Month: November 2014

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

William Blake’s birthday today.

One of his gifts to us:

TO SONGS OF INNOCENCE

Piping down the valleys wild,
Piping songs of pleasant glee,
On a cloud I saw a child,
And he laughing said to me:

“Pipe a song about a Lamb!”
So I piped with merry cheer.
“Piper, pipe that song again”;
So I piped: he wept to hear.

“Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe;
Sing thy songs of happy cheer”;
So I sang the same again,
While he wept with hoy to hear.

“Piper, sit thee down and write
In a book, that all may read.”
So he vanished from my sight,
And I plucked a hollow reed,

And I made a rural pen,
And I stained the water clear,
And I wrote my happy songs
Every child may joy to hear.

 -William Blake, b. November 28^th, 1757

Photos of the Day

Easter Island sunrise.

Santorini sunset.

Market Closes for November 28^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17828.24	+0.49
		—
S&P 500	2067.56	-5.27   -0.25%
NASDAQ	4791.629	+4.312   +0.09
TSX	14744.70	-177.74
		-1.19%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17459.85	+211.35
		+1.23%
HANG SENG	23987.45	-16.83
		-0.07%
SENSEX	28693.99	+255.08
		+0.90%
FTSE 100	6722.62	-0.80
		-0.01%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.858	1.897
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.424	2.457
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1640	2.2447
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8888	2.9542

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.87509	0.88198
US $	1.14274	1.13381
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42215	0.70316
US $	1.24450	0.80353

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1167.35	1190.67
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	66.15	73.69

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slumped a third day, posting the biggest drop in more than a month, as commodities retreated to a five-year low after OPEC chose not to cut production.

     Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and MEG Energy Corp. sank more than 10 percent as energy shares extended a one-year low. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co., which transport crude by rail, tumbled at least 4.4 percent. Glentel Inc., the mobile phone retailer, surged 103 percent after agreeing to sell itself to BCE Inc. in a deal valued at about C$670 million ($586 million).

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 177.74 points, or 1.2 percent, to 14,744.70 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the steepest decline since Oct. 22. The index has tumbled 2.4 percent for the week, the most in seven weeks.

     The S&P/TSX is up 8.3 percent this year, the 10th-best performer among developed markets in the world.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials dropped as much as 3.9 percent to the lowest level since May 2009. Commodities are poised for a fourth straight year of losses as West Texas Intermediate oil is set for the biggest slump since the 2008 financial crisis.                          
     Capstone Mining Corp. slumped 8.2 percent to C$1.91 and Lundin Mining Corp. lost 5.7 percent to C$5.45 as raw-material and energy producers declined 3.7 percent and 2.4 respectively. Five of 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge retreated on trading volume 3.8 percent higher than the 30-day average today.

     Copper for March delivery plunged 3.7 percent in New York to a four-year low amid speculation the slump in oil prices will reduce industrial-metals production costs.

     Athabasca Oil Corp. dropped 1.9 percent to C$2.54 for a fifth day of losses, extending an all-time low. The stock has retreated 21 percent in the past five days. Pacific Rubiales tumbled 12 percent to C$11.05. The S&P/TSX Energy Index lost 2.4 percent as the group fell to a July 2013 low and posted a 11 percent weekly drop, its worst in six years.

     WTI crude plunged 10 percent to $66.15, the lowest settlement since September 2009 and capped its biggest weekly decline since 2011. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries yesterday kept its production ceiling unchanged at 30 million barrels a day, triggering the worst rout in Canadian energy shares in three years.

     Canada’s economy grew an annualized 2.8 percent in the third quarter, faster than economists forecast, as exports of crude oil grew and consumers shelled out for cars and big-ticket items. Economists had forecast a median increase of 2.1 percent, slower than the second quarter’s 3.6 percent expansion.

US

By Callie Bost and Jonathan Morgan

     Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell as small-cap companies and energy producers slumped on OPEC’s decision to keep its output target unchanged, offsetting a rally in retailers.

     Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., the oil and gas stocks with the biggest weighting on the benchmark S&P 500, lost more than 4.2 percent. American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. rose at least 5.5 percent amid optimism that they will benefit from lower fuel costs. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc. jumped more than 2.8 percent as shoppers go to stores and online for the Black Friday weekend.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 2,067.56 at 1 p.m. in New York, as exchanges closed early after the Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added less than 1 point to 17,828.24. The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 0.5 percent while the Russell 2000 Index lost 1.5 percent, the most since Oct. 9.

     The S&P 500 closed at a record on Nov. 26 and completed its second monthly gain today, with an increase of 2.5 percent. It has rallied 11 percent from its low last month as data signaled the U.S. economy is improving, and central banks around the world boosted stimulus measures.

     “The larger story is the sharp oil-price dip overnight,” Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Plc in London, wrote in an e-mail. “That’s expected to continue the pressure on the oil majors, while at the same time giving a fillip both to the consumer — an effective tax cut — and indeed the airlines.”                         

     West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 8.7 percent from its Nov. 26 close, the biggest loss in more than three years, as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries yesterday agreed not to reduce its production ceiling even after oil collapsed into a bear market this year.

     Exxon Mobil declined 4.2 percent, the most since July, and Chevron lost 5.4 percent, its biggest drop since 2011. Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s biggest provider of oilfield services, slipped 7.4 percent. Halliburton Co., the second- largest, tumbled 11 percent. Baker Hughes Inc., which Halliburton has agreed to buy, dropped 8.9 percent.

     American Airlines, the world’s largest carrier, climbed 7.9 percent. Delta Air Lines added 5.5 percent. Southwest Airlines Co. rallied 6.5 percent.

     Wal-Mart surged 3 percent, the most in the Dow, and J.C. Penney Co. climbed 3.4 percent. UPS gained 2.8 percent, Best Buy Co. advanced 1.7 percent and Amazon.com Inc. added 1.5 percent. The National Retail Federation projected a 4.1 percent gain in retail sales in November and December, the biggest increase since 2011.

     “Retail sales and Internet retail sales show yesterday was a good day,” Dan Heckman, Kansas City, Missouri-based national investment consultant at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said by phone. His firm oversees about $120 billion. “With the drop in oil we think this will be a tremendous holiday season. Investors are going to watch which sectors will be impacted by the decline in oil.”

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

We encounter this, surprising paradox between us:

the Whole appears as a multitude,

the appearance is opposite to the truth,

and yet it is inseparably linked.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.

                                                                             -Eric Hoffer, 1902-1983

 

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

Queensbury Securities Inc Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Yesterday, a friend brought me a book of poems by Mary Oliver.  This is from the book, Blue Horses:

TO BE HUMAN IS TO SING YOUR OWN SONG

Everything that I can think of  that my parents
thought or did I don’t think and I don’t do.
I opened windows, they shut them.  I pulled
open the curtains, they shut them.  If you
get my drift.  Of course there were some
similarities – they wanted to be happy and
they weren’t.  I wanted to be Shelley and I
wasn’t.  I don’t mean I didn’t have to avoid
imitation, the gloom was pretty heavy.  But
then, for me, there was the forest, where
they didn’t exist.  And the fields.  Where I
learned about birds and other sweet tidbits
of existence.  The song sparrow, for example.

In the song sparrow’s nest the nestlings,
those who would sing eventually, must listen
carefully to the father bird as he sings
and make their own song in imitation of his.
I don’t know if any other bird does this (in
nature’s way has to do this).  But I know a
child doesn’t have to.  Doesn’t have to.
Doesn’t have to.  And I didn’t.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

103-year-old Robert Marchand (front left) cycles in the rain with a small group of riders to celebrate his birthday as he makes his way along the Robert Marchand Pass, a 10-kilometer ride in the Ardeche mountains, near Saint-Felicien, France. Robert Pratta/Reuters

US President Barack Obama and his daughters, Sasha (c.), and Malia (r.), participate in the annual turkey pardoning ceremony marking the 67th presentation of the National Thanksgiving Turkey while in the White House in Washington. Larry Downing/Reuters

Market Closes for November 26^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17827.75	+12.81
		+0.07%
S&P 500	2072.83	+5.80   +0.28%
NASDAQ	4787.316	+29.065   +0.61%
TSX	15038.41	-35.24
		-0.23%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17383.58	-24.04
		-0.14%
HANG SENG	24111.98	+268.07
		+1.12%
SENSEX	28386.19	+48.14
		+0.17%
FTSE 100	6729.17	-1.97
		-0.03%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.935	1.945
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.484	2.490
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2447	2.2570
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9542	2.9628

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88879	0.88828
US $	1.12513	1.12577
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40722	0.71062
US $	1.25072	0.79954

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1197.50	1201.23
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	73.69	74.14

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the second time in three days, as raw-materials and energy producers slumped with crude closing at a four-year low amid conflicting signals from OPEC nations on output reductions.

     Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Trilogy Energy Corp. lost at least 5.5 percent to pace declines among oil stocks. New Gold Inc. and Argonaut Gold Inc. dropped more than 4.2 percent as raw-materials producers retreated from a seven-week high.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 35.24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,038.41 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index is up 10 percent this year, the seventh-best performer among developed markets in the world.

     Raw-materials and energy producers, which account for about a third of the benchmark Canadian equity gauge, were the only two groups among 10 main industries in the index that fell today, on trading 26 percent below the 30-day average.

     Bankers Petroleum sank 5.5 percent to C$4.09 and Trilogy Energy fell 7.4 percent to C$12.67 as 59 of 69 members of the S&P/TSX Energy Index declined. Energy shares have slumped 2 percent in November, headed for a third straight month of declines, the longest losing streak since September 2011.

     West Texas Intermediate and Brent crudes declined, tumbling to four-year lows, as OPEC meets tomorrow to determine output levels. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, didn’t agree with Russia, Venezuela and Mexico to curb output at a meeting yesterday in Vienna.

