Month: December 2015

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

‘Use More Expressive Words!’ Teachers Bark, Beseech, Implore

To encourage lively writing, instructors put certain words to rest; no more ‘fun’

By 

JAMES R. HAGERTY

English teachers were once satisfied if they could prevent their pupils from splitting infinitives. Now some also want to stop them from using words like “good,” “bad,” “fun” and “said.”

“We call them dead words,” said (or declared) Leilen Shelton, a middle school teacher in Costa Mesa, Calif. She and many others strive to purge pupils’ compositions of words deemed vague or dull.

“There are so many more sophisticated, rich words to use,” said (or affirmed) Ms. Shelton, whose manual “Banish Boring Words” has sold nearly 80,000 copies since 2009.

Her pupils know better than to use a boring word like “said.” As Ms. Shelton put it, “ ‘Said’ doesn’t have any emotion. You might use barked. Maybe howled. Demanded. Cackled. I have a list.”

So does the Powell River Board of Education in British Columbia. Its website provides a list of 397 alternatives to the dreaded “said.” They include “emitted,” “beseeched,” “continued,” “sniveled,” and “spewed.”

The goal is livelier writing. The result can be confusion.

Megan Riley, a sixth-grader in Mt. Lebanon, Pa., recently joined her classmates in chanting the words that their English teacher has pronounced dead: “Good, bad, nice, a lot, OK, fun, thing and stuff.” Later, the students were told, they might hold a mock funeral to bury those words.

“I think it’s very sad they have passed,” Megan deadpanned. “I grew up with them.”

Some seventh-grade teachers at her middle school have much longer lists. One contains 40 humdrum words including “walk,” “run,” “happy,” “talk”, “go” and “see.”

A spokeswoman for the Mt. Lebanon school district clarified: “It is a lighthearted project where kids have to explore more expressive ways to say words such as ‘said,’ ‘good,’ or ‘bad.’ ”

Megan’s father, Jack, recently asked her to explain why the words were off limits.

“To make your writing sound—I don’t know—more sophisticated,” Megan posited.

Mr. Riley, an architect, was skeptical. “They’re perfectly fine words, and they have their place,” he proclaimed. “I suppose the emphasis should be on using them correctly.”

Students do their best to cope. One of Megan’s schoolmates, looking for a permissible way to say “big,” came up with “anti-microscopic.”

Bonnie Dougherty, another Mt. Lebanon parent, endorses the exercise. “It has forced my kids to search harder for more descriptive words,” she enthused.
 

 

Her son Josh, a ninth-grader, and daughter Josie, who is in sixth grade, agree. Josh considered the mock funeral a “silly little activity” but thinks his writing was improved by having dozens of terms “drilled into my head as words that you are 100% not allowed to use.” In sixth grade, a teacher docked him seven points for slipping in a few of them.

Now he automatically hunts for more picturesque language. “Rather than saying, ‘This soup was good,’ you can say something like, ‘The soup was delectable,’ which really enhances it,” Josh instructed. “It gives it sort of this extra push.”

One recent afternoon after school, Josie and Josh agreed to take a stab at editing famous authors, starting with the closing words of James Joyce’s “Ulysses”: “….yes I said yes I will Yes.”

Head down, her pigtails brushing the paper, Josie examined the phrase and then suggested a small amendment: “…yes I hollered yes I will Definitely.”

Josh decided to let “said” stand, given Joyce’s reputation. He did, however, insert the commas neglected by Joyce.

In “A Farewell to Arms,” Ernest Hemingway refers to cars “going very fast.” Josie revised that to “going at a superior speed.” Josh went with “lightning speeds.”

Second-guessing famous authors was tricky, Josh cautioned: “It’s almost as though they’re given a free pass” to flout the rules. Josie submitted that she wasn’t sure they should get that pass.

Her brother winced: “You’ve got to remember,” he lectured, “most of these guys are dead.”

The search for synonyms dates to ancient times, and Peter Mark Roget published his thesaurus in 1852. It is unclear, though, when or where the dead-words approach originated. Teachers say it has been percolating through lesson plans for more than a decade. Pinterest and other websites overflow with helpful lists, including “200 Ways to Say Went.” They include “wormed” and “peregrinated.”

The movement has even peregrinated into popular music. Four years ago, Garrett Hollowell of Fort Worth, Texas, named his punk rock band Dead Words, with a nod to a wall of them he recalled from ninth grade. “I try to stay away from using too many simple words,” explained Mr. Hollowell, 23 years old. His lyrics feature words rarely heard in punk rock, such as “desensitized” and “narcissistic.”

Some teachers dislike the concept. “How in the world is a word dead that people use every day?” asked Shekema Holmes Silveri, a veteran English teacher in Atlanta who is developing a new charter school. Sometimes, Ms. Silveri asseverated, “ ‘she said’ is just the very best way to say that.”

Jennifer Walters, a fifth-grade teacher in State College, Pa., produced her own list a few years ago. Rather than writing that one thing is like another, she suggested, pupils might use “commensurate” or “agnate,” which means related through male descent or on the father’s side.

Since then, Ms. Walters has ditched the list. “Kids were just randomly selecting words, picking the ones they ‘thought sounded the coolest,’ and not thinking about their piece in particular,” she recounted in an email.

Robert C. March, a writing teacher at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem, N.C., stands by his list. He has banned “I,” “you,” “we,” “why” and “it,” among others. Mr. March makes clear on his Web page that he means business: “Any banned word, or contraction, that appears in a work submitted to me will count as -5 (minus five) points off the total grade.”

When students note that those words frequently have wormed their way into Great Literature, Mr. March has his answer ready: “When you get to the level of Charles Dickens, you can do with words whatever you want.”  -Wall Street Journal

Today in history:

On Dec. 11,

1936 – Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson.

1941 – Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind.

1943 – John Kerry was born.

1946- UNICEF  founded.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An aircraft passes over houses at it lands at Heathrow Airport near London, Friday. Neil Hall/Reuters

 

The Arc de Triomphe roundabout painted with yellow by activists, Friday. The protest is one of many activist actions linked to the COP21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Greenpeace/AP

From left, the man known as AK47, the leader of an underground group of arto-political humorists called ‘Art Kieda’ returns artist Banksy’s sculpture ‘The Drinker’ more than ten years after stealing it in London, Friday. Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

Market Closes for December 11^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17265.21	-309.54   -1.76%
S&P 500	2012.33	-39.90   -1.94%
NASDAQ	4933.465	-111.707   -2.21%
TSX	12773.30	-243.29
		-1.87%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19230.48	+183.93
		+0.97%
HANG SENG	21464.05	-240.56
		-1.11%
SENSEX	25044.43	-207.89
		-0.82%
FTSE 100	5952.78	-135.27
		-2.22%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.413	1.485
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.164	2.237
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1358	2.2288
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8817	2.9659

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.72773	0.73359
US $	1.37413	1.36317
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51076	0.66192
US $	1.09943	0.90956

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1072.50	1071.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	35.62	36.76

With respect to trading Sugar futures, if they give it away for free at restaurants you probably don’t want to be trading it.

                 -John L. Person, (Professional trader, author, speaker, Commodity Trader’s Almanac, national futures.com, 2/22/11, TradersExpo.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Dani Burger

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian equities slumped, posting the worst weekly decline in more than three months as oil fell for a sixth day.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index dropped 1.7 percent to to 12,789.95 points at 4 p.m. in Toronto, it’s lowest level in two years. This gauge slid back below 13,000 after rebounding above the level earlier in the week.

     Energy-related companies dragged the benchmark down, falling 3.2 percent, reversing an earlier weekly gain. Oil had its biggest weekly decline in a year, amid speculation that OPEC’s decision to effectively scrap production targets will fuel the supply glut.

     As the Federal Reserve’s decision next week looms closer, shares in developing nations had their longest slump since June. Canadian equities have seen the third worst returns year to date of all developed nations, only faring better than Greece and Singapore.

     All 10 groups in the benchmark sank today. Health-care and telephone fell more than 2 percent. Materials posted the smallest decline.

     Among the worst performers, financials lost 1.6 percent after Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that Canada would raise minimum down payments on some government-insured mortgages. That move is aimed at curbing the risk of a housing crash in Canadian cities where high prices leave families at risk of heavy debt loads. Mortgage-lenders Home Capital Group Inc. and Canadian Western Bank fell more than 3.2 percent to their lowest level since September. Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. dropped 3.9 percent.

     Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. sank 2 percent after the railroad controlled by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said it is open to making a competing bid for Norfolk Southern Corp. The company had been the target of a $27 billion takeover effort by Canadian Pacific Railway.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks capped their worst week since the August selloff as optimism over the economy’s strength gave way to anxiety over the Federal Reserve just as commodities and credit markets flashed signs of danger.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 3.8 percent in the five days to end at a two-month low. Energy shares plunged as the cheapest crude oil since 2009 rekindled anxiety over deflation before the Fed’s Dec. 16 policy decision. Financial shares, the ostensible beneficiaries of any rate hike, tumbled 5.4 percent, as asset managers were routed after a high-yield mutual fund suspended redemptions.

     Optimism that the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand higher rates transformed into anxiousness, as a commodity selloff clouded the prospects for a global recovery and rekindled deflation concerns. The benchmark U.S. equity gauge ended at its lowest level since October amid concern that a rout in high-yield credit markets will spread at the same time that money managers must cope with shifting monetary policy.

     “We have the continued decline in oil prices related to excess supply, and there’s market anxiety relating to the commodity complex due to the ongoing China unknown,” said Alan Gayle, senior strategist for Atlanta-based Ridgeworth Investments, which has about $42.5 billion in assets. “These factors have more than offset the relative strength of November economic data.”

     The S&P 500 slipped to 2,012.37 in the five days, erasing a gain for the year. The index saw its biggest loss since September on Friday, falling 1.9 percent and breaking below its 100-day moving average on a closing basis for the first time since Nov. 13.

     The prior Friday saw equity investors in a far different mood. The S&P 500 surged 2.1 percent on Dec. 4 for its biggest gain in three months after a government jobs report emboldened speculation the economy is strong enough to withstand higher rates.

     That optimism faded, with a measure of investor anxiety rising by the most since August. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index surged 65 percent, including a 26 percent spike on the last session that pushed the gauge to its highest level since Sept. 30.

     Volatility has returned to global financial markets just days before the Fed is anticipated to raise rates for the first time in more than a decade. With commodity prices at a 16-year low adding to concern that weakness in China’s economy will spread, investors are seeking havens. Adding to investor worry Friday was news that Third Avenue Management took the unusual step of freezing withdrawals from a credit mutual fund.

     The August swoon in equities that sent the S&P 500 into its first correction in four years was partly credited with forcing the Fed to delay raising rates. While traders are still pricing in a 72 percent chance that the central bank will act next week, that’s down from 78 percent on Dec. 7. The S&P 500 has fallen 4.6 percent since Nov. 3, when it reached its highest level since July.

     “We would need very severe market dislocations on the order of 8 to 10 percent, or something like that, to get the Fed to reconsider,” Julian Emanuel, executive director of U.S. equity and derivatives strategy at UBS Group AG in New York, said Friday on Bloomberg Television. “The other aspect of that is the messaging of not hiking could pressure the markets even further. There’s a lot more volatility and that’s something that investors need to be prepared for.”

     All 10 main groups in the S&P 500 fell at least 1.8 percent, as energy shares were the biggest decliners with a 6.5 percent loss. West Texas Intermediate had its worst week in a year amid estimates that OPEC’s decision to scrap production limits will keep the market oversupplied.

     Financial companies dropped the most since the period ending Aug. 21. Asset managers from T. Rowe Price Group Inc. to Legg Mason Inc. led losses, after Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue took the rare step of freezing withdrawals on Dec. 9.

     Junk bonds are poised for their first annual loss since 2008. With the Fed expected to raise borrowing costs next week, raw material prices have slumped and defaults by the commodity industry are forecast to accelerate. BlackRock’s iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, the largest fund of its kind, fell to the lowest levels since 2009.

     To David Herro of Harris Associates LP, the selling of interest rate-sensitive stocks such as utilities is an overreaction. U.S. companies are more insulated from rate risk than investors realize, and are actually undervalued in some cases, he said.

     “It’s funny how so much red on the screen is due to fear of interest rates going up,” Herro, head of international stocks at Harris, said in an interview Friday with Bloomberg radio. “What’s going to happen? This has very little impact on how we value businesses. There’s a reason to be a little optimistic given prices and I don’t think value is collapsing. In fact, prices are deflated.”

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
 

Be magnificent!

Life is very real- life is not an abstraction –

our problems begin when we encounter it only through images.

Krishnamurti

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.

                                                              -Les Brown, 1945-

 

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:

Numbers:

50 MILLION Amount (in US$) that the still unreleased “Star Wars:  The Force Awakens” has already generated in presold tickets.  The movie opens December 18^th.

