Author: Carolann

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

St. George’s Day today.

It was on this day in 2005, the first video was uploaded to YouTube by the site’s co-founder Jawed Karim. The 19-second video is a shot of Mr. Karim at the San Diego Zoo. It has more than 14 million views.

William Shakespeare was born on April 23^rd, 1564.  To celebrate his 450^th birthday, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is making all the world a stage and taking its production of Hamlet around the world:

Globe Theatre starts worldwide ‘Hamlet’ tour on Shakespeare’s 450th birthday

By Daniel S Levine, 4/23/2014

Last year, the Globe Theatre announced an ambitious plan to bring Hamlet to every country in the world – over 200 of them – to celebrate William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday. Today is Shakespeare’s birthday, marking the start of the tour.

The group said last July, when it announced the plan, that the actors will use every mode of transportation available to reach every country. Artistic director Dominic Dromgoole completely understands why some may consider this a crazy idea.

In an interview with NPR, Dromgoole even called it a “bold and stupid” idea.

“And the great thing about bold and stupid ideas is that people understand them very swiftly,” Dromgoole said. “So when we go out to people around the world and say, very simply, ‘We are taking Hamlet to every country in the world,’ they immediately get the fun of it and the ambition of it.”

Dromgoole said that they will adapt to whatever environment they have, since they’re not bringing along any huge sets. “We’re going to be very free and open. The set is basically the suitcases that the whole thing travels around in, so it spills out of its own suitcases,” he told NPR, later adding, “The idea is that it’s infinitely adaptable to wherever we want to put it up.”

According to The Associated Press, Dromgoole said that the tour will start in Amsterdam and will go to the Arctic Circle before Scandinavia. It will continue for two years, ending at the Globe in England on April 23, 2016. That day will mark the exact 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death.

“Shakespeare wrote these plays to tour,” Dromgoole told the AP. “So these plays weren’t written to sit smug and proud in London. They were written to charge around the world.”
You can check out our list of best Shakespeare adaptations here.

When daffodils begin to peer

When daffodils begin to peer,
With heigh! the doxy, over the dale,
Why, then comes in the sweet o’ the year;
For the red blood reigns in the winter’s pale.
The white sheet bleaching on the hedge,
With heigh! the sweet birds, O, how they sing!
Doth set my pugging tooth on edge,
For a quart of ale is a dish for a king.
The lark, that tirra-lirra chants,
With heigh! with heigh! The thrush and the jay,
Are summer songs for me and my aunts,
While we lie tumbling in the hay.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Autoclucus’ Song from The Winter’s Tale

Photos of the day

A Golden Pheasant walks amongst bluebells at Kew Gardens in west London. Toby Melville/Reuters

Javier Montes, 96-years old, looks at books beside a bunch of red roses, on International Book Day, in Pamplona northern Spain. Book sellers continue a Spanish tradition on St. George’s Day, to give a rose to all people who buy a book, but the origins of the tradition are shrouded in antiquity.Alvaro Barrientos/AP

Market Closes for April 23^rd, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16501.65	-12.72    -0.08%
S&P 500	1875.39	-4.16    -0.22%
NASDAQ	4126.969	-34.489    -0.83%
TSX	14533.39	-22.58
		-0.16%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14546.27	+157.50
		+1.09%
HANG   SENG	22509.64	-221.04
		-0.97%
SENSEX	22876.54	+118.17
		+0.52%
FTSE 100	6674.74	-7.02
		-0.11%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.424	2.448
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.928	2.945
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6860	2.7151
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4685	3.4967

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90642	0.90680
US   $	1.10324	1.10278
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52432	0.65603
US   $	1.38168	0.72376

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold  Fix	1284.51	1284.41
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	101.74	102.13
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

April 23 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, erasing an earlier advance in the last half hour of trading, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. tumbled to overshadow gains among commodity shares.

Valeant slid 2.8 percent, with almost half of the loss coming in the final minute of trading. The shares rallied yesterday following its offer to acquire Allergan Inc. Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s largest energy company, rose 2.6 percent to its highest in almost three years. Alacer Gold Corp. and Detour Gold Corp, added more than 3.9 percent as the metal rose from a 10-week low. Callidus Capital Corp. jumped 20 percent on its first day of trading.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index dropped 22.58 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,533.39 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after gaining as much as 0.2 percent earlier.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals fell 2.8 percent to C$145.25. The drug company jumped 7.7 percent yesterday as it teamed with hedge fund manager Bill Ackman to bid for Allergan Inc.

Crew Energy Inc. rose 4.8 percent to C$12.51, its highest in more than two years, to pace gains among energy companies. Crew has increased 96 percent this year. Suncor rose 2.6 percent to C$41.37.

“The energy sector continues to outperform and lead the market,” said Youssef Zohny, a portfolio manager at Stenner Investment Partners of Richardson GMP Ltd. “Gold and silver is balancing after its recent correction,” he said. Richardson GMP manages about C$26 billion ($23.6 billion).

Consumer-staples companies climbed 1 percent as a group after Canadian retail sales rose 0.5 percent in February, in line with analyst estimates.

Callidus Capital rose 20 percent to C$16.77. The financial services company raised C$252 million in an initial public offering price priced at $14 a share.

US
By Joseph Ciolli

April 23 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined, halting the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s longest winning streak since September, after disappointing earnings reports from AT&T Inc.and Amgen Inc. and an unexpected drop in home sales.

The Nasdaq 100 Index lost 0.9 percent as Netflix Inc. dropped after Amazon.com Inc. reached a deal to stream old episodes of HBO series. Amgen, which is in the technology-heavy gauge, plunged after sales for its best-selling arthritis drug missed analysts’ estimates. AT&T Inc. fell 3.8 percent as more customers opted to pay full price for smartphones in exchange for lower bill in the future. Boeing Co. added 2.4 percent after profit topped forecasts. Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. each advanced in late trading after reporting results that surpassed estimates.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,875.39 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 12.72 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,501.65. The Russell 2000 Index sank 0.7 percent. About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 18 percent below the three-month average.

“The market has been moving up rather well, but it can get a little tired,” Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion, said in a phone interview. “And the economic news today was not anything that would drive the market higher at this point. Apple and Facebook report after the close today, and everyone will be watching that, as they can be market movers.”

The U.S. equity benchmark gauge advanced 3.5 percent during its six-day rally, climbing to within six points of a record, as earnings from Netflix to Citigroup Inc. topped estimates and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated the bank’s commitment to supporting the economy.

The Commerce Department data today showed that sales of new homes unexpectedly plunged in March to the lowest level in eight months, reflecting a broad-based retreat that signals the industry is facing bigger challenges than just bad weather.  Sales dropped 14.5 percent to a 384,000 annualized pace.  Economists predicted a 450,000 annualized pace.

A report from Markit Economics showed a preliminary U.S. manufacturing index decreased to 55.4 in April from a final reading of 55.5 a month earlier. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 56. Readings greater than 50 signal expansion.

Emerging-market equities dropped and European shares snapped the biggest three-day rally since June after the Markit gauge for China signaled continuing weakness in the world’s second-largest economy.

The S&P 500’s six-day rally damped volatility, as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell in each of the sessions to the lowest since April 2. The gauge known as the VIX added 0.6 percent to 13.27 today.

Of the 150 companies in the S&P 500 that have released earnings this season, 75 percent have exceeded analysts’ profit estimates, while 50 percent beat sales projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Some 41 members of the index posted today.

Profit for S&P 500 companies probably increased 0.7 percent in the first quarter, analysts estimated. They had predicted a 6.6 percent gain at the beginning of this year.

“These next few days are the most important of the earnings season as some big bellwethers report,” Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, an equity market strategist at Deutsche Postbank AG, said by phone from Bonn, Germany. “Earnings have not been great this quarter. Expectations had already been brought down quite dramatically and profit growth is weak year-on-year. The S&P 500 is holding up, but investors will need more of a signal to start buying into the market.”

Facebook rose 2.9 percent at 4:46 p.m. in New York. The company’s sales and profit blew past analysts’ estimates. It also said Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman is leaving. The stock fell 2.7 percent to close the regular session at $61.36.

Apple Inc. surged 8.3 percent to $568.52 in late trading.  The world’s largest company by market value also boosted its buyback to $90 billion and raised its dividend. The iPhone maker said it will do a seven-for-one stock split.

Greenlight Capital Inc., the $10.3 billion hedge-fund firm run by David Einhorn, said it was betting against a group of technology stocks as evidence grows of a bubble.

“There is a clear consensus that we are witnessing our second tech bubble in 15 years,” the New York-based firm said in a letter to clients yesterday. “The current bubble is an echo of the previous tech bubble with fewer larger capitalization stocks and much less public enthusiasm.”

Discovery Capital Management LLC, the $15 billion macro- economic hedge-fund firm run by Robert Citrone, slumped in April to bring its losses this year to 12 percent, according to an e- mail the firm sent to investors.

