Month: March 2014

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Birthday today: Robert Frost, b. 1874

Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length. –Robert Frost.

This is for Stephen in Ottawa, with whom I spoke yesterday ~ it was snowing yesterday in Ottawa 🙂!

Dust of Snow

Robert Frost

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

Photos of the day

A newly discovered planet-like object, dubbed ‘Sedna’ is seen in this artist’s concept released by NASA. Astronomers have found a small icy body far beyond Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, a discovery that calls into question exactly what was going on during the early days of the solar system. JPL-Caltech/NASA/JPL/Reuters

A woman dressed as a model in the painting poses in front of ‘Revolution at Giverny: A Return To Women in Nature’ by Israeli artist Yigal Ozeri, during the Paris Art Fair, in Paris. Art Paris Art Fair, which runs from the 27th to the 30th of March 2014, brings together some 140 galleries from 20 countries under the dome of the Grand Palais. Thibault Camus/AP

Market Closes for March 26^th, 2014

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	16268.99	-98.89    -0.60%
S&P 500	1852.56	-13.06    -0.70%
NASDAQ	4173.578	-60.689    -1.43%
TSX	14184.10	-115.39
		-0.81%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14477.16	+53.97
		+0.37%
HANG  SENG	21887.75	+155.43
		+0.72%
SENSEX	22095.30	+40.09
		+0.18%
FTSE 100	6605.30	+0.41
		+0.01%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	2.443	2.479
CND.  30 Year Bond	2.960	2.979
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6901	2.7480
U.S.  30 Year Bond	3.5406	3.5914

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90065	0.89554
US  $	1.11031	1.11665
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian  $	1.53055	0.65336
US  $	1.37849	0.72543

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold  Fix	1303.57	1311.36
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	100.26	99.54
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

March 26 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks dropped the most in almost two months, led by a decline in raw-materials producers, as comments by U.S. President Barack Obama raised concern the situation in Ukraine may escalate.

NovaGold Resources Inc. dropped 7.8 percent as the price of gold retreated. Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. lost 1.6 percent after copper prices slid. AGF Management Ltd. added 2.2 percent after the investment-management firm’s quarterly revenue topped estimates.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index fell 115.39 points, or 0.8 percent, to 14,184.10 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, for the biggest drop since Feb. 3. The gauge has fallen 0.2 percent this month, paring its gain for the quarter to 4.1 percent.

“Investors around the world have been waiting to see what kind of reaction the United States and the EU would really take regarding Russia’s annexation of Crimea beyond sanctions,”  Frederic Dickson, chief investment strategist who helps oversee $44.5 billion at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon, said in a telephone interview. “Any hints of escalation in terms of rhetoric or action would probably trigger investors to stand back and take recent profits.”

Stocks declined as Obama warned that there were consequences for being complacent on the situation in Ukraine. Speaking in Brussels, Obama said Russia can’t run “roughshod” over its neighbors and its incursion into Crimea must be met with condemnation.

Seven of 10 main industries in the equities benchmark retreated today. Materials producers sank 2.9 percent to lead losses.

All 23 members of a gold-miner index declined, as the precious metal’s price slid to a five-week low. NovaGold Resources fell 7.8 percent to C$3.93 and Semafo Inc. lost 8.9 percent to C$3.67.

Turquoise Hill declined 1.6 percent to C$3.76. Copper fell from a two week-high in New York as inventories climbed and the dollar strengthened, reducing the metal’s appeal as an alternative asset.

Capstone Mining Corp. rose 4.7 percent to C$2.87. The company said results of a study indicate its Pinto Valley copper mine in Arizona will produce to 2026, eight years longer than previously estimated.

Bombardier Inc. fell 2.2 percent to C$4.05, pacing declines among industrial shares. The company delayed the first flight of its Learjet 85. Spokeswoman Annie Cossette said the delay was because of a “systems issue” and the company couldn’t say when the plane will fly.

Oculus VisionTech Inc. surged as much as 152 percent after Facebook Inc. paid $2 billion to buy a similarly named company. Trading in Oculus VisionTech, which makes technology for digital media and is based in Vancouver, was temporarily halted and the company said in a statement it was not associated with the Facebook deal. The social-media company acquired Oculus VR Inc., which makes a virtual-reality headset.

Oculus VisionTech closed 19 percent higher at 16 Canadian cents.

AGF Management added 2.2 percent to C$12.66. The firm reported revenue of C$116.9 million while analysts’ estimated C$114 million.

US
By Lu Wang and Callie Bost

March 26 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, erasing gains that sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to within three points of a record, on concern the situation in Ukraine may escalate after President Barack Obama said the international order is being tested.

Facebook Inc. sank the most since September 2012 after buying virtual-reality headset maker Oculus VR Inc. King Digital Entertainment Plc, the maker of the “Candy Crush” smartphone game, slumped 16 percent on the first day of trading. Citigroup Inc. lost 5.4 percent in extended trading after the Federal Reserve said the bank’s capital plan failed its stress tests.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to 1,852.56 at 4 p.m. in New York, with declines accelerating in the final hour of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 98.89 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,268.99. The Russell 2000 Index sank 1.9 percent for its biggest drop in almost two months. About 7.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 6.8 percent more than the three-month average.

“Investors around the world have been waiting to see what kind of reaction the United States and the EU would really take regarding Russia’s annexation of Crimea beyond sanctions,”  Frederic Dickson, chief investment strategist who helps oversee $44.5 billion at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon, said in a telephone interview. “Any hints of escalation in terms of rhetoric or action would probably trigger investors to stand back and take recent profits.”

The equities benchmark closed at its session low, erasing nine points in the final hour of trading. Today’s drop trimmed the index’s gain this year to 0.2 percent. It remains on course for a fifth consecutive quarterly gain, a feat it has accomplished just seven times since its creation in 1957.

Investors continued to sell riskier assets, as gauges of Internet and biotechnology shares sank, while the Russell small- cap index slid to the lowest since Feb. 19.

The Nasdaq Internet index retreated 2.5 percent for a sixth day of losses and is down 11 percent since a high on March 6 amid concern that some social-media and web stocks may have been risen too far too fast. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology exchange-traded fund lost 1.8 percent to the lowest level since Jan. 9.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as VIX, rose 6.5 percent to 14.93 today.

Obama, speaking in Brussels, warned of consequences of complacency in Ukraine and said Russia’s actions must be met with condemnation. Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund are nearing the end of bailout talks today as the U.S. and its European allies warned they’ll further penalize Russia if it intensifies the crisis after annexing Crimea.

Earlier gains in the S&P 500 followed economic data that showed the economy is expanding at a rate that investors speculated won’t spur faster interest rate increases.

Three rounds of bond purchases from the Fed have helped fuel economic growth, sending the S&P 500 up as much as 178 percent from its 2009 low. The rally has pushed the index’s price-earnings ratio to 17.2. While the multiple is near the highest level in four years, it’s close to the average since 1937, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and S&P.

Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said today policy makers haven’t committed to a specific month to end the bond purchases even as it would take a significant shift in the outlook to alter the path of tapering. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on March 19 that the central bank’s stimulus program could end this fall and benchmark interest rates may rise about six months later.

American factories received fewer orders for machinery, communications gear and computers in February, signaling business investment is slowing after an unusually harsh winter put a damper on sales, data from the Commerce Department showed today. The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent yesterday after data showed confidence among American consumers at a six-year high.

“It’s been a mixed picture here, further complicated by severe weather,” Richard Golinski, chief investment officer of San Francisco-based Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough, said in a phone interview. The firm oversees $3.3 billion. “While the market is a little choppy this year, the general sense is that investors are still optimistic. Investors have developed a confidence that the Fed can come to rescue and the environment is relatively safe.”

Nine of the 10 main S&P 500 groups dropped. Raw-materials producers and technology shares fell the most, with each losing at least 1.3 percent.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.4 percent today and has fallen 3.1 percent since Yellen’s remarks.

Facebook slid 6.9 percent to $60.39. The world’s largest social network said yesterday that it will spend $2 billion to buy Oculus, expanding into wearable hardware for the first time.  Facebook shares rallied 158 percent in the past 12 months through yesterday.

Zynga Inc., a developer of games for smartphones and tablets, dropped 4.1 percent to $4.64. The stock surged 33 percent in the first two months of this year.

King Digital tumbled 16 percent to $19. The company yesterday raised $500 million in its initial public offering, pricing the shares in the middle of the marketed range.

Peabody Energy Corp. fell 2.7 percent to $15.80. UBS AG cut coal stocks including Peabody to neutral from buy, saying it expects “more financial distress” in the industry over the next one or two years amid an oversupply.

Citigroup dropped 5.4 percent to $47.45 as of 4:45 p.m. in New York after ending the regular session lower by 0.3 percent.  The lender was among five banks that failed Fed stress tests, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. passed only after reducing their requests for buybacks and dividends.

Citigroup, as well as U.S. units of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and Banco Santander SA, failed because of qualitative concerns about their processes, the Fed said today in a statement. Zions Bancorporation was rejected as its capital fell below the minimum required. The central bank approved plans for 25 banks.

Health-care companies were the only group among 10 to advance in the S&P 500 today.

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings climbed 4.2 percent to $98.64 while Quest Diagnostics Inc. increased 5.6 percent to $57.99. The companies will benefit after the House of Representatives last night released a bill that included an adjustment to clinical lab payment rates, Michael Cherny, an analyst with International Strategy & Investment Group LLC, said in a note.

DirecTV jumped 5.7 percent to $77.34. Dish Network Corp.  Chairman Charlie Ergen recently contacted DirecTV Chief Executive Officer Mike White to discuss a merger of the two satellite television companies, according to several people with knowledge of the matter. Dish rose 8.5 percent to $63.38.

PVH Corp. rose 3.6 percent to $121.43. The maker of apparel and footwear said it earned $1.43 a share in the fourth quarter, higher than the $1.40 projected earlier.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

We ask ourselves is it possible to break through this heavy conditioning of centuries immediately

and not enter into another conditioning  – to be free,

so that the mind can be altogether new, sensitive,

alive, aware, intense, capable?

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.

-Marcus Aurelius, 121-180 AD

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®,CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Gloria Steinem turns 80 years old today – hard to believe.  I read an interview with her in the New York Times on Sunday.  She is spending her 80^th birthday riding elephants in Botswana – isn’t that amazing!

Elton John’s birthday today and Aretha Franklin’s too.

Ode on the Spring

Lo! where the rosy-bosomed hours,
Fair Venus’ train, appear,
Disclose the long-expecting flowers,
And wake the purple year!
The Attic warbler-pours her throat,
Responsive to the cuckoo’s note,
The untaught harmony of spring:
While whispering pleasure as they fly,
Cool zephyrs through the clear blue sky
Their gathered fragrance fling…

-Thomas Gray

Photos of the day

A visitor photographs the cherry blossoms in Ueno Park in Tokyo. Tens of thousands of admirers are expected to show up at the park to enjoy the white and pink blossoms. Eugene Hoshiko/AP

Visitors look at a sound and light show as part of the exhibition ‘Klimt and Vienna, a Century of Gold and Colors’, projected on the walls of the ‘Carrieres de Lumieres’ site (Quarries of Lights) in Les Baux-de-Provence, France. Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

Market Closes for March 25^th, 2014

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	16367.88	+91.19    +0.56%
S&P 500	1865.62	+8.18    +0.44%
NASDAQ	4234.270	+7.884    +0.19%
TSX	14299.49	+20.94
		+0.15%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14423.19	-52.11
		-0.36%
HANG  SENG	21732.32	-114.13
		-0.52%
SENSEX	22055.21	-0.27
		—
FTSE 100	6604.89	+84.50
		+1.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	2.479	2.459
CND.  30 Year Bond	2.979	2.940
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.7480	2.7281
U.S.  30 Year Bond	3.5914	3.5617

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89554	0.89323
US  $	1.11665	1.11953
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian  $	1.54383	0.64774
US  $	1.38256	0.72330

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold  Fix	1311.36	1309.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	99.54	100.10
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

March 25 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as raw- materials shares rallied with copper prices and U.S. data showed consumer confidence climbed to a six-year high.

