Month: April 2014

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

New moon in Taurus tonight.

On this day in 2003, Apple launched the iTunes store.

The Abu Dhabi government spent 1.38 billion to open what looks like a fantastic unique and universal museum – The Louvre Abu Dhabi.  Check out  www.louvreabudhabi.ae.

If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking. –General George S. Patton, Jr. US Army field commander, WWII, 1885-1945.

Photos of the day

South African President Jacob Zuma (2nd l.) talks with Mandla Mandela (l.) after they and other dignitaries unveiled a bust of former South African President Nelson Mandela, right, at the South African Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa. Schalk van Zuydam/AP

Exercise rider Abel Flores takes Kentucky Derby hopeful Tapiture for a morning workout in the rain at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Morry Gash/AP

Market Closes for April 28^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16448.74	+87.28    +0.53%
S&P 500	1869.43	+6.03    +0.32%
NASDAQ	4074.401	-1.161    -0.03%
TSX	14530.91	-2.66
		-0.02%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14288.23	-141.03
		-0.98%
HANG   SENG	22132.53	-91.00
		-0.41%
SENSEX	22631.61	-56.46
		-0.25%
FTSE 100	6700.16	+14.47
		+0.22%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.448	2.408
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.972	2.925
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.7004	2.6623
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4859	3.4403

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90679	0.90600
US   $	1.10279	1.10375
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52737	0.65472
US   $	1.38501	0.72202

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1296.04	1302.47
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	100.84	100.90
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

April 28 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a second day, with the benchmark index paring losses in the final hour, as technology companies slumped amid a selloff in U.S. Internet shares and Barrick Gold Corp. sank on failed merger talks.

Avigilon Corp. and Constellation Software Inc. retreated more than 3.4 percent to pace declines among computer shares. Barrick Gold lost 3.1 percent after Newmont Mining Corp. broke off talks to merge the world’s two largest gold producers. Saputo Inc. added 3.5 percent after an analyst at TD Securities Inc. projected increasing fourth-quarter earnings. Capital Power Corp. lost 1.8 percent after analysts at National Bank Financial lowered their rating for the stock. Teck Resources Ltd. retreated 2.3 percent to snap four days of gains.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 2.66 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,530.91 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, paring earlier losses of as much as 0.5 percent. The equity gauge has climbed 1.4 percent in April for a 10th month of gains, the longest streak since 1983.

“There seemed to be an overemphasis in a lot of portfolios last year on the growth segment of the market so that’s caught everybody a little flat-footed,” said Bob Decker, fund manager at Aurion Capital Management Inc. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$6.6 billion ($5.99 billion). “The rotation has been abrupt and caught people by surprise.”

The Nasdaq 100 Index has fallen in four of the past five weeks amid concern earnings growth is too slow to justify equity valuations.

The Obama administration imposed sanctions on seven Russian officials and 17 companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle involved in banking, energy and infrastructure. The European Union added 15 names to a list of sanctioned persons.

Avigilon, which manufactures surveillance equipment, sank 4.3 percent to C$24.84, the lowest level since November. Constellation Software retreated 3.4 percent to C$253.03, a seven-week low. The S&P/TSX Information Technology Index slid 0.8 percent, the most since April 11.

Three of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX retreated on trading volume 10 percent lower compared with the 30-day average. Materials producers sank 1.2 percent.

Barrick Gold retreated 3.1 percent to C$19.12 after Newmont Mining criticized the company’s Co-Chairman John Thornton as a factor in breaking off discussions to merge the two companies, the latest of several failed attempts over more than two decades.

Newmont Chairman Vincent Calarco said in an April 25 letter to the Barrick board, published today, that Thornton was not constructive during talks and also cited press reports that quoted Barrick Chairman Peter Munk describing Newmont as “not shareholder-friendly.” Newmont slumped 6.7 percent to $24.67 in New York, the most since January.

Teck Resources lost 2.3 percent to C$24.26, the first loss in five days, as copper prices slipped after a four-day rally.

Capital Power declined 1.8 percent to C$24.84, a five-week low. Patrick Kenny, analyst at National Bank Financial, lowered the stock’s rating to sector perform, the equivalent of a hold, as the company’s shares have rallied 22 percent since Oct. 16.

Saputo added 3.5 percent to C$57.52 after Michael Van Aelst, analyst at TD Securities, raised his target price for the stock to C$61 from C$55 on a projected 17 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings per share. Saputo is scheduled to report results on June 5.

Nautilus Minerals Inc. soared 40 percent to 67 Canadian cents, the highest level since January. Nautilus, which won the first lease to mine the ocean floor for gold and copper, has rallied 191 percent in the past three days after resolving a dispute with Papua New Guinea.

US
By Callie Bost

April 28 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erasing an earlier slide, as Internet and smaller companies pulled back from a selloff amid optimism over merger activity.

Pfizer Inc. added 4.2 percent after proposing to buy AstraZeneca Plc for about 58.8 billion pounds ($98.7 billion).

Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. rallied more than 2.4 percent, leading gains among the largest technology companies. Bank of America Corp. dropped 6.3 percent after suspending its planned buybacks and dividend increase because of an error in its capital planning.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 1,869.43 at 4 p.m. in New York, reversing an earlier loss of 0.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 87.28 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,448.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined less than 0.1 percent after tumbling as much as 1.5 percent, and the Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies slid 0.5 percent. About 7.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 9.3 percent above the three-month average.

“It’s remarkable how volatile the market can be on an intraday basis,” John Carey, a Boston-based fund manager at Pioneer Investment Management Inc., which oversees $220 billion worldwide, said by phone. “Most of the companies that have reported so far have exceeded expectations and there’s M&A that’s bubbling along and that could be causing some optimism, with big deals and restructuring.”

U.S. equities began higher as large companies rallied on optimism about merger activity. Stocks turned lower as the U.S. and European Union imposed new sanctions on Russia, while selling in Internet and small-cap stocks spread to the broader market. Major indexes recovered in the afternoon, turning positive during the final hour of trading.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.5 percent last week, including a 1.8 percent tumble on April 25, as disappointing results from Amazon.com Inc. triggered a selloff in technology shares and tensions over Ukraine intensified. The technology- heavy gauge has fallen in four of the past five weeks amid concern valuations have outpaced estimates for earnings growth.  Nasdaq companies trade at 34 times reported earnings, about double the level of S&P 500 members.  The frequency of selloffs has increased even as technology makers are forecast to post the second-fastest profit growth in the S&P 500 this year and members of the Nasdaq 100 Index are beating analyst estimates by almost 10 percent this earnings season.

Increases among larger stocks helped push technology companies in the S&P 500 higher as a group. Microsoft surged 2.4 percent to $40.87 and Apple climbed 3.9 percent to $594.09 to extend its three-day rally to 13 percent, the most since 2009. International Business Machines Corp. added 1.9 percent to $193.14.

The Dow Jones Internet Index fell 1.9 percent, extending a 4.1 percent decline on April 25. The index has dropped 18 percent from a 13-year high on March 5. Only four of 41 members in the gauge rose today. Yahoo! Inc. dropped 1.4 percent to $33.99. Amazon slumped 2.4 percent to $296.58. Netflix tumbled 2.4 percent to $314.21.

A report by the National Association of Realtors showed contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes climbed in March by the most in almost three years, showing residential real estate was starting to stabilize entering the spring selling season. The pending home sales index rose 3.4 percent, the first gain in nine months, after a 0.5 percent drop in February that was smaller than initially reported.

A busy calendar this week will give investors more clues about the strength of the economy and the pace of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program.

The government’s initial tally of first-quarter gross domestic product on April 30 may show the slowest expansion in a year. Federal Reserve policy makers, who on the same day conclude their third meeting of the year, will probably reduce the pace of assets purchases designed to stoke the economy.

Three rounds of monetary stimulus have helped fuel economic growth, sending the S&P 500 surging as much as 180 percent from its 2009 low.

Payroll growth probably accelerated in April as companies remained upbeat about the economy’s prospects after a setback in demand caused by snowstorms and colder temperatures earlier this year. Employers added 215,000 workers, the most since November, economists project a May 2 report from the Labor Department will show.

Investors are also watching developments in Ukraine. The Obama administration imposed sanctions on seven Russian officials and 17 companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle involved in banking, energy and infrastructure.

The sanctions, announced by the White House today, are being imposed in conjunction with the European Union, which said today it is adding 15 names to its list of previously sanctioned individuals.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge of options prices on the S&P 500, dropped 0.6 percent for its first loss in four days. The gauge jumped 5.6 percent on April 25.

Consumer-staples and phone companies had the biggest gains among 10 groups in the S&P 500, climbing more than 1.1 percent.  Financial and raw-materials shares declined the most, dropping at least 0.5 percent.

