Author: Carolann

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1970, Jimi Hendrix passed away from a drug overdose. The rock musician was 27 years old at the time of this death.

1851- New York Times first published.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man looks at a Twizy, the Renault electric city car, during a presentation of the Wattmobile, a new self-drive Autolib-style electric car service at Gare de l’Est train station in Paris. Charles Platiau/Reuters

Piper Anton Doherty plays to passers-by in front of the Houses of Parliament on Westminster Bridge in London as Scotland votes on independence. Luke MacGregor/Reuters

Market Closes for September 18^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17264.47	+107.62
		+0.63%
S&P 500	2011.09	+9.52   +0.48%
NASDAQ	4593.426	+31.237   +0.68%
TSX	15472.58	+13.70
		+0.09%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16067.57	+178.90
		+1.13%
HANG SENG	24168.72	-207.69
		-0.85%
SENSEX	27112.21	+480.92
		+1.81%
FTSE 100	6819.29	+38.39
		+0.57%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.287	2.264
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.795	2.784
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.6235	2.6107
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.3561	3.3664

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91422	0.90942
US $	1.09383	1.09960
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41371	0.70736
US $	1.29243	0.77373

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1225.00	1223.05
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	93.07	94.42

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed after erasing declines in the final hour of trading, as banks rallied to offset a slump in gold producers.

     Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal each advanced 0.7 percent to all-time highs, as financial shares rose the most in the benchmark index. TransCanada Corp. jumped 3.3 percent after Reuters reported U.S. hedge funds are reviewing the company for a possible breakup. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. jumped 7.6 percent after completing an internal review of its accounting practices. Detour Gold Corp. retreated 6.5 percent as the metal sank to an eight-month low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 6.66 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 15,465.54 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge fell as much as 0.2 percent earlier in the day, touching a one-month low. It has advanced 14 percent this year, the second- best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     Six of 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity index advanced on trading volume 17 percent higher than the 30-day average at this time of day.

     An index of financial stocks rose 0.5 percent for a third day of gains and record close.

     Penn West jumped 7.6 percent to C$8.32. The company restated its annual financial statements as a result of the internal review while maintaining its output goals and dividend.

     Air Canada climbed 4.5 percent to C$9.01. The company added baggage fees and said it may consider a share buyback or increased dividend.

     Detour Gold retreated 6.5 percent to C$9.26 as raw- materials stocks dropped 1.5 percent as a group to the lowest since June. Gold declined 0.7 percent to $1,226.90 an ounce in New York.

USA

By Oliver Renick

     Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose for a third day, sending benchmark indexes to records, as data showed fewer Americans filed for jobless claims and investors speculated interest rates will remain low.

     ConAgra Foods Inc., owner of the Chef Boyardee and Healthy Choice food brands, gained 4.6 percent after reporting earnings that topped estimates. Kohl’s Corp. added 1.6 percent after analysts at Citigroup Inc. told clients to buy the shares. Rite Aid Corp. tumbled 19 percent after saying lower reimbursement rates and higher costs for drugs hurt profit. AOL Inc. rallied on takeover speculation.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.5 percent to 2,011.36 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 109.14 points, or 0.6 percent, to an all-time high of 17,265.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index and Russell 2000 Index gained at least 0.5 percent.

     “The market’s still in Fed mode,” Joe Bell, a senior equity analyst at Cincinnati-based Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc., said in a phone interview. “A majority of people are thinking July 2015 may be the rate increase and the market’s responding positively to the idea that rates aren’t coming any sooner.”

     Stocks advanced yesterday, sending the S&P 500 up as much as 0.6 percent, after the Fed renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time” after its bond-buying program ends, probably next month. Policy makers also projected a steeper increase in borrowing costs next year, raising the median forecast for the benchmark rate at the end of 2015 to 1.375 percent from June’s estimate of 1.125 percent.

     “Anytime the Fed speaks it can move markets and it’s more true today than ever because we’re at an inflection point where non-traditional monetary policy that’s almost been on auto pilot is coming to a close and we’re shifting our focus to traditional policy,” Ron Sanchez, executive vice president and chief investment officer at New York-based Fiduciary Trust Co. International, said by phone.

     Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the Chinese e-commerce giant, intends to pick a price for its nearly $22 billion initial public offering tonight. The company is asking investors to value it as high as $167.6 billion, or 29 times estimated earnings in the year through March. That’s still below Tencent, Baidu Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

     Jobless claims decreased by 36,000 to 280,000 in the period ended Sept. 13, the Labor Department said today. The median forecast of 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decline to 305,000. Those already collecting unemployment benefits fell to a more than seven-year low.

     Financial shares led gains among the 10 primary industries in the S&P 500, as bank stocks climbed 1.5 percent as a group and insurers advanced 1.1 percent.

     CME Group Inc. gained 2.8 percent to $82.96, extending gains to a seventh session. Citigroup Inc. and Prudential Financial inc. jumped at least 2.4 percent.

     ConAgra increased 4.6 percent to $33.48. The maker of packaged meals and condiments reported earnings of 39 cents a share, excluding some items, exceeding the average 35-cent estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

     AOL Inc. jumped 3.3 percent after a strategist at BGC Financial LP said investors should position themselves for gains in the stock. AOL may have a “seasonally stronger” December quarter and could be target of a takeover by Yahoo Inc! after that company’s windfall of cash following the Alibaba IPO, according to derivatives strategist Richard Anthony.

     Kohl’s added 1.6 percent to $62.50. The stock was raised to buy from neutral at Citigroup.

     MSCI Inc. climbed 5.8 percent to $48.98, the biggest advance in the Russell 1000 Index, after increasing its share buyback plans.

     Rite Aid dropped 19 percent to $5.41. The company said net income for 2015 is expected to be 22 cents to 33 cents a share. The drugstore company previously forecast 30 cents to 40 cents.

     Pier 1 Imports Inc. slumped 19 percent to $12.66. Analysts from Barclays Plc to Wells Fargo & Co. cut their rating on the stock after the company reduced its annual-profit forecast, citing weak customer traffic and slimmer margins.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is quite proper to resist and attack a system but,

to resist and attack its author is tantamount to resisting and attacking oneself.

For we are all tarred with the same brush.

 

Mahatma Gandhi

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

If you’re going through hell, keep going.

            Winston Churchill, 1874-1965

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Carolann is out of the office this afternoon, I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

In preparation for the 150th anniversary of the first ascent of the Materhorn, Swiss mountain sports specialist Mammut and mountain guides from the village of Zermatt transformed the spectacular summit into a shining stone icon as an anniversary gift to Zermatt. The prominent mountain is regarded as the emblem of the Swiss Alps and enjoys international popularity. Robert Boesch/Mammut/AP

Students explore the inside of a hot air balloon at the Tanglewood Elementary School in South Glens Falls, N.Y. Steve Jacobs/The Post Star/AP

Market Closes for September 17^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17156.85	+24.88
		+0.15%
S&P 500	2001.57	+2.59   +0.13%
NASDAQ	4562.188	+9.429   +0.21%
TSX	15467.88	-42.66
		-0.28%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15888.67	-22.86
		-0.14%
HANG SENG	24376.41	+240.40
		+1.00%
SENSEX	26631.29	+138.78
		+0.52%
FTSE 100	6780.90	-11.34
		-0.17%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.264	2.244
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.784	2.767
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.6107	2.5888
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.3664	3.3561

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90942	0.91139
US $	1.09960	1.09722
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41499	0.70672
US $	1.28682	0.77711

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1223.05	1235.69
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	94.42	94.88

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, sending the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index to a one-month low, as energy and commodity shares slumped and the Federal Reserve maintained a commitment to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time.”

     Raging River Exploration Inc. lost 3.7 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude dropped from a two-week high. Torex Gold Resources Inc. and Semafo Inc. tumbled at least 5.5 percent as gold declined. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co. climbed more than 0.7 percent to pace gains among industrial stocks.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 51.66 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,458.88 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has fallen 1.3 percent since closing at a record on Sept. 3. It has advanced 13 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     The Fed tapered monthly bond buying to $15 billion in their seventh consecutive $10 billion cut, staying on course to end the program in October. Officials also raised their median estimate for the federal funds rate at the end of 2015 to 1.375 percent, from 1.125 percent in June.

     Seven of the 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX retreated.

     Raging River declined 3.7 percent to C$10.30 as energy stocks dropped 0.9 percent as a group. West Texas Intermediate crude slid for the first time in three days, down 46 cents to close at $94.42 a barrel in New York. U.S. supplies increased by 3.67 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 12, the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, said. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a drop of 1.5 million.

     Canadian Pacific Railway increased 1.7 percent to C$229.81. Canadian National Railway added 0.8 percent. CN Rail executives, speaking at a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce conference, said the company sees at least five to seven years of growth in crude shipments.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — After all the attention paid to the Federal Reserve today, benchmark U.S. stocks indexes ended the session at almost the exact place they were before the central bank pledged to keep interest rates low for a “considerable time.”

     Commodity, financial and telephone shares led gains in seven of the 10 main industry groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. FedEx Corp. and Lennar Corp. rallied more than 3 percent after posting earnings that topped analysts’ estimates. Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. jumped 45 percent, the most ever, after getting a takeover bid.

     The S&P 500 increased 0.1 percent 2,001.57 at 4 p.m. in New York after rising as much as 0.6 percent following the release of the Fed’s statement at 2 p.m. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 24.88 points to a record 17,156.85 after jumping as much as 89 points. Both finished within a point of their levels at 2 p.m., when the Fed released its statement. Fed Chair Janet Yellen later told a press conference that the pledge for low rates is conditional on the economy.

