Month: December 2011

 

Dear Friends,

  

“…Champions keep playing until they get it right…”

           — Billie Jean King

 

 Photo of the Day:

The New Year’s Eve Ball, which measures 12 feet, weighs 11,875 pounds, and is adorned with 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles of various sizes is tested atop One Times Square in New York December 30, 2011. (Reuters)

Market Commentary 

  Canada

 By Matt Walcoff

 Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, paring their first yearly loss since 2008, as financial and energy shares gained.

Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada’s second-biggest lender by assets, increased 1.2 percent. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the country’s second-largest energy company by market value, advanced 1.4 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., the country’s second-largest railroad, rallied 3.2 percent after a person familiar with the matter said its biggest shareholder urged the company to replace its chief executive officer. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 84.62 points, or 0.7 percent, to 11,926.32 at 1:48 p.m. Toronto time. “You’ve had a decline in the market of approximately 12 percent,” Robert McWhirter, a money manager at Selective Asset Management Inc. in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. McWhirter oversees about C$140 million ($138 million). “Meanwhile, earnings in Canada have risen at a time when you have had declining bond yields. That should make yields on bank stocks and stocks in general more attractive.” The S&P/TSX lost 12 percent this year through yesterday as energy and raw-materials producers retreated on concern the European debt crisis will hamper global growth. The index is set to end December with its ninth monthly drop of the year, the most since 1981. The yield on 10-year Canadian government bonds fell to a record-low close on Dec. 19. The S&P/TSX trades at 14.4 times earnings, 23 percent below its 10-year average.

 The S&P/TSX Financials Index narrowed its annual decline. TD rose 1.2 percent to C$76.18, extending a third-straight yearly gain. Royal Bank of Canada, its bigger domestic rival, increased 0.9 percent to C$51.93. Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest insurer, advanced 3.5 percent to C$18.79 after slumping 40 percent this year through yesterday.

 Energy stocks in the S&P/TSX climbed as crude futures completed a third-straight yearly increase. Canadian Natural rose 1.4 percent to C$37.99. Suncor Energy Inc., the country’s largest oil and gas producer, gained 1 percent to C$29.40.

Nexen Inc., an energy producer with operations on five continents, advanced 3.5 percent to C$16.16. Shares of the Calgary-based company are set for their first back-to-back annual losses since 1986. CP rallied 3.2 percent to C$68.64 after the person familiar with the matter said William Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP wants the railroad to hire Hunter Harrison as CEO. Harrison, the former chief of Canadian National Railway Co., would replace Fred Green, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. CN, Canada’s largest railroad, climbed for a seventh day, increasing 1.5 percent to C$80.09 after surging 19 percent this year through yesterday.

 US

 By Inyoung Hwang and Katia Porzecanski

 Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, leaving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index little changed for the year, as concern over Europe’s debt crisis overshadowed optimism that the American economy will expand in 2012.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent to 1,257.61 at 4 p.m. New York time, according to preliminary closing data. “Today’s another day of worry for Europe and there’s some concern Europe hasn’t quite gotten their act together yet,” Uri Landesman, who helps oversee more than $1 billion as managing general partner of New York-based hedge fund Platinum Partners LLP, said in a telephone interview.

 An 11 percent rally since the end of September resulted in the best fourth quarter for the S&P 500 since 2003. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow were among the 10 best performers this year among 91 national indexes tracked by Bloomberg. Still, Wall Street strategists’ average forecast at the beginning of the year that the S&P 500 would rise to 1,371 in 2011 proved 9 percent too high, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Forecasters predict the index will advance to 1,348 next year. The S&P 500 started the year with a rally, rising as much as 8.4 percent to a three-year high by the end of April and extending its rebound from a March 2009 bear-market low to 102 percent. The index tumbled throughout the summer as Congress and President Barack Obama struggled over U.S. deficit cuts, and sank further amid concern that Europe’s debt crisis was threatening the global economic recovery. The S&P 500 fell as much as 19 percent from April to its low for the year on Oct. 3.

The market rebounded amid tumbling valuations and data signaling that the world’s largest economy was weathering Europe’s crisis. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent in November, the lowest since March 2009, after lingering at 9 percent or above for seven straight months.

 The S&P 500’s price-earnings multiple reached the lowest level in more than two years on Oct. 3, falling to 11.6, a 27 percent decline from its high in February of 15.8. The measure’s average valuation was 14.1 in 2011. The S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent yesterday amid further signs of strength in the U.S. economy. Stock fell today after Spain said its budget deficit will reach 8 percent of gross domestic product this year, more than the previous forecast of 6 percent. Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker, who leads the group of euro- area finance ministers, said economic growth in the euro region “isn’t good” and the world economy is growing only in some Asian and African countries. China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported the world’s second-largest economy may face “downside pressure” next year, even though growth will be more than 9 percent in 2011. “The story of this year is really interesting outperformance of the U.S. equity market versus everything else,” Michael Shaoul, chairman of Marketfield Asset Management in New York, which oversees $1 billion, said in a telephone interview. “If you strip financials and materials out of the U.S., you had a pretty good year.”

 Happy New Year Everyone! 

 

Dear Friends,

 

  “Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.”

           — Xenophon

 

   Photo of the Day:

A priest walks inside a snow church in the Bavarian village of Mitterfirmiansreut, December 28, 2011. (Reuters/Peter Josek)

Market Commentary

 Canada

 By Matt Walcoff

 Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, trimming the year’s decline, as gold stocks gained after the U.S. Dollar Index erased the day’s gains and financial and energy companies advanced on data indicating a strengthening U.S. economy.

 Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest gold producer, rallied 1.8 percent after the Financial Times said European Parliament members proposed a “road map” to the issuance of common euro-region bonds. Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest lender by assets, increased 1.2 percent as an index of U.S. business activity fell less than economists forecast. Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s largest oil and gas producer, climbed 2 percent as crude futures rose. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index gained 113.29 points, or 1 percent, to 11,841.70. “Data has been relatively good when you compare to what people’s expectation was and what’s going on in Europe,” Sadiq Adatia, chief investment officer at Sun Life Global Investments in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. The unit of Sun Life Financial Inc. oversees about C$3.3 billion ($3.2 billion) for clients. “The U.S. seems to be a better story. Canada’s biggest trading partner is the U.S. If the U.S. does start to get some traction, that should benefit Canada.” The S&P/TSX has tumbled 12 percent this year, led by energy and raw-materials producers, as the European debt crisis led to reductions in global economic-growth forecasts. The groups make up 47 percent of Canadian stocks by market value.

 The S&P/TSX Gold Index rebounded after closing at the lowest since July 2010 yesterday. The U.S. dollar fell and precious-metals shares gained after the Financial Times said members of the main European Parliament parties have proposed allowing so-called euro bonds as part of a new European Union treaty. The London-based newspaper cited a draft of the proposal and an interview with Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the parliament’s Liberal group. Barrick rose 1.8 percent to C$46.07. Goldcorp Inc., the world’s second-biggest company in the industry by market value, advanced 2 percent to C$44.42. B2Gold Corp., which mines in Nicaragua, surged 8.8 percent to C$3.08.

 The S&P/TSX Financials Index gained after the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said its business barometer retreated to 62.5 from 62.6 in November. Economists had forecast a reading of 61, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Readings above 50 signal growth.

 U.S. pending home sales increased 7.3 percent in November, nearly five times as much as the median economist forecast in a Bloomberg survey, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. Royal Bank advanced 1.2 percent to C$51.47. Toronto- Dominion Bank, its largest domestic rival, climbed 0.7 percent to C$75.25. Manulife Financial Corp., North America’s fourth- largest insurer, rose 2.2 percent to C$10.68. Energy stocks gained with oil after the release of the U.S. economic data. Suncor advanced 2 percent to C$29.12. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the country’s second-largest energy company by market value, increased 1.7 percent to C$37.48. Oil- sands developer MEG Energy Corp. rallied 3.1 percent to C$41.08. Ivanhoe Energy Inc., which produces oil in China and Ecuador, jumped 16 percent to C$1.19. Shares of the Vancouver- based company have surged 57 percent since falling to a post- March 2009 low on Dec. 19, the first day after its removal from the S&P/TSX took effect. Robert Friedland, a co-founder of the company, said Dec. 14 that he resigned as chief executive officer.

 

US

 By Michael P. Regan and Rita Nazareth

 Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, restoring the yearly gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as data signaled the U.S. economy is weathering Europe’s debt crisis. The euro erased an earlier loss and European shares advanced. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent to 1,259.85 at 2:51 p.m. in New York, leaving it up 0.2 percent for the year. The euro was little changed at $1.2942, after losing as much as 0.6 percent, and trimmed a 0.8 percent slide against the yen to 0.3 percent.

 Italy’s 10-year bond yield was up less than three basis points at 7.03 percent after climbing 13 basis points earlier. Ten-year U.S. Treasury rates lost three basis points to 1.89 percent. U.S. equities extended gains as an index of pending U.S. home sales rose more than economists forecast, while other reports showed stronger-than-projected growth in American business activity and a drop in jobless claims over the past month to a three-year low. European stocks fell earlier, while the euro touched a decade low against the yen and a 15-month low versus the dollar, after Italy raised less than its maximum target at a debt auction. “There has been a much better tone in the U.S.,” Richard Sichel, who oversees $1.6 billion as chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., said in a telephone interview. “We’re optimistic that corporate earnings can continue to be strong and that will be a driver of the market.”

