Month: June 2015

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Tonight PBS features the program, 1913: Seeds of Conflict.  It looks back at the region known as Palestine at the end of the Ottoman Empire, when Jews and Arabs lived near each other with more peaceful relations.  This one hour documentary, directed by Ben Loeterman airs tonight at 9 PM and seeks to unveil what has changed and what we can learn from this time period.   Should be interesting…

July: The seventh month, named by Mark Anthony in honour of Julius Caesar.  It was formerly called Quintilis, as it was the fifth month of the Roman year.  The old Dutch name for it was Hooy-maand – hay month – while the Anglo-Saxons knew it as Moedmonath – meadow month because the cattle were turned into the meadows to feed them.  In the French Revolutionary calendar, the equivalent was Messidor – harvest gift – corresponding to the period 20^th June to 19^th July.

Until the 18^th century, July was accented on the first syllable.  Even as late as 1798, Wordsworth wrote:

In March, December, and in July,
‘Tis all the same with Harry Gill,
The neighbours tell and tell you truly,
His teethe they chatter,chatter still.
‘Goody Blake and harry Gild.’

                -from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A robot developed by Toshiba Corporation gives a demonstration at its laboratory in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, Tuesday. As Japan struggles in the early stages of decades-long cleanup of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Toshiba has developed this robot that raises its tail like a scorpion to collect data and will hopefully locate some of melted debris. The ‘scorpion’ robot, which is 54 cm (21 in) long when extended and has two cameras, LED lighting, and a dosimeter, will be sent into the Unit 2 reactor in August to look around. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP

Riders have fun on the Yo Yo at the Lincoln County Fair near Stanford, Ky., Monday. Clay Jackson/AP

It was never my thinking that made the big money for me.  It was always my sitting.  Got that?  My sitting tight. – Jesse Livermore, 1877-1940, How to Trade in Stocks.

Market Closes for June 30^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17619.51	+23.16   +0.13%
S&P 500	2063.11	+5.47     +0.27%
NASDAQ	4986.867	+28.399     +0.57%
TSX	14553.33	+63.18
		+0.44%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20235.73	+125.78
		+0.63%
HANG SENG	26250.03	+283.05
		+1.09%
SENSEX	27780.83	+135.68
		+0.49%
FTSE 100	6520.98	-99.50
		-1.50%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.683	1.742
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.303	2.350
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3531	2.3224
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1236	3.0917

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80074	0.80639
US $	1.24884	1.24010
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.39118	0.71882
US $	1.11397	0.89769

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1171.00	1176.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.47	58.33

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, after erasing gains for the year yesterday, to pare a June decline as consumer and health-care shares rebounded.

     ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. soared 16 percent to lead health-care shares higher, while Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. added 1.5 percent. Magna International Inc. gained 1.7 percent amid a report the auto parts company is interested in acquiring German transmissions maker Getrag. Element Financial Corp. climbed 2.9 percent to a record. Bankers Petroleum Ltd. added 5.8 percent as oil recovered from a two- month low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 63.18 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,553.33 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after plunging 2.2 percent yesterday. The benchmark equity gauge retreated 3.1 percent in June, and fell 2.3 percent for the quarter. It is down 0.5 percent for the year.

     “The fact we’re seeing the bounceback so quickly is evidence the market is still confident and optimistic,” said Kash Pashootan, a portfolio manager at First Avenue Advisory of Raymond James Ltd. in Ottawa. His firm manages about C$225 million. “So it’s a positive. But the question marks around Greece yesterday still exist today, so we’re a bit cautious about buying in now.”

     All 10 industries in the S&P/TSX rose, led by a 1.6 percent advance in health-care shares, on trading volume 6.5 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     German Chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed a request for aid from Greece hours before its bailout expires and a payment deadline to the International Monetary Fund passes. Merkel rejected talks before a July 5 referendum in Greece on further budget cuts. Greece has until 6 p.m. New York time to make a $1.7 billion payment to the IMF as Europe’s funding program expires.

     Canada’s economy unexpectedly shrank for the fourth month in a row, opening the door to a second interest-rate cut from the central bank this year. Output slipped 0.1 percent in April as oil and mining slumped, according to data from Statistics Canada. None of the 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a decline and their median estimate was for a 0.1 percent expansion.

     The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 5.5 percent, rebounding after entering a bear market yesterday. China’s stock market has plunged as leveraged speculators unwind their positions and a growing number of analysts warn that valuations have climbed too far. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

US & INTERNATIONAL:

By Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks halted a nine-quarter winning streak and European equities capped the worst three months since 2012 as Greece’s last-ditch bid to secure aid before its bailout expires was rebuffed. Treasuries saw their first quarterly retreat since 2013 with the Federal Reserve poised to raise interest rates this year, while oil surged.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied 0.3 percent by 4 p.m. in New York, following its steepest one-day slump since April 2014. The gauge slid 0.2 percent in the quarter, extending its worst start to a year since 2010. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 1.3 percent Tuesday to cap a 4 percent slide in the three- month period. The euro lost 0.8 percent to $1.1147, paring its first quarterly gain since early 2014. Yields on 10-year Treasuries added 43 basis points this quarter.

     Greece has until 6 p.m. New York time to make a $1.7 billion payment to the International Monetary Fund, with an 11th hour proposal from the government shut down by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel rejected talks before the July 5 referendum as capital controls start to be felt in the indebted nation. The S&P 500 is up 0.2 percent in 2015, after three years of double-digit gains in the period, on prospects the economy is strong enough to withstand higher rates this year.

     “Greece of course coming right at the end of the quarter is scrambling everything up,” John Fox, director of research at Fenimore Asset Management in Cobleskill, New York, said by phone. “Our stocks are trading at 100 percent fair value. They’re not really over-valued but they’re not cheap. Fixed income has really struggled.”                         

     The final day of the second quarter saw intensifying drama in the Greek debt standoff as the country embarked on a round of last ditch efforts to receive a financial lifeline. The government asked for a two-year bailout program from the European Stability Mechanism, sought an extension from the IMF and asked the European Central Bank to extend emergency financing.

     The S&P 500 opened sharply higher after plunging 2.1 percent on Monday to its lowest level since March. The gauge then erased the gains on signs that Greece’s creditors wouldn’t entertain the new proposals, leaving it up to the government to accept a deal it has deemed untenable.

     The S&P 500 fell this week to within 5 points of its average price during the past 200 days before reversing. Stocks have only crossed the level once since 2012 — the period of last October’s selloff, which gave way to an 11 percent advance at the end of 2014.                     

     The U.S. equities benchmark climbed as much as 3 percent during the quarter, setting a fresh all-time high on May 21. Health-care companies added 2.6 percent amid merger activity. The increased in bond rates that hit Treasuries boosted financial shares, while utility stocks, long in favor for their dividend yield, plunged 6.6 percent.

     Data Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence increased more than forecast in June as Americans grew more optimistic about the economy and the labor market. Employers added 280,000 jobs in May, the most in five months, and hourly earnings climbed from a year ago by the most since August 2013, a Labor Department report showed June 5. June payrolls data will be available later this week.

     Energy shares in the S&P 500 didn’t benefit from U.S. crude oil’s best quarterly gain since 2009. The group slumped 2.4 percent, a fourth straight retreat that brings their decline in the past year to 24 percent. West Texas Intermediate oil jumped 25 percent in the three months to June 30, outperforming a 15 percent gain for Brent.

     Oil declined in June as the Greek debt crisis prompted investors to avoid risky assets, while signs of a global supply glut persisted. Crude is still down by more than 40 percent from its June 2014 high.

     European assets were whipsawed Tuesday by comments from government officials all over the euro zone on the Greek crisis.

     The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF added 6 percent in New York after slumping 19 percent on Monday. American depositary receipts of National Bank of Greece SA rose 7.9 percent following a 24 percent plunge.

     The Stoxx 600 fell a second day after its worst slide of the year on Monday. Greece’s ASE Index rose 2.8 percent in the second quarter, before the exchange was closed on Monday. The Stoxx 600 rallied 16 percent in the first quarter and hit a record in April, spurred higher by the European Central Bank’s stimulus program.

     The advance was stymied by the Greek crisis, a rebound in the euro and a rout in the region’s sovereign debt markets. Germany’s DAX Index plunged 8.5 percent in the quarter, the biggest decline since 2011 and among the worst performances among 24 developed markets.

     While Greek turbulence played out in European bond markets, moves reflected investor optimism that contagion would be contained by euro-area and European Central Bank firewalls.

     Italian government bonds rose Tuesday, halting a two-day decline as the nation sold 6.8 billion euros ($7.6 billion) of debt.

     “If you were looking for serious contagion we would expect auctions to fail or have very meager demand,” said Marius Daheim, a senior rates strategist at SEB AB in Frankfurt.                         

     Euro-area sovereign securities handed investors a 5.7 percent loss this quarter through June 29, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Euro Government Index, the worst performance in data going back to 1985.

     The euro’s decline Tuesday came after a 0.6 percent increase on Monday. It’s up 3.9 percent against the dollar this quarter, the most since September 2013.

     The euro has defied forecasters who saw the currency slumping to $1.06 by the end of June as recently as three months ago. Analysts now see it close to that level — at $1.05 — by year-end, the median of more than 60 estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.

     The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 1.3 percent Tuesday, paring a 3.2 percent drop in June. The gauge declined 02 percent in the quarter, trimming its gain in 2015 to 1.7 percent.                         

     The Shanghai Composite Index index rose for the first time in four days Tuesday to finish the quarter 14 percent higher, a fifth straight quarterly advance. The gauge tumbled from a seven-year high on June 12 into a bear market on Monday. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong capped a third straight quarterly advance.

     Puerto Rico bonds tumbled for a second day, extending their biggest selloff in at least two decades, after Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla moved to restructure the junk-rated island’s $72 billion of debt to ease a fiscal crisis.

     Japan’s Topix index rebounded from its worst drop since January to finish the quarter higher by 5.7 percent, a fifth straight gain.

     Platinum fell for a fourth quarter in the longest run of losses since March 1997. Prices touched $1,060.20 on June 22, a six-year low. Gold for immediate delivery slipped 1 percent in the three-month period to cap a fourth decline, its longest run of quarterly losses since June 1997.

 

Have  a wonderful evening and Canada Day everyone!

 

Be magnificent!

There is no master, there is no instructor,

there is no person to tell you what you must do.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

There is no failure except in no longer trying.

                     -Elbert Hubbard,1856-1915

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day 20 years ago, American space shuttle Atlantis docked with Russian space station Mir to create the biggest man-made satellite ever to orbit the earth.

Numbers of the Day: 
10,928
The number of foreigners that applied to invest in the U.S. through the EB-5 immigrant-investor program—a fast track to green cards—in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, up more than 70% from 6,346 a year earlier.

