Author: Carolann

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Caught the Fleetwood Mac concert in Vancouver last night  – it was a pretty enthused band – with Christine McVie joining again after a stint at retiremen.  And a very appreciative audience to have her back in the band.  It really was a terrific show; Lindsay Buckingham remains as energetic and talented as ever on stage – can he play!  Attached  – Gary and me photographed with  Mick Fleetwood.

This tour runs into 2015 with the last date in the UK on July 1, 2015, so  check out the schedule and if you’re near – or considering travelling to any of the cities where future performances are scheduled, you might want to see if there are still tickets to be had.  I am fond of going to concerts in different cities, especially Madison Square Gardens.  We used our accumulated airline travel rewards and went to Philadelphia for the Stones most recent tour because it was the place we could get the best tickets, not far from the stage, and it was worth it.    

Today is the anniversary of The Gettysburg Address November 1, 1863.  Now, whenever I read what is  regarded to be the greatest speech in American history, I think of Daniel Day Lewis, as I’m sure many do.  He was so amazing in the film Lincoln.  You can still watch Daniel Day Lewis reciting the speech on YouTube.

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…  

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man dressed up as the Statue of Liberty walks in front of a new digital advertising screen in Times Square, New York, Tuesday. The screen is a full block long and 8 stories tall. It is lit with 24 million LED pixels and has a higher resolution than most TV sets. The advertising rate is reported at $2.5 million USD for a four-week run, making it one of the most expensive outdoor advertising spaces in the world. Carlo Allegri/Reuters

A robot drives around a line during the International Conference on Humanoid Robots in Madrid. Andrea Comas/Reuters

Market Closes for November 19^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17685.73	-2.09
		-0.01%
S&P 500	2049.23	-2.57   -0.13%
NASDAQ	4675.711	-26.732   -0.57%
TSX	14977.83	+4.86
		+0.03%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17288.75	-55.31
		-0.32%
HANG SENG	23373.31	-155.86
		-0.66%
SENSEX	28032.85	-130.44
		-0.46%
FTSE 100	6696.60	-12.53
		-0.19%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.034	1.996
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.601	2.559
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3559	2.3187
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0778	3.0439

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88128	0.88499
US $	1.13471	1.12996
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42334	0.70257
US $	1.25436	0.80026

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1182.43	1196.89
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	74.58	74.60

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little-changed at a September high, as gains in consumer staples firms and banks offset a slump in gold miners after Federal Reserve officials warned against falling inflation expectations.

     Metro Inc. increased 9.7 percent as same-store sales rose in the grocer’s fourth quarter. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. climbed 1.5 percent after analysts at Raymond James recommended the stock. Iamgold Corp. and Torex Gold Resources Inc. slid more than 8.5 percent as gold futures extended declines after the release of Fed meeting minutes. BlackBerry dropped 5 percent after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the shares.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 7.18 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,980.15 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The Canadian benchmark equity gauge has rallied 8 percent from an Oct. 15 low, and is up 10 percent for the year.

     Eight of the 10 industries in the S&P/TSX rose on trading in line with the 30-day average. Metro surged 9.7 percent to a record C$90.50, the most in the S&P/TSX, as consumer staples stocks advanced 2.6 percent as a group.

     Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s second-largest lender, rose 0.9 percent to C$82.90, the highest since Sept. 18. Bank of Nova Scotia increased 0.7 percent to C$69.66 for a third day of gains.

     Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan rallied 1.5 percent to C$40.61. The company, which produces the fertilizer, has risen 6.9 percent during its three-day rally. The stock was raised to outperform from market perform at Raymond James by equity analyst Steven Hansen. Shares also gained as work was halted at an OAO Uralkali potash mine in Russia yesterday amid concern the mine will be flooded with brine.                   

     Iamgold slumped 9.5 percent to C$2.49 and Torex Gold sank 8.5 percent to C$1.40 as all 24 members of the S&P/TSX Gold Index declined.

     Fed policy makers said they should be on the lookout for signs of a decline in the public’s expectations for inflation, according to minutes from the central bank’s October meeting released today. The Fed ended its bond-buying program at the gathering.

     BlackBerry, the smartphone maker, sank 5 percent to C$11.56 for a fourth straight day of declines. James Faucette, analyst at Morgan Stanley, cut his rating for the stock to underweight from equalweight.

     Investors have become too optimistic on BlackBerry, as it’s unlikely the company will meet a target of $350 million in new software revenue in 2016 due to a competitive market, Faucette said.

     TransCanada jumped 2.7 percent to C$57.50 as the builder of the stalled Keystone XL pipeline plans to double its dividend growth rate through 2017.

     About $13 billion in small to medium-sized projects scheduled to come online in the next five years will let TransCanada increase its dividend by 8 to 10 percent each year, from 4 percent increases currently, the Calgary-based company said today in a presentation.

     The Keystone XL pipeline is among planned projects. A U.S.Senate effort to force the approval of Keystone came up one vote short yesterday.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell from all-time highs as Federal Reserve minutes showed some members said the central bank should remain attentive to the possibility prices in the economy aren’t rising fast enough.

     Inflation has stagnated despite a strengthening of main labor-market indicators. Policy makers last month “pointed to a somewhat weaker economic outlook and increased downside risks in Europe, China, and Japan,” in addition to a stronger dollar.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,048.72 as of 4 p.m. in New York, on concern the inflation comments signal pessimism about the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.1 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 17,685.73. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies retreated 1.1 percent.

     “The Fed is admitting they have no idea where inflation is going long term,” said Michael Block, chief equity strategist at Rhino Trading Partners LLC in New York. “While I admire their candor, this doesn’t make me want to own stocks this afternoon.”

     Concern economic recoveries from the U.S. to Europe and Japan are failing to spur inflation has been cited by central bankers worldwide as justification for prolonged stimulus efforts. Today’s comments were in contrast from statements by Fed Chair Janet Yellen that the risks had ebbed of price increases holding below policy makers’ goal.                       

     “Many participants observed the committee should remain attentive to evidence of a possible downward shift in longer- term inflation expectations,” according to a record of the Oct. 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee meeting released today in Washington. “Some of them noted that if such an outcome occurred, it would be even more worrisome if growth faltered.”

     The S&P 500 and the Dow have rallied to records as better- than-forecast earnings and data boosted speculation that the economy is strong enough to overcome a global slowdown.

     The benchmark index has rebounded 10 percent from a six- month low in October and is trading at 17 times the projected earnings of its members, the highest multiple since 2009. About 6.3 million shares changed hands Wednesday, 3.6 percent below the three-month average.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of options prices known as the VIX, added 0.7 percent to 13.96.

     Seven out of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 declined.  Technology and phone shares dropped at least 0.6 percent for the biggest losses. Verizon Communications Inc. retreated 1.4 percent and Microsoft slipped 1.1 percent. Yahoo! Inc. lost 2.3 percent.

     Retailers jumped 1.2 percent as a group amid corporate earnings reports.

     Lowe’s Cos. climbed 6.4 percent to $62.26. The second- largest U.S. home-improvement chain forecast full-year earnings of about $2.68 a share, exceeding its previous prediction and the average analyst estimate of $2.63.

     Target Corp. increased 7.4 percent to $72.50. The retailer posted third-quarter earnings that beat estimates after U.S.sales grew faster than expected and its money-losing expansion into Canada showed signs of improvement.

     Staples added 9.1 percent to $13.92. The world’s largest office-supply chain said earnings will be as much as 32 cents a share in the fourth quarter, beating the 31 cent estimate by analysts.

     “Once we get through Thanksgiving the focus will be on the consumer and retail sales,” KC Mathews, the Kansas City-based chief investment officer at UMB Bank, said by phone. “If you have a good holiday spending season it validates the health of the consumer and sets us up for some momentum in 2015.”

     Jack in the Box Inc. jumped 4.8 to $74.92 percent after the operator of fast-food restaurants across the Western U.S. reported earnings that topped analysts’ estimates.

     Cliff Natural Resources Inc. dropped 20 percent to $8.17.  The company said it is examining exit options for its Eastern Canadian iron ore operations.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is only a mind that looks at a tree or the stars or the sparkling waters of a river

with complete abandonment that knows what beauty is,

and when we are actually seeing we are in a state of love.

 

Krishnamurti

As ever,
 

Carolann

Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible.

                                                  -Dalai Lama

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

MY NOVEMBER GUEST

My sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane…
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.

                       -Robert Frost

If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor. –Albert Einstein.

Mickey Mouse was born on this day in 1928.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Swans are caught in a small lock after being rounded up from Hamburg’s lake Alster. Every year the swans are collected from waterways and taken to winter quarters where they are fed and cared for until spring. Fabian Bimmer/Reuters

A foal (r.) walks toward a mare as fog covers the landscape during an autumn sunrise in Ezquiroz, northern Spain. Alvaro Barrientos/AP

Market Closes for November 18^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17687.82	+40.07
		+0.23%
S&P 500	2052.33	+11.01   +0.54%
NASDAQ	4702.441	+31.439   +0.67%
TSX	14972.28	+89.78
		+0.60%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17344.06	+370.26
		+2.18%
HANG SENG	23529.17	-267.91
		-1.13%
SENSEX	28163.29	-14.59
		-0.05%
FTSE 100	6709.13	+37.16
		+0.56%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.996	2.022
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.559	2.584
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3187	2.3399
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0439	3.0624

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88499	0.88488
US $	1.12996	1.13010
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41662	0.70590
US $	1.25368	0.79765

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1196.89	1186.77
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	74.60	75.64

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a third day, with the benchmark index closing at the highest level since September, as gold producers rallied to the highest level this month.

     Centerra Gold Inc. and Argonaut Gold Inc. surged at least 15 percent as an index of gold miners jumped 5.6 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. climbed 3.9 percent after receiving regulatory approval for a saline breast implant. Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund dropped 2.6 percent after deciding to sell shares to pay down debt.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 90.47 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,972.97 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest since Sept. 29. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has advanced in nine of the past 10 sessions and rallied 8 percent from an Oct. 15 low.

     Eight of the 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 9.7 percent below the 30-day average. Materials producers surged 3.5 percent, while Valeant led health-care shares to a 3.2 percent gain.

     All of the 24 members of the S&P/TSX Gold Index rallied as the group increased for a third day, the longest stretch of gains since August. The group has surged 25 percent since Nov. 5. Gold surged to a two-week high today, topping $1,200 an ounce after Russia added to reserves.

     Centerra Gold jumped 17 percent to C$5.99 and Argonaut Gold rallied 15 percent to C$2.50.

