December 9, 2011 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Tangents:
I am happy to tell you that I have now completed the Family Enterprise Advisor Program at UBC’s Sauder School of Business and we had our graduation ceremony on Thursday afternoon in Vancouver. Gary surprised me when I spotted him in the foyer; I told him not to bother going over. But I’m blessed with the kindest and most considerate partner one could ever hope for.
Now that this two year course of study is over with, it feels like the Sword of Damocles had disappeared overhead. I’m sure you can all relate to the feeling in your own lives when you’ve finally finished something you took on of your own volition, questioning why sometimes when life becomes overwhelming, but determined to see it through.
Tomorrow is Emily Dickinson’s birthday, one of my favorite poets. She was born December 10, 1830 and died in 1886. After her death, her sister, Lavinia discovered almost 2,000 poems written on the backs of envelopes and other scraps of paper locked in Emily’s bureau.
This is one of my favorite poems:
HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS
Emily Dickinson
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chilliest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
Photos of the day
December 9, 2011
Actors and actresses march in the street carrying luggage to represent that they must move in order to make a living in other places, in Pamplona, northern Spain. They have been lost their jobs because of planned cutbacks against municipal cultural services as European leaders meet at a summit in Brussels to try to save the euro zone, with a major economic crisis suffered by Europe. Alvaro Barrientos/AP.
Elsie and Euan play chess by candle light following a power cut in Pitlochry, Scotland. Severe weather and high winds battered Scotland leaving thousands without power, causing hundreds of schools to close and causing widespread travel disruption. Russell Cheyne/Reuters.
Market Commentary:
Canada
By Matt Walcoff
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, paring a weekly decline, after European nations other than the U.K. agreed to adopt tougher budget rules to save the euro currency.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Canada’s second-largest energy company by market value, gained 1.6 percent as oil and gas producers advanced. Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest lender by assets, increased 1.4 percent as banks climbed. First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Canada’s second-largest publicly traded copper producer, surged 5.4 percent as copper futures rallied. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 82.96 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,034.75, trimming its weekly retreat to 0.3 percent.
“It’s half a victory,” Irwin Michael, a money manager at ABC Funds in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about C$1 billion ($980 million). “We’d like to see unanimous agreement. For us to have financial peace and prosperity in North America, we have to have some semblance of tranquility in Europe and Asia.”
The S&P/TSX is set to underperform the S&P 500 this year for the first time since 2003 as companies most-closely tied to the economy have declined on concern the European debt crisis will hamper growth. The Canadian index has slumped 10 percent this year after rallying 50 percent in 2009-2010. Euro-region leaders agreed to develop “a new fiscal compact” that would limit budget deficits. Because the U.K. declined to participate, a new treaty would have to be written to put the rules into effect. Today’s agreement also adds 200 billion euros ($267 billion) to the International Monetary Fund’s crisis-fighting resources.
The S&P/TSX Energy Index contributed the most to stocks’ gains. Canadian Natural advanced 1.6 percent to C$37.66. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., an energy producer with operations in Colombia, rebounded 5 percent to C$20.56 after sinking 5.4 percent yesterday. Precision Drilling Corp., Canada’s largest contract drilling company, increased 5.5 percent to C$11.15.
All S&P/TSX banks and insurers climbed after the European agreement. Royal Bank increased 1.4 percent to C$49.47. Bank of Nova Scotia, the country’s third-biggest lender by assets, advanced 1 percent to C$48.98. Manulife Financial Corp., North America’s fourth-largest insurance company, rose 1.4 percent to C$11.32.
National Bank of Canada, the country’s sixth-largest lender by assets, gained 1.6 percent to C$68.10 after Mario Mendonca, an analyst at Canaccord Financial Inc., and Darko Mihelic, an analyst at Cormark, raised their ratings on the company. Mendonca boosted National Bank to “buy” from “hold,” telling clients in a note that it is less expensive than other lenders relative to forecast 2012 earnings.
Base-metals and coal producers in the S&P/TSX extended weekly gains as copper advanced. First Quantum jumped 5.4 percent to C$20.55. Teck Resources Ltd., the country’s largest company in the industry, climbed 1.5 percent to C$37.92. Silver producers rose as the precious metal with industrial uses rallied. Silver Standard Resources Inc., which mines in Latin America, gained 4.9 percent to C$15.41. First Majestic Silver Corp., which owns mines in Mexico, advanced 6.5 percent to C$17.13.