3.2 Billion
Combined earnings (in US dollars) of the world’s 100 highest paid athletes in the past 12 months, a rise of 17 percent.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft breaks apart shortly after liftoff at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Sunday. The rocket was carrying supplies to the International Space Station. John Raoux/AP

Sailing ships take part at the traditional tall ship parade of the Kiel Week sailing event on the Baltic sea in Kiel, northern Germany, Saturday.Carsten Rehder/dpa/AP

Market Closes for June 29^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17596.35	-350.33     -1.95%
S&P 500	2057.71	-43.78     -2.08%
NASDAQ	4958.469	-122.036   -2.40%
TSX	14490.17	-317.92
		-2.15%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20109.95	-596.20
		-2.88%
HANG SENG	25966.98	-696.89
		-2.61%
SENSEX	27645.15	-166.69
		-0.60%
FTSE 100	6620.48	-133.22
		-1.97%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.742	1.867
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.350	2.458
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3224	2.4708
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0917	3.2385

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80639	0.81180
US $	1.24010	1.23183
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.39491	0.71689
US $	1.12484	0.88902

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1176.00	1170.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	58.33	59.63

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.  –George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell the most since January, erasing gains for the year, as global equities slipped after Greek debt talks fell apart over the weekend.

     Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank, the nation’s largest lenders, tumbled more than 2.3 percent as financial shares slumped the most in three years. Manulife Financial Corp. lost 3.1 percent as the insurer seeks to raise S$569 million ($421 million) through an initial public offering in Singapore. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and Cenovus Energy Inc. dropped more than 4.4 percent as crude slid.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 317.94 points, or 2.2 percent, to 14,490.15 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, its biggest drop since Jan. 5. A volatility index of S&P/TSX 60 options jumped 16 percent to 14.40, the biggest jump since Jan. 28.

     “Seems to me it’s an overreaction, it’s an irrational fear,” David Baskin, president of Baskin Wealth Management, said on the phone from Toronto. His firm manages about C$800 million. “I don’t think Europe is going to crumble into the Atlantic and we’ve had time to get used to this, so we’re seeing some buying opportunities.”

     Global markets slumped as investors weighed the chances of a Greek exit from the euro area. The MSCI World Index of developed markets dropped 2 percent, the most in two years. The S&P 500 retreated 2.1 percent in New York, erasing 2015 gains, and the Stoxx Europe 600 plunged 2.7 percent, the most since October.                        

     Greece imposed capital controls, shuttering banks and financial markets until at least July 6, the day after Greeks will vote in a referendum on proposals needed to restore bailout aid. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande signaled they’ve reached the limits of their ability to safeguard Greece, offering no further concessions.

     Enbridge Inc. lost 2.1 percent and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. tumbled 2.7 percent as energy producers sank 2.2 percent as a group. All 10 industries retreated on trading volume 4.4 percent higher than the 30-day average. Crude dropped to the lowest in more than two months.

     Financial services stocks plunged 2.5 percent, the most since June 2012. Bank of Nova Scotia sank 3 percent and Manulife slumped 3.1 percent. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. declined 4.2 percent.

     The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 3.3 percent, tumbling into a bear market after an interest-rate cut from China’s central bank failed to revive confidence. China’s stock market has plunged from first to worst on global performance rankings as leveraged speculators unwind their positions and a growing number of analysts warn that valuations have climbed too far. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Mapan Energy Ltd. surged 54 percent after agreeing to sell itself to Tourmaline Oil Corp. in a share deal worth about C$106 million.  Element Financial Corp. rose 1.7 percent after agreeing to buy the bulk of General Electric Co.’s vehicle fleet-management business for $6.9 billion.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated the most since April 2014, wiping out a gain for the year, as global equities sold off amid concern over fallout from the Greek financial crisis.

     Financial shares in the benchmark index fell 2.5 percent as Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. slipped at least 2.5 percent. DuPont Co., Visa Inc. and Boeing Corp. tumbled more than 2.6 percent to pace declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. National Bank of Greece ADRs plummeted 24 percent, and the Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF tumbled 20 percent.

     The S&P 500 Index sank 2.1 percent to 2,057.64 at 4 p.m. in New York, falling toward its average price for the past 200 days. The Dow lost 350.33 points, or 2 percent, to 17,596.35, the biggest drop since October. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.4 percent, the most since April 2014, while the Russell 2000 gauge decreased 2.6 percent for its worst day this year.

     About 7.4 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 16 percent above the three-month average. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index surged 34 percent, its biggest increase since April 2013.

     “We finally reached the breaking point,” said Michael James, a managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc. in Los Angeles. “With so much uncertainty around a potentially negative outcome, the knee-jerk reaction will be to reduce risk assets. You have a potentially very ugly situation this week.”                       

     Greece closed its banks and imposed capital controls, a measure that will deepen the country’s recession and risk driving it toward an exit from the euro. Talks over bailout aid with international creditors collapsed late Friday, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras unexpectedly called a July 5 referendum on the austerity demanded by creditors. The European Central Bank froze the level of emergency aid available to Greek lenders Sunday.

     U.S. stocks extended losses in afternoon trading as S&P cut its rating on Greece, with a negative outlook, and said the probability of the country exiting the euro zone is about 50 percent.

     “There was an expectation that something would break positively at the last minute, but it appears it’s going to be a little messier than that,” Kevin Caron, a market strategist and portfolio manager who helps oversee $170 billion at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Florham Park, New Jersey. “As things get worse with the Greek economy — social unrest, nervousness and the possibility of an EU exit — there’s the potential for even more weakness.”

     Global stocks plunged, with the MSCI All-Country World Index falling 2 percent for its steepest slide since June 2013. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 2.7 percent, the most this year, and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 2.9 percent. The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index lost 3.3 percent to enter a bear market.

     Gauges of stock volatility surged around the world as the weekend meltdown in Greece collided with China’s market unraveling and traders bought hedges to stanch the bleeding. The CBOE’s volatility index, known as the VIX, reached its highest level since February and erased its decline for the year.

     The tumble in U.S. equities jolted traders out of a two- month torpor, as many had shrugged off the drama unfolding in Greece. The S&P 500 hasn’t had a weekly move of more than 1 percent since April, and the last time it had a single-day move of more than 2 percent was Dec. 18.

     The benchmark’s decline Monday left it down for the last three months, threatening to halt a streak of nine straight quarterly gains, the longest run since 1998. The S&P 500 has dropped for four straight days, the longest stretch of losses since March.

     The Greek financial crisis provides a good opportunity for investors to snap up U.S. stocks, says Morgan Stanley chief U.S. equity strategist Adam Parker. The current level of U.S. economic strength should be enough to make stock investors look past temporary worries over Greece, especially with earnings coming up next month, he said.

     “I want to buy this dip right now,” Parker said in a television interview on “Bloomberg Markets” with Olivia Sterns and Scarlet Fu. “A couple of weeks from now when earnings kick off you’ll probably go a whole day on Bloomberg without mentioning the word Greece.”

     Leon Cooperman, the founder of the $9.2 billion Omega Advisors, said he sees less than a 50 percent chance of Greece leaving the euro zone.

     The turmoil in Greece prompted questions about the outlook for higher U.S. interest rates.

     “It’s possible that the Fed won’t be in as much of a hurry to raise rates” John Carey, a Boston-based fund manager at Pioneer Investment Management, which oversees about $230 billion, said by phone.

     Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said in an interview with the Financial Times that a September interest-rate increase is “very much in play,” after recent stronger-than-forecast data.

     A report today showed contracts to purchase previously owned homes rose in May for a fifth month, indicating recent strength in the real-estate industry will be sustained. Other reports this week include data on manufacturing, home prices and construction spending, as well as the government’s monthly payrolls report due Thursday.

     All 10 of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined at least 0.6 percent Monday, with financial, consumer discretionary and raw-material shares tumbling more than 2.3 percent.

     Charles Schwab Corp. and Morgan Stanley decreased more than 3 percent to pace losses in the S&P 500’s financial sector, which saw all 88 companies fall. The group declined the most since February 2014. MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc. slid at least 3.3 percent.                        

     Shares of the two biggest bond insurers dropped while a gauge of their credit risk surged as Puerto Rico’s governor called the island’s $72 billion of debt “unpayable.” Assured Guaranty Ltd. lost 13 percent, the most in more than three years, while MBIA Inc. slumped 23 percent to its lowest since August 2011.

     Consumer discretionary stocks in the S&P 500 sank 2.5 percent. Macy’s Inc. fell 4 percent, its biggest decline since August, after Deutsche Bank AG downgraded the department-store chain, citing a sales slump and mounting expenses from shipping, retirement and health-care.

     Raw-material companies in the S&P 500 slid the most since January. Dow Chemical Co. dropped 3.6 percent while DuPont lost 3 percent to its lowest level in 16 months.

     Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, which makes about a quarter of its sales in the region that includes Europe, retreated 6.8 percent.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The very essence of the Hindu Philosophy

is that man is a spirit, and has a body,

and not that man is a body and may have a spirit also.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Where there is no desire, there will be no industry.

                                               -John Locke, 1632-1704

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Interesting item in The Economist:

The 800^th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta on June 15^th  is (was) being celebrated with, among other jollities, a pageant, a masquerade, a bespoke cantata, bell-ringing, a flower festival and a river relay on the Thames featuring the queen’s barge, Gloriana.  But the most interesting commemoration is a tapestry that replicates the entire Wikipedia article on the Magna Carta, stitched by an army of professional embroiderers, 36 prisoners, lawyers, journalists and campaigners.  Julian Assange, a whistle-blower, stitched “freedom” in the Ecuadorean embassy; Edward Snowden, another, did “liberty” in Moscow.  Jewel-like illustrations by  the Embroiderers’ Guild nestle beside clumsy letters by judges, and the blood of Alan Rusbridger, a former editor of the Guardian, who pricked his finger while sewing.  “I like the democracy of the Wikipedia page, and I wanted that echoed in the piece,” says Cornelia Parker, the artist who created the embroidery.  “Everybody can contribute, everybody is on the same page” –as, it is to be hoped, are Britons on the matter of the liberties that the Magna Carta embodies. –

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Wild mares gather in front of the shrine of El Rocio during the ‘Saca de yeguas’ event in Almonte, southern Spain, Friday. Every year on June 26 hundreds of wild mares are grouped together by riders at Donana National Park and taken to a livestock fair in Almonte village. Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters

A one-month-old eagle owl chick looks out from a plywood birdhouse inside an open-air cage at the Royev Ruchey zoo in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Friday. Ilya Naymushin/Reuters

Market Closes for June 26^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17947.02	+56.66     +0.32%
S&P 500	2101.72	-0.59     -0.03%
NASDAQ	5080.504	-31.686     -0.62%
TSX	14808.88	-88.62
		-0.59%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20706.15	-65.25
		-0.31%
HANG SENG	26663.87	-481.88
		-1.78%
SENSEX	27811.84	-84.13
		-0.30%
FTSE 100	6753.70	-54.12
		-0.79%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.867	1.814
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.458	2.411
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.4708	2.4034
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2385	3.1689

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81180	0.81133
US $	1.23183	1.23254
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.37561	0.72695
US $	1.11672	0.89548

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1170.50	1172.65
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.63	59.55

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a second day, paring a weekly advance, after oil extended losses below $60 a barrel and an equity rout in China deepened while investors awaited a resolution to Greek debt talks.

