Month: September 2015

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

The design for the new Vancouver Art Gallery was revealed yesterday  and it is a unique and fabulous concept by Swiss firm Herzog & Meron.  The design features stacked layers of wood encased chambers, a welcome departure from the glass and concrete.  The Vancouver Sun today states “It’s being compared to everything from a pagoda and a stack of bento boxes to a stylized totem pole and a welcome figure.”   

We were in Vancouver last weekend and stopped by the Art Gallery to check out the current exhibit, “Of Heaven &  Earth – 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums.”  It is a very good show featuring art from the late middle ages to the Renaissance – much of it from the collections of an industrialist named McClellan from the last century – everything from Bellini, Bottecelli and Titians to lesser known masters of the time.  Well worth visiting before it ends on October 4^th.

September 30^th, 1955:  Actor James Dean was killed in a two-car collision near Cholame, Calif., at age 24.

And in 1452, the Gutenberg bible was published.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Skydivers create a record-breaking formation above Perris, Calif., Tuesday. Two-hundred-and-two skydivers from around the world set the record when they all linked up thousands of feet above Southern California. The group formed the largest sequential skydiving formation. Craig O’Brien via AP

A woman with a pram walks past a street art installation in Astana, Kazakhstan, Wednesday. Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters

Market Closes for September 30^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16284.70	+235.57   +1.47%
S&P 500	1920.03	+35.94   +1.91%
NASDAQ	4620.164	+102.843   +2.28%
TSX	13306.96	+270.00
		+2.07%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17388.15	+457.31
		+2.70%
HANG SENG	20846.30	+289.70
		+1.41%
SENSEX	26154.83	+376.17
		+1.46%
FTSE 100	6061.61	+152.37
		+2.58%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.432	1.434
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.199	2.189
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.0368	2.0508
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8538	2.8530

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75068	0.74482
US $	1.33213	1.34260
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.48851	0.67181
US $	1.11739	0.89495

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1114.00	1132.10
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	45.09	45.23

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada stocks rose a second day as markets around the world rebounded to pare losses in the worst quarter for equities since 2011.

     Canadian shares added 2.1 percent, led by gains among banks and health-care companies. Drugmakers Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and Concordia Healthcare Corp. snapped a four-day slide sparked by greater scrutiny on drug pricing.

     Global equities have tumbled in the third quarter amid rising concern that a slowdown in Chinese growth will spread to economies around the world at the same time that the U.S. central bank is considering raising interest rates. Commodities have been hardest hit as China is the world’s leading consumer. Stocks ended the quarter with a rally as some of the period’s biggest tumblers found favor.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 270 points to 13,306.96 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the most in two weeks, after slumping to an October 2013 low Monday. The gauge has declined 4 percent in September. It’s down 8.6 percent in the quarter that ended Wednesday and has tumbled 14 percent from an April peak.

     Canada’s economy grew 0.3 percent in July, ahead of median analysts’ estimates for a 0.2 percent increase. The world’s 11th largest economy is poised to rebound this quarter after contracting in the first half, weakened by a drop in commodity prices, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz predicts. Auto- parts manufacturers Magna International Inc. and Linamar Corp. jumped at least 3.7 percent to lead consumer discretionary stocks higher.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks a basket of prices from live cattle to gold, added 0.3 percent for a second day of gains. The gauge has plunged 14 percent this quarter.

Copper climbed as much as 4.5 percent to cut the biggest quarterly slump in four years. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. climbed 5.2 percent to pare its drop in the three months to 70 percent.

     Canadian equities are among the worst-performing markets in the developed world this year with a 9.1 percent slide, led by declines among raw-materials and energy producers of at least 24 percent.

US

By Anna-Louise Jackson and Kate Garber

     (Bloomberg) — For traders who suffered through the worst quarter for equities in four years, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s best rally in three weeks Wednesday was little more than a token consolation.

     Investors targeted their buying in some of the third quarter’s most-battered companies, with energy, raw-material and health-care shares among the leaders of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups after falling the most since June. All 10 industries in the benchmark advanced today, while a gauge of volatility had its steepest decline in more than a week.

     “We’re getting a snapback in some of the beaten-down names, particularly in biotech, and I think that’s to be expected after the beating they took,” said Lew Piantedosi, vice president of growth equities at Eaton Vance Management in Boston, where he helps oversee almost $14 billion. “There also could be some end- of-the-quarter window dressing going on today.”

     Investors should expect between $21 billion and $26 billion in buying of equities and some selling of bonds as pension-fund managers rebalance their portfolios at the end of the quarter, Boris Rjavinski, a strategist at UBS AG, wrote in a Sept. 25 report.

     The S&P 500 Index climbed 1.9 percent to 1,920.03 at 4 p.m. in New York, the most since Sept. 8. The measure ended the quarter down 6.9 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 235.57 points, or 1.5 percent, to 16,284.70. The Dow lost 7.6 percent since June ended. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 2.3 percent today, while the Russell 2000 Index advanced 1.6 percent to halt eight days of losses.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index has closed above 20 for the past 28 sessions, the longest streak since January 2012. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX fell 8.7 percent Wednesday to 24.50, the most in seven sessions. About 8.5 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 16 percent above the three-month average.

     Mixed messages on Federal Reserve interest-rate policy combined with worries of a China slowdown sent the S&P 500 to consecutive monthly declines while creating the most turbulent period for stocks in years. The benchmark is down 9.9 percent from its record set in May, and came within five points Tuesday of its 2015 closing low reached in August. This quarter’s retreat has wiped almost $11 trillion off the value of global shares.

     The S&P 500 slumped 2.6 in September, and posted its first back-to-back quarterly decline in four years. Energy and raw- material companies were the third quarter’s worst performers, plunging more than 17 percent amid concern that weakness in China will curb demand for commodities and crimp global growth.

     Trading within raw-materials Wednesday was similar to the broader market. Copper producer Freeport-McMoRan Inc. led gains, up 6.4 percent while also posting the steepest drop since June among materials companies, down 48 percent. Chesapeake Energy Corp. climbed 8 percent today to lead the energy group, while capping a 34 percent quarterly retreat, its biggest since 2008.

     Among other recently hard-hit stocks, semiconductors in the S&P 500 advanced the most in three weeks today amid their biggest quarterly swoon in three years. Auto-related companies rose for a second day as a selloff sparked by Volkswagen AG’s emissions scandal abated. Delphi Automotive Plc and General Motors Co. added more than 2.9 percent.

     Biotechnology stocks halted a selloff that sent the former high-fliers into a bear market. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 4.5 percent Wednesday, after its longest losing streak since October 2008. The group had slumped 20 percent during the stretch, and is down 24 percent from an all-time high in July.

     Biotechs had run up 56 percent to their July high from an October 2014 low. The group has weighed on the Russell 2000 Index, which fell to an 11-month low Tuesday amid its longest string of losses in more than nine years.

     Amid today’s biotech rebound, Biogen Inc. and Amgen Inc. gained at least 3.2 percent. As evidence of the severity of their recent declines, Biogen posted its biggest quarterly slide — 28 percent — in 10 years, while Amgen had its worst performance since 2010.

     While stocks rallied Wednesday, investors waiting for an all-clear sign may need to brace for more drama. Strategas Research Partners LLC points out that the S&P 500 has a messy history of bounce attempts before settling on an October bottom, with jerky markets lingering after steep August declines in 2011, 1998 and 1990. In each case, a recovery only emerged after the initial low was undercut by as much as 3.8 percent a month or so later.

     “I think the U.S. economy is on the right track, and the equity markets will turn around and have a strong last quarter of the year,” said Andrew Brenner, the head of international fixed income for National Alliance Capital Markets. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see stocks bottom the first full week of October. Then I think we’ll probably do OK between now and the end of the year because I believe the U.S. economy is doing just fine.”                       

     The U.S. equity benchmark is down 3.8 percent since the Federal Reserve held back from raising interest rates on Sept. 17, citing global market turmoil and a slowdown in China as reasons for standing pat. Fed officials, including Chair Janet Yellen, have since suggested that the U.S. economy is sturdy enough to handle higher rates this year. Traders aren’t convinced, as they price in a 41 percent chance of higher borrowing costs in December, and about 50 percent odds of an increase by January.

     As policy makers closely watch the strength of labor markets for potential cues on when to raise rates, a report today showed companies stepped up hiring in September, indicating the job market is standing firm in the face of weaker global demand.

     The September jobs report issued by the Labor Department Friday may show private businesses added about 200,000 employees after a 140,000 increase in August, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate probably held at 5.1 percent, the lowest since April 2008.

     Among shares moving on corporate news, Ralph Lauren Corp. jumped nearly 14 percent, the most in more than nine years as Ralph Lauren steps down as chief executive. He will hand the reins to Stefan Larsson, a rising retail star credited with reviving Gap Inc.’s Old Navy brand. Gap lost 5.7 percent to a three-year low.

     Advance Auto Parts Inc. closed at an all-time high, up 11 percent. Activist investor Starboard Value LP confirmed its 3.7 percent stake in the auto-parts retailer, and said opportunities exist “to create substantial value for all shareholders.”

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

My work will be finished if I succeed in carrying conviction to the human family,

that every man or woman, however weak in body,

is the guardian of his or her self-respect and liberty, and that this defence prevails,

though the world be against the individual resister.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Science is organized knowledge.  Wisdom is organized life.

                                        -Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804

 

 

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 1982, seven people are killed by cyanide-laced Tylenol.  I worked at JNJ at that time and I remember the value of Johnson & Johnson shares went into free-fall. 

I asked my boss at the time if he thought they would ever recover and he told me to buy more – which I did.  Johnson & Johnson recalled all the Tylenol on store shelves and put Tylenol back on the market 2 months later with tamper-proof containers.  They regained all the market share they had lost – a case still studied today at Harvard Business School.   Shareholders have been rewarded too.  $1000 invested in Johnson & Johnson on September 28, 1982 just before the episode would be worth $22,062 today and investors have received ever-increasing dividends year after year.  An extremely valuable lesson in investing.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sparrows fly around a bird feeder in Putgarten, Germany, Tuesday. Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters

Dairy farmers walk with their cows during a protest against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, Tuesday. Chris Wattie/Reuters

Market Closes for September 29^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16049.13	+47.24   +0.30%
S&P 500	1884.09	+2.32   +0.12%
NASDAQ	4517.320	-26.648   -0.59%
TSX	13036.96	+32.38
		+0.25%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16930.84	-714.27
		-4.05%
HANG SENG	20556.60	-629.72
		-2.97%
SENSEX	25778.66	+161.82
		+0.63%
FTSE 100	5909.24	-49.62
		-0.83%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.434	1.441
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.189	2.196
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.0508	2.0984
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8530	2.8796

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74482	0.74710
US $	1.34260	1.33851
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51050	0.66203
US $	1.12505	0.88885

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1132.10	1131.05
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	45.23	44.43

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada stocks rose from a two-year low on Monday, with the benchmark index erasing a loss in the final 30 minutes of trading as banks rallied with industrial companies. The gauge remains on track for its worst quarterly slide since 2011.

     Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia jumped at least 1.3 percent as financial services firms in the index advanced. Bombardier Inc. surged 7 percent to lead industrial shares higher. Valeant, the third-largest company in Canada’s benchmark equity gauge by market capitalization, sank 4.4 percent, extending declines to the lowest since February.

     Raw-materials producers increased after plunging to a 10- year low Monday. Oil advanced ahead of data Wednesday expected to show a decline in U.S. crude supplies. Glencore Plc jumped 17 percent, a record, after plummeting 29 percent a day before.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 32.38 points to 13,036.96 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after closing at an October 2013 low yesterday. The gauge has declined 5.9 percent in September, the worst drop since 2012. It’s down 10 percent in the quarter that ends Wednesday.

     Global markets retreated, as the MSCI All-Country World Index slipped 0.6 percent to extend a two-year low. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent in New York while the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.6 percent.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks a basket of prices from live cattle to gold, recovered 0.3 percent after a 1.3 percent drop yesterday. The gauge has plunged 16 percent this year.

     Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. rose 1.1 percent as raw- materials companies advanced 0.3 percent as a group. The gauge has slumped 11 percent in September, headed for a fifth straight monthly decline.

     Valeant fell for a fourth day, bringing its rout in September to 30 percent. Smaller drugmaker Concordia Healthcare Corp. has plummeted 46 percent this month.

     Canadian equities are among the worst-performing markets in the developed world this year with an 11 percent slide, led by declines among raw-materials and energy producers of at least 24 percent. Commodity shares have retreated amid plunging oil prices and uncertainty about global economic growth, especially in China. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Kate Garber

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index halted a five-day slide, on the way to its worst quarter since 2011, after the benchmark came within five points of its August low before reversing in the final minutes of trading.

     Equities swung between gains and losses as health-care companies rebounded, while biotechnology shares erased an early rally and Apple Inc. dragged technology companies lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index was briefly on track to close at an 11- month nadir before trimming its drop. The Russell 2000 Index slumped 0.6 percent to its worst level since October 17 amid its longest losing streak since 2006. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell for an eighth day, the most in nearly seven years.

     The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 1,884.09 at 4 p.m. in New York, and is down 4.5 percent in September on the way to back-to-back monthly declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 47.24 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,049.13. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.6 percent as Apple sank 3 percent. About 7.9 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, about 8 percent above the three-month average.

     “When we have spikes in volatility, like we did at the end of August, that’s normally followed by some additional choppiness until it peters out,” said Kevin Caron, a market strategist and portfolio manager who helps oversee $170 billion at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Florham Park, New Jersey. “It’s not uncommon to see this around changes in direction for key things like monetary policy. We still have this lingering volatility that we’re working through.”

     Stocks have been volatile in recent weeks amid confusion over the Federal Reserve’s rate-tightening policy while concern lingers that an economic slowdown in Asia will curb demand for commodities and crimp global growth. The S&P 500 is poised for its worst quarter since 2011, down 8.7 percent. The benchmark is almost 12 percent below its all-time high set in May.

     The turbulence underscores the disparity between investors confident in the U.S. economy and those concerned about sliding commodity prices and slowing Chinese growth. Fed officials insist the recovery has sufficient momentum to cope with higher interest rates. Still, the selloff in U.S. shares has prompted at least two of the bull market’s biggest cheerleaders to cut their year-end forecasts for the S&P 500 by as much as 9.7 percent.

     Goldman Sachs chief U.S. equity strategist David Kostin also lowered his year-end price target for the equity benchmark. He now estimates a level of 2,000, down from 2,100 earlier, because of slower than anticipated growth from the world’s two biggest economies and lower-than-expected oil prices.

     “Nothing feels like it’s going to bounce, especially given the fact that there’s no real catalyst on the horizon for a couple weeks,” said Michael Antonelli, an institutional equity sales trader and managing director at Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. “Earnings are probably the next catalyst that could help stem some of the losses here, but those don’t really kick off meaningfully until October 12th and after.”                         

     A report today showed consumer confidence unexpectedly gained this month as persistent job gains helped Americans shake off the effects of tumbling stock prices. Another report showed home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 5 percent in July from the same month a year earlier, propelled by improving demand and limited supply.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index has closed above 20 for the past 27 sessions, the longest streak since January 2012. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX fell 2.9 percent Tuesday to 26.83 after reaching a three-week high yesterday.

     “Commodities are not looking good but the Fed’s not hiking, so they’re balancing each other out to some extent,” said Alessandro Bee, a strategist at Bank J Safra Sarasin Ltd. in Zurich. “There will be volatility because we get a lot of important numbers, but it’s not easy to read what the data will imply for the Fed.”

     Traders are split on whether the Fed will raise rates this year. They are pricing in about a 40 percent chance of an increase in December, and a 47 percent probability in January.                      

     Health-care companies were the strongest performers among the S&P 500’s 10 main industries, after the group dropped 11 percent over seven sessions. Technology shares were the biggest drag, sliding 0.6 percent while six groups advanced.

     Medtronic Plc and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. rallied more than 2.5 percent to help propel health-care, snapping the group’s longest losing streak in four years. Johnson & Johnson gained 1.8 percent. Deutsche Bank AG raised its rating on the shares to buy from hold, seeing the company as a “diversified safe haven with capital to deploy.”

     The Nasdaq Biotech Index fell 0.6 percent after erasing a 3.9 percent rally. The gauge has dropped 15 percent in September, sliding into a bear market after reaching a record on July 20. Mylan NV lost 2.6 percent, and Allergan Plc. retreated 1.1 percent.

     Yahoo! Inc. climbed 2.4 percent after the company said it’s on track to spin off its stake of about $22 billion in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. this year. Yahoo’s board authorized the spinoff, even though the U.S. Internal Revenue Service declined to grant the company an advance ruling blessing the deal, Yahoo said in a filing Monday.

     Apple slumped 3 percent after losing 2 percent yesterday to weigh on the benchmark’s technology group. The shares are down 13 percent in the third quarter, the most since 2013. PayPal Holdings Inc. sank 5 percent for a 9.3 percent two-day decline, while Facebook Inc. lost 2.9 percent to extend its three-day drop to 8.2 percent.

     Nike Inc. declined 2 percent, extending a 2.3 percent decline Monday after shares rallied almost 9 percent Friday following better-than-expected earnings. Nike Inc. won’t renew its apparel contract with the University of Texas before the company’s exclusive negotiating window expires on Oct. 1, according to people with direct knowledge of the talks.

     That could put it in a bidding war with rivals, including Under Armour Inc. and Adidas AG, for the richest program in college sports. Under Armour slid 6.8 percent, the most in more than five weeks.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Fearlessness is the first requirement of spirituality.

Cowards can never be moral.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone.

                                                                                                            -Octavio Paz, 1914-1998

 

 

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:

I read this article in today’s Wall Street Journal; thought it worth sharing:

The Power of Prayer—and Chemotherapy

‘Repair enzymes’ fix damaged DNA in cells. Talking to God can repair damaged souls.

By 
KIRK J. ZACHARY

When he was 8 years old, my son, Noah, a true-blue New York Yankees fan, visited his pediatrician for a physical exam before starting day camp. His doctor found a lump in his neck.

The evaluation began with a chest X-ray, which showed a mass; the CT scan confirmed a large lesion in his chest. As a physician, I prayed to God that it would be tuberculosis. Perhaps I was the only doctor ever to ask God to give his son tuberculosis. The biopsy revealed Hodgkin’s disease, a form of lymphoma, and I quickly began to pray for my son’s life. A deep, gut-penetrating fear seared through my body.

Tefillah is the Hebrew word for prayer. The Torah, also referred to as the Old Testament, begins with: “When God began to create.” And how did God create? With words. Genesis 1:3 “God said ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” Genesis 1:26 “God said: ‘Let us make man in our image.’ ” Thus, we see that God used words to bring all that we know into existence.

For those who aren’t sure about God or don’t believe, as the recently deceased author and neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote: “Who cared if there was really any Being to pray to? What mattered was the sense of giving thanks and praise, the feeling of a humble and grateful heart.” As God used the power of his words to create, we use the power of our words to connect with God through prayer.

A small walk-in closet in my bedroom became my private sanctuary for both prayer and crying, mostly loud, weeping wails. It felt good to release the pain and fear—the pain of being a physician who still couldn’t protect my only son from cancer; the fear that he would not survive.

I prayed for Noah every day. I believe everyone prays to the same God. He is like a diamond that reveals different facets to different faiths and people, at different times. Prayer is a wireless call to God; sometimes it’s a one-way conversation. God is listening but he may not always provide an immediate response. That is part of the process.

Chemotherapy, smart doctors and prayer saved my son. My private talks and my private yelling at God, however, saved me. I felt anger and betrayal. How could God let this happen to my son, my only son. I screamed at God and to him. The rants ended in my quiet prayers to God for Noah’s healing. These things came together to treat his Hodgkin’s disease. Chemotherapy alone, prayer alone . . . neither would have been enough.

As sunlight damages the cells in skin, souls are done in by the travails of everyday life. Prayers can be solitary, but prayers from a church, mosque or synagogue are from a community. There is strength and support when you pray as a congregation. You are not alone; you are with like-minded people and with God.

Early in my career, I worked with New York University’s Dr. George Teebor, who researched DNA repair mechanisms. When a carcinogen or radiation injures the DNA in cells, innate repair enzymes attempt to repair the damage. If this process fails, the cells may turn malignant. As DNA repair enzymes work to heal cellular damage, prayer can repair damaged souls.

In 2007, I listened to Rabbi Ken Stern’s High Holiday sermon at New York’s Park Avenue Synagogue. Rabbi Stern was a caring and compassionate teacher. From the pulpit he spoke about prayer, asking the congregation: “Is God listening? Does God hear our prayers? Do our prayers make a difference? If you want to win the lottery, you must first purchase a ticket. If you want God to answer your prayers, you must first pray.”

He went on: “God gave man free choice and free will. So God can direct, guide and help, but not control everything,” Rabbi Stern said. “Prayer is not a magic bullet; prayer has other purposes besides petition: It is meant to help us become better people through our encounters with God.”

Earlier this week at Park Avenue Synagogue, during Yom Kippur services, Rabbi Neil Zuckerman taught that prayer can be transformative. He said that we remind both God, and ourselves, that “repentance, prayer and charity” can cause positive changes in our lives.

In the middle of Noah’s chemotherapy, I prayed for his survival. God heard my prayers for Noah. Twenty years later, Noah is married, works in public relations and is on the board of the nonprofit Stupid Cancer, an organization to support young adults affected by cancer.

Different religions have different routes to the same destination: being close to God. If you believe in God, prayer is how we talk with him. It links us with generations past and present and with those to come. If you do not believe in God, prayer can hedge your bet, prayer can crystallize your thoughts and hopes and your fears. Prayer is among your best hopes for becoming a better human being. Prayer can be the self-repair for the world of damaged souls.