     Bank of Nova Scotia added 0.6 percent to C$69.17 and Manulife Financial Corp. rose 0.4 percent to C$21.91 as financial stocks increased for a fifth day, the longest rally since July.

     Valeant jumped 3.9 percent to C$160.42, the highest level since March. Valeant has surged for seven days, the longest rally since January 2013. The drugmaker yesterday ended its pursuit of Allergan Inc. after Actavis Plc successfully bid $66 billion for the company.

US

By Callie Bost and Oliver Renick

     Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to all-time highs, as health-care and raw-material companies rallied amid speculation the economy is strong enough to overcome a global slowdown.

     Medtronic Inc. and Actavis Plc rallied more than 4.7 percent to pace gains among health-care companies. Urban Outfitters Inc. dropped 6.6 percent after the clothing retailer posted third-quarter profit that missed analyst estimates. Home Depot Inc. slipped 2.1 percent after failing to raise its forecasts for sales and profit this year amid signs the housing market is cooling.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.5 percent to 2,051.80 at 4 p.m. in New York, for its biggest gain since Nov. 5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 40.07 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,687.82. Both gauges closed at records. The Russell 2000 Index of small-cap shares added 0.5 percent. About 6.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 5.4 percent below the three-month average.

     “Consumer and investor sentiment is pretty positive at the moment,” Omar Aguilar, the San Francisco-based chief investment officer of equities at Charles Schwab Investment Management, said by phone. “We continue to see M&A as the topic of the day and U.S. economic data is suggesting really good stability.”

     The S&P 500 has rallied to records as better-than-expected earnings and economic data have increased confidence that the U.S. economy is able to weather a global slowdown even as the Federal Reserve winds down its stimulus program.

     The equity benchmark has rebounded 10 percent from a six- month low in October and is trading at 17.1 times the projected earnings of its members, the highest multiple since 2009. JPMorgan Chase & Co. yesterday told investors to dump U.S. equities in favor of their European counterparts because of relative valuations.                      

     The S&P 500 closed the past five days with a move of less than 0.1 percent in either direction, while volatility plunged from a two-year high last month to its 12-month average. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 0.9 percent to 13.86 today.

     The Russell 2000 gained after dropping as much as 1.9 percent from a four-month high on Nov. 12. The measure slipped 0.8 percent yesterday as concern over a recession in Japan offset corporate deals.

     “Whether that’s a sign of strength or a bounce-back rally from the weakness we’ve seen, it’s still too early to tell,” Bruce McCain, who helps oversee in excess of $25 billion as chief investment strategist at the private-banking unit of KeyCorp in Cleveland, said by phone. “People are still biased towards moving money into equities and you’ve seen that flow prevent any meaningful corrections throughout the year.”

     Investors are watching reports on data from inflation to hiring and economic growth to determine the timing of any Fed interest rate increase. The Fed releases minutes from its Oct. 29 meeting tomorrow.

     Data today showed wholesale prices unexpectedly increased in October as higher costs for services and food outweighed a slump in energy.

     Nine out of 10 industries in the S&P 500 increased today. Health-care companies jumped 1.6 percent, while raw-material producers climbed 1.1 percent. Newmont Mining Corp. added 3.4 percent as gold advanced to a two-week high.

     Actavis rose 8.7 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to a record $269.60. The company advanced 1.7 percent yesterday after agreeing to pay about $66 billion for Allergan Inc., the maker of the anti-wrinkle treatment Botox, in the year’s biggest pharmaceutical deal.

     Medtronic jumped 4.7 percent to a record $72.47. The chance of a repeal of a medical-device tax “looks better than before, but we’ll see,” the company said on a conference call today. Medtronic also increased the lower end of its annual revenue estimate.

     Covidien Plc, which is being acquired by Medtronic, climbed 3.7 percent. UnitedHealth Group Inc. rose 1.8 percent, the most in the Dow.

     Intel Corp. surged 1.4 percent. The company is merging its mobile phone and tablet businesses with the division that makes chips for personal computers. The reorganization of the two units, which have been running at a loss, announced internally, will be completed early next year, Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker, said yesterday.

     Urban Outfitters dropped 6.6 percent. The clothing retailer reported third-quarter earnings of 35 cents a share, below the 41 cents a share analysts estimated.

     Home Depot slid 2.1 percent. The largest U.S. home- improvement retailer reiterated its expectations for profit and revenue in the current fiscal year amid slowing gains in domestic home prices and sales.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To reach cosmic understanding,

it is necessary to unite our feeling with that infinite feeling that penetrates everything.

In fact, for man, true progress coincides with the breadth of the base of our feelings.

All our poetry, philosophy, science, art, and religion

serve to embrace with our understanding

the spheres too vast and high.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A man who limits his interests, limits his life.

                       -Vincent Price, 1911-1993

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Went to see Joan Baez in concert last night.  She is still as amazing as ever – her voice still incredible and she is very beautiful at 73 years young.  She played acoustic guitar to perfection; she performed  Where HaveAll The Flowers Gone in tribute to Pete Seger who died earlier this year.  All in all, still an amazing performer – so good to see.

Caught Matthew McConaughey’s latest film Intersteller over the weekend too.  I really enjoyed it – quite the drama though…

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The small chapel of Eggisbuehl on Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne is photographed Sunday. Sigi Tischler/Keystone/AP

Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley, second left, poses for a selfie with her husband Michael Haley, second right, and others in front of the Golden Temple, Sikh’s holiest shrine, in Amritsar, India, Saturday. Prabhjot Gill/AP

Market Closes for November 17^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17647.75	+13.01
		+0.07%
S&P 500	2041.32	+1.50   +0.07%
NASDAQ	4671.004	-17.535   -0.37%
TSX	14882.50	+39.40
		+0.27%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16973.80	-517.03
		-2.96%
HANG SENG	23797.08	-290.30
		-1.21%
SENSEX	28177.88	+131.22
		+0.47%
FTSE 100	6671.97	+17.60
		+0.26%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.022	2.033
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.584	2.593
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3399	2.3204
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0624	3.0487

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88488	0.88593
US $	1.13010	1.12875
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40710	0.71068
US $	1.24513	0.80313

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1186.77	1188.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	75.64	75.82

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day, for a seven-week high, as gold producers and banks increased and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rallied after its bid for Allergan Inc. ended.

     Argonaut Gold Inc. and Iamgold Corp. rallied at least 6.9 percent as gold traded near a two-week high. Valeant Pharmaceuticals climbed to an eight-month high as its hostile bid for Allergan was topped by Actavis Plc. TransCanada Corp. increased 1.9 percent after activist investor Sandell Asset Management said it should sell assets to boost its share price.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 39.40 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,882.50 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, for the highest close since Sept. 30. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has rallied 4.3 percent in the past five weeks, the longest stretch of weekly gains since March.

     The index has advanced 9.3 percent this year, the fourth- best performer among the world’s 24 developed markets.

     Iamgold rose 7.5 percent to C$2.57 and Argonaut Gold jumped 6.9 percent to C$2.17 as raw-materials producers increased 1.1 percent as a group. Eight of 10 industries rose on trading volume 16 percent below the 30-day average.

     Japan unexpectedly fell into a recession last quarter as gross domestic product shrank an annualized 1.6 percent in the three months through September, a second straight drop, to match the textbook definition of a recession. Japanese stocks slumped.

     The world’s third-largest economy is struggling with an April sales-tax boost, suggesting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will likely hold off another tax increase scheduled for October 2015.

     TransCanada, developer of the stalled Keystone XL pipeline, climbed 1.9 percent to C$56.83. Sandell Asset Management said the company should sell all U.S. assets to the master-limited partnership it controls and spin off its power-generation business to trade at $75 a share.

     AutoCanada Inc., which owns car dealerships across Canada, jumped 8.8 percent to C$59.07. The company will buy an 80 percent interest in Bridges Chevrolet Buick GMC, a dealership located in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.

     National Bank of Canada increased 0.8 percent to C$55.06, extending a record, as financial stocks rallied for a fourth day.

US

By Callie Bost

     Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, with the Standard & Poor’s Index 500 Index at an all-time high, as a slump in small-cap shares and concern over Japan’s recession offset corporate deals.

     Allergan Inc. rose 5.3 percent after Actavis Plc agreed to pay about $66 billion for the maker of Botox. Baker Hughes Inc. jumped 8.9 percent after agreeing to sell itself to Halliburton Co. for $34.6 billion. DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. slipped 14 percent after Hasbro Inc.’s approach to acquire the studio was said to have ended without agreement.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,041.32 at 4 p.m. in New York after earlier losing 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 13.01 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,647.75, five points below an all-time high. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies lost 0.8 percent for a third day of losses. About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 12 percent lower than the three-month average.

     “I think the central theme for the day is overriding concern that global growth is continuing to decelerate,” Chad Morganlander, a money manager at St. Louis-based Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which oversees about $160 billion, said by phone. “There’s a hope that monetary policy will stay accommodative across the board, which has emboldened risk-taking.”

     Japan unexpectedly sank into a recession last quarter as it struggled to cope with April’s sales-tax increase. The world’s third-largest economy shrank an annualized 1.6 percent, after a revised slump of 7.3 percent in the previous three months. That missed projections for a 2.2 percent gain in the third quarter.

     In the U.S., industrial production dropped last month, weighed down by declines at utilities, mines and automakers that signal manufacturing started the fourth quarter on a soft footing. Separate data showed the Fed Bank of New York’s Empire Index increased less than forecast in November.

     A pickup in manufacturing is needed to help bolster the expansion, now in its sixth year, as global growth from Europe and Japan to emerging markets cools. Rising consumer confidence and the drop in gasoline prices are brightening the outlook for holiday sales, indicating factories will get a lift in the next few months.

     Mario Draghi presented European lawmakers with a list of policy resolutions for 2015, and said an expanded purchase program to help stimulate the economy could include government bonds. The European Central Bank president used his final quarterly testimony of 2014 to the European Parliament to call for political action that complements monetary policy, insisting his institution alone can’t fix the region’s economy.

     JPMorgan Chase & Co. told investors to dump U.S. equities in favor of their European counterparts. The brokerage cut its rating on U.S. stocks to underweight, similar to a sell recommendation, from the equivalent of buy, while reversing the call for euro-area equities.

     As enthusiasm for European stocks faded since the beginning of 2014, when bulls united in favoring the region, the lag versus the U.S. has now made them too cheap to ignore, according to JPMorgan strategists led by Mislav Matejka.

     The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent last week, taking its rebound from a six-month low in October to 9.5 percent. The gauge has rallied to all-time highs as better-than-expected earnings and economic data have shored up confidence that the U.S. economy is able to weather a global slowdown even as the Fed winds down its bond-buying program.