     TransCanada Corp. retreated 3 percent to pace declines among energy stocks. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. retreated 1.9 percent after a report the drugmaker had approached animal health company Zoetis Inc. about a takeover. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. fell 1.8 percent amid its pursuit of German K+S AG.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 89.41 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,808.09 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has risen 1.1 percent this week after four straight declines.

     Surge Energy Inc. dropped 4.1 percent and TransCanada lost 3 percent as energy companies fell 1.2 percent. All 10 industries in the S&P/TSX retreated on trading volume 14 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. tumbled 5.6 percent. The two companies seeking to acquire it said Thursday the price for their joint bid was justified given the difficulties Pacific Rubiales would face surviving as an independent company.

     The Shanghai Composite Index plunged 7.4 percent,the most in five months, leaving the benchmark on the cusp of a bear market. China’s stock market has plunged from first to worst on global performance rankings as leveraged speculators unwind their positions and a growing number of analysts warn that valuations have climbed too far. China is Canada’s second- largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Investors are also monitoring the situation in Europe. Greece’s creditors have proposed a five-month program extension and 15.5 billion euros ($17.3 billion) of funding that would extend the country’s bailout program through November, a European official told reporters in Brussels. A Greek government news agency later reported the deal was rejected.

     Potash Corp. slipped 1.8 percent. The Canadian fertilizer producer is pursuing K+S, though the German potash supplier is likely to reject the offer as the bid is too low, according to people familiar with the matter.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Annelise Alexander

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, with equities posting a weekly decline, as a rally in Nike Inc. offset a selloff in semiconductors while investors continued to watch Greek debt talks.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,101.80 at 4 p.m. in New York, after trading between its average prices during the past 50 and 100 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent as Nike added about 30 points to the index’s gain. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.6 percent as semiconductors led a retreat in technology shares.

     “The selloff here seems to be more in tech than anywhere else, which could be weighing on the market overall,” said Tim Ghriskey, who helps oversee $1.5 billion as managing director and chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management. “Traders are taking money off the table in front of the weekend and perhaps even quarter-end as we head into earnings season and a short week.”

     FTSE Russell concluded the annual revisions to its equity benchmark gauges, usually spurring one of the busiest sessions of the year. About $5.7 trillion is benchmarked to Russell indexes worldwide, including $800 billion in passive products such as exchange-traded funds.

     In three of the previous four years, the reconstitution day ranked in the top five busiest trading sessions, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Technical talks are underway in Brussels before euro-area finance ministers meet on Saturday to hammer out an agreement ending a five-month standoff with Greece. They’ll reconvene armed with a proposal by creditors to unlock as much as 15.5 billion euros ($17.3 billion) and extend Greece’s program through November.

     “There’s a couple of factors going on,” said Jon Corpina, a senior managing partner at Meridian Equity Partners. “You have the overhanging impending headlines coming out of Greece. Couple that with the Russell and the end of the quarter and it’s an interesting yin and yang that’s performing in the market right now.”

     The S&P 500 rose within 0.3 percent of a record earlier this week, and is poised for a 10th straight quarterly gain. Stocks have been trading in a tight range as investors await a resolution to the Greek crisis and assess data for hints on when the Federal Reserve will start raising borrowing costs. The S&P 500 is heading for its longest streak since 1993 without posting a weekly move of more than 1 percent.

     Data today showed consumer confidence climbed in June to a five-month high as an improving job market boosted Americans’ attitudes about the world’s largest economy. Data Thursday showed consumer spending in May climbed the most in almost six years.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The Upanishad tells us:  Know the soul that is your own.

In other word:  Realize the grand unique principle of the whole that is in all men.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The truth is always the strongest argument.

                      -Sophocles, 497-406 BCE

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1914 the poet Edward Thomas and his wife Helen were going by train to see the American poet Robert Frost at Ledbury in Herefordshire.  Thomas made some jottings about these suspended moments in his notebook and much later, some time in the first fie months of 1915 and after Frost had convinced him of his vocation as a poet, he wrote this, his most famous poem.  He was killed on the Western Front in 1917.  Adlestrop station was an early victim of Dr. Beeching’s rationalization of the rail network in the 1960s.

Adlestrop

Yes, I remember Adlestrop-
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly.  It was late June.

The steam hissed.  Someone cleared his throat.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform.  What I saw
Was Adlestrop – only the name

And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
No whit less still and lonely fair
Than the high cloudlets in the sky.

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

And also on this day in 1957, American TV sitcom “I Love Lucy” ended. The series first aired in 1951.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly captured an aurora from the International Space Station at the height of recent geomagnetic storms caused by coronal mass ejections from the sun. NASA/Reuters

Journalists walk through underground tunnels that Japan’s Imperial Navy once used as secret headquarters underneath Hiyoshi Campus of Keio University in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Wednesday. Today, the concrete tunnels sit quietly underneath the high school and university campus, largely untouched and unknown, occasionally visited by guided tours for the students. The school opened them to the media for the first time this week to raise public awareness of the site and the tragic history it represents, in the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Eugene Hoshiko/AP

Market Closes for June 24^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17966.07	-178.00     -0.98%
S&P 500	2108.58	-15.62     -0.74%
NASDAQ	5122.414	-37.681     -0.73%
TSX	14947.51	+42.60
		+0.29%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20868.03	+58.61
		+0.28%
HANG SENG	27404.97	+71.51
		+0.26%
SENSEX	27729.67	-74.70
		-0.27%
FTSE 100	6844.80	+9.93
		+0.15%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.778	1.831
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.389	2.427
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3762	2.4123
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1557	3.2031

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80738	0.81095
US $	1.23857	1.23313
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.38752	0.72071
US $	1.12026	0.89265

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1173.75	1178.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	60.12	60.78

What is conservatism?  Is it not adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried? –Abraham Lincoln.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a third day, to the highest in almost three weeks, as commodities producers rallied with bank shares amid data showing the U.S. economy shrank less than expected on bigger gains in consumer spending.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. climbed 3 percent to pace gains among raw-materials producers. Surge Energy Inc. added 4.6 percent as energy producers advanced a third day. Financial services providers increased 0.4 percent as a group.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 42.60 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,947.51 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has rallied 2 percent in three days since almost erasing its 2015 advance on Friday.

     The U.S. economy shrank 0.2 percent in the first quarter, revised from a previously reported 0.7 percent drop, aided by a bigger gain in consumer spending after rebounding from a harsh winter. The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner.

     Investors are also monitoring the situation in Europe. Germany downplayed the chances of an imminent deal with Greece as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government rejected the latest terms set by creditors. Tsipras met in Brussels Wednesday with the heads of the three creditor institutions.

     Six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 2.5 percent below the 30-day average. Suncor Energy Inc.climbed 2.6 percent as energy stocks climbed 0.8 percent as a group.

     Teck Resources Ltd. increased 0.7 percent and Lundin Mining Corp. rose 3.2 percent. Copper futures in New York have rallied 2.1 percent in two days, the biggest two-day advance in seven weeks. The Chinese government took steps to expand credit in an effort to support long-term economic growth. China is the world’s top consumer of industrial metal and Canada’s second- largest trading partner.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, halting two days of gains that brought equities near a record, amid declines in raw- material and railroad shares as Greek debt talks dragged on.

     Kansas City Southern and CSX Corp. dropped more than 2.7 percent to weigh on industrial shares. General Motors Co. slumped 3.1 percent, while Ford Motor Co. gained after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. flipped its preference on the two. Netflix Inc. erased a rally of as much as 3.7 percent after Carl Icahn said he had exited his stake. Apple Inc. added 0.9 percent after positive comments from Morgan Stanley.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.7 percent to 2,108.58 at 4 p.m. in New York, after earlier rising to within 0.3 percent of a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 178 points, or 1 percent, to 17,966.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.7 percent from an all-time high. About 5.8 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges Wednesday, 8 percent below the three-month average.

     “This is just a bit of a pullback because we’ve had a good run over the last few days, and there has been some nervousness that the Greece situation may not get resolved soon,” said Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates Inc. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “Other than that, there’s a little bit of a lull until earnings next month.”

     Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is preparing to pick up talks with creditors after euro-area finance ministers adjourned a meeting on Greece today as a breakthrough on the terms of aid remained elusive. Tsipras will meet for more discussions with creditors in Brussels Wednesday night. Signs of fresh cracks between the sides tempered optimism from earlier this week that had sent stocks higher around the world.

     Revised data today showed a bigger gain in consumer spending helped the world’s largest economy contract less than previously estimated. Gross domestic product fell at a 0.2 percent annualized rate, compared with a previously reported 0.7 percent drop.

     The harsh winter weather and port delays that damped growth at the start of the year have given way to increases in consumer spending and housing, bolstering Federal Reserve projections that the setback was temporary. Still, pockets of weakness remain as lower oil prices continue to hinder investment in the energy industry and a firm dollar restrains global sales.

     Fed Governor Jerome Powell said Tuesday the chances are about 50-50 that the U.S. economy will improve enough for the central bank to raise interest rates in September. Three rounds of Fed bond purchases and near-zero interest rates helped the S&P 500 more than triple during the six-year bull market.

     The benchmark index has gone without gains or losses of 2 percent or more for the longest streak since February 2007. The gauge climbed last week by the most since April after the Fed signaled it won’t rush to raise rates, as officials hold out for more decisive evidence of an economic rebound.                        

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 9.5 percent today to 13.26, after closing yesterday at its lowest level in a month. The gauge, known as the VIX, is down 31 percent this year.

     All of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined, with raw- material, industrial and health-care companies sliding the most. Technology shares erased an earlier climb as Apple trimmed its advance. The tech giant rose as much as 2.2 percent after Morgan Stanley said Apple Watch demand is “sustaining at healthy levels,” while an estimate for iPhone demand in the current quarter remains at 53 million.

     Monsanto Co. fell 5.7 percent, the most since Aug. 2011, and was the biggest decliner Wednesday in the S&P 500. The world’s largest seed company signaled low corn and soybean prices are likely to persist beyond 2015 as it prepares for potentially reduced revenue by cutting expenses. DuPont Co. retreated 3.4 percent and Vulcan Materials Co. lost 1.6 percent.                      

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average dropped 1.9 percent, the most in two weeks, for a second day of losses. Kansas City Southern, CSX Corp. and Union Pacific Corp. lost at least 2.7 percent to pace declines. J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. slid 3 percent, the most in four months, and Con-way Inc. declined 2 percent.

     Financial companies in the S&P 500 fell for the first time in three days. Banks slumped after yesterday reaching their highest level in more than seven years. Citigroup Inc., KeyCorp and Bank of America Corp. declined more than 1 percent. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased 1.8 percent, the most since March.

     GM fell 3.1 percent, the biggest drop in two months, while Ford rose 1.4 percent to a one-month high after Goldman Sachs flipped its preference between the two automakers, saying Ford has a “superior growth outlook.”

