Month: July 2015

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Full Moon Tonight!

AUGUST

Leo/ Virgo
Birthstone: Peridot

Flower: Gladiolus

The days seem to shorten.  The nights, deep and warm, grow longer.  Tree frogs and crickets echo in the darkness.  Summer is short.  Apples are on  the trees.  The first fruits are gathered.  It’s the Celtic feast of Lugh, the God of Light, Christian Lammastide or Loaf Mass, when the first grains are ground and baked and placed upon the alter.  For the Celts, Lugh ordained the feast be held in honor of his mother Tailltiu, the Earth Mother.  Christians, too, celebrate Mary, Mother of Compassion, who carried all things in her heart and gave birth to the light.  What gifts!  What freedom!  This is the time to put on the garments of the spirit, to hold memories in our hearts.  Something is germinating secretly, silently within us.  Tread softly and take care of yourself and the world so that what your are carrying might come to birth. -by Cosmo Doogood

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The moon sets behind a gilded statue of the angel Moroni atop the Indianapolis, Indiana Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Carmel, Ind., early Friday morning. Michael Conroy/AP

Members of an international team of skydivers join hands in a head-first dive to build their world record-breaking skydiving formation over Ottawa, Ill., Friday. It took the team 13 attempts to build the formation, resembling a giant flower, to beat a 2012 record set by 138 skydivers. Jason Peters/AP

Market Closes for July 31^st, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17691.53	-54.45     -0.31%
S&P 500	2103.58	-5.05     -0.24%
NASDAQ	5128.281	-0.503   -0.01%
TSX	14450.65	+67.87
		+0.47%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20585.24	+62.41
		+0.30%
HANG SENG	24636.28	+138.30
		+0.56%
SENSEX	28114.56	+409.21
		+1.48%
FTSE 100	6696.28	+27.41
		+0.41%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.441	1.493
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.126	2.161
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1890	2.2625
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9116	2.9476

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76436	0.76907
US $	1.30828	1.30028
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43696	0.69592
US $	1.09835	0.91045

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1098.40	1087.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	47.30	48.52

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, capping the best week since April and paring a monthly loss, as raw-materials producers increased with a rebound in the price of gold.

     Yamana Gold Inc. and Semafo Inc. added more than 8.8 percent to pace gains among gold producers. CCL Industries Inc. climbed 9.6 percent after second-quarter earnings topped analysts’ estimates. Gildan Activewear Inc. tumbled 7.6 percent after the apparel maker cut its revenue target for the year. Bombardier Inc. lost 7.4 percent to a 1993 low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 85.95 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,468.73 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. It rose 2 percent for the week, the most since April. The S&P/TSX slumped 0.6 percent in July for a third monthly decline. Canadian equity markets will be closed on Monday for a civic holiday.

     Eldorado Gold Corp. jumped 11 percent and Goldcorp Inc. rallied 6 percent as raw-materials producers gained 2.8 percent as a group. Seven of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 5.6 percent higher than the 30-day average today.

     Gold posted the first gain in four days as investors look for hints on when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. Wages and salaries in the U.S. rose in the second quarter at the slowest pace on record, a setback that may prompt some Fed policy makers to call for a delay in raising rates for the first time since 2006.

     Canadian gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent in May, bringing the decline since the start of the year to 0.8 percent as the economy struggled with plunging oil prices. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected no change in May output. The five-month decline is the longest slump since the 2008-2009 recession.

     Raw-materials and energy companies are the worst performers in the S&P/TSX this year, down at least 13 percent, amid a rout in commodities prices that has driven oil into a bear market and gold to a five-year low.

     Volatility in Europe and China has increased concern the global economy is slowing, resulting in lower demand for raw materials.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index has retreated 11 percent in July, for the biggest monthly decline in almost four years after sinking to a 13-year low this week.

US

By Annelise Alexander and Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index pared its best monthly gain since February after disappointing results from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp.

     Energy shares fell the most since January as Exxon and Chevron slumped at least 4.5 percent. LinkedIn Corp. tumbled 10 percent amid concerns growth is slowing in its main business. Amgen Inc. rallied 2.9 percent and Expedia Inc. jumped 13 percent on better-than-estimated earnings. Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. added 12 percent after a report said it’s considering a three-way merger with two other bottlers.

     The S&P 500 declined 0.2 percent to 2,103.84 at 4 p.m. in New York, falling for the first time in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 56.12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,689.86, with a 55-point drag from Chevron and Exxon. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased less than 0.1 percent. About 6.8 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent above the three-month average.

     A report today showed wages and salaries in the U.S. rose in the second quarter at the slowest pace on record, dashing projections that an improving labor market would boost pay. The data sparked speculation that slow wage growth will temper Federal Reserve plans for higher interest rates.

     “This came as a pretty big stunner for the markets,” said Robert Sinche, a strategist at Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. “The dovish wing of the Fed is going to latch on to this wage data pretty aggressively.”

     Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues are counting on rising wages to boost the economy and bring inflation closer to their 2 percent goal. The setback may prompt some officials to call for a delay in raising interest rates for the first time since 2006.                           

     Yellen has said the Fed is likely to tighten policy this year should the economy continue to improve in line with her expectations. She has emphasized that the timing of rate liftoff is less important than the subsequent pace of increases, which she said would be gradual. Economists have put the chance of a September increase at 50 percent.

     “It makes it that much tougher for the Fed to raise rates when you have no wage growth,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion. “In a market that’s trading in such a tight trading range, investors are taking any piece of material that comes out as potentially being important to changing the character of the market.”

     Separate data Friday showed consumer confidence retreated in July as Americans’ expectations deteriorated to an eight- month low.

     The S&P 500 rose 2 percent in July after dropping 2.1 percent in the previous month. The gauge gained 1.2 percent for the week, as shares rallied on Tuesday and Wednesday to end the longest losing streak since January. Equities had fallen 2.9 percent over a five-session stretch amid concerns about growth in China and some corporate earnings disappointments.

     About two-thirds of the S&P 500 companies have reported earnings this season, with 74 percent beating profit estimates and half of them topping sales projections. Analysts expect a 2.8 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, shallower than calls for a 6.4 percent fall two weeks ago.

     “The most important thing is earnings,” said Karyn Cavanaugh, a senior market strategist at Voya Investment Management LLC. “If the sky is falling, companies wouldn’t be able to make money. The fact that earnings are coming in pretty decently has a settling effect on the market.”

     Five of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined Friday, led by energy companies as the sector had its worst month since November. Utilities and health-care gained the most today. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index slipped 0.1 percent to 12.12. The gauge, known as the VIX, had its biggest monthly drop since February, down 33 percent.

     Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the biggest U.S. energy producers, pulled energy shares lower. The group is the S&P 500’s worst performer in July, down 7.8 percent. Murphy Oil Corp. and Transocean Ltd. sank more than 4.9 percent Friday, while ConocoPhillips lost 3.3 percent.

     Exxon retreated the most in nearly four years after its lowest profit since 2009, as crude prices fell twice as fast as the oil giant could cut expenses.

     Chevron recorded its lowest earnings in more than 12 years after oil’s rout forced $2.6 billion in asset writedowns and related charges, sending its shares down the most since November. West Texas Intermediate crude slid 2.9 percent, capping its biggest monthly drop since 2008.

     LinkedIn Corp. fell after the company attributed a bump in its annual revenue forecast to its acquisition of the education website Lynda.com. Shares fell 11 percent, the most since May.

     Semiconductors fell for a second day as Micron Technology Inc. and Qorvo Inc. lost more than 4.1 percent. Broadcom Corp.

declined 1.4 percent after its second-quarter profit missed analysts’ estimates, and the chipmaker’s third-quarter revenue forecast was below the midpoint of analysts’ views.

     Hanesbrands Inc. tumbled 9.1 percent, the underwear maker’s biggest drop in four years, after cutting its 2015 revenue forecast. The shares had rallied 4.2 percent during the three previous sessions.

     Utilities rose 1 percent to end their best month since October as bond yields retreated. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury marked its biggest monthly slide since January. Declining yields make utilities’ dividend payout more attractive to investors.

     Amgen paced gains in health-care, rising 2.9 percent to a record after posting second-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates, driven by higher sales of rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel and lower operating expenses. The biotech also raised its revenue and earnings forecast for the year. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index advanced 1 percent.

     Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. jumped 8.6 percent, the most since 2011, to an all-time high. The cruise line’s quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, and it boosted its full-year profit view. Carnival Corp. gained 2.7 percent to a more than nine-year high. Expedia also topped a record, leading consumer- discretionary shares higher after second-quarter sales and profit topped analysts’ estimates.

     Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., an independent bottler of Coke products in Europe, surged 12 percent to a record after the Wall Street Journal said the company is considering a merger with Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke AG in Germany and Coca-Cola Iberian Partners, which serves Spain and Portugal.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
 

Be magnificent!

The universal power that manifests itself in the universal law

is at one with our true power.

Rabindranath Tagore

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

To be prepared is half the victory.

–Miguel de Cervantes, 1547-1616

 

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

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 1976, Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlyn Jenner, won the Olympic gold medal in the decathlon at the Montreal games.
And also on this day in 1935, paperback books were introduced.
Emily Bronte was born on July 30^th, 1818.
Henry Ford was born on this day in 1863.
Sculptor Henry Moore was born July 30^th, 1848.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in 1947.

Lesson  from the Dalai Lama:

 
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

 
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

 
Spend some time alone every day.

 
Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.

 
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

 
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A visitor walks through the Luminarium, an inflatable sculpture realized by British artist Alan Parkinson, installed on the grounds of the ‘Baby Beach’ during the Geneva Festival in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday. Martial Trezzini/AP

 

Sarah Madison (l.) holds her son Beckett as her daughter Quinn (r.) looks at stuffed animals at the doorway of River Bluff Dental Clinic in protest against the killing of Cecil, a famous Zimbabwean lion, in Bloomington, Minn., Thursday. A Zimbabwean court charged professional local hunter Theo Bronkhorst with failing to prevent an American from unlawfully killing Cecil, the southern African country’s best-known lion. The American, Walter James Palmer, a Minnesota dentist who paid $50,000 to kill the lion, has left Zimbabwe. He says he did kill the animal but believed the hunt was legal and that the necessary permits had been issued. Eric Miller/Reuters

Market Closes for July 30^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17745.98	-5.41     -0.03%
S&P 500	2108.92	+0.35     +0.02%
NASDAQ	5128.785	+17.052     +0.33%
TSX	14375.10	+73.30
		+0.51%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20522.83	+219.92
		+1.08%
HANG SENG	24497.98	-121.47
		-0.49%
SENSEX	27705.35	+141.92
		+0.51%
FTSE 100	6668.87	+37.87
		+0.57%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.493	1.516
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.161	2.201
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2625	2.2805
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9476	2.9927

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76907	0.77245
US $	1.30028	1.29459
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42128	0.70359
US $	1.09306	0.91486

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1087.50	1090.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.52	48.79

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, after the biggest rally in six months yesterday, as Suncor Energy Inc. led a rally in energy companies on better-than-estimated earnings.

     Suncor added 6.3 percent as its quarterly profit more than tripled and it cut spending plans. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. gained 1.1 percent as the company said it may sell some assets. Bombardier Inc. plunged 9.7 percent after delaying its Global 7000 business jet by two years. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 10 percent after quarterly results missed analysts’ estimates.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 80.96 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,382.76 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The S&P/TSX has slumped 1.2 percent in July, headed for a third monthly decline, the longest such streak since 2012.

     Investors are considering earnings from 28 companies in the S&P/TSX today from Quebecor Inc. to Cenovus Energy Inc. Suncor Energy surged the most since December on its earnings and as the company cut its spending plan for 2015 for a second time.

