Month: April 2015

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

1789- Mutiny on the Bounty.

1945-Mussolini executed.

Harry Eyes wrote his final Slow Lane column in the Financial Times last weekend.   This isit:

For me, over the 11 years I have been writing this column, the Slow Lane has always been a state of mind, not a physical carriageway.   I wanted to show that there are ways of finding time for the essential things in life which do not involve moving to a remote Aegean island or a crumbling farmhouse in whichever part of Italy is “the new Tuscany”.

  My ambition has been to set out a workable alternative to the romantic escapism of Yeats’s Lake Isle of Innisfree.  We can enrich our necessarily limited time by learning a short poem by heart, or even writing one; by returning to those viola or clarinet studies we gave up as teenagers, and finding that we can engage with the music in a deeper way and make it our own; by popping in to a museum or gallery to see not a vast, intimidating blockbuster exhibition but just one dearly loved painting; or by playing at whatever level and with whatever physical limitations, a sport you love rather than watching overpaid narcissists on TV (I make an exception, of course, for the  peerless Roger Federer, who still glides as gracefully over the court as when this column started).

  Many of these suggestions have involved a return to the active rather than the passive mode.  Doing, making, healing, cooking, caring, conversing face-to-face, writing proper letters, rambling in nature – all seem to me infinitely more satisfying than merely buying things, being passively “entertained”  by images on screens or engaging in various forms of digital non-communication.  In this sense the column has sometimes struck me as countercultural and I did occasionally wonder if I was fighting a losing battle.  But I like to think that there have been some victories along a respectably long road.  That the menace of mobile phone mania and its incursion into public space and the counterproductive overuse of email are now quite widely recognized, I count as a small victory for the slow approach to life.

  On a more positive note, the joys of buying and cooking good local produce have started a whole mini-movement.  All over the world the most thoughtful farmers are turning or returning to more gentle and less interventionist methods; some of the greatest wines are now organic or biodynamic.  Whether this can spark a recognition that our abused planet cannot be exploited ad infinitum is another matter.

  We need food for the soul, too.  Over the years readers will have grown familiar with my belief that music (with poetry) is the highest art form.   I believe we are now living through a golden age of classical musical performance, with instrumentalists, singers and ensembles fully the equal of any who have come before.

  But finally, it is you, readers, that I want o thank.  You – a wonderfully disparate bunch, a Bulgarian neuropsychologist, a German high school student, a retired Baptist minister, a Mumbai commuter, a Singaporean birdwatcher, just to pick a few – have sustained the column, led it in new directions, even turned it into something I never quite envisaged it becoming.  When I started writing this column, I had the notion of taking an idea for a walk, in  a way that Paul Klee took a line for a walk, with that essential element of spontaneity and freedom, of seeing where it would go; but I imagined the ramble would be essentially solitary.  I was also recalling another of my great inspirations, the essayist Michel de Montaigne, ruminating alone in the study in his tower, surrounded by his beloved classical authors.

  In fact, the promenade has turned out to be far more companionable than I ever expected.  Readers have helped me to understand what I was doing (never my strong point); one wrote  to say that the column was “like a conversation…in the way it can fly anywhere because you treat the issues not dogmatically but as gentle thought as they occur – seeking connections.”

  Connections, most gratifyingly, have been made and the conversation has broadened.  And for this I will always be grateful.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A worker spreads wheat crop for drying at a wholesale grain market in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh. The rupee has appreciated by a quarter against Europe’s common currency over the past 12 months. The result has been India’s worst export performance since the global slump of 2009, an early setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign to launch an export-led boom as he approaches a year in power. Ajay Verma/Reuters

Film dog Jo Jo performs on a skateboard at a presentation for the dog and cat show in Dortmund, Germany, Tuesday. The three-year-old Parson Jack Russel dog played in several TV shows and commercials. Martin Meissner/AP

Money is the opposite of the weather.  Nobody talks about it, but everybody does something about it. –Rebecca Johnson

Market Closes for April 28^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18110.14	+72.17
		+0.40%
S&P 500	2114.86	+5.94   +0.28%
NASDAQ	5055.422	-4.824   -0.10%
TSX	15338.62	-5.46
		-0.04%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20058.95	+75.63
		+0.38%
HANG SENG	28442.75	+9.16
		+0.03%
SENSEX	27396.38	+219.39
		+0.81%
FTSE 100	7030.53	-73.45
		-1.03%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.554	1.459
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.159	2.070
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9955	1.9261
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.6937	2.6136

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.83122	0.82720
US $	1.20305	1.20889
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.32047	0.75730
US $	1.09760	0.91108

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1209.00	1200.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	57.06	56.99

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed as gains in raw-materials shares offset a drop among energy companies and railroads.

     Barrick Gold Corp. and Goldcorp Inc. added more than 2.5 percent amid a gain in the metal. Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. each decreased 0.8 percent. RMP Energy Inc. dropped 5 percent to pace declines among oil and gas stocks.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 1.99 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 15,346.07 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge added 0.3 percent last week.

     Five of the 10 main groups in the S&P/TSX advanced. Financial companies, which account for about one-third of the broader index by weighting, rose 0.2 percent. The S&P/TSX Gold Index surged 3.2 percent, bringing its two-day increase to 4.3 percent.

     Technology companies in the S&P/TSX slid for a third day as Sierra Wireless Inc. and Celestica Inc. lost more than 1 percent. BlackBerry Ltd. added 1.1 percent.

     Energy producers fell 0.9 percent. Pengrowth Energy Corp. lost 3.9 percent and Ensign Energy Services Inc. retreated 3.7 percent.

US

By Jennifer Kaplan

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose as Merck & Co. boosted its outlook and IBM Corp. increased its dividend before Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision. The Nasdaq 100 Index slid 0.2 percent as Apple Inc. slumped.

     Merck added 5 percent after lifting its annual earnings forecast. International Business Machines Corp. climbed 1.9 percent. Twitter Inc. plunged 18 percent after an unexpected early release of its results showed revenue fell short of estimates. Apple slipped 1.6 percent amid concerns that rapid iPhone growth may not continue. Whirlpool Corp. dropped 7.1 percent after cutting its annual forecast.

     The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 percent to 2,114.76 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 72.17 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,110.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.1 percent, while the Russell 2000 Index advanced 0.5 percent. About 6.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, about 1 percent above the three-month average.

     “Earnings is driving most everything that’s going on right now,” said Tom Wirth, senior investment officer for Chemung Canal Trust Co., which manages $1.9 billion in Elmira, New York. “When I look at the stocks that are doing well and those that aren’t doing so well, it’s mostly earnings driven here.”

     In the midst of the corporate earnings season, investors are also awaiting the outcome of the Fed’s meeting, which began today, for more clues on the timing of interest rate increases.

     The Fed won’t hike rates until its September meeting, according to 73 percent of 59 economists in a Bloomberg News survey, up from 37 percent in the March survey, when the majority said the first increase would likely come in June or July.

     Most Fed policy makers expect to raise the benchmark interest rate by the end of 2015. With economic data missing estimates this month by the most in more than six years, some officials have said they are wary of lifting rates too soon.

     The Fed last month dropped an assurance that it will be “patient” in raising rates. Instead, officials said they want to see further labor-market gains and be “reasonably confident” inflation will move back up toward their 2 percent goal before tightening policy.

     The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence unexpectedly decreased to 95.2 in April from 101.4 a month earlier, the New York-based private research group said Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 77 economists called for the gauge to climb to 102.2 after a previously reported 101.3 a month earlier.

     Data Wednesday may show U.S. economic growth slowed to a 1 percent pace in the first quarter, from 2.2 percent in the previous three months.

     Selling in U.S. equities Tuesday briefly accelerated, sending the S&P 500 as much as 0.7 percent lower, after Al Arabiya reported that Iranian forces seized a U.S. cargo vessel. U.S. officials later said Iranian forces boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship, denying the seized vessel was American.

     Pfizer, Ford and Kraft Foods Group Inc. are among 40 S&P 500 companies that released results today. Of index members that have already reported this season, about three quarters beat profit projections and about half topped sales estimates.

     U.S. stocks retreated from records yesterday, with biotechnology companies leading losses. The Nasdaq Composite Index topped its dot-com-era high last week and the S&P 500 closed at a record as Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. rallied after posting financial results. U.S. shares have still lagged most developed-market indexes this year.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 5.4 percent to 12.41, after rising almost 7 percent yesterday. The gauge, known as the VIX, fell nearly 12 percent last week to its lowest level in almost five months.

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups rose, led by phone companies as AT&T Inc. rallied 2.3 percent to its highest level in more than two months. Health-care shares rebounded, after a 1.8 percent drop Monday, paced by Merck’s biggest gain since January and Aetna Inc.’s 3.2 percent climb to an all-time high.

     United Parcel Service Inc. gained 3.4 percent, its best rise in more than two years, after reporting profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates, buoyed by an increase in international deliveries and lower fuel costs.

     Iron Mountain Inc. climbed 2.9 percent, the most since December, after reaching an agreement to buy Australian-U.S. competitor Recall Holdings Ltd. for about $2 billion. The U.S. data-storage company raised its bid following a rejection of an offer last year.

     Technology shares rose as IBM and Microsoft Corp. added more than 1.8 percent. IBM reached a six-month high after raising its dividend by 18 percent. Microsoft hit a five-month high.

     JetBlue Airways Corp. advanced 6.7 percent to an 11-year high after reporting earnings that matched analysts’ estimates.

     Twitter plunged after revenue fell short of estimates in the first quarter, even after the company introduced new products and tweaked features to attract more people. The company was was slated to report results after the market close until Selerity Inc., a financial news service, disclosed Twitter’s profit and sales numbers.

     Twitter shares initially lost 5.8 percent on the Selerity report before trading was halted. The stock re-opened lower by 20 percent. The Nasdaq Internet Index lost 1.4 percent, while the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index fell 1.2 percent.

     Apple rose as much as 1.4 percent and lost as much as 2.3 percent before closing 1.6 percent lower amid concerns that the rapid iPhone growth can’t continue.

     Consumer discretionary companies lagged amid lackluster earnings reports and an unexpected decline in consumer confidence to a four-month low. Whirlpool and Coach Inc. led the retreat, each down more than 6 percent. Under Armour Inc. and Nike Inc. slid at least 1 percent.

     Coach fell 6.3 percent, the biggest drop since last June, after posting North American comparable sales that fell below analysts’ targets in the third quarter. Currency effects also took a toll last quarter, reducing the value of its overseas revenue.

     Container Store Group Inc. slumped 14 percent, the most since January, after fourth-quarter profit and sales trailed analysts’ estimates.

     Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. dropped 5.7 percent, its biggest slide in a year, and Parker-Hannifin Corp. declined 3.7 percent after the industrial companies cut their full-year profit views.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

I am imperfect and want to be perfect – this alone is the starting point of my nonviolence.

The imperfect will turn perfect when it ceases to be and what is not comes into being.

Acharya Mahaprajna

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

If you don’t like something, change it.  If you can’t change it,

change your attitude.  Don’t complain.