Discovery has struggled in 2014 after predicting at the start of the year that a crisis in emerging markets would worsen and shares of technology companies would rise, according to a 2014 outlook letter to clients, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

The broader Nasdaq Composite Index retreated 0.8 percent and technology shares were the second-worst performer among the 10 main S&P 500 groups today with a 0.9 percent slide. Intuitive Surgical Inc. sank 11 percent for its 12th drop in 13 sessions and the biggest loss in the S&P 500.

EMC Corp. declined 3.2 percent to $25.91. The world’s biggest maker of storage computers cut its earnings forecast for 2014 after reporting a drop in first-quarter profit. The company said some businesses are slowing purchases.

AT&T, which had rallied 14 percent from a low on March 3, sank 3.8 percent to $34.92. Customers who signed up for installment plans helped the company boost profit, but were rejecting AT&T’s older model of offering discounts on smartphones in exchange for a two-year contract with higher fees. While the change is padding profits now, though the company won’t be able to spread the revenue from device sales over time.

Phone stocks in the S&P 500 fell the most, dropping 2.2 percent as Verizon Communications Inc. also retreated.

Amgen lost 5 percent to $113.32, the steepest slide in a year. Quarterly sales of Enbrel, its best-selling arthritis medicine, declined 5 percent to $988 million, missing the $1.11 billion average analyst projection. Total revenue increased 6.6 percent to $4.52 billion from a year earlier, less than the $4.75-billion average estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

Netflix dropped 5.2 percent to $353.50. Amazon’s deal with Time Warner Inc.’s HBO network gives the company exclusive programs that Netflix doesn’t have. Netflix has used original programs such as “House of Cards” to draw online viewers. Amazon shares slipped 1.4 percent.

An S&P index of homebuilders lost 1.6 percent after the housing report. D.R. Horton Inc. sank 2.2 percent to $21.35 for among the biggest declines.

Procter & Gamble Co. slid 0.3 percent to $80.36. The world’s largest consumer-products company posted third-quarter revenue that missed expectations because of declines in its beauty and grooming businesses, as well as a strong dollar that reduced the value of its revenue abroad.

Boeing added 2.4 percent to $130.63 for the biggest rise in the Dow. The world’s largest planemaker reported profit that beat analysts’ estimates, buoyed by rising commercial-jet deliveries as the company stepped up the production tempo.

Delta Air Lines Inc. was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500, increasing 6.1 percent to $37.09 for a sixth day of gains. The third-largest U.S. airline’s first-quarter profit more than tripled, topping analysts’ estimates, as increased traffic and lower fuel prices trumped winter storms that ground 17,000 flights.

FMC Technologies Inc. had the second-biggest advance in the S&P 500, rising 4.2 percent to $57.75 and helping to pace a 0.5 percent increase in the benchmark gauge’s energy index. The largest U.S. maker of subsea equipment for energy producers reported earnings that exceeded estimates.

Gilead Sciences Inc. advanced 1.4 percent to $73.86 for an eighth day of gains that left the stock at a two-month high.  Sales of its hepatitis C pill, Sovaldi, topped estimates by more than $1 billion. Profit excluding certain items also exceeding projections.

Illumina Inc. rose 3.9 percent to $153.69. The maker of DNA sequencing equipment said first-quarter sales increased 27 percent to $421 million, more than the $392 million projected by analysts.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Only the intelligence of love and compassion can solve all problems of life.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We don’t see things as they are, we see things

as we are.

-Anaïs Nin, 1903-1977

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, 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:

Today is Earth Day.  Est. 1970.  To celebrate, cook dinner with organic foods and share with family or friends.  Reflect on the beauty of our home – the awakening of nature at this wonderful season of spring, with the little birds singing for food in the morning, spring flowers in bloom, the first buds appearing on plants that will bloom in summer…

We went to Napa for the Easter weekend and enjoyed the beauty of the captivating landscape with its rolling hills and endless vineyards.   Of the wineries we toured, the highlight was Shramsberg winery in Calistoga.  You must schedule a tour ahead of time, so if you are planning a trip to San Francisco or specifically the wine country in the future, I highly recommend the tour of this winery.  The story  of its origins and evolution is a charming one.  It is famous for its sparkling wines.  The bottles are stored in caves that were dug into the mountain and the tour takes you through the caves.  Its wines catapulted to fame in 1972 when President Nixon brought cases of the sparkling wine with him to China for gifts for his host and every US president since, including Obama, serves their wines a state dinners and White House celebrations.   We had a tasting of five vintages and they were all superb.

Photos of the day

Tulips bloom in front of the Capitol in Washington. J. David Ake/AP

Bianca Cortinas stands wrapped in plastic six pack rings during a demonstration to mark Earth Day in Manhattan in New York City. Mike Segar/Reuters

Market Closes for April 22^nd, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16514.37	+65.12    +0.40%
S&P 500	1879.37	+7.48    +0.40%
NASDAQ	4161.457	+39.911    +0.97%
TSX	14554.03	+60.35
		+0.42%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14388.77	-123.61
		-0.85%
HANG   SENG	22730.68	-29.56
		-0.13%
SENSEX	22758.37	-6.46
		-0.03%
FTSE 100	6681.76	+56.51
		+0.85%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.448	2.448
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.945	2.946
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.7151	2.7124
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4967	3.5185

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90680	0.90773
US   $	1.10278	1.10165
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52249	0.65682
US   $	1.38059	0.72433

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1284.41	1290.29
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	102.13	104.37
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

April 22 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, after the benchmark index snapped a four-day rally yesterday, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped after offering to buy Allergan Inc. for $45.7 billion.

Valeant rose 7.7 percent in Toronto trading after offering to merge with Allergan, the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment. Rogers Communications Inc., Canada’s biggest wireless operator, fell 3.6 percent after missing analyst estimates for first-quarter earnings and subscriber numbers.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index rose 62.29 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,555.97 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has risen 6.9 percent this year.

Valeant’s valuation will jump a lot higher if the deal is finalized, said Brian Huen, managing partner at Red Sky Capital Management in Toronto. “There’s still a lot of timeline uncertainties, regulatory uncertainties and whether or not they can get the deal across the finish line, that’s holding the stock back,” he said by phone. Huen helps manage about C$225 million ($203 million).

Valeant rose 7.7 percent to C$149.38 on the Toronto exchange. The Laval, Quebec-based company will pay Allergan investors $48.30 in cash and 0.83 percent in Valeant stock for each share they own, Valeant said in a statement yesterday. Pershing Square Capital Management LP, the fund run by Bill Ackman and Allergan’s largest shareholder with a 9.7 percent stake, supports the offer, Valeant said.

Mining companies rose as Barrick Gold Corp. rebounded 1.8 percent to C$19.37 after falling 3.9 percent yesterday as talks for a merger with Newmont Mining Corp. were said to break down.

TransCanada Corp. gained 1.3 percent to C$50.04. The builder of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline fell 3.7 percent yesterday after the timeline for the project’s approval was pushed back.

“Yesterday’s news certainly got people nervous and people are going to be reluctant to get back in the name until more clarity can be provided,” said Huen.

Rogers fell 3.6 percent to C$42.71 as subscriber growth missed analyst estimates and average revenue per customer fell 5 percent from the same period last year, according to a statement.

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. fell 3.5 percent to C$5.78 after saying it would buy Sandstorm Metals & Energy Ltd. at a 43 percent premium to the company’s April 21 closing price. National Bank Financial cut its rating on the stock from the equivalent of a buy to the equivalent of a hold.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. rose 5.3 percent to C$172.62 after the company reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts estimates. The company has been reducing expenses by firing employees and cutting benefits.

Points International Ltd. rose 6.4 percent to C$27 after buying Accruity, which owns travel booking website PointsHound.com.

US
By Joseph Ciolli

April 22 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose a sixth day, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capping its longest rally since September, as health-care shares surged amid a $45.7 billion bid for Allergan Inc. and earnings from Netflix Inc. to Harley- Davidson Inc. topped estimates.

Allergan surged 15 percent after Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. offered to merge with the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment. Netflix soared 7 percent after saying it expects to increase prices for new customers. Harley-Davidson Inc. added 6.4 percent after its earnings release.

The S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to 1,879.55 at 4 p.m. in New York, and earlier rose to within six points of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 65.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,514.37. About 5.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 15 percent below the three-month average.

“Sentiment had gotten too negative, and some decent earnings reports have started helping the market,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said in a phone interview. “That, combined with the positive deal talk and chatter in health care, gives a better tone to the market overall and certainly some support.”

The S&P 500 jumped 3.5 percent in the past six days and is now 0.6 percent below its record reached April 2. The index has added 1.7 percent in 2014. The Dow average is at its highest level since April 3.