     The benchmark index has closed the past five days with a move of less than 0.1 percent in either direction, the longest such stretch since 1969.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped 5.1 percent to 13.99. The gauge of S&P 500 derivatives prices rose 1.5 percent last week.

     Urban Outfitters Inc. and Agilent Technologies Inc. are among companies posting results today. Of the S&P 500 members that have reported this earnings season, 80 percent beat profit estimates and 60 percent surpassed revenue projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Four out of 10 industries in the S&P 500 Index climbed today, with utility, health-care and consumer-staples companies leading gains.

     West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude oil dropped after Japan, the world’s third-largest oil consuming country, slipped into a recession.

     Energy companies in the S&P 500 have tumbled 15 percent from a June peak as leading OPEC members resisted calls to cut crude output and instead reduced some export prices while U.S. production climbed to the highest level in more than three decades. The Russell 2000’s index of energy producers sank 2.6 percent today.

     Baker Hughes, the third-biggest oil-field service company, jumped 8.9 percent to $65.23, while Halliburton, the second largest, slid 11 percent to $49.23. Halliburton will pay about $78.62 a share in cash and stock for Baker Hughes, the companies announced today.

     DreamWorks dropped 14 percent to $22.31. Hasbro’s talks to acquire the studio that produced the “Shrek” films never advanced beyond a preliminary stage and a first meeting, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who sought anonymity because the matter is private. Hasbro rose 4.4 percent to $56.37.

     Actavis climbed 1.7 percent to $247.94 and Allergan rallied 5.3 percent to $209.20. The deal creates a new top 10 drugmaker and ends Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s attempt at a hostile takeover of the maker of Botox.

     Valeant increased 1.9 percent to $136.73. The company won’t try and top Actavis’s offer, it said in a statement. Valeant had waged a months-long takeover attempt with the backing of Pershing Square Capital Management LP, run by activist investor Bill Ackman.

     Tyson Foods Inc. added 5.8 percent to $43.03. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings above analysts’ forecasts.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

In his essence, man is not a slave to himself, nor to the world; he is a lover.

His freedom and accomplishments are in love,

which is another name for perfect understanding.

In this ability to understand, in this impregnation of everything that is,

he is one with the Spirit that penetrates everything,

and that is also the breath of the soul.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.

                            -Claude Monet, 1840-1926

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

I have a couple of clients who decided to realize their dream a few years ago when they took off to sail around the world.  They are in Southeast Asia right now and I had an email from them recently.  I love reading their blog too, and you may also.  I wrote to them yesterday to ask if it was OK to share it with you and received an enthusiastic affirmative response in reply.   I hope you find it as wonderful as I do; click on the link below:

  www.turtlemail.blogspot.com

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man sunbathes under an umbrella on the beach of Nice, southeastern France. Lionel Cironneau/AP

Sonja Enz of the Stapferhaus, an event place for contemporary exhibitions, holds coins in her hands as she sits in a room filled with 4 million Swiss five cent coins during a media preview of the exhibition ‘Geld – Jenseits von Gut und Boese’ (Money -beyond good and evil) in the town of Lenzburg west of Zurich. Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

Market Closes for November 14^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17634.74	-18.05
		-0.10%
S&P 500	2039.82	+0.49   +0.02%
NASDAQ	4688.539	+8.398   +0.18%
TSX	14843.10	+64.33
		+0.44%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17490.83	+98.04
		+0.56%
HANG SENG	24087.38	+67.44
		+0.28%
SENSEX	28046.66	+106.02
		+0.38%
FTSE 100	6654.37	+18.92
		+0.29%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.033	2.047
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.593	2.612
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3204	2.3496
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0487	3.0757

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88593	0.87888
US $	1.12875	1.13781
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41373	0.70735
US $	1.25247	0.79842

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1188.75	1161.55
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	75.82	74.21

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to cap a fifth weekly advance, the longest streak since March, as a rally in materials producers offset a slump in BlackBerry Ltd.

     Badger Daylighting Ltd., the excavation services firm, surged 16 percent after reporting rising quarterly revenue and the appointment of a new chairman. IamGold Corp. and Detour Gold rallied at least 8.6 percent as metals prices advanced. BlackBerry sank 8 percent after rallying yesterday on an agreement with rival Samsung Electronics Co.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 64.33 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,843.10 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge climbed 1 percent for the week and has rallied 4.3 percent in the past five weeks.

     The index has advanced 9 percent this year, the fourth-best performer among the world’s 24 developed markets.

     Seven of 10 industries rose on trading volume 4.3 percent below the 30-day average at this time of the day.

     Iamgold Corp. soared 21 percent to C$2.39, the biggest gain in six years, and Detour Gold surged 8.6 percent to C$9.38 as raw-materials producers increased 3 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX.

     Gold futures for December delivery jumped 2.1 percent to settle at $1,185.60 an ounce in New York. In two days, the price climbed 2.3 percent, the most since June 20.

     Element Financial Corp., which finances vehicle leases, jumped 3.1 percent to C$13.88, an almost two-month high, the most in the S&P/TSX Financials Index. The company yesterday reported third-quarter earnings ahead of analysts’ expectations.

     BlackBerry sank 8 percent to C$12.64, a day after rallying to the highest level since June 2013. The company yesterday entered a partnership with Samsung to provide secure mobile software solutions for Android-based devices.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, with benchmark indexes near record levels, as health-care shares sank to offset gains among energy producers and investors weighed whether the recent rally in equities may have been overdone.

     The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index lost 2 percent, led by a slump of 4 percent at Biogen Idec Inc. Energy shares trimmed a weekly decline as oil rallied from a 2010 low. Baker Hughes Inc. extended gains after confirming it is in talks with Halliburton Co. for a potential “business combination.” Amazon Inc. added 3.5 percent after ending a dispute with Hachette Book Group. Newmont Mining Corp. climbed 5 percent as the price of gold rose.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose less than one point to to 2,039.82 at 4 p.m. in New York to close at an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 18.05 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,634.74 after closing yesterday at a record. Both gauges advanced 0.4 percent in the past five days to cap a fourth week of gains. The Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.3 percent for a fifth day of gains. It rose 1.6 percent this week to a 14-year high.

     About 6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 7.4 percent below the three-month average.

     “Retail sales were good and the preponderance of the evidence is we’re continuing on the path we’ve been on which is an improving economy,” John Fox, director of research at Fenimore Asset Management in Cobleskill, New York, said in a phone interview. “All those great things are no secret, though, and that’s priced into stocks right now. The thing that gives me pause is valuations.”                        

     The S&P 500 rallied 9.5 percent from a six-month low in October to a record on Nov. 11 as corporate earnings topped estimates and economic data showed the U.S. economy was weathering a global slowdown as the Federal Reserve ended its bond-buying program. The index trades at 17 times projected earnings, its highest valuation since December 2009.

     A report from the Commerce Department today showed retail sales in October increased 0.3 percent after a 0.3 percent drop in September, as American consumers ate out and shopped for clothes, enjoying a windfall from cheaper gasoline.

     The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 86 economists projected a 0.2 percent advance. Eleven of 13 major categories showed gains, indicating broad-based growth.

     Preliminary data showed the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of consumer sentiment increased to 89.4 this month from 86.9 last month, according to another survey. The gain topped estimates in a Bloomberg survey.                      

     “People are looking for a holiday rally and may be asking if it’s happened already,” Robert Pavlik, who helps oversee $4.5 billion as chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC in New York, said by phone. “The small retail beat isn’t going to do it. We’re going to see a little pause. We can’t continue to climb up this ladder forever.”

     Concern that slowing growth outside the U.S. will hurt the economy persists. The world economy is in its worst shape in two years, with the euro area and emerging markets deteriorating and the danger of deflation rising, according to a Bloomberg Global Poll of international investors.

     Much of the concern is again focused on the euro area: Almost two-thirds of those polled said its economy was weakening while 89 percent saw disinflation or deflation as a greater threat there than inflation over the next year.                        

     U.S. stocks were little changed yesterday as better-than- estimated results from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and deals news boosted large stocks. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies tumbled 0.9 percent to halt a six-day advance as investors sold the recent rally’s biggest winners. Energy shares sank as the price of oil continued its collapse into a bear market.

     Six of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today. Energy producers rose 0.8 percent to trim a decline this week to 2 percent. U.S. crude advanced from the lowest level since 2010.

     Baker Hughes rose 1.9 percent to $59.89 after confirming that “it has engaged in preliminary discussions with Halliburton Co. regarding a potential business combination transaction.”

     The stock jumped 15 percent yesterday after people with knowledge of the matter said talks are on for one of the largest deals involving a U.S. energy company and an announcement could be made in weeks.

     Halliburton added 2.4 percent to $55.08.

     Newmont Mining gained 5 percent to $19.15 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. Gold had its best advance in a week.

     Nordstrom Inc. advanced 1.3 percent to $74.17 after the fashion retailer reported third-quarter earnings of 73 cents, topping analysts’ estimates of 71 cents.

     Nike Inc. fell 0.7 percent to $95.50. The world’s largest sporting-goods maker was lowered to neutral, or hold, from buy at Sterne Agee.

     Applied Materials Inc. rose 0.9 percent to $22.82. The largest maker of machines used to build semiconductors forecast fiscal first-quarter profit and sales that may fall short of some estimates as customers hold off on adding new capacity.

     Amazon.com Inc. advanced 3.5 percent to $327.69 as the online retailer ended a dispute with Hachette Book Group over print and digital book sales. Amazon’s dispute with Hachette focused on how much to charge for e-books and how the revenues should be shared.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

 

When water joins with water, it is not a meeting but a unification.

 

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.

                                                     -Kazuo Ishiguro, 1954-

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Reading Poetry

It’s a forgotten pleasure in our rushed days, to leaf through a slim volume of verse, perhaps while sitting in the top deck of the bus, or when resting by a tree in the city park.  Everyone should keep a book of poetry about their person.  Even to read four lines of Keats while waiting for a friend will enrich your day.  Here is Keats, for example, on the pleasures of red wine:

O for a draught of vintage!  that hath been
Cooled a long age in the deep-delvéd earth,
Tasting of  Flora and the country-green,
Dance, and Provencal song, and sunburnt mirth!