 Financial stocks in the S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent as a group today to lead an advance in all 10 of the main industries as Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. rallied at least 1.8 percent. The group of 80 banks, insurers and investment firms has tumbled 18 percent this year for the worst performance among the 10 industries. PulteGroup Inc. and M/I Homes Inc. rose more than 5 percent to lead gains in all 12 companies in an S&P gauge of homebuilders. The National Association of Realtors’ index of pending home sales increased 7.3 percent to the highest level since April 2010. Economists forecast a 1.5 percent gain, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The four-week moving average for jobless claims, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, dropped to 375,000 last week, the lowest level since June 2008, Labor Department figures showed. Applications rose for the first time in a month in the week ended Dec. 24, climbing by a more-than-forecast 15,000 to 381,000.

 Other data showed business activity in the U.S. expanded more than forecast in December, prompting companies to boost employment. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc.’s business barometer was 62.5. Readings above 50 signal growth. Economists forecast the gauge would fall to 61, according to the median of estimates in a survey. Yields on two-year and 30-year Treasuries were also little changed, trading at 0.27 percent and 2.90 percent respectively. U.S. Treasuries are up 9.6 percent in 2011, headed for their best year since 2008, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. The ten-year yield reached a record low of 1.67 percent on Sept. 23. The S&P GSCI Index of commodities was little changed as natural gas, cocoa and gold fell at least 1 percent to help lead losses among 12 of 24 commodities. Gold for immediate delivery pared losses after falling as much as 2.1 percent to $1,522.65 an ounce, the lowest price since July. Gold, which is poised to complete its 11th consecutive annual gain, the longest winning streak in at least nine decades, is on the brink of a bear market. Gold for immediate delivery has declined 19 percent from a record close of $1,900.23 on Sept. 5, or 1 percentage point away from a bear- market plunge of 20 percent.

 “We’re still constructive on gold, as a hedge, a store value,” Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, told Bloomberg Television. “If investors continue to gravitate toward it as a currency in lieu of other fiat currencies that are in the process of being debased by many central governments around the world.” Oil in New York swung between gains and losses above $99 a barrel after falling 2 percent yesterday. A U.S. government report showed an unexpected increase in inventories as demand declined. The euro weakened against 12 of 16 major peers, losing at least 0.4 percent versus the Australian dollar, Norwegian krone and South African rand.

 The shared European currency is the worst performer among 10 developed-nation currencies this year, declining 1.8 percent, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Currency Indexes. The euro today touched its lowest level since 2002 against the index. The dollar has advanced 1.8 percent and the yen has gained 4.9 percent. Leaders in the European parliament have proposed including a “road map” for common euro-region bonds in a new European treaty on fiscal discipline, the Financial Times reported, citing amendments submitted to the treaty’s drafters. The amendments, which would not create common bonds immediately, would focus on creating conditions where Germany may support the plan, the newspaper reported on its website. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.9 percent today as real-estate firms, utilities and chemical companies led gains. The Stoxx 600 has dropped 12 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent slump in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. The S&P 500 has drifted above and below its 2010 closing level since the end of October. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index was little changed after falling for three straight day. Russia’s Micex rose 0.4 percent. Indian stocks dropped for a third day, with the Sensex sliding 1.2 percent.

 

Dear Friends,  

  

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.”

           — Saint Augustine

 

  

Photo of the Day:

 

Residents of Davos, Switzerland are pictured skiing on December 28, 2011. (Reuters)

Market Commentary

Canada

By Matt Walcoff

 Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the first time in five days, led by precious-metals producers, as gold futures extended the longest losing streak since October 2009. Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest gold producer, decreased 3.6 percent as the metal retreated for a fifth day. Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s biggest oil and gas producer, lost 2.5 percent as crude futures slipped for the first time in seven days. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world’s largest fertilizer producer by market value, slid 3.6 percent after India said it may re-introduce fertilizer price controls.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 198.26 points, or 1.7 percent, to 11,728.41. “As a hiding place, it served its purpose,” Bob Decker, a money manager at Aurion Capital in Toronto, said of gold in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about C$5.5 billion ($5.4 billion). “As people look to the new year with a little more optimism with regard to the U.S. economy, maybe they’re taking profits in their winning trades.” The S&P/TSX rallied 3.4 percent in the previous four sessions as stronger U.S. economic data boosted energy and bank shares. Canada’s benchmark stock index has slumped 13 percent this year and is set to trail the S&P 500 for the first year since 2003. Canadian markets were closed Dec. 26 and yesterday for the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays.

 Gold imports by India, the world’s largest consumer, may decrease as much as 50 percent this month from last year due to a weaker rupee, the Bombay Bullion Association said yesterday. China restricted spot and futures gold trading to the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange as part of efforts to crack down on illegal buying and selling of commodities, the People’s Bank of China said yesterday. Gold dropped to the lowest settlement price since July and silver to the lowest since January. The S&P/TSX Gold Index tumbled to the lowest close since July 2010. Barrick lost 3.6 percent to C$45.26. Goldcorp Inc., the world’s second-largest producer of the metal by market value, retreated 4.7 percent to C$43.56. Silver Wheaton Corp., Canada’s fifth-biggest precious-metals company by market value, sank 6.1 percent to C$28.37. NovaGold Resources Inc., which is developing gold and precious-metals mines, plunged 9.2 percent to C$8.14. Energy stocks fell as oil futures dropped after settling at a six-week high yesterday. Suncor lost 2.5 percent to C$28.56.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the country’s second-largest energy company by market value, slipped 2.5 percent to C$36.84. Oil-sands developer BlackPearl Resources Inc. decreased 4.6 percent to C$4.16.

 Base-metals and coal producers fell a day after an index of U.S. home prices decreased more than most economists in a Bloomberg survey had forecast and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’s gauge of regional manufacturing declined. Japanese industrial production retreated 2.6 percent in November from the previous month, three times the median estimate in a Bloomberg forecast, the country’s trade ministry said yesterday. Teck Resources Ltd., Canada’s largest company in the industry, lost 3.1 percent to C$35.17. First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Canada’s second-biggest publicly traded copper producer, decreased 4.4 percent to C$18.71. SouthGobi Resources Ltd., which mines coal in Mongolia, slumped 7.2 percent to C$5.91, the lowest since December 2008. Potash Corp. retreated 3.6 percent to C$41.90 after Srikant Jena, India’s junior fertilizer minister, said in an interview the country is seeking ways to reduce prices. Agrium Inc., a fertilizer producer and farm retailer, fell 2.7 percent to C$68.50, ending a six-day streak of gains. Neo Material Technologies Inc., which makes rare-earths and zirconium products, tumbled 7.6 percent to C$7.15 after China indicated it will leave quotas for rare earths virtually unchanged in 2012. Rare Element Resources Ltd., which owns a project in Wyoming, sank 16 percent to C$3.30, the lowest since August 2010. The S&P/TSX Financials Index dropped as all of its banks declined. Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest lender by assets, lost 0.9 percent to C$50.85. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the fifth-biggest lender in the country, slipped 1 percent to C$72.67. Manulife Financial Corp., North America’s fourth-largest insurer, decreased 1.4 percent to C$10.45.

 US

 By Michael P. Regan and Rita Nazareth

 Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — The euro slid to a 10-year low versus the yen and stocks fell, halting a five-day rally in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as Italian bonds erased earlier gains and a surge in the European Central Bank’s balance sheet to a record highlighted risks from the region’s debt crisis. The euro lost as much as 1.1 percent to 100.73 yen and decreased 1 percent to an 11-month low of $1.2937. The S&P 500 dropped 1.3 percent to 1,249.64 at 4 p.m. in New York and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 139.94 points, or 1.1 percent, to 12,151.41. Ten-year Italian bond yields rose less than one basis point to 6.999 percent after losing as much as 25 basis points. Oil snapped a six-day advance and gold capped the longest slump in two years. U.S. Treasuries rallied. The ECB’s balance sheet soared to a record 2.73 trillion euros ($3.55 trillion) after it lent financial institutions more money last week in an attempt to keep credit flowing to the economy during the debt crisis. Early gains in stocks and U.S. index futures came after Italy’s borrowing costs plunged at an auction of 9 billion euros of six-month bills, while investors turned their attention to the nation’s auction of longer-term bonds tomorrow. “If the euro zone banks are too afraid to lend, that does not bode well for future growth in the region,” Brian Jacobsen, who helps oversee about $209 billion as chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Advantage Funds in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, said in a telephone interview. “The banks are not borrowing from the ECB in order to spur lending. It’s to shore up their own balance sheets. That could lead to a credit contraction in the euro zone.”

 The euro weakened against all 16 of its major peers except for the British pound and Danish krone. The pound decreased against all 16 peers, while the dollar strengthened against 13 of 16. The S&P 500 retreated after rising for a fifth straight day yesterday, matching its longest streak of gains of the year. Commodity and energy producers and financial companies led losses in all 10 of the main industry groups in the benchmark index today. Caterpillar Inc., Chevron Corp. and 3M Co. fell more than 1 percent to lead declines in all 30 stocks in the Dow. Treasury 10-year yields slipped eight basis points to 1.92 percent, while the 10-year German bund yield was three basis points lower at 1.89 percent.

 Oil in New York dropped 2 percent to $99.36 a barrel, the first decline in seven sessions. Crude climbed as high as $101.71 earlier amid concern Iran will block the Strait of Hormuz, through which passes about 15.5 million barrels of oil a day, a sixth of global consumption. The U.S. won’t tolerate a disruption to shipping in the strait, Navy spokeswoman Rebecca Rebarich said in an e-mail. Gulf Arab countries are prepared to make up for any loss of Iranian oil from the world market, the Associated Press reported, citing an unidentified Saudi Arabian oil official. Gold for February delivery declined 2 percent to settle at $1,564.10 an ounce, a fifth straight drop.  Cotton trimmed gains after jumping the exchange limit 4 cents, or 4.6 percent, to  91.91 cents in New York as sales dropped by farmers in India, the world’s second-largest grower.