     New Gold lost 4.2 percent to C$5.03 and Argonaut Gold slumped 8.2 percent to C$2.13. The S&P/TSX Materials Index sank 1.6 percent. Gold was little changed at $1,197.50 an ounce in New York.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, with benchmark indexes closing at all-time highs, amid optimism the economy is showing sufficient strength to weather a slowdown overseas.

     Phone companies led gains, while technology stocks rose as Hewlett-Packard Co. advanced to the highest level since May 2011 even after missing analyst earnings estimates. Energy producers decreased as Seadrill Ltd. suspended dividends amid the lowest oil prices in more than four years.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.3 percent to 2,072.83 at 4 p.m. in New York, extending gains in the final 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 12.81 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,827.75. Both gauges ended at records. The Nasdaq 100 Index climbed 0.7 percent to extend a more than 14-year high. About 4.9 billion listed shares changed hands in the U.S., 26 percent lower than the three-month daily average. U.S. markets will be closed tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday.

     “Economic numbers in general have been good, and that optimism is following through,” Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion, said in a phone interview. “It could be a good retail season, and low gas prices are making a difference.”

     Consumer confidence climbed to a more than seven-year high in November as Americans’ views of their financial well-being improved heading into the holiday shopping season. A separate report showed consumer spending climbed in October at the same pace as incomes, showing households are staying within their means as the holiday-shopping season begins.                          

     Orders for U.S. business equipment such as machinery and electrical gear unexpectedly declined in October. Other data showed jobless claims increased by 21,000 to 313,000 in the week ended Nov. 22, the highest since early September, from 292,000 in the prior period. New homes in the U.S. sold at a slower pace than forecast last month.

     A report yesterday showed U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 3.9 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, more than initially estimated.

     The S&P 500 has advanced each December for the past six years. It is up 11 percent from its six-month low in October, as data signaled the U.S. economy is improving and central banks in Europe, Japan and China added more stimulus measures.                          

     The rally in American equities has pushed stock valuations to near the highest levels since 2009. The S&P 500 trades at 17.3 times the projected earnings of its members, up from a multiple as low as 15.5 last month. Profit for S&P 500 companies may rise 7.6 percent this year, estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Calm has returned to equity markets. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of options prices known as the VIX, has dropped 14 percent in the past five days to a two-month low. The benchmark gauge of price swings surged to a more than two-year high on Oct. 15.

     Eight out of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 increased today, with phone and technology companies posting the largest gains. Energy shares slumped the most, dropping 1.1 percent ahead of tomorrow’s OPEC meeting.

     Chipmakers surged, with Analog Devices Inc. climbing 5.5 percent after profit and sales for the fourth quarter exceeded projections. The company’s adjusted gross margin, a measure of profitability, was also wider than analysts had predicted.                       

     Phone companies in the benchmark gauge gained the most since July as CenturyLink Inc. rose 2.2 percent to lead gains.  AT&T Inc. rose for a second straight day after falling 3.3 percent since Nov. 14.

     Technology companies in the S&P 500 climbed 0.9 percent.  Hewlett-Packard Co. added 4.1 percent even after the computer maker reported fourth-quarter sales that missed estimates. The company’s margins may benefit from a restructuring plan that would spin off its personal-computer and printer operations into a stand-alone entity, Brian Alexander, an analyst for Raymond James, wrote in a client note today.

     Mylan Inc. surged more than 4 percent. A Jefferies Group LLC analyst said the company is viewed as the most likely takeover target for Pfizer Inc.

     Deere & Co. pared its drop to 0.9 percent after losing as much as 3.9 percent. The world’s largest maker of farm equipment forecast 2015 profit that trailed estimates as farmers buy fewer high-horsepower tractors and combines after crop prices fell. Caterpillar Inc. slumped 0.4 percent.

     Seadrill Ltd. fell 23 percent, the most in six years, after the offshore driller controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen suspended dividends as the slump in oil prices weakens demand for rigs.

     Energy companies declined the most out of the 10 main S&P 500 industries as Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., Transocean Ltd. and Noble Corp. declined more than 5 percent. Crude oil dropped 0.5 percent to $73.69 a barrel in New York, the lowest since September 2010.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Amidst this chaos there is harmony, throughout these discordant sounds there is a note of concord;

and he who is prepared to listen to it will catch the tone.

 

Swami Vivekananda

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The pen is the tongue of the mind.

 -Miguel de Cervantes, 1547-1616

 

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

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:

Noteworthy:

Break Bread With Strangers:  For world travelers yearning for an authentic meal with a local host, check out MealSharing.com to see if there’s a spot at a nearby table for you.  Much like other sharing economy services, the site connects users and hosts so they can break bread together.  For the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday in the US, the site is promoting ThanksSharing Day meals for those still looking for an invitation to dinner or wanting to expand their guest list.

A Hungry World:  Every meal on your plate has likely navigated a host of unseen issues.  National Geographic has curated its recent magazine series exploring the challenges and progress associated with feeding a growing population on its new site, NatGeoFood.com.  the site features videos, photography, and interactive maps and graphics to help raise awareness of the stories behind the food we eat.  A related free app, The Future of Food, is available through iTunes.

Saving The Planet:  Earth has faced mass extinctions five times in its past; evidence of the destruction is recorded in its surface.  Today’s rapid climate change is so extreme scientists say it rivals the chain of events that threatened past habitats.  Smithsonian Channel explores the possible perils and solutions in Mass Extinction: Life at the Brink.  It premieres November 30^th at 8 p.m.

      -from CSM, November 24^th, 2014.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People cross a street in a business district on a rainy day in downtown Tokyo. Thomas Peter/Reuters

A turkey looks around its enclosure at Seven Acres Farm in North Reading, Mass., two days before the Thanksgiving holiday. Paul Pagliozzi is the second generation owner of the farm his father started in 1938. Brian Snyder/Reuters

Market Closes for November 25^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17814.94	-2.96
		-0.02%
S&P 500	2067.03	-2.38   -0.12%
NASDAQ	4758.250	+3.358   +0.07%
TSX	15073.65	+58.24
		+0.39%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17407.62	+50.11
		+0.29%
HANG SENG	23843.91	-49.23
		-0.21%
SENSEX	28338.05	-161.49
		-0.57%
FTSE 100	6731.14	+1.35
		+0.02%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.945	1.979
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.490	2.524
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2570	2.3011
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9628	3.0159

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88828	0.88605
US $	1.12577	1.12860
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40419	0.71216
US $	1.24732	0.80172

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1201.23	1197.12
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	74.14	75.78

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, rebounding from the biggest drop in three weeks, as materials producers rallied after gold and silver miners surged.

     Kinross Gold Corp. and Iamgold Corp. jumped at least 5.8 percent as the price of the metal advanced for the second time in three sessions. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. added 4 percent after posting earnings. Hudson’s Bay Co. rallied 8.4 percent to extend an all-time high. Energy shares slumped as U.S. crude fell to a four-year low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 58.24 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,073.65 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index is up 11 percent this year after advancing in seven of the past eight sessions.

     Eight of the 10 industries in the index rose today on trading 20 percent above the 30-day average. Materials producers advance 2.5 percent to the most since Oct. 8

     Eldorado Gold Corp. soared 9.4 percent to C$7.90 and Kinross Gold Corp. jumped 11 percent to C$3.50, as all but two of the 24 members of the S&P/TSX Gold Index advanced.

     The gauge added 4.9 percent, snapping a two-day decline as gold for February delivery climbed.

     Couche-Tard, operator of convenience stores in North America and Europe, rose 4 percent to C$39.70 as consumer- staples shares increased 0.6 percent as a group. The company’s same-store merchandise sales increased 3 percent in Canada and 2.8 percent in the U.S.

     Canadian retail sales rose 0.8 percent to C$42.8 billion ($38 billion) in September, faster than a 0.5 percent increase projected by economists, led by big-ticket purchases including cars, furniture and appliances.

     U.S. gross domestic product rose at a 3.9 percent annualized rate, up from an initial estimate of 3.5 percent, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 3.3 percent gain.

     Energy shares in the S&P/TSX dropped 0.5 percent. Lightstream Resources Ltd. lost 5.9 percent to C$3.52 and Raging River Exploration Inc. sank 5.2 percent to C$6.99.

     West Texas Intermediate crude fell to a four-year low after nations supplying a third of the world’s oil failed to pledge output cuts before this week’s OPEC meeting.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was little changed after closing yesterday at a record, as data showing the economy expanded more than previously forecast in the third quarter was offset by a drop in consumer confidence.

     Tiffany & Co. rose 2.5 percent as consumer-discretionary companies in the S&P 500 advanced for a sixth day to extend an all-time high. Energy shares fell the most among 10 groups in the index as crude prices dropped to the lowest since September 2010 ahead of an OPEC meeting.

     The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 2,067.03 at 4 p.m. in New York, following three days of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.96 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 17,814.94. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies dropped 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 Index extended a 14- year high. About 6.1 billion listed shares changed hands in the U.S., 8.3 percent lower than the three-month daily average.

     “Some of the economic numbers like GDP looked good, but I don’t know how sustainable they are,” Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at New York-based Williams Capital Group LP, said in a phone interview. “We need more gains and more activity to sustain that. Consumer confidence was off modestly, and that may be a bit of a catalyst to the downside.”

     Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 3.9 percent annualized rate, up from an initial estimate of 3.5 percent, Commerce Department figures showed. The median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 3.3 percent gain. After the 4.6 percent increase in the second quarter, it marked the biggest back-to- back advance since late 2003.

     The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 88.7 in November from 94.1 a month earlier. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a gain to 96.                    

     “Sentiment is probably optimistic, but cautious,” Erik Wytenus, a Palm Beach, Florida-based global investment specialist at JPMorgan Private Bank, said by phone. The division oversees $1.052 trillion in client assets. “Part of the reason for that is that stocks have had a powerful run. The thing I’m encouraged about is the strength in the consumer sector.”