What a phrasemaker he was!  Words well chosen can fill your heart with joy.  Reject the empty clatter of the penny dreadful and keep a book of poetry on your person at all times.
-Dan Kieran and Tom Hodgkinson, The Book of Idle Pleasures, Ebury Press, 1988.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

US artist ‘Hen’ of San Francisco dances during the audiovisual performance ‘StratoFyzika’ at the 18th international festival for computer-based art ‘CYNETART 2014’ in the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden, Germany. More than 60 international artists of 20 countries have been invited to present their work. Jens Meyer/AP

Jean de Loisy, Palais de Tokyo director, hides a needle in a haystack before an art performance based on the expression ‘looking for a needle in a haystack’ at the Palais de Tokyo modern and contemporary art museum in Paris. Italian artist Sven Sachsalber will spend two days trying to find the needle in a large pile of hay. Charles Platiau/Reuters

Market Closes for November 13^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17652.79	+40.59
		+0.23%
S&P 500	2038.03	-0.22   -0.01%
NASDAQ	4680.141	+5.006   +0.11%
TSX	14780.94	-75.26
		-0.51%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17392.79	+195.74
		+1.14%
HANG SENG	24019.94	+81.76
		+0.34%
SENSEX	27940.64	-68.26
		-0.24%
FTSE 100	6635.45	+24.41
		+0.37%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.047	2.057
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.612	2.621
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3496	2.3694
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0757	3.1006

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.87888	0.88386
US $	1.13781	1.13140
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41970	0.70438
US $	1.24774	0.80145

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1161.55	1160.01
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	74.21	77.18

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, ending a six- day advance, as energy shares declined with the price of oil after U.S. supplies increased to the highest since May.

     Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. and Kelt Exploration Ltd. slumped more than 8.7 percent as the S&P/TSX Energy Index retreated the most among 10 industry groups. BlackBerry ltd. jumped 7.7 percent after entering a strategic software partnership with Samsung Electronics Co.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 75.96 points, or 0.5 percent, to 14,780.24 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index pared its increase for the year to 8.5 percent, the sixth- best performer among the world’s 24 developed markets.

     Painted Pony sank 9.6 percent to C$11.30 and Kelt Exploration tumbled 8.7 percent to C$9.66 as energy producers lost 2.4 percent as a group. Five of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX declined on trading volume 9.4 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery declined 3.9 percent to settle at $74.21 a barrel in New York, the lowest since September 2010. Oil supplies at the hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, climbed 1.7 million barrels to 22.5 million last week, the Energy Information Administration said. Brent crude extended losses below $80 a barrel to the lowest since September 2010.

     Aimia Inc., which provides loyalty programs for credit cards, plunged 9.1 percent to C$15.29, the biggest decline since March 2009. The company reported weaker-than-expected third- quarter earnings.

     BlackBerry climbed 7.7 percent to C$13.74, the highest level in more than a year. The smartphone maker will partner with Samsung to provide secure mobile software solutions for Android-based devices.

US

By Callie Bost

     Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed near record highs, as better-than-estimated results from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and corporate deals overshadowed losses in small caps and energy shares.

     Wal-Mart surged 4.7 percent to an all-time high after earnings topped forecasts. Baker Hughes Inc. rallied 15 percent after a person with knowledge of the matter said Halliburton Co. was in talks to buy it. DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. jumped 14 percent after reports Hasbro Inc. is in talks to buy the studio. Exxon Mobil Corp. paced losses in energy shares as crude sank. Microsoft Corp. passed the oil producer as the second-biggest company in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,039.33 at 4 p.m. in New York, closing less than one point from a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 40.59 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,652.79, an all-time high as Wal-Mart and Cisco Systems Inc. led gains. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller stocks sank 0.9 percent to halt a six-day rally.

     “We had a pretty big run-up within the month of November and late October and we’ve seen a slowing of the momentum recently,” Joe Bell, a Cincinnati-based senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc., said by phone. “From the context of a price standpoint, we’re due for a breather.”

     The S&P 500 retreated yesterday for the first time in six days, after rallying 9.5 percent from a six-month low in October to an all-time high as better-than-estimated corporate earnings and economic data boosted confidence the U.S. economy is weathering a global slowdown. The index trades at 17 times forward earnings, its highest valuation since December 2009.                        

     Investors sold the recent rally’s biggest winners today. The Russell 2000 had surged 13 percent over the past month through yesterday, the biggest 30-day increase since August 2009.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index climbed 5.9 percent to 13.79. The gauge of S&P 500 options prices has increased 5.1 percent this week.

     Data today showed applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than forecast last week, representing a pause from a recent run of readings close to a 14-year low.

     “The market is just churning right now, looking for an indication of which direction the future is going to take,” Peter Sorrentino, a Cincinnati-based fund manager at Huntington Asset Advisors Inc., said by phone. His firm oversees $1.8 billion. “There is no catalyst to get investors excited or to instill additional fear.”

     Four of the 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced today. Phone stocks climbed 0.7 percent, while shares in consumer-discretionary producers added 0.6 percent for the biggest gains.

     Wal-Mart rose 4.7 percent to $82.94 for its best day since 2008 and the biggest gain in the Dow. The world’s largest retailer also said U.S. same-store sales grew for the first time in seven quarters. The sales increase signals that Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon is making progress in his turnaround plan.

     “One of the positives for the market are positive reactions from retail names to earnings,” Schaeffer’s Bell said. “A lot of the consumer discretionary sector had low expectations coming into this season, but we saw positive results from Macy’s yesterday and Wal-Mart today.”

     Nordstrom Inc. advanced 2.2 percent to $74.88 in late trading after reporting revenue that topped estimates. The company finished the regular session 0.6 percent higher.

     Kohl’s Corp. slipped 3.2 percent to $56.07. The retailer reported third-quarter revenue and earnings that missed estimates and said fourth-quarter margins may be pressured.                        

     J.C. Penney plunged 8.5 percent to $7.10. The company posted an unexpected third-quarter sales decline as consumers restrained spending amid the choppy economic recovery and warmer weather hurt sales of seasonal merchandise.

     Viacom Inc. led media shares higher, rallying 2.8 percent to $71.20. The owner of Comedy Central and Spike posted revenue and earnings that beat expectations, as the latest “Transformers” film and higher fees for networks like MTV countered lower advertising sales in the U.S.

     Technology shares in the S&P 500 jumped 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 Index advanced 0.4 percent.

     Cisco rose 2.3 percent to $25.68 even after forecasting sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates. Level 3 Communications Inc. jumped 3 percent, while Apple Inc. climbed 1.4 percent for a third day of gains.

     Energy companies slid 1.3 percent as oil prices extended a selloff. The sector has plunged 15 percent since reaching a record on June 23.

     Exxon dropped 0.8 percent to $94.66. Helmerich & Payne Inc., a contract driller, slipped 6.7 percent to $79.79 for the biggest drop in the S&P 500.

     The energy sector trimmed losses after the Wall Street Journal reported the talks between Halliburton and Baker Hughes, in what would be one of the largest takeovers of a U.S. energy company in years.

     Baker Hughes surged 15 percent to $58.75. The third-largest oilfield services provider has a market capitalization of more than $25 billion. Halliburton rose 1.1 percent to $53.79.

     DreamWorks Animation surged 14 percent to $25.52. The film studio, led by Jeffrey Katzenberg, is asking for more than $30 a share from Hasbro, said one of the people. The discussions are preliminary the people said. Hasbro sank 4.3 percent to $54.98.

     Procter & Gamble Co. fell 1 percent to $88.60. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed to pay $4.7 billion in P&G shares held by Warren Buffett’s company to acquire the Duracell battery business. Berkshire Class B shares rose 0.5 percent to $146.29.

     “These M&A deals that are happening lend a lot of support to the general investment psyche,” Tom Sudyka, president of Lawson Kroeker Investment Management in Omaha, Nebraska, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees about $500 million. “Grinding higher is the best course at this point.”

 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The characteristic of my nation is this transcendentalism,

this struggle to go beyond, this daring to tear the veil off the face of nature

and have at any risk, at any price,

a glimpse of the beyond.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The moral sense, or conscience, is as much a part of man as his leg or arm.  It is given to all human beings

in a stronger or weaker degree, as force of members is given them in a greater or less degree.  It may be

strengthened by exercise, as may any particular limb of the body.

                                                                                                       -Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

NOVEMBER

It is my belief that every walk should have an objective as well as being a means of taking exercise.  The object of pre-Christmas walks can be to keep an eye open for suitable Christmas decorations, some for the house and some for the church.  We have a wonderful lane which has been walked and ridden for 2,000 years and so is haunted by ghosts of the past and full of good things in its hedges.  Luckily no monster hedging-machine has yet been that way to spoil the growth of blackberries, wild roses, old man’s beard and hazel nuts.  Traditionally the evergreens for Christmas are holly and ivy to provide red and black berries, and mistletoe with its white translucent berries.  These also bring good fortune and protection in the coming year.  Mistletoe, or Kiss-and-Go, grown on apple and poplar trees, is the best for good luck.  In Herefordshire a hundred years ago one third of all the apple trees had mistletoe growing on them.  Each New Year’s Eve a bough was picked and hung indoors as the clock struck twelve, the piece from the previous year being taken down and burnt.  In nearby Worcestershire the chosen mistletoe branch was decked with nuts and ripe apples, tied with a ribbon and hung in the middle of the room.  The just-marrieds would kiss under it and pick a berry, and then they would be blessed with a baby before next Christmas.  –Rosemary Verey, A Countrywoman’s Notes, foreward by H.R.H The Prince of Wales, 2009.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Crowds watch as volunteers in the castle moat remove ceramic poppies as work begins to dismantle the art installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ at the Tower of London in London. Toby Melville/Reuters

French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) president Jean-Yves Le Gall, French President Francois Hollande, and former French minister and astronaut Claudie Haignere, wear 3D glasses as they visit the Cite des Sciences at La Villette during a broadcast of the Rosetta mission as it orbits around comet 67/P Churyumov-Gersimenko in Paris. Jacques Brinon/AP

Market Closes for November 12^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17612.20	-2.70
		-0.02%
S&P 500	2038.25	-1.43   -0.07%
NASDAQ	4675.137	+14.581   +0.31%
TSX	14856.20	+95.93
		+0.65%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17197.05	+72.94
		+0.43%
HANG SENG	23938.18	+129.90
		+0.55%
SENSEX	28008.90	+98.84
		+0.35%
FTSE 100	6611.04	-16.36
		-0.25%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.057	2.058
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.621	2.615
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3694	2.3568
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1006	3.0894

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88386	0.87911
US $	1.13140	1.13751
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40726	0.71060
US $	1.24383	0.80397

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1160.01	1151.90
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	77.18	77.40

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a sixth day, the longest run since June, as gold mining and energy companies climbed and the nation’s largest banks rallied to a seven-week high.