Dr. Zachary is a physician in New York City.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A Virginia creeper covers the 15th century tea rooms in Llanrwst in Conwy, Wales, Friday Rebecca Naden/Reuters

A woman, wearing a sprout like a hairpin, makes her way in Beijing, China on Friday. Wearing antenna-styled hairpins in the shape of various flowers and plants at scenic spots has become a new trend in Beijing. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Pope Francis places a white rose at the south pool of the 9/11 Memorial Friday in New York City. John Minchillo/AP

Market Closes for September 25^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16314.67	+113.35   +0.70%
S&P 500	1931.34	-0.90   -0.05%
NASDAQ	4686.496	-47.982   -1.01%
TSX	13378.57	+39.90
		+0.30%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17880.51	+308.68
		+1.76%
HANG SENG	21186.32	+90.34
		+0.43%
SENSEX	25863.50	+40.51
		+0.16%
FTSE 100	6109.01	+147.52
		+2.47%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.529	1.467
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.274	2.220
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1640	2.1284
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9596	2.9166

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75012	0.74979
US $	1.33312	1.33371
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49234	0.67009
US $	1.11943	0.89331

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1146.65	1154.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	45.70	44.79

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada stocks snapped a three-day slump as gains among the largest banks and industrial companies offset a decline in health-care and data showed the U.S. economy expanded more than previously forecast.

     Canadian equities added 0.3 percent, paring an earlier advance of as much as 1 percent in the final two hours of trading. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. tumbled to a four-month low to join a slump among U.S. health-care stocks as the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index plunged into a bear market. Bombardier Inc. soared 9.6 percent as industrial stocks rallied 1.7 percent as a group.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 39.90 points to 13,378.57 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, paring a weekly decline to 2 percent. The index is headed for a fifth straight monthly drop and its worst quarter in four years.

     “It’s a rotation,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research with MacDougall MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$5.3 billion ($4 billion). “It’s been such a winner, the health-care sector. Now that the Fed has said rates will increase people will move back into financials.”

     A gauge of developed and developing markets advanced for the first time since the Federal Reserve declined to raise interest rates at a policy meeting last week. Chair Janet Yellen, speaking in Massachusetts Thursday, said the central bank was prepared to raise interest rates in 2015 at a gradual pace to allow more Americans to find work.

     Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia advanced at least 0.9 percent to lead financial-services stocks higher. The S&P/TSX Banks Index gained 0.9 percent, halting a three-day retreat.

     Valeant declined 4.9 percent for a second day of losses, to a May low. The drugmaker, the largest in Canada, has slumped 13 percent in September for the biggest monthly retreat since August 2011. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index has lost 13 percent this week after a tweet from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton suggested there may be “price gouging” in the pricing of prescription medicine.

     Global markets advanced, with the MSCI All-Country World Index rising 0.5 percent for the first increase in six days, paring an earlier advance as U.S. shares declined.

     The U.S. economy rose at a 3.9 percent annualized rate in the second quarter revised from a prior estimate of 3.7 percent, boosted by gains in consumer spending and construction, according to a government report.

     Canadian equities are among the worst-performing markets in the developed world this year, led by declines among raw- materials and energy producers of at least 22 percent, amid plunging oil prices and uncertainty about global economic growth, especially in China. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Suncor Energy Inc. added 1.7 percent and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. increased 2 percent as energy stocks rose 0.5 percent as a group. Oil rose in New York, advancing for a second week on signs retreating supply will begin to pare a global glut.

     BlackBerry Ltd. sank 7.7 percent for a seventh day of losses that put it at the lowest since June 2014. The company reported a wider second-quarter loss than analysts estimated as smartphone shipments fell to the lowest since at least 2007.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Lu Wang

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed little changed, with the benchmark declining for a second straight week, as a selloff in biotechnology stocks thwarted a rally led by Nike Inc.

     A rebound in U.S. stocks, fueled by reassuring statements from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and Nike’s better-then- expected earnings, was eventually undermined Friday by a snowballing drop in biotechs. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell into a bear market amid its worst weekly decline in four years. Banks, meanwhile, had their best day in more than two weeks, rising along with bond yields.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 1,931.34 at 4 p.m. in New York, after erasing an earlier 1.1 percent climb.The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1 percent, wiping out a 1.1 percent advance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 113.35 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,314.67, supported by gains in Nike and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

     “Health-care was kind of the stalwart and we’re starting to see cracks in leaders,” said Channing Smith, a managing director at Capital Advisors Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The firm oversees about $1.6 billion. “When you see that, it’s one more reason to step back and be cautious.”

     Equities were initially boosted after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech following the close of markets yesterday that the central bank is on course to raise interest rates this year. Yellen’s remarks bolstered confidence the economy is sturdy enough to handle higher borrowing costs. She acknowledged that economic “surprises” could lead policy makers to change that plan.

     The Fed held its fire on a rate increase last Thursday, saying it’s considering spillover risks to the U.S. economy from turmoil in global markets. That sparked declines in U.S. equities in five out of six sessions prior to Yellen’s speech. The selloff was briefly interrupted on Monday when Fed officials said a 2015 increase is still warranted. Traders are split on whether it will happen, pricing in about a 43 percent chance of a hike in December and a roughly 51 percent probability of liftoff in January.

     The S&P 500 lost 1.4 percent this week, and posted its first back-to-back weekly drop since July. The benchmark has lost 6.4 percent in the third quarter, on track for its worst performance and first consecutive quarterly declines since 2011, with equities pressured as China’s slowdown weighed on sentiment.

     Amid the intensified weakness in stocks, the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index has closed above 20 for 25 straight sessions, the longest stretch since January 2012. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX rose 0.6 percent Friday to 23.62, after earlier erasing an 11 percent drop.                        

     Calming some worries about the impact of an emerging-market downturn, data today showed the world’s largest economy expanded more than previously forecast in the second quarter. Growth was boosted by gains in consumer spending and construction. A separate report showed a final measure of consumer sentiment for September fell less than forecast, though it reached the lowest level in almost a year.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups rose Friday, with financial, consumer staples and utilities shares gaining the most. Health-care companies slid 2.7 percent to the lowest in almost 11 months.

     Biotech shares were a drag on the broader health-care group amid biotech’s longest losing streak in four years. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index lost 5.1 percent, and is down 22 percent from an all-time high on July 20. The group has stumbled since Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton suggested on Monday there may be “price gouging” in the market for prescription pills. Celgene Corp. and Mylan NV lost more than 4.2 percent.

     Managed-care companies and insurers added selling pressure to the health-care sector. The SPDR S&P Health-Care Services ETF slipped 2.8 percent, extending its two-day loss to 4.5 percent. The fund fell 4.9 percent for the week, the most in more than three years.

     “It’s a rotation,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research with MacDougall MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$5.3 billion ($4 billion). “It’s been such a winner, the health-care sector. Now that the Fed has said rates will increase people will move back into financials.”

     Financial companies in the benchmark gauge climbed 1.5 percent as 81 out of 88 companies increased. E*Trade Financial Corp. and Northern Trust Corp. added more than 2.6 percent as investors speculated higher interest rates will help boost profitability. The KBW Bank Index rose 2 percent as 23 of 24 firms gained. U.S. Bancorp and Citigroup Inc. increased more than 2.2 percent.

     Consumer discretionary companies finish little changed, despite Nike’s 8.9 percent jump to a record after its earnings beat estimates, helped by higher prices and a lower tax rate. Worldwide futures orders rose 17 percent at the globe’s largest maker of athletic gear, exceeding analysts’ estimates, with order growth in Europe, China, Japan and emerging markets also topping projections. That’s soothed shareholders, who have seen shaky overseas economies and currency fluctuations threaten sales.

     Nike competitor Under Armour Inc. gained 1.4 percent. Among other consumer discretionary shares, a handful of automotive- related companies rebounded from a three-day losing streak amid the fallout from the Volkswagen AG diesel-emissions scandal. BorgWarner Inc. and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. rose more than 1.8 percent.

     A rally among a swath of food manufacturers paced gains in consumer staples. Kellogg Co., Hormel Foods Corp. and Campbell Soup Co. all rose more than 1 percent. Reynolds American Inc. climbed 2.1 percent, on track for its best day since July, as people familiar with the talks said Japan Tobacco Inc. is in talks to buy cigarette assets from Reynolds.

     Pier 1 Imports Inc. slumped 12 percent to an almost five- year low after cutting its fiscal 2016 profit forecast. The retailer said sales growth has been below expectations, and margins have been hurt by increased promotional and clearance activity.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

 

Be magnificent!

You have to stand against the whole world although you may have to stand alone.

You have to stare the world in the face although the world may look at you with a bloodshot eye.

Do not fear

Trust that little thing in you which resides in the heart and says:

forsake friends, wife, all, but testify to that for which you have lived and for which you have to die.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.

                            -Voltaire, 1694-1778

 

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:

Birthdays today:

1501 Gerolamo Cardano, mathematician, author of Games of Chance, the first systematic computation of probabilities.

1717 Horace Walpole, author, creator of the Gothic novel genre.

1755 John Marshall, fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court and U.S. secretary of state.

1870 George Claude, French engineer, inventor of the neon light.

1894 E. Franklin Frazier, first African-American president of the American Sociological Society.

1896 Francis Scott Key (F. Scott) Fitzgerald, novelist best known for The Great Gatsby.

1911 Konstantin Chernenko, president of the Soviet Union 1984-1985.

1936 Jim Henson, puppeteer who created the “Muppets” in 1954 and television’s Sesame Street.

1941 Linda McCartney, singer, photographer, activist; member of band Wings; former wife of Beatles member Paul McCartney.

1945 Louis “Lou” Dobbs, TV personality (Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN), radio host (Fox Business Network).

1946 “Mean Joe” Greene, pro football player (Pittsburgh Steelers) considered one of the greatest defensive linemen ever to play in the NFL; member of Pro Football Hall of Fame.