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. rallied 3.5 percent as copper futures jumped 2 percent in New York. Agrium Inc. rose 1.8 percent after a report said the fertilizer company may consider selling assets. Legumex Walker Inc. dropped 9.8 percent after the bean and pea processor reported a quarterly loss.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index gained 20.94 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,299.49 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has risen 5 percent this year.

“Materials have rebounded from a really, really bad day so people are trying to look for value and pick your pockets of opportunity and put a little bit of money to work,” said Brian Huen, managing director at Red Sky Capital Management Ltd. in Toronto. He helps manage about C$225 million ($201 million).

U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly climbed in March to the highest level in six years, propelled by improved optimism about the economy’s prospects. The report from the Conference Board overshadowed separate data showing American home sales dropped in February.

Materials stocks added 0.9 percent after dropping 2.8 percent yesterday. Copper advanced in New York after Anglo American Plc halted work at a mine in Chile, sparking concern supply might be disrupted.

Turquoise Hill climbed 3.5 percent to C$3.82. SouthGobi Resources Ltd., which is 56 percent-owned by Turquoise Hill, rebounded 25 percent to 66 Canadian cents after tumbling 27 percent yesterday when it said falling coal prices may force it to default on debt. SouthGobi is seeking financing to avoid a default.

Agrium increased 1.8 percent to C$106.62 after a Globe & Mail report said the fertilizer company may consider selling assets, including its phosphate business. Agrium mines potash, which is used as a root-strengthening crop nutrient.

Legumex Walker dropped 9.8 percent to C$4.49 as the bean and pea processor reported a quarterly loss of 44 Canadian cents a share after the markets closed yesterday. The Winnipeg, Manitoba-based company said it had to use trucks to gets some of its products to market because of a shortage of rail cars.

Copper Mining Mountain Corp. added 8.9 percent to C$2.20 after saying in a statement that construction was moving forward on a new secondary ore crusher at its mine in British Columbia.

US
By Lu Wang and Callie Bost

March 25 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced for the first time in three days as commodity and health-care shares rallied and economic data showed consumer confidence at a six-year high.

International Business Machines Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and Johnson & Johnson rallied more than 2.2 percent, leading gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Health-care companies rose 0.8 percent as biotechnology stocks halted a four-day slump. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. rose 1.5 percent as copper prices increased. Carnival Corp. slid 5 percent after it narrowed its full-year profit forecast.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.4 percent to 1,865.62 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow average increased 91.19 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,367.88. The Russell 2000 Index was little changed.

“Things don’t look spectacular here, but they look OK,” Curtis Holden, a senior investment officer at Tanglewood Wealth Management in Houston, said by phone. The firm oversees about $800 million. “The U.S. economy seemed to have cooled off from the pace it’s on toward the end of last year. There may be a little relief recently that things may be stable here.”

Large companies led the market’s gain as investors opted for less volatile stocks. IBM, the world’s largest computer- services provider, advanced 3.6 percent to $195.04. Cisco, the world’s biggest maker of network routers and switches, gained 3.6 percent to $22.34. J&J, a health-care products company, rose 2.3 percent to $97.38.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility also known as VIX, fell 7.1 percent to 14.02 today. About 6.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.

Three rounds of bond purchases from the Federal Reserve have helped fuel economic growth, sending the S&P 500 surging as much as 178 percent from its 2009 low. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on March 19 that the central bank’s stimulus program could end this fall and benchmark interest rates may rise about six months later.

Fed Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser said in an interview on CNBC today that the central bank wants to get back to normal policy, and that he doesn’t think the Fed changed its position on a rate rise.

The Conference Board’s index of U.S. consumer confidence rose to 82.3 in March from 78.3 a month earlier, the New York- based private research group said today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 76 economists called for a reading of 78.5 this month.

Another report showed purchases of new homes in the U.S. fell in February to the lowest level in five months, a sign the industry may take time to pick up after inclement weather damped demand earlier in the year.

Residential real-estate prices climbed at a slower pace in the year through January than a month earlier. The S&P/Case- Shiller index of property values in 20 cities increased 13.2 percent from January 2013, the smallest gain since August, after rising 13.4 percent in the 12 months through December.

“There is no doubt that the market is discounting the first quarter,” Tom Wirth, a senior investment officer for Chemung Canal Trust Co. in Elmira, New York, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees $1.8 billion. “They know the weather is going to materially impact first-quarter GDP. It’s just wait and see until we see if there is truly accelerating strength in the economy.”

Investors have added $8.4 billion to U.S. equity exchange- traded funds in the past five days and $1 billion to bond ETFs, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Financial stocks absorbed the most money among industry ETFs, taking in $1 billion during the past week.

Industrials rose 0.9 percent for the best performance in the S&P 500, as nine out of 10 groups advanced. Shares of energy and health care stocks climbed 0.8 percent. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index added 0.1 percent, ending a four-day, 8.7 percent drop.

Raw-material producers in the S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent as a group. Copper rose the most in 15 weeks in New York on speculation that demand will improve as China, the world’s largest metals consumer, takes steps to bolster economic growth. Freeport-McMoRan, the largest publicly traded copper producer, climbed 1.5 percent to $32.08.

Walgreen Co. climbed 3.3 percent to $66.42. The owner of pharmacies said it plans to close 76 drugstores in the second half of fiscal 2014. Synergies from its Alliance Boots business will be higher than previously estimated, the company said.

Sonic Corp. rallied 11 percent to $23.23, the highest level since April 2008. The company’s second-quarter adjusted profit of 7 cents a share beat the average analyst projection of 6 cents.

McCormick & Co. advanced 5.5 percent to $71.20, the highest level since August. The maker of spices and other flavored products reported first-quarter profit and sales that exceeded analysts’ estimates.

Carnival declined 5 percent to $38.02. The world’s largest cruise line operator has been facing lower ticket prices and higher costs to attract customers hesitant about past incidents, including onboard illnesses and a fire on a Triumph cruise.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

My country and your country,

my God and God – all that is the fragmentation of thought.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Kindness is always fashionable.

-Amelia Barr, 1831-1919

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

William Morris’s birthday today, March 24^th, 1834: Morris was founder of the Arts and Crafts movement.   He believed that simple objects crafted by hand were preferable to ornate mass-produced objects cheaply turned out by machine.  He created elegant textile designs incorporating arabesques of plants, flowers, and birds, which found their inspiration in medieval tapestries and historical fabrics and relied on traditional methods, such as hand-block printing and vegetable dyeing.

From the exhibition  William Morris: The Reactionary Revolutionary at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Beauty, which is what is meant by art, using the word in its widest sense, is, I contend, no mere accident to human life, which people can take or leave as they choose, but a positive necessity of life. –William Morris

Photos of the day

US President Barack Obama (l.) looks at Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (r.) in front of Dutch master Rembrandt’s The Night Watch painting during a visit to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Jerry Lampen/AP

A girl walks along ‘Graffitti Way’ at Prazeres slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sponsored by the French oil and gas company Total SA, about 50 houses were painted by graffiti artists all the way to the top of the community, local media said. Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

Market Closes for March 24^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16276.69	-26.08   -0.16%
S&P 500	1857.44	-9.08   -0.49%
NASDAQ	4226.387	-50.401   -1.18%
TSX	14278.55	-57.21
		-0.40%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14475.30	+251.07
		+1.77%
HANG SENG	21846.45	+409.75
		+1.91%
SENSEX	22055.48	+300.16
		+1.38%
FTSE 100	6520.39	-36.78
		-0.56%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.459	2.486
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.940	2.956
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.7281	2.7444
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.5617	3.6094

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89323	0.89112
US $	1.11953	1.12219
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54906	0.64555
US $	1.38367	0.72272

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1309.25	1333.19
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	100.10	99.96
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

March 24 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, sending the benchmark gauge lower for a second day, as data signaled a slowdown in U.S. manufacturing.

SilverCrest Mines Inc. dropped 11 percent after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates. Rock Energy Inc. added 3.2 percent after the company said it was increasing its 2014 capital spending. BlackBerry Ltd. climbed 3 percent after Cormark Securities Inc. raised its price target and rating for the stock.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 57.21 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,278.55 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has risen 4.8 percent this year. The S&P 500 Index, the benchmark for U.S. equities, tumbled 0.5 percent today.

“It’s very much followed the same direction as the U.S.,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research with MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto. The firm manages C$4.7 billion ($4.2 billion). “Anything economically sensitive seems to be a little bit more frothy,” he said in a phone interview.

The Markit Economics preliminary index of U.S. manufacturing slowed to 55.5 in March from 57.1 a month earlier, the London-based group said today. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. A separate report showed China’s manufacturing industry weakened for a fifth straight month.

Health-care and raw-materials shares had the largest declines in the S&P/TSX, both falling at least 2.8 percent.

SilverCrest Mines decreased 11 percent to C$2.03 after reporting adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of 1 cent a share, missing analysts’ estimates for 4 cents. Rock Energy advanced 3.2 percent to C$5.24 after saying it would increase the amount it planned to spend on building out its projects from $62 million to $85 million.

BlackBerry rallied 3 percent to C$10.50. Cormark raised its rating on the stock to speculative buy from market perform. BlackBerry has gained 33 percent so far this year. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company reports financial results on March 28.

SouthGobi Resources Ltd. slipped 27 percent to 53 Canadian cents. The producer of metallurgical coal in Mongolia is seeking additional financing to avoid defaulting on a $250 million convertible debenture after the price of the commodity fell. Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd., which owns 56 percent of SouthGobi, tumbled 2.4 percent to C$3.69.

US
By Lu Wang and Callie Bost

March 24 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks pared losses in the final hour of trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average turning higher following a drop of as much as 87 points.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 0.3 percent at 1,861.58 at 3:37 p.m. in New York after slumping as much as 0.9 percent. The Dow added 13.17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,315.94.

Stocks fell earlier as economic data signaled a slowdown in American manufacturing and some banks said Russia’s economy will enter a recession.

The Markit Economics preliminary index of U.S. manufacturing decreased to 55.5 in March from 57.1 a month earlier, the London-based group said today. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. This month’s reading was the second-highest since January 2013.

Sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the European Union are pushing Russia toward a recession as the intensity of their economic penalties increases after the annexation of Crimea earlier this month.

Banks including state-run VTB Capital say the world’s ninth-biggest economy will shrink for at least two quarters as penalties for annexing Crimea rattle markets, curb investment and raise the cost of borrowing. Sanctions that have so far focused on individuals via visa bans and asset freezes may be expanded to target specific areas of the economy.

Leaders of the U.S., the European Union, China, Japan and others meet today, seeking to mobilize opposition to Russia’s incursion into Crimea. The gathering in The Hague to discuss Ukraine comes amid growing concern over a Russian buildup on its neighbor’s border as pro-Kremlin troops seized a Ukrainian base in Crimea.

