Category: Events

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

   A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him.  When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks about 2” in diameter.  He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They agreed that it was.

   So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and pored them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly.  The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.  The students laughed.  He asked his students again if the jar was full.  They agreed that yes, it was.  The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.  “Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this is your life.  The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – anyone and anything that is so important to you that if lost, you would be nearly destroyed.  The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale.  The pebbles represent things liked your job, your house, your car.  The sand is everything else.  The small stuff.  If you put the sand or the pebbles in the jar first, there is no room for the rocks.

  The same goes for your life.  If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important….Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter.  Set your priorities.  The rest is just pebbles and sand.”

On this day in 1945, the Nuremberg Trials began in Germany with 24 high-ranking Nazis going to court for atrocities committed during World War II.

Bobby Kennedy was born on this day in 1925.

Sunday is the anniversary of his brother, John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Venus crosses the star-rich area of Sagittarius this weekend. 

Education is a companion which no misfortune can depress, no crime destroy, no enemy alienate, no despotism enslave.  At home, a friend; abroad, an introduction; in solitude, a solace; and in society, an ornament.  Without it, what is man?  A splendid slave, a reasoning savage.  –Charles Varle.

I smiled when I saw the photo below taken today at the Pushkar Fair in Rajastan.   How the smart phone has changed the world!  Gary and I went to the Pushkar Fair on one of our trips to India only a few years ago and there was not even wireless service then in that remote part of India where the fair is held, let alone camel herders with smart phones.  Amazing…

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An Indian camel herder takes pictures of hot air balloons flying over the fair grounds early morning at the annual cattle fair in Pushkar, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, Friday. Pushkar is a popular Hindu pilgrimage spot that is also frequented by foreign tourists who come to the town for its annual cattle fair. Deepak Sharma/AP

Hundreds of beachgoers crowd Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Friday, during a heatwave that hit Australia’s largest city. Jason Reed/Reuters

Market Closes for November 20^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17823.81	+91.06   +0.51%
S&P 500	2088.17	+6.93   +0.33%
NASDAQ	5104.918	+31.279   +0.62%
TSX	13426.97	-46.86
		-0.35%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19879.81	+20.00
		+0.10%
HANG SENG	22754.72	+254.50
		+1.13%
SENSEX	25868.49	+26.57
		+0.10%
FTSE 100	6334.63	+4.70
		+0.07%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.622	1.622
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.327	2.323
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2605	2.2430
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0175	3.0032

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74902	0.75279
US $	1.33508	1.32839
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42144	0.70351
US $	1.06469	0.93924

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1081.75	1082.60
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	40.39	40.54

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, as a two-day advance fizzled amid renewed selling in miners, paring the benchmark index’s best weekly gain since early October.

     Financial services companies advanced this week amid the prospect of additional stimulus in Europe and gradual interest rate increases in the U.S., joining a rally in global markets. Health-care shares bolstered the Canadian market in the week, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. surged 21 percent in five days for its biggest surge in four years. Commodity producers have lagged, as oil hovers near $40 a barrel and industrial metals trade at multiyear lows.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 40.34 points, or 0.3 percent, to 13,433.49 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The S&P/TSX has added 2.7 percent this week, the most since Oct. 9. That pared declines for the year to 8.2 percent, trailed only by Singapore and Greece among developed markets. 

     The benchmark’s heavy weighting toward commodity shares has kept its gains in check during the latest week. Energy and raw- materials producers retreated at least 1.7 percent Friday, as oil capped a third weekly loss. Crude dipped below $40 a barrel in New York Wednesday for the first time since August. Gold traded near a five-year low as the price posted a fifth straight weekly retreat, the longest slide since July.

     The S&P/TSX Financials Index ended Friday little-changed, rallying 2.8 percent this week. Scotiabank and Bank of Montreal kick off fiscal fourth-quarter results for the big banks Dec. 1.

     Lenders got a boost from diverging monetary policy in Europe and the U.S. The European Central Bank said it will do what’s necessary to reach its inflation goal rapidly. American equities rose as investors are getting more comfortable with the idea the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates gradually as the economy warrants.

     Valeant jumped 8.3 percent to a two-week high, as the embattled drugmaker has advanced for three straight days. The company will be hosting an investor day Dec. 16, providing updated guidance, discussing certain business operations and highlighting certain research and development programs. Concordia Healthcare Corp., a smaller Canadian peer, added 3.8 percent to extend a six-week high.

US

By Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capping its best weekly gain this year, as Nike Inc. paced a rally in consumer companies andEuropean Central Bank President Mario Draghi hinted at additional stimulus.

     Equities reversed most of last week’s selloff, boosted by a snap-back among retailers in the S&P 500. The group was on track for its strongest week in four years, immediately after suffering the worst weekly drop since 2011. Ross Stores Inc. and Gap Inc. helped power the sector’s rally Friday. Nike’s 5.5 percent gain bolstered the broader consumer group on its $12 billion buyback plan and dividend increase.

     The S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to 2,089.17 at 4 p.m. in New York, after rising as much as 0.8 percent. Declines in energy and consumer staples shares whittled down earlier gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 91.06 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,823.81, with Nike contributing about 46 points to climb. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.6 percent. About 6.9 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 8 percent below the three-month average.

     “There’s continued upward momentum in the market as people get more comfortable with the fact that rates are probably going up, and they’re only going up because the economy is strong enough to justify that,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc. in Los Angeles. “I don’t think people were positioned for that coming into the week, and I think that’s why you’ve seen the market do as well as it has.”

     Ross Stores jumped 10 percent after posting better-than- estimated earnings and boosting its profit forecast. Gap rose the most since 2013, even after cutting its profit outlook. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. surged 25 percent after its results beat analysts’ expectations, and tax software maker Intuit Inc. rallied 5.9 percent on a higher revenue outlook. Energy companies fell as oil declined for as third straight week amid a global crude glut.

     The S&P 500 rose 3.3 percent this week, the most since December, as shares rebounded from the worst weekly decline in almost three months. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s October meeting released Wednesday stressed that the pace of any interest-rate increases will be gradual, reassuring investors that higher borrowing costs won’t derail economic growth. The index has rallied 12 percent from its August trough and is 2 percent from its all-time high set in May.

     While U.S. policy makers are preparing investors for higher interest rates, the ECB’s Draghi hinted at further stimulus measures, saying today that the institution will do what’s necessary to reach its inflation goal rapidly. His comments underline a concern that the inflation rate in the euro area will slip further amid a high degree of economic slack and slumping oil prices. The central bank’s next monetary policy meeting is Dec. 3.

     Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said today investors should prepare for uncertainty on whether the Federal Open Market Committee will raise its target interest rate at each meeting next year, as the era of signaling moves is over.

     Fed Bank of New York President William C. Dudley reiterated in comments Friday that a rate decision in December will be dependent on economic data. Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said late Thursday the central bank has done its best to prepare international markets for higher rates.

     Recent data has bolstered the case for raising borrowing costs for the first time since 2006, with the latest payroll report — released after the Fed’s October meeting — showing the biggest increase in hiring this year while claims for jobless benefits hover near four-decade lows. Traders are now pricing in a 68 percent probability that the Fed will raise rates next month.

     “A rate hike has got to be the central case for December,” said Alex Scott, who helps oversee about $14 billion as Seven Investment Management’s deputy chief investment officer. “It’s important that the Fed’s language is couched in very dovish terms to offer significant reassurance to investors. The fact that we saw some very strong gains in the market just this week is a fairly good sign that markets are prepared to deal with it.”

     With the earnings season drawing to a close, profits from S&P 500 companies have fallen by about $25 billion in the first three quarters of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A sharp rally in the dollar has hit exporters while a drop in oil prices has hurt energy firms. Aggregate revenue for members in the benchmark has dropped $287 billion compared to a year ago.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 9 percent Friday to 15.47. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX lost 23 percent this week after a 40 percent surge last week, which was the most since August.

     Six of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries advanced, with health-care, consumer discretionary and technology stocks leading the gains. Energy, consumer staples and phone companies fell the most.                       

     Consumer discretionary stocks climbed 1.2 percent, rising for a fifth consecutive day. Ross Stores, Gap Inc. and Nike each added more than 5.4 percent. An exchange-traded fund of retail stocks rose 2 percent, the most in three weeks.

     Health-care stocks climbed 0.7 percent, led by Aetna Inc. and Allergan Plc. Aetna surged 4.5 percent, the most since April 2014, after the company reaffirmed its forecast for 2015 earnings.

     Allergan gained 3.5 percent on news that Pfizer Inc. is in advanced talks to buy the company for as much as $380 a share. Medical equipment maker C.R. Bard Inc. climbed 3 percent after agreeing to acquire Liberator Medical Holdings Inc. for about $181 million.

     Industrial stocks rose to the highest level since June, led by CSX Corp., which advanced 2.3 percent to the highest since August. An index of railroad stocks rose for the fifth consecutive day. Rockwell Collins Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. advanced at least 0.8 percent, with all three military hardware companies rising for a fifth day following the terrorist attacks in Paris.

     Among the worst performers in the benchmark gauge were Southwestern Energy Co. and Chesapeake Energy Corp., which fell more than 5.9 percent to levels last seen more than 10 years ago. A slump in oil prices helped drag down energy stocks for a second day. Chevron Corp. declined 2 percent to fall for the third time in four days.

     Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. tumbled 12 percent to its lowest in almost 18 months after the Center for Disease Control said three additional states have reported people sickened with a strain of E.coli linked to the company’s restaurants.

     Akamai Technologies Inc. and Autodesk Inc. were among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500 and the worst performers among tech companies, losing more than 2.9 percent. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut Akamai to sell from neutral, while Autodesk was reduced to the equivalent of neutral from buy at RBC Capital Markets Corp.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Watching and listening are a great art.

By watching and listening we learn infinitely more than we do from any books.

Books are necessary, but watching and listening sharpen your senses.

Krishnamurti

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Knowledge is power.

