December 2016 – Carolann Steinhoff

December 30, 2016

December 30, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Yours for a greener, kinder, and more rhythmic world,
Carolann

DESTINY

The wishes of the soul are springing
The deeds of the will are thriving
The fruits of life are maturing.

I feel my destiny,
My destiny finds me.
I feel my star.
My star finds me.
I feel my goals in life.
My goals in life are finding me.
My soul and the great World’s are one.

Life grows more radiant about me.
Life grows more arduous for me.
Life grows more abundant within me.
-Rudolf Steiner
PHOTOS FROM 2016

Shanta Basnet gets water from an outdoor tap by her family’s temporary shelter in Amppipal, Nepal, in April. After the family’s home was destroyed in the 2015 earthquake, they built a shelter of corrugated metal sheets and salvaged wood. Ann Hermes/Staff

Men, women, and children load and unload finished and unfinished bricks at a brick kiln in Dhadang, Nepal, in April. Ann Hermes/Staff
Market Closes for December 30^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19762.60	-57.18 -0.29%

S&P 500	2238.83	-10.43 -0.46%

NASDAQ	5383.117	-48.971 -0.90%

TSX	15287.59	-134.53
		-0.87%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19114.37	-30.77
		-0.16%
HANG SENG	22000.56	+209.65
		+0.96%
SENSEX	26626.46	+260.31
		+0.99%
FTSE 100*	7142.83	+22.57
		+0.32%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.721	1.725
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.312	2.323
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.4443	2.4769
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0651	3.0782

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.72072	0.72200
US $	1.38751	1.38504

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45907	0.68537
US $	1.05158	0.95095

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1145.90	1145.90

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	53.72	53.77

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Joseph Ciolli and Katia Dmitrieva
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slipped in a muted conclusion to a year that saw the S&P/TSX Composite Index rally more than any other developed market.
The gauge fell 0.9 percent to 15,287.59 at 4 p.m. in Toronto on the last trading day of the year after a rally that has propelled the benchmark index to its sixth straight monthly advance. Weakness in material and energy shares offset gains in health care.
Canadian equities rose 18 percent in 2016, the biggest increase since 2009. The index now sits less than 3 percent from a record reached in September 2014. The S&P/TSX’s world-beating advance marks a reversal for the index, which slipped 11 percent in 2015 for its worst annual decline since 2008.
Looking ahead to 2017, the question becomes whether the torrid climb has left valuations overextended. To analysts like David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff & Associates Inc., elevated stock prices mean investors must be more selective about which industries to own.
“In an otherwise expensive market, sector focus will be that much more important in what will likely be a flattish year for the TSX,” Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff, said in an e-mail. “In that light we are heavily favoring the Canadian financials.”
Materials stocks were the best performers in the S&P/TSX in 2016. They benefited from gains of 8.6 percent and 17 percent in gold and copper, respectively. Teck Resources Ltd., Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. and Iamgold Corp. led gains in the commodity index.
Energy shares in the S&P/TSX were the second-best performers in the group, up 31 percent. They tracked a 45 percent gain in the price of crude oil, which had plunged 62 percent over the prior two years. Enerplus Corp., Bonavista Energy Corp. and Seven Generations Energy Ltd. led all gainers in the commodity index, climbing more than 132 percent.
US
By Oliver Renick
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slid on the last trading day of 2016 as losses in tech shares and discretionary companies weighed on the market. For the year, the S&P 500 climbed 9.5 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 13.4 percent for its best rally since 2013.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.5 percent Friday to 2,238.83 at 4 p.m. in New York, capping a weekly decline of 1.1 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 57 points to 19,762.60.
* Nine of 11 sectors lower with financial stocks up 0.2%
* VIX advanced for sixth straight session to highest level since Dec. 2
* The U.S. benchmark has outperformed those of Europe, Japan and China this year on the back of a rally in energy producers, banks and other cyclical industries investors see benefiting from an accelerating economy and fiscal stimulus
* The S&P 500 climbed for the fourth out of five years, after last year’s decline
* The Dow has failed to reach the 20,000 level after closing within 30 points of it last week
* For the past five years, the S&P 500 Index has reversed direction in the first week of January from the last week of December, as year-end issues from tax liability to reporting deadlines prodded some U.S. investors to delay moves to the new year; benchmark is down 0.6% this week through Thursday
* EARNINGS: none

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Be magnificent!

Not only must we be aware of the nature and structure of the problem
and see it completely,
but meet it as it arises and resolve it immediately,
so that it does not take root in the mind.
If one allows a problem to endure for a month or a day,
or even for a few minutes, it distorts the mind.
Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

Grasp the subject, the words will follow.
-Cato the Elder, 234 BC-149 BC

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

December 29, 2016

December 29, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Gandhi’s Seven Deadly Sins

Wealth without Work
Pleasure without Conscience
Science without Humanity
Knowledge without Character
Politics without Principle
Commerce without Morality
Worship without Sacrifice.
PHOTOS FROM 2016

Susan Roberts (3rd from r.) is one of the ‘Posh Poppies of Peterborough,’ a senior women’s social group in Britain (hence the purple clothes and red hats). She said in April that she would vote to leave the European Union. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

Donald Trump’s wife, Melania (r.), and the couple’s son, Barron, listen to Mr. Trump address the audience at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 21. Ann Hermes/Staff

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holds a town hall meeting at Manchester (N.H.) Community College on Oct. 5. She spoke out for gun control in the wake of a mass shooting at a community college in Oregon. Alfredo Sosa/Staff
Market Closes for December 29^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19819.78	-13.90 -0.07%

S&P 500	2249.26	-0.66 -0.03%

NASDAQ	5432.090	-6.466 -0.12%

TSX	15422.12	+61.02
		+0.40%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19145.14	-256.58
		-1.32%
HANG SENG	21790.91	+36.17
		+0.17%
SENSEX	26366.15	+155.47
		+0.59%
FTSE 100*	7120.26	+14.18
		+0.20%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.725	1.734
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.323	2.335
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.4769	2.5080
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0782	3.0914

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.72200	0.73790
US $	1.38504	1.35520

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45273	0.68836
US $	1.04888	0.95340

