April 18, 2013 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

As Carolann is out of the office today, I will be writing the Newsletter on her behalf.

You often hear April referred to as the month of “April Showers brings May flowers”, so I thought I would share a poem with you.

April Showers

It is the season of new beginnings…
Spring removes her winter robe
And fades into rainbows of hope;
The sun shines its headlights into April-
And in the garden the effluent scent
Of multiple blooms delights the nose;
The naked trees are no longer bare
Clothed in egg shell, pink and green.
Now entertaining the sometime visit
Of the butterfly and bee;
Showers are but a necessity
Splashed to chase the thirst away
They are never maudlin weeping tears
But always fall on purpose
For they help to bring
Even more blossoms to May;

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

Photos of the day – April  18^th, 2013

A model presents a hairstyle during the 7th international festival of hairdressing art, fashion, and design called ‘Crystal Angel’ in Kiev, Ukraine.Gleb Garanich/Reuters

A woman is silhouetted against the sun as she walks past electric cables on pylons, on a street in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters

“With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.” – Dalai Lama

Market Closes for April 18^th, 2013

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

April 18 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rebounded from a five-month low as crude oil and gold prices climbed and U.S. jobless claims held steady, signaling the labor market is stabilizing.

Kinross Gold Corp. and Alamos Gold Inc. advanced at least 5.9 percent, while Bankers Petroleum Inc. and Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. jumped more than 4.5 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s largest lenders, paced losses in financial shares. TransCanada Corp. gained 1.1 percent after the U.S. State Department said it will post all public comments on its review of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, reversing an earlier decision.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 49.05 points, or 0.4 percent, to 11,996.34 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, erasing earlier losses of as much as 0.2 percent. The benchmark equity gauge has fallen 3.5 percent this year.

“The labor market continues to hold steady,” Brian Huen, managing partner with Red Sky Capital Management Ltd., said on the phone from Toronto. He helps manage C$55 million ($54 million). “If the recovery fizzles a little bit QE might last longer, which can be seen as a positive. For right now, we’re staying on course that the U.S. economy is recovering.”

Applications for U.S. jobless insurance payments increased by 4,000 to 352,000 in the week ended April 13, in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Some policy makers with the U.S. Federal Reserve favor pulling back this year on $85 billion in monthly debt-buying, or quantitative easing, as the U.S. economy recovers.

Kinross added 5.9 percent to C$5.43 and Alamos Gold surged 6.5 percent to C$11.16 as gold for June delivery rose 0.7 percent to settle at $1,392.50 an ounce in New York. Gold retail sales tripled across China from April 15 to April 16, the China Gold Association said. Gold prices have slumped 17 percent this year.

Raw-materials producers contributed most to gains in the S&P/TSX, rising 2.3 percent as a group as six of 10 industries advanced. Trading volume was 11 percent higher than the 30-day average.

TD Bank lost 1 percent to C$80 and Royal Bank decreased 0.6 percent to C$61.03 as the S&P/TSX Financials Index fell for a second day.

The Bank of Canada yesterday cut the nation’s growth outlook for 2013 to 1.5 percent from 2 percent and said “economic slack” will persist for more than two years.

TransCanada, which is attempting to build the Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S., rose 1.1 percent to C$48.84 after the U.S. State Department said it will release comments on its review of the proposed project.

The department will also provide additional chances for comment during the National Interest Determination period. The pipeline would help bring Alberta’s oil sands to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Joe Oliver, Canada’s natural resources minister, said in Calgary today he is cautiously optimistic the pipeline will be approved and will reach out to government officials and Democratic and Republican lawmakers to lobby for the project when he visits Washington next week.

Bankers Petroleum surged 8.4 percent to C$2.46 and Legacy Oil + Gas gained 4.7 percent to C$5.17. Crude for May delivery advanced 1.2 percent to settle at $87.73 a barrel in New York, the biggest gain since March 26.

Ivanplats Ltd. rose 0.3 percent to C$2.97, paring earlier gains of as much as 7.8 percent after the company said planned development of its Kamoa copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo will not be affected by a ban on exports of cobalt and copper concentrates announced by the country yesterday.

Ivanplats, based in Vancouver, said its development plans include a smelter that will produce upgraded product, meeting the government’s demands that mining companies add value to the commodities before shipping them.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Lu Wang

April 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for a second day amid disappointing earnings reports and data on leading economic indicators and Philadelphia-area manufacturing that trailed estimates. European shares erased earlier gains while gold rose and oil rebounded from a four-month low.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.7 percent to 1,541.61 at 4 p.m. in New York, its lowest closing level since March 6. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index reversed a 0.7 percent rally to close unchanged. The euro strengthened 0.1 percent to $1.3049. Gold for immediate delivery rebounded for a third day from its worst drop in three decades, climbing 0.8 percent to $1,388.02 an ounce. Oil rallied amid a weaker dollar, while 10- year U.S. Treasury yields fell one basis point to 1.69 percent.

More than $1 trillion has been erased from the value of equities worldwide this week as concern deepened the global recovery was weakening and companies from Bank of America Corp. to Textron Inc. reported disappointing results. Finance ministers from around the world prepared to gather in Washington to discuss policies to support the economy and strengthen financial systems.

“The market was more ripe for hiccups and we’re seeing it,” David Sowerby, who helps oversee about $185 billion at Loomis Sayles & Co. in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, said by phone. “We had a long run. Sentiment got more bearish and the earnings season has been a series of C plus.”