3 Northern white rhinos left in the world, all in captivity, after the death last month in San Diego of Nola, a female.

4.9 Time, in seconds, it took Lucas Eitter (age 14) to solve a Rubik’s Cube puzzle.  He is the first to do so in under five seconds in a sanctioned competition.

1,000 Community libraries to be established in India to commemorate the late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who was president of India from 2002-2007.

1 BILLION Estimated amount (in US dollars) that US pharmaceutical company Pfizer would save in income taxes if its proposed $152 billion merger with Irish drugmaker Allergan comes to pass.

This day in 1901 the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace in Stockholm, Sweden. The ceremony was on the fifth anniversary of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel’s death.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A waiter taking a break sits in a cafe in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy. The Galleria is one of the world’s oldest shopping malls.Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Student Zheng Xiaowen flies in Snowstorm Thursday. Snowstorm is a personal flying machine built by a group of engineering students from the National University of Singapore. The prototype sports 24 motors, each driving a propeller 76cm in diameter. It can bear the load of a single person for a flight time of about five minutes. The flight control system provides automated flight controls similar to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as well as manual control by the pilot. Edgar Su/Reuters

Market Closes for December 10^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17574.75	+82.45   +0.47%
S&P 500	2052.23	+4.61   +0.23%
NASDAQ	5045.172	+22.307   +0.44%
TSX	13016.59	+79.00
		+0.61%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19046.55	-254.52
		-1.32%
HANG SENG	21704.61	-99.15
		-0.45%
SENSEX	25252.32	+216.27
		+0.86%
FTSE 100	6088.05	-38.63
		-0.63%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.485	1.490
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.237	2.238
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2288	2.2112
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9659	2.9635

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.73359	0.73701
US $	1.36317	1.35684
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49143	0.67050
US $	1.09409	0.91400

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1071.00	1081.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	36.76	37.16

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Dani Burger

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a second day, as BlackBerry Ltd. jumped the most since January and commodities companies continued a rebound after pledging deeper cutbacks to stem a global glut.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index advanced 79 points, or 0.6 percent, to 13,016.59 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge had tumbled below 13,000 for the first time since 2013 earlier this week.

     BlackBerry jumped 7.7 percent to pace gains among technology shares in the index. An industry website reported the company’s newest phone is being sold at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. added 3.3. percent to contribute the most to gains in the broader index.

     Raw-material stocks were among the best-performing groups in the measure today, rallying 0.6 percent. Switzerland’s Glencore Plc said it would scale back operations to combat a rout in commodity prices. Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd. gained 4 percent after joining Glencore in agreeing to reduce output. Timber companies also advanced, with Interfor Corp. and Canfor Corp. gaining at least 5.6 percent.

     The world’s biggest mining companies, particularly those that loaded up on debt, are restructuring their businesses and fighting declining profits as commodity prices keep falling. A combination of slowing economic growth in China and a rally in the U.S. dollar in anticipation of an interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve have weighed on prices of resources. Canadian raw-material companies, which account for 10 percent of the S&P/TSX, have tumbled this year.

     While oil extended a decline below $37, energy producers advanced for a third day. The group added as much as 1.3 percent, after falling on Monday to its lowest level since March 2009.

     Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. plunged 20 percent to it’s lowest level since 2009, after cutting its dividend Wednesday. The coal storage company cited declining coal prices without any foreseeable price improvements in the near term.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose to halt a three-day slide, as beaten-down energy shares climbed for a second session from their lowest level since September and airlines led transportation companies off a three-month low.

     Weakness in energy and industrial shares has helped restrain equities from any meaningful advance since the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reached a more than three-month high in early November. Airlines boosted industrials today, while Chevron Corp. added 1.9 percent to bolster energy after cutting its 2016 spending plans. A rally in biotechnology shares lifted the health-care group.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,052.23 at 4 p.m. in New York, below its average price during the past 50 days after earlier rising as much as 1 percent. The gauge remains on track for its first weekly decline in four. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 82.45 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,574.75, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 percent. About 6.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 5.2 percent below the three-month average.

     “Energy has been the most volatile sector in a broader market over the last couple weeks and U.S. equities seem to be tracking it,” said Joe Bell, a Cincinnati-based senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc. “We bounced back off yesterday’s lows and today we’re right at the lows for December, and that area is holding. We’re in a waiting period here ahead of the Fed meeting.”

     With the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meeting less than a week away, the S&P 500’s performance this December is proving an exception to the historical trend for the month — typically the strongest for global equities. An early rally fizzled yesterday as Apple Inc. paced technology-share declines, while renewed worries about the pace of global growth erased all the benchmark index’s 2015 gains.

     Fed Chair Janet Yellen has recently signaled the economy is ready for higher borrowing costs. Still, investors are caught between optimism about U.S. growth and concern that a slowdown in China and the consequent tumble in commodities will damp global growth prospects. Oil prices remained at six-year lows Thursday after OPEC said crude output rose to the highest in more than three years in November.

     While policy makers have emphasized a gradual pace for future interest-rate increases, investors are watching economic data to decipher how deliberate the Fed might be. A report today showed filings for unemployment benefits jumped to a five-month high, interrupting steady labor-market progress. Even with the increase, applications are holding close to four-decade lows. Separate data showed import prices in November fell less than expected.

     Reports tomorrow on retail sales and producer prices will probably show stronger growth for November, while a gauge of consumer sentiment is expected to improve compared to last month, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The data aren’t expected to alter the Fed’s anticipated move on rates, with traders pricing in a 76 percent chance that the central bank will lift off on Dec. 16.

     The S&P 500 is 3.7 percent away from its all-time high set in May, after coming within 1.4 percent of the record last week. The index is heading for its strongest quarter in two years, right after its worst since 2011. Following an 8.3 percent surge in October, the S&P 500 has made little headway, going 26 sessions without back-to-back gains. The record is 28 days set back in 1970, equaled in April 1994 and again last March.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 1.4 percent Thursday to 19.34. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX surged 32 percent during the three previous days, the biggest such increase since the bottom of the summer selloff on Aug. 25.

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average rose 0.6 percent, trimming an earlier 1.3 percent rally, after sliding yesterday to its lowest since Aug. 25. Delta Air Lines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. gained more than 1.6 percent. A Bloomberg index of U.S. carriers climbed 2.2 percent, rebounding from its steepest two-day drop in more than three months.

     Eight of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries gained on Thursday, with health-care, energy and industrial shares performing the best, up at least 0.4 percent. Utilities lost 1.7 percent.

     Consol Energy Inc. rose 10 percent, the most in more than a month to lead energy companies, while Apache Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. increased more than 2.1 percent. The strength in energy shares outweighed a decline for crude oil. The resource fell 1.1 percent to extend its five-day skid to 11 percent.

     Drugmakers Mylan NV and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. added at least 2.4 percent to lead health-care companies higher. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 1.2 percent, paring most of yesterday’s 1.6 percent retreat. Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Universal Health Services Inc. rose more than 1.9 percent.

     The KBW Bank Index closed 0.5 percent higher, after increasing as much as 1.7 percent. The gauge snapped a three-day streak of losses totaling 4.4 percent that sent it to a one- month low. KeyCorp and Regions Financial Corp. added more than 1.2 percent.

     Semiconductors led an advance among technology shares, rising for the first time in four days. Micron Technology Inc., Qorvo Inc. and Avago Technologies Ltd gained at least 1.1 percent. Among other tech companies, HP Inc. and Xerox Corp. increased more than 1.5 percent.

     Seritage Growth Properties, the real estate investment trust spun off from retailer Sears Holding Corp., soared 17 percent after billionaire Warren Buffett invested in the company. He reported a passive holding of 2 million shares, representing an 8 percent stake, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.

     Men’s Wearhouse Inc. plummeted 17 percent to the lowest since 2009. The company warned that its struggling Jos. A. Bank unit could force it to miss a forecast, the latest sign the merger of the two menswear chains is faltering.

     Navistar International Corp. slumped 19 percent to an 18- year low. The truckmaker that counts Carl Icahn as its biggest investor dropped after Morgan Stanley cut its price target for the stock amid questions about whether the company has enough cash.

     Dow Chemical Co. retreated 3.6 percent from an all-time high, after soaring 12 percent yesterday following reports that it’s in late-stage talks to merge with DuPont Co. Dow’s decline dragged raw-materials in the S&P 500 down 0.8 percent.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Do you know that even when you look at a tree and say,

‘That is an oak,’ or ‘that is a banyan tree,’

the naming of the tree, which is botanical knowledge, has so conditioned your mind

that the word comes between you and actually seeing the tree?

To enter in contact with the tree you have to put your hand on it

and the word will not help you touch it.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The man who has no imagination has no wings.

                                    -Mohammad Ali, 1942-

 

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:

Interesting article in The New York Times yesterday:

Exercise May Help the Brain Learn, a Study Says

Moderate levels of exercise may increase the brain’s flexibility and improve learning, a new study suggests.

The visual cortex, the part of the brain that processes visual information, loses the ability to “rewire” itself with age, making it more difficult for adults to recover from injuries and illness, said Claudia Lunghi, a neuroscientist at the University of Pisa and one of the study’s authors.

In a study in the journal Current Biology, she and Alessandro Sale asked 20 adults to watch a movie with one eye patched while relaxing in a chair. Later, the participants exercised on a stationary bike for 10-minute intervals while watching a movie.

When one eye is patched, the visual cortex compensates for the limited input by increasing its activity level. The researchers tested the imbalance in strength between the participants’ eyes after the movie — a measure of changeability in the visual cortex.

  The differences in strength between the eyes were more pronounced after exercise, Dr. Lunghi and Dr. Sale found, suggests that exercise somehow increases the brain’s plasticity.

    Written by SINDA N. BHANOO

This day in history:

On Dec. 9, 2000, the United States Supreme Court voted, 5 to 4, to stop the vote counting in Florida, ending Vice President Al Gore’s presidential hopes.

1992 – Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced their separation. (They divorced in 1996.)

1993 – The Air Force destroyed the first of 500 Minuteman II missile silos marked for elimination under an arms control treaty.

2000 – The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt in the Florida presidential vote count.

2002 – United Airlines filed the biggest bankruptcy in aviation history after losing $4 billion in the previous two years.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

 

Hot air balloons fly over Dubai during the World Air Games 2015 as part of the Dubai International Balloon Fiesta event in the United Arab Emirates Wednesday. Karim Sahib/Reuters

Chinese police officers question performance artist Kong Ning Wednesday as she wears a gown with glowing red lights and stop signs to raise awareness of the smog enveloping Beijing. Residents stayed indoors, schools were closed and limits on cars, factories and construction sites kept pollution from spiking even higher, the second of three days of restrictions triggered by the city’s first red alert for smog. Ng Han Guan/AP

Market Closes for December 9^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17492.30	-75.70   -0.43%
S&P 500	2047.62	-15.97   -0.77%
NASDAQ	5022.867	-75.376   -1.48%
TSX	12937.59	+15.12
		+0.12%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19301.07	-191.53
		-0.98%
HANG SENG	21803.76	-101.37
		-0.46%
SENSEX	25036.05	-274.28
		-1.08%
FTSE 100	6126.68	-8.54
		-0.14%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.490	1.508
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.238	2.238
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2112	2.2200
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9635	2.9588

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.73701	0.73614
US $	1.35684	1.35843
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49611	0.66840
US $	1.10265	0.90691

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1081.00	1072.10
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	37.16	37.51

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended little changed near the lowest level in two years, as a rally in commodity prices boosted resource producers, while technology shares tumbled.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 15.12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,937.59 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge erased an early rally of 1.6 percent. It had plunged 3.3 percent in the prior days, tumbling below 13,000 for the first time since 2013.

     Even though oil extended a decline as investors discounted a decline in U.S. crude inventories, energy producers advanced for a second day. Material and industrial shares also advanced Wednesday, with each group adding at least 0.6 percent, as resources pared losses from earlier in the week. A Bloomberg commodity index added 0.1 percent for the first gain in three days. That gauge slumped the most since July on Monday.

     Energy and raw-materials producers, which account for 30 percent of the broader index, have fallen at least 20 percent this year to lead declines in the S&P/TSX. A combination of slowing economic growth in China and a rally in the U.S. dollar in anticipation of an interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve have crimped commodities prices.

     Six of 10 groups in the S&P/TSX advanced Wednesday. Health- care and financial shares were little changed, adding 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. Technology and consumer discretionary stocks lagged, losing at least 1.7 percent.

     Laurentian Bank of Canada slid 3.6 percent, the most in a year, after posting a fiscal fourth-quarter loss that included C$78.4 million ($58 million) in costs tied to restructuring and impairments, and selling shares to bolster its balance sheet.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for a third day as Apple Inc. paced declines among technology shares, overshadowing a rebound in commodity companies amid merger talks between two chemical industry giants.