Technology-patent owner Wi-LAN Inc. increased 5.8 percent to C$5.49. The company said it bought more than 1,400 TV and video patents and patent applications for $8 million and said it will buy back up to 5 percent of its shares. Yoga-wear retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc. climbed 3.8 percent to C$48.67 after Howard Tubin, an analyst at Royal Bank, reiterated his “outperform” rating on the shares. Higher same- store sales in the third quarter demonstrate the strength of the Lululemon brand, Tubin wrote in a note to clients.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., Canada’s largest drugmaker, rose 3.5 percent to C$47.92 after a person with knowledge of the deal said the company increased the size of a term loan to $500 million from $350 million. Valeant will use the money to help fund its A$700 million ($715 million) purchase of Sydney-based iNova Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty.
US
By Lu Wang
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its first back-to-back weekly gain since October, after European leaders agreed to boost a rescue fund and reports spurred optimism about the economy. General Electric Co., Pfizer Inc. and Travelers Cos. climbed more than 3.2 percent to lead advances in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Financial companies in the S&P 500 climbed 1.7 percent, the most among 10 industries, after European leaders added 200 billion euros ($267 billion) to the fund and tightened rules to curb future debts. DuPont Co. dropped 4.2 percent after cutting its earnings forecast.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.9 percent to 1,255.19 after surging 7.4 percent between Nov. 25 and Dec. 2, the biggest weekly advance since 2009. The Dow rose 164.84 points, or 1.4 percent, to 12,184.26 this week, extending its 2011 gain to 5.2 percent. “When you get positive news out of Europe, it allows investors to focus on the U.S., where the economy appears to be gaining a little traction,” Joseph Keating, who helps oversee $2 billion as chief investment officer at CenterState Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama, said in a telephone interview. “Basically, any fear about a double-dip recession has been taken off the table.”
The S&P 500 erased a weekly loss on Dec. 9 after the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan gauge of confidence among consumers topped the median economist projection. Earlier in the week, data showing that fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits added to signs the job market is improving.
The gain failed to keep the benchmark index for U.S. equities above its 200-day average. On each of the first three trading sessions of the week, the gauge surpassed and then slipped below its average price from the prior 200 days. It was the third time since October that rallies fizzled at that level, which is used by some traders to forecast the market. “The market is lacking conviction,” Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC in New York, said in a telephone interview. The firm manages $1.2 billion. “People are suspect about growth, or suspect about Europe. They’re worried that Europe could have a larger impact on the U.S.”
The European Central Bank lowered interest rates on Dec. 8 for a second straight month and said it may do more to stimulate bank lending and fight off a recession.“It doesn’t look like Europe is collapsing, but where do we go from here — what’s going to drive growth in Europe?” Pavlik said. “Europe could be facing a period of slow economic growth. That’s keeping investors on the sideline.”
In the U.S., the Thomson Reuters/Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose to a six-month high of 67.7 in December. The gauge was projected to rise to 65.8, according to the median forecast of 73 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. GE, the world’s biggest maker of jet engines, power- generation equipment, medical-imaging machines and locomotives, rallied 4.7 percent to $16.84 after raising its quarterly dividend for the fourth time in two years. Pfizer climbed 3.4 percent to $20.56, and Travelers advanced 3.3 percent to $56.02. DuPont fell 4.2 percent to $45.04. The chemical maker cut its 2011 earnings forecast by 10 cents a share because of falling demand for consumer electronics and plastics and continued weak demand for construction products.
Gannett Co. rose the most in the S&P 500, surging 12 percent to $13.34. The newspaper owner forecast fourth-quarter broadcast revenue to rise as much as 11 percent. Lazard Capital Markets boosted the stock’s rating to “buy” from “neutral,” citing higher chances for a dividend increase. Pall Corp., a supplier of filters for drugmakers and refineries, jumped 5.8 percent to $56.66 after reporting first- quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.
Tesoro Corp. posted the second-biggest drop in the S&P 500, sinking 11 percent to $21.79. The oil refiner said it has “no intent” to resume dividend payments or buy back shares next year. Credit Suisse Group AG downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “outperform.”
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Be magnificent!
It is quite evident that our world is useful and that it provides for our needs,
but our connection to it does not end there.
We are united to it by a connection much larger and more truthful than that of necessity.
Our soul is drawn to it; our love of life is in reality a desire in us to seek our connection with this universe.
And this connection is love.
-Rabindranath Tagore, 1861-1901
As ever,
Carolann
Do not swell in the past, do not dream of
the future, concentrate the mind on the
present moment.
-Budda, ~400-480BC