Pfizer added 4.2 percent to $32.04. The world’s largest drugmaker is still interested in a deal after AstraZeneca spurned its earlier offer. Pfizer proposed buying the London- based company on Jan. 5 for 46.61 pounds a share in cash and stock, and AstraZeneca declined to pursue negotiations, the New York-based company said in a statement today. The bid was about 14 percent above AstraZeneca’s closing price on April 25.

General Electric Co. gained 0.7 percent to $26.78 after Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt met with France’s President Francois Hollande over the company’s offer for Alstom SA. Immelt may be moving closer to pulling off his largest-ever acquisition, even after French officials over the weekend urged Alstom to consider a rival offer from Germany’s Siemens AG.

The government doesn’t oppose GE’s proposal, and the meeting in Paris today focused on protecting jobs and maintaining the independence of France’s nuclear industry, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. The state doesn’t favor either bid, the person said, asking not to be named as the talks weren’t public.

NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. soared 7.3 percent to a record $17.20. American Realty Capital Properties Inc., the largest owner of single-tenant U.S. buildings, is interested in acquiring NorthStar for about $20 a share, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. That’s a premium of 25 percent to NorthStar’s closing price of $16.03 last week and would value the New York-based company at about $6.5 billion. American Realty fell 3 percent to $12.62.

Newmont Mining Corp. dropped 6.7 percent to $24.67. Barrick Gold Corp. said Newmont ended discussions about a takeover, which would have combined the world’s two largest gold producers. Talks between Newmont and Toronto-based Barrick broke down on April 18 over a disagreement about a proposed spinoff of some of the combined company’s assets, people familiar with the situation said the following day.

Bank of America lost 6.3 percent to $14.95. The bank said it will suspend its planned buybacks and dividend increase because of an error in its capital planning. The lender will resubmit its proposal to the Federal Reserve, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said in a statement. The company said it incorrectly adjusted for cumulative realized losses on structured notes issued by Merrill Lynch.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

What is it exactly that hurts you?

Open your heart and speak.  Open your eyes and see.

At the moment that you look with your eyes wide open,

everywhere you will find differences, an infinite variety.

Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.  It will never fail you.

-Frank Lloyd Wright, 1867-1959

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. –George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949.

April’s the busy month, the month that grows
Faster than hand can follow at its task;
No time to relish and no time to bask,
(Though when indeed is that the gardener’s lot,
April’s the month for pruning of the rose,
April’s the month when the good gardener sows
More annuals for summer, cheap and quick,
Yet always sows too thick
From penny packets scattered on a patch
With here a batch of poppy, there a batch
Of the low candytuft or scabious tall
That country children call
Pincushions, with their gift
Of accurate observance and their swift
Naming more vivid than the botanist.
So the good gardener will sow his drift
Of larkspur and forget-me-not
To fill blank space, or recklessly to pick;
And gay nasturtium writhing up a fence
Splotching with mock of sunlight sunless days
When latening summer brings the usual mist…

-V. Sackville-West, The Garden, Spring.

Photos of the day

US President Barack Obama (2nd l.) bows to ‘Asimo’ the robot while visiting Miraikan or the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, in Tokyo.  Larry Downing/Reuters

Spanish bullfighter Paco Urena enters the arena during the traditional Easter Feria in Arles, Southern France, April 2, 2014. The four-day Easter Feria opens the French bullfight season in April and is held in the Roman-built arena. Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

Market Closes for April 24^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16501.65	—    —
S&P 500	1878.61	+3.22    +0.17%
NASDAQ	4148.340	+21.373    +0.52%
TSX	14554.25	+20.86
		+0.14%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14404.99	-141.28
		-0.97%
HANG   SENG	22562.80	+53.16
		+0.24%
SENSEX	22876.54	+118.17
		+0.52%
FTSE 100	6703.0	+28.26
		+0.42%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.422	2.424
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.932	2.928
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6805	2.6860
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4527	3.4685

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90694	0.90642
US   $	1.10261	1.10324
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52512	0.65568
US   $	1.38319	0.72297

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1293.37	1284.51
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	102.24	101.74
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

April 24 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rebounded from yesterday’s decline and auto-parts makers and technology companies climbed.

Valeant rose 2 percent in Toronto, after dropping 2.8 percent yesterday. Linamar Corp., which makes engines and transmissions for cars, climbed 3 percent as General Motors Co. beat analysts’ estimates for first-quarter profit. Magna International Inc. jumped 2 percent. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. lost 11 percent after RBC Capital Markets downgraded it to the equivalent of a hold from the equivalent of a buy.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index advanced 20.86 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,554.25 at 4 p.m. in Toronto.

“This market continues to surprise on the upside in terms of it’s been fairly stable and now you’re getting some M&A,” said Irwin Michael, who helps manage C$850 million ($770.9 million) at ABC Funds in Toronto. “If you’re sitting on a lot of cash, you would like to selectively get that money invested, so the market seems to have got a good grounding here,” he said by phone.

Valeant added 2 percent to C$148.17 in Toronto trading.  Valeant this week offered to buy Allergan Inc., maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $45.7 billion in the latest step of the company’s plan to become one of the world’s largest drugmakers.

Linamar rose 3 percent to C$56.33 while Magna added 2 percent to C$110.90.

Pacific Rubiales fell 11 percent to C$17.87. The company produces oil and gas in Colombia, where rebel attacks have disrupted a pipeline in March. Pacific Rubiales has fallen 19 percent in the last four days.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. rose 1.5 percent to C$39.02. The largest North American producer of its namesake fertilizer posted better-than-estimated first-quarter earnings and sales as the market for the commodity began to recover following last year’s price plunge.

Nautilus Minerals, which is planning to mine copper and gold from the sea floor, rose 74 percent to 40 Canadian cents, the most since 2006, after it said it had resolved a dispute with Papua New Guinea and that its Solwara 1 project can now proceed.

Imax Corp., the maker of giant video screens and projectors, fell 4.9 percent to C$29.62 after reporting first- quarter revenue that missed analyst estimates.

US
By Joseph Ciolli and Callie Bost

April 24 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index trading near a record, as technology companies rallied after Apple Inc. results topped estimates to offset a slump in phone shares.

Apple jumped 8.2 percent, the most in two years, after selling more iPhones than analysts predicted. Verizon Communications Inc. led declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and AT&T Inc. sank a second day, amid concerns that price competition is shifting wireless revenue. Qualcomm Inc. sank 3.5 percent as results fell short of forecasts. Zimmer Holdings Inc. surged 12 percent after it agreed to buy Biomet Inc. in a deal valued at $13.4 billion.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2 to 1,878.61 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged at 16,501.65. The Nasdaq 100 Index, which includes Apple, climbed 1 percent. About 6.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 10 percent below the three-month average.

“The earnings were decent overnight, especially from the tech sector, but we’re facing the headwind of strong momentum the six days before yesterday,” Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Cincinnati-based Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc., said in a phone interview. “We’re facing an overbought situation and a bit of profit-taking mid-day.”

U.S. stocks have repeatedly failed to climb from the S&P 500’s current level. The gauge earlier this week rose to within six points of the all-time high of 1,890.9 reached April 2. It fell 0.2 percent yesterday, snapping a six-day rally that was the longest since September, and trades at 17 times reported earnings, near its highest valuation in four years.

The Dow average fluctuated today, rising as much 0.2 percent and sinking 0.3 percent during the session, as investors weighed earnings from Caterpillar Inc., Verizon and 3M Co.

Broader gauges briefly turned lower earlier today amid reports of escalating violence in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin warned the country against continuing its anti-separatist offensive after government troops killed five rebels and prompted Russia’s military to begin new drills on the two nations’ border.

An agreement to disarm rebels signed last week in Geneva by Ukraine, Russia, the European Union and the U.S. is on the brink of collapse. President Barack Obama said today the U.S. and its allies have additional sanctions against Russia ready to go because Putin’s government has yet to abide by the accord.

Data from the Commerce Department today showed orders for durable goods such as cars and computers rose more than forecast in March, pointing to faster production that will help spur the economy. Separate data showed more Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week.

Of the 204 companies in the S&P 500 that have released earnings this season, 76 percent have exceeded analysts’ profit estimates, while 53 percent have beaten sales projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Some 64 S&P 500 members report today making it the busiest of the period.

Analysts predict companies on the benchmark gauge will collectively report a 0.7 percent increase in first-quarter profit and a 2.6 percent increase in revenue.

“There’s no question earnings numbers were good, but there was some anticipation of it to a certain degree,” John Manley, who helps oversee about $233 billion as chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York, said in a phone interview. “I still tend to think, at the end of the day, that we’re going to see earnings be the more important thing that drives the market.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a measure of stock volatility known as the VIX, rose 0.4 percent to 13.32 for a second day of gains.