                                  -Maya Angelou, 1928-2014

 

 

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:

Spent this past weekend in magical Tofino; and left wondering what took me so long to return.  It’s been many years since I last visited – when we sailed up the west coast of the island.  This time we drove up…it hasn’t really changed so much – it is so quintessentially west coast.  Seafood, actually all the food prepared in The Point restaurant at Wickininish Inn is first rate.  Loved speaking with the waiters, most of whom are young adults on their “scout around the world before settling down” travels.  Many from Europe.  Also tried the restaurant that is garnishing rave reviews – The Wolf in the Fog.  Certainly deserves all the hype it is creating – amazing food.  I’ll definitely be back before long.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Steam rises from a horse as it gets a bath after morning workouts at Churchill Downs Monday, in Louisville, Ky. Charlie Riedel/AP

A man poses for a photograph under artwork of a large hand on a wall in central London, Britain, Monday. Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Based on my own personal experience – both as an investor in recent years and an expert witness in years past – rarely do more than three or four variables really count.  Everything else is noise. –Martin J. Whitman, b. 1924-

Market Closes for April 27^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18037.97	-42.17
		-0.23%
S&P 500	2107.96	-9.73   -0.46%
NASDAQ	5060.246	-31.839   -0.63%
TSX	15330.99	-77.34
		-0.50%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19983.32	-36.72
		-0.18%
HANG SENG	28433.59	+372.61
		+1.33%
SENSEX	27176.99	-260.95
		-0.95%
FTSE 100	7103.98	+33.28
		+0.47%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.459	1.442
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.070	2.050
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9261	1.9086
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.6136	2.6098

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.82720	0.82118
US $	1.20889	1.21776
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31641	0.75964
US $	1.08894	0.91833

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1200.00	1183.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	56.99	55.55

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, after posting a weekly advance, as drug companies and energy producers declined to offset a gain in gold.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and Concordia Healthcare Corp. tumbled at least 4.4 percent to pace declines among health-care stocks. Suncor Energy Inc. fell 0.9 percent as oil reversed an earlier gain. Barrick Gold Corp. added 1.8 percent as the company prepares to release earnings results after the market close. BlackBerry Ltd. dropped 1.9 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 64.25 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,344.08 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge is up 4.9 percent for the year.

     Valeant dropped 4.5 percent, the biggest decrease since August, and Concordia Healthcare sank 5.2 percent, its worst one-day performance in 10 months.

     Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will take its $40.1 billion takeover offer for Mylan NV to shareholders after the company rejected its advances, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

     Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. lost 7 percent and Torc Oil & Gas Ltd. retreated 4 percent as energy producers dropped 0.4 percent as a group. Eight of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX dropped on trading volume 4.3 percent higher than the 30-day average at this time of the day.

     BlackBerry dropped 1.9 percent, trimming its gain for the month to 9.7 percent.

     Alacer Gold Corp. gained 6 percent and Barrick Gold rose 1.8 percent. Gold futures for June delivery jumped 2.4 percent, the most since January. The S&P/TSX Materials index climbed 0.8 percent for the best performance among groups in the broader gauge.

     Silver Standard Resources Inc. jumped 4.9 percent as silver rallied 4.8 percent in New York. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. surged 6.6 percent.

     Resverlogix Corp. added 6.7 percent after agreeing to a licensing deal with a Chinese drugmaker.

US

By Jennifer Kaplan and Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, retreating from records, as declines in biotechnology companies overshadowed a rally in commodities stocks before Apple Inc.’s results.

     Mylan NV fell 5.7 percent after rejecting Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s $40 billion takeover offer. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index lost 4.1 percent. Applied Materials Inc. sank 8.4 percent after dropping its takeover bid for Tokyo Electron Ltd. Freeport McMoRan Inc. and DuPont Co. rose more than 4.6 percent. Apple added 1 percent in late trading after topping forecasts and boosting its capital-return program by $70 billion.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.4 percent to 2,108.92 at the close in New York, after earlier rising as much as 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.17 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,037.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.6 percent, snapping a five-day winning streak, while the Russell 2000 Index lost 1.3 percent.

     “You’ve got biotechnology down here now, leading everything lower,” said Michael Antonelli, an institutional equity sales trader and managing director at Robert W. Baird & Co. “The market obviously wants to go higher, but it’s struggling to make its way, to get that breakout and confirm it.”

     The Nasdaq Composite Index topped its dot-com-era high last week, extending a record on Friday, and the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high as Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. rallied after posting financial results. Unlike the dot-com era, the gains are built on earnings that have almost tripled in the past decade and a half, driven by demand for products such as Apple’s iPhone and Google Inc.’s web ads.                          

     Apple added 1 percent as of 4:48 p.m. in New York. Booming demand for the larger-screened iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is putting Apple on pace for its highest annual profit since 2012 — a record — and the company also forecast sales in the current period that will exceed analysts’ estimates.

     Pfizer Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are among companies reporting quarterly results this week. While analysts predict a profit slump through September, they have moderated how steep that will be. They now forecast first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies will drop 2.9 percent, better than April 10 estimates for a 5.6 percent decline.

     Of the S&P 500 members that have already released results this season, 77 percent beat profit projections and 49 percent topped sales estimates.

     Investors are also awaiting the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting, which begins tomorrow, for more hints on the timing of interest-rate increases. None of the 43 economists in a Bloomberg poll expects the U.S. central bank to lift borrowing costs this week.                         
     Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said this month the U.S. economy isn’t ready for a rate increase. Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues last month opened the door to an increase as soon as June, while also suggesting in forecasts that September may be more likely.

     Economic data have been mixed, with the March jobs report showing new hires fell below 200,000 for the first time in more than a year, and capital-goods orders showed a surprise drop last month. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims are near the lowest levels in almost 15 years, and consumer confidence improved in April to the second-highest level in more than eight years.

     Gross domestic product is set to grow by 2.8 percent this year, the most since 2005, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index advanced 6.8 percent Monday to 13.12. The gauge, known as the VIX, fell almost 12 percent last week to its lowest level in almost five months. About 6.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, about 3 percent above the three-month average.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups fell, led by a 1.8 percent drop in health-care shares. Mylan lost 5.7 percent, the most since August 2011, after its board unanimously rejected a $40.1 billion takeover offer from Teva Pharmaceutical, saying it’s too low and doesn’t address the difficulties of combining companies with different cultures. Teva slipped 4.3 percent, the most since Oct. 2013.

     The Nasdaq Biotech index tumbled 4.1 percent, the most since March 25. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. lost 4 percent, and Biogen Inc. dropped 3.1 percent.                      

     Applied Materials slid 8.4 percent, the biggest drop in six years. The supplier of machines used to make computer chips scrapped its $9.39 billion takeover bid for rival Tokyo Electron Ltd. on opposition by the U.S. Department of Justice.

     A Bloomberg gauge of U.S. Airlines fell 1.7 percent.  Southwest Airlines Co. lost 2.8 percent, leading the decline.  Allegiant Travel Co. and United Continental Holdings Inc. dropped at least 2.3 percent after both companies’ ratings were cut by Sterne Agee CRT.

     Consumer companies also slid, with McDonald’s Corp. losing 2.3 percent, Starbucks Corp. down 1.9 percent and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. dropping for a fourth consecutive day, off 2.8 percent to a five-month low.

     Raw-material companies climbed 0.9 percent as futures on gold, copper and silver rallied. Freeport-McMoRan jumped to a three-month high, adding 4.8 percent to Friday’s 3.7 percent gain. Newmont Mining Corp. rose 2.4 percent to a nearly two- month high. Alcoa Inc. advanced 1.7 percent.

     DuPont added 4.6 percent, the most since September, after activist investor Trian Fund Management won the backing of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. for two board nominees in its proxy fight for seats on the chemical maker’s board.

     Technology shares were up 0.4 percent, after earlier rising 0.8 percent, as Apple gained before earnings. Qualcomm Inc., Texas Instruments and Oracle Corp. added at least 1.2 percent.

     Apple climbed 1.8 percent before the company will probably show that earnings jumped by more than 20 percent when it reports results for the second fiscal quarter, which ended in March. While Apple doesn’t break out shipments by country, the world’s biggest company may have sold 18 million to 20 million iPhones in greater China during the period.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The whole universe is bound by the law of causation,

There cannot be anything, any fact – either in the internal or in the external world –

that does not have a cause; and every cause must produce an effect.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Be as you wish to seem.

 -Socrates, 470 BCE-399 BCE

 

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 met Valerie Harper and her husband Tony last Wednesday night at a small cocktail reception given in her honor.  I was invited by one of my clients who is a Vice President of the Canadian Cancer Society which was hosting the cocktail reception.   April is daffodil month for the CSS to raise awareness and raise funds for cancer research and which culminates for Vancouverites later this month with the daffodil ball.  Ms. Harper gave a talk later in the evening at the Orpheum Theatre about living with the reality of her cancer diagnosis, having survived lung cancer only to have a reappearance of an untreatable form of the disease in the lining of her brain.  She remains upbeat and committed to living with a positive attitude. She stresses the importance of focusing on living every day with optimism and resolve and most of all gratitude.  She spoke of the importance of letting go of grudges and letting go of the past, of forgiveness and forgetting.  Most importantly of seizing every day and doing, doing, doing.  Carpe Diem.  It is good to be reminded of these things that we already innately know.

On the float plane over, I pulled out a copy of this month’s B.C. Business magazine.  The April issue features B.C.’s latest “Top 30 under 30”.  The interviews with the recipients included queries about their sources of inspiration, mentors etc.  Truly inspiring to read about this cohort of entrepreneurs.  I was struck by a remark made by one of them, Alexander Chuang, who, when asked what the best advice he’s ever received is,  replied, “It’s from my dad, who explained to me the difference between zero and one.  One is your health and zero is everything else (family, career, lifestyle).”

And…

On this day in 1953, British leader Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Mr. Churchill guided Great Britain and the Allies through World War II then went on to serve as Leader of the Opposition Party after the war.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man takes pictures of the art installaion ‘Overcoming Boundaries’ by German conceptual artist Ottmar Hoerl in Berlin, Germany on Friday. The project, consisting of some 1000 sculptures of the Einheitsmaennchen (Unity Man) is to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the German reunification. Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) special envoy, actress Angelina Jolie, winks as she arrives to speak during a United Nations Security Council meeting regarding the refugee crisis in Syria at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Friday. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Market Closes for April 24^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18080.14	+21.45
		+0.12%
S&P 500	2117.69	+4.76   +0.23%
NASDAQ	5092.086	+36.022   +0.71%
TSX	15408.33	+15.98
		+0.10%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20020.04	-167.61
		-0.83%
HANG SENG	28060.98	+233.28
		+0.84%
SENSEX	27437.94	-297.08
		-1.07%
FTSE 100	7070.70	+17.03
		+0.24%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.442	1.481
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.050	2.078
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9086	1.9577
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.6098	2.6530

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.82118	0.82297
US $	1.21776	1.21512
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.32376	0.75543
US $	1.08704	0.91993

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1183.00	1185.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	55.55	56.59

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, posting a weekly advance, as base metals mining companies increased with iron ore and health-care shares climbed.

     Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. added 7.5 percent as iron ore entered a bull market after BHP Billiton Ltd. curbed expansion plans and supplies from higher-cost mines dropped. Concordia Healthcare Group gained 0.8 percent. Bankers Petroleum Ltd. slipped 3.8 percent as oil fell from a 2015 high in New York, paring the longest run of weekly gains in more than a year.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 15.98 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,408.33 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge is up 0.3 percent for the week.

     Manulife Financial Corp. added 0.9 percent, to a December high, as financial shares increased 0.3 percent. The group accounts for one-third of the index. Seven of the 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 22 percent below the 30-day average.

     West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. climbed 6.7 percent after reporting first-quarter sales and earnings ahead of analysts’ estimates.

     Capstone Mining Corp. surged 9.1 percent and Labrador Iron Ore jumped 7.5 percent. Since bottoming out at $47.08 on April 2 after dropping for five straight quarters, iron ore prices have rallied 23 percent. A bull market is typically defined as a rise of at least 20 percent from a closing low.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — The Nasdaq Composite Index extended gains after closing at a record as Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.rallied on results. Treasuries rose after capital goods orders unexpectedly fell, while oil retreated in New York.

     The Nasdaq jumped 0.7 percent at 4 p.m. in New York after topping its March 2000 record Thursday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent, while Brazil’s Ibovespa extended gains from a January low to 21 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.3 percent and 10-year Treasury yields fell five basis points to 1.91 percent. The rate on 10-year Greek bonds rose 36 basis points to 12.66 percent as frustration mounted in talks over funding for the country. Iron ore entered a bull market.

     The Nasdaq Composite has almost quadrupled since global equity markets bottomed in March 2009. Microsoft Corp. surged Friday after results topped estimates, while Google’s revenue grew amid an increase in advertising. The unexpected drop in orders for business equipment added to evidence that growth in the first quarter slowed, bolstering the case against raising interest rates.

     “It’s very positive that this time you actually have good tech earnings to support the Nasdaq record,” said Manish Singh, who helps oversee $2 billion as head of investments at Crossbridge Capital in London. “The U.S. earnings season overall is turning out to not be so bad.”

     U.S. stocks capped a weekly increase, with the Nasdaq rising all five days to add 3.3 percent and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rising 1.8 percent to close at an all-time high.

     Of the companies in the index that have reported results this season, 76 percent beat profit projections and 51 percent exceeded sales estimates. Results from Apple Inc. and Pfizer Inc. are due next week.

     Amazon.com jumped 14 percent as its quarterly sales beat projections. Starbucks Corp. and Juniper Networks Inc. rallied more than 5 percent as they posted better-than-forecast quarterly revenue. Xerox Corp. lost 8.7 percent after cutting its full-year profit forecast.

     Treasuries rose after orders for business equipment unexpectedly fell in March for a seventh consecutive month. Federal Reserve officials have held their benchmark near zero since 2008 to support the economy. Policy makers meet next week in Washington.

     The euro strengthened 0.4 percent to $1.0868 as the dollar weakened versus all of its 16 major counterparts.

     Euro-area finance ministers met with Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis in Riga, Latvia. Varoufakis said the two sides have come “much closer together” and Greece is aiming for a deal as soon as possible.

     Europe’s Stoxx 600 capped a 1.2 percent weekly gain, and banks climbed the most among 19 industry groups on Friday. HSBC Holdings Plc rose 2.9 percent, the most in more than a year, after Europe’s largest bank started a review of where its headquarters should be. Renault SA jumped 3.7 percent after saying quarterly sales rose 14 percent.

     The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.8 percent, extending a fourth weekly advance to 1.8 percent in the longest run in more than three months.

     The Ibovespa rose 1.8 percent, extending the rally from a Jan. 30 bear-market low to 21 percent. Petroleo Brasileiro SA led gains in the span, jumping 68 percent after announcing a divestment plan and releasing delayed 2014 results.

     The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.5 percent, trimming its seventh week of gains to 2.8 percent. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was little changed and is down 1 percent in the five-day period.

     China’s stocks fell on Friday after the securities regulator increased the pace of initial public offerings, spurring concern new equity sales will divert funds from existing shares.

     West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1 percent to settle at $57.15 a barrel in New York, trimming its sixth weekly gain, the longest winning streak since February 2014. Brent crude rose to $65.28, capping a 2.9 percent gain in the week.

     Iron ore gained as BHP Billiton Ltd. curbed expansion plans and supply from high-cost mines fell. Ore with 62 percent content at Qingdao advanced 5.5 percent to $57.81 a dry metric ton on Friday, according to Metal Bulletin Ltd.

     Gold futures tumbled the most in seven weeks, slipping 1.6 percent to settle at $1,175 an ounce as investors await next week’s Fed meeting amid signs of uneven growth in the U.S. Copper rose 1.4 percent and was down 0.6 percent on the week amid concern that a slowdown in China’s economy is lowering demand in the largest consumer of metals.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Knowledge relieves all suffering.  Knowledge liberates.

Which knowledge?  Chemistry?  Physics?  Astronomy?  Geology?

They help a little, but only a little.  The true knowledge is the knowledge of our own nature.

Know yourself.  You must know who you are, understand your inner nature.

You must become conscious of this infinite nature in yourself.  Then you will break free of your shackles.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

After all, tomorrow is another day.

    -Margaret Mitchell, 1900-1949

 

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:

According to tradition, on this day in 1564, English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare was born. While many of his 38 plays have been extensively performed and analyzed, little is known about the details of his life.

In his honor,

Sonnet CXVI

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments.  Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no! it is an ever fixed mark
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worths’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
  If this be error and upon me proved,
  I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

                     -William Shakespeare

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A dove tries to sit on a monument wall in Echmiadzin, the religious center of the Armenian Church outside the Armenian capital, Yerevan, Thursday. The Armenian Apostolic Church, the country’s dominant religion, held services Thursday to canonize all victims. On Friday, April 24, Armenians will mark the centenary of what historians estimate to be the slaughter of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks, an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide. Sergei Grits/AP

The Calbuco volcano erupts near Puerto Varas, Chile, Thursday. The volcano erupted Wednesday for the first time in more than 42 years, billowing a huge ash cloud over a sparsely populated, mountainous area in southern Chile, and is considered one of the top three most potentially dangerous among Chile’s 90 active volcanoes. David Cortes Serey/AP

Market Closes for April 23^rd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18058.69	+20.42
		+0.11%
S&P 500	2112.93	+4.97   +0.24%
NASDAQ	5056.063	+20.892   +0.41%
TSX	15392.35	+87.58
		+0.57%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20187.65	+53.75
		+0.27%
HANG SENG	27827.70	-106.15
		-0.38%
SENSEX	27735.02	-155.11
		-0.56%
FTSE 100	7053.67	+25.43
		+0.36%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.481	1.502
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.078	2.095
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9577	1.9832
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.6530	2.6686

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.82297	0.81656
US $	1.21512	1.22465
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31447	0.76076
US $	1.08176	0.92442

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1185.75	1189.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	56.59	55.06

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced the most in two weeks, halting a two-day slide, as energy and raw-materials producers rallied  with commodities prices.

     Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. jumped 4.8 percent to lead oil and gas producers as crude rose to a four-month high in New York. Detour Gold Corp. and Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. increased more than 4.7 percent as precious metals advanced. Finning International Inc., which sells equipment from Caterpillar Inc., added 1.2 percent after the U.S. construction equipment maker forecast 2015 profit that topped analysts’ estimates.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 87.58 points, or 0.6 percent, to 15,392.35 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest increase since April 9. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has advanced 5.2 percent this year.

     All 10 main groups in the index rose, with materials producers climbing 2 percent to pace gains. Trading volume was 11 percent lower than the 30-day average today.

     Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. added 4.3 percent and Detour Gold jumped 6.7 percent. Gold futures recovered from the biggest drop in six weeks as signs of slowing growth spurred demand for haven assets.

     HudBay Minerals Inc. climbed 6.1 percent and Teck Resources Ltd. increased 4.3 percent. Copper rose 0.9 percent in New York.

     Cenovus Energy Inc. rallied 2.3 percent after the company said it has hired bankers to explore a sale or initial offering of some of its oil and natural gas lands in Western Canada.

     Trican Well Service Ltd. added 4.7 percent and Bankers Petroleum Ltd. rose 3.3 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude surged 2.8 percent after Saudi Arabia renewed its aerial assault on Shiite rebels in Yemen, bolstering concerns Middle Eastern oil shipments may be disrupted.

US

By Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — The Nasdaq Composite climbed to the highest level in 15 years, topping its dot-com-era high, as U.S. stocks shrugged off mixed earnings and disappointing manufacturing data from across the globe. Oil rose to a four-month high.

     The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4 percent at 4 p.m. in New York, to close at a record for the first time in 15 years. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.2 percent, briefly passing its March 2 closing high. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.4 percent. The euro rose on speculation that Greece and its creditors will reach a deal to receive aid payments. Oil jumped 2.8 percent to settle at $57.74 in New York.

     Gains Thursday in Microsoft Inc. and EBay Inc. pushed the Nasdaq past its record, while the S&P 500 climbed to an intraday high as earnings from large companies surpassed estimates even as the strong dollar weighed on overseas sales. Slower expansion in euro-area manufacturing and a decline in Chinese factory data signaled Asian stimulus measures and European Central Bank bond purchases have yet to take hold.

     “The Nasdaq is seeing strength because a lot of these technology companies are doing better,” Randy Warren, who manages more than $100 million at Exton, Pennsylvania-based Warren Financial Service & Associates Inc., said by phone. “Sentiment seems to be really positive. The market seems to be giving Fortune 500 companies a free pass, assuming that the first quarter was bad but we’re going to have an acceleration. If we get that, all is well and everyone is happy.”                         

     Almost two months after surpassing 5,000 on March 2 for the first time in 15 years, the gauge finally exceeded the 5,048.62, a level that was reached on March 10, 2000, and stood for a decade and a half as the dot-com era’s high-water mark. Even with today’s advance, the Nasdaq remains below its intraday high of 5,132.52 and the second-highest intraday level, 5,078.86, both reached in March 15 years ago.

     While the advance has brought the Nasdaq to new highs, valuations are only slightly elevated from the five-year average. The Nasdaq Composite trades at 30 times earnings, versus an average of 27.8 during the past five years. The gauge had a multiple of 190 in March 2000.

     Among the biggest companies tracked by the Nasdaq 100 Index, the top 10 best performers since 2013, including Netflix Inc. and Facebook Inc., are valued at an average 66 times profit. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4 percent Thursday, yet remains almost 5 percent below its March 27, 2000 record.

     “It’s been 15 years, so it’s not your father’s Nasdaq anymore,” John Manley, who helps oversee about $233 billion as chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York, said by telephone. “It’s not nearly as expensive as it was back then.”                        

     The Composite’s record fell on a day that provided a mixed picture for investors looking to earnings for clues on the strength of corporate America. Of the S&P 500 members that have released results this earnings season, 76 percent beat profit projections, while just 50 percent topped sales estimates.

     Microsoft reported results that trumped estimates as cloud revenue soared, sending its shares higher by 3.2 percent in late trading. Google Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Starbucks Corp. rose at least 3.4 percent as of 4:55 p.m. in New York after disclosing financial results.