Stocks had their biggest gains in a month last week, with the S&P 500 rising 1.4 percent, as data from jobless claims to manufacturing showed the economy is strengthening. The benchmark index reached an intraday record on March 21, touching 1,883.97 before retreating.

“The market has been running into resistance at 1,880,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at RW Baird & Co., said by telephone from Sarasota, Florida. His firm oversees $110 billion. “Today it’s a question of what catalyst can come in and generate extra volume.”

Federal Reserve policy makers met last week as economic reports indicated the economy is pulling out of a slowdown linked to unusually harsh winter weather. Reports on housing, gross domestic product and durable goods are among the economic data due this week.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

When one lives with concepts one never learns.  The concepts become static.

You may change them but the very transformation of one concept to another is still static, is still fixed.

But to have the sensitivity to feel, seeing that life is not a movement of two separate activities,

the external and the inward, to see that it is one, to realize that the inter-relationship is this movement,

is this ebb and flow of sorrow and pleasure and joy and depression, loneliness and escape,

to perceive nonverbally this life as a whole, not fragmented, nor broken up, is to learn.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The future is here.  It’s just not widely

distributed yet.

-William Gibson, 1948-

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Numbers:
1 in 37: Approximate proportion of stars scanned by NASA’s Kepler mission found to have planets orbiting them.  New data analysis resulted in twice as many planetary systems being found.
10.7: Hours spent reading per week by resident of India, the most in the world.

Today is Ostara, Wiccan.

Photos of the day

Workers complete the installation ‘Stools’ with 6,000 stools by Ai Weiwei in Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin, Germany. The world’s largest solo exhibition by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will run from April 3, to July 7, 2014. Kay Nietfeld/dpa/AP

French Archbishop Patrick Chauvet holds the Holy Crown of Thorns during a procession outside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The presentation of the relic, which was woven from thorn branches and believed to have been placed on Jesus Christ during the events leading up to his crucifixion, forms part of ceremonies marking the 800th anniversary of the birth and baptism of Saint Louis. Philippe Wojazer/Reuters

Market Closes for March 21^st, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16302.70	-28.35   -0.17%
S&P 500	1866.49	-5.52   -0.29%
NASDAQ	4276.789	-42.497   -0.98%
TSX	14335.99	-25.84
		-0.18%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14224.23	-238.29
		-1.65%
HANG SENG	21436.70	+254.54
		+1.20%
SENSEX	21753.75	+13.66
		+0.06%
FTSE 100	6557.17	+14.73
		+0.23%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.486	2.501
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.956	2.992
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.7444	2.7716
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.6094	3.6629

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89112	0.88968
US $	1.12219	1.12400
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54797	0.64601
US $	1.37943	0.72494

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1333.19	1328.95
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	99.96	99.43
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

March 21 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, paring the best weekly rally in a month for the benchmark equity index, as declines in health-care and technology companies overshadowed better-than-forecast growth in retail sales.

Big Rock Brewery Inc., a craft beer producer, rose 5.9 percent after saying it is raising $11.8 million ($10.5 million) to build a restaurant and brewery in British Columbia. Solium Capital Inc. fell 5.3 percent after saying its chief executive officer may sell as many as 2.1 million shares over two years. BlackBerry Ltd. lost 4.1 percent as the smartphone maker sold most of its real estate in Canada.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 26.07 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,335.76 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The equity benchmark rose 0.8 percent over the past five days, the best weekly performance since Feb. 21.

“It appears the economy is holding its own in a very tough winter environment,” Irwin Michael, fund manager with ABC Funds, which manages C$850 million, said in a telephone interview. “The North American economies are improving little by little.”

Canadian retail sales rose at the fastest pace in eight months in January, with the rebound led by automobiles and general merchandise stores. Sales increased 1.3 percent to C$40.7 billion ($36.2 billion), following December’s revised 1.9 percent drop, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a 0.7 percent increase, based on the median of 20 projections.

Seven of the 10 main industries in the index fell, with health-care and technology companies losing more than 2 percent.

Big Rock rose 5.9 percent to C$18, the biggest increase since June 2012. The Calgary-based brewery increased a C$10 million stock sale to about C$11.8 million. The money will be used to expand the company by building a restaurant and brewery in British Columbia.

Solium Capital, which builds software for employee stock plans, fell 5.3 percent to C$7.04 after the company announced its CEO Michael Broadfoot may sell 2.1 million of his shares over the next two years.

AutoCanada Inc., which runs car dealerships in Canada, surged 8.6 percent to C$54.99 after saying it planned to buy 10 to 12 new dealerships in the next two years.

Ballard Power Systems Inc. fell 1 percent to C$4.81. The company makes hydrogen fuel cells for companies including Plug Power Inc. Ballard shares have slumped 37 percent since short- seller Andrew Left of Citron Research called Plug, which has seen a 3,000 percent surge in the past year, a “casino stock” on Mar. 11.

Hydrogenics Corp., which also makes fuel cell systems, sank 7.9 percent to C$30.30.

BlackBerry dropped 4.1 percent to C$10.19 for a second day of losses. The smartphone maker agreed to sell more than 3 million square feet of space, plus vacant property, and lease back some of it in a transaction expected to close by the end of May. BlackBerry didn’t disclose terms of the agreement, and didn’t name the buyer.

BlackBerry also argued in court today that Typo Products LLC copied its keyboard design. The company is suing Typo, which is founded by “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest, saying the company’s iPhone case copies BlackBerry’s keyboard design.

US
By Joseph Ciolli and Jeff Sutherland

March 21 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed to a record, while Treasuries gained and the dollar weakened. Russian stocks slid after the country completed its annexation of Crimea.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 1,866.40 at 4 p.m. in New York, after reaching an all-time high of 1,883.97. The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell for the first time in three days, losing three basis points to 2.74 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index gained 0.4 percent as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed 2.4 percent after entering a bear market yesterday. Moscow’s Micex Index lost 1 percent. The dollar lost 0.1 percent against the euro. Gold and oil advanced.

U.S. stock trading was subject to swings today because of quadruple witching, when futures and options contracts on indexes and individual stocks expire. The S&P 500 advanced 1.4 percent this week as better-than-estimated economic data overshadowed concern that benchmark interest rates may rise in the middle of next year. The European Union extended the list of prominent Russians subject to sanctions for their part in the annexation of Crimea, while ratings companies cut the nation’s outlook.

“It’s a combination of it being witching day, plus the continuation of uncertainty on the geopolitical front,” Chad Morganlander, a Florham Park, New Jersey-based fund manager at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which oversees about $150 billion of assets, said in a telephone interview. “That’s forced the traders to square their books going into the weekend. Days like this are typically volatile.”

The S&P 500 erased gains today after reaching levels it has repeatedly failed to surpass this month. Before today, its previous intraday high was 1,883.57, reached March 7, and the gauge touched 1,881.94 on March 6 and 1,882.35 on March 11. The index has climbed 0.4 percent for March, and is up 1 percent for the quarter.

The benchmark gauge rose 0.6 percent yesterday as reports on leading indicators and regional manufacturing topped forecasts. Reports on housing, gross domestic product and durable goods are among the economic data due next week. The index lost 0.6 percent and Treasury yields jumped the previous day after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank’s stimulus program could end this fall and the rates could rise about six months later.

Three rounds of Fed stimulus and low interest rates have helped boost the equity gauge as much as 178 percent from a 12- year low as U.S. stocks enter the sixth year of a bull market. Policy makers met this week as economic reports indicated the economy is pulling out of a slowdown linked to unusually harsh winter weather.

“The consensus believes that the stock market will continue moving higher as long as the economy improves,” Matt Maley, an equity strategist with Miller Tabak & Co., said in a phone interview from Boston. “But whether that’s enough to keep it rallying is another thing entirely.”

Treasury 30-year bonds rose as investors reevaluate how quickly Fed officials will increase interest rates. Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard defended Yellen’s forecast on interest-rate increases, saying her remarks were in line with private surveys on when the central bank might start tightening policy.

Bullard also said that while the Fed is watching for signs of asset bubbles, policy makers don’t have a “preoccupation” with discouraging risk-taking.

Two-year notes were little changed to yield 0.43 percent, after surging seven basis points on March 19, the biggest one- day rise since 2011.

Developing-market equities posted a weekly gain of 0.8 percent, the most in more than a month and paring losses this year to 5.8 percent. The benchmark trades at a price-to-book ratio of 1.4, its cheapest level versus the MSCI World Index since 2004.

Chinese shares rallied amid speculation the government is loosening funding restrictions for property developers and banks to support growth. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.7 percent, its biggest gain in four months.

Russia’s Micex Index fell and the yield on government bonds due February 2027 jumped 12 basis points to 9.42 percent.

The European Union signed an accord with Ukraine and expanded sanctions, amid the worst standoff between Russia and the West since the Cold War. S&P and Fitch Ratings cut Russia’s credit outlook to negative. U.S. President Barack Obama yesterday authorized potential future penalties on Russian industries including financial services, energy, metals and mining, defense and engineering.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.1 percent as euro-area consumer confidence increased more than economists forecast in March, adding to signs that the currency bloc’s recovery is gaining traction. The gauge capped its biggest weekly advance in five weeks, rising 1.8 percent.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which monitors the U.S. currency against its 10 major counterparts, retreated 0.2 percent. The index had its biggest weekly gain in two months, advancing 0.6 percent for the five days, amid bets the Fed is moving toward raising interest rates.

The Australian dollar rose against all of its 16 major peers on speculation the country’s growth will defy a slowdown in China. It strengthened 0.5 percent to 90.84 U.S. cents today.

Gold advanced for the first time in five days, rising 0.4 percent to $1,336 an ounce on increasing demand for a haven. Bullion slumped this week after reaching a six-month high on March 17 amid turmoil over Ukraine. Oil added 0.6 percent to $99.46 a barrel today.

Palladium rose 2.3 percent and touched the highest level since August 2011 on concern that sanctions will trim supplies from Russia, the world’s biggest supplier of the metal used in pollution-control devices for cars.

Copper gained 0.8 percent after reaching a 44-month low this week. The metal has dropped this month on concern demand from top consumer China is poised to slow and as the Fed continued to trim its bond-buying program and signal higher interest rates.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

You are the product of your environment.

That is why you are not able to see beyond the habits and social conventions

that are rooted deep within you.  If you wish to see beyond them,

you must first of all free yourself from the normal way in which you interpret facts.

Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Act in such a way that you will be worthy of being happy.

-Franz Kafka, 1883-1924

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Today is the first day of spring!

It is also the United Nations International Day of Happiness, established to promote the theory that cheerfulness improves mental and physical wellness and also fosters economic prosperity.

But winter passes.  March is not yet done
Before the solace of a warmer sun
Strokes on our hands and takes us by surprise
With a forgotten touch on naked skin
The almond breaks to pink against the skies;
Then do we start, and with new-opened eyes
See the true Spring begin.
It flowers in the grass beneath our feet
Where yesterday the colour sparse and thin
Of some rathe daffodil blew here, or there,
Not more than two or three,
Like slender tinkle of a clevecin
In a light sprinkle, single, stray, and rare,
That overnight has flowed into a fleet
Of yellow sails to ride the grassy sea…

-V. Sackville-West, from The Garden

Spring is when life’s alive in everything. –Christina Rosetti

Photos of the day

A slackline walker enjoys the sunny and warm weather in a park at the river Rhine bank in Duesseldorf, Germany. Frank Augstein/AP

Romeo, humanoid robots from Aldebaran, are seen during the Innorobo European summit, an event dedicated to the service robotics industry, in Lyon, central France. Laurent Cipriani/AP

Market Closes for March 20^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16331.05	+108.88   +0.67%
S&P 500	1872.01	+11.24   +0.60%
NASDAQ	4319.285	+11.683   +0.27%
TSX	14361.83	+27.79
		+0.19%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14224.23	-238.29
		-1.65%
HANG SENG	21182.16	-386.53
		-1.79%
SENSEX	21740.09	-92.77
		-0.42%
FTSE 100	6542.44	-30.69
		-0.47%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.501	2.475
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.992	2.976
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.7716	2.7725
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.6629	3.6568

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88968	0.88987
US $	1.12400	1.12376
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54885	0.64564
US $	1.37798	0.72570

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1328.95	1330.27
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	99.43	100.37
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

March 20 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, with energy and financial shares leading gains, as the market rebounded after a drop yesterday triggered by concern the U.S. central bank may raise interest rates by the middle of next year.

