Category: Events

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Rise up oh flame, by thy
light glowing
Bring to us beauty, vision,
and joy.
     –Christoph Praetorius

“… Regardless of any tradition, the meditative individual can immediately experience the mystery of Earth’s breathing, through the yin and yang moments of midwinter and midsummer.  To live consciously into this holy cycle instills in us a feeling for the oneness of life and bestows on us a sense of our purpose in existence.” ~John Miller.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People celebrate the summer solstice at the Kokino megalithic observatory near the city of Kumanovo, Macedonia, on Tuesday. Ognen Teofilvovski/Reuters

People gather to see the new dawn at the ancient stone circle Stonehenge during the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, in Wiltshire, England, on Tuesday. Andrew Matthews/PA/AP

 

Andean religious leaders perform a New Year’s ritual in the ruins of the ancient city of Tiwanaku, Bolivia, early Tuesday. Bolivia’s Aymara Indians are celebrating the year 5,524, as well as the Southern Hemisphere’s winter solstice, which marks the start of a new agricultural cycle. Juan Karita/AP

Market Closes for June 21^st, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17829.73	+24.86   +0.14%
S&P 500	2088.90	+5.65   +0.27%
NASDAQ	4843.762	+6.547   +0.14%
TSX	14012.32	-2.82
		-0.02%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16169.11	+203.81
		+1.28%
HANG SENG	20668.44	+158.24
		+0.77%
SENSEX	26812.78	-54.14
		-0.20%
FTSE 100	6226.55	+22.55
		+0.36%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.252	1.206
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.884	1.838
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.7059	1.6783
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5096	2.4866

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78061	0.78099
US $	1.28104	1.28043
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44229	0.69334
US $	1.12587	0.88820

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1272.60	1281.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.85	49.37

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Anna-Louise Jackson and Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed, rebounding from losses earlier in the day, as gains by banks and energy companies offset a decline in commodities prices, while central bankers in the U.S. and Europe signaled caution about economic growth and inflation threats.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 14,012.32 at 4:00 p.m. in Toronto, reversing earlier declines of as much as 0.4 percent. Volume was 26 percent below the 30-day average. The index had rallied 1 percent in the preceding two sessions.

     U.S. stocks extended gains amid speculation Britain will vote to stay in the European Union, as energy producers and technology companies led the S&P 500 Index to a back-to-back gain. European shares advanced with emerging-market equities.

     Financial companies advanced 0.6 percent, as Royal Bank of Canada added 0.9 percent, extending a rally to four sessions. Toronto-Dominion Bank climbed 0.8 percent, its largest in almost a month.

     Energy producers added 0.6 percent as oil pared losses, while TransCanada Corp. advanced 2.2 percent, the most since March 30.

     Trican Well Service Ltd. jumped 9.5 percent, for the highest close since August, after Royal Bank analyst Dan MacDonald raised his rating for the stock to the equivalent of a buy, from sector perform or a hold. He also more than doubled his price target for the stock, to C$5 from C$2, with Trican’s financial risk now seen as “greatly” reduced after a reboot of its balance sheet, he said in a note.

     Shares of raw-materials producers tumbled 1.9 percent, along with a similar retreat in gold prices. Barrick Gold Corp. slumped 3 percent, its biggest drop in almost a month, while Franco-Nevada Corp. fell 2.8 percent, sliding for a third session.

     Industrial companies tumbled 0.9 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. fell 2.3 percent, with its lowest close since February, after the company cut its revenue outlook. Canadian National Railway Co. also declined 0.9 percent.

     Health-care stocks dropped 2.5 percent, slumping 19 percent so far in June, poised for a second monthly loss. The group is trading at the lowest level on a closing basis since December 2010.

US

By Oliver Renick and Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced amid speculation Britain will vote to stay in the European Union, as energy producers and technology companies led the S&P 500 Index to a back-to-back gain.

     Equities climbed after zigzagging throughout the day, bolstered by a third-straight increase for oil and gas companies, the longest in two months even as crude prices dropped. Microsoft Corp. rallied 2.2 percent and Apple Inc. added 0.9 percent to lead technology shares higher. Falling biotechnology stocks dragged down the health-care group, and raw-materials companies slipped as the dollar rose for the first time in five sessions to weigh on commodities prices.

     The S&P 500 climbed 0.3 percent to 2,088.90 at 4 p.m. in New York, bringing its two-day gain to 0.9 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 24.86 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,829.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index also added 0.1 percent, erasing an earlier 0.2 percent retreat. About 6.2 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 10 percent below the three-month average.

     “This is very much like the Greece situation, every time a poll comes out about what’s leading Brexit, you see a slight shift in the market that way,” said Michael Antonelli, an institutional equity sales trader and managing director at Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. “Nothing is going to happen until the vote. Janet Yellen spoke today and it got cursory coverage and interest from the people I spoke with.”

     Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled more caution on the economic outlook in testimony today before lawmakers, saying she and her colleagues were on watch for whether, rather than when, the economy would show clear signs of improvement. Yellen said the prospect of slow productivity growth continuing “into the future” can’t be ruled out, while also mentioning several potential threats to the economy from outside the U.S., including those from uncertainty over China’s expansion and the Brexit vote.

     The central bank last week signaled a cautious approach to future rate hikes, scaling back its projections for the next two years. Traders have since cut back their bets on higher borrowing costs, not pricing in even odds for an increase until February 2017.

     “I’m hearing a dovish tone,” said Thomas Garcia, head of equity trading at Thornburg Investment Management Inc. in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “At this point I don’t think anyone thinks she will raise rates. Investors aren’t going to be doing too much in front of Brexit, and I think Yellen is being careful of what she says in front of it as well.”

     The S&P 500 added to a bounce from the gauge’s worst weekly drop since April, a slide spurred by worries that Britain would secede. That halted a run-up from late May to within 0.6 percent of an all-time high on June 8, in an area above the 2,100 level where previous rallies have faltered in the past year. The index advanced yesterday after polls showed the U.K. campaign to stay in the EU gaining ground, and closed Tuesday less than 2 percent from its record set 13 months ago.

     Speculation that central banks’ efforts to boost global growth are losing their potency, valuations stuck above the three-year average and successive quarters of falling profits have added to the recent hurdles for stocks, as well as anxiety over the looming U.K. vote. The Fed last week painted a mixed picture on the U.S. economy, giving investors second thoughts on whether growth will remain strong enough to support higher equity prices.

     Despite recent optimism that Britons will opt to stay in the EU, the referendum remains too close to call. New polls were split: A YouGov poll for the Times newspaper published late Monday showed a lead for the “Leave” campaign, while a survey by ORB for the Daily Telegraph indicated “Remain” was ahead. Still, odds at betting shops showed only about a one-in-four chance Britain will choose to secede, though they crept up slightly Tuesday.

     “The polls are taking effect and everybody’s washing out the negativity from last week,” Michael Block, chief strategist at Rhino Trading Partners LLC in New York, said by phone. “Soros was out overnight warning the pound will be down 20 percent so people keep trying to get short and they keep burning their fingers. There’s dysfunction otherwise and not a lot of fundamental conviction out there.”

     In Tuesday’s trading, energy, technology and phone companies were the strongest performers among the S&P 500’s 10 main industries, increasing more than 0.6 percent. Raw- materials, health-care and consumer discretionary shares slipped at least 0.2 percent. The CBOE Volatility Index rose 0.6 percent to 18.48. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX is up 30 percent this month, the most since a record surge in August.

     Marathon Oil Corp. and Kinder Morgan Inc. rallied more than 3.8 percent for the best gains in energy as 36 of 38 members advanced. Halliburton Co. gained 1.9 percent. Meanwhile, crude futures lost 1.1 percent as markets awaited U.S. stockpile data and the Brexit vote.

     Phone companies in the benchmark rose to the highest since October 2007, with CenturyLink Inc. gaining 1.9 percent to a five-week high. Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. advanced more than 0.6 percent.

     Microsoft’s biggest gain in almost a month back-boned the tech group’s third climb in four days. Symantec Corp. increased 2.2 percent, extending a rally to seven sessions, its longest in almost two years. Red Hat Inc. added 1.9 percent before its earnings report tomorrow, and Adobe Systems Inc. rose 1.8 percent.

     Airlines rallied for a third consecutive day. United Continental Holdings Inc. advanced 3.4 percent after the carrier said it will find $3.1 billion in savings and extra revenue by 2018 as it attempts to close a persistent profit gap with competitors. Alaska Air Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. added more than 1.5 percent.

     Celgene Corp. and Allergan Plc lost at least 1.5 percent as a slump in biotechs sent the health-care group lower. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. continued its two-week slide, dropping 2.1 percent to its lowest price since October 2014. The shares have posted declines in 10 of the last 11 sessions.

 

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 always,

 

Carolann

 

If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us,

we’d all be millionaires.

                              -Abigail Van Buren, 1918-2013

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Summer Solstice today!

In summer, the song sings itself. –William Carlos Williams

Sumer is icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweth sed, and bloweth me [meadow]
And springeth the wude nu.
              Anonymous, Cuckoo Song (c. 1250)

SUMMER TIME: The idea of making fuller use of the hours of daylight by advancing the clock originated with Benjamin Franklin (1706-90), but its introduction was due to its advocacy from 1907 by William Willett (1856-1915), a Chelsea builder.  It was adopted in 1916 in Germany, then in Britain as a wartime measure, when clocks were advanced by one hour.  In Britain it became permanent by an Act of 1925.  Summer Time began on the day following the third Saturday in April, unless that was Easter Day, in which case it was the day following the second Saturday in April.  It ended on the day following the first Saturday in October.  In 1961 Summer Time was extended by six weeks, beginning March and ending in October, and similar extensions were made in 1962 and subsequent years.  During the Second World War  it ran from 25 February to 31 December in 1940 and from 1 January in the four years from 1941.  In  1945 it ended in October.  Double Summer Time (i.e. two hours in advance of GMT instead of one) was in force from 1941 to 1945 and in 1947 to save fuel.  After the war Summer Time was in force in the years from 1948 to 1952 and 1961 to 1964.  From 27 October 1968 until 31 October 1971 clocks were kept one hour ahead of GMT continuously.  This was known as British Standard Time (BST).   The most recent legislation is the Summer Time Act of 1972, which enacted that Summer Time should begin at 2 o’clock GMT in the morning of the day after the third Saturday in March or, if that is Easter Day, the day after the second Saturday in March and that it should end at 2 o’clock GMT in the morning of the day after the fourth Saturday in October.  Since the Second World War a number of other countries have adopted some form of Summer Time. –Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable.

June 20:

1837 – Queen Victoria ascends throne at age 18 after the death of her uncle, William IV.

1877 – Great Fire of Saint John destroys business district, 1,612 houses (2/3 of housing); kills 19, leaves 15,000 homeless.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The full moon rises behind a tree next to the ancient marble Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, southeast of Athens, on the eve of the summer solstice on Monday. The temple, built in 444 BC, was dedicated to Poseidon, god of the sea. Petros Giannakouris/AP

A close-up of the head of ‘Cyber Horse,’ made from thousands of infected computer and cell phone bits, is on display at the entrance to the annual Cyberweek conference at Tel Aviv University in Israel on Monday. Amir Cohen/Reuters

A man jumps over a puddle outside Victoria Station as heavy rain falls in London on Monday. Monday marks the Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year and the astronomical change of seasons when days are longest and nights are shortest in the Northern Hemisphere. Lauren Hurley/PA/AP

Market Closes for June 20^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17804.87	+129.71   +0.73%
S&P 500	2083.25	+12.03   +0.58%
NASDAQ	4837.215	+36.876   +0.77%
TSX	14015.14	+113.37
		+0.82%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15965.30	+365.64
		+2.34%
HANG SENG	20510.20	+340.22
		+1.69%
SENSEX	26866.92	+241.01
		+0.91%
FTSE 100	6204.00	+182.91
		+3.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.206	1.122
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.838	1.768
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6783	1.6095
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.4866	2.4203

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78099	0.77588
US $	1.28043	1.28886
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44876	0.69025
US $	1.13146	0.88381

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1281.80	1290.70
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	49.37	47.98

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Anna-Louise Jackson and Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced the most in five weeks, joining a rally in global equities, as energy producers followed crude higher and financial shares had their best gains in a month.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.8 percent percent to 14,015.14 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the most since May 16, with all 10 main industries in the benchmark gaining. The gauge rebounded after falling for second straight week, down 1 percent. A report in Canada showed wholesale sales rose 0.1 percent in April, less than the 0.5 percent forecast.

