December 21, 2012 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

A little poem for you:

Tis the Season

To have a Reason

For sending Blessings

And eating Dressings

Comfort and Joys

in every snowflake

and giving Toys

and baking cupcakes

Pursuing the Stars

Wishing for Good Tidings

while Thanking Above

for All that one Loves

Gathering together

In Wintery Weather

Family, Friends, Pets

Food, Fun, Games, Gifts.

Have a wonder holiday season everyone!!!

On this day in…

1849 – The first ice-skating club in America was formed in Philadelphia, PA.

1879 – Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” was first performed in Copenhagen, Denmark, with a revised happy ending.

1898 – Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium.

1913 – The “New York World” Sunday edition included a crossword puzzle as an added feature of the “Fun” supplement. It was the first crossword puzzle to be published.

1925 – Eisenstein’s film “Battleship Potemkin” was first shown in Moscow.

1937 – Walt Disney debuted the first, full-length, animated feature in Hollywood, CA. The movie was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
Disney movies, music and books

1944 – Horse racing was banned in the United States until after the end of World War II.

1948 – The state of Eire (formerly the Irish Free State) declared its independence.

1958 – Charles de Gaulle was elected to a seven-year term as the first president of the Fifth Republic of France.

1968 – Apollo 8 was launched on a mission to orbit the moon. The craft landed safely in the Pacific Ocean on December 27.

“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.”

– M. Scott Peck

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

Market Closes for December 21^st, 2012:

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a second day as Research In Motion Ltd. plunged after the company decided to scrap service fees for some users, offsetting gains in gold producers.

RIM, which is set to release its BlackBerry 10 line of smartphones early next year, tumbled 27 percent for the biggest drop since 2008. Yamana Gold Inc. and Iamgold Corp. rose at least 2 percent as the price of the metal snapped three days of losses. Stantec Inc., an engineering and architectural services firm, declined 2.9 percent after Raymond James Financial Inc.,downgraded the stock.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 3.01 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 12,385.70 in Toronto. The equity gauge is up 3.6 percent this year, underperforming every developed market in the world except for Spain. Trading volume was 74 percent higher than the 30-day average.

“Gold had been weak because fiscal cliff discussions were progressing,” said Patrick Blais, a fund manager with Manulife Asset Management Ltd. in Toronto. His firm manages about $218 billion. “Now with talks breaking down, it’s not surprising to see gold rebound, given the flight to safety.”

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner yesterday scrapped a vote on his tax plan, which would have allowed higher rates on annual income above $1 million. He said last night that President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid should come up with legislation to avoid more than $600 billion in tax-and- spending changes.

Now that Boehner has pulled his plan, House members and senators won’t vote on the end-of-year budget issues until after Christmas, giving them less than a week to reach an agreement.

Yamana added 3.1 percent to C$16.89 and Iamgold rose 2 percent to C$11.10. Gold for February delivery advanced 0.9 percent to settle at $1,660.10 an ounce in New York.

The S&P/TSX Gold subindex rallied 0.8 percent as 18 of 32 members advanced.

RIM slumped 27 percent to C$10.86, its biggest decline since September 2008. Users who do not want enhanced services, including advanced security, are expected to generate “less or no service revenue,” Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins said on a conference call yesterday. Service fees accounted for about $982 million in sales last quarter, out of a total of $2.73 billion.

The company posted earnings excluding some items of 22 cents a share, beating the 35-cent loss predicted by analysts.

Stantec dropped 2.9 percent to C$39.79. Ben Cherniavsky, an analyst with Raymond James, lowered his rating for the company to market perform from outperform after the stock rose to its highest level since 1994 yesterday. The shares have risen 44 percent this year.

“We remain big believers in Stantec’s long-term prospects but see a less attractive near-term risk/return profile on the stock,” he said in a note to clients today.

Cogeco Cable Inc., a Montreal-based cable television operator, dropped 5.4 percent to C$38.78. The company said it will acquire Peer 1 Network Enterprises Inc. for C$3.85 a share, a 31 percent premium to yesterday’s close. Standard & Poor’s has put Cogeco Cable’s rating on creditwatch with negative implications due to the level of debt in the deal. Peer 1 jumped 30 percent to $3.83.

US

By Will Hadfield and Nikolaj Gammeltoft

Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — Stocks sank around the world, Treasuries gained and the yen strengthened after House Republican leaders scrapped a plan to allow higher taxes on top earners as budget talks stalled. Commodities declined.