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1145.90	1134.60

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	53.77	54.06

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Joseph Ciolli
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks increased for an eighth time in nine sessions, with commodity producers leading gains as gold prices rose and oil traded near the highest close in 18 months.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 15,388.94 at 1:12 p.m. in Toronto, extending a rally that has propelled the benchmark gauge toward its sixth straight monthly advance and tenth in eleven. Raw-material producers paced the gain Thursday, rising 3.4 percent, while health-care and financial stocks declined.
In other moves:
* Guyana Goldfields Inc., Asanko Gold Inc. and Alamos Gold Inc. were the three biggest gainers in the benchmark index as gold prices climbed 0.9%, the most since Nov. 2.
US
By Oliver Renick
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks ended the session little changed as filings for U.S. unemployment benefits fell for a third week in the last four and a rally in utility shares offset losses in financial companies.
The S&P 500 Index was little changed at 2,249.26 at 4 p.m. in New York after declining the most since October on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 13.9 points to 19,819.78, falling further from the 20,000 milestone it’s hovered near this month.
* Dividend-payers continue to lead market in the past five days
* Utility shares gain 1.3%; group is up 5.2% this month
* Real estate stocks add 0.9%
* Financial and tech stocks lag, down 0.7% and less than 0.1%, respectively
* Jobless claims declined by 10,000 to 265,000 in the week ended Dec. 24 from a six-month high in the prior period, Labor Department data showed Thursday
* The VIX rose for a fifth day, jumping 3.2% in its longest streak of increases since early November
* The S&P 500 is on track for the first yearly advance since 2014, up 10% for the year
* EARNINGS: no earnings on calendar

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

All the responsibility of good and evil is on you. This is the great hope.
What I have done, that I can undo.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.
-Harper Lee, 1926-2016

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

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

December 28, 2016

December 28, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
PHOTOS FROM 2016

Tourists visiting Grand Prismatic Spring are seen through the mist in June. The National Park Service celebrated its centennial this year. Ann Hermes/Staff

Musician Bryce Avary records a music video in March outside the Prada Marfa art installation in Valentine, Texas. The roadside installation by artists Elmgreen and Dragset, is sealed, though stocked with those and handbags. Ann Hermes/Staff
Market Closes for December 28^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19833.68	-111.36 -0.56%

S&P 500	2249.92	-18.96 -0.84%

NASDAQ	5438.555	-48.886 -0.89%

TSX	15361.10	+32.96
		+0.21%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19401.72	-1.34
		-0.01%
HANG SENG	21754.74	+179.98
		+0.83%
SENSEX	26210.68	-2.76
		-0.01%
FTSE 100*	7106.08	+37.91
		+0.54%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.734	1.796
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.335	2.388
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5080	2.5373
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0914	3.1138

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.73790	0.73902
US $	1.35520	1.35315

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41169	0.70837
US $	1.04156	0.96009

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1134.60	1131.35

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	54.06	52.02

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Joseph Ciolli
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced for a seventh time in eight sessions with commodity producers leading gains as crude oil and gold prices climbed.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.4 percent to 15,383.60 at 9:44 a.m. in Toronto, extending a rally that has propelled the benchmark gauge toward its sixth straight monthly advance. Raw-material producers paced the gain Wednesday, rising 2.2 percent, while health-care and real estate stocks were the worst performers.
In other moves:
* Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. slipped 5.4% after Raymond James downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform, citing normalizing energy markets that pose a near- term growth headwind for the company
* Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. and First Majestic Silver Corp. each gained at least 7% as silver prices rose for a second straight day
US
By Oliver Renick
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell as all 11 groups in the S&P 500 Index slid, with real estate and raw-material companies leading the decline. The benchmark gauge lost 0.8 percent to 2,249.92 at 4 p.m. in New York, the biggest one-day decline since Oct. 11. Trading volume was about 40 percent lower than the average of the past month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell further from the elusive 20,000 level, losing 111.36 points to 19,833.68.
* Real estate shares dip 0.9% after worse-than-expected pending home sales
* Materials, energy stocks down at least 0.9%
* Phone companies least changed, with 0.3% loss
* VIX up 8% for fourth straight increase
* The Dow has struggled to reach the 20,000 level after coming within about 30 points of it on Dec. 20
* EARNINGS: no earnings expected
By Joseph Ciolli
(Bloomberg) — One measure of U.S. equity sentiment just had its biggest jump since 2009. Does that imply a euphoric moment that puts the bull market on death watch? History suggests not.
A Conference Board index tracking Americans who expect shares to rise surged 45 percent in December, data showed Tuesday. While that was the highest reading in more than a decade, similarly elevated levels haven’t been reliable sell signals. Six times the survey was higher since 1997, the S&P 500 Index rose in the next 12 months by an average of 2 percent, Bloomberg data show.
Surging confidence is a double-edged sword. Exuberant investors are buyers, with the potential to exhaust themselves. December’s bullishness followed the election of Donald Trump and coincided the biggest rally ever to greet a new president. It also came with valuations near decade highs amid the second- longest bull market on record.
Here are some statistics that might suggest stocks have further to run:
* Wall Street forecasts a median S&P 500 gain of 3.5% to 2,340 by the end of 2017, according to a survey of 15 strategists
* Companies in S&P 500 expected to increase earnings by 12% in 2017, which would be the biggest full-year profit expansion since 2010: Bloomberg data.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The idea of a duty to understand violence engenders for me
a great vitality and passion for knowledge.
But to transcend this violence, I need not repress it, nor deny it, nor say to myself:
It has become a part of me, I can do nothing about it; or, I wish to reject it.
I must observe it, study it, enter into it intimately,
and for that purpose I need neither condemn it nor justify it.
And yet, it is this that we do.
I would ask you, then, to suspend for an instant your judgments on the subject.
Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

One man that has a mind and knows it can always beat ten
men who haven’t and don’t.
-George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

December 23, 2016

December 23, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Happy Holidays – Merry Christmas – Happy Hanukkah!

On December 23^rd, 1812, Lady Granville, at Lilleshall in Shropshire, a house belonging to her husband’s family, wrote to her sister, Lady Morpeth:

We are here for three days, quite alone and very very comfortable. Blazing fires of Staffordshire coal, weather that allows one never to put one’s nose out, an easy conscience on it, two new Reviews, early hours, wholesome dinners, a comfortable bed and Granville, adored Granville, who would make a barren desert smile….You will think I am growing quite a misanthrope but Chatsworth will make me very worldly again. How smart we must be ….in sapphires and diamonds and amethysts as big as eggs, doing l’impossible to be gracious and agreeable.
Chatsworth was the home of their brother, the Duke of Devonshire.
-from The Book of Days

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The choir sings and gestures to the audience at Boston’s Paramount Theater during ‘Black Nativity.’ For 46 years, Boston’s black community has come together to re-create the show as their ‘Christmas gift to the world.’ It was written by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

Most of the actors and singers in the National Center of Afro-American Artists’ production of ‘Black Nativity’ wear simple white robes. It’s a multigenerational effort: The youngest performer (aside from the infant Jesus) is 5 years old. The oldest are in the their 60s. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Market Closes for December 23^rd, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19933.81	+14.93 +0.07%

S&P 500	2262.59	+1.63 +0.07%

NASDAQ	5462.688	+15.265 +0.28%

TSX	15336.17	+0.95
		+0.01%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19427.67	-16.82
		-0.09%
HANG SENG	21574.76	-61.44
		-0.28%
SENSEX	26040.70	+61.10
		+0.24%
FTSE 100	7068.17	+4.49
		+0.06%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.796	1.822
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.388	2.409
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5373	2.5496
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1138	3.1263