     Netflix closed 0.4 percent lower after rallying as much as 3.7 percent on the company’s stock split announcement. Shares of the online subscription video service wiped out gains after Carl Icahn said he had exited his Netflix stake. Icahn also warned in a CNBC interview that he thinks the stock market is “overheated,” and he expects a “dramatic pullback.”

     Peabody Energy Corp. tumbled 8.8 percent. Cable One Inc. will replace Peabody in the S&P MidCap 400 Index after the close of trading on June 30.

     Helmerich & Payne Inc. slid 2.7 percent to an 11-week low. Simmons & Co. cut its rating on the stock to neutral from overweight after Helmerich trimmed its outlook for daily rig revenue in the third quarter.

     Fitbit Inc. lost 4.9 percent, falling for the first time in five sessions since its initial public offering. Shares had climbed 89 percent through Tuesday’s close.

     An S&P index of homebuilders advanced to a two-month high after Lennar Corp. rallied 4.2 percent as quarterly results beat analysts’ forecasts. KB Home gained 2.9 percent to a seven-month high. PulteGroup Inc. and D.R. Horton Inc. added at least 1.1 percent. Data Tuesday showed new-home sales in May rose to the highest level since February 2008.

     Sysco Corp. climbed 3.1 percent, the most since September, after its planned $3.5 billion takeover of US Foods Inc. was blocked by a federal judge. That brought relief to investors concerned about the company undertaking an ambitious merger.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To know our soul apart from our ego

is the first step toward accomplishing the supreme deliverance.

It is necessary that we know with absolute certainty that in essence we are spirit.

And we can only arrive at this knowledge if we render ourselves masters of our ego,

if we rise above all pride, all appetite, all fear, by knowing that material losses and the

death of the body can never take away the truth and the greatness of our soul.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We all have ability.  The difference is how we use it.

                                     -Stevie Wonder, 1950-

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On June 23^rd, 1929, Virginia Woolf wrote in her diary:

“What a born melancholiac I am!  The only way I keep afloat is by working.  Directly I stop working I feel that I am sinking down, down.  And as usual, I feel that if I sink further I shall reach the truth.  That is the only mitigation; a kind of nobility.  Solemnity.  I shall make myself face the fact that there is nothing – nothing for any of us.  Work, reading, writing, are all disguises;  and relations with other people.  Yes, even having children would be useless.”

I was watching an interview with Bill Gross, fixed income portfolio manager with Janus (formerly the star at PIMCO Asset Management), and the interviewer asked him if he was happy.   He said that in order to be happy, a person needs three things:  something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People are reflected in a soap bubble lying on a road Tuesday evening in New Delhi. Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters

Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg sits in the cockpit of the Solar Impulse 2, a solar powered plane, before its planned departure from Nagoya airport in Japan, Tuesday. The plane’s attempted round-the-world flight was cut short on the seventh leg of its 35,000-km (22,000-mi) global journey earlier this month, landing in Nagoya, western Japan, due to bad weather. Thomas Peter/Reuters

Market Closes for June 23^rd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18144.07	+24.29   +0.13%
S&P 500	2124.61	+1.76   +0.08%
NASDAQ	5160.094	+6.122   +0.12%
TSX	14903.84	+113.36
		+0.77%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20809.42	+381.23
		+1.87%
HANG SENG	27333.46	+252.61
		+0.93%
SENSEX	27804.37	+74.16
		+0.27%
FTSE 100	6834.87	+9.20
		+0.13%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.831	1.806
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.427	2.403
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.4123	2.3743
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2031	3.1656

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81095	0.81218
US $	1.23313	1.22702
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.37711	0.72616
US $	1.11676	0.89545

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1178.00	1185.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	60.78	59.68

The greatest safety lies in putting all your eggs in one basket and watching the basket. –Gerald M. Loeb  1900-1974 (E.F. Hutton, The Battle for Investment Survival).     

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks capped the biggest two-day rally since February as commodities producers surged and optimism increased over Greece debt negotiations.

     Teck Resources Ltd. increased 3.6 percent as copper rose the most in seven weeks on signs manufacturing is stabilizing in China. Energy producers jumped 1.6 percent as crude advanced. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose a second day after submitting a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. BlackBerry Ltd. lost 3.9 percent after the company reported a first-quarter loss wider than analysts’ estimates.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 114.43 points, or 0.8 percent, to 14,904.91 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has rallied 1.7 percent in the past two days after almost erasing its 2015 advance on Friday.

     Greece’s Prime Minister now has to muster support from his coalition for a plan that aims to stave off the country’s default amid signs of progress on debt talks. Equities rallied in Europe, and American benchmark gauges climbed toward records.

     Nine of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 6.3 percent below the 30-day average. Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia increased more than 0.9 percent as financial stocks climbed 0.8 percent as a group.

     Teck Resources gained 3.6 percent and HudBay Minerals Inc. increased 2.7 percent as raw-materials producers advanced 0.7 percent.

     Copper climbed 1.7 percent in New York and aluminum, zinc, nickel, lead and tin advanced in London. A preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index for China from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics edged closer in June to the level that signifies expansion. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

     UrtheCast Corp. dropped 3.5 percent, following a three-day advance, after selling subscription receipts for shares to help fund its acquisition of Elecnor SA’s Deimos Imaging unit. UrtheCast, which transmits images of the Earth from cameras on the International Space Station, had surged 37 percent in the previous three days.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index near a record, as investors weighed economic data for clues on the timing of higher interest rates amid optimism that a deal on Greek aid is within reach.

     AT&T Inc. rose 2.5 percent after two analyst upgrades. Green Dot Corp. jumped 40 percent after authorizing a stock buyback plan and reaching a new, five-year deal with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Semiconductors reversed Monday’s gains as Nvidia Corp. and Qorvo Inc. fell more than 2.5 percent. Consumer staples slumped as the dollar rallied.

     The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.1 percent to 2,124.20 at 4 p.m. in New York, a one-month high and 0.3 percent from its record close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 24.29 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,144.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.1 percent to an all-time high for a second day. About 5.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 8.6 percent below the three-month average.

     “There are quite a few cross-currents,” said Jim Paulsen, the Minneapolis-based chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management Inc. His firm oversees $351 billion. “You’ve still got Greece in the background. There are a lot of people wondering if the S&P 500 can establish a record high and build more strength to the upside. That’s lurking more immediately, and that’s the thing most at work today.”

     The S&P 500 had its biggest weekly gain since April in the period ended Friday after the Federal Reserve signaled it won’t be raising rates quickly as officials hold out for more decisive evidence of an economic rebound. Three rounds of Fed bond purchases and near-zero interest rates helped the benchmark more than triple during the six-year bull market.

     Fed Governor Jerome Powell said today the chances are about 50-50 that the U.S. economy will improve enough for the central bank to raise interest rates in September, as the job market strengthens and signs of wage growth emerge.

     A report Tuesday showed purchases of new homes increased more than forecast in May to the highest level in seven years. That added to data yesterday showing sales of previously owned homes climbed to their highest level since 2009, boosted by more first-time buyers.

     A separate report today said orders for business equipment gained in May for just the second time this year. Orders for all durable goods declined 1.8 percent, reflecting a drop in the volatile aircraft category.

     After talks on Monday, Greece now has 48 hours to bring a deal with its creditors to the finish line and end a five-month standoff over aid that risks default and possible exit from the euro. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras needs to shore up support at home for his plan, while euro-area finance ministers meet Wednesday to prepare the ground for a second, scheduled summit of European Union leaders Thursday.                      

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index slipped 5 percent today to 12.11, closing for a second day at its lowest level in a month. The gauge, known as the VIX, rose 1.3 percent last week.

     Five of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups increased, led by phone companies, consumer discretionary and energy shares.  Utilities and consumer staples fell the most.

     Retailers in the benchmark index reached an all-time high.  Amazon.com Inc. gained 2.2 percent to a record, while Staples Inc. rose 1.8 percent, the most since April. TJX Companies Inc. increased 1.5 percent to the highest in a month, and Urban Outfitters Inc. advanced 1.1 percent.

     Financial shares climbed for a second day as the yield on 10-year Treasuries rose to a two-week high after the biggest advance in six weeks Monday. KeyCorp and JPMorgan Chase & Co. added at least 1.1 percent to pace the group. Lincoln National Corp. climbed 1.1 percent.

     Energy shares erased an earlier decline, rising as West Texas Intermediate crude prices climbed above $61 a barrel. Apache Corp., Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro  Corp. gained more than 1.9 percent.

     AT&T jumped 2.5 percent to its highest in almost 11 months after Barclays Plc upgraded the shares to overweight, and UBS AG raised to buy from neutral.

     Green Dot soared 41 percent, the most ever, after the issuer of reloadable prepaid debit cards reached a new five-year deal with Wal-Mart and authorizing a $150 million stock buyback. Shares had fallen 25 percent this year through Monday.

     Miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. rallied 3.7 percent as copper prices rose the most in almost two months on optimism that stabilizing economies will buoy demand from Europe to China, the world’s top metals consumer.

     Consumer staples slumped as a Bloomberg gauge on the dollar had its best gain in more than two weeks. Philip Morris International Inc. and Altria Group Inc. lost more than 0.9 percent. Molson Coors Brewing Co. declined 2.2 percent. A stronger U.S. currency makes their products less competitive abroad, and can dent revenue when overseas sales are converted back into dollars.

     Semiconductors weighed on the technology group, with Texas Instruments Inc. and KLA-Tencor Corp. down more than 1.2 percent. Hard-drive maker Western Digital Corp. retreated 3.3 percent to its lowest since October after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the shares to neutral from overweight, citing little evidence of improvement in PC demand. JPMorgan also trimmed estimates on Seagate Technology Plc, which slipped 2.9 percent.

     BlackBerry Ltd. lost 4.2 percent, its biggest drop since March. The smartphone maker posted a wider-than-anticipated quarterly loss and handsets shipments at the lowest since 2007 even as the new keyboard-equipped Classic phone went on sale.                         

     Utilities slid for a third day, losing 1.4 percent. CenterPoint Energy Inc., NiSource Inc. and PPL Corp. fell more than 1.8 percent.

     Security services company ADT Corp. retreated 4.9 percent to a four-month low. Research firm Off Wall Street Consulting Group Inc. initiated coverage on the shares with a long-term sell and a $25 price target, 29 percent below the current price.

     Drive-in burger chain Sonic Corp. dropped 10 percent, the most in three months, after saying it will open fewer franchised restaurants this year than it had planned.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

The Hindu believes that he is a spirit.

He believes that the sword cannot pierce him, that fire cannot burn him,

that water cannot dissolve him, that air cannot dry him out.

He believes that the soul is a circle whose circumference has no limits, but whose center is situated in the body.

Death signifies the transference of this center of a body to another.

We are the children of God.

Matter is our servant.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

It isn’t working that’s so hard, it’s getting ready to work.