     Global equities surged, with the pound strengthening the most since 2008, on signs the campaign for the U.K to stay in the European Union was gaining momentum before this week’s referendum. Canadian stocks have climbed 7.7 percent this year, second only among developed nations to New Zealand’s 8.6 percent gain.

     Energy companies rallied with oil as West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded above $49 a barrel. Enbridge Inc. rose 2.2 percent, while Cenovus Energy Inc. added 3.1 percent. Crew Energy Inc. and Baytex Energy Corp. posted the strongest gains, up more than 6.6 percent.

     Financial stocks added 0.7 percent, the most since May 24. Alaris Royalty Corp. jumped 4.4 percent and Great-West Lifeco Inc. rose 2.4 percent, the best for both in four months. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. fell 0.3 percent after the company said it has completed the spin off of Business Partners LP. The company’s private equity arm tumbled 18 percent in its first regular trading session.

     Technology companies gained 0.8 percent, with Kinaxis Inc. adding 3.5 percent, its biggest rally in a month. Open Text Corp. increased 2.8 percent, snapping a four-day decline of 1.6 percent.

     Raw-materials companies rallied 0.3 percent, even as gold prices slipped for a second straight day. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Lucara Diamond Corp. both added at least 4.8 percent. Kinross Gold Corp. fell 2.2 percent as the company temporarily suspends mining and processing operations at its Tasiast mine in Mauritania. Barrick Gold Corp. lost 2 percent and fell for a third day.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed, with the S&P 500 Index rising the most in almost four weeks, after the latest polls showed the U.K. campaign to remain in the European Union is gaining ground before Thursday’s referendum.

     Monday’s rebound was paced by gains in consumer discretionary, industrial and technology shares. Amazon.com Inc. and Priceline Group Inc. advanced more than 1 percent to bolster consumer companies. Banks moved higher amid a steep increase in Treasury yields as investors abandoned haven assets, with Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. up more than 1 percent.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent to 2,083.25 at 4 p.m. in New York, though it trimmed gains in the final hour before the looming U.K. vote and testimony tomorrow by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. The gauge had climbed as much as 1.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 129.71 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,804.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.8 percent, recovering from the lowest since May 23.

     “We’re kind of going back to that risk-on again — it’s more an unwind of the panic we saw last week in the VIX up at 22 and the bond buying, and it seems to be because of what’s changing in the vote,” Mark Kepner, a managing director and equity trader at Themis Trading LLC in Chatham, New Jersey, said by phone. “The market was starting to prepare for a Brexit and it seems the polls in the U.K have changed since late last week.”

     A poll published over the weekend showed 45 percent of voters supported the ‘Remain’ camp, while 42 percent were in favor of a so-called Brexit — a turnaround from early last week, when a slew of surveys put the latter group ahead. Odds at betting shops also suggested dwindling support for the ‘Leave’ camp following Thursday’s murder of U.K. lawmaker Jo Cox, who backed staying in the EU.

     The S&P 500 bounced Monday after falling in six of the past seven sessions, a stretch that followed a climb to within 0.6 percent of its all-time high on June 8. The benchmark posted its worst weekly retreat since April amid global anxiety that Britain will choose to secede and central banks’ efforts to boost growth are losing their potency.

     Valuations stuck above the three-year average and four quarters of falling profits have also added to the recent hurdles for stocks. The S&P 500 briefly sprang back near 2,100 today, a level that’s proved difficult to hold above in other rallies during the past year, and closed 2.2 percent from its record set 13 months ago.

     The CBOE Volatility Index fell 5.4 percent today to 18.37, paring an early drop of nearly 15 percent. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX capped a third consecutive weekly climb on Friday, the longest in five months. About 6.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 3 percent below the three-month average.

     The Fed last week signaled a cautious approach to future rate increases, scaling back its projections for the next two years. Yellen and her fellow policy makers reiterated rates are likely to rise at a “gradual” pace. The Fed chair will testify on monetary policy before lawmakers Tuesday and Wednesday in a semiannual report. Traders have cut back their bets on higher borrowing costs, pricing in less than even odds for an increase as late as February 2017.

     “Last week, the positioning got a little bit too bearish, and now we are seeing a readjustment of that,” said Michael Hewson, a market analyst at CMC Markets in London. “People are talking about the slight shift in the betting odds with respect to this week’s U.K. vote. Brexit is a risk, but is it going to bring the global economy crashing down? No. When you get stretched too far in one direction, don’t be surprised it’s like an elastic band — you pull it, pull it, pull it, and it snaps.”

     Among the S&P 500’s 10 main industries Monday, energy, industrial and consumer discretionary shares rose at least 0.8 percent, while technology and financial companies added more than 0.5 percent. Utilities slipped 0.4 percent, shaving an earlier 1.1 percent drop.

     Auto-parts makers were the biggest gainers in consumer discretionary, with Delphi Automotive Plc and BorgWarner Inc. climbing more than 3.7 percent, the best for both since April. Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp. jumped as much as 9 percent after Carl Icahn raised his bid for the remaining 18 percent of the parts maker.

     Travel-related companies surged, with Expedia Inc. joining Priceline and TripAdvisor Inc. with increases of more than 2.5 percent following an upgrade to the equivalent of buy from neutral at Atlantic Equities LLC. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Carnival Corp. added at least 1.4 percent. A Wells Fargo analyst said cruise lines have underperformed amid concerns over the Brexit referendum, and are the best way in the leisure industry to play a “stay” vote.

     Boeing Co. advanced 2.3 percent toward a five-week high, contributing to industrials’ longest rally in two months. The aircraft maker is nearing a $4 billion deal with Russia’s largest air-freight company that would help extend the life of the iconic, hump-nosed 747 jumbo jet, people close to the transaction said. General Electric Co. and 3M Co. added at least 1.2 percent. FedEx Corp. gained 1.4 percent. The delivery company said it will buy six Boeing 767 freighters valued at $1.2 billion.

     Technology shares rose 0.5 percent, cutting the day’s best gains by two-thirds. Semiconductors were the strongest members of the group, rallying the most since May 24, with Skyworks Solutions Inc. and Qorvo Inc. rallying more than 2.7 percent. Intel Corp. advanced 1.3 percent. Also among tech companies, EBay Inc. jumped 3.3 percent, its best one-day gain in 10 weeks.

     Among stocks moving on corporate news, Marathon Oil Corp. soared 10 percent, its greatest gain in two months after saying it will buy PayRock Energy Holdings for $888 million. Marathon’s climb led energy producers as West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased as much as 2.9 percent amid speculation the U.K. will vote to remain in the EU. Chevron Corp. added 1 percent and Devon Energy Corp. climbed 3.7 percent.

     WellCare Health Plans Inc. rose to its highest since October 2007, with its 3.6 percent increase helping to boost the Russell 2000 Index to its best day in nearly a month. The climb comes after a Wall Street Journal report said Justice Department officials may be questioning the merger of Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp., making WellCare a potential target. Rival managed-care companies Centene Corp. and Molina Healthcare Inc. Advanced at least 1.9 percent.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

When you have an ideal will you think it helps rid you of  “what is,” but it never does.

You may preach non-violence for the rest of your life

and all the time be sowing the seeds of violence.

Krishnamurti

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

He hath awakened from the dream of life-

‘tis we, who lost in stormy visions, keep

with phantoms an unprofitable strife.

        -Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792-1822

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Happy Father’s Day!

HE WISHES FOR THE CLOTHS OF HEAVEN
William Butler Yeats

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Racegoers in top hats watch a horse race during Royal Ascot at the Ascot Racecourse in England on Friday. Andrew Boyers/Reuters

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany steers his car during his second free practice session at the Baku circuit in Azerbaijan on Friday. The Formula One Grand Prix of Europe will be held on Sunday. Luca Bruno/AP

Market Closes for June 17^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17674.34	-58.76   -0.33%
S&P 500	2070.92	-7.07   -0.34%
NASDAQ	4800.340	-44.575   -0.92%
TSX	13939.40	+56.99
		+0.41%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15599.66	+165.52
		+1.07%
HANG SENG	20169.98	+131.56
		+0.66%
SENSEX	26625.91	+100.45
		+0.38%
FTSE 100	6021.09	+70.61
		+1.19%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.122	1.107
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.768	1.760
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6095	1.5788
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.4203	2.3963

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77588	0.77133
US $	1.28886	1.29647
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45348	0.68800
US $	1.12773	0.88674

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1290.70	1310.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	47.98	46.21

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced for the second time in nine days, mirroring a rebound in oil and global equities after campaigning in Britain’s referendum on European Union membership was suspended.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 0.1 percent to 13,901.77 as of 4 p.m. in Toronto. Three of the gauge’s 10 main industries rose, led by energy companies, which snapped a three- day selloff. A report today showed inflation in the country eased in may as food costs rose at the slowest pace in more than two years.

     While global stocks rebounded from a four-week low, U.S. equities retreated. The Canadian dollar snapped the longest steak of losses since January.

     Oil prices jumped the most in two months, helping buoy shares of energy companies. The group added 0.9 percent, as Enerplus Corp. surged 7.1 percent and Baytex Energy Corp. advanced 5 percent.

     Shares of raw-materials pared an earlier rally, closing 0.1 percent higher. Nevsun Resources Ltd. slumped 9.7 percent to a four-month low after it sweetened a bid for Reservoir Minerals Inc., a takeover bid that shareholders voted to accept on Friday. Turquoise Hill Resources 17 percent over five days after reports emerged earlier this week that its controlling shareholder Rio Tinto Group is looking into taking the Vancouver-based company private.

     Health-care stocks extended a three-day selloff to the lowest level since December 2010, as Concordia Healthcare Corp. slumped to a two-year low. Meanwhile, shares of utilities companies fell 1.6 percent, the most since February, led by Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.’s 4.3 percent slump.

US

By Oliver Renick and Bailey Lipschultz

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated, sending the S&P 500 Index lower for the sixth time in seven days, amid selling in health-care and technology shares that have been the market’s weakest all year.

     Apple Inc. posted its biggest slide in five weeks, dragging down the tech group after regulators in China said the latest IPhones violated a design patent of a Chinese company. Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Merck & Co. fell more than 2.7 percent, while the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index slid 2 percent to mark the longest losing streak in 20 years. Commodity shares rallied with crude oil, helping to lift equities off the worst levels of the day.

     The S&P 500 declined 0.3 percent to 2,071.22 at 4 p.m. in New York, resuming a slide after rising Thursday to halt the longest stretch of losses since February. The gauge posted the second consecutive weekly drop, falling 1.2 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 57.94 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,675.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 0.9 percent to the lowest since May 23.

     “The market is nervous about valuations in general, they’re still nervous about the Fed and what they’re going to do, and what Europe is going to do,” Thomas Garcia, head of equity trading at Thornburg Investment Management Inc. in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said by phone. “There’s a lot more to worry about than just Brexit. We just can’t break these levels either way, and we’re just trading in a range.”

     About 9.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 30 percent above the three-month average after a quarterly event known as quadruple witching, when futures and options contracts on indexes and individual stocks expire. Some of the biggest instruments for protection against losses in equities rolled over just a few days before the U.K.’s referendum on secession, an event that forces would-be hedgers to take up new positions.

     Equities were whipsawed Thursday, erasing losses that had reached 1 percent, after both sides on the Brexit issued suspended their campaigns following the murder of Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox, who was a “Remain” proponent. The event shifted investor sentiment after a series of polls in recent days indicated more Britons favor leaving the EU. Stocks in Europe rose Friday as Brexit concerns abated and energy shares followed oil higher.

