April 1st, 2011 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Justice has prevailed. We won everything in the appeal! The BC Securities Commission has completely exonerated me against Wellington West’s and IIROC’s false accusations and findings. I want to thank every one of you from the depths of my heart and soul or your unwavering loyalty, support, kindness and words of encouragement during this difficult time.
I just came from a funeral for a very dear client who was a marvelous man and a true gentleman. His favourite hymn was sung at the service, Onward Christian Soldier. As I was reading the words, I reflected on Gary’s words to me every morning since this saga began – we soldier on; we fight the war. I have a picture on my bulletin board beside my desk of Dr. Martin Luther King giving a speech and I have begun every day this past couple of years repeating his words from that speech: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” It mattered to me that I persevere and win this unfair assault because I care about the truth, I care about you and I care that progress continue for women to succeed without intimidation and in the absence of a double standard. So again, thank you for helping me…
I am off to the last evening lecture of Art in Bloom tonight, capping a week of looking at beautiful gardens and art. Last night Thomas Hobbs gave a wonderful presentation of his evolving new gardens in South Langley. He and his partner purchased a 22-acre property a few years ago and it is amazing how they are transforming it into a little piece of garden paradise.
photos of the day
April 1, 2011
The tail lights of a car traveling down a road during a spring snowstorm leave a light trail in this 30-second time exposure in Freeport, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
A B-2 Stealth Bomber flies over a giant American flag during Opening Day ceremonies, which includes the singing of the national anthem, prior to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ MLB National League baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in Los Angeles, California.
Alex Gallardo/Reuters
President Obama is being criticized by both parties for not having a clear strategy to get out of Libya. But neither does Moammar Gadhafi, so it’s OK. – Jay Leno
Market Commentary:
Canada
By Matt Walcoff
April 1 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, extending a third-straight weekly gain, as energy producers and banks advanced after U.S. unemployment fell to a two-year low.
Cenovus Energy Inc., the country’s fifth-largest energy company, increased 1.7 percent as oil traded near a 30-month high. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world’s largest fertilizer producer by market value, rose 2.3 percent as corn rallied. Goldcorp Inc., the world’s second-biggest gold producer by market value, lost 1.8 percent as the metal retreated the most since March 15.
The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index climbed 49.37 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,165.47 at 1:36 p.m. in Toronto.
For the week, the equity benchmark has risen 0.9 percent.
“Continued economic recovery in the developed nations and continuing growth in the emerging is positive for equities,” said Ken Mack, an analyst and trader at Stone Asset Management in Toronto, which oversees about C$850 million ($881 million). “Every economic report looks better than the last.”
The S&P/TSX has had nine straight positive monthly returns including dividends, the longest streak in 27 years. Banks and energy companies have gained as employers in the U.S. and Canada have boosted hiring and oil has surged on unrest in the Middle East.
U.S. employers added 216,000 workers in March, exceeding the median economist estimate of 190,000 in a Bloomberg survey.
The unemployment rate declined to 8.8 percent from 8.9 percent.
Crude futures advanced as much as 1.1 percent. Cenovus increased 1.7 percent to C$38.94 after touching an intraday record of C$38.96. Imperial Oil Ltd., Canada’s second-largest energy company, climbed 2.5 percent to C$50.76. Enbridge Inc., the country’s biggest pipeline company, rose 1.7 percent to a record C$60.45.
Fertilizer producers gained as corn futures advanced 6.1 percent in Chicago. Corn increased 4.5 percent yesterday after the U.S. reported stockpiles fell to a three-year low.
Potash Corp. climbed 2.3 percent to C$58.52. Agrium Inc., Canada’s second-largest fertilizer producer, rose 1.1 percent to C$90.44.
Precious metals retreated as the U.S. dollar advanced to a two-week high against a basket of world currencies.
Goldcorp dropped 1.8 percent to C$47.49. Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest producer of the metal, declined 1.5 percent to C$49.63. Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., Canada’s fifth- biggest gold producer, lost 3.1 percent to C$62.44.
“Gold is down because of the safety trade,” Mack said.
“The U.S. economy got good job numbers, so there’s less of a concern for safety.”
Romarco Minerals Inc., which is developing a gold project in South Carolina, retreated for a record ninth day, tumbling 17 percent to C$1.84. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked state and federal regulators to deny the project an environmental permit, The State newspaper reported, citing a letter from the EPA.
Canada’s six largest banks each gained after the release of the U.S. jobs data.