     Equities erased an early advance as a rally in crude oil withered in the midst of lingering concerns about slowing global growth. Apple sank 2.2 percent, the most in more than three weeks. Costco Wholesale Corp. fell 5.4 percent after its earnings disappointed. Raw-materials surged as Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. were said to be in late-stage talks to combine, with the two companies rising at least 11 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.8 percent to 2,047.62 at 4 p.m. in New York, after rising as much as 0.8 percent. The gauge hasn’t had back-to-back gains since Nov. 3, a span of 25 sessions, and is down 0.6 percent for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 75.70 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,492.30, even as DuPont added about 53 points to the upside. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.5 percent, weighed on by Costco and Apple.

     “The market in general seems to be following commodities, specifically oil, and when it rolled back over into negative territory the market seemed to follow,” said Walter Todd, who oversees about $1.1 billion as chief investment officer for Greenwood Capital Associates in South Carolina. “The market is struggling to find a direction with very little out there that’s actionable beyond the Fed meeting.”

     Oil resumed its slide as investors discounted a U.S. crude supply decline, with West Texas Intermediate futures wiping out an earlier 4 percent rally. The contract closed at its lowest since February 2009.

     Commodity shares have succumbed recently as attention has refocused on signs of sluggish global growth. Stocks fell Tuesday as weak trade data from China rekindled worry the slowdown there will spread — a concern that sparked the summer rout in equities. Before today’s gains, raw-material companies were the second-worst performers so far this month behind energy.

     Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates one week from today for the first time since 2006. Traders are pricing in an 78 percent chance the central bank will lift off at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Dec. 16.

     Investors are watching economic data for evidence that the U.S. recovery is sturdy enough to withstand higher borrowing costs. A report today showed wholesale inventories unexpectedly fell in October. Data on retail sales, producer prices and consumer sentiment are due at the end of this week.

     “Investors are now prepared for a rate hike and it is discounted and the economy can handle it,” said Patrick Spencer, equities vice chairman at Robert W. Baird & Co. in London. “That will put confidence back in the market and the economy will continue to do well in 2016.”                      

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped 11 percent Wednesday to 19.61. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX has surged 32 percent in three days, the biggest such increase since the bottom of the summer selloff on Aug. 25. About 8.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S exchanges, 13 percent above the three-month average.

     The S&P 500 is 3.9 percent away from its all-time high set in May, after coming within 1.4 percent of the record last week. The benchmark has rebounded more than 9 percent from the August low, bolstered by gains in technology and consumer discretionary shares, today’s worst performers.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries fell Wednesday, with tech and consumer discretionary companies losing more than 1.2 percent. Raw-material shares rose 3.1 percent, the most since in three months, while energy companies gained 1.3 percent despite oil’s drop.

     Apple’s drop was the biggest drag on the technology group, which declined the most since Nov. 13. South Korean regulators will investigate Apple’s relationships with local phone repair companies to determine whether they violate consumers’ rights. Electronic Arts Inc. slumped 5.5 percent after GameStop Corp. cut prices on the video-game maker’s “Star Wars: Battlefront.” Microsoft Corp. declined 1.5 percent.

     Yahoo! Inc. lost 1.3 percent, trimming a drop of as much as 4.9 percent, after scrapping its long-planned spinoff of shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Instead, the Web portal will consider a plan to package all of its other assets into a new publicly traded company. F5 Networks Inc. lost 3 percent after Nomura Securities International Inc. cut its rating on the shares to the equivalent of sell.

     Whirlpool Corp. and H&R Block Inc. led declines in consumer discretionary companies, falling more than 4.8 percent. Amazon.com Inc. and Home Depot dropped at least 1.5 percent.

     Costco had its steepest decline in three years, leading the drop among consumer staples after quarterly revenue and profit missed analysts’ estimates. Retailers in the S&P 500 had their worst day since Nov. 13. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast a gain in November retail sales when the government’s report is released on Friday.

     Financial shares in the benchmark retreated for the fifth time in six days. CME Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. declined more than 3.4 percent. The KBW Bank Index fell at least 1.2 percent for a third day, led by slides of more than 2.4 percent in State Street Corp. and Northern Trust Corp.

     Dow Chemical surged to an all-time high, while DuPont posted its biggest gain ever to lead materials shares higher. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. added 3.7 percent. The copper miner announced measures extended spending and production cutbacks as it battles to preserve cash. Eastman Chemical Co. and Alcoa Inc. increased more than 2.5 percent.

     Williams Cos. and Kinder Morgan Inc. rose more than 6.9 percent to pace the gain in energy, while Spectra Energy Corp. climbed 7.4 percent, the most since June 2013. Kinder slashed its full-year dividend by 74 percent to preserve cash it needs to keep growing while it repays $41 billion of debt. Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. added 1.3 percent.

     Baker Hughes Inc. advanced 7.4 percent, the strongest climb in three months. General Electric Co. is in advanced talks to buy the drill-bits and drilling-services divisions of Halliburton Co., which is divesting assets to win antitrust approval for its takeover of Baker Hughes, according to people familiar with the matter.

     Wynn Resorts Ltd. gained 13 percent, the most in the S&P 500, after founder Steve Wynn purchased 1 million shares of the company. That boosted Wynn’s personal holdings in the stock to 11.07 million shares, or almost 11 percent of the total, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The shares are down 53 percent this year.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

There is a little stump of a tree.  What does the child see?

A ghost, with hands stretched out, ready to grab him.

Suppose a man comes from the corner of the street, wanting to meet his sweetheart;

he sees that stump of the tree as the girl.  A policeman coming from the street corner sees the stump as thief.

The thief sees it as a policeman.  It is the same stump of a tree that was seen in various ways.

The stump is the reality, and the visions of the stump are the projections of the various minds.

There is one Being, this Self.  It neither comes nor goes.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

                                                  -Confucius,  551BC-479 BC

 

 

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:

Finally went to see the latest James Bond movie, Sceptre, last Sunday night and really enjoyed it.  If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out.

Recently finished reading The Secret Book of Grazia Dei Rossi by Jacqueline Park and I also recommend it.  It is the story of an Italian Jewish scribe in the 1500s written almost as a confession to her son.  It is an interesting  (and accurate) depiction of life in Italy during the Renaissance.  A really good read.

I’ve now moved on to Peter Thiel’s (Paypal cofounder) & his Stanford student, Blake Master’s latest,  entitled Zero to One.   I’m really enjoying it and highly recommend it.

In the music department, our latest favourite is Adele’s new CD, 25.   Her voice is amazing!

This day in history:

This day in 1980, English singer and songwriter and former member of the Beatles John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his New York City apartment by an obsessed fan.

On Dec. 8, 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

1987 – President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed a treaty calling for destruction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles.

1991 – Russia, Belarus and Ukraine declared the Soviet national government dead, forming a new Commonwealth of Independent States.

1993 – President Bill Clinton signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A rainbow is seen through the London Eye in central London Tuesday. Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Memorabilia and flowers are seen Tuesday at the ‘Imagine’ mosaic in the Strawberry Fields section of New York’s Central Park to mark the 35th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

A huge, 16-meter-tall Christmas tree erected by Hello Wood, a Budapest-based international educational platform of design and architecture and a design studio, stands after its inauguration in a square in central Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday. The tree was built with 40 tons of firewood that will be distributed among the poor after the holiday. Zsolt Szigetvary/MTI/AP

Market Closes for December 8^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17568.00	-162.51   -0.92%
S&P 500	2063.59	-13.48   -0.65%
NASDAQ	5098.242	-3.569   -0.07%
TSX	12922.47	-120.36
		-0.92%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19492.60	-205.55
		-1.04%
HANG SENG	21905.13	-298.09
		-1.34%
SENSEX	25310.33	-219.78
		-0.86%
FTSE 100	6135.22	-88.30
		-1.42%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.508	1.580
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.238	2.300
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2200	2.2711
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9588	3.0103

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.73614	0.74034
US $	1.35843	1.35073
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.48015	0.67561
US $	1.08960	0.91777

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1072.10	1075.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	37.51	37.65

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slid to the lowest close since 2013, as industrial companies and miners tumbled after weak Chinese trade data fueled concern over global growth.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 120.36 points, or 0.9 percent, to 12,922.47 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge dipped below 13,000 in August, but hadn’t closed below that level since October 2013. The index has lost 12 percent in 2015, topping only Singapore and Greece among developed-nation markets.

     Industrial shares paced declines Tuesday, after data showing China’s imports slumped for a record 13th straight month rekindled worry the slowdown there will spread — a concern that precipitated the summer rout on global financial markets. 

     Energy and raw-materials producers have fallen at least 22 percent this year to lead declines in the S&P/TSX. The two groups account for 30 percent of the broader index by weighting. A combination of slowing economic growth in China and a rally in the U.S. dollar in anticipation of an interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve have crimped commodities prices.

     Oil has plunged about 40 percent in the past year while iron ore trades at a record low, clouding the prospects for rebounds in the U.S. and Europe as spending wanes and inflation holds below central-bank targets.

     Seven of 10 groups in S&P/TSX declined Tuesday. Industrial and utility shares lost at least 1.7 percent. Raw material companies lost 1.2 percent, extending a year-to-date drop to 22 percent.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined, tracking a selloff in equity markets around the world, on renewed worries about the prospects for global growth.

     Data showing another month of weakening Chinese trade highlighted the slump in global demand that’s driven a rout in energy and commodity prices this year. Industrial and raw- material companies led today’s retreat, with Caterpillar Inc. and Boeing Co. down at least 2.3 percent, while Alcoa Inc. sank 5.8 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.7 percent to 2,063.59 at 4 p.m. in New York, trimming an earlier 1.2 percent drop as the gauge fluctuated near its average price during the past 200 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 162.51 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,568. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent. About 7.5 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent above the three-month average.

     “The Chinese data that came out pushed us down this morning,” said Larry Peruzzi, managing director of international equities at Mischler Financial Group Inc. in Boston. “Prior to the past couple of days, we were looking at how data was going to influence the Fed and rates and now the energy story is really dictating the market. It’s all commodity-driven.”

     The weak China data rekindled worry the slowdown there will spread — a concern that precipitated the summer rout on global financial markets. Imports slumped for a record 13th straight month, albeit at a slower-than-estimated pace. The drop is a drag on other economies as the Asian nation’s flagging industrial plants need less raw materials while robust consumer demand hasn’t picked up fast enough to offset those declines.                        

     Anxiety over the world’s second-largest economy abated in the previous two months as the government took steps to boost growth and support its stock market. The S&P 500 rallied more than 12 percent from late September into early November as China calmed and commodity shares rebounded from a summer swoon.

     “The U.S. economy has been looking pretty good, but other regions like China have come into play and showed that growth around the world may not be as strong,” said Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion.

     A selloff in energy and raw-material companies yesterday dragged the S&P 500 further away from a May peak, after a Dec. 1 rally brought it within 1.4 percent of the record. The benchmark is coming off a week that featured moves of at least 1 percent in four consecutive days, the longest stretch since August. The index has not had back-to-back gains since Nov. 3.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 11 percent Tuesday to 17.60. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX posted its steepest drop in more than two years on Friday, as equities rallied more than 2 percent.

     Strong employment data last week increased speculation that the economy is healthy enough to handle higher borrowing costs, with traders pricing in an 80 percent chance of an interest-rate increase when Federal Reserve officials conclude a two-day meeting on Dec. 16. Reports on retail sales, producer prices and consumer sentiment are due at the end of this week.

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries dropped Tuesday, with industrial, raw-material and energy shares down more than 1.4 percent. Health-care shares rose, bolstered by gains in biotechnology companies.

     Southwest Airlines Co. decreased 9 percent, the most since May 20, to lead industrial shares lower. The airline abandoned its forecast for a possible increase in a benchmark revenue gauge this quarter, stoking investors’ concern that the industry is still struggling to prop up airfares. United Rentals Inc. and Ingersoll-Rand Plc fell more than 3.3 percent.

     A Bloomberg index of U.S. airlines dropped 4 percent, its biggest decline since Oct. 6. Spirit Airlines Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental holdings fell at least 2.9 percent as all 11 companies in the gauge decreased.

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average sank 2.8 percent, the most in more than three months to the lowest since the bottom of the August selloff. Norfolk Southern Corp. tumbled 5.7 percent, its steepest drop in three years, after rejecting Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.’s latest takeover offer. CSX Corp. and Kansas City Southern declined 3.4 percent.

     Kinder Morgan Inc. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. lost more than 3.5 percent to lead the drop in energy, while Anadarko Petroleum Corp. fell to its lowest level since September 2010. The energy group rallied 22 percent from an almost four-year low in August to a three-month high on Nov. 3. Since then, the sector is down almost 15 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 0.4 percent to $37.51, the lowest settlement since February 2009.

     Copper miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. sank 6.8 percent to its lowest level since November 2002, leading a drop among raw- material shares. Alcoa fell the most in two months. The Bloomberg Commodity Index declined for a second day to linger at a 16-year low.

