Month: July 2016

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1903, the newly formed Ford Motor Co. takes its first order. It’s from a Chicago dentist named Ernst Pfenning, and his $850 two-cylinder Model A was delivered just over a week later.

On July 15, 1918, the Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.

SUMMER DAYS

      – Wathen Marks Wilks Call

In summer, when the days were long,
we pluck’d wild strawberries, ripe red,
Or feasted, with no grace but song,
on golden nectar, snow-white bread,
In summer, when the days were long.
We lov’d, and yet we knew it not,
for loving seem’d like breathing then;
We found a heaven in every spot;
saw angels, too, in all good men.
And dream’d of gods in grove and grot.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man take a picture of Rome’s city hall, ‘Campidoglio’ (Capitoline Hill) as it is lit up in blue, white and red, the colors of the French flag, in tribute to the attack victims of Nice, in Rome, Italy on Friday. Tony Gentile/Reuters

Retired NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant reacts after he was ‘slimed’ after accepting the ‘Legend’ award at the Kids Choice Sport 2016 awards in Los Angeles on Thursday. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Market Closes for July 15^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18516.55	+10.14   +0.05%
S&P 500	2161.74	-2.01   -0.09%
NASDAQ	5029.590	-4.468   -0.09%
TSX	14482.42	-32.10
		-0.22%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16497.85	+111.96
		+0.68%
HANG SENG	21659.25	+98.19
		+0.46%
SENSEX	27836.50	-105.61
		-0.38%
FTSE 100	6669.24	+14.77
		+0.22%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.093	1.059
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.721	1.678
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5595	1.5356
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.2704	2.2530

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77237	0.77574
US $	1.29471	1.28910
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42897	0.69981
US $	1.10369	0.90605

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1327.00	1323.60
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	45.95	45.68

Market Commentary:

China’s second-quarter GDP came in at 6.7%, flat with the first quarter, amid massive stimulus spending; some analysts questioned the report’s veracity.

Canada

By Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slipped, snapping a five-day rally that extended gains to the highest level in a year, as declines in technology and consumer-staples companies offset gains by financial shares.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.2 percent to 14,482.42 at 4 p.m. in Toronto as nine of 10 main industries dropped, ending its longest rally since March.

     Bank of Nova Scotia and Canadian Western Bank increased more than 0.6 percent as financial stocks extended a rally to a sixth session, its longest since October. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and FirstService Corp. jumped at least 0.6 percent.

     Volume on the Canadian index was 29 percent below the 30- day average. The benchmark capped its best week since April, up 1.6 percent.

     Technology companies fell the most in the S&P/TSX with Sierra Wireless Inc. leading losses. Kinaxis Inc. and Computer Modelling Group Ltd. slid at least 2.4 percent.

     Consumer staples stocks dropped as Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. had its worst two-day selloff in a month. Jean Coutu Group Inc. and George Weston Ltd. slid 0.7 percent.

     Health-care providers tumbled as Chartwell Retirement Residences fell as much as 1.9 percent.

US

By Oliver Renick and Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed Friday as the S&P 500 Index halted its longest rally in four months, while investors weighed the potential for further gains with equities near records and corporate earnings projected to drop for a fifth quarter.

     The benchmark index ended a succession of fresh highs this week as Wells Fargo & Co. dragged on the gauge, losing 2.5 percent after its quarterly results disappointed. Also weighing, Amazon.com Inc. sank for a fourth day, the longest in four months. Raw-materials rose for an eighth session, the most since October.

     The S&P 500fell 0.1 percent to 2,161.74 at 4 p.m. in New York, after setting fresh all-time highs in the prior four days, the longest such streak since 2014. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.14 points to 18,516.55, notching a record for a fourth day. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent. About 6.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 15 percent below the three-month average.

     “If we can come out of today even flat, then it’s been a fantastic week,” Mark Kepner, a managing director and equity trader at Themis Trading LLC in Chatham, New Jersey, said by phone. “We’re starting to focus on economic numbers and earnings which is what we were doing before Brexit, and that’s good.”

     The benchmark index capped a third week of gains, up 1.5 percent, as investors overcome concerns about the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union amid speculation the Federal Reserve will refrain from raising interest rates this year while other central banks take steps to limit the Brexit fallout. Still, money managers including BlackRock Inc.’s chief Laurence D. Fink say the rally may not be justified and won’t last unless earnings pick up.

     Analysts project a 5.8 percent earnings decline at S&P 500 firms in the second quarter, which would make it a fifth- straight drop, the longest streak since 2009. Netflix Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. are among those scheduled to report results next week.

     “Markets have gone beyond their expected altitude,” said Peter Dixon, global equities economist at Commerzbank AG in London. “If we do get some decent earnings from banks, that might drive the markets a bit higher, but I suspect it could be a good trigger for people to think about taking some profit.”                       

     The S&P 500 yesterday capped its longest winning streak since March, but fell short today of extending it to the lengthiest in two years. The recent advance has pushed the U.S. benchmark to 20 times reported earnings, the first time its valuation has crossed that threshold since 2009, data compiled by Bloomberg show. U.S. shares have added almost $2 trillion since June 27 as the S&P 500 climbed 8.1 percent.

     Better-than-forecast data have helped to buttress the rally, with the Bloomberg U.S. Economic Surprise Index turning positive this week for the first time since the end of May. A report today showed sales at retailers rose more than predicted last month, while manufacturing in June posted the strongest advance since January, according to another measure. A separate gauge indicated consumer confidence dropped in July as the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union flustered high-income earners.

     Amid signs of a strengthening economy and stocks rising to all-time highs, traders have been pricing in higher probabilities for a Fed rate increase this year. Odds for a move by December have climbed to 44 percent from less than 21 percent a week ago, and just 12 percent before June’s stronger-than- estimated jobs report released last Friday.

     In today’s trading, the CBOE Volatility Index fell 1.2 percent to 12.67, extending an 11-month low. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX posted a third weekly decline, the longest since March.                      

     Six of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups fell today, with consumer discretionary shares losing 0.5 percent, while financial and technology companies declined at least 0.1 percent. Raw-materials producers rose 0.4 percent to extend gains to an eighth day, and utilities added 0.3 percent.

     Financials halted their longest rally since November 2014 amid declines in Wells Fargo and Citigroup Inc. Citi erased a 1.3 percent gain to slip 0.3 percent, after its quarterly profit dropped 17 percent on lower revenue from consumer banking. Still, its earnings exceeded estimates. Wells Fargo fell the most since the U.K.’s Brexit vote, after its profit slipped as more energy loans soured, expenses rose and revenue from mortgage lending declined.

     The terror attack in Nice, France weighed on travel-related shares. A truck plowed into a late-night crowd, killing at least 80 people and injuring scores of others. Cruise operators Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Carnival Corp. fell at least 2.1 percent. Delta Air Lines Inc. slid 2.4 percent, while Priceline Group Inc. declined 1.2 percent.

     Also dragging on the consumer discretionary group, CBS Corp. sank 3.6 percent after UBS Group AG cut the stock to sell from neutral, citing the risk of slower national TV advertising in the second half of this year. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. dropped 3.1 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to the equivalent of neutral from buy, saying it could take years for sales to fully recover after an outbreak last year of food-borne illnesses.

     Intel and International Business Machines Corp. were among the biggest contributors to the technology group’s decline before their earnings reports next week. Both ended seven-day rallies, with IBM’s the longest in almost four months. Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. lost 2 percent, after falling as much as 4.1 percent, as peer Infosys Ltd. cut its revenue outlook. Infosys dropped 8.8 percent, the worst since April.

     Raw material producers were the benchmark’s best performers, with WestRock Co. climbing 5.7 percent to its highest since December. Analysts at Jefferies LLC said in a note that favorable June containerboard data should lift container and packaging stocks. International Paper Co. rose 3.2 percent near an 11-month high, while Sealed Air Corp. gained 1.6 percent.

     Among other shares moving on corporate news, Herbalife Ltd. rallied as much as 22 percent before finishing 9.9 percent higher. It agreed to pay $200 million to settle U.S. claims that the nutrition company deceived consumers with get-rich-quick promises, though the government stopped short of hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s call to shut it down.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

We think as our ancestors did, away back in pre-historic ages.

Where even tradition cannot pierce the gloom of that past,

there our glorious ancestors have taken up their side of the problem

and have thrown the challenge to the world.

Our solution is renunciation, giving up, fearlessness, and love;

these are the fittest to survive.  Giving up the senses makes a nation survive.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good

the we oft might win by fearing to attempt.

                      -William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

 

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Today is Bastille Day in France, celebrating the beginning of the French Revolution.   

Interestingly, the 250^th anniversary of  Marie Antoinette’s birth which occurred  just over 11 years ago (she was born November 2, 1755),  inspired something of a renaissance.  Since then, the Chateau de Versailles – Marie Antoinette’s home from her arrival from Vienna at age 14 to marry the future Louis XVI until four years before her death, has opened the Marie Antoinette estate.  It is a tour of the queen’s fantasy playhouses including the  Petit Trianon, pavilions, grottoes, the thatched-roof cottage where she played at being poor, and the mock farm complete with sheep, goats and geese where she liked to pretend to be a milkmaid.

Queen at 18, Marie Antoinette was an Austrian outsider, a frivolous big spender who ordered two pairs of shoes a week.   She was imprisoned and tried on charges that included incest and beheaded for treason, but the myths about her abound. 

Lady Antonia Fraser is the author of the biography  Marie Antoinette, which in turn, was the basis for Sofia Coppola’s script for the anachronistic punk-rock film, Marie Antoinette.  She attributes the interest in Marie Antoinette to a general malaise in France.  “I hesitate to pronounce on this, but France is in  a period of introspection. They have looked again at Marie Antoinette.  Once they looked, they liked what they saw and prepared to revise the view of  [the wicked queen] that they maybe had been taught as children.” 

The formula for her last perfume has been researched from original records of the historic perfume house of Lubin and re-released as the perfume, Black Jade.  Black Jade by Lubin can be found at Min New York, NYC or you can ask at contact@lubinparis.com for other locations near you.

Ladurée patisserie on the rue Bonaparte on Paris’s left bank, supplied the cakes for Coppola’s film, and offers a Marie Antoinette Collection of pastel macaroons inspired by the ball gowns of the “unappreciated heroine.”    A Ladurée patisserie opened this year on Robson Street in Vancouver; from my experience, you can expect to queue in a long line-up at both locations.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Four Mirage 2000C and one Alpha jet flight over Paris on their way to participate in the Bastille Day military parade on Thursday. Philippe Wojazer/Reuters

Alpha jets from the Patrouille de France fly in an ‘Eiffel Tower’ formation over the Champs Elysees at the start of the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France on Thursday. Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Market Closes for July 14^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18506.41	+134.29   +0.73%
S&P 500	2163.75	+11.32   +0.53%
NASDAQ	5034.059	+28.332   +0.57%
TSX	14514.52	+20.72
		+0.14%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16385.89	+154.46
		+0.95%
HANG SENG	21561.06	+238.69
		+1.12%
SENSEX	27942.11	+126.93
		+0.46%
FTSE 100	6654.47	-15.93
		-0.24%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.059	1.002
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.678	1.613
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5356	1.4692
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.2530	2.1693

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77574	0.77025
US $	1.28910	1.29828
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43313	0.69777
US $	1.11166	0.89955

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1323.60	1342.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	45.68	44.75

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fifth day, extending gains to the highest level in a year, as gains by the nation’s largest lenders offset a decline in miners.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index eked out a 0.1 percent advance to 14,514.52 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, as six of 10 main industries in the benchmark climbed. The index is in its longest rally since March, joining a rebound in equities worldwide amid signs central banks will continue to take unprecedented measures to limit any fallout from the U.K.’s vote to exit the European Union.

