July 6th, 2011 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

The Festival of San Fermin is better known as the Pamplona Bull Running Festival where its original essence as a religious celebration of the feast of San Fermin has been lost through the ages. In its stead are the week long festivities of music, drinking, dancing, street theatre and bullfighting. Wear a red scarf or shawl and you’ll blend well in the throng of people this side of historic Spain.

Just what is the significance of the color red in the San Fermin Festival other than it being particularly attractive to the eyes of the bull? The truth is, there is clearly no explanation as to why majority of the revelers in the San Fermin festivities wear red clothing or have red fashion accessories worn around their bodies.

Perhaps it has something to do with what the color red conveys. Red is well known as the most emotionally intense color as it is often associated with faster heart beats as well as breathing. It is a very powerful magnet for the eyes to behold, often making the wearer look a lot heavier. These characteristics of the color red make it a perfect choice in sheer festive atmospheres.

Bull fighting has nothing to do with the color red, however. Contrary to popular belief, bulls – and all animals for that matter – are color-blind. So it does not actually matter whether you are wearing a red colored shawl or a gray or black one. Chances are, the bull will only see shades of gray cloth. What matters more are the agitated movements you’ll make as you run from them.

The Pamplona Bull Running Festival was not at all an original July festival but rather an October event. More specifically it coincided with the Feast of San Fermin on the 10th of October, a celebration which began as early as the thirteenth century. However, because of the growing number of varied festivities aside from the usual religious undertones, the festival was essentially moved to the more weather-friendly month of July.

-Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4062468

…“There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail, and face the situation”..

W.C. Fields – American Comic and Actor

Photo of the day:

July 6, 2011

A girl stands next to a statue of a bull sporting a San Fermin (Traditional Red Scarf) before the start of the running of the Bulls in Pamplona Spain. Reuters/Eloy Alonso.

Market Commentary

 Canada

(Bloomberg)

Canadian stocks fell for the first time in seven days, led by energy companies, after China raised its benchmark interest rates and an index of U.S. service industries declined.

Bankers Petroleum Ltd., an oil and gas producer with operations in Albania, plunged 15 percent after its second- quarter production trailed its forecasts. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. lost 3.8 percent after market-research firm ComScore Inc. said its market share shrank. Silver Wheaton Corp., Canada’s fourth-largest precious-metals company by market value, advanced 5.4 percent as investors sought a haven from the European debt crisis.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index slipped 22.2 points, or 0.2 percent, to 13,403.10.

“The services number came out this morning quite weak, confirming a global slowdown,” said Stephen Gauthier, a money manager at Fin-XO Securities in Montreal, which oversees C$600 million ($620 million). “With China raising interest rates again, the markets will probably correct some more in the next few days.”

The S&P/TSX had advanced six-straight days, led by commodity producers, as Greece approved an austerity package and a gauge of U.S. manufacturing climbed. The Canadian equity index increased 4 percent during the streak, narrowing its yearly decline to 0.1 percent.

China’s Rates

Energy stocks retreated after the People’s Bank of China raised its benchmark interest rates for the third time this year. China is the world’s largest user of industrial metals and second-biggest oil consumer behind the U.S.

The Institute for Supply Management said its index of U.S. non-manufacturing businesses slipped to 53.3 in June from 54.6 in May, trailing most economist forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.

Cenovus Energy Inc., the country’s fifth-biggest energy company, declined 2.6 percent to C$35.55 as natural gas futures slumped as much as 3.3 percent. Talisman Energy Inc., which produces oil and gas in North America, the North Sea and Indonesia, lost 1.4 percent to C$19.91. TransCanada Corp., the owner of Canada’s largest pipeline system, slipped 1.2 percent to C$41.59.

Bankers Petroleum sank 15 percent, the most since December 2008, to C$6.07 after production missed its forecasts by about 8.5 percent. Gavin Wylie, an analyst at Bank of Nova Scotia, cut his rating on the shares to “sector perform” from “sector outperform.”