     Financial companies in the S&P 500 slipped 1.3 percent. Asset manager Franklin Resources Inc. fell 3.7 percent after Barclays Plc downgraded the shares to the equivalent of sell. Fifth Third Bancorp and Zions Bancorporation lost more than 3.1 percent. The KBW Bank Index dropped 1.8 percent, down for the fourth time in five days.

     Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. lost 1.7 percent, extending its five-day skid to 6.6 percent amid an E. coli outbreak that has sickened dozens of customers. In the latest sign of trouble, the company temporarily closed a restaurant in Boston after more than two dozen Boston College students, including members of the men’s basketball team, reported getting ill after eating there.

In that case, health officials are leaning toward norovirus as the culprit, not E. coli, Chipotle said.

     Avon Products Inc. slumped 8.2 percent, after surging 35 percent in the previous seven sessions. Recent gains have come amid a report that the cosmetics company was in talks to sell its North American business and an equity stake to Cerberus Capital Management. Activist investor Barington Capital Group then urged the company to reject such a deal at a “fire sale” price. Barington was said to be scheduled to meet with Avon management yesterday.

     Investors bid up a pair of auto-parts retailers Tuesday. AutoZone Inc. advanced 5.8 percent, its strongest gain in 22 months, after fiscal first-quarter profit and comparable sales exceeded analysts’ estimates. Meanwhile, Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack, the auto-parts chain that previously accepted a takeover offer from Bridgestone Corp., rose 1.5 percent after saying a rival $15.50-a-share bid from billionaire Carl Icahn is probably a “superior proposal.”

     Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. rallied 5.3 percent, the most since Oct. 15, to lead health-care higher. The biotech company’s drug for a rare and deadly genetic disease won approval from regulators, its first U.S.-cleared treatment from its $8.4 billion deal this year for Synageva BioPharma Corp. Celgene Corp. and Biogen Inc. added more than 2.4 percent, while the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index increased 1.9 percent.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is necessary that this be the aim of our entire life.

In all of our thoughts and actions,

we must be conscious of the infinite.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A good laugh is sunshine in the house.

               –William Makepeace Thackeray, 1811-1863

 

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:

Hanukkah  (Hebrew “consecration”) began at sunset yesterday.  The Jewish Festival of Light commemorates the purification and rededication of the Temple at Jerusalem in 165 BC  by Judas Maccabeus after its pollution  by the Syrians.  It begins on the 25^th day of Kislev and lasts eight days.  Candles are lit on an eight-branched candlestick or menorah and oily potato pancakes – latkes – traditionally eaten.   The oil is more important than the potato – the recounting of the miracle of one night’s oil lasting eight nights in the temple over 2,000 years ago. 

This is a great recipe for latkes, with mashed potato replacing the traditional grated potato:

MASHED POTATO LATKES WITH DILL AND SHALLOTS

3 large baking potatoes (2 –  2 ½ lbs)
1 cup minced shallots
½ cup coconut or vegetable oil
¼ cup freshly chopped dill
¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
1 cup bread crumbs, more as needed

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees, pierce potatoes with a fork and place directly on rack.  Bake for 1 hour or until a knife easily pierces potatoes.  Meanwhile, sauté shallots in 1 tbsp or so of coconut oil until tender.  Add dill and parsley and set aside.
2. Peel potatoes; cut in several pieces and put in a medium bowl; use a potato masher or ricer to break them up.  Mix in egg, shallots and herbs, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight.
3. Taking about ½ cup of filling at a time, form 10 patties about ¼ inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.  Pour bread crumbs into a wide bowl or plate, and coat the latkes in  the crumbs on both sides.
4. Heat a nonstick frying pan and add a thin film of oil, about 1/8 inch deep.  When hot, slide in pancakes and cook over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes on one side, pressing down to gently flatten.  Flip latkes and cook for 3-5 more minutes, or until crisp and deeply golden.  You can make them in advance, placing parchment paper between each layer of patties and reheating in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes or until heated through.

Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes, plus 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Yield: 10 latkes.

This Day in History:

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes attacked the home base of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, drawing the United States into World War II. More than 2,300 Americans were killed.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano, spews lava as it erupts on the southern island of Sicily, Italy, Monday. Antonio Parrinello/Reuters

Dr. Hiroya Sugano of Japan (l.) and Japanese American Yoshie Tanabe, who was 10-years-old and living in Hawaii when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened, put their hands into the hand print of the recovered canteen of a US B29 bomber pilot that crashed in Japan during World War Two, during the “Blackened Canteen” ceremony aboard the USS Arizona Memorial honoring the 74th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Honolulu, Hawaii, Sunday. Hugh Gentry/Reuters

Market Closes for December 7^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17730.51	-117.12   -0.66%
S&P 500	2077.07	-14.62   -0.70%
NASDAQ	5101.813	-40.458   -0.79%
TSX	13042.83	-315.94
		-2.37%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19698.15	+193.67
		+0.99%
HANG SENG	22203.22	-32.67
		-0.15%
SENSEX	25530.11	-108.00
		-0.42%
FTSE 100	6223.52	-14.77
		-0.24%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.520	1.580
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.238	2.300
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2341	2.2711
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9643	3.0103

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74034	0.74841
US $	1.35073	1.33616
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.46333	0.68337
US $	1.08336	0.92306

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1075.80	1079.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	37.65	39.97

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Dani Burger

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks tumbled the most in two months as crude oil sank to a six-year low and iron ore slumped below $40 a metric ton to lead declines in the resource-rich benchmark index.

     Energy shares dropped 5.4 percent to the group’s lowest level since March 2009, as crude extended losses below $38 a barrel in New York. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries effectively abandoned its production target on Friday, fueling speculation a record global glut will continue. Raw- materials producers lost 3.3 percent on weakening demand in China and rising low-cost supply from the world’s top miners. Commodities producers make up about 30 percent of the Canadian benchmark.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 315.94 points, or 2.4 percent, to 13,042.83 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the most in two months. The gauge has declined for two consecutive weeks and has now lost 11 percent this year.

     A volatility gauge for 60 of the largest, most liquid Canadian stocks jumped 9.7 percent after falling for three consecutive weeks.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, a basket of prices for natural resources from copper to oil and gold, dropped 2.7 percent.

     Hudbay Minerals Inc., First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. sank at least 9.4 percent. Paramount Resources Ltd. tumbled 22 percent, its biggest drop in 28 years. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. and Baytex Energy Corp. fell at least 17 percent. Energy companies have fallen 28 percent this year.

     Canadian airlines jumped on the cheaper oil prices. Air Canada gained 2.6 percent, it’s biggest gain since Nov. 6, while WestJet Airlines Ltd. gained 0.9 percent. Macquarie Research also raised WestJet to the equivalent of buy from neutral.

     Among the S&P/TSX’s best performers, ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. rose 6.6 percent. The biopharmaceutical company said its trial for a coagulation disorder drug met safety metrics, while patients showed an immediate therapeutic response.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated as tumbling oil prices weighed on energy and raw-material companies, sparking a selloff after equities posted their biggest one-day gain in three months.

     Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. fell more than 2.6 percent as energy producers in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slumped for a fourth day. Keurig Green Mountain Inc. surged 72 percent after agreeing to be acquired by a JAB Holding Co.-led investor group for about $13.9 billion in cash. Airlines rallied for a second session amid crude’s drop.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to 2,077.07 at 4 p.m. in New York, trimming an earlier drop of as much as 1.2 percent, after jumping 2.1 percent on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 117.12 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,730.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.8 percent. About 7.4 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 4.8 percent above the three- month average.

     “Equity markets have basically treaded water this year as economic data has been fairly weak, particularly as it relates to the global scene,” said Kevin Caron, a market strategist and portfolio manager who helps oversee $170 billion at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Florham Park, New Jersey. “As we come into this period of time where the Fed is going to begin raising interest rates, we continue to be confronted with slow global growth, which is going to continue to be a challenge.”

     Crude prices extended losses after falling 2.7 percent Friday amid speculation a record global glut will be prolonged as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries effectively abandoned its long-time strategy of limiting production to control prices. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 5.8 percent Monday to $37.65 a barrel, the lowest close since February 2009.

     Oil’s plunge of more than 40 percent in the past year has hampered recoveries in the U.S. and Europe as capital spending has waned and inflation has remained below central-bank targets.

     U.S. stocks are coming off their most volatile week since the summer as investors were faced with releases from the Labor Department, the European Central Bank and speeches by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. The S&P 500’s rally on Friday left it little changed for a second straight week after a report showed U.S. employers added more jobs than forecast in November, increasing speculation that the economy is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs — something that Yellen has signaled.

     Traders are pricing in a 78 percent chance of liftoff before the Fed’s interest-rate decision on Dec. 16. Investors will have little data this week to assess the strength of the economy. Reports on retail sales, a measure of producer prices and the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index are due, though not until the end of the week.

     “Weak oil is the story today,” said Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at Williams Capital Group LP. “The lack of economic numbers today is compounding the effect of energy losses. The Fed rate hike is imminent, and people are trying to square up heading into year-end.”

     The selloff in equities today extended a stretch of whipsaw trading to a fifth day. The main U.S. equity index moved at least 1 percent in the previous four days, the longest stretch since August, kicking off what is usually the second-best month of the year. The S&P 500 has not had back-to-back gains in more than a month.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 7 percent Monday to 15.84, after its steepest drop in more than two years Friday. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX has declined for three consecutive weeks and four of the past five.                       

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries dropped, with energy losing 3.7 percent, the most in more than three months. Raw-materials shares were down 1.8 percent, their largest slide in three weeks. Phone companies, utilities and consumer staples advanced.

     Consol Energy Inc. and Williams Cos. lost more than 13 percent to lead the drop in energy, with Williams down the most in seven years. ConocoPhillips and Schlumberger Ltd. lost at least 2.5 percent. The energy group rallied 22 percent from an almost four-year low in August to a three-month high on Nov. 3. Since then, the sector is down 13 percent.

     Copper miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. sank 7.9 percent, the biggest drop in more than two months, to lead the slide among raw-materials. Dow Chemical Co. and Nucor Corp. fell more than 1.9 percent. U.S. Steel Corp. decreased 8.8 percent to a 24-year low, as iron ore sank on rising low-cost supply from the world’s top miners and weakening demand in China. Mining-equipment makers Joy Global Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. declined more than 2.3 percent, with Joy at its lowest since 2004.

     Financial companies in the S&P 500 slipped 0.9 percent. Comerica Inc. was the sector’s biggest decliner, falling 4.4 percent, while Zions Bancorporation and Regions Financial Corp. lost more than 2.2 percent. Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note’s yield decreased 1.6 percent, extending its two-day decline to 3.4 percent. The KBW Bank Index dropped 1.3 percent.

     Staples Inc. lost 14 percent, its biggest decline since March 2014, to lead consumer discretionary companies in the benchmark lower. The retailer will face a challenge by U.S. antitrust officials, who said for the second time in 20 years that the office supply chain’s proposed takeover of Office Depot Inc. will squelch competition and should be blocked. Office Depot plunged 16 percent.

     Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. fell 1.7 percent, and earlier as much as 8.2 percent after rescinding its 2016 forecast in the wake of an E. coli outbreak. Among other consumer shares, Netflix Inc. and Macy’s Inc. declined more than 1.9 percent.

     Airlines rallied for a second day amid speculation that the drop in crude will help boost profitability. A Bloomberg index of U.S. airlines added 2.2 percent after a 3.9 percent climb Friday. JetBlue Airways Corp., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. advanced more than 2.6 percent.

     Food retailers were also one of the market’s few bright spots Monday. Whole Foods Market Inc. gained 4 percent, the most in two months. Kroger Co. rose 2.2 percent to a record for a third straight day, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc. climbed 1.4 percent to lead the Dow.

     Gunmaker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. surged 7.6 percent to its highest level since October 2007, amid speculation that gun enthusiasts will purchase more pistols and rifles as calls for restrictions increase. The company is scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Meditation is movement without any motive, without words, and the activity of thought.

It must be something that is not deliberately set about.

Only then is it a movement within the infinite, measureless to man, without a goal, without an end,

without a beginning.  And that has a strange action in daily life, because all life is one,

and then becomes sacred.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Work while you have the light.  You are responsible for the talent

that has been entrusted to you.

                                        -Henri-Frederic Amiel, 1821-1881

 

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:

Frank Sinatra was born on December 12^th, 1915, so next Saturday will mark 100 years since his birth.  The Wall Street Journal featured this article a few days ago.  I enjoyed it (a little nostalgia invoking) and thought you might too:

Still Attuned to Sinatra at 100

By James Kaplan

A friend of mine was flying back from Europe a few years ago and began talking with his seatmate, a gentleman who happened to be a Swedish opera singer. Somehow Frank Sinatra came up, and, as my friend told me, the singer suddenly turned very grave. “Ah,” he said. “That is a voice without equal.”