     -Francis Bacon, 1561-1626

 

 

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:

THE PARADOXICAL COMMANDMENTS/KENT M. KEITH

Kent Keith wrote The Paradoxical Commandments in 1968 when he was a sophomore at Harvard as part of a handbook for high school student leaders.  They’ve appeared on the Web in various guises.   Mother Teresa put a version called Anyway on the wall of her children’s home in Calcutta.  And another version called The Final Analysis is often, wrongly attributed to Mother Teresa.  Here is the original:

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
    Love them anyway.

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
    Do good anyway.

3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
    Succeed anyway.

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
    Do good anyway.

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
    Be honest and frank anyway.

6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
    Think big anyway.

7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
    Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
    Build anyway.

9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
    Help people anyway.

10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
     Give the world the best you have anyway.
 

On this day in 1975, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” a movie based on Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel of the same name, debuted in theaters.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Jing Li wears a Tibetan traditional costume as she gets ready for her wedding photo to be taken at the Nianqing Tanggula mountain pass in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China on Wednesday. Jing, and her husband Ke Xu, both from Shiyan in northwestern Hubei province, have lived in Tibet for three years. The couple married last month. Damir Sagolj/Reuters

A youth lights firecrackers while celebrating the Hindu religious festival of Chatt Puja in Agartala, India. During this festival, Hindu women fast for the whole day for the betterment of their families and society. Jayanta Dey/Reuters

Market Closes for November 19^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17732.75	-4.41   -0.02%
S&P 500	2081.59	-1.99   -0.10%
NASDAQ	5073.641	-1.562   -0.03%
TSX	13473.85	+73.88
		+0.55%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19859.81	+210.63
		+1.07%
HANG SENG	22500.22	+311.96
		+1.41%
SENSEX	25841.92	+359.40
		+1.41%
FTSE 100	6329.93	+50.96
		+0.81%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.622	1.651
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.323	2.354
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2430	2.2728
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0032	3.0431

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75279	0.75159
US $	1.32839	1.33051
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42594	0.70129
US $	1.07344	0.93159

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1082.60	1067.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	40.54	40.75

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. advanced the most in four years and gold prices rebounded from a five-year low, offsetting a decline in energy shares.

     Raw-materials producers jumped 1.2 percent to lead equities higher. Gold futures rose the most in three weeks as a measure of the dollar retreated from the highest in at least a decade. While there is now a 66 percent chance U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers will raise interest rates at their December meeting, the pace of subsequent increases would be slow, according to minutes of their last meeting released Wednesday.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 73.86 points, or 0.6 percent, to 13,473.83 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The S&P/TSX has declined 7.9 percent this year, trailed only by Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     Canadian equities have faltered this year amid declines in commodity and health-care stocks of at least 20 percent. The country’s equity market has been hampered by a slump in oil prices, slowing overseas growth and the prospect of an interest- rate increase from the Federal Reserve.

     Bombardier Inc. ended the day little changed, after gaining as much as 14 percent and losing 6.3 percent. The company agreed to sell a 30 percent stake in its rail business to Caisse de Depot & Placement du Quebec for $1.5 billion, shelving a public stock sale following a strategic review. The deal marks the manufacturer’s second financial injection from within the province in less than a month, after the provincial government invested $1 billion in the C Series jetliner program.

     Montreal-based Bombardier has plummeted 69 percent this year, the worst-performing Canadian industrial stock, as the company’s long-gestating C Series has faced repeated delays and cost overruns. The program’s targeted 2016 debut is now more than two years behind schedule, while Bombardier has also had to cancel one business jet, the Learjet 85, and postpone the debut of another.

     Energy shares dropped 1.3 percent as oil fell to the lowest level in almost three months. Government data showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose to the highest for this time of year since 1930.

     Barrick Gold Corp. added 4.3 percent and First Majestic Silver Corp. increased 8.9 percent as gold rebounded from a five-year low and silver snapped 15 days of losses. Bullion is headed for a third annual loss on expectations that U.S. growth will spur the Fed to increase borrowing costs, curbing appeal of the metal as a haven investment.

     Lucara Diamond Corp. soared 30 percent, the most since December 2008, after discovering a 1,111 carat gem-quality diamond in Botswana. The diamond, just smaller than a tennis ball, is second in size only to the Cullinan diamond cut into the British Crown jewels.

     Valeant jumped 15 percent, the most since January 2011. Citi Research Credit analyst Murali Ganti initiated coverage on the drugmaker with a new overweight rating, writing investor reaction to Valeant has been “largely overdone” with much of the bad news priced in.

     Valeant, briefly the largest stock in Canada by market capitalization this year, has lost 68 percent from an Aug. 5 high amid pressure over how it prices its drugs. Concordia Healthcare Corp., which has dropped 54 percent since Sept. 4, surged 7.2 percent to extend a five-week high.

US

By Dani Burger

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks struggled to add to the biggest rally in nearly a month, as a profit warning from UnitedHealth Group Inc. jolted the health-care sector while energy producers followed oil lower a day after the Federal Reserve eased concern that higher interest rates would derail economic growth.

     UnitedHealth Group slumped 5.7 percent after saying it may pull out of the Obamacare insurance exchange market amid high costs. Competitors Anthem Inc. and Aetna Inc. fell more than 6.5 percent. Consumer staples and technology shares countered with gains as Keurig Green Mountain Inc. jumped 18 percent on better- than-expected results, while Salesforce.com Inc. and Intel Corp. rallied on a stronger-than-estimated sales outlooks.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.1 percent to 2,081.24 at 4 p.m. in New York, with the gauge trading in its tightest intraday range since May 22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lose 4.41 points to 17,732.75, and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined less than 0.1 percent. About 6.5 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 13 percent below the three-month average.

     “The market probably needs to move sideways here for a while,” David Spika, global investment strategist for GuideStone Capital Management, said by phone. “The way we rebounded from the correction was very rapid. There are more reasons to go down than up.”

     Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s October meeting released Wednesday indicated that policy makers believe the economy is strong enough to withstand higher rates as early as next month, while stressing that the pace of any tightening will be gradual. That message yesterday helped unleash a rally that sent the S&P 500 to within 2.3 percent of its May all-time high.

     The gauge is up about 11 percent from the bottom of a summer selloff sparked by worries that a slowdown in China’s economy would spread. Caution over the impact of China’s weakness kept the Fed from raising rates in September.

     Recent data has bolstered the case for raising borrowing costs for the first time since 2006, with the latest payroll report — released after the Fed’s October meeting — showing the biggest increase in hiring this year. A report today showed initial jobless claims continued to hover around four-decade lows as the labor market strengthens toward full employment.

     The Philadelphia Fed’s monthly business outlook unexpectedly rose in November, while an October index of leading economic indicators gained for the first time since June. Traders are now pricing in a 68 percent probability that the Fed will raise rates next month.

     The earnings season is drawing to a close, with 95 percent of S&P 500 companies having reported. Of those, 74 percent beat earnings estimates, while 44 percent exceeded sales forecasts. Analysts project profits for index members dropped 3.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with for a 7.2 percent decline at the start of the season.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 0.8 percent Thursday to 16.99, after sliding the most in nearly four weeks yesterday. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX is up about 13 percent this month after posting its biggest monthly drop ever in October.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups advanced, with technology, utilities and phone companies rising the most. Health-care companies fell 1.6 percent, and energy retreated along with oil prices.

     Salesforce.com rallied to a record after forecasting stronger-than-estimated sales in its approaching fiscal year, demonstrating growing demand for cloud-based software. Also boosting the tech group, Intel surged 3.4 percent after saying 2016 sales will climb in the “mid single-digit” percent range, making the case that it doesn’t need a buoyant personal-computer market to achieve growth. Analysts had estimated growth of about 4 percent. Apple Inc. gained 1.3 percent, rising for the third time in four days.

     Joining Keurig Green Mountain at the top of the consumer staples group, J.M. Smucker Co. jumped 7 percent to a record. The food maker’s quarterly profit beat estimates, helped by demand for coffee products including its new Dunkin’ Donuts- branded pods. Coca-Cola Co., Keurig Green Mountain’s largest shareholder with a 17 percent stake, added 2 percent, the most in four weeks.

     Amid the dollar’s biggest slide in a month, companies that benefit from a weaker U.S. currency gained. Kraft Heinz Co., Campbell Soup Co. and Philip Morris International Inc. each increased at least 0.8 percent.

     Square Inc. and Match Group Inc. jumped in their first day of trading, after pricing initial public offerings low enough to entice investors rattled by choppy markets, as well as bulls confident in their growth prospects. Square surged 45 percent, while Match advanced 23 percent.

     Shares of embattled drugmakerValeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.rose 16 percent, the most since 2011. Citigroup Global Markets credit analyst Murali Ganti said in a note to clients that investors’ concerns over the company’s pricing practices and business model were “overdone.”

     UnitedHealth posted its biggest drop since 2011, sparking a selloff among health insurers after announcing it’s scaling back marketing efforts for plans it’s selling this year under the Affordable Care Act, and may quit the business entirely in 2017 because of high costs. The company also cut its 2015 earnings forecast. Hospital operators Tenet Healthcare Corp. and HCA Holdings Inc. fell more than 6.9 percent.

     Pfizer Inc. and Allergan Plc. declined at least 2.8 percent amid plans by the U.S. Treasury Department to deter companies from doing deals to move their headquarters abroad for tax purposes. People familiar with the matter said Pfizer is in advanced talks to buy the Ireland-based drugmaker for as much as the $380 a share, or $150 billion, a deal that would be the largest ever for the drug industry.

     Energy companies in the benchmark sank 1.3 percent, nearly erasing a 1.6 percent rally yesterday as the group continued to swing with seesawing crude prices. Oil slid to its lowest in almost three months amid signs of ample supplies, and labored to hold above $40 a barrel. Chevron Corp. declined 1.5 percent. Chesapeake Energy Corp. dropped 10 percent to a 13-year low, while Southwestern Energy Co. and Consol Energy Inc. lost more than 5.6 percent.