     “Yellen may be a hawk in dove’s clothing because she keeps reiterating that economic data can change the pace of rate hikes and the path to normalization,” Karyn Cavanaugh, the New York- based senior market strategist at Voya Investment Management LLC, said by phone. “The economy is gaining steam. I think we could see some increase in rates by March or sooner.”

     Stocks briefly extended gains as the Fed’s statement said the economy is expanding at a moderate pace and inflation is below its goal. It maintained a commitment to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time” after asset purchases are completed in October. Fed officials raised their median estimate for the federal funds rate at the end of 2015 to 1.375 percent, compared with 1.125 percent in June. The rate will be 3.75 percent at the end of 2017, the Fed said in its Summary of Economic Projections.

     “The labor market has yet to fully recover,” Yellen said at a press conference after a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee today in Washington. “There are still too many people who want jobs but can’t find them.” She added that “inflation has been running below the committee’s 2 percent objective.” In July, the Fed said inflation was “somewhat closer” to its goal.

     Policy makers tapered monthly bond buying to $15 billion in their seventh consecutive $10 billion cut, staying on course to end the program in October. Bond purchases intended to hold down long-term interest rates have swelled the Fed’s balance sheet to $4.42 trillion.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the benchmark gauge of options prices known as the VIX, lost 0.6 percent to 12.65 after earlier gaining as much as 14 percent. More than 6.1 billion U.S. shares traded hands, 8.8 percent above the three-month daily average.

      The S&P 500 rallied 0.8 percent yesterday, led by energy stocks, after China’s central bank reportedly started providing about $81 billion in loans to its biggest banks.

     Data today showed the cost of living in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped in August for the first time in more than a year, showing inflation still is falling short of the Fed’s goal. The central bank is scrutinizing data on labor and prices to gauge whether the economic recovery is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing rates.

     The S&P 500 will advance to 2,050 by the end of the year, according to Credit Suisse Group AG equity research analysts who raised their estimate from an earlier projection of 2,020. Equities are “abnormally cheap” compared with other asset classes, the Credit Suisse team said. Stocks will continue to climb through mid-2015, according to the report, before a second-half correction in 2015 as the Fed raises interest rates.

     FedEx added 3.3 percent to $159.71. The company’s first- quarter earnings increased 24 percent, helped by the completion of a record buyback program, growth in domestic air shipments and lower pension expense.

     Lennar Corp. climbed 5.8 percent to $41.40. The second- biggest U.S. homebuilder by market value reported fiscal third- quarter net income of 78 cents a share, exceeding the 67-cent average of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

     U.S. Steel Corp. rose 10 percent to a three-year high of $45.61. The steelmaker that has reported five years of losses said the Ontario Superior Court granted protection for its Canada unit. The company also said it canceled $800 million of capital investments in projects in Minnesota and Indiana.

     Auxilium Pharmaceuticals jumped 45 percent to $31.18. Endo International Plc, a maker of pain drugs, said it bid $28.10 a share in cash and stock, a 31 percent premium to yesterday’s closing price, for the maker of men’s health medicines. Endo said its offer didn’t include a deal for QLT Inc., which Auxilium agreed to take control of in June. That purchase hasn’t yet closed. Auxilium today said it has adopted a one-year holder rights plan and confirmed its QLT offer.

     Adobe Systems Inc. lost 4.9 percent to $67.30 after reporting third-quarter sales of $1.01 billion. Analysts on average estimated revenue of $1.02 billion. The software maker posted profit before some items of 28 cents a share, exceeding analysts’ projections for 26 cents.

     Rackspace Hosting Inc. tumbled 18 percent to $32.39 after saying it rejected bid offers. The cloud-computing company decided to remain independent after ending a review on strategic options, and rebuffed investor calls to buy back shares, saying it will preserve cash for future acquisitions.

     Gogo Inc. advanced 2.9 percent to $18.47 after announcing a partnership with Virgin Atlantic to offer in-flight connectivity services on Virgin’s aircraft.

     General Mills Inc. lost 4.4 percent to $50.83 after reporting earnings and sales that missed analysts’ estimates. Revenue at the cereal maker was $4.27 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $4.38 billion.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone. 

 

Be magnificent!

 

 

“Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.”

Lao Tzu

As ever,

 

Karen

 

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo Buscaglia

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this date in 2008, the federal government provided an $85 billion emergency loan to AIG to rescue the world’s largest insurance company. The loan came one day after Lehman filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America.

September 16, 1805,  Meriwether Lewis’s and William Clark’s  journals of their expedition from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean – William Clark writes:

A thickly timbered country of eight different kinds of pine, which are so covered with snow, that in passing through them we are continually covered with snow.  I have been wet and as cold in every part as I ever was in my life, indeed I was at one time fearful my feet would freeze in the thin moccasins which I wore,  After a short delay in the middle of the day, I took one man and proceeded on as fast as I could about six miles to a small branch passing to the right, halted and built fires for the party against their arrival which was at dusk, very cold and much fatigued.  We encamped at this branch in  a thickly timbered bottom which was scarcely large enough for us to lie level, men all wet, cold and hungry.  Killed a second colt which we all supped heartily on and thought it fine meat.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A thoroughbred is washed as the sun rises after an early morning workout at Woodbine racetrack in Toronto. Michael Burns Jr./The Canadian Press/AP

A cat is silhouetted as it walks over a fence in Sehnde near Hannover, northern Germany. Julian Stratenschulte/AP

Market Closes for September 16^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17131.97	+100.83
		+0.59%
S&P 500	1999.66	+15.53   +0.78%
NASDAQ	4552.758	+33.855   +0.75%
TSX	15515.54	+32.98
		+0.21%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15911.53	-36.76
		-0.23%
HANG SENG	24136.01	-220.98
		-0.91%
SENSEX	26492.51	-324.05
		-1.21%
FTSE 100	6792.24	-11.97
		-0.18%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.244	2.235
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.767	2.758
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.5888	2.5869
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.3561	3.3382

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91139	0.90517
US $	1.09722	1.10476
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42213	0.70317
US $	1.29611	0.77154

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1235.69	1234.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	94.88	92.92

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose from a one- month low, erasing an earlier loss, as commodity producers advanced after China’s central bank increased economic stimulus.

     Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Raging River Exploration Inc. gained at least 2.4 percent to pace gains among oil producers. Cameco Corp. climbed 1.9 percent as uranium entered a bull market amid new sanctions against Russia. Atlantic Power Corp. plunged 33 percent after the company cut its dividend and said it will no longer seek to sell itself.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 27.98 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,510.54 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has fallen 0.9 percent since closing Sept. 3 at a record. It has advanced 14 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     The Canadian stock index reversed losses after a report from Sina.com said China’s central bank has started a 500 billion ($81 billion) yuan standing lending-facility to the nation’s five biggest banks. The move comes amid signs that growth is slowing in the world’s second-biggest economy. China is also the biggest commodity consumer.

     West Texas Intermediate climbed to a two-week high after OPEC’s Secretary General said the group may cut output targets next year. The S&P/TSX Energy Index added 0.4 percent.

     U.S. Federal Reserve officials meet today and tomorrow to review policy amid speculation that the timeline for interest- rate increases may be brought forward.

     Seven of the 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 26 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     Canadian factory sales rose to a record in July, surpassing the previous peak set in July 2008 before the last recession. The sales were led by a jump in auto shipments.

     Bombardier Inc. declined 0.4 percent to C$3.68 for a second day of losses. Analysts are concerned the company’s proposed CSeries jet, already two years late, will miss its target to be in service by the second half of 2015.

     Bombardier resumed flight trials earlier this month for the first time since an engine fire in May.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, erasing early losses, as rising oil prices spurred a rally in energy shares and China’s central bank reportedly started providing about $81 billion in loans to its biggest banks.

     Health-care stocks added 1.3 percent to lead gains among all 10 of the main industries in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Humana Inc. climbed 3.7 percent after announcing a $2 billion plan to repurchase shares. Zillow Inc. jumped 6.1 percent after Stephens Inc. recommended buying the shares. Wynn Resorts Ltd. slumped amid concern labor protests in Macau will hurt casino earnings.

     The S&P 500 added 0.8 percent to 1,998.98 at 4 p.m. in New York, recovering from a morning loss of 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 100.83 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,131.97, seven points below an all-time high. Trading of S&P 500 companies was the highest since Aug. 7 as investors awaited a Federal Reserve policy statement and press conference tomorrow.

     “The market sees the letters ’Q’ and ’E’ combined with China and it’s Happy New Year to the money printers and that’s what the jump is, they want that game to continue,” Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Chatham, New Jersey-based Themis Trading LLC, said via phone. “They may not know how or why it’s happening. But get some new QE money in there and that’s how the market reacts.”

     Stocks extended gains as Sina.com reported that China’s central bank is starting a 500 billion yuan ($81.4 billion) standing lending-facility to the nation’s five biggest banks. The report cited Guotai Junan banking analyst Qiu Guanhua at Guotai Junan Securities Co.

     Fed officials, who start a two-day meeting today, are considering how much progress toward their goals of full employment and stable inflation would be needed to prompt the first rate increase since 2006. They will outline their outlook for the economy in quarterly projections for growth, unemployment, inflation and the benchmark federal funds rate.

     Chair Janet Yellen will hold a press conference after the policy announcement on Sept. 17. The S&P 500 had dropped 1.2 percent from its record earlier this month through yesterday.

     “At this point I think anything that comes out of the FOMC meeting can’t be negative, the market’s already expecting some sort of rate change on behalf of the committee certainly by the end of spring and if that’s the case, then economic conditions are supportive and that’s good for the market,” Ron Anari, the Jersey City-based senior vice president of trading at ICAP Plc, said via phone.

