April 21, 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Now that spring is here and summer is around the corner, are you looking for a new lighter recipe to try? Check out this delicious crab/shrimp cake recipe that only takes about 25-30 minutes to cook!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound peeled and deveined cooked shrimp

1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk

1 cup cooked English peas or thawed frozen peas

1/2 cup finely chopped scallions

1 2/3 cups panko breadcrumbs, divided

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, or to taste

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for any shells

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light sour cream

1 cup coarsely shredded red radishes

1 tablespoon bottled horseradish (do not drain)

To view the full recipe visit: http://www.timescolonist.com/life/food-drink/the-healthy-plate-recipe-for-spring-crab-and-shrimp-cakes-with-double-radish-sauce-1.978196

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” – Jim Rohn

Photos of the day

A sail boat passes by the central court as Roger Federer of Switzerland (bottom) prepares to serve against Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic during the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. Eric Gaillard/Reuters

A girl poses in a sea of tulips at Keukenhof, near Amsterdam, Netherlands. Keukenhof is a showcase of the Dutch floricultural industry, with a special emphasis on flowering bulbs. Peter Dejong/AP

Market Closes for April 21^st, 2014

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

April 21 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, ending a four-day rally, as raw-material and energy shares slumped amid further delays in the Keystone XL pipeline approval process.

TransCanada Corp. dropped 3.7 percent to lead declines among energy companies after the U.S. State Department said it would delay a decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. fell 2.8 percent. Barrick Gold Corp. lost 3.9 percent as talks over a merger with Newmont Mining Corp. were said to break down.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index slipped 6.71 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,493.68 at the close in Toronto. S&P DowJones Indices, which compiles the index, confirmed that level was correct after TMX Group Ltd.’s website had earlier posted the closing price as 14,232.25, a decline of 1.9 percent. TMX spokeswoman Carolyn Quick said the issue originated at S&P DowJones Indices and has been resolved.

The gauge climbed 1.7 percent last week for the largest increase since Feb. 14, reaching the highest level since 2008.

“I’m of the view that there won’t be any decision made on XL until after the midterm elections and then it’s to be seen whether or not President Obama will even approve this while he is still president,” said John Goldsmith, a Toronto-based fund manager who helps manage about C$5.6 billion ($5.1 billion) at Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. The U.S. congressional elections are slated for next November.

The U.S. State Department, which is studying whether the Keystone project is in the country’s interest, said on April 18 that it would hold off making its recommendations until the Nebraska state Supreme Court made a ruling on a legal challenge to the pipeline.

TransCanada retreated 3.7 percent to C$49.38. Penn West Petroleum dropped 2.8 percent to C$10.03.

Barrick Gold lost 3.9 percent to C$19.03. Merger negotiations between Barrick and Newmont broke down three days ago, according to people familiar with the talks. A merger between the companies would bring together the world’s two largest gold miners.

The prospect of more mergers and acquisitions in the gold market could push up valuations for other producers, said Goldsmith. “If the two biggest players in the industry are looking to get hitched up, I think it’s safe to say everybody else is a potential target,” he said by phone.

Osisko Mining Corp. dropped 3.8 percent to C$7.70 after Goldcorp Inc. said it wouldn’t increase its hostile offer for Osisko, ending a bidding war against Yamana Gold Inc. and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. Yamana fell 2.5 percent to C$8.54 and Agnico fell 3.9 percent to C$30.05. Goldcorp rose 2 percent to C$26.53.

Health-care companies had the largest gain among 10 groups in the S&P/TSX.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose 12 percent after the close of regular trading in New York. The company and Pershing Square Capital Management LP are teaming up to bid for Allergan Inc., a person with knowledge of the matter said. Pershing, the fund run by Bill Ackman, and Valeant plan to offer a premium of about 21 percent in a cash and stock bid for Allergan, the person said.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. declined 1.2 percent to $63.77. Sam Poser, an analyst with Sterne Agee & Leach Inc., said he was disappointed at the lack of medium- and long-term financial targets given at the retailer’s investor day last week. The stock fell 5.1 percent in New York trading, the most in three months.

Teck Resources Ltd. fell 1.2 percent to C$24.01 before the company’s earnings report tomorrow. The average analyst estimate for first-quarter sales is C$2.13 billion, 10 percent lower than the previous quarter.

Tweed Marijuana Inc. rose 10 percent to C$3.69 after the medical marijuana producer said in a statement that forecast demand for its cannabis is higher than it had previously projected.

US
By Joseph Ciolli

April 21 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose a fifth day, capping the longest rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since October, on signs earnings are improving. The ruble slipped after a deadly clash in Ukraine, as gold and wheat fell.

The S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent to 1,871.89 in New York, following a 2.7 percent advance last week. Ten-year Treasury yields fell one basis point to 2.72 percent by 5 p.m. in New York. The ruble lost 0.3 percent versus the dollar as the yen dropped versus most major peers. Gold slid to a two-week low and wheat futures slid 3.4 percent, the biggest drop in a year.

