Month: January 2017

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

The Poem
The Pigeon
        -by DM Black

                      …This interminable wet winter,
we found a dead pigeon lying on its back
(no obvious cause of death) beside a rose-bed.
Two or three days later, overcoming some reluctance,
I prepared it for burial: two spits deep in the mounded
earth behind our Buddha who in spring
is surrounded by daffodils.  I arranged the pigeon
deep in the shining clay and spaded down the overspill
over that subtle plumage; then set on top
an old heavy drain-cover to keep off the foxes,
and was turning to clean the spade when I noticed
another pigeon obsequious in the shrubbery,
hunched like a small football, and watching me.
I started toward her, as, at a funeral,
one might toward a fellow-mourner, not known but,
for an instant, kin in loss.  She didn’t scare , or move, and I,
aware of our difference of species, stopped halfway –
and we both stayed still then, silenced, and somehow respecting
a truth we neither of us could get on top of.

From The Arrow Maker, Arc Publications.

On this day in 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Florence Lutje Spelberg and Nicolas Mouchart have dinner while sitting inside ‘The Pearl,’ a spheric dining room five meters underwater at the NEMO33 diving center in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday. The center has one of the world’s deepest pools at 33 meters (36 yards), built to train professional divers. Yves Herman/Reuters

People perform a fire dragon dance under a shower of sparks from molten iron during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on Monday night. Reuters
Market Closes for January 31^st, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19864.09	-107.04   -0.54%
S&P 500	2278.87	-2.03   -0.09%
NASDAQ	5614.785	+1.074   +0.02%
TSX	15385.96	-19.16
		-0.12%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19041.34	-327.51
		-1.69%
HANG SENG	23360.78	-13.39
		-0.06%
SENSEX	27655.96	-193.60
		-0.70%
FTSE 100*	7099.15	-19.33
		-0.27%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.761		1.785
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.409		2.435
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4624		2.4881
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0654		3.0785

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76655	0.76223
US $	1.30455	1.31193
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40905	0.70970
US $	1.08011	0.92583

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1212.80	1192.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.81	52.63

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$630 million
The amount Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay to end probes by U.K. and New York regulators into Russian equity trades that transferred $10 billion out of that country in violation of anti-money-laundering laws.
Canada
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks retreated for a fourth day, as investors studied better-than-expected November data on gross domestic product before a speech from Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index, which hit a record high last week, fell 19.16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,385.96 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. Industrial and technology shares led the decline, offsetting gains among utility and health-care stocks.
     Canada’s economic momentum gathered steam in November, with GDP growing 0.4 percent. That’s slightly higher than economist expectations of 0.3 percent, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday in Ottawa.
     The stronger performance may come as a relief to policy makers who struggled to cope with a near-stagnant economy, as the nation dealt with the impact of an oil price shock and a faltering export sector.
     Poloz is due to give a speech after the market close at the University of Alberta School of Business in Edmonton. The lecture, entitled “Models and the art and science of making monetary policy,” will be followed by a press conference.
     In other movers:
     * Detour Gold Corp. (DGC CN) jumped 12 percent after saying it will keep West Detour out of its 2017 plans as it’s not sure it can obtain permits in time. The removal should ease some concerns of an imminent capital raise, BMO analyst Brian Quast wrote in a note.
     * New Gold Inc. (NGD CN) slumped 11 percent. Cormark and GMP became the latest brokerages to downgrade the stock after the company said earlier this week that it has a $100 million liquidity shortfall due to increased capital spending.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower as companies in the Nasdaq Composite Index ended little changed.
     The S&P 500 Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,278.87 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow lost 107 points to 19,864. Stocks fell on Monday as Trump’s executive order halting some immigration stoked concern that potentially isolationist policies may overshadow a pro-growth agenda. Four days straight without gains in the S&P 500 marks the longest dry spell since Nov. 4.
* Industrial stocks led market lower with a 0.9% decline, followed by financials, tech, materials — some of the biggest winners after the election
* Utilities, real estate and health care at front of pack with gains of at least 0.7%
* The S&P 500 has lost 0.8% over the past four days; up 1.8% in January for a third consecutive monthly advance
* VIX up 0.9% after adding 12% Monday — down 15% in the month
* Exxon Mobil Corp., Pfizer Inc. and Apple are among more than 30 companies reporting on Tuesday
* About a third of S&P 500 members have released quarterly figures so far this season, of which about three-quarters beat profit estimates and half topped sales forecasts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
* EARNINGS
** After-market Tuesday: Boston Properties (BXP), Electronic Arts Inc (EA), Fortune Brands Home & Security (FBHS), United States Steel (X), Illumina (ILMN), CH Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), Aflac (AFL), Arconic (ARNC), Oclaro (OCLR), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Equity Residential (EQR), Apple (AAPL)
** Pre-market Wednesday: Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Anthem (ANTM), Dominion Resources (D), Ingersoll-Rand (IR), Avery Dennison (AVY), Johnson Controls International (JCI), International Paper (IP), Pitney Bowes (PBI), Altria Group (MO), WEC Energy Group (WEC)

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

We must refuse to be lifted off our feet.
A drowning man cannot save others.
Mahatma Gandhi

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.
                                     -Claus Moser, 1922-2015

 

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Chinese markets will remain closed for most of the week as Lunar New Year celebrations kick off for much of Asia. The PBOC pumped 1.13T yuan (roughly $165B) into domestic money markets last week via its routine operations as consumers prepared for shopping sprees and to hand out red packets filled with fresh notes to friends and relatives. Markets will reopen on Friday.

On Jan. 30, 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Performers participate in a temple fair at Daguanyuan Park as the Chinese Lunar New Year, which welcomes the Year of the Rooster, is celebrated in Beijing on Monday. Jason Lee/Reuters
Russian servicemen with the Northern Fleet’s Arctic mechanised infantry brigade participate in a military drill on sleds pulled by reindeer near the settlement of Lovozero outside Murmansk, Russia. Lev Fedoseyev/Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Reuters
Market Closes for January 30^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19971.13	-122.65   -0.61%
S&P 500	2280.90	-13.79   -0.60%
NASDAQ	5613.711	-47.071   -0.83%
TSX	15405.12	-170.69
		-1.10%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19368.85	-98.55
		-0.51%
HANG SENG	23360.78	-13.39
		-0.06%
SENSEX	27849.56	-32.90
		-0.12%
FTSE 100*	7118.48	-66.01
		-0.92%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.785		1.780
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.435		2.429
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4881		2.4825
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0785		3.0596

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76223	0.76063
US $	1.31193	1.31470
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40327	0.71262
US $	1.06962	0.93491

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1192.80	1184.85
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.63	53.17