 Germany’s DAX Index lost 2 percent to lead declines among major European markets. The FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.1 percent today in the U.K., where financial markets were shut the previous two days for holidays. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.7 percent today and has dropped 13 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent slump in the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index and a loss of 0.6 percent in the S&P 500, which has fluctuated above and below its 2010 closing level since the end of October.

Today’s decline brought the S&P 500 back below its average price over the past 200 days after it climbed above the trend line in the previous two sessions. The Dow is up 5 percent in 2011. Two-year Italian yields slipped seven basis points to 5.00 percent today. Italy sold 179-day bills today at a rate of 3.251 percent, down from 6.504 percent at the last auction on Nov. 25. Demand was 1.7 times the amount offered, compared with 1.47 times last month. Italy will seek to sell bonds maturing in 2014, 2018, 2021 and 2022 tomorrow. The nation’s 10-year bond yields climbed to 7 percent yesterday, the level that foreshadowed bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal. A report tomorrow may show Italian business confidence dipped to the lowest in almost two years.

 Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

As Always,

 

Kyle for Carolann.

 

Dear Friends,

  “…At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year…”

Photo of the Day:

 

Market Commentary

Canada

 By Matt Walcoff

 Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fourth day as banks and commodity producers gained after a bigger-than- forecast increase in durable goods orders in the U.S., Canada’s biggest export market. Royal Bank of Canada, Canada’s largest lender by assets, advanced 0.8 percent. Talisman Energy Inc., an oil and gas producer with operations in North America, the North Sea and Indonesia, advanced 2.8 percent after an analyst at Susquehanna International Group LLP raised his rating on the company. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index advanced 50.19 points, or 0.4 percent, to 11,926.67, extending its weekly increase to 2.5 percent.

 “Over the past five or six weeks, the somewhat promising signs out of the U.S. have been partially responsible for offsetting some of the mixed news coming out of Europe,” Karl Berger, a money manager at Toron Investment Management in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about C$400 million ($393 million). “Canadian exports are predominantly U.S. in nature. You feel a little bit different about the Canadian economy if the U.S. economy picks up.”

The S&P/TSX has rallied 3.4 percent in four days, led by energy companies and banks, as U.S. housing starts climbed to the highest level since April 2010, initial jobless claims declined to the lowest since April 2008 and oil supplies plunged the most since 2001. The U.S. accounted for 75 percent of Canada’s exports last year, according to Statistics Canada, and the U.S. imports more oil from Canada than from any other country, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

 Orders for equipment meant to last at least three years rose 3.8 percent in November, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Economists had forecast a gain of 2.2 percent, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The S&P/TSX Commercial Banks Index advanced to the highest level since Oct. 31. Royal Bank climbed 0.8 percent to C$51.30.

Toronto-Dominion Bank, its biggest domestic rival, rose 0.6 percent to C$75.02. Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada’s third-largest lender by assets, increased 0.8 percent to C$50.91. Energy stocks advanced as crude oil gained for a fifth day. Suncor Energy Inc., the country’s largest oil and gas producer, climbed 1.3 percent to C$29.28. Vermilion Energy Inc., which operates in France, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, increased 2.5 percent to C$45.83. PetroBakken Energy Ltd., a western Canadian oil and gas producer, rose 5.3 percent to C$13.02 to extend its weekly surge to 20 percent.

 Talisman rallied 2.8 percent to C$12.75 after Gray Peckham, an analyst at Susquehanna, boosted his rating on the shares to “positive” from “neutral.” The analyst cited Talisman’s plans to redirect investment toward North American projects.

Oilfield-services company North American Energy Partners Inc. soared 34 percent, the most since November 2008, to C$7.17 after saying it will resume digging and hauling operations at Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s Horizon oil-sands project today.

Bombardier Inc., the maker of trains and airplanes, rallied 3.8 percent to C$3.86 after saying it won an order for 90 trains from DB Regio AG worth about 500 million euros ($653 million). Canadian markets are to reopen Dec. 28 after the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays.

US

By Whitney Kisling and Jeff Sutherland

 Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, erasing the 2011 decline for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, amid further signs of strength in the world’s largest economy. Treasuries declined while commodities advanced.

The S&P 500 added 0.9 percent to 1,265.33 at 4 p.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1 percent to 12,294, the highest level since July 27. The MSCI All-Country World Index advanced 0.8 percent, rising for a fourth straight day. Copper rallied 1.6 percent and crude oil briefly topped $100 a barrel. Yields on 30-year Treasuries climbed eight basis points and increased the most in a week since October. Orders for U.S. durable goods jumped in November by the most in four months, data showed today, helping to offset weaker-than-forecast consumer spending. Sales of new U.S. homes rose in November to a seven-month high. The U.S. Congress passed a two-month payroll tax cut extension a day after House Republicans surrendered on whether to endorse the measure days before its scheduled Dec. 31 expiration.

“The market’s holding up,” Paul Zemsky, the New York- based head of asset allocation for ING Investment Management, said in a telephone interview. His firm oversees $550 billion.“It’s important to take it all with the totality of the week, we had fantastic data on housing and jobs earlier this week, so overall, this data is weak, but the jobless claims trumps it because it’s more forward-looking.”

 A four-day rally in the S&P 500 erased the index’s decline for the year, giving it a 0.6 percent gain for 2011. The gauge jumped 3.7 percent this week after data on employment, consumer confidence, housing starts and leading economic indicators added to expectations that the U.S. economy can weather Europe’s debt crisis. Wall Street strategists forecast the S&P 500 will end the year at 1,278, or 1 percent higher than today’s close. With four trading days left in 2011, the benchmark index for U.S. equities would need to climb about 0.2 percent each day to reach their projection. On average, the S&P 500 gains 1 percent in the last four days of the year, according to data dating back to 1928 compiled by Bloomberg.

All 10 industries in the S&P 500 advanced at least 0.6 percent today, led by consumer-discretionary stocks, technology and raw materials companies. Verizon Communications Inc. advanced 1.8 percent. Walt Disney Co. and Bank of America Corp. rose at least 2 percent, pacing gains among the largest companies. U.S. markets will be closed Dec. 26 for the Christmas holiday.

 U.S. stocks rose as orders for goods meant to last at least three months rose 3.8 percent in November, as an increase in demand for aircraft outweighed declines in spending on computers and equipment. A separate report showed purchases of single- family properties increased 1.6 percent to a 315,000 annual pace, adding to evidence of stability in the housing market.

Consumer spending rose less than forecast in November as wages declined for the first time in three months. Equities maintained gains after Congress extended a two- percentage-point payroll tax cut, following a month of wrangling among lawmakers. The measure will continue expanded unemployment benefits and head off a reduction in Medicare payments to doctors through February. Lawmakers plan to negotiate on a longer-term extension in the new year.

“That removes probably the biggest domestic threat to the economy in 2012,” David Kelly, who helps oversee $394 billion as chief market strategist for JPMorgan Funds in New York, said in a telephone interview. “As the year ends, some of the extremes in uncertainty are diminishing, and that should allow the market to go up.”

All of us at Queensbury would like to wish you and your family a wonderful Holiday Season for 2011

As Always,

 

Kyle,  for Carolann

Dear Friends,

 

  

“Some praise at morning what they blame at night.”

           — Alexander Pope

Photo of the Day:

Christmas Decorations at Monseratte Church in Bogota, December 21, 2011. (Reuters)

Market Commentary:   

 Canada 

By Matt Walcoff

 Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a second day, led by energy producers, after the U.S. reported the biggest weekly drop in oil inventories since 2001. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the country’s second- largest energy company by market value, gained 1.4 percent. Goldcorp Inc., the world’s second-biggest gold producer by market value, lost 1.7 percent as the metal retreated. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. surged 9.8 percent after Reuters reported the company has declined “takeover overtures” from companies including Amazon.com Inc. The oil-inventory report it “an indication that consumption is stronger than what everyone expected,” Tony Demarin, chief investment officer of BCV Asset Management in Winnipeg, Manitoba, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about C$300 million ($293 million). “Why else would oil inventories go down? The economy is doing better than people are giving credit for,” The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index advanced 36.65 points, or 0.3 percent, to 11,753.53. The index has slipped 13 percent in 2011 after surging 50 percent in the previous two years as economists have cut global growth forecasts due in part to the European debt crisis. Energy and raw-materials companies, which make up 48 percent of Canadian stocks by market value according to data compiled by Bloomberg, have led the declines. 

The S&P/TSX Energy Index climbed as crude oil rose for a third day after the U.S. reported almost five times the drop in inventories that analysts had forecast, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Canadian Natural increased 1.4 percent to C$36.75. Nexen Inc., an oil and gas producer with operations on five continents, rallied 4.6 percent to C$15.98. TransCanada Corp., the owner of the country’s biggest pipelines system, rose 1.4 percent to C$44.33. Corridor Resources Inc., which explores for oil and gas in eastern Canada, sank 38 percent, the most in 11 years, to C$1.13 after saying it has been unable to find a joint-venture partner for its shale-gas prospect in New Brunswick.

The U.S. Dollar Index climbed after the European Commission estimated that consumer confidence in the region fell to the lowest since August 2009 and Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the country is considering capital controls to weaken the franc.

 Raw-materials stocks in the S&P/TSX dropped. Goldcorp declined 1.7 percent to C$46.10. First Quantum Minerals Ltd., the country’s second-largest publicly traded copper producer, slipped 1.5 percent to C$18.81. San Gold Corp., which mines in Manitoba, slumped 7.7 percent to C$1.79 after soaring 41 percent yesterday on drilling results. Banro Corp., which is developing gold projects in Africa, rallied 8.1 percent to C$3.60 after saying the Twangiza mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is on schedule for full production in the first quarter. The S&P/TSX Telecommunications Services Index rose to the highest since January 2008 a day after a person familiar with the discussions said Globalive Communications Corp., the owner of Wind Mobile, is in talks to buy fellow carrier Mobilicity. Both companies are closely held. A decline in competitors would benefit other industry companies, Phillip Huang, an analyst at UBS, said in a note to clients dated yesterday.