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.73902	0.74175
US $	1.35315	1.34817

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41425	0.70709
US $	1.04516	0.95680

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1131.35	1131.35

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.02	51.95

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Aleksandra Sagan
(Canadian Press) — TORONTO — The Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index broke its six-day streak of gains to conclude the last full trading week of the year as North American markets remained relatively flat ahead of the holiday weekend.
The S&P/TSX composite index shed 7.08 points to 15,328.15. Throughout the day, the market seemed poised to cap off the week with a seventh consecutive day in the positive, only to see that evaporate just before markets closed.
There was barely movement in New York, where the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 14.93 points to 19,933.81, the S&P 500 rose 2.83 points to 2,263.79 and the Nasdaq composite gained 15.27 points to 5,462.69.
Toronto and New York stock markets will be closed Monday. New York will reopen Tuesday, while trading in Toronto resumes Wednesday.
“Volumes are significantly lower than normal as we roll into the holiday time,” said Stephen Carlin, managing director and head of equities at CIBC Asset Management.
He said trading is likely to remain relatively flat in the week ahead as investors take time off and the markets take a break after recent strong growth following Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. presidential election.
A number of stocks have also moved up in value due to expectations of economic growth based on developments like a recent agreement by OPEC to limit crude oil production and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to hike interest rates, Carlin said.
The central bank’s move has lent strength to the U.S. dollar, which in turn has hurt the loonie, he said.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.21 of a U.S. cent to 73.88 cents US. The last time it closed below that was on Feb. 25 at 73.85 cents US.
Weaker economic data north of the border hasn’t helped either, Carlin said.
Statistics Canada said Friday that Canada’s economy saw its first monthly decline since the Fort McMurray, Alta., wildfires in May. GDP shrank by 0.3 per cent for October, with weak performance in the manufacturing and the oil and gas sectors.
On the commodity markets, the February contract for oil gained seven cents to US$53.02 per barrel and February gold rose US$2.90 to US$1,133.60 an ounce.
The February natural gas contract, which was more heavily traded than January’s, added 12 cents to US$3.68 per mmBTU and March copper shed about two cents to US$2.48 per pound.
US
By Lu Wang:
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities rose in light trading before the Christmas holiday, with gains in health care shares outweighing declines in consumer-discretionary and energy companies. Canada’s stock benchmark was little changed.
The S&P 500 Index gained 0.1 percent to 2,263.79 at 4 p.m. in New York, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched closer to the elusive 20,000 level after dropping for two- consecutive days. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell less than 0.1 percent in Toronto. Trading volume in all three indexes was more than 50 percent lower than the 30-day average.
* Gains in heath care companies exceeded 0.7%, offsetting losses of 0.2% in consumer discretionary and energy companies
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% this week
* The Dow gained 0.5% in its seventh weekly gain, the longest winning streak since December 2014
* Strategists on average expect the S&P 500 to end 2017 at 2,356, according to the mean of 15 estimates compiled by Bloomberg, implying a 4% gain from Friday’s close
* The CBOE Volatility Index rose less than 0.1%, trimming its weekly slide to 6.2%. The gauge of investor anxiety, known as the VIX, touched a two-year low earlier this week
By Lu Wang and Dani Burger:
(Bloomberg) — The Trump rally seems to have hit a roadblock: 20,000.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average failed to surpass that milestone again, despite a seven-week advance that lifted the gauge to within 15 points of it. Investors appeared to have stepped to the sidelines before the holidays as the S&P 500 Index spent the last five days trading in the tightest range in 19 months and eked out a weekly gain of only 0.3 percent.
The buying spree that added $1.5 trillion to U.S. equity values in a month after Donald Trump’s surprise presidential election win has lost some momentum as investors await policy details on taxes and public spending. In a week when trading volume dwindled ahead of the Christmas holiday, chipmakers were among the best performers after Micron Technology Inc.’s sales forecast exceeded some analysts’ estimates.
“Everyone seems to be neutral or bullish,” said Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income for National Alliance Capital Markets. “Going into the first quarter, I would tend to think you’re going to have some sort of correction. You’ve already taken a lot of potential gains next year because a lot of it has already been priced in.”
* The Dow added 0.5% over five days, rounding out seven consecutive weekly gains, the longest winning streak since December 2014
* The blue-chip gauge’s intraday advance stopped around 19,987 on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21, after pulling within 50 points of 20,000 for a second week
* The S&P 500 fluctuated in a range of only 0.7 percent, the tightest since May 2015
* Volume averaged about 5 billion shares a day, the slowest week this year
* The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3.1% over five days
* The CBOE Volatility Index, a gauge of investor anxiety also known as the VIX, slipped 6.2 percent, touching a two-year low.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

Live your own life.
That is to say, where you are, as you are, with what you are, and with who you are…
Accept the situation in which you find yourself and try, at the same time, to adapt to it.
You cannot escape from it.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

Carolann

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
-Sir Richard Steele, 1672-1729

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

December 22, 2016

December 22, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

If you are depressed, you are living in the past.
If you are anxious, you are living in the future.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present.
-Lao Tzu

On Dec. 22, 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman sent a message to President Lincoln from Georgia, saying, “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.”
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People dine at the ‘Dinner in the Sky’ restaurant, overlooking the city center area with the Kuala Lumpur Tower lit up at left, in Malaysia on Thursday. The concept, used in countries around the world, consists of lifting patrons 150 feet high with a crane for a haute-cuisine meal. Lim Huey Teng/AP

Christmas lights illuminate the rue Royale in front of the Place de la Concorde, the Luxor Obelisk and the Dome des Invalides during the holiday season in Paris on Thursday. Charles Platiau/Reuters
Market Closes for December 22^nd, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19918.88	-23.08 -0.12%

S&P 500	2260.96	-4.22 -0.19%

NASDAQ	5447.422	-24.011 -0.44%

TSX	15335.23	+29.34
		+0.19%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19427.67	-16.82
		-0.09%
HANG SENG	21636.20	-173.60
		-0.80%
SENSEX	25979.60	-262.78
		-1.00%
FTSE 100	7063.68	+22.26
		+0.32%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.822	1.809
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.409	2.398
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5496	2.5348
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1263	3.1079

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74175	0.74402
US $	1.34817	1.34405

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40741	0.71052
US $	1.04394	0.95791