Six of the 10 main S&P 500 groups retreated today, with phone stocks sinking 1.7 percent, adding to a 2.2 percent slide yesterday. Technology shares jumped 1.1 percent to pace gains.

Apple surged 8.2 percent to $567.77, the highest this year.  The world’s most valuable company reported surging sales of iPhones after the handset became available through China Mobile Ltd. Apple also said it will increase its share repurchase authorization by $30 billion, boost its dividend and split its stock seven for one.

Apple’s first split in nine years would cut the stock price to roughly $75 a share, removing an obstacle to its inclusion in the Dow average. The shares currently trade for so much that putting it in the Dow would have given Apple too much influence in the 118-year-old equity gauge, which ranks companies by the level of their shares rather than market value.

Verizon Communications plunged 2.4 percent for the biggest slide in the Dow. The company is preparing for a surge of customers opting to pay for smartphones on installment plans, threatening to shrink monthly wireless bills. The looming shift in revenue cast a shadow today over first-quarter earnings and subscriber gains that beat analysts’ estimates.

AT&T shares fell 3.8 percent yesterday after investors grew concerned that a boost in profits from sales of unsubsidized phones would be short-lived. The stock dropped another 1.2 percent today to a one-month low.

3M declined 1 percent. The maker of products from Scotch tape to auto insulation reported first-quarter earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates as Latin America demand slowed and foreign currencies weakened.

Caterpillar rose 1.8 percent. The largest maker of mining and construction equipment posted first-quarter earnings and sales that beat analysts’ estimates as it boosted its full-year outlook on improved expectations for the building industry.

Zimmer Holdings jumped 12 percent. The maker of artificial joints agreed to acquire rival orthopedic-device maker Biomet Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $13.4 billion. Closely held Biomet’s parent, Biomet Group Inc., will withdraw its plans for an initial public offering, Zimmer said.

Facebook Inc. slipped 0.8 percent. The world’s largest social-networking site reported first-quarter profit and revenue yesterday that blew past analysts’ estimates. The company today said it bought fitness application Moves for an undisclosed amount, as the social network jumps into the increasingly popular fitness-tracking market.

An S&P index of homebuilders rallied 3.8 percent, the most since January, as all 11 members advanced. D.R. Horton increased 8.3 percent after the largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue reported earnings that beat estimates as prices and orders climbed. PulteGroup Inc. rose 2.3 percent as profit exceeded forecasts.

General Electric Co. added 0.2 percent. People with knowledge of the matter said the company is in talks to buy France’s Alstom SA in what would be its biggest-ever acquisition. The U.S. maker of jet engines and locomotives may pay more than $13 billion for Alstom, one of the people said.

Aetna Inc. gained 5.9 percent. The third-largest U.S. health insurer reported profit that beat analyst estimates and raised its forecast as membership rose for the eighth consecutive quarter.

Qualcomm dropped 3.5 percent. The largest mobile-chip maker forecast third-quarter profit and revenue that fell short of some analysts’ estimates, citing weaker phone sales in China as the rollout of a fast new data network takes longer than Qualcomm expected.

The company also said it received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month that the agency recommended enforcement action related to bribery allegations in China.

Xilinx Inc. plunged 9.1 percent, the most in the S&P 500 today and the stock’s biggest slide since 2005. The maker of programmable chips used in mobile-phone based stations as Credit Suisse Group AG lowered its rating on the company to neutral from outperform.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Though there is repulsion enough in Nature, she lives by attraction.

Mutual love enables Nature to persist.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

You who seek an end to love, love will yield to business: be busy,

and you will be safe.

-Ovid, 43 BC-18 AD

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

St. George’s Day today.

It was on this day in 2005, the first video was uploaded to YouTube by the site’s co-founder Jawed Karim. The 19-second video is a shot of Mr. Karim at the San Diego Zoo. It has more than 14 million views.

William Shakespeare was born on April 23^rd, 1564.  To celebrate his 450^th birthday, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is making all the world a stage and taking its production of Hamlet around the world:

Globe Theatre starts worldwide ‘Hamlet’ tour on Shakespeare’s 450th birthday

By Daniel S Levine, 4/23/2014

Last year, the Globe Theatre announced an ambitious plan to bring Hamlet to every country in the world – over 200 of them – to celebrate William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday. Today is Shakespeare’s birthday, marking the start of the tour.

The group said last July, when it announced the plan, that the actors will use every mode of transportation available to reach every country. Artistic director Dominic Dromgoole completely understands why some may consider this a crazy idea.

In an interview with NPR, Dromgoole even called it a “bold and stupid” idea.

“And the great thing about bold and stupid ideas is that people understand them very swiftly,” Dromgoole said. “So when we go out to people around the world and say, very simply, ‘We are taking Hamlet to every country in the world,’ they immediately get the fun of it and the ambition of it.”

Dromgoole said that they will adapt to whatever environment they have, since they’re not bringing along any huge sets. “We’re going to be very free and open. The set is basically the suitcases that the whole thing travels around in, so it spills out of its own suitcases,” he told NPR, later adding, “The idea is that it’s infinitely adaptable to wherever we want to put it up.”

According to The Associated Press, Dromgoole said that the tour will start in Amsterdam and will go to the Arctic Circle before Scandinavia. It will continue for two years, ending at the Globe in England on April 23, 2016. That day will mark the exact 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death.

“Shakespeare wrote these plays to tour,” Dromgoole told the AP. “So these plays weren’t written to sit smug and proud in London. They were written to charge around the world.”
You can check out our list of best Shakespeare adaptations here.

When daffodils begin to peer

When daffodils begin to peer,
With heigh! the doxy, over the dale,
Why, then comes in the sweet o’ the year;
For the red blood reigns in the winter’s pale.
The white sheet bleaching on the hedge,
With heigh! the sweet birds, O, how they sing!
Doth set my pugging tooth on edge,
For a quart of ale is a dish for a king.
The lark, that tirra-lirra chants,
With heigh! with heigh! The thrush and the jay,
Are summer songs for me and my aunts,
While we lie tumbling in the hay.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Autoclucus’ Song from The Winter’s Tale

Photos of the day

A Golden Pheasant walks amongst bluebells at Kew Gardens in west London. Toby Melville/Reuters

Javier Montes, 96-years old, looks at books beside a bunch of red roses, on International Book Day, in Pamplona northern Spain. Book sellers continue a Spanish tradition on St. George’s Day, to give a rose to all people who buy a book, but the origins of the tradition are shrouded in antiquity.Alvaro Barrientos/AP

Market Closes for April 23^rd, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16501.65	-12.72    -0.08%
S&P 500	1875.39	-4.16    -0.22%
NASDAQ	4126.969	-34.489    -0.83%
TSX	14533.39	-22.58
		-0.16%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14546.27	+157.50
		+1.09%
HANG   SENG	22509.64	-221.04
		-0.97%
SENSEX	22876.54	+118.17
		+0.52%
FTSE 100	6674.74	-7.02
		-0.11%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.424	2.448
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.928	2.945
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6860	2.7151
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4685	3.4967

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90642	0.90680
US   $	1.10324	1.10278
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52432	0.65603
US   $	1.38168	0.72376

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold  Fix	1284.51	1284.41
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	101.74	102.13
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

April 23 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, erasing an earlier advance in the last half hour of trading, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. tumbled to overshadow gains among commodity shares.

Valeant slid 2.8 percent, with almost half of the loss coming in the final minute of trading. The shares rallied yesterday following its offer to acquire Allergan Inc. Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s largest energy company, rose 2.6 percent to its highest in almost three years. Alacer Gold Corp. and Detour Gold Corp, added more than 3.9 percent as the metal rose from a 10-week low. Callidus Capital Corp. jumped 20 percent on its first day of trading.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index dropped 22.58 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,533.39 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after gaining as much as 0.2 percent earlier.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals fell 2.8 percent to C$145.25. The drug company jumped 7.7 percent yesterday as it teamed with hedge fund manager Bill Ackman to bid for Allergan Inc.

Crew Energy Inc. rose 4.8 percent to C$12.51, its highest in more than two years, to pace gains among energy companies. Crew has increased 96 percent this year. Suncor rose 2.6 percent to C$41.37.

“The energy sector continues to outperform and lead the market,” said Youssef Zohny, a portfolio manager at Stenner Investment Partners of Richardson GMP Ltd. “Gold and silver is balancing after its recent correction,” he said. Richardson GMP manages about C$26 billion ($23.6 billion).

Consumer-staples companies climbed 1 percent as a group after Canadian retail sales rose 0.5 percent in February, in line with analyst estimates.