     The S&P 500 has rallied 11 percent from its low last month as data signaled the U.S. economy is improving, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to raise inflation as fast as possible, and China unexpectedly cut interest rates.

     The Russell 2000 climbed 2.5 percent over the previous three sessions, recovering its losses for this month. It has now surged 13 percent from a one-year low reached in October.

     The rally in American equities has pushed stock valuations to the highest since the end of 2009. The S&P 500 trades at 17.2 times the projected earnings of its members, up from a multiple as low as 15.5 last month. Profit for S&P 500 companies may rise 7.6 percent this year, estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Hewlett-Packard Co. and Tiffany & Co. were among S&P 500 companies reporting earnings today. Of those members that have already reported, 79 percent have beaten earnings projections while 60 percent have beaten sales estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of options prices known as the VIX, fell 2.9 percent to 12.25. The benchmark gauge of price swings climbed to a more than two-year high on Oct. 15.                        

     Five of the 10 of the major groups in the S&P 500 increased today. Consumer discretionary companies had the biggest gains, rising 0.2 percent. Energy producers led declines with a 1.6 percent slide as oil prices tumbled.

     Tiffany, the world’s second-largest luxury jewelry retailer, rose 2.5 percent after higher-than-projected sales in the Americas helped make up for a slowdown in Asia last quarter.

     Cable providers also added to gains among consumer discretionary stocks as Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. increased more than 2.2percent.

     Apple, already the world’s largest company by market capitalization, hit a record value. Shares of the iPhone maker rose as much as 1 percent to $119.75, giving it a valuation of more than $700 billion, a milestone that no other U.S. company has reached. The shares erased gains in afternoon trading, slipping 0.9 percent.

     Energy companies 1.6 percent as crude oil slipped 2.2 percent to settle at $74.09 a barrel. Nabors Industries Ltd.fell the most with a 4.9 percent drop, while Halliburton Co. and Schlumberger Ltd. decreased more than 3.2 percent.

     Crude futures slid after a meeting between nations supplying a third of the world’s oil failed to result in a pledge to curb output in the run-up to this week’s OPEC meeting.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Within, everything is connected.

This is because an action in one part produces a similar reaction elsewhere

and thus a response.

 

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

                    -Mother Teresa, 1910-1997

 

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

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:

Tracking down the origin of the phrase “Black Friday” uncovers any number of explanations, but one likely source that seems to have emerged, a good run-down of which can be found here, is that the term originated in the Philadelphia police department. The day after Thanksgiving saw a lot of holiday revelers — and a crippling amount of traffic, which gave the cops a tough time. So the term, at least in this telling, was originally one of derision. –Paul Vigna, WSJ.

On the weekend, I read the obituary of Fred Branfman in a recent edition of The Economist and found it inspirational.  Fred Branfman was the exposer of America’s secret war in Laos.  He died on September 24^th this year, aged 72.  The following was taken from that obituary in The Economist:

 

“The peasant refugees, camped outside Vientiane in Laos, did not want to speak to him when he first approached them, in 1969,  they were wary of the big, earnest, bespectacled young American.  And they were wretched.  They had left behind their paddy fields, pigs and buffalo, their fresh air and forests, and pined for them.  Many were injured, too: blinded, or missing limbs, or riddled with metal pellets that showed through their skin.

  Over the months, as Fred Branfman gently urged them, they began to talk of war planes over their home region, the Plain of Jars.  At first, in 1964, they had watched them with interest, much as they watched the rockets at the spring festival of boun bang fai.  Then the planes dived close and aimed at them directly.  They went on doing so, flying up  to 200 sorties a day, for five years.  When Mr. Branfman visited the plain at last in 1993 (pictured), droplets from cluster bombs were still exploding….He had gone to Laos to teach in his 20s, mostly to avoid the draft for Vietnam.  In that war Laos was officially neutral, though it was fought over by right- and left- wing groups and supply routes to the Vietcong ran through it.  The American government denied it was conducting a war there, for conventional warfare was outlawed.  Congress and the public were in the dark.  It seemed that only Mr. Branfman knew.

  As a Jew he was inevitably reminded of the Holocaust, another concealed atrocity.  It was ‘as if I had discovered Auschwitz when it was still going on.’  His fury was never hard to ignite; like many of his contemporaries, he had burned to changer the word since high school.  He had been brought up to believe America was good, and triumphed in just wars.  Now everything was upended.  America had betrayed him: it was not merely socially unjust, especially towards blacks, but also brutal and criminal abroad.

  He had to get the story out.  It was easier than he thought, for the villagers could read and write as well as draw, with chilling accuracy, T-28s and F-105s strafing their hills.  Their anonymous memories and sketches became  ‘Voices from the Plain of Jars’ published in 1972. By then, President Nixon had admitted that America was at war in Laos; but not that it was targeting civilians.  That was still denied outright by America’s former ambassador to Laos, in front of a Senate committee to which Mr. Branfman, too, gave evidence….In the 21^st century his list of executive outrages grew long again, this time provoked by the war on terror: surveillance of Americans by government agencies, the growth of biometric databases, expanded powers of detention, pervasive secrecy.  In newspaper columns he appealed to Americans to resist the growth of a police state.

  He warned them, too, that the world was changing for the worse.  In Laos he had heard repeatedly how huge machines had dealt out death from afar.  The use of drones in Iraq and Afghanistan was merely a refinement of this remote, arrogant way of killing.  In Laos he had heard of peaceful, ancient ways of life, in tune with nature, obliterated by human greed and barbarity; now global warming, again spurred by greed, was threatening mankind as a whole.  As before, he hoped that if he shouted loudly enough, people would hear.  Some did, but once again America’s leaders proved stone deaf.

The problem with the human race, he concluded, was that it blocked out pain.  Uncomfortable facts, inconvenient truths, other people’s suffering, were all denied as long as possible.  And nothing was denied as vigorously as death, though he knew from a brush with it when he was 48 – that to face it squarely was also to draw from it life-affirming strength.  This was the blo9wn-open secret of his last years, spent in Budapest beside the Danube.  But he had heard it first, like so much else, in Laos.  A 14year-old boy told him how he had sung in the rice fields, even as the planes passed over.  ‘I felt that although I might have to die, it did not matter; that I just had to be happy in the midst of all the sadness of war, of the airplanes dropping bombs.’”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to actress Meryl Streep during a White House ceremony in Washington. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

A woman playing the role of Bridget Fuller makes pancakes in a home at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass. Plimouth Plantation is a living museum portraying the life of the Native Americans and the English colonists in 1627, seven years after the colonists’ arrival. Brian Snyder/Reuters

Market Closes for November 24^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17817.90	+7.84
		+0.04%
S&P 500	2069.41	+5.91   +0.29%
NASDAQ	4754.891	+41.921   +0.89%
TSX	15015.41	-95.72
		-0.63%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17357.51	+56.65
		+0.33%
HANG SENG	23893.14	+456.02
		+1.95%
SENSEX	28499.54	+164.91
		+0.58%
FTSE 100	6729.79	-20.97
		-0.31%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.979	2.006
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.524	2.553
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3011	2.3099
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0159	3.0151

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88605	0.89004
US $	1.12860	1.12355
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40397	0.71226
US $	1.24399	0.80386

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1197.12	1201.52
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	75.78	75.91

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell the most in three weeks, halting a six-day rally, as commodities producers retreated amid investors speculation on whether OPEC will slash production at a Nov. 27 meeting.

     Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. sank 5.6 percent, the most in more than a year, as OAO Uralkali negotiates with Russian regulators to resume work in a portion of a flooded mine. Alacer Gold Corp. and Detour Gold Corp. retreated at least 3.9 percent as gold futures fell. Hudson’s Bay Co. jumped 8 percent to an all-time high as the retailer plans to take out a $1.25 billion mortgage on the ground portion of its Saks Fifth Avenue property in New York.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 95.72 points, or 0.6 percent, to 15,015.41 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge had rallied 2.3 percent in the previous six days to a September high. The index is up 10 percent this year, seventh among the world’s developed markets.

     Six of the 10 industries in the index fell on trading 4.7 percent below the 30-day average. Energy and materials producers dropped at least 1.8 percent to pace declines.

     Alacer Gold fell 4.3 percent to C$2.21 to and Detour Gold retreated 3.9 percent to C$9.47 as raw-materials companies fell 1.9 percent as a group. Gold slipped 0.2 percent in New York.

     Lightstream Resources Ltd. declined 4.1 percent to C$3.74 and Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. fell 3.1 percent to C$5.61. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude retreated for the first time in three days.

     Iran may propose that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its output target by as much as 1 million barrels a day when the country’s oil minister consults with his Saudi counterpart, Iran’s state-run Mehr News reported. Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said today it’s not the first time the oil market has been over-supplied.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, extending all-time highs for benchmark indexes, as small-cap shares rallied amid growing confidence in the global economy.

     Best Buy Co. jumped 2.3 percent before the start of the holiday shopping season. Urban Outfitters Inc. advanced 5.4 percent, the most in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Verizon Communications Inc. tumbled 1.4 percent after Citigroup Inc. lowered its rating on the stock. AT&T Inc. slid 1.6 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.3 percent to a record 2,069.41 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies surged 1.2 percent to the highest level since July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 7.84 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 17,817.9, weighed down by Verizon and AT&T. About 5.6 billion listed shares changed hands in the U.S., about 15 percent lower than the three-month daily average.

     “We’re seeing a carryover from last week’s comments made by Draghi trying to address the inflation in Europe, and the actions from the Chinese central bank to lower lending rates,” Robert Pavlik, who helps oversee $4.5 billion as chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC in New York, said in a phone interview. “You’ve gotten some good economic news and earnings reports. The market has more upside potential.”

     The S&P 500 advanced 1.2 percent last week as data signaled the U.S. economy is improving, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to raise inflation as fast as possible and China unexpectedly cut interest rates.