Netflix Inc. jumped in extended trading after reporting better earnings than analysts estimated, while an index of U.S. leading indicators rose the most in four months. Ukraine warned that Russia may use a fatal shootout in the country’s east as a pretext for invasion as an accord reached last week showed little sign of taking hold. Markets in the U.K., Germany, Hong Kong and Australia were closed for the Easter Monday holiday.

“All the fundamentals still line up that stock prices can go higher,” John Fox, director of research at Fenimore Asset Management in Cobleskill, New York, said in a phone interview. “The few earnings that we’ve had so far have been coming in pretty well.”

Netflix gained more than 6 percent after markets closed as it reported better-than-projected sales, profit and subscriber growth. The online video service also said it will raise prices. Allergan Inc., maker of the Botox cosmetic treatment, soared 12 percent in extended trading after a media report that New York hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. are teaming up to bid for the drugmaker.

The S&P 500 jumped the most since July last week, rebounding from a technology-led selloff, as earnings from Morgan Stanley to Citigroup Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. surpassed estimates and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated the bank’s commitment to supporting the economy.

Newmont Mining Corp. advanced 6.4 percent in normal trading hours as it discussed a possible merger with Barrick Gold Corp., people with the knowledge of the matter said. Halliburton Co. climbed 3.3 percent in a fifth day of gains after forecasting profit growth for the second quarter. Athenahealth Inc. fell 6.9 percent after reporting quarterly earnings that missed projections.

Continued gains in the labor market, improvements in consumer sentiment and strengthening demand are boosting consumption among U.S. households. The Conference Board’s index, a gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months, rose 0.8 percent after a 0.5 percent gain in February, the New York- based group said. The median forecast of 42 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an advance of 0.7 percent.

More than 70 percent of the S&P 500 member companies that have announced results this season have beaten analysts’ profit estimates, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Analysts project that earnings at S&P 500 companies increased 0.7 percent in the first quarter, while revenue climbed 2.6 percent, according to the average estimate.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropped 0.1 percent, snapping a three-day climb, while the Micex Index in Moscow dropped 0.9 percent. The ruble retreated a second day versus the dollar-euro basket used by Russia’s central bank to stem the impact of currency fluctuations.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry blamed the Ukrainian nationalist group Pravyi Sektor for violence which left at least three people dead over the weekend, an allegation that Pravyi Sektor denied in a statement. Viktoria Syumar, first deputy head of the National Security and Defense Council in Kiev, said on her Facebook page that Russia’s accusation and statements show it’s preparing to invade Ukraine.

The discord adds to skepticism over whether Ukraine, the U.S. and the European Union will be able to use an April 17 Geneva accord to encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease tensions that he says he’s had no role in creating.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.5 percent amid speculation that new initial public offerings and sales of preferred shares by lenders will sap liquidity in the market. India’s S&P BSE Sensex Index added 0.6 percent, advancing for a second day.

U.S. debt climbed before the Treasury sells $96 billion in coupon-bearing notes starting tomorrow. Ten-year Treasury notes yielded 67 basis points more than their Group of Seven counterparts last week, the most in four years, as the Fed unwinds its bond-buying program while Japan and Europe consider additional stimulus.

“It’s general uncertainty, it’s the back-and-forth headlines” on Ukraine, said Justin Lederer, an interest-rate strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald LP in New York, one of the 22 primary dealers that trade directly with the Federal Reserve.

Gold slid 0.3 percent to $1,289.99 an ounce in the spot market. The metal has pared its advance in 2014 as investors assess prospects for further cuts to the Federal Reserve’s bond buying program amid signs of recovery in the world’s largest economy.

“It is very difficult for gold to sustain the panic that makes it a good safe-haven trade,” Frances Hudson, a strategist at Standard Life in Edinburgh, which oversees $294 billion. “I see demand for gold remaining non-enthusiastic. Things are looking better in the U.S. and Europe. It’s not that both these economies are racing ahead, but they are gradually improving.”

The yen weakened 0.2 percent to 102.60 per dollar and lost at least 0.1 percent against the euro, Swiss franc and Norwegian krone. Japan’s trade deficit quadrupled from a year earlier to 1.45 trillion-yen ($14.1 billion) in March, larger than the 1.08 trillion yen gap projected by economists amid the weakest export growth in a year.

“Japan’s trade deficit was much larger than expected, so it helped to push the yen lower,” said Marito Ueda, senior managing director at currency-margin company FX Prime Corp. in Tokyo. “We’re likely to shift to a dollar-strength story from a yen weakness story going forward as we start to see good data from the U.S.”

Wheat fell on speculation that rains over the weekend may have aided crops threatened by drought in the U.S., the world’s biggest shipper. Rain should build across northwestern areas of the Midwest over the weekend and push into central areas today, according to MDA Information Systems LLC.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 0.1 percent, rising a third day to reach $104.37 a barrel, the highest settlement since March 3. Brent crude also gained, adding 0.4 percent to $109.94 a barrel, also a seven-week high.

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

Be magnificent!

Amanda Parnham

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8X 3Y7