     Six S&P 500 companies, including Gap Inc., release quarterly results today. The earnings season is drawing to a close, with 95 percent of companies in the benchmark having reported. Of those, 74 percent beat earnings estimates, while 44 percent exceeded sales forecasts. Analysts project profits for index members dropped 3.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with for a 7.2 percent decline at the start of the season.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To conquer the subtle passions

seems to me to be far harder than the

physical conquest of the world by the force of arms.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

You make mistakes.  Mistakes don’t make you.

                          -Maxwell Maltz, 1889-1975

 

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:

Good News This Week:

US – A major multinational company eyes wind power for a manufacturing division.  Proctor & Gamble announced that the plants for its fabric and home-care divisions will draw electricity generated by a wind farm in Cooke County, Texas, by December 2016.  It has pledged to have 30 % of energy generated by renewable and to cut emissions by 30 % by 2020.  –The NY Times.

Dublin, Ireland – Modular houses for the homeless should be in place before Christmas, with 22 government-funded units planned and another 128 being fast-tracked to follow.  Placement – and permanence – are still being debated.  The number of homeless families has doubled in the past year, by some accounts. –The Journal.IE.

London – Those iconic black cabs will be going green.  A new plug-in hybrid London taxi, developed by the Chinese auto firm Geely, should be on the road in 2017.  That’s ahead of regulations that will take effect in January 2018 requiring that all new taxis and private-hire vehicles in the city be able to run with zero emissions for at least 30 miles.  –The Guardian.

Chile – a new marine conservation park, one of the world’s largest, was announced.  The area will include Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, some 2,300 miles west of Chile’s capital, Santiago.  The Rapa Nui people have long petitioned Chile’s government to curb overfishing of species such as tuna.  A second park will include other islands where fishing disputes have occurred.  Together more than 386,000 square miles will be protected.  Globally, plans to protect more than 1 million square miles of ocean were announced in 2015 alone.  –Reuters, The Washington Post.

Worldwide – Maternal deaths declined by 45% between 1990 and 2013, the United nations notes.  (That’s the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days after the end of pregnancy).  A new report underscores the persistence of discrimination and violence against women but also notes key gains:  Women continue to marry a few years earlier than men, the report found.  But “women’s age at marriage has also increased, reflecting higher education levels, later enry into the labor force, as well as increased economic independence.” –United Nations.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A monkey is reflected on a pond while drinking water at Swayambhunath stupa, also know as Monkey Temple, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The letters in the background reads, ‘May peace prevail on earth’. Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

Waves and high winds hit the sea wall and light beacon at Newhaven in south England, Britain, Wednesday. Toby Melville/Reuters

Market Closes for November 18^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17737.16	+247.66   +1.42%
S&P 500	2083.58	+33.14   +1.62%
NASDAQ	5075.203	+89.188   +1.79%
TSX	13399.97	+119.58
		+0.90%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19649.18	+18.55
		+0.09%
HANG SENG	22188.26	-75.99
		-0.34%
SENSEX	25482.52	-381.95
		-1.48%
FTSE 100	6278.97	+10.21
		+0.16%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.651	1.658
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.354	2.349
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2728	2.2658
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0431	3.0527

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75159	0.75092
US $	1.33051	1.33169
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41845	0.70500
US $	1.06609	0.93801

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1067.75	1079.20
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	40.75	40.94

The political problem of mankind is to combine three things: economic efficiency, social justice, and individual liberty. –John Maynard Keynes, 1883-1946.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. rallied on merger prospects and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rebounded from a two-year low.

     Canadian Pacific surged 5.6 percent to a three-week high as the railroad operator went public with its pursuit of Norfolk Southern Corp., wooing the U.S. company’s shareholders with an offer of about $28 billion that would create a transcontinental railroad. Raw-materials and energy producers advanced as oil recovered after briefly dipping below $40 a barrel in New York for the first time since August.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 119.58 points, or 0.9 percent, to 13,399.97 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has alternated between gains and losses for three days. It fell yesterday after snapping the longest losing streak in more than a decade Monday. The S&P/TSX has declined 8.4 percent this year, trailed only by Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     Canadian equities have faltered this year amid declines in commodity and health-care stocks of at least 19 percent. The country’s equity market has been hampered by a slump in oil prices, slowing overseas growth and the prospect of an interest- rate increase from the Federal Reserve.

     Federal Reserve policy makers inserted language into their October statement to stress the potential for a December rate liftoff and largely agreed that the pace of increases would be gradual, according to minutes of the FOMC’s Oct. 27-28 meeting released Wednesday.

     Fed official Dennis Lockhart earlier said while he’s comfortable with higher rates this year, additional hikes will be slow and shallow. Investors are searching for clues to the Fed’s strategy for increasing interest rates, with the probability of a rate hike in December now at 66 percent.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals jumped 3.6 percent, rebounding from the lowest since July 2013. Valeant, briefly the largest stock in Canada by market capitalization this year, has lost 72 percent from an Aug. 5 high amid pressure over how it prices its drugs. Concordia Healthcare Corp., which has dropped 57 percent since Sept. 4, surged 8.9 percent to a five-week high today.

     Teck Resources Ltd. added 1 percent after the diversified miner lowered its 2016 spending plan by C$650 million and said it will eliminate a further 1,000 jobs, including senior management positions. The latest cuts raise the total to about 2,000 in the past 18 months. The decision is a “major positive” for shares and should ease concerns about cash flow generation, according to a report from FBR Capital Markets analyst Lucas Pipes.

US

By Dani Burger and Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied the most in almost a month as Federal Reserve meeting minutes signaled policy makers think the economy is strengthening enough to withstand higher interest rates as soon as next month, while stressing the pace of any increases will be gradual.

     Gains among banks and biotechnology companies led a rally as eight of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries rose more than 1.2 percent. A cluster of deal activity ranging from railroads to food manufacturers also helped lift equities Wednesday.

     The S&P 500 added 1.6 percent to 2,083.58 at 4 p.m. in New York, rising the most since Oct. 22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 247.66 points, or 1.4 percent, to 17,737.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.8 percent. About 7.2 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 3.9 percent below the three-month average.

     “Now the question is going to be what it should have been along — not when, but how far and how fast,” said John Canally, chief economic strategist at LPL Financial Corp. in Boston. “They’ve been trying to communicate not just that the Fed is going to hike in December, but that the dot plots path will be lowered, and that’s a good outcome for the market.”

     Fed officials inserted language into their October statement to stress that “it may well become appropriate” to raise the benchmark lending rate in December and largely agreed that the pace of increases would be gradual, minutes of the meeting showed. A majority of Fed officials have signaled they expect to raise interest rates this year for the first time since 2006.

     Equities rallied ahead of the minutes as policy makers earlier signaled confidence in the economy and stuck to the message that rate increases will not be hurried. The S&P 500 had fallen as much as 4 percent after Fed Chair Janet Yellen earlier this month reminded investors that raising rates in December was a “live possibility,” and jobs data showed the biggest increase in hiring this year. The gauge has since pared its drop since Yellen’s comments to a 1.2 percent decline.

     Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said today he’s comfortable with raising rates soon, and the path of increases will be shallow and slower than in the past. His remarks came during a panel at a Clearing House event in New York. Traders are pricing in a 66 percent probability of a move — odds that shot up after a stronger-than-expected October jobs report on Nov. 6.

     As policy makers assess the strength of the economy, data today showed new-home building declined more than projected in October, led by a slump in apartment construction. On the positive side, construction permits for single-family homes increased the most since 2007, indicating ground-breaking will rebound in coming months.

     “It’s the pace and the duration now that’s the topic of conversation as opposed to when liftoff will take place,” Kevin Mahn, president of Parsippany, New Jersey-based Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc., said in phone interview. “The next thing the bull market needs is reassurance from the Fed that the economy is on stable ground, and that will come in the form of a rate hike.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 11 percent Wednesday to 16.85, the most since Oct. 22. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX has rebounded about 12 percent in November after posting its biggest monthly drop ever in October.

     Among companies moving on corporate news, Apple Inc. climbed 3.2 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. added the shares to its “conviction buy” list. Norfolk Southern Corp. gained 6.4 percent as Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. pursues a merger with the railroad. Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. rallied 8.5 percent after ON Semiconductor Corp. agreed to buy it for $2.4 billion. ConAgra Foods Inc. advanced 4 percent amid a plan to spin off its Lamb Weston food-service business.

     All of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries advanced, with health-care and financial shares the best performers, up more than 1.8 percent. Utilities and phone companies were the only groups rising less than 1 percent after erasing earlier declines.

     The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index climbed 2.9 percent to rise for a fourth day. Gilead Sciences Inc., Biogen Inc. and Celgene Corp. each added more than 3.4 percent. Allergan Plc led the S&P 500’s broader health-care group, advancing 4.5 percent.

     A rally in banks bolstered the financial group. Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. increased more than 2.4 percent, while the KBW Bank Index gained 2.1 percent as all 24 of its members rose.

     The benchmark’s technology sector climbed 1.6 percent, with another acquisition in the semiconductor group adding to the more than $90 billion of global chip deals in the past year. Fairchild Semiconductor rose to its highest price in more than five months. PMC-Sierra Inc. gained 1.9 percent after Microsemi Corp. raised its offer in a deal valued at $2.3 billion. Fairchild suitor ON Semiconductor dropped 7.9 percent, while Microsemi advanced 0.7 percent.                        

     Apple’s climb helped boost the sector’s performance. The tech giant is transitioning to an “Apple-as-a-service business model” to ease its dependence on selling hardware, according to Goldman analyst Simona Jankowski. Apple, the best performer in the Dow, rose the most in three weeks.

     The Nasdaq Internet Index increased 2 percent for its best session in more than three weeks. TripAdvisor Inc. surged 7.1 percent to pace the advance as travel-related companies rebounded. Amazon.com Inc. and Netflix Inc. rose more than 3 percent.

     Angie’s List Inc. jumped 9 percent to a 16 month high. The company rejected an unsolicited proposal from IAC/InteractiveCorp Tuesday, and people familiar with the matter said shareholders and the board need to review new Chief Executive OfficerScott Durchslag’s turnaround plan in the first quarter of next year before considering deals.