     Health-care, utilities and energy companies rose more than 1.1 percent to lead gains in all 10 of the main industry groups in the S&P 500. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Schlumberger Ltd. paced an advance in energy companies in the S&P 500. Oil climbed 2.1 percent to $94.86 a barrel as the report on stimulus in China extended an earlier rally triggered after OPEC’s secretary general said the group may cut output targets next year.

     Humana jumped 3.7 percent to $132.37 after announcing plans for the $2 billion share buyback expiring at the end of 2016. The new buyback replaces a prior $1 billion plan, which had about $782 million remaining.

     Zillow jumped 6.1 percent to $133.36 for its biggest gain since July. Stephens analyst John Campbell initiated the shares with an “overweight” rating and a $170 price estimate, saying the real-estate Web site still leads the category and is in the “early innings” of revenue growth and profitability.

     Wynn Resorts declined 0.5 percent to $179.87 as workers in Macau held protests that threaten to undermine the earnings of casinos there.

     Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. fell 3.4 percent to $12.06. The stock soared 85 percent yesterday after saying its experimental Alzheimer’s treatment AVP-923 significantly improved agitation in 220 patients.

     SodaStream International Ltd. added 1 percent to $31.79. The company is in talks to sell itself for $840 million to an unidentified British fund, TheMarker reported, citing people it didn’t name. The talks reflect a value of $40 a share, it said.

     Micron Technology Inc. added 4.8 percent to $31.45, almost erasing yesterday’s loss. The chipmaker may see significant upside from Japanese yen depreciation, according to Stern Agee analyst Vijay Rakesh.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To slight a single human being is to slight those divine powers

and thus harm not only that being but with him the whole world.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

All the arts we practice are apprenticeship.  The big art is our life.

                                                  -M.C. Richards, 1916-1999

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this date in 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America and AIG was on the verge of collapse before being rescued by the U.S. government.-Steven Russolillo, WSJ.  And so began the great global financial crises of 2008-2009.

1971- Greenpeace founded.

1940 – Battle of Britain.

We had a nice stroll through VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver yesterday.  It doesn’t matter how many times I go, I still come away having seen something new and feeling awed by the beauty of nature.   With all the beautiful weather we’ve been having, the rose garden is just as beautiful as ever.  There is a sculpture exhibit on until September 30^th, entitled Touch Wood.  Two dozen wood sculptures by B.C. artist such as Brent Comber, Michael Dennis and Martha Varcoe Sturdy are featured,  offering another reason to visit this great outdoor space.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Marseille’s Major cathedral is seen through the sculpture ‘Poseidon’ by French visual artist Sacha Sosno installed in front of the ‘Regards de Provence’ museum in Marseille. Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

A fishing boat sails along the shore on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The referendum on Scottish independence will take place on September 18, when Scotland will vote whether or not to end the 307-year-old union with the rest of the United Kingdom. Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

Market Closes for September 15^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17031.14	+43.63
		+0.26%
S&P 500	1984.13	-1.41   -0.07%
NASDAQ	4518.902	-48.696   -1.07%
TSX	15482.56	-49.02
		-0.32%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15948.29	+39.09
		+0.25%
HANG SENG	24356.99	-238.33
		-0.97%
SENSEX	26816.56	-244.48
		-0.90%
FTSE 100	6804.21	-2.75
		-0.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.235	2.240
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.758	2.759
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.5869	2.6087
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.3382	3.3416

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90517	0.90156
US $	1.10476	1.10918
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42952	0.69954
US $	1.29396	0.77282

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1234.00	1229.94
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	92.92	92.27

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a second day as commodity producers dropped on signs demand growth is weakening in China, the biggest consumer of energy and metals.

     Magna International Inc. and Linamar Corp., auto parts manufacturers, slumped more than 1.7 percent. TransCanada Corp. declined 1 percent after analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered their rating for the stock to a sell. Raging River Exploration Inc. and Shawcor Ltd. dropped more than 3.3 percent as oil producers retreated. Semafo Inc. slumped 5.4 percent to pace declines among materials producers.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 49.02 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,482.56 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has fallen 1.1 percent since closing Sept. 3 at a record. It has advanced 14 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     Data last weekend showed China’s industrial output rose at the slowest pace outside the Lunar New Year holiday period of January and February since the 2008 global financial crisis.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. retreated 4 percent to C$23.16 and Teck Resources Ltd. lost 1.5 percent to C$23.34 as copper for December delivery retreated in New York.

     Raw-materials stocks slumped 0.5 percent as a group, third- most in the S&P/TSX. Nine of 10 industries declined on trading volume in line with the 30-day average today.

US

By Lu Wang and Joseph Ciolli

     Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) — Beneath the U.S. stock market’s record-setting gains, trouble is stirring.

     About 47 percent of stocks in the Nasdaq Composite Index are down at least 20 percent from their peak in the last 12 months while more than 40 percent have fallen that much in the Russell 2000 Index and the Bloomberg IPO Index. That contrasts with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which has closed at new highs 33 times in 2014 and where less than 6 percent of companies are in bear markets, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     The divergence shows the appetite for risk is narrowing as the Federal Reserve reins in economic stimulus after a five-year rally that added almost $16 trillion to equity values. It’s been three years since investors saw a 10 percent decline in the S&P 500 and they’re starting to avoid companies that will suffer the most when the market stumbles, said Skip Aylesworth, a portfolio manager for Hennessy Funds in Boston.

     “The small caps have had big runs and tend to get ahead of themselves,” Aylesworth said in a Sept. 10 phone interview. Hennessy Funds oversees about $5 billion. “It’s kind of like the tortoise and the hare, and they’re the hare. But then they get expensive, and when the market corrects, they get whacked.”

     The proportion of technology companies, small-caps and newly listed stocks stuck in their own personal bear markets has risen from 30 percent in March 2013, when the overall equity market surpassed its 2007 record. S&P 500 stocks with at least 20 percent losses have fallen since then, the data show.

     Risk tolerance is declining just before Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its shareholders plan to sell as much as $21.1 billion of shares in what will be the biggest ever U.S. initial public offering. The price implies a $163 billion valuation, making it the third-most valuable Internet company traded in the U.S., after Google Inc. and Facebook Inc.

     “How Alibaba performs will really give us an indication to the health of the market,” Malcolm Polley, who oversees $1.2 billion as president and chief investment officer at Stewart Capital Advisors LLC in Indiana, Pennsylvania, said by phone on Sept. 9. “Right now, bigger companies seem to do better. Large tech names tend to perform very well,” he said. “The bull market itself is getting rather long in the tooth. It needs to rest.”                       

     The S&P 500 ended a five-week winning streak on Sept. 12, capping a five-day decline of 1.1 percent on concern the Fed may raise interest rates sooner than anticipated. The index slipped 0.1 percent at 4 p.m. today, while the Russell 2000 lost 1.2 percent and the IPO index dropped 1.5 percent.

     While rallies in Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have lifted the Nasdaq Composite up about 8 percent this year, 47 percent of the measure’s stocks are in bear markets, data compiled by Bloomberg show. FireEye Inc., an online security company, sandwich seller Potbelly Corp. and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. have tumbled more than 50 percent from their 52-week highs.

     “A lot of stocks have actually made significant declines,” David James, director of research at Alpha, Ohio- based James Investment Research Inc., which oversees more than $5 billion, said by phone on Sept. 9. “Most people see the record highs on the S&P 500 and that makes them feel like, ‘Oh, the market is doing just fine,’’ without recognizing that most stocks really are not participating to that degree.”                           

     Stocks with weak or no earnings and fewer shares to trade fare worse during market turmoil, said Brad Thompson, director of research at Frost Investment Advisors LLC in San Antonio, Texas. More than 20 percent of companies in the Nasdaq Composite and Russell 2000 will be unprofitable this quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg of companies with analysts’ forecasts. Only 15 companies in the S&P 500 reported a loss for the past year.

     “There is a sense of ‘Well, we’ve had a lot of liquidity, we’ve had low rates,” and “once the punch bowl is taken away, the market is going to fall,’” Thompson, who helps oversee $10 billion at Frost Investment, said in a phone interview on Sept.10. “I’m not in that camp, but that’s one narrative that’s been played out.”

     Low volatility across financial markets may signal investors are underestimating how quickly the central bank will raise interest rates, researchers at the San Francisco Fed said in a report last week. Bond-market indicators for long-term inflation, growth and funding costs are all lower now than they were at the end of the central bank’s first two rounds of quantitative easing.

     Fed officials in their June economic forecasts predicted their target interest rate will be 1.13 percent at the end of 2015 and 2.5 percent a year later. They are set to release updated projections Sept. 17.

     Dan Miller, director of equities at GW&K Investment Management in Boston, said he’s not worried about losses in some parts of the market because overall U.S. stocks are still one of the best investments. The weak performance in small caps in 2014 isn’t that bad after they surged almost 60 percent over the previous two years, he said.

     “With interest rates so low and our economy in good shape, that should continue to push the stock market higher,” Miller, who helps oversee more than $20 billion, said in a phone interview on Sept. 11.                       

     At the last market peak, losses across small-cap stocks, IPOs and technology companies were as widespread as they are today. About 45 percent of the shares were down at least 20 percent from a 52-week high in October 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That compares with 18 percent for the S&P 500.

     In the current bull market, speculative stocks have still delivered better returns to investors. The Russell 2000 and Nasdaq Composite are up 250 percent on average since March 2009, compared with 193 percent for the S&P 500. The IPO index has posted a smaller gain at 157 percent.

     The stronger performance has led to higher valuations.  Excluding unprofitable companies, the small-cap gauge trades at 20.5 times earnings. That compared with a multiple of 17.9 for the S&P 500, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     “The performance divergence is a valuation story,” Oliver Pursche, the Suffern, New York-based president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services, said by phone on Sept. 10. “As investors continue to be nervous about a correction, they’ll be more likely to sell off what they perceive to be riskier asset classes.”
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Propaganda can never tell the truth; truth can never be propagated.