Market Commentary:
82%
The percent earnings are forecast to fall  at S&P 500 energy companies last year, the largest decline of any sector in the index since 2008.
Canada
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell the most this year as energy shares led declines in every sector and commodity prices dropped. At the same time, a shooting at a Mosque in Quebec left at least six dead as police arrested two suspects.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 1.2 percent to 15,397.37 by 10:43 a.m. in Toronto, after adding after eking out the fourth straight weekly gain in mixed trading last week. The benchmark is down 1.6 percent after setting an all-time high on Jan. 25.
* All 11 groups in benchmark gauge lower
* Energy shares down 2% as oil drops 1.1% in second session of declines
* Tech stocks down 1.8% as every company in 12-member index falls; Celestica down 3.2% and DH Corp down 3%
* Raw-materials stocks down the least, declining 0.3% as a Bloomberg Commodity Index drops 0.9% for fourth straight session of losses
* New Gold down 13% for biggest loss in market after cut to underperform at Scotiabank
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell with global equities, as energy shares declined with the price of crude oil and global criticism mounted against U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order halting some immigration to the country.
     The S&P 500 Index lost 0.6 percent to 2,280.90 at 4 p.m. in New York, trimming a third monthly advance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 123 points to 19,971.13 while the CBOE Volatility Index jumped the most since November.
* VIX up 12% after four days of declines took the gauge to 10.6, the lowest in more than two years
* Energy shares down 1.8% as crude oil drops 0.9% for second session of losses
* Tech and financial shares down at least 0.8% as S&P banks index drops 1.1% with all 17 members declining
* Trump’s executive order halting immigration from seven predominantly Muslim nations sparked a backlash from world governments to companies, with major international firms saying it threatened to choke the free flow of workers and commerce
* Michael Block, chief global strategist at Rhino Trading Partners, writes: “markets give a somewhat more interested than usual thumbs down to the Trump Administration”
* Investors will also focus on corporate earnings this week, with Apple Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Pfizer Inc. among more than a 100 firms in the S&P 500 scheduled to report results
* About a third of the benchmark’s members have released quarterly figures so far this season, of which three-quarters beat profit estimates and about half topped sales forecasts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
* EARNINGS:
** After-market Monday: Leggett & Platt (LEG), UDR (UDR), General Growth Properties (GGP), Principal Financial Group (PFG)
** Pre-market Tuesday: Valero Energy (VLO), Simon Property Group (SPG), Danaher (DHR), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), Aetna (AET), HCA Holdings (HCA), Nucor (NUE), Eli Lilly (LLY), AmerisourceBergen Corp (ABC), Pfizer (PFE), Coach (COH), Harley- Davidson (HOG), Xerox (XRX), Nasdaq (NDAQ), LyondellBasell Industries (LYB), Under Armour (UAA), Ally Financial (ALLY), Sprint (S), Zimmer Biomet Holdings (ZBH), United Parcel Service (UPS), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Mastercard (MA), PACCAR (PCAR)

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

There is no master, there is no instructor,
there is no person to tell you what you must do.
Krishnamurti

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.
                                                                         -Joseph Joubert, 1754-1824

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Birthday: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, January 27^th, 1756.

KINDNESS
    by Naomi Shihab Nye
…Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore.
…only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say,
“It is I you have been looking for,”
and then goes with you everywhere 
like a shadow or a friend.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man visits Auschwitz-Birkenau at sunrise on the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of the German death camp in Oswiecim, Poland, on Friday. Czarek Sokolowski/AP

Malabon Zoo owner Manny Tangco holds a full-grown, but very small, rooster named ‘Small But Terrible,’ from Malaysia, to compare it with the giant red rooster from France named ‘Mr. Universe’ at the ‘Roosters of the World’ exhibition in Milan celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year. The exhibition features roosters from many countries, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Poland. Bullit Marquez/AP

A newborn baby wears a chicken costume to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Rooster at the nursery in Paolo Chockchai 4 Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday. Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
Market Closes for January 27^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20093.78	-7.13   -0.04%
S&P 500	2294.69	-1.99   -0.09%
NASDAQ	5660.781	+5.605   +0.10%
TSX	15575.81	-39.71
		-0.25%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19467.40	+65.01
		+0.34%
HANG SENG	23360.78	-13.39
		-0.06%
SENSEX	27882.46	+174.32
		+0.63%
FTSE 100*	7184.49	+23.00
		+0.32%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.780		1.820
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.429		2.459
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4825		2.5043
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0596		3.0851

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76063	0.76358
US $	1.31470	1.30963
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40646	0.71101
US $	1.06980	0.93476

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1184.85	1189.70
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	53.17	53.78

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
     (Bloomberg) — Canada S&P/TSX Composite falls 0.4% to 15,558.05 at 1:35pm. Energy, health care, utilities fall while tech rises.
Advancers:
    * Avesoro Resources (ASO CN) +17%; Appointed Hannam & Partners as joint broker
    * Tembec (TMB CN) +12%; Raised to buy at TD; among top ten HY movers; reported 1Q results on Jan. 26
    * Celestica (CLS CN) +12%; 4Q adj. EPS beats highest est.; upgraded at Macquarie
    * RMP Energy (RMP CN) +8.1%; two block trades with shares above 100k
    * Golden Standard (GSV CN) +7.9%; Jan. 23, finds northern extension of north bullion high grade deposit
    * DH Corp (DH CN) +4.6%; Said getting interest from CPPIB, PE firms, according to Reuters
Decliners:
    * Orbite Technologies (ORT CN) -16%; C$10m bought deal via Echelon Wealth
    * Moneta Porcupine Mines (ME CN) -6.5%; 2-day drop
    * NioCorp Developments (NB CN) -5.5%; C$2m non-brokered placement
    * Baytex (BTE CN) -3.7%; Spot WTI crude drops 1.7%
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined Friday as benchmark indexes slipped from records reached earlier in the week and data showed economic growth slowed more than forecast last quarter.
     The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,294.69 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark index ended little changed on Thursday, after touching an intraday record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell less than 0.1 percent to 20,093.78 on Friday, after crossing the 20,000 mark for the first time earlier in the week.
     Nearly one-third of S&P 500 companies have reported results so far in the earnings season, with 68 percent beating estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The current season is “off to a good start” and will confirm that the yearlong earnings recession ended in the third quarter of 2016, JPMorgan equity strategists Emmanuel Cau and Mislav Matejka said in a note.
    * Energy shares lagged, down 0.9% as oil fell for second time this week: down 1.2%
    * Health-care shares led market, rising 0.8%; tech, phone stocks also up at least 0.3%
    * VIX down 0.5% for fourth straight decline
    * U.S. equity funds saw $6.3 billion in investment outflows in the week to Jan. 25 that followed Trump’s inauguration, the largest weekly outflows in four months, according to a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch strategy note, citing EPFR Global data
    * European stocks edged lower on Friday, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index falling 0.5%, as UBS Group AG paced banks’ first decline in four days
    * S&P 500 EARNINGS:
    ** After-market Friday: none
    ** Pre-market Monday: Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), Affiliated Managers Group (AMG)

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The very essence of the Hindu Philosophy
is that man is a spirit, and has a body,
and not that man is a body and
may have a spirit also.
Swami Vivekananda

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Peace is our gift to each other.
     -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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Poet Robert Burns AKA Rabbie Burns & The Bard of Ayrshire, was born today in 1759.

The writer Virginia Woolf was also born on this day in 1882.
Virginia Woolf once said that “fiction is like a spider’s web, attached ever so lightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners.”  One of the 20^th century’s great literary innovators, she  and her sister Vanessa formed the core of the intellectual Bloomsbury group.

In 1917, Woolf and her husband Leonard Woolf, bought an old hand press and set two stories on it, one by each of them, which sold out almost immediately.  Hogarth Press, as they called it, continued to publish, preferring young and unknown writers including Katherine Mansfield and T.S. Eliot.

Woolf’s hold on life was not attached at all four corners.  Sexually abused by her stepbrothers, she had her first nervous breakdown at age 13.  She ended her life on March 28, 1941, at age 59, when she filled her pockets with stones and walked into the River Ouse. –Kerry Miller.