     Energy producers in the S&P/TSX jumped 2.3 percent, the most in six months. Raging River Exploration Inc. and Arc Resources Ltd. gained at least 5.6 percent. Raw-materials and energy companies are the worst-performers in the S&P/TSX this year amid a rout in commodities prices that has driven oil into a bear market and gold to a five-year low.

     Volatility in Europe and China has increased concern the global economy is slowing, resulting in lower demand for raw materials.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials lost 0.5 percent, halting a two-day advance. The gauge is down 9.8 percent in July, the most since September 2011, after dropping to a 13-year low this month. West Texas Intermediate crude is heading for its biggest monthly fall since December as copper led base metals lower.

     Open Text Corp. surged 22 percent, the biggest gain since August 2007, after the company posted earnings ahead of analysts’ estimates. Open Text may also take the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to court to fight a proposed tax increase stemming from the technology company moving ownership of its intellectual property to Luxembourg in 2010.

     Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. tumbled 7.1 percent and Sherritt International Corp. lost 10 percent as gold fell, headed for its largest monthly decline in two years. Bullion for December delivery dropped 0.4 percent in New York.

     OceanaGold Corp. slumped 19 percent after the company agreed to buy Romarco Minerals Inc. in a share deal worth C$856 million. Romarco soared 34 percent.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed as better- than-estimated earnings from Mondelez International Inc. helped offset results that disappointed from Facebook Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co.

     Facebook dropped 1.8 percent after second-quarter spending jumped 82 percent. P&G retreated 4 percent after forecasting sluggish sales and profit growth. Whole Foods Market Inc. tumbled 12 percent after cutting its sales forecast. Mondelez added 5 percent as quarterly profits beat estimates, and Western Digital Corp. jumped 10 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased less than 1 point to 2,108.63 at 4 p.m. in New York, after falling as much as 0.6 percent. The gauge closed for a second session above its average price during the past 50 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 5.41 points to 17,745.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.3 percent. About 6.5 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.

     “When you put the Fed, the economy and earnings season all together, you still get a sideways market,” said Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion. “You’ve had a handful of stocks that have really moved the averages over the past couple weeks of earnings, and today is not an exception.”

     A report today showed gross domestic product rose at a 2.3 percent annualized rate, and a revised 0.6 percent advance in the first quarter wiped out a previously reported contraction. Consumer spending grew more than projected. Separate data showed applications for unemployment benefits rose last week after reaching a four-decade low, consistent with a stronger labor market.

     The Federal Reserve yesterday appeared to move a step closer to raising interest rates after policy makers expressed satisfaction with an improvement in labor markets, keeping alive speculation borrowing costs may rise in September without being definitive about the timing.

     Fed Chair Janet Yellen is guiding the central bank toward its first rate increase in almost a decade as the U.S. approaches full employment. She has said the Fed is likely to tighten policy this year should the economy continue to improve in line with her expectations. Economists have put the chance of a September increase at 50 percent.

     More than 50 S&P 500 members posted financial results today. Nearly three-quarters of the 323 companies that have reported this season have beaten profit estimates while half topped sales projections. Analysts expect a 4 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, shallower than July 10 calls for a 6.4 percent fall.                         

     The S&P 500 is up 2.2 percent in July, heading for its biggest monthly advance since February, after rallying 2 percent in the previous two sessions. The index declined in four of the last five weeks, and had lost 2.9 percent in the five sessions ending Monday as a Chinese equities rout spurred concern about the nation’s economic growth and some corporate earnings disappointed.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 3 percent Thursday to 12.13, after tumbling 20 percent over the previous two days. The gauge, known as the VIX, is on course for its biggest monthly drop since February, down 33 percent.

     Six of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups advanced, led by utilities and raw-materials, while energy and consumer staples declined the most.

     Whole Foods Market’s 12 percent skid to its lowest since January 2012 put a dent in staples’ strongest monthly advance since November. The organic grocer posted disappointing quarterly results and cut its sales forecast, a sign the company is losing its edge in a market it helped pioneer.

     Procter & Gamble fell 4 percent, the most in more than two years. The world’s largest consumer-products maker forecast sluggish sales and profit growth this year.

     Facebook’s 1.8 percent loss was a drag on technology shares, though the stock trimmed an earlier drop of more than 5 percent. The social media giant’s spending jump in the second quarter eroded margins. Still, the company posted sales that topped estimates. Qorvo Inc. plunged 14 percent after revenue guidance for next quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations.

     Energy shares in the benchmark declined for the first time in three days. Ensco Plc slid 7.6 percent, and Range Resources Corp. tumbled 6.5 percent after its quarterly profit missed estimates. Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. lost more than 2.7 percent. Oil erased an earlier gain to slip for the first time in three sessions, down 0.6 percent.

     Varian Medical Systems Inc. paced health-care’s loss, falling 4.9 percent after reporting sales that fell short of analysts’ forecasts. Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. decreased at least 1.2 percent after reporting results.                        

     Mondelez rose 5 percent to an all-time high. The maker of Oreo cookies and Triscuit crackers posted second-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates, helped by a push to cut costs and shift production overseas. The snack giant also increased its stock buyback plan by $6 billion.

     Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Netflix Inc. rallied more than 4.1 percent to pace an increase in consumer discretionary shares.  Wynn had its best gain since November 2011 after setting an opening date for its second casino in Macau. Amazon.com Inc. added 1.5 percent on its way to a record, and its strongest month since September 2010.

     Raw-materials stocks in the benchmark gauge advanced as Air Products & Chemicals Inc. added 6.1 percent. The world’s largest supplier of hydrogen gained the most in 13 months after raising its full-year profit forecast as margins expanded. Westrock Co. increased 5.8 percent, while Sealed Air Corp. climbed 4.7 percent.

     Western Digital’s biggest rally in three years helped to offset Facebook and Qorvo’s decline among tech shares. The hard- drive maker said it’s seeing early signs of a pickup in PC demand. Microsoft Corp. gained 1.3 percent, while Seagate Technology Plc and Qualcomm Inc. climbed at least 2 percent.

     Utilities rose 0.7 percent on the way to their best month since October as bond yields retreated Thursday. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury is headed for its biggest monthly slide since January. Declining yields make utilities’ dividend payout more attractive to investors.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

 

Be magnificent!

Even at the gate of death, in the greatest danger,

in the thick of the battlefield,

at the bottom of the ocean, on the tops of the highest mountains,

in the thickest of the forest, tell yourself,

“I am He, I am He.”

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.

                                                -Arthur Miller, 1915-2005

 

 

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

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:

NASA was established on this day in 1958.

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.  –Dalai Lama

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great ris.

When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

Follow the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility for all your actions.

Share your knowledge.  It’s a way to achieve immortality.

Be gentle with the earth.

Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

More advice from the Dalai Lama tomorrow.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The full moon rises early Wednesday over the illuminated Kazan Kremlin with the Qol Sharif mosque (l.) and The Transfiguration Cathedral in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, located in Russia’s Volga River area about 700 km (450 miles) east of Moscow. Denis Tyrin/AP

Artist Mark Balma paints a mural of Cecil, a well-known lion killed by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer during a guided bow hunting trip in Zimbabwe, as part of a silent protest outside Palmer’s office in Bloomington, Minn., Wednesday. Palmer said that he had no idea the lion he killed was protected and that he relied on the expertise of his local guides to ensure the hunt was legal. Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune/AP

Market Closes for July 29^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17751.39	+121.12     +0.69%
S&P 500	2108.57	+15.32     +0.73%
NASDAQ	5111.734	+22.528     +0.44%
TSX	14301.80	+224.44
		+1.59%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20302.91	-25.98
		-0.13%
HANG SENG	24619.45	+115.51
		+0.47%
SENSEX	27563.43	+104.20
		+0.38%
FTSE 100	6631.00	+75.72
		+1.16%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.516	1.505
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.201	2.171
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2805	2.2499
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9927	2.9657

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77245	0.77338
US $	1.29459	1.29302
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42285	0.70282
US $	1.09907	0.90986

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1090.25	1096.20
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.79	47.98

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose the most in six months as commodities producers and banks surged and the Federal Reserve policy makers failed to provide a clear signal on when U.S. interest rates will increase.

     Suncor Energy Inc. added 4.3 percent, while Bankers Petroleum Ltd. jumped 9.9 percent as oil rose the most in three weeks. Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada increased at least 2.7 percent. Torstar Corp., owner of the Toronto Star newspaper, plunged to a 2009 low after earnings missed estimates and it acquired a stake in a digital media company. CGI Group Inc. dropped 3.8 percent after quarterly sales fell short of analyst forecasts.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 224.44 points, or 1.6 percent, to 14,301.80 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest gain since Jan. 21. The gauge Tuesday snapped the longest run of declines since 2011. The S&P/TSX has slumped 1.7 percent in July, headed for a third monthly decline, the longest such streak since 2012.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials added 0.2 percent, after earlier trading near a 13-year low, as oil rallied after U.S. inventory data showed stockpiles unexpectedly declined.

     Nine of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX gained on trading volume 22 percent higher than the 30-day average. Energy and financial companies in the index rallied at least 1.8 percent.

     Sherritt International Corp. surged 16 percent and Barrick Gold Corp. added 5.2 percent. Teck Resources Ltd. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. added more than 2.2 percent.

     Federal Reserve policy makers said the labor market and housing have improved, inching closer to raising interest rates without providing a clear signal on the timing of any increase.

     Bombardier Inc. surged 7.1 percent. Hours after Dow Jones reported Bombardier was in merger discussions with Siemens AG over its rail unit, a company spokeswoman said there were “no talks” of a merger. Bombardier is scheduled to report second- quarter earnings Thursday.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Annelise Alexander

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied for a second day, as earnings topped forecasts and the Federal Reserve said the labor and housing markets are improving.

     Gilead Sciences Inc. climbed 2.3 percent while General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman Corp. jumped more than 3.9 percent as the companies lifted their outlooks. Twitter Inc. tumbled 15 percent after its top executives struck a critical tone on user growth.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.7 percent to 2,108.57 at 4 p.m. in New York, after climbing above its average prices during both the past 50 and 100 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 121.12 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,751.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 percent.

     “Most peoples’ expectations are that we’re going to get a hike by the end of the year, and the Fed [statement] today didn’t do anything to change that narrative,” said Joe Bell, a Cincinnati-based senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc.

     The labor market “continued to improve, with solid job gains and declining unemployment,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement today, while also noting the housing sector “has shown additional improvement.”

     Chair Janet Yellen is guiding the Fed toward its first rate increase in almost a decade as the nation approaches full employment. She has said the Fed is likely to tighten this year if the economy continues to improve as she expects, with market speculation focused on a move as soon as September.

     Yellen has emphasized that the timing of rate liftoff is less important than the subsequent pace of increases, which she said would be gradual.

     Greece’s debt crisis and recent turmoil in China’s stock market had raised concerns about global growth and added to speculation that the Fed may further delay a rate increase.

     Earlier this month, Yellen told lawmakers that raising rates prematurely could derail the recovery. Waiting too long, on the other hand, might force the Fed to tighten at a faster pace to keep the economy from overheating.

     “The Street clearly has a tug-of-war going on between the camp that sees enough evidence and wants to get a hike under the belt, and another camp that would prefer the Fed to be cautious and wait until later in the year,” said Myles Clouston, senior director of Nasdaq Advisory Services in New York.                     

     Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein said U.S. markets are poised for prolonged growth and will quickly move on after a jolt from the Fed’s first rate increase since 2006.