     “When you look at the difference in markets between the U.S. and Europe, for the past week the U.S. has gone down significantly less than Europe,” said Walter Todd, who oversees about $1.1 billion as chief investment officer for Greenwood Capital Associates LLC in South Carolina. “So you may just be seeing a relief rally in Europe, and even with the U.S. down it’s still outperforming international markets for the past week.”

     Bookmakers’ odds today indicated a lower chance of the “Leave” side winning. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and central banks in Britain, Japan, Canada and Switzerland have warned this week over the potential for economic damage in the event of a secession.

     Meanwhile, investors have been bracing for turbulence like never before. Trading volume for securities linked to the CBOE Volatility Index surged to a record high this week. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX edged up 0.2 percent Friday to 19.41, bringing its monthly gain to about 37 percent, on track for the most since August.

     Concern that Britain will exit the union, and thereby weaken the global economy, has weighed on financial markets ahead of the June 23 vote, with the S&P 500 headed for its biggest weekly decline since April. Investors were also unnerved by a mediocre growth outlook implied by Yellen’s dovishness after Wednesday’s Fed meeting, as well as a lack of action from other prominent central banks that fueled perceptions policy makers are increasingly at a loss about what to do in the face of a struggling global economy.

     A report today showed new-home construction in the U.S. was little changed in May, a sign the residential real-estate industry’s contribution to economic growth in the second quarter will be muted. The chances of a July boost in borrowing costs have fallen to 6 percent, from about 16 percent before the Fed this week scaled back its projections for increases. Odds of a move only rise to about 40 percent for as late as February 2017.                        

     The S&P 500 has slipped 2.3 percent since June 8 when the benchmark came within 0.6 percent of its record set almost 13 months ago. Brexit worries have stymied the latest run toward the all-time high after the gauge rallied as much as 16 percent from a 22-month low in February, boosted by crude’s recovery from a 12-year low and optimism that a mix of low rates and moderate economic growth would continue to support higher share prices.

     In Friday’s trading, five of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries declined, with health-care and technology companies dropping at least 0.9 percent. Consumer staples, one of yesterday’s rally leaders, retreated 0.5 percent. Energy stocks rose 0.8 percent, while raw-materials and phone companies climbed at least 0.4 percent.

     Merck saw the steepest slide in four months amid analyst comments on sales for a hepatitis drug. That combined with a ninth consecutive decline for biotechnology shares to send the health-care group to the worst day in more than a month. Pfizer Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. lost more than 1.4 percent.

     Alphabet slumped to the lowest in nearly two months, joining Apple as the biggest drivers of losses in tech, following comments on search trends from Citigroup Inc. Activision Blizzard Inc. and Visa Inc. fell more than 1.7 percent. Offsetting some of the declines in the group, Oracle Corp. added 2.7 percent after reporting sales that topped analysts’ estimates as cloud-based products picked up momentum with corporate customers.

     Energy shares rallied to halt a seven-day drop, the longest since August. Crude jumped the most in two months, rising 3.8 percent as a weaker dollar bolstered the appeal of commodities. Murphy Oil Corp. added 4.9 percent, and Transocean Ltd. gained 7.5 percent.

     Among other shares moving on corporate news, Revlon Inc. advanced the most since February after a deal to acquire Elizabeth Arden Inc. for about $419 million, a wager that uniting two aging cosmetics giants can reinvigorate both companies’ brands. Elizabeth Arden Inc. surged 49 percent.

     Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. jumped 8.7 percent, its best day in five months, after predicting firearm demand would hold strong — regardless of any fallout from the mass shooting in Florida — and two research firms upgraded the shares. The company’s quarterly results also beat estimates.

     Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. soared 19 percent, the steepest climb this year, after regulators ended a probe of formaldehyde in the company’s flooring without issuing a product recall.
 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

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

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Real riches are the riches possessed inside.

                         -B.C. Forbes, 1880-1954

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On June 16, 1815, Thomas Creevey wrote from Brussels in his Journal:

Friday morning, half-past two – The girls just returned from a ball at the Duke of Richmond’s.  A battle has taken place today [at Charleroi on 15 June] between Bonaparte and the Prussians; to what extent is not known, however, to be in favour of the French.  Our troops are all moving from this place at present.  Lord Wellington was at the ball tonight as composed as ever.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A woman walks on the installation ‘The Floating Piers,’ by Bulgarian-born artist Christo Vladimirov Yavachev, known as Christo, on Lake Iseo in northern Italy on Thursday. Stefano Rellandini/Reuters

Robot ‘Pepper,’ a humanoid robot designed to welcome and take care of visitors and patients, holds the hand of a newborn baby at AZ Damiaan hospital in Ostend, Belgium, on Thursday. Francois Lenoir/Reuters

Market Closes for June 16^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17733.10	+92.93   +0.53%
S&P 500	2077.99	+6.49   +0.31%
NASDAQ	4844.914	+9.982   +0.21%
TSX	13882.41	-41.04
		-0.29%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15434.14	-485.44
		-3.05%
HANG SENG	20038.42	-429.10
		-2.10%
SENSEX	26525.46	-200.88
		-0.75%
FTSE 100	5950.48	-16.32
		-0.27%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.107	1.081
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.760	1.759
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5788	1.5737
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.3963	2.4087

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77133	0.77467
US $	1.29647	1.29087
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45547	0.68706
US $	1.12265	0.89075

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1310.75	1283.30
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	46.21	48.01

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slid for the sixth time in seven days, erasing Wednesday’s gain as commodity producers followed crude-oil and metals prices lower.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.3 percent to 13,882.41 at 4 p.m in Toronto, paring an earlier 0.8 percent retreat as U.S. stocks rebounded amid diminished odds Britain will elect to leave the European Union. Seven of the gauge’s 10 main industries declined. Gold prices slumped after touching a nearly two-year high, dragging down raw-materials companies which erased an earlier 2 percent advance. The benchmark has slumped 3.4 percent since hitting a 10-month high on June 7.

     The S&P 500 Index wiped out all of a 1 percent drop, while futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 gained amid a steady intraday easing in bookmaker odds for the U.K. exiting the EU. Campaigning for the Brexit referendum was suspended by both sides after Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox was murdered as she met constituents in her district.

     Shares of health-care companies led the decline in Canada’s market, falling 3.4 percent to the lowest since December 2010. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. tumbled again, losing 5.1 percent to bring its two-day decline to 6.2 percent.

     After rising as much as 2.1 percent earlier in the day to briefly touch a 16-month high, raw-materials stocks tumbled along with gold prices to close 1.4 percent lower. OceanaGold Corp. soared to an all-time high before closing 0.9 percent lower. Kinross Gold Corp. and Alamos Gold Inc. both tumbled at least 4.1 percent, the most in about four weeks.

     As oil prices slumped, so did energy stocks with the group sinking 0.8 percent. Cenovus Energy Inc. lost 3.6 percent to a two-month low, while Surge Energy Inc. and Baytex Energy Corp. both fell at least 5.5 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined 3.8 percent in New York, capping the commodity’s longest losing streak since February, as concerns mounted that the world economy is losing strength.

     Financials snapped a six-day selloff, rising 0.2 percent led by a rally of 1.3 percent for Dream Office Real Estate Investment Trust. Meanwhile, phone companies added to a three- day rally of 1.9 percent as Roger Communications Inc. jumped 1.6 percent, the most since February.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded, with the S&P 500 Index halting its longest losing streak since February, amid shifting speculation on whether Britain will remain in the European Union.

     Equities recovered from a 1 percent selloff as both sides suspended campaigning on whether Britain should leave the EU after Labour Party lawmaker Jo Cox was murdered while she met constituents in her electoral district. She was in favor of remaining in the EU, fueling speculation voters will be more likely to choose remain in next week’s referendum. Phone companies and utilities led the rally, while energy producers were mired in the longest retreat in almost 10 months as crude continued to fall.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,077.99 at 4 p.m. in New York, ending a five-day, 2.3 percent retreat. The gauge also climbed back above its average price during the past 50 days. It was the fifth time this year the benchmark has erased a 1 percent intraday drop to finish higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 92.93 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,733.10, after wiping out a 168-point slide. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.2 percent.

     “Recent polls have shown Brexit is too close to call, or leaning in the direction of leaving,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Philadelphia-based Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, which manages $54 billion. “That campaign cooling a bit could provide relief to investors that think further campaigning will help drive votes in the direction of a Brexit. How sticky of a sentiment that will be is yet to be determined.”

     Traders noted the rebound in equities coincided with a deterioration in chances Britons would elect to leave the EU as tracked by Oddschecker’s survey of bookmakers’ implied probability. Those odds slipped below 38 after surpassing 44 hours earlier. Others said a rebound in markets was unsurprising given how fast stocks fell at the open, with the S&P 500 going as low as 2,050.37, roughly where it began a 1.4 percent rally on May 24.

     The CBOE Volatility Index fell 3.8 percent to 19.37, after jumping almost 14 percent. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX slipped for a third day after reaching on Monday its highest since Feb. 23. About 7.4 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent above the three-month average.

     Investors also shrugged off mounting anxiety over the growth outlook after the Federal Reserve yesterday scaled back its projections for interest-rate increases. Policy makers indicated the economy remains mixed, and also cited Britain’s June 23 EU referendum as a factor in the decision to stand pat. Chair Janet Yellen pointed to more permanent forces that could hold down rates for longer, namely slow productivity growth and aging societies.

     The Bank of Japan refrained from expanding monetary stimulus ahead of a domestic election and the U.K.’s June 23 Brexit vote, while the Swiss National Bank and Bank of England also kept rates unchanged.

     Equities found a reprieve in a retreat spurred as investors weighed the potential fallout from the U.K. referendum, with a series of polls in recent days indicating more Britons favor leaving the EU. Sentiment has soured from just a week ago, when the S&P 500 rose to within 0.6 percent of a record on optimism that a mix of low rates and moderate economic growth would continue to support higher stock prices. The gauge had rallied as much as 16 percent from a 22-month low in February.

     “I wouldn’t be surprised if everything was just put on hold for a while,” said Tim Ghriskey, who oversees $1.5 billion as managing director and chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management. “The possibility of a delay in the Brexit vote is probably letting the market seemingly lift a little bit and retrace most of today’s losses.”

     Central banks have sounded the alarm over a potential Brexit, with chiefs of the Fed, Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada and Swiss National Bank all citing next week’s vote as a potential disruption to the global economy. Yellen said yesterday the decision could have consequences for financial markets, and “in turn for the U.S. economic outlook.” Traders have cut back their bets on a Fed rate increase, pricing in only a 6 percent chance of a July boost and less than 40 percent odds of one as late as February 2017.                          

     While policy makers still aren’t seeing enough momentum in the economy to warrant higher borrowing costs, a report today showed the cost of living in the U.S. excluding food and fuel rose in May, propelled by rising rents. Separately, jobless claims increased more than expected last week, reflecting a jump in California that otherwise masked steady progress in the labor market. Another gauge showed confidence among homebuilders climbed to a five-month high in June.

     “There’s been a subtle shift in terms of what the market is rewarding — from previously having rewarded low rates and more liquidity to now being seen to reward an increase in rates because of the implications for confidence and economic activity,” said Daniel Murray, the London-based head of research at EFG Asset Management. “The Fed has done quite a quick turn. Clearly the uncertainty over Brexit is rising. Markets are trying to digest all of this.”

     In Thursday’s trading, phone companies and utilities — the two groups with the most generous dividend yields — were the strongest performers among the S&P 500’s 10 main industries. Energy companies pared their drop to 0.2 percent from more than2 percent, even as West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 3.8 percent to cap the longest selloff since February.

     Consumer staples gained as the dollar retreated, amid speculation the lower currency will help the profitability of their businesses overseas. Hormel Foods Corp. added 2.3 percent, while Tyson Foods Inc. and Campbell Soup Co. increased more than 1.5 percent.