A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction. –Virginia Woolf.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man fishes through an ice hole in the Finnish Gulf in St. Petersburg, Russia on Wednesday, with the new soccer stadium on Krestovsky Island, which will host some of the Confederations Cup 2017 and World Cup 2018 soccer matches in the background. Dmitri Lovetsky/AP

A black Mudi, an ancient Hungarian species of shepherd dogs, helps to drive a herd of 120 buffalo from their summer pasture to their winter habitat on the premises of the Kiskunsag National Park, near Fulopszallas, south of Budapest, Hungary on Wednesday. Sandor Ujvari/MTI/AP
Market Closes for January 25^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20068.58	+115.80   +0.78%
S&P 500	2298.37	+18.30   +0.80%
NASDAQ	5656.340	+55.382   +0.99%
TSX	15643.84	+33.15
		+0.21%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19057.50	+269.51
		+1.43%
HANG SENG	23049.12	+99.26
		+0.43%
SENSEX	27708.14	+332.56
		+1.21%
FTSE 100*	7164.43	+14.09
		+0.20%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.825		1.761
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.457		2.394
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.5135		2.4652
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0975		3.0497

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76535	0.75994
US $	1.30660	1.31589
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40435	0.71207
US $	1.07481	0.93039

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1195.00	1216.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.25	52.53

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as U.S. equities marched to a record high. Tech companies advanced and energy shares climbed for a second day after U.S. President Donald Trump revived discussion over TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added as much as 0.4 percent to 15,667.94 in Toronto, after jumping 0.8 percent Tuesday. Health- care stocks led the charge with a 1.4 percent rally on the back of a 2.3 percent climb in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.
* Financial shares also rallied, adding 0.7% as all but four companies in the 27-member index advanced
* Energy shares gained 0.4% even as the price crude oil slid 0.6% for the first decline in five sessions
* Trump has put Canada and Mexico on notice that he’s determined to wring more favorable terms for the U.S. from the North American Free Trade Agreement; his plan to re-negotiate Nafta was received in Mexico with a call to protect tariff-free trading, while in Canada, officials seemed more concerned about avoiding unintentional damage to the economy as the U.S. targets Mexico
* Raw-material stocks and phone shares lagged, down at least 0.8 percent
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, carrying forward a global equity rally that’s propelled by expectations of stronger economic growth and government spending by President Donald Trump’s administration.
     The S&P 500 advanced 0.8 percent to 2,298.37 at 4 p.m. in New York after adding 0.7 percent on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has hovered below the 20,000 mark since mid-December without crossing it, broke through the threshold with a 0.8 percent advance to 20,068.51.
* Financial shares lead market, up 1.7% with gains of 3.5% in Wells Fargo and a 2.6% rally in Morgan Stanley
* Tech stocks rose 1.1%, advancing for the fourth straight session as Seagate Technology surged 14% and chip-makers advanced
* In the Dow, Boeing and Caterpillar led an advance that lifted all but seven stocks
* VIX down 2.4% to 10.8, the lowest since July 2014
* The world’s largest economy will expand 2.3% this year, accelerating from 1.6% growth last year, according to economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg
* The surge in shares of raw-material producers Tuesday came as traders unwound hedges in the SPDR Materials Select Sector ETF, which tracks raw-material producers in the S&P 500
** Short interest on the fund sits at 4.7% of shares outstanding, just 2.2 percentage points from its level on Dec. 23, which marked the lowest since August 2014; the measure has seen an average of 9% since the start of the bull market
* March will be a key month for U.S. stocks as it will signal maximum optimism in the market in terms of potential earnings revisions, David Kostin, a strategist at Goldman Sachs, told Bloomberg TV
* EARNINGS:
** After-market Wednesday: Crown Castle International (CCI), Murphy Oil (MUR), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), Varian Medical Systems (VAR), United Rentals (URI), SL Green Realty (SLG), Qualcomm (QCOM), AT&T (T), McKesson (MCK), Xilinx (XLNX), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), ServiceNow (NOW), F5 Networks (FFIV), Lam Research (LRCX), Citrix (CTXS), Western Digital (WDC), eBay (EBAY)
** Pre-market Thursday: Helmerich & Payne (HP) Northrop Grumman (NOC), PulteGroup (PHM), Praxair (PX), Blackstone Group (BX), Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), Alliance Data Systems (ADS), L3 Technologies (LLL), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), Whirlpool (WHR), Caterpillar (CAT), Baker Hughes (BHI), American Electric Power (AEP), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Quest Diagnostics (DGX), Dow Chemical (DOW), Invesco (IVZ), Sherwin-Williams (SHW), Ford Motor (F), Comcast (CMCSA), Lear (LEA), Dover (DOV), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Biogen (BIIB), Raytheon (RTN), T Rowe Price (TROW), Celgene (CELG), Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN US)

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The Upanishad tells us: Know the soul that is your own.
In other words: Realize the grand unique principle of the whole that is in all men.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Dare to be honest and fear no labor.
             -Robert Burns, 1759-1796

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On Jan. 24, 1965, Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.  You can see his tomb in the trees from his ancestral home (which is open to the public), Blenheim Palace.  It is a very stirring sight. 
I read all six volumes that Churchill wrote on the Second World War many years ago.  When I was reading about the events in Southeast Asia, I remember reading his description of what a blow it was and what a profound disappointment it was when Singapore fell.  I mentioned this for discussion to a client of mine at the time, who eventually became a close personal friend.  He was sailing with Gary and me in the Gulf Islands that weekend, having recently sold his own boat because he was getting on in years but still a terrific sailor.  He had fought in WW II (he had been one of the founding members of a colonial college that eventually became the University of Kuala Lampur) and he was captured when Singapore fell and sent to as a prisoner of war to a camp in Siam (to build the Bridge on the River Kwai).  He said it was all “rubbish”  –  Singapore fell because there were not enough fighting men to defend it and, in spite of repeated requests, no back-up troops were sent to assist.  I guess that’s what Churchill implied when he stated, “For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all Parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history.” 

-from  The New York Times on January 24^th, 1965:
[edited version]
By Anthony Lewis

London, Jan. 24 — Winston Churchill’s struggle for life ended this morning, and the people he had cherished and inspired and led through darkness mourned him as they have no other in this age.
Sir Winston died just after 8 o’clock, in the 10th day of public anxiety over his condition after a stroke. He was in his 91st year.

Britons small and great village curate, Prime Minister and Queen paid him tribute through the day and this evening. Statesmen around the world joined in homage to the statesman they acknowledge as the greatest of the age.
Londoners, during the last struggle, had come to accept Sir Winston’s death as inevitable. There was little of the shock and horror seen in the reaction to President Kennedy’s death.
Nevertheless, even those who consider themselves unsentimental found that they had difficult moments as they were reminded of the great Churchillian days.
The radio followed the announcement of the death with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. The opening theme symbolizing the knock of victory- three short notes and a long note evoked memories of Churchill’s wartime gesture, two fingers held aloft, in a “V for Victory.”