     Detour Gold Corp. and Semafo Inc. climbed more than 3.1 percent as gold shares rose a second day. Legacy Oil & Gas Inc. and BlackPearl Resources Inc. gained at least 5.3 percent to pace an advance among energy companies. Loblaw Cos. surged to a nine-year high after posting better-than-expected earnings on growing sales.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 95.93 points, or 0.7 percent, to 14,856.20 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest close since Sept. 30. The index has increased 3.2 percent in the past six days.

     Toronto-Dominion Bank increased 1 percent to C$57 and Royal Bank of Canada advanced 0.6 percent to C$82.25 as the S&P/TSX Banks Index posted a third straight gain, closing at the highest level since Sept. 24.

     Loblaw jumped 3.4 percent to C$60.10, the highest close since December 2005, to lead a 1.4 percent advance in the S&P/TSX Consumer Staples Index. The grocer posted increasing year-over-year sales and cost savings after the addition of pharmacy company Shoppers Drug Mart. The company also said it will open 84 Joe Fresh clothing retailers in Mexico and Central America.

     Detour Gold gained 3.1 percent to C$8.67 and Semafo soared 3.6 percent to C$3.17. The S&P/TSX Gold Index rose 0.3 percent for a second day of gains as 17 of 24 members advanced.

     Nine of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX rose on trading volume 3.8 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Brent crude for December settlement lost 1.6 percent to $80.38 a barrel in London to decline for a third day. The price earlier fell below $80 a barrel for the first time in four years. OPEC said its production dropped by 226,400 barrels a day to 30.253 million in October, the biggest decrease since March.  West Texas Intermediate also fell.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index halted a five-day rally, while small-cap shares rose to the highest level since July, as gains among phone and consumer stocks offset losses in utilities and growing concern over slowing growth in Europe.

     Exelon Corp. led utility shares to the biggest drop since June as the U.S. and China agreed on new carbon cuts to fight climate change. Bank shares slumped 0.5 percent after regulators in Europe and the U.S. fined six lenders to settle a probe into the rigging of foreign-exchange benchmarks. Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. climbed at least 0.9 percent. Macy’s Inc. added 5.1 percent after posting a gain in profit last quarter.

     The S&P 500 lost 0.1 percent to 2,038.25 at 4 p.m. in New York, trimming an earlier drop of 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.7 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 17,612.20. Both gauges closed at all-time highs yesterday. About 5.9 billion shares traded hands today, 8.7 percent below the three-month average.

     The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 percent to the highest since March 2000, while the Russell 2000 Index of small companies added 0.6 percent to cap a six-day rally, its longest since June. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility index, the gauge of options prices known as the VIX, added 0.8 percent to 13.02.

     “There was some nervousness at first out of Europe but as often is the case some of that’s fading as European markets close and we don’t see any real earnings blowups or economic data that’s hurt the market,” Steve Bombardiere, an equity trader at Conifer Securities LLC in New York, said by phone. “As it happens very often, we see a dip and people buy in, there’s still some fear in the market that if you don’t buy in, you’re left watching.”

     The S&P 500 had gained for five straight sessions, bringing its advance from a six-month low in October to 9.5 percent, as better-than-estimated corporate earnings and economic data boosted confidence the U.S. economy is weathering a global slowdown. The Dow’s decline today halted a six-day streak.

     The broader index fell as much as 9.8 percent from a September record on increasing signs that European growth was slowing at the same time the Federal Reserve was ending its monthly bond purchases.

     Concerns that European struggles may weigh on the U.S. economy were stoked today after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney unveiled lower U.K. growth and inflation forecasts as officials adjusted to account for “moribund” global expansion and stagnation in Europe.

     “Europe is doing everything it can to rev up their economies but the problem with Europe is it’s so fractured that you can’t get them to work together,” Joe Franklin, president of Franklin Wealth Management in Hixson, Tennessee. “The main issue is these countries need to work together.                        

     European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s move to quantitative easing has met resistance from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has advocated fiscal discipline across the euro area. Last week, Draghi stoked investor speculation that he’ll intensify stimulus for the euro area after indicating he has the backing of policy makers to do so.

     Investors are also watching developments in Ukraine, where the country’s defense minister said the military should prepare for clashes, as growing tensions in the nation’s eastern combat zone threatened to boil over into open conflict.

     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 1.1 percent today.

     Data in the U.S. today showed September wholesale inventories increased faster than estimated.

     Six of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today, with phone shares rising 0.8 percent to pace gains.

     Utilities sank 2 percent to lead declines, with Exelon sliding 3.5 percent to $35.93. The group has rallied 19 percent this year, the second-most in the index.

     President Barack Obama pledged deeper U.S. cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions and China will for the first time set a target for capping carbon emissions. Electricity generation is responsible for about a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

     Citigroup declined 0.7 percent to $53.42 and JPMorgan Chase & Co. slipped 1.3 percent to $60.56 after regulators fined them about $1 billion each. Bank of America dropped 0.2 percent to $17.29.

     Banks and individuals could still face further penalties and litigation following the 13-month probe into allegations dealers at the biggest banks colluded with counterparts at other firms to rig benchmarks used by fund managers to determine what they pay for foreign currency.

     JM Smucker dropped 3.5 percent to $100.38. The seller of peanut butter to coffee and pickles cut its forecast for adjusted earnings in its current fiscal year.

     Retailers of consumer durables and apparel gained 1.1 percent amid corporate earnings results. Macy’s jumped 5.1 percent to $61.57 after posting a 23 percent gain in net income last quarter.

     Fossil Group Inc. jumped 8.4 percent to $112.48 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The company announced a $1-billion share repurchase plan. The watchmaker posted third-quarter earnings of $1.96 a share, exceeding the average analyst projection of $1.82.

     Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. rallied 33 percent to $13.12. BB&T, North Carolina’s second-largest bank, agreed to buy the lender for a premium of about 39 percent over yesterday’s closing price. BB&T Corp. slipped 1.7 percent to $37.67.

     ADT Corp. jumped 3.1 percent to $36.77. The electronic security service company reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The fact that there are so many men still alive in the world

shows that it is based not on the force of arms but on the force of truth or love.

Therefore, the greatest and most impeachable evidence of the success of this force

is to be found in the fact that, in spite of all the wars of the world,

it still lives on.

Mahatma Gandhi

 

As  ever,

 

Carolann

 

I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate.

                   -Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Gillian Tett, in her most recent weekend column in the Financial Times, described  the wedding of Robert Hormats to Catherine Azmoodeh as being “memorable for many reasons, not least of which  a bride and groom so besotted they repeatedly declared their love to the glitzy crowd” ( Hormats is a former high-ranking official in the administration of US President Barack Obama).  She writes:  “But the most striking moment arose when, halfway through the ceremony, the bride’s father, whose family comes originally from Tehran stepped forward and read an extract from a poem in Persian. 

Az mohabbat talkh-ha shirin shaved
Az mohabbat mes-ha zarrin shaved
Az mohabbat dord-ha safi shaved
Az mohabbat dard-ha shafi shaved.

He then translated:

By love, the bitter becomes sweet;
By love, copper becomes gold;
By love, dregs become clear,
By love, pains become healing.

         -by the 13^th-century Muslim scholar and philosopher from the mystical Sufi tradition, Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

…Perhaps it is time to include some Rumi poetry not just at weddings but also on the syllabus of American and European schools; if for nothing else than to show western children that there is far more to Islam than the tragedies the see on their screens.”

“Sesame Street” premiered on this day in 1969. The show was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. Today Sesame Street is broadcasted in more than 120 countries and has reached more than 82 million children.

Also on this day, in 1983, Bill Gates unveiled a new computer operating system – Windows 1.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Turks stand for a minute of silence as the Turkish Stars, the Turkish army’s aerobatic demonstration team, shape a heart over the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, hero of the War of Independence and founding father of the modern Turkish Republic at 9:05 a.m., marking the 76th anniversary of his death, in Ankara, Turkey. AP

The view from the new glass floor of the viewing platform as people and cars pass below, as members of the media are among the first people to tour the new viewing platform with a newly installed glass floor, atop Tower Bridge in London, 138 feet above the River Thames. The one million pound improvement to install the glass floor will allow visitors a view of the road and ships passing below as the historic bridge lifts its roadway to allow tall ships to pass underneath. John Stillwell/AP

Market Closes for November 10^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17613.74	+39.81
		+0.23%
S&P 500	2036.53	+4.61   +0.23%
NASDAQ	4651.617	+19.085   +0.41%
TSX	14692.87	+2.04
		+0.01%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16780.53	-99.85
		-0.59%
HANG SENG	23744.70	+194.46
		+0.83%
SENSEX	27874.73	+6.10
		+0.02%
FTSE 100	6611.25	+44.01
		+0.67%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.058	2.027
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.615	2.594
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3568	2.2976
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0894	3.0280

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.87911	0.88278
US $	1.13751	1.13279
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41301	0.70771
US $	1.24220	0.80502

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1151.90	1177.98
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	77.40	78.65

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a fourth day, extending a one-month high, as gains at BlackBerry Inc. and among financial shares overshadowed a slump in commodity producers.

     Sun Life Financial Inc. and IGM Financial Inc. added at least 2 percent to pace gains among financial services firms.  Detour Gold Corp. and Silver Standard Resources Inc. sank more than 8.8 percent as metals prices declined. Trilogy Energy Corp. and Athabasca Oil Corp. tumbled at least 7.1 percent as crude slipped on speculation OPEC is in no hurry to cut output. BlackBerry advanced 5.8 percent as Chief Executive Officer John Chen seeks partnerships in China.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 18.97 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,709.80 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has increased 2.2 percent in the past four days.

     Data today showed housing starts in Canada dropped unexpectedly to 183,600 in October from 197,400 the previous month as both urban and rural construction slowed. Analysts had forecast 200,000 starts.

     Cott Corp. rallied 3.1 percent to C$7.43 and Loblaw Cos. gained 2.4 percent to C$58.55 as consumer staples stocks climbed 1.9 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX. Eight of 10 industries increased on trading volume in line with the 30-day average.

     Raw-materials producers slumped 2.8 percent as a group, while energy producers tumbled 1 percent. The two groups together account for about a third of the S&P/TSX.

     The S&P/TSX Gold Index sank 5.7 percent as 23 of 24 members retreated. Gold prices slid 0.9 percent in New York after reaching a four-year low last week.