                                        -Andy Rooney, 1919-2011

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents: 

Summer is officially here!  🙂

Driving trip planned this summer?  Take the Slow Road:

Roadtrippers provides a different kind of driving directions.  Rather than charting the fastest path from Point A to Point B, this free iPhone and Android app suggests the most entertaining route.  It points out local attractions, restaurants, and scenic detours along your journey.  If a recommendation appeals to you, a single tap adds the new waypoint to your directions.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Spanish architects Jose Selgas (l.) and Lucia Cano view the Serpentine Summer Pavilion in Hyde Park in London, Monday. The 15th annual architectural commission is a double-skinned polygonal translucent structure designed by the pair, and will be open to the public until Oct. 18. Toby Melville/Reuters

Team SCA, skippered by Samantha Davies of Britain (2nd l.), celebrates after finishing the prestigious nine-month sailing race in Gothenburg, Sweden, Monday. The nine-leg race started in Alicante, Spain, on Oct 11, 2014, and finished in Gothenburg on Monday. Bjorn Larsson Rosvall/Reuters

Market Closes for June 22^nd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18119.78	+103.83     +0.58%
S&P 500	2122.85	+12.86   +0.61%
NASDAQ	5153.973	+36.971   +0.72%
TSX	14790.48	+137.36
		+0.94%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20428.19	+253.95
		+1.26%
HANG SENG	27080.85	+320.32
		+1.20%
SENSEX	27730.21	+414.04
		+1.52%
FTSE 100	6825.67	+115.22
		+1.72%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.806	1.718
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.403	2.334
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3743	2.2595
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1656	3.0511

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81218	0.81499
US $	1.23126	1.22702
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.39590	0.71638
US $	1.13372	0.88205

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1185.50	1203.45
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.68	59.48

 The experience of being disastrously wrong is salutary; no economist should be denied it, and not many are.  –John Kenneth Galbraith.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, with the benchmark index gaining the most since February, as equities joined a global rally amid optimism as euro area leaders sought a solution to the Greek debt impasse.

     Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia rose at least 0.9 percent to pace gains among the nation’s largest banks. Air Canada climbed 4.1 percent to snap three days of losses after an analyst at Beacon Securities rated the stock a buy. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., the nation’s largest drugmaker, advanced 2.2 percent. Energy producers jumped 1.5 percent as crude advanced.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 137.36 points, or 0.9 percent, to 14,790.48 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge is up 1.1 percent for the year, after almost erasing its 2015 advance on Friday.

     Bank of Nova Scotia rallied 1.2 percent and Toronto- Dominion Bank increased 1 percent as financial-services companies gained 0.7 percent as a group. The industry makes up about a third of the benchmark S&P/TSX. All 10 industries advanced on trading volume 12 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Stock markets around the world advanced on optimism Greece will negotiate a deal with its creditors to avoid a default at the end of the month. The MSCI World Index of developed markets jumped 1.1 percent to a May high as the S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 jumped 2.3 percent.

     Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs meetings of his euro-area counterparts, said there’s an “opportunity” for a deal this week after a fresh set of proposals from the Greek government earlier on Monday.

     Telus Corp. increased 2.4 percent for a third straight day of gains and Rogers Communications Inc. increased 2 percent. The two companies are vying to acquire Mobilicity, the Canadian wireless carrier currently in creditor protection, according to people familiar with the matter.

     UrtheCast Corp., which markets imagery of the Earth taken from its camera on the International Space Station, surged 13 percent. The company has soared 37 percent over three days to a 2011 high. It announced plans last week to build and deploy a network of Earth observation satellites.

     Resverlogix Corp., a drug developer, increased 4.9 percent after receiving phase 3 testing approval for its RVX-208 cardiovascular treatment in Europe.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rising near a record, as Cigna Corp. and Williams Cos. jumped on merger news amid optimism over Greece debt talks.

     Cigna climbed 4.7 percent after rejecting a $47 billion takeover bid from Anthem Inc. Williams surged 26 percent after turning down a $48 billion buyout offer. Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. increased more than 1.2 percent as banks rebounded. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. slumped 12 percent after Sequential Brands Group Inc.’s takeover bid was below investors’ expectations.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent to 2,122.85 at 4 p.m. in New York, after rallying as much as 0.9 percent to within one point of its closing high set a month ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 103.83 points, or 0.6 percent, to 18,119.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.7 percent to an all-time high. About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 9 percent below the three-month average.

     “I’m pretty optimistic about this week with the recent developments in Greece,” said Paul Zemsky, the head of multi- asset strategies at Voya Investment Management LLC, which oversees $218 billion. “There were also better existing home sales data, showing the housing market is healthy. Last week we got better news from the Fed.”

     European policy makers expressed confidence that a deal with Greece was within reach after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government submitted a last-minute set of proposals. Euro-area leaders are meeting in Brussels, where Tsipras has a chance to put his case to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

     The S&P 500 Friday posted its best weekly gain since April, after signals from the Federal Reserve that the central bank won’t be raising rates quickly as officials hold out for more decisive evidence of an economic rebound.

     The equity benchmark fell as much as 2.4 percent from its May record as the threat of tighter monetary policy spooked investors amid data showing the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter. Three rounds of Fed bond purchases and borrowing costs near zero have propelled the gauge up by more than 200 percent during the six-year bull market.

     Data today showed previously owned homes in May sold at the fastest pace since November 2009, adding to evidence the economy will be strong enough to withstand the first rate increase since 2006. Closings on existing properties rose 5.1 percent to a 5.35 million annualized rate, above the 5.26 million median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

     Investors and the Fed will also assess reports this week on durable goods orders, first-quarter economic growth, personal income and spending and consumer sentiment.

     “The consumer is two thirds of the economy, so they need housing to do well,” said Patrick Spencer, equities vice- chairman at Robert W. Baird & Co. in London. “The housing number will continue to be reasonably buoyant and that will underpin the market.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 8.7 percent Monday to 12.74, closing at its lowest level in a month. The gauge, known as the VIX, rose 1.3 percent last week.

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups climbed, with energy, health-care and financial companies rising the most. Cigna, Anthem and Aetna Inc. added at least 3.2 percent after Cigna rejected Anthem’s takeover bid. Shares of all three also closed at all-time highs. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 1.5 percent to a record.

     Williams’s 26 percent rally after a buyout offer paced gains in energy. Oneok Inc., Apache Corp. and Southwestern Energy Co. gained at least 1.7 percent.

     Banks in the benchmark index jumped 1.4 percent, the best performance out of 24 industry groups, after Friday falling the most in two months. Fifth Third Bancorp gained 2.8 percent to an 11-month high after a plan to consolidate or sell 100 branches and 30 other properties. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. advanced more than 1.2 percent.

     Home Properties Inc. added 1.8 percent after a Lone Star Funds affiliate agreed to buy the U.S. apartment landlord in a transaction valued at about $7.6 billion, including debt.

     A Bloomberg index of U.S. airlines climbed for a fourth straight session, the best stretch in six weeks. JetBlue Airways Corp., American Airlines Group Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. added at least 2.9 percent.

     Technology companies advanced, led by gains in software shares. Adobe Systems Inc. rose 3.2 percent to a record, while Facebook Inc. increased 2.7 percent to a three-month high. Piper Jaffray Cos. analyst Gene Munster raised his price target on the social media company’s shares to $120 from $92, saying the long- term value of its Oculus virtual-reality business isn’t reflected in the stock price.

     International Paper Co. lost 2.9 percent, closing at its lowest level since October. Macquarie Group said in a note it sees more downside risk for containerboard companies amid price cuts. MeadWestvaco Corp. and Rock-Tenn Co. slipped more than 0.8 percent.

     Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia tumbled 12 percent, the most in more than six years after Sequential Brands Group Inc. offered to buy the home-decor company for $6.15 a share, below its closing price on Friday. Investors had anticipated a higher price. Through Friday, Martha Stewart shares had jumped 37 percent over two days amid reports of an imminent takeover.

     Polycom Inc. fell 8.5 percent, the biggest drop since July 2013, after William Blair & Co. downgraded shares of the communications-equipment manufacturer to underperform.

     Utility companies in the S&P 500 slipped as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note increased the most in six weeks. Higher bond yields make utilities’ dividend payout less attractive to investors. The group is coming off its best weekly gain since April, after the 10-year yield last week declined the most in more than two months.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Do men fear sleep?

One prepares the bed for sound sleep.

Sleep is temporary death.  Death is longer sleep.

If the man dies while yet alive, he need not grieve over others’ death.

One’s experience is evident with or without the body, as in waking, dream, and sleep.

Then why should one desire continuance of the bodily shackles?

Let man find out his undying Self and die and be immortal and happy.

Sri Ramana Maharshi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

 

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

                                                    -Albert Camus, 1913-1960

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1971, American singer and songwriter Carole King scored her first number one hit as a performer for “It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move.”

And it’s worth the effort and expense to get to New York to see the play “Beautiful” the story of Carole King’s life.  One of the best plays ever.

In the Wall Street Journal today:  “The Treasury Department’s decision to put a woman on America’s paper currency for the first time in more than a century drew a common reaction on Thursday: It’s about time that happened…” 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An Efan 1 electric plane performs its demonstration flight at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, Friday. The Efan is a two-seat experimental electric aircraft developed by Airbus Group and partners. Some 300,000 aviation professionals and spectators are expected at this week’s Paris Air Show. Remy de la Mauviniere/AP

A patriotic racegoer holds her bag at the Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, England, Friday. Eddie Keogh/Reuters

George Kaihara (l.) and his wife Miko Nakamura Kaihara, both 90 years old, show off their high school diplomas at the Tustin High School commencement ceremony in Tustin, Calif., Thursday. George and Miko were juniors at the school when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and they were sent to Poston Internment Camp in Arizona. Dennis Hayden, a classmate of George and Miko, recently reconnected with them, and made it his mission to see them graduate. Ed Crisostomo/AP

Market Closes for June 19^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18014.28	-101.56   -0.56%
S&P 500	2109.58	-11.66   -0.55%
NASDAQ	5117.000	-15.949   -0.31%
TSX	14643.39	-127.25
		-0.86%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20174.24	+183.42
		+0.92%
HANG SENG	26760.53	+65.87
		+0.25%
SENSEX	27316.17	+200.34
		+0.74%
FTSE 100	6710.45	+2.57
		+0.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.718	1.790
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.334	2.390
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2595	2.3327
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0511	3.1284

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81499	0.81793
US $	1.22702	1.22259
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.39280	0.71798
US $	1.13511	0.88097

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1203.45	1201.85
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.48	60.45

The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable. –John Kenneth Galbraith.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, briefly erasing gains for the year before recovering some losses in the final hour, as the nation’s largest banks tumbled and commodities producers slid with base-metals prices.

     Bank of Nova Scotia and Royal Bank of Canada retreated at least 1.1 percent to lead declines among financial services companies. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. sank 3.3 percent as copper capped the longest run of weekly drops since 2013. Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. climbed 4.1 percent after agreeing to buy Enbridge Inc.’s Canadian liquids pipeline business for C$30.4 billion ($24.8 billion). Enbridge rose 3.2 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 117.52 points, or 0.9 percent, to 14,645.11 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark index fell as much as 1.3 percent before paring the drop. The gauge is little changed for the year, after capping a fourth straight weekly slide for the longest streak since October.