Parliament will meet tomorrow to authorize a state funeral, the first held for a commoner in this century. For the rest of the week public affairs will be slowed almost to a stop.
The body will lie in state Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Westminster Hall, the lofty medieval chamber adjoining Sir Winston’s real home, the House of Commons.
On Saturday a state funeral service will be held at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Burial will be in the country churchyard at Bladon village, near Blenheim Palace, the ancestral castle where Sir Winston was born. Queen Elizabeth will attend the state funeral…
…At the bedside were Lady Churchill and three living children- Randolph, Sarah and Mary.
At St. Paul’s this morning the state bell, “Great Tom,” tolled. It is usually rung only for the death of royalty, certain clergymen or the Lord Mayor of London.
Tonight the lights in Piccadilly Circus were out. The advertisers whose garish signs are for many a symbol of London decided to pay their respects with darkness tonight and again Saturday after the funeral.
Another change in London tradition was made in tribute to Sir Winston tonight. The Times of London broke its deeply established custom of carrying classified advertisements, not news, on the first page.
In Monday’s edition, the first page is given over to pictures of Sir Winston and the start of an obituary. The classified ads were moved to Page 3 for the first time since World War I. The paper also printed a 16-page supplement on Churchill’s career…
The radio today carried the Churchill voice — recordings of speeches that aroused a people to deeds of valor in a grim time.
“We shall never surrender.” It was such Churchillian words as these and the conviction with which he spoke them that many believe saved Britain and her allies from defeat and subjection to Hitler.
The weekly journal The Spectator said:
“We are a free people because a man called Winston Churchill lived.”
It is as the great wartime Prime Minister that he will above all be recorded. But those who mourned him today were moved by more than that.”
He was a great personality, not just a great statesman. He was human, with emotions and desires and faults, some on an Olympian scale.
He drank wine for breakfast when it pleased him to do so and champagne and brandy and whisky in quantities through the rest of the day. He smoked cigars continuously. He never exercised. And his health was amazing.
He lived on controversy. The adjectives often applied to him were pugnacious and combative. He was famous for ridicule and invective debate, for witticisms such as the one he applied to the Puritan figure, of Sir Stafford Cripps: “There, but for the grace of God, goes God.”
“His obstinacy was exhausting,” Harold Macmillan, a former Prime Minster, said on a television program tonight. But he went on to say that the other side of the coin was “undefeatable determination.”
Mr. Macmillan touched on another aspect of Sir Winston’s character- “his puckish sense of humor, his tremendous sense of fun, his quick alternation between grave and gay.”
In 1906, Churchill invented a term to get around a ban in the House of Commons on the word “lie.” He spoke of another member’s “terminological inexactitude.”
He was this age’s nearest equivalent to a Renaissance man.
He was a soldier, escaped war prisoner, historian, novelist, orator, journalist and politician.
He spent 60 years in the House of Commons but found time to write more than two dozen books.
In the midst of war and grand strategy, as he himself recorded in his history of World War II, he took time to note the pleasures of the flesh in Marrakesh in Morocco, and the plumbing in Yalta. He had a passion for detail.
It was his zeal for life that Londoners are remembering above all.
“His power seemed to be turned on all the time,” a wartime colleague, Gen. Sir Ian Jacob, has written.
Even his diction, was a triumph of will. He overcame a severe stammer and a lisp; the traces of those disabilities made his voice more compelling.
This weekend The Economist disclosed an episode revealing Sir Winston’s attitude toward the prospect of defeat and death.
At the end of the war, before the election that he lost in 1945, The Times of London prepared an editorial suggesting that he campaign as a nonpartisan world leader and retire gracefully rather soon afterward. The editor first informed Churchill that he was going to make these two points.
“Mr. Editor,” Churchill said to the first point, “I fight for my corner.” And, to the second: “Mr. Editor, I leave when the pub closes.”
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Nermin Halilagic poses with kitchen utensils in Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Monday. Halilagic discovered earlier this year that he had the unusual ability to attach items to his body using what he says is energy radiated from his body. Without making any special preparation, he says he is able to hold on to spoons, forks, knives, and other kitchen appliances, as well as non-metal objects like remote controls, all plastic stuff, and cellphones. Dado Ruvic/Reuters

A Japanese Phoenix rooster poses at an ornamental chicken farm in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday. The colorful feathered fowls have become favorite pets as Vietnam is welcoming the Lunar New Year of the Rooster. Hau Dinh/AP

A walker is silhouetted in front of the setting sun on Primrose Hill in London on Tuesday. Toby Melville/Reuters
Market Closes for January 24^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19912.71	+112.86   +0.57%
S&P 500	2280.07	+14.87   +0.66%
NASDAQ	5600.957	+48.014   +0.86%
TSX	15610.69	+130.56
		+0.84%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18787.99	-103.04
		-0.55%
HANG SENG	22949.86	+51.34
		+0.22%
SENSEX	27375.58	+258.24
		+0.95%
FTSE 100*	7150.34	-0.84
		-0.01%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.761		1.683
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.394		2.327
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4652		2.3971
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0497		2.9862

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75994	0.75588
US $	1.31589	1.32296
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41214	0.70815
US $	1.07314	0.93185

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1216.80	1212.85
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.53	51.95

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced for the third time in four days and reached their highest since Sept. 2014 as oil prices climbed and U.S. President Donald Trump took action to revive the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.8 percent to 15,610.69 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after declining Monday. Energy shares buoyed the benchmark index as crude oil rallied for the fifth time in six sessions to $52.91 per barrel.
     At the same time, Trump has put Canada and Mexico on notice that he’s determined to wring more favorable terms for the U.S. from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump’s plan to re-negotiate Nafta was received in Mexico with a call to protect tariff-free trading, while in Canada, officials seemed more concerned about avoiding unintentional damage to the economy as the U.S. targets Mexico.
* Materials shares up 1.3% and energy stocks climb 2.3% to lead market higher
* Health care only declining sector on the day, down 1.1%; consumer staples add 0.3% after losing as much as 0.7% in early trading
* Bonterra Energy jumps 5% to C$25.80 as Raymond James raises outlook to outperform with a price target of C$31 * First Quantum Minerals up 3.2% after rallying past its June 2015 offering price last week
* Fortuna Silver Mines down 11.1% for biggest decline in the benchmark index; company announced it will issue 10.3 m shares at $6.30 yesterday.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed Tuesday as a rally in Freeport-McMoran Inc. led raw material stocks higher and oil prices advanced for a fourth day.
     The S&P 500 added 0.7 percent to 2,280.07 at 4 p.m. in New York, surpassing the previous high of 2,276.98 reached on Jan. 6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has hovered below 20,000 since mid-December without crossing it, climbed 0.6 percent to 19,912.71.
* Material shares up 2.5% with a 8.3% rally in Freeport as all but one company in the 25-member index advanced
* Financial stocks rally 1.2% with all but one company in the 63-stock index closing higher; S&P 500 banks add 1.4%
* Energy stocks add 1% with crude oil up 0.7% for fourth day amid President Trump’s comments on North American pipelines
* Phone companies down 2.7% as Verizon drops 4.4% after earnings, the biggest single-day drop for the company since Aug. 2011
* VIX down for second time in six sessions to 11.1, now 27% below the one-year average and the lowest since July 2014
* About 7 billion shares traded hands, most in two weeks
* Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin said an “excessively strong dollar” could have a negative short-term effect on the economy; The dollar slumped to the weakest in more than six weeks after the remarks
* So far in the earnings season, about 13% of S&P companies have reported results, with 70% posting better-than-expected profits, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
* EARNINGS:
** After-market Tuesday: Seagate (STX), CA (CA), Discover Financial (DFS), Steel Dynamics (STLD), Navient (NAVI), Alcoa (AA), Stryker (SYK), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Capital One (COF), Total System Services (TSS), Texas Instruments (TXN)
** Pre-market Wednesday: Progressive Corp (PGR), Huntington Bancshares (HBAN), McCormick (MKC), Textron (TXT), United Technologies (UTX), Rockwell Automation (ROK), State Street (STT), Boeing (BA), WW Grainger (GWW), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Hess (HES), Amphenol (APH), Illinois Tool Works (ITW), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Freeport-McMoran (FCX).

