Month: May 2014

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Full moon tonight.

On May 14, 1948, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed as British rule in Palestine came to an end.

1998 – Singer Frank Sinatra died at age 82.

1998 – The TV series “Seinfeld” aired its final episode.

2008 – The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species because of the loss of Arctic sea ice.

Midnight sun until July 30^th, in Norway.

If you fill your mind to capacity with thoughts that you think are good and productive, you won’t have room for the bad ones. –Sir John Templeton, 1912-2008.

It was amazing to see the prices fetched at Christie’s Post War &  Contemporary Art Auction last night.  The highest bid was for a Barnett Newman – Black Fire I sold $84.1 million setting a new record for the artist.  Check it out at www.Christies.com.

Photos of the day

Tate Modern employees install Mark Rothko’s ‘Black on Maroon’ mural (r.) in London. The museum is putting ‘Black on Maroon’ back on display Tuesday, more than a year and a half after it was defaced with black ink by a vandal trying to draw attention to an obscure artistic movement. The gallery has spent 18 months working on the abstract painting, whose surface is made up of layers of oil, pigment, resin, egg, and glue. Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

Market Closes for May 14^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16613.97	-101.47   -0.61%
S&P 500	1888.51	-8.94   -0.47%
NASDAQ	4100.629	-29.536   -0.72%
TSX	14663.05	-16.76
		-0.11%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14405.76	-19.68
		-0.14%
HANG SENG	22582.77	+230.39
		+1.03%
SENSEX	23815.12	-56.11
		-0.24%
FTSE 100	6878.49	+5.41
		+0.08%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.287	2.355
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.832	2.889
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5445	2.6089
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.3750	3.4438

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91883	0.91671
US $	1.08834	1.09085
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49255	0.66999
US $	1.37140	0.72918

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1305.79	1293.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	102.37	101.70
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

May 14 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed after two days of gains as declines in technology and health- care companies offset increases among materials producers.

CGI Group Inc. and Celestica Inc. dropped at least two percent, falling the most among technology companies on the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index. Bear Creek Mining Corp. surged 35 percent after a Peruvian court threw out a government lawsuit against the company. Ainsworth Lumber Co. decreased 8.7 percent after Louisiana-Pacific Corp. scrapped its takeover of the company.

The S&P/TSX fell 6.08 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,673.73 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has climbed 7.7 percent this year. Health-care stocks sank 2 percent and technology companies declined 1.8 percent as a group.

The benchmark index was higher for most of the day, gaining as much as 0.2 percent. It dropped in the final hour of trading as energy shares reversed an advance, falling 0.2 percent as a group.

Investors are nervous about whether or not the year’s rally in Canadian energy stocks will continue, said Mike O’Brien, a fund manager with TD Asset Management Inc. in Toronto.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as to where it’s going to go and whether crude prices break higher or lower from here,” O’Brien said by phone. “My perspective is I don’t think oil prices are going to fall out of bed.” TD manages about C$218 billion ($200 billion).

Materials companies rose 0.9 percent as a group, the most out of 10 industries in the benchmark index, as the price of gold climbed 0.9 percent $1,305.90 an ounce.

Eldorado Gold Corp. jumped 3 percent to C$6.58 and Yamana Gold Inc. added 5.4 percent to C$8.24 to lead advances among gold producers.

Bear Creek Mining advanced 35 percent to C$2 after rising as much as 45 percent, the most since 2005. A Peruvian court said a ruling from the government to take away the company’s rights to a mine was unconstitutional. The court restored Bear Creek’s status as the property’s owner and said the project was in the country’s interest, according to a statement from Bear Creek.

Ainsworth Lumber fell 8.7 percent to $3.15. Louisiana- Pacific called off its C$951 million takeover of the Vancouver- based company after regulators said further asset sales were necessary.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. dropped 2.3 percent to C$138.22 after saying it plans to sweeten its rejected cash-and-stock offer for Botox maker Allergan Inc. after talking to investors of the targeted company.

Badger Daylighting Ltd., an excavating company, retreated 2.8 percent to C$36 after saying first-quarter earnings per share fell compared to the same period last year.

SunOpta Inc. increased 12 percent to C$13.78 after reporting first-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates.  SunOpta distributes natural and organic food.

Torc Oil & Gas Ltd. gained 4.5 percent to C$13.61 after boosting its forecast for 2014 production.

Sears Canada Inc. rose 3.4 percent to C$16.30 after Sears Holdings Corp. said it is considering selling the Canadian unit, which has a market value of $1.5 billion.

US
By Joseph Ciolli

May 14 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, sending benchmark indexes down from all-time highs, as investors resumed selling in small-cap and Internet shares.

Groupon Inc. sank 4.4 percent to lead the Dow Jones Internet Index lower by 1.2 percent. Fossil Group Inc. fell 10 percent after the maker of watches and accessories forecast earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates. Deere & Co. slid 2 percent after cutting its full-year revenue projection. International Business Machines Corp. lost 1.8 percent to pace declines among large companies.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.5 percent to 1,888.53 at 4 p.m. in New York, ending a three-day rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 101.47 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,613.97, halting five days of gains. The Russell 2000 Index of small stocks sank 1.6 percent after yesterday sliding 1.1 percent. About 5.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 19 percent below the three-month average.

“The market is taking a bit of a breather,” Bill Schultz, chief investment officer who oversees about $1.1 billion at McQueen Ball & Associates in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, said in a phone interview. “Earnings have been OK, but now we’re in a slow period. We’re going to have to see earnings pick up to get us to the next level on stocks.”

The S&P 500 rebounded 4.5 percent from its low on April 11 through yesterday, recovering declines after a selloff in technology and small-cap stocks overshadowed optimism about the strength of the economy. The equities benchmark briefly surpassed 1,900 for the first time yesterday, ending the day little changed at an all-time high of 1,897.45. The Dow also finished yesterday at a record.

The Russell 2000 has fallen 2.7 percent in the past two days, extending its drop from a March high to 8.7 percent. The gauge retreated 1.9 percent last week to close below its average price for the past 200 days for the first time since 2012. The Dow Jones Internet Index has plunged 17 percent from a 13-year high in March.

“There’s potential for people to take profits as we reach this record-high area,” Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Cincinnati-based Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc., said in a phone interview. “When you get these run-ups, people start to look at economic data, and we haven’t exactly had a great run over the last month. People were expecting a pickup following a tough winter.”

Data today showed wholesale prices in the U.S. rose in April by the most in more than a year, reflecting broad-based gains that signal the threat of deflation is ebbing as the economy improves.

A report yesterday showed retail sales climbed 0.1 percent last month, as consumers were less inclined to ramp up spending again after March saw a release of pent-up demand caused by harsh winter weather.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak tomorrow after saying last week the world’s biggest economy still requires a strong dose of stimulus. She told U.S. lawmakers that while data show “solid growth” in the second quarter, “many Americans who want a job are still unemployed” and inflation remains low.

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.

Macy’s Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. are among 12 companies in the S&P 500 scheduled to disclose results this week, giving investors insight into how retailers performed during the winter months.

Among the 457 companies in the S&P 500 that have posted results this earnings season, 76 percent beat analysts’ estimates for profits and 53 percent exceeded sales projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Investors have also been watching developments in Ukraine, where rebels yesterday killed seven government soldiers and wounded eight others during an ambush in a breakaway eastern region.

The country “is as close to civil war as you can get,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview today with Bloomberg Television. Russia has “no intention” of send its troops anywhere, he said. The country is locked in the worst standoff since the end of the Cold War against the U.S. and Europe over Ukraine in the run-up to presidential elections later this month.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, added 0.3 percent to 12.17. The gauge has fallen 43 percent since reaching a two-year high on Feb. 3 and closed yesterday at the lowest since August.

Five of the 10 main S&P 500 groups retreated today, with consumer-discretionary stocks losing 1.1 percent to pace declines. Phone shares added 0.5 percent.

IBM slid 1.8 percent to $188.72 for the steepest slide in the Dow. Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty spoke to Wall Street analysts today, saying she remains confident in the company’s 2015 profit forecast despite tumbling sales in hardware and emerging markets like China.

Fossil lost 10 percent to $100 for the biggest drop in the S&P 500. Second-quarter earnings will be 90 cents to 97 cents a share, the company said after the close of trading yesterday. Analysts had projected $1.16. The company predicted sales growth of 8 percent to 9.5 percent, also missing the 10 percent average estimate.

Deere fell 2 percent to $91.70. The largest agricultural- equipment maker said equipment sales will drop by about 4 percent for 2014, compared with a previous projection for a decline of about 3 percent. Equipment sales in the quarter through April slid to $9.25 billion from $10.3 billion, missing the average analyst estimate.

Sears Holdings Corp. fell 5.9 percent to $40.70 after saying it is considering a divestment of its 51 percent interest or the sale of Sears Canada as a whole.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To love is to understand and feel that the other person is different.

Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We would accomplish many more things if we did not

think of them as impossible.

-Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970

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:

The guys on Car Talk – terrific show on NPR on Saturday mornings, read this letter to their audience last Saturday.  Applicants to NYU must submit an essay with their applications.

This is an actual essay written by a college applicant to NYU. The author was accepted and is now attending NYU.

3A. IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT,  BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.

Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400.

My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations with the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven.

I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin.

I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

Photos of the day

A ‘Maya’ girl sits on an altar during the traditional celebration of ‘Las Mayas’ on a street, in central Madrid, Spain. The festival originates from pagan traditions and dates back to the medieval age, taking place annually at the beginning of May to celebrate the beginning of spring. Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP

Dark clouds hang over flowers on a dyke at the river Oder near Reitwein, eastern Germany. Patrick Pleul/AP

Market Closes for May 12^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16695.47	+112.13    +0.68%
S&P 500	1896.65	+18.17    +0.97%
NASDAQ	4143.859	+71.990    +1.77%
TSX	14654.94	+120.88
		+0.83%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14149.52	-50.07
		-0.35%
HANG   SENG	22261.61	+398.62
		+1.82%
SENSEX	23551.00	+556.77
		+2.42%
FTSE 100	6851.75	+37.18
		+0.55%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.400	2.359
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.923	2.895
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6557	2.6215
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4907	3.4659

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91784	0.91751
US   $	1.08952	1.08990
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.49902	0.66710
US   $	1.37585	0.72682

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1296.50	1289.19
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	100.59	100.06
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

May 12 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, after their worst weekly drop since June, as rallies in the price of copper and gold boosted mining companies.

Lundin Mining Corp. rose 6 percent and Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. gained 7.7 percent as copper rose as much as  2.4 percent, the most since December. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. fell as Allergan Inc. rejected the drugmaker’s unsolicited takeover offer. Canadian Tire Corp. fell 1 percent after Credit Suisse cut the stock to the equivalent of a sell.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 120.88 points, or 0.8 percent, to 14,654.94 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the largest increase since April 16. Investors are jumping back into the market after being spooked by a sell-off in energy companies last week, said Bruce Campbell fund manager at StoneCastle Investment Management Inc.