     Facebook Inc. slid 2.6 percent in the regular session after missing revenue estimates for the first time since 2012. Caterpillar Inc. gained 0.1 percent as its 2015 forecast topped analysts’ estimates. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. slid 2.4 percent after reporting its first loss since the global financial crisis. 3M Co., the maker of Post-it notes and Scotch tape, fell 3 percent after earnings trailed projections. EBay jumped 3.8 percent after saying profit growth was recovering amid cost cuts.

     “Underlying revenues remain disappointing as they’re not helped by the ever stronger U.S. dollar,” said Lex Van Dam, a fund manager at Hampstead Capital LLP in London. “The rest of the world is doing its best to provide liquidity but consumer demand remains disappointing. The stock market is reflecting a lack of investment alternatives as opposed to a booming economy.”

     Data showed purchases of new U.S. homes slumped more than forecast in March from a seven-year high, a sign progress in the industry will be halting.  Applications for unemployment benefits held below 300,000 for the seventh straight week, pointing to a rebound in payrolls after hiring eased last month.

     PulteGroup Inc. sank 7.9 percent to lead an S&P index of homebuilders lower by 4.3 percent, the most since January. The third-largest U.S. homebuilder slid the most in almost two years after reporting profit that missed analyst estimates.

     Treasuries halted a three-day decline as signs economic growth is slowing in China and Europe boosted demand for the safest assets. The benchmark U.S. 10-year yield fell two basis points to 1.95 percent.                       

     A Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing and services in the euro area fell to 53.5 from 54 in March, London-based Markit Economics said Thursday. While the reading remains well above the 50-point mark that divides expansion from contraction, it is below the 54.4 forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey.

     “This serves as a gentle reminder that although Draghi is pumping money into the economy, it will take a bit of time to feed through,” said Ben Kumar, who helps oversee about $12 billion at Seven Investment Management in London. “Earnings expectations had gone a bit far — consumers have not had enough time to feel the recovery and drive corporate profits.”

     Germany’s DAX Index and France’s CAC 40 Index slid more than 0.6 percent as similar data from those countries also disappointed. They were some of the biggest decliners among western-European markets on Thursday.

     A gauge of technology stocks fell the most among 19 industry groups, with Ericsson sliding 10 percent after reporting worse-than-forecast profitability. The index had closed at its highest level since 2002 on Wednesday.                          

     Developing-market stocks rose for a third day as Taiwan’s shares surged the most since 2013 amid speculation officials will broaden access to China’s capital markets. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index advanced 0.8 percent, as the Taiex Index rallied 1.9 percent.

     The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of mainland shares listed in Hong Kong, fell 1.3 percent while the Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.4 percent higher.

     China’s so-called flash purchasing managers index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics dropped to 49.2 for April, the lowest since April last year, underscoring a slowdown that prompted China’s central bank to cut banks’ reserve requirements by the most since 2008.

     Economists had predicted the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index would come in at 49.6 for April, matching March’s reading. Levels below 50 signal contraction.

     “The fundamental economy is not improving” in China, said Helen Lau, a metals and mining analyst at Argonaut Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. “It is a little worrying. We’re close to the bottom. Before that happens, the government should continue with stimulus until there is a rebound.”

     Brazil’s real ended a two-day gain after the country’s state-run oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA said a corruption scandal cost $2.1 billion.

     Aluminum fell as much as 1.7 percent, the most in two months, on concern more exports from China of products made from the metal will exacerbate a global glut.

     Crude climbed to a four-month high in New York after Saudi Arabia renewed its aerial assault on Shiite rebels in Yemen, bolstering concerns that Middle Eastern oil shipments may be disrupted.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The question of whether or not there is a God or truth or reality, or whatever you like to call it,

can never be answered by books, by priests, philosophers or saviors.

Nobody and nothing can answer the question

but you yourself and that is why you must know yourself.

Immaturity lies only in total ignorance of self.

To understand yourself is the beginning of wisdom.

 

Krishnamurti

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

There is no substitute for hard work.

          -Thomas Edison, 1847-1931

 

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:  Earth Day today!

On this day in 1970, Earth Day was first celebrated in the U.S. It increased environmental awareness and led to the establishment of the Environment Protection Agency three months later.

Celebrate with a Mother Earth dinner:  Build the dinner itself around each of the four elements – Earth (root vegetables, grains, mushrooms…), Fire (roasted meats and veggies, hot peppers…), Air (herbs, asparagus, flowers…), and Water (fruits, sorbet…).

For more information on giving an Earth Dinner, see www.earthdinner.org.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Aymara priest Valentin Apaza stands over a burning offering for the ‘Pachamama,’ or Mother Earth, during a ceremony on La Cumbre, a mountain considered sacred ground on the outskirts of La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday. The world marks Earth Day on April 22 to increase awareness and to promote practices for the sustainability and protection of the Earth’s natural environment. Juan Karita/AP

Don the dog at Kirkton Farm in Abington, Scotland who caused tailbacks on a busy motorway on Wednesday. The border collie inspired a traffic scare and social media attention after he plunged down a hill and onto a highway in his master’s vehicle. Wednesday’s incident near Abington, Scotland, began when farmer Tom Hamilton left Don sitting in his utility vehicle as he inspected lambs. He insists the parking brake was on. Danny Lawson/AP

Market Closes for April 22^nd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18038.27	+88.68
		+0.49%
S&P 500	2107.69	+10.40   +0.50%
NASDAQ	5035.172	+21.070   +0.42%
TSX	15293.79	-52.65
		-0.34%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20133.90	+224.81
		+1.13%
HANG SENG	27933.85	+83.36
		+0.30%
SENSEX	27890.13	+214.09
		+0.77%
FTSE 100	7028.24	-34.69
		-0.49%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.502	1.445
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.095	2.039
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9832	1.9070
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.6686	2.5814

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81656	0.81418
US $	1.22465	1.22823
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31316	0.76152
US $	1.07227	0.93260

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1189.25	1195.30
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	55.06	55.26

I’d be a bum on the street with a cup if the markets were always efficient. –Warren Buffet

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Jennifer Kaplan

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a second day, sending the benchmark gauge to a two week low, as gold miners slumped with the price of the metal.

     Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. fell 7.5 percent and Alacer Gold Corp. slid 6.4 percent as the metal slid the most in six weeks. Cameco Corp. rose 5.6 percent and Pengrowth Energy Corp. added 2 percent as energy shares advanced with Brent crude.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 41.67 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,304.77 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The slide trimmed the benchmark Canadian equity gauge’s advance this year to 4.6 percent, one of the worst performers among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg.

     Six of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX fell, with raw- materials companies losing 2.1 percent. Trading volume was 14 percent below the 30-day average.

     Energy shares rose 0.4 percent as Brent climbed more than 1 percent as fighting in Yemen reignited concerns over supply disruptions in the region.

     Gold miners fell 3.9 percent as futures on the metal declined 1.3 percent, the most since March 6.

     The gold market has fluctuated around $1,200 an ounce since late March as concerns over Greek debt talks offset rising equities. Greece has been struggling to make progress toward releasing financial aid since striking a deal to extend its bailout program in February.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. fell 2.4 percent after rallying yesterday to halt a five-day slide.

     Cameco Corp jumped 5.6 percent, the most in the S&P/TSX, after announcing a C$350 million ($286 million) uranium contract with India.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose toward records, with the Nasdaq Composite Index at the highest closing level since 2000, as technology shares jumped and Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald’s Corp. rallied after reporting earnings.

     Coca-Cola jumped 1.3 percent as it enticed consumers to pay more for its drinks during the quarter. McDonald’s soared 3.1 percent as Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook promised to give details of his turnaround plan next month. Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., the world’s biggest payments networks, surged the most since October on prospects for business in China. Facebook Inc. slipped while EBay Inc. rallied in late trading after posting results.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.5 percent to 2,107.96, less than 10 points from a record, at 4 p.m. in New York. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.4 percent, bringing it less than 0.3 percent from its all-time high in 2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 88.68 points, or 0.5 percent, to 18,038.27.

     “Earnings are coming in better than expected so far, so the dire consequences that were predicted aren’t quite there,” Mark Kepner, an equity trader at Themis Trading LLC, in Chatham, New Jersey, said via phone.

     More than 140 companies in the S&P 500 are posting earnings this week. Of the companies that have reported so far, 78 percent beat profit projections and 48 percent topped sales estimates.

     While analysts predict an earnings slump through September, they have moderated how steep that will be. They now forecast first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies will drop 4.3 percent, better than April 10 estimates for a 5.6 percent decline.

     The S&P 500 is less than 0.5 percent away from a record reached on March 2, the same day the Nasdaq Composite topped 5,000 for the first time in 15 years. While earnings results yesterday weighed on the S&P 500 and the Dow, a takeover offer for Mylan NV pushed the Nasdaq Composite Index higher.

     The S&P 500 has struggled to reach its March record amid two drops of more than 2.5 percent, even as equity indexes from Asia to Europe have climbed to multiyear highs. Even as energy and biotechnology shares have rebounded, the gauge has stalled short of the mark 36 straight days, the longest streak since June 2013.

     Equities have fluctuated during the past month amid concerns that a stronger dollar and lower oil prices would hurt corporate earnings as the Fed considers raising rates.

     “The stock market has been trading in a range for awhile and it seems there’s a little resistance around these levels,” Ron Anari, the Jersey City, New Jersey-based senior vice president of trading at ICAP Plc, said via phone. “Earnings aren’t as bad as expected and if we make it through this season a little better than estimates, we could continue rallying.”

     The Nasdaq Composite has jumped 6.3 percent this year, coming within 7 points of its all-time high on March 20 as biotechnology and Internet stocks have rallied. The Nasdaq Internet Index has increased for 13 of the past 14 days.

     Technology shares helped push the Nasdaq higher today. Broadcom Corp. advanced 5 percent after reporting first-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates and predicted second- quarter sales that may equal analysts’ estimates, helped by orders from phone makers for other kinds of chips. Micron Technology Inc. added 3.3 percent. Intuit Inc. gained 3 percent.

     Tesla Motors Inc. increased 4.8 percent. The maker of luxury electric cars will announce a home battery and a “very large” utility-scale battery on April 30, according to an e- mail sent to investors and analysts Tuesday.

     Facebook slumped 2 percent as of 4:35 p.m. New York time. After the market closed, the company posted results that missed analysts’ sales estimates in the first quarter, breaking a trend of far exceeding expectations. EBay Inc. jumped 4.4 percent after giving a quarterly profit forecast that topped estimates.

     This week has been light on economic data, giving investors few additional clues on the strength of the economy. A report today showed sales of previously owned homes climbed in March to the highest level since September 2013 as job growth and cheap borrowing costs helped sustain the progress in residential real estate.

     All 10 major industries in the S&P 500 rose today, as technology, energy, phone and financial shares jumped more than 0.6 percent.                      
     Coca-Cola advanced 1.3 percent as the world’s largest beverage company reported its first quarterly sales gain in two years after higher drink prices helped make up for sluggish demand.