Verde Potash Plc rose 14 percent after the fertilizer miner increased its resource estimate at its Cerrado Verde project in Brazil. Knight Therapeutics Inc. rose 12 percent after winning approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Impavido drug. AirBoss of America Corp., which makes rubber products, fell 6.7 percent after reporting a fourth-quarter loss.

In a press conference at the end of a two-day meeting yesterday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank’s stimulus program could end this fall and benchmark interest rates could rise six months later. The Fed had not previously given a time frame for the rate raise. Selling sped up in equities and bond yields jumped in U.S. markets just after 3 p.m. New York time yesterday when Yellen spoke about the timing of a potential interest rate raise.

“People are parsing her comments too much, but she was pretty consistent that they are working on a forecast,” said John O’Connell, chief executive officer at Davis Rea Ltd. in Toronto, which manages about C$600 million. “If you’re upset the rates target has been pushed forward by 90 days, then you shouldn’t be investing in stocks in the first place.”

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 27.79 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,361.83 at the close in Toronto. The index has risen 5.4 percent this year.

Verde Potash rose 14 percent to C$1.68 after increasing resource estimates at its project in Brazil. Potash is used as a fertilizer to strengthen plant roots. The company said it plans to build an open-pit mine at the site and sell directly to the Brazilian agricultural market.

Knight Therapeutics rose 12 percent to C$5.55 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s Impavido drug, which is used to treat a tropical disease called leishmaniasis.

AirBoss of America fell 6.7 percent to C$7.98 after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of 3 cents a share, compared with a gain of 8 cents a share for the same period in the previous year. The Newmarket, Ontario-based company also said Stephen Richards, who served as chief financial officer and chief operating officer, had resigned.

Coal miner Walter Energy Inc. fell 20 percent to C$8.13 after Bank of America Corp. said the commodity will be “depressed” for the next several years. Benchmark contract prices for metallurgical coal, which is used to make steel, are at the lowest since 2010.

Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. fell 6.4 percent to C$33.21. The company stores and loads coal at the Port Metro Vancouver, where a strike by truckers is affecting cargo shipments.

Concordia Healthcare Corp. rose 7.9 percent to C$17.08 after announcing an agreement to buy the drug Donnatal, a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, from Revive Pharmaceuticals.

US
By Joseph Ciolli and Callie Bost

March 20 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose for the third time this week as reports on leading indicators and regional manufacturing fueled optimism in the economy, overshadowing concern that interest rates may rise in the middle of next year.

Microsoft Corp. gained 2.7 percent after Morgan Stanley said the company’s anticipated Office software for Apple Inc.’s iPad could deliver $1.2 billion a year in billings. AT&T Inc. jumped 3.4 percent to lead a rally in phone stocks. Guess? Inc. slipped 3.4 percent after its full-year earnings projection trailed analysts’ predictions.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.6 percent to 1,872.01 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 108.88 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,331.05. Both gauges erased most of yesterday’s declines. About 6.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 3.2 percent less than the three-month average.

“People assessed what Yellen said yesterday during her press conference, which allowed clearer heads to prevail,” Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC, which manages $4.5 billion, said in a phone interview. “There was an overreaction to the market yesterday, and you’re essentially getting it all back today. Plus you’ve seen a slight improvement in the economic news from this morning.”

The equities benchmark fell 0.6 percent yesterday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank’s stimulus program could end this fall and benchmark interest rates could rise about six months later. The Fed had previously said it would not raise rates for a considerable period, without specifying a time frame.

Quarterly Fed forecasts also showed more officials predicting that the benchmark rate, now close to zero, will rise to at least 1 percent at the end of 2015 and 2.25 percent a year later. The central bank said it would trim its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $55 billion.

Three rounds of Fed stimulus and low interest rates have helped boost the equity gauge as much as 178 percent from a 12- year low as U.S. stocks enter the sixth year of a bull market. The S&P 500 has climbed back to within about six points of a record close reached March 7.

Yellen also said harsh winter weather was a significant reason for weakness this year in economic data from housing to jobs.

Data today showed the world’s largest economy will strengthen after the weather-induced slowdown in the first quarter, as the index of leading indicators rose more than forecast in February.

Another report indicated the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits held last week near the lowest level in almost four months, a sign the labor market continues to strengthen.

The Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing gauge rose to 9.0 in March from minus 6.3 the prior month. The average estimate was for an increase to 3.2. Separate data showed purchases of previously owned homes declined in February to the lowest level since July 2012.

“The market has digested and even discounted a bit what Yellen said, and put things into perspective,” Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at New York-based Williams Capital Group LP, said in a phone interview. “We have to see how the economy continues to move along. People are back focusing on signs of economic growth.”

Investors also watched the situation in Ukraine, where the government in Kiev said yesterday it plans to reinforce its eastern border with Russia and withdraw troops from Crimea, ceding control of the Black Sea peninsula as tensions remained high over Russian moves to annex the breakaway region.

President Barack Obama said today the U.S. is imposing financial sanctions on a wider swath of Russian officials and a Russian bank as he authorized further penalties that would directly target sectors of the economy.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility, fell 4 percent to 14.52.

Nine of the 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced, with phone and bank stocks rising at least 1.7 percent. AT&T jumped 3.4 percent, the most since January 2013, to $34.09 to lead gains in the Dow.

The KBW Bank Index jumped 2.2 percent before the results of annual reviews known as stress tests. After the market close, the Fed said 29 of the 30 largest banks subjected to the tests have sufficient capital to withstand a deep recession while continuing to pay dividends. Zions Bancorporation is the only lender that came in below one of the Fed’s main capital thresholds.

All 30 banks, including Zions, exceeded the minimum in a separate scenario of rising interest rates, a sign of improved capital levels in the banking system since the 2008 financial crisis.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. rallied 3.1 percent to $60.11, the highest since 2000, during regular trading. After the close of markets, Zions fell 0.8 percent to $32.72 as of 4:39 p.m. in New York.

“You’re getting leadership from some of the areas that are going to benefit from the eventual rise in interest rates, such as financials,” Banyan’s Pavlik said.

Nike Inc. jumped 0.6 percent to $79.71 in late trading.  After the market close, the world’s largest sporting-goods company posted third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as shoe sales gained in North America.

Teradata Corp. had the biggest advance in the benchmark S&P index during regular hours, rising 4.6 percent to $48.20. The Dayton, Ohio-based company said it has been selected by NTT Docomo Inc., Japan’s largest wireless operator, to implement a marketing operations platform for its consumer credit-services business.

Microsoft increased 2.7 percent to $40.33, the highest since July 2000. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is expected to debut a version of Office for the iPad at an event next week. Morgan Stanley maintained its equalweight view on the stock.

Guess declined 3.4 percent to $27.78 after forecasting earnings for fiscal-year 2015 of $1.40 to $1.60 a share, missing the average analyst estimate of $2.03 a share. The apparel maker predicted a first-quarter net loss of 5 cents to 9 cents a share.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

How can we be free to look and learn when our minds from the moment we are born

to the moment we die are shaped by a particular culture

in the narrow pattern of “me?”

For centuries we have been conditioned by nationality, caste, class, tradition,

religion, language, education, literature, art, custom, convention,

propaganda of all kinds, economic pressure, the food we eat, the climate we live in,

our family, our friends, our experience – every influence you can think of –

and therefore our responses to every problem are conditioned.

Are you aware that you are conditioned?

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

As you grow older, you’ll find that you enjoy

talking to strangers far more than to your friends.

-Joy Williams, 1944-

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

The TED talks taking place in Vancouver featured a live feed this year.  Participants gave excellent presentations. I was very impressed by this year’s winner of the TED prize money and by what she intends to do with it.  Go to www.ted.com and www.ted.com/prize.  Enjoy the talks.

Tomorrow is the last day of winter!  The spring equinox arrives on Friday.

Photos of the day

Uzbek dancers in folk costumes perform during the festivities marking the Navruz holiday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Navruz (‘New Year’) dates back to ancient Iranian and Central Asian fire-worshippers who celebrated the spring equinox with dances and ritual food. Anvar Ilyasov/AP

A worker decorates lanterns to celebrate Buddha’s upcoming birthday on May 6 at Jogye temple in Seoul, South Korea. Lee Jin-man/AP

Market Closes for March 19^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16222.17	-114.02   -0.70%
S&P 500	1860.77	-11.48   -0.61%
NASDAQ	4307.602	-25.711   -0.59%
TSX	14334.04	-34.94
		-0.24%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14462.52	+51.25
		+0.36%
HANG SENG	21568.69	-14.81
		-0.07%
SENSEX	21832.86	+0.25
		—
FTSE 100	6573.13	-32.15
		-0.49%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.475	2.405
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.976	2.940
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.7725	2.6722
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.6568	3.6137

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88987	0.89819
US $	1.12376	1.11335
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55635	0.64364
US $	1.38254	0.72330

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1330.27	1356.53
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	100.37	99.70
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck and Eric Lam

March 19 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, after climbing to a five-year high yesterday, as U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said central bank stimulus could end this fall and benchmark interest rates could rise six months later.

Air Canada rose 1 percent after Standard & Poor’s upgraded its debt rating on the airline yesterday. Athabasca Oil Corp. dropped 4.1 percent after reporting a quarterly loss and forecasting declining production. Canfor Corp. rallied 2.4 percent, snapping an eight-day decline, as Raymond James & Associates upgraded its rating on the wood products producer.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 34.94 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,334.04 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has risen 5.2 percent this year.

“It looks like the Fed has opened up a bit to look beyond unemployment, so it gives them some more flexibility,” said Greg Eckel, fund manager at Morgan Meighen & Associates Ltd. in Toronto. He helps manage about C$1.4 billion with the firm.

The U.S. central bank said it will look at a wide range of data in determining when to raise their target interest rate from zero, dropping a pledge tying borrowing costs to a 6.5 percent unemployment rate.

The Fed predicted the rate would be 1 percent at the end of 2015 and 2.25 percent a year later, higher than previously forecast, as they upgraded projections for gains in the labor market. The Fed also reduced the monthly pace of bond purchases by $10 billion, to $55 billion.

Yellen said the quantitative easing program would end this fall if the Fed continues to taper purchases in measured steps. She said she sees a “considerable time” between the end of the stimulus and the first rate increase, meaning “six months or that type of thing.”

The Canadian market is especially sensitive to changes in commodities, Eckel said. “A big driver has been the gold stock play, and it looks like some of the wind has come out of the sails there. The market has been spotty, a little nervous,” he said. Gold for immediate delivery fell the most in three months today, dropping 1.9 percent.