The MSCI All-Country World Index dropped 0.8 percent at 4 p.m. in New York and the Standard Poor’s 500 Index slumped 0.9 percent to 1,430.15, with volume 45 percent higher than the 30- day average at this time of day. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.3 percent, falling from a 19-month high. The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased four basis points to 1.76 percent.

The dollar strengthened against 14 of 16 major peers, while the yen gained against all 16. Oil and nickel fell at least 1.3 percent to lead commodities lower.

The S&P 500’s loss was its worst since Nov. 14 and came after House Speaker John Boehner yielded to anti-tax resistance within his party, fueling concern Republicans and Democrats will fail to agree on a budget. Lawmakers won’t vote on budget issues until after Christmas, giving them less than a week to prevent tax increases and spending cuts from taking effect in January.

The standoff overshadowed data showing bigger-than-estimated growth in personal income and durable goods orders.

“With such a staunch group in the House, it looks as if the odds of going into 2013 without a deal have increased,” Kevin Caron, a Florham Park, New Jersey-based market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which oversees about $130 billion in assets, said by telephone. “I don’t know whether we’re going to reach a deal, when we’re going to reach a deal, if there’s going to be a deal. It’s just a complete wild card at this point.”

Boehner called on President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to come up with legislation to stop more than $600 billion of additional taxes and spending cuts from coming into force. The Congressional Budget Office has said that failing to avoid the fiscal cliff would probably lead to a recession in the first half of 2013.

“The president’s main priority is to ensure that taxes don’t go up on 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses in just a few short days,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. “We are hopeful that we will be able to find a bipartisan solution quickly.”

Gauges of energy, financial, telephone and consumer companies lost at least 1 percent to lead declines in all 10 of the main industries in the S&P 500. The index pared its weekly gain to about 1 percent.

Bank of America Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Walt Disney Co. lost at least 1.9 percent for the biggest declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which slumped 120.88 points to 13,190.84. Micron Technology Inc. slid 6.9 percent after posting a wider first-quarter loss.

Research In Motion Ltd. tumbled 23 percent, the most in four years, after the BlackBerry maker said it will overhaul the service fees it charges subscribers. Nike Inc. advanced 6.2 percent after the world’s largest sporting-goods company reported profit that exceeded analysts’ projections.

Risk perceptions for U.S. equities have risen to the highest level in four years compared with European stocks as the American economy faces a potential recession should lawmakers fail to reach a budget agreement.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P 500 option prices, rose to 17.67 yesterday. That’s the highest level since December 2008 versus Europe’s VStoxx Index, which closed at 15.76 yesterday. U.S. equities are lagging behind Europe, with the S&P 500 up 13 percent from its June 1 low through yesterday, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index has gained 20 percent since then.

U.S. consumer confidence fell in December to a five-month low as Americans grew more concerned about the possibility of higher taxes next year. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index decreased to 72.9, the weakest since July, from 82.7 in November.

Another report showed spending by U.S. consumers climbed in November as Americans bought gifts for the holidays and made up for shopping lost to superstorm Sandy. Purchases increased 0.4 percent last month after a 0.1 percent drop in October that was smaller than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed. Incomes rebounded, increasing 0.6 percent, after being depressed in October by lost wages due to Sandy.

The S&P GSCI gauge of commodities has slipped 1 percent this year, heading for its first annual decline since 2008.

West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery fell 1.6 percent to $88.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. commodity analysts yesterday stepped away from a previous forecast that the spread between the two grades would narrow to $4 a barrel within three months.

They now predict $14. The gap today is more than $20 currently.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid from its highest level since May 2011. ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, dropped 2.5 percent after saying it will write down the goodwill for its European businesses by about $4.3 billion.

The equity benchmark has still soared 15 percent this year, its biggest annual rally since 2009. European stock trading may be more volatile than usual as futures and options contracts expire in a process known as quadruple witching.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against those of six major U.S. trading partners, snapped a five-day decline to rise 0.4 percent to 79.59. It reached 79.01 on Dec. 19, the lowest level since Oct. 18.

The yen has tumbled 12 percent this year, the worst performer among the 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The dollar has weakened 2.9 percent and the euro has dropped 1.1 percent.

Emerging-market stocks fell for a second day as the deteriorating U.S. budget talks threatened the outlook for exporters’ earnings. The MSCI Emerging Market Index slid 1 percent, its biggest drop in six weeks. China’s stocks retreated from a four-month high on concern that the rally from the beginning of this month was excessive. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7 percent and India’s Sensex slid 1.1 percent.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!!!

Be Magnificent!

“As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.” – Emmanuel Teney

Amanda Bourke

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8X 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5808

Fax: 778-430-5838