On this day in 1925, Virginia Woolf wrote in her Diary:

But to tell the truth, I am exacerbated this morning.  It is 10:25, on  a fine grey still day; the starlings are in the apple trees; Leonard is in London.  But why am I exacerbated?  By Roger [Fry, artist and art critic].  I told him I had been ill all the summer.  His reply is – silence as to that; but plentiful descriptions of his own front teeth.  Egotism, egotism – it is the essential ingredient in a  clever man’s life I believe.  It protects; it enhances; it preserves his own vital juices entire by keeping them banked in.  Also I cannot help thinking that he suspects me of valetudinarianism and this enrages me; and Leonard is away and I can’t have my thorn picked out by him, so must write it out.  There!  it is better now; and I think I hear the papers come; and will get them, my woolwork, and a glass of milk.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Pope Francis, accompanied by members of Congress, waves to the crowd from the Speakers Balcony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, after addressing a joint meeting of Congress inside. Doug Mills/AP

Local skateboarder Markel Andronov jumps over an art work by a German street artist who goes by the name ‘Evol,’ in central Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia, on Thursday. The artwork was created for the 11th Krasnoyarsk Museum Biennale, which will open September 30, with artists from Russia, the Unites States, Germany, Poland, Great Britain, Netherlands and other countries attending, according to organizers. Ilya Naymushin/Reuters

Market Closes for September 24^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16201.32	-78.57   -0.48%
S&P 500	1935.47	-3.29   -0.17%
NASDAQ	4734.480	-18.264   -0.38%
TSX	13338.41	-45.28
		-0.34%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17571.83	-498.38
		-2.76%
HANG SENG	21095.98	-206.93
		-0.97%
SENSEX	25863.50	+40.51
		+0.16%
FTSE 100	5961.49	-70.75
		-1.17%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.467	1.489
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.220	2.242
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1284	2.1514
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9166	2.9476

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74979	0.74990
US $	1.33371	1.33351
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49421	0.66925
US $	1.12034	0.89259

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1154.50	1131.35
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	44.79	44.37

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada stocks fell a third day, reaching the lowest level in a month, as industrial shares dropped after Caterpillar Inc. cut its sales forecast in response to a commodities slump.

     Equities dropped 0.3 percent, paring earlier losses of as much as 1.1 percent as raw-materials producers rallied as commodities from copper to gold and oil advanced. Finning International Inc., which sells, finances and services Caterpillar equipment, sank to a four-year low to lead industrials shares 1.3 percent lower.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 45.02 points to 13,338.67 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has tumbled 3.2 percent in three days, the most since the height of the global equities selloff in August. The index is headed for a fifth straight monthly drop and its worst quarter in four years.

     Global markets slid as fresh signs of slowing growth emerged. A gauge of developed and developing markets retreated 0.7 percent and has fallen for five straight days since the Federal Reserve held off raising borrowing rates last week. The S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent in New York.

     Canadian equities are among the worst-performing markets in the developed world this year, led by declines among raw- materials and energy producers of at least 22 percent, amid plunging oil prices and uncertainty about global economic growth, especially in China. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Finning dropped 5.7 percent after Caterpillar, the world’s biggest mining machinery producer, lowered its full-year sales forecast and said it will cut as many as 5,000 jobs amid the commodities slump.

     Gold producers soared 7.6 percent, the biggest rally since January, as futures for December delivery added 2 percent to settle at a four-week high in New York. Barrick Gold Corp. surged 10 percent and Goldcorp Inc. climbed 7.4 percent.

US

By Kate Garber and Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index sliding to an almost three-week low, as investors clamor for further clarity on the Federal Reserve’s stimulus policy.

     Equities trimmed losses in late-afternoon trading, surging as energy shares rallied with crude oil. Stocks further pared after JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s global head of derivative and quantitative strategies said in note today that technical selling pressure from volatility targeting strategies was largely completed, and in the coming days and weeks flows may be skewed toward buying.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 1,932.24 at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing most of an earlier 1.5 percent slide. The benchmark dropped for the fifth time in six days since the Fed cited turbulence in financial markets as reason to stand pat on interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 78.57 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,201.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.4 percent.

     “We’re seeing a defensively-led market today,” Todd Lowenstein, who helps manage $16 billion at in Los Angeles HighMark Capital Management Inc., said by phone. “I think there are some bargains emerging in the midst of this indiscriminate selloff. A lot of the daily trading is dominated by algorithms and quants and these dislocations can occur.”

     Equities pulled back on Aug. 27 after JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic said that “price insensitive” program traders are likely to cause repeated selloffs. Stock reacted again on Sept. 3 as Kolanovic argued that robotic selling by quantitative investment funds tuned to volatility and price trends was only about halfway completed.

     Such traders may deliver “$10 billion in purchases over the next few days,” Kolanovic said in a note to clients Thursday. He added that if indexes add 2 to 3 percent in that time, additional technical buying may occur.

     Meanwhile, uncertainty over the Fed’s actions has made equities more volatile in past weeks. The central bank held off raising rates last Thursday and said it would consider spillover risks from global markets. Fed officials have since said a 2015 increase is still warranted.

     Chair Janet Yellen speaks in Massachusetts after markets close, with investors desperate for guidance on whether she deems the economy robust enough to withstand higher rates this year.

     “The Fed backed themselves into a corner last week by talking about China and emerging markets,” said Andrew Brenner, the head of international fixed income for National Alliance Capital Markets. “The fact that they’re adding China and emerging markets into the mix and then still thinking about raising rates between now and the end of the year is very inconsistent. It adds uncertainty to the market. That’s why equities have been performing poorly since mid-day of the Fed announcement.”

     Prior to the afternoon surge, the S&P 500 was on track to close at its lowest in a month amid more evidence that China’s slowdown and weakness in commodities are having an impact in the U.S. Caterpillar Inc. tumbled 6.3 percent after lowering its sales outlook and will cut as many as 10,000 jobs over four years in response to a slowdown in the mining and energy industries. Other industrial companies slid amid data showing orders for business equipment stalled.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the measure of market turbulence known as the VIX, has closed above 20 for 24 straight sessions, the longest stretch since June 2012. The gauge rose 6.1 percent Thursday to 23.47.

     Traders are split on whether the Fed will raise rates this year. They are pricing in about a 41 percent chance of an increase in December, down from 49 percent as recently as Monday, and a 48 percent probability in January. Odds of higher borrowing costs by January were 64 percent on the day before last week’s Fed meeting, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Meanwhile, investors continue to evaluate economic data for hints on possible Fed action. A report today showed orders for durable goods fell 2 percent in August, reflecting declines in defense and aircraft. Momentum in orders for business equipment stalled following gains the prior two months as U.S. investment took a breather amid volatility in financial markets and concerns that global growth is slowing.

     Separate data showed fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that a steady labor market will bolster U.S. growth. Another measure showed purchases of new homes jumped in August to a seven-year high.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined Thursday, with health-care, financial and industrial shares losing the most. Utilities, energy and consumer staples rose.

     Biotechnology shares continued to weigh on the broader health-care group. Losses for U.S. biotechs have accelerated since Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Monday suggested there may be “price gouging” in the market for prescription pills. Biogen Inc., Celgene Inc. and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. slumped at least 1.7 percent. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index is headed for its worst week in four years, down 8.4 percent.

     Financial companies in the S&P 500 fell as investors speculated that low interest rates would continue to crimp profitability. The yield on the 10-Year U.S. Treasury note sank to a two-week. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. slumped more than 1 percent. Charles Schwab Corp. and Citigroup Inc. dropped at least 1.9 percent.

     Caterpillar’s lowered outlook and cost-cutting measures hammered home to investors the troubles faced by large-equipment manufacturers and their commodity producing customers. Rival Joy Global Inc., lost 1 percent, after trimming an early 6 percent drop, to its lowest since November 2008. Another Caterpillar competitor, Deere & Co., fell 2.5 percent.    

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Very few people in this world can reason normally.

There is a terrible tendency to accept all that is said, all that is read, and to accept it without question.

Only he who is ready to question, to think for himself, will find the truth!

To understand the currents of a river,

he who wishes to know the truth must enter the water.

Nisargadatta

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitudes.

                                            -Victor Frankl, 1905-1997

 

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:
 

1846    The planet Neptune was discovered by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle. 

AUTUMN

…Move onward , Life; we cannot stop to  grieve.
The seed demands the soil, that it may live;
This mystery of contact, strange, devout
In union, as the general scheme of love.
See, in our careful hoard of leaf-mould, sprout
Chestnuts from conkers, little pallid leaf
Of beech from mast, from acorn little oak,
Each in their germination hopefully
Intent on growing to a forest tree;
Close consequence that seed and soil provoke!
Each to his kind, majestic or minute,
Following unaware but resolute
The pre-ordained plan
That makes an oak, a daisy, or a man…

                            -V. Sackville-West

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A child plays with a huge red ball that is installed between two buildings as part of the RedBall Project by artist Kurt Perschke in Marseille, France, Wednesday. The RedBall Project is touring Marseille from Sept. 19 to 25, at a new location each day. Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

Children ride their bicycles on an empty street in Jerusalem during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur Wednesday. Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is the holiest of Jewish holidays, when observant Jews atone for the sins of the past year. Traffic is not allowed during the 25-hour-long period.Ammar Awad/Reuters

Market Closes for September 23^rd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16279.89	-50.58   -0.31%
S&P 500	1940.41	-2.33   -0.12%
NASDAQ	4752.746	-3.977   -0.08%
TSX	13384.67	-106.42
		-0.79%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18070.21	-362.06
		-1.96%
HANG SENG	21302.91	-493.67
		-2.26%
SENSEX	25822.99	+171.15
		+0.67%
FTSE 100	6032.24	+96.40
		+1.62%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.489	1.482
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.242	2.234
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1514	2.1372
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9476	2.9468

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74990	0.75350
US $	1.33351	1.32714
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49079	0.67078
US $	1.11795	0.89450

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1131.35	1122.90
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	44.37	45.83

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada capped the biggest two-day drop in a month, as energy shares tumbled with the price of crude and auto-parts makers retreated amid the Volkswagen AG scandal.

     The country’s benchmark index sank 0.8 percent, adding to a 2.1 percent slide Tuesday. Magna International Inc., the auto- parts supplier whose biggest customers include Volkswagen, declined a fourth day. Energy producers fell 2.1 percent as oil in the U.S. sank 4.1 percent amid renewed demand concern.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 107.40 points to 13,383.69 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has tumbled 2.9 percent in two days, the most since the height of the global equities selloff in August. The index is headed for a fifth straight monthly drop and its worst quarter in four years.

     Canadian equities are among the worst-performing markets in the developed world this year, led by declines among raw- materials and energy producers of at least 23 percent, amid plunging oil prices and uncertainty about global economic growth, especially in China. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. retreated 4.2 percent and Teck Resources Ltd. slipped 3.4 percent. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. sank 4.8 percent, to a December 2008 low. The stock has slumped 17 percent in five days.

     Crescent Point Energy Corp. tumbled 6.4 percent and Encana Corp. retreated 4.2 percent as West Texas Intermediate oil sank 4.1 percent to settle at $44.48 a barrel after the Energy Information Administration said output increased for the first time in seven weeks.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, a basket of prices for natural resources from copper to oil and gold, fell 0.6 percent to the lowest in a month. The gauge has slumped 16 percent this year.

     Magna fell 0.9 percent, for a fourth straight retreat, and Linamar Corp. declined 1.9 percent. Volkswagen, the German automaker, has become engulfed in a scandal over falsified pollution controls that will cost the company at least 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion). Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn resigned as a result.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. added 0.9 percent, rebounding from a July low. The drugmaker had slumped 10 percent in the past two days amid a broader selloff in the health-care industry after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticized some pricing practices.

US

By Oliver Renick and Kate Garber

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks posted their fourth loss in the five days since the Federal Reserve’s rate decision, as a rout in the price of crude led commodity shares lower.