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average gained 1.7 percent as railroads rallied on Canadian Pacific’s interest in Norfolk Southern. Kansas City Southern and CSX Corp. advanced more than 4 percent, while Union Pacific Corp. increased 2.4 percent.

     Energy companies erased a 1.2 percent drop on Tuesday, overcoming oil’s swings between gains and losses. Consol Energy Inc., the S&P 500’s worst performer this year, jumped 7.7 percent for the index’s best climb today. Baker Hughes Inc. added 4.5 percent.

     Citrix Systems Inc. sank 10 percent, the most more than two years and the day’s worst performer in the S&P 500. The company announced on Tuesday plans to cut about 1,000 jobs as it plans to spin off its GoTo business of virtual meeting products.

     Staples Inc. and Target Corp. both sank after releasing quarterly results today. Target fell 4.3 percent to a one-year low after online sales growth slowed, underscoring the challenge of competing with Amazon. Staples Inc. lost 2.7 percent after its fourth-quarter forecast missed analyst expectations amid the impact from a stronger U.S. dollar.

     Qualcomm Inc. tumbled 9.4 percent to a four-year low after South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission accused the chipmaker of violating local competition law in the way it licenses technology to customers. Qualcomm called its practices “lawful and pro-competitive.”

     With earnings season coming to an end, 74 percent of companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results beat profit estimates, while only 44 percent exceeded sales projections. Analysts project profits for members of the benchmark dropped 3.7 percent, an improvement on a predicted 7.2 percent fall at the start of the season.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

There will have to be rigid and iron discipline

before we achieve anything great and enduring,

and that discipline will not come by mere academic argument

and appeal to reason and logic.

Discipline is learnt in the school of adversity.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

          –Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970

 

 

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 this day in 1558, the Elizabethan Age began when Queen Mary I, the monarch of England and Ireland since 1553, died and was succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth.

Also on this day, in 1935, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin wrote to J.C.C. Davidson:

I feel we should not give him [Churchill] a post at this stage.  Anything he undertakes he puts his heart and soul into.  If there is going to be war – and no one can say that there is not – we must keep him fresh to be our war Prime Minister. –from The Book of Days.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A purebred Spanish horse is pictured during the Sicab International Pre Horse Fair which is dedicated in full and exclusively to the purebred Spanish horse in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain, Tuesday. Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters

 

Hindu devotees offer prayers standing in the waters of the Arabian Sea at sun set during Chhath Puja festival in Mumbai, India, Tuesday. On Chhath, an ancient Hindu festival, rituals are performed to thank the Sun god for sustaining life on earth. Rafiq Maqbool/AP

Market Closes for November 17^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17489.50	+6.49   +0.04%
S&P 500	2050.44	-2.75   -0.13%
NASDAQ	4986.016	+1.399   +0.03%
TSX	13280.39	-37.13
		-0.28%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19630.63	+263.94
		+1.22%
HANG SENG	22264.25	+253.43
		+1.15%
SENSEX	25864.47	+104.37
		+0.41%
FTSE 100	6268.76	+122.38
		+1.99%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.658	1.648
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.349	2.342
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2658	2.2693
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0527	3.0640

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75092	0.75005
US $	1.33169	1.33324
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41726	0.70554
US $	1.06422	0.93965

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1079.20	1084.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	40.94	41.74

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — The rally in Canadian stocks Monday was short-lived, as the selloff in equities resumed amid a slide in commodities prices.

     A day after halting the longest slide in more than a decade, Canadian equities reversed early gains to end the session lower. Raw-materials producers slumped 2.9 percent as copper touched a six-year low, while energy shares slumped 0.6 percent as oil in New York fell toward $40 a barrel.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which measures a basket of resources, fell for the ninth time in 10 sessions to trade at a 1999 low. Firming inflation in the U.S. reinforced speculation the Federal Reserve will raise rates next month, boosting the dollar and damping commodities prices.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 37.13 points to 13,280.39 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge had jumped 1.9 percent yesterday to snap an eight-day losing streak, the longest since 2002, as commodities briefly rallied. The S&P/TSX has lost 9.2 percent this year, trailed only by Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     Canadian equities have faltered amid declines in natural- resource and health-care stocks of at least 19 percent. The country’s equity market has been hampered by a slump in oil prices, slowing overseas growth and the prospect of an interest- rate increase from the Fed.

     Barrick Gold Corp. sank 8.7 percent and Goldcorp Inc. fell 5.2 percent to lead raw-materials producers lower. Copper is down 25 percent this year, following a 14 percent decline in 2014, as all efforts to revive metals prices from miners cutting supply to China stimulating demand have failed to halt a slide that kicked off three years ago and has since accelerated.

     Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion Bank added at least 0.6 percent as the nation’s largest lenders advanced a second day. The banks will report fiscal fourth quarter earnings beginning Dec. 1. Of the more than 200 companies in the S&P/TSX to report in the current period, about 60 percent missed revenue estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. lost 4.3 percent, extending a two-year low. Valeant, briefly the largest stock in Canada by market capitalization this year, has lost 73 percent from an Aug. 5 high amid pressure over how it prices its drugs. 

     The embattled drugmaker’s latest product, the female libido pill Addyi, isn’t selling with only 227 prescriptions for the drug so far in its first few weeks on the market. By comparison, more than half a million men got prescriptions for Viagra in its first month on sale in 1998.

     Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. rose 0.8 percent for a second day of gains. The railway operator disclosed after the market close it has offered a “sizable premium in cash and stock” to merge with Norfolk Southern Corp. Canadian Pacific didn’t elaborate on financial terms.

     Shopify Inc., the Ottawa-based e-commerce software company, tumbled 3.6 percent to a two-month low as the stock’s lockup for company insiders lifted. The restrictions had previously prevented the company’s venture investors and employees from selling more than 67 million shares held at Shopify’s initial public offering in May.

US

By Dani Burger

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed as a retreat in energy shares offset higher-than-forecast earnings from Home Depot Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., while firming inflation bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.

     Crude oil renewed a selloff a day after the commodity’s climb ignited the strongest gains among energy companies in six weeks. Today’s reversal overshadowed a rally in retailers led by Home Depot after the group’s worst weekly drop in four years.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.1 percent to 2,050.44 at 4 p.m. in New York, after erasing an earlier gain of as much as 0.7 percent. The gauge’s advance stalled at its average price during the past 200 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 6.49 points to 17,489.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed. About 7.6 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.

     “We’re coming off of a strong day yesterday,” said Alan Gayle, senior strategist for Atlanta-based RidgeWorth Investments, which oversees $40 billion. “The fact that the market is catching its breath and waffling around flat is an encouraging sign. There’s a never-ending swirl of geopolitical angst that tends to take center stage, but the big macro event that the market is focusing on is the December FOMC meeting.”

     A report today showed the cost of living excluding food and fuel rose again in October after picking up the prior month, showing inflation edging closer toward the Fed’s goal. It was the strongest back-to-back readings since May and April.

     Separate data showed factory output increased in October for the first time in three months as producers turned out more construction materials and motor vehicles. Total industrial production unexpectedly dropped for a second month as warm weather reduced electricity demand and the oil industry continued to cut back.

     Traders are now pricing in a 64 percent probability that the Fed will raise rates next month. Minutes from the Fed’s October policy meeting will be released on Wednesday.

     “There seems to be some data reassurance coming out,” said Ben Kumar, who helps oversee about $14 billion as an investment manager at Seven Investment Management in London. “In the U.S., you’ve seen sufficient data to suggest that interest rates are not going up prematurely, that the economy is strong enough to withstand a hike.”

     The S&P 500 on Monday ended a three-day losing streak that capped declines in seven of eight sessions. The benchmark closed today 3.8 percent below its record set in May after coming within 1 percent of its high on Nov. 3.

     With the earnings season drawing to an end, Staples Inc. and Gap Inc. are also among S&P 500 companies reporting results this week. Of those that have done so already, about 74 percent beat profit projections and 43 percent beat sales estimates. Analysts now project profits for index members dropped 3.7 percent in the third quarter, improved from calls for a 7.2 percent decline at the start of the season.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 3.7 percent Tuesday to 18.84. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX yesterday fell the most in more than three weeks after coming off its biggest weekly increase since August.                        

     Seven of the S&P 500’s main industries declined today, with utilities and energy shares dropping the most. Health-care, consumer discretionary and phone companies advanced. A group of retailers in the index climbed 1 percent, after losing 6.6 percent last week.

     Energy companies sank 1.2 percent, reversing a portion of Monday’s 3.3 percent rally, as oil dropped in anticipation of government data forecast to show crude stockpiles expanded for an eighth week. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. fell 6.9 percent. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Southwestern Energy Co. and Range Resources Corp. slid more than 4.6 percent.

     Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. lost 9.4 percent, the most in 18 months after its earnings fell short of estimates and it cut its outlook. The retailer’s results helped drag supplier Under Armour Inc. down 5.6 percent to a four-month low.

     Urban Outfitters Inc. fell 3.8 percent, trimming an earlier 15 percent tumble, after reporting quarterly revenue and same- store sales that missed analysts’ forecasts. The shares have dropped 24 percent during a five-day slide.

     Among the session’s worst performers, Keurig Green Mountain Inc. retreated 9.8 percent to its lowest in more than two years ahead of its quarterly earnings report Wednesday. The coffee K- cup maker is likely to report steep sales declines in the September quarter, Susquehanna International Group LLP analyst Pablo Zuanic wrote in a note yesterday.

     Home Depot and Wal-Mart added at least 3.5 percent, with both extending a two-day climb to at least 5.1 percent. Wal-Mart had its best single day gain in two months, while Home Depot closed at a record.

     TJX Companies Inc. was also among the retailers benefiting from strong quarterly earnings. The owner of the T.J. Maxx discount retail chain gained 3.9 percent, the most in three months, after boosting its year view and reporting sales that beat the average of analyst estimates.

     Netflix Inc. rose 5.2 percent, taking its two-day gain to 13 percent after a regulatory filing Monday showed billionaire investor George Soros’ investment firm added a stake of more than 300,000 shares during the third quarter. The shares closed at a two-month high.