     Athabasca Oil dropped 7.1 percent to C$3.29 and Trilogy Energy retreated 7.2 percent to C$13.95. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 1.6 percent to $77.40 a barrel in New York, while Brent settled at a four-year low. Kuwait’s oil minister said he doesn’t expect OPEC to trim production at the group’s next meeting in Vienna on Nov. 27.

     BlackBerry rallied 5.8 percent to C$12.63, the highest since June 2013. BlackBerry CEO Chen met with the heads of Xiaomi Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd. and is interested in growing the business there, he said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Beijing. Chen took over the struggling smartphone maker last November.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index extending an all-time high, as investors watched corporate results and speculated the economy is strong enough to withstand a global slowdown.

     Dean Foods Co. rallied 14 percent after reporting profit that topped forecasts. Toll Brothers Inc. climbed 2.3 percent to lead homebuilders higher after saying it expects to report sales that beat analysts’ estimates. Time Warner Cable Inc. and Comcast Corp. dropped at least 4 percent after President Barack Obama called for rules protecting an open Internet. Dendreon Corp. sank 81 percent after the maker of a prostate-cancer drug filed for bankruptcy.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,038.26 at 4 p.m. in New York for a fourth day of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 39.81 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,613.74, a record after five straight advances.

     “The numbers in the third quarter showed a steady economy, we continue to have oil below $80, consumers feeling confident, low interest rates, and that’s a combination that works well for stocks,” Mark Kepner, an equity trader at Chatham, New Jersey- based Themis Trading LLC, said by phone. “Central banks have also been quite accommodative in what they’ve been saying and it seems to be working.”

     U.S. companies added 230,000 workers to payrolls in October, ADP Research Institute reported last week. The jobless rate unexpectedly fell to a six-year low, even as more people entered the labor forcer. Earlier this month, The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index climbed to the second-highest level since 2008, as West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to below $80 for the first time since 2009.

     The S&P 500 has rebounded 9.4 percent from a six-month low on Oct. 15 amid better-than-estimated corporate results and economic data indicating the economy is strong enough to overcome any effects from a global slowdown and the end of Federal Reserve bond buying. The index rose 0.7 percent last week for a third straight gain and closed Nov. 7 at a record.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility index fell 3.4 percent to 12.67. The gauge of S&P 500 options has fallen 9.7 percent this month.

     Last week’s rally “celebrated the fundamentals” as earnings and economic data point to “sustainability” of the expansion, John Stoltzfus, Oppenheimer & Co. chief market strategist, wrote in a note to investors today.

     Stoltzfus raised his year-end target for the S&P 500 to 2,080 from 2,014, implying a 2.4 percent gain from Nov. 7. The median target of strategists in a Bloomberg survey was 2,040.

     Cisco Systems Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are among S&P 500 companies that report earnings this week. Of those that have posted results so far, 80 percent beat estimates for profit and 60 percent topped sales estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     “There is no downward pressure and people are waiting for another leg upwards,” Herbert Perus, who helps oversee $36 billion as head of equities at Raiffeisen Capital Management in Vienna, said in a phone interview. “One of the triggers could be the company news out this week with quarterly figures from Cisco and Wal-Mart.”

     Eight of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today, with health-care stocks rebounding to gain 1 percent. Energy shares sank 0.8 percent as oil resumed a selloff.

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average added 1.3 percent to a record, with JetBlue Airways Corp. leading gains as crude oil futures lost 1.7 percent.

     An S&P index of homebuilders rallied 1.3 percent. Lennar Corp. surged 1.7 percent to the highest since June 2007, and PulteGroup Inc. added 1.8 percent as nine of 11 members in the gauge advanced.

     Dean Foods advanced 14 percent, the most in two years, to $16.40 after reporting third-quarter revenue of $2.37 billion, compared with the consensus analyst estimate of $2.35 billion.

     Abercrombie & Fitch Co. retreated 2.8 percent to $28.69 after Oppenheimer & Co. downgraded the shares to market perform, or hold, from outperform, or buy.

     Time Warner Cable lost 4.9 percent to $136.50 and Comcast fell 4 percent to $52.95. Obama called for the “strongest possible rules” to protect the open Internet, saying there shouldn’t be “fast lanes” and that high-speed service should be regulated.

     Dendreon sank 81 percent to 18 cents. The maker of Provenge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, potentially wiping out shareholders.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is quite evident that our world is useful and that it provides for our needs,

but our connection to it does not end there.

We are united to it by a connection much larger and more truthful than that of necessity.

Our soul is drawn to it; our love of life is in reality a desire in us to seek our connection with this universe.

And this connection is love.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Encourage all your virtuous dispositions, and exercise them whenever

an opportunity arises; being assured that they will gain strength by exercise,

as a limb of the body does, and that exercise will make them habitual.

                                                  -Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Life admits not of delays; when pleasure can be had, it is fit to catch it.  –Dr. Johnson.

An idea for an autumn day…from The Book of Idle Pleasures, edited by Tom Hodgkinson & Dan Kieran, (Ebury Press):

Leaf Catching

The first autumn leaves are beginning to flutter down around my house, signaling the start of a traditional family ritual.  To ensure good luck for the next twelve months it is important that, when autumn winds are blowing, we go outside and catch – or try to catch – twelve falling leaves.  It sounds easy, but twisting, spiraling, flying leaves are not easy to snatch out of the air.  And the competition for extra colourful or nice-shaped specimens can be fierce when a flurry of them whiz past, making for excellent and sometimes quite violent sport.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Strollers make their way through the vineyards near Fellbach, southern Germany. Sebastian Kahnert/AP

People walk between luminous white balloons along the former route of the Berlin Wall, in Berlin, Germany. They are part of the project ‘Lichtgrenze 2014’ on occasion of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989. Markus Schreiber/AP

Market Closes for November 7^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17573.93	+19.46
		+0.11%
S&P 500	2031.92	+0.71   +0.03%
NASDAQ	4632.531	-5.938   -0.13%
TSX	14690.83	+127.45
		+0.88%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16880.38	+87.90
		+0.52%
HANG SENG	23550.24	-99.07
		-0.42%
SENSEX	27868.63	-47.25
		-0.17%
FTSE 100	6567.24	+16.09
		+0.25%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.027	2.084
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.594	2.639
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2976	2.3847
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0280	3.1014

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.88278	0.87542
US $	1.13279	1.14231
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40906	0.70970
US $	1.24388	0.80393

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1177.98	1141.59
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	78.65	77.91

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a third day, to a one-month high, as unemployment rates in both Canada and the U.S. unexpectedly fell to a six-year low last month and gold and crude producers rallied.

     Kinross Gold Corp. and Detour Gold Corp. rallied at least 12 percent as gold producers increased the most in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index. Raging River Exploration Inc. jumped 13 percent on better-than-projected earnings. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. and Enerplus Corp. gained as crude advanced.

     The S&P/TSX rose 127.45 points, or 0.9 percent, to 14,690.83 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest close since Oct. 6. The index has rallied for four weeks, the longest streak since March, rebounding 5.9 percent from a low on Oct. 15.

     Canada’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.5 percent in October, compared with 6.8 percent the previous month, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Employment rose by 43,100 after a jump of 74,100 in September on hiring led by retailers and financial companies.

     Employment gains in the U.S. exceeded 200,000 for a ninth straight month in October and the jobless rate declined to 5.8 percent, even as more people entered the labor force.

     Kinross jumped 12 percent to C$2.84 for a second day of gains and Detour Gold advanced 28 percent to C$8.27, the most in six years, as raw-materials producers climbed 4.7 percent as a group. Gold for December delivery rose 2.4 percent to $1,169.80 an ounce in New York, the most since June. The metal fell in the previous seven sessions.

     Four of 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge advanced today on trading volume in line with the 30-day average.

     Raging River rose 13 percent to C$8.39, its biggest increase ever, after boosting its 2014 production guidance. Penn West added 5.8 percent to C$4.89 and Enerplus rallied 10 percent to C$16.74. The S&P/TSX Energy Index increased 2.3 percent.

     West Texas Intermediate increased 0.9 percent to settle at $78.65 in New York, paring a weekly decline to 2.3 percent.  Prices are down 20 percent for the year.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Oliver Renick

     Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks held at all-time highs as a report showed companies hired fewer workers than forecast while the jobless rate dropped to a six-year low, supporting speculation the economy is withstanding an overseas slowdown.

     Energy stocks rallied as Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. and Newfield Exploration Co. climbed more than 3 percent. Sears Holdings Corp. soared 31 percent on plans to explore the sale and leaseback of 200 to 300 stores. Walt Disney Co. slid 2.2 percent after it reported profit fell at TV networks. Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. tumbled 34 percent after its chief financial officer resigned.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added less than 0.1 percent to 2,031.92 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 19.46 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,573.93. Both gauges closed at records. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.1 percent.

     “We’re moving toward pause mode and a period of digestion following the rally of the past few weeks,” Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $120 billion, said by phone. “The market rallied in expectation of a generally positive employment report, which occurred with non-farm payrolls over 200,000. But average wages being flat implies the pace of growth is somewhat slow, so valuations may increasingly become an issue.”

     While employment gains exceeded 200,000 for a ninth straight month in October, the 214,000 increase fell short of the 235,000 forecast by economists. The result followed a 256,000 advance the prior month that was more than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today.

     The jobless rate declined to 5.8 percent, even as more people entered the labor force, boosting the share of the population working to the highest in five years. Steadfast hiring signals employers are confident domestic demand will hold up in the face of struggling European and emerging economies.

     “We’ve seen a shift away from ‘will we grow?’ to one of ‘how fast will we grow?” Jeff Korzenik, the Chicago-based chief investment strategist at Fifth Third Bancorp., said a phone interview. The firm oversees $26 billion. Today’s payrolls report “is moderately disappointing in terms of the pace of growth, but there is no question that this is evidence of continued growth.”

     The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent this week, a third straight gain, after election results shifted control of the Senate from Democrats to Republicans and the European Central Bank vowed to increase stimulus efforts if needed.                       

     Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said central banks must do whatever it takes if governments won’t use the public purse to invigorate economies struggling with low growth and below- target inflation.

     “Central banks need to be prepared to employ all available tools, including unconventional policies, to support economic growth and reach their inflation targets,” Yellen said in the text to be delivered today at a Bank of France event in Paris.

     The S&P 500 has rebounded more than 9 percent from a six- month low on Oct. 15 as companies beat analysts’ earnings estimates at the fastest pace in four years. Of the S&P 500 members that have reported their latest quarterly results, 80 percent topped profit projections, while 60 percent beat sales estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index slipped 4 percent to 13.12, the lowest level since Sept. 19. The gauge of S&P 500 options prices dropped 6.5 percent this week.