     The benchmark gauge has rebounded 11 percent from a six- month low last month. The S&P 500 had plunged as much as 7.4 percent as concern grew Europe was leading a global growth slowdown. Stocks gained today after a report showed German business confidence unexpectedly advanced this month.

     In Germany, the Ifo institute’s business climate index rose to 104.7 in November from 103.2 in October. Economists had predicted a decline in the gauge that is based on a survey of 7,000 executives.

     Preliminary data from Markit Economics showed the U.S. services industries expanded at a slower pace this month. Reports tomorrow may show the world’s largest economy grew at a slower rate in the third quarter than first estimated, while consumer confidence probably climbed in November to a seven-year high.

     “The U.S. economy is very solid, and we’re also starting to see signs that the worst is behind us for Europe,” said Allan von Mehren, chief analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “Investors are starting to position for a global recovery in the first half of next year.”

     The rally in American equities has pushed stock valuations to the highest since the end of 2009. The S&P 500 trades at 17.2 times the projected earnings of its members, up from a multiple of 15.5 last month. Profit for S&P 500 companies may rise 7.6 percent this year, estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.

     The S&P 500 closed above its five-day moving average for 27 consecutive trading sessions. That’s the longest such streak in history, according to Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at MKM Holdings LLC.

     The index closed 4.2 percent above its 50-day moving average last week, the widest spread in a year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The Russell 2000 Index has recovered all of its losses this month. The index dropped as much as 2.4 percent through Nov. 19. It has now climbed 13 percent from a one-year low reached in October.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of options prices known as the VIX, fell 2.2 percent to 12.62. The gauge climbed to a more than two-year high on Oct. 15.                       

     Best Buy, the world’s biggest electronics chain, jumped 2.3 percent before Black Friday on Nov. 28 kicks off the year’s busiest shopping season. Gap Inc. rallied 4.6 percent.

     Consumer discretionary companies rose the most out of any group in the S&P 500, led by Urban Outfitters, which increased 5.4 percent. Coach Inc. climbed 2.6 percent. The National Retail Federation predicts retail sales will rise 4.1 percent this holiday season, more than the 2.9 percent average of the past 10 years.

     Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc. rallied 11 percent as people familiar with the matter said the biotechnology company is exploring a sale.

     Platinum Underwriters Holdings Ltd. climbed 21 percent after the reinsurer said RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will buy it for about $76 per share.

     Phone companies dropped 1.4 percent, the most among the 10 S&P 500 groups.

     Verizon slid 1.4 percent as Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins cut his rating on the company to neutral from buy. He cited expectations of below-consensus earnings per share in 2015 stemming from higher costs of capacity, as well as slower revenue growth due to increased rate-plan competition.

     AT&T and Frontier Communications Corp. also fell at least 1.6 percent.

     Potash shares declined as Russian company Uralkali, the world’s biggest producer of the resource, said it’s preparing to restart operations at half of a mine that was recently closed after an accident. Mosaic Co. slid 3.7 percent, while Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. declined 6.1 percent in U.S. trading.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The saffron of virtue and contentment

Is dissolved in the water gun of love and affection.

Pink and red clouds of emotion are flying about,

Limitless colors raining down.

All the covers of the earthen vessel of my body are wide open;

I have thrown away all shame before the world.

Mira’s Lord is the Mountain Holder, the suave lover.

I sacrifice myself in devotion to His lotus feet.

 

Mira Bai

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.

                                -Jane Austen, 1775-1817

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1877, a man in New Jersey sang the children’s song Mary Had a Little Lamb. What made this version different was that the man, Thomas Edison, sang the familiar words into a machine he had just built, part of his effort to perfect the telephone. Edison was completely surprised a moment later when the device played back the words he had just sang. He patented the machine – which he called the phonograph – the next year. It was his first great invention.

PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TODAY

A Hindu priest rotates a traditional oil lamp as he performs morning prayers on the banks of the River Ganges in Allahabad, India. Allahabad, on the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, is one of Hinduism’s important centers. Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

Farmer Paul McAvoy moves his flock of Kelly Bronze turkeys into their enclosure on his farm near Lymm, northern England. Phil Noble/Reuters

A woman strolls through a park during dense fog in Hamburg, northern Germany. Daniel Bockwoldt/dap/AP

Market Closes for November 21^st, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17810.06	+91.06
		+0.51%
S&P 500	2061.58	+8.83   +0.43%
NASDAQ	4712.969	+11.101   +0.24%
TSX	15106.39	+31.21
		+0.21%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17357.51	+56.65
		+0.33%
HANG SENG	23437.12	+87.48
		+0.37%
SENSEX	28334.63	+267.07
		+0.95%
FTSE 100	6750.76	+71.86
		+1.08%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.006	2.018
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.553	2.574
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3099	2.3337
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0151	3.0527

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89004	0.88479
US $	1.12355	1.13021
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.39183	0.71848
US $	1.23878	0.80724

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1201.52	1194.17
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	75.91	75.58

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, with the benchmark index capping a sixth weekly gain, after central banks in China and Europe signaled additional stimulus measures, boosting investors’ confidence in the global economy.

     Raw-material and energy producers paced gains as Lightstream Resources Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. soared more than 9 percent. Gold miners dropped as the price of the precious metal pared gains. Metro Inc. slid for a second day after Credit Suisse cut its rating on the shares.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 36.28 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,111.46 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest level since Sept. 24. The Canadian benchmark has advanced in 12 of the last 13 trading sessions, for a 5 percent gain since Nov. 4. The gauge rallied 1.8 percent in the week.

     Global equities gained to the highest in two months after China cut its benchmark interest rates for the first time since July 2012. The People’s Bank of China lowered its one-year deposit rate and the one-year lending rate, with changes effective tomorrow, according to its website.

     European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he will do what is necessary to raise inflation in the euro region as fast as possible. Should the current policy not be effective, the ECB will “broaden even more the channels” through which it intervenes, by adjusting the size, pace and composition of asset purchases, he said in Frankfurt.

     Canada’s inflation rate was faster than all economist forecasts in October, Statistics Canada said today. The consumer price index rose 2.4 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, following the September pace of 2.0 percent. The core rate that excludes eight volatile products accelerated to 2.3 percent, the fastest since February 2012.                      

     Four of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX advanced. Trading in the gauge’s companies was in line with the 30-day average.

     Materials producers jumped 0.8 percent. Teck Resources gained 9.4 percent to C$19.94 and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. jumped 7.2 percent to C$19.12.

     Energy shares surged 1 percent as oil and gas explorers and producers soared 1.8 percent. Lightstream Resources rallied 15 percent to C$3.90, while Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. increased 7 percent to C$5.79.

     The S&P/TSX Gold Index sank 0.7 percent as gold pared a 1.4 percent advance. Torex Gold Resources Inc. dropped 2 percent to C$1.48 and Eldorado Gold Corp. slipped 1.8 percent to C$7.11.

     Metro slid 0.4 percent to C$87.85. Credit Suisse analyst David Hartley downgraded the food-and-drug store operator’s stock yesterday to underperform from neutral, with a target price of C$75 a share.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stock benchmarks climbed to records, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index a fifth weekly gain, as optimism in the global economy grew after central banks in China and Europe signaled additional stimulus measures.

     Materials companies in the S&P 500 rose the most this month to a two-month high, and industrial shares increased to a record amid speculation the increased accommodation will spur global economic growth. Caterpillar Inc. jumped 4.3 percent. The Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index dropped for a third day.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to 2,063.50 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring an earlier rally of 0.9 percent. The index advanced 1.2 percent this week, pushing its gains in 2014 to 12 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 91.06 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,810.06, also an all-time high. About 7.1 billion listed shares changed hands in the U.S., 7.7 percent higher than the three-month daily average.

     “Asia is strong on the interest rates, and Europe is strong on the Draghi comments,” Michael James, a Los Angeles- based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said in a phone interview. “There’s a positive flow coming through to U.S. businesses. A rising tide lifts all boats.”

     European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he will do what is necessary to raise inflation in the region as fast as possible. Should the current policy not be effective, the ECB will “broaden even more the channels” through which it intervenes, by adjusting the size, pace and composition of asset purchases, he said in Frankfurt.

     Global equities extended gains after China cut its benchmark interest rates for the first time since July 2012. The People’s Bank of China lowered its one-year deposit rate and the one-year lending rate, with changes effective tomorrow, according to its website.

     Concern that economic recoveries from the U.S. to Europe and Japan are failing to spur inflation has been cited by central bankers worldwide as justification for prolonged stimulus efforts.

     The S&P 500 has rebounded 11 percent since falling to a more than six-month low in October as better-than-estimated earnings and economic data have shored up confidence that the U.S. economy is able to weather a global slowdown even as the Federal Reserve winds down its bond-buying program.

     Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported this earnings season, 79 percent beat profit estimates and 60 percent surpassed revenue projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of options prices known as the VIX, fell 5 percent to 12.9. The benchmark gauge of price swings climbed to a more than two-year high on Oct. 15.

     All 10 of the major groups in the S&P 500 increased today. Raw-material, energy and industrial stocks rallied more than 0.9 percent.

     The S&P 500 Industrials Index climbed to a record, rising 1 percent as Caterpillar jumped 4.3 percent and Joy Global Inc. added 2.5 percent. The gauge of companies has increased 15 percent since falling to an eight-month low on Oct. 13.

     Industrial companies exposed to North America, which accounts for one-third of machinery industry sales, may fare better than peers in 2015 as economic growth accelerates and construction markets recover, according to Bloomberg Industry analyst Karen Ubelhart.

     The Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index declined for a third day, losing 1.7 percent, after reaching a more than 13-year high on Nov. 18. Southwest Airlines Co. slid 2.2 percent.

     Materials companies in the S&P 500 gained 1.3 percent as gold, copper and zinc prices rose. Allegheny Technologies Inc. surged 5.8 percent, while Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the largest publicly traded copper producer, increased 3.6 percent.