     “The TSX is heavy on financials and with a possible move on interest rates plus credit issues in Europe, the index remains vulnerable,” said Youssef Zohny, a portfolio manager at Stenner Investment Partners of Richardson GMP Ltd. in Vancouver. Richardson GMP manages about C$28 billion.

     Eight of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX fell Friday. Trading volumes were about double the 30-day average amid a quarterly phenomenon known as quadruple witching, when futures and options contracts on indexes and individual stocks expire.

     Royal Bank stumbled 1.1 percent and Bank of Nova Scotia retreated 1.2 percent as financials dropped 0.9 percent as a group. The industry accounts for about a third of the benchmark equity gauge.                      

     Raw-materials producers slumped 2 percent. Integrated miner First Quantum declined 3.3 percent, and Teck Resources Ltd. lost 2.3 percent. Copper posted a fifth weekly decline, the longest run of losses in two years, and aluminum fell to a 16-month low on concern demand will weaken in China, the largest user of industrial metals.

     Goldcorp Inc. tumbled 2.7 percent and Detour Gold Corp. fell 6.1 percent.

     Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. lost 3.9 percent and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. retreated 2 percent. Crude for July delivery fell 1.4 percent in New York.

     Retail sales posted a surprise 0.1 percent decline in April on a drop in food and electronics, less than all 18 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey with a median estimate of a 0.7 percent increase. Canada’s inflation rate advanced 0.9 percent in May from a year earlier.

     Investors are also watching developments in Europe. Euro- area leaders will hold an emergency summit in Brussels on Monday to discuss Greece after finance ministers failed to reach an agreement.

US

By Callie Bost and Jennifer Kaplan

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index traded near a record, as energy shares slumped with oil and financial companies fell from a seven-year high.

     Banks in the benchmark index posted their steepest drop in two months. Marathon Oil Corp. and Schlumberger Ltd. lost more than 2.2 percent. Hershey Co. fell to a 10-month low after cutting its annual profit forecast. ConAgra Foods Inc. rallied to a record after activist investor Jana Partners disclosed a new stake.

     The S&P 500 Index fell 0.5 percent to 2,109.99 at the close in New York, after earlier coming within 0.5 percent of an all- time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 99.89 points, or 0.6 percent, to 18,015.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.3 percent from a record. Selling accelerated in the final minutes of trading as some stock and index futures and options expired in a process known as quadruple witching.

     “The simple answer is because we were up yesterday,” said Tom Wirth, senior investment officer for Chemung Canal Trust Co., which manages $1.9 billion in Elmira, New York. “It’s quadruple witching day today. People are closing out positions and that can add to volatility in the market.”

     The S&P 500 dropped after its strongest three-day run in three months. It’s the best performing developed-market index in June, and the only benchmark heading for a gain. Three rounds of Federal Reserve bond purchases and borrowing costs near zero have propelled the gauge up by more than 200 percent during the six-year bull market.                           

     Equities were boosted this week as the Fed signaled that it won’t be raising rates quickly, with officials still holding out for more decisive evidence of a rebound in growth. Fed Chair Janet Yellen stressed that the central bank has no set course for raising rates, and will continue to evaluate incoming data to decide when to move.

     Fed Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said today the central bank is likely to raise interest rates this year as the economy reaches full employment, though he’s troubled by low inflation.

     Meanwhile, the breakdown in Greece’s talks with creditors was a non-event for U.S. equity investors, with the S&P 500 up 0.8 percent this week. Traders are losing interest even as European finance officials called for an emergency meeting on Monday to resolve the Greek impasse before its financial lifeline expires at month’s end.                          

     “Right now, we’re just immune to Greece,” said Yousef Abbasi, the global market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC in New York. “Europe seems to think the Greece situation is under control and if something does happen, it won’t cause contagion.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index climbed 5.8 percent Friday to 13.96. The gauge, known as the VIX, rose 1.3 percent for the week. About 8.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges Friday, 29 percent above the three-month average.

     All of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups fell, with utility, financial and energy companies declining the most. Financial shares in the S&P 500 slid as the yield on 10-year Treasuries dropped to an almost three-week low. The group climbed Thursday to its highest since May 2008, buoyed by a rally in interest rates last week to the highest level since September.

     JPMorgan Chase & Co. slipped 1 percent, pacing losses in the KBW Bank Index. Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. lost at least 1.1 percent. Allstate Corp. and Travelers Cos. led insurers lower, falling more than 1.9 percent.                        

     Macerich Co. fell 6.8 percent to a seven-month low amid speculation Simon Property Group Inc., which attempted to take over the shopping-mall owner earlier this year, was responsible for offering a block of the company’s shares overnight.

     Energy companies retreated with oil as both the group and the commodity swung between gains and losses this week. Noble Corp. lost 2.5 percent after slumping 3.4 percent Thursday. Schlumberger Ltd. and Halliburton Co. slid at least 1.6 percent.

     Technology shares fell, with Microsoft Corp. down 1.3 percent after three days of gains, and Oracle Corp. slipping 2.7 percent on top of yesterday’s 4.8 percent drop. Finisar Corp. dropped 10 percent, the most in a year, after its fiscal first- quarter outlook trailed analysts’ forecasts. Xilinx Inc. and Juniper Networks Inc. lost more than 1.8 percent.                      

     West Corp. slumped 5.5 percent, the most since March. The communications company announced a secondary offering of 8 million shares sold by investors related to private-equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Quadrangle Group, representing a 9.6 percent stake.

     Consumer staples closed little changed after erasing gains in the final hour. ConAgra jumped 11 percent, the biggest climb in more than 25 years, after being targeted by activist Jana Partners. Tyson Foods Inc. added 1.7 percent.

     Homebuilders rallied after KB Home reported fiscal second- quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates as orders jumped. KB climbed 9.4 percent, the most in more than two years, to lead the group. Lennar Corp. and D.R. Horton added more than 1.8 percent as an S&P index of builders hit a two-month high.

     Airlines gained as crude prices declined. A Bloomberg index of U.S. carriers rose 2 percent, the biggest gain since June 1. SkyWest Inc., American Airlines Group Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. added at least 2.3 percent.

     Peabody Energy Corp. advanced 6.9 percent amid a plan to sell its Queensland coal exploration portfolio, the Australian Financial Review reports, without saying where it got the information. Shares are down 22 percent this month.

     FitBit Inc. advanced 9.5 percent, after surging 48 percent in its trading debut yesterday.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

All of our selfish impulses, all of our personal desires, obscure our true vision of the soul,

as they only point out our shabby ego.  When we are aware of our soul,

we perceive the inner life that surpasses our ego

and that has profound affinities with the Whole.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

 

A diamond is a piece of coal that stuck to the job.

                           -Thomas Edison, 1847-1931

 

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Some other interesting stuff…

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled “Gentlemen   Only- Ladies Forbidden” thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
——————————————-
The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and    Wilma Flintstone.
——————————————-
Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.
——————————————-
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
——————————————-
Coca-Cola was originally green.
——————————————-
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
——————————————-
The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:
Alaska
——————————————
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%  (now get this…)
The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
———————————————————-
The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400
———————————————————–
The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour:
61,000
————————————————
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
————————————————
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
————————————————
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
———————————————————–
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades – King David
Hearts – Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds – Julius Caesar
____________________________________________________________
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

And…On this day in 1812, the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Great Britain began.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

This image provided by the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging in June 2015 shows pathways of signals in the brain from the Connectome Scanner dataset. The fibers are color-coded by direction: red is left-right, green is front-back and blue is up-down. Laboratory of Neuro Imaging/AP

Race goers arrive on Ladies Day at Royal Ascot, just south of London, Britain, Thursday. Toby Melville/Reuters

Market Closes for June 18^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18115.84	+180.10   +1.00%
S&P 500	2120.97	+20.53   +0.98%
NASDAQ	5132.949	+68.068   +1.34%
TSX	14771.37	+38.39
		+0.26%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19990.82	-228.45
		-1.13%
HANG SENG	26694.66	-59.13
		-0.22%
SENSEX	27115.83	+283.17
		+1.06%
FTSE 100	6707.88	+27.33
		+0.41%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.790	1.757
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.390	2.360
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3327	2.3165
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1284	3.0949

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81793	0.81758
US $	1.22259	1.22312
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.38991	0.71947
US $	1.13685	0.87962

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1201.85	1178.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	60.45	59.92

There’s a certain part of the contented majority who love anybody who is worth a billion dollars. –John Kenneth Galbraith

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rebounded from a three-month low as gold producers rallied after the price of the metal jumped the most in five weeks.

     Torex Gold Resources Inc. climbed 5.6 percent as gold rose above $1,200 an ounce after the Federal Reserve signaled interest-rate hikes will be gradual. Trilogy Energy Corp. and Birchcliff Energy Ltd. lost at least 3.3 percent to pace declines among energy companies. Bombardier Inc. increased 2.5 percent to rebound from two days of losses.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 37.66 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,770.64 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has advanced 0.9 percent this year, among the worst- performers in developed markets in the world.

     Eight of 10 industries in the benchmark index advanced on trading volume 6.5 percent below the 30-day average. BlackBerry Ltd. led technology shares lower, while TransCanada Corp. lost 0.4 percent and Suncor Energy Inc. slipped 1.3 percent as energy producers declined.

     Bombardier paced gains in industrial shares, rebounding 2.5 percent after a two-day slide of 8 percent. The aircraft manufacturer signed a five-year heavy maintenance pact with Mesa Air Group Inc. after being shut out of order at the Paris Air Show on the second day of the event.

     Goldcorp Inc. increased 1.8 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. gained 3 percent as gold increased. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped to a one-month low after the Fed on Wednesday cut its longer-term projections for U.S. borrowing costs.

     Investors are also watching developments in Europe. Euro- area leaders will hold an emergency summit in Brussels on Monday to discuss Greece after finance ministers failed to reach an agreement today.

     Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said it’s “unthinkable” Greece will receive any financial aid before June 30, when its bailout agreement expires and the country has to pay about 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) to the International Monetary Fund.

US

By Jennifer Kaplan and Annelise Alexander

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied, with the Nasdaq Composite Index closing at a record, as the Federal Reserve signaled it will continue to support the economy even as growth picks up.

     Health-care and consumer shares in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained more than 1.1 percent. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index jumped to an all-time high. Harley-Davidson Inc. climbed 4.2 percent amid positive analyst comments and an upgrade. Oracle Corp. fell 4.8 percent as quarterly revenue and profit missed analysts’ forecasts.

     The Nasdaq climbed 1.3 percent to 5,132.95 at 4 p.m. in New York, topping its record in May. The S&P 500 Index added 1 percent to 2,121.24, rising for a third straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 180.10 points, or 1 percent, to 18,115.84. The Russell 2000 Index advanced 1.3 percent to an all-time high. About 6.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 8.3 percent above the three-month average.