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1131.35	1133.65

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.95	51.29

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced for a sixth day amid reports that showed retail sales beat estimates while inflation rate slowed more than expected.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 15,335.23 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, extending a rally that has propelled the benchmark gauge toward its sixth straightly monthly advance. Energy shares paced the gain on higher crude prices, rising 0.7 percent, while technology and consumer discretionary stocks were the worst performers.
The deceleration in inflation illustrates the weak demand that is still weighing on the economy more than two years after oil prices began to drop. Partly because of the family benefit payments that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party introduced this year to boost sluggish growth, retail sales rose for a third month in October.
In other moves:
* Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. plunged 20 percent after saying H.C. Wainwright & Co. and Cormark Securities agreed to buy $25 million of securities
* Guyana Goldfields Inc. jumped 10 percent. The company said Wednesday that it completed $160 million of debt refinancing with existing lenders
US
By Oliver Renick
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slid as the dollar pushed higher and Treasuries extended declines following the release of economic data that met or exceeded expectations.
The S&P 500 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 2,261 at 4 p.m. in New York as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid further away from the 20,000 level that has eluded it so far. The Nasdaq Composite Index and Russell 200 Index each lost 0.4 percent.
* In the S&P 500, 299 of 505 shares close lower
* Consumer discretionary shares drop 1%
* Financial shares down 0.3%; phone and energy stocks up at least 0.4%
* Russell 2000 index of small-caps down 0.9%
* VIX moves higher to 11.43 for first gain in six sessions
* Data:
** GDP rose at a 3.5% annualized rate in the three months ended in September, compared with a prior estimate of 3.2%
** Household purchases, which account for almost 70% of the economy, grew at a 3% annualized rate, stronger than the 2.8% pace previously estimated
** Initial jobless claims were higher than expected; 275k vs 257k
* Strategists on average expect the S&P 500 to end 2017 at 2,356, according to the mean of 15 estimates compiled by Bloomberg, implying a 4 percent gain from Wednesday’s close. The benchmark is poised for its first annual advance since 2014, up 11 percent.
By Rebecca Spalding:
(Bloomberg) — The SPDR S&P Retail ETF dropped as much as 3.6 percent Thursday, the most since June, after Commerce Department data showed inflation-adjusted disposable income in November dropped for the first time in three years.
Eight of the ten of the day’s worst performing stocks in the S&P 500 were retailers, including Bed Bath & Beyond, which lost as much 10.2 percent after reporting weaker than expected sales in the third quarter. The rout extended to both high- and low-end brands alike: Nordstrom and Dollar Tree each plunged over 5 percent for the day.
Adding to retailers woes is likely uncertainty over the new administration’s tax policies for imported goods. House Republicans have proposed a “destination-based tax”, which would impose levies based on where a good ends up rather than where it was produced.
* Vitamin Shoppe Inc. fell as much as 6.7%, the most since Nov.; G-III Apparel Group fell as much as 7.7%, the most since Dec. 2
* Caleres Inc., Coach Inc., and Dillard’s Inc., each lost 4.4%, 4.0%, 7.3% respectively
By Jeremy Herron:
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated in thin trading, with benchmark indexes hovering below all-time highs ahead of the holidays, while Treasuries slipped after a flurry of data bolstered optimism in the American economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to 19,920 after climbing yesterday within 14 points of 20,000. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index resumed an advance, nearing the highest in more than a decade, while yields on 10-year government debt climbed to 2.55 percent. Gold slumped to $1,130 an ounce and crude prices settled a nickel short of $53 a barrel.
Data on durable goods orders showing increased business activity may reinforce bets that Donald Trump’s fiscal stimulus plans will stoke growth. Speculation the President-elect will open the spigot of spending has sent the dollar to near a 14- year high against the euro and pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to almost 20,000 this week.
“Going into next year, we are confident the dollar will continue to make headway. It will be the currency that appreciates in 2017, it’s just a question of how much,” said Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments Ltd. in Edinburgh.
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index declined for a second day, losing 0.2 percent to 2,260.97 at 4 p.m. in New York. Trading volume was 30 percent below the 30-day average at this time of day.
* The Dow fell 0.1 percent as its push to 20,000 has stalled. The blue-chip index on Thursday came within 14 points of the round-number milestone before pulling back.
* Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said he was concerned about the U.S. stock market “in the short term” given its run-up following Trump’s win, adding that he increased his hedging in recent weeks.
* Many investors are likely waiting until January to sell stocks in anticipation of lower taxes on those gains in 2017, Icahn said on CNBC.
* Orders for U.S. business equipment advanced more than forecast last month, while the final reading of third-quarter gross domestic product topped estimates.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.2 percent, retreating from the year’s highest intraday level on Wednesday. The basic resource industry was the biggest decliner, down 1.3 percent.
Bonds
* Treasuries fell, pushing the 10-year yield two basis points higher to 2.55 percent. The yield on two-year notes rose for the first time in five days.
* German bunds also declined, with the benchmark yield two basis points higher at 0.27 percent.
* U.S. mortgage rates rose, with the 30-year reaching the highest level since April 2014, after the Federal Reserve increased its benchmark lending rate.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.9 percent to settle at $52.95 a barrel as Iraq signaled that it would adhere to the OPEC production targets. WTI dropped 1.5 percent Wednesday after data showed U.S. crude stockpiles expanded for the first time in five weeks.
* Lead, zinc and nickel dropped at least 2 percent as data showed China stepping up production.
* Gold traded near the lowest level in more than 10 months as exchange-traded funds holding the metal saw a 29th day of contraction. Bullion for future delivery dropped 0.3 percent to $1,130 an ounce.
* EARNINGS:
** After market Thursday: Cintas Corp (CTAS)

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Man has accepted conflict as an innate part of daily existence
because he has accepted competition, jealousy, greed, acquisitiveness and aggression
as a natural way of life.
Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.
-George Addair, 1823-1899

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

December 21, 2016

December 21, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

What is life? It is a flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
-Crowfoot (last words).

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone… -Christina Rosetti
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mountain summits viewed from Rosshutte mountain in the western Austrian ski resort of Seefeld on Tuesday. Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters

People skate on the ice rink at Hampton Court Palace in London on Tuesday. Eddie Keogh/Reuters
Market Closes for December 20^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19974.62	+91.56 +0.46%

S&P 500	2270.76	+8.23 +0.36%

NASDAQ	5483.945	+26.504 +0.49%

TSX	15292.96	+23.11
		+0.15%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19494.53	+102.93
		+0.53%
HANG SENG	21729.06	-103.62
		-0.47%
SENSEX	26307.98	-66.72
		-0.25%
FTSE 100	7043.96	+26.80
		+0.38%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.807	1.788
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.399	2.391
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5586	2.5382
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1396	3.1220

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74792	0.74612
US $	1.33704	1.34027

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.38945	0.71971
US $	1.03920	0.96227