     Hess Corp. and Nabors Industries Ltd. paced gains in S&P 500 energy shares, increasing more than 1.9 percent.

     Ross Stores advanced 7.3 percent after the retail chain forecast full-year earnings of as much as $4.32 a share, up from a maximum of $4.26 a share earlier. That topped the average analyst projection of $4.25.

     GameStop lost 13 percent. The largest video-game specialty retailer lowered its forecast for earnings in 2015 to no more than $3.55 a share, after previously estimating as much as $3.70. That compares with analyst projections of $3.69.

     Gap Inc. retreated 4.2 percent as the biggest U.S. apparel- focused retailer cut its annual profit forecast.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Truth is that which one wishes in its totality.  Have you reached it?

 

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.

                              -Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827

 

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

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:

Each time someone stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. –Robert F. Kenndey.

Robert F. Kennedy’s birthday,  November 20^th, 1925. 

NOVEMBER  PROJECT:

Keep a Contented Heart

   ATTITUDE

•   Laugh out loud.
•   Use good manners
•   Give positive reviews.
•   Find an area of refuge.

“By the end of November, I’d realized that one of the most important lessons of the happiness project is that if I keep my resolutions and do the things that make me happier, I end up feeling happier and acting more virtuously.  Do good, feel good; feel good, do good.”  -Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project, Collins, 2009.

Always good to remind ourselves.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Holiday lights decorate trees along the Champs Elysees leading to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Charles Platiau/Reuters

A worker carries a ladder by the painting ‘Flowers’ (1964-1965) by Andy Warhol during the hanging of the exhibition ‘Death and Disaster’ in Chemnitz, Germany. The exhibition runs from Nov. 23 until Feb. 22. Jens Meyer/AP

Market Closes for November 20^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17719.00	+33.27
		+0.19%
S&P 500	2052.75	+4.03   +0.20%
NASDAQ	4701.867	+26.155   +0.56%
TSX	15075.18	+95.03
		+0.63%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17300.86	+12.11
		+0.07%
HANG SENG	23349.64	-23.67
		-0.10%
SENSEX	28067.56	+34.71
		+0.12%
FTSE 100	6678.90	-17.70
		-0.26%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.018	1.996
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.574	2.559
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3337	2.3187
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0527	3.0439

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88479	0.88499
US $	1.13021	1.12996
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41748	0.70548
US $	1.25417	0.79734

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1194.17	1196.89
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	75.58	74.60

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a fifth day, extending a September high, as gold miners advanced while energy producers rallied with the price of crude.

     Nevsun Resources Ltd. surged 11 percent amid speculation mining fund QKR Corp. will make a bid of about $1 billion for the miner. Alacer Gold Corp. and Detour Gold Corp. increased at least 4.6 percent as producers of the metal advanced for the fourth time in five sessions. Metro Inc. dropped 2.6 percent after rallying yesterday to a record.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 95.03 points, or 0.6 percent, to 15,075.18 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest since Sept. 24. The Canadian benchmark equity gauge has climbed in 11 of the past 12 sessions for a 4.8 percent gain since Nov. 4.

     Six of the 10 industries in the index rose today on trading 8 percent below the 30-day average. Energy and materials producers gained at least 1.9 percent to pace advances.

     Lightstream Resources Ltd. surged 21 percent to C$3.38 and Bankers Petroleum Ltd. added 7.9 percent to C$4.62. Crude in New York and London advanced for the first time in four days.

     Alacer Gold climbed 4.6 percent to C$2.29 and Detour Gold rose 5.1 percent to C$9.72 as the S&P/TSX Gold Index jumped 3.1 percent.

     Nevsun gained 11 percent to C$4.72, the biggest advance since July 2012. QKR, headed by former JPMorgan Chase & Co. banker Lloyd Pengilly and funded by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, is reportedly in ongoing negotiations with the Vancouver- based firm, according to people familiar with the situation.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose to a record, led by energy and small-cap shares, as data showing improvements in the American economy overshadowed concern over weaker growth overseas.

     Best Buy Co. jumped 7 percent as demand for televisions and tablets helped the retailer post a surprise sales gain. Dollar Tree Inc. advanced 5.2 percent after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Energy stocks rose the most of 10 groups in the S&P 500 as crude oil gained for the first time in four days. Intel Corp. led chipmakers higher after raising its dividend.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to a record 2,052.75 at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing an earlier loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 33.27 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,719, also an all-time closing high. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies climbed 1.1 percent. About 5.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 12 percent below the three-month average.

     “The swing from this morning was powerful, that shows you there’s strength and the data is quieting market fears about growth,” said Paul Zemsky, the New York-based head of multi- asset strategies at Voya Investment Management LLC, which oversees $213 billion. “We got some concerning numbers out of Europe and softness in China but the data in the U.S. continues to be mixed to better whereas in other places it’s mixed to worse.”

     Purchases of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in October to a one-year high as low borrowing costs helped sustain the recovery in residential real estate. Other data showed fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the need to retain staff keeps firings at the lowest levels in more than a decade.                      

     A gauge of U.S. leading indicators widened more than estimated last month, while a Federal Reserve factory index for the Philadelphia region jumped.

     The economic picture in the U.S. contrasted with weakness in Europe and Asia. A purchasing managers’ index for factories and services activity in the euro area unexpectedly dropped in November, to the lowest level in 16 months, London-based Markit Economics said today. In China, a factory gauge fell to a six- month low this month.

     The S&P 500 and the Dow have rallied to records as better- than-forecast earnings and data boosted speculation that the economy is strong enough to overcome a global slowdown. The benchmark index has rebounded 10 percent from a six-month low in October and is trading at 17.1 times the projected earnings of its members, the highest multiple since 2009.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility index, the gauge of options prices known as the VIX, declined 2.7 percent to 13.58.

     Stocks fell yesterday as minutes from the Fed showed some policy makers were concerned inflation isn’t rising fast enough. Concern economic recoveries from the U.S. to Europe and Japan are failing to spur inflation has been cited by central bankers worldwide as justification for prolonged stimulus efforts.

     A government report today showed prices in the U.S. excluding fuel and food increased more than forecast in October as a drop in energy costs failed to filter through to other goods and services. The so-called core measure of the consumer- price index climbed 0.2 percent, the most in five months, after rising 0.1 percent in September.

     Dollar Tree, Best Buy and Gap Inc. were among companies posting results today. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported this earnings season, 79 percent beat profit estimates and 60 percent surpassed revenue projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     “The backdrop for holiday sales and retail is setting up to be a very good holiday season,” David Lyon, global investment specialist at JP Morgan Private Bank, which oversees about $1 trillion, said by phone in New York. “That additional cash or income that consumers will have to spend from lower energy prices at least for a quarter or two will be a fantastic tailwind for retailers.”

     Retailers rallied 0.9 percent. Urban Outfitters Inc. climbed 7 percent to $31.61, the most in the S&P 500.

     Best Buy jumped 7 percent to $38.02 percent. The world’s largest electronics chain said comparable-store sales — a closely watched measure — rose 2.2 percent in the quarter. Analysts had predicted a decline of 2 percent, according to Consensus Metrix.

     Dollar Tree, which is seeking to merge with Family Dollar Stores Inc., advanced 5.2 percent to $65.87.

     Keurig Green Mountain Inc. lost 7.4 percent to $142.50, the most in the S&P 500, after Stifel Nicolaus & Co analyst Mark Astrachan said the company’s 2015 outlook for sales and earnings are “modestly disappointing.”

     Technology shares increased as Intel added 4.7 percent, the most in the Dow. The world’s largest chipmaker said it will raise its annual dividend by 6.7 percent. Sales in 2015 will rise by a percentage in the “mid-single digits,” in line with analysts’ estimates, as it pushes into markets outside personal computers.

     Salesforce.com Inc. slid 4.5 percent to $58.30, the biggest drop since May, after forecasting fiscal fourth-quarter sales and profit and 2016 revenue that may miss analysts’ estimates.

     Six out of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced. Energy companies had the biggest gains, jumping 1.1 percent, as West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery climbed 1.8 percent. The energy group has lost 13 percent from a June high after oil collapsed into a bear market.

     Nabors Industries Ltd advanced 3.5 percent to $16.37 and Chesapeake Energy Corp. climbed 3.9 percent to $23.95.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

This is a good point to understand that the sum and substance of this lecture

is that there is but One Existence, and that One Existence seen through different constitutions

appears either as the earth, or heaven, or hell, or gods, or ghosts, or men, or demons, or world,

or all these things.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Research has shown that the best way to be happy is to make each day happy.

                                                                         -Deepak Chopra, 1947-

 

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

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:

Caught the Fleetwood Mac concert in Vancouver last night  – it was a pretty enthused band – with Christine McVie joining again after a stint at retiremen.  And a very appreciative audience to have her back in the band.  It really was a terrific show; Lindsay Buckingham remains as energetic and talented as ever on stage – can he play!  Attached  – Gary and me photographed with  Mick Fleetwood.

This tour runs into 2015 with the last date in the UK on July 1, 2015, so  check out the schedule and if you’re near – or considering travelling to any of the cities where future performances are scheduled, you might want to see if there are still tickets to be had.  I am fond of going to concerts in different cities, especially Madison Square Gardens.  We used our accumulated airline travel rewards and went to Philadelphia for the Stones most recent tour because it was the place we could get the best tickets, not far from the stage, and it was worth it.    

Today is the anniversary of The Gettysburg Address November 1, 1863.  Now, whenever I read what is  regarded to be the greatest speech in American history, I think of Daniel Day Lewis, as I’m sure many do.  He was so amazing in the film Lincoln.  You can still watch Daniel Day Lewis reciting the speech on YouTube.