     “We are in for a longish, positive market,” Blankfein said today in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “Since the financial crisis, especially in this country, there were a lot of problems, but we chewed through them. Consumers have deleveraged, the banking system has deleveraged, we got the blessing of low energy prices, housing prices started to stabilize and move higher.”

     Data today showed an index of pending home sales unexpectedly fell 1.8 percent, the first drop this year, after a revised 0.6 percent increase in May that was smaller than initially reported.

     The S&P 500 is up 2.2 percent in July, heading for its biggest monthly advance since February. The index rose yesterday after declining for four of the last five weeks, and had lost 2.9 percent in the five sessions ending Monday as a Chinese equities rout spurred concern about the nation’s economic growth and some corporate earnings disappointed.

     About three-quarters of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings this season have beaten profit estimates while half topped sales projections. Analysts expect a 4 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, shallower than July 10 calls for a 6.4 percent fall.

     Facebook Inc. slipped 1.8 percent in late trading as of 4:45 p.m., after spending in the second quarter jumped 82 percent. Sales topped estimates, thanks to a robust advertising business and a growing number of mobile users.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index slipped 7 percent Wednesday to 12.50, after reaching a two-week high Monday. The gauge, know as the VIX, rose 15 percent last week, its fifth gain in six weeks. About 7.3 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 12 percent above the three-month average.

     All of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups advanced, led by energy and industrial companies. C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. paced industrial shares’ advance, climbing 4.7 percent after reporting second-quarter profit that exceeded  analysts’ estimates.

     The freight carrier also helped lift the Dow Jones Transportation Average to its strongest two-day climb since November 2011. General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman also bolstered industrials, gaining more than 3.9 percent to records. Raytheon Co. added 4.1 percent to a three-month high.                      

     Energy and raw-material shares added to Tuesday’s rally amid a continued reprieve from a two-week commodities selloff. Crude oil extended its two-day climb to 3.1 percent, pushing Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Diamond Offshore drilling Inc. up more than 3.5 percent. Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Transocean Ltd. added at least 2.4 percent.

     Banks in the benchmark rallied as Treasury yields increased to the highest in a week. Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Comerica Inc. each added at least 1.3 percent.

     Citrix Systems Inc. climbed 8.1 percent, the most since January 2013, to lead S&P 500 technology companies higher. The software maker reached a settlement with investor Elliott Management Corp., agreeing to add the activist’s chief agitator Jesse Cohn to its board and begin a search for a new chief executive officer.                     

     Microsoft Corp. gained 2.1 percent, the most in seven weeks, amid a low-key introduction for its Windows 10 operating system. MasterCard Inc. erased an earlier drop of as much as 2.3 percent to climb 1.7 percent, even as the second-largest payments network said profit fell 1.1 percent as expenses rose and a strengthening U.S. dollar hurt earnings overseas.

     Twitter slipped 15 percent, the most since April. Interim Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey and Chief Financial Officer Anthony Noto said user growth won’t improve until the social- media company reaches a mass market — something that will take a mixture of product improvements and marketing.

     Yelp Inc. plunged by a record 25 percent after the customer-review website reduced its revenue forecast and at least five analysts downgraded the stock. In addition to cutting its third-quarter sales prediction, Yelp announced it would stop selling national brand advertising.
 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Where does the soul go after death?  Where could the earth fall to?

Where can the soul go?  Where is it not already?

The great cornerstone of Vedantism is the recognition of Self.

Man, have faith in yourself.  The soul is the same in every one.

It is all purity and perfection  and the more pure and perfect we [you] are

the more purity  and perfection you will see.

Swami Vivekananda

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.

                                                               -Edgar Degas, 1834-1917

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

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:

July 28, 1929: Jacqueline Kennedy was born.

Also on this day in 1914, World War l  began when Archduke Ferdinand was killed.

“Strange were those summers; summers filled with war.
I think the flowers were the lovelier
For danger,  Then we lived the pundonor,
Moment of truth and honour, when the bull
Charges and danger is extreme, but skill
And daring over-leap the fallible will
And bring the massive beast to noble kill.
Moments as sharp as sword-points then we lived
Citing our death along the leveled blade;
Then in our petty selves were shaken, sieved,
Withouten leisure left to be afraid…

Yet, angry and astonished  as we were
We kept our faith and even at moments said

‘This war will be over soon.’
Yes, in September or perhaps November,
With some full moon or gibbous moon,
A harvest moon or else a hunter’s moon,
It will be over.

Not for the broken innocent villages,
Not for the broken innocent hearts:
For them it will not be over,
The memorable dread,
The lost home, the lost son, and the lost lover.

Under the rising sun, the waxing moon,
This was will be over soon,
But only for the dead…

Strange were those summer nights, those nights of war…”
                        -V. Sackville-West, The Garden.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Children look at a scarecrow of Britain’s Prince George and Princess Charlotte with their nanny during the Scarecrow Festival in Heather, England, Tuesday. The annual event asks residents of Heather to make scarecrows to raise thousands of pounds for local groups and charities. Darren Staples/Reuters

Two girls ride horses near Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday. Weather forecasts predict changing weather patterns in Germany during the next few days. Michael Probst/AP

Market Closes for July 28^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17630.27	+189.68     +1.09%
S&P 500	2093.25	+25.61       +1.24%
NASDAQ	5089.207	+49.431     +0.98%
TSX	14077.36	+75.99
		+0.54%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20328.89	-21.21
		-0.10%
HANG SENG	24503.94	+151.98
		+0.62%
SENSEX	27459.23	-102.15
		-0.37%
FTSE 100	6555.28	+50.15
		+0.77%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.505	1.456
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.171	2.127
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2499	2.2158
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9657	2.9327

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77338	0.76727
US $	1.29302	1.30333
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43009	0.69926
US $	1.10600	0.90416

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1096.20	1100.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	47.98	47.39

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for the first time in eight days, after the longest run of losses in four years, as Chinese shares pulled back from a selloff and commodities rebounded.

     BlackBerry Ltd. jumped 6 percent, snapping a four-day loss, after analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their rating for the company. Teck Resources Ltd., Canada’s largest diversified miner, added 5.9 percent. MEG Energy Corp. rallied 1.8 percent as it reported a narrower operating loss than analysts estimated. Home Capital Group Inc. dropped 6.4 percent after a director of the company resigned ahead of Wednesday’s earnings call.

     Producers of energy and raw materials, which account for about 30 percent of the equity benchmark, are the worst- performing stocks in Canada this year amid a rout in commodities. The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials rose 0.8 percent, snapping a four-day decline to rebound from a 13-year low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 75.99 points, or 0.5 percent, to 14,077.36 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, snapping the longest losing streak since 2011. The gauge has fallen more than 10 percent from an all-time record on Sept. 3 and is 8.9 percent below an April 15 high.

     Trilogy Energy Corp. soared 19 percent and Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. jumped 6.8 percent as energy producers surged 1.6 percent, rebounding from a 2009 low. Seven of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX increased on trading volume 14 percent higher than the 30-day average today.

     Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. jumped 8.6 percent as materials producers rose 0.3 percent, from a December 2008 low. Copper posted the biggest gain in two weeks.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. dropped 4.3 percent after the mining company reported an imposed power reduction at its operations in Zambia.

     The MSCI All-Country World Index, which includes emerging markets, rose 0.8 percent, after a five-day decline. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.7 percent at the close in Asia, after sinking as much as 5.1 percent earlier. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, ending their longest losing streak since January, amid better-than-forecast earnings and as Chinese equities pulled back from a selloff.

     United Parcel Service Inc. advanced 5.1 percent, and Pfizer Inc. gained 2.9 percent after their profits beat projections. Energy shares rallied with oil, and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. led raw-material producers higher as copper climbed. Baidu Inc. fell 15 percent after forecasting sales that were below analysts’ targets. Ingersoll-Rand Plc lost 6.6 percent as earnings missed estimates.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 1.2 percent to 2,093.25 at 4 p.m. in New York, as the gauge climbed the most in two weeks to hit its average price during the past 100 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 189.68 points, or 1.1 percent, to 17,630.27 after Monday reaching its lowest level since February. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1 percent.

     “China slowed the big selloff it saw yesterday, and that’s lifting the U.S. market,” said Terry Morris, a senior equity manager who helps oversee about $2.8 billion at Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based National Penn Investors Trust Co. “Reported earnings have been OK so far, and we’ll get a lot more reports to digest as the week goes along.”

     Chinese equities lost 1.7 percent today, after sinking as much as 5.1 percent. Shares tumbled 8.5 percent Monday amid weaker-than-expected economic data and concern that a three-week rally sparked by unprecedented government intervention is unsustainable.                          

     The S&P 500 fell 2.9 percent in the previous five sessions as a Chinese stock rout spurred concern about the nation’s economic growth and some corporate earnings disappointed. The index has declined for four of the last five weeks and is up 1.5 percent this month, after nearly erasing its July gain yesterday.

     Federal Reserve policy makers began a two-day meeting today to assess the strength of economic growth and debate the timing for higher interest rates. While economists see no chance the central bank will raise rates this week, they put the odds of a September boost at about 50 percent, a Bloomberg survey published July 22 showed.

     Fed Chair Janet Yellen has signaled that the central bank is likely to lift rates this year, and emphasized that the pace of subsequent increases would be gradual.

     A report today showed home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a slower pace in the year ended May. Separate data showed consumer confidence slumped in July by the most since August 2011 as Americans became less upbeat about prospects for the economy, employment and their finances.

     Investors are also watching the earnings season, with more than 100 members of the S&P 500 yet to report this week. Of the firms that have already done so, more than three-quarters beat profit estimates and about half topped sales forecasts. Analysts have moderated estimates for a drop in second-quarter earnings to 4 percent, from 6.4 percent on July 10.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index slipped 14 percent Tuesday to 13.44, after reaching a two-week high yesterday. The gauge, know as the VIX, rose 15 percent last week, its fifth gain in six weeks. About 7.4 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 15 percent above the three-month average.

     All of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups advanced, led by energy and raw-material shares amid a reprieve in a two-week commodities selloff. The energy group rallied 3 percent, the biggest jump since February 2. Exxon Mobil Corp. surged 4.1 percent, its best advance since 2011. Southwestern Energy Co. rose 6.8 percent, the most since October, after cutting its spending outlook and raising its production forecasts.

     Chesapeake Energy Corp. increased 7.5 percent, after dropping about 28 percent in the seven sessions ending yesterday. Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. climbed 3.6 percent. The price of crude oil gained for the first time in five trading sessions, with West Texas Intermediate futures adding 1.2 percent.

     Raw-material shares in the S&P 500 rebounded from a nine- day skid to rise 2.2 percent as copper prices bounced back from a six-year low. Freeport-McMoRan, the largest publicly-traded copper miner, surged 8.4 percent amid plans for more investment cutbacks and cost savings.

     Eastman Chemical Co. gained 6.8 percent after reporting earnings that beat analyst forecasts. Ecolab Inc. rallied 5 percent, the biggest advance in almost four years, to end a seven-session losing streak. Dow Chemical Co. climbed 2.2 percent to also halt a seven-day slump.

     Gains in Masco Corp. and UPS helped pushed a group of S&P 500 industrial companies to their strongest climb since January. Masco jumped 11 percent to an eight-year high after the building-products maker’s quarterly profit beat estimates. UPS turned in its best gain in more than five years.

     Caterpillar Inc. increased 3.3 percent, the most since March, after announcing an accelerated $1.5 billion stock repurchase from Citigroup’s Inc.’s Citibank.

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average jumped 2.7 percent, the biggest climb in six months, buoyed by UPS. Railroads Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific Corp. climbed at least 4.5 percent.