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1125.70	1136.25

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.23	52.12

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Eric Lam
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks extended their rally into a fourth day, led by gains among banks and raw-materials producers after copper advanced for the first time in four sessions.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 15,292.96 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, closing near the highest level since April 2015. The gauge has risen almost 18 percent in 2016, the top performer among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg, ahead of No. 2 market Norway’s 14 percent advance.
BlackBerry Ltd. lost 3.1 percent, erasing an earlier gain. The technology company boosted its 2017 earnings outlook and reported an adjusted profit for the third quarter, while total revenue declined and missed estimates. BlackBerry said it now expects to post a profit for the full year, up from a prior range of break even to a five-cent per share loss. BlackBerry has focused on its transition to a software company from its past as a legacy smartphone maker.
Financial services companies and raw-materials producers added at least 0.4 percent to lead five of 11 industries in the S&P/TSX higher. Copper futures rose as London Metal Exchange data showed a decline in copper stockpiles for the first time in seven days. Trading volume in the benchmark equity index was 15 percent lower than the 30-day average. Energy producers slipped 0.4 percent as crude closed near $52 a barrel in New York.
In other moves:
* CCL Industries Inc. surged a record 20 percent after agreeing Monday to buy Innovia Group of the U.K. for about C$1.13 billion, boosting the labels and packaging company’s 2017 sales to more than C$5 billion on a pro-forma basis, CCL said
* Amaya Inc. lost 2 percent after founder David Baazov withdrew his $4.1 billion bid to take the PokerStars owner private, saying the price sought by some shareholders was too high
US
By Oliver Renick
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed as investors bought financial companies, extending the group’s advance to 22 percent since the presidential election.
The S&P 500 Index added 0.4 percent to 2,270.76 by 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92 points to 19,974 to a record. The Russell 2000 Index of small-cap shares jumped 0.9 percent.
* Financial stocks add 1.1%, with Charles Schwab Corp. and Blackrock Inc. adding at least 2.2%; discretionary shares up 0.8% on Carmax Inc., TripAdvisor Inc.
* Dow gains in Nike Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group of at least 1.6%
* Industrial, telecom shares up at least 0.5%; consumer staples drop 0.3%
* The VIX dropped for a fourth session to 11.45, its lowest close since August
* Strategists on average expect the S&P 500 to end 2017 at 2,356, according to the mean of 15 estimates compiled by Bloomberg; that implies a 4.1% gain from Monday’s close.
* The gauge has advanced 11% this year, putting it among the top four developed-market benchmarks
* The Russell 2000 Index of small-cap firms has climbed almost 15% since the day of the U.S. election. All four major benchmarks reached all-time highs after the vote, with financial firms leading gains on bets higher borrowing costs will boost profitability
* EARNINGS:
** After market Tuesday: Steelcase Inc. (SCS), FedEx Corp. (FDX), NIKE Inc. (NKE)
** Before market Wednesday: Lindsay Corp (LNN), Accenture PLC (ACN), Winnebago Industries (WGO), Finish Line Inc. (FINL), Actuant Corp. (ATU), Paychex Inc (PAYX), Neogen Corp (NEOG)
By Jeremy Herron
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose with equities in Europe, while bonds and gold retreated in a demonstration of financial markets’ resilience to recent geopolitical events as investors focus on the prospects for increased government spending in the U.S.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record after rallying within 13 points of 20,000. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index reached its highest level of the year. Treasuries and gold reversed gains from Monday following a probable terror attack in Berlin and the killing of Russia’s envoy to Turkey. The yen approached the weakest since February versus the dollar after Japan’s central bank kept its yield-curve and asset-purchase programs unchanged.
Markets have showed increasing immunity to terror incidents this year, with initial reactions to buy haven assets after attacks fading quickly. As trading volumes decrease before December holidays and year-end, investors may be loath to veer too far from the underlying market trends that have prevailed since the election of Donald Trump in November, namely favoring stocks and shunning bonds. A so-called fear gauge of volatility in European stocks was at the lowest since 2014.
Read here for our Markets Live blog.
“The market response to each new terror event is less and less pronounced,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets. The move in European stocks “confirms ever- thickening investor skin.”
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4 percent to 2,270.71 at 4 p.m. in New York, a point below its all-time high. The Dow rose 90.54 points to close at 19,973.60, a record.
* Trading in S&P 500 and Dow stocks was at least 20 percent lower than the 30-day average as investors prepare for the Christmas holiday.
* Caterpillar Inc. and Nike Inc. led advances in the blue-chip gauge. Bank shares resumed a rally, adding 0.9 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.5 percent, for the highest close in 2016. Analysts are upbeat about profit at its members next year, expecting earnings to grow 12.5 percent.
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index resumed its rally, pushing its gain in the quarter toward 8 percent, the biggest three-month advance since the third quarter of 2008.
* The euro pared losses versus the dollar after plumbed another 2003 low at $1.0352. It was down 0.1 percent at 103.91.
* The yen fell 0.6 percent to 117.80 per dollar.
* Treasuries slumped with European debt, erasing most of Monday’s gains.
* Yields on 10-year Treasury notes climbed two basis points to 2.56 percent after dropping five basis points on Monday.
* German bunds of the same maturity fell, sending yields higher by two basis points to 0.26 percent.
* Gold closed near a 10-month low as the dollar climbed and concerns eased over geopolitical events that had briefly supported the price. Futures for February delivery fell 0.8 percent to $1,133.60.
* Copper rebounded from the lowest in almost month after London Metal Exchange data showed a drop in copper stockpiles for the first time in seven days. The metal settled 0.1 percent higher at $2.5025 a pound in New York.
* Oil was little changed and closed near $52 a barrel as Libya said it reopened two oil fields while analysts project government data to show U.S. crude stockpiles fell for a fifth week.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The whole universe is bound by the law of causation.
There cannot be anything, any fact – either in the internal or in the external world –
that does not have a cause; and every cause must produce an effect.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

Intelligence is quickness to apprehend as distinct from ability, which is capacity to act
wisely on the thing apprehended.
-Alfred North Whitehead, 1861-1947

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

December 21, 2016

December 20, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19974.62	+91.56 +0.46%

S&P 500	2270.76	+8.23 +0.36%

NASDAQ	5483.945	+26.504 +0.49%

TSX	15292.96	+23.11
		+0.15%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19494.53	+102.93
		+0.53%
HANG SENG	21729.06	-103.62
		-0.47%
SENSEX	26307.98	-66.72
		-0.25%
FTSE 100	7043.96	+26.80
		+0.38%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.807	1.788
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.399	2.391
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5586	2.5382
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1396	3.1220

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74792	0.74612
US $	1.33704	1.34027

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.38945	0.71971
US $	1.03920	0.96227

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1125.70	1136.25

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.23	52.12

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Intelligence is quickness to apprehend as distinct from ability, which is capacity to act
wisely on the thing apprehended.
-Alfred North Whitehead, 1861-1947

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

December 21, 2016

December 19, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

The Poem

Become Water
By Thomas McCarthy

Like us, the tide is seeking a cove
Where it doesn’t need to be obliging. Love
in its secret cave may rise and fall
To its own moon: the beck and call
Of the sea won’t be heard. The cliff face
Runs its mascara, such tears of disgrace.

As leaves the rocks with purple stains.
It is clear the sky has taken pains
To shoo such clouds away as might
Freckle the foreshore from a great height.
The tide’s scandalous incompetence
Is complete: the sea runs out of patience.

With every form of rock and pool –
This tide of love has never bent to any school
But ebbs in its own petulant way:
The way art or water does, you say;
The way all things that are fought for
Settle in a hidden cove and accept water.