 

Krishnamurti

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

To be prepared is half the victory.

        -Miguel de Cervantes, 1547-1616

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

All this discussion on Scotland, independence, makes me reminisce ….about high school English class:

Quarrels unjust against the good and loyal
Destroying them for wealth.

MACDUFF                             This avarice
Sticks deeper, grows with more pernicious root
Than summer-seeming lust; and it hath been
The sword of our slain kings; yet do not fear,
Scotland hath foisons to fill up your will
Of your mere own.  All these are portable,
With other graces weighed.

MALCOLM
But I have none.  The king-becoming graces,
As justice, verity, temp’rance, stableness,
Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness
Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude,
I have no relish of them, but abound
In the division of each several crime,
Acting it many ways.  Nay, had I power, I should
Pour the sweet milk of concord into Hell,
Uproar the universal peace, confound
All unity on earth.

MACDUFF             O Scotland, Scotland.

MALCOLM
If such a one be fit to govern, speak:
I am as I have spoken.

MACDUFF               Fit to govern?
No, not to live.   O nation miserable!
With an untitled tyrant, bloody-sceptered,
When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again?
Since that the truest issue of thy throne
By his own interdiction stands accused,
And does blaspheme his breed?  Thy royal father
Was a most sainted king;  the queen that bore thee,
Oft’ner upon her knees than on her feet,
Died every day she lived.  Fare thee well,
These evils thou repeat’st upon thyself
Hath banished me from Scotland.  O my breast,
Thy hope ends here.

                              -Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 3.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An employee at Harris Tweed Hebrides works in the factory on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The referendum on Scottish independence will take place on September 18, when Scotland will vote whether or not to end the 307-year-old union with the rest of the United Kingdom. Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

 

People wave ‘estelada’ flags, that symbolize Catalonia’s independence, during a demonstration calling for the independence of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. A week before Scotland votes on whether to break away from the United Kingdom, separatists in northeastern Spain were trying to convince hundreds of thousands to protest across Catalonia to demand a secession sentiment vote that the central government in Madrid insists would be illegal. Manu Fernandez/AP

Market Closes for September 12^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16987.51	-61.49
		-0.36%
S&P 500	1985.47	-11.98   -0.60%
NASDAQ	4567.598	-24.208   -0.53%
TSX	15528.04	-6.28
		-0.04%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15948.29	+39.09
		+0.25%
HANG SENG	24595.32	-67.32
		-0.27%
SENSEX	27061.04	+65.17
		+0.24%
FTSE 100	6806.96	+7.34
		+0.11%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.240	2.196
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.759	2.717
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.6087	2.5487
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.3416	3.2756

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90156	0.90607
US $	1.10918	1.10367
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43787	0.69547
US $	1.29633	0.77141

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1229.94	1241.58
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	92.27	92.83

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed little changed, capping a second straight weekly loss, as gains in consumer and financial shares offset a drop in gold and oil producers.

     Maple Leaf Foods Inc. and Metro Inc. paced an advance in consumer-staples companies. Talisman Energy Inc. and Gibson Energy Inc. sank at least 1.8 percent as crude tumbled to the lowest in more than two years. Alamos Gold Inc. and Alacer Gold Corp. dropped more than 2.5 percent as the metal’s price slid to an eight-month low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 2.74 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 15,531.58 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge slipped 0.3 percent this week. It closed Sept. 3 at a record 15,657.63.

     The S&P/TSX has advanced 14 percent this year, the second- best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     Financial shares added 0.3 percent as a group. Home prices in Canada rose 5 percent in August from year-ago figures, according to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index.

     The nation’s ratio of household debt to disposable income rose to 163.6 percent of disposable income in the second quarter, approaching a record high from a revised 163.1 percent in the previous period. The measure reached a record 164.1 percent in the third quarter last year as mortgages have grown.

     OceanaGold Corp. jumped 3.1 percent to C$2.70. The company yesterday brought forward the start date for underground development of its Didipio gold and copper mine by one year to the first quarter of 2015 after an optimization study. The mine is located in the Philippines.

US

By Callie Bost and Namitha Jagadeesh

     Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its first weekly drop in more than a month, as investors speculated the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than estimated after retail sales climbed at the fastest pace in four months.

     Energy shares in the S&P 500 fell 1.5 percent, extending losses for the week to 3.7 percent. Caterpillar Inc. lost 0.5 percent for its sixth straight decline. Yahoo! Inc. rose 3.9 percent to an eight-year high as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. prepared for an initial public offering. Conversant Inc. surged 30 percent after Alliance Data Systems Corp. agreed to buy it.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent to 1,985.54 at 4 p.m. in New York, capping a 1.1 percent slide this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 61.49 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,987.51. The Russell 2000 Index dropped 1 percent. About 6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 7.7 percent above the three-month average.

     “Today’s retail sales and consumer confidence data fall into the argument of those who believe the Fed lift-off date may come sooner,” Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Philadelphia-based Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, which oversees $67 billion in assets, said by phone. “The worry is if the Fed has to lift rates sooner rather than later, there’s the question of when, but also what the trajectory of interest-rate increases will be and if it will undermine this sanguine picture of equities as the only game in town.”

     The 0.6 percent gain in retail sales matched the median forecast of 82 economists surveyed by Bloomberg and followed a 0.3 percent increase the prior month that was stronger than previously reported, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Eleven of 13 major categories showed advances, led by auto dealers and building material stores.

     The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 84.6 in September from 82.5 the month before. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists projected an increase to 83.3.

     The Fed is assessing the strength of the economy as it winds down a bond-buying program and considers raising rates. The central bank, which meets Sept. 16-17, has said that its benchmark rate will stay low for a “considerable time” after it completes the monthly bond purchases.

     The S&P 500 decline this week on concern the Fed may raise interest rates sooner than forecast. The index closed at a record on Sept. 5, after rallying for five straight weeks, the longest winning streak this year. The gauge hasn’t posted a four-day string of losses in all of 2014, and the last time it fell more than 10 percent was three years ago.

     The benchmark gauge is trading at 16.6 times the projected earnings of its members, near the 16.8 multiple reached on Sept. 5 that was the highest valuation since the end of 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P 500 options known as the VIX, increased 3.9 percent to 13.31. The volatility measure jumped 10 percent this week, its biggest gain since Aug. 1.

     All of the 10 main industries in the S&P 500 declined today. Energy shares tumbled 1.5 percent, extending a decline this week to 3.7 percent as crude prices have fallen on concern that global oil demand is slowing. Utility shares slid 1.8 percent as a group.

     Caterpillar slumped 0.5 percent to $105.02. Bank of America earlier this week lowered its rating on the shares to neutral from buy. The shares have lost 3.5 percent since Sept. 4.

     Yahoo rose 3.9 percent to $42.88, the highest level since January 2006. Alibaba received enough demand for its IPO that it plans to stop taking orders, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Yahoo is set to get an $8 billion windfall from the IPO. Alibaba plans to set a final price for the shares on Sept. 18, with trading to begin the next day.

     Conversant, which helps companies target users with Internet advertisements based on their previous online searches, soared 30 percent to $34.80, the highest since 2007. Alliance Data agreed to buy the company for $2.3 billion, or $35 a share, according to a statement.

     Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. jumped 18 percent to $114.89 after forecasting third-quarter revenue of as much as $736 million, exceeding the $718 million average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
 

 

Be magnificent!

The supreme consideration if man.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The truth is always the strongest argument.

                   -Sophocles, 496-405(6?) BC

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On the 13-year anniversary of 9/11, here’s a look at WSJ’s front page the day after the terrorist attacks. The Journal’s offices were across from the towers at the time, and this paper and subsequent ones were produced at backup facilities in New Jersey.

Sukhdev Sandhu writes about the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001:

At first I’m sure it’s going to be a great day.  Sun out.  Bright blue skies.  The end of summer.  Even the sirens and engines that have been wailing outside my apartment window for the last hour don’t seem that unusual.  Just, I assume, part of the hysteric clangour taken for granted by those who live in Manhattan.  Only when I step out onto First Avenue to head downtown do things begin to seem strange.  Hundreds of people are heading in my direction.  Some are running.  Mums are clutching young kids and looking over their shoulders fearfully.  No cars or cabs, but police are everywhere.  In the distance I see a huge black blob disfiguring the sky.  Maybe a thunderstorm’s brewing?  I step in front of a fleeing office worker:  “Excuse me, but has something happened?”  His answer comes out barely comprehensible comic-book babble:  “The World Trade Center has been hit – it was a plane – enemies – terrorists – hijacker – the Pentagon too – the White House – Pittsburgh.”

By the time I reached my department at NYU everyone is ripped with panic…We yell out the names of people we knew who work at the Twin Towers and rummage around in drawers and diaries looking for their cellphone numbers, which we dial frantically, and often in vain.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A woman grieves at her husband’s memorial at South Tower Memorial Pool during memorial observances on the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Family and friends of those who died read the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed in New York, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Chang W. Lee/The New York Times/AP

An artwork titled ‘Scattered Light,’ created by American artist Jim Campbell, is lit at an exhibition in Hong Kong’s Central district. The installation that has a structure with 2,000 light bulbs was presented by Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Vincent Yu/AP

Market Closes for September 11^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17049.00	-19.71
		-0.12%
S&P 500	1997.45	+1.76   +0.09%
NASDAQ	4591.805	+5.282   +0.12%
TSX	15534.32	+62.43
		+0.40%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15909.20	+120.42
		+0.76%
HANG SENG	24662.64	-42.72
		-0.17%
SENSEX	26995.87	-61.54
		-0.23%
FTSE 100	6799.62	-30.49
		-0.45%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.196	2.201
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.717	2.726
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.5487	2.5378
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2756	3.2663

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90607	0.91347
US $	1.10367	1.09473
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42630	0.70111
US $	1.29233	0.77380

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1241.58	1249.99
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	92.83	91.67

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, with the benchmark index climbing from a three-week low, as bank shares gained and BlackBerry Ltd. rallied.