     Ford Motor Co. rose 1.9 percent after posting a surge in second-quarter profits, thanks to consumers paying big money for fully-loaded versions of the new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup.

     Baidu dropped the most since November 2008 after China’s largest search engine company projected sales for this quarter that trailed analysts’ estimates amid a weakening economy. China is on course for its slowest pace of annual growth in a quarter- century, and Baidu earns virtually all of its revenue in the country.

     DuPont Co. lost 1.5 percent after cutting its full-year profit forecast to adjust for the spinoff of its performance chemicals unit and the impact of lower crop prices, which are causing farmers to spend less on the company’s pesticides and seeds.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

When you look at that unchanging Existence

from the outside, you call it God;

and when you look at it from the inside,

you call it yourself.  It is but one.

Swami Vivekananda

 

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Failure is an event – never  a person.

        -William D. Brown, 1813-1868

 

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

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:

We had the magical west coast sail over to Roche Harbour on San Juan Island on Saturday with a pod of majestic killer whales to accompany us for part of the journey, seemingly dancing around the boat.  Hope your weekend was great too.  Another week begins…

Prime Numbers:

7.256 billion – World population (est.) as of July 1, 2015.

46 –  Percentage of smart phone users who say they can’t imagine life without one.

14 – Date in July that the snow farm in South Boston finally was completely melted.  Boston received a record 110.6 inches of snow last winter.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Boston Globe

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A museum employee arranges one of Zak Ove’s ‘Moko Jumbie’ sculptures, installed at the British Museum in London, Monday. As part of the ‘Celebrating Africa’ exhibition, the British-Trinidadian artist Zak Ove has created two ‘Moko Jumbie’ sculptures. These spectacular seven-meter-tall carnival figures on stilts are on display in the Great Court at the British Museum. Frank Augstein/AP

Cambodian dancers perform a local dance called ‘Ting Moang’ during Buddhist Lent in Barach village, Cambodia, Monday. Cambodians are holding a week-long march to mark the Buddhist Lent, during which, according to tradition, monks are barred from traveling for three months during the rainy season. Almost 90 percent of Cambodia’s population of 14 million practice Buddhism. Heng Sinith/AP

Market Closes for July 27^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17440.59	-127.94     -0.73%
S&P 500	2064.96	-14.69     -0.71%
NASDAQ	5039.777	-48.852     -0.96%
TSX	13960.90	-225.34
		-1.59%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20350.10	-194.43
		-0.95%
HANG SENG	24351.96	-776.55
		-3.09%
SENSEX	27561.38	-550.93
		-1.96%
FTSE 100	6505.13	-74.68
		-1.13%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.456	1.489
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.127	2.153
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2158	2.2606
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9327	2.9610

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76727	0.76681
US $	1.30333	1.30410
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44595	0.69159
US $	1.10943	0.90136

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1100.00	1080.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	47.39	47.99

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a seventh day, the longest losing streak in four years, amid growing concern the global economy is stalling after Chinese shares slumped the most in eight years.

     Sherritt International Corp. and First Majestic Silver Corp. plunged at least 12 percent as copper slid to a six-year low to lead a retreat in base metals. Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Enerplus Corp. tumbled more than 10 percent as energy stocks extended an April 2009 low. Restaurant Brands International Inc., owner of the Tim Hortons and Burger King franchises, jumped 3.9 percent as chicken fries helped sales.

     Producers of energy and raw materials, which account for about 30 percent of the equity benchmark, are the worst- performing stocks in Canada this year amid a rout in commodities. The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials dropped 1.2 percent for a fourth day of declines to a 13-year low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 184.87 points, or 1.3 percent, to 14,001.37 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has fallen 10 percent from an all-time record on Sept. 3 and is 9.4 percent below an April 15 high.

     China’s Shanghai Composite Index plunged 8.5 percent, the biggest slump since February 2007. Monday’s retreat shattered the sense of calm that had fallen over mainland markets after stocks had earlier rallied on unprecedented government intervention.

     The MSCI All-Country World Index, which includes emerging markets, lost 0.9 percent for a fifth day of declines. The benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.6 percent in New York and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 2.2 percent.

     Royal Bank of Canada dropped 1.4 percent and Encana Corp.declined 5.8 percent as financial services and energy industries lost at least 1.6 percent. Raw-materials producers crumbled 3.1 percent, to a December 2008 low. Nine of 10 groups in the S&P/TSX retreated on trading volume 13 percent higher than the 30-day average.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, with equities posting their longest losing streak since January, after the biggest slump in eight years for Chinese shares amid concern over the nation’s economic growth.

     Apple Inc. slipped 1.4 percent after its worst week in six months. Baidu Inc., China’s largest search engine, lost 4.2 percent. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. retreated 2 percent. Energy shares dropped as oil sank into a bear market. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. surged 16 percent after agreeing to buy Allergan Plc’s generic-drug business for $40.5 billion. Allergan added 6.1 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.6 percent to 2,067.64 at 4 p.m. in New York, after touching its average price during the past 200 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 127.94 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,440.59, reaching its lowest level since February. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1 percent.

     “The situation in China is causing concern, particularly for international companies that get a good portion of their sales from overseas,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in Newton, Massachusetts. “We’re already starting to see cracks in the earnings picture, so if global growth is going to slow, that will make the cracks bigger.”

     A report today showed industrial profits in the world’s second-biggest economy fell in June, sending Chinese shares tumbling on speculation a government intervention to stem a market selloff can’t be sustained amid weak growth. Data Friday showed a private manufacturing gauge unexpectedly declined in July to a 15-month low.                      

     The S&P 500 has declined for four weeks out of five, and ended Monday 3 percent away from its May closing record. The benchmark measure is up 0.2 percent for the month. The bull market that already rivals anything since World War II in duration is showing signs of fatigue, as U.S. equities are being pushed along by the fewest stocks in more than 15 years.

     More than 100 percent of this year’s increase in the S&P 500 is attributable to two sectors, health-care and retail. That’s the tightest clustering for an advancing year since at least 2000, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Investors continue to assess data to gauge the economy’s strength, and when the Federal Reserve might raise borrowing costs. A report today showed orders for business equipment rose in June for just the second time this year as U.S. factories start to regain their footing after a weak spell.

     The Fed begins a two-day meeting Tuesday as policy makers debate the timing for higher interest rates. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg continued to put the odds for a September rate increase at 50 percent. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has recently signaled that the central bank is likely to raise rates this year, while emphasizing a gradual pace for subsequent increases.

     “There’s a number of indicators such as the commodity prices and China showing a slowing global growth,” said Stewart Richardson, chief investment officer at RMG Wealth Management LLP in London. “Any further deterioration in the financial markets that could be triggered by China would push back a rate hike.”

     Investors are also watching the earnings season, with more than 170 members of the S&P 500 due to report this week. Of the firms that have already done so, about three-quarters beat profit estimates and more than half topped sales projections. Analysts have moderated projections for a drop in second-quarter earnings to 4 percent, from 6.4 percent on July 10.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 14 percent Monday to 15.60, a two-week high. The gauge, know as the VIX, rose 15 percent last week, its fifth gain in six weeks. About 7.3 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 13 percent above the three-month average.

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups retreated, led by energy, technology and raw-material shares. Banks slumped as Treasury yields fell to two-week lows. The SPDR Barclays High- Yield Bond ETF slid 0.4 percent to its lowest level since December.

     The KBW Bank Index had rallied 7.3 percent in the two weeks through last Wednesday amid lenders’ better-than-estimated earnings and improved prospects for profits as yields rose. Comerica Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased more than 1.3 percent today.

     Miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. declined 7.5 percent and shares are down 28 percent in the last four sessions, the worst such stretch in more than six years. Copper slid to the lowest in six years amid concerns about China’s economy. Newmont Mining Corp. lost 3.3 percent to a 14-year low, falling in 10 of the last 12 sessions.                       

     Facebook Inc. fell 2.9 percent, the most since January, to weigh on the tech group ahead of the social network’s earnings report Wednesday. Shares had rallied 15 percent in nine sessions through July 21. Chipmakers Skyworks Solutions Inc. and Qorvo Inc. sank at least 3.2 percent, while Microsoft Corp. slumped 1.3 percent.

     Mylan NV plunged 15 percent, its biggest slide in more than six years, after Teva abandoned its hostile takeover bid for the company upon finding a friendlier merger partner. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell 1.1 percent to a more than two-week low. The gauge has slipped for five straight days, the longest such streak since April. Xoma Corp. lost 13 percent, while Incyte Corp. decreased 3.8 percent.

     Energy stocks in the S&P 500 fell along with the price of crude oil. The resource, which has declined in eight out of the last nine trading sessions, slid 1.6 percent, extending its loss for the period to 11 percent. Phillips 66, Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. paced the drop, retreating more than 2 percent.                      

     Companies reliant on China for sales declined on the day. Yum! Brands Inc., the third most-exposed U.S.-listed company with 52 percent of revenue coming from the emerging nation, decreased 0.8 percent. Apple, which got 17 percent of sales from China in 2014, lost 1.4 percent.

     China-based companies trading in the U.S. also saw declines, with Sohu.com Inc., Baidu and Alibaba falling more than 1.9 percent. Yahoo! Inc., which is a major shareholder in Alibaba, dropped 2.6 percent.

     McGraw Hill Financial Inc. lost 5.7 percent, the biggest drop
in more than two years, after agreeing to buy SNL Financial for about $2.2 billion to add content on the banking and insurance industries.

     Republic Airways Holdings Inc. plummeted 56 percent, the most ever, after saying a worsening pilot shortage may create more disruptions in flights the carrier makes for larger airlines. A Bloomberg index of U.S. airlines fell for a second straight day as JetBlue Airways Corp. and Spirit Airlines Inc. slid more than 0.9 percent.

     Utility companies in the S&P 500 added 1.3 percent, as the drop in Treasury yields makes the group’s dividend payout look more attractive. PG&E Corp. and American Electric Power Co. gained more than 2 percent.

     Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. jumped 8.7 percent, the most in more than six years, after agreeing to buy Roofing Supply Group for $1.1 billion from buyout firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

     Biogen Inc. rose 3.1 percent, and earlier as much as 8.3 percent, following its biggest drop in almost seven years Friday after the drugmaker cut its 2015 outlook. Shares climbed Monday as analysts speculated the company could become the industry’s next takeover target.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

In all religions of the world you will find it claimed that there is unity within us.

Being one with divinity, there cannot be any further progress in that sense.

Knowledge means finding this unity.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

In summer, the song sings itself.

 -William Carlos Williams, 1883-1963

 

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

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 1911, Machu Picchu was discovered by American archeologist Hiram Bingham.

And it looks like there are civilizations yet to be discovered in future….exciting!
In the news

• NASA finds ‘Earth’s bigger, older cousin’

CNN – 23 hours ago

… first nearly Earth-size planet to be found in the habitable zone of a star similar to our own.

• Kepler 452b: NASA discovers planet orbiting ‘cousin’ of sun in closest match to Earth yet!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A competitor jumps from a cliff during a cliff diving competition in the Maggia valley in Ponte Brolla, southern Switzerland, Friday. Samuel Golay/Keystone/AP

A man rides his bicycle between taxis parked on the street during a protest against the online car-sharing service Uber in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

Market Closes for July 24^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17568.53	-163.39     -0.92%
S&P 500	2080.83	-21.32       -1.01%
NASDAQ	5088.629	-57.780     -1.12%
TSX	14152.28	-113.09
		-0.79%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20544.53	-139.42
		-0.67%
HANG SENG	25128.51	-270.34
		-1.06%
SENSEX	28112.31	-258.53
		-0.91%
FTSE 100	6579.81	-75.20
		-1.13%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.489	1.502
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.153	2.172
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2606	2.2713
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9610	2.9721

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76681	0.76693
US $	1.30410	1.30390
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43159	0.69852
US $	1.09777	0.91094

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1080.80	1097.40
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	47.99	48.25

It isn’t  the incompetent who destroy an organization.  It is those who have achieved something and want to rest upon their achievements who are forever clogging things up. – Charles E. Sorenson (Danish-American engineer, officer , director of Ford Motor Co. 1907-1950, helped develop 1^st auto assembly line, 1881-1968).