     Energy producers slid as oil sank after a U.S. inventory report signaled lower demand, while raw-materials producers slumped as a reading on Chinese manufacturing fell to a six-year low. Trading volume was light amid the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, with about 5.9 billion shares trading hands on U.S. exchanges, 18 percent below the three-month average.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 1,938.76 at 4 p.m. in New York, sinking to its lowest level since Sept. 4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50.58 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,279.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.1 percent.

     “Today is going to be a little quiet,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co LLC in New York. “We have the Jewish holiday, but we also have a speech out of Yellen tomorrow. People are hoping that she’ll make some further comments that will take away some of the confusion and uncertainty that her comments from last week made.”

     Equities have been volatile in recent weeks, as the Fed’s stimulus policy, which has helped to support the bull market for more than six years, has only served to confuse investors of late. More clarity may be on the way as Fed Chair Janet Yellen is slated to deliver a lecture in Massachusetts after the markets close Thursday.

     Yellen said last week that policy makers would scrutinize slowing growth in China and emerging markets for risks that could spill over to the U.S. Still, the market is split on whether the Fed will raise rates this year. Traders are pricing in a roughly 43 percent chance of liftoff in December, while about 51 percent are betting on January.

     European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said in remarks today that it’s too soon to decide whether risks to the economic outlook warrant a step-up in the ECB’s stimulus. The macroeconomic environment is “more challenging,” Draghi said, and he vowed the ECB won’t hesitate to act if risks increase. Similar to the Federal Reserve, Draghi’s comments suggest the ECB is also having a hard time assessing the impact of slowing growth in developing countries.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped the most since August’s selloff on Tuesday as companies from energy to autos slumped. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX has closed above 20 for 23 straight sessions, the longest stretch since June 2012. The gauge fell 1.4 percent Wednesday to 22.13.

     Meanwhile, the ratio of puts to calls on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has surged 12 percent over the past week, signaling investor appetite for protection against losses. That’s the most pronounced five-day jump since 2009, with the biggest increase coming the day after the Fed’s rate decision last week.

     “While volatility had been largely absent for the last year, it’s going to be part of our daily existence,” said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at the Private Client Reserve of US Bank in New York. “The next real material event for investors is going to be the announcement of third-quarter earnings. We’re not likely to get any economic data to resolve the uncertainty. We’ve been left in this purgatory.”

     The S&P 500 had climbed 6.8 percent from its August low before the Fed unveiled its decision last Thursday to leave interest rates near zero. The benchmark has slumped 2.8 percent since the meeting concluded, and is down 9 percent from its all- time high in May.

     Six of the benchmark index’s 10 main industries fell Wednesday, led by raw-material and energy companies. Freeport- McMoRan sank 5.6 percent and extended its post-Fed slide to almost 17 percent. Vulcan Materials Co. lost 3.7 percent, while Monsanto Co. decreased 2.5 percent. Returns from raw materials are languishing near the weakest in 16 years amid rising inventories just as demand growth slows in China, the world’s biggest consumer of everything from cotton to zinc.

     Energy shares followed a 4 percent drop in West Texas Intermediate crude. A government report showed U.S. refineries cut operating rates by the most in eight months, signaling lower demand for crude as units are shut for seasonal maintenance. Consol Energy Inc. and Transocean Ltd. sank more than 5.7 percent. Chesapeake Energy Corp. slid 5.3 percent to lose 15 percent so far this week.                       

     Among the industrials, machinery companies in the S&P 500 fell to their lowest since July 2013. The group’s recent woes can be traced back to investor concern that global economic growth is slowing, particularly in China. Caterpillar Inc., which generates more than half its revenue outside the U.S., slid 2.1 percent to a five-year low. Joy Global Inc. lost 5.6 percent to its lowest since March 2009. Overseas business makes up almost 70 percent of Joy’s revenue.

     NCR Corp. sank 4.5 percent, the most since Aug. 25, after the New York Post reported Blackstone Group LP had dropped its pursuit of the ATM machine maker.

     Technology companies climbed, led by a 2.4 percent gain in PayPal Holdings Inc. Chipmaker Qorvo Inc. added 1.5 percent after a 5.1 percent decline yesterday. Skyworks Solutions Inc., Visa Inc. and Facebook Inc. gained more than 1 percent.

     First Niagara Financial Group Inc. soared 15 percent, the most in almost seven years, following reports that the lender is exploring a possible sale or other alternatives.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

With the clouds hanging in the air above the trees,

and the birds falling silent before the storm,

this morning brings forth serious reflection,

bringing into question the entirety of existence,

the gods themselves, and all human activity.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

You should always go to other people’s funerals; otherwise they won’t come to yours.

                                                                                    -Yogi Berra, 1925-2015

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:  

Enjoy the last day of summer 2015 today – the autumn equinox occurs at 4:21 AM tomorrow, rendering it the first day of fall.

Significant Numbers:

63 years, 216 days: length of Queen Victoria’s reign in Britain (1876-1901) a record surpassed by Queen Elizabeth ll on September 9^th.

29,000: People in Japan who turned 100 in 2015.  So many are reaching their centenary that the government may drop the  traditional 100^th birthday gift, and engraved silver bowl, because it’s gotten so expensive.

Good News:

Seattle: sustainable seafood may be easier to find.  A pilot program called Smart Catch, supported by philanthropist Paul Allen, will certify restaurants that offer 90 percent sustainably harvested or raised fish, based on abundance, bycatch, and fishery-management practices.  Details of the offerings and their origins will be featured on menus.

London: There’s new life in the Thames.  Finally – owing largely to 1990s-era changes in waste-treatment legislation – the river, which had been pronounced “biologically dead” more than 50 years ago, now harbors marine mammals from seals and porpoises to the occasional wayward whale, as noted in a 10-year survey of public sightings compiled by the Zoological Society of  London.

London: There’s new life in the Thames.  Finally,

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Workers travel on a speed boat past an inflatable Rubber Duck installation, by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, on a lake at a botanic garden in Changsha, Hunan province, China, Monday. The 18-meter-high duck will be on display from Sept. 21 to Nov. 22. Reuters

Fishermen cast their lines from a jetty as storm clouds loom in the distance in Bal Harbour, Fla., Tuesday. Wilfredo Lee/AP

Market Closes for September 22^nd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16330.47	-179.72   -1.09%
S&P 500	1941.64	-25.33   -1.29%
NASDAQ	4576.723	-72.232   -1.50%
TSX	13489.57	-289.87
		-2.10%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18070.21	-362.06
		-1.96%
HANG SENG	21796.58	+39.65
		+0.18%
SENSEX	25651.84	-541.14
		-2.07%
FTSE 100	5935.84	-172.87
		-2.83%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.482	1.541
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.234	2.293
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1372	2.1958
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9468	3.0168

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75350	0.75454
US $	1.32714	1.32532
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.47637	0.67734
US $	1.11244	0.89892

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1122.90	1133.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	45.83	46.68

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada stocks tumbled the most in three weeks, joining a rout in global markets as commodities prices slumped amid escalating concern China’s growth is slowing.

     Raw-materials producers plunged 4.4 percent to the lowest level since November 2008 as copper led losses in industrial metals and zinc fell to a five-year low. Health-care shares slid a second day, while industrial stocks tumbled.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 288.35 points, or 2.1 percent, to 13,491.09 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest drop since Sept. 1. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has lost 2.7 percent in September, which would be a fifth straight monthly drop.

     A volatility gauge for 60 of the largest, most liquid Canadian stocks jumped 9.8 percent, the most in three weeks, to 23.95. The measure has surged 17 percent in two days.

     The Asian Development Bank cut its forecast for China’s economic growth to 6.8 percent in 2015 and 6.7 percent in 2016, the second such reduction in just over two months. In July, it estimated a 7 percent expansion for this year and 6.8 percent for next.

     Global stocks slumped, with a gauge of developed and developing markets falling 1.7 percent to a two-week low. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index sank 1.2 percent in New York while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slumped 3.1 percent.

     In Canada, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. sank at least 7.7 percent as copper futures for December delivery tumbled 3.8 percent in New York. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. fell 2.4 percent and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. declined 4.9 percent as energy stocks retreated.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, a basket of prices for natural resources from copper to oil and gold, dropped 1 percent. The gauge has slumped 16 percent this year.

     Auto parts makers slumped to lead consumer discretionary stocks lower after German automaker Volkswagen AG said 11 million vehicles were equipped with diesel engines at the center of a widening scandal over faked pollution controls. Magna International Inc. retreated 4.9 percent, the biggest decline since January, and Linamar Corp. lost 1.8 percent.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. dropped 5.4 percent to a July low. The drugmaker has stumbled 10 percent in two days, joining losses among U.S. health-care stocks after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Monday some “price gouging” in the specialty drug market was “outrageous” in a tweet.

     Toronto-Dominion Bank lost 1.9 percent and Bank of Nova Scotia fell 1.7 percent. A gauge of the nation’s largest lenders has dropped 2.1 percent in September, headed for a fifth straight month of losses, the worst stretch since February 2009.

US

By Dani Burger and Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, with raw-material shares dragged lower as commodities retreated, a selloff in biotechnology shares deepened and Volkswagen AG’s diesel- emissions cheating scandal continued to rattle global auto stocks.

     Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV fell 5.7 percent, while Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. lost at least 1.9 percent with investors wary of industry fallout. Monsanto Co. and Alcoa Inc. dropped more than 1.3 percent amid sliding commodity prices. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index sank 1.7 percent after losing 4.4 percent Monday. Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. declined at least 1.5 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 1.2 percent to 1,942.74 at 4 p.m. in New York, trimming a decline in the final hour after falling as much as 1.9 percent. It’s the third drop in four days, sending the gauge to a two-week low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 179.72 points, or 1.1 percent, to 16,330.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 1.5 percent. About 7.3 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.

     “With macro uncertainty and very little fundamentals overall, when you see a rise in volatility it leads to investor uncertainty and any bad news has the opportunity to shake things up,” said Joseph Betlej, who helps oversee $33 billion as vice president of Advantus Capital Management. “It’s a hangover from last week’s Fed move. Yesterday was just a little bounce.”

     Equities got a boost Monday after a quartet of Fed officials talked up prospects for higher interest rates in 2015, just days after the central bank jolted investors by citing global market turmoil and a slowdown in China as reasons for standing pat. Their remarks suggested continued improvement in the domestic economy may overshadow concerns about global conditions.

     The central bank’s bid for greater transparency about its criteria for a rate increase has left markets on edge amid an expanding Fed checklist and conflicting U.S. data. Fed Chair Yellen said last week that policy makers would scrutinize slowing growth in China and emerging markets for risks that could spill over to the U.S.

     Meanwhile, the market remains unconvinced a liftoff will take place this year after the Fed’s decision and its dovish statement. Traders are pricing in a roughly 41 percent probability of a rate increase by the Federal Open Market Committee’s December meeting, compared with 64 percent on Sept. 16 before the policy decision.                      