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Man is setting out to satisfy needs that mean more to him
than simply nourishment and clothing.
He is embarking on a rediscovery of himself.
The history of man is that of his voyage toward the unknown,
in the search for the realization of his immortal Self, of his soul.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.
                            -Winston Churchill, 1874-1965
                            (speech at Harvard, 6 September 1943)

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

After several attempts, finally got to see La La Land this past weekend – and yes it is worthy of all the Golden Globes it garnered. Emma Stone is superb.   If you haven’t had a chance yet, make sure you see it on the biggest cinema  screen possible; it won’t have the same magic any other way.   We saw Jackie a few weeks ago and I thought her rendition of the former first lady was so authentic – worthy of an Oscar for best actress.  Now I’ve changed my mind – I’m voting for Emma Stone.  I think Casey Affleck wins for best  actor – he was amazing in Manchester by the Sea – it is an amazing movie.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Indian soldiers march during a full dress rehearsal for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, on Monday. Adnan Abidi/Reuters

People walk along The Embankment on a foggy morning in London on Monday. Toby Melville/Reuters

A model wears a creation by The Netherlands’ Iris van Herpen for her Spring-Summer 2017 Haute Couture collection presented Monday in Paris. Zacharie ScheurerZacharie Scheurer/AP
Market Closes for January 23^rd, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19799.85	-27.40   -0.14%
S&P 500	2265.20	-6.11   -0.27%
NASDAQ	5552.945	-2.388   -0.04%
TSX	15480.13	-67.75
		-0.44%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18891.03	-246.88
		-1.29%
HANG SENG	22898.52	+12.61
		+0.06%
SENSEX	27117.34	+82.84
		+0.31%
FTSE 100*	7151.18	-47.26
		-0.66%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.683		1.752
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.327		2.384
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3971		2.4650
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9862		3.0472

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75588	0.75095
US $	1.32296	1.33170
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42442	0.70204
US $	1.07669	0.92878

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1212.85	1200.55
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.95	52.42

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the first time in three sessions as oil retreated and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet meets before the start of new continental trade talks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.4 percent to 15,480.13 as of 4 p.m. in Toronto, after posting the biggest rally in two months on Friday. Energy shares dragged the index lower as crude prices ended a two-day advance.
     Trudeau, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and other top Liberal lawmakers convene in Calgary for talks beginning Monday to figure out how to limit losses from any renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
     At the same time, U.S. president Donald Trump said at the beginning of a meeting with company executives at the White House that “a very major border tax” will be imposed on imports.
     In other moves:
* Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (PEY CN) dropped 5.7 percent after Barclays analyst Grant Hofer cut the stock to equalweight from overweight.
* Brookfield Canada Office Properties (BOX-U CN) rallied 18 percent; Brookfield Property Partners offered to buy the 16.9 percent stake in the real estate investment trust that it or its affiliates do not own for C$30.10 in cash per unit
US
U.S. Stocks Fall, Led by Industrials, on Trump Border Tax Remark
2017-01-23 21:26:24.326 GMT
By Joseph Ciolli
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell amid mounting losses in industrial and energy shares as investors weighed the Trump administration’s trade policies, including comments from the president mentioning a “very major” border tax.
     The S&P 500 Index declined 0.3 percent to 2,265.20 at 4 p.m. in New York after slipping 0.2 percent over the four days ended Friday, its second straight weekly decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27 points, or 0.1 percent, to 19,799.85. The Nasdaq 100 Index rose less than 0.1 percent. After the close, Yahoo! reported 4Q adjusted earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.                            
* Six of 11 industry groups lower
* An index of hospital companies lost as much as 2.8 percent after Trump signed an executive order to “waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of” Obamacare
** The gauge surged 21 percent over the period from Nov. 8 through Jan. 17; has since tumbled 5 percent over four days
** Biggest losers on Monday included CYH (-2.1%), QHC (-1.5%), UHS (-1.2%)\* Halliburton slipped as much as 4.5 percent, its biggest intraday loss since Sept. 9, even after reporting quarterly profit that beat analyst estimates
* VIX rose 2.3 percent, its fourth gain in five days
* Analysts estimate profit at S&P 500 companies rose 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, and see profit jumping 12 percent this year
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.7 percent, its third consecutive daily decline; the gauge recently slipped for a fourth straight week

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To know our soul apart from our ego

is the first step toward accomplishing the supreme deliverance.

It is necessary that we know with absolute certainty that in essence we are spirit.

And we can only arrive at this knowledge if we render ourselves masters of our ego,

if we rise above all pride, all appetite, all fear, by knowing that material losses and the

death of the body can never take away the truth and the greatness of our soul.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

Carolann

 

I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said.

                                -Thuli Madonsela, B. 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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day in 1909, General Motors buys a 50% stake in Oakland Motor Car Corp., which will eventually become GM’s Pontiac division.

Her is another page from the book The TAO  of CHARLIE MUNGER – A COMPILATION OF QUOTES FROM BERSHIRE HATHAWAY’S VICE CHAIRMAN ON LIFE, BUSINESS, AND THE PURSUIT OF WEALTH, WITHCOMMENTARY BY DAVID CLARK
#99 MAKING MISTAKES
“There’s no way that you can live an adequate life without many mistakes.  In fact, one trick in life is to get so you can handle mistakes.  Failure to handle psychological denial is a common way for people to go broke.” –Charlie Munger

It’s comforting to hear – that it’s okay to make a mistake.  Charlie is a better investor today because he rode a bull market way too long and got slaughtered in the crash of 1973-74.  He is also a better investor because of the problems Berkshire faced after it purchased Dexter Shoe.  And let’s not forget the nightmare Charlie had with Salomon Brothers, which almost cost Berkshire its entire $700 million investment in the company.  Then there were problems with the Baltimore department store Hochschild Kohn and, as we said, US Airlines.  Those were huge mistakes in business judgment, often costing millions of dollars.  But they set the stage for a greatly improved investment strategy that later paid off in billions. –David Clark
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An aircraft passes by the moon over Frankfurt, Germany, on Friday. Michael Probst/AP

Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) move across a snowy field at sunset near Nagyhegyes, Hungary, on Friday. Zsolt Czegledi/MTI/AP

A mother and her child walk through a mustard field in Munshiganj, Bangladesh, on Friday. Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters
Market Closes for January 20^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19827.25	+94.85   +0.48%
S&P 500	2271.131	+7.62   +0.34%
NASDAQ	5555.332	+15.251   +0.28%
TSX	15547.88	+138.07
		+0.90%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19137.91	+65.66
		+0.34%
HANG SENG	22885.91	-164.05
		-0.71%
SENSEX	27034.50	-274.10
		-1.00%
FTSE 100*	7198.44	-10.00
		-0.14%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.752		1.759
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.384		2.369
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4650		2.4665
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0472		3.0406

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75095	0.75090
US $	1.33170	1.33174
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42506	0.70172
US $	1.07011	0.93448

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1200.55	1196.05
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.42	51.37