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — The sustained slump in global commodity prices has pushed Canadian stocks to the longest losing streak in two years.

     Encana Corp. tumbled 8.6 percent after the company posted a wider operating loss than estimated. Baytex Energy Corp. decreased 8.2 percent as U.S. crude traded in a bear market. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. lost 1 percent to snap a two-day gain after overtaking Royal Bank of Canada as the nation’s largest company by market value.

     Producers of energy and raw materials, which account for about 30 percent of the equity benchmark, are the worst- performing stocks in Canada this year amid a rout in commodities on concern global economic growth is slowing. The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials dropped 1.2 percent for a third day of declines, extending a 13-year low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 79.13 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,186.24 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, a sixth straight decline. The gauge has fallen 3.5 percent, to a January low, during its current six-day slide, the longest streak since June 2013 and is now lower by 3.1 percent on the year.

     Suncor Energy Inc. dropped 1.7 percent and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. sank 5.9 percent as energy producers lost 1.3 percent as a group to an April 2009 low. Six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX retreated on trading volume 27 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     Encana tumbled 8.6 percent, extending a July 2002 low. The company’s full-year production forecast doesn’t seem to be achievable, BMO Capital Markets analyst Randy Ollenberger said in a note.

     Encana was also expected to announce staff cuts of about 200 people, the Globe and Mail reported, according to an internal memo.

     Companies in the benchmark equity gauge are expected to report a 39 percent slump in earnings per share in the latest earnings season, the worst in six years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. More than 200 companies in the S&P/TSX are set to report earnings by the end of August.

     Teck Resources Ltd. slumped 6.8 percent and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 2.3 percent as copper touched the lowest price since 2009. Chinese preliminary manufacturing data from Caixin Media and Markit Economics unexpectedly fell to the lowest in 15 months.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst week since January, as biotechnology shares slumped and raw-material producers sank amid fresh signs of a slowdown in China.

     Biogen Inc. lost 22 percent after cutting its 2015 earnings forecast. Raw-material and energy shares in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell at least 1.9 percent. Amazon surged 9.8 percent, while Visa Inc. gained 4.3 percent after profits beat predictions. An index of homebuilders decreased 2.6 percent after new-home sales unexpectedly dropped.

     The S&P 500 dropped 1.1 percent to 2,079.65 at 4 p.m. in New York, and marked its biggest weekly loss in four months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 163.39 points, or 0.9 percent to 17,568.53, and fell 2.9 percent on the week. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 1.1 percent to complete its worst week since March after closing at a record Monday.

     “Certainly the ongoing collapse in commodity prices emanating from weak data in China and weak earnings reports from companies because of China, such as Caterpillar, are weighing on the market,” said Jim Paulsen, the Minneapolis-based chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management Inc. His firm oversees $351 billion. “We’ve got a pretty big collapse going on here.”

     A private gauge of Chinese manufacturing unexpectedly fell to the lowest in 15 months, reinforcing the need for further policy support in an economy that had seen signs of stabilization recently. A separate report showed sales of new homes in the U.S. dropped to a seven-month low, surprising economists who forecast a gain and painting a picture of less robust improvement during the industry’s busiest time of year.

     The S&P 500 lost 2.2 percent this week, its worst since March and the fourth weekly decline out of five, after briefly rising Monday above the all-time closing high. The gauge is 2.4 percent away from its May record, after sliding as much as 4 percent from the high as concerns about Greece’s debt crisis and China’s stock market rout weighed on sentiment.

     Investors are also watching economic reports for clues on when the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates. Along with the housing data, a separate report today said a July gauge of U.S. manufacturing improved slightly from the weakest reading since October 2013.

     Economists surveyed by Bloomberg continued to put the odds for a September rate increase at 50 percent, even after Greece and China temporarily rocked markets. Fed policy makers gather for a two-day meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

     Meanwhile, earnings season has been spotty so far, with sluggish demand overseas damping returns for U.S. multinational companies at the same time the dollar has strengthened to near the highest level since April.

     From Apple Inc. to Caterpillar Inc. and Microsoft Corp., a parade of blue chips have disappointed investors in the past two weeks. The impact has been the most pronounced on the Dow, which had its worst week since January. Analysts now call for a 4 percent drop in second-quarter profit for the equity gauge’s members, shallower than July 17 estimates for a 5.3 percent decline.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 8.7 percent Friday to 13.74. The gauge, know as the VIX, rose 15 percent for the week after it tumbled 29 percent last week, the biggest such slide since January. About 7.3 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 14 percent above the three-month average.

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups retreated, led by raw- materials, energy and health-care shares. Biogen Inc. plummeted 22 percent, the biggest drop in almost seven years, after the biotech company lowered its forecast for 2015 profit and sales, revising expectations for growth as its top-selling multiple sclerosis drug faces tougher competition.                       

     The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell 4 percent, the most since April 27. Gilead Sciences Inc. and Celgene Corp. declined at least 2.9 percent, while Vertex Pharmaceuticals lost 4.1 percent.

     Raw-material stocks in the index slipped 2.2 percent. A gauge of commodities dropped 1.1 percent to its lowest level since Jan. 29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the copper miner that bet big on the energy market two years ago, fell 9.9 percent to its lowest since January 2009 after it failed to offer investors a plan to withstand plunging prices for almost everything it produces.

     Dow Chemical Co. sank to a more than five-month low, down 3.8 percent and falling for a sixth day, the longest losing streak in a year. DuPont Co. decreased 2.6 percent to its lowest in nearly 18 months.

     Energy companies in the benchmark index tumbled 2 percent, as crude oil fell for a third day. The resource, which fell more than 5 percent for the week, is back in a bear market. Helmerich & Payne Inc. and Ensco Plc lost more than 4.9 percent to pace the declines. Chevron Corp. declined 2.5 percent to its lowest since Oct. 2011. Exxon Mobil Corp. fell 1.5 percent.

     “We’re seeing commodities and energy sink very low, and you’re seeing profit-taking in some high-multiple health-care names,” said Tim Ghriskey, who helps oversee $1.5 billion as managing director and chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management. “There’s a bit of fear there’s going to be more to this selloff. The Chinese PMI showed an even worse contraction in China, and that’s also having a negative effect.”

     Capital One Financial Corp. dropped 13 percent, the most in more than six years, after reporting a profit that missed analysts’ estimates as the lender set aside $1.1 billion to cover credit losses. American Express Co. posted its biggest two-day slide in three months, losing 1.4 percent on top of a 2.5 percent retreat Thursday after its quarterly results disappointed.

     TripAdvisor Inc. plunged 13 percent after quarterly profit and sales missed analysts’ estimates. Shares fell the most since November after reaching a 10-month high on Thursday.

     Amazon rose as much as 20 percent to an all-time high as the Web retailer posted a surprise profit that showed investors it can make money when it puts brakes on investments. It is now the world’s biggest retailer by market value, surpassing Wal- Mart Stores Inc. Amazon’s chairman and largest shareholder Jeff Bezos added more than $7 billion to his personal fortune on the share price move.

     Starbucks Corp. gained 1.3 percent to a record after posting a quarterly profit that topped analysts’ estimates, helped by new beverages and the growth of its loyalty program.

     Juniper Networks Inc. advanced 4 percent, the most in two months, after projecting third-quarter results that may top analysts’ estimates and reiterated its forecast for improved spending on networking equipment in the second half.

 

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

As long as there is division in any form

there must be conflict.

You are responsible, not only to your children,

but to the rest of humanity.

Unless you deeply understand this, not through words or ideas or the intellect,

but feel this in your blood, in your way of looking at life, in your actions,

you are supporting organized murder which is called war.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom.

                                      -George S. Patton, 1885-1945

 

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 July 23, 1914, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; the dispute led to World War I.

THE SUMMER DAY
              -Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper I mean
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down,
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An exercise rider takes a horse for a morning workout at Saratoga Race Course, Thursday, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Saratoga kicks off its 147th summer of thoroughbred racing on Friday. Mike Groll/AP

Farmers use tires to write a message to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, saying, ‘Valls, we are waiting for you,’ on the highway between Paris and Lyon in central France, Thursday. Angry French farmers have blocked the famed Mont Saint Michel causeway and highways leading to the Alps, hoping to get more government help for their industry whose profits they say are being chipped away by cheap imports and pressure from grocery chains. Thursday’s protests were a rejection of the government offer to back loans to the farmers and delay tax payments as part of a €600 million plan. Vincent Dargent/AP

Market Closes for July 23^rd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17731.95	-119.09     -0.67%
S&P 500	2102.20	-11.95     -0.57%
NASDAQ	5146.410	-25.359     -0.49%
TSX	14228.23	-78.89
		-0.55%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20683.95	+90.28
		+0.44%
HANG SENG	25398.85	+116.23
		+0.46%
SENSEX	28370.84	-134.09
		-0.47%
FTSE 100	6655.01	-12.33
		-0.18%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.502	1.543
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.172	2.222
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2713	2.3235
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9721	3.0367

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76693	0.76744
US $	1.30390	1.30303
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43236	0.69815
US $	1.09852	0.91032

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1097.40	1088.60
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.25	48.87

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

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s commodity problems continued, as energy and mining stocks resumed slides that sent the nation’s benchmark index to a fifth day of losses.

     Trilogy Energy Corp. sank 6.3 percent as energy producers extended a 2009 low with U.S. crude collapsing into a bear market. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 8.1 percent to lead a 2.8 percent drop in mining stocks. Rogers Communications Inc. jumped to a five-month high and Loblaw Cos. rallied amid earnings. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. surged 5.7 percent, overtaking Royal Bank of Canada as the nation’s largest company by market value.

     Producers of energy and raw materials, which account for about 30 percent of the equity benchmark, are the worst- performing stocks in Canada this year amid a rout in commodities on concern global economic growth is slowing. The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials dropped 1 percent for a second day of declines, extending a 13-year low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 41.75 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,265.37 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, a January low. The gauge has fallen 3.3 percent during its current five-day slide. The gauge is now lower by 2.5 percent on the year.

     Seven of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX dropped on trading volume 22 percent higher than the 30-day average today. Raw- materials producers traded at a December 2008 low.

     Companies in the benchmark equity gauge are expected to report a 39 percent slump in earnings per share in the latest earnings season, the worst in six years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. More than 200 companies in the S&P/TSX are set to report earnings by the end of August.

     Among stocks moving on results Thursday, Valeant climbed 5.7 percent and Loblaw gained 3.4 percent, to a 10-year high, after the companies reported better-than-forecast earnings. Superior Plus Corp. sank 12 percent, the most since 2011, after disclosing preliminary second-quarter results worse than year- ago figures.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for a third day, as results from 3M Co. and Caterpillar Inc. disappointed investors and commodities continued to slide.