     Equities have been particularly volatile amid anxiety over the impact of China’s slowdown on global growth and the Fed’s intentions. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index has closed above 20 for 22 straight sessions, the longest stretch since June 2012. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX jumped 11 percent Tuesday, the most in a month, to 22.44.

     Several technical charts are also sounding warning signals that the worst of equities turmoil may not be over. A downward sloping neckline in a head-and-shoulders pattern have formed in the Dow. The index and the Dow Jones Transportation Average also breached the low from last October, flashing a so-called Dow Theory sell signal.

     “On days when there’s not much economic data, that can lead to bigger moves,” said Brent Schutte, senior investment strategist at BMO Global Asset Management in Chicago, which manages $250 billion. “People are selling or buying off things that aren’t grounded in fundamentals.”

     The S&P 500 had climbed 6.8 percent from its August low before the Fed unveiled its decision last Thursday to leave interest rates near zero. The benchmark has slumped 2.6 percent since the FOMC meeting concluded, and is down 8.8 percent from its all-time high in May.

     All of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined Tuesday, with raw-materials and technology companies falling more than 1.5 percent. Leading the drop in materials, Mosaic Co. fell 7 percent to its lowest level since January 2009. The largest U.S. producer of potash fertilizer said it plans to reduce output as low crop prices continue to erode farmer demand for agricultural products.

     Renewed worries about slower growth in China pressured commodity prices, sending Alcoa down 4 percent, and steel company Nucor Corp. sliding 2.9 percent. The Asian Development Bank reduced its China growth forecasts for the second time in just over two months. Newmont Mining Co. lost 6.3 percent as gold prices fell.

     Semiconductors fell for a fourth straight session, the longest losing streak in a month. Applied Materials Inc., Micron Technology Inc. and Qorvo Inc. slumped more than 2.7 percent, while Intel Corp. fell 1.7 percent.

     Biotech shares extended declines sparked yesterday after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticized high drug prices. Today she said she’d implement programs to force the industry to concede tens of billions of dollars a year in tax breaks, lower prices and increase research spending. Celgene Corp. and Mylan NV paced the slide in the Nasdaq Biotech Index, falling more than 1.2 percent.

     Among consumer discretionary shares, the influence of the Volkswagen scandal was visible. Parts supplier BorgWarner Inc. dropped 7.6 percent, the most in four years, and Delphi Automotive Plc fell 3.6 percent. CarMax Inc. lost 4.7 percent, its biggest drop in a year, even after the used-car retailer’s quarterly profit exceeded analysts’ estimates.

     Weakness in homebuilders also weighed on consumer stocks. An S&P gauge of builder shares fell 2.7 percent, the most since Aug. 25. Lennar Corp., PulteGroup Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc. slid at least 2.2 percent.

     Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lost 2 percent, ranking as the second-worst performer in the Dow. Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said he has a “highly curable” form of lymphoma and will undergo chemotherapy over the next several months. Among financial stocks in the S&P 500, Morgan Stanley and BlackRock Inc. were among the biggest losers, down more than 2.5 percent.

The KBW Bank Index sank 1.3 percent on its way to a four-week low.

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 2.5 percent, its biggest slide since Aug. 24. Kirby Corp., which operates a fleet of inland tank barges that transport commodities such as industrial chemicals, fell 4.1 percent. Railroads Kansas City Southern and Norfolk Southern Corp. lost more than 2.7 percent. A Bloomberg gauge of U.S. airlines slid 3.1 percent, the most in a month.

     Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc. both tumbled at least 4.1 percent, hurt by renewed concerns that the Federal Trade Commission will block the companies’ merger plan.

     Weatherford International Plc jumped 11 percent after the oil-services company scrapped a proposed $1 billion sale of shares and convertible debt. The sale was announced yesterday, and Weatherford’s share price tumbled 17 percent in response.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

 

Be magnificent!

The outward freedom that we shall attain will only be in exact proportion

to the inward freedom to which we may have grown at any given moment.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We tend to think of meditation in  only one way.  But life itself is a meditation.

                                                                            -Raul Julia, 1940-1994

 

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:

Arrived home from 2 week safari in Zambia and Botswana last night….lots to tell you about later….one of the best things was no email or internet or smart phones for two weeks! 

We have trained them (men) to think of the Future as a promised land which favored heroes attain – not as something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. –CS Lewis, The Srewtape Letters, 1942.  (Thought of this quote when I viewed the photos below published today).

 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

What’s happening with respect to the world’s various religious events today:

 

Pope Francis is greeted by Cuba’s President Raul Castro as he arrives to lead a mass for Catholic faithful in the city of Holguin, Cuba, Monday.Tony Gentile/Reuters

 

Devotees carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, into the Arabian Sea on the fifth day of the ten-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India, Monday. Ganesh idols are taken through the streets in a procession accompanied by dancing and singing, and later immersed in a river or the sea, symbolising a ritual seeing-off of his journey towards his abode, taking away with him the misfortunes of all mankind. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

 

Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Hassidic sect Vizhnitz pray on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea as they participate in a Tashlich ceremony in Herzeliya, Israel, Monday. Tashlich, which means ‘to cast away’ in Hebrew, is a practice in which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically ‘throw away’ their sins by throwing a piece of bread into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which starts on Tuesday at sundown. Ariel Schalit/AP

 

A boy leads a goat at a livestock market in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday. Muslims around the world are preparing to celebrate Eid al-Adha, marking the end of the Haj, by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God’s command. Mohammad Ismail/Reuters

Market Closes for September 21, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16510.19	+125.61   +0.77%
S&P 500	1964.90	+6.86   +0.35%
NASDAQ	4828.953	+1.725   +0.04%
TSX	13775.20	128.30
		+0.94%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18070.21	-362.06
		-1.96%
HANG SENG	21756.93	-163.90
		-0.75%
SENSEX	26192.98	-25.93
		-0.10%
FTSE 100	6108.71	+4.60
		+0.08%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.541	1.461
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.293	2.226
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1958	2.1283
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0168	2.9325

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75454	0.75664
US $	1.32532	1.32164
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.48298	0.67432
US $	1.11892	0.89372

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1133.25	1141.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	46.68	44.68

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, climbing for the fourth time in five days, as industrial companies rallied and energy producers advanced with crude.

     Equities jumped 1 percent as a gauge of diversified commodities prices increased for only the second time in seven sessions. Oil advanced on signs that producers are investing less in drilling, which could take a bigger bite out of falling U.S. crude production.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 132.54 points to 13,779.44 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has pared a monthly decline to 0.6 percent, which would be a fifth straight drop.

     Industrial and energy companies rallied at least 1.8 percent. Pipeline operators rose as Enbridge Inc. jumped 3.5 percent and TransCanada rose 4.1 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co. climbed more than 1.3 percent.

     Financial companies increased 1.8 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank, the nation’s largest lender, increased 1.8 percent.

     Suncor Energy Inc. climbed 2.2 percent after it agreed to buy an additional 10 percent working interest in the Fort Hills oil sands project from Total E&P Canada Ltd. for C$310 million.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. sank 4.9 percent, the most in a month, joining a slump in U.S. health- care stocks. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index sank 4.4 percent after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said some “price gouging” in the specialty drug market was “outrageous” in a tweet. Clinton is expected to disclose a drug pricing plan tomorrow.

     Raw-materials producers tumbled 1.9 percent as gold prices declined. Gold futures fell for the second time in three sessions, down 0.4 percent to settle at $1,132.80 an ounce in New York as comments from some Federal Reserve officials fueled concern the central bank may raise interest rates this year.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. tumbled 9.4 percent for a second straight retreat and Teck Resources Ltd. lost 5.1 percent. Energy and raw-materials producers are the worst- performing industries in the S&P/TSX this year, each tumbling 20 percent as oil has plunged more than 25 percent from this year’s closing peak in June.

     The spread between U.S. crude and the more expensive international benchmark Brent narrowed as West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 4.5 percent to settle at $46.68 a barrel. The spread averaged $2.25 last week, the least since January. U.S. production has declined for six weeks even as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has sustained output.

US

By Oliver Renick and Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, following a two-day selloff, as investors took an optimistic view on domestic growth amid reassuring comments from Federal Reserve policy makers.

     Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. increased at least 1.4 percent to pace gains in technology shares. E*Trade Financial Corp. and Allstate Corp. rose more than 1.7 percent as financial companies climbed. Energy shares rose as oil prices rebounded. Merck & Co. lost 2.2 percent, and the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index slumped 4.4 percent after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted that she that she would release a plan to combat the high cost of prescription drugs.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.5 percent to 1,966.97 at 4 p.m. in New York, after briefly erasing a 1.1 percent gain. The gauge fell a combined 1.9 percent Thursday and Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 125.61 points, or 0.8 percent, to 16,510.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed, weighed on by the drop in biotech shares, after gaining as much as 1.1 percent. About 6.5 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 9.7 percent below the three-month average.

     “There are a lot of Fed people coming out and trying to be transparent following last week’s selloff, but in some cases that’s leading to more investor confusion,” said Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion. “There are so many brilliant people talking every day that it’s difficult to sort it all out. There’s still a tremendous amount of nervousness.”

     Just days after the central bank voted to hold interest rates near zero, sparking the biggest post-meeting selloff since July 2014, four Fed officials separately said the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand a hike this year. Their remarks suggested continued improvement in the domestic economy may overshadow concerns about global conditions.

     The quartet of policy makers who spoke out contended that any threat from abroad is temporary, providing an antidote to Chair Janet Yellen’s warning last week that global financial- market turmoil could harm growth.

     Three regional Fed presidents — San Francisco’s John Williams, St. Louis’s James Bullard and Richmond’s Jeffrey Lacker — argued over the weekend for lifting the central bank’s key interest rate before year’s end. They suggested low unemployment overshadowed the concerns Yellen mentioned. Fed Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said Monday he remains confident the central bank will tighten this year as those concerns prove temporary.

     After the Fed left rates unchanged, the S&P 500 erased its weekly gain, with financial companies tumbling. The late-week slump put the finish another period of indecision as the equity gauge capped its 10th straight week of back-and-forth results with a decline of 0.2 percent.

     The central bank’s decision, and the way its deliberations were framed by Yellen in a post-meeting press conference last week, were interpreted by many Fed watchers as a sign that the central bank might not raise interest rates this year. In holding rates steady, the Fed noted international uncertainties and subdued inflation.

     “Raising rates will show confidence in the economy,” said Andrew Brenner, the head of international fixed income for National Alliance Capital Markets. “The way the Fed justified not raising rates by bringing in China and emerging markets got people really confused as to what the Fed is focusing on, and equity markets would like to see the Fed raise because they need to have that uncertainty reduced.”

     Equities have been particularly volatile amid concerns about China and the Fed’s intentions. Traders are now pricing in a 20 percent chance of a rate increase in October, and about a 49 percent probability of a move in December.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index endured its biggest weekly gain on record in August, and has closed above 20 for 21 straight sessions, the longest stretch since June 2012. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX fell 9.6 percent Monday to 20.14 and is down 29 percent this month.