     Merck & Co. was one of the biggest boosters to the benchmark index and the best in the Dow, rising 2.5 percent. The shares had their strongest day in two months after positive trial results for its Keytruda lung cancer treatment.

     Pioneer Natural Resources Co. sank 6.1 percent, the worst in the S&P 500 and its biggest loss since January. Investors panned its $435 million deal to buy drilling rights from Devon Energy Corp., as Pioneer is financing the purchase with new stock that will dilute the value of their holdings.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The supreme consideration is man.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

People need dreams, there’s as much nourishment in ‘em as food.

                                                     -Dorothy Gilman, 1923-2012

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

From this year’s Commencement addresses:

Roanoke College
Michael Rhodin
IBM Watson senior vice president
“A decade ago, I was sitting in the office of the co-CEOs of a company called BlackBerry, the world’s dominant mobile email platform, and a pretty good phone.  It was the day after Apple released something it called the iPhone.  (The BlackBerry CEOs0 explained to me why it would fail.  They missed the point.   They were stuck in their own paradigm.  They failed to see outside the lines.  Today, while iPhone is a leading mobile platform, it is not the only player.  Another group of people from a company called Google looked outside the lines again and released a free operating system called Android to disrupt the smartphone market.  Always remember, when you look outside the lines, you implicitly create new ones, and others will look beyond those.  Never be afraid to challenge your own beliefs and restlessly reinvent your ideas.”

University of Wisconsin
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks quarterback
“I’m here to share some things I’ve learned – things like if you’re dating a woman that’s way out of your league, ask her to marry you.  If you can throw a football 80 yards, for some reason people think that’s pretty cool.  And if you’re playing the New England Patriots in  the Super Bowl and you’ve go 26 seconds left and you’re down by four and it’s second-and-goal on their 1-yard line, try not to throw an interception.  That’s purely, purely hypothetical though, of course.  If my dad were here with us, this is the point where he’d remind us that potential means we just haven’t done it yet.  So I would say good luck, but I don’t believe in good luck.  Go make it happen.  Congratulations to the Class of 2016.  I’m out.”

Meredith College
Ellen Stofan, NASA chief scientist
“Even in my current position, I don’t know all there is to know.  That’s why we keep conducting research and exploring the unknown.  I think a lot of people have the perception that we’re in this era where we’re  at the peak of knowing about the world around us and how it works.  However, I would argue that we know so little, and we’re on the verge of knowing so much – because the more we learn, the more questions we have, the more we seek knowledge.  Just in the last few years, we have discovered about 5,000 candidate planet around other stars.  New worlds to understand – and targets for looking for signs of life.  The world you have in front of you provides a wealth of opportunity – figure out where you fit in, and go for it.”

On this day in 1923, Lou Gehrig makes his major league debut with the New York Yankees.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Musician and campaigner Bob Geldof (c.) joins a counter demonstration as a flotilla of fishing vessels campaigning to leave the European Union sails up the river Thames in London on Wednesday. Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

A worker cleans the floor of British artist Wolfgang Buttress’ 17-meter-high, bee-health-inspired ‘The Hive’ aluminum installation in Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, west London, on Wednesday. The installation is fitted with LED lights and a unique sound accompaniment that respond to the real-time activity of bees in a beehive behind the scenes. The sound and light intensities change as the energy levels in the real beehive surge, giving visitors an insight into life inside a bee colony. Matt Dunham/AP

A racegoer takes a photo with his cell phone during Royal Ascot at the Ascot Racecourse in Britain on Wednesday. Andrew Boyers/Reuters

Market Closes for June 15^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17640.17	-34.65   -0.20%
S&P 500	2071.50	-3.82   -0.18%
NASDAQ	4834.934	-8.618   -0.18%
TSX	13923.45	+39.22
		+0.28%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15919.58	+60.58
		+0.38%
HANG SENG	20467.52	+79.99
		+0.39%
SENSEX	26726.34	+330.63
		+1.25%
FTSE 100	5966.80	+43.27
		+0.73%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.081	1.122
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.759	1.785
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5737	1.6198
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.4087	2.4298

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77467	0.77728
US $	1.29087	1.28653
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45395	0.68778
US $	1.12633	0.88784

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1283.30	1287.15
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.01	48.49

Market Commentary:

Number of the Day
0.37%
The effective fed funds rate every day in June has been 0.37%, within the Federal Reserve’s 0.25%-0.50% target range.

Canada

By Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks gained Wednesday, rebounding from the steepest slump since February, even as their U.S. counterparts succumbed to a late session selloff.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index maintained gains to advance 0.3 percent to 13,923,45 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, halting a five-day retreat that sent the gauge 3.4 percent lower. A report Wednesday showed manufacturing sales in the country rose more than expected in April. Canadian stocks rose amid the biggest rally in copper prices in three months and broader gains in base metals.

     Following the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged, the U.S. stock market erased gains that earlier were poised to be the biggest in three weeks.

     Shares of Canadian raw-materials companies jumped 2.9 percent, leading gains as six of the benchmark’s 10 main industries advanced. Pretium Resources Inc. jumped 8.6 percent to the highest since January 2013, while Semafo Inc. added 7.1 percent to close at levels last seen in March 2012.

     Utilities companies pared earlier gains of as much as 0.8 percent to close little changed. Superior Plus Corp. jumped 2 percent, the most since May 27, while Transalta Corp. fell 1.6 percent.

     Energy companies slipped 0.2 percent after oil fell a fifth day, capping the longest run of declines since February, as the return of Canadian output offset a U.S. crude stockpile drop.

     Shares of consumer-staples companies fell 0.6 percent, dragged down by Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s 0.7 percent decline.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks erased gains in a late-day collapse after the Federal Reserve held pat on interest rates, with mixed American growth and a sluggish global economy heightening concern the effectiveness of central-bank stimulus has reached its limits.

     Equities seesawed post-meeting and during Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s press conference, maintaining gains before caving in the final minutes, spurred by falling crude-oil prices and tumbling Treasury yields which weighed on financial shares.

     The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,071.50 at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing a climb of 0.5 percent, and posting a fifth straight drop, the longest since February. The gauge also closed below its average price during the past 50 days, after holding above the level until the closing minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 34.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,640.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 0.2 percent.

     “The Fed scaling back the indicated pace of rate hikes can be construed as them not seeing requisite strength — there’s a malaise that’s set into the economy,” said Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates Inc. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “Without something to push equities higher, besides low rates, we’re losing steam here. With uncertainty around the British vote later this month, the path of least resistance seems to be down at this point.”

     Equities had been on track to snap a four-day losing streak for most of the day as investors focused on the outcome of the Fed meeting, briefly pushing into the background recent worries about Britain’s potential exit from the European Union.

     Traders said selling pressure built through the afternoon but didn’t hit stocks until after Yellen finished her press conference. One signal was in crude, where New York-traded futures began to decline roughly when the Fed’s statement hit, then kept slipping as Yellen answered questions. Others pointed to an imbalance of orders that often materialize at the end of trading sessions.

     “There are still a lot of people that use the market on open and close to trade, and what happens is there are buy and sell imbalances,” Joe Sowin, head of global equity trading at Dallas, Texas-based Highland Capital Management LP, said by phone. “There was a $1.1 billion sell imbalance, and when you have an interesting move in the S&P down, more people are inclined to sell in the last half hour. It’s kind of a guerrilla warfare signal.”

     Oil fell for a fifth day, capping the longest run of declines since February, with futures dropping 6.3 percent in New York over the last five sessions.

     The central bank today signaled a cautious approach to further raising borrowing costs, with more officials seeing only one rate increase this year compared to the previous forecasting round in March.

     Policy makers reiterated rates are likely to rise at a “gradual” pace. A tightening labor market, signs of rising wages and a pickup in consumer spending have nudged the Fed toward another hike, while a slowing pace of job creation, evidence of lower inflation expectations and persistent risks from outside the U.S. have provided reason for caution.

     Traders trimmed bets on higher rates, pricing in less than 6 percent chance of a rate move in July, down from 18 percent before the Fed statement and 53 percent two weeks ago, before probabilities were doused by weak May payroll gains. The first month with at least even odds for an increase is pushed out beyond February.

     “We’ve had Yellen and other Fed officials speak to us about the strength of the economy since the April meeting, and if you read the release today, they basically pushed the spaghetti around the plate — the strengths and weaknesses in the economy just shifted,” said Anna Rathbun, director of research for CBIZ Inc.’s retirement-plan services unit in Cleveland. “This isn’t good news, this is status quo. So the rate hike not coming means we haven’t gone anywhere, and as an investor, I don’t find that encouraging.”

     Equities have retreated this week as the potential fallout from Britain’s June 23 referendum spooked investors, just days after optimism over low rates and moderate economic growth buoyed the S&P 500 to an almost 11-month high.

     With policy makers depending on data to decide when to act on borrowing costs, a report today showed a rebound in fuel costs pushed up wholesale prices for a second month. Excluding volatile components such as food, energy and trade services, prices declined for the first time in seven months. Other data showed factory production fell more than forecast in May, while manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly expanded this month, according to a separate measure.

     The S&P 500 had rallied as much as 16 percent from a 22- month low in February to within 0.6 percent of an all-time high last week, with a multimonth advance bolstered as crude oil rebounded from a 12-year low and the economy showed signs of gaining enough traction to handle higher rates. The index is still less than 3 percent from its record set nearly 13 months ago, and has gone the longest without a fresh high outside of a bear market since 1984.

     The CBOE Volatility Index fell 1.8 percent today to 20.14, slipping for a second day after reaching a three-month high. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX yesterday ended its longest streak of gains since August. About 6.9 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three- month average.

     In Wednesday’s trading, six of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries fell, with utilities and health-care shares sliding at least 0.6 percent. Raw-materials rose 0.4 percent and consumer discretionary shares added 0.3 percent. Financial shares were little changed, nearly wiping out a 1.2 percent rally as a rebound in banks lost momentum amid sliding Treasury yields. Industrials also finished barely changed after rising 0.8 percent.

 

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

 

Dream and give yourself permission to envision a You that you choose to be.

                                                                           -Joy Page, 1924-2008

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

In the NY Times last Sunday, excerpts from some of the commencement speeches given over the past few weeks as thousands of college students graduated are cited, and, for the most part, had  a fairly common theme: Times are Tough, but Take Heart.

University of California, Berkeley
Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook (Ms. Sandberg’s husband died suddenly last year).
“For many months afterward, and at many times since, I was swallowed up in the deep fog of grief – what I think of as the void –an emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs, constricts your ability to think or even to breathe.
Dave’s death changed me in very profound ways.  I learned about the depths of sadness and the brutality of loss.  But I also learned that when life sucks you under, you can kick against the bottom, break the surface, and breathe again.  I learned that in the face of the void – or in the face of any challenge – you can choose joy and meaning.”

University of Pennsylvania
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Creator of Hamilton
“In a year when politicians traffic in anti-immigrant rhetoric, there is also a Broadway musical reminding us that a broke, orphan immigrant  from the West Indies built our financial system.  A story that reminds us that since the beginning of the great unfinished symphony that is our American experiment, time and time again, immigrants get the job done.”

Harvard University
Stephen Spielberg
Filmmaker
“And I want to be clear that your intuition is different from your conscience.  They work in tandem, but here’s the distinction:  Your conscience  shouts, ‘Here’s what you should do,’ while your intuition whispers, ‘Here’s what you could do.’  Listen to that voice that tells you what you could do.  Nothing will define your character more than that.”