     3M and Caterpillar dropped at least 3.6 percent after both cut their sales forecasts. Miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. plunged 9.4 percent as metals prices continued to retreat. General Motors Co. jumped 4.2 percent as rising truck sales boosted profits. Amazon.com Inc. and Visa Inc. rallied in late trading after results beat estimates.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.6 percent to 2,102.15 at 4 p.m. in New York, closing just below its average price during the past 50 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 119.12 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,731.92, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.5 percent, erasing an earlier gain. About 7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 9 percent higher than the three-month average.

     “Investors have been somewhat surprised at how unimpressive earnings have been considering where the stock market is,” said Jeff Sica, who oversees over $1.5 billion as president and chief executive officer of Circle Squared Alternative Investments in Morristown, New Jersey. “Earnings have not proven to be the catalyst they’ve looked for. Investors are just very tentative.”

     Sluggish international markets are damping earnings at U.S. industrials giants. Caterpillar is selling fewer of its signature yellow diggers and dump trucks to miners amid the deepening slump in prices for copper, coal and iron ore. Sales of engines and generators to the energy industry also have been hurt by the slide in oil and natural gas prices.

     Analysts now call for a 5.3 percent drop in second-quarter profit for S&P 500 companies, shallower than July 10 estimates for a 6.4 percent decline.

     Amazon soared 19 percent as of 4:51 p.m. as quarterly revenue jumped 20 percent, buoyed by its fast-growing cloud computing business and efforts to lure more customers with online video and faster delivery of goods bought on the Web.

     Visa gained 6.5 percent as the world’s largest payments network said profit rose 25 percent as consumer spending increased.

     The S&P 500 has gone without a fresh peak for the longest stretch since 2013, stuck in a pattern of nearing an all-time high without breaking it for two months now. The gauge is 1.4 percent away from its May record, after sliding as much as 4 percent from the high as concerns about Greece’s debt crisis and China’s stock market rout weighed on sentiment.                          

     Investors are also watching economic reports for clues on when the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates. Data today showed jobless claims plunged to the lowest level in four decades. A separate report said the index of U.S. leading economic indicators climbed more than forecast in June as historically low borrowing costs and a rebound in housing propelled growth.

     Economists surveyed by Bloomberg put odds for a September Fed rate increase at 50 percent, exactly where they were in June. The outlook for a September move remained intact even as crises in Greece and China temporarily rocked markets and dimmed global economic prospects.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 4.3 percent Thursday to 12.64. The gauge, know as the VIX, is up 5.8 percent for the week after it tumbled 29 percent last week, the biggest such slide since January.                       

     Utility and raw-material companies fell the most, as all of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups retreated. Freeport-McMoRan sank 9.4 percent, amid uncertainty about the copper producer’s direction. Dow Chemical Co. lost 4.5 percent, the most this year, as second-quarter sales were below estimates.

     Transportation companies sank for the third time in four days, with Union Pacific Corp. dropping 5.7 percent, the most since Sept. 2011. The railroad’s chief financial officer said profits this year are unlikely to grow after 2014’s record. Kansas City Southern and Norfolk Southern Corp. slipped at least 2.2 percent. The Dow Jones Transportation Average lost 2.1 percent.

     United Rentals Inc. dropped almost 14 percent to its lowest since Nov. 2013, pacing declines with Caterpillar and 3M in the industrials group. The construction-equipment rental company cut its 2015 revenue outlook.

     American Express fell the most in three weeks, while Discover Financial Services decreased 4.2 percent, its biggest slide since its quarterly report in January. Discover’s second- quarter revenue was below analysts’ forecasts.                         

     The technology group declined after a brief rebound from the worst drop in two weeks. Qualcomm Inc. fell 3.8 percent after posting its biggest sales decline since 2009. That offset some of SanDisk’s Corp.’s 18 percent rally on its  better-than- estimated results.

     Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. slid more than 1.6 percent. Apple was little changed, erasing an earlier 1.5 percent climb, after its largest retreat in almost 18 months.

     Semiconductors climbed for the first time in five sessions as Skyworks Solutions Inc. and Micron Technology Inc. rallied more than 3.4 percent. Texas Instruments Inc. gained 2.5 percent.

     A Bloomberg gauge of U.S. airlines advanced for a third day to a two-month high. Southwest Airlines Co. jumped 3.9 percent after saying it would accelerate the pace of stock buybacks.

American Airlines Group Inc. and Spirit Airlines Inc. added more than 2.2 percent.

     Under Armour Inc. jumped 7.3 percent, the most in a year, to an all-time high. The athletic-gear maker’s second-quarter earnings topped analysts’ estimates, helped by a push into footwear and other new products.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

When you believe that the truth is living, moving, that it does not have one home or rest in any temple,

mosque, or church, in any religion, master or philosopher – in short, that nothing can lead you to it-

you will see also that you are this living thing in every respect;

it is your anger, your brutality, your violence, your despair.

It is the agony and the pain that you live through.  The truth is in the comprehension of all of this;

you cannot comprehend it unless you are determined to see it in your life.

 

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

                                                                      -Mohandas Gandhi, 1869-1948

 

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:

July 22, 1376: Pied Piper of Hamelin, Germany:

The story is that the town of Hamelin (Hameln), in Wesphalia, was infested with rats in 1284, and that a mysterious piper in a parti-colored suit appeared in the town and offered to rid it of vermin for a certain sum., which offer was accepted by the townspeople.  The Pied Piper fulfilled his contract, but payment was not forthcoming.  On the following St. John’s Day, he reappeared and again played hi pipe.  This time all the children followed him and he led them to a mountain cave, where all disappeared save two: one blind, the other dumb or lame. Another version is that they were led to Transylvania where they formed a German colony.  The story, familiar in England from Robert Browning’s poem (1842), appeared earlier in James Howell’s Familiar Letters (1645-55).  The legend has its roots in the story of the Children’s Crusade.

July 22, 1844, Charles Dickens writes from Italy to the painter Daniel Maclise:

But such green – green – green – as flutters in the vineyard down below the windows, that I never saw; nor yet such lilac, and such purple as float between me and the distant hills; nor yet – in anything – picture, book, or verbal boredom – such awful, solemn, impenetrable blue, as is that same sea.  It has such an absorbing, silent, deep, profound effect, that I can’t help thinking it suggested the idea of Styx.   It looks as if a draught of it – only so much as you cold scoop up on the beach, in the hollow of your hand – would wash out everything else, and make a great blue blank of your intellect.

The Styx was one of the rivers of the Underworld.  From what Dickens goes on to say, it would seem he actually means another of them, Lethe: if you drank from Lethe, you forgot the past.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A member of a German team adjusts a humanoid robot during the 2015 Robocup finals in Hefei, Anhui province, China, Wednesday. The Robocup, or ‘Robot Soccer World Cup,’ is an annual international robotics competition. Stringer/Reuters

A detail of a fragment of a Quran manuscript is shown through a magnifying glass in the library at the University of Birmingham in England, Wednesday. Fragments of the Quran manuscript found in the university’s library are from one of the oldest surviving copies of the Islamic text in the world, possibly written by someone who might have known the Prophet Mohammad. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the parchment folios are at least 1,370 years old, which would make them one of the earliest written forms of the Islamic holy book in existence. Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Market Closes for July 22^nd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17851.04	-68.25     -0.38%
S&P 500	2114.15	-5.06     -0.24%
NASDAQ	5171.770	-36.351     -0.70%
TSX	14307.12	-69.12
		-0.48%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20593.67	-248.30
		-1.19%
HANG SENG	25282.62	-253.81
		-0.99%
SENSEX	28504.93	+322.79
		+1.15%
FTSE 100	6667.34	-101.73
		-1.50%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.543	1.566
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.222	2.249
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3235	2.3253
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0367	3.0617

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76744	0.76933
US $	1.30303	1.29983
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42369	0.70240
US $	1.09260	0.91525

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1088.60	1105.60
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.87	50.36

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks capped the longest losing streak since January as a deepening of the commodities rout pushed shares in materials producers to the lowest level since 2008.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. retreated at least 2.5 percent as the selloff in gold spread to metals from copper to zinc and tin. Energy producers continued their slide, with the group sinking to a six-year low as crude fell below $50 a barrel in New York. Bombardier Inc. slumped 3.9 percent to an August 1993 low, on concern demand is weakening for business jets.

     The selloff in commodities, with gold slumping a 10th day in the longest run of losses since 1996, is squeezing miners around the world. Producers of energy and raw materials, which account for about 30 percent of the equity benchmark, are the worst-performing stocks in Canada this year.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 69.12 points, or 0.5 percent, to 14,307.12 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, for a fourth day of losses. The gauge is lower by 2.2 percent on the year.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials resumed declines, slipping 1.1 percent to an April 2002 low. Barrick Gold Corp. lost 0.9 percent for a ninth decline in 10 days, touching a 1990 low, and Iamgold Corp. fell 6.3 percent as raw- materials producers sank 0.9 percent as a group.

     Five of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX fell on trading volume 25 percent higher than the 30-day average today.

     Energy producers declined 1.5 percent for a fourth straight decline. Oil fell 3.3 percent in New York, approaching a bear market, or 20 percent drop from a June peak.

     West Fraser Timber Co. sank 4.2 percent to lead a drop among lumber products companies after reporting second-quarter profit short of analysts’ estimates.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped the most in two weeks as disappointing results from Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. rippled through technology stocks.

     Apple fell 4.2 percent after iPhone sales and revenue forecast missed estimates. Microsoft lost 3.7 percent after posting its largest-ever quarterly loss. Yahoo forecast sales that were below projections, sending its shares lower. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. jumped 7.8 percent after quarterly profit beat estimates and the company announced a stock buyback.

     The Nasdaq Composite slid 0.7 percent to 5,171.77 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erased 0.2 percent to 2,114.15. A bank rally, as well as positive results from Whirlpool Corp. and Chipotle, helped temper the benchmark’s decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 68.25 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,851.04.

     “Investors are cautious because some of the bigger names have missed expectations,” said Robert Pavlik, who helps oversee $9.1 billion as chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth. “The two giants reporting is what’s causing the weakness today. Earnings season really isn’t that bad.”

     Hopes were high for the industry as earnings season began, with technology shares leading a rebound in U.S. equities after overseas tensions eased. The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied to an all-time high on July 17 after Google Inc. surged 16 percent on its results, adding $65 billion to its market capitalization.

     Apple slid after releasing results late Tuesday. IPhone shipments for the fiscal third quarter and the company’s revenue forecast for the current period missed analysts’ projections, raising questions over whether demand for the device has peaked.

     As Apple’s biggest fall in nearly 18 months wiped more than $32 billion from its value, its results hit shares of suppliers worldwide. Cirrus Logic Inc., Skyworks Solutions Inc. and Avago Technologies Ltd. each slumped more than 3.6 percent.

     Adding to the bad news in the tech sector, Microsoft dropped the most since January following its largest-ever quarterly net loss, hurt by a $7.5 billion writedown after the purchase of Nokia’s handset unit failed to rescue the company’s mobile business.

     Yahoo fell 1.2 percent, and earlier as much as 3.7 percent, after forecasting sales in the current quarter below analysts’ estimates, a sign Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer’s turnaround effort is still a work in progress.

     Qualcomm Inc. declined 2.5 percent in late trading as of 4:45 p.m., after posting its worst quarterly sales decline since 2009. The company plans to reduce costs by a total of $1.4 billion, and forecast fiscal fourth-quarter sales and profit that may fall short of analysts’ estimates.

     “It seems that the expectations are a little bit too high on the tech sector,” said Benno Galliker, a trader at Luzerner Kantonalbank AG in Lucerne, Switzerland. “The last weeks have been pretty good for the markets and everyone was a little over excited so it seems we’re going to be a bit more cautious over the next couple of days.”