     The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rallied 1.4 percent, its best performance in two weeks as biotechs helped lift the broader health-care group. Amgen Inc. and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. increased at least 2 percent. Dan Loeb, the founder of hedge fund firm Third Point, is suggesting that Allergan Plc and Amgen consider a merger, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

     Airgas Inc. soared 29 percent to an all-time high. Air Liquide SA will acquire the company for about $13.4 billion including debt to form the world’s biggest supplier of industrial gases. The surge in Airgas wasn’t enough to keep the raw-materials group from slipping, as Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and Newmont Mining Corp. sank more than 4.2 percent.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

All things are linked together through cause and effect.  There is no such thing as an accident.

When we cannot find the link between cause and effect in an event, we call it an accident.

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

                                                            -Winston Churchill, 1874-1965

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:

Just back from the World Business Forum in NYC, which was truly time well spent, listening to business leaders speak of the secrets of their success and the success of the corporate cultures they nurture, thereby ensuring the success of their organizations and their team members and their shareholders.  I found Carolyn Everson, Vice President, global marketing solutions at Facebook, truly inspirational as she described the culture that she and Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg strive to create so that innovation, ideas, execution ensure continued success of the corporation and the individuals who make up its composition. Other speakers included Sir Richard Branson, Steve Bock, Mark Bertolini, Oscar Farinetti and many, many more. Truly inspirational.

I stayed an extra couple of days over the weekend to visit the new home of the Whitney Museum, as well as attend the theatre. The new home of the Whitney in lower Manhattan is fabulous! Floor to ceiling windows allow for amazing views of the Hudson River and lots of outdoor spaces to enjoy the same terrific views. For anyone reading this and expecting to travel to NYC soon, I can highly recommend Thérese Raquin, starring Keira Knightly, who gives a superb performance, as do the entire cast. Another lighter, fabulous play we saw is Sylvia starring Matthew Broderick. There are a lot of laughs to be had in this play about a man and his dog.

However, a somber mood was felt in many instances as artists and musicians in the city recalled the tragedy in France.  All the cast at both performances ended their performances calling on everyone to pay their respects. Masses of people gathered in Union Square to sing the French National Anthem on Saturday and lights streamed the colors of the French flag…

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A pianist plays next to the scene of the Bataclan, in Paris, Monday. French police raided more than 150 locations overnight as authorities released the names of two more potential suicide bombers involved in the Paris attacks, one born in Syria, the other a Frenchman wanted as part of a terrorism investigation. Francois Mori/AP

Following the attacks in Paris, the blue, white and red colors of France’s national flag are projected onto the London Eye in London, Britain, Saturday. Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

A couple stands in the rain as colors of France’s national flag are projected onto the sails of Sydney’s Opera House in Australia, following the attacks in Paris. Jason Reed/Reuters

Market Closes for November 16^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17483.01	+237.77   +1.38%
S&P 500	2049.77	+26.73   +1.32%
NASDAQ	4984.617	+56.734   +1.15%
TSX	13303.87	+228.45
		+1.75%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19393.69	-203.22
		-1.04%
HANG SENG	22010.82	-385.32
		-1.72%
SENSEX	25760.10	+149.57
		+0.58%
FTSE 100	6146.38	+28.10
		+0.46%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.648	1.655
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.342	2.349
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2693	2.2746
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0640	3.0568

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75005	0.75063
US $	1.33324	1.33221
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42460	0.70195
US $	1.06852	0.93587

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1084.75	1081.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	41.74	40.74

Market Commentary:

Money, n. –
A blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it.  An evidence of culture and a passport to polite society. – Ambrose Bierce.

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for the first time in nine sessions, snapping the worst stretch since 2002, as commodities rallied amid heightened tension after France bombed Syria in response to terrorist attacks in Paris.

     Energy producers soared 3.8 percent, the most in six weeks, to lead a rebound in equities. Gold climbed for the first time in five days as the Paris attacks spurred haven buying, pushing raw-materials producers higher. West Texas Intermediate futures surged 2.5 percent after falling as low as $40.06 earlier.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 242.10 points, or 1.9 percent, to 13,317.52 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, its biggest advance since Sept. 30. The benchmark equity gauge has lost 9 percent this year, trailed only by Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     The S&P/TSX lost 4.6 percent in the previous eight trading sessions for the longest losing streak since June 2002. Natural- resource producers slumped more than 5 percent over that period as the Bloomberg Commodity Index tracking prices from copper to crude fell to its lowest since 1999.

     Canadian equities have been among the worst-performing in the world this year, led by declines in natural-resource and health-care stocks. The country’s equity market has been hampered by a slump in oil prices, slowing overseas growth and the prospect of an interest-rate increase from the Federal Reserve.

     Energy producers posted a second day of gains as Suncor Energy Inc. added 3.8 percent and TransCanada Corp. rose 3.1 percent. Barrick Gold Corp. and Yamana Gold Inc. climbed more than 1.2 percent as raw-materials producers increased 0.7 percent as a group. Gold futures advanced for the first time in four sessions.

     Warplanes bombed Islamic State’s nerve center in Raqqa after France said Europe’s worst terror attack in a decade was directed from Syria, which borders OPEC producer Iraq. Crude has plunged about 45 percent in the past year amid signs oversupply will persist.

     Europe is on high alert after at least 129 people were killed in more than half a dozen locations in the French capital. The massacre comes less than a year after the attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

     DHX Media Ltd., a media entertainment producer, jumped 3.5 percent for the biggest increase in two months after reporting first-quarter profit and revenue ahead of analysts’ estimates. Of the more than 200 companies in the S&P/TSX to report in the current period, about 60 percent missed revenue estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. lost 2.6 percent, to a two-year low. Valeant, briefly the largest stock in Canada by market capitalization this year, has lost more than 71 percent from an Aug. 5 high amid pressure over how it prices its drugs. 

USA

By Dani Burger

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded after their worst week since an August selloff, paced by energy shares amid speculation that any fallout from Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris would have a limited economic impact.

     Last week’s hardest-hit group led the rally, an echo of the snapback from the summer selloff, as Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. gained more than 3.5 percent. Procter & Gamble Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. led a surge among consumer staples, rising at least 1.8 percent. Defense companies drove gains among industrials, and thermal-imaging camera maker Flir Systems Inc. jumped 10 percent to lead the S&P 500.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.5 percent to 2,053.19 at 4 p.m. in New York, the biggest gain in more than three weeks. The gauge rose back above its average price during the past 100 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 237.77 points, or 1.4 percent, to 17,483.01. It was the Dow’s third consecutive move of at least 200 points.The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.2 percent. About 6.8 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 9.7 percent below the three-month average.

     “We had a pretty sizable loss over the last two weeks and just because of that we may not be seeing as much as a negative reaction as we could have if the tragedy occurred two weeks ago when the market was up within one percent of the highs,” said Frank Cappelleri, a market technician at Instinet LLC in New York. “Today at least, knowing where the market has come from, it’s helped it at least to be stable.”

     Coordinated assaults late Friday linked to Islamist radicals killed at least 129 people in seven locations in Paris, in Europe’s worst terrorist attack in at least a decade. France dispatched warplanes to bomb Islamic State’s Syrian nerve center while police conducted raids on suspected Islamic radicals in all of France’s major cities.

     The main U.S. equity benchmark index is now 3.6 percent away from its record set in May, after rising to within 1 percent of the all-time high on Nov. 3. The S&P 500 had fallen in seven of the previous eight sessions after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said policy makers’ December meeting was a “live possibility” for a rate increase.

     Traders are pricing in a 64 percent probability that the Fed will raise rates next month. Investors will assess data this week on consumer prices, factory activity and housing starts for further clues on the probability of a boost in rates. Minutes from the central bank’s October policy meeting will be released on Wednesday. A reading today on New York area manufacturing activity in November contracted more than expected, according to estimates from economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

     “This is going to be a market driven by U.S. economic data,” said Stephen Wood, who helps manage $265 billion as chief market strategist for North America at Russell Investments in New York. “I think the market is still keeping it’s gaze on a December Fed decision.”

     All of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries advanced at least 1.2 percent Monday. Energy, phone companies and consumer staples added more than 1.6 percent. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index declined 9.6 percent Monday to 18.16, the most in more than three weeks. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX jumped 40 percent to a six-week high last week, its biggest increase since August.

     Energy companies gained 3.3 percent, the most in more than six weeks to win back more than half of last week’s 6 percent drop. Consol Energy Inc. and Williams Cos. were among the best performers in the S&P 500, rising at least 6.3 percent. Consol gained 7.6 percent after Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn reiterated his long position in the company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

     Consumer staples shares in the S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent after falling 2.8 percent last week. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc. were among the best performers, increasing more than 2.5 percent. Wal-Mart had its strongest increase in more than two months.

     A batch of defense companies climbed in the wake of the Paris attacks. Northrup Grumman Corp., Raytheon Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. rallied at least 3.5 percent, with Raytheon rising to a record. A proposed $1.29 billion sale of U.S. weapons to Saudi Arabia includes as many as 13,000 smart bombs and spare parts made by Raytheon and Boeing Co., according to officials. Flir Systems, which makes night-vision gear, advanced the most in more than six years.

     Constellation Brands Inc. gained 2.3 percent after the wine and vodka maker agreed to acquire Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits for $1 billion. It follows consolidation in the brewing industry, led by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA’s planned $107 billion takeover of SABMiller Plc. Boston Beer Co. added 3.8 percent.

     Cisco Systems Inc. was among the Dow’s best performers, gaining 2.2 percent after posting its biggest slump since August. Hard-drive makers Western Digital Corp. and Seagate Technology Plc also saw a boost after last week’s selloff, up more than 2.3 percent.

     Following Friday’s terror attacks, online travel booking companies Priceline Group Inc. and Expedia Inc. fell more than 2.1 percent. Air carriers and cruise lines also slumped — Carnival Corp. and American Airlines lost at least 1.4 percent to their lowest in more than a month. A Bloomberg index of U.S. air carriers dropped 1.1 percent to its lowest in almost four weeks.