Royal Bank, the parent of Rocky Mount, North Carolina-based RBC Bank USA, advanced 1.3 percent to C$60.78. Bank of Montreal, Canada’s fourth-largest lender by assets, increased 1.2 percent to an eight-month high of C$63.73. National Bank of Canada, the No. 6 bank by assets, climbed 2.3 percent to a record C$80.56.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., Canada’s largest drugmaker, gained 6.6 percent to a seven-year high of C$51.60. Alan Ridgeway, an analyst at Paradigm Capital Inc., boosted his 12-month share-price estimate to $58 from $47.
The company has jumped 19 percent since March 29, when it offered about $5.7 billion to buy Cephalon Inc.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd., the country’s second-biggest publicly traded copper producer, advanced 4.3 percent to C$130.84 to extend its three-day climb to 8.4 percent. On March 30, the Vancouver-based company announced a resource and reserves increase at its Kevitsa project in Finland.
Westport Innovations Inc., which makes natural-gas engines, surged 7.4 percent to C$22.82, the highest price since June 2002. The shares have soared 21 percent since March 29, the day before U.S. President Barack Obama promoted natural-gas vehicles in an energy-policy speech.
Exfo Inc., which makes equipment for the telecommunications industry, plunged 22 percent to C$7.92 after announcing second- quarter earnings that missed the average of four analyst estimates by 17 percent, excluding certain items. The shares tumbled as much as 26 percent, the most intraday in 10 years.
US
By Cecile Vannucci and Inyoung Hwang
April 1 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, adding to gains from the market’s biggest first-quarter rally since 1998, as faster-than-forecast job growth bolstered optimism and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. started a bidding war for NYSE Euronext.
NYSE Euronext soared 13 percent as Nasdaq and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. tried to snatch the New York Stock Exchange from rival suitor Deutsche Boerse AG. General Electric Co. and Caterpillar Inc. advanced more than 1.5 percent after a report showed manufacturing in the U.S. expanded in March at close to the fastest pace in almost seven years. Chevron Corp. rose 0.8 percent as crude oil rallied to a 30-month high.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.5 percent to 1,332.41 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 56.99 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,376.72. Both gauges closed at their highest levels since Feb. 18.
“The jobs data is pointing in the right direction,” said Chad Morganlander, a Florham Park, New Jersey-based money manager at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which oversees $110 billion in client assets. “Any shift down in the unemployment rate would be looked at in a positive light. One has to keep a cautious eye on trends but any indication of improvement will bode well and lift equities.”
The benchmark S&P 500 advanced 5.4 percent in the three months to March, the biggest first-quarter gain since 1998, as investors speculated the global economy can withstand Japan’s worst earthquake on record and revolts in the Middle East and northern Africa.
Stocks rallied today as the government jobs report also showed the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a two-year low of 8.8 percent in March from 8.9 percent in February. Payrolls grew by 216,000 workers after a 194,000 gain the prior month, the Labor Department said. Economists projected a March gain of 190,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index was little changed at 61.2 from 61.4 in February, remaining near a seven-year high. The median forecast of economists surveyed by was 61.1. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion.
“We’ve actually had a couple of pretty good months now, which is something kind of refreshing,” said Dan Cook, chief executive officer of IG Markets Inc. in Chicago. “Looking across the sectors, everything saw pretty solid gains. It was all pretty positive. We could see one of those rare days where we see the equities flying higher.”
The S&P 500 had an average increase of 0.4 percent on the first day of April in the past 20 years, according to a March 31 note by Bespoke Investment Group, a Harrison, New York-based research company. The U.S. equity benchmark has gained on the first day of April every year since 2006, the report showed.
U.S. equities pared their advance in the final 90 minutes of trading amid speculation funds that track the S&P 500 were selling shares to raise money to purchase stock in BlackRock Inc., the investment firm which is replacing drugmaker Genzyme Corp. in the benchmark index after the close of trading today.
“That 4 point gap down in the SPX a few minutes ago — ’hearing’ that since BLK is getting added to the SPX after the close that Indexers are out there raising cash,” said Dave Lutz, head of exchange-traded fund trading and strategy at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Baltimore, in a note to clients, using the ticker symbols for the S&P 500 and BlackRock.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Be magnificent!
Death is extraordinarily like life,
when we know how to live.
You cannot live without dying.
You cannot live if you do not die
psychologically every minute.
-Krishnamurti, 1895-1986
As ever,
Carolann
Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance but to do what lies clearly at hand. -Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1881