Washington University
John Lewis
Congressman and civil rights leader
“On May 20, 1961, the same year that President Barack Obama was born, some of us on the freedom rides, black and white college students, arrived in Montgomery, Ala., at the Greyhound bus station.  We were met by an angry mob.  We were beaten.  We were left bloody.  We were left unconscious, some of us.  And later, we traveled by bus to Mississippi and other parts of the South where we were arrested and jailed.
 We din’t give up.  We didn’t give in.  We didn’t lose faith.  We kept our eyes on the prize.  And as students, as graduates,  you must keep your eyes on the prize.  You have a moral obligation, a mission and a mandate to do your part.  You must play a role, help to redeem the soul of America, help create a beloved America, a beloved world wher no one is left our or left behind because of their race or their class.”

On this day in…

1777 – the Continental Congress adopts the Stars and Stripes as the nation’s flag.

1851 – Province of Canada issues 12 penny Queen Victoria stamp.

1841 – Lord Sydenham opens the Province of Canada’s first Parliament.

1919 – Alcock and Brown leave St. John’s on the first nonstop transatlantic flight.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, sign a book of condolences for the victims of the shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando at the US Embassy in London on Tuesday. Philip Toscano/Reuters

Racegoers are decked out for the Royal Ascot horse races at the Ascot Racecourse in Britain on Tuesday. Toby Melville/Reuters

Market Closes for June 14^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17674.82	-57.66   -0.33%
S&P 500	2075.32	-3.74   -0.18%
NASDAQ	4843.551	-4.890   -0.10%
TSX	13884.23	-109.65
		-0.78%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15859.00	-160.18
		-1.00%
HANG SENG	20387.53	-125.46
		-0.61%
SENSEX	26395.71	-1.06
		—
FTSE 100	5923.53	-121.44
		-2.01%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.122	1.113
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.785	1.788
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6198	1.6113
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.4298	2.4277

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77728	0.78037
US $	1.28653	1.28145
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44207	0.69345
US $	1.12090	0.89214

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1287.15	1280.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.49	48.88

Market Commentary:

Number of the Day
– 0.001%
The yield Tuesday on the 10-year government debt of Germany, the first time it dipped below zero.

Canada

By Dani Burger and Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slumped a fifth day, the longest losing streak in four months, as riskier assets retreated ahead of key central-bank meetings this week and Britain’s vote on its membership of the European union.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index tumbled 0.8 percent to 13,884.23 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, extending losses after opening little changed in the morning. The index has lost 3.4 percent over five days, the biggest drop over that stretch of time since Feb. 11.

     Global stocks declined on Tuesday with the MSCI All-Country World Index posting its worst four days since January, as investors grow increasingly cautious on the looming Brexit vote and volatility ahead from U.S. elections and Federal Reserve rate decisions.

     Canadian stocks have gained 6.7 percent this year, lifted by the rebound in commodity-sensitive producers. Raw material and energy producers have gained the most in the index year to date, posting advances of 42 percent and 14 percent respectively. That’s put the S&P/TSX within striking distance of beating New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index as the top performer in 2016 among developed nations.

     Financial shares and raw-material producers contributed the most to declines on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 1.8 percent. The Bloomberg Commodities Index retreated for the third time in four sessions with base metals producers First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. slumping more than 4.1 percent.

     Energy producers slipped 0.6 percent as crude prices in New York dropped. Oil has fallen for four days. Global oil markets will be almost balanced next year as demand continues to rise faster than output, while the current oversupply is much smaller than previously thought, the International Energy Agency said.

     Seven of 10 industries retreated in the S&P/TSX on trading volume 2 percent lower than the 30-day average. Telecommunications and health-care stocks led gains. Telus Corp, the telephone stock, rose 1.6 percent after it said it is buying back as much as 1.58 million shares through private agreements with a third-party seller.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose 1.4 percent, ending the day higher after swinging between gains and losses. Valeant is working with advisers at Morgan Stanley as it weighs the sale of dermatology units to reduce debt and raise cash, according to people familiar with the matter. The embattled drugmaker also hosted its annual meeting. Valeant stock remains down more than 90 percent from an August peak.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated for a fourth day, the longest since February, amid growing uncertainty about the U.K.’s future in the European Union and as investors awaited Wednesday’s Federal Reserve announcement.

     Equities staged a late rebound, surging from the day’s lows in the final hour to pare much of the session’s losses that reached as much as 0.7 percent in the S&P 500 Index. Banks dropped on speculation low rates will continue to weigh on earnings, while haven buying boosted the dollar, dragging down raw-material producers. Investors seeking safety gravitated to the high dividend yields offered by utilities and phone companies.

     The S&P 500slipped 0.2 percent to 2,075.32 at 4 p.m. in New York, remaining at a three-week low. The gauge dropped below its average price during the past 50 days, which then became the ceiling on the late-day recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 57.66 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,674.82, after falling as much as 136 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.1 percent. About 7.4 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 7 percent above the three-month average.

     “It was nice to see a good retail sales number, but folded on top of that you have Brexit, speculation around the Fed and the market still near some highs,” said Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion. “That’s causing investors to remain cautious. The news cycle has been taken over by what the Fed is going to do.”

     The CBOE Volatility Index fell 2.2 percent Tuesday to 20.50 on the late-day comeback, halting its longest stretch of gains since August. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX erased a 5.7 percent climb today, after jumping 23 percent Monday, the most this year.

     The bout of selling is occurring just days after the S&P 500 hit its highest in almost 11 months, buoyed by optimism that low rates, steady job gains and modest growth would continue to support rising stock prices. Sentiment has shifted, with the potential fallout from a June 23 vote on Britain’s membership of the EU increasingly unsettling global markets. Britain’s largest-selling newspaper now backs a so-called Brexit, while five polls in the past 24 hours put the “Leave” campaign ahead of “Remain.”

     As policy makers and investors scrutinize data to weigh U.S. growth, a report today showed retail sales rose more than forecast in May, indicating consumer spending will help boost second-quarter growth. A separate gauge showed inflation pressures are building. The costs of goods imported into the U.S. climbed 1.4 percent in May, the biggest gain in four years.

     Although traders are pricing in zero chance of a rate move tomorrow, Chair Janet Yellen’s commentary afterward will be parsed for hints on the trajectory of borrowing costs. At least even odds for a rate increase have been pushed out to February 2017.

     The S&P 500 had rallied as much as 16 percent from a 22- month low in February to within 0.6 percent of an all-time high, before its four-day slide amid growth worries and Brexit anxiety. The benchmark is less than 3 percent from its record set nearly 13 months ago, and has gone the longest without a fresh high outside of a bear market since 1984.

     “Brexit is adding fuel to the fire for risk-averse investors,” said Jasper Lawler, an analyst at CMC Markets Plc in London. “Markets are already worried about slowing global growth and the inability of central-bank policy to stem the decline. Global growth concerns are present because we don’t know where the Fed is on that, but depending on the language they use, this could cause the market to gain again.”

     In Tuesday’s trading, six of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries rose, led by gains of 0.5 percent in phone companies and utilities. Consumer staples added 0.3 percent, while technology, health-care and industrials all edged up less than 0.2 percent. Financial shares dropped 1.5 percent and raw- materials lost 0.8 percent.                       

     Credit-card companies were hammered, leading the slide in financials as Synchrony Financial tumbled 13 percent near a four-month low. The issuer of private-label cards said it was setting aside more money for loan losses. Capital One Financial Corp. fell 6.6 percent, the worst since July, and American Express Co. decreased 4.1 percent to the lowest since April 12.

     Banks in the benchmark declined at least 1 percent for a fourth straight session, sliding to a two-month low. KeyCorp and Citizens Financial Group Inc. slumped at least 3.4 percent. The KBW Bank Index fell to the lowest in nine weeks.

     Freeport-McMoRan sank to a two-month low to pace the drop in raw-materials. Alcoa Inc. retreated 2.4 percent, while Mosaic Co. and Owens-Illinois Inc. fell more than 2.3 percent.

     Airlines were battered for a second day, with a Bloomberg index of U.S. carriers marking its worst back-to-back drop in more than a year. Southwest Airlines Co. slumped 5.4 percent to an almost four-month low, while United Continental Holdings Inc.lost 4.5 percent to its lowest since October 2014.

     Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. fell at least 1.8 percent after May retail sales data showed weakness in building materials and garden equipment. Department stores also saw sales declines, sending Nordstrom Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. down at least 2.3 percent.

     Among companies moving on corporate news, Yahoo! Inc. rose 2.6 percent, among the strongest in the S&P 500. Private equity suitors TPG, Advent International Corp. and a partnership of Sycamore Partners and Vector Capital Management are into the final round of bidding for its core internet business, as well as some of its intellectual property and real estate assets, according to people familiar with the matter.

     General Electric Co. added 2 percent, the most in the Dow and steepest in a month. The conglomerate affirmed its 2016 forecast in an analyst presentation, and also said it’s opening a research and development center in Paris to work on software design for industrial applications as part of a push to boost sales from information technology.
 

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

 

It’s easy to make a buck.  It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.

                                                           -Tom Brokaw, 1940-

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Fantastic entertainment at last night’s Tony Awards.  As expected, Hamilton cleaned up with 11.  I must say that to date, it’s the best show I’ve ever seen on Broadway – amazing creativity and talent.

Took in the James Taylor concert on the weekend, and he was fantastic – I think he’s better now than at any time in his career.  I know it’s a big tour in 2016, so if you get a chance to see him at any of his other scheduled appearances, it’s truly a great way to spend an evening.  He is also with an amazing band.

On this day in 1900, China’s Boxer Rebellion erupts.

On June 13, in Canada…

1673 – La Salle builds Fort Cataraqui at today’s Kingston, Ontario

1886 – Fire razes Vancouver in 1/2 hr blaze; 1,000 buildings torched, up to 50 die.

1898 – Birth of the Yukon as Royal Assent given to the Yukon Territory Act

Tweet of the Day:
Pound at 8 week low; $6b net short position on pound as speculators ramp up bearish bet. 10 days out
— Sara Eisen @SaraEisen

Number of the Day
50%
The average of the past six polls on whether the U.K. should leave the EU puts each side on 50%, excluding voters who were undecided or didn’t know, according to NatCen Social Research, a nonpartisan social research agency.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The cast of ‘Hamilton,’ winners of the 2016 award for best musical, perform at the Tony Awards at the Beacon Theater on Sunday in New York. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Children play on an iceberg on the beach in Nuuk, Greenland. Alister Doyle/Reuters

Market Closes for June 13^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17732.48	-132.86   -0.74%
S&P 500	2079.06	-17.01   -0.81%
NASDAQ	4848.441	-46.106   -0.94%
TSX	13993.88	-43.66
		-0.31%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16019.18	-582.18
		-3.51%
HANG SENG	20512.99	-529.65
		-2.52%
SENSEX	26396.77	-238.98
		-0.90%
FTSE 100	6044.97	-70.79
		-1.16%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.113	1.123
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.788	1.794
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6113	1.6421
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.4277	2.4548

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78037	0.78375
US $	1.28145	1.27591
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44723	0.69097
US $	1.12937	0.88545

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1280.80	1275.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.88	49.07

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a fourth day, the longest stretch of losses in two months, as global markets retreated on rising anxiety the U.K. will vote to exit the European Union.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.3 percent to 13,993.88 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has lost 2.6 percent over four days, the biggest drop over that stretch of time since Feb. 11. Trading volume today was in line with the 30-day average.

     Global stocks sank a third day. The outlook for global growth remains clouded with uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve will raise rates, the coming Brexit vote and potential volatility stemming from the U.S. election.

     In Canada, the big banks declined at least 0.7 percent with Bank of Nova Scotia and Royal Bank of Canada retreating. Gold producers added 0.8 percent as investors flocked to the precious metal as a store of value.

     A volatility index of S&P/TSX 60 options jumped 12 percent to 18.02, the highest in a month. The gauge has soared 48 percent in four sessions, the biggest increase since August. The S&P/TSX 60 Index is a gauge of the 60 largest, most liquid shares in Canada.

     Canadian equities are still up 7.6 percent this year, trailing only New Zealand as the top performer in 2016 among 24 developed nations. It’s a stark contrast to 2015 when the S&P/TSX tumbled by 11 percent as one of the world’s worst equity markets. Raw-materials producers have boosted the broader rally this year, soaring 45 percent for the best year-to-date performance in three decades.

