October 22, 2012 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On Saturday, October 20^th, hundreds of dog owners gathered in New York City for the 22^nd Annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade. Last year the costumes ranged from Lady Gaga to a Peacock. It’s a great event, where creativity is brought out. Not only do the dogs dress up, but a lot of owners will wear a costume to match their pooch! This year’s categories included Best in Show, Best Owner & Dog Costume, and Best Trick. Let’s see what this year brought to the parade:

Lynn Corsovoy holds her Yorkshire terrier Baxter, posing as spaghetti and meatballs at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade on October 20, 2012 in New York City.

Rescue dog Blue poses as Doggie Trump at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade.

To check out more photos from this exciting event, visit:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/slideshow/tompkins-squares-annual-halloween-dog-parade-17528809

Also on this day in…

1968 – Apollo 7 splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. The spacecraft had orbited the Earth 163 times.

1981 – The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.
1983 – At the Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia, an armed man crashed a truck through front gates and demanded to speak with U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
1986 – U.S. President Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 into law.
1991 – The European Community and the European Free Trade Association agreed to create a free trade zone of 19 nations by the year 1993.
1995 – The 50th anniversary of the United Nations was marked by a record number of world leaders gathering.
1999 – China ended its first-ever human rights conference in which it defied Western definitions of civil liberties.
2008 – The iTunes Music Store reached 200 million applications downloaded.

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” – Thomas Jefferson

photos of the day October 22, 2012

Hindu women prepare oil lamps in front of the idols of the Hindu goddess Durga during Durga Puja festival in New Delhi. The five-day festival commemorates the slaying of a demon king by lion-riding, 10-armed goddess Durga, marking the triumph of good over evil.

A man sits on his trishaw as he waits for customers along the streets of Delhi.

Market Closes for October 22th, 2012:

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Lu Wang

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell after the government blocked Petroliam Nasional Bhd.’s C$5.2 billion ($5.23 billion) takeover of Progress Energy Resources Corp., casting doubts on Cnooc Ltd.’s bid for Nexen Inc.

Energy companies fell the most among 10 industry groups, sinking 1.6 percent, as Progress Energy and Nexen slumped more than 4 percent. Gold companies gained as a rebound in the metal’s price helped send Barrick Gold Corp. up 0.7 percent.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 60.02 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,355.96 at 2:48 p.m. in Toronto.

The benchmark gauge is up 0.3 percent in October, poised for the fifth consecutive month of gains, the longest streak since February 2011.

“The government objection has caused concern across the board in the oil and gas patch,” Robert McWhirter, portfolio manager with Selective Asset Management Inc. in Toronto, said in a phone interview. His firm manages about C$60 million. “People are having second thoughts as to whether those other specific acquisitions might go ahead.”

Progress Energy slumped 8.8 percent to C$19.74. Industry Minister Christian Paradis said in a statement that he wasn’t satisfied the acquisition by Petroliam Nasional, Malaysia’s state oil company known as Petronas, is in Canada’s interest.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government reviewed the bid under its foreign takeover law, which says transactions must be judged to have a “net benefit” to Canada.

Investors say the rejection is a test case for the $15.1 billion bid by Cnooc of China for Nexen. Shares of the Calgary- based oil and natural gas producer dropped 4 percent to C$24.15.

Encana Corp., Canada’s largest natural gas producer that was touted as a takeover target for Exxon Mobil Corp., slipped 4.3 percent to C$22.76. Encana is a natural fit for the largest U.S. energy company, Kevin Kaiser, energy analyst at Hedgeye Risk Management, an independent investment research firm based in New Haven, Connecticut, said last week.

Ainsworth Lumber Co. tumbled 15 percent to C$2.30. The maker of oriented-strand board said it will raise $175 million through a rights offering and $350 million in a debt financing.

Gold producers gained as the metal’s prices rebounded from a six-week low. Gold has gained 11 percent in the third quarter after central banks in the U.S., China, Japan and Europe took action to boost their economies. Barrick, the world’s largest gold producer, advanced 0.7 percent to C$38.80. Goldcorp Inc. added 0.5 percent to C$43.27.

Laramide Resources Ltd., a uranium-mining company, rallied 30 percent to C$1.07 after Australia’s Queensland state ended a ban on extracting the mineral.

US

By Susanne Walker and Rita Nazareth

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks erased losses as Apple Inc. led a rally in technology shares. Treasuries fell as a tightening presidential race made investors reluctant to speculate on the economy’s prospects.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,433.81 at 4 p.m. in New York after tumbling as much as 0.8 percent. Apple rallied 4 percent for its biggest gain since May.

Yields on 10-year Treasury notes added five basis points to 1.81 percent. Oil, natural gas, lead, nickel and zinc tumbled at least 1.5 percent to lead losses in commodities. S&P 500 futures added 0.1 percent at 5:23 p.m. after Yahoo! Inc. reported profit and sales that beat estimates.