     Some 27 S&P 500 companies were posting results today. Of those in the index that have reported so far, about three quarters beat earnings estimates and 55 percent have topped sales estimates.

     Beyond technology companies, there were some positive signs on earnings.

     Whirlpool gained 7.3 percent, its biggest rise this year, as profit beat forecasts and the company said it continues to expect a strong second-half performance.

     Intuitive Surgical Inc. jumped 8.9 percent, the most in a year, after the maker of robotic surgical devices raised its forecast for procedures performed in 2015, driven by growing demand for its da Vinci system.

     Chipotle also rallied the most in a year, to its highest since Feb. 3. Second-quarter profits topped analysts’ forecasts, helped by higher prices on its food.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 0.8 percent Wednesday to 12.12. The gauge, know as the VIX, tumbled 29 percent last week, the biggest such slide since January. About 6.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 7 percent above the three-month average.

     “It’s a question of where leadership will come from,” said Yousef Abbasi, the global market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC in New York. “Commodities are getting trounced again. That’s going to hurt energy, materials and industrials. Apple and Microsoft earnings didn’t look great, so you can rule tech out.”

     Five of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined, led by technology’s 1.6 percent slide, the most since the equity benchmark fell to a four-month low two weeks ago. Semiconductors decreased to a nine-month low. Linear Technology lost 6.3 percent, the most in more than six years, while Micron Technology Inc. and Qorvo Inc. slumped at least 4.2 percent.

     Caterpillar Inc. sank 3 percent, the most since January, and Joy Global Inc. lost 2.3 percent to a six-year low as the mining-equipment makers paced declines among industrial companies. Miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. dropped 4.2 percent, nearly erasing a 4.5 percent rebound Tuesday. The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell back to a 13-year low after rising slightly yesterday.

     Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. and Marathon Oil Corp. slumped more than 3.5 percent as oil prices fell for the fifth time in six sessions. Baker Hughes Inc. slid 3.9 percent, and earlier as much as 13 percent, after a person familiar with the matter said Halliburton Co.’s takeover of the oilfield services company is facing antitrust hurdles. Halliburton fell 0.8 percent.

     Investors are also watching economic reports for clues on when the Federal Reserve will move on interest rates. Data today showed sales of existing homes climbed 3.2 percent to an eight- year high in June as momentum in the residential real estate market accelerated. Prices rose to a record amid tight supply.

     An S&P gauge of homebuilders posted its biggest advance in five months, with Ryland Group Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc. rising more than 2.5 percent. June new-home sales data are scheduled for release Friday, with economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicting a 0.4 percent increase from the previous month.

     Banks in the S&P 500 rallied to their highest in seven years. Regions Financial Corp. added 2.8 percent to a 2.1 percent gain Tuesday, which followed quarterly results that were in line with estimates. KeyCorp, Bank of America Corp. and Comerica Inc. rose at least 1.7 percent. Citigroup Inc. climbed 2.1 percent to the highest since Jan. 2009.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

We should never try to follow another’s path for that is his way, not yours.

When that path is found, you have nothing to do but fold your arms

and the tide will carry you to freedom.

Therefore when you find it, never swerve from it.

Your way is the best for you,

but that is no sign it is the best for another.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

If little else, the brain is an educational toy.

                            -Tom Robbins, 1932-

 

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 1925, John Thomas Scopes is convicted of teaching evolution in violation of Tennessee law ends and is ordered to pay a $100 fine. The verdict is overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1927.

PRIME NUMBERS:

83.1 MILLION

Millennial-generation Americans (born between 1982 and 2000).  Millennials now make up 25% of the US population; they surpassed baby boomers (75.4 million) in June.

18
Years old, the new voting age in Japan.  It takes effect next year.  Anew amendment lowered the voting age from 20.

2
Shots fired by police in Norway during all of 2014.  No one was injured.  This is a 33 percent decline from 2013, when three shots were fired.

11.61
Average profit (in US dollars) that world airlines make per customer.

                                                         – from CSM, July 20, 2015

 

Buzz Aldrin walking on the Moon by a leg of the lunar landing module, July, 1969.

On July 21, 1969,  Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the Moon in the Apollo II mission, communicated the following:

  The blue colour of my boot has completely disappeared now into this – still don’t know exactly what colour to describe this other than grayish cocoa colour.  It appears to be covering most of the lighter part of my boot….very fine particles…

  [Later]  The Moon was a very natural and pleasant environment in which to work.  It had many of the advantages of zero gravity, but it was in a sense less lonesome than Zero G, where you always have to pay attention to securing attachment points to give you some means of leverage.  In one-sixth gravity, on the Moon, you had a distinct feeling of being somewhere….As we deployed our experiments on the surface we had to jettison things like lanyards, retaining fasteners, etc., and some of these we tossed away.  The objects would go away with a slow, lazy motion.  If anyone tried to throw a baseball back and forth in that atmosphere he would have difficulty, at first, acclimatizing himself to that slow, lazy trajectory; but I believe he could adapt to it quite readily….

 Odour is very subjective, but to me there was a distinct smell to the lunar material – pungent, like gunpowder or spent cap-pistol caps.  We carted a fair amount of lunar dust back inside the vehicle with us, either on our suits and boots or on the conveyor system we used to get boxes and equipment back inside.  We did notice the odour right away.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Artist Alice Anderson poses near one of many of her copper wire installations at the Wellcome Collection Gallery in London, Tuesday. More than 100 sculptures entirely mummified in copper thread are on display at the exhibition, which starts July 22 and lasts through Oct. 18. Frank Augstein/AP

A bee gathers pollen from a sunflower in a field in Munich, Germany, Tuesday. Weather forecasts predict ongoing heat in Europe for the next few days. Matthias Schrader/AP

Market Closes for July 21^st, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17919.29	-181.12     -1.00%
S&P 500	2119.21	-9.07     -0.43%
NASDAQ	5208.121	-10.738     -0.21%
TSX	14376.24	-49.31
		-0.34%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20841.97	+191.05
		+0.93%
HANG SENG	25536.43	+131.62
		+0.52%
SENSEX	28182.14	-237.98
		-0.84%
FTSE 100	6769.07	-19.62
		-0.29%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.566	1.579
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.249	2.261
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3253	2.3741
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0617	3.1032

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77237	0.76933
US $	1.29471	1.29983
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41624	0.70609
US $	1.09386	0.91419

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1105.60	1104.60
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.36	50.15

What’s going on….is the end of Silicon Valley as we know it.  The next big thing ain’t computers….it’s biotechnology. –Larry Ellison  (Oracle CEO, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2003).

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Annelise Alexander

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, following the biggest decline in three weeks, as energy shares gave up an earlier advance to offset a rebound in gold producers.

     Barrick Gold Corp. and Yamana Gold Inc. rose more than 1 percent after a technical indicator showed the metal’s plunge to a five-year low may have been excessive. Raw-materials producers advanced 0.9 percent, the most of 10 industries in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index. TransCanada Corp. and Suncor Energy Inc. slipped at least 1.5 percent as energy companies erased a rally of as much as 1.5 percent.

     The benchmark gauge lost 49.31 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,376.24 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has lost 2.4 percent in the previous two days, sending it toward a six-month low reached July 9.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.2 percent, after falling to a 2002 low on Monday. From oil to copper to sugar, little has escaped the rout in the year’s worst-performing asset class. Gold has fallen 7.1 percent this year amid expectations that the Federal Reserve may raise rates on the back of an improving U.S. economy.

     Bullion for immediate delivery rose 0.4 percent today, while futures slipped 0.3 percent after Monday’s 2.2 percent loss. The metal’s 14-day relative-strength index, a gauge of momentum, fell to 17.3, below the level of 30 that signals to analysts who study charts that prices may rebound. That was the lowest since April 2013, when gold dropped into a bear market.

     An index of gold miners jumped 2.2 percent after plummeting to the lowest since 2001 on Monday. Torex Gold Resources Inc. soared 20 percent and New Gold Inc. rose 3.6 percent.

     Energy producers lost 0.2 percent even as crude climbed from a three-month low. Oil fell below $50 a barrel on Monday for the first time since April on speculation global oversupply will persist.

     West Texas Intermediate increased 0.4 percent today as the dollar slipped for the first time in five days. A weaker dollar bolsters the appeal of commodities priced in the U.S. currency.

     Energy companies have lost 13 percent so far in 2015, the worst performance among 10 industries in the benchmark. Producers of energy and raw materials account for about 30 percent of Canada’s equity benchmark.

US

By Oliver Renick and Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) —  U.S. stocks declined, with equities sliding the most in two weeks, as quarterly results from IBM Corp. and United Technologies Corp. disappointed investors.

     Apple Inc. declined in late trading after iPhone shipments missed forecasts, and Microsoft Corp. fell following its largest-ever quarterly net loss. International Business Machines Corp. dropped 5.9 percent during regular trading after sales fell for a 13th quarter. United Technologies lost 7 percent after cutting its 2015 profit forecast.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated 0.4 percent to 2,119.21 at 4 p.m. in New York, after earlier coming within three points of an all-time high set in May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 181.12 points, or 1 percent, to 17,919.29, with IBM and United Technologies accounting for 66 percent of the drop. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2 percent from a record.

     “Right now it’s about earnings, where they’re coming in and what they’re seeing for next quarter, and when the Fed is going to eventually raise rates,” said Thomas Garcia, the head of equity trading at Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Thornburg Investment Management Inc. “If you look at the market valuation, it’s not off the chart, but it is priced for good earnings.”

     The S&P 500 had rallied 4 percent through Monday since a low on July 8, reclaiming almost all of its losses that stemmed from worries over Greece’s debt crisis and China’s market rout. It’s still trailing most developed-market benchmarks this year. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed Monday at its third consecutive all-time high.

     “You have a couple fairly large names that are weak and depressing sentiment,” said Michael Antonelli, an institutional equity sales trader and managing director at Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. “You’re also brushing up against the top part of the trading range. A lot of people are looking toward Apple’s earnings to pull us out of this.”

     The benchmark index has been stuck in a 90-point range since the beginning of February, including a span of nine weeks where the measure moved less than 1 percent in either direction. Stocks have tested both ends of the range this month, falling as low as 2,046.68 on July 8 and climbing as high as 2,128.28 on Monday.

     The earnings season is picking up pace, with about a quarter of S&P 500 companies releasing results this week. Analysts project a second-quarter profit drop of 5.3 percent for the gauge’s members, less steep than July 10 estimates for a 6.4 percent decline.                      

     Apple sank 6.9 percent as of 4:44 p.m. as quarterly iPhone shipments and the company’s revenue forecast for the current period missed analysts’ projections, raising questions over whether demand for the device has peaked. Apple slid 1 percent in regular trading.

     Microsoft fell 3.5 percent after hours, with results hurt by a $7.5 billion writedown as the purchase of Nokia’s handset unit failed to rescue the company’s mobile business. Excluding the charge and costs related to job cuts, the software giant’s profit beat analysts’ estimates while revenue was in line. Shares rose 0.8 percent during regular trading.

     Investors will also watch economic reports for clues on when the Federal Reserve will raise rates, with housing and jobless-claims data due later this week.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index sank 0.2 percent Tuesday to 12.22 after Friday reaching its lowest level since December. The gauge, know as the VIX, tumbled 29 percent last week, the biggest such slide since January. Nine of the S&P 500’s main groups declined, led by phone and industrial companies.

     United Technologies dropped the most since Sept. 2011 after cutting its profit forecast amid weak demand, weighing on the S&P 500’s industrials group. Rockwell Collins Inc. slumped 3.6 percent, its biggest drop in 22 months, while General Dynamics Corp. declined for just the second time in 12 sessions, losing 1.8 percent.