Something about Frank has sunk in deeply, from San Francisco to Stockholm. In his centennial year—he was born Dec. 12, 1915—Sinatra is much in the air, and with good reason. We celebrate his artistry, his matchless personal style, his undying charisma, his apparently inexhaustible effect on American culture.

One question I’m often asked as a Sinatra biographer is what surprised me most about my research. I usually have the feeling—Frank being Frank—that some juicy tidbit of gossip, heretofore unearthed, is what I’m being asked for. My answer probably lets people down: The most surprising thing I found out was how very hard he worked on his singing.

Though he dropped out at 16 from A.J. Demarest High School in Hoboken, N.J., Frank had a brilliant and inquisitive mind; he was verbally gifted, with an original way of expressing himself in the many notes and letters he wrote over the decades. For instance, in 1988Daniel Okrent wrote an Esquire essay praising Sinatra’s late-age durability. In response, the Chairman sent Mr. Okrent a graceful missive thanking him for helping to “explain me to me with a rose in your prose” and for applying his “X-ray word-processor to see so deeply into the heart and soul of this very lucky son of Hoboken who remains eternally overcome at God’s plan for his life.”

Sinatra was a self-educated man, a lifelong reader, mainly of biographies. When it came to popular songs, the lyrics mattered as much to him as the music, if not more. And as soon as he began singing professionally, he started a practice that he continued throughout his career.

“I take a sheet with just the lyrics. No music,” he once told the casino mogul Steve Wynn.“At that point, I’m looking at a poem. I’m trying to understand the point of view of the person behind the words. I want to understand his emotions. Then I start speaking, not singing, the words so I can experiment and get the right inflections. When I get with the orchestra, I sing the words without a microphone first, so I can adjust the way I’ve been practicing to the arrangement. I’m looking to fit the emotion behind the song that I’ve come up with to the music. Then it all comes together.”

Once he sang that number, on record or on stage, he inhabited that lyric, felt it so deeply that anyone listening felt it, too. Combine that with his genius ear and the phrasing he learned from Billie Holiday’s vocals and Tommy Dorsey’s trombone solos. The result is that Sinatra gives the eerie impression that he is thinking these thoughts, feeling these feelings, in the moment the listener is hearing about them. Nobody else quite manages to bring this off.

I’ve studied and written about Frank Sinatra for 10 years, and though I’ve sometimes disliked him, I’ve never been bored with him. His best singing—of which there is a very great deal—still gives me goosebumps, every time. I believe that we will still be celebrating Sinatra, and listening to him, next year, and the year after that, and (as the title of another of his numbers has it) a hundred years from today.

Mr. Kaplan is the author of “Sinatra: The Chairman,” just out from Doubleday.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A large flock of greater white-fronted geese, fly near a fishpond in the puszta or Hungarian steppe of Hortobagy, east of Budapest, Hungary, Friday. This species native in Russia, Greenland and North America is a regular guest of the Carpathian Basin, an important wintering area for it. Zsolt Czegledi/MTI/AP

 

Sunlight peaks through a gap in the clouds as a storm clears to the east of Spruce Mountain in the view overlooking Webb Lake, Friday, near Weld, Maine. Robert F. Bukaty/AP

 

A historical re-enactment enthusiast dressed as a soldier rests in a tree near the southern Moravian village of Herspice on Friday. Hundreds of history enthusiasts gathered near the city of Slavkov before a re-enactment of Napoleon’s famous battle of Austerlitz on Saturday to mark its 210th anniversary. David W Cerny/Reuters

Market Closes for December 4^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17847.63	+369.96   +2.12%
S&P 500	2091.69	+42.07   +2.05%
NASDAQ	5142.270	+104.743   +2.08%
TSX	13358.77	+34.10
		+0.26%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19504.48	-435.42
		-2.18%
HANG SENG	22235.89	-181.12
		-0.81%
SENSEX	25638.11	-248.51
		-0.96%
FTSE 100	6238.29	-36.71
		-0.59%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.580	1.625
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.300	2.328
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2711	2.3189
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0103	3.0600

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74841	0.74961
US $	1.33616	1.33402
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45333	0.68808
US $	1.08769	0.91938

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1079.25	1055.45
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	39.97	41.08

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Dani Burger

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, trimming a weekly decline, as gold miners rallied with the price of the metal and banks advanced.

     Raw-material producers rose 3.2 percent as bullion surged the most since April on speculation the Federal Reserve will take a gradual approach when it begins raising interest rates. Energy companies fell 1.7 percent after OPEC signaled it will continue to produce 31.5 million barrels a day, according to a delegate with knowledge of the decision. That sent crude prices below $40 a barrel in New York.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 34.10 points, or 0.3 percent, to 13,358.77 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge fell 0.1 percent in the week for a second straight decline.

     A Canadian labor market report showed employment fell more than economists forecast in November. Jobs dropped by 35,700 following a gain of 44,400 in October. That compares to a projected decrease of 10,000 jobs, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate rose to 7.1 percent, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa.

     Energy companies, which account for more than 18 percent of the nation’s benchmark index, have slumped 24 percent this year. Along with energy stocks, industrial companies also declined Friday. The group fell 1.2 percent, weighed down by railway companies.

     Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. declined 4.1 percent. Norfolk Southern Corp. rejected the company’s $28 billion takeover, saying that even at a sweetened price, a deal would be unlikely to gain regulatory approval.

     Metals prices are recovering after the dollar weakened the most in almost nine months on Thursday. Silver Standard Resources Inc. gained 5.7 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. rose 8.3 percent.

     Barrick surged to the highest level since July. The world’s largest producer of metal is extending a $4 billion revolver loan by a year and negotiated a covenant change, the company said in a statement Thursday.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Dani Burger

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index recovering from its steepest drop in two months amid its strongest gain in nearly three, as jobs data bolstered confidence that the economy is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs.

     Technology and financial shares paced Friday’s advance, with Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. all rising more than 3.1 percent, to cap a whipsaw week of trading that drove the benchmark index to moves of more than 1 percent in four straight sessions.

     The S&P 500 climbed 2.1 percent to 2,091.69 at 4 p.m. in New York, its strongest gain since Sept. 8. The gauge posted its ninth weekly advance in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 369.96 points, or 2.1 percent, to 17,847.63, erasing its weekly decline. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.1 percent. A measure of volatility plunged the most in two years. About 7.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 8.7 percent above the three-month average.

     “This number plus last month’s report really wipes out the stench from the miss we saw in August and September,” Phil Orlando, who helps oversee $360 billion as chief equity-market strategist at Federated Investors Inc. in New York., said by phone. “This number ought to clinch it for the Fed in terms of liftoff in December. We should have a spike after yesterday’s overreaction on the euro and Draghi.”

     Stocks extended gains in afternoon trading after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the bank has the power to act to the extent it sees necessary to defend its inflation mandate, and is willing to use it. His comments came a day after the ECB unveiled stimulus measures that disappointed investors, sparking a selloff in Europe that spread to the U.S.

     Friday’s rally began after a report showed a larger-than- forecast 211,000 increase in November U.S. payrolls, following a 298,000 gain a month earlier that was bigger than previously estimated. The jobless rate held at 5 percent, a more than seven-year low.

     A healthy rate of hiring has raised the odds that Federal Reserve officials will boost rates this month for the first time since 2006. The pace of future increases is contingent on progress toward the central bank’s inflation goal and probably depends on how quickly wage pressures mount as the job market tightens.

     Today’s report was the last major jobs data before the Fed’s December policy meeting. In two separate speeches this week, Fed Chair Janet Yellen signaled the economy is ready for a rate increase as soon as this month and that she hopes to tighten monetary policy slowly. Traders are pricing in 76 percent odds of a liftoff.

     Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said today the central bank should raise interest rates “sooner rather than later” to allow a gradual pace of future increases, in his first public comments on monetary policy since taking office.

     “The data implies an improving U.S. economy, which should provide a backdrop for the Fed to raise rates at their upcoming meeting,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc. in Los Angeles. “You’ll see the market react positively to this data. Expect to see strong performance from financial stocks today, as they’ll be the beneficiaries of a potential rate hike.”

     With Friday’s gains, the S&P 500 erased its weekly decline. A rally on Tuesday to kick off December sent the index to its highest level in almost a month, and within 1.4 percent of its record set in May. Since then, it’s down 0.5 percent, while still about 12 percent above its low in August.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 18 percent Friday to 14.81, its steepest drop in more than two years. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX surged 14 percent on Thursday, the most in three weeks.                         

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups rose today, with financial, telephone, technology and health-care companies gaining the most. All nine advancing industries climbed more than 1.4 percent.

     Financial companies in the S&P 500 added 2.7 percent, their biggest increase in more than three months, as investors speculated that banks will benefit from higher benchmark lending rates. Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note’s yield declined 1.8 percent, trimming a 6.1 percent surge yesterday. Charles Schwab Corp. increased 4.6 percent, while Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. rose more than 2.5 percent.

     Consumer staples stocks climbed 2.3 percent, the most since Aug. 26. Mondelez International Inc. and Molson Coors Brewing Co. rose more than 3.4 percent. Procter & Gamble Co. added 2.8 percent, its best advance in six weeks.

     Newmont Mining Corp., the biggest U.S. gold producer, climbed 9.2 percent to post the strongest gain in the S&P 500 as gold prices jumped the most since April. The shares closed at the highest level since July. Alcoa Inc. advanced 3.9 percent and Dow Chemical Co. added 2.8 percent to pace raw materials’ 1.8 percent climb.

     Electronic Arts Inc. increased 4.7 percent, its biggest gain since Oct. 12, after the stock was raised to the equivalent of buy from neutral by Atlantic Equities. Dollar Tree Inc. climbed 4.3 percent to a three-month high after being raised to a “top pick” from outperform at RBC Capital Markets. Toymaker Mattel Inc. added 4.3 percent to its highest since July 15.

     The Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index gained 3.9 percent, the most since Oct. 9, amid the slide in crude oil. Southwest Airlines Co. and Alaska Air Group Inc. climbed at least 4.4 percent to trade at all-time highs. All 11 companies in the gauge rose.

     The S&P 500 Energy Index slipped 0.5 percent. Oil producers in the group took a hit with crude falling 2.5 percent after OPEC decided to maintain production at current levels and refrained from setting an official output target. Consol Energy Inc. and Kinder Morgan Inc. slid more than 11 percent, while Southwestern Energy Co. lost 5.5 percent.

     NRG Energy Inc., the biggest independent U.S. power producer, fell for the third time in four days, taking its slide this week to 23 percent. The shares plunged 13 percent on Wednesday after announcing the sale of two power plants, and bounced 1.7 percent yesterday after saying Chief Executive David Crane was stepping down. The stock fell another 18 percent today, closing at an all-time low.

     Barnes & Noble Inc. dropped 17 percent to its lowest since February 2014. The bookseller posted a quarterly loss and weaker sales, hurt by sluggish online orders and a fast-declining Nook e-reader business.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Man cannot be broken down into emotions, intellect, or action.

Man is a whole.

When these three elements of intellect, feelings, and action are in harmony, they make up man.

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.

                               -Nikos Kazantzakis, 1883-1957

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:

1967 : 

The first human heart transplant happened on this day in 1967 at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.  Surgeons in Cape Town, South Africa, led by Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant.

WORLD PROGRESS RECENTLY REPORTED:

BHUTAN: 

It’ll be paving with – plastic.  Plastic waste will be mixed with bitumen for highway blacktop, curbing bitumen imports from India and cutting plastic waste – a growing problem.  The planned “Plastic Roads” (or “Green Roads”) initiative involves a public-private partnership between a construction company, the  first recycling plant, and the public sector.  –Thomson Reuters Foundation.

SAN DIEGO:

Some orcas may get a break once SeaWorld delivers on its pledge – developed in the wake of harsh criticism – to replace at least some shows involving the killer whales at its southern California park with an “all-new orca experience with a conservation theme in a more natural setting” in 2017.  (Shows may continue in Florida and elsewhere.)  Some critics were unimpressed: “SeaWorld fully intends to continue forced breeding of orcas in captivity,” said the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute. –Reuters, Earth Island Institute.

MEXICO:

Journalists are working more aggressively, expanding their use of a freedom-of-information law that came into effect in 2002.  In the past year alone the law has been deployed in covering major stories such as the disappearance OF 43 college students in  Guerrero State, a house-buying scandal at high levels of  government, and inefficiencies in the state-owned oil company Pemex.  Mexico remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, with 35 killed since 1992.  –The Christian Science Monitor.

NIGERIA:

Anti-corruption efforts are taking hold.  The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been in office six months, is delivering on  a campaign promise to clean up graft: Fines have been imposed on companies, executives have been arrested, and investigations are expanding into the laundering of public revenues directed into foreign bank accounts.  The president spent months vetting a new, smaller cabinet; that too, was billed as a move to prevent corruption. –The Christian Science Monitor; National Law Journal, Deutsche Welle.