Callidus Capital rose 20 percent to C$16.77. The financial services company raised C$252 million in an initial public offering price priced at $14 a share.

US
By Joseph Ciolli

April 23 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined, halting the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s longest winning streak since September, after disappointing earnings reports from AT&T Inc.and Amgen Inc. and an unexpected drop in home sales.

The Nasdaq 100 Index lost 0.9 percent as Netflix Inc. dropped after Amazon.com Inc. reached a deal to stream old episodes of HBO series. Amgen, which is in the technology-heavy gauge, plunged after sales for its best-selling arthritis drug missed analysts’ estimates. AT&T Inc. fell 3.8 percent as more customers opted to pay full price for smartphones in exchange for lower bill in the future. Boeing Co. added 2.4 percent after profit topped forecasts. Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. each advanced in late trading after reporting results that surpassed estimates.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,875.39 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 12.72 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,501.65. The Russell 2000 Index sank 0.7 percent. About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 18 percent below the three-month average.

“The market has been moving up rather well, but it can get a little tired,” Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion, said in a phone interview. “And the economic news today was not anything that would drive the market higher at this point. Apple and Facebook report after the close today, and everyone will be watching that, as they can be market movers.”

The U.S. equity benchmark gauge advanced 3.5 percent during its six-day rally, climbing to within six points of a record, as earnings from Netflix to Citigroup Inc. topped estimates and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated the bank’s commitment to supporting the economy.

The Commerce Department data today showed that sales of new homes unexpectedly plunged in March to the lowest level in eight months, reflecting a broad-based retreat that signals the industry is facing bigger challenges than just bad weather.  Sales dropped 14.5 percent to a 384,000 annualized pace.  Economists predicted a 450,000 annualized pace.

A report from Markit Economics showed a preliminary U.S. manufacturing index decreased to 55.4 in April from a final reading of 55.5 a month earlier. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 56. Readings greater than 50 signal expansion.

Emerging-market equities dropped and European shares snapped the biggest three-day rally since June after the Markit gauge for China signaled continuing weakness in the world’s second-largest economy.

The S&P 500’s six-day rally damped volatility, as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell in each of the sessions to the lowest since April 2. The gauge known as the VIX added 0.6 percent to 13.27 today.

Of the 150 companies in the S&P 500 that have released earnings this season, 75 percent have exceeded analysts’ profit estimates, while 50 percent beat sales projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Some 41 members of the index posted today.

Profit for S&P 500 companies probably increased 0.7 percent in the first quarter, analysts estimated. They had predicted a 6.6 percent gain at the beginning of this year.

“These next few days are the most important of the earnings season as some big bellwethers report,” Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, an equity market strategist at Deutsche Postbank AG, said by phone from Bonn, Germany. “Earnings have not been great this quarter. Expectations had already been brought down quite dramatically and profit growth is weak year-on-year. The S&P 500 is holding up, but investors will need more of a signal to start buying into the market.”

Facebook rose 2.9 percent at 4:46 p.m. in New York. The company’s sales and profit blew past analysts’ estimates. It also said Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman is leaving. The stock fell 2.7 percent to close the regular session at $61.36.

Apple Inc. surged 8.3 percent to $568.52 in late trading.  The world’s largest company by market value also boosted its buyback to $90 billion and raised its dividend. The iPhone maker said it will do a seven-for-one stock split.

Greenlight Capital Inc., the $10.3 billion hedge-fund firm run by David Einhorn, said it was betting against a group of technology stocks as evidence grows of a bubble.

“There is a clear consensus that we are witnessing our second tech bubble in 15 years,” the New York-based firm said in a letter to clients yesterday. “The current bubble is an echo of the previous tech bubble with fewer larger capitalization stocks and much less public enthusiasm.”

Discovery Capital Management LLC, the $15 billion macro- economic hedge-fund firm run by Robert Citrone, slumped in April to bring its losses this year to 12 percent, according to an e- mail the firm sent to investors.

Discovery has struggled in 2014 after predicting at the start of the year that a crisis in emerging markets would worsen and shares of technology companies would rise, according to a 2014 outlook letter to clients, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

The broader Nasdaq Composite Index retreated 0.8 percent and technology shares were the second-worst performer among the 10 main S&P 500 groups today with a 0.9 percent slide. Intuitive Surgical Inc. sank 11 percent for its 12th drop in 13 sessions and the biggest loss in the S&P 500.

EMC Corp. declined 3.2 percent to $25.91. The world’s biggest maker of storage computers cut its earnings forecast for 2014 after reporting a drop in first-quarter profit. The company said some businesses are slowing purchases.

AT&T, which had rallied 14 percent from a low on March 3, sank 3.8 percent to $34.92. Customers who signed up for installment plans helped the company boost profit, but were rejecting AT&T’s older model of offering discounts on smartphones in exchange for a two-year contract with higher fees. While the change is padding profits now, though the company won’t be able to spread the revenue from device sales over time.

Phone stocks in the S&P 500 fell the most, dropping 2.2 percent as Verizon Communications Inc. also retreated.

Amgen lost 5 percent to $113.32, the steepest slide in a year. Quarterly sales of Enbrel, its best-selling arthritis medicine, declined 5 percent to $988 million, missing the $1.11 billion average analyst projection. Total revenue increased 6.6 percent to $4.52 billion from a year earlier, less than the $4.75-billion average estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

Netflix dropped 5.2 percent to $353.50. Amazon’s deal with Time Warner Inc.’s HBO network gives the company exclusive programs that Netflix doesn’t have. Netflix has used original programs such as “House of Cards” to draw online viewers. Amazon shares slipped 1.4 percent.

An S&P index of homebuilders lost 1.6 percent after the housing report. D.R. Horton Inc. sank 2.2 percent to $21.35 for among the biggest declines.

Procter & Gamble Co. slid 0.3 percent to $80.36. The world’s largest consumer-products company posted third-quarter revenue that missed expectations because of declines in its beauty and grooming businesses, as well as a strong dollar that reduced the value of its revenue abroad.

Boeing added 2.4 percent to $130.63 for the biggest rise in the Dow. The world’s largest planemaker reported profit that beat analysts’ estimates, buoyed by rising commercial-jet deliveries as the company stepped up the production tempo.

Delta Air Lines Inc. was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500, increasing 6.1 percent to $37.09 for a sixth day of gains. The third-largest U.S. airline’s first-quarter profit more than tripled, topping analysts’ estimates, as increased traffic and lower fuel prices trumped winter storms that ground 17,000 flights.

FMC Technologies Inc. had the second-biggest advance in the S&P 500, rising 4.2 percent to $57.75 and helping to pace a 0.5 percent increase in the benchmark gauge’s energy index. The largest U.S. maker of subsea equipment for energy producers reported earnings that exceeded estimates.

Gilead Sciences Inc. advanced 1.4 percent to $73.86 for an eighth day of gains that left the stock at a two-month high.  Sales of its hepatitis C pill, Sovaldi, topped estimates by more than $1 billion. Profit excluding certain items also exceeding projections.

Illumina Inc. rose 3.9 percent to $153.69. The maker of DNA sequencing equipment said first-quarter sales increased 27 percent to $421 million, more than the $392 million projected by analysts.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Only the intelligence of love and compassion can solve all problems of life.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We don’t see things as they are, we see things

as we are.

-Anaïs Nin, 1903-1977

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Today is Earth Day.  Est. 1970.  To celebrate, cook dinner with organic foods and share with family or friends.  Reflect on the beauty of our home – the awakening of nature at this wonderful season of spring, with the little birds singing for food in the morning, spring flowers in bloom, the first buds appearing on plants that will bloom in summer…

We went to Napa for the Easter weekend and enjoyed the beauty of the captivating landscape with its rolling hills and endless vineyards.   Of the wineries we toured, the highlight was Shramsberg winery in Calistoga.  You must schedule a tour ahead of time, so if you are planning a trip to San Francisco or specifically the wine country in the future, I highly recommend the tour of this winery.  The story  of its origins and evolution is a charming one.  It is famous for its sparkling wines.  The bottles are stored in caves that were dug into the mountain and the tour takes you through the caves.  Its wines catapulted to fame in 1972 when President Nixon brought cases of the sparkling wine with him to China for gifts for his host and every US president since, including Obama, serves their wines a state dinners and White House celebrations.   We had a tasting of five vintages and they were all superb.