Health-care stocks paced gains in the S&P 500 today with a 1 percent advance, as a flurry of deal activity boosted the sector. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rallied 3.2 percent as all but three of its 121 members advanced.

Allergan jumped 15 percent to $163.65. Valeant proposed to buy the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment for about $152.89 a share in the Canadian company’s plan to become one of the world’s largest drugmakers. Valeant’s U.S.-listed shares climbed 7.5 percent to $135.41.

The bid comes as Novartis AG agreed to buy GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s cancer drugs as part of a series of deals among major pharmaceuticals makers. Separate reports said Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest drugmaker, and AstraZeneca Plc had held talks that fizzled.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. each rose at least 2.6 percent.

Intuitive Surgical Inc. also contributed to health-care gains, as the stock climbed 2.7 percent to $422.33. The company received regulatory clearance for a version of its da Vinci surgical system. The advance halted an 11-day losing streak that erased nearly a quarter of the stock’s value.

Thirty companies in the equities benchmark disclosed results today, while a further 121 members report before the end of the week. Profit for the index’s constituents probably increased 0.7 percent in the first quarter, analysts forecast.  They had predicted a 0.9 percent decrease as recently as April 11.

Netflix rallied 7 percent to $372.90. The company behind the drama “House of Cards” said that it plans to charge new customers $1 to $2 a month more for its online video service. Netflix currently offers unlimited Web streaming for $7.99 a month. Netflix also reported first-quarter profit and subscriber growth that beat analysts’ forecasts.

Harley-Davidson jumped 6.4 percent to $71.87, the highest since January 2007. The maker of Road King motorbikes reported first-quarter earnings of $1.21 a share, beating the average analyst projection of $1.08. Sales also exceeded projections.

Comcast Corp. advanced 1.9 percent to $50.83 as the largest U.S. cable company said increased numbers of video subscribers helped it post first-quarter profit of 68 cents a share, excluding some items. That beat the 64 cents that analysts had estimated. Comcast also reported revenue of $17.4 billion.  Analysts had predicted $17 billion.

McDonald’s Corp. dropped 0.4 percent to $99.32. The hamburger chain posted falling sales at its established U.S. locations and first-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates.

Pentair Ltd. slid 6.9 percent to $74.95 for the steepest drop in the S&P 500. The provider of water systems reported first-quarter revenue below analysts’ estimates and forecast revenue in the current period that was less than predicted.

Zions Bancorporation slipped 2 percent to $29.62. The bank, which failed the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test, reported first-quarter earnings of 31 cents a share yesterday, missing the average analyst forecast of 42 cents. The company was cut to equalweight from overweight today by Evercore Partners Inc.

Eight of the 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced today. Consumer-discretionary shares gained 0.8 percent, led by Harley-Davidson and Netflix.

The Dow Jones Transportation Index rallied 0.6 percent for a sixth straight gain that left the gauge at an all-time high.  United Continental Holdings Inc. jumped 4.6 percent and Delta Air Lines added 3 percent as oil futures slumped the most in three months.

Facebook Inc. climbed 2.9 percent to $63.03. Credit Suisse raised its rating on the company to outperform from neutral, and increased its price estimate on the shares by 34 percent to $87.  The brokerage said Facebook will increase its average revenue per user in the medium to long term through new products. The company reports earnings tomorrow.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is in the very heart of our activity that we search for our goal.

Rabindranath Tagore, 1861-1901

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The ultimate inspiration is the deadline.

-Nolan Bushnell, 1943-

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, 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:

Happy Easter Weekend!

Photos of the day

A volunteer arranges Easter eggs during Holy Thursday at Bachkovo monastery, near Sofia, Bulgaria. Holy Thursday is celebrated three days before the Orthodox Easter and commemorates Jesus Christ’s Last Supper with the Apostles. Stoyan Nenov/Reuters

A girl poses in a sea of tulips at Keukenhof, near Amsterdam, Netherlands. Keukenhof is a showcase of the Dutch floricultural industry, with a special emphasis on flowering bulbs. Peter Dejong/AP

Market Closes for April 17^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16408.54	-16.31    -0.10%
S&P 500	1866.40	+4.09    +0.22%
NASDAQ	4095.516	+9.291    +0.23%
TSX	14508.24	+61.72
		+0.43%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14417.53	-0.15
		—
HANG   SENG	22760.24	+64.23
		+0.28%
SENSEX	22628.84	+351.61
		+1.58%
FTSE 100	6625.25	+41.08
		+0.62%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.445	2.392
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.948	2.907
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.7215	2.6300
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.5219	3.4446

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90843	0.90774
US   $	1.10080	1.10164
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52065	0.65761
US   $	1.38140	0.72390

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1295.17	1302.69
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	104.30	103.76
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

April 17 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a fourth day, reaching the highest level in almost six years, as energy shares soared on higher crude prices after fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for jobless benefits last week.

Trilogy Energy Corp. and Lightstream Resources Ltd. rose at least 4.8 percent as crude advanced a second day in New York. Barrick Gold Corp. fell 1.9 percent as the metal’s price dropped. Fertilizer maker Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. slipped after DuPont Co. posted weaker-than-estimated sales and earnings due to North American farmers delaying planting because of winter weather.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 53.87 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,500.39 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest since June 23, 2008. The equity benchmark climbed 1.7 percent this week for the biggest gain since February. Canadian markets will be closed tomorrow for the Good Friday holiday.

“Energy’s been the superstar,” said Bob Decker, fund manager at Aurion Capital Management Inc. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$6.1 billion ($5.6 billion). “A lot of investors had been underweight energy for a while after a long period of underperformance. Now there’s a lot of chasing going on.”

First-time U.S. jobless claims hovered near the lowest level in almost seven years, increasing 2,000 to 304,000 in the week ended April 12 from a revised 302,000. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had a median forecast of 315,000.

Trilogy Energy added 4.8 percent to C$31.67 and Lightstream Resources Ltd. rallied 6.7 percent to C$6.77 as the S&P/TSX Energy Index rose 1 percent to extend a three-year high amid five straight days of gains.

Seven of 10 industry groups climbed on trading volume 16 percent higher compared with the 30-day average.

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. rallied 1.8 percent to C$31.26 after slumping the most in a year yesterday. Agnico Eagle, along with Yamana Gold Inc., agreed to a C$3.9 billion cash-and-stock deal to acquire Osisko Mining Corp. yesterday. Osisko added 0.8 percent to C$8, to extend a one-year high. Yamana Gold decreased 0.8 percent to C$8.76 for a sixth straight drop, falling to the lowest since January 2009.

Argonaut Gold Inc. retreated 5.9 percent to C$3.80 and Barrick Gold dropped 1.9 percent to C$19.81. Gold for June delivery declined about 1.8 percent this week.

Potash Corp. lost 0.3 percent to C$38.45, snapping a three- day advance. DuPont, the largest U.S. chemical maker by market value, said revenue fell 2.7 percent. The company said last month its earnings would be hurt by the unusually harsh winter as well as Ukraine unrest.

US
By Lu Wang and Callie Bost

April 17 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its best week since July, as earnings from General Electric Co. and Morgan Stanley beat estimates and concern eased that the Ukraine crisis may worsen.

GE climbed 1.7 percent after results beat forecasts. Morgan Stanley added 2.9 percent as a gain in trading revenue helped profit top estimates. Google Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. slid at least 3.3 percent as sales trailed projections.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 1,864.85 at 4 p.m. in New York, extending its gain for the week to 2.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16.31 points, or 0.1 percent, to to 16,408.54. IBM, which accounts for 7.4 percent of the Dow, took 41 points off the index’s total today. About 6.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 8.6 percent below the three-month average. The U.S. equity markets are closed tomorrow for a holiday.

“Any deceleration of the conflict will be a relief for the market,” Terry Morris, a senior equity manager who helps oversee about $2.8 billion at Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based National Penn Investors Trust Co., said in a phone interview. “Combine the ease of the tension between Russia and Ukraine and generally a positive tone of earnings, the result is an upward drifting market.”

Equities turned higher after four-way talks on the crisis in Ukraine ended with an accord aimed at taking the first steps toward de-escalating the conflict after President Vladimir Putin said he hopes he won’t have to send troops.

Talks in Geneva today between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, went on for more than six hours, longer than scheduled.

The S&P 500 rose each day this week to erase its decline for the year. The gauge sank 2.7 percent last week, the most since 2012.

Twenty-five companies in the S&P 500 report earnings today. Profit per share for the index’s constituents probably increased 0.7 percent in the first quarter, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Analysts projected growth of 6.6 percent at the start of the year.

“The market, with the sell-off and some downward revisions to estimates, maybe set itself for better reactions to earnings than it might have been the case earlier,” Gerry Paul, chief investment officer of U.S. value equities at AllianceBernstein LP in New York, said by phone. The firm oversees $454 billion. “Broadly, what we’re going to learn from earnings is that we’re pretty march on the trajectory of what the market expect it to be on.”

Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the labor market continues to strengthen. Jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 304,000 in the week ended April 12 from a revised 302,000 the prior period that was the lowest since September 2007, a Labor Department report showed.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, fell 5.8 percent to 13.36. The measure has lost 22 percent this week, the most since January 2013.

Seven of 10 S&P 500 industries gained as energy and industrial companies each advanced 0.8 percent advance for the best performance.

GE rallied 1.7 percent to $26.56. The company posted first- quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, buoyed by expanding margins in the industrial businesses that make products such as jet engines.

Morgan Stanley added 2.9 percent to $30.76. First-quarter net income rose to 74 cents a share from 48 cents a year earlier, the bank said. Excluding an accounting gain tied to the firm’s own debt, profit from continuing operations was 68 cents a share, topping the 60-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 1.9 percent, the biggest gain in a month. Micron Technology Inc., the largest U.S. maker of memory chips, added 6.4 percent to $23.91.

SanDisk Corp. jumped 9.4 percent to $82.99 for the biggest rally in the S&P 500. The maker of flash memory for mobile devices boosted its forecast for gross margin this year to between 47 percent and 49 percent. That’s up from its previous guidance range of between 45 percent to 48 percent and compares with analysts’ estimates that call for 47.4 percent.

Google’s Class C shares fell 3.7 percent to $536.10. The owner of the largest search engine said revenue, excluding sales passed on to partners, totaled $12.2 billion in the first quarter. That missed a projection by analysts for $12.3 billion.

IBM dropped 3.3 percent to $190.01. The company said first- quarter revenue fell 3.9 percent from a year earlier to $22.5 billion. That missed the average estimate of analysts that called for $22.9 billion.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. sank 3.1 percent to $75.78 for its worst day since October. The biggest U.S. health insurer said first-quarter profit fell 7.8 percent. It has derived growth from Medicare and has the biggest program among publicly traded insurers, with 3 million enrollees. In April, the government implemented a second round of cuts to Medicare Advantage.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be  magnificent!

The true source of rights is duty.

If we discharge our duties, rights will not be far to seek.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Passion, though a bad regulator, is a powerful spring.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, 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 1912, one day after the Titanic sank, WSJ ran a headline: “Liner Titanic Struck By Berg But Passengers Are Saved.” The Journal wasn’t alone in getting it totally wrong, at first. Check out a version of the 102-year-old article. –By Steven Russolillo, WSJ

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own. –Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881.

Photos of the day

Russian artist Vasily Slonov stands near a tree after attaching wooden starling houses during a presentation of his artwork called ‘Total Spring’ on an island in the middle of the Yenisei River in Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Ilya Naymushin/Reuters

Snow covers a log cabin off Highway 36 in the City of Kawartha Lakes in central Ontario April 15. Most of the province saw snow this morning one of the latest spring snowfalls in recent history. Fred Thornhill/Reuters  Women look as a penitent of San Bernardo brotherhood walks on her way to a church before taking part in a procession during Holy Week in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain. Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters

Market Closes for April 16^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16424.85	+162.29    +1.00%
S&P 500	1862.31	+19.33    +1.05%
NASDAQ	4086.225	+52.064    +1.29%
TSX	14446.52	+142.60
		+1.00%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14417.68	+420.87
		+3.01%
HANG   SENG	22696.01	+24.75
		+0.11%
SENSEX	22277.23	-207.70
		-0.92%
FTSE 100	6584.17	+42.56
		+0.65%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.392	2.383
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.907	2.917
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6300	2.6211
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4446	3.4545

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90774	0.91059
US   $	1.10164	1.09819
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.52207	0.65700
US   $	1.38164	0.72378

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1302.69	1303.20
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	103.76	103.75
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

April 16 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose the most since February as commodity producers rallied on a jump in copper and crude prices on concern the crisis in Ukraine is escalating and better-than-expected economic growth in China.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Calfrac Well Services Ltd. paced gains that sent energy shares to a three-year high. Osisko Mining Corp. added 7 percent, reaching the highest in more than a year, after announcing a joint sale to Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and Yamana Gold Inc. in an effort to fend off a hostile Goldcorp Inc. bid. Torex Gold Resources Inc. increased 13 percent after securing financing for a mining project.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 142.60 points, or 1 percent, to 14,446.52 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest increase since Feb. 6. The equity benchmark is up 6.1 percent this year and has recovered most of a 1.4 percent dip between April 2 and April 11.

“The market has acted very well for Canada this year and we had been due for a correction, hopefully we’ve had it now,” said John Kinsey, a fund manager at Caldwell Securities Ltd. in Toronto. The firm manages about C$1 billion ($909 million). “We think it will be a good year for the Canadian market. Energy has been consistent and any prices over $100 is very good for Canadian companies.”

Brent crude climbed above $110 a barrel for the first time in six weeks and West Texas Intermediate traded near $104 a barrel as Ukraine’s government began an offensive against separatists in its east.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. added 1.7 percent to C$20.99.  Copper rose the most in two weeks as China’s economy grew 7.4 percent in the first quarter, ahead of the median economists’ estimate of 7.3 percent.

Canadian Natural Resources rose 0.7 percent to C$44.08 and Calfrac Well Services gained 2.6 percent to C$35.73 as the S&P/TSX Energy Index climbed 1.4 percent for the highest close since May 2011.

Precision Drilling Corp. jumped 6.6 percent to C$13.76 after analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their rating for the stock to overweight, the equivalent of a buy, as the company is positioned to “capture outsize share” of natural gas drilling activity in the coming years.

Metro Inc. increased 2.5 percent to C$65.86 as consumer staples shares rose 1.4 percent as a group. All 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume about 17 percent higher compared with the 30-day average.

Metro, the grocery store retailer, reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of C$1.07 a share, ahead of analysts’ estimates of C$1.03 as same-store sales rose 1 percent.

Osisko jumped 7 percent to C$7.94, the highest since January 2013. Agnico Eagle and Yamana’s C$3.9 billion cash-and- stock offer, valuing Osisko at C$8.15 a share, trumps a hostile bid from Goldcorp for C$7.43 a share. Osisko and Yamana had first agreed to a friendly deal on April 2. The fight for Osisko is focused on its Canadian Malartic gold mine.      Agnico Eagle slumped 8.2 percent to C$30.71, the biggest decrease in a year, Yamana sank 4 percent to C$8.83, while Goldcorp added 0.8 percent to C$26.22.

Torex Gold soared 13 percent to C$1.13. The Toronto-based company said it has signed a commitment letter with a series of banks for a $375 million project finance facility, enough to fully finance the development of its El Limon-Guajes project in Mexico.

USA
By Lu Wang and Callie Bost

April 16 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capping its best three-day rally in two months, as Yahoo! Inc. earnings topped estimates and industrial production gained more than forecast.

Yahoo jumped 6.3 percent after sales surged at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., where it holds a stake. Bank of America Corp. retreated 1.6 percent after reporting a quarterly loss. Google Inc. sank 5.7 percent in extended trading after the company reported sales that missed estimates. International Business Machines Corp. dropped 3.5 percent after the close as its sales fell an eighth straight quarter.

The S&P 500 added 1.1 percent to 1,862.31 at 4 p.m. in New York, bringing its three-day advance to 2.6 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 162.29 points, or 1 percent, to 16,424.85. About 6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, the slowest trading in one month.

“The macro data continues to come in reasonably firm and we don’t think valuations on the stock side suggest we’re overdone,” Jim Russell,  a senior equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said by phone. “The market is finding some sort of natural trading level to bounce out of and we’re seeing slightly better-than-expected earnings and second-quarter outlooks from management that seem to be encouraging.”

The S&P 500 erased its loss for the year today. The gauge had dropped as much as 4 percent from its April 2 record as investors sold Internet and biotechnology stocks, the best performers during the five-year bull market, amid concern valuations had become too expensive before earnings.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, speaking to the Economic Club of New York, told investors to pay attention to shortfalls in both inflation and the jobless rate for signals on the Federal Open Market Committee’s decisions on the policy rate. The Fed has a “continuing commitment” to support the economic recovery, she said.

The central bank said the U.S. economy continued to expand in most regions as businesses benefited from a bounce back from harsh winter weather earlier in the year. Eight of 12 Fed districts characterized growth as “modest or moderate,” the Fed said today in its Beige Book business survey, based on reports gathered before April 7.

Economic data today showed gains in manufacturing are helping power the U.S. out of the winter doldrums, while homebuilding shows signs of lagging behind. Industrial production rose more than forecast in March after a February gain that was twice as big as previously estimated. A Commerce Department report showed the pace of U.S. home construction rebounded less than forecast in March.

Seventeen companies in the equities benchmark report earnings today. Profit per share for the index’s constituents probably dropped 0.9 percent in the first quarter, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue climbed 2.6 percent from a year earlier, the projections show.