     Equity sentiment has been plunging at a historic rate, the cost to hedge against stock losses has soared, and bearishness among professional stock handicappers has risen the most in three decades — all of which is good news for bulls, if history is any guide. Since 1963, the U.S. benchmark has advanced an average 11 percent in the year after newsletter writers surveyed by Investors Intelligence were as pessimistic as they are now, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Data today showed sales of previously owned homes fell more than forecast in August, representing a pause in momentum this year for residential real estate. Closings declined 4.8 percent to a 5.31 million annual rate from a revised 5.58 million pace that was the strongest since 2007. Prices climbed and the number of homes on the market decreased from the same time a year ago.                      

     Amid more whipsaw action in equities, nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries finished higher Monday, with financial and technology shares rising more than 1 percent. Health-care companies erased an early 0.9 percent increase to lose 1.4 percent, adding to a 1.5 percent slide Friday.

     Companies sensitive to higher interest rates, such as insurers and banks, rallied as bond yields rose. Comerica Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc. gained more than 1.7 percent. KeyCorp and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. climbed at least 1.5 percent.

     Apple and Microsoft advanced more than 1.4 percent to help pace the rally among tech companies. Facebook Inc. climbed 1.2 percent, rising for 11 straight sessions, its longest winning streak since going public in May 2012.

     Red Hat Inc. added 2.3 percent ahead of its quarterly results, while Adobe Systems Inc. climbed 2.6 percent. Atmel Corp. surged 13 percent after agreeing to a $4.6 billion- takeover from Dialog Semiconductor Plc.

     Yahoo rose 1.4 percent as it weighs what to do with its 15 percent stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Alibaba slipped 2.8 percent. PayPal increased 4 percent, the most in three weeks, after Stifel Financial Corp. raised the shares to buy from hold.

     Merck and Pfizer Inc. lost more than 1.3 percent to weigh on the health-care group. Biogen Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc. and Celgene Corp. all sank at least 2.4 percent as the Nasdaq Biotech Index had its biggest drop in a month.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

With closed eyes, I have come to this last thought:

even while I am unconscious in sleep, the dance of life will continue

in the silent field of my sleeping body, in the same rhythm as the stars above.

My heart beats, my blood courses through my arteries,

and the millions of atoms that live in my body will vibrate in time with the harp

that quivers under the fingers of the great Master.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Heroes don’t need to talk about what they did.

                             -W.P. Kinsella, 1935-

 

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

 

Tel: 778.430.5808

(C): 250.881.0801

Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895

Fax: 778.430.5828

Dear Friends,

Carolann will be back on Monday and will write you the newsletter. 

Tangents:

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

 Scotland’s national rugby union team wait in the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral, England, ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup welcome ceremony. Action Images/Reuters

Workers prepare the spectator grandstand Wednesday near the new National Gallery (r.) ahead of the Singapore F1 night race. The race takes place starting Sept. 18. Edgar Su/Reuters

Market Closes for September 18, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16383.18	-291.56   -1.75%
S&P 500	1955.72	-34.48   -1.73%
NASDAQ	4827.227	-66.722   -1.36%
TSX	13658.17	128.99
		-0.94%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18070.21	-362.06
		-1.96%
HANG SENG	21920.83	+66.20
		+0.30%
SENSEX	26218.91	+254.94
		+0.98%
FTSE 100	6104.11	-82.88
		-1.34%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.461	1.533
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.226	2.290
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1283	2.1903
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9325	3.0054

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75664	0.75936
US $	1.32164	1.31690
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49362	0.66951
US $	1.12988	0.88505

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1141.50	1117.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	44.68	46.90

Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does.

Warren Buffett

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Doug Alexander and Scott Deveau

     (Bloomberg) — Ontario’s provincial government said it aims to complete the initial public offering of Hydro One Ltd. shares by early November after filing documents in what is expected to be Canada’s largest IPO in 16 years.

     The amount and share price weren’t disclosed in Friday’s filing to Canada’s securities regulator. The province said in April that it planned to sell about 15 percent of Ontario’s largest electricity transmission and distribution system in an IPO of as much as C$2.25 billion ($1.7 billion).

     The market volatility that’s cooled the pace of IPOs in the past couple months shouldn’t affect demand for Hydro One, said Ed Clark, chairman of a council advising the government on asset sales. An environment of low interest rates makes stocks that offer steady yields an attractive investment, he said.

     “There’s no question that this, as a general matter, is in fact a favorable environment for yield stocks, which is what this is,” Clark told reporters at a briefing. “But what the world will be like in the end of October or early November, when we price it, we’ll have to see.”

     Marketing of Hydro One’s offering will begin in October and the IPO is expected to be completed by November, the province said. At least 25 percent of the IPO will be sold to retail investors and Hydro One will be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

     The government reiterated it will remain the largest shareholder with a minimum 40 percent stake and that no other shareholder group can own more than 10 percent.

     With about 1.4 million customers and C$23.1 billion of assets, Hydro One has been estimated by the province to have an equity valuation of C$13.5 billion to C$15 billion. The money raised from the sale will go toward debt repayment, transit and infrastructure, the government said.

     The initial sale excludes Hydro One’s Brampton distribution network, which was sold to a group of municipally owned utilities that are merging as part of the government’s plan.

     Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia are leading a group of 16 banks on the sale. The group includes Barclays Plc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Credit Suisse Group AG.

     An IPO of C$2.25 billion would be the largest since the C$2.49 billion initial stock sale by Manulife Financial Corp. in 1999.

US 

By Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks tumbled as commodities from copper to oil sank, while Treasuries rallied a second day after the Federal Reserve’s warning on the global economic outlook rippled through markets.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index continued its post-Fed slide, with energy producers leading declines. Oil and industrial metals got routed, while gold gained after Fed Chair Janet Yellen sounded caution over slowing growth in China.

     While Yellen said recent developments “may restrain economic activity somewhat,” she added that the implications “have not fundamentally altered” the Fed’s outlook for the economy. The central bank’s decision to delay raising interest rates kept in place a measure of uncertainty that has added to volatility in global equity markets.

     “There’s some concern that the Fed sees something we’re not seeing in the data,” said Eric Green, director of research and senior managing partner at Penn Capital, which oversees $4 billion in Philadelphia. “Some investors wanted them to rip the Band-Aid off and get the first one done. Then we wouldn’t have to obsess about it for the two weeks before each meeting.”

     The S&P 500 retreated 1.6 percent at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing its gain for the week. The gauge ended lower yesterday by 0.4 percent, erasing a gain of as much as 1.3 percent after Yellen indicated that global developments overshadowed signs of strength in America. 

     The expiration of some futures and options on stocks and indexes, known as quadruple witching, added to volume, with trading in S&P 500 stocks 60 percent above the 30-day average.

     “We’ve again added uncertainty as to when the hike is going to happen,” Mark Kepner, an equity trader at Themis Trading LLC in Chatham, New Jersey, said by phone. “We’re at the point where we’re almost looking at other countries as opposed to our own for signs of when the Fed will lift off.”

     Automakers and banks led declines in Europe, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropping 1.8 percent to erase its gain for the week.

          U.S. two-year Treasuries extended their biggest one-day rally since 2009, while Pacific Investment Management Co. said policy makers may wait until next year before raising rates. JPMorgan Asset Management said the Fed’s statement was good for bonds and they still like debt due between seven and 10 years.

     Bonds gained from Australia to Germany, while Treasuries added to an advance from Thursday. The yield on 10-year German bunds, the euro region’s benchmark sovereign securities, dropped 12 basis points to 0.66 percent, set for its biggest decline since July 7, on prospects for further easing by the European Central Bank.

     Rates on similar-maturity Italian bonds fell 14 basis points to 1.76 percent, while those on Spain’s declined 15 basis points to 1.94 percent. The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasuries fell six basis points to 2.13 percent on Friday, after sliding 10 basis points the previous day.

     The dollar reversed losses against most of its major peers on Friday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.7 percent after touching its lowest level since Aug. 25.

     The greenback rose 1.3 percent to $1.1293 per euro, after tumbling 1.3 percent to $1.1435 the previous day. The yen was little changed at 119.96 per dollar.

     Emerging-market stocks and currencies reversed earlier gains to end mixed. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.1 percent, trimming this week’s advance to 3 percent. A Bloomberg gauge of 20 currencies fell 0.3 percent after eight days of gains. 

     The Fed decision gave gold bulls a boost, as the metal headed for its first weekly advance in a month. Bullion futures for December delivery gained 1.9 percent to $1,137.80 an ounce in New York, after touching $1,141.50, the highest since Sept. 2. Prices had a 3.1 percent gain this week.

     Oil dropped for a second day, with futures in New York tumbling 4.7 percent and 3.3 percent in London. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery dropped $2.22 to settle at $44.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest decrease since Sept. 1. Prices rose 5 cents this week.

     Brent for November settlement fell $1.61 to end the session at $47.47 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

    

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

Everything that is made beautiful and fair and lovely is made for the eye of one who sees.

Rumi

 

As ever,

Leyla

 

The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes.

Aristotle

 

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: 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

 Parents Jason and Kelli Fenley hold their identical triplets, Owen, left, Noah, center, and Miles Fenley, during a news conference in Mineola, N.Y., Thursday. Identical triplets are very rare, occurring approximately only once in every million births, when a single egg splits into three embryos. Most multiple births are combination of identical and fraternal siblings. Seth Wenig/AP

 Guest walk under the super-sized table by artist Robert Therrien titled ‘Under the Table’ inside The Broad Museum during a media preview in Los Angeles. The new museum built by Philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, featuring their collection of modern art, will open to the public on Sept. 20.Kevork Djansezian/Reuters

Market Closes for September 17, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16674.74	-65.21   -0.39%
S&P 500	1990.20	-5.11   -0.26%
NASDAQ	4893.949	+4.710   +0.10%
TSX	13787.16	+23.38
		+0.17%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18432.27	+260.67
		+1.43%
HANG SENG	21854.63	-112.03
		-0.51%
SENSEX	25963.97	+258.04
		+1.00%
FTSE 100	6186.99	-42.22
		-0.68%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.533	1.596
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.290	2.339
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1903	2.2940
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0054	3.0822

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75936	0.75436
US $	1.31690	1.32564
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50397	0.66490
US $	1.14185	0.87577

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1117.50	1117.60
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	46.90	47.15

 

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a third day, holding onto gains after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted against raising interest rates amid low inflation and an uncertain outlook for global growth.

     Gains among energy producers and health-care stocks led advances. The Fed kept its benchmark federal funds rate at a record low as recent global economic and financial volatility will likely put downward pressure on inflation, policy makers said Thursday in a statement.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 0.2 percent, or 23.38 points, to 13,787.16 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest since Aug. 31. The benchmark equity gauge has pared a loss in September to 0.5 percent after four monthly declines.