     Seven out of the 10 major industries in the S&P 500 advanced today. Utilities shares rose the most, adding 1 percent. The energy sector rose 0.9 percent as oil prices climbed from near a three-year low. Health-care companies dropped 0.9 percent for the biggest losses.

     Sears soared 31 percent to $42.81. The selected outlets would be sold to a newly formed real-estate investment trust, the company said in a statement. The retailer last month announced a rights offering in a bid to raise capital that will give it time to return to profitability.

     King Digital Entertainment Plc rallied 4 percent to $13.72. While total sales fell 17 percent to $514.4 million from a year earlier, they beat analyst estimates for $491.1 million. Forty- nine percent of third-quarter bookings came from games other than Candy Crush, compared with 41 percent a year earlier.

     Disney dropped 2.2 percent to $90 after saying profit fell at TV networks, its biggest division. The world’s largest entertainment company said profit excluding some items rose to 89 cents a share, beating the 88-cent average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

     First Solar Inc. retreated 11 percent to $50.29. Profit slipped in the third quarter as the largest U.S. photovoltaic panel manufacturer seeks to land new orders for power plants to replace the giant desert projects that led to record sales last year.

     Salix tumbled 34 percent to $91.47. The drugmaker said Chief Financial Officer Adam Derbyshire resigned, and the audit committee will review the way the company characterized wholesale inventory. Salix also cut its profit and net product revenue forecasts for this year, according to an earnings report yesterday.

     Health-care companies had the largest declines today. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider a challenge to the subsidies that are a linchpin of President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul, accepting a case that suddenly puts the law under a new legal cloud.

     Health insurers, which have gained millions of new customers through the law, sank. UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc. and Aetna Inc. fell at least 2.7 percent. Hospitals, which must absorb costs when patients are uninsured, also dropped, with HCA Holdings Inc. and Tenet Healthcare Corp. sliding at least 4.7 percent.
 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

There is one God and He

is the enemy of no one.

Guru Nanak

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A compliment is something like a kiss through a veil.

                                    –Victor Hugo, 1802-1885

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Full moon tonight!  Enjoy the beauty.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A full moon rises seen from a hilltop overlooking the Syrian city of Kobani, outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border. Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, and its surrounding areas, has been under assault by extremists of the Islamic State group since mid-September and is being defended by Kurdish fighters. Vadim Ghirda/AP

A murmuration of starlings put on a display near the town of Gretna, Scotland. Owen Humphreys/AP

Market Closes for November 6^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17554.47	+69.94
		+0.40%
S&P 500	2031.21	+7.64   +0.38%
NASDAQ	4638.469	+17.746   +0.38%
TSX	14563.38	+15.12
		+0.10%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16792.48	-144.84
		-0.86%
HANG SENG	23649.31	-46.31
		-0.20%
SENSEX	27915.88	+55.50
		+0.20%
FTSE 100	6551.15	+12.01
		+0.18%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.084	2.050
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.639	2.599
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3847	2.3424
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1014	3.0590

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.87542	0.87793
US $	1.14231	1.13905
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41337	0.70753
US $	1.23728	0.80822

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1141.59	1140.85
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	77.91	78.68

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day, after gaining the most in two weeks yesterday, as Air Canada and Kinross Gold Corp. rallied on better-than-forecast earnings.

     Air Canada soared 5.4 percent as earnings topped estimates on fuller planes and expanding routes. Kinross rallied the most in six years as sales advanced. Cott Corp. added 3.5 percent after agreeing to buy DSS Group Inc. for about $1.25 billion to expand into new markets. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. plunged 8.4 percent after the engineering firm reduced its annual profit outlook and said it will cut 4,000 jobs.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 15.12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,563.38 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has rebounded 5 percent from a low on Oct. 15.

     Investors weighed comments by Mario Draghi on the European Central Bank’s stimulus plans. Draghi, speaking at a press conference in Frankfurt, said policy makers were unanimous on the use of more stimulus if needed as the ECB held benchmark interest rates unchanged at record lows.

     Canada building permits rose in September, led by gains in Toronto, by 12.7 percent to C$7.5 billion ($6.58 billion) after a 27.3 percent drop in August, Statistics Canada said. Economists had forecast a 5 percent gain.

     Cott, a maker of private-label soft drinks and ice teas, rose 3.5 percent to C$7.15, paring an earlier gain of as much as 16 percent. The deal accelerates Cott’s strategy of diversifying beyond carbonated drinks and juices and extends the company’s distribution channel beyond large retail and supermarket stores.

     Seven of 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge advanced today on trading volume in line with the 30-day average.

     SNC, the Montreal-based engineering services company, sank 8.4 percent to C$42.34, the biggest drop in more than two years. The job cuts, which will mostly be outside of Canada, will cost the company C$300 million over the next 18 months. The move comes as slowing economic growth in some emerging markets compounds a global mining slump.

     Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. slumped 9.1 percent and Penn West Petroleum Ltd. lost 2.5 percent as crude futures slid for a fifth time in six days after OPEC cut forecasts for the amount of oil it needs to supply.

     Kinross surged 12 percent to C$2.54, the strongest rally since November 2008. Kinross posted earnings and sales ahead of analysts’ projections in the third quarter, and said 2014 production is expected to come in at the high end.

     Iamgold Corp. climbed 12 percent to C$1.96 and Barrick Gold Corp. increased 3.6 percent to C$12.97. The S&P/TSX Materials Index advanced 1.9 percent, the most in the broader gauge.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to records, as the European Central Bank vowed to increase stimulus efforts if needed and a drop in American jobless claims bolstered optimism in the economy.

     Tesla Motors Inc. rose 4.4 percent as it predicted “several years” of 50 percent sales growth amid a surge in orders. Whole Foods Market Inc. rose 12 percent after posting better-than-forecast quarterly profit. Genworth Financial Inc. plunged 38 percent as the insurer predicted a tougher path ahead after a record loss. Qualcomm Inc. slid 8.6 percent after saying a Chinese government probe will curb profit.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.4 percent to 2,031.21 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 69.94 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,554.47. About 6.8 billion listed shares changed hands in the U.S., about 6 percent higher than the three-month daily average.

     “The policy and macro news were both positive, and that’s giving the market something of a positive bias as we go through the day,” Alan Gayle, who helps oversee about $50 billion as a senior strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management, said in a phone interview from Atlanta. “Outside of the U.S., other major players are taking aggressive policy steps to stabilize and re- accelerate growth, and that’s putting a floor under the equity markets.”

     Draghi faces pressure to do more to support a slowing euro- area economy after the Bank of Japan last week unexpectedly boosted its stimulus plan. Draghi said policy makers will be ready to implement further stimulus measures if needed as he signaled officials may cut growth forecasts next month. ECB officials were unanimous on more stimulus if needed, Draghi told reporters today after keeping interest rates unchanged.

     In stressing unanimity, Draghi is seeking to smooth over divisions in his own ranks about the precise way the ECB can aid the economy more, as pessimism about the outlook builds. While the central bank is already expanding its range of asset purchases, it has yet to commit to broad-based bond buying, or quantitative easing.

     The S&P 500 and Dow climbed to records yesterday after election results shifted control of the Senate from Democrats to Republicans while a report showed improvement in the labor market.

     The benchmark index has rebounded 9.1 percent from a six- month low on Oct. 15. S&P 500 companies are beating analysts’ earnings estimates at the fastest pace in four years, while recent economic data have pointed to improvements in the U.S. labor market and consumer sentiment.                        

     First-time jobless claims dropped 10,000 to a three-week low of 278,000 in the week ended Nov. 1, the Labor Department reported today. The median forecast of 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 285,000. The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure of job cuts, reached the lowest level in more than 14 years.

     Labor Department figures tomorrow may show nonfarm payrolls rose 235,000 last month and that the jobless rate probably held at a six-year low.

     Of the S&P 500 members that have reported their latest quarterly results, 80 percent topped profit projections, while 60 percent beat sales estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.                         

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge known as the VIX, fell 3.5 percent to 13.67. The measure surged to 26.25 on Oct. 15 before declining 47 percent through the end of the month.

     The S&P 500 Industrials Index rose for a third day, adding 1.1 percent. Deere & Co. and Agco Corp. climbed more than 2.4 percent amid speculation that the companies will benefit from tax credits following yesterday’s midterm election. The likelihood that two expired tax credits may be retroactively renewed in late 2014 could soften a sales decline for machinery companies like Deere and Agco, according to Bloomberg Industries analysts Caitlin Webber and Karen Ubelhart.

     Tesla rose 4.4 percent after projecting to sell 50,000 Model S cars in 2015. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said Tesla is accelerating production and sees 50 percent growth next year lasting “probably for several years.”

     Whole Foods rallied 12 percent. Fiscal fourth-quarter profit topped analysts’ estimates as the grocery-store chain slashed prices to win over bargain-hunting shoppers.

     Gauges of utilities and telecommunications shares declined more than 0.8 percent for the biggest losses among the 10 main industries in the S&P 500. Energy shares rose even as West Texas Intermediate crude slid 1 percent to $77.91. Oil touched the lowest price in three years earlier this week.

     Genworth plunged 38 percent, the most since the financial crisis in 2008. The company yesterday posted a quarterly loss of $844 million, driven by costs tied to its long-term care insurance operation.

     “The turnaround in this business will be more difficult and prolonged,” Chief Executive Officer Tom McInerney said in a statement. “Despite this setback, we remain steadfast in our commitment to transform this business.”

     Qualcomm slid 8.6 percent. A previously disclosed investigation by China’s antitrust regulator into its business practices will hurt sales and profit next year. The chipmaker also said U.S. and European regulators are conducting inquiries related to its licensing and phone-chip businesses.

     The S&P 500 Utilities Index lost 1.8 percent. AES Corp. was the biggest decliner in the group, falling 6.4 percent. The electrical power generator and distributor reported third- quarter sales that fell short of consensus analyst estimates.
 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The whole universe is to us a writing of the Infinite in the language of the finite.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.

