February 16, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Feb. 16, 1923, the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen’s recently unearthed tomb was unsealed in Egypt.

Practice the pause.
Pause before judging.
Pause before assuming.
Pause before accusing.
Pause whenever you’re about to react harshly and you’ll avoid doing and saying things
you’ll later regret.
            -Lori Deschene

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Wildfires threaten a suburb of Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island on Wednesday evening. Mark Hannah/Reuters

A baby gorilla relaxes on her mother, Kibara, at the zoo in Leipzig, Germany, on Thursday. She was born on Dec. 4 and just named Kianga.Jens Meyer/AP
Market Closes for February 16^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
NUMBER OF THE DAY
$53.85

The strike price of options forgone by Bank of America executives. Top executives were sitting on the right to buy 400,000 shares of the bank’s stock at that price, a perk handed out by its board a decade ago, but the stock options expired worthless on Wednesday. [Bank of America shares closed at $24.50/sh on Wednesday].
Canada
By Joseph Ciolli
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for an eighth straight day, the longest streak in more than 11 months, as raw-material and utility shares climbed, offsetting losses in health-care companies.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.1 percent to 15,864.17. in Toronto. The gauge is on pace to close at a record high for the fifth straight day. The index finished 2016 as the best-performing developed stock market and posted its seventh straight monthly increase in January. It’s increased 3.1 percent so far in February.
     Bombardier Inc. slipped 3.1 percent after a quarterly earnings report that saw the company’s adjusted loss of 7 cents a share exceeding the 3 cent shortfall predicted by analysts. The company also reaffirmed its forecast that revenue will increase by a low-single-digit percentage in 2017, stemming two years of declines. Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Aerospace, rail equipment. Down eight cents, or 3.10 per cent, to $2.50 on 13.9 million shares. The Quebec-based company reported 2016 year-end losses of US$981 million, down from US$5.34 billion in 2015. Full-year revenue for 2016 was US$16.34 billion down from US$18.17 billion in 2015.
     In other moves:
* Pembina Pipeline Corp., PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. and Keyera Corp. climbed more than 1.7 percent.
* Barrick Gold Corp., New Gold Inc. and Goldcorp Inc. added at least 4.2 percent even as a Bloomberg index of commodities lost 0.4 percent
     Pine Cliff Energy Ltd. (TSX:PNE). Oil and gas. Down two cents, or 2.41 per cent, to 81 cents on 6.8 million shares.
     Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B). Miner. Down $1.54, or 5.25 per cent, to $27.78 on 6.7 million shares.
     Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA). Oil and gas. Down 41 cents, or 2.46 per cent, to $16.29 on 6.6 million shares.
     B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO). Miner. Up two cents, or 0.45 per cent, to $4.43 on 6.32 million shares.
     ^Companies reporting major news@:
     Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Oil and gas. Down 49 cents, or 0.88 per cent, to $55.43 on 2.2 million shares. The company says the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has approved its proposed takeover of Spectra Energy Corp. in what will be the largest foreign takeover by a Canadian company. The all-stock deal, which valued Spectra at $37 billion when it was announced last September, still requires approval under the Canadian Competition Act.
     Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B). Media, telecommunications. Down 63 cents, or 1.61 per cent, to $38.41 on 504,064 shares. Pierre Karl Peladeau is returning to his job as the president and CEO. Peladeau, whose family founded the company, stepped down from the top job in 2013 and began a short-lived political career.  
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell from record levels as financial and energy companies slumped and tech stocks pared earlier gains.
     The S&P 500 Index lost less than 0.1 percent to 2,347.22 at 4 p.m. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 7.9 points to 20,619.77. The benchmark index gained 0.5 percent on Wednesday for the seventh straight advance — the longest streak of gains since September 2013.         
* Energy shares down 1.4% for second loss this week as oil heads for the narrowest trading range in 13 years
* Utility and phone stocks up at least 0.4%
* Real estate shares up 0.4% biggest gain in market as the 10- year Treasury yield falls below 2.45%
* Tech companies end 0.2% higher as Cisco climbs 2.4% following 2Q earnings beat
* VIX fell 1.8% to 11.8
* Volume second-highest of past 2 weeks with 6.9 billion shares traded hands — slowed trading during Trump’s press conference
* The S&P 500 erased 0.4% in a matter of minutes mid-morning after a $3.4 billion fund that specializes in options trading told CNBC that it had exited a short position in calls on futures
* Profits for S&P 500 companies climbed an annual 5.3% so far in the fourth-quarter reporting season, data compiled by Bloomberg show, the highest growth rate since the third quarter of 2014
** S&P 500’s price-to-forward earnings ratio is at its highest since 2002
* The six largest U.S. banks may see annual profit jump by an average of 14% if President Donald Trump delivers on his promise to cut corporate taxes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
* Overall, the Trump Trade is approaching bull market dimensions in only three months, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 19% since election night lows
* ECONOMY
** Philly Fed: Current activity index soared to 43.3, the highest since January 1984, from 23.6
** Builders started work on more U.S. homes than forecast in January after an upward revision to starts in the prior month, a sign construction was on a steady path entering 2017
** Initial claims rose 5k in the first full week of February to 239k, after logging double-digit declines in each of the past two weeks
* EARNINGS
** After-market Thursday: Republic Services (RSG), Digital Realty Trust (DLR), Consolidated Edison (ED), DaVita (DVA), Flowserve (FLS), Enbridge Energy Partners (EEP)
** Pre-market Friday: Moody’s (MCO), Spectra Energy (SE), Fluor (FLR), Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), Deere & Co (DE), VF (VFC), JM Smucker (SJM), Campbell Soup (CPB)

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

When you look at that unchanging Existence
from the outside, you call it God;
and when you look at it from the inside,
you call it yourself.  It is but one.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

I’ve learned that only through focus can you do world-class things,
no matter how capable you are.  -William H. Gates, b. 1955

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 
Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com