Technology companies rose the most among 10 groups in the S&P 500. Apple, which is expected to announce a new, smaller version of its iPad tomorrow, contributed the most to the gain in the S&P 500. Peabody Energy Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. helped lead gains in the S&P 500 after reporting results, while General Electric Co. lost more than 1.5 percent for a second day after posting sales last week that trailed estimates.

“It really comes down to earnings at this point,” said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer for Oakbrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois, which manages more than $3 billion. He spoke in a telephone interview. “We’ve seen many companies beating earnings estimates. Yet investors are keeping an eye on their ability to grow revenue.”

The S&P 500 ended last week up 0.3 percent as a three-day rally was almost wiped out by a tumble on the final session. The index dropped 1.7 percent on Oct. 19, the most since June, as companies from General Electric to McDonald’s Corp. and Microsoft Corp. posted results below estimates.

Per-share profits have topped estimates at 69 percent of the 123 companies in the S&P 500 that have released earnings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings have increased about 0.9 percent for the group amid a 1.9 percent gain in sales.

SunTrust Banks Inc., the eighth-largest U.S. lender, tumbled 3.4 percent after profit missed analysts’ estimates. VF Corp. declined as sales trailed the average forecast and the clothing company said the European market remains challenging.

Peabody Energy, the largest U.S. coal producer by volume, surged 12 percent after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates after selling more coal from its mines in Australia and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.

Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment, climbed 1.5 percent after reporting earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, while also predicting sales growth for next year that is the slowest in four years as the global economy decelerates.

Monster Beverage Corp. tumbled 14 percent, the most in more than four years, as its drinks were cited in five deaths in the past year, according to incident reports that doctors and companies submit to the Food and Drug Administration. The agency said the incidents, which are voluntarily reported, are considered to be allegations and no conclusion is drawn until a full investigation is completed. Evan Pondel, a spokesman for Monster, said the company is unaware of any fatality that has been caused by its drinks.

Yahoo! Inc. rose 3.4 percent after the close of regular trading. The biggest U.S. Web portal’s results beat estimates as Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer benefited from advertising demand and cost cuts during her first three months on the job.

U.S. stocks are beating every major asset class for the first time in 17 years even as economic growth weakens and profits rise at the slowest rate since 2009.

The S&P 500 rallied 14 percent in 2012 through last week, beating Treasuries, corporate bonds, commodities, the dollar and equities in Asia and Europe, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The last time that happened, in 1995, the S&P 500 was posting the biggest annual advance of the last five decades. With a price-earnings ratio close to today’s level, the index gained another 93 percent in the next 2 1/2 years.

Treasuries extended last week’s decline as President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney were tied at 47 percent in a national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of likely voters before a final televised debate tonight.

“They won’t commit too much capital going into the elections,” said Jim Vogel, head of agency-debt research at FTN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee. The market will “judge” from tonight’s debate, he added.

Two-year and 30-year Treasuries also retreated, sending yields up one basis point to 0.31 percent and three basis points to 2.97 percent, respectively. The Treasury is scheduled to sell $99 billion of two-, five- and seven-year notes this week starting tomorrow.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.4 percent after gaining as much as 0.3 percent. Royal Philips Electronics NV climbed 5.8 percent as the largest lighting company reported third-quarter profit that beat estimates. Nexans SA sank 6.6 percent, the most in six months, after the world’s second- biggest cable maker said its second-half margin won’t rebound as much as expected in July because of a slowdown in Europe, Brazil and Australia.

The euro gained against 14 of 16 major peers after voters backed Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a regional election. The currency climbed 0.3 percent to $1.3058. After the close of the U.S. markets, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded five Spanish regions, while confirming ratings on five others.

Oil in New York retreated 1.5 percent to a two-week low of $88.73 a barrel after gaining as much as 0.8 percent earlier.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries governors meet in Vienna today and tomorrow to select a new secretary-general for the first time in six years, with four countries vying for the position.

Natural gas led losses in 14 of 24 commodities tracked by the S&P GSCI Index. Wheat climbed for a fourth day.

The yen weakened 0.7 percent against the dollar and 1 percent versus the euro. Its eight-day drop against the dollar is the longest run of declines in seven years. Japan’s exports fell the most since the earthquake in 2011, Finance Ministry data showed.

“The market is acting with an assumption that there will be additional stimulus by the Bank of Japan,” said Junichi Ishikawa, an analyst at IG Markets Securities Ltd. in Tokyo.

“The economies in Europe and Japan look bleaker compared with the U.S.”

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index was little changed, after falling as much as 0.5 percent earlier. Russia’s Micex added 0.8 percent as OAO Rosneft agreed to buy TNK-BP, a 50-50 venture between BP Plc and a group of billionaires, for $54.8 billion in the third-biggest oil acquisition ever. Rosneft rallied 2.6 percent. BP slipped 1.5 percent.

India’s Sensex Index jumped 0.6 percent after better-than- estimated results from Tata Consultancy and Bajaj Auto Ltd. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 percent on speculation China’s government will take steps to boost equities before a leadership transition next month.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman

Happy Monday everyone!

Be magnificent!

“Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.” – Alfred A. Montapert

Amanda Bourke

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.