Air Canada rose 1 percent to C$6.00, bringing this week’s gain to 7.7 percent. S&P raised the company’s debt rating to B from B -. The company has said it plans to squeeze more seats onto jets in its Rouge unit to turn unprofitable routes around.

Athabasca Oil fell 4.1 percent to C$8.05. The company, which operates in the Alberta oil sands, forecast oil production would be 6,000 to 6,500 barrels a day in the first quarter and dip to 5,500 to 6,000 barrels a day in the second quarter.

Canfor rose 2.4 percent to C$27 after Raymond James raised the company to strong buy from outperform. The stock lost 12 percent during the eight days through yesterday. Pulp mills in northern Alberta may be forced to suspend operations as early as this week because a labor dispute by truckers at Canada’s largest port is causing lumber to pile up.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. fell 2.5 percent to C$19 after Evrim Resources Corp. said in a statement that First Quantum had pulled out of a partnership to mine copper in Mexico.

BlackBerry Ltd. rose 4.8 percent to C$10.75. The smartphone maker is up 36 percent this year.

US
By Callie Bost

March 19 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for the first time in three days as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank’s stimulus program could end this fall and benchmark interest rates could rise six months later.

Walt Disney Co., General Electric Co. and Boeing Co. lost at least 1.4 percent to lead the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower. Consolidated Edison Inc. led utilities to the biggest decline among 10 groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Newmont Mining Corp. lost 3 percent as gold tumbled the most in six weeks after the Fed’s decision to reduce asset purchases.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.6 percent to 1,860.77 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow slid 114.02 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,222.17. About 6.7 billion shares changed hands in the U.S., in line with the three-month average.

“The pace of tightening, once the Fed starts tightening, is a little bit faster than thought before and I think that’s why we’re getting this market reaction,” John Canally, an economic strategist at LPL Financial Corp., said in a phone interview from Boston. His firm oversees about $438.4 billion. “Being reminded that the Fed will eventually raise rates is getting traders’ attention.”

By keeping its benchmark interest-rate target near zero and conducting three rounds of asset purchases, the Fed has helped push the S&P 500 up as much as 178 percent from a 12-year low as U.S. equities enter the sixth year of a bull market that started in March 2009.

Stocks turned lower today as the Fed’s statement said officials predicted their target interest rate would be 1 percent at the end of 2015 and 2.25 percent a year later, higher than previously forecast, as they upgraded projections for gains in the labor market. The central bank said it would trim its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion, to $55 billion.

Most Federal Open Market Committee participants reiterated their view that the Fed will refrain from raising the benchmark interest rate until 2015. The median rate among 16 Fed officials rose from December, when they estimated the rate at the end of next year at 0.75 percent, and 1.75 percent for the end of 2016. The central bank said it will look at a wide range of data in determining when to raise its rate, dropping a pledge tying borrowing costs to a 6.5 percent unemployment rate.

Benchmark indexes extended losses as Yellen said the quantitative easing program would end this fall if the Fed continues to taper purchases in measured steps. She sees a “considerable time” between the end of the stimulus and the first rate increase, meaning  “six months or that type of thing,” she said at her first press conference following a Fed decision.

“U.S. indices are moving quickly on Yellen’s comments,” Larry Peruzzi, senior equity trader at Cabrerra Capital Markets LLC in Boston, said in an e-mail. “Equities are adjusting the risk factor of higher rates.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility, jumped 4.1 percent to 15.12 after two straight losses. All of the 10 main industries in the S&P 500 retreated with utility and industrial shares losing at least 1 percent for the biggest declines. Financial companies slipped less than 0.2 percent for the best performance.

Disney lost 1.8 percent to $80.52, Boeing slid 1.5 percent to $122.24 and GE declined 1.4 percent to $25.28 as 25 of 30 stocks in the Dow declined.

Newmont Mining slid 3 percent to $24.50 for a third straight decline. Gold for immediate delivery slumped 1.9 percent to $1,330.35 an ounce as the Fed predictions for higher interest rates next year curbed demand for the metal as a store of value.

All 30 utilities in the S&P 500 retreated as Treasury 10- year yields jumped 10 basis points to 2.77 percent, competing with the dividend yields offered by utilities. Con Ed dropped 3.2 percent to $52.68 and Duke Energy Corp. fell 2.2 percent to $68.71.

SolarCity Corp. dropped 5.7 percent to $72.70. The biggest U.S. solar-power supplier by market value posted fourth-quarter net income of $26.7 million, compared with a loss of $33 million a year earlier. The profit came largely from an acquisition- related tax benefit, the company said. Excluding one-time items, SolarCity had a loss of 46 cents a share.

Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. lost 5.8 percent to $72.22. The skin-care product seller suspended some promotional meetings in China and won’t accept new applications for sales jobs there. The company is being investigated after a report in People’s Daily newspaper said it’s a “suspected illegal pyramid scheme.”

Juniper Networks Inc. gained 2.1 percent to $26.45 after Wells Fargo Securities analyst Jess Lubert raised the company’s rating to outperform from market perform.

The S&P 500 advanced 1.7 percent in the last two days as Russia pledged not to seek territory beyond Crimea. The U.S. and Europe are preparing to ratchet up sanctions on Russia after President Vladimir Putin signed an accord setting in motion Crimea’s accession to Russia. With visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials failing to sway Putin, European Union leaders will meet tomorrow to consider “additional and far- reaching consequences.”

Investors have added $8 billion to U.S. equity exchange- traded funds in the past five days and $1.1 billion to bond ETFs, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Materials stocks absorbed the most money among industry ETFs, taking in $689 million during the past week.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Have you ever tried living with yourself?

If so, you will begin to see that yourself is not a static state,

it is a fresh living thing.

And to live with a living thing your mind must also be alive.

And it cannot be alive if it is caught in opinions, judgements, and values.

Krishnamurti, 18951986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A man has to be Joe McCarthy to be called ruthless.  All a woman

has to do is put you on hold.

-Marlo Thomas, 1942-

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Exciting report in the news today about the origins of the universe:

Researchers say they have spotted evidence that a split second after the Big Bang, the newly formed universe ballooned out at a pace so astonishing that it left behind ripples in the fabric of the cosmos. On Monday they reported that they had found the evidence by peering into the faint light that remains from the Big Bang of nearly 14 billion years ago.

Photos of the day

A couple wearing traditional Japanese kimono pose for wedding photos in Hamarikyu Gardens, in Tokyo. Eugene Hoshiko/AP

An employee arranges pricetags for vegetables during the opening day of upmarket Eataly’s flagship store in downtown Milan. Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters

Market Closes for March 18^th, 2014

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	16336.19	+88.97    +0.55%
S&P 500	1872.25	+13.42    +0.72%
NASDAQ	4333.313	+53.364    +1.25%
TSX	14368.98	+137.09
		+0.96%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14411.27	+133.60
		+0.94%
HANG  SENG	21583.50	+109.55
		+0.51%
SENSEX	21832.61	+22.81
		+0.10%
FTSE 100	6605.28	+36.93
		+0.56%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	2.405	2.430
CND.  30 Year Bond	2.940	2.950
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6722	2.6921
U.S.  30 Year Bond	3.6137	3.6275

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89819	0.90434
US  $	1.11335	1.10578
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian  $	1.55099	0.64475
US  $	1.39307	0.71784

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold  Fix	1356.53	1367.82
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	99.70	98.08
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

March 18 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to a five-year high as Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled he wouldn’t invade eastern Ukraine and the U.S. reported home construction data that showed the industry was stabilizing.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which operates convenience stores, rose 2.1 percent after saying third-quarter earnings increased and naming a new chief executive officer. NovaCopper Inc. rose 5.5 percent after reporting increased resources at a copper deposit in Alaska. Ivanhoe Energy Inc. dropped 10 percent after suspending its Tamarack oil sands project.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 137.09 points, or 1 percent, to 14,368.98 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest level since June 30, 2008. The index has risen 5.5 percent this year.

“This is a headline-driven market,” said Barry Schwartz, fund manager at Baskin Financial Services Inc. in Toronto. He helps manage C$600 million ($541 million) with the firm. “Last week the headlines on Russia and Ukraine were bad news, this week the headlines are good news.”

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, dean of the Group of Seven finance ministers, resigned to pursue work in the private sector. Flaherty, 64, said there is “no doubt” Canada will balance its budget as promised in the year starting April 2015.

Putin called on the Russian parliament to approve the annexation of Crimea after the Black Sea peninsula voted over the weekend to leave Ukraine. Global stocks lost $1.4 trillion in value last week on investor concern over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and China’s slowing economy.

Housing starts in the U.S. were little changed in February after declining less than previously estimated a month earlier, indicating the home-building industry is stabilizing after bad winter weather curbed construction.

The MSCI World Index rose 0.7 percent as global equity markets advanced for a second day. Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said he can’t rule out an interest-rate cut if the economy worsens, following a speech where he blamed harsh winter weather for mainly sparking weaker-than-forecast growth.

First-quarter economic growth may be a bit “softer” than forecast in January, and the global economy may experience a “secular stagnation” that holds down output gains and interest rates, Poloz said in a speech in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Alimentation Couche-Tard added 2.1 percent to $86.70 after saying third-quarter earnings increased 28 percent and announcing Chief Operating Officer Brian Hannasch would replaced Alain Bouchard as chief executive officer. Hannasch joined Couche-Tard in 2001 and helped the company through a 10-fold increase in the number of stores it has, according to a statement.

NovaCopper rose 5.5 percent to C$1.54 after reporting increased resources at its Bornite copper deposit in Alaska. Drilling samples returned results that might allow the company to build an open-pit mine at the site, NovaCopper said in a statement.

Canfor Corp. dropped 1.9 percent to C$26.38 and West Fraser Timber Co., another wood producer, fell 0.5 percent to C$50.13. Pulp mills in northern Alberta may be forced to suspend operations as early as this week because a labor dispute by truckers at Canada’s largest port is causing lumber to pile up.

The strike has stopped products from reaching Port Metro Vancouver, said James Gorman, chief executive officer of the Council of Forest Industries, an industry group that represents companies doing business in British Columbia. About 2,000 trucks move items to and from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s facility, which handled 135 million tons of cargo in 2013, up 9 percent from a year earlier, according to its website.

Ivanhoe Energy dropped 10 percent to 63 Canadian cents after suspending activity on the Tamarack oil sands project, citing a delay in the approval process with regulators.

US
By Callie Bost

March 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed, extending the best two-day gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in five weeks, as housing data bolstered confidence in the economy and Vladimir Putin said Russia isn’t seeking to split Ukraine.

Microsoft Corp. rallied to the highest since 2000 as the company plans to debut a version of Office for Apple Inc.’s iPad. Hewlett-Packard Co. added 3.7 percent after Barclays Plc lifted its rating on the computer maker. Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. fell 3.1 percent as New York’s attorney general started an investigation into whether stock exchanges provide high- frequency traders with improper advantages. GameStop Corp. dropped 3.4 percent after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will start selling pre-owned video games later this year.

The S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent to 1,872.25 at 4 p.m. in New York to extend its two-day rally to 1.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 88.97 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,336.19. Less than 5.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 12 percent below the three-month average.

“We’ve got a more congenial Russian message this morning and we got better economic reports here in the States,” John Augustine, chief market strategist at Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees $28.2 billion. “The building permits report was very bullish for the spring and summer housing season. Today, we move back to better economic reports and focusing on the Fed.”

The S&P 500 rallied 1 percent yesterday for its biggest increase in almost two weeks as a measure of industrial production grew more than forecast. The gauge dropped 2 percent last week, the most since January, amid mounting tension in Ukraine and signs of an economic slowdown in China.