     Canadian shares remain more expensive relative to their U.S. peers. The S&P/TSX now trades at 21.5 times earnings, about 12 percent higher than the 19.2 times valuation of the S&P 500 Index.

     Penn West Petroleum Ltd. jumped 39 percent, the most since 1992, after the oil and gas explorer agreed to sell all of its Saskatchewan assets for C$975 million in cash to Teine Energy Ltd. Including other assets in Alberta, Penn West will raise C$1.1 billion, with the company now expecting to be “comfortably in compliance” with its financial covenants at the end of the second quarter and the remainder of the year.

     Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. surged 13 percent, the most in three years, after parent Rio Tinto Group was reported to hire Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help privatize its copper unit. Rio Tinto is seeking to increase its stake in Turquoise Hill while selling the remaining shares in the company to a strategic buyer, according to the Sunday Times, without saying where it got the information.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped, with the S&P 500 Index falling to a three-week low, as investors wavered amid a pair of coming central-bank events and Britain’s vote on European Union membership that have sowed anxiety.

     Equities swung between gains and losses before a retreat accelerated as European stocks closed at their lowest in almost four months. A measure of volatility posted the biggest two-day jump since a selloff last August. Raw-material, industrial and technology shares fell the most, losing more than 1.1 percent. LinkedIn Corp. soared 47 percent after Microsoft Corp. said it’s buying the company in a deal valued at $26.2 billion. Microsoft sank 2.6 percent.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.8 percent to 2,079.06 at 4 p.m. in New York, amid the longest losing streak in a month and the worst three days of losses since Feb. 9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 132.86 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,732.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.9 percent. About 6.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 4 percent below the three-month average.

     “Concern is lingering about the continued effectiveness of central banks, global growth and worries of deflation,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist in New York at Miller Tabak & Co LLC. “Everybody’s going to be focused on the Brexit vote, but they have to keep an eye on the other issues as we move forward.”

     As evidence of increasing worry, the CBOE Volatility Index surged 23 percent Monday to 20.97, the most since December and the biggest back-to-back jump since Aug. 24. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX closed above 20 for the first time since Feb. 29. A preference for safety was also apparent today as U.S. Treasuries extended a rally to a fifth day, the longest since February.

     Recent declines have signaled a shift in sentiment after as much as $3.3 trillion was added to equities since mid-February. Investors are reassessing the rally amid lackluster economic growth and concerns about the potential fallout from a June 23 referendum that will determine Britain’s membershipin the European Union.

     Also keeping investors on edge is the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy review on Wednesday, despite no change predicted for interest rates. Based on Fed funds futures prices, traders don’t see at least even odds for a rate increase until after February. The Bank of Japan also has a policy meeting scheduled this week.

     The S&P 500 rallied as much as 16 percent from a 22-month low in February to approach within 0.6 percent of an all-time, before posting a three-day slide amid simmering growth worries and Brexit anxiety. The index is 2.4 percent from its record set almost 13 months ago, after losing its grip Friday on the 2,100 level, an area where other rallies during the past year have faltered.                     

     “Uncertainties are growing so we have to be very cautious,”  said Leonardo Lara, chief investment officer at FCS Asset Management in Sliema, Malta. His firm manages about 500 million euros ($564 million). “We are concerned about different risks for the global economy — political uncertainties, central banks with no well-defined actions, commodities prices. Investors have more to lose than to win.”

     In Monday’s trading, all of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries declined, with raw-materials, technology and industrial companies falling more than 1.1 percent. Consumer staples, financial and health-care stocks decreased at least 0.7 percent. Utilities were little changed.

     Technology shares in the benchmark slid 1.1 percent, paced by Microsoft’s retreat and a 2.3 percent decrease for Facebook Inc. Short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research is betting the stock will decline, saying it’s too expensive and will lose market share to competing social media platforms such as Snapchat. Facebook declined to comment. Apple Inc. fell 1.5 percent after Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review reported annual iPhone shipments will fall for the first time since 2007 this year, citing people familiar with the matter.

     Even as the broader technology sector declined, the Solactive Social Media Index rose 3.7 percent, the most since October 2014, as the gauge was boosted by Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn. Twitter Inc. snapped a four-day skid with a 3.8 percent increase.

     Airlines tumbled, dragging industrial shares lower, with a Bloomberg index of U.S. carriers marking the biggest drop in four months. Analysts see lower travel agency sales in the second quarter, in addition to a near-term impact from the mass shooting in Orlando. United Continental Holdings Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. fell at least 4 percent. The Dow Jones Transportation Average lost 1.1 percent.

     Raw-materials stocks in declined 1.3 percent, led by International Paper Co., which fell 2.8 percent. Dow Chemical Co. and Monsanto Co. lost at least 1.3 percent as the group declined for a third day, the longest losing streak in five weeks.

     Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. led consumer staples companies lower, falling 2.8 percent. Food producers and retailers dropped, with Kroger Co., Kellogg Co. and Whole Foods Market Inc. slipping more than 1.5 percent. Thirty-four of the group’s 36 stocks declined on Monday.

     Energy producers slipped after erasing a 1 percent gain as crude oil faded, closing at a one-week low. Marathon Petroleum Corp. dropped 6.7 percent and Valero Energy Corp. sank 4.5 percent, overshadowing Exxon Mobil Corp.’s 0.7 percent climb, as well as gains of 2 percent in Devon Energy Corp. and Transocean Ltd.

     Among other shares moving, gun makers Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. and Sturm Ruger & Co. rose 6.9 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, following the massacre at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub Sunday that left 49 people dead. Shares of gun manufacturers typically increase after a mass shooting on speculation that tougher gun-control measures may be enacted, spurring sales before any new measures take effect.

     Symantec Corp. added 5.3 percent, the most in 14 months, as it plans to purchase Blue Coat Systems Inc. for about $4.65 billion in cash, a deal that will add to its cyberdefense technology and fill a high-turnover chief executive officer position.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Economic equality is the master key to nonviolent independence.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

When something bad happens we have three choices. We can let it define us,

we can let it destroy us or we can let it strengthen us.

                                                                   -Frank Langella, 1938-    

 

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

POINTS OF PROGRESS:

GERMANY:

In a milestone for renewable, the total output of solar, wind, hydropower, and biomass in the country – the world’s fourth-largest economy – hit 90 percent of its required power on May 8^th.  That was during a Sunday morning power-consumption lull; Germany still leans on fossil fuels.  On average, renewable supply 30 percent of the country’s power. –Thinkprogress, Agora Energiewende.

UNITED STATES:

Energy-related Carbon Dioxide emissions fell in 2015 to about 12 % below 2005 levels, after rising in 2013 and in  2014, owing chiefly to changes in the electric power sector – partly from the growth in renewable sources but especially from the decreased use of coal in favor of natural gas. –Energy Information Administration.

N. CALIFORNIA/OREGON COASTS:

Starfish are staging a comeback, after a virus devastated adult populations along the northern West Coast starting in 2013.  The number of juveniles was “higher than we’d seen – as much as 300 times normal,” says Bruce Menge, a marine biologist at Oregon State University.  The high survival rate to the juvenile stage was linked in part to a spike in available food due to the absence of adult sea stars.  Researchers caution that the revival does not indicate that “sea star wasting disease” is over. –Oregon State University.

BRITIAIN:

Ina bid to combat childhood obesity, the Local Government Association, which represents more than 370 local councils, is pressing restaurants to offer water with meal service as an alternative to sugary drinks.  The provision of water as an option is required of licensed restaurants, but an LGA poll  that while 8 of 10 people usually drink tap water at home, only a third do so at restaurants.  A long-delayed childhood obesity strategy in Britain has included more controversial measures, such as a sugar tax.  –The Guardian.

WORLDWIDE:

Most shipping concerns are refusing shark-fin cargo, with 16 of the world’s top 20 shipping companies having agreed not to carry shark fins, according to WWF’s offices in Hong Kong, traditionally a transit hub for the trade.  The practice of finning typically leaves live sharks at the mercy of predators or suffocation.  The global market for shark fins saw a surge beginning in the late 1990s.  but a survey last year showed 70 % of Hong Kong residents have reduced or entirely stopped consuming shark-fin soup. –WWF-Hong Kong, The Standard (Hong Kong).

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth arrives for a service of thanksgiving for her 90th birthday at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Friday. Toby Melville/Reuters

Participants dressed in ancient Japanese costumes take part in a parade at the Imperial Palace during the Sanno Festival in Tokyo on Friday.Toru Hanai/Reuters

Market Closes for June 10^th, 2016

MarketIndex	Close	Change
DowJones	17865.34	-119.85  -0.67%
S&P 500	2096.07	-19.41  -0.92%
NASDAQ	4894.547	-64.069  -1.29%
TSX	14037.54	-202.48
		-1.42%

International Markets

MarketIndex	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16601.36	-67.05
		-0.40%
HANGSENG	21042.64	-255.24
		-1.20%
SENSEX	26635.75	-127.71
		-0.48%
FTSE 100	6115.76	-116.13
		-1.86%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND.10 Year Bond	1.123	1.182
CND.30 Year Bond	1.794	1.843
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.6421	1.6764
U.S.30 Year Bond	2.4548	2.4762

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78375	0.78624
US$	1.27591	1.27187
Euro Rate1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43618	0.69629
US$	1.12561	0.88841

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London GoldFix	1275.50	1263.90
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	49.07	50.56

Market Commentary:

Number of the Day:
0.023%
The low on the 10-year German bund yield Friday, surpassing its all-time low of 0.025% hit on Thursday.
Tweet of the Day
Switzerland can borrow for 50 years at a lower rate than the U.S. can borrow for 1 month. Swiss 50yr yield 0.15% US 1-month yield 0.21%
— Jamie McGeever @ReutersJamie

Canada

By Inyoung Hwang

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a third day, sliding the most in four months, as energy producers tumbled with the price of oil and investors braced for a series of events this month that could renew turbulence in markets.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 1.4 percent to 14,037.54 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. While the benchmark touched the highest level in 10 months earlier this week, it has fallen 2.3 percent in the last three days. Trading volume today was 11 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Global stocks also posted the steepest drop since February and bond yields slid to record lows, before next week’s Federal Reserve meeting and Britain’s referendum on European Union membership this month. Canadian shares remain more expensive relative to their U.S. peers, trading at 21.5 times earnings, about 11 percent higher than the 19.4 times valuation of the S&P 500 Index.

     Energy producers contributed the most to declines today, as all 10 industries in the Canadian equity benchmark retreated. Gran Tierra Energy Inc. and Baytex Energy Corp. lost at least 7.4 percent. Crude futures dipped below $50 a barrel in New York as a rising U.S. dollar countered declining crude stockpiles and disruptions from Canada to Nigeria.

     Transcontinental Inc., a Montreal-based commercial printer of flyers, plunged 9.9 percent after posting second-quarter profit that fell short of analysts’ estimates.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated, with the S&P 500 Index falling the most in three weeks, amid caution over tepid global growth and a series of looming events with the potential to spur renewed market turbulence.

     Losses intensified in afternoon trading following fresh poll results favoring an exit in Britain’s European Union referendum, though a rebound in the final minutes pared declines. Energy producers led the slide, capping their worst session in five weeks. Banks sold off for a second day as Treasury yields continued to drop, with Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. sinking more than 2.4 percent. A measure of equity market volatility posted the biggest jump in five months.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent to 2,096.07 at 4 p.m. in New York, slipping below 2,100 for the first time in a week, a level where other rallies during the past year have faded. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 119.85 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,865.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.3 percent, the largest decline in two months. About 6.8 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 3 percent below the three-month average.

     “With the macroeconomic data mixed and the British referendum, the market continues to struggle with the overall general macro environment not just in the U.S. but globally,” Nadia Lovell, U.S. equity strategist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in New York, said by phone. “And from a valuations standpoint, there is very little to no earnings growth expected. The market has really rallied from February lows, so people will be in a protect-my-profit mode as no one forgot about how volatile markets were last summer.”