                                                             -Roy Disney, 1930-2009

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

November

Why do people spend so much time and energy with the leaf-sweeper?  Here we don’t make bonfires with the fallen leaves – this would be like burning gold dust.  They are gathered tidily into heaps contained by wire netting to make glorious leaf-mould all ready, a year hence, to be spread on the beds and borders.  Three nights ago we had our first hard frost.  The results next morning were beautiful carpets of colour under the horse chestnuts, the plane trees, the gingkos and red-leafed maples.  These carpets are transitory, staying only until the wind swirls them on or the leaf-sweeper gets busy, so I know I must enjoy them while they last, just like the summer scents.  Last night a great wind from the west woke me with the sound of rattling windows and in the morning I saw that the grey-leafed poplar was leafless and so were two willows and the walnut.  The top branches of the lime trees were bare but the oaks and beech and sorbus had managed to cling on to their leaves.  There must be a scientific reason why clipped beech hedges will often hang on to their leaves until springtime, while the beech trees will shed them.  Does the act of clipping reduce their stamina and food supply?  Each leaf cut off in its prime must be robbing the plant of some goodness, so it could be a natural protective measure to enable them to retain every possible remaining nutrient.  Whatever the reason the beauty of the brown beech leaves remains as a lovely bonus in our winter months.

                                                                                  -from a Countrywoman’s Notes  by Rosemary Verey, Forward by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, Gryffon Publications, Barnsley, Gloucestershire, 1989.

One of my clients in Toronto sent me this photo of the view from his window this past week:

 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man with his hair dyed bright red works near a giant poppy decoration for Remembrance Day at Kings Cross Station in London.Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

An aerial view shows the French World War One Military Cemetery at Notre Dame de Lorette memorial in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, northern France. The cemetery is the largest French military cemetery with more than 40,000 soldiers buried here. The ground was the place of a series of long and bloody battles between the French, the Allies and German armies, named as the Three Battles of Artois (September 1914- October 1915). Pascal Rossignol/Reuters

Market Closes for November 5^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17484.53	+100.69
		+0.58%
S&P 500	2023.57	+11.47   +0.57%
NASDAQ	4620.723	-2.915   -0.06%
TSX	14548.26	+157.83
		+1.10%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16937.32	+74.85
		+0.44%
HANG SENG	23695.62	-150.04
		-0.63%
SENSEX	27915.88	+55.50
		+0.20%
FTSE 100	6539.14	+85.17
		+1.32%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.050	2.029
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.599	2.577
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3424	2.3353
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0590	3.0486

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.87793	0.87669
US $	1.13905	1.14066
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42198	0.70325
US $	1.24839	0.80103

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1140.85	1168.45
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	78.68	77.19

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rebounded from a two- week low as TransCanada Corp. paced a rally in energy shares on speculation a Republican victory in U.S. elections enhances prospects for the Keystone XL pipeline.

     TransCanada advanced 3 percent as a top priority for Republicans will be to send President Barack Obama a bill to authorize the proposed $8 billion (C$9.11 billion) cross-border pipeline. Energy shares rebounded from a near one-year low. Linamar Corp. surged 11 percent after posting better-than- projected earnings. Avigilon Corp., the surveillance equipment maker, jumped 31 percent as profit improved.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 157.83 points, or 1.1 percent, to 14,548.26 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, for the biggest increase since Oct. 23. The index has rebounded 4.9 percent from a low on Oct. 15.

     Statistics Canada boosted its second-quarter economic growth estimate today to a 3.6 percent annualized pace from 3.1 percent in August, part of annual revisions dating back to 2011. The expansion in the quarter was the fastest since 2011.

     Republicans have picked up at least seven Senate seats after yesterday’s mid-term elections, positioning Mitch McConnell as the next majority leader.

     TransCanada, the pipeline operator, gained 3 percent to C$56.86, the highest close in a month. TransCanada has been waiting since 2008 for a U.S. decision on the pipeline that would carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands across the border to Gulf Coast refineries.

     While most senators support the proposed Keystone pipeline, the Senate under a Democratic majority hasn’t held a binding vote on the subject since 2012. The Republican-held House has repeatedly voted in favor of construction.

     Eight of the 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge advanced today on trading volume 9.3 percent above the 30- day average.

     Whitecap Resources Inc. added 7.3 percent to C$14.83 and Canyon Services Group Inc. increased 9.3 percent to C$10.68 as the S&P/TSX Energy Index rebounded 2.9 percent. Lightstream Resources Ltd. rose 7.3 percent to snap eight days of losses. The stock plummeted 32 percent in that time.

     Keyera Corp. surged 5.1 percent to C$91.95 as earnings topped analysts’ estimates. The natural gas processing company said it will spend C$700 million to C$800 million in each of 2014 and 2015 on growth capital investment, excluding acquisitions.

     Linamar, the auto parts maker, jumped 11 percent to C$63.62, the biggest increase since May, to lead a 2.2 percent gain in consumer discretionary stocks. Competitors Magna International Inc. added 5.9 percent and Martinrea International Inc. rose 6.4 percent.

     Pretium Resources Inc. sank 6.8 percent to C$5.07 and Detour Gold Corp. dropped 13 percent to C$6.15. Gold extended a decline with silver to the lowest levels since 2010.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to records, as Republicans won their first Senate majority in eight years and a report showed companies added more workers last month than economists forecast.

     Alpha Natural Resources Inc. and Peabody Energy Corp. paced gains in coal producers amid expectations that Republicans will oppose restrictions on the fuel. Utilities also rallied. TripAdvisor Inc. plunged 14 percent a day after an earnings report that fell short of analyst estimates. Biotechnology and Internet shares fell, dragging the Nasdaq Composite Index lower.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.6 percent to 2,023.57 at 4 p.m. in New York, a record closing level. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 100.69 points, or 0.6 percent, to an all-time high of 17,484.53.

     “With the election results, the strong ISM manufacturing result from the other day and today’s employment report, it continues to improve investor sentiment,” Robert Pavlik, who helps oversee $4.5 billion as chief market strategist at Banyan Partners LLC in New York, said in a phone interview. “The market also likes the fact that the ECB might deliver some additional quantitative easing-type measures.”

     Fourth quarters of midterm years have produced average equity gains of 8 percent in the past 65 years, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. They’ve been followed by rallies of almost that much in the next three months, making the average 16 percent two-quarter rally the best combination of the election cycles.                     

     The S&P 500 has risen an average 15.1 percent in calendar years when a Democratic president has been opposed by a Republican-controlled Congress since 1945, according to S&P Capital IQ equity strategist Sam Stovall.

     Stocks haven’t needed a united Congress to post gains during the bull market that began in March 2009. Since Nov. 2, 2010, when Republicans won a majority in the House while Democrats held the Senate, the S&P 500 has gained 69 percent, including a 30 percent rally in 2013 that was the biggest annual advance since 1997.

     Republicans retained control of the House and won enough seats to reclaim a Senate majority held by Democrats since 2006. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, is poised to become the next Senate majority leader and set the legislative agenda for the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency. McConnell has pledged to chip away at the 2010 health-care law and combat government efforts to curb carbon emissions. McConnell and President Barack Obama spoke today about moving forward on a tax-law revision and trade agreements.                       
    
    “There will be no government shutdowns and no default on the national debt,” McConnell, 72, told reporters today.  “Gridlock in Washington can be ended.”

     President Obama said that he’s committing to considering ideas “not by whether they are from Democrats or Republicans, but whether they work for the American people.”

     The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent yesterday as energy companies led losses amid a drop in oil prices. The gauge has rebounded about 8.7 percent from a six-month low on Oct. 15 low. S&P 500 companies are beating analysts’ earnings estimates at the fastest pace in four years, while recent economic data have pointed to improvements in the U.S. labor market and consumer sentiment.                      

     Of the S&P 500 members that have reported their latest quarterly results, 82 percent topped profit projections, while 61 percent beat sales estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     U.S. companies added 230,000 workers to payrolls in October, ADP Research Institute reported today. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase of 220,000. The report came before a Nov. 7 Labor Department report projected to show private payrolls rose by 225,000 last month, according to a Bloomberg survey. The jobless rate probably held at a six-year low of 5.9 percent, the survey showed.

     Separate data today showed service industries in the U.S. sustained a faster pace of expansion in October than in the first half of the year.

     While the Institute for Supply Management’s non- manufacturing index decreased to 57.1 from the prior month’s 58.6, readings greater than 50 signal growth and last month’s outcome exceeded the 54.4 average for the first six months of 2014.

     “There’s been a slight bump on the election result last night,” Walter “Bucky” Hellwig, who helps manage $17 billion at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama, said in a phone interview. “The ADP number was in line with what people were expecting, which is helping, and we have the payroll data coming out on Friday.”

     Gauges of utility and energy shares increased more than 1.7 percent for the biggest gains among the 10 main industries in the S&P 500. Energy shares extended their advance as oil rebounded following a government report that showed a smaller- than-projected increase in U.S. supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude added $1.49 to $78.68 a barrel after yesterday touching the lowest price in three years.

     Alpha Natural Resources surged 17 percent and Peabody Energy increased 4.8 percent. McConnell has said that he wants to attach provisions to spending bills that would curtail coal plant regulations.

     TransCanada Corp.’s U.S. shares advanced 3.3 percent on speculation Republican victories will bolster support for the Keystone XL pipeline. The company has been waiting since 2008 for a U.S. decision on the pipeline, which would carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands across the border to Gulf Coast refineries. Victories by Republicans Joni Ernst in Iowa and Cory Gardner in Colorado boosted support for the project.

     Hospital operators Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Community Health Systems Inc. fell more than 3 percent amid speculation that Republicans will repeal Obamacare now that the party has taken control of the Senate.

     NRG Energy Inc. rallied 7.8 percent. The operator of power- generating facilities climbed after reporting third-quarter profits that exceeded analyst forecasts.

     Time Warner Inc. climbed 4 percent to $77.99. The company beat analysts’ profit estimates last quarter after collecting higher fees for its TV channels.

     TripAdvisor plummeted 14 percent, about three times more than any other stock in the S&P 500. The online travel research company reported third-quarter earnings that were 20 percent short of the average analyst estimate.                         

     The Nasdaq 100 Index reversed an earlier gain to close down 0.1 percent. Google Inc., Intel Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. fell at least 1.5 percent.

     Greenlight Capital Inc., the $10 billion hedge-fund firm run by David Einhorn, told investors it’s increasing wagers against a group of technology stocks, in a letter that discussed the lack of profitability at online retailer Amazon.com Inc.

     “AMZN’s recent disappointment is notable in that for years, the story has been that AMZN isn’t profitable because it is growing so fast,” Greenlight said in a quarterly letter to clients today, referring to the stock ticker for Amazon.com. “Now growth is slowing, but rather than unleashing higher profits, the slower growth is leading to even greater losses.”

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Ours is beyond, and still beyond, beyond the senses, beyond space,

and beyond time, away, away beyond,

till nothing of this world is left and the universe itself

becomes like a drop in the transcendent ocean of the glory of the soul.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.

                    -Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-1791

 

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