     McDonald’s jumped 3.1 percent, the most in almost two months, after Easterbrook said a turnaround plan will “improve our performance and deliver enduring profitable growth.” The prospect of a comeback plan placated investors after profit missed analysts’ estimates and the company posted a sixth straight quarter of decreasing U.S. sales.

     Visa surged 4.1 percent and MasterCard increased 3.9 percent. Rules published Wednesday by China’s State Council, which take effect June 1, clear the way for the companies to gain a foothold in an industry that the Central Bank said handles 449.9 trillion yuan ($73 trillion) a year.

     It’s the most explicit China’s government has been about its plans to open up the market to U.S. firms, according to David Ritter, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.

     Boeing lost 1.4 percent for the worst performance in the Dow, after posting higher expenses for the 787 Dreamliner, the plane known for its carbon-composite fuselage and persistent drain on cash.

     The continued struggles with the 787 damped investor optimism over a quarter in which the Chicago-based planemaker beat analysts’ profit estimates to extend a five-year streak of matching or topping projections. Boeing also posted negative free cash flow and a 92 percent plunge in operating cash flow.

     Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. fell 7.4 percent, the biggest decline since October 2012. The company posted first-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates, hurt by higher menu prices and supply-chain woes. Supply shortages, which led to “rolling blackouts” of carnitas in recent months, are expected to last until the end of the year, threatening to undercut the restaurant chain’s growth.

     D.R. Horton Inc. fell 5.4 percent, the most in three months. The largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue said its entry- level Express Homes division may make up a greater share of sales, putting pressure on profit margins. PulteGroup Inc. slumped 2.3 percent.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Everyone is but a manifestation of the Impersonal, the basis of all being,

and misery consists in thinking of ourselves as different from this Infinite, Impersonal Being,

and liberation consists in knowing our unity with this wonderful Impersonality.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Never look backwards or you’ll fall down the stairs.

                           -Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936

 

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 found a new CD release recently that is absolutely wonderful.  It is by Malian singer/guitarist Samba Touré and is called Gandadiko.  The review I read which impelled me to order it on Amazon said “if bluesman John Lee Hooker had been raised in Mali he might have made music like this….hypnotic, soulful, groovy, and captivating.  These 10 songs are more upbeat than his previous album ‘Albala,’ reportedly recorded while radical Islamists punished any musicmaking in his village with public stoning.  ‘Gandadiko’ is the sound of joy and release.”  I agree – it’s terrific.

I’ve been reading The Essays of Warren Buffet ( Lawrence A. Cunningham, 3^rd Edition) lately.  Last night I was reading  these sage passages and thought I’d share them with you:

A short quiz:  If you plan to eat hamburgers throughout your life and are not a cattle producer, should you wish for higher or lower prices for beef?  Likewise, if you are going to buy a car from time to time but are not an auto manufacturer, should you prefer higher or lower car prices?  These questions, of course, answer themselves.

But now for the final exam:  If you expect to be a net saver during the next five years, should you hope for a higher or stock market during that period?  Many investors get this one wrong.  Even though they are going to be net buyers of stocks for many years to come, they are elated when stock prices rise and depressed when they fall.  In effect, they rejoice because prices have risen for the “hamburgers” they will soon be buying.  This reaction makes no sense.  Only those who will be sellers of equities in the near future should be happy at seeing stocks rise.  Prospective purchasers should much prefer sinking prices….So smile when you read a headline that says “Investors lose as market falls.”  Edit it in your mind to “Disinvestors lose as market falls – but investors gain.”  Though writers often forget this truism, there is a buyer for every seller and what hurts one necessarily helps the other.  (As they say I golf matches:  “Every putt makes someone happy.”) –Warren Buffet, Finance And Investing, the Essays of Warren Buffett.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Woman wearing sevillana dresses stand during the traditional Feria de Abril (April fair) in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain on Tuesday. Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters

Tourists take pictures of a floral arrangement depicting Dutch master Vincent van Gogh at Keukenhof, a spring park with approximately seven million flower bulbs, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday. Peter Dejong/AP

Market Closes for April 21^st, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17949.59	-85.34
		-0.47%
S&P 500	2097.29	-3.11   -0.15%
NASDAQ	5014.102	+19.500   +0.39%
TSX	15346.44	-66.16
		-0.43%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19909.09	+274.60
		+1.40%
HANG SENG	27850.49	+755.56
		+2.79%
SENSEX	27676.04	-210.17
		-0.75%
FTSE 100	7062.93	+10.80
		+0.15%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.445	1.424
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.039	2.035
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9070	1.8896
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5814	2.5624

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81418	0.81781
US $	1.22823	1.22278
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31847	0.75845
US $	1.07347	0.93156

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1195.30	1196.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	55.26	56.38

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, after halting a two- day slide yesterday, as Canadian National Railway Co. and Teck Resources Ltd. dropped amid earnings reports.

     Teck Resources plunged 6.4 percent after slashing its dividend for the first time since the financial crisis. Canadian National Railway declined 3.1 percent after the rail operator lowered its 2015 forecast for commodity shipments. Pason Systems Inc. sank 5.9 percent after analysts at CIBC World Markets cut their rating for the stock.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 66.16 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,346.44 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has advanced 4.9 percent this year, one of the worst performers among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg.

     Canadian National Railway tumbled 3.1 percent to pace declines as industrials shares lost 2.2 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX. Five of 10 industries in the equity gauge fell on trading volume that was 11 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     The railway said it now forecasts customer shipments of energy-related commodities, including crude, will increase by 40,000 carloads in 2015, compared with its January projection of a 75,000 gain.

     Trican Well Service Ltd. dropped 9.1 percent and Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. lost 7.3 percent as energy producers retreated 1.2 percent as a group.

     Oil dropped the most in two weeks as crude inventories probably increased by 2.5 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg survey showed before an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday.

     Teck Resources sank 6.4 percent to the lowest since January. The second-largest exporter of coal used in steelmaking cut its biannual dividend 67 percent, the first reduction since Teck halted its payout in November 2008. First-quarter adjusted profit fell short of analysts’ estimates.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped 3.3 percent, halting a five-day slide, and Concordia Healthcare Corp. rose 2.8 percent. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. made an unsolicited $40.1 billion offer to buy Mylan NV, the drug industry’s largest takeover attempt this year.

     Brookfield Asset Management Inc. lost 3.6 percent, the biggest drop since October 2011. The company is issuing shares to raise about $1 billion for “general corporate purposes” including future investments.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as DuPont Co. and Travelers Cos. slumped after reporting results, while a takeover offer for Mylan NV pushed the Nasdaq Composite Index higher.

     DuPont tumbled 3 percent after saying the dollar is putting pressure on full-year profit. Travelers tumbled 4 percent as first-quarter profit fell 21 percent. Biotechnology shares rallied as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. proposed to buy Mylan for about $40.1 billion.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 2,097.29 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4 percent, to within 0.7 percent of its all-time high. The Dow fell 85.34 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,949.59.

     “Earnings have been a little better than reduced expectations, and with interest rates as low as they are, corporations like Teva are able to continue issuing debt at basically free levels,” Andrew Brenner, the head of international fixed income for National Alliance Capital Markets, said by phone.

     The S&P 500 is 1 percent away from a record reached on March 2, the same day the Nasdaq Composite Index topped 5,000 for the first time in 15 years. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9 percent yesterday amid a rally in technology shares, recovering nearly all of Friday’s selloff.

     While equity indexes from Asia to Europe have climbed to multiyear highs in the past week, the S&P 500 has struggled to reach its March 2 record amid two drops of more than 2.5 percent. While an energy rally took the gauge to within 10 points of an all-time high Wednesday, it has stalled short of the mark 35 straight days, the longest streak since June 2013.                         

     The S&P 500 fell as much as 3.6 percent through March 11 amid concerns that a stronger dollar and lower oil prices would hurt corporate earnings as the Fed considers raising rates. Signals by central-bank officials that they are in no rush to boost borrowing costs propelled the gauge to within 0.4 percent of its record by March 20, before it retreated again.

     The Nasdaq Composite has jumped 5.9 percent this year, coming within 7 points of its all-time high on March 20 as biotechnology and Internet stocks have rallied. The Nasdaq Internet Index has increased for 12 of the past 13 days.

     More than 140 S&P 500 companies report earnings this week, including Yahoo! Inc. and Amgen Inc. today. While analysts predict a slump through September, they have moderated how steep that will be.

     Yahoo slid 2 percent at 4:25 p.m. in New York, while Amgen added 2.2 percent in late trading after reporting results.

     Analysts now forecast first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies will drop 4.3 percent, better than April 10 estimates for a 5.6 percent decline. Of those that have reported so far, 84 percent beat profit projections and 51 percent topped sales estimates.

     “People have gone too far in cutting their profit estimates for U.S. companies,” Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Reyl & Cie. said by phone from Geneva. “This may give the market a short-term rebound as more earnings reports come in. I’m still cautious regarding growth in the next few quarters because of the impact of the economic slowdown and the surging dollar.”

     With data due this week on housing and jobs, investors are seeking clues on the economic recovery after reports pointed to weaker growth and the dollar strengthened.

     Seven of 10 main groups in the S&P 500 declined, led by energy companies, which lost 1 percent amid a 2 percent slump in crude. Transocean Ltd. slid 5.5 percent and Chesapeake Energy Corp. dropped 4.8 percent.

     DuPont lost 3 percent. The company, which is facing a proxy showdown with activist shareholder Trian Fund Management, warned that the stronger dollar is putting pressure on full-year profit as first-quarter sales missed analyst estimates.                      

     Travelers tumbled 4 percent. First-quarter profit fell as investment income declined and the pace slowed for rate increases to commercial clients.

     Harley-Davidson Inc. slid 9.8 percent after lowering its growth estimates on motorcycle shipments.

     Under Armour Inc. dropped 4.8 percent after forecasting sales for the year that trailed analysts’ estimates as growth in its core apparel business cools off.

     Mylan soared 8.9 percent amid the drug industry’s largest takeover attempt this year. A purchase of the company by Teva would create a generic powerhouse with more than $27 billion in revenue and re-establish Teva as the predominant giant in the generic drug industry.

     In late trading Perrigo Co. climbed 0.7 percent. The company’s board unanimously rejected an unsolicited bid proposal from Mylan.

     Lam Research Corp. jumped 8.1 percent after profit exceeded projections and the company forecast fourth-quarter earnings above analysts’ estimates.

     Kimberly-Clark Corp. added 5.4 percent. First-quarter profit topped analysts’ estimates as the maker of Kleenex tissue and Huggies diapers benefited from product innovation and $100 million worth of cost cuts last quarter.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Yoga is concerned with freedom from spiritual disturbance.

The first step in yoga is to engage in introspection,

and thereby understand the inner obstacles that must be overcome.

The purpose of yoga is to weaken the hindrances which obstruct knowledge of the soul.

There are five hindrances: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and tenacity.

 

Patanjali

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Every noble work is at first impossible.