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced, with the benchmark index rising the most in two months, as bullish analyst comments on nitrogen prices lifted raw-materials produces and weaker- than-expected data on inflation and retail sales bolstered expectations for economic stimulus.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.9 percent to 15,547.88 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, with all but two of the 11 industry groups rising. The broad market gauge is up 0.3 percent over five days for its third straight weekly gain.
     Retail sales and inflation readings came in weaker than expected on Friday, suggesting Canada’s recovery still has a long way to go. Earlier this week, the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent and said a rate cut remains on the table even as they look for another year of “solid” consumer spending to prop up growth.
     In other moves:
     * Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT CN) climbed 4.8 percent while Agrium Inc. (AGU CN) advanced 4.1 percent after BofAML analysts led by Steve Byrne said nitrogen’s five- year downturn may be nearing an end. Western Potash Corp. (WPX CN) surged 32 percent.
     * ShaMaran Petroleum Corp. (SNM CN) fell 8 percent after saying it plans to sell shares at C$0.10 a share in a private placement.
US
By Joseph Ciolli
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose as an increase in crude oil spurred gains in energy companies. The benchmark index pared earlier gains as President Donald Trump delivered his inauguration address. Consumer staples shares climbed as Procter & Gamble Co. reported quarterly earnings that topped estimates.
     The S&P 500 Index added 0.3 percent to 2,271.29 at 4 p.m. in New York as the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 95 points to 19,826.97, led by a 3.7 percent gain in shares of Merck & Co. Both gauges rose after declining more than 0.3 percent on Thursday.
* Eight of 11 industry groups higher
* Telecom shares rise 0.9 percent, led by AT&T Inc., which signed up new pay-TV customers for the first time in seven quarters thanks entirely to its new live online video service
* VIX declined 9.2 percent, its first loss in four days
* Analysts estimate profit at S&P 500 companies rose 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, and see profit jumping 12 percent this year
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.4 percent. The gauge declined for a fourth straight week
* General Electric Co. fell as much as 2.9 percent, biggest intraday decline since Sept. 9, after missing fourth-quarter sales estimates

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The Hindu believes that he is a spirit.
He believes that the sword cannot dissolve him, that the air cannot dry him out.
He believes that the soul is a circle whose circumference has no limits, but whose center is situated in the body.
Death signifies the transference of this center of a body to another.
We are the children of God.
Matter is our servant.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
                                         -Victor Hugo, 1802-1885

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1981, the U.S. signs an agreement with Iran paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months.
On Jan. 19, 1937, millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
1870 – Tin can patented.
Janis Joplin, b. 1943
Paul Cezanne, b.1839
Edgar Allan Poe, b. 1809

POINTS OF PROGRESS:
Portland, Oregon
In a novel approach to fighting income inequality, the city will begin imposing a tax increase this year on publicly traded companies that pay their chief executives at least 100 times as much as their median worker salary.  The initiative calls for a 10 percent surcharge in the city’s business tax for any publicly traded company with a CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 100 to 1 or greater, and a 25 % surcharge for companies with a ratio of 250 to 1 or greater. –CSM
Svalbard, Norway
The world’s crop diversity is being safeguarded by a unique facility deep inside the Arctic Circle.  The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, run by The Crop Trust, an independent organization established under international law, sits within a mountain on a remote island, bound by permafrost that will ensure samples stay frozen even without power.  Its aim is to hedge against myriad threats, including natural disasters, war, lack of funding,, and poor management.  The first withdrawal was made in 2015 by a war-ravaged seed bank in Syria. –The Crop Trust, Civil Eats
Kenya
Mobile money services have lifted 2 % of Kenyans out of poverty, according to new research published in the journal Science.  Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgetown University in Washington, C.C., found that, since 2008, these initiatives have raised 194,000 Kenyan families out of extreme poverty.  There was an added nuance: The effects were more pronounced in female-headed households.  In addition, the schemes helped approximately 185,000 women move from farming to business occupations.  –Science, MIT.
Worldwide
A $1 billion investment fund is backing clean energy.  Launched by an array of billionaire businessmen including Richard Branson and Mark Zuckerberg, the Breakthrough Energy Venture fund seeks to “build companies that will help deliver the next generation of reliable, affordable, and emissions-free energy to the world,” as chairman Bill Gates puts it.  Meanwhile, the value of global assets being committed to divesting from fossil fuels has reached a milestone of $5 trillion, doubling in just the past 15 months.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A snowshoer visits an imitation Greco-Roman temple, built in 1869, on the summit of Donon mountain in Granfontaine, France, on Thursday.Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Believers jump into the water of the Moraca river in an attempt to retrieve a wooden cross during Epiphany celebrations in Podgorica, Montenegro, on Thursday. Stevo Vasiljevic/Reuters
Market Closes for January 19^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19732.40	-72.32   -0.37%
S&P 500	2263.69	-8.20   -0.36%
NASDAQ	5540.082	-15.572   -0.28%
TSX	15408.23	+10.38
		+0.07%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19072.25	+177.88
		+0.94%
HANG SENG	23049.96	-48.30
		-0.21%
SENSEX	27308.60	+50.96
		+0.19%
FTSE 100*	7208.44	-39.17
		-0.54%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.759		1.705
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.369		2.320
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4665		2.4222
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0406		3.0064

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75090	0.75352
US $	1.33174	1.32711
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42012	0.70416
US $	1.06636	0.93777

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1196.05	1214.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.37	51.08