“There certainly seemed like there were moments last week of the first little inklings of panic,” he said by phone from Kelowna, British Columbia. His firm manages about C$100 million ($92 million). Today the market is making up for that panicked selling, he said.

Energy companies fell 2.6 percent last week after rising 15 percent from January to the end of April. Mining companies in the Canadian benchmark index rose 1.5 percent as a group today, the most since May 2.

Gold for June delivery rose 0.6 percent to $1,295.80 an ounce after rising as much as 1.3 percent as Russian President Vladimir Putin said he respected the results of referendums in eastern Ukraine which separatists said were in favor of independence.

Copper producers including Lundin, Thompson Creek, Nevada Copper Corp., Western Copper and Gold Corp. and Copper Mountain Mining Corp. all rose at least 6 percent.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals fell 0.7 percent to C$141.98 after Allergan said Valeant’s offer “substantially undervalues” the company. Valeant is trying to buy the Botox producer with the help of Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP, Allergan’s biggest shareholder.

Canadian Tire fell 1 percent to C$110.19 as Credit Suisse downgraded it. The retailer sold 20 percent of its banking business to Bank of Nova Scotia last week for $500 million in cash.

UrtheCast Corp. fell 9.6 percent to C$1.32 after reporting a first quarter loss of 6 Canadian cents per share. The Vancouver-based space imaging company also released a new photo of Earth today taken from its camera on the International Space Station.

Alliance Grain Traders Inc. rose 4.2 percent to $18.99 after reporting higher first quarter revenue than the same period last year. Alliance Grain Traders processes markets beans, peas and lentils.

Athabasca Oil Corp. dropped 5.6 percent to C$7.28, the most since October, after GMP Securities LP cut its rating on the oil sands producer to hold from buy. The Calgary-based company has risen 12 percent so far this year.

US
By Joseph Ciolli

May 12 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed, pushing benchmark indexes to records, after Internet and small-cap shares rallied amid deals activity that boosted confidence in the world’s largest economy.

Salesforce.com Inc. and TripAdvisor Inc. jumped at least 5.8 percent as all 41 members in the Dow Jones Internet Index rose. The gauge surged 3 percent after last week plunging 3.6 percent. 21st Century Fox Inc. jumped 3.1 percent after reports that Rupert Murdoch’s British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc is in talks to buy European pay TV assets from Fox. Pinnacle Foods Inc. surged 13 percent after Hillshire Brands Co. agreed to buy it for about $6.6 billion including debt.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1 percent to 1,896.65 at 4 p.m. in New York, rising above its record from April 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 112.13 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,695.47, extending an all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.8 percent, the most since January, to trim its decline this year to 0.8 percent. About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 13 percent below the three-month average.

“The global economy is accelerating, central banks are dovish, companies are making acquisitions and it’s hard to see what could keep the market down from here,” said Allan von Mehren, chief analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen.

The S&P 500 has rallied 4.5 percent from an April 11 low, recovering all of its losses after a selloff in technology and small-cap stocks that overshadowed optimism about the strength of the economy. Tech shares in the index jumped 1.5 percent today.

While the Nasdaq has recovered 3.6 percent from its April low, it remains 4.9 percent below a 13-year high in March. Netflix Inc., which fell as much as 31 percent from its record two months ago, rallied 5.1 percent today.

Some of the technology shares hardest hit last week rebounded today. Twitter Inc. added 5.9 percent after falling 18 percent last week, the most since its initial public offering in November. Facebook Inc. rose 4.5 percent following a 5.3 percent drop last week. Yahoo! Inc. gained 2 percent after slumping 8.4 percent last week, the most since September 2011.

“We’re seeing a little bit of a bounce back from some of the stocks that got hit the most over the last couple weeks,” 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. “We’ve had a big divergence between large cap versus small cap, and growth versus value. If you look at the Russell 2000 and some of the technology or Internet-related stocks, they’ve really taken a pounding.”

About 76 percent of the 453 S&P 500 companies that have released results this earnings season have beaten estimates for profit, while 53 percent have exceeded revenue projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Profit at the companies will probably rise 7.2 percent this year, as sales will climb 4 percent, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Retailers including Macy’s Inc., Kohl’s Corp. and Nordstrom Inc. are among companies scheduled to disclose results this week. Investors will also scrutinize data on retail sales tomorrow.

Data last week showed services, the biggest chunk of the economy, picked up in April while fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits, a sign the labor market continues to gain traction.

“Profits from the latest quarterly reporting season have exceeded expectations, while the outlook for the U.S. economy looks increasingly positive,” said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Plc in London.

Russia indicated it “respects” the results of two disputed referendums in eastern Ukraine, which separatists said backed independence, while the European Union added companies to its list of sanctions for the first time.

Russia praised the high turnout in yesterday’s ballots, according to a statement e-mailed today by President Vladimir Putin’s press service. The U.S. and the EU deem the votes illegal and the government in Kiev called them a “farce.” Donetsk showed 90 percent backing for the breakaway plan, while in Luhansk, 94 percent to 98 percent supported autonomy with turnout at 75 percent, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti reported.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, fell 5.34 percent today to 12.23, the lowest level since Jan. 10. The gauge has fallen 43 percent since reaching a two-year high on Feb. 3.

Eight of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today. Producers of raw materials rallied 1.3 percent to pace gains, as Alcoa Inc. gained 4.2 percent. United Technologies Corp. and General Electric Co. rose at least 1.4 percent as industrial shares advanced.

21st Century Fox Class A shares added 3.1 percent to $35.19. BSkyB, 39 percent owned by Fox, said today it’s in talks to buy the Italian and German pay-TV assets of Fox. Such a deal, for control of satellite carriers Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland AG, would be valued at about 10 billion euros ($14 billion), people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News, which reported the talks on May 9. Fox has about 57 percent of Sky Deutschland and 100 percent of Sky Italia.

Hillshire Brands fell 3.2 percent to $35.76. The maker of Jimmy Dean sausages and Sara Lee frozen bakery goods agreed to pay $18 in cash for each Pinnacle Foods share plus 0.5 shares of Hillshire Brands stock, Chicago-based Hillshire and Pinnacle said today in a statement. Pinnacle Foods shares jumped 13 percent to $34.47.

RadioShack Corp. rose 4.5 percent to $1.39. Standard General reported a 9.8 percent stake in the electronics chain, up from a 4.83 percent at the end of December.

RadioShack, which said in March it would close as many as 1,100 locations to cut costs, is proceeding with a plan to shut fewer stores because of a snag with its lender agreements.

Vantiv Inc. gained 3.1 percent to $29.82. The payment- processing company is near a deal to acquire Mercury Payment Systems Inc. for about $1.65 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Allergan Inc. slipped 1 percent to $159.72. The maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment said Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s offer “substantially undervalues” the company. The bid, which valued Allergan at $45.7 billion in cash and stock when it was announced, creates “significant risks and uncertainties” and isn’t in the best interest of shareholders, the Irvine, California-based company said in a statement today.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

If you do not think he is different, he is unique, he exists in his own right,

there cannot be any relationship.

Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

 

Carolann
Things do not change, we do.

-Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862

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:

Mother, English
Matr, Sanskrit
Meter, Greek
Mater, Latin
Modor, Old English
Mutter, German
Mere, French
Mat, Russian

Disobedience

A.A. Milne

James James
Morrison Morrison
Weatherby George Dupree
Took great
Care of his Mother,
Though he was only three.
James James
Said to his Mother,
“Mother,” he said, said he;
“You must never go down to the end of the town,
if you don’t go down with me.”
James James
Morrison’s Mother
Put on a golden gown,
James James
Morrison’s Mother
Drove to the end of the town.
James James
Morrison’s Mother
Said to herself, said she:
“I can get right down to the end  of the town
and be back in time for tea.”
King John
Put up a notice,
“LOST  or  STOLEN or STRAYED!
JAMES JAMES
MORRISON’S MOTHER
SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISLAID.
LAST SEEN
WANDERING VAGUELY:
QUITE OF HER OWN ACCORD,
SHE TRIED TO GET DOWN TO THE END OF THE TOWN-
FORTY SHILLINGS REWARD!”
James James
Morrison Morrison
(Commonly known as Jim)
Told his
Other relations
Not to go blaming him.
James James
Said to his Mother,
“Mother,” he said, said he:
“You must never go down to the end of the town
without consulting me.”
James James
Morrison’s mother
Hasn’t been heard of since.
King John
Said he was sorry,
So did the Queen and Prince.
King John
(somebody told me)
Said to a man he knew:
“If people go down to the end of the town, well,
what can anyone do?”
(Now then, very softly)
J.J.
M.M.
W.G.Du P.
Took great
c/o his M*****
though he was only 3.
J.J.
Said to his M*****
“M*****,” he said, said he:
“You-must-never-go-down-to-the-end-of-the-town-
if-you-don’t-go-down-with ME!”

-from Caroline Kennedy’s Poems to Learn by Heart, Disney Hyperion Books.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL THE MOTHERS READING THIS!

Photos of the day

Kate Moon points out a couple of airborn balloons to her son, Oliver Moon, 17 months held by Corky York during the Balloon Stampede event in Walla Walla, Wash. Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin/AP

A Lemur catta, also known as ring-tailed lemur, with its three-week-old cub clinging to its back sits on a tree at the Schoenbrunn zoo in Vienna.Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters

Market Closes for May 9^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16583.34	+32.37    +0.20%
S&P 500	1877.97	+2.34    +0.12%
NASDAQ	4071.870	+20.374    +0.50%
TSX	14525.62	-20.41
		-0.14%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14199.59	+35.81
		+0.25%
HANG   SENG	21862.99	+25.87
		+0.12%
SENSEX	22994.23	+650.19
		+2.91%
FTSE 100	6814.57	-24.68
		-0.36%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.359	2.371
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.895	2.896
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6215	2.6125
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4659	3.4320

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91751	0.92334
US   $	1.08990	1.08303
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.49943	0.66692
US   $	1.37575	0.72688

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1289.19	1288.66
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	100.06	100.26
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

May 9 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, giving the benchmark equities index the worst weekly drop since June, as employment declined and BlackPearl Resources Inc. tumbled for a second day after cutting its estimate for oil production.

BlackPearl slid 11 percent, adding to yesterday’s 9.5 percent slump. CIBC cut the stock’s rating to sector perform, the equivalent of neutral, from sector outperform. Crew Energy Inc. and Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. dropped at least 5 percent, leading declines among oil companies in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index. Cineplex Inc., an operator of movie theaters, gained 3.1 percent after RBC Capital Markets recommended buying the shares.