 Rogers Communications Inc., the country’s biggest wireless carrier, gained 0.9 percent to C$38.60. BCE Inc., Canada’s largest phone company, advanced 1.3 percent to C$41.26, the highest close since July 2007. Telus Corp., the country’s No. 3 wireless carrier, increased 1 percent to C$57, the highest since October 2007. RIM jumped 9.8 percent to C$14.17 after closing at the lowest since December 2003 yesterday. Reuters cited unnamed people familiar with the situation in its report that Amazon is among companies that have approached the Waterloo, Ontario-based company about a potential takeover bid.

Microsoft Corp. and Nokia Oyj have considered making a joint bid for RIM, the Wall Street Journal said today, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Representatives of RIM, Amazon, Microsoft and Nokia declined to comment on the reports.

RIM shares tumbled 78 percent this year through yesterday as the company lost smartphone market share to Apple Inc. and phones using Google Inc.’s Android operating system. Open Text Corp., Canada’s largest software company, slumped 5.4 percent to C$51.25 after Oracle Corp. reported second- quarter earnings below the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

US 

By Rita Nazareth

 Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose as gains in utilities and financial shares helped the market recover from an early drop led by technology shares following lower-than- estimated results at Oracle Corp. Bank of America Corp. rose 1.1 percent, reversing an earlier loss as it agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. Nike Inc. rallied 3 percent after reporting earning that topped analysts’ estimates as sales of running shoes surged in North America. Oracle plunged 11 percent.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.3 percent to 1,244.42 at 3:40 p.m. New York time, recovering from an earlier decline of as much as 1 percent. The benchmark gauge for American equities yesterday rallied 3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5.22 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 12,108.80 today. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 1 percent to 2,578.96.

“I think investors do not want to make any big bets,” Mark Bronzo, who helps manage $23.5 billion at Security Global Investors in Irvington, New York, said in an e-mail. “Nike had good earnings, but Oracle had poor earnings. We get another look at initial unemployment claims tomorrow morning and last week they were surprisingly good. So, we are staying in a trading range.”

The S&P 500 is down about 1.1 percent this year after tumbling 19 percent from this year’s high in April through Oct. 3 amid concern Europe’s debt crisis would derail global economic growth. Since then, it has rebounded 13 percent on better-than- estimated American economic data and steps taken by European leaders to tame the crisis.

 U.S. equities followed European shares lower earlier as European banks borrowed enough cash from the European Central Bank at its first three-year offering to refinance almost two- thirds of the debt they have maturing next year on concern that markets will remain frozen. Euro-area banks need to refinance more than 600 billion euros of debt maturing next year, about three-quarters of which is unsecured, the Bank of England said this month. That’s 35 percent more than in 2011, the bank said. “What the ECB is doing is just trying to prevent a disorderly deleveraging of European bank assets,” Barry Knapp, the New York-based head of U.S. equity strategy at Barclays Plc, said in a telephone interview. “By no means it solves the financing problem for Italy or Spain or for the banks.” Utilities had the biggest gains among 10 groups in the S&P 500, rising 1.5 percent. Financial companies advanced 0.3 percent as a group, after falling 0.9 percent earlier.

 Bank of America climbed 1.1 percent to $5.23. The company agreed to a record $335 million settlement of a U.S. Justice Department probe into fair-lending lapses at its Countrywide Financial Corp. mortgage unit.

Nike rallied 3 percent to $96.40. The company has been trying to maintain profit growth amid higher raw-material and labor costs by increasing sales and raising prices. Research In Motion Ltd. surged 9.7 percent to $13.74 after reports Microsoft Corp. and Nokia Oyj mulled a bid while Amazon.com Inc. also considered buying the BlackBerry maker.

RIM “turned down takeover overtures” from Amazon because it wanted to fix shortcomings independently, Reuters reported yesterday. A Wall Street Journal article said Microsoft and Nokia “flirted with the idea of making a joint bid” in recent months. Both publications cited unidentified people familiar with the respective matters.

 Microsoft declined 1.5 percent to $25.63. Amazon slumped 4.8 percent to $173.79. Measures of software, chips and computer makers tumbled at least 1.1 percent, for the three biggest declines among 24 industries in the S&P 500. Oracle plunged 11 percent to $25.91. Business-software companies are taking longer to close deals as companies gird for slow economic growth in the U.S. and the possibility of a recession in Europe next year, said Rick Sherlund, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. International Business Machines Corp., the biggest computer-services company, slipped 3.2 percent to $181.21. Hewlett-Packard Co., the largest computer maker, slid 2.1 percent to $25.36. Cisco Systems Inc., the world’s biggest maker of networking equipment, dropped 2.9 percent to $17.87. Walgreen Co. slumped 0.6 percent to $33.30. The largest U.S. drugstore chain’s profit trailed estimates as a dispute between the company and Express Scripts Inc., an employee- benefits manager, led to a loss of customers, hurting pharmacy demand. CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp. are trying to grab customers amid the standoff over the contract.

 Emerson Electric Co. tumbled 5.3 percent to $47.02. The St. Louis-based company reported November orders that were lower than analysts’ projections. KB Home lost 5.9 percent to $7.28. The Los Angeles-based homebuilder that targets first-time buyers reported a decline in quarterly profit and weaker gross margins. Anyone expecting the so-called January effect to turn shares of smaller U.S. companies into market leaders may end up waiting in vain, according to Steven G. DeSanctis, a strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We do not think we will see a January effect occur in the remainder of this month or next month,” DeSanctis wrote yesterday in a report. Smaller companies have only kept pace with larger ones since the end of October. In past years, they rallied during the period in anticipation of further gains in January. Price swings linked to concern that the U.S. and European economies are faltering explain why the effect is unlikely to surface, according to DeSanctis, a small-cap stock specialist based in New York. In January, small caps beat large caps 73 percent of the time since 1926, according to his analysis of figures from the University of Chicago’s Center for Research in Security Prices.

The percentage is the highest for any month of the year. Small caps also had their best monthly performance in January, with an average gain of 4 percent, DeSanctis wrote.

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

 

 

As Always,

 

Kyle, For Carolann.

 

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

 

Benjamin Zander on giving an A to students on day one of his course:  “This A is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into.”

Another letter from a student:

Dear Mr. Zander,

 

A got my A because I had the courage to examine my fears and I realized that they have no place in my life.  I changed from someone who was scared to make a mistake in case she was noticed to someone who knows that she has a contribution to make to other people, musically and personally….Thus all diffidence and lack of belief in myself are gone.  So too is the belief that I only exist as a reflection in other people’s eyes and the resulting desire to please everyone….I understand  that trying and achieving are the same thing when you are your own master – and I am.

  I have found a desire to convey music to other people, which is stronger than the worries I had about myself.  I have changed from desiring inconsequentiality and anonymity to accepting the joy that comes from knowing that my music changes the world.

 

                                                            -Giselle Hillyer

Photos of the day

December 14, 2011

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg joins three polar adventurers heading to the South Pole to mark the 100th anniversary of explorer Roald Amundsen’s victory in the race to the bottom of the globe. Several expeditions skied across Antarctica to attend the ceremony though many were delayed and had to be flown the last stretch. Ole Mathismoen/Pool/AP.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Matt Walcoff

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a third day, led by producers of raw materials and energy, as increased funding stress in Europe fueled concern the region’s debt crisis will sap global growth.

Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest gold producer, lost 3.8 percent as the metal declined for a third-straight session. Suncor Energy Inc., the country’s biggest energy company, decreased 3.2 percent as crude oil and natural gas retreated. Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest lender by assets, slipped 0.8 percent as financial stocks fell.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index dropped 216.89 points, or 1.8 percent, to 11,543.05, the lowest close since Nov. 23. The cost for European banks to borrow in dollars rose for a fifth day, reaching the highest level in two weeks, according to money-market indicators.

“Europe is still a big part of global” gross domestic product, Bruce Cooper, head of equities at TD Asset Management, said in a telephone interview. The unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank oversees about C$190 billion ($182 billion). “Uncertainty will lead to lower growth. Ultimately, this could translate to lower demand for” commodities, he said.

The stock index has decreased 9.6 percent since Aug. 31 as the Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB commodity index has sunk 14 percent. The U.S. dollar has advanced and most commodities in the CRB index have declined as the European debt crisis weakens the euro. Energy and raw-materials companies make up 47 percent of Canadian stocks by market value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The euro slipped below $1.30 for the first time since Jan. 12 after the European Union’s statistics office said industrial production in the euro region fell 0.1 percent in October from the previous month. Economists had forecast no change, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The Munich-based Ifo institute cut its 2012 growth forecast for the German economy, Europe’s largest, to 0.4 percent from 2.3 percent.

The S&P/TSX Materials Index slumped to the lowest level since August 2010 as gold dropped the most since September.

Barrick declined 3.8 percent to C$46.47, a fifth-straight retreat. Osisko Mining Corp., which operates in Quebec, plunged 10 percent, the most since February 2009, to C$9.35. Silver Wheaton Corp., Canada’s fifth-largest precious-metals company by market value, lost 5.4 percent to C$30.23 as silver futures sank 7.4 percent.                        