     Volume on the Canadian benchmark was 19 percent below the 30-day average. The index has gained 1.8 percent this week, on pace for its best advance since April.

     Financial companies jumped amid data showing that average prices for new homes in rose in May, the largest monthly increase since 2007. Mortgage insurer Genworth MI Canada Inc. rose 3.3 percent, while Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. jumped 1.8 percent.

     Banks also got a boost after JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s second- quarter results topped estimates. Canadian Western Bank rose a third day, jumping 1.6 percent.

     Health-care providers led the benchmark as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rebounded from a 7 percent rout Wednesday sparked by comments from a short seller. Concordia International Corp. and Chartwell Retirement Residences also gained.

     The industrial sector climbed for a fifth day with Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. posting its longest winning streak since April.

     Utilities fell the most in the S&P/TSX with Capital Power Corp. leading losses, while gold miners in the gauge sank 0.8 percent.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose to extend all-time highs, with the S&P 500 Index marking its longest winning streak in four months, as speculation grew for looser global monetary policies while a better-than-forecast profit from JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted optimism for bank earnings.

     JPMorgan climbed 1.5 percent to pace gains in banks, adding fresh momentum to a post-Brexit-vote rally that vaulted equities to records for the first time in more than 13 months. Citigroup Inc. increased 2.6 percent before its quarterly report Friday. Yum! Brands Inc. advanced 3 percent after its earnings beat estimates and the restaurant-chain operator raised its outlook. Industrial companies extended their longest stretch of gains since 2014.

     The S&P 500added 0.5 percent to 2,163.75 at 4 p.m. in New York, closing at a record for a fourth straight day, the longest such stretch since 2014. The gains today pushed the benchmark to 20 times reported earnings, the first time the valuation has crossed that threshold since 2009. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 134.29 points, or 0.7 percent, to 18,506.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 percent to a more than six- month high.

     “Second quarter earnings have been widely advertised as weak, so any positive results will help boost the stock market,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee- based Robert W. Baird, which oversees $110 billion. “We’re seeing a worldwide phenomenon of negative interest rates, which is driving money into the equity markets. The path of least resistance at this point is to the upside.”

     Global equities climbed Thursday as speculation grew that Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is contemplating so-called helicopter money, which involves the central bank directly funding government spending. The Bank of England left its key rate at a record low and signaled it’s readying stimulus for August as the economy reels from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

     U.S. share prices have added almost $2 trillion since June 27, an amount that ranks among the biggest increases in equity value, as easing concern about economic growth and optimism over earnings combines with speculation the Federal Reserve will hold off raising rates. The S&P 500 has climbed in 10 of the last 12 days, rising 8.2 percent to erase a 5.3 percent plunge following the Brexit referendum.

     Injecting a cautionary note into the run-up today, the chief executive of the world’s largest asset manager said the current rally may not be justified and won’t last unless earnings pick up. “If we don’t see better-than-anticipated corporate earnings I think the rally will be short lived,”  BlackRock Inc.’s Laurence D. Fink said in an interview.

     While JPMorgan’s results exceeded predictions, its quarterly profit fell 1.4 percent in a period where banks are expected to be among the weaker links. Analysts project a 5.7 percent earnings decline at S&P 500 firms in the second quarter, which would make it a fifth straight drop, the longest streak since 2009. Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup are among firms posting results on Friday.

     Also on the minds of investors and Fed officials is the vitality of U.S. growth. A Citigroup gauge that tracks the degree to which data are exceeding economist projections has jumped to the highest level since January 2015. A report today showed wholesale prices rose more than forecast in June, while a separate measure indicated the number of applications for unemployment benefits last week held at the lowest level since mid-April.

     Meanwhile, odds of a 2016 Fed rate increase have risen after better-than-estimated June payrolls and as equities reached all-time highs. Traders are pricing in a 35 percent chance for a move by December, up from 12 percent a week ago when minutes from the central bank’s last meeting signaled policy makers saw less need to tighten.

     “There’s hope and anticipation of central bank support globally and earnings are improving,” said John Plassard, a senior equity-sales trader at Mirabaud Securities in Geneva, which oversees 34 billion Swiss francs ($35 billion). “The consensus now is no Fed hike and that keeps the dollar from going higher, which in turn helps equities. Earnings so far have been good.”

     The CBOE Volatility Index fell 1.7 percent today to 12.82, the lowest in 11 months. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX has slipped 50 percent since reaching a four-month high on June 24. About 6.5 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 10 percent below the three-month average.

     In Thursday’s trading, nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries rose, with banks boosting financials, while raw- materials climbed to their highest in a year. Surging airline and railroad stocks lifted industrials to a record amid the group’s longest rally in 18 months. Utilities slipped for the third time in four days, after reaching the highest level ever last week.

     While banks were adding the most to the rally in financials, insurers were also contributing, rising to their highest in five weeks. MetLife Inc. rallied 4.7 percent, the most in three months, while Prudential Financial Inc. rose 2.6 percent. The gains coincided with U.S. Treasury yields rising for the third time in four days to the highest since June 24.                   

     Raw material producers rallied for a seventh session, their longest streak since October. CF Industries Holdings Inc. led the group with a 3.5 percent increase. Monsanto Co. climbed as much as 6.5 percent after Bayer AG raised its offer for the world’s biggest supplier of farm chemicals and seeds in a bid that values shares of the company at $54.7 billion. People familiar with the matter earlier said Monsanto revived talks with BASF SE about a possible combination of their agrochemicals businesses.

     The S&P 500 Industrials Index was lifted by transportation stocks as American Airlines Group Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc. and CSX Corp. climbed at least 2.9 percent. Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 3.6 percent after reporting quarterly earnings that exceeded analyst estimates. The Dow Jones Transportation Average gained for a sixth straight day to reach its highest since April, and a Bloomberg gauge of U.S. airline stocks increased 3.1 percent to a two-month high, bringing its climb in six sessions to 16 percent.

     Technology companies in benchmark increased 0.8 percent, boosted by Apple Inc.’s 2 percent gain to the highest in a month. Qorvo Inc. rose 4.7 percent to a seven-month high, while Skyworks Solutions Inc. and Broadcom Ltd. added more than 2.1 percent to boost semiconductor companies. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index climbed 0.7 percent to the highest in more than a year. EBay Inc. gained 3.8 percent to its best level since January.

     Line Corp. rose 27 percent, and as much as 35 percent, in its U.S. trading debut after the Japanese messaging company raised more than $1 billion in the biggest technology initial public offering of the year. The stock, which was sold to investors in the IPO for $32.84 per share, traded as high as $44.49.

     Williams Cos. increased 6.2 percent, the most since May 16, after Reuters reported the pipeline owner may snag as much as $2 billion in a sale of its Canadian unit, citing people familiar with the situation.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Humanity is not divided into airtight compartments

that inhibit going from one to the other.

And when one counts them in the thousands,

they will not be less linked one to the other.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,
 

Carolann

Whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation,

take sides.  Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.  Silence

encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

                                                           -Elie Wiesel, 1928-2016       

 

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 1985, Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially open Live Aid, a global rock concert to raise money for famine-stricken Africans.

On July 13, 1977, a 25-hour blackout hit the New York City area after lightning struck upstate power lines.

1953 – Shakespeare’s Richard the Third opens the first season of the Stratford Festival, held in a tent. 63 Years ago.

1755 – Gen. Braddock Dies, George Washington Leads Retreat After Defeat in a French Ambush.

The Poem:

The Time You Chose
          By Michel Faber

It was a smallish space
and we lay close together.
No doubt, to some extent,
we breathed each other’s breath.
The angle of my chair
in tandem to your bed
meant that I couldn’t see your face,
although I was an arm’s length from your head.
I dozed.  The hour was late.
You were, I’m almost certain, unaware
that I was even there.
I dozed.  You were not dead.
The bedclothes rose and fell.
You were helpless and scary,
like a bear in labour,
like a newborn baby.
For twenty minutes, thirty maybe,
my eyes were closed.
That was the time you chose.

From Undying: A Love Story, by Michel Faber.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Britain’s outgoing Prime Minister, David Cameron, accompanied by his wife Samantha, daughters Nancy and Florence (c.) and son Arthur, speaks in front of number 10 Downing Street on his last day in office as Prime Minister, in central London, on Wednesday. Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Shaolin monks who are part of a 20-member cast perform during a media preview of their new show “Shaolin” in Singapore, on Wednesday. The show combines traditional Shaolin Kung Fu and choreographed moves inspired by martial arts experts from the Shaolin Temple—said to be the birthplace of the art. Wong Maye-E/AP

Market Closes for July 13^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18372.12	+24.45   +0.13%
S&P 500	2152.42	+0.28   +0.01%
NASDAQ	5005.727	-17.094   -0.34%
TSX	14493.34	+15.67
		+0.11%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16231.43	+135.78
		+0.84%
HANG SENG	21322.37	+97.63
		+0.46%
SENSEX	27815.18	+7.04
		+0.03%
FTSE 100	6670.40	-10.29
		-0.15%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.002	1.059
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.613	1.650
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4692	1.5032
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.1693	2.2237

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77025	0.76672
US $	1.29828	1.30426
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44028	0.69431
US $	1.10937	0.90141

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1342.75	1342.40
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	44.75	46.80

Market Commentary:

Number of the Day

-0.05%

The yield on August 2026 bonds sold by Germany’s finance agency Wednesday, as the country became the first in the eurozone to sell 10-year debt at a yield below zero.

Canada

By Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a fourth day to extend an 11-month high, as gains by gold and silver miners offset losses in oil producers and health-care companies, while the Bank of Canada kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 14,493.8 at 4:00 p.m. in Toronto, advancing for a fourth consecutive session. Volume was in line with the 30-day average as six out of 10 industries increased. Equities worldwide rose a fifth day, while the S&P 500 Index in the U.S. was little changed.

     The Bank of Canada lowered its growth estimate for the year to 1.3 percent, down from the bank’s April forecast of 1.7 percent, with the contribution from exports dropping to 0.3 percentage point from 1.1 points. The rate on overnight loans between commercial banks remained 0.5 percent in a decision published Wednesday from Ottawa. 

     “The fundamentals remain in place for a pickup in growth over the projection horizon, albeit in a climate of heightened uncertainty,” policy makers led by Governor Stephen Poloz said in a statement.