The S&P/TSX fell 11.97 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,534.06 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. Volume was 10 percent below the 30-day average, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Canadian equity benchmark lost 1.6 percent this week, the most since June.

“Because the volumes are down and many investors are still unsure of themselves, you’re finding greater moves in the marketplace, much more volatility,” said Irwin Michael, fund manager at ABC Funds in Toronto. His firm manages about C$900 million ($825 million).

Employment fell by 28,900 in April, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. The unemployment rate remained at 6.9 percent as 25,600 people also left the labor force, reducing the participation rate to the lowest since November 2001. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 13,500 job increase and a jobless rate unchanged at 6.9 percent, according to median forecasts.

IGM Financial Inc. decreased 0.5 percent to C$54.16 after reporting first-quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates.  The company’s revenue exceeded estimates.

Nautilus Minerals Inc., which plans to mine the ocean floor, rose 13 percent to 53 Canadian cents after Papua New Guinea paid for its share of the company’s main project. Earlier in the day Nautilus rose by as much as 32 percent.

K-Bro Linen Inc. slipped 3.1 percent to C$39. The company reported first-quarter profit that missed some analyst estimates.

US
By Joseph Ciolli

May 9 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record, as Internet shares rebounded after a three-day selloff and Gap Inc. led retailers higher.

Groupon Inc. and LinkedIn Corp. rose more than 2.5 percent to pace gains among Internet stocks. Gap surged 3.3 percent amid an unexpected increase in April sales. Symantec Corp. rose 3.3 percent as its sales forecast exceeded analysts’ predictions. CBS Corp. fell 2.2 percent after posting quarterly revenue that missed estimates. Ralph Lauren Corp. slipped 2.1 percent as it forecast sales below analysts estimated.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 1,878.48 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow increased 32.37 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,583.34, topping its previous record close reached April 30. The Russell 2000 Index of small stocks added 0.9 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5 percent. About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 13 percent below the three-month average.

“The market is just trying to find footing,” Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust in Santa Ana, California, said in a phone interview. His firm manages $1.1 billion. “You’ve seen the market changing its mind throughout the day quite a bit recently. That’s indicative of people trying to search for direction.”

Today’s gain trimmed the S&P 500’s loss for the week to 0.1 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.3 percent, its biggest weekly drop in a month.

The Dow Jones Internet Composite Index rose 1.3 percent today, its first gain in four days. The gauge tumbled 3.6 percent for the week, led by declines of more than 15 percent in Twitter Inc. and Groupon.

Small-caps and Internet shares such as Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have been the biggest victims of the market retreat that began two months ago as investors fled last year’s best-performing equities. The Russell 2000 has fallen 8.4 percent from a March 4 record amid concern that prices have outrun earnings.

The Nasdaq Composite is trading at 34.8 times reported earnings, double the multiple of 17.2 for the broad equity measure.

Of the 453 S&P 500 constituents that have released results this earnings season, 76 percent have beaten estimates for profit, while 53 percent have exceeded projections for revenue, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The index’s members increased their earnings by 5.5 percent and their sales by 3 percent in the first quarter, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, fell 3.8 percent today to 12.92, after rising 4.5 percent earlier in the day. The gauge added 0.1 percent for the week.

Six out of 10 groups in the S&P 500 rose. Consumer and health-care companies had the best performance, advancing more than 0.5 percent. Technology shares added 0.2 percent as a group. Utilities had the biggest decline, losing 1.4 percent.

Groupon climbed 7 percent to $6.05. The shares, which rose 142 percent in 2013, dropped as much as 56 percent from this year’s high on Jan. 3. LinkedIn, which rallied 89 percent last year, increased 2.5 percent to $148.69. The shares are down 31 percent in 2014.

Netflix Inc. rose 2.1 percent to $328.55, trimming its loss for the week to 3.6 percent. TripAdvisor Inc., Google Inc. and Amazon.com climbed at least 1.2 percent today.

Gap jumped 3.3 percent to $40.52. The apparel maker posted preliminary first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates. Sales in April were led by an 18 percent gain at Old Navy, the retailer’s value-focused brand.

Symantec gained 3.3 percent to $20.79 as the maker of security software forecast first-quarter sales of $1.65 billion to $1.69 billion. Analysts on average had projected $1.64 billion. In the fourth quarter, which ended March 28, net income rose to 31 cents a share from 27 cents a year earlier.

CBS declined 2.2 percent to $56.74 after the owner of the most-watched U.S. television network said first-quarter sales fell 4.6 percent to $3.86 billion. Analysts had predicted $3.92 billion. Advertising revenue dropped 12 percent in the period.

Ralph Lauren lost 2.1 percent to $148.81. Retailers have been deepening discounts and seeking to create new styles to attract shoppers amid shaky consumer confidence and flagging mall traffic. Ralph Lauren said sales at stores open at least a year fell 2 percent in the quarter through March 29, hurt by unseasonably cold weather.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Expansion is life; contraction is death.

Love is life, hatred is death.

We began to die the day we began to contract, to hate others

and nothing can prevent our death,

until we come back to life, to expansion.

Swami Vivekananda, 1863-1902

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Competitors weren’t designed to fall in love

with each other.

-Bill Gates, 1955-

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:

VE on this day in 1945.

Resurgent May, softness with energy,
Warmth after cold, reunion after loss.
It is a columbarium full of doves,
A susurration of the living leaves….

-Vita Sackville-West, The Garden.

Photos of the day

A bald eagle sits with it’s eaglet in a nest over the Raccoon River at Grays Lake Park in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP

A surfer holding her board wades through the surf as clouds above are lit by the setting sun at Mollymook Beach on the south coast of New South Wales. David Gray/Reuters

Market Closes for May 8^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16550.97	+32.43   +0.20%
S&P 500	1875.63	-2.58   -0.14%
NASDAQ	4051.496	-16.177   -0.40%
TSX	14546.95	-109.45
		-0.75%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14163.78	+130.33
		+0.93%
HANG SENG	21837.12	+90.86
		+0.42%
SENSEX	22344.04	+20.14
		+0.09%
FTSE 100	6839.25	+42.81
		+0.63%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.371	2.378
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.896	2.899
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.6125	2.5878
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.4320	3.4017

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.92334	0.91755
US $	1.08303	1.08986
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49890	0.66716
US $	1.38400	0.72254

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1288.66	1289.95
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	100.26	100.77
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck and Eric Lam

May 8 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the third time in four days as energy shares slid the most in almost a year after BlackPearl Resources Inc. cut its oil production forecast and crude prices declined.

BlackPearl, an oil and gas exploration company, retreated 9.5 percent. Crew Energy Inc. and Birchcliff Energy Ltd. fell at least 7.3 percent. Linamar Corp., a maker of auto parts, advanced 12 percent after reporting higher-than-estimated profit. Mitel Networks Corp. gained 13 percent after saying it would save more money from its merger with Aastra Technologies Ltd. than originally projected.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 110.37 points, or 0.8 percent, to 14,546.03 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the worst drop in four weeks. Energy stocks fell 2.2 percent as a group, the biggest decline since last June. The decline pared the industry’s gain this year to 13 percent.

“The market got very concentrated in the performance of energy and obviously it’s a profit taking wave that sort of fed on itself,” said Bob Decker, a fund manager at Aurion Capital Management Inc. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$6.6 billion.

West Texas Intermediate crude dropped, after rallying yesterday the most in a month, as supplies climbed to a seasonal record high amid weak demand.

“I don’t see anything fundamentally that changed dramatically other than the fact that stocks are overbought and it’s a technical correction,” Decker said. “Usually bull market corrections like this are short and sharp.”

BlackPearl Resources plunged 9.5 percent to C$2.77, the most since July. Macquarie Research cut its rating on the stock to neutral, the equivalent of a hold, from outperform. The company reported first-quarter production short of his projections, according to a note by analyst Chris Feltin.  “We see better growth from other mid-caps in our coverage,” he said.

Canada’s equity benchmark trades for 20 times reported earnings, the highest level since 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The S&P/TSX has almost doubled since the bull market began in U.S. equities began in March 2009.

Linamar rose 12 percent to C$58.89, an all-time high. The company reported first-quarter profit of C$1.23 a share, exceeding analysts’ estimates of C$0.98. The stock is up 132 percent in the last year.

“There’s a scarcity of good-quality stocks in Canada that are growing at a rate like Linamar,” said Decker.

Mitel rose 13 percent to a record C$11.87. The communications equipment provider said it would save an extra $25 million on cost efficiencies from its acquisition of Aastra, according to a statement.

Lundin Mining Corp. gained 1.3 percent to C$5.50, and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. added 1.9 percent to C$20.74. Copper rose 0.9 percent in New York as data showed China’s exports and imports unexpectedly rose in April. The country is the world’s largest consumer of industrial metals.

Avigilon Corp., a maker of surveillance equipment, sank 15 percent to C$20.35 for a third day of losses. The company said earlier this week that Brad Bardua, the chief financial officer, resigned for health reasons. The stock has slumped 23 percent in the past three days.

US
By Joseph Ciolli

May 8 (Bloomberg) — Most U.S. stocks fell, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed to within two points of a closing record, as technology shares erased a rally to sell off for a third straight day.

Amazon.com Inc. and E*Trade Financial Corp. slid more than 1.5 percent to pace declines among Internet stocks. Tesla Motors Inc. dropped 11 percent after saying tight battery supplies will continue to restrain growth. Keurig Green Mountain Inc. and 21st Century Fox Inc. added at least 6.5 percent as earnings topped forecasts.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.1 percent to 1,875.63 at 4 p.m. in New York, after an earlier advance of as much as 0.6 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32.43 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,550.97, briefly trading above its all-time closing record reached last week. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.4 percent, reversing an earlier rally of 1 percent. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies slumped 1 percent. About 6.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.

“We continue to see this churning of the market and rotation out of hyper-growth names into value,” Walter Todd, who oversees about $975 million as chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital Associates LLC, said in a phone interview. “You see strength in the morning as people try to see if there’s going to be a breakout, and when that doesn’t occur, you see selling come in the afternoon.”

The Dow Jones Internet Composite Index lost 0.3 percent, erasing an earlier gain of 1.8 percent and adding to a 4.9 percent decline over the previous two days. Technology shares have led this year’s selloff of companies whose growth are more tied to economic swings after a rally drove valuations to about double that of the S&P 500.

The Nasdaq Composite is trading at 34.3 times reported earnings, compared with a multiple of 17.2 for the broad equity measure.

Selloffs in technology shares this week have been led by two of the country’s best-known stocks, Twitter, which has declined 18 percent as insiders were freed to sell stock, and Tesla Motors, which is down 15 percent for the week. An exchange-traded fund of social-media companies fell on eight of the past 12 days amid concern that user growth is slowing and valuations have become excessive.