CANADA:

Women claimed 15 of 30 cabinet positions in appointments made by incoming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – with some adjustments to titles likely being made to ensure full minister status.  The nation joins Finland, Cabo Verde, Sweden, France and Liechtenstein among those in which at least half the national ministerial positions are held by women.  –CBC, Inter-Parliamentary Union.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A woman photographs a sea of fog over Lake Leman at the Tour de Gourze near Lausanne, Switzerland, Thursday. Denis Balibouse/Reuters

A renewable energy innovation called ‘Wind Tree’ is seen at COP21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Paris Thursday. Each ‘leaf’ acts as a mini wind-turbine to generate electricity. Wind Tree is presented by Engie, the French multinational electric utility company. Francois Mori/AP

Market Closes for December 3^rd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17477.67	-252.01   -1.42%
S&P 500	2048.84	-30.67   -1.47%
NASDAQ	5037.527	-85.695   -1.67%
TSX	13316.53	-147.29
		-1.09%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19939.90	+1.77
		+0.01%
HANG SENG	22417.01	-62.68
		-0.28%
SENSEX	25886.62	-231.23
		-0.89%
FTSE 100	6275.00	-145.93
		-2.27%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.625	1.514
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.328	2.229
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3189	2.1780
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0600	2.9081

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74961	0.74941
US $	1.33402	1.33438
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.46004	0.68491
US $	1.09446	0.91369

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1055.45	1055.40
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	41.08	39.94

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell to a two-week low, as Europe’s central bank sparked a rout in risk assets after the scale of additional stimulus disappointed.

     Global markets slipped as some investors were disappointed by the extent of the European Central Bank’s latest moves at the same time Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated that tightening is imminent.

     “The market is still nervous,” said David Cockfield, fund manager at Northland Wealth Management in Toronto. His firm manages about C$325 million. “I’d say because the market is so unpredictable we’ve been kind of edging into and out of things. You just try to keep your head down.”

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 139.15 points, or 1 percent, to 13,324.67 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after sliding 1.3 percent yesterday for the biggest loss since Nov. 12. The benchmark equity gauge has dropped 8.9 percent this year, trailed only by Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     Canada’s banks paced declines. Toronto-Dominion Bank, the nation’s largest lender, lost 1.3 percent as higher earnings offset C$243 million ($183 million) in restructuring costs related to job cuts. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce fell 2.2 percent, the most in three months, after net income slid.

     A gauge of developed and developing equity markets lost 0.7 percent, to a Nov. 17 low, as the S&P 500 slumped 1.4 percent for the biggest decline in more than two months.

     Canadian energy and raw-materials producers, which account for about 30 percent of the nation’s benchmark index, have each slumped more than 21 percent this year and are the second and third worst-performing industries in the S&P/TSX ahead of health-care stocks.

     A combination of slowing economic growth in China, concerns about the economic health of European nations and a rally in the U.S. dollar with impending interest-rate increases from the Fed as soon as Dec. 16 have crimped commodities prices this year.

     Barrick Gold Corp. and Goldcorp Inc. increased at least 1.9 percent as raw-materials producers gained 0.5 percent as a group. Gold futures for February delivery rose 0.7 percent, rebounding from a February 2010 low.

US

By Oliver Renick and Lu Wang

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slumped the most in two months as the scale of the European Central Bank’s additional stimulus measures disappointed some investors, while Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled the economy is ready for higher borrowing costs.

     Equities fell to their lowest level in almost three weeks as investors grapple with an array of influences, including divergent policies from major central banks, uneven economic data and turbulence in commodities markets. Energy shares slid Thursday for a second session despite a rebound in oil prices, and health-care companies had their biggest tumble in nearly two months.

     The S&P 500 dropped 1.4 percent to 2,049.62 at 4 p.m. in New York, following a 1.1 percent slide yesterday. The gauge sank below its average price during the past 200 days for the first time in three weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 252.01 points, or 1.4 percent, to 17,477.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.7 percent. About 8 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 13 percent above the three-month average.

     There is “no panic, just disappointment’’ with the ECB, as the selloff seems to be orderly, Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management U.S. Inc. in Chicago, said in an interview. “Couple that with renewed terrorism concerns following yesterday’s tragic events in California, Chairwoman Yellen reiterating again this morning the desire to raise rates sooner rather than later, albeit gradually, and it’s all been enough for participants to take money off the table.”

     The ECB will extend its quantitative easing program until at least March 2017 and broaden the range of assets purchased while keeping the pace of monthly buying steady at 60 billion euros ($65 billion), President Mario Draghi said. The bank’s Governing Council cut its deposit rate to minus 0.3 percent, in line with forecasts by economists in a Bloomberg survey. Policy makers left the main refinancing rate and the marginal lending rate unchanged.

     “There were huge expectations for Mr. Draghi and the ECB to provide further stimulus at today’s meeting, and in the markets mind they fell short of those expectations,” Larson said. Draghi had been preparing markets for further stimulus since October, prompting economists surveyed by Bloomberg to unanimously predict the central bank would boost its efforts this week.

     Following the ECB, Yellen delivered a cautiously upbeat outlook for the U.S. economy, signaling the conditions necessary for an interest-rate increase have been met and that she hopes to tighten monetary policy slowly after liftoff. Her comments before Congress’s Joint Economic Committee were nearly identical to portions of a speech she gave Wednesday to the Economic Club of Washington. Traders are pricing in 74 percent odds the Fed will raise rates at the conclusion of its next meeting on Dec. 16.

     As policy makers assess the strength of the economy, an index of activity at service industries expanded in November at the slowest pace in six months, indicating malaise in manufacturing is impeding progress in other parts of the economy. The measure saw its biggest monthly decrease in seven years. A separate report showed applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, maintaining a see-saw pattern around four-decade lows.                          

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 14 percent Thursday to 18.11, reaching a two-week high. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX trimmed an earlier jump of almost 22 percent.

     The S&P 500 is down 2.5 percent since a rally Monday to kick off December sent the index to its highest level in almost a month, and to within 1.4 percent of its record set in May. Performance among the benchmark’s 10 main industries was lopsided for a second day as all the groups fell. Health-care and energy companies led the drop, and have lost more than 3 percent since Monday’s close.

     “Everyone was positioned the same way going into today,” Michael Block, chief equity strategist at Rhino Trading Partners LLC in New York, said by phone. “It all snowballed and on days when that happens you have a problem. It’s the idea the central banks won’t be there to bail out equities — bonds got weaker and equities got weaker.”

     Energy stocks declined 2 percent, even as West Texas Intermediate oil futures climbed 2.9 percent. Cash-strapped OPEC nations from Venezuela to Iran are piling pressure on Saudi Arabia to reduce oil output as the group of producer nations prepare to meet tomorrow in Vienna. A report Saudi Arabia may propose a 1 million barrel a day output cut is “baseless,” a Saudi official told Bloomberg.

     Chesapeake Energy Corp. tumbled 12 percent after asking bond holders to accept longer-dated debt instruments. Shares fell to a 13-year low. Southwestern Energy Co. and Marathon Petroleum Corp. dropped more than 6.1 percent.

     Health-care companies fell 2.2 percent as biotechnology shares slumped. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Celgene Corp. sank more than 4.3 percent with the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index losing 3.4 percent, its biggest slide since Oct. 6. Merck & Co. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. fell more than 2.2 percent to rank among the Dow’s worst performers.

     Following its strongest gain in two months, Yahoo! Inc. slid 3.7 percent to pace declines among technology companies. Corning Inc. decreased 4.9 percent, the most in 16 months. Microsoft Corp. and Facebook dropped more than 1.5 percent.

     Kroger Co. added 4.7 percent to a record as the largest U.S. supermarket chain reported third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates and raised its annual forecast after new locations and organic products fueled sales. Costco Wholesale Corp. gained 1.6 percent after the company reported November sales that beat expectations.

     Avago Technologies Ltd. surged 9.5 percent, the most in the S&P 500 after reporting fourth-quarter profit that topped estimates on demand for mobile-phone components. Broadcom Corp., set to be acquired by Avago, rallied 4.1 percent on the news to the highest since May.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Man cannot be broken down into emotions, intellect, or action.

Man is a whole.

When these three elements of intellect, feelings, and action are in harmony, they make up man.

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.

                        -Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1509

 

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:

The Rockefeller Christmas tree, with more than 30,000 bulbs and over five miles of electrical wire, is set to be lit tonight. Meanwhile, the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree is also tonight. (NJ.com) 

Spent a few days at The Golden Door in California last week during the American Thanksgiving holiday and one of the handouts that Gary brought back from a session he attended contains lots of good advice on managing  the days ahead.  It is entitled  “PRACTICE SAGE STRESS for the Holidays.”  Here is the advice given by Cindi Peterson, MA, C.Ht.:

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Unrealistic expectations are the primary cause of stress during the holidays.  Remember no one is perfect, so your house, gifts and food will probably not be picture perfect.  Do not expect everything to go as planned.  In other words, things do not have to be perfect for the holidays to be enjoyable.

USE HUMOR AS A COPING TOOL

When tensions rise, try to look for the humor in a situation.  A well-timed joke can go a long way to ease tensions between people. Do not be afraid to laugh at yourself.

SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE

If things do not go according to plan and unexpected situations arise, try to tell yourself that some day you will look back on this and laugh.  Try to shift points of view and put the unpleasant event into a broader perspective.  Tell yourself that this is going to be a funny story someday even if it is not funny now.

YOU DESERVE A BREAK TODAY

Taking care of yourself and attending to your needs is not selfish.  Pausing for a nap sure beats collapsing from exhaustion.  Breaks can be in various forms- from exercise, to listening to music, to taking a warm bath.  Understand their value in getting you through the holidays and be sure to make time for this.  Remember self-care is not the same as selfishness!

KEEP THAT BODY MOVING

If you have an exercise routine, then do your best to stick with it.  It may mean cutting down on a few holiday-related activities, but it is well worth it in benefits, which are both physical and psychological.  If you cannot do all the things you normally do, try to find a compromise.  Be creative and involve your family members if you  must spend time with them.  Invite them to go along on a walk or to dance in the family room for a few minutes.  Anything to get people moving is beneficial.

“TOGETHERNESS”  DOES NOT MEAN 24 HOURS A DAY

Too many people try to make up in a  few days what they miss during the year.  It is simply not possible to do that.  Aim for “quality time” and not quantity time.  That means feeling free to excuse yourself to go on a walk by yourself or anything else.  A small ‘time out” can go a long way towards restoring energy, especially when one is surrounded by people, noise and activities.

JUST SAY “NO”

If the word “No” is not in your vocabulary, include it – especially if you are susceptible to saying ‘yes’ to every request for your time.  Learn to use this word often, set your limits and stick to them.  You don’t have to attend ever party you are invited to or volunteer at every holiday function.  Set priorities  so you can truly enjoy the activities you choose to attend.

STRESSED IS DESSERTS SPELLED BACKWARDS

Food and drink are certainly meant to be enjoyed during the holidays.  However, watch out for stress-related eating and drinking that can sabotage your efforts to pursue health during the rest of the year.  The first step is to become aware that holiday stress can be an important reason why people are more likely t digress from their healthy habits.  The next step is to reduce the risk of stress-related eating and drinking.  By following the suggestions above, you can reduce both your stress levels and the likelihood that you will engage in stress-related eating and drinking.

TRY TO HAVE “HOLY” DAYS

The holidays have drifted from their original intent and, for many, simply mean a time of more running around and more shopping.  Take a moment to reflect on the original intent of holidays and its significance in your life.  Even if you do not follow a particular faith, it is a good time to step back and think about the blessings in your life.

GIVE GIFTS OF LOVE

A priceless gift is one from the heart.  The worth of a gift does not come from its price tag.  The worth comes from truly making someone happy by a simple gesture or token.  Homemade baked goods, crafts and a kind word or poem will be remembered far longer than a costly gift – for it is a gift of yourself given from the heart.

THE HOLIDAYS TOO SHALL PASS.

If the stress gets to be too much and you just cannot find a way to reduce it any way, then remind yourself that the holidays too shall pass and soon you will be able to return to your routine.  And with these tips in hand, you will be well equipped to plan ahead for the next season, so that you maximize our holiday joy and minimize your holiday stresses.