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…  

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man dressed up as the Statue of Liberty walks in front of a new digital advertising screen in Times Square, New York, Tuesday. The screen is a full block long and 8 stories tall. It is lit with 24 million LED pixels and has a higher resolution than most TV sets. The advertising rate is reported at $2.5 million USD for a four-week run, making it one of the most expensive outdoor advertising spaces in the world. Carlo Allegri/Reuters

A robot drives around a line during the International Conference on Humanoid Robots in Madrid. Andrea Comas/Reuters

Market Closes for November 19^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17685.73	-2.09
		-0.01%
S&P 500	2049.23	-2.57   -0.13%
NASDAQ	4675.711	-26.732   -0.57%
TSX	14977.83	+4.86
		+0.03%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17288.75	-55.31
		-0.32%
HANG SENG	23373.31	-155.86
		-0.66%
SENSEX	28032.85	-130.44
		-0.46%
FTSE 100	6696.60	-12.53
		-0.19%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.034	1.996
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.601	2.559
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3559	2.3187
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0778	3.0439

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88128	0.88499
US $	1.13471	1.12996
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42334	0.70257
US $	1.25436	0.80026

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1182.43	1196.89
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	74.58	74.60

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little-changed at a September high, as gains in consumer staples firms and banks offset a slump in gold miners after Federal Reserve officials warned against falling inflation expectations.

     Metro Inc. increased 9.7 percent as same-store sales rose in the grocer’s fourth quarter. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. climbed 1.5 percent after analysts at Raymond James recommended the stock. Iamgold Corp. and Torex Gold Resources Inc. slid more than 8.5 percent as gold futures extended declines after the release of Fed meeting minutes. BlackBerry dropped 5 percent after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the shares.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 7.18 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,980.15 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The Canadian benchmark equity gauge has rallied 8 percent from an Oct. 15 low, and is up 10 percent for the year.

     Eight of the 10 industries in the S&P/TSX rose on trading in line with the 30-day average. Metro surged 9.7 percent to a record C$90.50, the most in the S&P/TSX, as consumer staples stocks advanced 2.6 percent as a group.

     Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s second-largest lender, rose 0.9 percent to C$82.90, the highest since Sept. 18. Bank of Nova Scotia increased 0.7 percent to C$69.66 for a third day of gains.

     Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan rallied 1.5 percent to C$40.61. The company, which produces the fertilizer, has risen 6.9 percent during its three-day rally. The stock was raised to outperform from market perform at Raymond James by equity analyst Steven Hansen. Shares also gained as work was halted at an OAO Uralkali potash mine in Russia yesterday amid concern the mine will be flooded with brine.                   

     Iamgold slumped 9.5 percent to C$2.49 and Torex Gold sank 8.5 percent to C$1.40 as all 24 members of the S&P/TSX Gold Index declined.

     Fed policy makers said they should be on the lookout for signs of a decline in the public’s expectations for inflation, according to minutes from the central bank’s October meeting released today. The Fed ended its bond-buying program at the gathering.

     BlackBerry, the smartphone maker, sank 5 percent to C$11.56 for a fourth straight day of declines. James Faucette, analyst at Morgan Stanley, cut his rating for the stock to underweight from equalweight.

     Investors have become too optimistic on BlackBerry, as it’s unlikely the company will meet a target of $350 million in new software revenue in 2016 due to a competitive market, Faucette said.

     TransCanada jumped 2.7 percent to C$57.50 as the builder of the stalled Keystone XL pipeline plans to double its dividend growth rate through 2017.

     About $13 billion in small to medium-sized projects scheduled to come online in the next five years will let TransCanada increase its dividend by 8 to 10 percent each year, from 4 percent increases currently, the Calgary-based company said today in a presentation.

     The Keystone XL pipeline is among planned projects. A U.S.Senate effort to force the approval of Keystone came up one vote short yesterday.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell from all-time highs as Federal Reserve minutes showed some members said the central bank should remain attentive to the possibility prices in the economy aren’t rising fast enough.

     Inflation has stagnated despite a strengthening of main labor-market indicators. Policy makers last month “pointed to a somewhat weaker economic outlook and increased downside risks in Europe, China, and Japan,” in addition to a stronger dollar.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,048.72 as of 4 p.m. in New York, on concern the inflation comments signal pessimism about the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.1 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 17,685.73. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies retreated 1.1 percent.

     “The Fed is admitting they have no idea where inflation is going long term,” said Michael Block, chief equity strategist at Rhino Trading Partners LLC in New York. “While I admire their candor, this doesn’t make me want to own stocks this afternoon.”

     Concern economic recoveries from the U.S. to Europe and Japan are failing to spur inflation has been cited by central bankers worldwide as justification for prolonged stimulus efforts. Today’s comments were in contrast from statements by Fed Chair Janet Yellen that the risks had ebbed of price increases holding below policy makers’ goal.                       

     “Many participants observed the committee should remain attentive to evidence of a possible downward shift in longer- term inflation expectations,” according to a record of the Oct. 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee meeting released today in Washington. “Some of them noted that if such an outcome occurred, it would be even more worrisome if growth faltered.”

     The S&P 500 and the Dow have rallied to records as better- than-forecast earnings and data boosted speculation that the economy is strong enough to overcome a global slowdown.

     The benchmark index has rebounded 10 percent from a six- month low in October and is trading at 17 times the projected earnings of its members, the highest multiple since 2009. About 6.3 million shares changed hands Wednesday, 3.6 percent below the three-month average.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of options prices known as the VIX, added 0.7 percent to 13.96.

     Seven out of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 declined.  Technology and phone shares dropped at least 0.6 percent for the biggest losses. Verizon Communications Inc. retreated 1.4 percent and Microsoft slipped 1.1 percent. Yahoo! Inc. lost 2.3 percent.

     Retailers jumped 1.2 percent as a group amid corporate earnings reports.

     Lowe’s Cos. climbed 6.4 percent to $62.26. The second- largest U.S. home-improvement chain forecast full-year earnings of about $2.68 a share, exceeding its previous prediction and the average analyst estimate of $2.63.

     Target Corp. increased 7.4 percent to $72.50. The retailer posted third-quarter earnings that beat estimates after U.S.sales grew faster than expected and its money-losing expansion into Canada showed signs of improvement.

     Staples added 9.1 percent to $13.92. The world’s largest office-supply chain said earnings will be as much as 32 cents a share in the fourth quarter, beating the 31 cent estimate by analysts.

     “Once we get through Thanksgiving the focus will be on the consumer and retail sales,” KC Mathews, the Kansas City-based chief investment officer at UMB Bank, said by phone. “If you have a good holiday spending season it validates the health of the consumer and sets us up for some momentum in 2015.”

     Jack in the Box Inc. jumped 4.8 to $74.92 percent after the operator of fast-food restaurants across the Western U.S. reported earnings that topped analysts’ estimates.

     Cliff Natural Resources Inc. dropped 20 percent to $8.17.  The company said it is examining exit options for its Eastern Canadian iron ore operations.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is only a mind that looks at a tree or the stars or the sparkling waters of a river

with complete abandonment that knows what beauty is,

and when we are actually seeing we are in a state of love.

 

Krishnamurti

As ever,
 

Carolann

Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible.

                                                  -Dalai Lama

 

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

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:

MY NOVEMBER GUEST

My sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane…
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.

                       -Robert Frost

If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor. –Albert Einstein.

Mickey Mouse was born on this day in 1928.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Swans are caught in a small lock after being rounded up from Hamburg’s lake Alster. Every year the swans are collected from waterways and taken to winter quarters where they are fed and cared for until spring. Fabian Bimmer/Reuters

A foal (r.) walks toward a mare as fog covers the landscape during an autumn sunrise in Ezquiroz, northern Spain. Alvaro Barrientos/AP

Market Closes for November 18^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17687.82	+40.07
		+0.23%
S&P 500	2052.33	+11.01   +0.54%
NASDAQ	4702.441	+31.439   +0.67%
TSX	14972.28	+89.78
		+0.60%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17344.06	+370.26
		+2.18%
HANG SENG	23529.17	-267.91
		-1.13%
SENSEX	28163.29	-14.59
		-0.05%
FTSE 100	6709.13	+37.16
		+0.56%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.996	2.022
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.559	2.584
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3187	2.3399
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0439	3.0624

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88499	0.88488
US $	1.12996	1.13010
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41662	0.70590
US $	1.25368	0.79765

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1196.89	1186.77
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	74.60	75.64

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a third day, with the benchmark index closing at the highest level since September, as gold producers rallied to the highest level this month.

     Centerra Gold Inc. and Argonaut Gold Inc. surged at least 15 percent as an index of gold miners jumped 5.6 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. climbed 3.9 percent after receiving regulatory approval for a saline breast implant. Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund dropped 2.6 percent after deciding to sell shares to pay down debt.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 90.47 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,972.97 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest since Sept. 29. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has advanced in nine of the past 10 sessions and rallied 8 percent from an Oct. 15 low.

     Eight of the 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 9.7 percent below the 30-day average. Materials producers surged 3.5 percent, while Valeant led health-care shares to a 3.2 percent gain.

     All of the 24 members of the S&P/TSX Gold Index rallied as the group increased for a third day, the longest stretch of gains since August. The group has surged 25 percent since Nov. 5. Gold surged to a two-week high today, topping $1,200 an ounce after Russia added to reserves.

     Centerra Gold jumped 17 percent to C$5.99 and Argonaut Gold rallied 15 percent to C$2.50.

     Bank of Nova Scotia added 0.6 percent to C$69.17 and Manulife Financial Corp. rose 0.4 percent to C$21.91 as financial stocks increased for a fifth day, the longest rally since July.

     Valeant jumped 3.9 percent to C$160.42, the highest level since March. Valeant has surged for seven days, the longest rally since January 2013. The drugmaker yesterday ended its pursuit of Allergan Inc. after Actavis Plc successfully bid $66 billion for the company.

US

By Callie Bost and Oliver Renick

     Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to all-time highs, as health-care and raw-material companies rallied amid speculation the economy is strong enough to overcome a global slowdown.

