August 15, 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Caught the first Canadian concert for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers current tour in Vancouver last night.  They were playing at Roger’s Arena and  confirmed their status as Rock n’ Roll royalty playing for an enthusiastic crowd. 

Their new album Hypnotic Eye which has already gone platinum.  They played most of the tunes on that album and one in particular entitled American Dream Plan B offers great lyrics.  Stevie Winwood is the opening act, so pretty impressive lineup of musicians.  I just checked their tour dates; they’re in Washington state tonight, then return to Canada to play in Edmonton, Calgary, etc. – all in all, around 35 more scheduled concerts in North America before they wind up the tour with the second of two concerts in LA on October 11^th.  Try to get to one if you’re  a fan – you won’t be disappointed.

Photos of the Day

Students of Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School are suspended in mid-air as they practise in a dress rehearsal for a stunt performance which is part of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, at a stadium in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China. A total of 520 students took part in the performance named ‘Building the dream’, which will be performed during the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games. Reuters

Vessels anchor in the sea as storm clouds gather over the east coast of Singapore. Edgar Su/Reuters

Market Closes for August 15^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, extending a two-week high, as corrected data that showed the economy added more jobs in July than initially reported and crude prices jumped the most in a month on tension in Ukraine.

     Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. jumped 5 percent after reporting rising production and lower costs. Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. rallied at least 2.4 percent as oil producers snapped a three-day loss. Alacer Gold Corp. and B2Gold Corp. lost at least 1 percent as the price of gold dropped the most this month.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 13.03 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,304.21 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has climbed 12 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     Painted Pony added 3.3 percent to C$12.40 and Suncor rose 2.4 percent to C$42.95, the most since June 12, as energy stocks climbed 0.9 percent as a group. Four of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 4.9 percent below the 30-day average.

     West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped 1.9 percent to settle at $97.35 a barrel in New York, the biggest gain since July 17.

     Ukraine said its troops attacked and partially destroyed a column of armed vehicles that had crossed the border from Russian territory, while Russia said it was concerned about an attack on another convoy carrying aid.                         

     Alacer Gold lost 2.5 percent to C$2.36 and B2Gold slipped 1 percent to C$2.89. Gold for December delivery retreated 0.7 percent to $1,306.20 an ounce in New York, the biggest drop since July 31.

     Canadian employment rose by 41,700 in July, Statistics Canada said today, after it retracted incorrect figures from a week ago that showed a gain of 200 positions.

     The jobs report revisions reduced the full-time job loss to 18,100 from 59,700 and raised the employment gain in the province of Ontario to 39,500 from 15,100. Staff failed to run a program that is part of a scheduled update to the survey, leaving uncounted workers who should have been classified as full-time employees, Statistics Canada said in the report.

     Imperial Metals Corp. rallied 16 percent to C$10.11 after disclosing a plan to raise C$100 million by selling convertible bonds to help pay for the cleanup at its Mount Polley mine, the scene of the worst waste spill in Canada in at least two decades.

     British Columbia officials are investigating the Aug. 4 failure of a dam at the waste pond at Mount Polley. The resulting torrent of waste poured into local waterways, leaving local people without drinking water. The stock has slumped 40 percent since the accident.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks erased losses as increasing violence in Ukraine sent oil prices to the biggest increase in a month and spurred a rally in energy producers.

     Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Cimarex Energy Co. and Kinder Morgan Inc. led a measure of oil and natural gas producers in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a 0.5 percent advance, the most among 10 main industries. Nordstrom Inc. sank 5.2 percent after reporting sales that missed analysts’ estimates. Monster Beverage Corp. soared 30 percent after Coca-Cola Co. agreed to buy a stake in the company.

     The S&P 500 pared declines in the late afternoon, ending the day little changed at 1,955.06 as 4 p.m. in New York. It earlier fell as much as 0.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 50.67 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,662.91. About 6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 5.7 percent above the three-month average.

     “Investors are trying to weed through what exactly is going on in Ukraine, and the market is drifting back,” Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at New York-based Williams Capital Group LP, said in a phone interview. “We have a geopolitical situation that needs to be addressed, and that’s overshadowing everything else in the market.”

     Ukrainian government troops attacked an armed convoy that had crossed the border from Russian territory, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the country’s military, told reporters in Kiev. Ukrainian soldiers continue to come under shelling, including rounds fired from Russia, he said.                          

     The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Ukraine is attempting to disrupt an aid convoy, and called for a cease-fire to allow delivery of supplies. The government in Kiev has for months said that separatist rebels in its easternmost regions are receiving support from Russia, which backs them with artillery fire. Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Ukrainian unrest.

     The turmoil pushed energy prices higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude rising 1.9 percent to $97.35 a barrel. Kinder Morgan Inc. rallied 3.9 percent, bringing gains for the week to 15 percent after Houston billionaire Richard Kinder made a move to consolidate his pipeline empire. Cimarex and Anadarko climbed more than 2 percent.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which usually moves in the opposite direction to the S&P 500, jumped 5.9 percent to 13.15, halting five days of declines. The gauge lost 17 percent for the week.

     The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent this week as signs of a slowing economy stoked bets central banks will leave interest rates near record lows for longer, overshadowing escalating tensions in Ukraine.

     Economic data today showed industrial production advanced 0.4 percent in July, while the New York Fed Empire Manufacturing gauge fell more than estimated and consumer confidence unexpectedly declined to its lowest level of the year.

     Nineteen S&P 500 companies, including Home Depot Inc. and Hewlett Packard Co., are scheduled to release earnings next week. About 76 percent of those that have reported so far this season have beaten analyst estimates for earnings, while 65 percent have exceeded sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Nordstrom slid 5.2 percent to $65.11, the lowest since May.  The largest U.S. luxury department-store chain reported same- store sales that missed estimates in the most recent quarter.

     Monster Beverage soared 30 percent to a record $93.49.  Coca-Cola agreed to swap some brands and buy a 17 percent stake in the company for about $2.15 billion, increasing its exposure to the growing energy-drink market. Coca-Cola added 1.7 percent to $40.88 for the biggest gain in the Dow.

     Applied Materials Inc. jumped 6.3 percent to $22.48 after forecasting sales that may top analysts’ estimates. The largest maker of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment forecast fiscal fourth-quarter sales that may top estimates as it steals orders from rivals demand rises for machines that make displays.

     Vringo Inc. plummeted 72 percent to 88 cents. The patent licensing firm, which reported $1.1 million in revenue last year, fell after Google Inc. won its bid to overturn a $30.5 million patent-infringement verdict. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington determined that the Vringo patents in the case were invalid, according to an opinion on the court’s website.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

I am asking whether it is possible for a human being living psychologically in any society

to clear violence from himself inwardly.

If it is, the very process will produce a different way of living in this world.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

Carolann

It is never too late to be what your might have been.

                                    -George Eliot, 1819-1880

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7