     Commodity producers contributed the most to gains in the S&P/TSX today. First Majestic Silver Corp. jumped 9.5 percent to its highest since 2012, while MAG Silver Corp. climbed 6.1 percent. Pan American Silver Corp. rallied 4.8 percent after being upgraded to the equivalent of a buy by Scotia Capital Inc. Precious metals rose today, with silver up 1.2 percent and gold rising 0.8 percent.

     Consumer staples companies rose with Alimentation Couche- Tard Inc. gaining 2.6 percent. Metro Inc. climbed a third day, jumping 1.7 percent.

     Health-care shares fell the most in the S&P/TSX with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. reversing gains to tumble 7.1 percent after investor Andrew Left said he’d taken a short position in the company.

     Energy producers dropped 1.1 percent, halting a three-day gain, with Precision Drilling Corp. leading losses. Ensign Energy Services Inc., Encana Corp., and Parex Resources Inc. each fell at least 3.7 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude in New York dipped below $45 a barrel.

US

By Dani Burger and Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — The rebound in U.S. stocks from their post- Brexit selloff is starting to take on historic dimensions.

     The S&P 500 Index edged higher Wednesday to climb in nine of the last 11 days, shaking off a 5.3 percent plunge following the U.K. vote to add almost $2 trillion to U.S. share prices since June 27. It’s an expansion that while burnished by the market’s already-high level, also ranks among the biggest increases in equity value ever.

     Stars are aligning for investors as a strong string of economic data combines with optimism over earnings and speculation the Federal Reserve will hold off raising rates. Not everything is rosy — gains in 2016 are still being led by defensive stocks rather than those tied to economic growth — but the push has still been enough to shatter a 13-month-old record and push the S&P 500 past Wall Street predictions.

     Bears who say the rally reflects nothing but expectations for more stimulus face a nagging truth: the surge that lifted stocks 7.6 percent in 11 days has occurred as economic data mostly beat forecasts. A Citigroup Inc. gauge that tracks the degree to which reported numbers are exceeding economist projections has jumped to the highest level since January 2015.

     “It’s both. The economy is a little better than people thought, especially post-Brexit as we’re getting some early indicators,” Jeff Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab & Co., said by phone. “At the same time, central banks remain completely committed to providing easy financial conditions.”

     The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 percent Wednesday to 2,152.43 at 4 p.m. in New York, after holding in a narrow range to close at a record for a third day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 24.45 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,372.12, following its first all-time closing high in more than 13 months. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3 percent from its best level this year. About 6.5 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 10 percent below the three-month average.

     Energy shares retreated today from their highest level in eight months as crude fell 4.4 percent. Government data showed U.S. fuel inventories unexpectedly grew, adding to concerns about oversupply. Banks declined for the first time in six days to halt their longest winning streak in three months. Phone companies, utilities and consumer staples were the best performers among the S&P 500’s 10 main industries as investors gravitated back toward more defensive stocks.

     The CBOE Volatility Index fell 3.8 percent to 13.04, the lowest in almost 11 months. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX is down nearly 17 percent in July after rising 10 percent in June.

     “You may see people profit-taking ahead of financial earnings, since we’ve had such a nice run over the last week and a half,” said Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at Williams Capital Group LP. “If any situation occurs, whether it’s corporate earnings or something political going awry, that could exacerbate a decline.”

     Last week, better-than-forecast reports on payrolls and service industries brightened the economic outlook. Odds of a 2016 Fed rate increase all but vanished after minutes of the central bank’s June meeting signaled policy makers saw less need to tighten any time soon. Since then wagers have crept back up after the jobs data and the fresh records for equities. Traders see a 32 percent chance of higher borrowing costs by December, compared to 12 percent a week ago.

     In its Beige Book survey of regional activity released today, the Fed said the economy expanded at a modest pace since mid-May amid “slight” price pressures and some softening in consumer spending.

     On Tuesday, investors looking to corporate America for the next leg higher got an encouraging sign. Alcoa Inc. surged 5.4 percent after posting late Monday a profit that beat analysts’ estimates, the aluminum company’s biggest post-earnings gain in two years. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and BlackRock Inc. will also report results this week.

     For more than a year, investors have been unnerved by retreating quarterly profits in the S&P 500, a streak that is poised to match the longest earnings retreat on record. But measured by its depth, the retreat looks less dour. Net income in the gauge is down 18 percent from its 2014 high — a retreat that is less than half of the size of the last three drops and pales next to the 28 percent average in recessions since 1936.

     Receding concerns over a U.S. economic slowdown have also restored a more recognizable order to the rally. While defensive stocks remain the biggest gainers of the year, the last 10 days have seen companies most sensitive to moves in the economy take the market higher. Industrial, consumer-discretionary and financial companies posted the largest gains, while utilities and consumer-staples makers lagged.

     To be sure, much of the positive economic data has covered periods before the U.K. vote, and nobody is predicting a decisive turn in U.S. gross domestic product. Last month, the International Monetary Fund slashed its forecast for American growth. At the same time, valuations remain at the high end of the current bull market’s range, perhaps in a testament to investor faith that earnings will rebound.

     A scarcity of income generating assets and a collapse in bond yields has helped push U.S. equities higher. With Treasury yields low, investors don’t need a lot of encouragement to buy shares. That calculus, a concept known as the equity risk premium, might have accounted for 90 percent of the recent rally, Dominic Konstam, global head of rates research at Deutsche Bank AG, wrote in a note to clients Friday.

     “Traditionally risk comes out greater in equities, but with yields as low as they are today, we’d have to think that maybe the risk premium is reflecting a transitional period,” John Stoltzfus, chief market strategist at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York, said by phone. “Going forward, most of the increase in the price of the S&P will have to come from multiple expansion as earnings remain challenged.”

     Underpinning the bull case, stock valuations are still more attractive when viewed next to some of the lowest bond payouts ever. Plotting the index’s per-share earnings against the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a technique sometimes referred to as the Fed Model, shows the S&P 500 is still significantly less expensive.

     “The attractiveness of the equity market is really enhanced here with low interest rates, improvements in the housing market and the job market,” Stoltzfus said. “It may not be rock and roll, but it’s good enough for the market to grind higher here.”

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

I have found that life persists in the midst of destruction

and therefore there must be a higher law than that of destruction.

Only under that law would a well-ordered society

be intelligible and live worth living.

And if that is the law of life,

we have to work it out in daily life.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Tact is after all a kind of mind reading.

      -Sarah Orne Jewett, 1849-1909

 

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 100 B.C., Julius Caesar is born in Rome.

On July 12, 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale named New York Congresswoman Geraldine A. Ferraro his running mate, making her the first woman to run on a major party ticket.

1759 – Battle for Quebec Begins as Wolfe’s Artillery Starts Siege.

1812 – General William Hull crosses Detroit River with 2,500 troops, occupies Sandwich; first American invasion in War of 1812.

1968 – Health Minister Allan MacEachen tables Medical Care Act in the Commons.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The balloon of Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov is seen after it lifted off from Perth, Australia on Tuesday. Konyukhov is attempting to break the world record for a solo hot-air balloon flight around the globe. Oscar Konyukhov/Reuters

A police car passes, telling people to leave the street as the sun sets over Manhattan aligned exactly with the street grid in a phenomenon known as “Manhattanhenge”, in New York City, on Monday evening. Mark Kauzlarich/Reuters

Market Closes for July 12^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18347.67	+120.74   +0.66%
S&P 500	2152.08	+14.92   +0.70%
NASDAQ	5022.820	+34.181   +0.69%
TSX	14481.44	+119.56
		+0.83%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16095.65	+386.83
		+2.46%
HANG SENG	21224.74	+344.24
		+1.65%
SENSEX	27808.14	+181.45
		+0.66%
FTSE 100	6680.69	-2.17
		-0.03%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.059	0.980
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.650	1.558
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5032	1.4303
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.2237	2.1442

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76672	0.76201
US $	1.30426	1.31232
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44265	0.69317
US $	1.10610	0.90408

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1342.40	1357.10
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	46.80	44.89

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to the highest in 11 months, led by energy producers as crude surged amid prospects for more stimulus in major economies.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.8 percent to 14,477.67 at 4 p.m. in Toronto for a third consecutive rally, with nine of 10 main industries gaining. Trading volume for shares in the benchmark was 8 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     Global equities advanced for a fourth session after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to speed up efforts to defeat deflation, while a majority of economists expect the Bank of England to cut interest rates this week and traders are betting there will be further monetary easing in the euro area this year.

     Energy companies in Canada climbed 2.2 percent to the highest in a year, with MEG Energy Corp. and Ensign Energy Services Inc. each rising at least 6.4 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York gained 4.6 percent, its best since April.

     Industrial shares advanced 1.4 percent to the highest since August. Bombardier Inc. increased 3.4 percent to its highest in a year, after Porter Airlines Inc. confirmed a $93 million order for three Bombardier Q400s. WestJet Airlines Ltd. provided the biggest move for the group, gaining 5 percent.

     Colliers International Group Inc. and Home Capital Group Inc. increased at least 3.8 percent to lead the nation’s financial sector higher. The sector extended a rally to three sessions, its best increase for that duration since April. Genworth MI Canada Inc. rose 3 percent, the most in four months.

     Northland Power Inc. surged 6.7 percent, the most since October 2008, to a record after the renewable energy producer said it hired bankers to undertake a strategic review to focus on enhancing growth, shareholder value and the ability to capitalize on opportunities in clean energy infrastructure.

     Raw-materials were the industry to retreat, falling 2.5 percent, as gold dropped. Endeavour Mining Corp. fell 9.4 percent after announcing a board change. SEMAFO Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp. lost at least 6.6 percent.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average joined the S&P 500 Index to close at a fresh record, with U.S. equities climbing a third day as crude rallied and Alcoa Inc.’s results bolstered optimism on corporate health amid the start of the earnings season.

     Alcoa jumped to a two-month high after the aluminum producer posted a profit that beat analysts’ estimates, kicking off the quarterly reporting period. BlackRock Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are among firms releasing results this week.

     Commodity producers and and transportation stocks posted some of the biggest gains today, with American Airlines Inc. rallying 11 percent for its best day since at least December 2013. Oil and gas companies climbed to the highest since November as crude had its steepest gain in three months. Miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. also increased 11 percent.

     The S&P 500 added 0.7 percent to 2,152.14 at 4 p.m. in New York, extending its all-time high after surpassing yesterday the previous record reached in May 2015 on bets of a brighter economic outlook after Friday’s jobs report. The Dow rose 120.74 points, or 0.7 percent, to 18,347.67 today. The index briefly eclipsed the intraday record it set last year. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.7 percent to the highest since Dec. 30.

     “People are coming back into stocks because they see central banks coming in very quickly to backstop markets. That’s what we’ve witnessed post-Brexit,” David Zervos, chief market strategist at Jefferies LLC, said in a television interview on Bloomberg Go.

     The S&P 500 climbed above 2,152, the average level at which strategists surveyed by Bloomberg see the equity benchmark ending 2016. It marks the first time since November 2014 that the gauge has caught up to their optimistic forecasts. About 7.6 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges Tuesday, 5 percent above the three-month average.