             -Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1881

 

 

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:

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

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Customers watch android robot ‘Aiko Chihira’ at the reception of Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo, Monday. The lifelike android robot, which was developed by Japanese electronics manufacturer Toshiba, marked her first day at work as a receptionist at the department store on Monday, greetings customers as they walked in. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP

Boston Marathon runner Alberto De Bonis, of Trieste, Italy, poses before boarding a shuttle bus, Monday, in Boston, en route to the starting line in Hopkinton, Mass. Robert F. Bukaty/AP

Today we deal with 65,000 more pieces of information each day than did our ancestors 100 years ago. –Dr. Jean Houston.

Market Closes for April 20^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18034.93	+208.63
		+1.17%
S&P 500	2100.40	+19.22   +0.92%
NASDAQ	4994.602	+62.787   +1.27%
TSX	15412.60	+52.05
		+0.34%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19634.49	-18.39
		-0.09%
HANG SENG	27094.93	-558.19
		-2.02%
SENSEX	27886.21	-555.89
		-1.95%
FTSE 100	7052.13	+57.50
		+0.82%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.424	1.405
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.035	2.021
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.8896	1.8653
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5624	2.5194

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81781	0.81689
US $	1.22278	1.22415
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31358	0.76128
US $	1.07426	0.93087

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1196.50	1203.35
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	56.38	55.74

MARKET COMMENTARY:

CANADA

By Jennifer Kaplan

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as railroad companies sent industrial shares higher while energy producers advanced with the price of crude amid signs of increased stimulus from China’s central bank.

     Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. jumped more than 2.2 percent to lead gains among industrial companies. Toronto-Dominion Bank climbed 0.7 percent as financial shares gained. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. slid 1.6 percent to lead consumer shares lower.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index gained 52.05 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,412.60 at the close in Toronto. The gauge halted a two-day slide after closing April 15 at a seven-month high.

     China’s leaders swung into stimulus mode, cutting the amount of cash lenders must set aside as reserves by the most since the global financial crisis, just days after a report showed the slowest economic growth in six years. China is Canada’s second largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Seven of the 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX gained, with industrials jumping 1.5 percent. Trading volume was 17 percent below the 30-day average.

     Energy companies rose 0.3 percent. Trican Well Service Ltd. jumped 5 percent as U.S. crude settled at $56.38 a barrel in New York, near the highest level of the year.

     Encana Corp. surged 3.8 percent to a two-month high. The company announced it is seeking buyers for its natural gas properties in Louisiana as it focuses on drilling for oil and other liquids in Texas and Canada, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Haynesville Shale basin acreage is valued at as much as $1 billion, the people said.

     Financial companies rose 0.5 percent. The group accounts for about one-third of the S&P/TSX by weighting.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded from the worst slide in three weeks as IBM Corp. led a rally in technology shares. The euro halted its best winning streak in a year as tensions mounted over Greece’s debt repayments, while oil gained.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.9 percent, after a 1.1 percent tumble on Friday. International Business Machines Corp. jumped 3.4 percent in regular trading before adding less than 0.1 percent at 5 p.m. in New York after the company reported profit that topped estimates. The Nasdaq 100 Index rallied the most in two months. The euro halted a four-day advance versus the dollar. Greece’s bonds declined after the government ordered municipalities to transfer cash to the central bank. Chinese shares retreated from levels last seen in 2008.

     Shares from Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. surged as technology companies in the S&P 500 rebounded from a selloff. The decision by Greece’s government is another sign of the worsening situation in a  standoff with creditors. China lowered the amount of cash lenders must set aside as reserves by the most since 2008 to support the economy amid the slowest expansion in six years.

     “If you want to foretell what may come down the pipe, tech companies are a good example of that,” Krishna Memani, the New York-based chief investment officer at Oppenheimer Funds Inc., said by phone. “Tech companies are often growth companies with a higher beta relative to the market. The world needs a good growth story.”                         

     A Friday rout in global equities sent U.S. stocks to their first weekly loss of the month, as disappointing earnings, signs of higher inflation and concerns from China to Greece curbed demand for risk assets.

  `   Technology shares in the S&P 500 surged 1.8 percet, rebounding from a 1.4 percent drop, as Apple, Microsoft and Facebook Inc. jumped at least 2.3 percent.

     As a group, the computer and biotechnology stocks that make up the Nasdaq 100 Index have seen their market value jump by $3.3 trillion since March 2009, more than any other industry. Now they’re on the hook to generate $320 billion in profits this year, more than technology companies ever made at the height of the Internet craze.

     Among other U.S. shares moving Monday, Morgan Stanley added 0.6 percent after reporting the highest adjusted revenue in more than five years. Hasbro Inc. jumped 13 percent as the toymaker posted better-than-estimated quarterly results. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. slumped 8 percent as the company cut its forecast for the full year.

     Transportation shares surged 1.7 percent, as railroads from CSX Corp. to Kansas City Southern jumped at least 2.7 percent.

     “There are still a lot of cards left to play this week with an extremely busy earnings calendar,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said by phone. “The market was nervous for several weeks so it’s no surprise that a move like Friday happened. There were a lot of data points to heighten nervousness and things kind of crescendoed on Friday.”

     The twin pillars of earnings and Federal Reserve stimulus that have underpinned the bull market showed signs of wobbling. Results last week from American Express Co. to Norfolk Southern Corp. missed estimates while rising inflation bolstered the case for higher borrowing costs.

     Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley said Monday he is relatively optimistic that a rebound in U.S. growth will support a decision to raise interest rates later this year while highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the timing of an increase.                          

     The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.5 percent, with the euro slipping 0.6 percent to $1.0737. The single currency dropped versus most of its major peers. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said in Washington Saturday that while Greece’s situation is “urgent,” it’s premature to speculate about the nation quitting the currency union.

     Greek bonds fell, sending the three-year yield 193 basis points higher to 28.69 percent. Euro-area finance ministers meet this week to review what policy changes Greece can deliver by mid-May as the nation seeks to unlock new aid payments and avoid a default.

     The Greek government issued a decree that forces local governments to transfer cash balances to the central bank, as debt to the International Monetary Fund and month-end salary payments come due.                          

     Treasuries declined as haven demand waned after oil and stocks rallied on speculation Chinese policy makers will act to support economic growth. The U.S. 10-year yield rose two basis points to 1.88 percent.

     It touched 1.85 percent, close to the 1.82 percent on April 6 that was the lowest since January. That compares with a five- year average of 2.60 percent.

     “It’s still a very bullish environment for the market,” said Michael Kapler, who manages equities at Mittelbrandenburgische Sparkasse in Potsdam, Germany. “Central banks are extremely supportive around the world, and that will definitely stay that way for some time.”

     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.8 percent after its worst week of the year. Miners posted the best performance among 19 industry groups in the index, which has climbed 19 percent this year. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group gained at least 2.4 percent.                    

     The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell for a second day, losing 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.6 percent and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland shares listed in Hong Kong lost 2.9 percent, the most in three months.

     The reserve-requirement ratio will be cut 1 percentage point from Monday, the People’s Bank of China said. The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced measures on Friday to clamp down on the use of sh`adow financing for equity purchases and increase the supply of shares available for short sellers.

     Chinese shares swung between gains and losses for much of early trading as investors weighed authorities’ steps to curb speculative trading against the cut in reserve requirements. The Shanghai gauge has jumped 79 percent in the past six months, the most among 93 benchmark indexes globally.

     Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. became China’s first developer to default on its U.S. currency debt after failing to honor missed payments on two dollar bonds.

     The ruble slid 2.8 percent after the central bank raised the cost of borrowing foreign currency. The dollar-denominated RTS Index of equities climbed 0.7 percent.

     U.S. oil futures climbed near their highest level of the year on speculation that supply growth is beginning to slow. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery rose to settle at $56.38 a barrel in New York. Futures touched $57.42 last week, the highest level since Dec. 23.

     Prices capped their biggest weekly advance in more than four years in New York on growing expectations that a decline in drilling will curb production. Brent futures closed unchanged at $63.45 a barrel in London.

     Gold futures fell the most in a week as rallies by equities and the dollar reduced demand for precious metals as alternative investments.

     Gold for June delivery fell 0.8 percent to settle at $1,193.70 an ounce in New York. The metal declined for three straight quarters amid concern that the Fed will raise interest rates.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The only way to achiever consciousness

is by concentrating on the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.

Concentration on the powers of the spirit to discover unity

in diversity is called consciousness.

All that draws on unity is moral, all that draws on diversity is immoral.

`

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We are not the makers of history.  We are made by history.

                                -Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968

 

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:

Today on this day in 1991, the Dow Jones topped 3000.

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. –Woody Allen.

On April 17^th, 1906, Jack London witnesses the San Francisco earthquake and fire:

On Wednesday morning at  a quarter past five came the earthquake.  A minute later the flames were leaping upward.  In a dozen different quarters south of Market Street, in the working-class ghetto, and in the factories, fires started.  There was no opposing flames.  There was no organization ,no communication.  All the cunning adjustments of a twentieth century city had been smashed by the earthquake.  The streets were humped into ridges and depressions and piled with debris of fallen walls.  The steel rails were twisted into perpendicular and horizontal angles.  The telephone and telegraph systems were disrupted.  And the great water mains had burst.  All the shrewd contrivances and safeguards of man had been thrown out of gear by thirty seconds’ twitching of earth crust…

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Ricardo Christie, of New Zealand, competing in the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro surfing competition in Margaret River, Australia, Friday. Kelly Cestari/World Surf League/AP

Tourists visit the ancient Roman forum in Rome, Friday. Three-times Oscar winning Italian director of photography, Vittorio Storaro designed the new illumination system of the Roman Forum that will be unveiled on April 21, during the anniversary of Rome’s foundation. Gregorio Borgia/AP

Market Closes for April 16^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17826.30	-279.47
		-1.54%
S&P 500	2081.18	-23.81   -1.13%
NASDAQ	4931.816	-75.974   -1.52%
TSX	15360.55	-26.22
		-0.17%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19652.88	-232.89
		-1.17%
HANG SENG	27653.12	-86.59
		-0.31%
SENSEX	28442.10	-223.94
		-0.78%
FTSE 100	6994.63	-65.82
		-0.93%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.405	1.375
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.021	2.026
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.8653	1.8914
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5194	2.5745

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81689	0.82031
US $	1.22415	1.21906
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.32282	0.75596
US $	1.08060	0.92541

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1203.35	1204.35
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	55.74	56.71

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a second day after a report showed the core inflation rate was the fastest in more than six years last month.

     Technology stocks led losses among groups in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index as DH Corp. and Sierra Wireless Inc. dropped more than 2.4 percent. Gold miners climbed 0.7 percent as futures on the metal rose. Energy shares climbed, capping their best week in two months.

     The S&P/TSX lost 26.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,360.55 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge slumped 0.6 percent in two days after reaching a seven-month high on Wednesday. It ended the week with a decline of 0.2 percent.

     Canada’s core consumer price index, which excludes gasoline and seven other items with volatile prices, quickened to 2.4 percent from 2.1 percent in February, the fastest since December 2008, Statistics Canada reported Friday from Ottawa.

     Data also showed Canadian retail sales rose faster than economists forecast in February, with gains across all major categories led by general merchandise stores and the first gain in car sales in five months.

