the number of shares outstanding in recent quarters, have shown good short-term earnings momentum and have low historical betas. Specifically, he ranked stocks on percentage change in shares outstanding compared with four quarters ago. He also looked for positive quarterly earnings momentum (latest four quarters of reported earnings versus the same number, one quarter ago). He only considered companies with low five-year historical beta. His picks had to have a minimum market capitalization of $400-million and a five-year beta less than one. Companies with robust buybacks and earnings growth are Dollarama, Rona, Morguard, Metro, WestJet Airlines, Progressive Waste Solutions and Canadian National Railway.