     The CBOE Volatility Index surged 16 percent to 17.03, the biggest climb since January to a three-month high. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX also marked its largest weekly advance in five months, up 26 percent. A flight from risk was apparent as 10-Year U.S. Treasury yields fell for a fourth day to a three-year low.

     Friday’s retreat wiped out the S&P 500’s weekly gain, leaving the index 0.2 percent lower for the period after reaching on Wednesday its highest in nearly 11 months and coming within 0.6 percent of a record. It signals a shift in sentiment as investors reevaluate a rally that regained momentum in the last three weeks and now faces simmering concerns over the health of the economy, lackluster corporate profits and the effectiveness of central-bank stimulus.

     The so-called FANG stocks were the biggest drivers of the Nasdaq Composite’s worst decline since April 7, with Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. losing more than 1.3 percent. Netflix Inc. sank 3.4 percent.

     Optimism that borrowing costs will remain lower for longer amid modest global growth is waning ahead of a string events in the next two weeks. The Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings next week, followed by the vote on Britain’s EU membership, have the potential to roil markets.

     Remarks on Monday by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen had soothed investors following a disappointing jobs report, as she said the U.S. economy is making progress and indicated policy makers won’t rush to raise interest rates. The employment report prompted traders to cut back the probability for a June rate increase to zero, and only 18 percent in July. At least even odds for a raise fluctuated today between December and January.

     A report today showed confidence among American consumers in June eased from an almost one-year high as favorable views about personal finances were offset by concerns about the economy’s prospects.

     A rebound of as much as 16 percent from the February low brought the valuation of S&P 500 companies to about 17 times estimated earnings, almost 10 percent more than the multiple for MSCI All-Country World Index members. Meanwhile, the U.S. benchmark’s recent approach toward the all-time high has been grinding. Before today, it failed to move more than 0.5 percent up or down for 10 consecutive sessions, the longest such streak since September 2014.

     “The market is not really supported by earnings growth and the relative valuation to other markets makes the U.S. market rather expensive,” said Christian Zogg, head of equity and fixed income at LLB Asset Management in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. “We are at the upper boundary of a trading range, which will not be broken through so quickly.”

     In Friday’s trading, eight of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries declined, with half the groups losing at least 1 percent. Phone companies rallied for a second day amid investors’ preference for more defensive stocks, while consumer staples were little changed.

     Lenders posted the worst two days in five weeks. Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. slipped at least 1.4 percent. Along with banks, insurers fell for a second day to weigh on financials. American International Group Inc., Prudential Financial Inc. and MetLife Inc. all lost more than 1.5 percent. It’s the first two-day slide for the benchmark’s insurers since May 4.                       

     Energy producers dropped for a third day, sinking 2 percent amid the longest losing streak in two months. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3 percent, below $50 a barrel, as the dollar gained for a second session. ConocoPhillips and Apache Corp. lost more than 4.1 percent, the steepest for both in more than two months.

     The health-care group was dragged lower by the riskiest part of the industry — biotechnology companies. Celgene Corp. slumped 3 percent, the most in a month, while Gilead Sciences Inc. and Biogen Inc. lost more than 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index dropped 2.2 percent.

     Phone companies, the group with the highest dividend yield in the S&P 500, rose 0.8 percent. Verizon Communications Inc. gained 1.4 percent to a two-month high, and AT&T Inc. increased to the highest since May 2008.

     Among companies moving on corporate news, H&R Block Inc. soared almost 13 percent, the best gain in seven years, after reporting better-than-estimated revenue and boosting its quarterly dividend by 10 percent.                        

     Axiall Corp. surged 26 percent after Westlake Chemical Corp. agreed to acquire the vinyl maker for about $2.4 billion to become the second largest North American producer of vinyl products used in pipe, siding and decks. Westlake added 3 percent.

     Mattress Firm Holding Corp. lost 12 percent after cutting its annual forecast, renewing concerns about a slowdown at the bedding provider. Tempur Sealy International Inc. declined 3 percent.

     Urban Outfitters Inc. fell for a sixth day, tumbling 5.8 percent after a warning on sales this quarter renewed concerns about a slowdown at the retail chain. Other retailers were also weak, with Nordstrom Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. sliding 1.7 percent.

 

Have a wonderful weekend 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

 

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

                                           -Satchel Paige, 1906-1982

 

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

ARE YOU BALANCED?

A growing number of doctors, physical therapist and health experts contend that balance is an essential element of fitness – every bit as important as aerobic activity and strength training,  Carolyn Butler writes in Diabetes Forecast magazine.  She cites a simple test of balance suggested by Dr. Marilyn Moffat of New York University:  Placing yourself next to a stable piece of furniture (just in case), stand straight, wearing flat shoes, with your arms folded across your chest.  Raise and bend one leg, start a stopwatch and close your eyes.  Stop timing if your arms uncross, or you tilt sideways or move the leg you are standing on.  The average times:

20 to 49 years old: 24 to 28 seconds on each leg.
50 to 59: 21 seconds.
60 to 69: 10 seconds.
70 to 79: four seconds.
80 and older: most cannot do it (but some can).

The cartoon, Donald Duck, was born on this day in 1934.

Also on this day in…

1534 – Jacques Cartier sails into the river he names the St. Lawrence, on the Saint’s feast day.

1775 – Guy Carleton proclaims martial law; calls out troops to meet American invasion.

1973 – Ron Turcotte rides Secretariat to victory in 105th Belmont Stakes in record time.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An aerial performance featuring 100 illuminated drones lands on a barge in front the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House during the Vivid Sydney light festival in Australia on Thursday. Jason Reed/Reuters

A surfer rides on an artificial wave in front of the French embassy (l.) in downtown Vienna on Thursday. The so-called City Wave is open until the end of September. Ronald Zak/AP

Poppies bloom in front of steep vineyards near Escherndorf, southern Germany, on Thursday. Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa/AP

Market Closes for June 9^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17895.19	-19.86   -0.11%
S&P 500	2115.48	-3.64   -0.17%
NASDAQ	4958.617	-16.025   -0.32%
TSX	14240.02	-73.08
		-0.51%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16668.41	-162.51
		-0.97%
HANG SENG	21297.88	-30.36
		-0.14%
SENSEX	26763.46	-257.20
		-0.95%
FTSE 100	6231.89	-69.63
		-1.10%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.182	1.200
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.843	1.867
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6764	1.6988
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.4762	2.5067

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78624	0.78776
US $	1.27187	1.26941
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43947	0.69470
US $	1.13178	0.88357

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1263.90	1263.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.56	51.23

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a second day, as energy producers retreated with the price of oil amid uncertainty over the course of central bank policy and global growth.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.5 percent to 14,240.02 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after touching the highest level in 10 months earlier this week. The index is up 20 percent from its Jan. 20 low, after climbing out of a bear market on Friday. Trading volume today was about 13 percent below the 30-day average.

     Global stocks declined on Thursday, with the MSCI All- Country World Index retreating for the first time in six days. U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week, while the outlook for global growth remains clouded with uncertainty over when exactly the Federal Reserve will raise rates, the coming Brexit vote and potential volatility stemming from the U.S. election.

     Energy producers led declines, as eight of 10 industries in the Canadian equity benchmark retreated. Crescent Point Energy Corp. and Encana Corp. lost at least 1.5 percent. Crude futures dipped below $51 a barrel in New York. Oil has recovered more than 90 percent from a 12-year low in February, driving a resurgence in energy stocks this year.

     Performance Sports Group Ltd. dropped 8.8 percent, for the steepest decline in almost two months. The sports equipment maker is now forecasting an adjusted earnings loss for fiscal 2016, after previously predicting profit of 12 to 14 cents a share.

     BRP Inc. jumped 7.4 percent to the highest level this year. The Ski-Doo snowmobile maker boosted its profit forecast for the year to a range from C$1.79 to C$1.89, after previously seeing between C$1.75 and C$1.85.

     Canadian equities are up 9.5 percent this year, within striking distance of beating New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index as the top performer in 2016 among 24 developed nations. It’s a stark contrast to 2015 when the S&P/TSX tumbled by 11 percent as one of the world’s worst equity markets. Raw-materials producers have boosted the broader rally this year, soaring 46 percent for the best year-to-date performance in three decades.

    Canadian shares remain more expensive relative to their U.S. peers. The S&P/TSX now trades at 21.8 times earnings, about 11 percent higher than the 19.6 times valuation of the S&P 500 Index.

US

By Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged lower, with the S&P 500 Index slipping from a 10-month high, as investors evaluated the gauge’s run toward a record amid lingering concerns about the impact of lackluster global growth.

     Equities staged an afternoon rebound as raw-material producers and banks trimmed losses, while defensive shares including utilities and phone companies rallied to offset those declines. Lenders and commodity shares closed above their worst levels, even as Treasury yields fell to the lowest since February and the dollar rebounded. Gains in Apple Inc. and Johnson & Johnson’s 1 percent climb to a record also contributed to the late-day recovery.

     The S&P 500 retreated 0.2 percent to 2,115.48 at 4 p.m. in New York, after losing as much as 0.5 percent. The gauge closed closed 0.7 percent from a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 19.86 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,985.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.3 percent. About 6.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 13 percent below the three-month average.

     “With the market being priced where it’s at, there’s not a lot of room for air because valuations are so high,” said Jim Davis, regional investment manager at the Private Client Reserve of US Bank, which oversees $128 billion. “I would not be surprised to see it back off a little more in the next week. The market has to navigate some choppy waters between now and mid- July, with the Fed next week and the Brexit vote the following.”

     Crude oil dropped for the first time in four days as the dollar bounced from a one-month low, weighing on energy producers. Raw-material and energy shares have paced equity gains this week amid the currency’s post-payrolls selloff, and the two groups have been pillars in a rebound that’s lifted the S&P 500 more than 15 percent from an almost two-year low in February.

     Optimism that low rates and modest growth are a perfect recipe for stock gains cooled before of a series of events that could set a less bullish tone in financial markets. The looming Federal Reserve meeting, followed by the Brexit vote and U.S. political conventions have the potential to roil markets, and with stocks at multimonth highs, there’s diminished incentive to push prices further.

     Word that billionaire investor George Soros recently oversaw a series of big, bearish investments is also contributing to the tempered mood. A person familiar with the matter said Soros has become more involved in trading at his family office, concerned about the outlook for the global economy and the risk that large market shifts may be at hand.

     A stock rally picked up pace in the past few weeks after losing momentum following a four-month high on April 20. The S&P 500 declined Thursday after three days of gains, the longest in a month, and had climbed in eight of the prior 11 sessions. Still, the index has struggled to hold onto advances beyond the 2,100 level in prior rallies during the past year.                         

     The benchmark has failed to move more than 0.5 percent up or down for 10 consecutive sessions, the longest such streak since September 2014. That’s come amid lighter-than-average volume. Through Thursday, the period of tepid gains and declines saw daily trading average 6.5 billion shares, 12 percent lower than the one-year average and almost 30 percent below the average during a six-week rout that started the year.

     While equities fell last Friday after a disappointing jobs report, support this week has come from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s remarks that the U.S. economy is making progress and indications that policy makers won’t rush to raise interest rates. Traders have cut back their bets for a Fed rate increase, now pricing in no chance of a boost in June and only 20 percent probability in July. December is the first month with at least even odds of a rate increase.

     Bolstering Yellen’s belief that the economy will continue to improve, a report today showed first-time jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week and the number of Americans already receiving benefits tumbled to an almost 16-year low, consistent with a healthy labor market.

     “The S&P 500 has had a remarkably steady run over the last three weeks in particular,” said Michael Ingram, a market strategist at BGC Partners in London. “Still, the global economy is not in good shape. And while the last payroll report may be dismissed as an aberration, confidence in the U.S. recovery has clearly been shaken.”

     The CBOE Volatility Index rose 4 percent to 14.64, a two- week high. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX is headed toward a second straight weekly climb and the fourth in the last five.