Russell Investments, the U.S. asset manager that oversees $257 billion, bought protection against a drop in equities shortly before last week’s selloff. The firm acquired puts on the S&P 500 last week’s 2.7 percent slide, Alain Zeitouni, head of multi-management at Russell Investments France said.

“Protection is cheap and we’re a bit cautious,” Zeitouni said in Paris on April 10. “We don’t see a big rally in equities in the U.S. We’ve been expecting a correction.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, fell 9.2 percent to 14.18.

All 10 main S&P 500 industries advanced today, with raw- material producers and industrial companies each adding 1.5 percent to pace gains. 3M Co. and United Technologies Corp. jumped at least 1.9 percent among the biggest gains in the Dow.

Yahoo rallied 6.3 percent to $36.35. The Web portal posted first-quarter earnings of 38 cents a share, more than the 37- cent average estimate of analysts. Sales excluding some items of $1.09 billion also beat projections. Alibaba reported that net income more than doubled in the last quarter of 2013 and revenue surged 66 percent. Yahoo owns 24 percent of the Chinese e- commerce company.

Southwest Airlines Co. advanced 2.8 percent to $23.54. The largest discount carrier will freeze the size of its jet fleet through 2015, a year longer than Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly’s stated goal of holding the number of planes — now about 680 –steady through 2014.

Delta Air Lines Inc. climbed 5.4 percent to $33.62.

Johnson Controls Inc. rose 1.7 percent to $46.73. The largest U.S. auto-parts maker agreed to buy Air Distribution Technologies for $1.6 billion, seeking to lessen its reliance on the cyclical auto industry by adding ventilation products by purchasing Air Distribution Technologies from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Moelis & Co. climbed 4.6 percent to $26.15 in its trading debut after raising less than it planned in the first U.S. initial public offering of an investment bank since the financial crisis.

Bank of America declined 1.6 percent to $16.13. The second- largest U.S. lender swung to a quarterly loss after settling claims on mortgage bonds. The first-quarter loss of $276 million compared with a profit of $1.48 billion a year earlier, the lender said.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 0.2 percent and a gauge of semiconductors dropped the second-most among 24 S&P 500 groups. Linear Technology Corp. slipped 4.4 percent to $45.07 for the biggest retreat in the equities benchmark. Analog Devices Inc. lost 1.9 percent to $52.15 and NetApp Inc. dropped 2 percent to $36.24.

CSX Corp. declined 1.8 percent to $27.79. The largest railroad in the eastern U.S. said it expects “modest” earnings growth for 2014 and it’s unclear if 2015 will be “strong enough” to deliver a two-year compound annual growth rate of 10 percent to 15 percent.

Google’s Class C shares sank 5.7 percent to $524.79 in after-hours trading. The operator of the largest Internet search engine said sales fell short of estimates as advertising prices declined. The stock closed the regular session 3.8 percent higher at $556.54.

IBM lost 3.5 percent to $189.50. Revenue fell 3.9 percent from a year earlier to $22.5 billion in the first quarter as sales continued to tumble in its hardware unit and in developing countries, IBM said today in a statement. That compared with analysts’ average estimate of $22.9 billion. The stock closed today 0.3 percent lower at $196.40.

 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The word duty indicates compulsion.

The word responsibility indicates freedom.

Duties lead one to demand rightfully.

Responsibilities lead one to command respectfully.

Sense of duty is out of attachment.

Sense of responsibility is out of love.

Duties can be thrust upon others.

Responsibilities are taken up by oneself.

There can be unwillingness in performing one’s duty.

Responsibility is always taken up willingly.

Maa Purnananda, 1440-1518

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Happiness is part of who we are.  Joy is

the feeling.

-Tony De Liso

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, 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:

Full moon tonight 🙂!

On this day in…
1452- Leonardo da Vinci was born.
1912 –The Titanic sank.
1955 –The first McDonald’s restaurant open.

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.  ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death. –Leonardo da Vinci

Photos of the day

The moon glows a red hue during a lunar eclipse as it is framed between the steeples on the Annunciation Catholic Church in Houston. The eclipse is the first of four total lunar eclipses that will take place between 2014 to 2015. Johnny Hanson/Houston Chronicle/AP

A man walks past thousands of blooming Bluebells in a forest near Halle, south of Brussels. Bluebells are particularly associated with ancient woodland where it may dominate the understorey to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers. Yves Logghe/AP

Market Closes for April 15^th, 2014

Market   Index	Close	Change
Dow   Jones	16262.50	+89.26    +0.55%
S&P 500	1842.43	+11.82    +0.65%
NASDAQ	4034.161	+11.467    +0.29%
TSX	14301.29	+16.86
		+0.12%

International Markets

Market   Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	13996.81	+86.65
		+0.62%
HANG   SENG	22671.26	-367.54
		-1.60%
SENSEX	22484.93	-144.03
		-0.64%
FTSE 100	6541.61	-42.15
		-0.64%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.   10 Year Bond	2.383	2.411
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.917	2.939
U.S.   10 Year Bond	2.6211	2.6472
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.4545	3.4876

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91059	0.91217
US   $	1.09819	1.09628
Euro Rate   1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.51698	0.65920
US   $	1.38134	0.72393

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1303.20	1327.53
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	103.75	104.05
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

April 15 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day after a report that BHP Billiton Ltd. may make another bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., while gold producers fell on lower metal prices.

Potash Corp. climbed 3.3 percent after the Globe and Mail said that while no deal is under way, BHP is likely to consider the transaction. Lumenpulse Inc., which makes lighting fixtures, soared 15 percent in its trading debut. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rallied 2.9 percent to pace gains among health-care stocks. Detour Gold Corp. and Argonaut Gold Inc. sank at least 5.3 percent as gold prices dropped the most in 16 weeks. Silver Standard Resources Inc. lost 4.4 percent as the price of the metal fell the most in more than a month.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 19.49 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,303.92 at 4 p.m. in Toronto after earlier falling as much as 0.4 percent. The equity benchmark is up 5 percent this year.

“The market is taking a wait-and-see approach,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto. The firm manages about C$4.7 billion ($4.3 billion). “As equities gain more of a shine, some of that shine will come off of gold.”

Valeant Pharmaceuticals increased 2.9 percent to snap three days of losses. Health-care stocks jumped 2.7 percent as a group as eight of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX rose. Trading volume was 9.4 percent higher compared with the 30-day average.

Detour Gold slumped 6.4 percent to C$10.03 and Argonaut Gold retreated 5.3 percent to C$4.13. Detour Gold is the best- performing stock in the S&P/TSX this year with a 145 percent gain.

Potash Corp. climbed 3.3 percent to C$38.30, the biggest increase since March 5. Tim Tiberio, an analyst at Miller Tabak & Co. LLC, said in a note to clients he was “skeptical ” about the timing of speculation of a potential BHP-Potash Corp. link- up, given fertilizer groups are about to enter a seasonally weaker trading period.

Lumenpulse, based in Montreal, jumped 15 percent to C$18.35 in its first day of trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange after completing a C$100 million initial offering at C$16. The company trades under the ticker “LMP” in Toronto.

CGI Group Inc. rallied 2.2 percent to C$36, a one-month high. The IT services provider said it has extended its agreement with Toronto-Dominion Bank to process the firm’s mutual fund transactions until as late as 2026. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Toronto-Dominion was little changed at C$51.23.

Gold fell in New York on speculation that signs of an improving U.S. economy will curb demand for a haven. Gold for June delivery decreased 2 percent to settle at $1,300.30.

Silver Standard Resources tumbled 4.4 percent to C$10.87, the lowest price in two months, and Silvercorp Metals Inc. retreated 3.6 percent to C$2.12. Silver futures for May delivery fell 2.6 percent to $19.489 an ounce in New York.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent, advancing for a third day, as U.S. government data showed consumer prices increased more than forecast and a report yesterday showed better-than-estimated growth in American retail sales.

US
By Lu Wang and Joseph Ciolli

April 15 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose a second day, after equities posted the worst week since 2012, as earnings from Coca-Cola Co. and Johnson & Johnson overwhelmed concerns that tensions in Ukraine are worsening.

The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 percent, erasing an earlier drop of 1.9 percent after nearing its average price in the past 200 days. Coca-Cola gained 3.7 percent as global volume sales increased. Johnson & Johnson climbed 2.1 percent as the company raised its forecast for the year.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.7 percent 1,842.98 at 4 p.m. in New York, reversing a loss of 0.8 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 89.32 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,262.05. About 7.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 10 percent above the three-month average.

“Stocks are having meaningful moves in both directions because people are nervous on both sides,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said in a phone interview. “Subjectivity plays such a pivotal role, and emotions, in what’s been going on in this market that it’s hard to pinpoint what causes a turn in the direction.”