Energy stocks fell after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to raise its production ceiling and the U.S. reported a smaller decrease in crude oil inventories than most analysts in a Bloomberg survey had forecast. Crude futures decreased the most since September and natural gas dropped to the lowest since September 2009. Suncor declined 3.2 percent to C$28.13. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the country’s second-largest energy company by market value, lost 4.6 percent to C$35.02. Tourmaline Oil Corp., a western Canadian natural gas and oil producer, tumbled 5.1 percent to C$27.05.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world’s biggest fertilizer producer by market value, lost 3.5 percent to C$40.27, the lowest since August 2010, after Agrium Inc. said it will raise its potash-mining capacity 50 percent through an expansion of its Vanscoy project. UBS AG cut its price forecasts for the crop nutrient today, citing capacity expansions in a note to clients.

Karnalyte Resources Inc., which is developing a potash project in Saskatchewan, sank 22 percent, the most since it began trading in December 2010, to C$9.80 after canceling a share offering. The company said it couldn’t address regulators’ comments about a resource estimate in time to file a final short-form prospectus.

The S&P/TSX Commercial Banks Index retreated for a third day. Royal Bank fell 0.8 percent to C$48.19. Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada’s second -largest lender by assets, slipped 0.9 percent to C$72.40. Great-West Lifeco Inc., the country’s second-biggest insurer, dropped 2.8 percent to C$19.17.

US

By Rita Nazareth

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lower for a third straight day, as growing funding stress in Europe fueled concern the region is struggling to contain its sovereign debt crisis.

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp. fell at least 1.3 percent, as commodities dropped the most in almost 11 weeks. Chevron Corp. and Transocean Ltd. sank more than 2.9 percent as they were asked by Brazilian federal prosecutors to suspend all activity in Brazil. Joy Global Inc. tumbled 11 percent as the maker of mining equipment said demand for raw materials will remain slow. First Solar Inc. plunged 21 percent after reducing profit estimates and saying it will cut about 100 jobs.

The S&P 500 declined 1.1 percent to 1,211.82 at 4 p.m. New York time. The benchmark measure for American equities fell 3.5 percent in three days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 131.46 points, or 1.1 percent, to 11,823.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 1.6 percent to 2,539.31 as Apple Inc., the largest technology company, lost 2.2 percent. “It’s very frustrating,” John Carey, a Boston-based money manager at Pioneer Investments, said in a telephone interview.

The firm oversees about $220 billion. “There’s just a hypersensitivity to stories coming out of Europe. Any indication is seen as something as a basis to trade. Nobody sees a way through this at the moment.”

Stocks joined a global slump as Italy had to pay the most in 14 years to sell five-year bonds and the cost of insuring against default on European sovereign debt approached a record.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told Republican senators the Fed has no plan to provide aid to European banks, according to two lawmakers who attended the meeting.                      

Bernanke also told U.S. senators that a worsening in the European crisis may harm the U.S. economy, according to a senator who attended the meeting. Equities fell yesterday after the Fed refrained from taking new actions to bolster growth at the world’s largest economy. A three-day drop extended this year’s decline in the S&P 500 to 3.6 percent.

All 10 groups in the S&P 500 retreated today, led by declines in companies most dependent on economic growth. The Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index sank 1.8 percent, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average lost 1.5 percent. The KBW Bank Index slid 0.5 percent, after gaining 0.9 percent earlier.

“It’s all about the risk-off trade,” Mike Ryan, the New York-based chief investment strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas, said in a telephone interview. His firm oversees $715 billion. “It’s continued concern about the euro zone. There’s nothing constructive. You also start to see now concern about what the impact will be on U.S. corporate earnings.”

Gauges of energy and raw material shares in the S&P 500 decreased at least 1.1 percent as the U.S. dollar rose, reducing the appeal of commodities. Exxon declined 1.4 percent to $79.44. Newmont Mining, the largest U.S. gold producer, erased 2.4 percent to $61.62.

Chevron sank 3 percent to $100.53, while Transocean retreated 3.9 percent to $40.19. Both companies should halt operations in Brazil and pay 20 billion reais ($10.7 billion) in damages after an oil spill last month, prosecutors urged a federal court.

Joy Global slumped 11 percent, the biggest decline since February 2009, to $75.44. Slowing global growth is tempering commodity demand, the company said. Sales for the latest quarter increased 27 percent to $1.34 billion from $1.05 billion, $10 million lower than the $1.35 billion average of 11 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.                       

 Other industrial companies declined. Caterpillar Inc., the largest construction and mining-equipment maker, dropped 4.4 percent, the biggest decline in the Dow, to $87. Cummins Inc. retreated 1.9 percent to $87.51.

First Solar plunged 21 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to $33.45. The stock fell to the lowest since 2007. The company said global production of solar panels has tripled in recent years as more companies, including Chinese suppliers, enter the market. Government subsidies for solar power, especially in Europe, have declined as those nations have trimmed budgets in an economic decline, Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer Michael Ahearn said.

Avon Products Inc. rallied 5.1 percent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500, to $16.96. The world’s biggest door-to-door cosmetics seller said it will search for a new chief executive officer next year to replace Andrea Jung. Jung, 53, who has run Avon since 1999, will remain chairman and work with the board to recruit a replacement, the 125-year-old, New York-based company said yesterday in a statement.

Investors should consider buying shares of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., according to Laszlo Birinyi, who advised clients to buy equities before they bottomed in March 2009.

“It is a long shot, but it is an idea which no one has considered,” Birinyi, founder of Westport, Connecticut-based Birinyi Associates Inc., said in an interview today on Bloomberg Television’s “In The Loop” with Betty Liu. “They still have some patents, they still have a product, they still have a brand,” he said. “Every once in a while you want to go out there and take a shot.”

RIM shares fell 73 percent this year in U.S. trading through yesterday. The company said this month that third- quarter revenue missed its forecast amid accelerating market- share losses for BlackBerrys and PlayBook tablets to Apple. RIM lost 2.6 percent to $15.08 today, while Apple declined 2.2 percent to $380.19.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

When water joins with water, it is not

a meeting but a unification.

 

-Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

Carolann

Our fears are more numerous than our dangers, and

we suffer more in our imagination than in reality.
                                  -Seneca, 4 BC- 65 AD

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

When I arrived at home last night, I picked up Benjamin Zander’s book, The Art of Possibility, which I’ve been reading lately.   I mentioned to you before that he is probably one of the most inspirational men I’ve ever met.  Benjamin Zander has been the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic since its formation in 1979, though he has appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras around the world.

The chapter  I was reading last night was on “Giving an A.”  Michelangelo is often quoted as having said that inside every block of stone or marble dwells a beautiful statue; one need only remove the excess material to reveal the work of art within.  Zander and his co-author wife, Rosamund, thought this was a visionary concept to apply to education.  Instead of comparing one child to another with A’s, B’s. C’s, D’s or F’s, all the energy would be focused on chipping away at stone, getting rid of whatever is in the way of each child’s developing skills, mastery, and self-expression.

Zander decided to apply this vision to his own teaching, telling every student on the first day of classes at the New England Conservatory that they will get an A for the course.  He tells them, “however, there is one requirement that you must fulfill to earn this grade:  Sometime during the next two weeks, you must write me a letter dated next May, which begins with the words, ‘Dear Mr. Zander, I got my A because…,’ and in this letter you are to tell, in as much detail as you can, the story of what will have happened to you by next May that is in line with this extraordinary grade.  I tell them I want them to fall passionately in love with the person they are describing in their letter.”

This is one of those letters from a young trombonist; I’ll share a few more with you over the next few days:

Dear Mr. Z

Today the world knows me.  That drive of energy and intense emotion that you saw twisting and dormant inside me, yet alas, I could not show in performance or conversation, was freed tonight in a program of new music composed for me….The concert ended and no one stirred.  A pregnant quiet.  Sighs:  and then applause that drowned my heart’s throbbing.

  I might have bowed – I cannot remember now.  The clapping sustained such that I thought I might make my debut complete and celebrate the shedding of

the mask and skin

that I had constructed

to hide within,

by improvising on my own melody as an

encore – unaccompanied.  What followed is

something of a blur.  I forgot technique,

pretension, tradition, schooling, history –

truly even the audience.

What came from my trombone

I wholly believe, was my own

Voice.

Laughter, smiles,

a frown, weeping

Tuckerspirit

did sing.

                               Tucker Dulin

Photos of the day 

December 13, 2011

Walkers look out over heavy seas in the English Channel at Beachy Head in East Sussex in southern England.  Toby Melville/Reuters.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Matt Walcoff and Ksenia Galouchko

Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, led by raw- materials shares, as Rio Tinto Group said it won’t buy all of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., European growth concerns persisted and the U.S. Federal Reserve refrained from new economic stimulus.

Ivanhoe Mines, Rio Tinto’s partner in the Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia, plunged 22 percent. Goldcorp Inc., the world’s second-largest gold producer by market value, declined 2.9 percent as the metal fell on a stronger U.S. dollar.

PetroBakken Energy Ltd. rose 5.8 percent after reporting a production increase. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index slipped 147.95 points, or 1.2 percent, to 11,759.94 at 4:10 p.m. Toronto time. The market extended its loss after the Federal Open Market Committee made few changes from its Nov. 2 statement in its comments today and didn’t announce a third round of asset purchases, known as qualitative easing.

“There was chatter earlier today, ‘There’s always a chance they might mention QE3 given what we’re seeing in Europe,’” Brian Huen, a managing partner at Red Sky Capital Management Ltd. in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about C$55 million ($53 million). “They didn’t hint at that whatsoever. That’s when we saw the market sell off.”

The S&P/TSX is set to underperform the S&P 500 for the first time in eight years in 2011 as stocks most-closely tied to economic growth have declined on concern the European debt crisis will lead to a new recession. Indexes of financial, energy and materials companies each lost at least 9.8 percent this year. The three industries make up 75 percent of Canadian stocks by market value, according to Bloomberg data.                         