     Medtronic Inc. and Actavis Plc rallied more than 4.7 percent to pace gains among health-care companies. Urban Outfitters Inc. dropped 6.6 percent after the clothing retailer posted third-quarter profit that missed analyst estimates. Home Depot Inc. slipped 2.1 percent after failing to raise its forecasts for sales and profit this year amid signs the housing market is cooling.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.5 percent to 2,051.80 at 4 p.m. in New York, for its biggest gain since Nov. 5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 40.07 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,687.82. Both gauges closed at records. The Russell 2000 Index of small-cap shares added 0.5 percent. About 6.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 5.4 percent below the three-month average.

     “Consumer and investor sentiment is pretty positive at the moment,” Omar Aguilar, the San Francisco-based chief investment officer of equities at Charles Schwab Investment Management, said by phone. “We continue to see M&A as the topic of the day and U.S. economic data is suggesting really good stability.”

     The S&P 500 has rallied to records as better-than-expected earnings and economic data have increased confidence that the U.S. economy is able to weather a global slowdown even as the Federal Reserve winds down its stimulus program.

     The equity benchmark has rebounded 10 percent from a six- month low in October and is trading at 17.1 times the projected earnings of its members, the highest multiple since 2009. JPMorgan Chase & Co. yesterday told investors to dump U.S. equities in favor of their European counterparts because of relative valuations.                      

     The S&P 500 closed the past five days with a move of less than 0.1 percent in either direction, while volatility plunged from a two-year high last month to its 12-month average. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 0.9 percent to 13.86 today.

     The Russell 2000 gained after dropping as much as 1.9 percent from a four-month high on Nov. 12. The measure slipped 0.8 percent yesterday as concern over a recession in Japan offset corporate deals.

     “Whether that’s a sign of strength or a bounce-back rally from the weakness we’ve seen, it’s still too early to tell,” Bruce McCain, who helps oversee in excess of $25 billion as chief investment strategist at the private-banking unit of KeyCorp in Cleveland, said by phone. “People are still biased towards moving money into equities and you’ve seen that flow prevent any meaningful corrections throughout the year.”

     Investors are watching reports on data from inflation to hiring and economic growth to determine the timing of any Fed interest rate increase. The Fed releases minutes from its Oct. 29 meeting tomorrow.

     Data today showed wholesale prices unexpectedly increased in October as higher costs for services and food outweighed a slump in energy.

     Nine out of 10 industries in the S&P 500 increased today. Health-care companies jumped 1.6 percent, while raw-material producers climbed 1.1 percent. Newmont Mining Corp. added 3.4 percent as gold advanced to a two-week high.

     Actavis rose 8.7 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to a record $269.60. The company advanced 1.7 percent yesterday after agreeing to pay about $66 billion for Allergan Inc., the maker of the anti-wrinkle treatment Botox, in the year’s biggest pharmaceutical deal.

     Medtronic jumped 4.7 percent to a record $72.47. The chance of a repeal of a medical-device tax “looks better than before, but we’ll see,” the company said on a conference call today. Medtronic also increased the lower end of its annual revenue estimate.

     Covidien Plc, which is being acquired by Medtronic, climbed 3.7 percent. UnitedHealth Group Inc. rose 1.8 percent, the most in the Dow.

     Intel Corp. surged 1.4 percent. The company is merging its mobile phone and tablet businesses with the division that makes chips for personal computers. The reorganization of the two units, which have been running at a loss, announced internally, will be completed early next year, Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker, said yesterday.

     Urban Outfitters dropped 6.6 percent. The clothing retailer reported third-quarter earnings of 35 cents a share, below the 41 cents a share analysts estimated.

     Home Depot slid 2.1 percent. The largest U.S. home- improvement retailer reiterated its expectations for profit and revenue in the current fiscal year amid slowing gains in domestic home prices and sales.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To reach cosmic understanding,

it is necessary to unite our feeling with that infinite feeling that penetrates everything.

In fact, for man, true progress coincides with the breadth of the base of our feelings.

All our poetry, philosophy, science, art, and religion

serve to embrace with our understanding

the spheres too vast and high.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A man who limits his interests, limits his life.

                       -Vincent Price, 1911-1993

 

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

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:

Went to see Joan Baez in concert last night.  She is still as amazing as ever – her voice still incredible and she is very beautiful at 73 years young.  She played acoustic guitar to perfection; she performed  Where HaveAll The Flowers Gone in tribute to Pete Seger who died earlier this year.  All in all, still an amazing performer – so good to see.

Caught Matthew McConaughey’s latest film Intersteller over the weekend too.  I really enjoyed it – quite the drama though…

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The small chapel of Eggisbuehl on Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne is photographed Sunday. Sigi Tischler/Keystone/AP

Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley, second left, poses for a selfie with her husband Michael Haley, second right, and others in front of the Golden Temple, Sikh’s holiest shrine, in Amritsar, India, Saturday. Prabhjot Gill/AP

Market Closes for November 17^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17647.75	+13.01
		+0.07%
S&P 500	2041.32	+1.50   +0.07%
NASDAQ	4671.004	-17.535   -0.37%
TSX	14882.50	+39.40
		+0.27%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16973.80	-517.03
		-2.96%
HANG SENG	23797.08	-290.30
		-1.21%
SENSEX	28177.88	+131.22
		+0.47%
FTSE 100	6671.97	+17.60
		+0.26%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.022	2.033
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.584	2.593
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3399	2.3204
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0624	3.0487

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88488	0.88593
US $	1.13010	1.12875
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40710	0.71068
US $	1.24513	0.80313

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1186.77	1188.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	75.64	75.82

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day, for a seven-week high, as gold producers and banks increased and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rallied after its bid for Allergan Inc. ended.

     Argonaut Gold Inc. and Iamgold Corp. rallied at least 6.9 percent as gold traded near a two-week high. Valeant Pharmaceuticals climbed to an eight-month high as its hostile bid for Allergan was topped by Actavis Plc. TransCanada Corp. increased 1.9 percent after activist investor Sandell Asset Management said it should sell assets to boost its share price.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 39.40 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,882.50 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, for the highest close since Sept. 30. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has rallied 4.3 percent in the past five weeks, the longest stretch of weekly gains since March.

     The index has advanced 9.3 percent this year, the fourth- best performer among the world’s 24 developed markets.

     Iamgold rose 7.5 percent to C$2.57 and Argonaut Gold jumped 6.9 percent to C$2.17 as raw-materials producers increased 1.1 percent as a group. Eight of 10 industries rose on trading volume 16 percent below the 30-day average.

     Japan unexpectedly fell into a recession last quarter as gross domestic product shrank an annualized 1.6 percent in the three months through September, a second straight drop, to match the textbook definition of a recession. Japanese stocks slumped.

     The world’s third-largest economy is struggling with an April sales-tax boost, suggesting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will likely hold off another tax increase scheduled for October 2015.

     TransCanada, developer of the stalled Keystone XL pipeline, climbed 1.9 percent to C$56.83. Sandell Asset Management said the company should sell all U.S. assets to the master-limited partnership it controls and spin off its power-generation business to trade at $75 a share.

     AutoCanada Inc., which owns car dealerships across Canada, jumped 8.8 percent to C$59.07. The company will buy an 80 percent interest in Bridges Chevrolet Buick GMC, a dealership located in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.

     National Bank of Canada increased 0.8 percent to C$55.06, extending a record, as financial stocks rallied for a fourth day.

US

By Callie Bost

     Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, with the Standard & Poor’s Index 500 Index at an all-time high, as a slump in small-cap shares and concern over Japan’s recession offset corporate deals.

     Allergan Inc. rose 5.3 percent after Actavis Plc agreed to pay about $66 billion for the maker of Botox. Baker Hughes Inc. jumped 8.9 percent after agreeing to sell itself to Halliburton Co. for $34.6 billion. DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. slipped 14 percent after Hasbro Inc.’s approach to acquire the studio was said to have ended without agreement.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,041.32 at 4 p.m. in New York after earlier losing 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 13.01 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,647.75, five points below an all-time high. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies lost 0.8 percent for a third day of losses. About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 12 percent lower than the three-month average.

     “I think the central theme for the day is overriding concern that global growth is continuing to decelerate,” Chad Morganlander, a money manager at St. Louis-based Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which oversees about $160 billion, said by phone. “There’s a hope that monetary policy will stay accommodative across the board, which has emboldened risk-taking.”

     Japan unexpectedly sank into a recession last quarter as it struggled to cope with April’s sales-tax increase. The world’s third-largest economy shrank an annualized 1.6 percent, after a revised slump of 7.3 percent in the previous three months. That missed projections for a 2.2 percent gain in the third quarter.

     In the U.S., industrial production dropped last month, weighed down by declines at utilities, mines and automakers that signal manufacturing started the fourth quarter on a soft footing. Separate data showed the Fed Bank of New York’s Empire Index increased less than forecast in November.

     A pickup in manufacturing is needed to help bolster the expansion, now in its sixth year, as global growth from Europe and Japan to emerging markets cools. Rising consumer confidence and the drop in gasoline prices are brightening the outlook for holiday sales, indicating factories will get a lift in the next few months.

     Mario Draghi presented European lawmakers with a list of policy resolutions for 2015, and said an expanded purchase program to help stimulate the economy could include government bonds. The European Central Bank president used his final quarterly testimony of 2014 to the European Parliament to call for political action that complements monetary policy, insisting his institution alone can’t fix the region’s economy.

     JPMorgan Chase & Co. told investors to dump U.S. equities in favor of their European counterparts. The brokerage cut its rating on U.S. stocks to underweight, similar to a sell recommendation, from the equivalent of buy, while reversing the call for euro-area equities.

     As enthusiasm for European stocks faded since the beginning of 2014, when bulls united in favoring the region, the lag versus the U.S. has now made them too cheap to ignore, according to JPMorgan strategists led by Mislav Matejka.