PRACTICE MINDFULNESS

When you start to feel overwhelmed, come back to NOW and ask yourself what is the first thing you have to do.  Usually it is breathe deeply.  Ruminating about yesterday or worrying about tomorrow serves no purpose.  Instead, savor every moment of the holiday season.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

First lady Michelle Obama chats with children of military families as they gather to enjoy holiday decorations and treats at the White House in Washington Wednesday. Mike Theiler/Reuters

 

A seagull lands on the artwork ‘Where the Tides Ebb and Flow,’ by Argentinian artist Pedro Marzorati, installed in a pond at Montsouris Park during COP21, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Paris Wednesday. Francois Mori/AP

A screen shows visitors filmed with the FLIR GF320 Infrared Camera at the System Control Fair, SCF 2015, in Tokyo Wednesday. Thomas Peter/Reuters

Market Closes for December 2^nd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17729.68	-158.67   -0.89%
S&P 500	2079.51	-23.12   -1.10%
NASDAQ	5123.223	-33.084   -0.64%
TSX	13463.82	-172.24
		-1.26%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19938.13	-74.27
		-0.37%
HANG SENG	22479.69	+98.34
		+0.44%
SENSEX	26117.85	-51.56
		-0.20%
FTSE 100	6420.93	+25.28
		+0.40%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.514	1.494
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.229	2.228
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1780	2.1448
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9081	2.9035

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74941	0.74851
US $	1.33438	1.33598
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41651	0.70596
US $	1.06155	0.94202

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1055.40	1065.40
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	39.94	41.51

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell the most in three weeks, halting the best two-day advance in two months, as a rout in oil sparked a selloff in commodities shares.

     Energy producers dropped 2.8 percent as a group to lead equities lower. Crude futures fell to a six-year low in London and 4.6 percent to settle at $39.94 a barrel in New York on signs of discord among ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil has slumped about 40 percent since Saudi Arabia led OPEC’s decision a year ago to maintain output and defend market share against higher-cost shale producers.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 172.24 points, or 1.3 percent, to 13,463.82 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after a two-day rally of 2 percent. The benchmark equity gauge has dropped 8 percent this year, trailed only by Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate unchanged at 0.5 percent, where it’s been since July. All 33 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted no move. The Canadian economy is undergoing a “complex and lengthy adjustment” as non-energy exports and the weaker currency help to contain the damage from lower oil prices, Governor Stephen Poloz said in a statement.

     Royal Bank of Canada was little-changed, paring an earlier gain. Fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 11 percent as a jump in trading revenue and a lower tax rate helped counter slowing earnings growth from Canadian banking and declines across other key businesses.

     National Bank of Canada lost 0.5 percent, erasing earlier gains after raising its dividend 3.8 percent amid an increase in fourth-quarter profit. Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Canadian Western Bank report tomorrow. A gauge of the nation’s largest lenders has lost 4.4 percent this year, on track for the first annual decline since 2011.

     Energy and raw-materials producers, which account for about 30 percent of the index, have each slumped more than 21 percent this year and are the second and third worst-performing industries in the S&P/TSX ahead of health-care stocks.

     A combination of slowing economic growth in China and a rally in the U.S. dollar with impending interest-rate increases from the Federal Reserve as soon as Dec. 16 have crimped commodities prices this year.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell as tumbling oil prices sparked a broader selloff in equities, while Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen laid the groundwork for a December interest- rate boost by signaling increased confidence in the economic outlook.

     Equities continued a pattern of alternating between gains and losses that led the S&P 500 in November to its narrowest monthly move in six years. Energy producers today dropped the most in two months as crude fell below $40 a barrel for the first time since August, and raw-material shares had their biggest slide in three weeks. Technology companies erased early gains as Qualcomm Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. trimmed their rallies.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 1.1 percent to 2,079.51 at 4 p.m. in New York, reversing yesterday’s 1.1 percent surge to open the month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 158.67 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,729.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.6 percent after earlier rising as much as 0.4 percent. About 7.4 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 4 percent above the three-month average.

     “Yellen didn’t say anything miraculous that’s pushing the market down,” said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC in New York. “We floated up yesterday really on just air and seasonality dictating that December is a higher month. With the combination of the meltdown in commodities we’re seeing today, the Euro CPI number sending the U.S. dollar higher, the data with regard to employment and Yellen’s tone, reality is setting in here.”

     The S&P 500 extended losses in afternoon trading as crude’s decline accelerated before an OPEC meeting Friday. As three days of economic events likely to set the course for global markets into 2016 kicked off, a renewed rout in crude distracted traders from their focus on the looming divergence in monetary policy as OPEC has shown few signs it will vote to trim output. The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell the most in three months.

     In a speech delivered at the Economic Club of Washington, Fed Chair Yellen said she’s increasingly confident that the economy is growing sufficiently to achieve labor-market improvement and higher inflation. She also warned that waiting too long to end the era of near-zero interest rates could force the central bank to tighten too quickly, which would risk disrupting financial markets and the six-year expansion.

     Fed officials have been trying to gauge whether the economy is headed toward their goals and can sustain growth as rates increase. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said earlier today he favors raising rates this month, absent any information that “drastically” changes the economic outlook. San Francisco Fed President John Williams joined Yellen in warning of risks in delaying liftoff. The Fed chair is scheduled to testify Thursday on the outlook before Congress’s Joint Economic Committee.

     In a speech Tuesday night, Fed Governor Lael Brainard urged her colleagues at the central bank to move cautiously as they raised rates and to expect the Fed’s benchmark to top out at a lower level than in previous economic expansions. Traders are pricing in 72 percent odds the Fed will liftoff when its next two-day meeting concludes on Dec. 16.

     Meanwhile, major central bank policies are set to diverge as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has been priming markets for action since October. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg unanimously predict the ECB will boost stimulus again at its meeting tomorrow, while the bank is less than halfway through a 1.1 trillion-euro ($1.2 trillion) bond-buying program.

     Before the government’s jobs report on Friday, data today showed U.S. private payrolls grew more than expected, with companies adding 217,000 workers in November in a sign the labor market continues to strengthen. The Fed’s Beige Book survey said the economy expanded modestly across most of the U.S. in October and November amid rising consumer spending.

     The S&P 500 has rebounded 11 percent from its low in August on growing confidence that the economy is sturdy enough to handle higher borrowing costs. The benchmark is up 1 percent for the year, and has alternated between gains and losses over the last 12 sessions, the longest such streak since 2013. The gauge hasn’t had back-to-back advances since Nov. 3.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index added 8.5 percent Wednesday to 15.91, wiping out most of yesterday’s 9 percent slide to a three-week low. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX finished November up 7 percent, its first monthly increase since a record jump in August.

     All of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries fell, an about-face after yesterday’s across-the-board gains, with six groups sinking more than 1 percent. Energy lost 3.1 percent and utilities dropped 2.2 percent. Technology shares sagged 0.6 percent after earlier rising as much as 0.5 percent.

     Energy companies retreated for the first time in three days as West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4.6 percent amid ample stockpiles and signs of discord as ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries arrive in Vienna to discuss production policy.

     Kinder Morgan Inc. dropped 7.9 percent to all-time low, sliding more than 4 percent for a second day after the largest U.S. pipeline owner had its credit outlook lowered after agreeing to increase its stake in an affiliate that Moody’s Investors Service said is at risk of default. Oneok Inc. and Murphy Oil Corp. fell at least 6.7 percent, while Exxon Mobil Corp. sank 2.9 percent, the most in the Dow.

     NRG Energy tumbled 13 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to an 11-year low. The company said it’s selling two generating stations for $138 million as part of its “asset rebalancing program.” Citigroup Inc. yesterday initiated coverage of the shares with a sell rating.

     Qualcomm gained 5.2 percent, paring an earlier 8.4 percent gain, after signing a patent licensing agreement with Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi. Yahoo rose 5.8 percent, the best performer in the S&P 500, as the company was said to consider a potential sale of its main Internet business.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Meditation is one of the greatest arts in life, perhaps the greatest,

and one cannot possibly learn it from anybody else,

that is the beauty of it.

It has no technique and therefore no authority.

When you learn about yourself, watch yourself, watch the way you walk,

how you eat, what you say, the gossip, the hate, the jealousy –

if you are aware of all that in yourself, without any choice,

that is part of meditation.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

                                                                  -Aristotle, 384 BC- 322 BC

 

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 1955, Rosa Parks was jailed for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man, a violation of Montgomery, Alabama’s segregation laws.

On Dec. 1, 1959, representatives of 12 countries, including the United States, signed a treaty in Washington setting aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, free from military activity.
1913 – The first drive-in automobile service station opened, in Pittsburgh.
Woody Allen’s birthday, b. 1935.

SOLSTICE FIRE

…Suddenly, it is December and it is dark.
In July I had so much;
remember how I squandered it,
going to a movie that sunny afternoon?
What was I thinking?

…This year, if I am lucky,
and if this fire works,
the Night Thief will begin restitution.
Tomorrow a minute is back, maybe two.
Before long, I’m thinking that my gold
will be returned to its rightful owner.
And, as for me,
I will be more careful next time.

                           -Will Winter

Each moment of the year has its own beauty….a picture which was never seen before and shall never be seen again. –Ralph Waldo Emerson.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

 

Olas, the beach snowman, looks over an intersection on Las Olas Blvd. Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 20-foot snowman has become selfie-central since its Nov. 24 appearance on the beach. Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP

 

Tom O’Hara snowplows the sidewalk with his dog, Smokey, by his side after the area received heavy snow in Sioux Falls, S.D., Tuesday. A record-breaking snowstorm lingering over the northern Plains causing slippery roads, but bringing much-needed moisture to the region. Jay Pickthorn/The Argus Leader/AP

 

People sit on La promenade des Anglais at sunset in Nice, southeastern France, Tuesday. Temperatures in the area rose to 18 degrees Celsius (64 Fahrenheit.) Lionel Cironneau/AP

Market Closes for December 1^st, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17888.35	+168.43   +0.95%
S&P 500	2102.63	+22.22   +1.07%
NASDAQ	5156.309	+47.643   +0.93%
TSX	13636.06	+166.23
		+1.23%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20012.40	+264.93
		+1.34%
HANG SENG	22381.35	+384.93
		+1.75%
SENSEX	26169.41	+23.74
		+0.09%
FTSE 100	6395.65	+39.56
		+0.62%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.494	1.570
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.228	2.286
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1448	2.2078
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9035	2.9746

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74851	0.74842
US $	1.33598	1.33615
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42078	0.70384
US $	1.06348	0.94031

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1065.40	1061.90
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	41.51	41.65

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

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada stocks advanced to the highest level in almost a month as data showing the economy expanded for the first time in three quarters boosted lenders and energy producers.

     Canada’s economy grew 2.3 percent in the third quarter on gains in automotive exports and consumer spending. The economy had been hampered by a slump in energy production as oil tumbled, weighing on shares of commodity producers.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 166.23 points, or 1.2 percent, to 13,580.80 at 10:50 a.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge retreated 0.4 percent in November, and has dropped 7.3 percent this year, trailed only by Singapore and Greece among developed markets. 

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. contributed the most to gains in the index Wednesday. The drugmaker jumped 9.6 percent after rallying 4.5 percent on Monday. The shares have surged 33 percent since reaching a more than two-year low on Nov. 17 and now trade at the highest level since October.

     Bank of Montreal, the nation’s fourth-largest lender, added 1.4 percent to lead financial services equities higher after its profit exceeded analysts’ estimates. Canada’s largest lenders have tumbled 4.2 percent this year, on pace for their first annual decline since 2011 amid the slowing domestic economy and slumping energy and commodities prices. 

     Fourth-quarter profit at Bank of Montreal jumped 13 percent, led by capital markets and U.S. banking. The bank also raised its dividend 2.4 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia was little changed after trimming an earlier drop of more than 1 percent, as revenue growth was short of analysts’ forecasts while profit beat estimates.

     Royal Bank of Canada and National Bank of Canada are scheduled to report Wednesday, followed by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Western Bank on Dec. 3.

     Energy and raw-materials producers, which account for about 30 percent of the index, have each slumped more than 20 percent this year for the second and third-worst performing industries in the S&P/TSX behind only health-care.

     A combination of slowing economic growth in China and a rally in the U.S. dollar with impending interest-rate increases from the Federal Reserve as soon as Dec. 16 have crimped commodities prices this year from crude to copper. The Bloomberg Commodity Index has slumped 22 percent in 2015, the biggest drop since 2008 headed for a fifth straight annual decline.

     Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. rose 4.3 percent for a second day of gains. The company has another month to find other suitors willing to counter Suncor Energy Inc.’s hostile takeover offer after Alberta regulators granted an extension to Jan. 4. Suncor’s bid expires Dec. 4. Suncor had said Nov. 26 it would walk away if Canadian Oil Sands was given more time to seek other bidders.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied to begin what has historically been the strongest month of the year for global equities, breaking out of a lull that held the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its narrowest monthly move in six years as investors await December monetary policy decisions.

     The benchmark index added less than 0.1 percent in November as signs of a strengthening economy offset concerns of an imminent interest-rate increase. The gauge is up 2.1 percent this year, headed toward its smallest move in four years. Health-care shares rebounded Tuesday to lead gains after erasing a November advance yesterday in the month’s final session.

     The S&P 500 added 1.1 percent to 2,102.63 at 4 p.m. in New York, and closed at its highest level since Nov. 3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 168.43 points, or 1 percent, to 17,888.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.9 percent.

     “There’s a bit more tolerance for risk right now because indices are flat and managers have to show return somewhere — there’s only four weeks to go, and they’re not doing it buying bonds,” Ron Anari, the Jersey City, New Jersey-based senior vice president of trading at ICAP Plc, said via phone. “The Fed is going to hike at some point and it might as well be now. The equity markets have got it pretty much absorbed.”