     Stocks have climbed since Friday, erasing the losses triggered by the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union, as a stronger-than-forecast payrolls report helped allay investor concerns. At the same time, traders are pricing in little chance of an interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve anytime soon, with September 2017 being the first month that has even odds of a raise, implying a so-called “Goldilocks” scenario for equities in which the economy expands but at a lukewarm pace to hold off further monetary tightening.

     Meanwhile, investors have also sought the safety of Treasuries in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, sending bond yields to record lows last week. Fresh peaks for stocks coupled with all-time lows for bonds is unusual given that they are generally seen as risk-on/risk-off complements. Demand for U.S. bonds has also ramped up amid sub-zero yields in Europe and Japan.

     The CBOE Volatility Index edged higher for a second day, even as stocks advanced — a sign investors are still exercising caution. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX added less than 0.1 percent to 13.55. A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. basket of most shorted shares rose for a fifth day, the longest in fourth months. It was the ninth increase in 10 days, with the gauge up 15 percent over the span.

     “I firmly believe in the efficacy of QE — I think it works great magic — but I’m a little concerned that we’ve now taken bonds to record low yields and stocks to record highs at the same time,” Zervos said. “Usually, bonds are supposed to hedge equities. What the Fed is doing is running this very hot, and the traditional outcome of that isn’t so hot.”

     Investors turn their focus to corporate results this week, with analysts projecting a profit decline of 5.7 percent at S&P 500 companies in the second quarter. That would make it the fifth straight quarterly drop, the longest streak since 2009. Bank earnings are forecast to slide 11 percent in the period.

     “We’ve been so overwhelmed with larger macro and political issues for the last couple of cycles that we now have the chance to focus on individual companies and see how they’re doing,” said Peter Jankovskis, who helps oversee $1.9 billion as co- chief investment officer of Lisle, Illinois-based OakBrook Investments. “That could be very positive for the market.”

     A Bloomberg gauge of U.S. airlines soared 6.5 percent for its strongest one-day gain since November 2014, hoisted in part by American Airlines. The carrier said it expects new credit- card deals with Citigroup Inc. and Barclays Plc to boost its pretax income by about $1.55 billion over the next two-and-a- half years. Deutsche Bank AG also recommended buying shares in the three largest airlines. United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. advanced more than 5.4 percent.

     Seagate Technology Plc surged 22 percent, the steepest since 2011, after saying it will eliminate about 14 percent of its workforce in an effort to reduce costs to weather a prolonged slump in demand.

     R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. increased 2 percent, paring an earlier 7.5 percent climb, after people with knowledge of the matter said Xerox Corp. is in talks to acquire the Chicago-based printing company. Xerox Corp. added 1.8 percent.

     Fastenal Co. lost 3.5 percent after posting quarterly earnings and sales that missed estimates.

     The S&P 500’s main groups that have posted the biggest gains in 2016 — utility and phone companies — were among the weakest today. The industries, often considered defensive since they pay higher dividends and are less reliant on economic growth, lagged the broader index Tuesday along with consumer- staples companies.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

A state of harmony with nature,

with all beings of creation,

itself leads to our harmony with humans.

If we lose our relationship with nature,

we lose inevitably

our relationship with humans.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

You can’t fake listening.  It shows.

           -Raquel Welch,  b. 1940

 

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:

Daily Factoid

On this day in 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounds Alexander Hamilton in a duel near Weehawken, N.J.

THRILLING THEATRE

The cultural phenomenon Hamilton is, in the words of President Obama, “a civics lesson our kids can’t get enough of,” and the public got a peek at the musical about Alexander Hamilton at the recent Tony Awards.  Check out the cast in a stellar performance of the songs “History Has its Eyes on You” and “Yorktown (the World Turned Upside Down)” at http://bit.ly/hamiltontonys.

I was lucky enough to get to see the performance in NYC a couple of  months ago and I can attest first hand to its brilliance.  I probably get to the theatre in NYC six or more times a year, usually when I’m away at investment conferences (I try to go every night) and have been attending theatre there for a few decades.  Hamilton was by far the best show I’ve ever seen, hand down.  Lin Manuel Miranda is an amazing talent; he dazzled the audience and energized the whole cast.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man stands during sunrise on Kreuzjoch mountain in the Zillertal Alps in Schwendau, Austria on Monday. Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters

The plane carrying Portugal’s national soccer team and the Euro 2016 trophy arrives at the Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, Portugal, Monday. Paulo Duarte/AP

Market Closes for July 11^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18226.93	+80.19   +0.44%
S&P 500	2137.68	+7.78   +0.37%
NASDAQ	4988.641	+31.884   +0.64%
TSX	14374.09	+114.25
		+0.80%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15708.82	+601.84
		+3.98%
HANG SENG	20880.50	+316.33
		+1.54%
SENSEX	27626.69	+499.79
		+1.84%
FTSE 100	6682.86	+92.22
		+1.40%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.980	0.960
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.558	1.548
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4303	1.3579
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.1442	2.0963

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76201	0.76693
US $	1.31232	1.30390
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45135	0.68901
US $	1.10595	0.90420

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1357.10	1354.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	44.89	45.41

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Bailey Lipschultz and Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to the highest since June, joining a rally in global equities sparked by speculation economic growth will persist amid additional central-bank stimulus from Japan to Europe.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.9 percent to 14,357.97 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after earlier touching the highest level in almost a year. The Canadian equity benchmark extended a rally from June 27, erasing losses from the two days following the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union. Volume was 6.8 percent lower the 30-day average.

     Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia increased more than 0.9 percent to lead the nation’s largest lenders higher. Canada’s housing market remains red-hot, with the surge in existing home prices in Toronto and Vancouver driving new construction in the two cities. Housing starts jumped to the highest since September, according to the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp.

     The U.S. benchmark S&P 500 closed at an all-time high, while the dollar strengthened with industrial metals extending a rally sparked by Friday’s robust jobs report. Shares are getting support from the prospect of fresh fiscal and monetary stimulus in the U.K. to contain any fallout. Japan’s prime minister vowed to take “bold” action on the economy after winning elections, while traders still don’t expect higher U.S. rates this year even as the economy shows signs of strength.

     Canadian equities are neck-and-neck with New Zealand as the best-performing developed market in the world this year, led by a rally in raw-materials and energy producers. The advance has pushed valuations for the S&P/TSX to 22.1 times earnings, 12 percent higher than the S&P 500 according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Nine of 10 main S&P/TSX groups climbed on Monday, led by consumer shares. Producers of discretionary items advanced 1.6 percent, with car-parts makers Magna International Inc. and Linamar Corp. rising at least 2.5 percent after Cormark analyst David Tyerman initiated coverage of the industry rating both companies buys. Department-store operator Hudson’s Bay Co. rose 2.9 percent for a third day of gains, after announcing it will add seven new locations in the Netherlands.

     Materials shares rallied 1.1 percent, pushing gains in 2016 to 62 percent for the best year-to-date performance in at least 30 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The group benefited from gains in industrial metals including nickel and copper. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Hudbay Minerals Inc. jumped more than 5 percent.

     Bombardier Inc. climbed 4.5 percent, to the highest close in a year. Bombardier commercial chief Fred Cromer said at the Farnborough airshow he expects the company’s long-delayed C Series jet to receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration in the next 40 days. The planemaker plans to deliver 15 C Series jets this year, and has 370 orders for the family.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed, pushing the benchmark S&P 500 Index to an all-time high, extending a rally from Friday when a better-than-forecast jobs report brightened the economic outlook without fueling expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner.

     The S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to 2,137.16 at 4 p.m. in New York, surpassing the prior intraday record set in May 2015. The index had spent 285 days trading without making a fresh record, the longest stretch outside a bear market since a 323-day drought in 1985. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 80 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,226.93 today, less than half a percent away from the all-time high it set last year. 

     The June payrolls data calmed concern brought about by the previous month’s report that showed hiring had slowed to the weakest pace since 2010. The latest figures may convince investors that the economy will continue to expand in the face of weaker profits and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. Further reassuring investors, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank have said they’ll act to arrest any fallout of Brexit, and a victory for the ruling party in Japan cleared the way for stimulus.

     “Momentum is in play here, so as we look to break above new highs, that’ll get people to jump on the bandwagon,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist in New York at Miller Tabak & Co LLC. “Investors are thinking they have to jump on board before the train leaves the station. The huge amount of uncertainty brought by the Brexit vote will keep the Fed from acting this year, which is helping stocks avoid some selling.”

     The S&P 500 advanced 1.5 percent on Friday. The gains restored $1.4 trillion of market value that was erased after the U.K. voted to leave the EU on June 23. Before the payrolls figures, a report Wednesday showed service providers expanded in June at the fastest pace in seven months and Fed minutes indicated less urgency in the need to raise interest rates.

     Even as the latest bout of global anxiety eased, the CBOE Volatility Index edged higher by 2.6 percent to 13.54. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX sank 11 percent on Friday, capping the first back-to-back weekly declines since April. 

     Investors also turn their focus on earnings with Alcoa Inc.’s quarterly release. The 128-year-old aluminum producer reported earnings after the close on Monday that exceeded analysts’ estimates after profit from its car and jet parts businesses offset declines in prices for the metal. Profit excluding one-time items was 15 cents a share, beating the 9- cent average of projections. Shares rose 4 percent in late trading.

     For the broader S&P 500, company analysts currently predict combined profits will drop 5.7 percent, which would make it the fifth straight quarterly decline, the longest streak since 2009.

     The rally in 2016 has been led by industries often considered “defensive.” Utility and phone companies are up the most this year, posting advances of at least 20 percent, with utilities reaching a record last week. Trading on Monday didn’t fit that trend, as seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries rose with cyclical groups like technology, financial and industrial companies leading gains.

     Technology shares rose for a fourth day to the highest in a month. The group was boosted by semiconductor companies, including Qorvo Inc. and Skyworks Solutions Inc., which added more than 2.7 percent.

     Meanwhile, Twitter Inc. slipped 2.1 percent after its rating was lowered to neutral from buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The firm said Twitter is “highly unlikely” to be bought this year.

     Energy companies in the S&P 500 advanced. Gas-pipeline owner Kinder Morgan Inc. increased 3.7 percent after selling a 50 percent stake in a 7,600-mile network to utility owner Southern Co. for about $1.5 billion. Southern slid 0.7 percent.

     Thomson Reuters Corp. rose 1.4 percent after agreeing to sell its Intellectual Property & Science division to Onex Corp. and Baring Private Equity Asia for $3.55 billion in cash, shedding the unit to focus on its core financial products.

     C&J Energy Services Ltd. dropped 11 percent after the company said late Friday it has entered into a restructuring agreement with key creditors.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

How can you regard yourself as subject and other beings as objects,

when you know that all are one?

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Over time, you weed out luck.

             -Billy Beane, 1962-

 

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:

Prime Numbers:

100,000

Estimated number of people who have fled Crimea since Russia captured it from Ukraine in March 2014.  Many are ethnic Tatars, who settled there centuries ago. 