     “It’s a pretty rosy scenario here,” said Tom Mangan, who helps oversee about $6.4 billion as money manager at James Investment Research in Xenia, Ohio. “The market has discounted a lot of bad things and in fact there are some really good things happening. As long as the Fed is dragging their feet in terms of going back to what might be called a normal level of liquidity, then they are providing momentum for the economy.”

     Three rounds of Fed bond purchases and borrowing costs near zero have propelled the S&P 500 up by more than 200 percent during the six-year bull market. The index is down 0.5 percent from an all-time high reached in May.

     While the median forecast of Fed policy makers published Wednesday still calls for two interest-rate increases by year- end, more officials say just one would be enough in 2015. Still more advocate a go-slow approach to further tightening in 2016. Yellen yesterday stressed that the Fed has no set course for raising rates, and will continue to evaluate incoming data to decide when to move.

     Equity futures earlier extended gains after a report showed the cost of living in the U.S. excluding food and fuel rose less than forecast in May, a sign inflation may take time to meet the Fed’s goal. The so-called core measure increased 0.1 percent, the smallest gain this year. The overall consumer-price index advanced 0.4 percent, as fuel costs rebounded.                        

     A separate report showed fewer Americans than forecast filed for unemployment benefits last week, a sign labor market momentum continues to strengthen. Another gauge indicated manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region rose more than forecast this month.

     Euro-area finance ministers failed to reach a deal on Greece after meetings in Luxembourg, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said. Euro-area leaders will hold an emergency summit Monday in Brussels with Greece set to reach the end of its bailout agreement without receiving more aid.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 9 percent Thursday to 13.19. The gauge, known as the VIX, dropped for a third day on its way to the first weekly decline in three weeks. All 10 of the S&P 500’s main industries rallied, with health-care companies and utilities rising the most.

     Amgen Inc., Celgene Inc and Biogen Inc. each gained more than 2.7 percent to pace the health-care rally. The Nasdaq Biotech Index jumped 2.9 percent, the most since Jan. 16, to a record. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. soared 12 percent to an all-time high after the company said its experimental drug for dwarfism helped children in a mid-stage trial. Johnson & Johnson rose 1.7 percent, the most in six weeks.

     Consumer staples companies climbed for a third day amid the dollar’s slump. Altria Group Inc., Philip Morris International Inc. and Kraft Foods Group Inc. all increased more than 1.5 percent. The weaker U.S. currency makes their products more competitive abroad, and can help boost revenue when overseas sales are converted back into dollars.

     “We’re likely to see a bit of rotation on the equity market,” said Robert Sinche, a strategist at Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. “Equities that were sold because of their foreign exposure may begin to reverse a little bit as we see signs of the dollar’s upward momentum breaking.”

     Harley-Davidson Inc. added 4.2 percent, the most since October, to reach a two-month high. Shares rose 3.6 percent Wednesday as the company boosted its stock-buyback plan. UBS AG today raised its rating on the shares to buy from neutral.

     Ralph Lauren Corp. rose 3.6 percent, its biggest gain since November, after Credit Suisse reiterated its outperform rating, saying the company’s progress on its restructuring initiatives is “encouraging.” Amazon.com Inc. increased 2.7 percent to an eight-week high.

     General Motors Co. increased 1.1 percent, the most in three weeks. Fitch raised the automaker’s credit rating to investment grade.

     Semiconductors climbed for a fourth day to lead the technology group. Microchip Technology Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. added more than 1.7 percent, while Intel Corp. increased 1.4 percent.

     Among other tech shares, Juniper Networks Inc. rose 1.7 percent after Wedbush Securities Inc. raised the shares to outperform from neutral. Microsoft Corp. advanced 1.6 percent, up for a third day after going 21 sessions without back-to-back gains.

     Energy shares in the benchmark had the smallest advance amid mixed trading. Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum Corp. added more than 1.2 percent, while Ensco Plc, Noble Corp. and Transocean Ltd. lost at least 2.9 percent. Oil States International Inc. fell 5.5 percent, the most since January, after trimming its second-quarter sales forecasts, citing a downturn in its well site services segment.

     Jabil Circuit Inc. lost 7.4 percent, the most in 18 months, as its fiscal fourth-quarter forecast trailed analysts’ estimates.

     Rite Aid Corp. dropped 3.6 percent after the drugstore chain said earnings for the fiscal year would be lower than an earlier forecast, reflecting the results of an acquisition.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Death is extraordinarily like life,

when we know how to live.

You cannot live without dying.

You cannot live if you do not die

psychologically every minute.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

There is one art of which every man should be a master: the art of reflection. 

If you are not a thinking man, to what purpose are you a man at all?

                                                     –Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772-1834

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On June 17^th, 1578, Sir Francis Drake, sailing off the coast of north-western California, arrives at Nova Albion and wrote this  in his journal on that day:

In this bay we anchored….The people of the country, having their houses close by the water’s side, showed themselves unto us and sent a present to our general.  When they came unto us they greatly wondered at the things which we brought.  Our general (according to his natural and accustomed humanity) courteously entreated them, and liberally bestowed on them necessary things to cover their nakedness.  Whereupon they supposed us to be gods, and would not be persuaded to the contrary.  The presents which they sent unto our general were feathers, and cauls of net work.

  Their houses are digged round about with earth, and have from the uttermost brims of the circle clefts of wood set upon them, joining close together at the top like a spire steeple, which by reason of that closeness are very warm,  Their bed is the ground with rushes strewed on it and lying about the house; they have the fire in the midst.  The men go naked; the women take bulrushes and comb them after the manner of hemp, and thereof make their loose garments; which, being knit about their middles, hang down about their hips, having also about their shoulders a skin of deer, with the hair upon it.  These women are very obedient and serviceable to their husbands.

And also on this day in 1885, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French, arrived in New York Harbor after being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 pieces packed in more than 200 cases.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Racegoers wear top hats during the Royal Ascot horse races on Wednesday in Ascot, England. Eddie Keogh/Livepic/Reuters

Frenchman Frank Samson, who is taking part in an re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo, poses in front of the Lion’s Mound of Waterloo in Belgium Wednesday. The commemorations for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo will take place in Belgium on June 19 and 20. Yves Herman/Reuters

Market Closes for June 17^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17935.74	+31.26   +0.17%
S&P 500	2100.44	+4.15   +0.20%
NASDAQ	5064.883	+9.330   +0.18%
TSX	14732.98	-20.07
		-0.14%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20219.27	-38.67
		-0.19%
HANG SENG	26753.79	+187.09
		+0.70%
SENSEX	26832.66	+146.15
		+0.55%
FTSE 100	6680.55	-29.55
		-0.44%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.757	1.807
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.360	2.396
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3165	2.3918
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0949	3.1030

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81758	0.81194
US $	1.22312	1.23161
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.38679	0.72109
US $	1.13381	0.88198

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1178.00	1182.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.92	59.96

Six words that spell business success:  create concept, communicate concept, sustain momentum. –Yale Hirsch.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell to a two-month low as the nation’s largest lenders tumbled to offset a rebound in gold prices after the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that the pace of interest-rate increases will be gradual.

     Toronto-Dominion Bank dropped 0.8 percent to pace declines among financial services firms. Alacer Gold Corp. rallied 8.4 percent as gold climbed. Bombardier Inc. extended its two-day slide to 8 percent as the aircraft maker has been shut out of the Paris Air Show so far.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 20.07 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,732.98 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has advanced 0.7 percent this year, among the worst- performers in developed markets in the world.

     Seven of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 5.7 percent lower than the 30-day average. Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s largest lender, slipped 0.6 percent as financial services firms decreased 0.5 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX.

     Barrick Gold Corp. climbed 2.6 percent, the most in a month, and Teck Resources Ltd. added 1.5 percent as raw- materials producers rallied 0.8 percent as a group.

     Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.5 percent to $1,188.18 an ounce in New York, erasing an earlier loss.

     Fed policy makers signaled a pickup in the economy is keeping it on track to raise interest rates this year, though subsequent increases are likely to be more gradual than anticipated earlier.

     The Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep the main rate at zero, where it has been since late 2008. New forecasts issued by the committee implied two quarter-point rate rises this year and a shallower pace of increases in 2016.

     Investors are also watching developments in Europe, where Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was ready to take responsibility for rejecting a deal with creditors if the terms are unacceptable. Negotiations are close to a breakdown ahead of a June 18 meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Luxembourg as the next deadline in a saga that opened in 2009.

US

By Jennifer Kaplan and Annelise Alexander

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed after the Federal Reserve said the pace of any interest-rate increases will be gradual as Chair Janet Yellen wants to see more decisive evidence of economic growth.

     TripAdvisor Inc. soared 15 percent on a room-booking deal with Marriott International Inc. Procter & Gamble Co. added 1.2 percent to pace gains in consumer staples companies, while Harley-Davidson Inc. rose 3.6 percent on an expanded stock- buyback plan. FedEx Corp. fell the most in five months after its fourth-quarter profit trailed analysts’ estimates, and energy shares retreated.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to 2,100.44 at 4 p.m. in New York, after rising as much as 0.5 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 31.26 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,935.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2 percent. About 6.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 1.6 percent below the three-month average.

     “It looks like there’s a shallower rate hike path for 2016 and 2017,” said John Canally, chief economic strategist at LPL Financial Corp. “That should be supportive of risk assets.”

     Fed officials maintained their forecast for the benchmark interest rate at the end of 2015, while lowering it for next year. Policy makers predicted the rate will rise to 0.625 percent this year, according to their median estimate. That implies two quarter-point increases. Next year, they expect the rate to climb to 1.625 percent, lower than a March forecast of 1.875 percent.

     A rebound in job growth is giving Fed officials reason to look beyond a first-quarter economic slowdown as they consider when to tighten policy. At the same time, inflation remains below their target, and central bankers say the timing of a rate increase depends on how economic data unfold.

     Recent data from retail sales to wage growth have been improving, though a report Tuesday indicated builders began work on fewer houses in May following a surge the prior month. That followed a disappointing factory report on Monday that pushed stocks lower.

     “We are sort of in a Goldilocks economy where we don’t have to rush to make any drastic moves,” said Myles Clouston, senior director of Nasdaq Advisory Services. “The Fed has the luxury to take their time and be thoughtful given that the economy is showing signs of improvement on multiple fronts. Things seem to be moving smoothly.”                        

     The S&P 500 has more than tripled from its March 2009 low, buoyed by three rounds of stimulus from the Fed. The index is down 1.4 percent from an all-time high reached last month.

     During her post-statement press conference, Yellen said Greece and its creditors are faced with difficult decisions, and turmoil from a failure to reach a deal could have spillover effects on the U.S.

     Greece remains deadlocked in talks with creditors and needs to seal a deal before the euro area’s bailout expires on June 30, or risk missing payments on its debt of about 313 billion euros ($352 billion). Negotiations between Greece and its creditors are close to breakdown as finance ministers prepare to meet in Luxembourg on Thursday.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 2.1 percent Wednesday to 14.50. The gauge, known as the VIX, fell 3.8 percent yesterday, retreating from an 11-week high.                        