Ivanhoe Mines sank 22 percent to C$16.57 after an arbitrator’s ruling that Rio Tinto can incrementally add to its stake in Ivanhoe Mines without having its holdings diluted under a shareholder rights plan. Rio Tinto, which owns 49 percent of Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines, “currently has no intention of making a full takeover bid for Ivanhoe’s shares,” the London- based company said in a statement.

The S&P/TSX Gold Index fell as the U.S. dollar climbed to an 11-month high against the euro. The European currency slid after two officials with knowledge of the discussion said Chancellor Angela Merkel told German coalition lawmakers the 500 billion euro ($654 billion) cap on Europe’s planned permanent bailout fund will stay in place. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.                         

Goldcorp dropped 2.9 percent to C$48.10. Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest company in the industry, lost 1.9 percent to C$48.29. Detour Gold Corp., which is developing a mine in Ontario, slumped 8.5 percent to C$25.42 after saying it will raise about C$10 million through the sale of flow-through shares.

PetroBakken Energy Ltd., a Western Canadian oil producer, gained 5.8 percent to C$10.57 after saying production has increased 23 percent from third-quarter levels. Average production will climb another 15 percent next year, the company said in a statement. Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd., PetroBakken’s majority shareholder, rose 2.1 percent to C$8.95.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world’s largest fertilizer producer by market value, rose 1.1 percent to C$41.74 as wheat futures gained for the first time in a week.

Barclays Plc named Potash Corp. to its list of top picks for 2012. In a note to clients, the bank said Potash Corp. should benefit from low supply and strong demand for the crop nutrient.                         

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. decreased 3.8 percent to C$16.01, the lowest price since January 2004, after Rod Hall, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said in a note to clients that the company is likely to delay the release of new smartphones. RIM has tumbled 72 percent this year.

Canadian National Railway Co., the country’s largest railroad, slipped 1.5 percent to C$77.44 after Walter Spracklin, an analyst at Royal Bank of Canada, cut his rating on the shares to “sector perform” from “outperform.” Spracklin said CN’s shares are more expensive than those of its peers relative to earnings.

US

By Rita Nazareth

Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated, reversing an earlier advance for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after Federal Reserve policy makers refrained from taking new actions to bolster growth at the world’s largest economy.

Nine out of 10 groups in the S&P 500 declined, led by companies most-dependent on economic growth. Sears Holdings Corp., Alcoa Inc. and Bank of America Corp. slumped at least 2.3 percent. Best Buy Co., the largest consumer-electronics retailer, tumbled 15 percent as discounts hurt gross margin. Amazon.com Inc. dropped 4.8 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said estimates for the biggest Internet retailer need to fall.

The S&P 500 slid 0.9 percent to 1,225.73 at 4 p.m. New York time, reversing a gain of 1.1 percent and falling to the lowest level since Nov. 29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 66.45 points, or 0.6 percent, to 11,954.94. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies lost 2.1 percent to 718.06.

“The disappointment was due to a minority expecting QE3,” Philip Orlando, the New York-based chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors Inc., said in a telephone interview, referring to a third-round of asset purchases or quantitative easing. His firm oversees about $355 billion. “We don’t think that’s warranted. The economy is accelerating. If the economy collapses or the threat of deflation becomes more apparent, then the Fed may change its mind.”

The S&P 500 has struggled to stay above its 2010 closing level of 1,257.64 since topping it during the last week of October after slumping below it for almost three months. The index is down 2.5 percent for the year, led by a 21 percent slide in financial shares.

Stocks fell today as the Fed said the U.S. economy is maintaining its expansion even as the global economy slows, while refraining from taking new actions to lower borrowing costs. The Fed statement repeated a warning at the two previous meetings that “strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook.”

The central bank said it would continue its exchange of $400 billion of short-term debt with long-term securities to lengthen the average maturity of its holdings, a move dubbed Operation Twist. The Fed also did not alter its policy of reinvesting its portfolio of maturing housing debt into agency mortgage-backed securities.

“Operation twist remains in effect but there was no mention of a QE3, or further coordinated action with the ECB, which may have disappointed investors,” Mark Bronzo, who helps manage $23.5 billion at Security Global Investors in Irvington, New York, said in an e-mail, referring to coordinated action with the European Central Bank.                      

The Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index slumped 2.3 percent, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average declined 1.6 percent amid concern about global economic growth. The KBW Bank Index fell 1.6 percent as 22 of its 24 stocks retreated. Sears Holdings dropped 5.1 percent to $53.71. Alcoa erased 3.3 percent to $9.04. Bank of America decreased 2.4 percent to $5.32.

MBIA Inc. pared a rally of as much as 11 percent, rising 0.7 percent to $11.48. A settlement with Morgan Stanley ended credit-default swap guarantees on commercial-mortgage debt and the bank said it will withdraw from a lawsuit challenging the bond insurer’s 2009 restructuring. Morgan Stanley, which jumped 7.6 percent earlier today, lost 1.4 percent to $15.17.

Retailers in the S&P 500 dropped 2.7 percent as a group and were the biggest drag among 24 industries after the government said sales rose in November at the slowest pace in five months, indicating American consumers were trying to live within their means heading into the holiday shopping season as wages dropped.

Best Buy tumbled 15 percent, the most since 2002, to $23.73. The shares also had the biggest decline in the S&P 500. The retailer’s third-quarter profit declined more than analysts estimated, hurt by discounts to lure Black Friday shoppers.

Amazon.com slumped 4.8 percent to $180.51, the lowest since Aug. 22. Goldman Sachs said 2012 estimates for the Internet retailer need “material downward revisions.” The firm resumed coverage of Amazon’s shares with a “neutral” recommendation.

Netflix Inc. dropped 4.2 percent to $72.11, reversing a rally of as much as 3.1 percent. Verizon Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. phone company, hasn’t discussed making a bid for Netflix, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.

Yesterday, Netflix gained 6.2 percent after Deal Reporter, a trade publication, said that Verizon is considering an offer for the Los Gatos, California-based movie streaming service. Steve Swasey, a Netflix spokesman, and Torod Neptune, a spokesman for Verizon, declined to comment on the reports.

FactSet Research Systems Inc. erased 6.9 percent to $88.24. The provider of financial data to investment managers and banks fell the most since August after a decline in subscribers overshadowed a higher-than-estimated profit forecast.

Urban Outfitters Inc. climbed 5.3 percent to $27.87 for the biggest increase in the S&P 500. The operator of about 400 namesake, Anthropologie and Free People clothing stores gained the most in more than a month after saying fourth-quarter retail sales are rising.

U.S. stocks can avoid the effects of Europe’s intensifying sovereign-debt crisis, leading ABN Amro Private Banking to remain positive on the world’s largest economy, according to Chief Investment Officer Didier Duret.

The bank that manages 164 billion euros ($217 billion) for clients cut its overall allocation to equities to an “underweight” stance on Nov. 11, taking advantage of its positive stance from the middle of August. The wealth manager has maintained its “overweight” allocation in U.S. stocks, citing the prospects for corporate profit growth and faster job creation in the country.

“The job machine is probably back in the U.S.,” Duret said in a phone interview from Amsterdam yesterday. “There is more resilience in the U.S. market from an earnings perspective. In Europe, you are seeing earnings being downgraded, but in the U.S. this is not the case.”

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The characteristic of my nation is this transcendentalism,

this struggle to go beyond, this daring to tear the veil off the face of nature

and have at any risk, at any price,

a glimpse of the beyond.

 

-Swami Vivekananda, 1863-1902

As ever,

Carolann

Human beings are perhaps never more frightening

than when they are convinced beyond doubt that

they are right.

                   -Laurens Van der Post, 1906-1996 

 

Dear Friends,

 Tangents:

 An amazing full moon/lunar eclipse weekend over.

 La Virgen De Guadalupe day in Mexico today.

December 12th is the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and attracts millions of pilgrims to the Basilica in Northern Mexico City where the image of the Virgin Mary is displayed.

History

As the story goes, in December of 1531, peasant farmer Juan Diego encountered a vision of the Virgin Mary while walking on a hill in Northern Mexico City. The apparition told Juan Diego to build a church in her honor on that site.  When Juan Diego informed the local Bishop of this, the Bishop asked for proof.  So Juan Diego returned to the hill where Mary told him to pick the roses growing on the hillside, which were of a variety native to Spain, and out of season, to boot.  Juan Diego gathered the roses in his Tilma, (a large cloth worn by men at the time and also used as a satchel) to take to the Bishop.

Upon returning to the Bishop, he presented the roses only to find that they had been miraculously replaced by an image of the Virgin that was painted on the cloth.  That did it for the Bishop, who ordered the construction of the Basilica, which is still standing (barely) today at the foot of the hill where Juan Diego first saw the vision.

The Basilica

The image of the Virgin has since been moved to a newer Basilica (shown left), also called La Villa de Guadalupe, which was constructed in the mid 1970s, right next to the original. The new Basilica holds 10,000 plus, and is the second most visited Catholic site outside of the Vatican. Visitors can view the Virgin up close, which is on display behind the altar, by riding rows of moving sidewalks situated directly underneath the image.

Guadalupano is one who follows or believes in the Virgin of Guadalupe. An interesting part of the Mexican culture and religion is that while a person may not consider themselves religious, they may call themselves a Guadalupano, or follower of the Virgen.

Lupe, Lupita, Lupito are all nicknames of someone who may be actually named Guadalupe, or their family may have specified the Virgin as their patron saint, or they may have even been born on December 12th (like yours truly).  In many cases, regardless of who your patron saint is, their feast day can be considered a second birthday.  So, to all who were born on the 12th of any month, ¡Feliz día de santo!              -from Mexico City Spanish.com

Photos of the day

December 12, 2011

 

A Pilgrim performs a traditional dance during the celebration of Virgin of Guadalupe Day at Basilica’s square in Mexico City. Edgard Garrido/Reuters.