91

Percentage of people, who, even though they were on the US terrorist watchlist, passed a government background check to purchase a firearm last year.

26.2

Billion : Price (in US dollars) that Microsoft will pay to acquire Linkedin, the business career-oriented social platform.

31,500

Average gunshot deaths in the United States annually from 1968 to 2015.  More Americans died from domestic gun violence during this period than in all the wars America has fought. 

5.5

Billion: Cost (in US dollars) of Shanghai Disney, a new theme part in China that just opened.  This is the fourth Disney theme park outside the US, joining Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.

-0.28

Return on 10-year bonds issued by the German government.  The bonds fell into negative territory for the first time. 

1.366

The 10-year Treasury yield closed at a new low today, yielding just 1.336%/annum – history being made. 

TODAY IN HISTORYOn July 8, 1950, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea.Go to article » 1792 – John Graves Simcoe takes office as first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. 1892 – Start of two day fire that destroys most of St. John’s, Newfoundland. 1917 – Tom Thomson drowns in Canoe Lake in his beloved Algonquin Park.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Ni, created by La Machine production company, during its presentation in Nantes, France on Friday. Stephane Mahe/Reuters

Prince George wears ear defenders against the roar of aircraft as he and his mother Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, visit the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England, on Friday. Edward Low/ Crown Copyright/AP

Market Closes for July 8, 2016

MarketIndex	Close	Change
DowJones	18146.74	+250.86+1.40%
S&P 500	2129.84	+31.94+1.52%
NASDAQ	4956.758	+79.951+1.64%
TSX	14266.48	+132.02
		+0.93%

International Markets

MarketIndex	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15106.98	-169.26
		-1.11%
HANGSENG	20564.17	-142.75
		-0.69%
SENSEX	27126.90	-74.59
		-0.27%
FTSE 100	6590.64	+56.85
		+0.87%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND.10 Year Bond	0.960	0.978
CND.30 YearBond	1.548	1.556
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.3579	1.3850
U.S.30 Year Bond	2.0963	2.1348

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76693	0.76882
US$	1.30390	1.30069
Euro Rate1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44081	0.69406
US$	1.10500	0.90498

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London GoldFix	1354.25	1356.70
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	45.41	45.14

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed to the highest level in a month, as a resurgence in U.S. job creation in June showed resilience in the economy of Canada’s largest trading partner, offsetting a decline in the domestic payroll.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.9 percent to 14,259.84 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark capped a second week of gains, as health-care shares led gains across all 10 industries during the period. Trading volume was 5 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Canada’s job market weakened in June, completing the worst quarter for payrolls in two years. Employment fell by about 700 in June, short of economists’ forecasts for a 5,000 gain, while the jobless rate unexpectedly dropped to 6.8 percent from 6.9 percent as Canadians left the job market.

     Traders are now pricing in 26 percent odds Canada’s central bank will cut interest rates in December, a little more than half where the probability was on Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     By contrast U.S. payrolls surged by 287,000 last month, topping the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey and accelerating the most since October. The unemployment rate rose to 4.9 percent as more people entered the workforce. The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner by a wide margin, accounting for more than $540 billion in trade last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     “The weak details reinforce the view that Canada’s job market is struggling to stay above the waterline,” said Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal, in a note to clients. “The consolation prize for the Bank of Canada was the nice, solid comeback in U.S. jobs last month, which suggests our biggest trading partner is still rolling along.”

     Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia added at least 0.7 percent as financial services rose. Raw-materials producers jumped 2.1 percent for the biggest contribution to gains in the S&P/TSX led by metals producers. Energy producers increased 0.9 percent as a group as crude futures rose in New York to trim a weekly drop.

     Mitel Networks Corp. soared 20 percent, the most in three years, after acquisition target Polycom Inc. agreed to end its merger pact with Mitel in favor of a $2 billion offer from private equity firm Siris Capital Group. Mitel declined to match the offer.

     Empire Co. added 5.1 percent for the biggest increase since June 2013, after the parent of grocery chain Sobeys announced the departure of Chief Executive Officer Marc Poulin. Shares of Empire have sagged 22 percent this year, the worst among its peers in the S&P/TSX Consumer Staples Index.

     Canadian equities have swung between gains and losses since the Brexit vote two weeks ago as investors sought havens from the market volatility. Raw-materials producers remain the top- performing industry in Canada this year with a 60 percent increase, the best such performance for the group in at least 30 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Energy stocks have rallied 18 percent.

     Amid the volatility Canadian stocks remain more expensive than their U.S. peers, with a price-earnings ratio of 21.9 for the S&P/TSX about 11 percent higher than the S&P 500.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — A week’s evidence that the U.S. economy’s ill health has been overstated and dovish talk from the Federal Reserve combined to briefly catapult the S&P 500 Index above its May 2015 record close, leaving stocks on the brink of ending their longest drought of the bull market.

     Gains on Friday capped an eight-day rebound of 6.5 percent that restored $1.4 trillion of market capitalization to U.S. shares, value that was erased in the aftermath of the U.K. vote to leave the European Union. The S&P 500 advanced more than 1 percent for the fourth time in two weeks, after stronger June payroll growth calmed concerns sown by May’s anemic number. Banks, technology and retailer shares were among the biggest contributors to the rally.

     The benchmark gauge surged as much as 1.6 percent before closing less than a point below the all-time high. It has spent 286 days trading without making a fresh record, the longest stretch outside a bear market since a 361-day drought in 1960 and ’61. The pause came amid concern over rising interest rates and falling profits, after the index more than tripled from its 2009 bottom.

     Starting with a report Wednesday showing service providers expanded in June at the fastest pace in seven months, and continuing with Fed minutes that indicated less urgency in the need to raise interest rates, investors have been treated to enough good news to put the Brexit trauma behind them.

     “We always felt that the Brexit selloff was overstated, so we’re not surprised at the speed of the recovery as we approach all-time highs,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird, which oversees $110 billion. “Stocks have no competition from the bond market. We had 16 straight weeks of outflows, and now the higher price is going to pull people back into the market.”

     The S&P 500 added 1.5 percent to 2,129.90 at 4 p.m. in New York, closing at its highest since May 21, 2015, after briefly exceeding the record of 2,130.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 250.86 points, or 1.4 percent, to 18,146.74, a 13- month high. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.6 percent to the highest in four weeks. About 7.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.

     A report today showed America’s job market stirred to life after a two-month lull, as payrolls climbed by the most since October, exceeding the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The jobless rate rose to 4.9 percent as more people entered the labor force, while wages advanced less than projected. Revisions to prior reports subtracted a total of 6,000 jobs to overall payrolls in the previous two months.

     The valuations edge held by stocks over bonds has gotten extreme of late as government debt rallied, with the S&P 500’s earnings yield — profits as a proportion of share price — climbing above 5 percent, or about 3.7 percentage points above the 10-year Treasury rate. The gap is wider than any point during the 2002-2007 rally.

     The jobs data will help reassure policy makers that companies are staying the course on hiring in the face of weaker profits and overseas developments such as Britain’s vote to leave the EU. Federal Reserve officials flagged concern over job creation at their last meeting, signaling fading urgency for the need to increase interest rates.

     “The strength you’re seeing in U.S. equities is a knee-jerk reaction to any kind of big number that comes out,” said Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at Williams Capital Group LP. “This will only add to the Fed’s indecision over what to do. The conviction for a Fed rate hike won’t quite be there yet, which could explain why we’re reacting positively.”

     The one-two punch from May’s weak employment report and the U.K.’s vote to secede had all but erased any wagers on a Fed rate increase this month, after probabilities for a move were 55 percent at the beginning of June. Despite the rebound in job gains last month, traders are still pricing in less than even odds of a boost to borrowing costs until December 2017.                         

     As latest bout of global anxiety ebbs, the CBOE Volatility Index sank 11 percent Friday to 13.20, a six-week low. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX marked the first back-to-back weekly declines since April while slipping 15 percent in the last three days. A Goldman Sachs basket of most shorted shares in the Russell 3000 Index rallied for the seventh time in eight days, rising 12 percent in the period.

     Investors are also waiting for cues on the health of corporate America, with Alcoa Inc. unofficially kicking off the second-quarter earnings season next week. Analysts predict profits will drop 5.7 percent at S&P 500 firms, which would make it the fifth straight quarterly decline, the longest streak since 2009.

     The rally in 2016 has been led by double-digit gains in industries often considered by investors as “defensive” groups. Utility and phone companies are up the most on the year, posting advances of at least 20 percent, with utilities this week reaching a record. In Friday’s trading, all of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries rose, with raw-materials, industrial, financial and consumer discretionary companies adding more than 1.7 percent.

     Raw-materials posted their biggest one-day gain in four months, rising 2.5 percent. Dow Chemical Co. and Monsanto Co. rose at least 2 percent. Alcoa advanced 5.1 percent, the most in two months before its earnings report scheduled for Monday, while Freeport-McMoRan Inc. gained 5 percent.                   

     Financial stocks in the benchmark climbed 1.8 percent, paced by CBRE Group Inc.’s 6.4 percent increase and the biggest gain since January for Synchrony Financial. The private label credit-card issuer’s stock rose 5 percent after its inaugural dividend exceeded analyst estimates. Wells Fargo & Co. and the KBW Bank Index increased at least 1.8 percent.

     All 68 companies in the S&P 500 Industrials Index rose at least 0.4 percent on Friday, sending the group to the highest level since Feb. 20. Acuity Brands Inc. and United Rentals Inc. gained at least 4.3 percent. Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. climbed more than 2.7 percent as U.S. carriers rebounded for a second day. Caterpillar Inc. gained 3.1 percent, its best since April and strongest in the Dow.

     The stronger job gains resonated in consumer discretionary stocks, with a group of retailers rising to a record. Gap Inc. jumped 5 percent, the most in almost five months. The biggest U.S. apparel-focused retailer posted June sales that topped analysts’ estimates, a sign its long-promised turnaround could be taking hold. Car dealers AutoNation Inc. and CarMax Inc. added more than 4.2 percent, while Home Depot In. advanced 2.4 percent to a seven-week high.

     Among shares moving on corporate news, Juno Therapeutics Inc. plunged 32 percent, the most since going public in 2014, after after three patients died in a trial for its lead cancer therapy and U.S. regulators put the study on hold.

 

Have  a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

I often ask myself at what point can a man and a beast that cannot talk recognize each other.

From the early paradise, at the dawn of creation, runs the path where their hearts meet.

Although their connection has long been forgotten, traces of their continuing association has not been erased.

And suddenly, in  a wordless harmony,

a dim memory awakens and the beast looks on the face of the man with tender trust

and the man casts his eyes upon the beast with an amused tenderness.

It is as if two friends, both wearing masks, meet

and vaguely recognize each other through their disguises.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly

find out how far one can go.

                                     -T.S. Eliot, 1888-1965

 

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:

Today is Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona.   Think A Farewell to Arms. 

Stanzas for a Sierra Morning

               By Robert Hass 

Looking for wildflowers, the white yarrow

With its deep roots for this dry place

And fireweed which likes disturbed ground.