Tesla plunged 11 percent to $178.59 today, its biggest decline since November. The electric-car maker said research and development costs will rise 30 percent in the second quarter and battery-cell supply will continue to constrain production through the first half before improving in the third quarter.

Amazon dropped for a third day, falling 1.5 percent to $288.32. E*Trade declined 2.1 percent to $21.23 for its third decline in the past four sessions.

Twitter climbed 4.2 percent to $31.96, while Groupon increased 6.1 percent to $5.66 after plunging 21 percent yesterday.

“There’s still some volatility ahead, and I’m still not trusting these tech stocks,” Chris Gaffney, senior market strategist at EverBank Financial in St. Louis, said in a phone interview. “Momentum stocks are still going to face some tough times going forward.”

The S&P 500 climbed yesterday as optimism that the Federal Reserve will continue to support the U.S. economy overshadowed the drop in Internet stocks. Chair Janet Yellen said in testimony to Congress that the central bank must continue to spur economic growth as indicators for inflation and employment remain far from the central bank’s goals.

In response to questions from senators today, Yellen defended the Fed’s accommodative monetary policies and said the central bank had no intention of raising its 2 percent inflation goal.

The Federal Open Market Committee last week pared monthly asset buying to $45 billion, its fourth straight $10 billion cut, and said further reductions in “measured steps” are likely as the economy improves.

Jobless claims fell 26,000 to 319,000 in the week ended May. 3 from a revised 345,000 in the prior period, the Labor Department reported today. The median forecast of 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decrease to 325,000.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi indicated that officials are ready to cut interest rates next month. Officials are debating how much stimulus to give to a euro region economy haunted by the threat of deflation.

While Draghi gave no signal that radical moves such as quantitative easing are imminent, new economic forecasts next month may give them the scope to take interest rates into negative territory.

“It seems the market is making a big bet that the ECB is going to start a QE program pretty soon,” Matt Maley, a Boston- based equity strategist with Miller Tabak & Co., said in a phone interview.

Some 17 S&P 500-listed companies report earnings today. Of the more than 440 companies that have released results this season, 75 percent have beaten estimates for profit, while 53 percent have exceeded projections for revenue, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, gained 0.2 percent today to 13.43, reversing an earlier loss of 3.6 percent.

Utility and energy shares fell more than 1.2 percent for the biggest declines among 10 S&P 500 main industries. Transocean Ltd. slid 4.3 percent to $41.47, its biggest decline since February 2013, while Nabors Industries Ltd. fell 3.1 percent to $25.57. Phone companies had the best performance, rallying 1.5 percent.

DirecTV dropped 3.6 percent to $85.11. AT&T Inc., the second-biggest U.S. mobile-phone carrier, is in talks to buy the satellite-television company, people with knowledge of the situation said. AT&T climbed 1.8 percent to $36.40.

Keurig added 13 percent to $104.19. The maker of home- brewing machines expanded its base of North American customers last quarter and sold more drink packs to current users, Chief Executive Officer Brian Kelley said in a statement. Total sales climbed 10 percent to $1.1 billion in the period.

21st Century Fox jumped 6.5 percent to $34.22 after posting third-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates after drawing the largest-ever audience to the Super Bowl.

SolarCity Corp. rallied 12 percent to $53.60. The biggest U.S. solar power provider by market value raised its installation forecast for the year after demand for its rooftop systems jumped 78 percent in the first quarter.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

You are unique as you are here and now.

You are never the same.  You will never be the same again.  You have never before been what you are now.

You will never be it again.

Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

 

Carolann

Ever tried.  Ever failed.

No matter.  Try again.

Fail again.  Fail better.

-Samuel Beckett, 1906-1989

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:

The Sohn Investment conference was excellent this year; lots of great investing ideas put forth and trends in the world of finance.  It is really valuable to get different insights.  As I mentioned all of the funds raised – this year over 3 million – go to fund pediatric cancer research.  One of the speakers this year was a young girl who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when she was 13.  Her name is Elana Simon and she set out to discover the cause of this cancer.  She discovered the genetic mutation responsible  for this cancer.  She is 18 years old now and beginning her first year at Harvard University next fall.  Pretty amazing story!

In this unusual collaboration with physicians, geneticists, and computational biologists, the 18-year-old co-authored a study published in the prestigious journal Science in February.  Read the link to see just how amazing she is.

Photos of the day

A woman walks through Brookfield Place off Bay Street, on the day of their annual general meeting for shareholders in Toronto. Mark Blinch/Reuters

A cardboard cutout of a bicycle is strapped to a fence beside the ruins of Red Bay Castle near the village of Cushendall in Northern Ireland. The bicycle has been placed to welcome the arrival of the Giro d’Italia cycle race to Northern Ireland. Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

Market Closes for May 7^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16518.54	+117.52    +0.72%
S&P 500	1878.21	+10.49    +0.56%
NASDAQ	4067.673	-13.086    -0.32%
TSX	14656.40	+44.11
		+0.30%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14033.45	-424.06
		-2.93%
HANG   SENG	21746.26	-230.07
		-1.05%
SENSEX	22323.90	-184.52
		-0.82%
FTSE 100	6796.44	-2.12
		-0.03%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.378	2.374
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.899	2.893
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.5878	2.5933
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4017	3.3854

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91755	0.91812
US   $	1.08986	1.08919
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.51611	0.65958
US   $	1.39111	0.71885

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1289.95	1308.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	100.77	99.50
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

May 7 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks gained after two days of declines as energy companies increased with the price of oil while raw-material and technology companies fell.

Encana Corp. climbed 4.6 percent after saying it was doubling its oil production by buying fields from Freeport- McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Agrium Inc. dropped 1.2 percent after lowering its projection for second-quarter earnings. Talisman Energy Inc. added 8 percent after a report said the company was considering selling some of its assets.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 44.11 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,656.40 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after falling as much as 0.3 percent earlier in the day. The gauge dropped the most in three weeks yesterday.

The market fluctuated on comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, said Ian Nakamoto, director of research with MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto. Yellen said today the economy is growing but still isn’t near the central bank’s targets.

Some recent economic data points have been positive while others fell short of expectations, Nakamoto said. “You need a series of economic boosters to get people excited.” His firm manages C$4.7 billion ($4.3 billion).

West Texas Intermediate oil rose for a second day after the American Petroleum Institute said stockpiles declined in the U.S. Brent crude gained in London as western countries considered new sanctions against Russia.

Canadian energy companies increased 0.6 percent as a group, along with seven of the other nine industries in the benchmark index. Telecommunications companies rose the most, at 1 percent. Materials companies fell 1.1 percent as the price of gold slumped 1.5 percent to $1,288.90 an ounce.

Avigilon Corp. declined 8.7 percent to C$23.85, the biggest drop since August 2012, after saying its chief financial officer Bradley Bardua retired for health reasons. Bank of Montreal and Raymond James analysts said they were reviewing their buy ratings on the stock.

“Maybe there is no fire, but certainly some smoke,” said Raymond James analyst Steven Li in a note to clients. “This is now the third senior departure in the last six months.”

Encana rose 4.6 percent to C$25.69. The Calgary-based energy producer is trying to boost investor returns by shifting toward crude oil from natural gas. The $3.1 billion deal with Freeport-McMoRan gives Encana 45,500 net acres (18,413 hectares) in Texas’s oil-rich Eagle Ford basin.

Agrium dropped 1.2 percent to C$103.04. The fertilizer miner said on a conference call today it has a plan to cut nitrogen operations downtime that it earlier said would lower production in the second quarter.

Talisman Energy rose 8 percent to C$12.02. The company and Statoil ASA are looking at selling their joint oil venture in Texas, potentially for more than $4 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Arsenal Energy Inc. added 6.2 percent to reach C$7.36 as it boosted its forecast for oil and gas production this year and raised its dividend.

Novadaq Technologies Inc. fell 14 percent to C$15.37, the most since 2010, after reporting a first-quarter loss of 8 cents a share, wider than the loss of 5 cents estimated by analysts.

Tim Hortons Inc. fell 1.3 percent to C$58.89 after reporting first-quarter profit that missed analyst estimates. Analysts said U.S. sales were weak and the cost of introducing a new credit card weighed on the company.

US
By Lu Wang and Eric Lam

May 7 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose as optimism that the Federal Reserve will continue to support the U.S. economy overshadowed a drop in Internet stocks led by Yahoo! Inc. and Groupon Inc.

Electronic Arts Inc. jumped 21 percent after reporting better-than-forecast results. The Dow Jones Internet Composite Index dropped 1.9 percent to the lowest level since October. Groupon fell 21 percent as sales and profit projections trailed some estimates. Yahoo slumped 6.6 percent as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. filed for a U.S. initial public offering. Tesla Motors Inc. dropped 5.8 percent in after-market trading.

The S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to 1,878.21 at 4 p.m. in New York, rebounding after briefly dropping below its average trading level for the past 50 days. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.3 percent, paring a earlier drop of 1.5 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 117.52 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,518.54. About 7.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 6.1 percent above the three-month average.

“The U.S. market is showing remarkable resilience,” said Irwin Michael, fund manager at ABC Funds in Toronto. His firm manages about C$900 million ($826 million). “Clearly the economy is slowly but surely improving, and whatever the Fed is doing or not doing it’s helpful that nobody is rocking the boat.  The high-tech stocks are still troublesome for a lot of people.  It’s not a straight line and there’s still some confusion out there.”

The Fed must continue to spur economic growth as indicators for inflation and employment remain far from the central bank’s goals, Chair Janet Yellen said today. “A high degree of monetary accommodation remains warranted,” she said in testimony prepared for delivery to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.

The Federal Open Market Committee last week pared monthly asset buying to $45 billion, its fourth straight $10 billion cut, and said further reductions in “measured steps” are likely as the economy improves.

While some areas of the equity market show signs of over- valuations, the broad market hasn’t developed a bubble, Yellen said today.

“There are pockets where we could potentially see misvaluations in smaller-cap stocks,” she said. “Overall those broad metrics don’t suggest that we are in obviously bubble territory. We don’t have targets for equity prices and can’t detect if we’re in a bubble with certainty.”

Technology stocks led this year’s selloff among companies whose growth are more tied to economic swings after a rally drove valuations to about double that of the S&P 500. The Nasdaq Composite is trading at 35 times reported earnings, compared with a multiple of 17.2 for the broad equity measure.

The Dow Jones Internet Composite Index extended yesterday’s 3 percent decline that was led by an 18 percent plunge in Twitter Inc. Groupon, which operates a website offering daily deals, dropped 21 percent to $5.33 today, the lowest level in more than a year. For the second quarter, the Chicago-based company forecast $725 million to $775 million in revenue and adjusted earnings of zero to 2 cents a share. Analysts estimated sales of $754.4 million and an adjusted profit of 3 cents a share.  Twitter declined 3.7 percent to $30.66.