     In Thursday’s trading, seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries fell. Financial and raw-materials shares lost more than 0.6 percent, trimming early declines of at least 1.1 percent. Utilities rose the most, followed by phone companies and consumer staples, which were buoyed by J.M. Smucker Co.’s 7.9 percent rally to a record. The company’s quarterly results topped analysts’ estimates, helped by pet food and Dunkin’ Donuts-branded coffee pods.

     Banks in the benchmark were the biggest drag on financial stocks as the group alternated between daily gains and losses for the sixth session. Lenders fell to a two-week low, with KeyCorp and Comerica Inc. among the biggest decliners, losing more than 1.9 percent. Elsewhere in financials, asset managers Legg Mason Inc. and Affiliated Managers Group Inc. slid at least 2.5 percent.

     Raw-materials producers fell from an almost 11-month high, halting the group’s longest winning streak since October. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. slid 5.9 percent, while fertilizer makers CF Industries Holdings Inc. and Mosaic Co. dropped 4.2 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

     Utilities advanced 0.9 percent, extending an all-time high as falling Treasury yields made the group’s relatively generous dividend payout more attractive. Ameren Corporation added 2.4 percent while Consolidated Edison Inc. and PG&E Corp. gained 1.5 percent. Utilities have the best year-to-date performance among the S&P 500’s main industries, rising 16 percent.

     While most of the benchmark’s energy companies retreated, some natural gas producers rallied to help trim the group’s losses as the commodity surged to a nine-month high after a smaller-than-estimated supply gain signaled production declines. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Southwestern Energy Co. and Range Resources Corp. all gained at least 3.4 percent.

     Among shares moving on corporate news, Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. tumbled 21 percent to an all-time low after the upscale furniture chain posted a surprise loss and cut its annual forecast.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Non-possession is allied to non-stealing.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Say oh wise man how you have come to such knowledge?  Because I was never

ashamed to confess my ignorance and ask others.

                                                 -Johann Gottfried Von Herder, 1744-1803

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

JUNE:

That wonderful garden raconteur, Canon Ellacombe, always full of sound advice and country common sense, must have been enjoying a good lunch with a bowl of scented roses on his dining-table on the day in June 1871 when he wrote:  “Is there any other month in the year that can show such a delightful triplet as we have now – roses, strawberries and green peas?”  We all have our own June specialty without which we would feel something was missing.  My broad beans have been in advance of the peas this year and thanks to the Mediterranean weather the early potatoes and strawberries were a treat before May was out.  As for roses, the first sweetly-scented blooms have been Souvenir de la Malmaison and Zéphirine Drouhin.  This is the season when it is most difficult to go away even for a night – there is so much to be done at home.  But when we do manage to get away there are always rewards.  Driving from home through to the eastern counties in late May it seemed as though England was a land of white lilacs and pink and white May trees; every front garden and hedgerow were heavy with blossom.  The fields of oil-seed rape glowed like brightest sunshine.  At home I wake to the cuckoo, the milking machine or a particularly noisy aeroplane which sounds as though it is coming right into the house most mornings at 4 a.m.  When we were staying in Dorset I thought I was dreaming when peacocks calling to each other disturbed my sleep.  I remembered Ruskin’s thought “that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instant.”  I don’t necessarily agree with the sentiment but so far have managed to stand out against the introduction to our garden – they may be beautiful but are also destructive.  Lilies are a different matter. –from A COUNTRYWOMAN’S NOTES, Rosemary Verey.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sean D. Tucker flies in the two-seat Oracle Extra airplane over downtown Chicago on Wednesday. Tucker will perform before the start of of the America’s Cup World Series sailing race on Saturday and Sunday. Kiichiro Sato/AP

Emergency workers look at a large sinkhole in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Wednesday. Chris Wattie/Reuters

Market Closes for June 8^th, 2016

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18005.05	+66.77   +0.37%
S&P 500	2118.72	+6.59   +0.31%
NASDAQ	4974.641	+12.887   +0.26%
TSX	14311.33	-54.28
		-0.38%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16830.92	+155.47
		+0.93%
HANG SENG	21297.88	-30.36
		-0.14%
SENSEX	27020.66	+10.99
		+0.04%
FTSE 100	6301.52	+16.99
		+0.27%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.200	1.219
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.867	1.877
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6988	1.7143
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5067	2.5366

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78776	0.78350
US $	1.26941	1.27633
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44666	0.69125
US $	1.13962	0.87748

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1263.00	1241.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.23	50.36

Market Commentary:

Tweet of the Day

The Bank of England was founded 322 years ago. Its benchmark debt has never yielded as little as on June 7, 2016.
— Dennis K. Berman @dkberman

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, after a four-day advance that propelled the S&P/TSX Composite Index into a bull market, as falling health-care and energy companies overshadowed gains in raw-material producers.

     The S&P/TSX fell 0.4 percent to 14,313.10 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, reversing an earlier gain of as much as 0.6 percent, briefly eclipsing New Zealand as the world’s top-performing developed equity market this year. The index is up 21 percent from its Jan. 20 low, trading near the highest level in 10 months after climbing out of a bear market on Friday. Trading volume today was about 16 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     “When you look at the fundamentals, there are very few screaming opportunities so you get tweaks,” said Kevin Headland, senior investment strategist at Manulife Investments in Toronto. Manulife’s asset management unit manages about $325 billion. “The rally year-to-date has been all commodities. For Canada, I don’t think we’ll double returns from here but if we see some positive news out of oil prices, there might be more room to run.”

     Canadian equities are neck-and-neck with New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index as the top performers in 2016 among 24 developed nations with about a 10 percent advance each. This is a stark contrast to 2015 when the S&P/TSX tumbled by 11 percent as one of the world’s worst equity markets. Raw-materials producers have boosted the broader rally this year, soaring 46 percent for the best year-to-date performance in three decades.

     Commodities prices returned to a bull market this week, ending a five-year rout. Raw-material prices and resource-rich emerging markets broadly benefit when the dollar weakens, with prices denominated in the currency. The Bloomberg Dollar Index is trading at the lowest level in a month after May U.S. jobs data disappointed and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s recent comments suggest a rate increase this summer is less likely.

     The recent rally has magnified Canadian shares’ more expensive valuation relative to their U.S. peers. The S&P/TSX now trades at 21.9 times earnings, about 12 percent higher than the 19.6 times valuation of the S&P 500 Index.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. dropped a fifth day and was the biggest drag on Canadian health-care stocks. The embattled drugmaker slashed earnings and revenue forecasts Tuesday after posting delayed first-quarter earnings short of analysts’ estimates.

     Concordia Healthcare Corp. lost 3.5 percent. The stock has plunged more than 23 percent over five days after potential acquirers Blackstone Group and Carlyle Group walked away from the drugmaker, according to people familiar with the matter. The company said June 2 it is continuing to pursue strategic alternatives.

     Suncor Energy Inc. dropped 2.8 percent for the steepest drop in a month. The Calgary-based oil-sands producer said it would sell about C$2.5 billion ($2 billion) in shares to cut debt and help fund acquisitions.

     The S&P/TSX Energy Index fell today, even as crude extended gains to settle above $51 a barrel in New York. Industry data showed U.S. crude supplies declined, reducing a glut.

     Raw-materials producers jumped 1.4 percent. Barrick Gold Corp. and Kinross Gold Corp. climbed more than 1.5 percent. Gold rose, pushing its advance for the year to 19 percent in the best start since 1979 as the dollar weakened, while silver reached the highest level since May 17.

US

By Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed, with the S&P 500 Index edging closer to a record, bolstered by speculation borrowing costs will remain lower for longer amid moderate growth.

     Companies that benefit from a sagging dollar were the strongest performers, with raw-material and industrial companies leading gains. Caterpillar Inc. increased 1.7 percent, extending its longest winning streak in two months, and copper miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. added 3 percent. Energy producers erased an early rally, even as oil climbed to a 10-month high.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,119.12 at 4 p.m. in New York, the highest since July 21, 2015 and 0.6 percent from a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 66.77 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,005.05, a six-week high. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.3 percent. About 6.5 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 8 percent below the three-month average.

     “No matter what you throw at this market, it keeps wanting to go higher,” said Walter Todd, who oversees about $1.1 billion as chief investment officer for Greenwood Capital Associates LLC in South Carolina. “Sentiment, as has been well documented, is pretty bad and the market tends to inflict the most pain on the most people. And the most people it seems are underweight the market or out of the market.”

     Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s remarks this week that the U.S. economy is making progress and indications that policy makers won’t prematurely raise interest rates have helped support stocks. Traders have cut back their bets for a Fed rate increase, now pricing in no chance of a boost in June, with the probability for July down to 18 percent from 53 percent a week ago.

     Energy producers in the benchmark index slipped from the highest level since November, after their strongest back-to-back gains in three months. Advances in commodity-related shares have helped drive the S&P 500’s 16 percent rebound from a 22-month low in February as crude recovered from a 12-year nadir. Raw- material companies climbed for a sixth day, the longest since October, as a gauge on the dollar extended declines to a one- month low.

     The rally has been reinvigorated after losing momentum following the S&P 500’s four-month high on April 20. The index has climbed in eight of 11 sessions, racking up nearly all of this year’s 3.7 percent gain in the last two weeks. About 70 percent of stocks on the New York Stock Exchange closed Tuesday above their average prices during the past 200 days, the most since July 2014.                      

     Meanwhile, the main U.S. equity benchmark’s recent climb has been grinding, with the S&P 500 moving no more than 0.5 percent in either direction for a ninth straight day, the longest stretch since 2014.

     The weakest monthly job gains since 2010 were a source of hesitation for investors last week, prompting the only setback for equities in the past six sessions. Further indications on the health of the economy are sparse this week, with data on U.S. wholesale inventories and consumer sentiment scheduled for tomorrow and Friday, respectively. A report from China today indicated exports are stabilizing, while the World Bank cut its 2016 global growth forecast.

     In Wednesday’s trading, S&P 500 industrials, raw-materials, utilities and consumer staples shares rose the most. Phone companies fell for the second time in three days, and energy stocks retreated. A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. basket of the most shorted shares in the Russell 3000 Index climbed for the eighth time in nine sessions and headed toward a fourth weekly gain.

     The CBOE Volatility Index rose 0.2 percent to 14.08. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX was on pace for a second straight weekly climb and a fourth in the last five.

     Railroads were standouts in the industrial group, with Union Pacific Corp. rallying for a fifth day, the longest in eight months, while Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Corp. gained more than 2 percent. In remarks at a Deutsche Bank AG conference, CSX’s chief financial officer said he sees a “positive pricing environment,” and strength in the U.S. consumer.                      

     Raw-materials in the benchmark returned to the highest in almost 11 months, after first reaching the level in late April. Steel company Nucor Corp. gained 2.8 percent to an 18-month high, and PPG Industries Inc. increased 3 percent, the best since March 1.

     Health-care companies rebounded, led by UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s 2.5 percent rally, its strongest since April 20. The shares climbed to a record after the company raised its dividend by 25 percent. Centene Corp. and Cigna Corp. rose more than 1.7 percent, while hospital operator HCA Holdings Inc. advanced 2.2 percent.

     Valero Energy Corp. and Devon Energy Corp. fell at least 2.2 percent to weigh on energy shares. The group wiped out an early 1 percent rally, despite West Texas Intermediate crude futures rising 1.7 percent to settled above $51 a barrel. The sector also produced the S&P 500’s best and worst performers today, with Chesapeake Energy Corp. rising 6.4 percent and Southwestern Energy Co. sliding 7.2 percent.

     “There’s definitely reason for the market to take a breather in conjunction with the notion that we’re near all-time highs,” said Frank Cappelleri, executive director at Instinet LLC. “Treading water at these levels to be honest would be pretty constructive.”

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 exterior objects.

Rabindranath Tagore

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

There is just one life for each of us: our own.

                        -Euripides, 480 BC-406 BC

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7