From “Pandemonium” (Carcanet).
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The St. Joseph lighthouse and pier are covered in ice on the southeastern shoreline of Lake Michigan on Monday in St. Joseph, Mich. Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune/AP

People skate on an ice rink built at 57 meters (188 feet) above the ground on the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday. The rink will be open until Feb. 19. Michel Euler/AP
A surfing instructor dressed as Santa Claus gives a lesson to orphans on Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia, on Monday. Nyoman Budhiana/Antara Foto/Reuters
Market Closes for December 19^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19883.06	+39.65 +0.20%

S&P 500	2262.53	+4.46 +0.20%

NASDAQ	5457.441	+20.279 +0.37%

TSX	15269.85	+17.65
		+0.12%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19391.60	-9.55
		-0.05%
HANG SENG	21832.68	-188.07
		-0.85%
SENSEX	26374.70	-114.86
		-0.43%
FTSE 100	7017.16	+5.52
		+0.08%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.788	1.833
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.391	2.425
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5382	2.5916
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1220	3.1741

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74612	0.74978
US $	1.34027	1.33372

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.39449	0.71711
US $	1.04045	0.96112

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1136.25	1131.60

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.12	51.90

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Eric Lam
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a third day as BlackBerry Ltd. advanced to lead a gain in technology shares after announcing a new research center for self-driving cars in Canada.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 15,269.85 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, trading near the highest since April 2015. The gauge has risen 17 percent in 2016, the top performer among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg, ahead of No. 2 market Norway’s 14 percent advance.
BlackBerry added 2.3 percent to halt a three-day slide as technology companies gained 1.6 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX. BlackBerry and Canada are opening a research center for self-driving cars, to be based at the company’s QNX headquarters near Ottawa. BlackBerry CEO John Chen has focused his efforts on shifting the company away from its smartphone legacy into new areas including software.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. slipped 1.5 percent after the financial services firm agreed to buy insurer Allied World Assurance Co. for $4.9 billion in cash and stock in CEO Prem Watsa’s largest purchase. Allied will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, keeping its executive and senior management teams while Fairfax diversifies its business.
In other moves:
* Onex Corp. rose 0.3 percent, reversing an earlier loss, after agreeing to buy a U.K. caravan holiday park operator Parkdean Resorts for 1.35 billion pounds in a deal expected to close in the first quarter of next year
* Concordia International Corp. jumped 9.7 percent after reporting a cash balance of $410 million, and as much as $200 million available under its undrawn revolving credit line; the drugmaker said it has access to sufficient liquidity to meet all of its near-term financial obligations.
US
By Oliver Renick
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks inched higher as investors assessed a rally that has lifted equities to record levels in the past month.
The S&P 500 Index added 0.2 percent to 2,262.53 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark gauge fell 0.2 percent Friday after a report that China seized a U.S. drone in international waters in the South China Sea sparked geopolitical concerns. The Dow Industrials added 0.2 percent Monday as small-cap shares jumped 0.6 percent.
European stocks closed little changed, after two straight weeks of gains, as investors kicked off the last full week of trading of the year. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent at the close. In a reversal of the recent rotation into cyclical shares, banks and miners declined as defensive stocks including utilities, real estate and technology advanced.
* Phone and real estate shares gained as energy and health-care stocks fell
* Strategists on average expect the S&P 500 to end 2017 at 2356, according to the mean of 15 estimates compiled by Bloomberg; that’s 4.3% higher than the Friday close
* The benchmark gauge is poised for its fifth straight quarterly advance and is up more than 10% for the year
* All four major benchmarks reached all-time highs after the election; financials have led gains on bets higher borrowing costs will boost profitability
** S&P 500 Banks Index up 30% in the final quarter of 2016, the biggest advance among 24 industry groups
* After Federal Reserve officials said they expect three quarter-point rate increases next year, up from two seen in September, traders are pricing in a 73% chance of an increase in June 2017 — the first month with at least even odds for an increase
* EARNINGS
** After market Monday: Worthington Industries Inc. (WOR)
** Before market Tuesday: Patheon NV (PTHN), BlackBerry Ltd (BB CN), CarMax Inc (KMX), Darden Restaurants Inc (DRI), FactSet Research Systems Inc (FDS), General Mills Inc (GIS), Navistar International Corp (NAV), The Valspar Corp (VAL), Carnival Corp (CCL).
* The VStoxx Index of euro-area stock volatility was little changed near its lowest in more than two years, down 39% since the U.S. election, as speculation of stronger economic growth boosted equities
* The volume of Stoxx 600 shares traded on Monday was about a third lower than the 30-day average, data compiled by Bloomberg show
* Financials fell for a second day. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA slid 11% after saying it will sell shares to institutional investors through Thursday, as it aims to complete raising funds by year-end to avoid a rescue by the Italian government
* Deutsche Bank AG slid 4.5% amid reports its settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice could come this week
* Barclays Plc declined 2.7% as the lender prepares to tell 7,000 clients to do more trading with the firm or find another bank, in a bid to boost returns
* The Stoxx 600 is on course for its first annual decline since the peak of the sovereign-debt crisis in 2011, while the FTSE 100 is poised for its best rally in three years as a post-Brexit slump in the pound boosted U.K. exporters
For related equity market news:
* S&P 500 to Climb to 2450 Next Year: Oppenheimer’s Stoltzfus
* Top Bull Says Equity Market Due for Pause, Buy on Pullbacks
* A $55b Manager Who Bought at Market Low Returns to Cash
* Volatility of Volatility Rises Even as VIX Signals Calm: Chart
* European Stocks Ignore Selloff in Emerging Markets: Chart

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Knowledge relieves all suffering. Knowledge liberates.
Which knowledge? Chemistry? Physics? Astronomy? Geology?
They help a little, but only a little. The true knowledge is the knowledge of our own nature.
Know yourself. You must know who you are, understand your inner nature.
You must become conscious of this infinite nature in yourself. Then you will break free of your shackles.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.
-Edward John Phelps, 1822-1900

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

December 16, 2016

December 16, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
December 16^th, 1773 – Boston Tea Party.