Cut to Junk

Government-bond yields in the most-heavily indebted Western European countries jumped today, a day after Moody’s Investors Service cut its rating on Portuguese credit to junk. Talks on investor involvement in the new Greek bailout package bogged down after Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings both indicated they would cut Greece to default if the European Union went ahead with a plan to ask creditors to roll over expiring Greek bonds into new debt.

Gold futures gained 1.1 percent and silver rallied 1.4 percent in New York as investors sought hard assets.

Silver Wheaton climbed 5.4 percent to C$34.99. Eldorado Gold Corp., which mines in China and Turkey, rallied 4.1 percent to C$15.47. Yamana Gold Inc., Canada’s fifth-largest gold producer, rose 3.2 percent to C$12.07.

Eastern Platinum Ltd. surged 20 percent, the most since October 2009, to C$1.02. Don MacLean, an analyst at Paradigm Capital Inc., said in a note to clients that a slide in the stock, after the mining company reported earnings that missed estimates and encountered labor unrest, was overdone. The shares closed at a 19-month low July 4.

RIM slipped 3.8 percent to C$26.79 after ComScore said it has fallen to third place, behind Apple Inc., in U.S. smartphone market share. Devices using Google Inc.’s Android operating system have the most users.

Sino-Forest Corp., the forestry company fighting a short seller’s assertions of financial manipulation, retreated for the first time in six days, slumping 10 percent to C$4.75. The company postponed a trip for analysts it had proposed for mid- July.

 US

(Bloomberg)

U.S. stocks rose, erasing an early drop, as gains in transportation, technology and consumer- staple companies overshadowed a slowdown in service-industry growth and China’s interest-rate boost. The euro slid and Treasuries rose after Portugal’s credit rating was cut to junk.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.1 percent to 1,339.22 at 4 p.m. in New York, its sixth gain in seven days. The euro sank 0.8 percent to $1.4314 while the 10-year Treasury yield touched a one-week low. The yield on Portugal’s 10-year bond surged 204 basis points to a record above 13 percent, erasing the drop last week that followed Greece’s approval of austerity measures aimed at winning financial aid. The two-year Irish yield soared 243 basis points to 15.31 percent. Wheat, cotton and natural gas led losses in commodities.

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) paced gains in transportation shares, while Costco Wholesale Corp. helped lead companies that sell consumer necessities higher and International Business Machines Corp. contributed the most to an advance in S&P 500 technology stocks. Investors awaited the start of the second- quarter earnings season next week and data in two days that is forecast to show U.S. payrolls grew by 100,000 jobs last month.

“We’re beginning to put the short-term economic issues behind us,” said Robert Schaeffer, a money manager at Becker Capital Management Inc. in Portland, Oregon, which oversees about $2.5 billion. “We’re likely to get better economic data over the next months and that will rally the stock market on an intermediate basis even if the long-term problems such as too much debt remain unsolved.”

Rally Resumed

DuPont Co., Intel Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. climbed at least 1.4 percent for the biggest gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. U.S. stocks fell for the first time in six days yesterday following a 5.6 percent rally last week, the biggest since July 2009, as the Moody’s Investors Service downgrade of Portugal reignited concern Europe’s debt crisis will hurt economic growth.

The S&P 500 has slipped almost 2 percent since its 2011 peak at the end of April. The gauge lost 1.8 percent in June as investors speculated that Greece would default on its debt.

The ISM index of non-manufacturing businesses decreased to 53.3 in June from 54.6 a month earlier. A reading above 50 signals expansion. The measure was projected to drop to 53.7, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Other data showed employers in the U.S. announced 5.3 percent more job cuts in June than a year earlier, according to figures from Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. The report comes two days before the Labor Department’s monthly payrolls report.  

“Money is like a sixth sense – and you can’t make use of the other five without it.” – William Somerset Maugham

“Be Magnificent”

 As ever,

 Kyle  for Carolann