 

There were lots of them, bright white yarrow

And the fireweed w was the brilliant magenta

Some women put on their lips for summer evenings.

 

The water of the creek ran clear over creekstones

And a pair of dove-white plovers fished the rills

A sandbar made in one of the turnings of the creek.

 

You couldn’t have bought the sky’s blue.

Not in the silk markets of Samarkand.  Not

In any market between Xian and Venice.

 

Which doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

Isn’t that, after all, what a stanza is for.

So that after a night of listening, unwillingly.

 

To yourself think, you can walk, slightly hungover,

Through some morning market, sipping tea,

An eye out for that scrap of immaculate azure.

PHOTOS OF THE DAYThe icon of San Fermín is paraded through the streets on the saint’s day at the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, northern Spain, Thursday.Vincent West/Reuters

An employee of Japan’s internet commerce and mobile games provider DeNA Co, rides on the company’s Robot Shuttle, a driver-less, self driving bus, during its demonstration in Tokyo, Thursday. Toru Hanai/Reuters

Market Closes for July 7, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17895.88	-22.74 -0.13%
		S&P 500	2097.90	-1.83 -0.09%
NASDAQ	4876.809			+17.647 +0.36%
		TSX	14134.46	-96.60
-0.68%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15276.24	-102.75
		-0.67%
HANG SENG	20706.92	+211.63
		+1.03%
SENSEX	27201.49	+34.62
		+0.13%
FTSE 100	6433.79	+70.20
		+1.09%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
10 Year Bond	0.978	0.978
30 Year Bond	1.556	1.557
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.3850	1.3716
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.1348	2.1395

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76882	0.77135
US $	1.30069	1.2964
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43863	0.69511
US $	1.10598	0.90417

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1356.70	1366.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	45.14	47.43

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canada stocks fell the most in almost two weeks as energy producers joined a decline in gold miners, erasing gains with oil after U.S. inventories dropped less than expected.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.7 percent to 14,134.46 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark trails New Zealand as the world’s top-performing developed market in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, with a gain of 8.6 percent. Trading volume was 6 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Raw-materials producers tumbled 2.3 percent as a group, snapping a five-day rally to retreat from the highest level in almost two years. Gold slipped 0.4 percent in New York after climbing to the highest in two years Wednesday. Barrick Gold Corp. dropped 3.2 percent, the steepest in six weeks.

     Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. retreated at least 1 percent as energy producers tumbled 1.3 percent. Crude fell 4.8 percent to the lowest level in almost two months as government data showed U.S. supplies declined by 2.2 million barrels last week, short of analysts’ expectations for a 2.5 million barrel drop.

     Paramount Resources Ltd. jumped 8.5 percent to the highest level since November after agreeing to sell shale assets in Alberta’s Montney region to Seven Generations Energy Ltd. in a C$1.9 billion deal in cash and debt. Seven Generations added 7.1 percent to a record and a fourth day of gains.

     Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. slipped 2.1 percent after agreeing to buy Zurich Insurance Co.’s South African and Botswana operations. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter of 2016.

     Canadian equities have swung between gains and losses since the Brexit vote two weeks ago as investors sought havens from the market volatility. Raw-materials producers remain the top- performing industry in Canada this year with a 57 percent increase, the best such performance for the group in at least 30 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Energy stocks have rallied 17 percent.

     Health-care shares are down nearly 70 percent in 2016, the worst in the S&P/TSX, dragged lower Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s 78 percent plunge. Valeant advanced 2.7 percent Thursday for a second day of gains and a three-week high. Shares jumped Wednesday after Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said in its quarterly earnings call it’s satisfied with its partnership with the drugmaker.

US

By Anna-Louise Jackson and Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slipped as a crude-oil selloff dragged energy shares lower, while investors remained on edge before a monthly report that may reveal whether the labor market is maintaining momentum amid a gloomy outlook for global growth.

     Equities erased an early advance Thursday after oil wiped out gains, with the commodity tumbling after a weekly report showed stockpiles fell less than expected. Energy producers reversed a 1 percent climb while Chevron Corp. lost 1.5 percent. Phone companies and utilities slumped at least 1.6 percent, the biggest losers on the day. Despite all the day’s fluctuations, stocks finished little changed amid anticipation of the key jobs data.

     The S&P 500 Indexretreated 0.1 percent to 2,097.90 at 4 p.m. in New York, after lurching between gains and losses of as much as 0.5 percent in either direction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.74 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,895.88, after erasing a 66-point climb. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.4 percent, supported by gains in Intel Corp, Apple Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. About 6.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 7 percent below the three-month average.

     “The markets are gyrating, but I think this is just the post-Brexit environment and we’re looking for where the new equilibrium levels are and we haven’t found them yet,” said Kevin Caron, a Florham Park, New Jersey-based market strategist and portfolio manager who helps oversee $180 billion at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. “This is a theme that may stay with us for a while. Stock markets aren’t cheap, by definition the bond market isn’t cheap, and globally the economy is struggling.”

     Investors are keen to get a look at the government’s latest reading on employment growth to see if May’s weak report was an anomaly. The addition of just 38,000 jobs that month abruptly pushed out investors’ expectations for future interest-rate increases, and minutes released yesterday from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting showed policy makers want more proof the economy hasn’t lost momentum after the disappointing data.

     A report yesterday showed stronger-than-predicted expansion in services industries, boosting optimism the U.S. economy can weather any fallout from the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union.

     Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect a recovery, with a 180,000 increase in jobs last month. A report today showed companies added 172,000 workers to private payrolls in June while another measure showed filings for unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined last week to the lowest level since mid- April, signaling labor market stability amid a shaky global economy.

     The S&P 500 has rebounded almost 5 percent since June 27, erasing the majority of a selloff that followed the Brexit vote. The index rallied last week by the most since November on optimism that central banks will loosen monetary policy to counter aftershocks from the U.K.’s referendum result. The CBOE Volatility Index fell 1.3 percent Thursday to 14.76, an almost one-month low.

     “The remarkable snap-back in the market is largely a function of central banks around the world that are not going to raise rates for a good long time so that makes risk assets more attractive,” said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer of wealth management at Northern Trust Corp. “The risk-on rally is off to the races with the central banks either sitting on their hands or contemplating further action.”

     Traders are pricing in almost no chance for higher borrowing costs this month, compared to a 55 percent probability a month ago, just before the May jobs report. Odds for a move are now 42 percent or less until at least the end of 2017. Investors and policy makers will continue to scrutinize data to assess the vitality of growth as another earnings season approaches.

     Alcoa Inc. unofficially launches the second-quarter reporting period next week, with analysts predicting a profit decline of 5.4 percent compared to a year ago for companies in the S&P 500. That would mark a fifth-straight quarterly drop, the longest streak since 2009.

     “There is that balancing act for the Fed in that they are quite right to be vigilant and observant of the U.K.’s position, but at the same time the direct impact on the U.S. economy is probably going to be quite small,” said Daniel Murray, head of research at EFG Asset Management in London. “Markets are looking to nonfarm payrolls tomorrow as the first solid data point following the last Fed meeting to give guidance.”                       

     In Thursday’s trading, five of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries declined, with utilities dropping 1.8 percent from an all-time high. Phone companies slumped 1.6 percent, falling for a third day after reaching the highest level since 2001. Energy producers lost 1.1 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude futures slid 4.8 percent. Consumer discretionary, raw-material, technology and industrial shares rose at least 0.2 percent.

     Utilities suffered the steepest drop in seven weeks, with nine of the 28 members in the S&P 500’s group falling at least 2 percent. Exelon Corp. and Duke Energy Corp. lost more than 2.2 percent.

     Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp. posted their worst declines since the day of the Brexit results two weeks ago to send the energy group lower. Crude supplies fell 2.22 million barrels in the week ended July 1, Energy Information Administration data show. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast the EIA would report a 2.5 million decline.

     After yesterday’s rally led by biotechnology companies, health-care stocks slipped 0.2 percent as managed-care companies weighed. Humana Inc. dropped 9.6 percent, its biggest slide since 2012. People familiar with the matter said Aetna Inc. is preparing to meet with top regulators as it seeks to win antitrust approval for its $37 billion takeover of Humana. Aetna lost 4 percent. Anthem Inc. fell 2 percent after Connecticut’s attorney general expressed concern with its proposed merger with Cigna Inc.

     Viacom Inc. led media companies higher, rising 3.9 percent to also help lift the consumer discretionary group. Billionaire John Malone said the shares are undervalued because of the turmoil over the battle for control for the company. Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. gained more than 1.7 percent.

     Semiconductors rallied, with Micron Technology Inc. gaining 4.1 percent and Skyworks Solutions Inc. increasing 2.9 percent.Analysts cited positive trends for flash-memory chips as a reason for hard-drive maker Western Digital Corp.’s better-than- forecast preliminary quarterly results.

     Among shares moving on corporate news, WhiteWave Foods Co. surged as much as 20 percent after Danone agreed to buy the maker of Silk soy milk for about $10 billion.

     PepsiCo. Inc. rose 1.5 percent to a record after its quarterly profit beat analysts’ estimates and the company boosted its full-year forecast, helped by rising sales of snacks and soft drinks in North America.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

Between me and the smallest animal,

the difference is only in manifestation,

but as a  principle he is the same as I am,

he is my brother, he has the same soul as I have.

Swami Vivekananda

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea,

never regains its original dimensions.

       -Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1809-1894.

 

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:

SECRET 

In summer the park, for an hour or so before night,

is at its greenest, a whole implicit proposition

of green leaves, a triumph of leaves enfolding me

that day in a green intimacy so trustworthy I told

them my secret.  “It’s my birthday,” I said out loud

before turning away to cross the avenue.

                         –Dorothea Tanning, 1910-2012

On this day in:

1854, the Republican party was formed in the US.

1907, the artist Frida Kahlo, was born.

1923, the U.S.S.R. is formed.

1935, the Dalai Lama was born.

 PHOTOS OF THE DAYRevelers hold up traditional red scarves during the start of the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, Spain, Wednesday. Eloy Alonso/Reuters

Kennel Master Oliver Cruz tends to celebrity dogs outside the kennel aboard the ocean liner Queen Mary 2, docked at her home port at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in New York, Wednesday. The Cunard ship underwent $132-million of renovations that includes, for its four-legged passengers, additional kennels, more play space and an owner’s lounge. Richard Drew/AP

Market Closes for July 6, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17918.62	+78.00 +0.44%
		S&P 500	2099.71	+11.16 +0.53%
NASDAQ	4859.160			+36.259 +0.75%
		TSX	14224.28	+4.71
+0.03%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15378.99	-290.34
		-1.85%
HANG SENG	20495.29	-255.43
		-1.23%
SENSEX	27166.87	-111.89
		-0.41%
FTSE 100	6463.59	-81.78
		-1.25%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
10 Year Bond	0.978	0.997
30 Year Bond	1.557	1.601
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.3716	1.3750
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.1395	2.1545

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77135	0.77013
US $	1.2964	1.2984
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43857	0.69513
US $	1.10975	0.90111

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1366.25	1350.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	47.43	46.60

Market Commentary:

Number of the Day

-0.005%

The 20-year Japanese government bond yield, which was above 1% as recently as last December, fell as low as minus 0.005% on Wednesday, the first time it’s fallen below zero.