     IBM was the largest drag on technology companies in the benchmark index as its shares fell the most since October. The company’s sales to the so-called BRIC countries fell 35 percent in the second quarter. Xerox Corp. slumped 2.9 percent.

     Verizon Communications Inc. lost 2.4 percent, its biggest decline since December, after quarterly revenue missed analysts’ estimates and the company cut its 2015 sales outlook. AT&T Inc. and CenturyLink Inc. fell more than 0.9 percent as phone companies were the worst-performing group in the the benchmark equity index.

     Commodities pared a rebound from yesterday’s 13-year lows, and raw-material companies lost earlier gains. Energy shares were little changed after an early rally, as oil trimmed its first rise in five sessions.

     Consol Energy Inc. and Halliburton Co. rose at least 2.8 percent, offset by Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s 9.5 percent tumble to a nearly 12-year low after it halted its dividend payout. Consol’s biggest shareholder called on the company to spin off or sell its natural gas operations.

     Miners Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Newmont Mining Corp. climbed more than 3.1 percent after Monday’s selloff. Barrick Gold Corp. gained 1.2 percent after falling 16 percent to a 25- year low Monday.

     Trucking companies rose, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average reaching a one-month high. C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. and Con-way Inc. increased more at least 1.7 percent.

     Thoratec Corp. soared 18 percent, the most in more than five years, to a record. People familiar with the situation said the maker of implants that aid failing hearts is in talks to be acquired by St. Jude Medical Inc. St. Jude added 0.2 percent.

     Harley-Davidson Inc. rallied 5 percent, the biggest gain since October, after its quarterly profit beat analysts’ estimates. The motorcycle maker also affirmed its full-year shipment forecasts.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Truth has no path, and that is the beauty of truth, it is living.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.

                                                -Anatole France, 1844-1924

 

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 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.

However foolish, however impossible in the end, Disney gives life to the notion that happiness is a creation, something made rather than inherited, a beautiful, necessary lie. –Andrew O’Hagan, The Happiness Project, NY Times, July 19, 2015.

From WHO’S HAPPY NOW?, SHOUTS & MURMURS by Paul Rudnick, The New Yorker, June 1, 2015:

Conservatives are happier than liberals, or so decades of surveys that ask about life satisfaction would suggest….but a new series of studies questions the gap itself, raising the possibility that although conservatives may report greater happiness than liberals, they are no more likely to act in ways that indicate that they really are happier. –The Times.

Young conservatives are made especially happy by:
-Just knowing that, on  a conservative scale, forty=-six is still considered young.
-Turning down offers of marijuana, a free weekend of Showtime, and a trip to New York City, because a young conservative would rather play golf with his dad and maybe learn something.
-Rocking out to Katy Perry while studying for the L.S.A.T., watching Fox News on an iPad, and trying to decide which of these activities is the most fun.

Young liberals are made especially happy by:
-All liberals are young.  Just ask one.

Things that would make a conservative and a liberal equally happy:
-if all of their children got into their first-choice school but didn’t have to room together.
–if no one ever challenged them to find Syria on a map.
-The trailer for the new “Star Wars” movie.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

US and Cuban national flags hang from a balcony to mark restored diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Unites States, in Old Havana, Cuba, Monday. The new era began with little fanfare when an agreement between the two nations to resume normal ties on July 20 came into force just after midnight Sunday and the diplomatic missions of each country were upgraded from interests sections to embassies. Ramon Espinosa/AP

Queen’s Swan Uppers put swans back in the water during the annual count of the Queen’s swans on the river Thames in Staines-upon-Thames, England, Monday. Frank Augstein/AP

Market Closes for July 20^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18100.41	+13.96     +0.08%
S&P 500	2127.83	+1.19   +0.06%
NASDAQ	5218.859	+8.717     +0.17%
TSX	14413.64	-229.20
		-1.57%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20650.92	+50.80
		+0.25%
HANG SENG	25404.81	-10.46
		-0.04%
SENSEX	28420.12	-43.19
		-0.15%
FTSE 100	6788.69	+13.61
		+0.20%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.579	1.565
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.261	2.240
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3741	2.3469
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1032	3.0820

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76933	0.77083
US $	1.29983	1.29730
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40692	0.71077
US $	1.08239	0.92388

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1104.60	1132.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.15	50.89

All there is to investing is picking good stocks at good times and staying with  them as long as they remain good companies. –Warren Buffett

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s commodity-heavy stock market fell the most in three weeks, as gold and oil producers sank to levels last seen in the financial crisis amid a rout in basic resources.

     Barrick Gold Corp. and Goldcorp Inc. sank as gold’s lowest settlement in five years pushed miners in the benchmark index to a 14-year low. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and Athabasca Oil Corp. slumped more than 9.1 percent as U.S. crude sank below $50 a barrel for the first time since April.

     The rout in commodities worsened amid signals from the Federal Reserve that the central bank may raise rates this year on the back of an improving U.S. economy. Higher borrowing costs curb the attractiveness of assets such as gold, which doesn’t pay interest or give returns like assets including bonds and equities. Producers of energy and raw materials account for about 30 percent Canada’s equity benchmark.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 217.29 points, or 1.5 percent, to 14,425.55 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has declined 2.1 percent in two days, after rallying 3.2 percent in the previous five sessions.

     Gold miners bore the brunt of selling Monday, as the metal sank to as low as $1,080 an ounce, the lowest since 2010. Barrick sank 16 percent to close at a 25-year low, while Goldcorp tumbled 12 percent to its worst close since 2005.

     An index of gold miners retreated 12 percent to end at the lowest since April 2001, with Yamana Gold Inc. sliding 12 percent and Kinross Gold Corp. plunging 13 percent.

     Raw-materials producers retreated 6.3 percent for a fourth day of losses that now total 10 percent. The Bloomberg Commodity Index dropped 1.4 percent, falling for a fifth day to a 2002 low.

     Energy producers declined 2.7 percent as crude slipped below $50 a barrel for the first time since April before settling at $50.15. The group has lost 13 percent so far in 2015, the worst performance among 10 industries in the S&P/TSX.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index briefly climbed above its previous closing record, as better-than-forecast corporate results offset a slump in commodities producers.

     Hasbro Inc. jumped 6.3 percent on better-than-estimated earnings, while Halliburton Co. advanced 1.8 percent after its profit fell less than predicted. Apple Inc. rose 1.9 percent to pace gains in technology shares. Newmont Mining Corp. lost 12 percent, while energy shares declined with oil prices. International Business Machines Corp. fell in late trading after quarterly revenue missed analysts’ estimates.

     The S&P 500 increased 0.1 percent to 2,128.28 at 4 p.m. in New York, to close within three points of an all-time high set two months ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 13.96 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 18,100.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2 percent to extend its record. About 6.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.

     “While I wouldn’t be shocked if we move to new highs, the market may hesitate here,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist in Philadelphia at Janney Capital Management LLC, which oversees about $68 billion. “The earnings that we’ve gotten so far have been better than expected. M&A activity remains alive and well, so that’s a positive.”

     The S&P 500 had lost as much as 4 percent from its May 21 record before rebounding, with most of the gains coming during a 2.4 percent rally last week amid signs that Greece’s standoff with creditors is near a conclusion and a rout in Chinese equities has been contained.                          

     The next 10 percent move in the U.S. equities market will be higher as low analyst earnings forecasts, a rising economy and muted investor sentiment paves the way for further gains, Morgan Stanley chief U.S. equity strategist Adam Parker wrote in a note to clients on Monday. “Why sell the market when numbers are too low, the economy is improving, and you can still romanticize that you are a contrarian bull?” Parker said.

     While benchmark indexes are climbing back to record levels, the S&P 500’s rebound kept it within a historically tight range. The gauge hasn’t closed in 2015 more than 3.5 percent above or below where it started the year, the first time that’s happened, according to data compiled by Bespoke Investment LLC and Bloomberg.

     “There’s quite a while to go before this particular bull market ends,” Omega Advisors Inc.’s Steven Einhorn said Sunday on the television program “Wall Street Week,” predicting the rally since 2009 has at least another two years left.                       

     The vice chairman of the New York-based hedge fund, which oversees more than $9 billion, said economic fundamentals remain strong and the pace of the Fed’s interest-rate tightening is likely to be gradual, boding well for equities.

     Earnings season will draw more attention as the flow of quarterly reports increases this week, with about 25 percent of companies in the S&P 500 scheduled to release results. Analysts have moderated projections for a drop in S&P 500 members’ second-quarter earnings to a 5.3 percent decline from 6.4 percent on July 10.

     IBM lost 4.4 percent after hours as of 4:49 p.m. Quarterly earnings beat analysts’ estimates as reduced administrative and research costs helped offset a decline in its services and software businesses. Revenue fell more than analysts estimated from a year earlier, the 13th straight quarterly decline. Shares had gained 0.4 percent during regular trading Monday.

     Investors will also watch economic reports for clues on when the Federal Reserve will move on interest rates, with housing and jobless-claims data due later this week.                         

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 2.5 percent Monday to 12.25 after Friday reaching its lowest level since December. The gauge, known as the VIX, tumbled 29 percent last week, the biggest such slide since January.

     Technology and phone companies advanced the most among the S&P 500’s main industries, while energy and raw-material companies were the worst-performing groups. Banks in the benchmark rose for the seventh time in eight sessions.

     Apple gained 1.9 percent to a two-month high, rising for a fourth consecutive day to help lift the tech group. Visa Inc. rallied 2.6 percent to a record, and Texas Instruments Inc.climbed 1.5 percent after UBS AG raised the shares to buy from neutral. PayPal Holdings Inc. rose 5.4 percent, and earlier as much as 11 percent, in its market debut after separating from EBay Inc.

     Hasbro rose 6.3 percent to an all-time high. The toymaker’s second-quarter profit and sales beat analysts’ estimates, helped by merchandise tied to the “Jurassic World” summer blockbuster.

     Halliburton added 1.8 percent as results in North America were better than expected due to cost-cutting efforts and higher sales than analysts were forecasting.

     Lockheed Martin Corp. increased 2 percent to an almost five-month high after agreeing to buy United Technologies Corp.’s Sikorsky helicopter unit for $9 billion and said it expects to divest its government information systems division via a sale or spinoff.

     Southwestern Energy Co. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. lost at least 5.9 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude declined for a fourth straight session on the prospect that increasing Iranian shipments will extend the global supply glut. Energy shares capped their worst two-day drop since January.

     Newmont led declines in raw-materials, losing the most since Oct. 2008 as gold prices fell to the lowest since 2010. Barrick Gold Corp. tumbled 16 percent to a 25-year low, and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. slid 5.2 percent. The Bloomberg Commodity Index was down 1.4 percent, closing at a 13-year low.

     Raw materials are losing favor with investors as the dollar gains amid signals from Fed Chair Janet Yellen that the central bank may raise rates this year on the back of an improving U.S.

economy. Higher borrowing costs curb the attractiveness of commodities such as gold, which doesn’t pay interest or give returns like assets including bonds and equities.

     “We’ve seen a resumption of a rally in the dollar and if you do the math, that’s bad for commodity prices,” said Peter Sorrentino, a Cincinnati-based fund manager at Huntington Asset Advisors Inc., which oversees $1.8 billion.

 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is not a question of belief.

Stop believing in that which is;

this is what is taught in jnana yoga.

Believe in no other,

stop believing in that which is;

this is the first stage.  Dare to be rational.

Dare to follow reason where it may take you.

Swami
Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Marriage is the greatest earthly happiness when founded on complete sympathy.

                                                                 -Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1887

 

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