     With policy makers assessing economic data to gauge the appropriate time to raise rates, a report today showed manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in November, with elevated inventories leading to cutbacks in orders and production. Investors shrugged off the setback, keeping in mind assurances from Fed officials that even if they choose to tighten this month, the pace of future rate increases will be gradual.

     Traders are pricing in a 70 percent chance that the Federal Reserve will raise rates this month, down from 74 percent before the factory data. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, among the most dovish of Fed policy makers, said in remarks today he “would prefer to have more confidence than I do today that inflation is indeed beginning to head higher” before raising rates.

     Fed Chair Janet Yellen will speak to Congress on Thursday on the economic outlook, and the European Central Bank will hold its last policy meeting of the year amid growing speculation it will take additional steps to boost inflation. The Fed will get its final look at the health of the labor market before its meeting in two weeks when the government releases the November jobs report on Friday.

     The main U.S. equity benchmark has rebounded nearly 13 percent from its low in August on growing confidence that the economy is sturdy enough to handle higher borrowing costs. The S&P 500 is less than 1.5 percent away from its record reached in May, after alternating between gains and losses over the last 11 sessions, the longest such streak since 2013.

     As equities rebounded from their lows earlier this year, the optimism led to fund managers increasing their allocation to global stocks last month. The timing was no coincidence: equities have wrapped up the year with gains on all but five occasions since 1988, with December seeing the biggest and most frequent increases of any month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The S&P 500 has posted a December advance in six of the past seven years.

     For next year, strategists predict the U.S. benchmark measure will gain 6.9 percent by December from yesterday’s close, according to the average estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 9.1 percent Tuesday to 14.67, a three-week low. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX finished November up 7 percent, its first monthly increase since a record jump in August. About 6.9 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 1.6 percent below the three-month average.

     All of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups rose today, with health-care, financial and technology shares performing the best. Phone companies had the smallest increase and energy lagged as oil swung between gains and losses.

     Last month’s biggest losers in health-care were among today’s best performer. Insurers Aetna Inc., Anthem Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. gained at least 3.1 percent after falling more than 4.3 percent in November. Eli Lilly & Co. led the group with a 5.4 percent climb, the most in two months, after Barclays Plc raised its rating on the shares to the equivalent of buy.

     Walt Disney Co. and Amazon.com Inc. bolstered gains among consumer discretionary companies, rising more than 1.6 percent. Current box office tracking for “Star Wars: Force Awakens” suggests analysts’ profit estimates for Disney are too low, FBR Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett wrote in a note.

     Financial shares rose for the third time in four sessions. Morgan Stanley paced gained today with a 2.8 percent climb, advancing for a second day after news the bank is considering cutting as much as a quarter of its fixed-income trading staff. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. added at least 1.3 percent.                       

     Semiconductors continued to climb, helping to boost the tech group, after rising for three straight months. Micron Technology Inc. increased 3.9 percent, while Nvidia Corp. added 3.3 percent to its highest since January 2008. Among other tech movers, Google parent Alphabet Inc. advanced 2.7 percent and Facebook Inc. increased 2.8 percent to reverse declines of more than 1.1 percent yesterday.

     Energy shares rose for a second day despite oil closing little changed after the commodity’s biggest monthly decline since July. Consol Energy Inc. and Pioneer Natural Resources Co. advanced more than 3.1 percent. Consol surged 18 percent in November, its best month in four years, though it’s still the worst performer in the S&P 500 this year, down 74 percent.

     Among companies moving on corporate news, truck-engine maker Cummins Inc. slumped 7.9 percent to a three-year low after Bank of America Corp. downgraded the shares to the equivalent of sell, citing a U.S. truck market that is weakening faster than expected. The firm also cut mining equipment company Joy Global Inc. to the same rating amid a bleak global outlook for coal and industrial metals, sending the shares to an 11-year low.

     Joy Global competitor Caterpillar Inc. lost 1.5 percent, the most out of three decliners in the Dow. Its shares fell in November for the sixth time in seven months and are down 22 percent this year, the third-worst performance among the index’s 30 members.

     American Airlines Group Inc. jumped 4.9 percent, the most in more than seven weeks. A union representing 14,500 reservation agents and airport passenger-service workers yesterday approved a five-year contract that included “significant” pay raises. United Continental Holdings Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. added more than 2.2 percent, while a Bloomberg index of U.S. airlines increased 3 percent, its biggest gain since October.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The healing of the mind takes place gradually on contact with nature,

with the orange on the branch, the blade of grass eating its way into the cement,

and the hills hidden by the clouds.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

                                   -Salvador Dali, 1904-1989

 

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:

MY NOVEMBER GUEST

My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted gray
Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.

                     -Robert Frost

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Japanese macaques (Snow Monkeys) hold each other while sitting on rocks near a hot spring in a valley in Yamanouchi town, Nagano prefecture, Japan, Monday. Yuya Shino/Reuters

Grumpy Cat arrives to ride in the 84th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade in Los Angeles Sunday. David McNew/Reuters

Market Closes for November 30^th, 2015

MarketIndex	Close	Change
DowJones	17719.92	-78.57  -0.44%
S&P 500	2080.41	-9.70  -0.46%
NASDAQ	5108.668	-18.856  -0.37%
TSX	13469.83	+101.59
		+0.76%

International Markets

MarketIndex	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19747.47	-136.47
		-0.69%
HANGSENG	21996.42	-71.90
		-0.33%
SENSEX	26145.67	+17.47
		+0.07%
FTSE 100	6356.09	-19.06
		-0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND.10 Year Bond	1.570	1.571
CND.30 Year Bond	2.286	2.292
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.2078	2.2201
U.S.30 Year Bond	2.9746	2.9968

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74842	0.74786
US$	1.33615	1.33715
Euro Rate1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41153	0.70845
US$	1.05642	0.94660

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London GoldFix	1061.90	1057.40
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	41.65	41.71

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada stocks rose, trimming their sixth monthly loss in seven, as commodities producers advanced with gold increasing for the first time in three sessions and the nation’s largest banks rose ahead of fourth-quarter earnings.

     Energy stocks advanced 1.3 percent, recovering from an Oct. 2 low, while raw-materials producers increased 2.4 percent to lead equities higher. Gold futures for February delivery gained 0.9 percent in New York, the first advance since Nov. 24.

     Crude futures settled little changed after rallying as much as 2 percent in New York, capping an 11 percent drop in November. Iran expects no major decisions that would change OPEC’s output target when the group gathers Dec. 4 in Vienna.

     A combination of slowing economic growth in China and a rally in the U.S. dollar due to impending interest-rate increases from the Federal Reserve as soon as December have crimped commodities prices, leading energy and raw-materials producers lower for the year. The two groups, which account for about 30 percent of the index, lost more than 1.2 percent in November to extend declines in 2015 past 20 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 101.59 points, or 0.8 percent, to 13,469.83 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge retreated 0.4 percent in November. It has dropped 8 percent this year, trailed only by Singapore and Greece among developed markets. 

     Canada’s current account deficit narrowed to C$16.2 billion in the third quarter, the smallest this year, as merchandise exports jumped. Canada’s weaker dollar, constrained by the drop in oil prices, has given a lift to exporters. The loonie, as the currency is known, has dropped 13 percent this year.

     Royal Bank of Canada increased 1.1 percent, the most in two weeks, and Bank of Montreal rose 0.6 percent to lead lenders higher. Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia report fourth- quarter earnings tomorrow.

     BlackBerrry Ltd. rose 2 percent after the company said it’s shuttering its Pakistan operations to avoid allowing authorities in the nation to monitor its main business enterprise server and e-mail messages. There are as many as 5,000 BES customers in Pakistan, the Dawn newspaper reported in July.

     Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. rose 2.8 percent, rebounding from the worst loss in almost two months. Suncor Energy Inc. said Nov. 26 it may scrap its $4.5 billion hostile bid for the company if Alberta regulators endorse a poison pill that would give the target company more time to find other bidders.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks trimmed monthly gains, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index clinging to a slim November increase, as investors prepared for policy decisions from central banks while awaiting a slew of economic data this week.

     The S&P 500 advanced this month as signs of a strengthening U.S. economy offset concerns that the Federal Reserve intends to raise interest rates this year, throttling back on stimulus that has underpinned the 6 1/2 year equities bull market. The rising prospects for tighter monetary policy boosted financial shares to a 1.7 percent gain in November, while utility stocks tumbled 2.8 percent as their dividend yields lose luster as bond rates rise.

     The S&P 500 Index fell 0.5 percent to 2,080.41 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring its November climb to 0.05 percent while capping its first consecutive monthly gains since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 78.57 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,719.92, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.4 percent. About 7.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 8.3 percent above the 30-day average.

     “This is a fairly big week between the ECB Thursday and the jobs number on Friday,” Mark Kepner, an equity trader at Chatham, New Jersey-based Themis Trading LLC, said by phone. “The market is looking for a rate hike by the Fed in December and further easing by the ECB, so these are going to be a pivotal two weeks to set us up through the end of the year.”

     As investors look for further confirmation that the economy is sturdy enough to handle higher borrowing costs, data today showed contract signings to purchase previously owned U.S. homes rose less than forecast in October, showing residential real estate is cooling heading into the quieter selling season. Other reports this week include manufacturing data tomorrow and the monthly government jobs report on Friday.

     Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak to Congress on Thursday and the European Central Bank will hold its last policy meeting of the year amid growing speculation the ECB will take additional steps to boost inflation. OPEC members will also meet to discuss oil production.

     The S&P 500 has rebounded about 12 percent from its low in August as concern eased that a slowdown in China would spread. Fed policy makers have signaled the economy is strong enough to withstand the first U.S. interest-rate increase since 2006, and traders are pricing in a 72 percent chance that the central bank will act at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on December 16.

     The U.S. benchmark stock index closed the month 2.4 percent away from its record reached in May while alternating between gains and losses over the last ten sessions, the longest such streak since 2013. Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 Index of small- cap shares snapped its longest rally since March after reaching a three-month high Friday. The gauge rose 3.1 percent this month after rallying 5.6 percent in October.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 6.7 percent Monday to 16.13. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX finished November up 7 percent, its first monthly increase since August.

     Energy stocks rose the most among ten primary groups in the benchmark gauge Monday. That shaved their November decline, though the sector is still headed toward the sixth loss in seven months. Oil is set to average below $50 for a fourth month, the longest stretch since the global financial crisis, as a record supply glut showed no signs of ending. Southwestern Energy Co. climbed 3.1 percent, with the shares still off more than 18 percent this month.

     Pressure on brick-and-mortar retailers this month hasn’t let up following the Black Friday weekend. More than 103 million people shopped online over the four-day weekend, which started Thursday on Thanksgiving, according to an annual survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation. That compares with fewer than 102 million who ventured into traditional stores, the trade group said.                       

     Fossil Group Inc., Macy’s Inc. and Urban Outfitters Inc. were each down more than 21 percent in November, among the biggest drops in the S&P 500 and their worst such declines in at least three years after posting quarterly results that disappointed investors. Those companies added to their losses on Monday, with each sliding at least 1.5 percent.

     Under Armour Inc. had its largest monthly retreat since April 2014. The athletic-wear maker’s shares lost 3.9 percent today after Piper Jaffray Cos. cut its earnings estimates, saying it remains “one of the more promotional brands” in athletic space.

     Health-care companies erased a November increase in the month’s final session as a selloff in biotechnology shares led the group lower. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index sank 1.9 percent today, while still marking its second straight monthly gain. Mylan NV and Illumina Inc. rose more than 16 percent in November, while Celgene Corp. slid 11 percent to lead declines.

     Industrial companies posted their first back-to-back monthly gains this year, helped by speculation on railroad mergers as Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. made a $28 billion offer to buy Norfolk Southern Corp. earlier this month. Kansas City Southern was up almost 10 percent in November, while CSX Corp. gained 5.3 percent.

     Deal activity also helped boost raw-material shares in November, as the S&P 500’s best-performer this month — Airgas Inc. — soared after agreeing to be acquired by France’s Air Liquide SA for about $13.4 billion. Alcoa Inc. added 4.8 percent this month as activist investor Elliott Management Corp. disclosed a 6.4 percent stake in the aluminum company.

     Semiconductors added to the strongest monthly advance among 24 industry groups in the benchmark index, rising 0.9 percent Monday to take November’s increase to 3.9 percent. Qorvo Inc. rose 32 percent this month, pacing the advance after posting better-than-estimated earnings and announcing plans to buy back $1 billion in stock. Applied Materials Inc. and Nvidia Corp. each climbed nearly 12 percent this month.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Watching and listening are a great art.

By watching and listening we learn infinitely more than we do from any books.

Books are necessary, but watching and listening sharpen your senses.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Whatever you are, be a good one.

      -Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865

 

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