     Eight of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups rose, led by utility companies, which posted their best gain in a month, and consumer shares. Gas and electricity provider NiSource Inc. jumped 3.7 percent to an all-time high as shares of its pipeline spinoff started preliminary trading. Sempra Energy and CenterPoint Energy Inc. climbed more than 1.5 percent.

     TripAdvisor shares soared 15 percent, the most in four months, to lead consumer discretionary shares higher. The company announced a partnership with Marriott International that will let users of the travel-planning website book rooms at the chain’s hotels.

     Harley-Davidson rallied 3.8 percent, the most since January, after boosting its share-buyback authorization by 15 million shares. Nordstrom Inc. gained 2.4 percent, its biggest climb in four months.

     Reynolds American Inc. and Procter & Gamble climbed more than 1.2 percent, leading an advance among consumer staples companies as a Bloomberg gauge on the dollar fell to a one-month low. A weaker dollar helps make their products more competitive overseas.                        

     AbbVie Inc. climbed 1.5 percent after Piper Jaffray Ltd. rated the shares overweight. Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc. soared 22 percent to a record after Botox maker Allergan Plc agreed to buy the company for $2.1 billion. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index added 0.6 percent.

     FedEx fell 3 percent to weigh on the transportation group. The operator of the world’s largest cargo airline posted a fourth-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates, crimped by currency fluctuations and lower fuel surcharges. The Dow Jones Transportation Average slipped 0.4 percent, down for a fourth consecutive day, the longest stretch in two months.

     Energy companies reversed early gains, falling with oil after a government report showed crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate crude traded in New York, rose for the first time since April and U.S. refineries unexpectedly cut operating rates. Chesapeake Energy Corp. lost 3.5 percent, while Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Apache Corp. slid more than 2.3 percent.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

We would rather cling to the known than face the unknown-

the known being our house, our furniture, our family,

our character, our work, our knowledge, our fame, our loneliness, our gods –

that little thing that moves around incessantly within itself,

with its own limited embittered existence.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Age does not matter if the matter does not age.

                 -Carlos Pena Romulo, 1898-1985

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Interesting stuff…

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

———————————————

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?  A. Their birthplace

———————————————

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?

A. Obsession

——————————————————————-

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you  would find the letter “A”?    A. One thousand

——————————————————————-

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?   A. All were invented by women.

————————————

Q. What is the only food that doesn’t spoil?   A. Honey

———————————————————

Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?

A. Father’s Day

————————————————————

In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.

When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase……… “goodnight, sleep tight.”

——————————————————————

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after  the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead  he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

——————————————————————–

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts… So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them “Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.”

It’s where we get the phrase “mind your P’s and Q’s

——————————————————————-

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to   get some service. “Wet your whistle” is the phrase inspired by this practice.

——————————————————                               

And…on this day in 1884, America’s first roller coaster opened at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. It traveled at about six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Muslim children carry torches during a parade marking Ramadan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday. Ramadan, the holy fasting month, is expected to begin on Thursday. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Achmad Ibrahim/AP

People walk away as huge waves hit the Arabian Sea shore marking the arrival of monsoon season in Mumbai, India, Tuesday. The annual monsoon rains, which usually hit India from Juneto September, are crucial for farmers whose crops feed hundreds of millions of people. Rajanish Kakade/AP

Market Closes for June 16^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17904.48	+113.31   +0.64%
S&P 500	2096.29	+11.86   +0.57%
NASDAQ	5055.555	+25.582   +0.51%
TSX	14753.05	-3.00
		-0.2%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20257.94	-129.85
		-0.64%
HANG SENG	26566.70	-295.11
		-1.10%
SENSEX	26686.51	+99.96
		+0.38%
FTSE 100	6710.10	-0.42
		-0.01%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.740	1.769
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.337	2.360
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3075	2.3559
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0399	3.0867

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81354	0.81150
US $	1.22908	1.23228
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.38254	0.72331
US $	1.12484	0.88901

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1177.75	1181.40
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.97	59.52

As for it being different this time, it is different every time.  The question is in what way, and to what extent. –Tom McClennan (The McClennan Market Report)

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed, with the benchmark gauge trading near the lowest level in three months, as raw-materials producers retreated with the price of gold to offset a gain among oil shares as crude rebounded.

     Tahoe Resources Inc. sank 9.3 percent after Goldcorp Inc. sold its stake in the company. Goldcorp slipped 1.9 percent. Bombardier Inc. sank 6.5 percent as its CSeries jet failed to garner any new orders at the Paris Air Show. Hudson’s Bay Co. climbed 9 percent after announcing a deal to acquire a German retailer yesterday.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 3 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,753.05 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark slid as much as 0.5 percent in early trading before nearly erasing the slide over the course of the afternoon. The gauge has advanced 0.8 percent this year, among the worst- performers in developed markets in the world.

     Barrick Gold Corp. declined 2.5 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. lost 2.7 percent as raw-materials producers dropped 1 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX. Seven of 10 industries retreated on trading volume 3.1 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Tahoe Resources tumbled 9.3 percent. Goldcorp, the world’s largest gold producer by market value, sold its 26 percent stake in the company for C$998.5 million in a secondary share sale to increase its near-term liquidity.

     Gold for August delivery slipped 0.4 percent to $1,180.90 an ounce in New York. The Fed meets in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday to plot monetary strategy and update economic forecasts as investors speculate when it will raise interest rates.

     Crescent Point Energy Corp. rose 2.3 percent and Cenovus Energy Inc. added 2.8 percent as energy producers increased 0.5 percent. Oil advanced for the first time in four days.

     Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gave no sign of backing down in the standoff over the country’s bailout. He hurled criticism at Greece’s creditors in a speech to lawmakers in Athens, accusing the International Monetary Fund of “criminal” responsibility for his country’s predicament.

     Attention now shifts to a June 18 meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Luxembourg as the next deadline in a saga that opened in 2009. Officials have focused on that as a make- or-break session for Greece’s ability to avert default and stay in the currency union.

US

By Jennifer Kaplan and Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) —  U.S. stocks advanced, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rising above its average price during the past 100 days, as investors speculate the Federal Reserve won’t rush to raise rates amid uncertainty over Greece’s future in the euro.

     Aetna Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. rose more than 2.1 percent amid bets that the health-insurance industry is headed for a round of mergers. Monster Beverage Corp. jumped 4.2 percent to lead consumer staples higher. Oracle Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc. gained more than 1.3 percent. United Rentals Inc.fell 2.6 percent after an analyst downgrade, and airline shares declined for a second day.

     The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.6 percent to 2,096.29 at the close in New York, erasing Monday’s slide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 113.31 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,904.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5 percent. About 5.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges Tuesday, 13 percent below the three-month average.

     “We had a selloff the last few days, and we’re seeing a bounce back from an oversold condition,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in Newton, Massachusetts. “I don’t think anyone wanted to be caught short ahead of the Fed meeting. The situation in Greece is still up in the air and will be for a little while, but it doesn’t look like that’s holding investors back today.”                         

     The Federal Reserve concludes its two-day meeting Wednesday, and officials are expected to leave interest rates unchanged after the economy contracted in the first quarter amid harsh winter weather. Policy makers anticipate growth will rebound enough to potentially allow for a rate increase this year.

     Recent data from retail sales to wage growth have been improving, though disappointing factory data Monday increased investor uncertainty as to whether the rebound is strong enough to withstand a rate increase.

     A report Monday showed May housing starts totaled 1.04 million at an annualized rate following April’s revised 1.17 million pace, capping the best back-to-back readings since the last two months of 2007. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 1.09 million. Permits for future projects climbed to the highest level in almost eight years.

     Investors continue to look for indications of progress in Greece’s debt talks after the Mediterranean nation signaled it won’t make further concessions to unlock bailout funds needed to avoid default. German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a more conciliatory tone, saying she’ll “do everything possible to keep Greece in the euro zone.”                          

     “The market correctly realizes that Greece is less of a risk than it was a few years back,” said Anthony Valeri, a market strategist with LPL Financial Corp. in San Diego. “Any kind of financial disruption is limited. Investors are correctly viewing this as more of an isolated incident that has far greater ramifications for Greece than it does for the global economy and financial markets.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index slipped 3.8 percent to 14.81 Tuesday, as equities gained for the first time in three sessions. The gauge, known as the VIX, reached an 11-week high yesterday.

     Consumer staples shares rose the most in the S&P 500, the group’s first climb in four sessions, as all of the benchmark’s 10 main industries advanced. Staples are down 3.5 percent in the past month, worse than the S&P 500’s 1.3 percent retreat.

     Coty Inc. jumped 19 percent to a record after a report that the Calvin Klein and Adidas fragrance maker won the auction for Procter & Gamble Co.’s haircare unit and two beauty lines in deals which could reach a combined $12 billion. P&G added 1.3 percent.                      

     Monster Beverage rallied 4.2 percent after Citigroup Inc. analysts added the company to the firm’s U.S. Focus List. Campbell Soup Co. rose 2.6 percent, its biggest gain in five months, while Whole Foods Inc. had its biggest advance since April, up 1.7 percent. Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. added at least 1 percent, with Coke posting its best increase in almost two months.

     The health-care group climbed for the fifth time in six sessions. Perrigo Co. advanced 4.3 percent, the most in the S&P 500, after Abbott Laboratories said it would vote its 14.5 percent stake in favor of Mylan NV’s $33 billion bid for Perrigo at a shareholder meeting on a potential deal in July or August.

Mylan lost 2.1 percent, the most in a month.

     UnitedHealth, Aetna and Anthem Inc. added at least 1.4 percent amid a drumbeat for consolidation in the health- insurance industry. Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared 50 percent, the most ever, after U.S. regulators let the company favorably alter the design of a trial for its glaucoma drug.

     Energy companies rallied as oil rose for the first time in four days. Hess Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. gained more than 2.6 percent.

     SunEdison Inc. increased 2.3 percent after raising $402.5 million to help buy renewable energy plants in emerging markets.It also purchased more than 2 gigawatts of wind and solar projects in Central America and Asia.

 

     Industrial shares were little changed as declines in airline shares weighed. American Airlines Group Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. dropped more than 1.4 percent. A Bloomberg index of U.S. carriers fell 0.9 percent.

     Oshkosh Corp. slumped 7.1 percent, the biggest drop in almost 11 months. The maker of combat vehicles, heavy-duty trucks and other equipment cut its third-quarter and 2015 profit view, citing severe weather and potential rental industry consolidation. United Rentals lost 2.6 percent after it was downgraded to underperform from neutral at Macquarie Research.

     Avalanche Biotechnologies Inc. shares tumbled 56 percent, the most since it went public last July, after some patients in a safety study of its gene therapy for an age-related chronic eye disease still required injections from another drug.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

A mind that is burdened with the past is a sorrowful mind.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.

                                              -Ben Jonson, 1572-1637

 

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

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7