Photos of the day

Tulips bloom in front of the Capitol in Washington. J. David Ake/AP

Bianca Cortinas stands wrapped in plastic six pack rings during a demonstration to mark Earth Day in Manhattan in New York City. Mike Segar/Reuters

Market Closes for April 22^nd, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16514.37	+65.12    +0.40%
S&P 500	1879.37	+7.48    +0.40%
NASDAQ	4161.457	+39.911    +0.97%
TSX	14554.03	+60.35
		+0.42%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14388.77	-123.61
		-0.85%
HANG   SENG	22730.68	-29.56
		-0.13%
SENSEX	22758.37	-6.46
		-0.03%
FTSE 100	6681.76	+56.51
		+0.85%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.448	2.448
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.945	2.946
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.7151	2.7124
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4967	3.5185

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90680	0.90773
US   $	1.10278	1.10165
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52249	0.65682
US   $	1.38059	0.72433

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1284.41	1290.29
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	102.13	104.37
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

April 22 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, after the benchmark index snapped a four-day rally yesterday, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped after offering to buy Allergan Inc. for $45.7 billion.

Valeant rose 7.7 percent in Toronto trading after offering to merge with Allergan, the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment. Rogers Communications Inc., Canada’s biggest wireless operator, fell 3.6 percent after missing analyst estimates for first-quarter earnings and subscriber numbers.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index rose 62.29 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,555.97 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has risen 6.9 percent this year.

Valeant’s valuation will jump a lot higher if the deal is finalized, said Brian Huen, managing partner at Red Sky Capital Management in Toronto. “There’s still a lot of timeline uncertainties, regulatory uncertainties and whether or not they can get the deal across the finish line, that’s holding the stock back,” he said by phone. Huen helps manage about C$225 million ($203 million).

Valeant rose 7.7 percent to C$149.38 on the Toronto exchange. The Laval, Quebec-based company will pay Allergan investors $48.30 in cash and 0.83 percent in Valeant stock for each share they own, Valeant said in a statement yesterday. Pershing Square Capital Management LP, the fund run by Bill Ackman and Allergan’s largest shareholder with a 9.7 percent stake, supports the offer, Valeant said.

Mining companies rose as Barrick Gold Corp. rebounded 1.8 percent to C$19.37 after falling 3.9 percent yesterday as talks for a merger with Newmont Mining Corp. were said to break down.

TransCanada Corp. gained 1.3 percent to C$50.04. The builder of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline fell 3.7 percent yesterday after the timeline for the project’s approval was pushed back.

“Yesterday’s news certainly got people nervous and people are going to be reluctant to get back in the name until more clarity can be provided,” said Huen.

Rogers fell 3.6 percent to C$42.71 as subscriber growth missed analyst estimates and average revenue per customer fell 5 percent from the same period last year, according to a statement.

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. fell 3.5 percent to C$5.78 after saying it would buy Sandstorm Metals & Energy Ltd. at a 43 percent premium to the company’s April 21 closing price. National Bank Financial cut its rating on the stock from the equivalent of a buy to the equivalent of a hold.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. rose 5.3 percent to C$172.62 after the company reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts estimates. The company has been reducing expenses by firing employees and cutting benefits.

Points International Ltd. rose 6.4 percent to C$27 after buying Accruity, which owns travel booking website PointsHound.com.

US
By Joseph Ciolli

April 22 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose a sixth day, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capping its longest rally since September, as health-care shares surged amid a $45.7 billion bid for Allergan Inc. and earnings from Netflix Inc. to Harley- Davidson Inc. topped estimates.

Allergan surged 15 percent after Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. offered to merge with the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment. Netflix soared 7 percent after saying it expects to increase prices for new customers. Harley-Davidson Inc. added 6.4 percent after its earnings release.

The S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to 1,879.55 at 4 p.m. in New York, and earlier rose to within six points of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 65.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,514.37. About 5.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 15 percent below the three-month average.

“Sentiment had gotten too negative, and some decent earnings reports have started helping the market,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said in a phone interview. “That, combined with the positive deal talk and chatter in health care, gives a better tone to the market overall and certainly some support.”

The S&P 500 jumped 3.5 percent in the past six days and is now 0.6 percent below its record reached April 2. The index has added 1.7 percent in 2014. The Dow average is at its highest level since April 3.

Health-care stocks paced gains in the S&P 500 today with a 1 percent advance, as a flurry of deal activity boosted the sector. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rallied 3.2 percent as all but three of its 121 members advanced.

Allergan jumped 15 percent to $163.65. Valeant proposed to buy the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment for about $152.89 a share in the Canadian company’s plan to become one of the world’s largest drugmakers. Valeant’s U.S.-listed shares climbed 7.5 percent to $135.41.

The bid comes as Novartis AG agreed to buy GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s cancer drugs as part of a series of deals among major pharmaceuticals makers. Separate reports said Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, and AstraZeneca Plc had held talks that fizzled.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. each rose at least 2.6 percent.

Intuitive Surgical Inc. also contributed to health-care gains, as the stock climbed 2.7 percent to $422.33. The company received regulatory clearance for a version of its da Vinci surgical system. The advance halted an 11-day losing streak that erased nearly a quarter of the stock’s value.

Thirty companies in the equities benchmark disclosed results today, while a further 121 members report before the end of the week. Profit for the index’s constituents probably increased 0.7 percent in the first quarter, analysts forecast.  They had predicted a 0.9 percent decrease as recently as April 11.

Netflix rallied 7 percent to $372.90. The company behind the drama “House of Cards” said that it plans to charge new customers $1 to $2 a month more for its online video service. Netflix currently offers unlimited Web streaming for $7.99 a month. Netflix also reported first-quarter profit and subscriber growth that beat analysts’ forecasts.

Harley-Davidson jumped 6.4 percent to $71.87, the highest since January 2007. The maker of Road King motorbikes reported first-quarter earnings of $1.21 a share, beating the average analyst projection of $1.08. Sales also exceeded projections.

Comcast Corp. advanced 1.9 percent to $50.83 as the largest U.S. cable company said increased numbers of video subscribers helped it post first-quarter profit of 68 cents a share, excluding some items. That beat the 64 cents that analysts had estimated. Comcast also reported revenue of $17.4 billion.  Analysts had predicted $17 billion.

McDonald’s Corp. dropped 0.4 percent to $99.32. The hamburger chain posted falling sales at its established U.S. locations and first-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates.

Pentair Ltd. slid 6.9 percent to $74.95 for the steepest drop in the S&P 500. The provider of water systems reported first-quarter revenue below analysts’ estimates and forecast revenue in the current period that was less than predicted.

Zions Bancorporation slipped 2 percent to $29.62. The bank, which failed the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test, reported first-quarter earnings of 31 cents a share yesterday, missing the average analyst forecast of 42 cents. The company was cut to equalweight from overweight today by Evercore Partners Inc.

Eight of the 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced today. Consumer-discretionary shares gained 0.8 percent, led by Harley-Davidson and Netflix.

The Dow Jones Transportation Index rallied 0.6 percent for a sixth straight gain that left the gauge at an all-time high.  United Continental Holdings Inc. jumped 4.6 percent and Delta Air Lines added 3 percent as oil futures slumped the most in three months.

Facebook Inc. climbed 2.9 percent to $63.03. Credit Suisse raised its rating on the company to outperform from neutral, and increased its price estimate on the shares by 34 percent to $87.  The brokerage said Facebook will increase its average revenue per user in the medium to long term through new products. The company reports earnings tomorrow.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is in the very heart of our activity that we search for our goal.

Rabindranath Tagore, 1861-1901

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The ultimate inspiration is the deadline.

-Nolan Bushnell, 1943-

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Happy Easter Weekend!

Photos of the day

A volunteer arranges Easter eggs during Holy Thursday at Bachkovo monastery, near Sofia, Bulgaria. Holy Thursday is celebrated three days before the Orthodox Easter and commemorates Jesus Christ’s Last Supper with the Apostles. Stoyan Nenov/Reuters

A girl poses in a sea of tulips at Keukenhof, near Amsterdam, Netherlands. Keukenhof is a showcase of the Dutch floricultural industry, with a special emphasis on flowering bulbs. Peter Dejong/AP

Market Closes for April 17^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16408.54	-16.31    -0.10%
S&P 500	1866.40	+4.09    +0.22%
NASDAQ	4095.516	+9.291    +0.23%
TSX	14508.24	+61.72
		+0.43%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14417.53	-0.15
		—
HANG   SENG	22760.24	+64.23
		+0.28%
SENSEX	22628.84	+351.61
		+1.58%
FTSE 100	6625.25	+41.08
		+0.62%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.445	2.392
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.948	2.907
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.7215	2.6300
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.5219	3.4446

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90843	0.90774
US   $	1.10080	1.10164
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52065	0.65761
US   $	1.38140	0.72390

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1295.17	1302.69
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	104.30	103.76
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

April 17 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a fourth day, reaching the highest level in almost six years, as energy shares soared on higher crude prices after fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for jobless benefits last week.