The bull and bear bronze statue stands outside the stock market in Frankfurt, Germany. Michael Probst/AP.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Matt Walcoff

Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, sending the country’s benchmark stock index to its lowest level this month, as commodity shares dropped after Moody’s Investors Service said it will review its ratings on all European Union countries.

Goldcorp Inc., the world’s second-biggest gold producer by market value, declined 3.3 percent as the U.S. Dollar Index rose the most in two weeks. Suncor Energy Inc., the country’s largest energy oil and natural gas producer, lost 2.7 percent as the fuels retreated. Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest lender by assets, dropped 1.8 percent after Moody’s said last week’s EU summit failed to produce “decisive policy measures” to end the region’s debt crisis.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 126.86 points, or 1.1 percent, to 11,907.89, the lowest closing level since Nov. 29. “The fundamentals investors would normally watch can easily be trumped by some of the political decisions in Europe as well as ratings-agency decisions,” said Andrew Pyle, an associate portfolio manager at Bank of Nova Scotia in Peterborough, Ontario. Pyle’s team oversees about C$200 million ($195 million). “A severe recession in the European economy will have an impact on other regions.”

The index has slumped 11 percent this year, led by financial, energy and materials companies, as the European debt crisis has intensified. The three industries make up 76 percent of Canadian stocks by market value, according to Bloomberg data. 

Leaders of EU countries excluding the U.K. agreed last week to form a closer fiscal union that would limit budget deficits in an attempt to save the euro. “Moody’s believes that the announcement offers few new measures and points out that many are similar to previously announced ones,” the ratings company said in a statement today. Bond yields climbed in Italy and Spain.

 Stocks extended their fall after Fitch Ratings said in a statement that “a ‘comprehensive solution’ to the current crisis is not on offer” after the summit. The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB commodity index declined to the lowest level since Oct. 5 as the euro slipped. Gold futures retreated to the lowest in almost seven weeks.

Goldcorp lost 3.3 percent to C$49.52. Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest company in the industry, decreased 2.9 percent to C$49.23. Kinross Gold Corp., Canada’s third-biggest producer of the metal, dropped 4.2 percent to C$13.04. China Gold International Resources Corp. plunged 9 percent to C$2.54, the lowest since January 2010.                      

Centerra Gold Inc., which mines in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, tumbled 4.4 percent to C$21.07 after the Sunday Times said it has offered to buy European Goldfields Ltd. The London-based newspaper cited unnamed sources. John Pearson, a spokesman for Centerra, said yesterday the company doesn’t comment on market speculation. European Goldfields advanced for a fifth day, increasing 4.4 percent to C$13.43.

Natural gas futures fell to the lowest since September 2009 on forecasts for above-normal temperatures in parts of the U.S. Crude oil futures dropped on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Suncor declined 2.7 percent to C$29.06. Encana Corp., the country’s biggest natural gas producer, lost 2.8 percent to C$19.01. Trican Well Service Ltd., Canada’s largest oilfield- services company, slumped 6.1 percent to C$16.47.

Producers of base metals and coal fell as all major industrial metals traded on the London Metal Exchange dropped after China reported the slowest export growth since 2009, excluding distortions in January and February.                        

Teck Resources Ltd., Canada’s largest company in the industry, decreased 2.3 percent to C$37.05. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., Rio Tinto Group’s partner in the Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia, retreated 4.2 percent to C$21.28. SouthGobi Resources Ltd., Ivanhoe Mines’ Mongolian coal-mining unit, tumbled 5.3 percent to C$6.61.

 An index of S&P/TSX banks declined. Royal Bank fell 1.7 percent to C$48.64. Bank of Montreal, Canada’s fourth-largest lender by assets, slipped 1.2 percent to C$56. Manulife Financial Corp., North America’s fourth-biggest insurer, dropped 3.6 percent to C$10.91.

Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest insurer, surged 8.4 percent, the most since July 2009, to C$19.86 after Peter A. Rozenberg, an analyst at UBS AG, raised his rating on the shares to “buy” from “neutral.” The stock has fallen too far below the company’s book value, Rozenberg wrote in a note to clients. Sun Life closed at 75 percent of book value per share on Dec. 9.

US

By Rita Nazareth

Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, after a two-week rally, as Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings said last week’s summit did little to ease pressure on Europe’s struggling governments and Intel Corp. cut its revenue forecast.

Financial shares had the biggest decline among 10 groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index as Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. sank more than 5.3 percent. Intel dropped 4 percent as the world’s largest chipmaker said a shortage of hard-disk drives was causing computer makers to reduce orders of other parts. Alpha Natural Resources Inc. tumbled 8.8 percent, while Halliburton Co., Alcoa Inc. and Newmont Mining Corp. decreased more than 2.4 percent as commodities slumped.

The S&P 500 declined 1.5 percent to 1,236.47 at 4 p.m. New York time, after rising 8.3 percent over the previous two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 162.87 points, or 1.3 percent, to 12,021.39. About 6.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, or 19 percent below the three-month average.

“This is not heaven,” Stanley Nabi, New York-based vice chairman of Silvercrest Asset Management Group, which oversees $10.5 billion, said in a telephone interview. “The European stopgap may not be successfully implemented. In order for this program to be successful, there’s going to have to be a lot of belt tightening. That means that the European economy is not going to do well at all. That would have negative impact on other countries around the globe.”

Stocks rose last week as European leaders agreed to boost a rescue fund and reports spurred optimism about the U.S. economy. Today, equities joined a global slump as Moody’s said that last week’s EU summit failed to produce “decisive policy measures.” Fitch said a comprehensive solution has not yet been offered and predicted a “significant economic downturn” in the region.                    

“Did the European summit do enough to stave off these downgrades or not?” Nick Sargen, chief investment officer at Fort Washington Investment Advisors in Cincinnati, which oversees more than $39 billion, said in a telephone interview. “Most people come to the conclusion that downgrades on the region’s sovereigns are easily justifiable. If the rest of the world is slowing down, we too would feel some of that impact.”

All 10 groups in the S&P 500 today fell as financial, commodity, industrial and technology gauges slid at least 1.5 percent. The Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index slumped 1.9 percent amid concern about a global economic slowdown.

The KBW Bank Index declined 2.5 percent as 23 of its 24 stocks fell. A gauge of European lenders in the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 3.9 percent. Morgan Stanley slid 6.1 percent to $15.38. Citigroup decreased 5.4 percent to $27.22. Bank of America Corp. lost 4.7 percent, the most in the Dow, to $5.45. JPMorgan Chase & Co. erased 3.4 percent to $32.04.                         

Intel tumbled 4 percent, the biggest decline since Aug. 18, to $24. While PC sales will rise in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, customers are cutting back on their stockpiles of parts because they expect hard-disk shortages to reduce output, Intel said. Those shortages, resulting from the worst flooding in Thailand in 70 years, will continue into the first quarter, it said.

Energy and raw material shares slumped as commodities retreated amid concern about slower global demand and as the U.S. dollar rose. The Market Vectors-Coal ETF, an exchange- traded fund, tumbled 4.2 percent.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc., a coal producer, sank 8.8 percent to $21.39. Halliburton, an oilfield services provider, fell 4.5 percent to $32.56. Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, sank 3 percent to $9.35. Newmont Mining, the largest U.S. gold producer, slid 2.5 percent to $65.27.

Salesforce.com Inc. tumbled 6.3 percent to $116.07. The largest maker of online customer-management software was cut to “underperform” from “neutral” at Cowen and Company LLC.

 Two of the world’s biggest companies fell even after boosting their dividends. Pfizer Inc., the largest drugmaker, authorized a new share buyback program for as much as $10 billion and said the quarterly dividend was increased to 22 cents a share from 20 cents. Boeing Co. raised its quarterly dividend 4.8 percent to 44 cents a share, the first increase since 2008 at the world’s largest aerospace company. A Bloomberg projection called for a new total of 45 cents.

Pfizer dropped 0.8 percent to $20.39. Boeing retreated 1.4 percent to $70.90.

Thomas Lee, chief U.S. equity strategist at JPMorgan, estimated the S&P 500 will rally to 1,430 next year and recommended financial stocks. Lee’s forecast is 14 percent higher than the last closing level on Dec. 9. He estimated combined profit by companies in the benchmark equity gauge will be $105 a share in 2012 and $110 in 2013.                           

“The consensus view is that visibility remains murky and with significant tail risks” such as Europe’s debt crisis and fiscal tightening in China, Lee said. “2012 may look a bit like 2009,” he wrote. “Emergence from a financial crisis and the potential for acceleration of the business cycle driven by Europe exiting a recession and China easing” may boost cyclical stocks. Financials, which may be helped by Republican gains in the U.S. election, are his “top pick,” he said.

Financials have plunged 21 percent in 2011, the most of the 10 groups in the S&P 500, as investors fled banks and insurers on concern Europe’s debt crisis will spread. Raw-material and industrial shares had the next biggest declines, falling 13 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

From the S&P 500’s bear-market bottom on March 9, 2009, through the end of that year, financials surged 131 percent, while consumer discretionary, industrial and raw-material companies jumped at least 83 percent.                       

Unemployment at the lowest level in more than two years and manufacturing running at the fastest pace in five months may dissuade Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and fellow central bankers from pursuing a third-round of large scale asset purchases. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue a statement after its meeting tomorrow with any updated outlook.

Vulcan Materials Co. surged 15 percent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500, to $38.70. Martin Marietta Materials Inc. is seeking a hostile takeover of Vulcan in an all-stock transaction valued at $4.7 billion that would create the world’s largest aggregates supplier.