A Commerce Department report showed housing starts were little changed in February after declining less than previously estimated a month earlier, indicating the home-building industry is stabilizing after bad winter weather curbed construction. Permits filed for future projects increased 7.7 percent to a 1.02 million pace in February, the most since October.

Separate data indicated the cost of living was little changed in February, showing inflation remains well below the Federal Reserve’s goal. Low inflation makes it likely that Fed policy makers meeting today and tomorrow will maintain a pledge to keep interest rates low, even as unemployment declines.

The Federal Open Market Committee will announce a $10 billion cut to monthly bond purchases tomorrow, according to the median of responses in a Bloomberg survey. The central bank will continue to slow the program at that pace at every meeting before ending it at the Oct. 28-29 gathering, the survey showed.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said last month the U.S. economy was strong enough to withstand measured reductions to the central bank’s monthly bond purchases. Three rounds of Fed stimulus have helped push the S&P 500 up 177 percent from a 12-year low, as U.S. equities enter the sixth year of a bull market that started March 9, 2009.

Economic data “was sort of little-changed to us, but at least it wasn’t a lot worse,” Cam Albright, director of asset allocation at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees about $82 billion. “People have been looking at a lot of negatively influenced numbers and thinking we may starting to get a little past that.”

Equity futures jumped this morning after Putin said Russia won’t attempt to further split up Ukraine. Crimea voted on March 16 to leave Ukraine and become a part of Russia. The regional parliament called the plebiscite after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country following protests against his rule.

“We don’t want to split up Ukraine, we don’t need that,” the Russian president said in a speech to parliament. “Don’t believe those who scare you with Russia, who yell that Crimea will be followed by other regions.”

U.S. and European leaders condemned Putin’s push to annex the region and promised further sanctions as early as this week.  Ukraine’s government said the conflict has entered a military phase as clashes in Crimea intensified, killing at least one Ukrainian serviceman.

Investors have added $352.1 million to U.S. equity exchange-traded funds in the past five days and $463.4 million to bond ETFs, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Materials stocks absorbed the most money among industry ETFs, taking in $670 million during the past week.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility, plunged 7.2 percent to 14.52 today. The gauge has fallen 19 percent in the past two days, the biggest slide since Feb. 7.

Nine of the 10 main S&P 500 industries advanced today.  Technology stocks rallied 1.4 percent as a group to lead the gains.

Microsoft jumped 3.9 percent to $39.55, the highest since July 2000. CEO Satya Nadella will begin unveiling his vision for the company when he debuts a version of Office for the iPad and offers some features of the application for free at an event next week, said people with knowledge of the announcement.

Hewlett-Packard added 3.7 percent to $30.56, closing at the highest level since August 2011. Barclays said HP’s servers may gain market share from International Business Machines Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd.

General Motors Co. climbed 1.6 percent to $35.17. Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra promoted 40-year engineering executive Jeff Boyer to a new global vehicle safety position, as scrutiny intensifies on a flaw linked to 12 deaths.

An S&P index of homebuilders rose 1.5 percent, with all 11 members advancing. D.R. Horton Inc. added 1.8 percent to $22.45 and Lennar Corp. gained 1.4 percent to $40.60.

GameStop plunged 3.4 percent to $38.39. Wal-Mart announced that customers can trade in video games for credit that can be used on any kind of merchandise. The world’s largest retailer will also sell pre-owned video games later this year.

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. slipped 1.8 percent to $96.77.  Barclays initiated coverage of the luxury retailer with an underweight, or sell, rating and a price forecast of $85, 14 percent below yesterday’s closing price.

Nasdaq OMX fell 3.1 percent, the most since August, to $38.50. IntercontinentalExchange Group Inc., parent of the New York Stock Exchange, lost 1.5 percent to $205.94. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is examining the sale of products and services that offer faster access to data and richer information on trades than what’s typically available to the public.

“We publicly file with the SEC for each and every one of these services, and we’re always engaged with government officials around the world,” Robert Madden, a spokesman for New York-based Nasdaq, said in a phone interview, referring to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He and Eric Ryan, a spokesman for NYSE, declined to comment on Schneiderman’s investigation.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Thought is crooked

because it can invent anything

and see things that are not there.

It can perform the most extraordinary tricks,

therefore it cannot be depended upon.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Passion is energy.  Feel the power that comes from

focusing on what excites you.

-Oprah Winfrey, 1954-

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Irish Cuisine:  On St. Patrick’s Day on the Emerald Isle, families gather for a typical meal of roast leg of lamb, Chef Cathal Armstrong informs us in his just released book, MyIrish Table (Random House).  Take a look at the beautiful features of this new publication at myirishtable.com.

A best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have. –Unknown.

When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is. – Oscar Wilde

Photos of the day

A woman entertains the public during the St Patrick’s day parade in Dublin, Ireland. The world’s largest parade celebrating Irish heritage set off on a cold and gray morning, the culmination of a weekend of St. Patrick’s Day revelry. Peter Morrison/AP

A man smears the face of a woman with colors during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Mumbai, India. The holiday, celebrated mainly in India and Nepal, marks the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil. Rajanish Kakade/AP

Market Closes for March 17^th, 2014

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	16247.22	+181.55    +1.13%
S&P 500	1858.83	+17.70    +0.96%
NASDAQ	4279.949	+34.553    +0.81%
TSX	14231.89	+4.23
		+0.03%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14277.67	-49.99
		-0.35%
HANG  SENG	21473.95	-65.54
		-0.30%
SENSEX	21809.80	+35.19
		+0.16%
FTSE 100	6568.35	+40.46
		+0.62%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	2.430	2.393
CND.  30 Year Bond	2.950	2.927
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6921	2.6543
U.S.  30 Year Bond	3.6275	3.5992

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90434	0.90072
US  $	1.10578	1.11023
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian  $	1.53961	0.64952
US  $	1.39233	0.71822

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold  Fix	1367.82	1383.05
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	98.08	98.89
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam and Gerrit De Vynck

March 17 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed as precious metal producers slipped after Crimea voted to leave Ukraine for Russia and energy stocks rose amid takeovers in the industry.

TransGlobe Energy Corp. added 1.8 percent after agreeing to sell itself to Caracal Energy Inc. in a C$696.2 million ($626.9 million) deal. Whitecap Resources Inc. climbed 7 percent after agreeing to buy western Canada conventional oil and natural gas assets from Imperial Oil Ltd. and raising its dividend. Bombardier Inc. jumped 4.9 percent after winning a contract in South Africa. Ensign Energy Services Inc. dropped 3 percent after reporting lower-than-estimated profit on weaker demand for drilling services.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 4.23 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,231.89 at the close in Toronto.  The index has risen 4.5 percent this year.

“What investors were anticipating last week was worse than what’s actually happening this morning, so as a result of that people are more comfortable in the market,” said Anish Chopra, fund manager at TD Asset Management Inc. in Toronto. He helps manage C$218.3 billion with the firm. “Investors were concerned about what was going to happen with the vote in Crimea and what the repercussions would be in terms of sanctions.”

U.S. President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on seven top Russian government officials and added four others from the Ukraine, including the former president Viktor Yanukovych.

Global equity markets rose after Ukraine’s Crimea voted to return to Russia in a referendum deemed illegal by the U.S. and the European Union. The MSCI World Index rose 0.8 percent for the first increase in seven days. Global stocks lost $1.4 trillion in value last week on investor concern over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and China’s slowing economy.

With the Parti Quebecois, which advocates for Quebec to leave Canada, in a position to win its first majority government in 15 years next month, the market may start pricing in concern of a possible separation referendum, David Doyle, a Toronto- based analyst at Macquarie Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients. The last separation vote, in 1995, hurt financial and industrial companies in the S&P/TSX, he said.

Investors wary of political risk should decrease their investments in Quebec-based companies that make most of their revenue in Canada, Doyle said. These include the country’s third-largest wireless operator BCE Inc. and National Bank of Canada, the country’s sixth-biggest lender, he said.

Bombardier rallied 4.9 percent to C$4.11, the highest in a month, as industrial stocks added 0.9 percent, the most in the S&P/TSX.

Bombardier won a contract to supply electric engines to Transnet SOC Ltd., South Africa’s state-owned ports and rail operator, part of a larger $4.7 billion investment from the company. Bombardier’s contract is worth about 10 billion rand ($930 million), Transnet Chief Financial Officer Anoj Singh told reporters.

Foreign investors bought Canadian stocks and sold government debt in January, Statistics Canada data show. Purchases totaled a net C$1.09 billion, including C$2.84 billion in stock purchases. Non-Canadians also sold a net C$1.42 billion of money-market paper in January and C$330 million of the country’s bonds.

TransGlobe Energy added 1.8 percent to C$8.56. after agreeing to be acquired in an all-stock deal with Caracal Energy. Caracal will pay 1.23 shares for each share of Calgary- based TransGlobe.

The two companies, which have operations in countries including Chad, Egypt and Yemen, said they will have combined oil production of 25,100 barrels a day with a target average of 31,000 to 34,000 barrels this year.

Whitecap Resources rose 7 percent to C$12.34, the biggest gain in almost two and a half years. Imperial Oil, the Canadian energy company majority owned by Exxon Mobil Corp., agreed to sell some assets to Whitecap Resources Inc. for about C$855 million ($774 million) as it focuses on larger oil-sands projects.

Whitecap also increased its monthly dividend by 10 percent to 6.25 Canadian cents a share. Imperial Oil added 0.2 percent to C$51.17.

Ensign Energy Services sank 3 percent to C$16.36. The oil drilling services company said adjusted earnings was 18 Canadian cents a share in the fourth quarter, short of analysts’ estimates of 28 cents.

USA
By Callie Bost

March 17 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose, rebounding from its worst week since January, as data showing a gain in industrial production boosted optimism over the economy and investors watched developments in Ukraine.

Yahoo! Inc. jumped 4 percent after Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. began the process for listing shares in the U.S. Hertz Global Holdings Inc. added 4.8 percent after a report that the company will spin off its equipment- rentals unit. Adobe Systems Inc. climbed 1.5 percent after RBC Capital Markets LLC raised the stock’s 12-month price target. VeriSign Inc. tumbled 5.8 percent as Cowen and Co. analysts downgraded the shares.

The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 1,858.83 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 181.55 points, or 1.1 percent, to 16,247.22. About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 15 percent lower than the three-month average.

“The data helped to give some evidence to the fact that some of the weak-ish numbers were clearly evidenced by the weather,” Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Philadelphia-based Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, which oversees $63 billion in assets, said by phone. “We may be seeing that trend fade and the better numbers are on their way.”

The equities benchmark dropped 2 percent last week, the most since January, and erased its 2014 gains amid mounting tension in Ukraine and signs of an economic slowdown in China.  The gauge is now 0.6 percent higher this year.

Factory production in the U.S. rose in February by the most in six months, indicating the industry started to recover from severe winter weather. The 0.8 percent gain at manufacturers followed a revised 0.9 percent slump in the prior month that was the biggest since May 2009, figures from the Federal Reserve showed today.

A separate gauge of manufacturing in the New York area rose less than forecast last month, climbing to 5.61 from 4.48.  Analysts estimated 6.50.

The Fed begins a two-day meeting tomorrow that analysts said will see policy makers further scale back bond-purchase stimulus. The Federal Open Market Committee has cut monthly bond buying to $65 billion from $85 billion in December. Policy makers have indicated they plan to taper by $10 billion at each meeting absent a weakening in the economy.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said last month the U.S. economy was strong enough to withstand measured reductions to the central bank’s monthly bond purchases. Three rounds of Fed stimulus have helped push the S&P 500 up 175 percent from a 12-year low, as U.S. equities enter the sixth year of a bull market that started March 9, 2009.