Trilogy Energy Corp. and Lightstream Resources Ltd. rose at least 4.8 percent as crude advanced a second day in New York. Barrick Gold Corp. fell 1.9 percent as the metal’s price dropped. Fertilizer maker Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. slipped after DuPont Co. posted weaker-than-estimated sales and earnings due to North American farmers delaying planting because of winter weather.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 53.87 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,500.39 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest since June 23, 2008. The equity benchmark climbed 1.7 percent this week for the biggest gain since February. Canadian markets will be closed tomorrow for the Good Friday holiday.

“Energy’s been the superstar,” said Bob Decker, fund manager at Aurion Capital Management Inc. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$6.1 billion ($5.6 billion). “A lot of investors had been underweight energy for a while after a long period of underperformance. Now there’s a lot of chasing going on.”

First-time U.S. jobless claims hovered near the lowest level in almost seven years, increasing 2,000 to 304,000 in the week ended April 12 from a revised 302,000. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had a median forecast of 315,000.

Trilogy Energy added 4.8 percent to C$31.67 and Lightstream Resources Ltd. rallied 6.7 percent to C$6.77 as the S&P/TSX Energy Index rose 1 percent to extend a three-year high amid five straight days of gains.

Seven of 10 industry groups climbed on trading volume 16 percent higher compared with the 30-day average.

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. rallied 1.8 percent to C$31.26 after slumping the most in a year yesterday. Agnico Eagle, along with Yamana Gold Inc., agreed to a C$3.9 billion cash-and-stock deal to acquire Osisko Mining Corp. yesterday. Osisko added 0.8 percent to C$8, to extend a one-year high. Yamana Gold decreased 0.8 percent to C$8.76 for a sixth straight drop, falling to the lowest since January 2009.

Argonaut Gold Inc. retreated 5.9 percent to C$3.80 and Barrick Gold dropped 1.9 percent to C$19.81. Gold for June delivery declined about 1.8 percent this week.

Potash Corp. lost 0.3 percent to C$38.45, snapping a three- day advance. DuPont, the largest U.S. chemical maker by market value, said revenue fell 2.7 percent. The company said last month its earnings would be hurt by the unusually harsh winter as well as Ukraine unrest.

US
By Lu Wang and Callie Bost

April 17 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its best week since July, as earnings from General Electric Co. and Morgan Stanley beat estimates and concern eased that the Ukraine crisis may worsen.

GE climbed 1.7 percent after results beat forecasts. Morgan Stanley added 2.9 percent as a gain in trading revenue helped profit top estimates. Google Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. slid at least 3.3 percent as sales trailed projections.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 1,864.85 at 4 p.m. in New York, extending its gain for the week to 2.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16.31 points, or 0.1 percent, to to 16,408.54. IBM, which accounts for 7.4 percent of the Dow, took 41 points off the index’s total today. About 6.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 8.6 percent below the three-month average. The U.S. equity markets are closed tomorrow for a holiday.

“Any deceleration of the conflict will be a relief for the market,” Terry Morris, a senior equity manager who helps oversee about $2.8 billion at Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based National Penn Investors Trust Co., said in a phone interview. “Combine the ease of the tension between Russia and Ukraine and generally a positive tone of earnings, the result is an upward drifting market.”

Equities turned higher after four-way talks on the crisis in Ukraine ended with an accord aimed at taking the first steps toward de-escalating the conflict after President Vladimir Putin said he hopes he won’t have to send troops.

Talks in Geneva today between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, went on for more than six hours, longer than scheduled.

The S&P 500 rose each day this week to erase its decline for the year. The gauge sank 2.7 percent last week, the most since 2012.

Twenty-five companies in the S&P 500 report earnings today. Profit per share for the index’s constituents probably increased 0.7 percent in the first quarter, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Analysts projected growth of 6.6 percent at the start of the year.

“The market, with the sell-off and some downward revisions to estimates, maybe set itself for better reactions to earnings than it might have been the case earlier,” Gerry Paul, chief investment officer of U.S. value equities at AllianceBernstein LP in New York, said by phone. The firm oversees $454 billion. “Broadly, what we’re going to learn from earnings is that we’re pretty march on the trajectory of what the market expect it to be on.”

Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the labor market continues to strengthen. Jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 304,000 in the week ended April 12 from a revised 302,000 the prior period that was the lowest since September 2007, a Labor Department report showed.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, fell 5.8 percent to 13.36. The measure has lost 22 percent this week, the most since January 2013.

Seven of 10 S&P 500 industries gained as energy and industrial companies each advanced 0.8 percent advance for the best performance.

GE rallied 1.7 percent to $26.56. The company posted first- quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, buoyed by expanding margins in the industrial businesses that make products such as jet engines.

Morgan Stanley added 2.9 percent to $30.76. First-quarter net income rose to 74 cents a share from 48 cents a year earlier, the bank said. Excluding an accounting gain tied to the firm’s own debt, profit from continuing operations was 68 cents a share, topping the 60-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 1.9 percent, the biggest gain in a month. Micron Technology Inc., the largest U.S. maker of memory chips, added 6.4 percent to $23.91.

SanDisk Corp. jumped 9.4 percent to $82.99 for the biggest rally in the S&P 500. The maker of flash memory for mobile devices boosted its forecast for gross margin this year to between 47 percent and 49 percent. That’s up from its previous guidance range of between 45 percent to 48 percent and compares with analysts’ estimates that call for 47.4 percent.

Google’s Class C shares fell 3.7 percent to $536.10. The owner of the largest search engine said revenue, excluding sales passed on to partners, totaled $12.2 billion in the first quarter. That missed a projection by analysts for $12.3 billion.

IBM dropped 3.3 percent to $190.01. The company said first- quarter revenue fell 3.9 percent from a year earlier to $22.5 billion. That missed the average estimate of analysts that called for $22.9 billion.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. sank 3.1 percent to $75.78 for its worst day since October. The biggest U.S. health insurer said first-quarter profit fell 7.8 percent. It has derived growth from Medicare and has the biggest program among publicly traded insurers, with 3 million enrollees. In April, the government implemented a second round of cuts to Medicare Advantage.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be  magnificent!

The true source of rights is duty.

If we discharge our duties, rights will not be far to seek.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Passion, though a bad regulator, is a powerful spring.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1912, one day after the Titanic sank, WSJ ran a headline: “Liner Titanic Struck By Berg But Passengers Are Saved.” The Journal wasn’t alone in getting it totally wrong, at first. Check out a version of the 102-year-old article. –By Steven Russolillo, WSJ

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own. –Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881.

Photos of the day

Russian artist Vasily Slonov stands near a tree after attaching wooden starling houses during a presentation of his artwork called ‘Total Spring’ on an island in the middle of the Yenisei River in Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Ilya Naymushin/Reuters

Snow covers a log cabin off Highway 36 in the City of Kawartha Lakes in central Ontario April 15. Most of the province saw snow this morning one of the latest spring snowfalls in recent history. Fred Thornhill/Reuters  Women look as a penitent of San Bernardo brotherhood walks on her way to a church before taking part in a procession during Holy Week in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain. Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters

Market Closes for April 16^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16424.85	+162.29    +1.00%
S&P 500	1862.31	+19.33    +1.05%
NASDAQ	4086.225	+52.064    +1.29%
TSX	14446.52	+142.60
		+1.00%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14417.68	+420.87
		+3.01%
HANG   SENG	22696.01	+24.75
		+0.11%
SENSEX	22277.23	-207.70
		-0.92%
FTSE 100	6584.17	+42.56
		+0.65%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.392	2.383
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.907	2.917
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6300	2.6211
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4446	3.4545

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90774	0.91059
US   $	1.10164	1.09819
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52207	0.65700
US   $	1.38164	0.72378

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1302.69	1303.20
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	103.76	103.75
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

April 16 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose the most since February as commodity producers rallied on a jump in copper and crude prices on concern the crisis in Ukraine is escalating and better-than-expected economic growth in China.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Calfrac Well Services Ltd. paced gains that sent energy shares to a three-year high. Osisko Mining Corp. added 7 percent, reaching the highest in more than a year, after announcing a joint sale to Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Yamana Gold Inc. in an effort to fend off a hostile Goldcorp Inc. bid. Torex Gold Resources Inc. increased 13 percent after securing financing for a mining project.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 142.60 points, or 1 percent, to 14,446.52 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest increase since Feb. 6. The equity benchmark is up 6.1 percent this year and has recovered most of a 1.4 percent dip between April 2 and April 11.

“The market has acted very well for Canada this year and we had been due for a correction, hopefully we’ve had it now,” said John Kinsey, a fund manager at Caldwell Securities Ltd. in Toronto. The firm manages about C$1 billion ($909 million). “We think it will be a good year for the Canadian market. Energy has been consistent and any prices over $100 is very good for Canadian companies.”