     BlackBerry jumped 6.1 percent after acquiring a mobile technology company to shore up its smartphone management features as it targets business users. Royal Bank of Canada climbed 0.8 percent. Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. lost 1.7 percent as two gas plants will go offline, affecting production for September. Athabasca Oil Corp. and Kelt Exploration Ltd. dropped at least 2 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 62.43 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,534.32 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. It closed Sept. 3 at a record 15,657.63. The S&P/TSX has advanced 14 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     Royal Bank, the nation’s second-largest lender, rose 0.8 percent to C$81.86 and Bank of Nova Scotia increased 0.6 percent to C$72.76.

     BlackBerry advanced 6.1 percent to C$11.91, the most since June, after acquiring London-based Movirtu Ltd., which has developed a technology that allows users to connect more than one phone number to a single device.

     Athabasca Oil declined 2 percent to C$6.71 and  Kelt Exploration lost 2.9 percent to C$12.75. Brent for October settlement rose 4 cents to $98.08 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after earlier sliding as far as $96.72, the lowest since July 2, 2012.

US

By Callie Bost and Lu Wang

     Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erased losses, sending the gauge higher for a second day, as a rebound in oil offset concerns over escalating geopolitical tension and the timing of possible interest-rate increases.

     Energy shares in the S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent, erasing an earlier loss of 1.2 percent as crude prices recovered from an eight-month low. Celgene Corp. slipped 2.3 percent to pace declines in health-care stocks. MasterCard Inc. dropped 1.3 percent after losing a court challenge to a European Union antitrust curb on card-payment fees. Lululemon Athletica Inc. soared 14 percent after raising its full-year forecast as quarterly profit exceeded estimates.

     The S&P 500 added 0.1 percent to 1,997.45 at 4 p.m. in New York, after an earlier decline of as much as 0.5 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 19.71 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,049. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 percent. About 5.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 1.8 percent below the three-month average.

     “We’re just stuck in a tight range because the market has been so strong this year and every now and then the market needs a little time to cool off,” Dan Miller, director of equities at GW&K Investment Management in Boston, said by phone. The firm oversees more than $20 billion. “Geopolitical events of course always make the market nervous.”

     The S&P 500 halted a two-day slide yesterday as a rally in Apple Inc. boosted technology shares. The gauge fell 0.7 percent on Sept. 9, its first move in either direction of more than 0.5 percent in 15 days, the longest streak since 1995. It closed at a record on Sept. 5.

     The S&P 500 is down 0.5 percent this week as investors focus on the timing of an interest-rate increase from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is gauging the strength of the economy as it winds down a bond-buying program and considers raising rates. Policy officials next meet Sept. 16-17.

     A report today showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week to a two-month high, interrupting a steady decrease to the lowest level since before the last recession. The week included the Labor Day holiday, and the data are difficult to adjust during such periods, a Labor Department spokesman said.

     Equities slid earlier as European Union officials said new sanctions against Russia will come into force tomorrow because of the country’s continued support of separatists in Ukraine. Ending days of wrangling, EU countries agreed to implement plans to bar some Russian state-owned defense and energy companies from raising capital in the bloc. President Barack Obama said the U.S. is joining the EU in slapping more sanctions on Russia.

     Obama yesterday pledged a “relentless” campaign to destroy Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria, with Middle Eastern allies such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan playing crucial supporting roles.                          

     Data overseas showed China’s consumer inflation eased to a four-month low in August while factory-gate prices extended their decline to 30 months, adding to signs of weakness in domestic demand.

     “It’s between earnings seasons so the focus is on macro events and geopolitical risks because that’s all people have to talk about,” John Carey, a Boston-based fund manager at Pioneer Investment Management Inc., which oversees about $230 billion, said in a phone interview. “People continue to look ahead to possibility of higher interest rates next year and next year is getting closer.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge of S&P 500 derivatives prices, fell 0.6 percent to 12.8 for a second day of losses.

     Seven of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced. Energy companies rose 0.1 percent, wiping out declines as West Texas Intermediate crude rebounded from an eight-month low and Brent oil erased losses.

     Brent crude tumbled to its lowest intraday level in more than two years earlier in the day as the International Energy Agency cut global oil demand forecasts for this year and next. Oil markets in the U.S. and Europe face a glut amid constrained consumption and the recovery of supplies from Libya.

     Energy shares have dropped 3.8 percent in September, poised for the worst monthly loss since January.

     Health-care stocks slipped 0.3 percent for the biggest decline in the S&P 500 today. Celgene slid 2.3 percent to $91.96 and Gilead Sciences Inc. decreased 1.7 percent to $106.39. Biogen Idec Inc. decreased 1.5 percent to $327.11.

     MasterCard lost 1.3 percent to $75.62. The EU’s Court of Justice ruled that the fees set by MasterCard had unfairly restricted competition and that it failed to show benefits to justify its system. Visa Inc. dropped 0.9 percent to $214.95.

     Financial shares gained 0.3 percent as Bank of America Corp. jumped 1.3 percent to $16.57.

     Lululemon soared 14 percent to $43.73. The yogawear maker that ended a dispute with its founder last month reported second-quarter profit that exceeded analyst estimates and increased its earnings forecast for the year by a penny to $1.72 to $1.77 a share. Revenue rose 13 percent to $390.7 million in the second quarter from a year earlier.

     JDS Uniphase Corp. jumped 10 percent to $13.36 on plans to split into two separate publicly traded entities. One company will focus on optical components and commercial lasers, while the other will sell networking equipment, JDS Uniphase disclosed in a filing yesterday.

     International Paper Co. rose 4.2 percent to $50.36 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The packaging company said at a conference today that it is working with advisers and has progressed to a more “serious valuation” phase on a master limited partnership structure.

     RadioShack Corp. rallied 9.6 percent to $1.02. The struggling electronics retailer said it’s working with creditors and other parties to get more capital and avoid bankruptcy after posting another quarter of mounting losses and plunging sales.

     RadioShack shares tumbled 42 percent from Aug. 29 through yesterday.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Every man has an equal right

to the necessities of life,

even as birds and beasts have.

 

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.

                                                  -Pearl S. Buck, 1892-1973

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this date in 2000, the Broadway musical “Cats” closed after 7,485 performances. The show, which ran for almost 18 years, ranks as the second longest-running musical in Broadway history.

Web Excursions:

Chowhound.com is  a community discussion sit.  Post a question and get immediate advice and insider tips on places to eat from local foodies – great if you’re planning a trip.

Movie-locations.com features a world map of movie set locations.  Navigate the site using movie titles or a favorite actor or director.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Horse whisperer Martin Tata lies with his five-year-old horse ‘Primavera’ as he performs a demonstration of ‘Indian taming’ at the Polo Club Puesto Viejo ranch in Canuelas, northeast of Buenos Aires. Tata says the techniques that he uses to tame unbroken horses avoids unnecessary violence and helps build a more harmonious relationship between humans and the horses. Enrique Marcarian/Reuters

British history enthusiasts portraying ‘Feldwebelleutnant’ officer Fritz Brandt (front) of the Sturmabteilungbrandt group, holding a dog in his arms, and German Gefreiter Gunter Meyer (back) attend the re-enactment of the First Battle of the Marne, which took place a century ago, at Chauconin-Neufmontiers, Eastern Paris. Dozens of volunteers dressed in French and German military uniforms recreated the battle from two trenches dug out by local residents to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War (WWI). Charles Platiau/Reuters

Market Closes for September 10^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17068.71	+54.84
		+0.32%
S&P 500	1995.79	+7.35   +0.37%
NASDAQ	4586.523	+34.238   +0.75%
TSX	15471.67	-65.14
		-0.42%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15788.78	+39.63
		+0.25%
HANG SENG	24705.36	-485.09
		-1.93%
SENSEX	27057.41	-207.91
		-0.76%
FTSE 100	6830.11	+1.11
		+0.02%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.201	2.172
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.726	2.702
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.5378	2.4964
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2663	3.2288

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91347	0.91078
US $	1.09473	1.09796
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41461	0.70691
US $	1.29220	0.77387

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1249.99	1256.21
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	91.67	92.75

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell to the lowest level in three weeks as energy shares followed losses in oil.

     Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Legacy Oil & Gas Inc. declined more than 2.2 percent as crude in New York dropped to the lowest in eight months. AuRico Gold Inc dropped 5.6 percent for the biggest loss in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index.

     The S&P/TSX fell 64.92 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,471.89 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has dropped in four of the past five days and fallen 1.2 percent since a record on Sept. 3. Trading volume was 5.7 percent below the 30-day average at this time of day.

     Bankers Petroleum sank 2.2 percent to C$5.69 and Legacy Oil & Gas slumped 3.2 percent to C$6.92 to pace declines among energy producers. Brent traded below $100 a barrel for a third day and West Texas Intermediate fell 1.2 percent in New York to settle at $91.67 a barrel.

     OPEC cut forecasts for the amount of crude it will need to pump by the most in three years as surging U.S. output reduces reliance on the group’s barrels. Crude prices are poised to drop next year as American production climbs to a 45-year high, the Energy Information Administration said yesterday.

     AuRico Gold declined 5.6 percent to C$4.20 and Torex Gold Resources Inc. tumbled 4.8 percent to C$1.58 as gold futures for December delivery fell to a three-month low.