Yahoo tumbled 6.6 percent to $34.07. Alibaba, a Chinese online marketplace valued at $168 billion, filed yesterday for its U.S. initial public offering, without specifying the number or price of shares it will sell or what valuation it will seek.  Agreements between the two companies will force Yahoo to sell part of its 22.6 percent stake in Alibaba.

FireEye Inc. and Zulily Inc. are among the biggest losers in the Russell 1000 Index after reporting results that disappointed investors. FireEye slumped 23 percent to $28.65. The company, which specializes in detecting computer network threats, forecast a loss of at least 58 cents a share in the second quarter. That’s wider than the average 52-cent shortfall estimated by analysts.

Zulily tumbled 30 percent to $32.28. The online retailer reported a loss of 2 cents a share in the first quarter.  Analysts had expected the company to break even.

AOL Inc. tumbled 21 percent to $34.85. The owner of the Huffington Post and TechCrunch reported earnings that missed analysts’ estimates as higher spending to attract an audience for advertisers squeezed its profit margin in the first quarter.

“You’re seeing a brutal shift from growth and momentum investing to more value-based investing,” Chad Morganlander, a fund manager at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which oversees more than $150 billion, said in a phone interview from Florham Park, New Jersey. “The momentum stocks are ridiculously overvalued, but nonetheless, the overall broader market is fairly valued.”

Some 22 S&P 500-listed companies report earnings today. Of the 423 index members to have released results this season, 75 percent have beaten estimates for profit, while 52 percent have exceeded projections for revenue, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Profit for members of the S&P 500 probably climbed 4.6 percent in the first three months of the year from the year- earlier period, while sales rose 2.8 percent, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“Earnings season has been pretty good,” John Kvantas, a San Antonio, Texas-based director of equity research at USAA Investments, said in a phone interview. The firm oversees $62 billion. “If you get outside those momentum stocks, the market is not significantly overvalued. You still see very good companies with decent growth prospects.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, slipped 2.9 percent today to 13.40.

Utility stocks rose 1.6 percent for the best gain among 10 S&P 500 main industries. Financial shares climbed 1.3 percent, rebounding from yesterday’s slump, as American Express Co. and Visa Inc. added at least 1.6 percent.

Electronic Arts jumped 21 percent, the largest advance since 1990, to $33.95. Fiscal fourth-quarter profit of 48 cents a share and sales of $914 million exceeded projections. The company’s FIFA 14, Titanfall and Battlefield 4 games were three of the top five best-selling titles across all game consoles in the U.S., Canada and Europe, Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said.

Mondelez International Inc., which makes Oreo cookies and Trident gum, rallied 8.2 percent to $38.10. The company will combine its coffee unit with D.E Master Blenders 1753 BV’s, according to a joint statement today. Mondelez will receive cash of $5 billion and a 49 percent stake in the new company, to be called Jacobs Douwe Egberts. Separately, Mondelez reported first quarter earnings of 39 cents a share, more than the 35 cents projected by analysts.

Humana Inc. led health insurers higher after reporting profit that beat analysts’ estimates. The stock climbed 8.4 percent to $119.05. UnitedHealth Group Inc., the biggest U.S. health insurer, advanced 3.5 percent to $77.91 for the biggest gain in the Dow.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. rose 4.4 percent to $29.61. The company raised its full-year estimate of cash flow as Chief Executive Officer Doug Lawler’s cost cuts take hold. The company is on track to make more cash than it spends for the first time since 2001.

Whole Foods Market Inc. slumped 19 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to $38.93 after profit growth stalled and the natural- goods grocer cut its forecast amid increasing competition from traditional supermarkets and other organic-food sellers.

Tesla Motors slipped 5.8 percent to $189.65 as of 4:54 p.m. in New York. After the market close, the carmaker reported that vehicle sales rose less than the highest analyst estimate. The company’s results beat forecasts.

 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

For you, now, meditation involves establishing within yourself

the reality of these two unavoidable rules – difference and change.

Try as hard as possible to convince yourself

that these two rules can neither be changed nor avoided.

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add,

but when there is nothing left to take away.

-Antoine de Saint Exupéry, 1900-1944

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:

In the past, I have shared a couple pictures taken by my friend Joe Broadfoot, whose birthday also happens to be today. Recently he was out taking pictures of the mountains and one of the pictures literally took my breath away.  For someone who has only been taking pictures for a year and a half, his talent is truly amazing.  He has the photographer eye, where he can see a backdrop and by using his creativity, turns it into a stunning picture.  The photo below shows Mt. Baker in the background, with a view of the city line.  This picture really gives effect to how big the mountains are, as well as reminds us of what a beautiful city we live in!

“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photos of the day:

Venezuelan artist Cristobal Ochoa (r.) and his performance partner Jean-Paul Fowler promote the Artist Open Houses part of the Brighton Festival with street art performance ‘Los conos de madre (‘mother’s cones’), on the seafront in Brighton. Artists open their homes during the annual Brighton Festival, now in its 48th year, every weekend during May. Luke MacGregor/Reuters

A hummingbird makes an approach to a handy feeder on May 5, 2014 in Thurston County, Wash. Steve Bloom/The Olympian/AP

Market Closes for May 6^th, 2014

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	16401.02	-129.53    -0.78%
S&P 500	1867.72	-16.94    -0.90%
NASDAQ	4080.759	-57.296    -1.38%
TSX	14612.29	-84.74
		-0.58%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14457.51	-27.62
		-0.19%
HANG  SENG	21976.33	-284.34
		-1.28%
SENSEX	22508.42	+63.30
		+0.28%
FTSE 100	6798.56	-23.86
		-0.35%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	2.374	2.369
CND.  30 Year Bond	2.893	2.901
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.5933	2.6041
U.S.  30 Year Bond	3.3854	3.4033

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91812	0.91268
US  $	1.08919	1.09567
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian  $	1.51691	0.65923
US  $	1.39270	0.71803

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold  Fix	1308.75	1310.16
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	99.50	99.48
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

May 6 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a second day amid concern about global growth and as Wajax Corp. reported lower-than-estimated profit.

Wajax, which sells industrial machinery, slid 5.1 percent for the biggest drop in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index. Canacol Energy Ltd. fell 5.2 percent after saying it would sell 15.8 million new shares. Air Canada rose 6 percent after reporting traffic in April was up 9 percent. Sherritt International Corp. fell 2.4 percent after investors rejected directors proposed by activist shareholder Clarke Inc.

The S&P/TSX retreated 84.74 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,612.29 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest drop in more than three weeks. All 10 industries in the index fell, including losses of 1.1 percent for consumer-discretionary companies and 2 percent for technology shares.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its global growth forecast as expansions in China and other emerging markets slow. Developing nations are a key export destination for Canadian mining companies. Raw-material producers in the S&P/TSX slid 0.8 percent.

Ukraine continued its attack on pro-Russian separatists who had captured some towns in the country’s east. “The current campaign that’s being unfolded in eastern Ukraine has been priced into the markets,” said Macan Nia, who helps manage $269 billion with Manulife Asset Management Ltd. in Toronto.

“If we start seeing the same type of pro-Russian rallies in Moldova or in other countries like let’s say Estonia or Latvia, then I think the markets would react,” he said by phone.

Wajax fell 5.1 percent to C$33.75. The company reported first-quarter profit of 39 Canadian cents, missing the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

Canacol Energy slumped 5.2 percent to C$7.73. The Calgary- based company said it plans to sell shares for C$7.90 each and use the proceeds to expand its capital program, according to a statement.

Air Canada rose 6 percent to C$8.29, the highest since the end of January. WestJet Airlines Ltd., Canada’s second-biggest airline after Air Canada, said yesterday its April traffic grew 6.5 percent year over year.

Sherritt International, which mines and refines nickel, fell 2.4 percent to C$4.47 as investors voted against board nominees proposed by Clarke Inc. The activist shareholder said in December it owns 5.2 percent of the company and has called for Sherritt to reduce debt instead of funding acquisitions.

US
By Stephen Kirkland and Lu Wang

May 6 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for the third time in four days as American International Group Inc.’s profit disappointed investors and Twitter Inc. slumped. The euro and Spanish bonds gained on signs economies are strengthening.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.9 percent at 4 p.m. in New York as AIG led financials lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 1.4 percent while Twitter slid 18 percent and an exchange-traded fund tracking social media stocks slid to the lowest since July. Ten-year Treasury yields lost 1.5 basis points to 2.59 percent. The euro rose 0.4 percent versus the dollar while the pound added 0.7 percent. Spain’s 10-year yield fell to a record. Nickel and lead rose at least 0.9 percent.

Twitter sank as about 480 million shares from insiders became eligible for sale, more than quadrupling the amount available for trading. After financial markets closed in New York, Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. filed for what could become the largest U.S. initial public offering ever. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed as exports grew the most in nine months. Spanish jobless claims fell and services growth quickened in Germany, Italy and Ireland in April.

“It’s not a robust season,” Peter Tuz, who helps manage more than $450 million as president of Chase Investment Counsel Corp. in Charlottesville, Virginia, said by phone. “The market is going to be range bound without a clear trend until economic statistics point one way or another, and companies’ outlooks point one way or another.”

U.S. stocks rose yesterday as an expansion in American service industries offset concern over growth in China and political tensions in Ukraine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average last week climbed to an all-time high, while the S&P 500 briefly rose above its record closing price.

Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc., Home Depot Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. lost at least 1.6 percent to pace declines in 27 of the 30 stocks in the Dow today. AIG, the largest commercial insurer in the U.S. and Canada, slid 4.1 percent after saying profit declined 27 percent as claims costs climbed at the property-casualty business.

Twitter sank to $31.85, extending its 2014 loss to 50 percent. The stock sold for $26 in its initial public offering in November and closed as high as $73.31 in December.

Other Internet stocks were punished. Yelp Inc. slid 13 percent, the most since November 2012, while Pandora Media Inc. lost 8.9 percent after plunging 17 percent on April 25. LinkedIn Corp. decreased 5.7 percent while Facebook Inc. and Angie’s List Inc. fell more than 4 percent.

Along with Twitter, those companies make up some of the biggest holdings in the Global X Social Media ETF, an exchange- traded fund listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. That security declined 3.8 percent today, the sixth time in two weeks it has fallen more than 1 percent. It’s down 21 percent in 2014 after rising 64 percent last year.

David Einhorn, the hedge-fund manager who warned of a bubble in technology stocks two weeks ago, refined his stance by saying he’s bullish on the industry and that companies including Apple Inc. look underpriced.

The comments elaborate on an April 22 investor letter when he described an unjustified surge in technology stocks, reminiscent of the late 1990s, and said he was betting against a group of them. Einhorn’s holdings include investments in iPhone maker Apple, Micron Technology Inc. and Marvell Technology Group Ltd., which are “quite inexpensive,” he said on today’s call.