Monster Worldwide Inc. added 1 percent to $8.05. The company, which has been the subject of at least 20 takeover rumors in the past five years, may finally be cheap enough to lure a private equity buyer, according to a Bloomberg News report. The world’s largest online-recruiting company has plunged 66 percent this year, the most in the S&P 500, as American businesses remained reluctant to hire. New York-based Monster is now trading at a 7 percent discount to sales, cheaper than 90 percent of U.S. Internet software and services companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s also generating twice as much cash relative to its share price as the industry median, the data show.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The fact that there are so many men still alive in the world

shows that it is based not on the force of arms but on the force of truth or love.

Therefore, the greatest and most impeachable evidence of success of this force

is to be found in the fact that, in spite of all the wars of the world,

it still lives on.

 

-Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

Carolann

There are four ways, and only four ways,

in which we have contact with the world. 

We are evaluated and classified by these

four contacts: what we do, how we look,

what we say and how we say it.

                -Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

I am happy to tell you that I have now completed the Family Enterprise Advisor Program at UBC’s Sauder School of Business and we had our graduation ceremony on Thursday afternoon in Vancouver.  Gary surprised me when I spotted him in the foyer; I told him not to bother going over.   But I’m blessed with the kindest and most considerate partner one could ever hope for. 

Now that this two year course of study is over with, it feels like the Sword of Damocles had disappeared overhead.  I’m sure you can all relate to the feeling in your own lives when you’ve finally finished something you took on of your own volition, questioning why sometimes when life becomes overwhelming, but determined to see it through.

Tomorrow is Emily Dickinson’s birthday, one of my favorite poets.  She was born December 10, 1830 and died in 1886.   After her death, her sister, Lavinia discovered almost 2,000 poems written on the backs of envelopes and other scraps of paper locked in Emily’s bureau.

This is one of my favorite poems:

HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS

                                Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

Photos of the day 

December 9, 2011

Actors and actresses march in the street carrying luggage to represent that they must move in order to make a living in other places, in Pamplona, northern Spain. They have been lost their jobs because of planned cutbacks against municipal cultural services as European leaders meet at a summit in Brussels to try to save the euro zone, with a major economic crisis suffered by Europe. Alvaro Barrientos/AP.

Elsie and Euan play chess by candle light following a power cut in Pitlochry, Scotland. Severe weather and high winds battered Scotland leaving thousands without power, causing hundreds of schools to close and causing widespread travel disruption. Russell Cheyne/Reuters.

 

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Matt Walcoff

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, paring a weekly decline, after European nations other than the U.K. agreed to adopt tougher budget rules to save the euro currency.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Canada’s second-largest energy company by market value, gained 1.6 percent as oil and gas producers advanced. Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest lender by assets, increased 1.4 percent as banks climbed. First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Canada’s second-largest publicly traded copper producer, surged 5.4 percent as copper futures rallied. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 82.96 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,034.75, trimming its weekly retreat to 0.3 percent.

“It’s half a victory,” Irwin Michael, a money manager at ABC Funds in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about C$1 billion ($980 million). “We’d like to see unanimous agreement. For us to have financial peace and prosperity in North America, we have to have some semblance of tranquility in Europe and Asia.”

 The S&P/TSX is set to underperform the S&P 500 this year for the first time since 2003 as companies most-closely tied to the economy have declined on concern the European debt crisis will hamper growth. The Canadian index has slumped 10 percent this year after rallying 50 percent in 2009-2010. Euro-region leaders agreed to develop “a new fiscal compact” that would limit budget deficits. Because the U.K. declined to participate, a new treaty would have to be written to put the rules into effect. Today’s agreement also adds 200 billion euros ($267 billion) to the International Monetary Fund’s crisis-fighting resources.                      

The S&P/TSX Energy Index contributed the most to stocks’ gains. Canadian Natural advanced 1.6 percent to C$37.66. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., an energy producer with operations in Colombia, rebounded 5 percent to C$20.56 after sinking 5.4 percent yesterday. Precision Drilling Corp., Canada’s largest contract drilling company, increased 5.5 percent to C$11.15.

All S&P/TSX banks and insurers climbed after the European agreement. Royal Bank increased 1.4 percent to C$49.47. Bank of Nova Scotia, the country’s third-biggest lender by assets, advanced 1 percent to C$48.98. Manulife Financial Corp., North America’s fourth-largest insurance company, rose 1.4 percent to C$11.32.

National Bank of Canada, the country’s sixth-largest lender by assets, gained 1.6 percent to C$68.10 after Mario Mendonca, an analyst at Canaccord Financial Inc., and Darko Mihelic, an analyst at Cormark, raised their ratings on the company. Mendonca boosted National Bank to “buy” from “hold,” telling clients in a note that it is less expensive than other lenders relative to forecast 2012 earnings.                   

Base-metals and coal producers in the S&P/TSX extended weekly gains as copper advanced. First Quantum jumped 5.4 percent to C$20.55. Teck Resources Ltd., the country’s largest company in the industry, climbed 1.5 percent to C$37.92. Silver producers rose as the precious metal with industrial uses rallied. Silver Standard Resources Inc., which mines in Latin America, gained 4.9 percent to C$15.41. First Majestic Silver Corp., which owns mines in Mexico, advanced 6.5 percent to C$17.13.

Technology-patent owner Wi-LAN Inc. increased 5.8 percent to C$5.49. The company said it bought more than 1,400 TV and video patents and patent applications for $8 million and said it will buy back up to 5 percent of its shares. Yoga-wear retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc. climbed 3.8 percent to C$48.67 after Howard Tubin, an analyst at Royal Bank, reiterated his “outperform” rating on the shares. Higher same- store sales in the third quarter demonstrate the strength of the Lululemon brand, Tubin wrote in a note to clients.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., Canada’s largest drugmaker, rose 3.5 percent to C$47.92 after a person with knowledge of the deal said the company increased the size of a term loan to $500 million from $350 million. Valeant will use the money to help fund its A$700 million ($715 million) purchase of Sydney-based iNova Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty.

US

By Lu Wang

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its first back-to-back weekly gain since October, after European leaders agreed to boost a rescue fund and reports spurred optimism about the economy. General Electric Co., Pfizer Inc. and Travelers Cos. climbed more than 3.2 percent to lead advances in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Financial companies in the S&P 500 climbed 1.7 percent, the most among 10 industries, after European leaders added 200 billion euros ($267 billion) to the fund and tightened rules to curb future debts. DuPont Co. dropped 4.2 percent after cutting its earnings forecast.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.9 percent to 1,255.19 after surging 7.4 percent between Nov. 25 and Dec. 2, the biggest weekly advance since 2009. The Dow rose 164.84 points, or 1.4 percent, to 12,184.26 this week, extending its 2011 gain to 5.2 percent. “When you get positive news out of Europe, it allows investors to focus on the U.S., where the economy appears to be gaining a little traction,” Joseph Keating, who helps oversee $2 billion as chief investment officer at CenterState Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama, said in a telephone interview. “Basically, any fear about a double-dip recession has been taken off the table.”

The S&P 500 erased a weekly loss on Dec. 9 after the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan gauge of confidence among consumers topped the median economist projection. Earlier in the week, data showing that fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits added to signs the job market is improving.         

The gain failed to keep the benchmark index for U.S. equities above its 200-day average. On each of the first three trading sessions of the week, the gauge surpassed and then slipped below its average price from the prior 200 days. It was the third time since October that rallies fizzled at that level, which is used by some traders to forecast the market. “The market is lacking conviction,” Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC in New York, said in a telephone interview. The firm manages $1.2 billion. “People are suspect about growth, or suspect about Europe. They’re worried that Europe could have a larger impact on the U.S.”

The European Central Bank lowered interest rates on Dec. 8 for a second straight month and said it may do more to stimulate bank lending and fight off a recession.“It doesn’t look like Europe is collapsing, but where do we go from here — what’s going to drive growth in Europe?” Pavlik said. “Europe could be facing a period of slow economic growth. That’s keeping investors on the sideline.”                

In the U.S., the Thomson Reuters/Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose to a six-month high of 67.7 in December. The gauge was projected to rise to 65.8, according to the median forecast of 73 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. GE, the world’s biggest maker of jet engines, power- generation equipment, medical-imaging machines and locomotives, rallied 4.7 percent to $16.84 after raising its quarterly dividend for the fourth time in two years. Pfizer climbed 3.4 percent to $20.56, and Travelers advanced 3.3 percent to $56.02. DuPont fell 4.2 percent to $45.04. The chemical maker cut its 2011 earnings forecast by 10 cents a share because of falling demand for consumer electronics and plastics and continued weak demand for construction products.

Gannett Co. rose the most in the S&P 500, surging 12 percent to $13.34. The newspaper owner forecast fourth-quarter broadcast revenue to rise as much as 11 percent. Lazard Capital Markets boosted the stock’s rating to “buy” from “neutral,” citing higher chances for a dividend increase. Pall Corp., a supplier of filters for drugmakers and refineries, jumped 5.8 percent to $56.66 after reporting first- quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.

Tesoro Corp. posted the second-biggest drop in the S&P 500, sinking 11 percent to $21.79. The oil refiner said it has “no intent” to resume dividend payments or buy back shares next year. Credit Suisse Group AG downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “outperform.”

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 Be magnificent!

 

It is quite evident that our world is useful and that it provides for our needs,

but our connection to it does not end there.

We are united to it by a connection much larger and more truthful than that of necessity.

Our soul is drawn to it; our love of life is in reality a desire in us to seek our connection with this universe.

And this connection is love.

-Rabindranath Tagore, 1861-1901

As ever,

Carolann

Do not swell in the past, do not dream of

the future, concentrate the mind on the

present moment.

                -Budda, ~400-480BC