The S&P 500 yesterday briefly erased a 1 percent gain, as technology shares dipped, before closing higher to halt a two- day slide. The index has dropped 2.5 percent from its April 2 record as selling from Internet and biotechnology stocks, the best performers in a five-year rally, spread to the broader market.

The Nasdaq Composite today fell to within four points of its 200-day moving average of 3,942.50 before reversing. The last time the gauge dropped below that level, considered an important threshold by technical analysts, was Dec. 31, 2012.

The Nasdaq, along with the S&P 500, Dow and Russell 2000 indexes, fell below 10-day through 100-day averages last week. The Russell index of smaller companies sank through its 200-day average today before reversing to close about 12 points above that level.

The volatility in technology stocks “adds to investor uneasiness,” Brian Peery, who helps oversee $4.8 billion for Novato, California-based Hennessy Funds, said in a phone interview. Peery said his firm has taken advantage of the recent selloff to add holdings in industrial companies, such as airlines. “The market is going to continue to climb the proverbial wall of worry. There is enough good economic news to support the market moving up higher in slower stages.”

Economic data today showed manufacturing in the New York region grew at a slower pace in April while the cost of living in the U.S. rose more than projected in March as food and rents became more expensive.

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose less than forecast in April, as sales and prospective buyer traffic stagnated, showing the residential real estate market struggled to improve after a harsh winter. An S&P index of homebuilders fell 0.6 percent.

“The discipline is to take long-term views of data and move away from the wiggles of each daily number,” Stephen Wood, the New York-based chief market strategist at Russell Investments, which oversees more than $259 billion, said by phone. “The grinding, if reluctant, U.S. economy is still in place and all of this data, in the long-term perspective, confirms that.”

Investors are also weighing data from China, where a report earlier today indicated the money supply grew less than forecast in March. The government will report tomorrow gross domestic product data for the first quarter in the world’s second-largest economy.

“China’s growth data tomorrow may demonstrate a weaker- than-expected economy,” Ronald Wan, chief China adviser at Asian Capital Holdings Ltd., said by phone from Hong Kong. “Expectations for large-scale stimulus may not be in place and there could be smaller measures instead.”

Ukraine unleashed an offensive to dislodge militants from towns in its eastern Donetsk region as the authorities in Kiev said elements of Russian special forces were identified among the anti-government forces. Russia’s prime minister said the country risks civil war.

“There’s a tremendous amount of volatility and uncertainty because of concerns over Russia and Ukraine,” Chad Morganlander, a Florham Park, New Jersey-based portfolio manager for Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which oversees more than $150 billion, said in a phone interview. “That’s going to shift the winds of the market on a minute-by-minute basis. You’re in the process right now, in the short run, of sorting through earnings, as well as geopolitical and economic issues.”

Nine S&P 500 members report earnings today. Profit at S&P 500 companies probably fell 0.9 percent in the first quarter, analysts predict. At the beginning of the year, they had projected a 6.6 percent increase. Sales increased 2.6 percent in the first quarter, the estimates show.

Yahoo! Inc. and Intel Corp. advanced in extended trading after reporting results. Yahoo jumped 9.4 percent to $37.42 as sales surpassed forecasts. The stock also got a boost when Alibaba Group reported a 66 percent jump in revenue. Yahoo owns about 24 percent of the largest Chinese e-commerce company. Intel climbed 2.8 percent to $27.52 after earnings topped analyst estimates.

The S&P 500 trades at 17 times its members’ reported earnings. While that’s near its highest valuation in four years, it’s close to its weekly average since 1937, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, fell 3.1 percent to 15.61.

All of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today, with utility and energy stocks rising 1.3 percent to lead the gains.

Coca-Cola rose 3.7 percent to $40.18 as first-quarter profit met analysts’ estimates. Global sales volume rose 2 percent for the quarter, driven by emerging markets.

Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent, facing sluggish soft drink sales in the U.S., has implemented a cost-cutting program to boost earnings and is collaborating with Keurig Green Mountain Inc. to compete in at-home soda making.

Johnson & Johnson rose 2.1 percent to $99.20, an all-time high. The world’s biggest maker of health-care products said first-quarter profit rose 34 percent on demand for the company’s newest drugs.

J&J, the first of the major health care companies to report earnings this quarter, raised its 2014 forecast to $5.80 to $5.90 a share from $5.75 to $5.85 a share, excluding items.

Twitter Inc. soared 11 percent, the biggest gain since its first day of trading, to $45.52. The microblogging company is buying data-analysis company and longtime partner Gnip Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The deal gives Twitter a bigger share of profits from reselling analytical data. The stock is still 28 percent lower for the year.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be  magnificent!

No matter how insignificant the thing you have to do,

do it as well as you can,

give it as much of your care and attention as you would give to the thing

you regard as most important.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

All money is a matter of belief.

-Adam Smith, 1723-1790

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, 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:

04/11/1968 – Civil rights Act signed into law.

04/11/1957: Britain agrees to Singapore self-rule
The island of Singapore is granted self-government from Britain to come into effect next year.

Never will a man penetrate deeper into error than when he is continuing on  a road that has led him to great success. – Friedrich von Hayek, Counterrevolution of Science.

Photos of the day

Deutsche Post DHL postwoman Andrea Bunar punts to deliver post using a traditional boat in the Spreewald village of Lehede. Bunar is now Germany’s only postwoman to deliver the mail by boat from April until October. Axel Schmidt/Reuters

Tiny paper boats which collectively form a giant dove are seen inside the Panathenean stadium in Athens. The Hellenic Olympic Academy initiated the creation of the artwork to break the Guinness world record for the biggest paper peace dove. Yorgos Karahalis/Reuters

German artist Ottmar Hoerl stands among his 500 plastic Charlemagne sculptures in the western German city of Aachen to commemorate the Aachen Charlemagne Year and the 1200th anniversary of Charlemagne’s death. Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

Market Closes for April 11^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16026.75	-143.47 -0.89%
S&P 500	1815.69	-17.39 -0.95%
NASDAQ	3999.734	-54.372 -1.34%
TSX	14257.69	-50.31
		-0.35%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	13960.06	-340.07
		-2.38%
HANG SENG	23003.64	-183.32
		-0.79%
SENSEX	22628.96	-86.37
		-0.38%
FTSE 100	6561.70	-80.27
		-1.21%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.399	2.441
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.941	2.971
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.6265	2.6483
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.4877	3.5211

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91066	0.91483
US $	1.09811	1.09310
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.52447	0.65597
US $	1.38826	0.72033

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1318.32	1317.64
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	103.74	103.40
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Gerrit De Vynck

April 11 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a second day, led by health-care and technology shares, amid a rout in U.S. equities fueled by selling of some of the bull market’s pest-performing shares.

General Motors Co. shares trading in Canada fell 4.5 percent as Ontario said it planned to sell its shares in the company next year. Raise Production Inc. rose 89 percent after the oil well services company said it was in talks to complete the first commercial sale of one of its pump systems.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index slipped 50.31 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,257.69 at the end of trading in Toronto. The gauge fell 0.9 percent yesterday, the biggest drop since Feb. 3.

In the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.3 percent while the S&P 500 dropped 1 percent to cap a 2.6 percent weekly loss, the worst since 2012.

Yesterday, the S&P 500 fell 2.1 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 3.1 percent as investors sold high-flying technology stocks that had soared in 2013.

In Canada, oil and gas companies kept the benchmark equity index from falling as much as its U.S. counterparts. Energy companies rose 0.1 percent as a group.

“While the market is down, there are a couple of sectors that are doing better, certainly oil and gas,” said Irwin Michael, a fund manager with ABC Funds in Toronto, which manages about C$850 million ($774 million). “Listening to the radio, they said gasoline is going up 2 cents a liter tonight. That’ll bring it up to around C$1.37 and the feeling is that we’re going to see it hit new record highs for this cycle.”

Prism Medical Ltd., which sells mobility aids for homes, rose 32 percent to C$7.90 after it said it was selling its business in the U.K. for 30 million pounds ($50 million).

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. rose 9.9 percent to C$3.12 after the miner said it sold more copper and molybdenum in the first quarter of 2014 than in the last quarter of 2013.

Finning International Inc., which sells heavy machinery, fell 1.4 percent to C$29.05 after saying its first quarter results would be hurt by currency devaluation in Canada and Argentina.

US

By Callie Bost

April 11 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks sank, extending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s worst two-day drop since June, amid disappointing results at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and signs hedge funds were dumping the bull market’s best performers.

JPMorgan lost 3.7 percent as profit fell 19 percent on lower fixed-income trading and mortgage revenue. Teradata Corp., Broadcom Corp. and Salesforce.com Inc. lost at least 3 percent as technology shares paced declines in the market after tumbling the most since 2012 yesterday. General Motors Co. dropped 4.1 percent after a U.S. congressional panel released documents related to a recall probe of the company.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent to 1,815.69 at 4 p.m. in New York, closing at its lowest level in two months. The gauge slipped 2.7 percent this week, the biggest loss since 2012. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.3 percent today, capping its biggest two-day retreat since 2011, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 143.47 points, or 0.9 percent, to 16,026.75. About 7.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 5.8 percent higher than the three-month average.