USA

By Callie Bost and Jeremy Herron

     Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, following a two- day slide, as Apple Inc. rallied to boost technology shares. Treasuries declined with emerging-market equities, while the dollar gained on speculation interest rates may rise sooner than anticipated.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.4 percent at 4 p.m. in New York. Apple jumped 3.1 percent, the most since April, to lead the Nasdaq 100 Index higher. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index sank the most since March. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose three basis points to 2.53 percent, the highest since July. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent and commodities retreated as Brent crude slid to a 17- month low.

     Apple rallied a day after introducing new products including a smartphone, watch and online payments processor. BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager, is among investors speculating that an improving labor market and signs of inflation may justify sooner-than-forecast rate increases by the Federal Reserve. Data this week may show that claims for unemployment benefits fell, retail sales improved, and consumer confidence rose, strengthening the case for higher rates next year.

     “Everybody has been watching Apple,” Matt Maley, the Newton, Massachusetts-based equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. LLC, said via phone. “It’s an Apple-dominated market, especially in a week where we don’t have a lot of macro data coming out.”

     The S&P 500 advanced after closing yesterday at its lowest level since Aug. 22 following a two-day decline of 1 percent. The gauge has rallied 8 percent this year.                       

     The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 0.8 percent, bolstered by Apple and Garmin Ltd., which rallied 4 percent to rebound from a selloff yesterday. Health-care stocks gained 0.7 percent as a group.

     EBay Inc. sank 3.1 percent after Apple introduced a mobile- payment service that may hurt EBay’s PayPal business.

     Energy producers lost 0.3 percent for the second-biggest slide of the 10 main S&P 500 groups, as Brent traded below $100 a barrel for a third day. West Texas Intermediate crude fell to a 16-month low.

     OPEC reduced forecasts for the amount of crude it will need to supply by the most in at least three years as surging North American shale output reduces reliance on the group’s supplies. Crude prices are poised to drop next year as American production climbs to a 45-year high, the Energy Information Administration said yesterday.

     Ten-year Treasuries declined for a fifth-straight day, the longest streak since June, as yields climbed to a one-month high. Spain’s 10-year yield increased seven basis points to 2.27 percent, while Italy’s increased four basis points to 2.40 percent.

     Traders are bringing forward bets for when the Fed will begin raising interest rates. They see a 79 percent chance of an increase to at least 0.5 percent by September 2015, federal fund futures data showed yesterday. That compares with a 73 percent probability seen on Aug. 29. Policy makers have kept their target for overnight lending between banks in a range of zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008.

     BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officer Rick Rieder said interest rates are likely to drift higher as research from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Sept. 8 indicated investors may be underestimating how quickly U.S. policy makers may tighten policy. Rieder said last month in a Twitter post that the Fed may increase rates early in 2015. Fed officials next meet Sept. 16-17.

     “The bond market had a strong rally in August and it seems to be catching up with reality a bit,” said Luca Jellinek, head of European rates strategy at Credit Agricole SA’s investment banking unit in London.

     The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of 10 leading currencies, rose to its strongest level since July 2013. The greenback gained 0.6 percent to 106.79 yen, the highest since September 2008. It was little changed at $1.2912 per euro after reaching $1.2860 yesterday, the strongest since July 2013.

     “The U.S. dollar has had a really nice rally against everything else,” said Chris Weston, chief market strategist in Melbourne at IG Australia, a unit of IG Group. “The euro and the pound are so oversold that now people are looking to a positive U.S. dollar bias against the Aussie.”                       

     The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell for a fifth day, capping its longest slide since June, as China’s money supply growth unexpectedly eased and economic gains in Turkey missed estimates.

     The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.4 percent and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong sank 2.6 percent, the most in seven months. The city’s markets were shut yesterday for a holiday.

     Apple’s Asian suppliers retreated after the company introduced new products yesterday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. slid 1.6 percent, Taipei-based Foxconn Technology Co. fell 1.2 percent and China’s AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. dropped 2.3 percent in Hong Kong.

     The Borsa Istanbul National Index dropped 0.7 percent and the lira fell for a third day. Russia’s ruble declined 0.5 percent, weakening for a third day, while the Micex equity index was little changed.

     Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Russia has withdrawn more than two-thirds of its troops from his country as European Union governments met to consider imposing tougher sanctions on Moscow.

     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent, paring an earlier drop of 0.6 percent. The gauge has lost 1.2 percent since reaching a two-month high on Sept. 4, when the region’s central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates and announced a plan to buy securitized debt.

     Banco Santander SA slid 0.7 percent after Spain’s biggest bank said Chairman Emilio Botin died of a heart attack at the age of 79. The board will meet today to name a successor.

     Kingfisher Plc rose 4.3 percent after Europe’s largest home-improvement retailer said Ian Cheshire will step down as chief executive officer and hand leadership of the company to the head of the French Castorama unit, Veronique Laury.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

I must confess that I do not draw a sharp line

or any distinction between economics and ethics.

 

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Imagination is a poor substitute for experience.

                           -Havelock Ellis, 1859-1939

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Beautiful full moon last night.  This time of year it is spectacular as it rises in the early evening sky.

On this day in 1776, Congress named the United States of America from the previous name of United Colonies.

This month’s issue of Bon Apétit lists the Best New Restaurants for the year.  One of the top ten is Westward in Seattle.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks about the Apple Watch during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California. Stephen Lam/Reuters

This image released by Parks Canada shows a side-scan sonar image of ship on the sea floor in northern Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that one of two fabled British explorer ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, that disappeared in the Arctic more 160 years ago has been found. The ships were last seen in the late 1840s. The Prime Minister said it remains unclear which ship has been found, but images show there’s enough information to confirm it’s one of the pair. Parks Canada/AP

Market Closes for September 9^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17013.87	-97.55
		-0.57%
S&P 500	1988.70	-12.84   -0.64%
NASDAQ	4552.285	-40.000   -0.87%
TSX	15532.31	+22.92
		+0.15%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15749.15	+44.04
		+0.28%
HANG SENG	25190.45	-49.70
		-0.20%
SENSEX	27265.32	-54.53
		-0.20%
FTSE 100	6829.00	-5.77
		-0.08%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.172	2.141
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.702	2.679
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.4964	2.4712
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2288	3.2272

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91078	0.91160
US $	1.09796	1.09698
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42066	0.70390
US $	1.29390	0.77285

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1256.21	1254.90
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	92.75	92.66

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, ending a three-day slump, as oil producers gained before a U.S. supply report to offset a drop in gold producers.

     Canexus Corp. jumped 10 percent as the company will resume construction at its rail hub. Encana Corp. advanced 3.3 percent after deciding to sell its controlling stake in PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. for C$2.6 billion following the unit’s initial offering. PrairieSky declined 4.4 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 27.42 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,536.81 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. It closed Sept. 3 at a record 15,657.63.

     The S&P/TSX has advanced 14 percent this year, the second- best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark. Trading volume in the S&P/TSX was 14 percent higher than the 30-day average today.

     Encana, Canada’s second-largest natural gas producer, climbed 3.3 percent to C$25.51, the highest since June. A group of banks including Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which co-led PrairieSky’s IPO in May, will buy Encana’s remaining stake for C$36.50 a share, 30 percent more than the IPO price. The offering was the largest in Canada in 14 years.

     PrairieSky dropped 4.4 percent to C$36.40, its biggest decrease ever.

     Canadian housing starts fell for the first time in five months in August, as declines in Ontario outweighed gains on the west coast. Work on new homes fell 3.7 percent to 192,368 units at a seasonally adjusted annual pace, Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. said. The figure trailed the 195,000 median forecast.

     Raging River Exploration Inc. increased 4.1 percent to C$10.78 and Whitecap Resources Inc. added 0.6 percent to C$17.44 as West Texas Intermediate crude rose 9 cents to $92.75 a barrel from a seven-month low ahead of data forecast to show U.S.supplies fell.

     B2Gold Corp. lost 1.2 percent to C$2.43 and Argonaut Gold Inc. slipped 0.8 percent to C$3.97. Gold for December delivery retreated 0.5 percent to $1,248.50 an ounce in New York, dropping to a three-month low.

     Canexus surged 10 percent to C$4.93, the biggest gain since August, after a judge ruled in favor of Canexus in its dispute with MEG Energy Corp. over a pipeline construction agreement.

     Canexus estimates construction to link its Cold Lake pipeline system to MEG Energy’s pipeline will take about two weeks to complete.

US

By Elena Popina and Lu Wang

     Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declining the most in a month, as concerns grew that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than anticipated and a rally in Apple Inc. disappeared.

     Apple wiped out a rally of as much as 4.8 percent after unveiling new products including larger-screen iPhones. Garmin Ltd. and Amazon.com Inc. dropped at least 3.5 percent, pacing declines int the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index. McDonald’s Corp. retreated 1.5 percent as its monthly sales missed estimates. Home Depot Inc. lost 2.1 percent after confirming that hackers attacked its computer systems.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to 1,988.44 at 4 p.m. in New York, for its largest retreat since Aug. 5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 97.55 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,013.87. The Nasdaq 100 slumped 0.8 percent, and the Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies tumbled 1.2 percent, its biggest drop since July 31. About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 3.5 percent above the three-month average.

     “There are still a number of people who fear the Fed will raise rates too soon, but I don’t think there’s anything to be gained by being early in raising interest rates,” John Manley, who helps oversee about $233 billion as chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York, said in a phone interview. “If the Fed tightens too soon, it will drag the U.S. and the world into another recession.”

     The Fed is gauging the strength of the economy as it winds down a bond-buying program and considers the timing of raising rates. Policy officials next meet Sept. 16-17.