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks erased losses to end little changed, as gains by gold producers and health-care shares offset declines in banks after a report today showed the nation’s trade deficit widened more than expected.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.1 percent to 14,231.06 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after earlier falling as much as 1 percent. The benchmark trails New Zealand as the world’s top- performing developed market in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

     Financial services and consumer discretionary shares were the biggest drags on the S&P/TSX on Wednesday, as investors assessed data that showed the trade deficit in Canada held near a record high in May as exports of machinery and metals declined, worse than economists’ forecasts. The deficit follows an April figure revised higher to a record C$3.32 billion, according to Statistics Canada.

     Toronto-Dominion Bank slid 2.1 percent, while auto-parts manufacturer Magna International Inc. lost 0.8 percent.

     The S&P/TSX fluctuated after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed officials left interest rates on hold in June due to heightened uncertainties in the U.S. jobs market threatening their outlook.

     At their June 14-15 session, officials lowered their expectations for the number of times they’ll increase rates this year, indicating they believed the economy’s potential growth rate had dropped meaningfully, even before the U.K. referendum on June 23. Traders now see a 2 percent probability of an interest rate hike in September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Canadian equities have swung between gains and losses since the Brexit vote in June as investors sought havens from the market volatility. Canadian government bond yields tumbled for a fifth day, touching the lowest level since February. Ten-year government bonds in the U.S., Australia, Japan, Germany, France and the U.K. sank to records. Gold jumped to the highest in two years.

     Raw-materials producers increased 1.4 percent as gold prices climbed. Barrick Gold Corp. and Yamana Gold Inc. rose more than 2.7 percent.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. surged 15 percent, the most since April, after Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said in a third-quarter earnings call it was satisfied with its relationship with Valeant and willing to help Valeant be more successful.

     Centerra Gold Inc. sank 8 percent, the most since May, after agreeing to buy Thompson Creek Metals Co. in a stock deal valued at $1.1 billion. The move will help Centerra expand in North America and reduce its dependence on Central Asia.

     Torstar Corp., publisher of Canada’s biggest daily newspaper, retreated 4.8 percent for a second day of losses. David Holland, president and chief executive officer of Torstar, will step down this fall. The company hasn’t named a replacement.

US

By Anna-Louise Jackson and Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, led by gains among drug companies, as cautious sentiment eased amid speculation the American economy can weather the impact of the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union.

     Equities shook off early weakness as biotechnology shares rallied to lift the health-care group to the highest this year. Retailers rose after data showed the fastest expansion in services industries in seven months. A Goldman Sachs Group Inc.basket of most shorted shares surged for the fifth time in six days, rising 9.2 percent over the period. Phone companies fell for a second day after reaching levels not seen since 2001.

     The S&P 500 Indexincreased 0.5 percent to 2,099.73 at 4 p.m. in New York, after erasing a 0.7 percent drop and reversing most of Tuesday’s slide. The gauge halted declines today near its average price during the past 50 days, a key level watched by technical analysts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 78 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,918.62, wiping out a 127-point drop. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.8 percent, supported by the biotech rally.

     “You’re looking at a market that’s lacking direction right now,” said Michael Antonelli, an institutional equity sales trader and managing director at Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. “The primary driver for concern is what it always is — a slow growth backdrop. We’re in a no-man’s land before the next Fed meeting and the kick-off of earnings next week.”

     American equities overcame a retreat in global markets, which fell as knock-on effects of Britain’s vote start to materialize. Anxiety has increased over the potential for instability to spread after at least five asset managers froze withdrawals from U.K. real-estate funds following a flurry of redemptions, while data on Wednesday showed German factory orders were unchanged in May, disappointing forecasters who had called for an increase.

     “When we think about Brexit, we really think that it’s much more of a local U.K. issue and that it becomes much less important even as you start geographically expanding, even if you go to the Euro area, to the U.S.,” Gabriela Santos, a global strategist with JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “It doesn’t shift our allocations, it doesn’t shift our view of U.S and European investing, so we haven’t materially changed in the aftermath of Brexit.”

     Before yesterday’s decline, the S&P 500 capped its strongest weekly rise since November, boosted by assurances that central banks are prepared to loosen monetary policy to limit the fallout from Brexit. The benchmark is trading at 16.6 times estimated earnings, a higher valuation than the MSCI All-Country World Index and above its own three-year average.

     The main U.S. equity index has whipsawed in the past month, twice climbing within 1 percent of a record in June, including the day before the U.K. referendum’s result. It then lost 5.3 percent in its worst two-session rout in 10 months before a four-day rally nearly erased those declines. The S&P 500 closed Wednesday 0.6 percent below its level before the Brexit selloff.

     The CBOE Volatility Index fell 4 percent Wednesday to 14.96, after eliminating an early 9.4 percent surge. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX on Friday posted its biggest-ever weekly decline, down 43 percent. About 7.4 billion shares traded hands today on U.S. exchanges, 2 percent above the three-month average.

     Minutes today from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting showed heightened uncertainty as officials were concerned by a hiring slowdown and thought it prudent to wait for the Brexit vote before a rate move. While policy makers agreed they shouldn’t overreact to one or two job reports, the implications of recent data were viewed as “uncertain,” the minutes showed. Most officials judged that they needed more information on employment, production and spending.

     At their session last month, several Fed officials lowered their expectations for the number of times they’ll increase rates this year, though the median projection held at two. They also reduced their estimate for the longer-run Fed funds rate, indicating they believed the economy’s potential growth rate had dropped meaningfully, even before the U.K. referendum on June 23.

     “The main takeaway from the minutes is the uncertainty in the mind of the Fed has increased, which we can all understand given the weak May jobs data and recent U.K. referendum,” said Jon Adams, portfolio manager at BMO Global Asset Management in Chicago, where he helps oversee $217 billion. “This is another sign that the Fed’s not going to do too much to upset the apple cart. They’re looking for any excuse not to raise rates at this point.”

     Traders have pushed back bets for the next Fed interest- rate increase, with odds for a move at less than 42 percent until at least 2018. As investors and policy makers scrutinize data to assess the sturdiness of growth, a report today showed service providers expanded in June on stronger orders and sales that signal a healthy U.S. economy.

     Another earnings season will also soon vie for investors’ attention, with Alcoa Inc. unofficially launching the second- quarter reporting period next week. Analysts predict a profit decline of 5.4 percent compared to a year ago for companies in the S&P 500, which would mark a fifth-straight quarterly drop, the longest streak since 2009.

     In Wednesday’s trading, eight of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries rose, with health-care adding 1.2 percent, while consumer discretionary, energy and technology shares gained at least 0.5 percent. Phone companies fell 0.4 percent, paring a drop of as much as 1.9 percent.

     Celegene Corp. and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. advanced more than 3.6 percent, among the strongest performers in health- care. Vertex announced a $40 million dollar upfront investment with Moderna Therapeutics Inc. for a cystic fibrosis treatment. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 2.3 percent to a three-week high. In a note today, Leerink Partners LLC forecast biotechs will post “strong” quarterly results. Merck & Co. increased 2 percent to an almost 11-month high, while AbbVie Inc. added 2.3 percent.

     Bolstering gains in retailers, Amazon.com Inc. rose 1.3 percent to a record amid its longest winning streak in more than two months. Home Depot Inc. climbed 1.7 percent and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. gained 3.1 percent. Among other consumer discretionary companies, a gauge of homebuilders increased 2.1 percent to a four-week high as D.R. Horton Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc. advanced at least 2.4 percent.

     Banks in the benchmark index wiped out a 1.4 percent drop, rising 0.9 percent for the first gain in three days. Zions Bancorporation and Regions Financial Corp. added more than 2.1 percent, while SunTrust Banks Inc. increased 1.7 percent.

     Raw-materials producers edged higher after erasing a 1.1 percent slide. Martin Marietta Materials Inc. jumped 4.4 percent, the strongest in four months, to an all-time high. Newmont Mining Corp. rose 2.6 percent as gold climbed to to a two-year high.

     American Airlines and United Continental Holdings Inc. slumped at least 2 percent, trimming earlier declines of more than 6 percent, after Credit Suisse Group AG cut its ratings on the carriers. The Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index has tumbled 24 percent in 2016, putting it on track for the largest annual decline since 2011.

     Among other shares moving on corporate news, Netflix Inc. lost 3.4 percent after Jefferies Group LLC downgraded the shares to underperform, similar to sell, citing concerns about the trajectory of subscriber growth.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

Bees suck nectar from many different flowers, and then make honey.

One drop of honey cannot claim to come from one flower, and another drop of honey from another flower; the honey is a single consistent whole.

In the same way, all beings are one even though they are not aware of this.

The tiger and the lion, the wolf and the boar, the worm and the moth, the gnat and the mosquito, all come from the soul, and are part of the soul.

Chandogya Upanishad

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

I write in order to understand as much as to be understood.

                                               -Elie Wiesel, 1928-2016

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:

Daily Factoid

On this day in 1946, the bikini makes its debut.

JUPITER:

Play Video →

Following a five-year voyage, the Juno spacecraft has successfully entered into orbit around Jupiter. Over the next 20 months, astronomers will study data and photographs, hoping to discover the “recipe of solar systems” by exploring the largest planet in ours.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A bee carrying pollen flies to a blooming sunflower on a field near Frankfurt/Oder, eastern Germany, on Tuesday. Patrick Pleul/dpa/AP

Etixx-Quickstep rider Marcel Kittel of Germany (blue) wins Tour de France’s Stage 4, from Saumur to Limoges, on Tuesday. Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

Market Closes for July 5, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17840.62	-108.85 -0.61%
S&P 500	2088.55	-14.40 -0.68%
NASDAQ	4822.902	-39.665 -0.82%
TSX	14219.57	-39.30
		-0.28%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15669.33	-106.47
		-0.67%
HANG SENG	20750.72	-308.48
		-1.46%
SENSEX	27166.87	-111.89
		-0.41%
FTSE 100	6545.37	+23.11
		+0.35%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.997	1.044
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.601	1.673
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.3750	1.4441
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.1545	2.2253

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77013	0.77833
US $	1.2984	1.28479
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43760	0.69561
US $	1.10717	0.90321

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1350.75	1350.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	46.60	48.99

Market Commentary:

Number of the Day

$1.3114

The British pound on Tuesday slumped to a 31-year-low against the dollar at $1.3114

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, snapping a four-day rally, as commodities tumbled with metals and crude on renewed concern about the strength of the global economy after the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 0.3 percent to 14,219.57 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, for the first loss in five sessions, paring declines of as much as 0.8 percent. Canadian equities joined declines in stocks around the world after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned there may be a “material slowing of the economy” as the risks from Britain’s decision to leave the EU have started to crystallize. Trading volume in the benchmark was about 7 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     The Canadian benchmark had rebounded 4.2 percent in the past four trading sessions after slumping the most since February in the two days after the Brexit vote. The S&P/TSX trails New Zealand as the world’s top-performing developed market in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

     Energy producers lost 0.7 percent as six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX declined. Crescent Point Energy Corp. and Encana Corp. dropped at least 2.1 percent as New York crude tumbled to below $47 a barrel. There was no settlement Monday because of the U.S. holiday.

