August 6, 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

August 6, 1945 – Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith. –Albert Einstein.

Photos of the Day

A girl prepares to release paper lanterns with messages of peace on them into the Motoyasu River near the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan, on the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing. Kyodo News/AP

The sun shines through a sunflower on a field near Zossen, eastern Germany. Tim Brakemeier/dpa/AP

Market Closes for August 6^th, 2014

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for the first time in four days, rebounding from a three-week low, as gold prices rallied amid rising tension in Ukraine and Tim Hortons Inc. jumped after sales surged.

Tim Hortons added 7.4 percent after reporting the highest same-store sales growth in the U.S. in two years. Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. climbed 3 percent as gold advanced the most in six weeks. Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. sank 8.9 percent as earnings fell short of estimates. National Bank of Canada added 0.5 percent as lenders snapped a three-day losing streak.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 14.38 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,202.09 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge closed at a record on July 30 and is the second-best performer among developed markets in the world this year with a 12 percent gain.

Materials producers jumped 0.9 percent as gold surged amid rising tension in Ukraine. NATO said there’s a risk of Russia sending troops into Ukraine under the “pretext” of a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission after President Vladimir Putin massed soldiers on his country’s western border.

Canada reported the largest merchandise trade surplus in more than two years in June as exports reached a record C$45.2 billion on gains in crude oil and metals. The surplus was C$1.86 billion, the highest since December 2011, Statistics Canada said in Ottawa. Economists forecast the trade account would be balanced.

Tim Hortons rallied 7.4 percent to C$64.52, a record, as sales of frozen hot chocolate and crispy chicken sandwiches boosted profit and revenue ahead of estimates in the second quarter. U.S. same-store sales rose 5.9 percent, the most since the first quarter of 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Canaccord Genuity slumped 8.9 percent to C$11.36, the biggest decline since April 2013. Excluding some items, Canaccord reported a 24 percent increase in expenses in the fiscal first quarter.

National Bank added 0.5 percent to C$48.38 and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce rose 0.4 percent to C$100.20 as the S&P/TSX Banks Index rallied 0.1 percent to erase earlier losses and snap a three-day slide.

US
By Elena Popina and Joseph Ciolli

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was little changed, after U.S. equities slipped to a two-month low yesterday, as declines in Sprint Corp. and Time Warner Inc. on failed deals offset gains in consumer-staples shares.

Sprint slid 19 percent after a deal to merge with T-Mobile US Inc. collapsed. Time Warner tumbled 13 percent after Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc. withdrew its unsolicited takeover bid. Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Kellogg Co. paced gains in consumer-staples shares.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose less than 1 point to 1,920.24 at 4 p.m. in New York. The gauge erased an earlier loss after dropping below its average level for the past 100 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 13.87 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 16,443.34. About 6.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 12 percent above the three-month average.

“There’s going to be a lot of noise intraday going forward, but we still see the fundamental trend moving higher,” Sam Turner, a fund manager with Richmond, Virginia-based Riverfront Investment Group LLC, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees $4.6 billion. “We might slip back to flush out the remaining weak hands, but we’re recommending buying this dip.”

The S&P 500 slid 1 percent yesterday to the lowest level since May as tensions escalated over Ukraine. The benchmark gauge has lost 3.4 percent since reaching a record of 1,987.98 on July 24. It tumbled the most since June 2012 last week as companies around the globe posted disappointing results, Argentina defaulted and Banco Espirito Santo SA was ordered to raise capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is showing no sign of backing down over Ukraine. He ordered restrictions on food imports to strike back at the U.S. and other countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine. Putin’s decree bans or limits food and agricultural imports for one year from countries that have imposed or supported sanctions, according to the Kremlin website.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said that Russia has amassed about 20,000 troops along its border with eastern Ukraine.

Stocks have also been weighed down by concerns that the improving economy may force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected. Data last week showed U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 4 percent annual pace in the second quarter, confirming the Fed’s view that a first- quarter contraction was transitory.