“You need to shake out some of the speculative money and throw water on the irrational exuberance,” Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab Corp., which manages $2.2 trillion in client assets, said in a phone interview. “It’s a good reminder that markets don’t go straight up. While the long-term is positive, we need to have these steps back along the way. We need this kind of pullback.”

The S&P 500 declined 2.1 percent yesterday and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 3.1 percent, its biggest decline since November 2011. Technology shares slid yesterday as investors sold the biggest winners in the five-year market rally.

The percentage of hedge-fund bets that stocks will rise has decreased to 46 percent, compared with 2014’s high of 58 percent, according to an April 9 research note from Credit Suisse Group AG. Net exposure in the U.S. declined to the lowest level since August 2012, the report said.

“So far, exposure reductions have been measured and at least for the time being, there has been no mass rush for the exits,” Credit Suisse’s Jon Kinderlerer wrote.

“Unsurprisingly, we have seen exposure being trimmed the most in information technology where the popular longs have underperformed significantly over the last few weeks.”

Companies with high levels of hedge-fund ownership have fallen about twice as much as the overall market. S&P 500 stocks that are most popular among the speculators have fallen 7.5 percent since April 2. The U.S. equity benchmark is down about 4 percent since then.

Hedge funds make up at least 30 percent of the shareholders in Allegion Plc, Dollar General Corp. and Constellation Brands Inc., the most among companies in the S&P 500. About 37 percent of Allegion shares are owned by hedge funds, the most among S&P 500 companies. The maker of security systems is almost 9 percent lower since April 2. H&R Block Inc., the tax software provider, is down 11 percent and is about 27 percent owned by hedge funds.

The selloff that began last week was sparked by growing concern that valuations may be too high as earnings season begins. The Nasdaq Composite trades at 35 times reported earnings of the companies in the index. That’s double the ratio for the S&P 500, which trades at about 17 times earnings.

Profit for members of the S&P 500 probably fell 0.9 percent in the first quarter, analysts now forecast, after anticipating a 6.6 percent rise in January. Sales increased 2.6 percent, according to projections.

Analysts have reduced earnings estimates more than they usually do over the last three months, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists led by David Kostin. Average profit forecasts for S&P 500 companies fell about 4 percent in the first quarter, a percentage point more than normal, they wrote.

JPMorgan dropped 3.7 percent to $55.30 today, its biggest decline since November 2012. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon warned investors in February that trading had fallen 15 percent for the first two months of 2014, a decline analysts blamed on a reduction in the Federal Reserve’s bond purchases.

Wells Fargo & Co. rose 0.8 percent to $48.08. The most profitable U.S. bank in 2013 posted a 14 percent rise in earnings as fewer customers missed loan payments.

Alcoa Inc. unofficially started the earnings season on April 8 with profit that beat forecasts. About 54 companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to report results next week, including Coca-Cola Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Yahoo! Inc., Google Inc. and General Electric Co.

“We can still get decent earnings, but all in all, the total level of earnings will probably not grow as much as expected,” Nicola Marinelli, who helps oversee $200 million at Sturgeon Capital Ltd. in London, said by telephone. “Earnings will have subdued growth. Equity market can remain strong but that doesn’t mean much stronger.”

Investors have added $5.4 billion to U.S. equity exchange- traded funds in the past five days and $732.3 million flowed into American bond ETFs, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Health-care stocks absorbed the most money among industry ETFs, taking in $511 million during the past week. Technology ETFs lost $1.1 billion in the past five days, the most of any sector in that period.

Traders exchanged more than 1.3 million contracts today on the PowerShares QQQ ETF, which tracks shares of the Nasdaq 100, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s almost twice the 20-day average volume for the fund. Bearish contracts expiring this month with a strike prices of $84 were the most traded at this time of day, Bloomberg data show.

The selloff that is sending shares in the Nasdaq 100 Index to the wildest swings since Europe’s debt crisis is failing to stir equal panic in option prices. During April, the Nasdaq 100 has moved 1.5 percent a day on average, the most since November 2011. At the same time, prices for options are below levels from February and October.

“They’ll have to show a lot of pessimism before this decline is over,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based RW Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion. “It certainly looks like this correction could carry on.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P 500 options prices known as the VIX, rose 7.2 percent to 17.03. The CBOE NDX Volatility Index of Nasdaq 100 contracts climbed 10 percent to the highest since December 2012, adding to a 16 percent surge yesterday.

All 10 main industries in the S&P 500 declined today.

Consumer-discretionary shares retreated 1.4 percent, leading losses. Gauges of raw material and technology stocks decreased 1.2 percent.

The Nasdaq 100 slipped 1.2 percent. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell 2.8 percent. The gauge entered a bear market today, sliding 21 percent since Feb. 25.

NewLink Genetics Corp. tumbled 11 percent to $19.97. The drugmaker has plunged 60 percent since closing at a record Feb. 25. Celldex Therapeutics Inc. dropped 10 percent to $14.02 and OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. sank 10 percent to $24.12.

GM fell 4.1 percent to $31.93, the lowest level since June.  Documents released by the House Energy and Commerce committee showed an engineer the automaker has put on leave approved a work-around in small-car models recalled this year for ignition defects that can deactivate air bags.

Herbalife Ltd., the nutritional supplement company that hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has accused of being a pyramid scheme, sank 14 percent to $51.48 for its biggest decline since 2012. Herbalife is being probed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Authorities are looking into the company’s marketing practices, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the investigation is private.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

Civilization, in the real sense of the term, consists not in the multiplication

but in the deliberate and voluntary restriction of the wants.

This alone promotes real happiness and contentment, and increases the capacity for service.

A certain degree of physical harmony and comfort is necessary, but above that level,

it becomes a hindrance instead of a help.

Therefore the ideal of creating an unlimited number of wants and satisfying them

seems to be a delusion and a snare. The satisfaction of one’s physical needs, even the intellectual needs

of one’s narrow self, must meet at a point a dead stop before it degenerates into physical

and intellectual voluptuousness.  A man must arrange his physical and cultural circumstances

so that they may not hinder him in his service of humanity,

on which all his energies should be concentrated.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

Carolann

When humor goes, there goes civilization.

-Erma Bombeck, 1927-1996

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, 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:

APRIL: Spring means the warming up of the soil.  The appearance of the first flush of annual weeds is better than any thermometer to put you wise over this, telling you that you can start to sow your seeds outside with a sure conviction that they will germinate.  On some spring days I imagine I can see the plants growing, especially when the earth smells good.  This morning as I went outside in the sunshine after rain, the familiar smell of the balsam poplars wafted my way.  The delicious resinous scent is strongest as the leaf buds are opening in April.  Another sure sign of spring, and almost merging into summer, is the arrival of swallows.  As soon as they come we must remember to leave a crack in the garage doors to allow them inside.  They always build in the rafters above the windscreen of my car.  The poets have got it right.  Chaucer chose “Aprille with his schowres swoote” as the pleasantest month for his Canterbury pilgrims to “go on pilgrimage”.  Spenser describes it as

Garnished with garlands goodly dight
Of all the fairest flowers and freshest buds
Which earth brings forth.

I particularly like John Evelyn’s spring advice to his gardener at Sayes Court in 1687:  “Never expose your Oranges, Limons, and the like tender Trees whatever seasons flatter, ‘til the Mulberry puts forth its leafe, then bring them boldly out of the Green House.”  Presumably the mulberry waits to put forth its leaf until all danger of frost is over, so the advice should hold good for one’s geraniums and other tender bedding plants.  –from A CountryWoman’s Notes, Rosemary Verey, Frances Lincoln Ltd.,1989.

There are two kinds of people who lose money: those who know nothing and those who know everything.  –Henry Kaufman, German-American economist to Robert Lenzner in Forbes, 10/19/98, who added, “With two Nobel Prize winners in the house, Long-Term Capital clearly fits the second case.”

Photos of the day

A man looks at the bronze sculpture ‘Emissary Cat’ by British artist Laura Ford at the ‘Art Cologne’ art fair in Cologne, Germany. T Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters

A tourist takes pictures of tulips at the Keukenhof park, also known as the Garden of Europe, in Lisse, the Netherlands. Yves Herman/Reuters

Market Closes for April 9^th, 2014

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16437.18	+181.04   +1.11%
S&P 500	1872.18	+20.22   +1.09%
NASDAQ	4183.902	+70.916   +1.72%
TSX	14435.58	+63.13
		+0.44%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	14229.69	-307.19
		-2.10%
HANG SENG	22843.17	+246.20
		+1.09%
SENSEX	22702.34	+358.89
		+1.61%
FTSE 100	6635.61	+44.92
		+0.68%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.467	2.459
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.988	2.962
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.6953	2.6772
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.5735	3.5396

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.91898	0.91548
US $	1.08816	1.09233
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50734	0.66342
US $	1.38522	0.72191

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1311.53	1308.32
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	103.60	102.56
BRENT	109.360	109.360

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Gerrit De Vynck

April 9 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a second day as minutes from a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting suggested the central bank was pulling back from comments that roiled the markets last month.