DECEMBER
-from A COUNTRYWOMAN’S NOTES by Rosemary Verey:
…Now the shortest days are on us and darkness descends soon after four o’clock. I can come in from the garden to the welcome of a warm fire and the prospect of a long peaceful evening spent with all those books which have been accumulating on my table. Some have inspired me to use more herbs in the kitchen or to experiment with old ideas like using saponaria leaves and roots as a gentle soap to revitalize old and faded fabrics. A satisfying occupation when hard frosts make outdoor activities unattractive, but you must have a suppy of roots ready dug and handy. Soapwort reminds me of a hot day in Ethiopia when we came upon a large patch of it growing beside a lake, and sure enough this was where the women did their laundry…
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Seagulls sit on a bar above the river Main in Frankfurt, central Germany, Friday. Boris Roessler/dpa/AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin, center right, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center left, watch the demonstration of an ancient form of judo when they visit the Kodokan Judo Institute, the headquarters of the worldwide judo community, in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday. Toru Yamanaka/AP
Market Closes for December 16^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19843.41	-8.83 -0.04%

S&P 500	2258.07	-3.96 -0.18%

NASDAQ	5437.164	-19.690 -0.36%

TSX	15252.20	+33.89
		+0.22%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19401.15	+127.36
		+0.66%
HANG SENG	22020.75	-38.65
		-0.18%
SENSEX	26489.56	-29.51
		-0.11%
FTSE 100	7011.64	+12.63
		+0.18%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.833	1.837
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.425	2.412
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5916	2.5967
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1741	3.1622

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74978	0.74998
US $	1.33372	1.33337

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.39394	0.71739
US $	1.04515	0.95680

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1131.60	1126.95

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.90	50.90

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Eric Lam
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a second day as natural-resource producers advanced, with crude prices reversing a weekly loss and gold pushing back after taking a beating during a quarter dominated by the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 15,252.20 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, for a second day of gains. The gauge has risen 17 percent in 2016, the top performer among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg, ahead of No. 2 market Norway’s 14 percent advance.
Energy producers rose 1.2 percent as a group as six of 11 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced. Crude futures rose for the first time in three days, up 2 percent in New York to reverse a weekly loss. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its second- quarter oil price forecasts and predicted inventories would return to normal levels by the middle of 2017 as OPEC production cuts ripple through the market.
Franco-Nevada Corp. and Goldcorp Inc. added at least 2.3 percent. Gold edged higher in New York, pulling back from a 10- month low. Base-metals producers offset gold’s gains, as Teck Resources Ltd. tumbled 5.7 percent. Copper prices capped the worst slump since August.
In other moves:
* Eldorado Gold Corp. added 2.8 percent after the company said CEO Paul Wright is stepping down next year, to be replaced by Goldcorp Inc.’s Chief Operating Officer George Burns
* Bombardier Inc. climbed 5.1 percent. The company won two upgrades from analysts after forecasting improving 2017 results in guidance
* AlarmForce Industries Inc. rallied 4 percent, the most in two years, after the company said it will restate results for 2015 and the first two quarters of 2016, related to revenue previously gained from incorrectly charging customers who had canceled their service; the company said the revenue incorrectly earned not expected to exceed C$3.5 million.
US
By STAN CHOE
New York (AP) — Falling technology and financial stocks pulled U.S. indexes back from the edge of record highs on Friday. Bond yields gave up some of their big gains from the last few days, and the dollar downshifted from its sharp climb against other currencies.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.96 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,258.07. It had wobbled up and down through the day, never rising by more than 0.3 percent or falling by more than 0.3 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 8.83 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 19,843.41. The Nasdaq composite fell 19.69, or 0.4 percent, to 5,437.16 after climbing above its record closing level earlier in the day. All three indexes remain within 1 percent of their record highs.
Friday’s moves close a week where stocks slowed their sharp ascent since last month’s presidential election, and bond yields and the dollar continued their big gains. A driving force was the Federal Reserve’s move on Wednesday to raise interest rates for only the second time in a decade and indicate several more increases may be in store for 2017.
The dollar gave back a smidgen of its gains on Friday. The ICE U.S. Dollar index, which measures the dollar against six other currencies, dipped 0.2 percent. The index remains close to its highest level in 14 years.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury likewise regressed a bit Friday, dipping to 2.59 percent from 2.60 percent late Thursday. It’s still near its highest level since 2014.
Friday’s drop in yields helped drive stocks that pay big dividends higher. They often trade in the opposite direction of interest rates on expectations that income investors will buy them when bond yields are dropping. Those sectors had struggled in recent days.
Utility stocks and real-estate investment trusts both rose 1.2 percent on Friday, the largest gains among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500.
Banks and other financial stocks fell in a rare off-day. The sector has been cruising since last month’s election on expectations that higher interest rates will boost their profits.
Financial stocks in the S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent. Bank of America fell 50 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $22.66, and Regions Financial fell 32 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $14.20.
Technology stocks in the S&P 500 fell 0.8 percent. Software giant Oracle fell $1.76, or 4.3 percent, to $39.10 after reporting revenue for its latest quarter that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
Despite drops for the S&P 500 and other indexes, more stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange than fell.
Among them was Chipotle Mexican Grill, which jumped $9.72, or 2.5 percent, to $392.07. The restaurant chain said four new directors will join its board as part of an agreement with activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square.
Jabil Circuit rose $2.58, or 12 percent, to $24.15 after reporting stronger earnings for its latest quarter than analysts expected.
Big gains since last month’s election mean stocks generally are more expensive relative to their earnings, a key gauge investors use to measure whether the market is overpriced.
The S&P 500 is trading at about 19 times its earnings per share over the last 12 months, according to FactSet. That compares with its average price-earnings ratio of 15.6 over the last 15 years and is an indication that stocks are, if not expensive, no longer cheap. And that, in turn, implies lower future returns than the big gains investors have enjoyed since the Great Recession’s end.
“I do think we’re in a low-return environment,” says Bernie Williams, chief investment officer for USAA’s Wealth Management Investment Solutions. “Of course, we thought that at the start of this year, too, and here we are up 10 percent.”
In foreign stock markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.7 percent, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2 percent. In Europe, Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 percent, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.3 percent and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent.
Crude oil rose $1 to settle at $51.90 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1.19 to close at $55.21 a barrel in London. Natural gas slipped nearly 2 cents to settle at $3.415 per 1,000 cubic feet, wholesale gasoline rose 1.5 cents to $1.56 a gallon and heating oil rose 3 cents to $1.67 a gallon.
Gold recovered a bit after falling to its lowest price in 10 months on Thursday. It rose $7.60 to settle at $1,137.40 an ounce. Silver rose nearly 26 cents to $16.22 an ounce, and copper fell 3.6 cents to $2.56 a pound.
The euro rose to $1.0433 from $1.0424, the British pound rose to $1.2476 from $1.2436 and the dollar climbed to 118.01 Japanese yen from 117.93 yen.