The S&P 500 has soared 184 percent since the start of the bull market in March 2009, boosted by three rounds of central bank stimulus and better-than-forecast corporate earnings. The benchmark equity gauge has gone without a 10 percent correction since 2011. It trades at 17.4 times the reported earnings of its companies, after reaching the highest level since 2010 in June.

Keurig Green Mountain Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc. are among 25 S&P 500 companies reporting earnings today. About 75 percent of those that have posted results this season have beaten analysts’ estimates for profit, while 64 percent exceeded sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Profit probably rose 9.4 percent in the second quarter, while sales gained 4.2 percent, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which usually moves in the opposite direction to the S&P 500, fell 3 percent to 16.37 today. The VIX soared 34 percent last week, the most since January.

Four out of 10 major industries in the S&P 500 advanced. Consumer-staples companies added 0.9 percent. Phone and utility shares dropped 1.3 percent.

Sprint slid 19 percent, the most ever. Regulatory concerns outweighed the potential benefits of a merger with T-Mobile US that would combine the third and fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers, a person familiar with the talks said. Sprint also named Marcelo Claure, the founder of mobile-phone distributor Brightstar Corp., as its new chief executive officer.

T-Mobile retreated 8.4 percent.

Time Warner dropped 13 percent, the most since 2008, as Murdoch’s Fox withdrew its $75 billion offer. The billionaire chairman of Fox gave up after Time Warner’s board refused to engage in talks and Fox’s stock price slid 11 percent since the offer became public. Time Warner also reported earnings that beat estimates and said it plans to buy back $5 billion of its shares.

Fox climbed 3.3 percent as it authorized a $6 billion buyback plan. The company also reported after the close of regular trading that fourth-quarter profit beat analysts’ estimates.

Walgreen Co. retreated 14 percent for its worst performance since 2007. The biggest U.S. drugstore chain said it will pay about $15.3 billion for the shares in Alliance Boots it doesn’t already hold, and won’t use the deal to move its tax address abroad.

Walgreen, which considered redomiciling in Switzerland to lower its tax rate, has come under political pressure not to do a so-called tax inversion. U.S.-based companies, including drugmakers AbbVie Inc. and Pfizer Inc., have struck or attempted deals to cut their own rates by establishing their tax headquarters abroad.

Groupon Inc. slumped 13 percent. The company forecast third-quarter earnings of no more than 2 cents a share, excluding some items, compared with the average analyst estimate of 3 cents a share.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. tumbled 13 percent, the most in more than two years. The provider of outsourcing services lowered its annual revenue forecast as tech-service deals took longer to close amid weakness in certain U.S. and U.K.-based customers.

Bank of America Corp. gained 1.3 percent. The second- biggest U.S. lender raised its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share and dropped plans to buy back stock after the Fed approved its resubmitted capital plan for 2014.

The dividend increase, from 1 cent per share, was postponed in April after the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said it made an error in its original Fed submission. The central bank said today it didn’t object to the company’s revised plan.

Molson Coors gained 5.8 percent, the most in the S&P 500, as it reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed analysts’ projections.

Kellogg advanced 2.3 percent as Sky News reported, without saying where it got the information, that the cereal company appointed Barclays Plc. to assess an offer for United Biscuits Holding Ltd.

Valero Energy Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. added more than 1.2 percent as energy shares rebounded. Energy companies in the S&P 500 fell 2.1 percent yesterday and plunged 4.1 percent last week, the most since June 2012.

Activision Blizzard Inc. advanced 2.6 percent. The largest U.S. video-game maker posted second-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates, citing online sales of World of Warcraft and Diablo titles. The company also raised its full-year forecast.

Pandora Media Inc. added 1.6 percent as it reached a partnership agreement with Merlin, the rights agency that represents independent record companies, in its first direct deal with music labels. Pandora will create customized channels for artists, letting them communicate with fans, according to a statement today.

AOL Inc. rose 7.5 percent after revenue topped forecasts.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Give with faith, and never without faith.

Give with dignity.  Give with humility.  Give with joy.

And give with the understanding of the effects of your gift.

Taittiriya Upanishad

As ever,

Carolann

We are not interested in possibilities of defeat.

-Queen Victoria, 1819-1901

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