     Assessments of the strength of the economy are mixed, after gross domestic product expanded more than previously forecast in the second quarter, while a report on Sept. 5 showed the economy added fewer jobs than anticipated in August. Data this week will likely show a decline in weekly jobless claims and stronger retail sales, according to economists’ forecasts.

     Rick Rieder, BlackRock Inc.’s chief investment officer of fundamental fixed income in New York, said in a report that an improving labor market and signs of inflation argue for the Fed to boost borrowing costs. Meanwhile, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economic rebound has been hindered by a slump in the construction industry as wage growth remains slow and credit conditions tight.

     Wall Street strategists have been raising their targets for the S&P 500. Gina Martin Adams at Wells Fargo & Co. and Tony Dwyer, a strategist at Canaccord Genuity Securities LLC, were the latest today to lift their forecasts for the S&P. They follow increased projections from Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank AG and a bullish rating on global stocks from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s portfolio strategy team.

     The S&P 500 retreated 0.3 percent yesterday after a five- week rally, its longest winning streak this year. The benchmark is trading at 16.6 times the projected earnings of its members, near the 16.8 multiple reached on Sept. 5 that was the highest valuation since the end of 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The S&P 500 had not posted a move of more than 0.5 percent in either direction for 14 straight days until today, the longest streak since 1995, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The last time the index fell more than 10 percent was three years ago.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge known as the VIX, climbed 6.6 percent to 13.50 today, the most in more than a month. The gauge lost 29 percent last month, the biggest drop in almost three years.

     All 10 groups in the S&P 500 dropped today, with financial companies, utilities and phone shares losing more than 1 percent. Technology shares dropped 0.6 percent, reversing an earlier rally of 0.7 percent.

     Apple fell 0.4 percent to $97.99, after climbing to within one point of its intraday record of $103.74 reached last week. The shares have typically fallen at other events where it debuted new products. Apple is up 22 percent so far this year, exceeding the 7.6 percent gain for the S&P 500.

     The company announced a smartwatch, mobile-payments system, health applications and bigger-screen iPhones that all work together — in the biggest new lineup so far under Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.

     Garmin Ltd. dropped 3.5 percent to $51.71. The maker of navigation services tumbled as much as 6.1 percent after Apple introduced the Apple Watch, which will include apps for map.

     Amazon.com Inc. retreated 3.7 percent, the most since July, to $329.75. The company yesterday cut the price of its Fire smartphone to 99 cents to boost adoption of the device.

     Other technology companies also slumped. Yahoo Inc. dropped 2.5 percent, EBay Inc. lost 2.8 percent, and Intel Corp. slid1.2 percent.

     Morgan Stanley dropped 2.7 percent to $33.91 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lost 1.5 percent to $177.40. The Fed is planning risk-based capital standards for banks that are tougher than those developed by their international counterparts, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo told lawmakers today.

     McDonald’s retreated 1.5 percent to $91.09. The world’s largest restaurant chain said sales at stores open at least 13 months fell 3.7 percent in August as its U.S. slump continued for the fourth straight month.

     Home Depot lost 2.1 percent to $88.93 after it confirmed that hackers attacked its computer systems at stores in the U.S.

and Canada. The company, which didn’t disclose how many customers may have been affected, said the continuing investigation is focused on purchases made since April.

     Pinnacle Foods Inc. declined 4.7 percent to $31.99. Shareholders affiliated to Blackstone Group LP will sell 15 million shares in the company, according to a statement late yesterday. Blackstone held a 51 percent stake in Pinnacle as of June 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Avon Products Inc. retreated 3.6 percent to $13.17. The company said yesterday that Kimberly Ross resigned as chief financial officer, effective Oct. 2. The cosmetics company has dropped 24 percent this year.

     Annie’s Inc. rallied 38 percent to $46.10. General Mills Inc., the maker of Cheerios, Bisquick and Yoplait, will buy the company for about $820 million, gaining a popular lineup of natural and organic foods. General Mills dropped 0.6 percent to $53.32.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

That economics is untrue which ignores or disregards moral values.

The extension of the law of nonviolence in the domain of economics means nothing less

than the introduction of moral values as a factor to be considered with regulating international commerce.

 

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

                                        -Mark Twain, 1835-1910

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

We went to see the movie Boyhood last week – the movie that has been getting good reviews from the critics.  It took twelve years to make and it felt like half that long to watch it.  It is a long movie – about three hours.  I thought it was good; Gary thought it was terrific, so maybe gender has something to do with appreciation with this one.  It is a pretty clever movie, I have to admit.

On this date in 1966, the hit science-fiction series “Star Trek” made its debut on NBC.

Photos of the Day

A jogger runs through the snow at Nose Hill Park during an early year snow fall in Calgary, Alberta. The snow and unseasonably cold weather are supposed to last for two days according to local media reports. Todd Korol/Reuters

A Yes sign is displayed in a field with Llamas grazing in Jedburgh, Scotland. The British government plans to offer Scotland more financial autonomy in the coming days as polls predict a very close vote in the September 18 referendum on Scottish independence. Scott Heppell/AP

Market Closes for September 8^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17111.42	-25.94
		-0.15%
S&P 500	2001.56	-6.15   -0.31%
NASDAQ	4592.285	+9.385   +0.20%
TSX	15510.78	-59.14
		-0.38%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15705.11	+36.43
		+0.23%
HANG SENG	25190.45	-49.70
		-0.20%
SENSEX	27319.85	+293.15
		+1.08%
FTSE 100	6834.77	-20.33
		-0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.141	2.116
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.679	2.666
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.4712	2.4551
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2272	3.2255

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91160	0.91905
US $	1.09698	1.08808
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41478	0.70682
US $	1.28970	0.77537

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1254.90	1268.37
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	92.66	93.29

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a third day, with the benchmark index at the lowest level in nearly three weeks, as commodity producers dropped after Brent crude sank to a 16-month low amid weaker Chinese trade data.

     Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Athabasca Oil Corp. retreated more than 2.9 percent to pace declines among oil producers. B2Gold Corp. lost 2.8 percent with gold touched the lowest since June. Bombardier Inc. rose the most in a month after resuming test flights for its CSeries passenger jet.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 60.53 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,509.39 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the lowest since Aug. 19. It closed Sept. 3 at a record 15,657.63.

     The S&P/TSX has advanced 14 percent this year, the second- best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark. Trading volume in the S&P/TSX was 3 percent below the 30-day average.

     Bankers Petroleum sank 5.2 percent to C$5.98, the lowest since May, and Athabasca Oil lost 2.9 percent to C$7.15 as the S&P/TSX Energy Index declined 1.2 percent.

     Brent crude fell 62 cents to $100.20 a barrel as Chinese imports slipped, bolstering concern there’s a global oil surplus. West Texas Intermediate retreated 0.7 percent to $92.66 a barrel in New York, the lowest close since Jan. 14.                       

     China’s trade surplus climbed to a record in August, as imports fell for a second month. China is the world’s largest consumer of commodities and Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

     B2Gold lost 2.8 percent to C$2.46 and Yamana Gold Inc. fell 3.9 percent to C$8.07. Gold for December delivery decreased 1 percent in New York to settle at $1,254.30 an ounce.

     Bombardier advanced 0.6 percent to C$3.65, the biggest gain since Aug. 8. The aircraft manufacturer yesterday conducted the first test flight of its CSeries jet since an engine failure in May delayed efforts to introduce the airliner next year.

     Bombardier has taken steps to fix the problem, including modifying the engine’s oil-lubrication system, the company said. The Montreal-based company is targeting a CSeries debut in the second half of 2015 after missing a release date last year.

US

By Elena Popina

     Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell, after a five-week rally sent the gauge to a record, as declines in energy companies along with oil prices overshadowed a rally by Yahoo! Inc.

     Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. dropped at least 0.9 percent to pace declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as oil prices tumbled. Ford Motor Co. slipped 2 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares of the automaker. Yahoo climbed 5.6 percent to the highest level since 2006 after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said it plans to raise as much as $21.1 billion in an initial public offering.

     The S&P 500 retreated 0.3 percent to 2,001.54 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow lost 25.94 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,111.42. The Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.1 percent, led by Yahoo. About 5.2 billion shares changed hands today, 6 percent below the three-month average.

     “You have five weeks of S&P growth, we may be in the overbought territory,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based RW Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion, said in a phone interview. “You generally don’t continue to grow forever.”

     The S&P 500 climbed 0.2 percent last week, completing its longest streak of weekly gains this year, as investors speculated weaker jobs growth will keep the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates. Bets on continued Fed support got a boost on Sept. 5 as data showed the economy added fewer jobs than estimated in August and the unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent.                         

     The Fed is gauging the strength of the labor market as it winds down a bond-buying program and considers the timing of raising interest rates. Policy officials next meet Sept. 16-17.

     Low volatility across financial markets may signal investors are underestimating how quickly the Fed will raise interest rates, according to researchers at the San Francisco Fed.

     “Surveys, market expectations, and model estimates show that the public seems to expect a more accommodative policy than Federal Open Market Committee participants,” Jens Christensen, a senior economist, and Simon Kwan, a vice president of financial research, said in a report today. Data also suggest that the public is “less uncertain about their projections.”

     Morgan Stanley chief U.S. equity strategist Adam Parker announced today an increase in the firm’s 12-month S&P 500 forecast to 2,125, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its three-month rating on stocks to the equivalent of buy, after the European Central Bank reduced its main interest rates and implement an asset-buying plan. The move reversed a July 26 call, when the firm cut its three-month rating on stocks to neutral amid expectations government bond yields would increase.                       

     The S&P 500 trades at 18 times the reported earnings of its members, near the highest level in four years. The gauge hasn’t posted a four-day streak of losses in all of 2014 and the last time it fell more than 10 percent was three years ago.