     Seven of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX slid, with technology and consumer companies losing at least 0.6 percent. Trading in the index’s stocks was 18 percent below the 30-day average.

     The S&P/TSX Gold Index added 0.7 percent. Gold futures rose on demand for a haven as Greece remained locked in negotiations to secure funding and avoid a default.

     Alamos Gold Inc. jumped 3.8 percent, ending the week with a 9.6 percent advance. Barrick Gold Corp. surged 1.4 percent.

     Energy companies added 0.4 percent as oil climbed 7.9 percent this week amid expectations that the idling of U.S. rigs is spurring a slowdown that will trim the global surplus.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated amid a global selloff, falling the most in three weeks, as American Express Co. tumbled, data signaled stronger inflation and China tightened trading rules.

     American Express fell 4.4 percent to its lowest level since 2013 after quarterly revenue missed estimates. Travelers Cos., 3M Co. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. dropped more than 2.3 percent to pace declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as all 30 of its components slid. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. slumped 10 percent after saying it is hard to see whether the second half will be “substantially better” than the first half of the year.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.1 percent to 2,081.18 at 4 p.m. in New York, below its average price for the past 50 days. For the week, the gauge declined 1 percent. The Dow lost 279.47 points Friday, or 1.5 percent, to 17,826.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 1.5 percent. About 7.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges Friday, 6.4 percent more than the three-month average.

     “We’re very early in the earnings season,” said Steve Bombardiere, an equity trader at Conifer Securities LLC in New York. “We need to get further into the season until we get some direction, so right now these little things in the background are good fodder for some short-term gut wrenching.”                         

     The S&P 500 was little changed yesterday after approaching its all-time high. While equity indexes from Asia to Europe have climbed to multiyear highs in recent days, the S&P 500 and Dow last hit theirs on March 2, the same day the Nasdaq Composite Index topped 5,000 for the first time in 15 years. The 32-day stretch without celebrating a fresh high is the S&P 500’s longest since July 2013.

     The benchmark index has been stuck in a range of 52 points since March 20 when it last neared its record, as weaker-than- forecast data from hiring to manufacturing elevated concern about earnings while at the same time bolstered the case for keeping interest rates lower for longer.

     Investors are weighing economic reports for clues on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s first rate increase since 2006. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data.

     The cost of living in the U.S. rose in March for a third month, signaling inflation is starting to firm. A separate report showed consumer confidence improved in April to the second-highest level in more than eight years as Americans held more favorable views of the economic outlook and inflation.                          

     Analysts predict earnings for S&P 500 companies fell 4.3 percent in the first quarter, which would be the first such period of negative profit growth since 2009, amid concern over a surging dollar and worse-than-forecast economic reports.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped 10 percent to 13.89 on Friday. The gauge, known as the VIX, has fallen 28 percent so far this year.

     U.S. equity futures slumped early in the day after Chinese regulators clamped down on the use of shadow financing to buy equities and expanded the supply of shares available for short sellers.

     Regulators in China banned the margin trading businesses of brokerages from taking part in umbrella trusts, and said fund managers can lend shares for short selling. Investors in China have ramped up wagers on stocks by borrowing through umbrella trusts, which allow for more leverage than brokerage financing.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index more than doubled over the past 12 months.                       

     Chinese stock-index futures on the Hang Seng Index tumbled more than 2 percent in after-hours trading. In the U.S., the Bank of New York Mellon China ADR Index of U.S.-listed Chinese companies slid 2.1 percent, the most since January.

     “The China news shows there was a lot of leverage in that market and there’s a lot of leverage in ours, it shows how vulnerable the market can be when that’s the case,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in Newton, Massachusetts.

     Greece’s latest standoff with its creditors has also drawn renewed concern as negotiations over its economic reform commitments drag on before it receives the next disbursement of its bailout funds to avoid a default.

     All 10 of the S&P 500’s main groups fell, as technology, consumer discretionary and financial companies tumbled more than 1.3 percent. American Express dropped 4.4 percent to its lowest since October 2013. Travelers, Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and E*Trade Financial Corp. slumped more than 2.4 percent.                         

    Software companies Adobe Systems Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. lost at least 2.6 percent to help send tech shares lower. EBay Inc. retreated 2.2 percent, while Yahoo! Inc. fell 2.9 percent.

     Losses of more than 2.7 percent in Gannett Co., Amazon.com Inc. and GameStop Corp. paced declines among consumer discretionary shares. Time Warner Cable Inc. lost 5.4 percent and Comcast Corp. dropped 2.1 percent after people familiar with the matter said staff attorneys at the Justice Department’s antitrust division are nearing a recommendation to block Comcast’s bid to buy Time Warner Cable.

     Homebuilders fell for a second day as Lennar Corp. and Toll Brothers Inc. dropped more than 1 percent. An S&P gauge of builders slid 1.2 percent for its biggest two-day retreat in three months.

     Energy companies slipped 0.8 percent while crude oil declined after six days of gains that pushed prices up more than 12 percent. Transocean Ltd., Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. slumped at least 2.6 percent.

     Mattel Inc. rose 5.8 percent, the most in the S&P 500. The toy maker reported that sales declines slowed in its Barbie and Fisher-Price products, and the company posted a smaller-than- estimated quarterly loss.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The only way to achieve consciousness

is by concentrating on the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.

Concentration on the powers of the spirit to discover unity

in  diversity is called consciousness.

All that draws on unity is moral, all that draws on diversity is immoral.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Work is the best antidote to sorrow.

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859-1930

 

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 1943, the hallucinogenic effects of LSD were discovered and documented by Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist working at the Sandoz pharmaceutical laboratory. He accidentally consumed LSD, a synthetic drug he created in 1938 as part of his research, and noted that it caused him to experience unusual sensations and hallucinations.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A 249-feet bronze-forged white Buddhist Avalokitesvara or Guan Yin statue, part of the Tsz Shan Monastery, stands behind luxurious houses at Taipo district in Hong Kong on Thursday. The monastery, officially opened to the public by reservation on Wednesday, received contribution of $219 million from Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s personal foundation to cover the construction and daily operating costs, according to the monastery. Bobby Yip/Reuters

A Star Wars fan dressed as a red stormtrooper attends the Star Wars Celebration: The Ultimate Fan Experience held at the Anaheim Convention Center on Thursday, in Anaheim, Calif. Richard Shotwell/AP

Market Closes for April 16^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18105.77	-6.84
		-0.04%
S&P 500	2104.99	-1.64   -0.08%
NASDAQ	5007.789	-3.229   -0.06%
TSX	15386.77	-64.10
		-0.41%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19885.77	+16.01
		+0.08%
HANG SENG	27739.71	+120.89
		+0.44%
SENSEX	28666.04	-133.65
		-0.46%
FTSE 100	7060.45	-36.33
		-0.51%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.375	1.346
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.026	1.987
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.8914	1.8889
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5745	2.5404

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.82031	0.81319
US $	1.21906	1.22972
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31225	0.76205
US $	1.07645	0.92898

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1204.35	1192.90
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	56.71	56.39

If you spend  more than 14 minutes a year worrying about the market, you’ve wasted 12 minutes. –Peter Lynch, One Up on Wall Street, b. 1944.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks declined from a seven-month high as energy companies ended a five-day rally and gold producers slumped.

     Precision Drilling Corp. and Torc Oil & Gas Ltd. sank more than 3.4 percent. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. soared on renewed speculation its largest shareholder will make a takeover offer. Alacer Gold Corp. and Tahoe Resources Inc. slid at least 3.8 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 64.1 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,386.77 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge yesterday reached the highest level since September, buoyed by seven straight days of gains earlier this month.

     Eight of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX slid, with shares of raw materials and phone companies leading declines. Trading in the index’s stocks was 9.4 percent above the 30-day average at the close.

     Oil and gas stocks slid 0.7 percent after surging 5.6 percent over the last five trading sessions. Crude prices rose 0.6 percent today, after dropping as much as 2.3 percent earlier amid concern a surge in OPEC production led by Saudi Arabia will add to a global glut.

     Precision Drilling slumped 5.1 percent, while Torc dropped 3.4 percent. Raging River Exploration Inc. slid 3 percent.

     Canada’s oil and gas industry is projected to report the biggest drop in profit in at least a decade as crude’s collapse pummels one of the world’s costliest producers. Earnings per share for Canadian petroleum producers will fall more than half to 20 cents for energy companies in the S&P/TSX, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Pacific Rubiales soared 18 percent. Mexican conglomerate Alfa SAB would consider buying, selling or keeping shares of Pacific Rubiales, Chairman Armando Garza said at a press conference on Wednesday. Such a decision “isn’t easy to make,” he said.

     Pacific Rubiales, Latin America’s biggest non-state-owned crude producer, has rallied 45 percent this week, rebounding from the lowest level since 2009.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index neared a record, as semiconductors declined on SanDisk Corp. results to offset a rally in Netflix Inc.

     SanDisk sank 4.5 percent after predicting 2015 sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates. Netflix Inc. surged 18 percent as it reported a jump in quarterly subscribers.

Citigroup Inc. added 1.5 percent as results topped estimates, and UnitedHealth Group Inc. gained 3.7 percent after raising its full-year forecast.

     The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 2,104.99 at 4 p.m. in New York, after earlier rising within 0.3 percent of its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 6.84 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 18,105.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index also fell less than 0.1 percent. About 6.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent below the three-month average.

     “We’re right up near the all-time highs in the S&P, and sometimes you take a breather before you break through those levels,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in Newton, Massachusetts.

     Energy shares in the S&P 500 erased a drop of 1.1 percent to rise as much as 0.5 percent before slipping again. The group’s 6.5 percent rally in April — its best month since January 2013 — has underpinned the S&P 500’s latest run at its first record since March 2.                        

     The S&P 500 has been stuck in a range of 52 points since March 20 when it last neared its record, as weaker-than-forecast data from hiring to manufacturing elevated concern about earnings while at the same time bolstered the case for keeping interest rates lower for longer.

     The benchmark has advanced 2.2 percent this year, trailing benchmark gauges in all developed markets tracked by Bloomberg except Greece, with the Federal Reserve set to raise rates this year.

     Investors are weighing economic reports for clues on the timing of the Fed’s first rate increase since 2006. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data. Housing starts rose less than forecast in March, while jobless claims increased in the latest week.

     Fourteen companies reported quarterly results today. Analysts predict earnings for S&P 500 companies fell 5.6 percent in the first quarter, cutting projections amid concern over a surging dollar and worse-than-forecast economic reports.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups fell Thursday, led by utilities, phone and raw-material companies. Consumer and financial companies rose, with Netflix’s 18 percent climb to a record leading the discretionary category.

     The company said its video-streaming service topped 62 million subscribers worldwide. U.S. subscribers jumped by 2.28 million in the first quarter, while international accounts rose 2.6 million, both beating the company’s earlier forecast. Netflix has been one of the biggest contributors to the Nasdaq Composite’s gains this year amid the stock’s 65 percent rally.

     Semiconductors retreated as SanDisk fell 4.5 percent. The company, which makes memory chips used in mobile devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone, said sales will fall in 2015 as it loses customers, delays products and chip prices fall. Applied Materials Inc. lost 3 percent and Broadcom Corp. slid 1.2 percent.