Brent crude climbed above $110 a barrel for the first time in six weeks and West Texas Intermediate traded near $104 a barrel as Ukraine’s government began an offensive against separatists in its east.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. added 1.7 percent to C$20.99.  Copper rose the most in two weeks as China’s economy grew 7.4 percent in the first quarter, ahead of the median economists’ estimate of 7.3 percent.

Canadian Natural Resources rose 0.7 percent to C$44.08 and Calfrac Well Services gained 2.6 percent to C$35.73 as the S&P/TSX Energy Index climbed 1.4 percent for the highest close since May 2011.

Precision Drilling Corp. jumped 6.6 percent to C$13.76 after analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their rating for the stock to overweight, the equivalent of a buy, as the company is positioned to “capture outsize share” of natural gas drilling activity in the coming years.

Metro Inc. increased 2.5 percent to C$65.86 as consumer staples shares rose 1.4 percent as a group. All 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume about 17 percent higher compared with the 30-day average.

Metro, the grocery store retailer, reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of C$1.07 a share, ahead of analysts’ estimates of C$1.03 as same-store sales rose 1 percent.

Osisko jumped 7 percent to C$7.94, the highest since January 2013. Agnico Eagle and Yamana’s C$3.9 billion cash-and- stock offer, valuing Osisko at C$8.15 a share, trumps a hostile bid from Goldcorp for C$7.43 a share. Osisko and Yamana had first agreed to a friendly deal on April 2. The fight for Osisko is focused on its Canadian Malartic gold mine.      Agnico Eagle slumped 8.2 percent to C$30.71, the biggest decrease in a year, Yamana sank 4 percent to C$8.83, while Goldcorp added 0.8 percent to C$26.22.

Torex Gold soared 13 percent to C$1.13. The Toronto-based company said it has signed a commitment letter with a series of banks for a $375 million project finance facility, enough to fully finance the development of its El Limon-Guajes project in Mexico.

USA
By Lu Wang and Callie Bost

April 16 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capping its best three-day rally in two months, as Yahoo! Inc. earnings topped estimates and industrial production gained more than forecast.

Yahoo jumped 6.3 percent after sales surged at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., where it holds a stake. Bank of America Corp. retreated 1.6 percent after reporting a quarterly loss. Google Inc. sank 5.7 percent in extended trading after the company reported sales that missed estimates. International Business Machines Corp. dropped 3.5 percent after the close as its sales fell an eighth straight quarter.

The S&P 500 added 1.1 percent to 1,862.31 at 4 p.m. in New York, bringing its three-day advance to 2.6 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 162.29 points, or 1 percent, to 16,424.85. About 6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, the slowest trading in one month.

“The macro data continues to come in reasonably firm and we don’t think valuations on the stock side suggest we’re overdone,” Jim Russell,  a senior equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said by phone. “The market is finding some sort of natural trading level to bounce out of and we’re seeing slightly better-than-expected earnings and second-quarter outlooks from management that seem to be encouraging.”

The S&P 500 erased its loss for the year today. The gauge had dropped as much as 4 percent from its April 2 record as investors sold Internet and biotechnology stocks, the best performers during the five-year bull market, amid concern valuations had become too expensive before earnings.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, speaking to the Economic Club of New York, told investors to pay attention to shortfalls in both inflation and the jobless rate for signals on the Federal Open Market Committee’s decisions on the policy rate. The Fed has a “continuing commitment” to support the economic recovery, she said.

The central bank said the U.S. economy continued to expand in most regions as businesses benefited from a bounce back from harsh winter weather earlier in the year. Eight of 12 Fed districts characterized growth as “modest or moderate,” the Fed said today in its Beige Book business survey, based on reports gathered before April 7.

Economic data today showed gains in manufacturing are helping power the U.S. out of the winter doldrums, while homebuilding shows signs of lagging behind. Industrial production rose more than forecast in March after a February gain that was twice as big as previously estimated. A Commerce Department report showed the pace of U.S. home construction rebounded less than forecast in March.

Seventeen companies in the equities benchmark report earnings today. Profit per share for the index’s constituents probably dropped 0.9 percent in the first quarter, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue climbed 2.6 percent from a year earlier, the projections show.

Russell Investments, the U.S. asset manager that oversees $257 billion, bought protection against a drop in equities shortly before last week’s selloff. The firm acquired puts on the S&P 500 last week’s 2.7 percent slide, Alain Zeitouni, head of multi-management at Russell Investments France said.

“Protection is cheap and we’re a bit cautious,” Zeitouni said in Paris on April 10. “We don’t see a big rally in equities in the U.S. We’ve been expecting a correction.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, fell 9.2 percent to 14.18.

All 10 main S&P 500 industries advanced today, with raw- material producers and industrial companies each adding 1.5 percent to pace gains. 3M Co. and United Technologies Corp. jumped at least 1.9 percent among the biggest gains in the Dow.

Yahoo rallied 6.3 percent to $36.35. The Web portal posted first-quarter earnings of 38 cents a share, more than the 37- cent average estimate of analysts. Sales excluding some items of $1.09 billion also beat projections. Alibaba reported that net income more than doubled in the last quarter of 2013 and revenue surged 66 percent. Yahoo owns 24 percent of the Chinese e- commerce company.

Southwest Airlines Co. advanced 2.8 percent to $23.54. The largest discount carrier will freeze the size of its jet fleet through 2015, a year longer than Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly’s stated goal of holding the number of planes — now about 680 –steady through 2014.

Delta Air Lines Inc. climbed 5.4 percent to $33.62.

Johnson Controls Inc. rose 1.7 percent to $46.73. The largest U.S. auto-parts maker agreed to buy Air Distribution Technologies for $1.6 billion, seeking to lessen its reliance on the cyclical auto industry by adding ventilation products by purchasing Air Distribution Technologies from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Moelis & Co. climbed 4.6 percent to $26.15 in its trading debut after raising less than it planned in the first U.S. initial public offering of an investment bank since the financial crisis.

Bank of America declined 1.6 percent to $16.13. The second- largest U.S. lender swung to a quarterly loss after settling claims on mortgage bonds. The first-quarter loss of $276 million compared with a profit of $1.48 billion a year earlier, the lender said.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 0.2 percent and a gauge of semiconductors dropped the second-most among 24 S&P 500 groups. Linear Technology Corp. slipped 4.4 percent to $45.07 for the biggest retreat in the equities benchmark. Analog Devices Inc. lost 1.9 percent to $52.15 and NetApp Inc. dropped 2 percent to $36.24.

CSX Corp. declined 1.8 percent to $27.79. The largest railroad in the eastern U.S. said it expects “modest” earnings growth for 2014 and it’s unclear if 2015 will be “strong enough” to deliver a two-year compound annual growth rate of 10 percent to 15 percent.

Google’s Class C shares sank 5.7 percent to $524.79 in after-hours trading. The operator of the largest Internet search engine said sales fell short of estimates as advertising prices declined. The stock closed the regular session 3.8 percent higher at $556.54.

IBM lost 3.5 percent to $189.50. Revenue fell 3.9 percent from a year earlier to $22.5 billion in the first quarter as sales continued to tumble in its hardware unit and in developing countries, IBM said today in a statement. That compared with analysts’ average estimate of $22.9 billion. The stock closed today 0.3 percent lower at $196.40.

 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The word duty indicates compulsion.

The word responsibility indicates freedom.

Duties lead one to demand rightfully.

Responsibilities lead one to command respectfully.

Sense of duty is out of attachment.

Sense of responsibility is out of love.

Duties can be thrust upon others.

Responsibilities are taken up by oneself.

There can be unwillingness in performing one’s duty.

Responsibility is always taken up willingly.

Maa Purnananda, 1440-1518

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Happiness is part of who we are.  Joy is

the feeling.

-Tony De Liso

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Full moon tonight 🙂!

On this day in…
1452- Leonardo da Vinci was born.
1912 –The Titanic sank.
1955 –The first McDonald’s restaurant open.

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.  ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death. –Leonardo da Vinci

Photos of the day

The moon glows a red hue during a lunar eclipse as it is framed between the steeples on the Annunciation Catholic Church in Houston. The eclipse is the first of four total lunar eclipses that will take place between 2014 to 2015. Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle/AP

A man walks past thousands of blooming Bluebells in a forest near Halle, south of Brussels. Bluebells are particularly associated with ancient woodland where it may dominate the understorey to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers. Yves Logghe/AP

Market Closes for April 15^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16262.50	+89.26    +0.55%
S&P 500	1842.43	+11.82    +0.65%
NASDAQ	4034.161	+11.467    +0.29%
TSX	14301.29	+16.86
		+0.12%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	13996.81	+86.65
		+0.62%
HANG   SENG	22671.26	-367.54
		-1.60%
SENSEX	22484.93	-144.03
		-0.64%
FTSE 100	6541.61	-42.15
		-0.64%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.383	2.411
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.917	2.939
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6211	2.6472
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4545	3.4876

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91059	0.91217
US   $	1.09819	1.09628
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.51698	0.65920
US   $	1.38134	0.72393

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1303.20	1327.53
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	103.75	104.05
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

April 15 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day after a report that BHP Billiton Ltd. may make another bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., while gold producers fell on lower metal prices.

