April 18, 2012 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Went to hear Marlo Thomas last night speak about her life and experiences and thoughts…she is amazing.  Check out her website at marlothomas.com.  She is also starting a weekly blog for the Huffington Post –the first one is due before April 30^th, so look for it on her blog and the Huffington Post…

Today’s question:

Have you ever regretted something you did not say or do?

In history:

1942 – The Toronto Maple Leafs pull off the greatest comeback in NHL history with their fourth straight win to win the Stanley Cup series 4-3. ( I cringe thinking of the Canuck’s game tonight against LA).

1950- The first trans-Atlantic jet passenger trip is completed.

1906- A massive earthquake hits San Francisco, measuring 8.25 on the Richter Scale.

photos of the day

April 18, 2012

US Olympic gymnast Alaina Williams poses in mid-air during a trampoline demonstration in New York’s Times Square. The US Olympic team put on a demonstration to celebrate 100 days countdown to the London games.

Brendan McDermid/Reute

Giulia Lapi and Mariangela Perrupato of Italy perform in the Duets Technical Routine during a synchronized swimming qualification event at the Aquatic Center at Olympic Park in Stratford in east London.

Toby Melville/Reuters

Market Closes for April 18, 2012:

North American Markets

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

US

By Rita Nazareth

April 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, after the biggest advance in more than a month for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. drove a slump in technology shares after reporting results.

Intel and IBM slumped at least 1.5 percent amid the slowest sales growth since 2009. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class A shares slid 1.3 percent as Warren Buffett was diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer. Genworth Financial Inc. tumbled 21 percent after delaying plans for a public offering of its Australian unit backing home loans after “elevated” losses in the nation.

Apple Inc. advanced 0.3 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its estimates for the most valuable technology company.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.2 percent to 1,387.75 at 3:24 p.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 59.37 points, or 0.5 percent, to 13,056.17 today. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies lost 0.6 percent to 805.45. Trading in S&P 500 companies was 2 percent below the 30-day average.

“Profits are lukewarm,” said Nick Sargen, chief investment officer at Fort Washington Investment Advisors in Cincinnati, which oversees $40 billion. “You get disappointments from some bellwether technology companies at a time when the market has had such a good run. We’re not bearish, but if we’re going to add to positions, we need a pullback.”

Stocks fell as Intel forecast gross margin that was lower than some analysts predicted and IBM’s sales missed forecasts.

The S&P 500 had risen 11 percent in 2012 through yesterday on better-than-estimated economic and corporate data. Equities also dropped as Bank of England policy makers said inflation may be higher than forecast. Spain will auction 3.3 percent two-year notes and 5.85 percent 10-year debt tomorrow.

BlackRock Inc.’s Laurence D. Fink, who has been advising investors to put more money in stocks, said clients are still overwhelmed by fear as global markets remain “fragile” despite the first-quarter rally. Fink said investors remain pessimistic and customers removed money from active equity products while turning to passive investments such as exchange-traded funds.

The company’s share of fees from active stock funds, which last year were the biggest contributor to investment advisory revenue, fell below stock ETFs this year as investors migrated to passive products.

“The fears of the investor still are more overwhelming than the hope for a better future,” Fink, chairman and chief executive officer of New York-based BlackRock, said today during a conference call with investors and analysts. “Despite the rally in global equities from its lows, I would still qualify the market to be quite fragile.”

Intel slumped 1.5 percent to $28.05, while IBM retreated 3.5 percent to $200.29. IBM’s revenue climbed 0.3 percent to $24.7 billion in the period, while Intel sales rose 0.5 percent to $12.9 billion. That was the smallest increase for either company since the third quarter of 2009, when the U.S. economy was just emerging from recession. Even so, Intel predicted a pickup in sales for the current quarter.

The two technology giants are seeking growth in emerging markets while coping with a slowdown triggered by the European debt crisis. The personal-computer market, which contracted in the U.S. last year for the first time since 2001, also is hurting demand for Intel’s processors. IBM, meanwhile, is more focused on expanding earnings per share, rather than pursuing less-profitable orders.

“All else being equal, you’d rather see top-line growth,” said Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York. Still, he said, most investors are looking more closely at profit than sales. “IBM has conditioned investors to focus on EPS growth. That’s how it provides guidance.”

Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares lost 1.3 percent to $119,714 even after Buffett said his condition is “not remotely life threatening.” The 81-year-old billionaire will begin a two-month treatment of daily radiation in July, he said. The regimen will restrict his travel during the period and not otherwise change his daily routine, said Buffett, who is also chief executive officer of the Omaha, Nebraska-based company.

“I feel great — as if I were in my normal excellent health — and my energy level is 100 percent,” Buffett said in the letter yesterday. “I will let shareholders know immediately should my health situation change. Eventually, of course, it will; but I believe that day is a long way off.”

Genworth Financial Inc. tumbled 21 percent to $6.05. The IPO is now planned for early 2013, after the company previously targeted the offering for the second quarter of this year, the insurer said late yesterday in a statement. Genworth has said it plans to sell as much as 40 percent of the unit.

Apple rose 0.3 percent to $611.59, after swinging from gains to losses during the day. Goldman Sachs said investors should buy the shares amid what it describes as the beginning of a “very big year” as the company reports results next week.

Yahoo! Inc. advanced 3.5 percent to $15.54 after reporting first-quarter sales that topped estimates, fueling optimism that a turnaround effort by Chief Executive Officer Scott Thompson may take hold.

Halliburton Co. added 4.8 percent to $34.22. The world’s largest provider of hydraulic fracturing services said first- quarter profit increased as rising crude prices drove producers to expand drilling in North America.

Catalyst Health Solutions Inc. surged 32 percent to $84.06. SXC Health Solutions Corp. agreed to buy the company in a cash and stock transaction valued at $4.4 billion to stay competitive as larger pharmacy benefits managers join forces. SXC Health jumped 9.3 percent to $87.73.

Consumers may catch a break from higher food prices at U.S. supermarkets, said Charles Grom, an analyst at Deutsche Bank AG.

Consumer prices for groceries and producer prices for processed foods are rising more slowly this year, according to data compiled by the Labor Department.

The pace of price increases slowed in March by the most since July 2009, according to both indicators. Food bought at stores cost 3.6 percent more than a year earlier. The rate was 0.9 percentage point lower than in February. Processed-food prices last month rose 4.3 percent, a decline of 1.6 point.

“Food inflation should continue to slow,” he wrote, because increases last year were unusually steep. Prices for food that’s eaten at home peaked at a 6.2 percent growth rate last September. The pace was the fastest since December 2008.

Sales growth may suffer at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, and the Safeway Inc. and Supervalu Inc. supermarket chains as they struggle to raise prices, Grom wrote. The New York-based analyst has sell ratings on Wal-Mart and Safeway and a hold rating on Supervalu.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

We would rather cling to the known than face the unknown-

the known being our house, our furniture, our family,

our character, our work, our knowledge, our fame, our loneliness, our gods –

that little thing that moves around incessantly within itself,

with its own limited embittered existence.

-Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

Carolann

Over and over again mediocrity is promoted

because real worth isn’t to be found.

-Kathleen Norris, 1880-1966

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7