     While markets are calm for now, the trajectory of the U.S. stock market is about to get bumpier, according to one measure in the options market.

     Investors are bidding up contracts that protect against losses in the S&P 500 in the next three months, driving the price to near the highest level in 19 months compared with contracts expiring in a month. The difference in implied volatility shows traders are hedging for risks that may be months away while expressing less concern over the present.

     U.S. equities climbed last week after Ukraine agreed on a cease-fire with pro-Russian separatists to stem months of bloodshed. The S&P 500 extended declines in afternoon trading today after an NBC affiliate in Florida reported a possible Ebola case at an area hospital, citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Shares recouped some of the losses after the patient tested negative, according to a report from the Washington Post.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge of investor concern derived from options prices, climbed 4.7 percent to 12.66 today. The index plummeted 29 percent in August, the biggest monthly drop since October 2011.

     Eight of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 fell today, with energy shares dropping 1.6 percent to lead declines. Brent crude briefly fell below $100 for the first time since June 2013 as Chinese imports slipped in August, bolstering concern there’s a global oil surplus.

     Energy companies also had the worst performance last week, with a loss of 1.5 percent. Brent has tumbled 13 percent since June 19 as economies from Europe to Asia show signs of slowing while oil output climbs. Oil markets in the U.S. and Europe face a glut amid constrained consumption and the recovery of supplies from Libya, the International Energy Agency, the Paris-based adviser to 29 nations, said last month.

     Marathon Oil Corp. dropped 1.7 percent to $40.21 and Newfield Exploration Co. lost 4.7 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to $40. Exxon Mobil retreated 1.5 percent to $97.77, while Chevron dropped 0.9 percent to $126.21.

     Ford declined 2 percent to $16.80 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to underweight, similar to sell, from overweight, similar to buy. The brokerage cited a high exposure to the U.S. market, where it said sales in the last five years were driven by pent-up demand.

     Campbell Soup Co. slid 2.6 percent to $43.39 as its 2015 profit forecast was less than analysts had estimated. The company has struggled to rekindle Americans’ appetite for soup, with sales of ready-to-serve varieties decreasing 8 percent in the quarter ended Aug. 3.

     Apple Inc. slipped 0.6 percent to $98.36. The company will unveil the latest iPhones and a wearable gadget at an event tomorrow near its headquarters. The iPhones will include software that lets the handset act as a mobile wallet, while the watch-like wearable device is expected to include features for tracking health and fitness activity, people familiar with the plans have said.

     Technology shares had the best performance among the S&P 500 groups, climbing 0.2 percent.

     Yahoo, which owns more than 22 percent of e-commerce company Alibaba, rallied 5.6 percent to $41.81 for the biggest advance in the S&P. Alibaba plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange this month, according to a regulatory filing on Sept. 5. Yahoo will sell 121.7 million of its Alibaba shares, potentially reaping as much as $8.03 billion.

     Facebook Inc. added 0.8 percent to $77.89 as its market value exceeded $200 billion, making it the 22nd-largest company in the world, as investors bet on the company to capitalize on the future of mobile advertising.

     Rackspace Hosting Inc. rallied 6.9 percent to $39.79 after people familiar with the situation said CenturyLink Inc. has discussed the idea of acquisition with the San Antonio, Texas- based company. The cloud-computing provider said last month it is conducting an internal review of its strategic options. A spokeswoman for Rackspace and a representative for CenturyLink at Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher declined to comment.

     Multimedia Games Holding Co. jumped 30 percent to $36.15 in its biggest advance since February 2012 as Global Cash Access Holdings Inc., a provider of cash solutions to the gaming industry, said it will buy the company for about $1.2 billion to expand its access to casino floors.

     Boeing Co. rose 2.6 percent to $127.98 after Ryanair Holdings Plc agreed to buy as many as 200 high-density Boeing 737 jets in a deal worth a potential $22 billion at list prices.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Non-possession is allied to non-stealing.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,
 

Without discipline, there is no life at all.

          -Katharine Hepburn, 1907-2003

 

Carolann

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1888, George Eastman — one of the pioneers behind photography — earned a patent for roll film. He registered the trademark “Kodak,” which became one of the most well-known film brands in the 20th century.

September 4^th, 1781 – The city of Los Angeles was founded.

September 4^th, 2014 – Comedienne Joan Rivers dies.

Photos of the Day

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire look at a piece by Chinese artist Xu Bing entitled ‘Tao Hua Yuan: A Lost Village Utopia’ during the Beyond Limits selling exhibition at Chatsworth House in central England. Darren Staples/Reuters

The Turanor PlanetSolar catamaran, the world’s largest solar-powered boat, travels on the Venetian Lagoon in Venice. Manuel Silvestri/Reuters

Market Closes for September 4^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17069.58	-8.70
		-0.05%
S&P 500	1997.65	-3.07   -0.15%
NASDAQ	4526.289	-10.276   -0.22%
TSX	15576.79	-80.84
		-0.52%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15676.18	-52.17
		-0.33%
HANG SENG	25297.92	-20.03
		-0.08%
SENSEX	27085.93	-54.01
		-0.20%
FTSE 100	6877.97	+4.39
		+0.06%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.124	2.083
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.667	2.630
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.4515	2.3962
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2090	3.1419

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91932	0.91845
US $	1.08775	1.08879
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40716	0.71065
US $	1.29364	0.77301

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1261.40	1269.60
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	94.45	95.54

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, retreating from an all-time high, as gold and oil slumped after the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates and announced a bond-buying program.

     Manulife Financial Corp. dropped 1.4 percent after agreeing to purchase the Canadian operations of Standard Life Plc for about C$4 billion ($3.7 billion). Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. gained 3.5 percent for a third straight advance.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 80.84 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,576.79 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge closed at a record 15,657.63 yesterday.

     The Canadian equities benchmark has surged 14 percent this year, making it the second-best performer among developed equity markets behind Denmark. Trading volume in the S&P/TSX was 9 percent higher than the 30-day average today.

     The ECB cut interest rates and will start buying assets, easing the flow of funding for the region’s economy while holding back for now on larger-scale action. In committing cash to the market for asset-backed securities, Mario Draghi is making good on his pledge to help rekindle an asset class that can funnel loans to the real economy and ease funding conditions for banks.

     Manulife, Canada’s largest life insurer, slipped 1.4 percent to C$22.05, the biggest drop in a month. The firm’s acquisition of Standard Life’s Canadian business will enhance the company’s ability to increase its dividend and add 3 cents annually to earnings per share over the next three years, Manulife Chief Executive Officer Donald Guloien said on a conference call yesterday.

     Detour Gold Corp. sank 4.9 percent to C$12.09 and Semafo Inc. dropped 7.4 percent to C$4.51. Gold for December delivery lost 0.6 percent to $1,263.10 an ounce in New York. Silver Standard Resources Inc. plunged 8.6 percent to C$8.75.

     Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. decreased 6.2 percent to C$13.26 to pace declines in the S&P/TSX Energy Index. Crude for October delivery dropped 1.1 percent in New York as refineries reduced operating rates.

     Couche-Tard climbed 3.5 percent to C$36.70, extending a record, after CIBC World Markets Inc. analyst Perry Caicco raised his rating for the convenience store operator to sector outperform, the equivalent of a buy. He has a 12-month price target of C$44 for Couche-Tard.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell a third day, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its longest slump since June, as energy producers sank with oil prices to overshadow new stimulus from the European Central Bank.

     Energy shares sank 1.3 percent for the biggest drop among the 10 main S&P 500 groups, as crude fell 1.1 percent in New York. Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. each lost 0.8 percent to pace declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. PVH Corp. surged 9.6 percent after the owner of the Calvin Klein clothing brand posted profit that topped estimates. Fastenal Co. rose 4 percent after reporting a sales increase.

     The S&P 500 dropped 0.2 percent to 1,997.65 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow lost 8.7 points to 17,069.58. Both gauges earlier climbed to intraday records. More than 5.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 1.8 percent above the three-month average.

     “The market is kind of tired,” Walter Todd, who oversees about $1 billion as chief investment officer for Greenwood, South Carolina-based Greenwood Capital Associates LLC, said in a phone interview. “We saw such a quick bounce off the 1,900 level in early August straight up to a new high. In the very near-term, you’ve got a variety of headwinds and exhaustion around the move higher.”

     The S&P 500 has fallen 0.3 percent in the past three days after ending last month at a record. The index gained 3.8 percent in August, the biggest increase since February, and topped 2,000 for the first time.

     The ECB cut interest rates and will start buying assets, boosting the flow of funding for the euro-area economy while stopping short of broad-based quantitative easing. The move boosted European stocks and sent two-year note yields below zero in eight countries.

     The U.S. equity gauge slipped yesterday as Apple Inc. dropped after a competitor unveiled new products and amid conflicting reports about progress on a peace plan for Ukraine.

     The country’s ’s eastern provinces teetered between war and peace as President Petro Poroshenko moved to halt the combat and pro-Russian rebels sought to consolidate gains made in more than five months of fighting.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P options prices known as the VIX, climbed 2.3 percent today to 12.64 for a third day of gains and the longest winning streak since Aug. 1. The gauge lost 29 percent last month, the biggest drop in almost three years.

     U.S. data today showed service providers expanded in August at the fastest pace in nine years, a sign of growing momentum in the broadest sector of the economy. Applications for unemployment benefits in the were little changed last week, while a separate report indicated firms added fewer jobs in August than estimated. The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report is due tomorrow.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is this desire to express himself that leads him to search for riches and power.

But he must understand that to accumulate material wealth is not to find this fulfillment.

What brings him back to himself is the interior light, and not the exterior objects.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Be yourself.  The world worships the original.

                  -Ingrid Bergman, 1915-1982

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7