Potash Corp. climbed 3.3 percent after the Globe and Mail said that while no deal is under way, BHP is likely to consider the transaction. Lumenpulse Inc., which makes lighting fixtures, soared 15 percent in its trading debut. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rallied 2.9 percent to pace gains among health-care stocks. Detour Gold Corp. and Argonaut Gold Inc. sank at least 5.3 percent as gold prices dropped the most in 16 weeks. Silver Standard Resources Inc. lost 4.4 percent as the price of the metal fell the most in more than a month.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 19.49 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,303.92 at 4 p.m. in Toronto after earlier falling as much as 0.4 percent. The equity benchmark is up 5 percent this year.

“The market is taking a wait-and-see approach,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto. The firm manages about C$4.7 billion ($4.3 billion). “As equities gain more of a shine, some of that shine will come off of gold.”

Valeant Pharmaceuticals increased 2.9 percent to snap three days of losses. Health-care stocks jumped 2.7 percent as a group as eight of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX rose. Trading volume was 9.4 percent higher compared with the 30-day average.

Detour Gold slumped 6.4 percent to C$10.03 and Argonaut Gold retreated 5.3 percent to C$4.13. Detour Gold is the best- performing stock in the S&P/TSX this year with a 145 percent gain.

Potash Corp. climbed 3.3 percent to C$38.30, the biggest increase since March 5. Tim Tiberio, an analyst at Miller Tabak & Co. LLC, said in a note to clients he was “skeptical ” about the timing of speculation of a potential BHP-Potash Corp. link- up, given fertilizer groups are about to enter a seasonally weaker trading period.

Lumenpulse, based in Montreal, jumped 15 percent to C$18.35 in its first day of trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange after completing a C$100 million initial offering at C$16. The company trades under the ticker “LMP” in Toronto.

CGI Group Inc. rallied 2.2 percent to C$36, a one-month high. The IT services provider said it has extended its agreement with Toronto-Dominion Bank to process the firm’s mutual fund transactions until as late as 2026. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Toronto-Dominion was little changed at C$51.23.

Gold fell in New York on speculation that signs of an improving U.S. economy will curb demand for a haven. Gold for June delivery decreased 2 percent to settle at $1,300.30.

Silver Standard Resources tumbled 4.4 percent to C$10.87, the lowest price in two months, and Silvercorp Metals Inc. retreated 3.6 percent to C$2.12. Silver futures for May delivery fell 2.6 percent to $19.489 an ounce in New York.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent, advancing for a third day, as U.S. government data showed consumer prices increased more than forecast and a report yesterday showed better-than-estimated growth in American retail sales.

US
By Lu Wang and Joseph Ciolli

April 15 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose a second day, after equities posted the worst week since 2012, as earnings from Coca-Cola Co. and Johnson & Johnson overwhelmed concerns that tensions in Ukraine are worsening.

The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 percent, erasing an earlier drop of 1.9 percent after nearing its average price in the past 200 days. Coca-Cola gained 3.7 percent as global volume sales increased. Johnson & Johnson climbed 2.1 percent as the company raised its forecast for the year.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.7 percent 1,842.98 at 4 p.m. in New York, reversing a loss of 0.8 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 89.32 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,262.05. About 7.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 10 percent above the three-month average.

“Stocks are having meaningful moves in both directions because people are nervous on both sides,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said in a phone interview. “Subjectivity plays such a pivotal role, and emotions, in what’s been going on in this market that it’s hard to pinpoint what causes a turn in the direction.”

The S&P 500 yesterday briefly erased a 1 percent gain, as technology shares dipped, before closing higher to halt a two- day slide. The index has dropped 2.5 percent from its April 2 record as selling from Internet and biotechnology stocks, the best performers in a five-year rally, spread to the broader market.

The Nasdaq Composite today fell to within four points of its 200-day moving average of 3,942.50 before reversing. The last time the gauge dropped below that level, considered an important threshold by technical analysts, was Dec. 31, 2012.

The Nasdaq, along with the S&P 500, Dow and Russell 2000 indexes, fell below 10-day through 100-day averages last week. The Russell index of smaller companies sank through its 200-day average today before reversing to close about 12 points above that level.

The volatility in technology stocks “adds to investor uneasiness,” Brian Peery, who helps oversee $4.8 billion for Novato, California-based Hennessy Funds, said in a phone interview. Peery said his firm has taken advantage of the recent selloff to add holdings in industrial companies, such as airlines. “The market is going to continue to climb the proverbial wall of worry. There is enough good economic news to support the market moving up higher in slower stages.”

Economic data today showed manufacturing in the New York region grew at a slower pace in April while the cost of living in the U.S. rose more than projected in March as food and rents became more expensive.

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose less than forecast in April, as sales and prospective buyer traffic stagnated, showing the residential real estate market struggled to improve after a harsh winter. An S&P index of homebuilders fell 0.6 percent.

“The discipline is to take long-term views of data and move away from the wiggles of each daily number,” Stephen Wood, the New York-based chief market strategist at Russell Investments, which oversees more than $259 billion, said by phone. “The grinding, if reluctant, U.S. economy is still in place and all of this data, in the long-term perspective, confirms that.”

Investors are also weighing data from China, where a report earlier today indicated the money supply grew less than forecast in March. The government will report tomorrow gross domestic product data for the first quarter in the world’s second-largest economy.

“China’s growth data tomorrow may demonstrate a weaker- than-expected economy,” Ronald Wan, chief China adviser at Asian Capital Holdings Ltd., said by phone from Hong Kong. “Expectations for large-scale stimulus may not be in place and there could be smaller measures instead.”

Ukraine unleashed an offensive to dislodge militants from towns in its eastern Donetsk region as the authorities in Kiev said elements of Russian special forces were identified among the anti-government forces. Russia’s prime minister said the country risks civil war.

“There’s a tremendous amount of volatility and uncertainty because of concerns over Russia and Ukraine,” Chad Morganlander, a Florham Park, New Jersey-based portfolio manager for Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which oversees more than $150 billion, said in a phone interview. “That’s going to shift the winds of the market on a minute-by-minute basis. You’re in the process right now, in the short run, of sorting through earnings, as well as geopolitical and economic issues.”

Nine S&P 500 members report earnings today. Profit at S&P 500 companies probably fell 0.9 percent in the first quarter, analysts predict. At the beginning of the year, they had projected a 6.6 percent increase. Sales increased 2.6 percent in the first quarter, the estimates show.

Yahoo! Inc. and Intel Corp. advanced in extended trading after reporting results. Yahoo jumped 9.4 percent to $37.42 as sales surpassed forecasts. The stock also got a boost when Alibaba Group reported a 66 percent jump in revenue. Yahoo owns about 24 percent of the largest Chinese e-commerce company. Intel climbed 2.8 percent to $27.52 after earnings topped analyst estimates.

The S&P 500 trades at 17 times its members’ reported earnings. While that’s near its highest valuation in four years, it’s close to its weekly average since 1937, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, fell 3.1 percent to 15.61.

All of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today, with utility and energy stocks rising 1.3 percent to lead the gains.

Coca-Cola rose 3.7 percent to $40.18 as first-quarter profit met analysts’ estimates. Global sales volume rose 2 percent for the quarter, driven by emerging markets.

Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent, facing sluggish soft drink sales in the U.S., has implemented a cost-cutting program to boost earnings and is collaborating with Keurig Green Mountain Inc. to compete in at-home soda making.

Johnson & Johnson rose 2.1 percent to $99.20, an all-time high. The world’s biggest maker of health-care products said first-quarter profit rose 34 percent on demand for the company’s newest drugs.

J&J, the first of the major health care companies to report earnings this quarter, raised its 2014 forecast to $5.80 to $5.90 a share from $5.75 to $5.85 a share, excluding items.

Twitter Inc. soared 11 percent, the biggest gain since its first day of trading, to $45.52. The microblogging company is buying data-analysis company and longtime partner Gnip Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The deal gives Twitter a bigger share of profits from reselling analytical data. The stock is still 28 percent lower for the year.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be  magnificent!

No matter how insignificant the thing you have to do,

do it as well as you can,

give it as much of your care and attention as you would give to the thing

you regard as most important.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

All money is a matter of belief.

-Adam Smith, 1723-1790

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7