“However, we have identified a number of momentum technology stocks that have reached prices beyond any normal sense of valuation,” he said. “We believe that they are in a bubble and we have shorted a good number of them in what we call the ‘bubble basket.’”

There are dozens of companies in that group, he told Bloomberg Television’s Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle in an interview today, without providing specifics. The stocks are “completely out of control in terms of their valuation,” he said.

Three shares fell for every two that gained in the Stoxx Europe 600, with trading volumes 18 percent lower than the 30- day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Stocks in the U.K. fell as the equity market reopened following a holiday.

Barclays, Britain’s second-biggest bank, fell 5.2 percent after saying pretax profit dropped 5 percent. Balfour Beatty Plc sank 20 percent after the chief executive officer of Britain’s biggest construction company quit.

Fugro NV lost 7.2 percent after the deepwater-oilfield surveyor forecast its first-half profit margin dropped from the same period a year ago.

PostNL NV rallied 10 percent after the Dutch postal company reported an increase in underlying operating income.

The yield on 10-year Italian bonds slid four basis points to a record 3 percent. The rate on benchmark German bunds was little changed at 1.46 percent.

Spanish jobless claims fell 111,565 in April, the Labor Ministry in Madrid said today, exceeding the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey for a drop of 51,000. A Purchasing Managers’ Index for services in the euro region rose to 53.1 last month from 52.2 in March, Markit Economics said. A gauge of employment in the U.K. services industry jumped to 56 from 53.5.

“There’s better economic data out of Spain this morning,” said Rainer Guntermann, a fixed-income strategist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “Economic fundamentals in the peripheral countries are improving and that explains the rally here. This trend is not yet over.”

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its global growth forecast as expansions in China and other emerging markets slow. The world economy will expand 3.4 percent this year instead of the 3.6 percent predicted in November, according to its semi-annual report today.

Ukraine’s efforts to regain ground from pro-Russian militants in eastern cities were undermined as insurgents killed four government troops and downed a military helicopter.

Efforts by Ukraine’s government to expel insurgents from the easternmost regions are at risk of stalling before a May 25 presidential election. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Barack Obama have set the vote as a deadline for Russia to reject the separatists’ actions and withdraw support or possibly face deeper economic sanctions.

Russia is convinced that Ukraine has a way out of the crisis, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today.

Stocks advanced for the first time in three days in Moscow, with the Micex Index climbing 1.6 percent. The ruble gained 0.9 percent against the dollar. Ukraine’s hryvnia slipped 1.4 percent while the equity gauge was little changed.

The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities increased less than 0.1 percent. Nickel jumped 33 percent this year as Indonesia banned exports of unrefined ore. Lead dropped about 5 percent this year.

U.K. natural gas fell 3 percent to 45.75 pence per therm today amid forecasts for warm weather. The high temperature in London will be 19 degrees Celsius (66 Fahrenheit) today, 3 degrees above normal, according to AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha

 

Amanda Parnham

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities

 

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8X 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5808

Fax: 778-430-5828

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Looking for find some new books to read?  Times Colonist will be hosting their 17^th annual book drive May 10 & 11^th at the Victoria Curling Club.  The event will run from 9am-5pm on both days!!! Times Colonist estimates there will be over 400,000 of good, quality used books to choose from!  Proceeds from this event will go to the Times Colonist Raise-a-Reader Program which supports adult and youth literacy programs on Vancouver Island.  Hard Covers will be sold for $3, soft covers $2, pocket books $1 and kids books also $1.  Be sure to check out this great fundraiser this weekend!

“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.” – Phyllis Diller

Photos of the day

A farmer sprays winter barley as a rape seed field is in full blossom in Klein Heere, northern Germany. Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/AP

A surfer climbs onto rocks after a session off the point at Sydney’s South Cronulla Beach, Australia. Despite the sun setting earlier with a southern hemisphere winter approaching, Sydney’s surfers continue to take advantage of mild sea temperatures. Jason Reed/Reuters

Market Closes for May 5^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16530.55	+17.66   +0.11%
S&P 500	1884.66	+3.52   +0.19%
NASDAQ	4138.055	+14.157   +0.34%
TSX	14697.03	-68.12
		-0.46%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14457.51	-27.62
		-0.19%
HANG SENG	21976.33	-284.34
		-1.28%
SENSEX	22445.12	+41.23
		+0.18%
FTSE 100	6822.42	+13.55
		+0.20%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.369	2.349
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.901	2.878
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.6041	2.5825
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.4033	3.3636

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91268	0.91140
US $	1.09567	1.09721
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.52022	0.65780
US $	1.38748	0.72073

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1310.16	1298.99
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	99.48	99.76
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

May 5 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the first time in five days amid rising tension in Ukraine and data showing that Chinese manufacturing shrank for a fourth month. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. fell 7.5 percent after reporting quarterly revenue that trailed analyst estimates. PNI Digital Media Inc. rose 32 percent after Staples Inc. said it would buy the company at a 32 percent premium.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 68.12 points, or 0.5 percent, to 14,697.03 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest decline in three weeks. The gauge is up 7.9 percent this year.

Ukraine said four of its soldiers were killed and a helicopter shot down during fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east. China’s purchasing managers’ index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics Ltd. was 48.1 in April, missing an average analyst projection of 48.4.

China is a key export destination for Canadian commodities. Slack demand from that country’s manufacturers can harm Canadian companies from all industries, said Anish Chopra, a fund manager at TD Asset Management Inc.

“You get follow-on effects,” he said by phone from Toronto. “Certainly you’ve got an interrelated economy so it’s going to impact commodity stocks but also to some extent the other areas as well.” Chopra helps manage about C$220 billion ($200 billion) with the firm.

Nine out of 10 industries on the benchmark index fell, led by raw-materials, industrial and technology companies.

Ritchie Bros, which auctions off industrial equipment, fell 7.5 percent to C$25.50. The Burnaby, British Columbia-based company said it earned $17.7 million from operations in the first three months of 2014 compared with $21.6 million for the same period last year.

PNI Digital Media, which makes software for retailers, rose 32 percent to C$1.70. Staples said in a statement it would buy the company for C$1.70 a share, or a net equity value of about C$73.9 million.

BlackBerry Ltd. fell 3 percent to C$8.68. The Canadian smartphone maker said it would sell the majority of its Canadian real estate to Spear Street Capital LLC for C$305 million.

Alaris Royalty Corp. rose 4.9 percent to C$28.13 after posting first-quarter results that beat analyst estimates. The Calgary-based private equity firm reported earnings per share of 41 Canadian cents, while analysts had predicted 33 Canadian cents.

Columbus Gold Corp. fell 12 percent to 41 Canadian cents after saying a contractor hired to check its Montagne D’Or gold property believes another contractor overstated how much gold is in the deposit.

US
By Lu Wang

May 5 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, after benchmark indexes climbed to records last week, as an expansion in American service industries offset concern over growth in China and political tensions in Ukraine.

Apple Inc. climbed 1.4 percent to close above $600 for the first time since 2012. Biogen Idec Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc. jumped at least 2.7 percent as biotechnology shares resumed their recovery from a two-month slide, leading gains in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. JPMorgan Chase & Co. declined 2.5 percent after saying a trading slump has deepened, driving financial shares to the biggest retreat among 10 S&P 500 groups. Pfizer Inc. fell 2.6 percent on disappointing sales.

The S&P 500 added 0.2 percent to 1,884.66 at 4 p.m. in New York, rebounding after a drop of 0.8 percent at the start of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17.66 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,530.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 percent. About 5 billion shares changed hands on American exchanges, the slowest trading in two weeks.

“We continue to remain choppy, going back and forth,” Joseph Tanious, a global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in Los Angeles, said by phone. His firm oversee $1.6 trillion in client assets. “The market is having a bit of identity crisis right now, searching for a direction. We are seeing opposing forces in the market.”

Investors pulled $2.66 billion last week out of exchange- traded funds that invest in U.S. equities, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Technology-focused ETFs saw withdrawals of $1.5 billion, the most among 12 sectors tracked by Bloomberg. Energy and utility funds attracted the biggest inflows, with deposits each totaling more than $400 million, the data show.

U.S. stocks rose last week, with the Dow average reaching an all-time high, as earnings topped forecasts and the Federal Reserve said it would further trim bond purchases as the economy gains momentum. The S&P 500 added 1 percent, taking its gain this year to 1.8 percent. The benchmark gauge briefly climbed above its highest closing price on May 2, as data showed U.S. payrolls rose the most since 2012.

The S&P 500 erased its early decline today after the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index rose to 55.2 in April from the prior month’s 53.1. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. The median forecast of 69 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 54 in the gauge of services, which account for almost 90 percent of the economy.

Ukraine sought to dislodge separatists from its eastern industrial heartland over the weekend as violence that’s spread to the Black Sea gateway of Odessa threatens to loosen Kiev’s control of the regions. Fighting in the eastern city of Kramatorsk left seven people dead, according to the website Kramatorsk.info. Clashes continued in Odessa yesterday.

China’s manufacturing contracted for a fourth month in April. HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics said today their purchasing managers’ index rose to 48.1. That missed the median estimate of 48.4 and the preliminary reading of 48.3. Numbers below 50 indicate contraction.

“These geopolitical issues become widespread concerns,” Peter Sorrentino, a senior portfolio manager who helps manage about $3.8 billion at Huntington Funds in Cincinnati, said by phone. “Our view has been we’re going to get a transition that in effect we’ll quietly see a correction that takes place on the sector level, but not on the market level. If that doesn’t materialize, the market is very clearly, because of the slowdown we’re seeing in growth, vulnerable here that we could very easily see a correction.”

Walt Disney Co., the world’s largest entertainment company, and Mosaic Co., the biggest U.S.-based potash producer, are among S&P 500 companies reporting results this week. Profit for members of the gauge probably climbed 4.6 percent in the first quarter from the year-earlier period, while sales rose 2.8 percent, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

“Anybody that thinks American business is not doing well should just look at corporate profits,” Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said at the company’s annual meeting on May 3.

Berkshire’s Class B shares slipped 1.2 percent to $126.61. The company reported a 3.8 percent decline in first-quarter profit as underwriting results dropped at insurance businesses and on reduced earnings from Buffett’s derivatives wagers.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, rose 2.9 percent to 13.29, for its first gain in six days. The measure has lost 3.1 percent this year.

Utility, health-care and commodity shares climbed at least 0.5 percent for the best performances among S&P 500 main industries. Exxon Mobil Corp. added 0.9 percent to $102.91 while Chevron Corp. increased 0.5 percent to $125.36.

Apple advanced 1.4 percent to $600.96. The stock has jumped 15 percent since April 23, when the company reported a surge in iPhone sales and gave its shareholder payout program a $30 billion boost.