     “It looks as if rates are still set to start rising this year, however there’ll only likely be one move,” said Andrew Grantham, an economist at CIBC World Markets, in a note to clients. “There were hints that a gradual tightening cycle is close.”

     Canadian stocks have rebounded 2.4 percent this week after slumping 4.2 percent in August for the worst performance in a year, amid a rout among global financial markets following China’s shock currency devaluation. China is Canada’s second- largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Shopify Inc. soared a record 24 percent after the Canadian software maker teamed up with online retailing giant Amazon.com Inc. to help merchants create their own online stores.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped 3.4 percent to the highest in a month high, to lead health-care stocks higher. Valeant has rallied 7.5 percent in three days.

     Cenovus Energy Inc. jumped 5.3 percent and Suncor Energy Inc. increased 0.9 percent as crude in New York held near $47 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate oil jumped 5.7 percent Wednesday as U.S. inventories fell.

     Toronto-Dominion Bank lost 0.9 percent and Royal Bank of Canada dropped 0.7 percent as financial stocks retreated.

US 

By Craig Torres

     (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve kept its policy interest rate unchanged, showing reluctance to end an era of record monetary stimulus in a time of market turmoil, rising international risks and slow inflation at home.

     “Recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat and are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term,” the Fed said in its statement.

     Thursday’s action signified more than anything the committee’s uncertainty about how global events, such as the slowdown in China, translate into their outlook for U.S. growth.

     “Discretion is the better part of valor,” Ethan Harris, co- head of global economic research at Bank of America Corp. in New York, wrote in an e-mail. The move is a “tactical delay” to gather more information on risks to the forecast, and “as the labor market recovery rolls along, and with capital markets already showing signs of calm, the pressure on the Fed to hike will build at each meeting going forward.”

     The decision featured the first dissent this year by Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker as policy makers faced one of the toughest decisions of Chair Janet Yellen’s leadership of the Federal Open Market Committee. 

     It also bears its own set of risks, such as the perception of a “Yellen put,” or the view that market volatility could stay the Fed’s decision again.

     “They put more emphasis on things that could go wrong than things that are going right,” Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Bank AG in New York, said before the decision.

     The U.S. economy is posting steady job gains and solid household spending. Fed officials, anxious not to tighten policy prematurely and risk having to reverse course and cut rates back to zero, weighed solid domestic fundamentals against uncertainties about the international outlook.

     “The Committee continues to see the risks to the outlook for economic activity and the labor market as nearly balanced but is monitoring developments abroad,” the statement said.

     Slowing growth in China has rippled across the world, hitting commodity-producing countries hard. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which captures stock markets in nations such as Brazil, Chile, Egypt and China, is down 14 percent this year.

     “The outlook for the global economy is being marked down and that is why markets are reacting,” Laura Rosner, U.S. economist at BNP Paribas, said before the decision. Market developments are giving policy makers “fundamental, new and real-time information,” the former New York Fed staff analyst said.

     Domestically, Fed officials are also grappling with an inflation rate that remains too low, rising just 0.3 percent for the 12 months ended July, according to the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred measure.

     “The case for not going is that the inflation picture is still extremely murky, especially in light of developments in China,” Ward McCarthy, chief financial economist at Jefferies LLC in New York, said before the decision.

     The PCE index has run below the Fed’s 2 percent target for more than three years. “They need to clarify” their inflation target strategy, McCarthy added.

     Officials Thursday said they don’t expect to attain their 2 percent goal until 2018, according to policy makers’ median forecast.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.

Ernest Hemingway

 

As ever,

Leyla

 

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace.

Victor Hugo

 

 

 

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: 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

 

A migrant woman looks in a hand mirror as she waits to registrater after crossing the border from Austria in Freilassing, Germany, Wednesday.Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters

A fisherman casts a net at a fish farm during a sudden downpour along a sea shore on the outskirts of Kochi, India, Wednesday. Sivaram V/Reuters

 

Market Closes for September 16, 2015

 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16739.95	+140.10   +0.84%
S&P 500	1995.31	+17.22 +0.87%
NASDAQ	4889.239	+28.719   +0.59%
TSX	13763.78	+301.07
		+2.24%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18171.60	+145.12
		+0.81%
HANG SENG	21966.66	+511.43
		+2.38%
SENSEX	25963.97	+258.04
		+1.00%
FTSE 100	6229.21	+91.61
		+1.49%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.596	1.571
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.339	2.321
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2940	2.2867
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0822	3.0674

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75906	0.75501
US $	1.31742	1.32448
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.48762	0.67222
US $	1.12921	0.88557

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1117.60	1105.95
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	47.15	44.59

 

 Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada stocks rallied to the highest level since August, as commodities prices rebounded after oil surged to a two-week high while U.S. central bank officials began a two-day debate on the timing of higher interest rates.

     Energy and raw-materials producers jumped at least 3.8 percent to pace gains among Canadian equities. Oil futures rose 5.7 percent in New York as U.S. stockpiles declined 2.1 million barrels last week, according to a government report. The Bloomberg Commodities Index surged 1 percent for the first increase in four days.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index jumped 301.07 points, or 2.2 percent, to 13,763.78 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest increase since Aug. 27. The benchmark equity gauge has pared losses in September to 0.7 percent, after four straight months of losses.

     Canadian stocks have rebounded 2.3 percent this week after slumping 4.2 percent in August for the worst performance in a year, amid a rout among global financial markets following China’s shock currency devaluation. China is Canada’s second- largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. gained 6.3 percent and Crescent Point Energy Corp. rose 5.7 percent as energy stocks jumped 4.2 percent, the most since Aug. 27.

     Goldcorp Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp., Canada’s biggest gold companies, surged at least 5.6 percent as raw-materials producers rallied 3.8 percent. Gold futures settled 1.5 percent higher in New York, the most in more than three weeks.

     The U.S. Federal Reserve begins two days of meetings in Washington Wednesday, with traders predicting about a 32 percent chance the central bank will raise interest rates. U.S. consumer prices dropped in August as cheaper gasoline helped keep inflation below the objective of the Fed.

     “The evidence continues to mount that slack in the economy is abating,” said Kevin Caron and Chad Morganlander, fund managers at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., in a note to clients. “As for inflation, the Fed sees the current weakness as largely temporary. The Fed should move on rates but look to control expectations for future rate hikes in our view.”

     Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s largest lenders, increased more than 1.8 percent to lead financial services stocks higher.

US 

By Stephen Kirkland and Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — Oil’s best rally in two weeks, sparked by a drop in American stockpiles, pushed U.S. stocks to a four-week high as Federal Reserve officials began a two-day meeting over interest-rate policy. Emerging-nation assets rallied as equity gains in China bolstered sentiment.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capped a second day of gains as energy producers drove its advance. Shares in developing markets climbed to the highest level this month and currencies from Russia to Brazil strengthened amid easing concern over market turmoil in China. Treasuries held Tuesday’s losses, while the dollar slumped.

     Traders put the chance of an increase in U.S. interest rates this week at 30 percent, up from as low as 26 percent on Monday but still well below the 50 percent odds before China roiled markets by devaluing the yuan last month. Crude, which has fallen more than 20 percent from this year’s peak amid concerns over a global glut, surged after the U.S. reported a 2.1 million-barrel decline in inventories as refineries bolstered operating rates.

     “What we’re seeing now is somewhat of a relief rally,” George Schultze, who oversees $200 million as founder and managing member of Schultze Asset Management in Purchase, New York, said by phone. “There’s a varied list of expectations but if you asked most people in early August they’d say it’s very likely the Fed would raise rates in mid-September, and I don’t think people will be surprised if they do.”

     The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent by 4 p.m. in New York after rallying 1.3 percent on Tuesday to the highest level since August. Energy shares led gains with a 2.8 percent surge, as Chesapeake Energy Corp. jumped 14 percent.

     Beverage companies rallied with SABMiller Plc said to be open to discussing a potential offer from larger rival Anheuser- Busch InBev NV in a deal that would bring together the world’s two biggest beermakers. Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, climbed 6.8 percent in New York.

     Molson Coors Brewing Co. jumped 14 percent for the biggest gain in the S&P 500, while optimism over the deal sent Altria Group Inc. up 2.3 percent as it owns 27 percent of SABMiller.

     Stocks have been gaining since data Tuesday indicated resilience among American consumers, a sign of confidence in the world’s largest economy and a boost to the case for a liftoff in rates. The gauge has rallied about 6.8 percent since reaching a 2015 low last month and is down 3.1 percent this year.

     Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said financial markets are vulnerable because nobody can agree on what the Fed will do. More than half of the 111 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predict no change on Thursday, while 50 say the key U.S. rate will be increased by 0.25 percentage point. Four see a 1/8 percentage- point increase.

     Gina Martin Adams, equity strategist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC, said a rate hike could be a positive catalyst for stocks.

     “For one reason and for one reason alone, it removes the uncertainty which has been plaguing the market for much of this year,” she said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio.

     Oil rose for a second day on news of last week’s drop in stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate crude has fluctuated since slumping below $40 a barrel last month as concern that China’s growth was slowing fueled volatility in markets.

     WTI jumped 5.7 percent to settle at $47.13 a barrel while Brent gained 4.2 percent to $49.75.

     Industrial metals also rose, with copper capping a second day of gains as the stock market rebound signaled improving demand in China, the world’s top metals consumer. Aluminum, nickel, zinc, tin and lead also advanced.

     The MSCI Emerging Markets Index surged 2 percent to close at its highest level since Aug. 20. Benchmark gauges in South Africa and South Korea climbed at least 2 percent.

     The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 4.9 percent amid speculation China’s scrapping of quotas on overseas borrowing by approved companies will help stem capital flight and lower borrowing costs. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 2.1 percent.

     “In emerging markets, China is at least as important a factor as the Fed,” Maarten-Jan Bakkum, a senior emerging- markets strategist at NN Investment Partners in The Hague, said by e-mail. “So if the Chinese market rises, investors are willing to believe that this can offset some of the Fed risk.”

     A gauge of 20 developing-nation currencies advanced for a seventh day, the longest string of gains since early 2014. 

     The dollar and euro weakened against most of their major peers on sluggish data from both the U.S. and euro zone. Prices paid by American households declined 0.1 percent in August, the first decrease since January, while in the euro area they slowed almost to a standstill.

     The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the greenback versus 10 major peers, slipped 0.4 percent after the measure that tracks the greenback against 10 of its major peers climbed 0.3 percent on Tuesday.

     Yields on 10-year Treasury notes rose one basis point, or0.01 percentage point, to 2.30 percent, after climbing 10 basis points on Tuesday. Yields on two-year notes, regarded as being more policy sensitive, also added one basis point, to 0.82 percent after surging eight basis points last session to the highest level since April 2011.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Arrange whatever pieces come your way.

Virginia Woolf

As ever,

Leyla

 

I know that two and two make four – and should be glad to prove it too if I could – though I must say if by any sort of process I could convert 2 and 2 into five it would give me much greater pleasure.

Lord Byron

 

 

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