Dollarama Inc., a discount retailer, climbed 8.4 percent to its highest price since going public in 2009 after beating analyst estimates for its fourth-quarter earnings. Cascades Inc. fell 1.1 percent after the paper and cardboard maker said it would close a mill in Sweden.

The S&P/TSX added 63.13 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,435.58 at 4 p.m. in Toronto for a one-week high. Trading was in line with the 30-day average.

The Federal Reserve played down projections some of its own policy makers had made suggesting interest rates might rise more quickly than the market had predicted. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in March that a rate rise might come as soon as six months after the central bank ends its monthly bond-buying program.  Today’s minutes don’t mention that time frame.

Energy stocks rose 0.4 percent to the highest level since 2011. BlackPearl Resources Inc. rose 6.8 percent to C$2.84 and Bankers Petroleum Ltd. advanced 4.6 percent to C$5.75 to lead gains among oil and gas producers.  “The focus right now is on some of the commodity price moves especially in energy,” said Bob Decker, fund manager at Aurion Capital Management in Toronto. “The most investor appetite right now is for increasing their exposure to energy as a result of the lowered Canadian dollar and the strong energy price realizations,” he said by phone. The firm manages about C$6 billion ($5.5 billion).

The Canadian dollar has fallen 4 percent against a basket of developed country currencies this year. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.7 percent at $103.32 a barrel — the highest since March 4.

Dollarama rose 8.4 percent to C$92.97 after beating analyst estimates for fourth-quarter earnings and increasing its dividend to 16 Canadian cents from 14 cents.

Cascades fell 1.1 percent to C$7.17. The Kingsey Falls, Quebec-based company recycles paper into new packaging. It said it would close its Swedish mill, which employs 130 people and can produce 60,000 metric tons of cardboard each year.

Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. dropped 1.2 percent to C$23.12 after Royal Bank of Canada cut its rating on the company to the equivalent of a hold from the equivalent of a sell.

Copper Mountain Mining Corp. rose 11 percent to C$2.47 after reporting first quarter production that exceeded the previous quarter by 9 percent.

US
By Callie Bost

April 9 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied, with technology shares gaining the most in two months, as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting eased concern about the timing of future interest-rate increases.

Alcoa Inc. advanced 3.8 percent after earnings topped estimates and the company forecast that global demand for aluminum will exceed production this year. Facebook Inc. climbed 7.3 percent, the most in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, helping to extend a rebound in technology stocks after a selloff. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. surged 6.9 percent as shares of biotechnology companies rallied the most in a year.

The S&P 500 gained 1.1 percent to 1,872.18 at 4 p.m. in New York, after the gauge yesterday snapped a three-day slide. The Nasdaq 100 Index climbed 1.8 percent, the most since Feb. 7, after a 0.9 percent advance yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 181.04 points, or 1.1 percent, to 16,437.18. About 6.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 9 percent lower than the three-month average.

“These minutes are calming for the markets,” Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial LLC, which manages about $414 billion, said by phone from Boston. “It was clearly stated that the projections overstated the likely shift in rates. A slower pace of interest rates seems more likely here than from the statements.”

Several Fed policy makers said a rise in their median projection for the main interest rate exaggerated the likely speed of tightening, according to minutes of their March 18-19 meeting released today.

Treasury yields rose last month after policy makers predicted that the benchmark interest rate would rise faster than previously forecast. Janet Yellen, presiding over her first meeting as chair, later downplayed the importance of the forecasts, even as she said that rates might start to rise “around six months” after the Fed ends its bond-purchase program.

The Fed reduced the monthly pace of purchases by $10 billion, to $55 billion, and repeated it is likely to continue paring the program in “further measured steps.” Three rounds of bond purchases from the Fed have helped fuel economic growth, sending the S&P 500 surging as much as 180 percent from its 2009 low.

Data last week boosted optimism that the economy is shaking off the effects of severe winter weather and building momentum into the second quarter. The government’s jobs report on April 4 showed employers boosted payrolls last month and the unemployment rate held at 6.7 percent.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent yesterday and the Nasdaq 100 rebounded from its worst three-day drop since 2011 as technology shares rallied after a selloff. The S&P 500 fell as much as 2.4 percent from a record high reached April 2 amid concern about valuations in technology stocks.

Stocks rallied before the Fed minutes today as technology stocks continued to recover and Alcoa’s results boosted optimism at the start of earnings season.

Investors will be watching financial reports for signs of how well corporations weathered the first quarter. Profit for members of the S&P 500 probably climbed 1 percent in the first quarter, analysts now forecast, after anticipating a 6.6 percent rise in January. Their sales climbed 2.9 percent, the projections show.

Alcoa, the first company in the S&P 500 to report results for the quarter, climbed 3.8 percent to $13. The largest U.S. aluminum producer posted profit excluding restructuring costs and other items that beat analysts’ estimates.

The company also forecast global aluminum demand will exceed production this year, predicting an end to an almost decade-long surplus driven by Chinese output that has saddled the industry with lower prices.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. are among the S&P 500 companies that report their earnings on Friday.

“We’ve been in this pre-earnings information void and now we’re going to have a threshold and we’ll see which companies will continue to grow and which won’t,” Dan Veru, chief investment officer who helps oversee $5 billion at Palisade Capital Management LLC, said by phone. “This is the year of individual stock-picking. That’s what will drive returns.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility known as the VIX, retreated 7.2 percent to 13.82 today. The index has fallen 11 percent since closing at a three-week high on April 7.

Eight of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 advanced, with health-care companies climbing 2.1 percent. Technology shares added 1.6 percent, as the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index surged 2.4 percent, the most since Jan. 30. The Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index rallied 1.4 percent, the biggest in a month, and the Dow Jones Transportation Average increased 1.6 percent.

“These pops happen to be in sectors like tech and consumer-discretionary, very cyclical areas of the markets,” LPL Financial’s Kleintop said. “The idea is that if the Fed is slower to raise interest rates, it is good news for more cyclical areas of the market. These companies are very levered to how fast the economy grows.”

Facebook jumped 7.3 percent, its largest gain since Jan. 30, to $62.41. The shares have rallied 10 percent in three days.  The social-networking company slipped as much as 21 percent from a record $72.03 on March 10.

LinkedIn Corp., which trades at more than 760 times reported earnings, increased 4.2 percent to $176.18. The company jumped 5.9 percent yesterday, after falling in five of the previous six sessions. Twitter Inc. added 1.7 percent to $42.49, its first gain in six days, and Yahoo! Inc. rose 3.1 percent to $34.87.

The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index climbed 4.1 percent, the most in a year. The gauge fell as much as 17 percent after reaching an all-time high on Feb. 25. Regeneron surged 6.9 percent to $306.26. The drugmaker, which trades at 80 times reported earnings, slid 18 percent after the shares closed at a record on Feb. 24.

Merck & Co. soared 3.7 percent to $57.10 to lead gains in the Dow. Industrial shares jumped 1.3 percent as a group, paced by a rally in airlines. The Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index surged 3.1 percent as Delta Air Lines Inc. added 3.6 percent to $34.73. Boeing Co. climbed 2.2 percent to $126.88.

U.S. stocks will rally further as the doubling of the S&P 500 from its 2009 low has yet to stretch valuations, according to Holland & Co.

Valuations have not risen to levels that threaten an imminent correction, even though equities trade at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than they did five years ago, Michael Holland, who oversees more than $4 billion as chairman of Holland & Co. in New York, told Tom Keene and Scarlet Fu on Bloomberg Surveillance.

“This is not a bear market,” Holland said. “The bull market still has some significant legs to it before this is over. We had valuations that were screamingly attractive five years ago. Fast forward to today, they are reasonably valued.  These things normally don’t end until we get overvalued and we’re not there yet.”

The bull market has pushed the benchmark to 16 times estimated earnings from a low of 11 in October 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The index’s average multiple in the last five years was 14.3.

Investors have added $8.1 billion to U.S. equity exchange- traded funds in the past five days and added $189.9 million to American bond ETFs, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Consumer staples stocks absorbed the most money among industry ETFs, taking in $401.5 million during the past week. Technology ETFs lost $1.5 billion in the past five days, the most of any sector in that period.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Sensibility is the capacity to feel,

recognize, and distinguish the most tiny and subtle changes.

Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Do not take life too seriously.  You will never get out of it alive.

-Elbert Hubbard, 1856-1915

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7