April 16, 2015 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1943, the hallucinogenic effects of LSD were discovered and documented by Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist working at the Sandoz pharmaceutical laboratory. He accidentally consumed LSD, a synthetic drug he created in 1938 as part of his research, and noted that it caused him to experience unusual sensations and hallucinations.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A 249-feet bronze-forged white Buddhist Avalokitesvara or Guan Yin statue, part of the Tsz Shan Monastery, stands behind luxurious houses at Taipo district in Hong Kong on Thursday. The monastery, officially opened to the public by reservation on Wednesday, received contribution of $219 million from Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s personal foundation to cover the construction and daily operating costs, according to the monastery. Bobby Yip/Reuters

A Star Wars fan dressed as a red stormtrooper attends the Star Wars Celebration: The Ultimate Fan Experience held at the Anaheim Convention Center on Thursday, in Anaheim, Calif. Richard Shotwell/AP

Market Closes for April 16^th, 2015

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

If you spend  more than 14 minutes a year worrying about the market, you’ve wasted 12 minutes. –Peter Lynch, One Up on Wall Street, b. 1944.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks declined from a seven-month high as energy companies ended a five-day rally and gold producers slumped.

     Precision Drilling Corp. and Torc Oil & Gas Ltd. sank more than 3.4 percent. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. soared on renewed speculation its largest shareholder will make a takeover offer. Alacer Gold Corp. and Tahoe Resources Inc. slid at least 3.8 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 64.1 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,386.77 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge yesterday reached the highest level since September, buoyed by seven straight days of gains earlier this month.

     Eight of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX slid, with shares of raw materials and phone companies leading declines. Trading in the index’s stocks was 9.4 percent above the 30-day average at the close.

     Oil and gas stocks slid 0.7 percent after surging 5.6 percent over the last five trading sessions. Crude prices rose 0.6 percent today, after dropping as much as 2.3 percent earlier amid concern a surge in OPEC production led by Saudi Arabia will add to a global glut.

     Precision Drilling slumped 5.1 percent, while Torc dropped 3.4 percent. Raging River Exploration Inc. slid 3 percent.

     Canada’s oil and gas industry is projected to report the biggest drop in profit in at least a decade as crude’s collapse pummels one of the world’s costliest producers. Earnings per share for Canadian petroleum producers will fall more than half to 20 cents for energy companies in the S&P/TSX, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Pacific Rubiales soared 18 percent. Mexican conglomerate Alfa SAB would consider buying, selling or keeping shares of Pacific Rubiales, Chairman Armando Garza said at a press conference on Wednesday. Such a decision “isn’t easy to make,” he said.

     Pacific Rubiales, Latin America’s biggest non-state-owned crude producer, has rallied 45 percent this week, rebounding from the lowest level since 2009.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index neared a record, as semiconductors declined on SanDisk Corp. results to offset a rally in Netflix Inc.

     SanDisk sank 4.5 percent after predicting 2015 sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates. Netflix Inc. surged 18 percent as it reported a jump in quarterly subscribers.

Citigroup Inc. added 1.5 percent as results topped estimates, and UnitedHealth Group Inc. gained 3.7 percent after raising its full-year forecast.

     The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 2,104.99 at 4 p.m. in New York, after earlier rising within 0.3 percent of its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 6.84 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 18,105.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index also fell less than 0.1 percent. About 6.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent below the three-month average.

     “We’re right up near the all-time highs in the S&P, and sometimes you take a breather before you break through those levels,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in Newton, Massachusetts.

     Energy shares in the S&P 500 erased a drop of 1.1 percent to rise as much as 0.5 percent before slipping again. The group’s 6.5 percent rally in April — its best month since January 2013 — has underpinned the S&P 500’s latest run at its first record since March 2.                        

     The S&P 500 has been stuck in a range of 52 points since March 20 when it last neared its record, as weaker-than-forecast data from hiring to manufacturing elevated concern about earnings while at the same time bolstered the case for keeping interest rates lower for longer.

     The benchmark has advanced 2.2 percent this year, trailing benchmark gauges in all developed markets tracked by Bloomberg except Greece, with the Federal Reserve set to raise rates this year.

     Investors are weighing economic reports for clues on the timing of the Fed’s first rate increase since 2006. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data. Housing starts rose less than forecast in March, while jobless claims increased in the latest week.

     Fourteen companies reported quarterly results today. Analysts predict earnings for S&P 500 companies fell 5.6 percent in the first quarter, cutting projections amid concern over a surging dollar and worse-than-forecast economic reports.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups fell Thursday, led by utilities, phone and raw-material companies. Consumer and financial companies rose, with Netflix’s 18 percent climb to a record leading the discretionary category.

     The company said its video-streaming service topped 62 million subscribers worldwide. U.S. subscribers jumped by 2.28 million in the first quarter, while international accounts rose 2.6 million, both beating the company’s earlier forecast. Netflix has been one of the biggest contributors to the Nasdaq Composite’s gains this year amid the stock’s 65 percent rally.

     Semiconductors retreated as SanDisk fell 4.5 percent. The company, which makes memory chips used in mobile devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone, said sales will fall in 2015 as it loses customers, delays products and chip prices fall. Applied Materials Inc. lost 3 percent and Broadcom Corp. slid 1.2 percent.

     Chipmakers were the best performers yesterday among 24 industries in the S&P 500 after Intel Corp.’s earnings and outlook. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index Thursday declined 0.5 percent after rising 1.6 percent Wednesday.

     Steel companies Nucor Corp. and Allegheny Technologies Inc. fell more than 2.3 percent to lead materials companies lower. Sherwin-Williams Co. lost 1.7 percent after the paint maker’s first-quarter earnings missed analysts estimates.

     UnitedHealth Group Inc. climbed 3.7 percent to an all-time high. The largest U.S. health insurer raised its 2015 forecast and posted first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates amid higher revenue from its Optum technology business. Peers Aetna Inc., Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp. all rebounded more than 1.9 percent after each lost at least 1.6 percent yesterday.

     Philip Morris International Inc. jumped 8.7 percent, the most in the more than six years, to lead consumer staples higher. The world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company beat first-quarter profit estimates after sales volume was better than the company expected.

     Citigroup’s 1.5 percent climb paced gains in financial companies as the group rose for a fourth day. Citi’s earnings exceeded analysts’ forecasts as a cost-cutting push helped the third-largest U.S. bank weather a slump in trading. Bank of America Corp. advanced 1 percent.

     Three initial public offerings all jumped in their trading debuts, with artisan website Etsy Inc. posting the biggest gain, up 88 percent. High-frequency trader Virtu Financial Inc. climbed 17 percent, while party-supplies retailer Party City Holdco Inc. added 22 percent.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 1.9 percent to 12.60. The gauge, known as the VIX, declined 14 percent last week to its lowest level of 2015.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

What is the object of jnana yoga?  Freedom.

Freedom from what?  Freedom from our imperfections, freedom from the suffering of life.

Why are we unhappy?  We are unhappy because we are enslaved.  And what are we enslaved by?

The enslavement of nature.  Who enslaves us?

We do, ourselves.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

                                            -Plato, 428 -348 BCE

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7