     Among other companies moving on corporate news, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. sank 3.6 percent after Marriott International Inc. agreed to buy Starwood in a deal valued at $12.2 billion, creating the world’s largest hotel company.  Marriott gained 1.4 percent.

     Urban Outfitters Inc. also retreated on acquisition news, after announcing plans to buy the Vetri Family group of Italian restaurants. The retailer dropped 7.4 percent to its lowest in more than four years.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

I declare out loud to whoever wants to believe me:

I have no word in my mouth

that is not in your heart!

Kabir

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.

                                        -Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004

 

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:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, Thursday. Tungurahua, which means ‘Throat of Fire’ in the local Quechua language, has been classified as active since 1999. Carlos Campana/Reuters

Hungary’s Zsolt Toth carves Star Wars character Darth Vader for the ice sculpture festival in Liege, Belgium, Friday. Eric Vidal/Reuters

Market Closes for November 13^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17245.24	-202.83   -1.16%
S&P 500	2023.06	-22.91   -1.12%
NASDAQ	4927.883	-77.196   -1.54%
TSX	13070.97	-56.21
		-0.43%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19596.91	-100.86
		-0.51%
HANG SENG	22396.14	-492.78
		-2.15%
SENSEX	25610.53	-256.42
		-0.99%
FTSE 100	6118.28	-60.40
		-0.98%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.655	1.702
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.349	2.390
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2746	2.3116
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0568	3.0903

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75063	0.75236
US $	1.33221	1.32915
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43217	0.69824
US $	1.07504	0.93020

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1081.50	1087.40
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	40.74	41.75

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell an eighth day, the worst stretch for the resource-dominated market since before the financial crisis, amid a worsening outlook for global growth from Asia to Europe and the U.S.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.4 percent, led by declines in the nation’s largest banks. Earlier advances in energy producers and health-care companies weren’t enough to maintain a brief midday rally as the index fell in the final hours of trading. 

     The equity gauge has lost 4.6 percent in eight days for the longest losing streak since June 2002. Natural-resource producers have slumped more than 5 percent over that period as the Bloomberg Commodity Index tracking prices from copper to crude fell to a 1999 low.

     Canadian equities have been among the worst-performing in the world this year, led by declines in natural-resource and health-care stocks, as the country’s stock market has been hampered by a slump in oil prices, slowing overseas growth and the prospect of an interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

     “The market is looking for a stamp of approval,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$5 billion. “Earnings have been mediocre. These very weak numbers make things more difficult for the Fed.”

     The S&P/TSX fell 51.78 points to 13,075.40 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has lost 11 percent this year, trailing only Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     Euro-area gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent in the third quarter, short of the median 0.4 percent analysts’ estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Meanwhile U.S. retail sales increased less than forecast in October as consumers pocketed money saved from cheaper gas. The data come after figures earlier in the week indicated imports in China, one of the world’s largest consumers of natural resources, had retreated on slowing demand from heavy industries.

     Energy producers rebounded from a six-week low, reversing earlier declines, led by gains from Encana Corp. to Enerplus Corp. of at least 7 percent. Drugmaker Concordia Healthcare Corp. jumped 16 percent to a one-month high after reporting third-quarter earnings and revenue ahead of estimates.

     Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada slipped more than 1.3 percent to weigh on financial companies in the S&P/TSX. The group posted its steepest weekly decline in almost three months.

     Of the more than 200 companies in the S&P/TSX to report in the current period, about 60 percent missed revenue estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. added 2.5 percent, rebounding from a two-year low. Valeant, briefly the largest stock in Canada by market capitalization this year, has lost 71 percent from an Aug. 5 high amid pressure over how it prices its drugs. 

US

By Dani Burger

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined, capping their first weekly drop since September, after weaker-than-expected retail sales data added to concern that growth remains uneven as policy makers consider raising interest rates as soon as next month.

     Retailers and apparel companies led the drop after Nordstrom Inc.’s results missed analysts’ estimates, sending its shares down 15 percent. Cisco Systems Inc. slumped 5.8 percent, dragging technology companies lower after its outlook disappointed. Energy shares sank as oil fell to its lowest in more than two months.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated 1.1 percent to 2,023.04, with the gauge posting its worst week since August as it closed at a three-week low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 202.83 points, or 1.2 percent, to 17,245.24. The Dow had its biggest back-to-back drop in more than two months. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.5 percent. About 7.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 4 percent above the three-month average.

     “The takeaway from today’s retail data is more concern about the pace and magnitude of any Fed rate hike cycle on a still uneven growth experience in the economy,” said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at the Private Client Reserve of US Bank in New York. “There was continued strength in the labor market, which is giving the Fed confidence to raise. But there’s softness with data beyond that and without oil moving meaningfully higher suggests we won’t see commodity price pressures.”

     As investors evaluate the strength of the world’s largest economy, data today showed sales at retailers rose less than forecast last month as consumers pocketed the money saved after fueling up their cars. A separate report showed wholesale prices unexpectedly declined in October for a second month. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment climbed to a four-month high in a preliminary November reading as Americans took heart in lower interest rates and store discounts.

     The S&P 500 has advanced just once in the eight sessions since Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reminded investors that December’s policy meeting could bring the first rate increase since 2006. The U.S. equity benchmark has declined 4.1 percent since rallying to within 1 percent of a record on Nov. 3. Energy, technology and consumer discretionary shares have each dropped at least 4.5 percent this week, the most since August.

     Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said today a strengthening U.S. economy is ready for higher interest rates as she predicted growth of 2.5 percent to 2.75 percent through the rest of this year and next year. Fed officials yesterday stressed that monetary policy should be tightened only gradually after rates are increased.

     Traders are currently pricing in a 64 percent chance of a Fed rate increase in December, up from as low as 27 percent last month. Odds increased sharply after last Friday’s stronger-than- expected October jobs report.

     Economic data will have center stage as the majority of companies in the S&P 500 have now reported earnings results. About 73 percent beat profit estimates while just 44 percent surpassed sales expectations. Analysts are now predicting a 3.7 percent fall in earnings in the third quarter, an improvement on estimates for a 7.2 percent drop at the start of the season.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 9.3 percent Friday to 20.08. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX was up 40 percent this week, the most since August.

     Consumer discretionary companies fell 2.7 percent on the softer-than-expected retail data and earnings results, the worst performer among the S&P 500’s 10 major groups. Discretionary companies saw their biggest weekly drop in almost three months.

     Nordstrom joined Macy’s Inc. in posting weak quarterly results, hinting at a dwindling appetite among consumers for department stores. Macy’s sank 4.2 percent, while Ross Stores Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. fell at least 6.4 percent. Fossil Group Inc. plunged 37 percent to a five-year low after its sales missed analysts’ estimates, fueling concern that the watch industry is mired in a slump and losing ground to wearable technology.

     Nordstrom’s results renewed a retreat among apparel companies that sell their clothes in large department stores. Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. and PVH Corp. declined more than 4.7 percent following a brief reprieve yesterday after Kohl’s earnings topped estimates. Under Armour Inc. and Nike Inc. slumped at least 3.2 percent with the group marking its worst week in more than four years.

     GameStop Corp. tumbled 17 percent, the most in more than a year. Pacific Crest Securities LLC downgraded the shares to the equivalent of hold from buy, citing struggling physical software sales as digital downloads of games affects growth. Among other retailers, Best Buy Co. slumped 5.7 percent to a more than two- month low.

     Cisco Systems posted its steepest decline in two years after saying weaker global economic growth and the strength of the U.S. dollar are hurting international sales of its equipment. F5 Networks Inc. and Juniper Networks Inc. lost more than 3.1 percent, while Oracle Corp. sank 3.4 percent. Also weighing on the tech group, Facebook Inc. declined 3.8 percent and Apple Inc. decreased 2.9 percent, taking its slide this week to 7.2 percent, the most since August.

     Energy companies in the benchmark slid for the seventh time in eight days, retreating 0.6 percent after an earlier drop of 1.6 percent. Oil saw a second weekly decline, falling to its lowest level in more than two months as U.S. crude stockpiles rose three times more than forecast. Chesapeake Energy Inc. fell 3.5 percent and Exxon Mobil Corp. slid 1.7 percent.

     Perrigo Co. slid 6.2 percent, the most in 18 months, after Mylan NV failed to attract a majority of Perrigo shareholders to its $26 billion takeover offer. Generic drugmaker Mylan said about 40 percent of Perrigo holders tendered their shares by the Friday deadline, short of the 50 percent required to move ahead. Mylan rallied 13 percent, the most since April.

     Yum! Brands Inc. also moved on company news, climbing 3.5 percent after the fast-food chain owner reported same-store sales at its restaurants in China grew an estimated 5 percent last month. Yum recently bowed to activist pressure, agreeing to spin off its China business from its U.S. operations.

     Raw-materials companies in the benchmark rose 1.2 percent, trimming their worst weekly decline since September. Alcoa Inc. and fertilizer maker Mosaic Co. gained more than 1.7 percent.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

 “Nothing will work unless you do.” Maya Angelou

 

As ever,

 

Karen

 

 “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Francis of Assisi

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:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People walk along a forest as the sun shines over fog near Albis Pass mountain pass, Switzerland on Thursday. Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters

A giraffe calf born on Aug. 31, 2015, stands in the foreground with other adult giraffes at the Singapore Zoo on Thursday in Singapore. The Singapore zoo is known for its efforts in promoting and educating the public about the importance of wildlife conservation through its educational programs and through the breeding of its animals in captivity which also include some endangered species. This is the Singapore Zoo’s first giraffe calf in 28-years. Wong Maye-E/AP

Market Closes for November 12^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17448.07	-254.15   -1.44%
S&P 500	2045.97	-29.03   -1.40%
NASDAQ	5005.078	-61.941   -1.22%
TSX	13127.18	-214.75
		-1.61%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19697.77	+6.38
		+0.03%
HANG SENG	22888.92	+536.75
		+2.40%
SENSEX	25866.95	+123.69
		+0.48%
FTSE 100	6178.68	-118.52
		-1.88%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.702	1.708
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.390	2.401
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3116	2.3328
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0903	3.1069

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75236	0.75327
US $	1.32915	1.32755
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43668	0.69605
US $	1.08090	0.92515

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1087.40	1087.10
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	41.75	44.21

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — The resource-heavy Canadian stock benchmark fell to a six-week low after capping its longest losing streak since July, as concern that growth in Europe and China will hurt demand renewed a rout in commodities.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. contributed the most to declines in the benchmark index as the embattled drug maker tumbled to the lowest since 2013. Energy producers retreated as oil fell through $42 a barrel in New York to a two- month low.