By Oliver Renick
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slid as a report that China’s navy seized a U.S. drone in international waters in the South China Sea spurred geopolitical concern and financial companies dropped for the third day this week.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 2,258.07 by 4 p.m. in New York. Oil prices rose and 10-year Treasury yields declined as the Pentagon demanded that China immediately return the underwater drone in a confrontation certain to exacerbate tensions in a region where the government in Beijing has sought to assert greater control.
U.S. Market
* Real estate and utility shares up 1.2%; phone companies add 0.6%
* Financial shares and tech drop at least 0.8%
* The Dow jumped 8.2% in the five weeks following Donald Trump’s U.S. election win, the biggest gain in the period that greeted any president since 1900
* Equity funds globally saw “huge” investment inflows in the latest week as the “great rotation” out of bonds and into riskier assets such as stocks accelerated, according to a note by Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit. Since the U.S. election, investors have poured $63 billion into equity funds, following outflows of $151 billion in the January-October period, the report showed
* The S&P 500’s pause near a record high shows little sign of trend exhaustion, and its next set of bullish objectives rest at the 2,285-2,296 area, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s technical analyst Jason Hunter wrote in a note
* The expiration of some futures and options on stocks and indexes Friday, known as quadruple witching, added to stock volatility

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

The question of whether or not there is a God or truth or reality, or whatever you like to call it,
can never be answered by books, by priests, philosophers or saviors.
Nobody and nothing can answer the question
but you yourself and that is why you must know yourself.
Immaturity lies only in total ignorance of self.
To understand yourself is the beginning of wisdom.
Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities.
-Aristotle, 384BC-322BC

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

December 15, 2016

December 15, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Points of Progress:

ANTARCTICA: The Ross Sea became the world’s largest marine protected area in October, after a multinational agreement to preserve one of the most pristine ecosystems on the planet. It will be designated a “no take” zone, putting everything from minerals to marine life off limits to extraction. The maritime region is a jewel of biodiversity and a refuge for many species whose numbers are in decline elsewhere. Negotiations between 24 United nations member nations and the European Union had dragged on for nearly five years.

SWEDEN: People are being paid to fix things, instead of throwing them away. As part of the country’s pursuit of a greener future, tax breaks are being introduced for repairs on various items, including refrigerators, washing machines, bicycles, and clothes. Someone who takes a household appliance to be repaired, for example, will be able to claim a partial tax refund for the bill. The aim is twofold: by buying fewer new products, a person’s environmental footprint should shrink; and by boosting the demand for repair services, jobs will be created for low-skilled workers.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The waning moon sets behind leafless sumac trees on a crisp, clear morning, Thursday, in Portland, Maine. Much of the northern Mid-Atlantic and Northeast will stay cold for the next couple of days as the arctic air remains stuck over the northern Appalachians, the National Weather Service said.Robert F. Bukaty/AP

People ice skate at the Grand Palais in Paris on Thursday. The Grand Palais skating rink opened to the public on Sunday and is the largest temporary ice rink created in France during holiday. Francois Mori/AP
Market Closes for December 15^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19852.24	+59.71 +0.30%

S&P 500	2262.03	+8.75 +0.39%

NASDAQ	5456.855	+20.184 +0.37%

TSX	15218.31	+21.12
		+0.14%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19273.79	+20.18
		+0.10%
HANG SENG	22059.40	-397.22
		-1.77%
SENSEX	26519.07	-83.77
		-0.31%
FTSE 100	6999.01	+49.82
		+0.72%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.837	1.790
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.412	2.393
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.5967	2.5707
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1622	3.1876

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74998	0.75277
US $	1.33337	1.32840

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.38902	0.71993
US $	1.04174	0.95994

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1126.95	1162.25

Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.90	51.04

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Eric Lam
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as the nation’s largest lenders gained, offsetting weakness in commodity producers after the Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates for the first time this year.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 15,218.31 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after slumping the most in a month Wednesday after the Fed’s decision. The gauge has risen about 17 percent in 2016, the top performer among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg, ahead of No. 2 market Norway’s 13 percent advance.
The dollar extended gains against its global peers, pushing the Bloomberg dollar index to a record. Fed policy makers Wednesday raised the benchmark rate a quarter percentage point following a two-day meeting in Washington. New projections show central bankers expect three quarter-point rate increases in 2017, up from the two seen in the previous forecasts in September, based on median estimates.
Canadian raw-materials producers lost 2.2 percent as a group, offsetting a 0.8 percent gain in financial companies, including the big banks. Six of 11 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced. Toronto-Dominion Bank rose 1.1 percent to a record.
Barrick Gold Corp. and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. fell at least 3.3 percent, while silver producer Silver Wheaton Corp. sank 8.3 percent. Gold traded at a 10-month low, down 2.9 percent in New York as the Fed’s more hawkish stance on rate increases next year further reduced the attractiveness of gold as a hedge. After rallying to a 2016 peak in August, gold has since slumped 18 percent, paring gains for the year to 6.6 percent.
In other moves:
* Athabasca Oil Corp. jumped a record 23 percent after agreeing to buy Statoil ASA’s oil-sands operations in a deal worth as much as C$832 million, more than doubling the company’s production base to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day
* Empire Co. sank a record 17 percent to the lowest in almost seven years after second-quarter earnings and revenue fell short of expectations, which the company described as “disappointing” due to continued weakness in western Canada
* Bombardier Inc. added 2.1 percent, the most in a month, as the aerospace manufacturer predicted sales and pretax profit will rebound in 2017 and cash drain will improve as cost-cutting bears fruit.
US
By Oliver Renick
(Bloomberg) — Banks and phone companies pushed U.S. stocks higher for the eighth time in 10 days as investors weighed a rising dollar and prospects of a steeper path for higher borrowing costs next year. DuPont Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., American Express Co., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. led the Dow Jones Industrial Average with advances in excess of 1 percent.
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4 percent to 2,262.03 at 4 p.m. in New York, after the benchmark fell 0.8 percent Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 60 points, or 0.3 percent, to 19,852.
* Financial shares up 1% as raw-materials producers and phone shares rally 0.7%
* Russell 2000 Index rises 0.8% after losing 1.3% Wednesday
* While most observers had expected that the Fed would hike interest rates, they did not think the Federal Open Market Committee would materially change its September projection for two increases in 2017, Richard Clarida, Pimco’s global strategic adviser, wrote in a note
* “So while the Fed did hike its target for the federal funds rate to a range of 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent, the real message was delivered by the ‘dot plot,’ which moved unmistakably in the hawkish direction for 2017,” Clarida wrote
* Stocks fell Wednesday after key benchmarks — the S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq 100 — all reached fresh records
* The S&P 500 hasn’t been this overextended in 2 1/2 years, with the spread between the index and its 200-day moving average reaching the widest since July 2014. Investors are showing few signs of worry: hedging costs are near the lowest since July 2014, the options market has seen record call volume, and short interest sits below its one-year average
* EARNINGS:
** After market Thursday: Oracle Corp. (ORCLE), Jabil Circuit Inc.(JBL), Adobe Systems Inc (ADBE), Quanex Building Products Corp (NX), Enghouse Systems Ltd (ENGH CN)
** None expected Friday

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Yoga is concerned with freedom from spiritual disturbance.
The first step in yoga is to engage in introspection,
and thereby understand the inner obstacles that must be overcome.
The purpose of yoga is to weaken the hindrances which obstruct knowledge of the soul.
There are five hindrances: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and tenacity.
Patanjali

As ever,

Carolann

Judge a man by his questions, rather than by his answers.
-Voltaire, 1694-1778

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

Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com