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Greg Quinn
     (Bloomberg) — Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz has a message for those betting Canada’s economy will ride shotgun on the U.S. recovery: think again.
     Canada’s central bank chief spelled out Wednesday how his economy is still diverging from the U.S. two years after an oil shock took hold. His statements cast doubt on the recent rally in the country’s dollar and bond yields that, in the past, have accompanied similar rallies in the U.S. Here’s why:                         
     Canadian bond yields that followed U.S. yield higher are out of step with the weaker economy north of the border, Poloz told reporters Wednesday.
     “While this reaction is consistent with past correlations, it is at odds with Canada’s macroeconomic situation where there is material excess capacity, unlike the U.S. economy,” Poloz said, laying the blame for the economic divergence on the oil price collapse.
     In a statement that accompanied the earlier rate decision, Policy makers said the higher Canadian dollar is “exacerbating ongoing competitiveness challenges and muting the outlook for exports.”                      
     The central bank said Canada’s economy continues to operate with “material excess capacity.” It also pointed to a deteriorating labor market, saying that while jobs growth has been firm, the labor market is showing signs of significant slack.
     One area of contrast with the U.S. is wages. Canadian paychecks for permanent employees rose 1.5 percent in December from 12 months earlier. In the U.S., average hourly earnings climbed 2.9 percent, the most since 2009.
     Canada’s relative weakness means Poloz “will remain easy for the time being” with monetary policy, said Darcy Briggs, a fixed income portfolio manager at Franklin Bissett Investment Management.                       
     Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday the U.S. economy is close to the central bank’s objectives of full employment and stable prices and she’s confident it will continue to improve. Poloz, meanwhile, cut his inflation estimate for the fourth quarter to 1.4 percent from 1.7 percent. Core price gains are also below 2 percent in Canada.
     Canada’s economy, hit hard by an oil price collapse that was largely beneficial to the U.S. economy, is still suffering an ongoing hit to incomes even amid signs the shock is bottoming out. Ironically, the U.S. energy sector also seems to be benefiting more from the rebound in oil prices since shale oil deposits have become cheaper to produce, giving it a competitive advantage over Canada’s heavy crude.                         
     Poloz signaled a cut to the bank’s 0.5 percent benchmark interest rate remains possible — even as the Fed is hiking — if there’s another major shock. Canada still needs until mid-2018 to restore the economy to full health, and the outlook is also clouded by uncertainties over whether U.S. President- elect Donald Trump will deliver big tax cuts or bring trade restrictions.
Most actively traded companies on the TSX
     (Canadian Press) — Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
     Toronto Stock Exchange (15,409.81, up 11.96 points)@ close:
     Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. (TSX:TVE). Oil and gas. Up 19 cents, or 5.83 per cent, to $3.45 on 13.7 million shares.
     B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO). Miner. Down one cent, or 0.27 per cent, to $3.66 on 6.6 million shares.
     Cameco Corp. (TSX:CCO). Miner. Up $1.46, or 10.15 per cent, to $15.85 on 5.5 million shares.
     Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA). Oil and gas. Up one cent, or 0.06 per cent, to $17.39 on 4.9 million shares.
     Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K). Miner. Down two cents, or 0.43 per cent, to $4.68 on 4.8 million shares.
     Baytex Energy Corp. (TSX:BTE). Oil and gas. Down 10 cents, or 1.82 per cent, to $5.38 on 4.7 million shares.
     Companies reporting major news:
     George Weston Ltd. (TSX:WN). Grocer. Down 65 cents, or 0.58 per cent, to $112.39 on 58,956 shares. Chairman Galen G. Weston was appointed CEO of the business his father led for decades before stepping aside last year as part of a staged succession plan at the company that controls the Loblaw grocery chain.
     Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (TSX:CP). Transportation. Up $7.63, or 3.96 per cent, to $200.11 on 921,250 shares. The railway said in a news release after markets closed on Wednesday that CEO Hunter Harrison, 72, had struck a surprise deal to step down five months ahead of schedule, apparently so he can take a job with a competing railroad. Harrison will give up benefits and stock options worth up to $118 million, including forfeiting his CP Rail pension, in return for cancelling his non-compete agreement. 
US
By Jeremy Herron and Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased its 2017 gain, Treasuries slumped and the dollar slipped as investors awaited Donald Trump’s inauguration for clues on whether his policies will boost growth in the world’s largest economy.
     The Dow headed for its first five-day slump since the election. Banks slumped as Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury nominee, didn’t advocate throwing out tough regulations during his Senate confirmation hearing. The greenback erased gains after he said the dollar was “very, very strong.” Treasury yields climbed to the highest level this year. Oil advanced and gold slumped.
     The rallies in the dollar and equities faltered a day before Trump is sworn in as the 45th American president, with investors growing increasingly anxious for indications the administration will follow through on pro-growth campaign promises. Mnuchin said passing tax reform is a “major component” of the policy stance. The European Central Bank earlier renewed commitment to stimulus, saying there are no signs that inflation is taking hold.
     Equities extended losses amid comments from billionaire investor George Soros, who said the euphoria among stock investors since Trump’s victory will end as uncertainty takes over. The S&P 500 has fallen 0.4 percent since mid-December, while the Dow has churned in its tightest range ever over the past month.
     The ECB’s Mario Draghi said there are “no convincing signs yet of upward trend in underlying inflation” during his first appearance of the year. Accelerating consumer prices have caused alarm in Germany, the region’s largest economy, and sparked calls for him to rein in the ECB’s bond-buying program. The central bank left its benchmark rate unchanged.
     Read our Markets Live blog here.
     Here are the main market moves:
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.4 percent to 2,263.669 at 4 p.m. in New York, the lowest in two weeks. Real-estate and utility stocks lost 0.9 percent, while banks shares fell 0.6 percent.
* Netflix rose 3.9 percent after reporting its best quarter ever.
* Yields on 10-year Treasury notes rose four basis points to 2.47 percent, the highest since Dec. 29.
* The rate on similar maturity German bunds climbed two basis points to 0.38 percent.
* The euro erased its 0.3 percent advance against the dollar as Draghi began speaking and was little changed at $1.0627.
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index ended little changed.
* West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.6 percent after a government report showed that crude stockpiles at the biggest U.S. storage hub dropped the most since October.
* Gold futures slid 0.7 percent to $1,204.20 an ounce in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent and the MSCI
Emerging Market Index lost 0.3 percent.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Do men fear sleep?
One prepares the bed for sound sleep.
Sleep is temporary death.  Death is longer sleep.
If the man dies while yet alive, he need not grieve over others’ death.
One’s experience is evident with or without the body, as in waking, dream, and sleep.
Then why should one desire continuance of the bodily shackles?
Let man find out his undying Self and die and be immortal and happy.
Sri Ramana Maharshi

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day,
you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.
                                              -Tom Hiddleston, b. 1981

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Winnie the Pooh Day  today:  writer A.A. Milne  was born on this day in 1882.

On Jan. 18, 1912, English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had gotten there first.

I started reading The TAO of CHARLIE MUNGER last night.  It’s not really a book that you would read continuously.  It is a compilation of quotes from Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman on life, business and the pursuit of wealth with commentary by David Clark.   Here is a fitting example since we’re starting a new year:

#102  NOT LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS

“Mozart is a good example of a life ruined by nuttiness.  His achievement wasn’t diminished – he may well have had the best innate musical talent ever – but form the start, he was pretty miserable.  He overspent his income his entire life – that will make you miserable.” –Charlie Munger, b. 1924 

One of the keys to Charlie’s accumulation of wealth is that in his youth he was fanatical about not spending money.  He didn’t buy his first new car until he was almost sixty, and he lived in an upper-middle-class house long after he became a multimillionaire.  Every dollar saved was a dollar that could be invested.  Overspending can make us miserable, but underspending and investing wisely will help speed us along the road to riches. –David Clark
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Two snowshoers hike Schauinsland mountain in the Black Forest in Hofsgrund, southern Germany. Patrick Seeger/dpa/AP

The peloton rides past a road sign warning of kangaroos during stage two of the Tour Down Under bicycle race near Adelaide, Australia, on Wednesday. Dan Peled/AAP/Reuters
Market Closes for January 18^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	19804.72	-22.05   -0.11%
S&P 500	2271.89	+4.00   +0.18%
NASDAQ	5555.656	+16.929   +0.31%
TSX	15397.85	-43.51
		-0.28%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18894.37	+80.84
		+0.43%
HANG SENG	23098.26	+257.29
		+1.13%
SENSEX	27257.64	+21.98
		+0.08%
FTSE 100*	7247.61	+27.23
		+0.38%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.705		1.667
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.320		2.286
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4222		2.3253
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0064		2.9293

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75352	0.76644
US $	1.32711	1.30473
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41087	0.70878
US $	1.06311	0.94063

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1214.75	1216.05
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.08	52.48