Biotech companies accounted for four of the 10 best performers in the S&P 500 as Biogen, Gilead, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. each climbed at least 2.7 percent.

The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index advanced 1.8 percent, extending its gain from an April low to 8.2 percent. The gauge had tumbled as much as 21 percent from a February peak as investors exited the bull market’s biggest winners.

Monsanto Co. climbed 2.4 percent to $114.85. Larry Robbins, founder of $7.5 billion Glenview Capital Management LLC, told Bloomberg Television’s Stephanie Ruhle at the 19th annual Sohn Investment Conference in New York that he’s amassed a $1 billion position in the seed maker and intends to hold it as a long-term investment as demand for genetically modified foods rises.

Sotheby’s advanced 3.2 percent to $44.80. The auction house agreed to appoint Third Point LLC founder Dan Loeb and two of his candidates to its board of directors, a settlement that ends a bitter proxy fight between the company and its largest shareholder.

PerkinElmer Inc. climbed 3.6 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to $43.95. The provider of equipment for genetic screening and drug research was raised to a buy from neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC.

B/E Aerospace Inc. jumped 9.3 percent to $97.22. The maker of seats for commercial and business jets hired financial and legal advisers to study its options, including a sale, and canceled an investor meeting set for today.

Financial shares in the S&P 500 slumped 0.4 percent. JPMorgan declined 2.5 percent to $54.22. Fixed-income and equities trading revenue will drop about 20 percent from a year earlier at the New York-based company amid “a continued challenging environment and lower client activity levels,” JPMorgan said after the close of trading on May 2 in its quarterly regulatory filing.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell 1.6 percent to $156.35 while Morgan Stanley slipped 2 percent to $30.07.

Pfizer retreated 2.6 percent to $29.96. The drugmaker reported first-quarter sales that missed analyst estimates as demand weakened for Lipitor and Viagra.

Separately, U.K. Business Secretary Vince Cable said yesterday that the U.S. company’s bid for Britain’s AstraZeneca Plc raised questions of “overriding national interest,” as the opposition Labour Party stepped up its opposition to the proposed takeover.

Target Corp. declined 3.5 percent to $59.87. Chief Executive Officer Gregg Steinhafel, dogged by questions over whether the company responded quickly enough to a data breach last year, will step down as chairman, president and CEO.

Tyson Foods Inc. dropped 9.9 percent to $38.44 for the biggest loss in the S&P 500. The largest U.S. meat producer reported a wider operating loss from the international unit for its fiscal second quarter as an outbreak of bird flu affected sales in China.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

Be magnificent!

“You’ve done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.”– Ralph Marston

Amanda Parnham

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities

 

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8X 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5808

Fax: 778-430-5828

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

I am off to New York this weekend, one of my favorite places to be.  I became a member of MoMa a few years ago and one of the perks is early access to shows and early hour entry to the museum on certain days.  There is an exhibition starting next week but members can preview it tomorrow.  It is by Brazilian artist Lygia Clark;  the show is Lygia Clark: The Abandonment of Art, 1948-1988, which I am looking forward to seeing.  You can check it out on the MoMa website.

I’ll be attending the Sohn Investment Conference on Monday.  It should be an excellent conference this year with Bill Ackman, David Einhorn  and Dan Ariely among the speakers.  Check out the roster at sohnconference.org.  The conference honors the memory of Ira Sohn, 1964-1993, and all participants donate their time; all money raised is in support of pediatric cancer research.  Back on Tuesday.

Leonardo da Vinci died on this day in 1519~As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings a happy death. – Leonardo da Vinci.

Photos of the day

Cows graze in a field at sunset in Vilonia, Arkansas. Carlo Allegri/Reuters

Visitors ride a boat in the Chidorigafuchi moat, as they enjoy blooming cherry blossoms during spring in Tokyo, Saturday. Issei Kato/Reuters

Market Closes for May 2^nd, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16512.89	-45.98   -0.28%
S&P 500	1881.14	-2.54   -0.13%
NASDAQ	4123.898	-3.553   -0.09%
TSX	14765.15	+101.08
		+0.69%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14457.51	-27.62
		-0.19%
HANG SENG	22260.67	+126.70
		+0.57%
SENSEX	22403.89	-13.91
		-0.06%
FTSE 100	6822.42	+13.55
		+0.20%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.349	2.368
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.878	2.899
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5825	2.6133
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.3636	3.4107

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91140	0.91217
US $	1.09721	1.09628
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.52262	0.65676
US $	1.38772	0.72061

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1298.99	1284.16
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	99.76	99.42
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

May 2 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose and the country’s benchmark index approached an all-time high after the U.S. saw its biggest monthly gain in employment in more than two years.

Torstar Corp. rallied 18 percent after saying it would sell its romance-novel publishing unit for C$455 million ($414.5 million). Sierra Wireless Inc. fell 8.7 percent after lowering its prediction for second quarter revenue. Constellation Software Inc. rose 2.7 percent as TD Securities raised its recommendation on the stock to buy from hold.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index gained 84.30 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,748.37 at 1:08 p.m. in Toronto. The equity gauge is at its highest since June 2008 after capping a 10th month of gains in April. The U.S. added 288,000 non-farm jobs and the unemployment rate sank to 6.3 percent, outpacing economist estimates as the economy recovered from a colder-than- usual winter.

“It beat the consensus by about 70,000 jobs so that’s a very strong number,” said Luciano Orengo, a fund manager with Manulife Asset Management Ltd. in Toronto. “The Canadian economy does well because the U.S. is getting better,” said Orengo, who helps manage about C$1.4 billion ($1.3 billion).

Torstar climbed 18 percent to C$7.88, its biggest jump in three-and-a-half years. The owner of the Toronto Star newspaper is selling Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., the world’s biggest publisher of romance novels, to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

Sierra Wireless fell 8.7 percent to C$22.10. The Richmond, British Columbia-based communications equipment company beat analyst estimates for first-quarter revenue but said second quarter earnings would be lower than expected. While Sierra Wireless operates in a growing market, it is facing a lot of competition, Orengo said.

“There’s a lot of companies that want to be in this space and when we sold Sierra Wireless that was sort of the thesis as to why, it was doing well but starting to catch these headwinds with competition,” Orengo said.

Constellation Software rose 2.7 percent to C$260.75. On April 30, the company reported first quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates while saying cash flow from operations increased year-over-year to $100 million from $34 million.

Nine of ten industries in the benchmark index rose, led by industrial and materials companies. West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.4 percent to $99.81 a barrel and gold rose 1.3 percent to $1,300.50 an ounce.

Pattern Energy Group Inc., which owns wind power projects, fell 3.5 percent to C$28.37 after posting a first-quarter earnings loss. The company said today it will buy a wind farm in Texas for $125 million.

USA
By Lu Wang and Joseph Ciolli

May 2 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, after an earlier rally sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index above its closing record, as concern about escalating tension in Ukraine overshadowed data showing payrolls rose the most in two years.

Health-care stocks dropped 0.8 percent, as Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson lost more than 1.2 percent. LinkedIn Corp. declined 8.4 percent after giving a quarterly sales forecast that missed analysts’ estimates. Casino stocks rallied as Macau revenue topped forecasts.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 1,881.14 at 4 p.m. in New York, after rallying 0.4 percent earlier to climb above all- time high of April 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 45.98 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,512.89. About 5.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 12 percent below the three-month average.

“The end result is neutral but it’s the positive of the jobs numbers being offset by greater concerns about what’s going on in the Ukraine,” said John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York, which advises $231 billion in the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds. “There’s more activity over there and that has the market a little bit worried. It’s something we will have to deal with for a while because I don’t see it going away right away.”

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Ukraine today after the country sent armored vehicles and artillery to retake Slovyansk, defying a demand by Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull back troops. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel set a May 25 trigger for possible economic sanctions against Russia.

Interior Ministry forces were dispatched at 4:30 a.m. local time to drive out militants and free hostages, including eight international monitors, minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook. Rebels shot down two helicopters, killing two pilots, the Defense Ministry said.

“On a Friday, people are going to be more inclined to be less long going into a weekend with potential military action happening in the Ukraine,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said in a phone interview. “People don’t want to walk in Monday morning and be negatively surprised by a down market because of military action in Europe, so they’re selling off.”

Stocks rose earlier after data showed employers boosted payrolls in April by the most in two years and the jobless rate plunged to 6.3 percent as companies grew confident the U.S. economy is emerging from a first-quarter slowdown.

The 288,000 gain in employment was the biggest since January 2012 and followed a revised 203,000 increase the prior month that was stronger than first estimated, Labor Department figures showed. The median forecast in a survey of economists called for a 218,000 advance. Unemployment dropped from 6.7 percent to the lowest level since September 2008 as fewer people entered the labor force.

“It’s a pretty strong report that suggests the Fed will continue to taper,” Anthony Valeri, a market strategist with LPL Financial Corp. in San Diego, said in a phone interview. The firm oversees $350 billion. “This is the first strong confirmation we’re unwinding some of the winter weakness.”

The Federal Reserve said this week that the economy is perking up after stalling last quarter and the job market is improving. The Federal Open Market Committee pared its monthly asset-buying to $45 billion, its fourth straight $10 billion cut, and said further reductions in “measured steps” are likely.

Gross domestic product rose at a 0.1 percent annualized rate from January through March, compared with a 2.6 percent gain in the prior quarter, the Commerce Department said earlier this week.

Data this week showed consumers and companies were shaking off winter doldrums. Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, climbed 0.9 percent in March, the most since August 2009, the Commerce Department said yesterday. Incomes increased by the most in seven months. Also yesterday, data from the Institute for Supply Management showed factories added employees in April at the fastest pace in four months. Manufacturing expanded the most this year.

A separate report today showed factory orders increased 1.1 percent in March, below economists’ forecast for a 1.5 percent advance.

The S&P 500 has climbed 1.8 percent this year, while the Dow is down about 0.4 percent. The S&P 500 was up 1 percent this week as company earnings from Merck to Sprint Corp. topped analyst estimates. The Dow closed at a record on April 30.

Chevron Corp. and Estee Lauder Cos. were among S&P 500 companies that reported earnings today. About 77 percent of those that have posted results this season have beaten analysts’ estimates, data compiled by Bloomberg show. More than 51 percent of them have topped sales projections, according to the data.

Six out of 10 major industries in the S&P 500 declined today, with utility shares falling 2 percent as a group.  Commodity shares had the largest gain, increasing 0.5 percent as metals rallied.

Health-care stocks dropped 0.8 percent. Pfizer lost 1.3 percent to $30.75. AstraZeneca Plc rejected Pfizer’s sweetened takeover proposal, saying the 63.1 billion-pound ($106.5 billion) offer fails to appreciate the value of the promising medicines under development by the U.K.’s second-biggest drugmaker.