     Canadian equities have been among the worst-performing in the world this year, led by declines in natural-resource and health-care stocks, as the country’s stock market has been hampered by a slump in oil prices, slowing overseas growth and the prospect of an interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Index fell 214.75 points, or 1.6 percent, to 13,127.18 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has lost 4.3 percent in its longest losing streak since July 27. The slump extended declines this year to 10 percent, trailing only Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     Commodities tumbled as signs that global growth is slowing mounted. Data on Thursday showed industrial production in the euro area fell more than economists forecast. Earlier this week China data showed imports to the country slumped amid slowing demand for resources from heavy industries. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Manulife Financial Corp. lost 3.7 percent, the most in two months, after posting a 43 percent slide in third-quarter profit blamed on its slumping oil and gas investments. Manulife, Canada’s largest insurer, is one of more than 50 companies in Canada to report quarterly results Thursday. 

     Of the nearly 200 companies in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index to report thus far in the current period, about 60 percent missed revenue estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Valeant dropped 6.4 percent, to a July 2013 low. Valeant, briefly the largest stock in Canada by market capitalization this year, has lost 72 percent from an Aug. 5 high amid pressure over how it prices its drugs. The drugmaker said in a conference call Tuesday that the decision to cut ties with pharmacy Philidor Rx Services would meaningfully affect its dermatology business.

US

By Kate Garber

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell the most in six weeks as a rout in commodities pressured energy and raw-materials providers while investors braced for the first rise in interest rates since 2006.

     Chevron Corp. dropped 2.5 percent and miner Freeport- McMoRan Inc. sank 5.8 percent as the stronger dollar and a persistent slump in demand from China sent the Bloomberg Commodity Index to the lowest since 1999. The recent weakness in commodity shares is a turnabout after energy and raw-materials helped drive a rebound from a summer correction and in October had their strongest month in four years.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.4 percent to 2,045.97 at 4 p.m. in New York, slipping below its average price during the past 200 days for the first time in two weeks. The U.S. equity benchmark has struggled to hold gains after rallying to within 1 percent of a record on Nov. 3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 254.15 points, or 1.4 percent, to 17,448.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.2 percent. About 7.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, about 4 percent below the three-month average.

     “Tighter policy expectations coming out of the Fed has led to a mini rally in the dollar and inflation expectations seem fairly well-anchored so additional pressure on commodities is not really a surprise,” David Lafferty, the chief market strategist for Natixis Global Asset Management in Boston, said by phone. “The fact it’s all commodities seeing weakness tells you it’s a dollar and Fed-related story.”

     Federal Reserve officials today stressed that policy should be tightened only gradually after interest rates are increased for the first time in almost a decade, with New York Fed President William C. Dudley saying the conditions for liftoff “could soon be satisfied.”

     In addition to Dudley’s comments, Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the U.S. central bank should raise interest rates from near zero because emergency policies are not needed with the labor market and inflation near to the central bank’s goals.

     Fed Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said regardless of when it begins raising rates, the Fed must be clear that the pace of future increases will be gradual. Traders are now pricing in a 64 percent chance of a rate rise next month, up from odds of 27 percent less than a month ago.

     The S&P 500 has advanced just once in the seven sessions since Fed Chair Janet Yellen reminded investors that December’s meeting could bring the first rate increase in six years. Investors raised the probabilities of a Fed rate hike in December after a Labor Department report Friday showed 271,000 jobs were added in October, and the jobless rate fell to 5 percent.

     Data today showed applications for unemployment benefits were unchanged in the first week of November, signaling employers with a healthier appetite for hiring are also holding the line on firings. A separate report showed the number of positions waiting to be filled in the U.S. rose by 149,000 to 5.53 million in September from a revised 5.38 million in the month before.

     “With a hike in December looking almost certain, it’s only normal to see some flight away from risk assets,” said Pedro Ricardo Santos, a broker at X-Trade Brokers DM SA in Lisbon. “Earnings season is drawing to a close and a few companies have actually done better than expected — maybe the end of the year won’t be as bad as we thought.”

     Equity strategists project the index can squeeze out a further 5 percent of gain from today’s close to end the year at the 2,150 level, according to the average forecast compiled by Bloomberg. The advance would push the benchmark ahead of its May record and round up a fourth consecutive year of gains.

     With most S&P 500 members having already reported earnings this season, 73 percent beat profit expectations while only 44 percent topped sales projections. Analysts are now predicting a 3.8 percent drop in profits for the third quarter, an improvement on estimates for a 7.2 percent slide at the start of the season.

     All 10 major industries in the S&P 500 dropped today, with commodities shares tumbling more than 2 percent. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped 14 percent to 18.37, its highest level in a month. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX is rebounding after its biggest monthly drop ever in October.

     “Fundamentals are taking a little bit of a back seat to some of the central bank talk and activity,” said Sean Lynch, co-head of global equity strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “We’re starting to see a little bit of cracks in emerging markets and some worries over the strength of the dollar. Certainly I think China is the big weight on commodities, but there’s other factors that are causing this headwind to commodities, like the dollar.”

     Energy companies in the benchmark index retreated 2.4 percent, falling for the sixth time in seven sessions. Oil dropped to the lowest level in more than two months after U.S. crude stockpiles increased for a seventh week, prolonging a global surplus. Exxon Mobil Corp. fell 2.7 percent, while ConocoPhillips and Valero Energy Corp. lost at least 2.4 percent.

     Freeport-McMoRan fell to its lowest since Aug. 26 amid its longest losing streak since that date, as the raw-material group had its worst drop in a month. Copper sank to its cheapest since 2009. Alcoa Inc. slid 3.2 percent to a two-year low, while International Paper Co. decreased 3.9 percent.

     Caterpillar Inc. was the worst performer among Dow components, declining 4.5 percent to fall the most in seven weeks. Canada’s Finning International Inc., the largest dealer of Caterpillar’s heavy machinery, announced plans to close plants and deepen workforce cutbacks amid slumping demand.

     Among other companies moving on corporate news, Advance Auto Parts Inc. shares dropped 15.4 percent, the most in three years, following weaker-than expected third-quarter results, and as the company said Chief Executive Darren Jackson will step down. The auto-parts chain has been under pressure from activist investor Starboard Value since late September.

     Kohl’s Corp. gained 6.1 percent, the most in nine months, after its quarterly profit and sales beat analysts’ estimates. The announcement was a surprise after Macy’s Inc., the largest U.S. department-store company, yesterday missed sales estimates and cut its profit outlook. Kohl’s advance today erases a 5.4 percent drop Wednesday amid the Macy’s fallout.

     Nordstrom Inc. climbed 1.9 percent, after rising as much as 3.5 percent, to recover part of its loss yesterday. Those gains may be short-lived. The shares tumbled 15 percent in late trading as of 4:41 p.m. after third-quarter earnings missed analysts’ estimates, renewing concerns about a slump in the department-store industry.

     Viacom Inc. rose 0.9 percent, despite underwhelming fourth- quarter results, after executives predicted increasing advertising revenue and higher affiliate fees. They pointed out that six of the media company’s top 10 networks are seeing audience growth. Shares earlier rose as much as 4.7 percent.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

“A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh a lot, and realize how blessed you are.” — Unknown

 

As ever,

 

Karen

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz

 

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 this day in 1983, Microsoft introduced Windows.

1925: Actor Richard Burton was born.

On Nov. 10, 1982, the newly finished Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington, D.C.

1871: Stanley finds Livingstone.

November 10, 1872, in the New York Herald, H.M. Stanley describes the most famous meeting of his life the year before, on November 10^th, 1871:

Well, we are but a mile from Ujiji [on lake Tanganyika] now, and it is high time we should let them know a caravan is coming; so “Commence firing” is the word passed along the length of the column, and gladly do they begin.  They have loaded their muskets half full, and they roar like the broadside of a line-of-battle ship.  Down go the ramrods, sending huge charges home to the breech, and volley after volley is fired.   The flags are fluttered; the banner of America is in front, waving joyfully….near; and still the cannon muskets tell the noisy seconds…

  Suddenly a man – a  black man – at my elbow shouts in English, “How do you do, sir?”

  “Hello, who the deuce are you?”

  “I am the servant of Dr. Livingstone,” he says; and before I can ask any more questions he is running like a madman towards the town.

  We have at last entered the town.  There are hundreds of people around me – I might say thousands without exaggeration, it seems to me.  It is a grand triumphal procession.  As we move, they move.  All eyes are drawn towards us.  The expedition at last comes to a halt;  the journey is ended for a time; but I alone have a few more steps to make.

  There is a group of the most respectable Arabs, and as I come nearer I see the white face of an old man among them.  He has a cap with a gold band around it, his dress is a short jacket of red blanket cloth, and his pants – well, I didn’t observe.  I am shaking hands with him.  We raise our hats, and I say:

  “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

  And he says, “Yes.”
 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People rest on the promenade des Anglais in Nice, southeastern France, Tuesday. Lionel Cironneau/AP

A boy stands in between the garlands kept on sale along the streets of Kathmandu during the Tihar festival, also called Diwali, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday. Hindus all over Nepal are celebrating the Tihar festival during which they worship cows, which are considered a maternal figure, and other animals. Also known as the festival of lights, devotees also worship the goddess of wealth Laxmi by illuminating and decorating their homes using garlands, oil lamps, candles and colorful light bulbs. Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

Market Closes for November 10^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17758.21	+27.73   +0.16%
S&P 500	2081.72	+3.14   +0.15%
NASDAQ	5083.246	-12.056   -0.24%
TSX	13411.63	-70.99
		-0.53%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19671.26	+28.52
		+0.15%
HANG SENG	22401.70	-325.07
		-1.43%
SENSEX	25743.26	-378.14
		-1.45%
FTSE 100	6275.28	-19.88
		-0.32%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.708	1.726
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.401	2.423
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3328	2.3527
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1069	3.1177

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75327	0.75277
US $	1.32755	1.32843
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42308	0.70270
US $	1.07196	0.93287

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1087.10	1089.60
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	44.21	43.87

There’s a certain part of the contented majority who love anybody who is worth a billion dollars.  –John Kenneth Galbraith.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slumped a fifth day, extending losses after reaching a month low, amid a resurgence in concern over slowing economic growth in China.