The U.S. and European Union slapped sanctions on Russia in the worst dispute between former Cold War foes in more than two decades after a referendum paved the way for President Vladimir Putin to annex Crimea from Ukraine.

EU foreign ministers agreed today to freeze assets and impose visa travel bans on 21 Russians, Crimeans and former Ukrainian officials. U.S. measures were aimed at the wealth of Russia’s supporters, the White House said in a statement. While Western leaders left open the option of extending the sanctions, they kept more punitive steps in reserve.

“The market was bracing for potential volatility with the vote this weekend and now you’re seeing a lot of unwinding,” Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Cincinnati-based Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc., said by phone. “There was a vote coming and nobody knew which way it was going to go or what would happen. There was a lot of fear.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility, plunged 12 percent to 15.64 today. The measure has advanced 14 percent this year.

All 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced at least 0.6 percent. Industrial and technology companies added more than 1.2 percent. International Business Machines Corp. rose 2 percent and 3M Co. gained 1.9 percent for the biggest advances in the Dow.

Adobe added 1.5 percent to $68.17. RBC Capital Markets analyst Matthew Hedberg increased his price target on the computer software developer to $75 from $58.

Options trading in Adobe suggests the market’s infatuation with Internet stocks is alive and well. Even after a year of falling profit, calls on Adobe shares are the most expensive relative to puts in three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Yahoo added 4 percent to $39.11. The company owns 24 percent of Alibaba, which could go public in the U.S. as soon as next month, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The online store’s market value is estimated at $153 billion, bigger than 95 percent of the S&P 500.

Hertz climbed 4.8 percent to $27.22. The company may announce details of the separation this week, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal would probably value the division at about $4.5 billion, the FT said.

VeriSign tumbled the most in the S&P 500, losing 5.8 percent to $51.68. Cowen analyst Gregg Moskowitz cut the stock’s rating to market perform from outperform and reduced his 12- month target price to $49. VeriSign might be negatively affected by U.S. plans to hand over control of an Internet address system, Moskowitz said.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The state of mind is a vicious circle.  It creates problems for itself, and then tries to resolve them.

Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how

tall your grandfather was.

-Irish Proverb.

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Today is Pi  day, 3/14:

The number π is a mathematical constant, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, approximately equal to 3.14159. I heard on the car radio this morning that many places will be serving free pie.

It is also Albert Einstein’s birthday.  He was born on this day in 1879.

It is a full moon this weekend too! Enjoy.

It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure.  –Albert Einstein, 1879-1955.

Photos of the day

Local artists paint a two-meter-high Easter egg in the traditional naive art style in the northern Croatian town of Koprivnica, March 13. The eggs are sent to cities in the country and abroad to be displayed in public squares. This year, three giant eggs will be painted and sent to Montenegro, Paris, and Riga, the 2014 European Capital of Culture. Antonio Bronic/Reuters

A bee sits on an almond blossom on the almond blossom panorama path in Gimmeldingen, western Germany. This weekend the Neustadt district of Gimmeldingen will greet the spring with the almond blossom festival. Uwe Anspach/dpa/AP

Market Closes for March 14^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16065.67	-43.22   -0.27%
S&P 500	1841.13	-5.21   -0.28%
NASDAQ	4245.398	-15.021   -0.35%
TSX	14227.66	-17.48
		-0.12%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14327.66	-488.32
		-3.30%
HANG SENG	21539.49	-216.59
		-1.00%
SENSEX	21809.80	+35.19
		+0.16%
FTSE 100	6527.89	-25.89
		-0.40%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.393	2.387
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.927	2.931
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.6543	2.6455
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.5992	3.5915

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90072	0.90344
US $	1.11023	1.10689
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54488	0.64730
US $	1.39150	0.71865

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1383.05	1372.26
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	98.89	98.20
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

March 14 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a second day, posting the first weekly decline since January, as the nation’s lenders and industrial companies fell and investors watched developments in the conflict in Ukraine.

Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal dropped more than 0.6 percent for a second day of declines. Novagold Resources Inc. and OceanaGold Corp. rallied at least 4.3 percent as gold rose to a six-month high. Silver Standard Resources Inc. climbed 2.3 percent as silver prices jumped. Quebecor Inc. increased 2 percent after analysts with Desjardins Securities raised their rating for the stock.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 17.48 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,227.66 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index sank 0.5 percent this week, its first drop in the past six periods.

“Clearly, with the current political environment people are looking for protection in gold,” said Brian Huen, managing partner at Red Sky Capital Management Ltd. in Toronto. He helps manage about C$225 million ($203 million). “People will want to protect their portfolios” before the weekend vote in Crimea, he said.

Global equities markets slumped on concern the conflict in Ukraine is escalating, with the MSCI World Index slipping 0.6 percent to a one-month low. The U.S. and the European Union are threatening sanctions against Russia if it doesn’t back down from annexing Crimea, which is holding a referendum in two days to join Ukraine’s former Soviet-era master.

Four of the 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX declined on trading volume 18 percent lower compared with the 30-day average.

Royal Bank, Canada’s second-largest lender, sank 0.9 percent to C$71.17, a one-month low, and Bank of Montreal retreated 0.6 percent to C$71.98 to pace declines in the S&P/TSX Banks Index.

Canada’s household debt ratio fell to 163.97 in the fourth quarter from a revised record of 164.20 in the prior three-month period as families slowed the pace of borrowing.

OceanaGold climbed 4.3 percent to C$2.94 and Novagold Resources gained 5.4 percent to C$5.05 as raw-materials stocks increased 0.4 percent as a group. Gold jumped 0.5 percent to settle at $1,379 an ounce in New York.

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. rose 3.4 percent to C$5.23 and Silver Standard Resources increased 2.3 percent to C$12.81 as the price of silver jumped 1 percent to $21.413 an ounce in New York.

Teck Resources Ltd., Canada’s largest diversified miner, increased 0.7 percent to C$22.86. Copper for delivery in May added 0.9 percent to $2.9505 a pound in New York to pare a weekly decline to 4.3 percent, the biggest since April. Copper slumped this week as weaker-than-expected economic data in China fueled concern growth was slowing in the world’s second-largest economy and biggest consumer of metals.

Bankers Petroleum Ltd. rose 2.1 percent to C$5.43 and Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. jumped 1.4 percent to C$8.69 as crude rose for a second day in New York.

Quebecor, the media company that acquired wireless spectrum in the most recent government auction, increased 2 percent to C$25.29. Maher Yaghi, analyst at Desjardins Securities, raised his rating for the stock to buy from hold due to the recent pullback in the share price.

The stock fell 2.8 percent in the past three days before today after former vice-chairman Pierre Karl Peladeau resigned from the board to run in the Quebec provincial election. Quebecor also reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 55 Canadian cents, ahead of analysts’ forecasts for 52 cents.

US
By Callie Bost and Joseph Ciolli

March 14 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost the most in five weeks yesterday, as talks with Russia failed to end a standoff over the Crimea ahead of Sunday’s referendum.

Bank of America Corp. dropped 2.1 percent amid a rate- rigging lawsuit by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Aeropostale Inc. tumbled 20 percent after mounting losses and a $150 million loan raised concern the company is running out of cash. Yahoo! Inc. climbed 1 percent, increasing for the first time in six days.

The S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent to 1,841.13 at 4 p.m. in New York. The equity gauge had its biggest weekly decline since January, after closing at an all-time high on March 7. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 43.22 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,065.67. About 6.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.

“I think we’ve been kind of expecting volatility right now,” Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust in Santa Ana, California, said in a phone interview. His firm manages $1.1 billion. “There’s a lot of different stuff going on in the world.”

The S&P 500 erased its gain for the year yesterday as weaker-than-forecast economic data from China and escalating tension in Ukraine overshadowed reports showing an improving U.S. economy. The index fell 2 percent for the week, and is down 0.4 percent for 2014.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov failed to make progress on ending the Ukraine crisis in six hours of talks in London, as the Crimea peninsula prepared to vote on joining Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “is not prepared to make any decision regarding Ukraine until after the referendum on Sunday,” Kerry told a news conference today. Russia “will respect the will of the Crimean peoples” when the peninsula votes in two days on seceding from Ukraine, Lavrov told a separate news conference, in which he said there was “no common vision” on resolving the crisis.

The U.S. and the European Union are threatening sanctions against Russia if it doesn’t back down from annexing Crimea. Ukraine’s Kiev-based cabinet says Russia has taken over the southern region and is massing troops on its border.

“Everyone is watching this Ukraine situation, not knowing what to make of it,” John Carey, a fund manager at Pioneer Investment Management Inc., a Boston-based firm that manages about $220 billion worldwide, said by phone. “Consumer confidence was a little low, although I think people still need to coincide what the weather has done to the data. People are realizing the market is OK if we don’t have a real setback internationally.”

Consumer confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped in March to a four-month low, data showed today, indicating household spending may be slow to pick up from a weather-related setback earlier this year. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of sentiment fell to 79.9 this month from 81.6 in February.

A separate report showed producer prices dropped in February, held back by the biggest decrease in the cost of services in almost a year.

The Federal Reserve is trying to determine how much recent economic data has been affected by weather. Chair Janet Yellen said last month the U.S. economy was strong enough to withstand measured reductions to the central bank’s monthly bond purchases.

The Federal Open Market Committee, which meets March 18-19, has cut monthly bond buying to $65 billion from $85 billion in December. Policy makers have indicated they plan to taper by $10 billion at each meeting absent a weakening in the economy.

Three rounds of Fed stimulus have helped push the S&P 500 up 172 percent from a 12-year low, as U.S. equities enter the sixth year of a bull market that started March 9, 2009.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility, rose 9.9 percent to 17.82 today, capping a 26 percent gain for the week. The measure has advanced 30 percent this year. Four of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 fell today, as technology and financial shares erased more than 0.5 percent.

Bank of America slipped 2.1 percent to $16.80. The lender, Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG were among more than a dozen banks sued by the FDIC for allegedly manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate from 2007 to 2011.

Credit Suisse decreased 2.5 percent to $30.25 in U.S.trading and Citigroup fell 1 percent to $46.88.

Aeropostale tumbled 20 percent to $5.83, the lowest level since 2003. The teen apparel retailer forecast a loss of as much as 75 cents a share for its first quarter, more than the 17-cent loss estimated by analysts. The company also said it has entered a strategic partnership with Sycamore Partners, which will provide the $150 million loan.

Yahoo rose 1 percent to $37.60, rebounding after five days of losses. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., in which Yahoo owns a 24 percent stake, is preparing to file for an initial public offering in the U.S. as soon as April, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Boston Scientific Corp. climbed 2.1 percent to $13.01 after the company’s Ingevity pacemaker wires received European approval as they met certain product standards.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

No one can understand the sound of a drum,

without understanding both the drum and the drummer.

No one can understand the sound of a conch shell,

without understanding the shell and the one who blows it.

No one can understand the sound of a lute,

without understanding both the lute and the one who plays it.

As there can be no water without the sea, no touch without the skin,

no smell without the nose, no taste without the tongue, no sound without the ear,

no thought without the mind, no work without hands, and no walking without feet,

so there can be nothing without the soul.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Common sense is not so common.