     Chipmakers were the best performers yesterday among 24 industries in the S&P 500 after Intel Corp.’s earnings and outlook. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index Thursday declined 0.5 percent after rising 1.6 percent Wednesday.

     Steel companies Nucor Corp. and Allegheny Technologies Inc. fell more than 2.3 percent to lead materials companies lower. Sherwin-Williams Co. lost 1.7 percent after the paint maker’s first-quarter earnings missed analysts estimates.

     UnitedHealth Group Inc. climbed 3.7 percent to an all-time high. The largest U.S. health insurer raised its 2015 forecast and posted first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates amid higher revenue from its Optum technology business. Peers Aetna Inc., Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp. all rebounded more than 1.9 percent after each lost at least 1.6 percent yesterday.

     Philip Morris International Inc. jumped 8.7 percent, the most in the more than six years, to lead consumer staples higher. The world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company beat first-quarter profit estimates after sales volume was better than the company expected.

     Citigroup’s 1.5 percent climb paced gains in financial companies as the group rose for a fourth day. Citi’s earnings exceeded analysts’ forecasts as a cost-cutting push helped the third-largest U.S. bank weather a slump in trading. Bank of America Corp. advanced 1 percent.

     Three initial public offerings all jumped in their trading debuts, with artisan website Etsy Inc. posting the biggest gain, up 88 percent. High-frequency trader Virtu Financial Inc. climbed 17 percent, while party-supplies retailer Party City Holdco Inc. added 22 percent.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 1.9 percent to 12.60. The gauge, known as the VIX, declined 14 percent last week to its lowest level of 2015.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

What is the object of jnana yoga?  Freedom.

Freedom from what?  Freedom from our imperfections, freedom from the suffering of life.

Why are we unhappy?  We are unhappy because we are enslaved.  And what are we enslaved by?

The enslavement of nature.  Who enslaves us?

We do, ourselves.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

                                            -Plato, 428 -348 BCE

 

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:

“April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.”

    -Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales.

Tax Day in the US.
Two more weeks for Canadians.

The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. –Albert Einstein.

On this day in 1955, the first McDonald’s opened.
Leonardo da Vinci was born.

The Titanic sank.

Harold Bride, wireless operator on the Titanic, 1912:

“We only saw the big stream of sparks.  The ship was turning gradually on her nose –just like a duck that goes for a dive.  I had only one thing on my mind – to get away from the suction.  The bank was still playing.  I guess all of them went down.  They were playing ‘Autumn’ then.  I swam with all my might.  I suppose I was 150 feet away when the Titanic, on her nose, with her after-quarter sticking straight up in the air, began to settle – slowly.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A blue tit sits between blossoms on a tree during warm and sunny weather near Sehnde, northern Germany, Wednesday. Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/AP

A gosling peers out from its mother’s wings Wednesday, in Santa Clara, Calif. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Market Closes for April 15^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18112.61	+75.91
		+0.42%
S&P 500	2106.63	+10.79   +0.51%
NASDAQ	5011.020	+33.733   +0.68%
TSX	15450.87	+61.59
		+0.40%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19869.76	-38.92
		-0.20%
HANG SENG	27618.82	+57.33
		+0.21%
SENSEX	28799.69	-244.75
		-0.84%
FTSE 100	7096.78	+21.52
		+0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.346	1.320
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.987	1.985
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.8889	1.8985
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5404	2.5427

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81319	0.80056
US $	1.22972	1.24913
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31357	0.76129
US $	1.06818	0.93617

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1192.90	1194.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	56.39	53.29

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

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed to a seven-month high, sending the benchmark equities gauge closer to a record, as energy shares soared while the Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate unchanged.

     Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and Surge Energy Inc. jumped more than 9 percent as energy producers led gains among groups in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. dropped 3.1 percent for a second day of losses.

     The S&P/TSX rose 61.59 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,450.87 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge is now 1.3 percent from a record reached in September.

     Policy makers held the benchmark rate on overnight loans between commercial banks at 0.75 percent for a second straight meeting after a surprise January cut.

     Output stalled in the first quarter as lower oil prices hurt incomes and investment, the bank said. Growth will quicken to a quarterly average of about 2.5 percent through mid-2016 with gains in non-energy exports and employment returning in a few months as the “dominant trend.”

     Five of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX rallied. Financial and technology shares gained more than 0.6 percent. Trading in the index’s stocks was 31 percent above the 30-day average at the close.

     Energy stocks surged 2 percent as crude prices rose to the highest level of the year after a government report showed that U.S. crude stockpiles climbed by the least since January.

     The Bank of Canada said in its statement today that damage from an oil-price shock may already be fading. The drop in crude has triggered layoffs and canceled investments from companies such as Talisman Energy Inc. and Cnooc Ltd.’s Nexen Energy.

     Pacific Rubiales soared 15 percent for the best gain among S&P/TSX companies. Surge Energy added 9.5 percent and Trican Well Service Ltd. jumped 8.3 percent. Energy companies, the worst performers in the broader S&P/TSX Composite Index last year, have rebounded 8.7 percent in April, heading for the best monthly performance since 2011.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to within 0.5 percent of its record, as Intel Corp. climbed and energy companies rallied with oil reaching a 2015 high.

     Intel rose 4.3 percent after its forecast for the second quarter exceeded some analysts’ projections. Energy companies hit an almost five-month high as oil gained for a fifth day. Delta Air Lines Inc. climbed 2.6 percent after reporting better- than-expected first-quarter earnings. Netflix Inc. soared 12 percent in late trading amid a jump in subscribers.

     The S&P 500 increased 0.5 percent to 2,106.63 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 75.91 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,112.61. The Russell 2000 Index added 0.8 percent to an all-time high, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.7 percent to close above 5,000 for the first time in three weeks. About 7.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent above the three-month average.

     “Fed action is probably put off further and earnings are coming in better than expected,” said Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “We went into the earnings season by lowering expectations, so we’re set up for a little bit of a rebound here coming into the actual announcements.”

     While equity indexes from Asia to Europe have climbed to multiyear highs in recent days, the S&P 500 and Dow last set records on March 2, the same day the Nasdaq Composite topped 5,000 for the first time in 15 years.                     

     The S&P 500 has zigzagged since, falling as much as 3.6 percent through March 11 amid concerns that a stronger dollar and lower oil prices would hurt corporate earnings as the Fed considers raising rates. Signals by central-bank officials that they are in no rush to boost borrowing costs propelled the gauge to within 0.4 percent of its record by March 20, before it retreated again.

     The index has been stuck in a range of 52 points since then, as weaker-than-forecast data from hiring to manufacturing elevated concern about earnings while at the same time bolstered the case for keeping rates lower for longer.

     The Nasdaq Composite has jumped 5.8 percent this year, coming within 7 points of its all-time high on March 20 as biotechnology and Internet stocks have rallied. The Nasdaq Internet Index has increased for nine straight days, the longest streak since November 2012.

      Netflix, which has been one of the biggest contributors to the Nasdaq Composite’s gains this year with a 39 percent climb, soared 12 percent as of 4:55 p.m. in New York.

     After the market close, the company said U.S. subscribers jumped by 2.28 million, while international customers rose 2.6 million. Both figures beat the company’s Jan. 20 forecast.

     Energy shares in the S&P 500 rallied 2.3 percent during regular trading Wednesday, pushing their gain in April to 6.8 percent. The gauge is on track for its best month since January 2013. Its rally has propelled the S&P 500 back above its average price for the past 50 days and to within 11 points of its record.

     Semiconductor companies in the benchmark jumped 2.7 percent, the best performers of 24 industries in the index after Intel’s earnings and outlook.

     “In many ways companies have surprised a bit to the upside,” said Ernie Cecilia, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co. in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The firm oversees $8 billion. “The market is slowly getting comfortable with foreign exchange headwinds and taking a look at how the intrinsic business is doing.”

     Profit at S&P 500 companies probably fell 5.6 percent in the first quarter, analysts estimate, and they project quarterly declines through September.

     Investors are weighing economic data to gauge when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. A report showed factory output barely climbed in March, buoyed by a rebound in auto making as other industries retreated, indicating a strong dollar and cheap oil are hurting American manufacturing.

     The 0.1 percent gain in manufacturing was the first advance in four months, matching the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 24 economists. Total industrial production declined more than projected as utility use dropped by the most in nine years. Another report Wednesday showed manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly contracted this month as orders slumped.

     Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data, with recent releases missing projections by the most in six years. The economy expanded across most U.S. regions from mid- February to the end of March, with higher retail sales and rising demand for business services, according to the Fed’s Beige Book report.

     The European Central Bank Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged at record lows as it focuses on a bond-buying program to bolster the euro-area economy. ECB President Mario Draghi said at a press conference in Frankfurt that bond purchases will continue until “a sustained adjustment” in inflation is seen.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 6.1 percent to 12.84. The gauge, known as the VIX, declined 14 percent last week to its lowest level of 2015.

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups advanced, led by energy, raw materials and technology. Dow Chemical Co. and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. rallied more than 2.6 percent to help lead materials to the highest level in a month.

     Energy companies in the benchmark gauge climbed for a second day to their highest since November while oil jumped 5 percent. Transocean Ltd. and Noble Corp. gained more than 7.2 percent, while Southwestern Energy Co. and Halliburton Co. increased more than 4.4 percent.

     The rally in offshore drillers over the past four weeks is tied to investors unwinding short positions, James West, an analyst at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note to clients.

     HCA Holdings Inc. rose 2.5 percent to a record. The biggest for-profit U.S. hospital chain by patient volume raised its 2015 forecast as hospital visits and insurance reinbursements helped lift preliminary first-quarter results above analysts’ estimates.                        

     JPMorgan Chase & Co. advanced 1.9 percent to pace gains in financial shares, up for a second day after Monday’s earnings report, to a 15-year high. Comerica Inc. and Morgan Stanley added at least 1.5 percent.

     Delta Air Lines gained 2.6 percent, paring an earlier climb of more than 5 percent, after better-than-expected earnings. The carrier said it plans to cut seating capacity later this year on international routes as the strong dollar and declining oil prices damps overseas travel demand.

     Precision Castparts Corp. dropped the most in the S&P 500, losing 3.7 percent. The manufacturer of metal components forecast lower-than-expected quarterly profit and said it will take as much as $363 million in writedowns because of declining demand for pipes used in the energy industry.

     UnitedHealth Group Inc. fell 2.2 percent, the most since March and the biggest drop in the Dow. Competitors Anthem Inc., Aetna Inc. and Cigna Corp. lost at least 1.6 percent.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

What we are about to undertake is an expedition together, a journey of discovery

into the most secret recesses of our consciousness.

And for such an adventure we must travel light, we cannot burden ourselves

with opinions, prejudices, conclusions that is, with all the baggage that we have collected

over the past two thousand years or more.  Forget everything you know about yourself;

forget everything that you have thought about yourself;

we are going to set off as if we know nothing.

 

Krishnamurti

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

You should strive to find happiness every day and

not believe that it comes at the end of the

journey.

               -Bill Clinton, 1946-

 

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