     The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent last week, taking its rebound from a six-month low in October to 9.5 percent. The gauge has rallied to all-time highs as better-than-expected earnings and economic data have shored up confidence that the U.S. economy is able to weather a global slowdown even as the Fed winds down its bond-buying program.

     The benchmark index has closed the past five days with a move of less than 0.1 percent in either direction, the longest such stretch since 1969.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped 5.1 percent to 13.99. The gauge of S&P 500 derivatives prices rose 1.5 percent last week.

     Urban Outfitters Inc. and Agilent Technologies Inc. are among companies posting results today. Of the S&P 500 members that have reported this earnings season, 80 percent beat profit estimates and 60 percent surpassed revenue projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Four out of 10 industries in the S&P 500 Index climbed today, with utility, health-care and consumer-staples companies leading gains.

     West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude oil dropped after Japan, the world’s third-largest oil consuming country, slipped into a recession.

     Energy companies in the S&P 500 have tumbled 15 percent from a June peak as leading OPEC members resisted calls to cut crude output and instead reduced some export prices while U.S. production climbed to the highest level in more than three decades. The Russell 2000’s index of energy producers sank 2.6 percent today.

     Baker Hughes, the third-biggest oil-field service company, jumped 8.9 percent to $65.23, while Halliburton, the second largest, slid 11 percent to $49.23. Halliburton will pay about $78.62 a share in cash and stock for Baker Hughes, the companies announced today.

     DreamWorks dropped 14 percent to $22.31. Hasbro’s talks to acquire the studio that produced the “Shrek” films never advanced beyond a preliminary stage and a first meeting, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who sought anonymity because the matter is private. Hasbro rose 4.4 percent to $56.37.

     Actavis climbed 1.7 percent to $247.94 and Allergan rallied 5.3 percent to $209.20. The deal creates a new top 10 drugmaker and ends Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s attempt at a hostile takeover of the maker of Botox.

     Valeant increased 1.9 percent to $136.73. The company won’t try and top Actavis’s offer, it said in a statement. Valeant had waged a months-long takeover attempt with the backing of Pershing Square Capital Management LP, run by activist investor Bill Ackman.

     Tyson Foods Inc. added 5.8 percent to $43.03. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings above analysts’ forecasts.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

In his essence, man is not a slave to himself, nor to the world; he is a lover.

His freedom and accomplishments are in love,

which is another name for perfect understanding.

In this ability to understand, in this impregnation of everything that is,

he is one with the Spirit that penetrates everything,

and that is also the breath of the soul.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.

                            -Claude Monet, 1840-1926

 

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

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:

I have a couple of clients who decided to realize their dream a few years ago when they took off to sail around the world.  They are in Southeast Asia right now and I had an email from them recently.  I love reading their blog too, and you may also.  I wrote to them yesterday to ask if it was OK to share it with you and received an enthusiastic affirmative response in reply.   I hope you find it as wonderful as I do; click on the link below:

  www.turtlemail.blogspot.com

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man sunbathes under an umbrella on the beach of Nice, southeastern France. Lionel Cironneau/AP

Sonja Enz of the Stapferhaus, an event place for contemporary exhibitions, holds coins in her hands as she sits in a room filled with 4 million Swiss five cent coins during a media preview of the exhibition ‘Geld – Jenseits von Gut und Boese’ (Money -beyond good and evil) in the town of Lenzburg west of Zurich. Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Market Closes for November 14^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17634.74	-18.05
		-0.10%
S&P 500	2039.82	+0.49   +0.02%
NASDAQ	4688.539	+8.398   +0.18%
TSX	14843.10	+64.33
		+0.44%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17490.83	+98.04
		+0.56%
HANG SENG	24087.38	+67.44
		+0.28%
SENSEX	28046.66	+106.02
		+0.38%
FTSE 100	6654.37	+18.92
		+0.29%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.033	2.047
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.593	2.612
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3204	2.3496
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0487	3.0757

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88593	0.87888
US $	1.12875	1.13781
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41373	0.70735
US $	1.25247	0.79842

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1188.75	1161.55
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	75.82	74.21

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to cap a fifth weekly advance, the longest streak since March, as a rally in materials producers offset a slump in BlackBerry Ltd.

     Badger Daylighting Ltd., the excavation services firm, surged 16 percent after reporting rising quarterly revenue and the appointment of a new chairman. IamGold Corp. and Detour Gold rallied at least 8.6 percent as metals prices advanced. BlackBerry sank 8 percent after rallying yesterday on an agreement with rival Samsung Electronics Co.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 64.33 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,843.10 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge climbed 1 percent for the week and has rallied 4.3 percent in the past five weeks.

     The index has advanced 9 percent this year, the fourth-best performer among the world’s 24 developed markets.

     Seven of 10 industries rose on trading volume 4.3 percent below the 30-day average at this time of the day.

     Iamgold Corp. soared 21 percent to C$2.39, the biggest gain in six years, and Detour Gold surged 8.6 percent to C$9.38 as raw-materials producers increased 3 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX.

     Gold futures for December delivery jumped 2.1 percent to settle at $1,185.60 an ounce in New York. In two days, the price climbed 2.3 percent, the most since June 20.

     Element Financial Corp., which finances vehicle leases, jumped 3.1 percent to C$13.88, an almost two-month high, the most in the S&P/TSX Financials Index. The company yesterday reported third-quarter earnings ahead of analysts’ expectations.

     BlackBerry sank 8 percent to C$12.64, a day after rallying to the highest level since June 2013. The company yesterday entered a partnership with Samsung to provide secure mobile software solutions for Android-based devices.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, with benchmark indexes near record levels, as health-care shares sank to offset gains among energy producers and investors weighed whether the recent rally in equities may have been overdone.

     The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index lost 2 percent, led by a slump of 4 percent at Biogen Idec Inc. Energy shares trimmed a weekly decline as oil rallied from a 2010 low. Baker Hughes Inc. extended gains after confirming it is in talks with Halliburton Co. for a potential “business combination.” Amazon Inc. added 3.5 percent after ending a dispute with Hachette Book Group. Newmont Mining Corp. climbed 5 percent as the price of gold rose.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose less than one point to to 2,039.82 at 4 p.m. in New York to close at an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 18.05 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,634.74 after closing yesterday at a record. Both gauges advanced 0.4 percent in the past five days to cap a fourth week of gains. The Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.3 percent for a fifth day of gains. It rose 1.6 percent this week to a 14-year high.

     About 6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 7.4 percent below the three-month average.

     “Retail sales were good and the preponderance of the evidence is we’re continuing on the path we’ve been on which is an improving economy,” John Fox, director of research at Fenimore Asset Management in Cobleskill, New York, said in a phone interview. “All those great things are no secret, though, and that’s priced into stocks right now. The thing that gives me pause is valuations.”                        

     The S&P 500 rallied 9.5 percent from a six-month low in October to a record on Nov. 11 as corporate earnings topped estimates and economic data showed the U.S. economy was weathering a global slowdown as the Federal Reserve ended its bond-buying program. The index trades at 17 times projected earnings, its highest valuation since December 2009.

     A report from the Commerce Department today showed retail sales in October increased 0.3 percent after a 0.3 percent drop in September, as American consumers ate out and shopped for clothes, enjoying a windfall from cheaper gasoline.

     The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 86 economists projected a 0.2 percent advance. Eleven of 13 major categories showed gains, indicating broad-based growth.

     Preliminary data showed the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of consumer sentiment increased to 89.4 this month from 86.9 last month, according to another survey. The gain topped estimates in a Bloomberg survey.                      

     “People are looking for a holiday rally and may be asking if it’s happened already,” Robert Pavlik, who helps oversee $4.5 billion as chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC in New York, said by phone. “The small retail beat isn’t going to do it. We’re going to see a little pause. We can’t continue to climb up this ladder forever.”

     Concern that slowing growth outside the U.S. will hurt the economy persists. The world economy is in its worst shape in two years, with the euro area and emerging markets deteriorating and the danger of deflation rising, according to a Bloomberg Global Poll of international investors.

     Much of the concern is again focused on the euro area: Almost two-thirds of those polled said its economy was weakening while 89 percent saw disinflation or deflation as a greater threat there than inflation over the next year.                        

     U.S. stocks were little changed yesterday as better-than- estimated results from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and deals news boosted large stocks. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies tumbled 0.9 percent to halt a six-day advance as investors sold the recent rally’s biggest winners. Energy shares sank as the price of oil continued its collapse into a bear market.

     Six of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today. Energy producers rose 0.8 percent to trim a decline this week to 2 percent. U.S. crude advanced from the lowest level since 2010.

     Baker Hughes rose 1.9 percent to $59.89 after confirming that “it has engaged in preliminary discussions with Halliburton Co. regarding a potential business combination transaction.”

     The stock jumped 15 percent yesterday after people with knowledge of the matter said talks are on for one of the largest deals involving a U.S. energy company and an announcement could be made in weeks.

     Halliburton added 2.4 percent to $55.08.

     Newmont Mining gained 5 percent to $19.15 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. Gold had its best advance in a week.

     Nordstrom Inc. advanced 1.3 percent to $74.17 after the fashion retailer reported third-quarter earnings of 73 cents, topping analysts’ estimates of 71 cents.

     Nike Inc. fell 0.7 percent to $95.50. The world’s largest sporting-goods maker was lowered to neutral, or hold, from buy at Sterne Agee.

     Applied Materials Inc. rose 0.9 percent to $22.82. The largest maker of machines used to build semiconductors forecast fiscal first-quarter profit and sales that may fall short of some estimates as customers hold off on adding new capacity.

     Amazon.com Inc. advanced 3.5 percent to $327.69 as the online retailer ended a dispute with Hachette Book Group over print and digital book sales. Amazon’s dispute with Hachette focused on how much to charge for e-books and how the revenues should be shared.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

 

When water joins with water, it is not a meeting but a unification.

 

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.

                                                     -Kazuo Ishiguro, 1954-

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7