-Voltaire, 1694-1778

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

The World Wide Web is 25 years old today.  It was first proposed by Tim Berners-Lee while working at the CERN physics lab in Switzerland.  Dr. Berners-Lee wanted to make sure that scientists working collaboratively would have access to the same information and that nothing would be lost.  He stated in his original proposal, “The aim would be to allow a place to be found for any information or reference which one felt was important, and a way of finding it afterwards. The result should be sufficiently attractive to use that the information contained would grow past a critical threshold.”  And it is incredible how far it has come and how it has transformed lives.

On this day six years ago, gold prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit $1000/ounce for the first time ever.

On this day in 1781, the planet Uranus was discovered.

Photos of the day

Traffic lights are seen in early morning thick fog in London. Flights have been cancelled at London City airport and Heathrow, The Woolwich ferry cancelled and low visibility has caused slow traffic on motorways. Russell Boyce/Reuters

Hindu priests throw colored powder at the devotees during Holi celebrations at Bankey Bihari temple in Vrindavan, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Holi, also known as the Festival of Colors, heralds the beginning of spring and is celebrated all over India. Ahmad Masood/Reuters

Market Closes for March 13^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16108.89	-231.19   -1.41%
S&P 500	1846.34	-21.86   -1.17%
NASDAQ	4260.422	-62.910   -1.46%
TSX	14245.14	-73.86
		-0.52%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14815.98	-14.41
		-0.10%
HANG SENG	21756.08	-145.87
		-0.67%
SENSEX	21774.61	-81.61
		-0.37%
FTSE 100	6553.78	-67.12
		-1.01%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.387	2.451
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.931	2.990
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.6455	2.7300
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.5915	3.6733

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90344	0.89922
US $	1.10689	1.11208
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.53547	0.65127
US $	1.38720	0.72088

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1372.26	1366.10
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	98.20	97.99
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

March 13 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell the most in a month as copper declined on weaker-than-estimated industrial output in China and while earnings from Transat AT Inc. and Empire Co. trailed estimates.

Transat AT plunged 17 percent after reporting a loss due in part to the declining Canadian dollar. Empire sank 3 percent after posting earnings that fell 32 percent short of estimates. Bombardier Inc. rallied 2.7 percent after analysts at RBC Capital Markets raised their rating for the stock. Teck Resources Ltd. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. dropped more than 2 percent as copper traded near a 44-month low. BlackBerry Ltd. fell a seventh day, the longest losing streak in two years.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 73.86 points, or 0.5 percent, to 14,245.14 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the most since Feb. 3. The index has gained about 4.6 percent this year.

Global stocks fell, with the MSCI All-World Index slumping 0.9 percent to a one-month low. The S&P 500 lost 1.2 percent, erasing its gains for the year.

“The Canadian market is trying to find its footing here amid contrasting data from China and the U.S.,” said Patrick Blais, a fund manager at Manulife Asset Management Ltd. in Toronto. He helps manage about C$265 billion ($240 billion) at the firm. “Copper has taken a massive hit and there could be further downside if data from China continues to weaken. In the U.S., markets have been willing to dismiss recent weak data points because of weather. It definitely needs to show the economy is on track or markets may pull back.”

Industrial production in China grew 8.6 percent in the first two months of 2014, China’s statistics bureau said today. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 9.5 percent advance. Copper for May delivery fell 1.3 percent to $2.923 a pound for the fourth decline in five days.

Teck Resources, Canada’s largest diversified miner, slipped 2.4 percent to C$22.70 and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 2 percent to C$18.84. Copper prices have slumped 13 percent this year, the most among six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange.

U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week to 315,000, the lowest since the end of November, and retail sales rose for the first time in three months in February. Gold for April delivery rose 0.1 percent to $1,372.40 an ounce in New York, a six-month high, erasing earlier losses.

Through yesterday, gold had risen 14 percent this year as investors sought a haven amid signs of weakening U.S. growth and rising tension between Russia and Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned of “very serious” steps from Europe and the U.S. if there is no sign of resolution between the two countries ahead of a vote this weekend in the Crimea region on a separatist resolution.

Alacer Gold Corp. jumped 10 percent to C$3.50 and Detour Gold Corp. rallied 12 percent to C$11.92, highest since August. Nine of 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge declined on trading volume 12 percent higher compared with the 30-day average.

Transat AT, the airline and travel agency retailer, plunged 17 percent to C$9.10 for the biggest decline in three years. The company reported a loss of 60 Canadian cents a share in the first quarter, compared with analysts’ projections of a smaller 45-cent loss, and blamed the declining Canadian dollar. The falling loonie, which is down 3.9 percent versus the dollar this year, resulted in a C$14 million increase in operating expenses, the company said.

Empire, which operates the Sobeys grocery store chain, declined 3 percent to C$68.10. The company reported adjusted earnings of 84 Canadian cents a share in the third quarter, short of estimates for C$1.23. Same-store sales for its Sobeys chain declined 0.2 percent in the quarter.

Bombardier added 2.7 percent to C$3.88 after Walter Spracklin, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, raised his rating for the stock to outperform, the equivalent of a buy.

As a result of progress in Bombardier’s long-delayed CSeries testing program, liquidity risks have abated and the company is in position for improving sales heading into the Farnborough, U.K., airshow in July, Spracklin said.

“The near-term risk to reward on Bombardier shares is once again compelling,” Spracklin said in a note to clients.

BlackBerry, the struggling smartphone maker, fell 2.7 percent to C$9.99 for a seventh day of losses, the longest streak since November 2011. The stock has slumped 13 percent in seven days.

US
By Joseph Ciolli and Callie Bost

March 13 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, erasing this year’s gains for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as weaker- than-forecast data from China and tension in Ukraine overshadowed reports showing an improving American economy.

United Technologies Corp., Pfizer Inc. and American Express Co. tumbled more than 2.4 percent as all 30 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined. An S&P gauge of homebuilders lost 2.4 percent, falling for a seventh straight day. Dollar General Corp. slipped 2.8 percent as it forecast earnings below analyst estimates.

The S&P 500 fell 1.2 percent to 1,846.34 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark index reversed earlier gains after climbing to within four points of its closing record of 1,878.04 reached on March 7. The Dow dropped 231.19 points, or 1.4 percent, to 16,108.89. Both gauges had their biggest declines since Feb. 3. About 7.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 12 percent above the three-month average.

“The U.S. data was quite good, but the market doesn’t want to acknowledge that today,” Lillian Seidman, an options strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York, said in an interview. “There’s China concern and Ukraine is not helping. Overall there are many factors to force out sellers right now.”

The S&P 500 has declined 1.7 percent this week, sending the index to a 0.1 percent loss for the year, amid signs China’s economy is slowing and the crisis in Ukraine is escalating.

The U.S. and Germany stepped up pressure on Russia to back down from plans to annex Crimea from Ukraine after the region holds a referendum in three days, warning they’ll exact an economic toll if Russia doesn’t.

Secretary of State John Kerry told a Senate panel in Washington that the U.S. and Europe will take “very serious” steps the day after the vote “if there is no sign” of a resolution to the crisis.

China’s industrial-output, investment and retail-sales growth cooled more than estimated in January and February, data showed today. China announced an economic growth target of 7.5 percent last week, the weakest since 1990, and had its first onshore bond default after a solar-panel maker failed to make an interest payment.

“Ongoing concerns about China’s growth and the fluid situation in Ukraine continue to linger on markets,” Ryan Larson, the Chicago-based head of U.S. equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc., said. “As Kerry meets with his Russian counterpart tomorrow in a last-ditch effort to divert the referendum, markets could be a little jittery, and we might be seeing some of that play out today as well.”

Global concerns overshadowed better-than-forecast data in the U.S. Retail sales rose in February for the first time in three months, as Americans ventured out to shop even as colder- than-normal temperatures and severe snowstorms blanketed parts of the U.S. A separate report showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly dropped last week to the lowest level since the end of November, indicating further improvement in the labor market.

The government’s monthly jobs report last week showed U.S. employers added more workers than estimated in February. The Federal Reserve is trying to determine how much recent economic data has been affected by weather.

“The lingering question has been how disruptive this deep freeze has been to the economy,” James Dunigan, who helps oversee $127 billion as chief investment officer in Philadelphia at PNC Wealth Management, said by phone. “As we come out of this deep thaw, if we get some better, more clear data on the underlying trend, we’re going to see that the economy is continuing to gain momentum.”

The S&P 500 rallied to all-time highs this year as Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. economy was strong enough to withstand measured reductions to the central bank’s monthly bond purchases. Three rounds of Fed stimulus have helped push the S&P 500 up 173 percent from a 12-year low, as U.S. equities begin the sixth year of a bull market that started March 9, 2009.

The Federal Open Market Committee, which meets March 18-19, has cut monthly bond buying to $65 billion from $85 billion in December. Policy makers have indicated they plan to taper by $10 billion at each meeting absent a weakening in the economy.

“After last Friday’s employment numbers, we believed they were worthy of the FOMC continuing to take $10 billion off the table every month,” Ernie Cecilia, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co. in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, said in a phone interview. “After the March 18-19 meeting, we should be at $55 billion a month.”

Stocks are falling at the anniversary of a bull market that sent the S&P 500’s price-earnings ratio to 17, approaching the level where equities peaked in 2008. The advance is about a week away from supplanting the stretch of equity gains that lasted from 1982 to 1987 to become the fifth longest of all time, according to Bespoke Investment Group LLC.

It’s also three weeks before the end of the first quarter, a period for which Wall Street analysts have lowered forecasts for U.S. earnings growth to 1.9 percent from 6.6 percent at the start of 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For all of 2014, analysts see profits climbing 7.6 percent, compared with an estimate of 9.7 percent at the end of December.

The decline in equities comes after more than $41 billion returned to U.S. exchange-traded funds that own shares in the past four weeks, reversing withdrawals that swelled to as much as $40.2 billion last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility, rose 12 percent to 16.22 today. The measure has advanced 18 percent this year.

Nine of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 fell today, with industrial and technology shares dropping more than 1.4 percent. The Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index tumbled 1.6 percent and the Dow Jones Transportation Average slid 1.4 percent.

An S&P index of homebuilders lost 2.4 percent, bringing its decline for the month to 8 percent, as Toll Brothers Inc. dropped 2.7 percent to $36.77 and PulteGroup Inc. fell 2.5 percent to $19.18.

Discount retailer Dollar General slipped 2.8 percent to $57.66 after forecasting first-quarter earnings of no more than 74 cents a share, below the 81 cents estimated by analysts.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. tumbled 2 percent to $60.43.

Offshore drillers decreased after ISI Group said in a client note that deepwater rig demand is weaker than the market has anticipated. Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. slid 4.3 percent to $44.39, the lowest level since 2005. Noble Corp. fell 4.6 percent to $28.98. Transocean Ltd. erased 3.1 percent to $39.54.

PVH Corp., which owns Calvin Klein, declined 5.7 percent to $115.04. The company was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Wells Fargo & Co., while Morgan Stanley lowered its rating to equalweight from overweight.

Williams-Sonoma Inc. jumped 9.8 percent to $64.74. The seller of cookware and home furnishings forecast same-store sales growth of 5 percent to 7 percent this year, compared with the 3.7 percent average analyst projection. Revenue will reach $4.63 billion to $4.71 billion, Williams-Sonoma predicted. Analysts had estimated a number at the low end of that range, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The like and dislike is the result of my culture, my training, my associations,

my inclinations, my acquired and inherited characteristics.

It is from that center that I observe and make my judgments,

and the observer is separate from the thing he observes.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.

-Latin Proverb

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7