The S&P 500 has retreated more than 3.2 percent from a record close on April 11, spurring concern over what UBS AG strategist Jonathan Golub called a “spring break” in equities.

U.S. stocks began short-term declines in April during each of the last three years. The S&P 500 fell 9.9 percent between April 2 and June 1 of last year and peaked on April 29, 2011, before a 19 percent slide ending that October. The index tumbled 16 percent from a high in April 2010 to July 2 of that year.

Losses in the S&P 500 today were led by technology, health- care and consumer-discretionary companies, with each group losing more than 1 percent collectively. The Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 1.4 percent to extend its two-day slump to 3.4 percent, the biggest slide in five months. The VIX, as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index is known, rose 6.4 percent to 17.56. The benchmark gauge of options prices jumped as much as 10 percent to 18.20 and briefly erased its 2013 loss amid growing demand for protection against declines in stocks.

EBay Inc. sank 5.9 percent, the most since September 2011, as the operator of the largest Internet marketplace reported first-quarter sales that missed some analysts’ estimates.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. slid 3.8 percent as earnings were hurt by rising medical costs and lower government reimbursements.

Morgan Stanley lost 5.4 percent after the firm reported the biggest drop in trading revenue among the largest U.S. banks.

Verizon Communications Inc. advanced 2.8 percent as growth in wireless customers helped profit beat estimates, while PepsiCo Inc. rose 3 percent to a record on better-than-estimated earnings.

After financial markets closed, quarterly results were released from International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. IBM slid 3.6 percent in extended trading at 4:57 p.m. in New York after first-quarter profit missed estimates amid a slowdown in hardware sales. Microsoft climbed 2.4 percent after hours as cost controls helped boost earnings above projections. Google rose 1.4 percent as increased spending from advertisers on mobile devices helped earnings beat estimates.

Earnings beat estimates at 75 percent of the 85 companies in the S&P 500 that posted results so far this season, while 51 percent topped revenue projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“It’s an important earnings season, with market participants trying to see if corporate earnings and forecasts are going to be in-line with the weakening global macro data,” Serge Berger, a Zurich-based trader at Blue Oak Advisors LLC, said in a phone interview.

The index of U.S. leading indicators unexpectedly declined in March for the first time in seven months, a sign the world’s largest economy will cool. The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months fell 0.1 percent in March after climbing 0.5 percent in the prior two months. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.1 percent increase.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index fell to 1.3 in April from 2 the prior month. Readings greater than zero signal expansion in the area covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. The median forecast of economists surveyed called for a reading of 3. The Labor Department reported applications for jobless insurance payments increased by 4,000 to 352,000 in the week ended April 13, in line with the median forecast.

The Stoxx 600 ended unchanged today after closing yesterday at the lowest level of the year. The index tumbled 3.8 percent in four days, the most since a 4.4 percent slump in July.

Debenhams Plc rallied the most in more than five months after the U.K.’s second-biggest department-store chain gained market share in the first half. Syngenta AG advanced 3 percent as the chemical company’s Brazilian operations boosted revenue.

Nokia Oyj tumbled 8.3 percent after the mobile-phone maker posted results that disappointed investors.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc climbed 3.2 percent to the highest in 11 years after advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that experimental treatment Breo Ellipta be approved to treat a lung disorder.

Spain’s 10-year bond yield dropped one basis point to 4.67 percent, paring a drop of as much as eight points, and Italy’s added one point to 4.26 percent.

Spain sold 2023 bonds at an average yield of 4.612 percent, the least since September 2010. France raised 7.91 billion euros in a debt sale, with the yield on five-year notes falling to a record low auction rate of 0.73 percent.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index declined 0.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index sank 1.2 percent as LG Display Co. tumbled 4.8 percent, the most in four months, after audio-chip maker Cirrus Logic Inc. reported an inventory glut that suggests iPhone sales may fall short of estimates. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which assembles Apple Inc.’s iPhone, dropped 1.3 percent in Taipei to the lowest level since Aug. 3.

Russia’s Micex Index was little changed while Brazil’s Bovespa rallied 0.5 percent Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA jumped almost 11 percent.

Oil for May delivery rose 1.2 percent to $87.73 a barrel in New York amid a weaker dollar and signals that recent declines were exaggerated. The 14-day relative-strength index for oil slid to 29.9 yesterday, a sign prices may have fallen too far.

Gold for immediate delivery advanced for a third day after the biggest plunge in three decades. The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities climbed 0.8 percent as natural gas, coffee and heating oil also added more than 2 percent. European Union emission permits rebounded 12 percent after tumbling 42 percent the previous two days.

The gain in gold came amid signs that demand is rebounding among consumers and investors. The China Gold Association said that retail sales soared on April 15 and April 16, and the All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation said that demand climbed to the highest this year.

Gold’s price peak in 2011 probably signals the end of China, emerging economies and commodities leading the financial markets, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The precious metal, which rose to an all-time high of $1,921.15 an ounce in London trading on Sept. 6, 2011, has slumped 17 percent this year. In 1980, a peak in gold prices preceded by several quarters the end to a bear market for bonds and a peak in inflation and oil prices, the bank’s investment strategists led by Michael Hartnett wrote in a report today.

Have  a wonderful evening everyone!

Be magnificent!

“Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.” – Henry Ford

As ever,

Amanda Bourke

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8X 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5808

Fax: 778-430-5838