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Joseph Ciolli
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a third straight day as a decline in crude oil led energy companies lower, while industrials, telecommunications and consumer discretionary shares also decreased.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.3 percent to 15,398.25 at 10:40 a.m. in Toronto. The gauge has faltered after flirting with an all-time high in recent weeks, which saw it come within 71 points of its September 2014 peak. The index finished 2016 as the best-performing developed stock market and has risen in each of the last six months. Energy producers paced the loss on Wednesday, falling 1 percent, while industrials shares slid 0.4 percent.
     Cameco Corp. was the biggest loser in the benchmark index, falling as much as 15 percent, the most since March 2011. The uranium miner’s annual adjusted earnings per share will be “significantly lower” than estimates, the company said in an after-market statement on Tuesday. Cameco’s shares will be pressured given the earnings shortfall, as well as a lack of clarity on the reason, according to Royal Bank of Canada analyst Fraser Phillips.
     In other moves:
* Canadian Energy Services & Technology Corp., Torc Oil & Gas Ltd. and Baytex Energy Corp. lost more than 3.2% as crude oil decreased 2%
* Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. climbed 6.9%, offsetting losses of more than 1.7% for fellow raw-material producers Guyana Goldfields Inc. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan
US
By Natasha Doff and Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — Treasuries fell while the dollar advanced in a reversal of Tuesday’s trading as investors weighed the prospect of rising inflation against political uncertainty in the run-up to Donald Trump’s inauguration. U.S. stocks fluctuated amid corporate results.
     Data showing a fifth straight monthly advance in the U.S. cost of living bolstered arguments that inflation is taking hold, sending the yield on 10-year Treasury notes higher. The S&P 500 was little changed as investors assessed results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. while Target Corp. slumped after cutting its holiday sales forecast. Japan’s currency and gold retreated for the first time in eight days. Oil fell below $52 a barrel.
     Rising consumer prices in the U.S. joined data showing strengthening inflation in the U.K. and eurozone, underpinning confidence in a growth rebound a day after concerns about Trump’s policies and Brexit drove investors to haven assets. That’s taken the edge off the so-called reflation trade, with strategists starting to rethink bets on returning inflation and a stronger dollar. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is slated to speak at 3 p.m. New York time, while the European Central Bank meets Thursday.
     Read our Markets Live blog here.
     Here are the main movers for the key asset classes:
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,269.45 at 11:37 a.m. in New York, 0.3 percent below its all-time high set Jan. 6.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 13.91 points to 19,812.86. Goldman Sachs slipped 0.8 percent, while Citigroup Inc. retreated 1.6 percent. Both banks reported profit that topped estimates as bond trading buoyed results.
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.5 percent, after retreating 1.3 percent on Tuesday to the lowest in a month.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3 percent, poised for the highest closing level since Nov. 8.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index halted a five-day rally, retreating 0.5 percent.
* West Texas Intermediate crude slumped 0.6 percent to $52.13 a barrel, the most in a week.
* Gold lost 0.3 percent, snapping a seven-day winning streak that was the longest since November.
* Yields on 10-year Treasuries climbed four basis points to 2.37 percent, after falling seven basis points on Tuesday.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

All of our selfish impulses, all of our personal desires, obscure our true vision of the soul,
as they only point out our shabby ego.  When we are aware of our soul,
we perceive the inner life that surpasses our ego
and that has profound affinities with the Whole.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others
to come to you.  You have to go to them sometimes.
                                          -A.A. Milne, 1882-1956

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day in 1792, the dollar sign ($) appears for the first time on a federal document — a U.S. Treasury bond issued to George Washington.
With the rich and famous flocking to Davos, a new Oxfam report shows eight billionaires, including Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, are as wealthy as the poorest half of the world’s population. (CNBC)
On Jan. 17, 1893, Hawaii’s monarchy was overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate.
Go to article »

1899 – Gangster Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.

1997 – A court in Ireland granted the first divorce in the Roman Catholic country’s history.

2001 – Faced with an electricity crisis, California used rolling blackouts to cut off power to hundreds of thousands of people.

2008 – Chess master Bobby Fischer died at age 64
Number of the Day
19%
The percentage the U.K. pound has fallen against the U.S. dollar since Britain voted to leave the European Union.
Tweet of the Day
If you feel like you’re in the wrong universe, remember all this weird crap only started after they turned on the Large Hadron Collider.
— Adrian Atterbury (@Attervar)
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A fieldfare, a member of the thrush family, eats an ashberry in central Kiev, Ukraine, on Tuesday. Gleb Garanich/Reuters

A man clears snow from his parked Shikara, or traditional boat, as it snows in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, on Tuesday. The region has been experiencing snow for several consecutive days, resulting in the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu highway and the suspension of air traffic. Dar Yasin/AP

A giant lantern depicting a rooster is part of the Spring Festival decorations at Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday. Aly Song/Reuters
Market Closes for January 17^th, 2017

MarketIndex	Close	Change
DowJones	19826.77	-58.96  -0.30%
S&P 500	2267.73	-6.91  -0.30%
NASDAQ	5538.727	-35.389  -0.63%
TSX	15432.37	-46.92
		-0.30%

International Markets

MarketIndex	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18813.53	-281.71
		-1.48%
HANGSENG	22840.97	+122.82
		+0.54%
SENSEX	27235.66	-52.51
		-0.19%
FTSE 100*	7220.38	-106.75
		-1.46%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND.10 Year Bond		1.667		1.687
CND.30 Year Bond		2.286		2.294
U.S.   10 Year Bond		2.3253		2.3964
U.S.30 Year Bond		2.9293		2.9886

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76644	0.75886
US$	1.30473	1.31777
Euro Rate1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.39751	0.71556
US$	1.07111	0.93361

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London GoldFix	1216.05	1203.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.48	52.37

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Joseph Ciolli
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the third time in four sessions, as declines in industrial and financial shares offset gains in raw-material and energy producers.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 0.1 percent to 15,469.34 at 10:39 a.m. in Toronto. The gauge has flirted with an all-time high in recent weeks, coming within 71 points from its September 2014 peak. The index finished 2016 as the best-performing developed stock market and has risen in each of the last six months. Industrial stocks paced the loss on Tuesday, losing 0.7 percent, while financial shares slid 0.5 percent.
     Lundin Mining Corp. decreased 0.7 percent after the Congolese government dropped objections to the company, along with Freeport-McMoRan Inc., exiting a copper and cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The decision ended an eight-month dispute.
     In other moves:
* Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., Canadian National Railway Co. and Stantec Inc. declined more than 0.9 percent to lead industrial shares lower
* Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. and Alacer Gold Corp. gained at least 3 percent as the Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.7 percent, its fifth straight gain
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell as markets reopened after Monday’s holiday as financial and industrial shares declined and the U.S. dollar had its biggest single-day loss since July.
     The S&P 500 Index dropped 0.3 percent to 2,267 at 4 p.m. in New York and the Dow Jones Industrials lost 0.3 percent to 19,827. The CBOE Volatility Index jumped 5.6 percent after reaching its lowest since July 2014 on Friday.
* U.S. dollar weakened as traders considered whether Trump’s comments in an interview with the Wall Street Journal refer to the broad dollar basket or only against the yuan
* Financials led S&P 500 lower, down 2.3% after key earnings and as Trump reflation trade ebbs; utility shares up 1.2% and consumer staples shares add 1.4%
* 10-Year Treasury yield down 7 basis points to 2.325
* VIX climbed 5.8% for biggest one-day gain since Dec. 28
* Tech companies decline 0.4%, led by loss of 4% in Qualcomm as Bloomberg reports U.S. antitrust officials are poised to sue
* Health care stocks down 0.5% after dropping as much as 1.3% in early trading
* Morgan Stanley down 3.8% after paring pre-market gains following 4Q earnings
* Analysts estimate profit at S&P 500 companies rose 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, and will jump 12 percent this year
* EARNINGS:
** After-market: CSX (CSX), Interactive Brokers (IBKR), United (UAL), Fulton Financial (FULT), Linear Technology (LLTC), Hancock Holding (HBHC), Renasant (RNST), Pinnacle Financial (PNFP), ADTRAN (ADTN)
** Earnings pre-market Wednesday: US Bancorp (USB), Fastenal (FAST), Commerce Bancshares (CBSH), TD Ameritrade (AMTD), Goldman Sachs (GS), Northern Trust (NTRS), Citigroup (C ), Charles Schwab (SCHW)

 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Death is extraordinarily like life,
when we know how to live.
You cannot live without dying.
You cannot live if you do not die
psychologically every minute.
Krishnamurti

 

As ever,

Carolann

 

A short saying often contains much wisdom.
                     -Sophocles, 498 BC-406  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