     Oil prices won’t rise much further over the next year and a half as demand slows, according to Vitol Group of Cos., the world’s largest independent oil-trading house. Brent crude will end 2016 at about $50 a barrel and rise to about $60 by the end of 2017, Vitol Chief Executive Officer Ian Taylor said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Energy producers account for about 20 percent of the S&P/TSX by market capitalization.

     Raw-materials producers have led the charge for Canada with a 58 percent gain this year, the best year-to-date performance for the industry in at least 30 years, while energy producers are second with an 18 percent increase, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gold prices are on track for the biggest annual increase since 2010.

     On Tuesday, base metals producers retreated with HudBay Minerals Inc. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. dropping at least 4.1 percent. Copper extended a retreat from a two-month high while nickel fell the most in eight weeks on the London Metal Exchange as industrial metals declined.

     Thompson Creek Metals Co. jumped 6.7 percent to the highest level in two months, after the mining company agreed to sell itself for C$175.8 million to Centerra Gold Inc. in a share deal.

US

By Anna-Louise Jackson and Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — Commodity producers and lenders led U.S. stocks lower, as the S&P 500 Index snapped its longest winning streak in three months, after comments from Bank of England Governor Mark Carney rekindled concerns that Britain’s exit from the European Union will further weigh on tepid global growth.

     Energy and financial shares were among the biggest losers Tuesday, with investors showing a preference for havens as equity declines and higher volatility reflected some of the anxiety seen during the two-day selloff following the Brexit vote. The BOE’s Carney warned of prospects for “a material slowing of the economy,” amid developing risks from the decision to leave the EU.

     The S&P 500fell 0.7 percent to 2,088.55 at 4 p.m. in New York, its first retreat in five sessions. The gauge dropped as much as 1.1 percent before trimming losses in the final hour of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 108.75 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,840.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 0.8 percent, and the Russell 2000 Index of small caps dropped 1.5 percent. About 6.9 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 4 percent below the three-month average.

     “The factors driving the market today are fears of financial contagion coming out of European banks, the drop in oil prices and currency weakness,” said Michael Sheldon, chief investment officer of Northstar Wealth Partners, which oversees $1.1 billion in West Hartford, Connecticut. “Investors came back after the long weekend and decided that maybe the run-up in prices following Brexit may have been overdone to the upside.”

     Equities pulled back after capping on Friday their strongest weekly advance since November, spurred by assurances that central bankers are prepared to loosen monetary policy to counter fallout from the Brexit vote. Investors sense of relief tempered today amid concern over the health of the global economy, and whether efforts by policy makers will be enough to bolster growth.

     ConocoPhillips fell 4.2 percent, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropping 4.9 percent, while miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. slid 7.5 percent. Banks retreated for a second session, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. slumping at least 2.5 percent. Boeing Co. and United Technologies Corp. lost more than 2 percent to help drag industrials lower for the first time in five days.

     While the U.S. market was shut on Monday in observance of Independence Day, European stocks dropped, and the MSCI All- Country World Index slid on Tuesday for the first time in more than a week amid a retreat in commodities.

     The S&P 500’s four-day rebound last week nearly wiped out losses stemming from the U.K. vote. The index had climbed within 1 percent of record just before the referendum’s result, and then lost 5.3 percent in its worst two-day rout in 10 months. With Tuesday’s declines, a measure of turbulence bounced after its biggest-ever weekly drop.

     The CBOE Volatility Index rose 5.5 percent to 15.58, paring a nearly 13 percent jump, after the gauge known as the VIX tumbled 43 percent last week. It also snapped its longest stretch of declines in two months.

     “The market should not have rebounded, in our view, the way it did last week in the aftermath of Brexit,” said Phil Orlando, who helps oversee $360 billion as chief equity-market strategist at Federated Investors Inc. in New York. “What we saw in the last four days was a reversal of the normal knee-jerk reaction. The market is just saying, ‘June 23 didn’t exist, everything is back to normal and we’re just going to ignore all of the economic repercussions.’ I think that’s foolish.”                        

     Investors also face a looming earnings reporting season, which gets underway next week, with analysts predicting a decline of 5.4 percent for companies in the S&P 500. That would mark a fifth-straight quarterly drop, the longest streak since 2009. Weaker-than-forecast results in the first three months of the year from tech giants including Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. had a hand in halting a rally in April as the S&P 500 neared its all-time high.

     Since the Brexit vote, traders have pushed back their bets for a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase, pricing in a less than 40 percent chance of higher borrowing costs before 2018. Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley said today “it’s still really early days to understand what kind of consequences” of the referendum.

     Separately, San Francisco Fed’s John Williams said the U.K.’s decision probably won’t derail the U.S. economy, leaving the Fed scope to raise rates this year if his growth and inflation expectations are met.

     “People are concerned about global growth,” said John Plassard, a senior equity-sales trader at Mirabaud Securities in Geneva, which oversees 34 billion Swiss francs ($35 billion) in assets. “We have the Brexit problem, the general growth and U.S. isn’t in an excellent shape either.”

     Eight of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries fell, led by a 1.9 percent slump for energy stocks and declines of at least 1.5 percent for financials and raw materials. Investors sought refuge in groups considered defensive in nature, as utilities and consumer staples rose at least 0.5 percent.

     Energy companies snapped a four-day rally, slumping as oil prices fell on signs of ample stockpiles. Southwestern Energy Co. tumbled 10 percent, while Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Murphy Oil Corp. slipped at least 6.3 percent. Among raw-materials shares, Alcoa Inc. dropped 3 percent and Dow Chemical Co. declined 1.6 percent.

     Financials stocks sank for a second straight session, falling 1.5 percent. Banks led the selloff, as the KBW Bank Index tumbled 2.9 percent, with declines of at least 4.1 percent for Zions Bancorporation and SVB Financial Group. CBRE Group Inc. fell 5.4 percent to the lowest level since February, bringing its three-day decline to 7.4 percent.

     Automakers and parts suppliers tumbled after their strongest four days since March. Harley-Davidson Inc. plunged 11 percent on skepticism over takeover rumors that sent the shares on Friday soaring 20 percent, the most in seven years. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. declined more than 2.4 percent Tuesday.

     Consumer staples stocks gained 0.5 percent to the highest ever, for the group’s fourth rally in five sessions. Clorox Co. and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. rose more than 1.5 percent to all-time highs. Kroger Co. added 2.1 percent and Altria Group Inc. rallied for a third consecutive session to a record, increasing 0.9 percent. Procter & Gamble Co. extended its longest winning streak since March, rising 0.8 percent.

     Utilities rose 0.7 percent to an all-time high, as Consolidated Edison Inc., WEC Energy Group Inc. and Pinnacle West Capital Corp. advanced at least 1.1 percent to records. The group is coming off its best week of performance since March 2015.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

A profound understanding of religions allows the

destruction of the barriers that separate them.

Mahatma Gandhi

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does.  Keep going.

                                 -Sam Levenson, 1911-1980

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:

Poem: 

Our Agreement

By S. Whitney Holmes

The praying mantis on the porch

 is not so unsettling as surprising.  And a little drunk,

I am happy to stand on your porch

looking at this little green beast –

not thrust into our day, but folded from grass,

a sweet whistle if we put our lips to it,

arranged at the corner of our evening, turned

to pose for my camera.  Its face lovely, mean,

like yours.  Its face, my god!  The old religion

of the colored capsules that bloom sponge dinosaurs

when left in a glass of water.  I used to run them

under the hot tap to speed it up.  Now-

I would go back.  I would drop them

in a glass and watch their long necks eke out.

Would have you with me in an oversized T-shirt

to stand watch.  To know by the quiet measure of a sponge

grown big with whatever’s around, you must

love me this way.  Silent and looking at something else.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY Yalenny Vargas arranges Flags for the Fourth Of July celebrations at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J. Mel Evans/AP

Tourists visit the Areios Pagos hill with the Acropolis in the background in Athens, Greece, Monday. Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters

Market Closes for July 4, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17949.37	CLOSED
S&P 500	2102.95	CLOSED
NASDAQ	4862.567	CLOSED
TSX	14258.87	+194.33
		+1.38%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15775.80	+93.32
		+0.60%
HANG SENG	21059.20	+264.83
		+1.27%
SENSEX	27278.86	+133.85
		+0.49%
FTSE 100	6522.26	-55.57
		-0.84%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.044	1.060
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.673	1.715
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.4441	1.4441
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.2253	2.2253

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77833	0.77212
US $	1.28479	1.29514
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43283	0.69792
US $	1.11507	0.89681

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1350.75	1320.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.99	48.99

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a fourth day as commodity producers jumped, rebounding from losses sustained in the wake of the U.K.’s shock vote to exit the European Union.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 1.4 percent to 14,258.87 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest level since June 8.Canadian markets were closed Friday for Canada Day. Trading volume was 50 percent lower than the 30-day average with U.S. markets closed Monday for the Fourth of July holiday.

     The Canadian benchmark has swung wildly along with global markets, rebounding 4.2 percent in four trading sessions after slumping the most since February in the two days after the Brexit vote. The S&P/TSX is neck-and-neck with New Zealand as the world’s top-performing developed market in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

     Raw-materials producers soared 4.3 percent to lead gains across nine of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX. Silver Wheaton Corp. and MAG Silver Corp. surged at least 6.8 percent as silver vaulted above $21 an ounce for the first time in two years. Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank increased more than 1.1 percent to lead the nation’s largest lenders higher.

     Raw-materials producers have led the charge for Canada with a 57 percent gain this year, the best year-to-date performance for the industry in at least 30 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gold prices are on track for the biggest annual increase since 2010.

     Silver jumped as much as 7 percent to $21.1377 an ounce in London, while gold advanced to near a two-year high amid speculation of more central bank stimulus with traders now pricing in greater odds of a Federal Reserve rate cut than a hike.

     Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is set to make his third appearance in 12 days on Tuesday to address threats facing the financial system, as he breaks open an emergency central bank toolkit to soothe markets roiled by the prospect of another crisis. Nigel Farage, a central figure in the successful “Leave” campaign, resigned as leader of the U.K. Independence Party in London Monday.

     Gran Tierra Energy Inc. tumbled 6.9 percent, the most in almost a month, after agreeing on July 1 to buy PetroLatina Energy Ltd. in Colombia for $525 million in cash. The oil and gas explorer will pay for the deal through a combination of existing cash, debt and by issuing subscription receipts. Credit Suisse Group AG analyst David Phung suggests investors take a “wait and see” approach for Gran Tierra’s well results.

US

US markets closed for Independence Day.

 

Have a  wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

If a man reaches the heart of his own religion,

he has reached the heart of the others too.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

 

Knowledge is, in every country, the surest basis of public happiness.

                                             -George Washington, 1732-1799

 

 

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