Merck slipped 2.4 percent to $58.22. Johnson & Johnson retreated 1.2 percent to $99.31. The three companies accounted for the biggest declines in the Dow.

LinkedIn dropped 8.4 percent to $147.73, the lowest since Feb. 7. Second-quarter revenue will be $500 million to $505 million, the Mountain View, California-based company said in a statement yesterday. Analysts had estimated sales of $505.5 million, according to the average projection compiled by Bloomberg.

Casino companies rallied as April revenue from Macau rose 10.6 percent, beating the average analyst estimate for growth of 7 percent.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. added 7.3 percent to $221.68 after Wynn Macau Ltd.’s first-quarter profit also topped estimates. MGM Resorts International increased 4.3 percent to $26.49.

Estee Lauder climbed 4.8 percent to $75.62. The beauty- products maker raised its full-year forecast after fiscal third- quarter earnings beat analyst estimates.

U.S. stocks will fall 11 percent starting as soon as next week should some price patterns come true, according to Tom DeMark, the creator of indicators to show turning points in securities.

The S&P 500 will have peaked if it closes above 1,891 on one or two instances without also falling to 1,884 in intraday trading, DeMark said in a phone interview yesterday. He made similar statements in February, saying that if certain conditions were met, U.S. stocks had reached a point resembling the time before the 1929 market crash. The S&P 500 rallied 8 percent over the next two months.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

I am firmly of the opinion

that India’s salvation depends on the sacrifice and enlightenment of her women.

Mahatma Gandhi

1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems,

but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.

-Herm Albright, 1876-1944

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:

SPRING

Spring, the sweet spring, is the year’s pleasant king;
Then blooms each thing, the maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

The palm and may make country houses gay,
Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day,
And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay:
Cuckoo, jug-jug-, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

The fields breather sweet, the daisies kiss our feet,
Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit;
In every street these tunes our ears do greet:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
Spring, the sweet spring!

-Thomas Nashe

Photos of the day

A tame fox approaches revellers gathering at the summit of Broken mountain in the Harz regions during celebrations of the Walpurgisnacht pagan festival. Legend has it that on Walpurgisnacht or May Eve, witches fly their broomsticks to meet the devil at the summit of the Brocken Mountain in Harz. In towns and villages scattered throughout the mountain region, locals make bonfires, dress in devil or witches costumes and dance into the new month of May. Thomas Peter/Reuters

A Leicester Morris Man plays an accordion as they dance at Bradgate Park in Newtown Linford, central England. The May Day Morris celebration is a traditional rite thought to be connected to changing seasons and fertility. Darren Staples/Reuters

Market Closes for May 1^st, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16558.87	-21.97   -0.13%
S&P 500	1883.68	-0.27   -0.01%
NASDAQ	4127.453	+12.897   +0.31%
TSX	14664.07	+12.20
		+0.08%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14485.13	+181.02
		+1.27%
HANG SENG	22133.97	-319.92
		-1.42%
SENSEX	22417.80	-48.39
		-0.22%
FTSE 100	6808.87	+28.84
		+0.43%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.368	2.404
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.899	2.928
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.6133	2.6459
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.4107	3.4576

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91217	0.91224
US $	1.09628	1.09621
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.52032	0.65776
US $	1.38682	0.72107

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1284.16	1291.37
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	99.42	99.74
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

May 1 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, sending the benchmark index to an almost six-year high, as Catamaran Corp. and Detour Gold Corp. gained on earnings while other commodity producers fell.

Catamaran rose 12 percent and Detour added 9.1 percent after both companies reported first-quarter earnings that outstripped analyst estimates. Bombardier Inc. fell 5.9 percent after saying profit fell in the first quarter as the Montreal- based company poured cash into developing its new CSeries jet plane.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index gained 12.20 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,664.07 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The equity gauge climbed 2.2 percent in April for a 10th month of gains, the longest streak since 1983.

“We had a good April and people are saying, ’well things aren’t too bad,’” said John Kinsey, a fund manager at Caldwell Securities Ltd. in Toronto. As economic numbers keep coming out, investors will have a clearer idea of what kind of effect winter had on the economy, he said by phone.

“We may be ready for another run over the next couple of months depending on what kind of knee-jerk reactions we get,” said Kinsey. His firm oversees about C$1 billion ($900 million).

Health-care stocks in the index rose 4.7 percent as a group, buoyed by Catamaran, which makes software for the medical industry.

Catamaran rose 12 percent to C$46.56. The software company raised its 2014 earnings guidance and said cash flow from operations was up 114 percent year over year.

Detour Gold Corp. rose 9.1 percent to C$11.90 as Scotia Capital Inc. said the miner’s first quarter results, released last night, were “very solid.”

Bombardier fell 5.9 percent to C$4.15 as it said it consumed cash twice as fast as it did a year earlier. The maker of planes and trains has faced repeated delays in the development of the CSeries jet.

Manulife, Canada’s largest life insurer, rose 0.8 percent to C$20.74. The company posted a 51 percent gain in first- quarter profit as sales in Asia grew. Sun Life Financial Inc., another life insurer, rose 0.5 percent to C$37.27.

Energy companies fell 0.1 percent as a group today. They have rallied 14 percent this year, leading all other industries in the benchmark index except for health-care.

CCL Industries Inc. rose 8.2 percent to C$107.80 after the packaging maker reported first-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates.

Resolute Forest Products fell 7.9 percent to C$18.06 after reporting first quarter revenue of $1.02 billion, down $58 million year over year.

US
By Inyoung Hwang and Joseph Ciolli

May 1 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks ended little changed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling from a record, as data showed an increase in jobless claims before the government’s monthly labor report tomorrow.

Avon Products Inc. tumbled 10 percent to lead losses in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index after earnings trailed analysts’ estimates by almost half. T-Mobile US Inc. rallied 8.1 percent after adding 1.3 million new monthly subscribers last quarter. Sprint Corp. surged 2.7 percent after meeting with banks to make debt arrangements for a bid for T-Mobile. Yelp Inc. gained 9.8 percent after raising its forecast for 2014 revenue.

The S&P 500 closed down 0.27 point, or less than 0.1 percent, at 1,883.68 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark gauge swung between a gain of 0.2 percent today and loss of 0.3 percent. The Dow average lost 21.97 points to 16,558.87 while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3 percent. The 30-stock equity gauge rose 0.3 percent yesterday, topping the previous record it reached on Dec. 31. Government data on employment is due tomorrow.

“The market has had a nice little run here, and you’ve got a number coming tomorrow, so there may be some hesitation,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based RW Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion, said in a phone interview. “As long as the Fed is going to remain friendly to the markets and rates are not going to go up, that’s going to be bullish for stocks.”

The S&P 500 posted a 0.6 percent gain in April for a third monthly advance, as better-than-estimated economic data and corporate results offset escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine.

The index closed yesterday within seven points of its all- time high from April 2. Its 8.1 percent recovery from a low of 1,741.89 on Feb. 3 has been led by a 14 percent rally in energy stocks and increases of about 11 percent each in industries least tied to economic growth: utilities and home-product makers.

Investors have added almost $10 billion to U.S. equity exchange-traded funds this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Energy stocks absorbed the most money among industry ETFs yesterday, taking in $460 million, more than twice that of any other group. Technology ETFs saw inflows of $185 million.

The Federal Reserve yesterday said it would continue to trim the pace of bond purchases as the economy gains momentum.  The central bank cut its monthly asset purchases to $45 billion and said further reductions in “measured steps” are likely.  Fed Chair Janet Yellen is winding down record stimulus as the world’s largest economy shows signs of rebounding from a first-quarter standstill.

Data today showed applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to a nine-week high last week, while consumer spending surged in March by the most in almost five years as warmer weather brought shoppers back to auto- dealer lots and malls.

The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 54.9 in April from 53.7 in the prior month, the Tempe, Arizona- based group’s report showed today. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. The median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 54.3, with estimates ranging from 53 to 56.2. The ISM’s factory gauge averaged 53.9 for all of last year.

A Labor Department report tomorrow may show employers added 215,000 workers in April, the most since November, according to economists’ projections. A private payrolls report yesterday showed companies added more workers last month than at any time in the previous five.

Forty-seven companies in the S&P 500 including Mylan Inc. and MasterCard Inc. release their financial results today. Some 75 percent of the 352 companies that have reported earnings have beaten estimates for profit, while 52 percent topped revenue projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Avon sank 10 percent to a 14-year low of $13.72. The world’s largest door-to-door seller of cosmetics agreed to pay $135 million to resolve U.S. probes into whether it paid bribes in China and other countries. Separately, Avon posted a wider first-quarter loss as sales declined in all of its regions.

T-Mobile jumped 8.1 percent to $31.65. The company added more subscribers in the first quarter than AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. combined, heightening the carrier’s allure as Sprint pursues a merger.

Sprint rallied 2.7 percent to $8.73. The company, led by CEO Dan Hesse, had a net loss of monthly subscribers in the first quarter.

DirecTV advanced 4.1 percent to $80.76. The Wall Street Journal reported that AT&T, the second-biggest U.S. mobile-phone carrier, made an approach to buy DirecTV. The status of the talks is unknown though DirecTV would be open to a deal, the report said, citing an unidentified person. The deal may be worth at least $40 billion, the Journal said.

The Dow Jones Internet Composite Index increased 1.4 for its third day of gains after tumbling 18 percent from March 5 to April 28. Netflix Inc. rose 4.5 percent to $336.52, while Pandora Media Inc. climbed 5.5 percent to $24.71.

Yelp gained 9.8 percent to $64.02 for its biggest gain in almost three months. The service for online local-business reviews boosted its forecast for revenue this year to at least $363 million, exceeding its previous prediction of no more than $358 million.

Facebook Inc. moved up 2.3 percent to $61.15. Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of the world’s biggest social-networking service, said yesterday at a conference that Facebook is offering improved tools and a more streamlined experience for logins, including the option to sign in anonymously.

LinkedIn Corp. climbed 5.1 percent to $161.22 in the regular session, then fell 2.5 percent in extended trading at 4:34 p.m. in New York. After U.S. exchanges closed, the company gave a second-quarter sales forecast that missed analysts’ estimates as the professional-networking service struggles to reignite growth.

Jeremy Grantham, chief investment strategist at Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co., said the S&P 500 will climb above 2,250 before collapsing after the next U.S. presidential election. Grantham, best known for his bearish calls on U.S. stocks in 2000, is a long-time critic of Federal Reserve policy, which he blames for creating asset bubbles by holding interest rates at artificially low levels.

“Around the election or soon after, the market bubble will burst, as bubbles always do, and will revert to its trend value, around half of its peak or worse,” Grantham, 75, wrote in a quarterly letter released today.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The real ornament of woman is her character, her purity.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The game of life is not so much in holding

a good hand as playing a poor hand well.

-H. T. Leslie

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