     China’s consumer-price index rose a slower-than-forecast 1.3 percent in October, the latest sign that consumer demand is weakening and the world’s second-biggest economy is slowing. The fresh data comes after an earlier report showed a slump in imports in China on weaker industrial demand for coal, iron and other commodities.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 70.99 points, or 0.5 percent, to 13,411.63 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has lost 8.3 percent this year, trailing only Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     Base metals and coal producer Teck Resources Ltd. dropped 3 percent and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. sank 6.6 percent as zinc traded at a six-year low, leading declines in industrial metals. Raw-materials producers lost 2.1 percent as a group, for the fourth decline in five sessions.

     Canadian equities have lagged most peers, led by declines in natural resource and health-care stocks, as the country’s resource-dominated market has been hampered by a slump in oil prices, slowing overseas growth and the prospect of an interest- rate hike from the Federal Reserve. China is Canada’s second- largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Amaya Inc., the online gambling purveyor, plunged a record 32 percent after cutting its revenue and earnings expectations for the year. The strengthening U.S. dollar, especially against the euro, has significantly crimped consumer purchasing power and curbed revenue, the company said.

     Intertape Polymer Group Inc. jumped 9.2 percent, the most since May. U.S. hedge funds FrontFour Capital Group and Zelman Capital are agitating for change at the company, urging the board to consider ways to unlock value including a possible sale of the Quebec-based packaging company.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. slipped 2.2 percent. The drugmaker said in a conference call Tuesday that the decision to cut ties with pharmacy Philidor Rx Services would meaningfully affect its dermatology business. Valeant will also host an investor day and update financial forecasts before the end of the year. Valeant has lost 68 percent from an Aug. 5 high amid pressure over how it prices its drugs.

US

By Kate Garber

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ending a four-day losing streak, as investors weighed the extent of the autumn rally in equities and the odds of higher interest rates in December.

     Health-care and consumer shares bounced after equities’ steepest decline in six weeks, offsetting a slide in Apple Inc. that weighed on the technology group and a retreat among raw- materials shares amid fresh signs of weakness in China.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,081.72 at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing an earlier drop of as much as 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27.73 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,758.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.2 percent as declines of more than 1.2 percent in Apple and Microsoft Corp. weighed.

     “It feels like a little bit of a breather here,” said Jeff Carbone, who oversees about $1.1 billion as the founder of Cornerstone Financial Partners in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Earnings season is 95 percent through. Now it’s going to be what else can we look for to keep this market moving forward? The key economic data is going to be watching the consumer.”

     The benchmark gauge slid the most since September yesterday, after six straight weeks of gains took it within 1 percent of a record reached in May. The S&P 500 had risen as much as 13 percent from an August low following its first correction in four years. The rally stalled last week after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said a December rate increase was a “live possibility,” and the October jobs report was stronger than expected. Traders now price in a 66 percent chance of a liftoff next month, up from about 50 percent a week ago.

     With the earnings season drawing to an end, economic data will move to the forefront as policy makers assess whether to raise rates next month. Readings on the health of consumers are due later this week, with October retail sales and consumer sentiment both forecast to rise, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. A gauge on wholesale prices is also expected to strengthen.

     Analysts now project profits for S&P 500 companies dropped 3.8 percent in the third quarter, improved from calls for a 7.2 percent decline at the start of the season. Of those index members that have reported, 74 percent beat profit projections, while 56 percent missed sales estimates.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index declined 7.5 percent Tuesday to 15.29. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX jumped 15 percent yesterday, the most since Sept. 28, and is up 1.5 percent this month after falling the most ever in October.

     Among the S&P 500’s 10 main industries, raw-materials and technology were the worst performers, while consumer discretionary, utilities and health-care shares rose the most. Miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. fell 6.3 percent to its lowest in more than a month as copper dropped after weaker-than-expected inflation data in China. Alcoa Inc. lost 3 percent to a more than two-month low.

     D.R. Horton Inc. rose 8.3 percent, the most since April 2014 to lead an S&P gauge of homebuilders to its best gain in nine months. PulteGroup Inc. and Lennar Corp. added more than 3.3 percent.

     Beverage makers led gains among consumer staples companies. Constellation Brands Inc. and Molson Coors Brewing Co. increased more than 1.1 percent. Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. advanced at least 1.4 percent.

     Four Corners Property Trust Inc. climbed 5.9 percent, the second-strongest gain among consumer discretionary shares in the S&P 500. Darden Restaurants Inc. completed the spinoff of its selected real-estate assets, with Four Corners becoming an independent company.

     Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. gained 3.2 percent, the most since July, as it prepares to reopen 43 restaurants in the Pacific Northwest that have been closed for more than a week after an E. coli outbreak sickened dozens of customers.

     Discovery Communications Inc. climbed 3.7 percent. Discovery and Liberty Global Plc will take a combined 6.8 percent stake in Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., deepening the studio’s ties to cable billionaire John Malone. Lions Gate increased 4.1 percent, the most in three months. CBS Corp. and 21st Century Fox Inc. added more than 2 percent.

     Hard-drive makers Seagate Technology Plc and Western Digital Corp. declined at least 4.5 percent, along with Apple’s 3.2 percent slide to pace the retreat among technology companies. Credit Suisse Group AG said in a research report its checks indicate that Apple seems to have lowered component orders by as much as 10 percent, driven by weak demand for iPhone 6s.

     Apple supplier Cirrus Logic Inc. dropped 8.6 percent. Chipmakers Qorvo Inc. and Avago Technologies Ltd. lost more than 3.3 percent, while the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index decreased 1.8 percent.

     Rockwell Automation Inc. fell 3.4 percent, the most in two months, after the industrial equipment and software provider warned of declining earnings and sales in 2016 amid weak industrial market conditions and a stronger dollar.

     Anadarko Petroleum Corp. lost 6.6 percent, the most since January. Anadarko approached Apache Corp. about a combination that would be the largest for an independent U.S. oil and gas producer this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

     Gap Inc. fell 1.4 percent, and earlier as much as much as 6.1 percent, after the retailer said its sales missed estimates for both its Gap and Banana Republic brands and preliminary third-quarter profit also fell short of forecasts. The company will report its full quarterly results on November 19.

     Gap’s disappointing sales didn’t hold back other retailers. Nordstrom Inc., Kohl’s Corp. and Macy’s Inc. each rose at least 1.7 percent, after falling more than 4.7 percent on Monday.  

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Guard your tongue, for it is highly dangerous;

unguarded words can cause terrible distress.

A single bad word can destroy a vast quantity of good.

A wound caused by fire will eventually heal;

but a wound caused by the tongue leaves a scar that never heals.

Valluvar

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.

                                           -Victor Kiam, 1926-2001

 

 

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 Nov. 9, 1989, East Germany lifted restrictions on emigration or travel to the West, and within hours tens of thousands of East and West Berliners swarmed across the infamous Berlin Wall for a boisterous celebration.

Kristallnacht, “Crystal Night’, November 9, 1938: pogrom against Jews in Germany.

On this day in 1989, East Germany opens the Berlin Wall.

The Poem:

      -selected by Natahsa Tretheway, NY Times, 11/8/2015.

My Life
    -by Lynn Emanuel

Like Jonas by the fish was I received by it,
swung and swept in its dark waters,
driven to the deeps by it and beyond many rocks.
Without any touching of its teeth, I tumbled into it
with no more struggle than a mote of dust
entering the door of a cathedral, so muckle were its jaws.
How heel over head was I hurled down
the broad road of its throat, stopped inside
its chest wide as a hall, and like Jonas I stood up
asking where the beast was and finding it nowhere,
there in grease and sorrow I build my bower.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man walks past vineyards around Kappelberg hill near Fellbach and Stuttgart, Germany, Monday. Christoph Schmidt/dpa/AP

An Egyptian policeman walks near the Khufu pyramid in Giza, Egypt, Monday. Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry says a scanning project in the Giza pyramids has identified thermal anomalies, including one in the largest pyramid, built by Cheops, known locally as Khufu. Nariman El-Mofty/AP

Market Closes for November 9^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17730.48	-179.85   -1.00%
S&P 500	2078.58	-20.62   -0.98%
NASDAQ	5095.301	-51.820   -1.01%
TSX	13482.62	-70.68
		-0.52%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19642.74	+377.14
		+1.96%
HANG SENG	22726.77	-140.56
		-0.61%
SENSEX	26121.40	-143.84
		-0.55%
FTSE 100	6295.16	-58.67
		-0.92%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.726	1.715
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.423	2.415
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3527	2.3252
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1177	3.0861

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75277	0.75164
US $	1.32843	1.33042
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42832	0.70012
US $	1.07520	0.93006

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1089.60	1088.90
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	43.87	44.29

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a fourth day, for the lowest close in a month, as financial services companies declined and energy producers slipped with crude prices.

     Weaker demand for coal, iron and other commodities from declining heavy industries led to a slump in imports in China, one of the world’s largest consumers of raw-materials. The nation is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S. The rising prospect for higher American interest rates led to a slump in financial services shares.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 70.68 points, or 0.5 percent, to 13,482.62 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has lost 7.9 percent this year, trailing only Singapore and Greece among developed markets.

     Canadian equities have lagged most peers as the country’s resource-dominated market has been hampered by a slump in oil prices, slowing overseas growth and the prospect of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

     Canadian Pacific Railway Corp. jumped 5.7 percent, the most in two years. The company, the second-biggest railroad in Canada, is exploring a takeover of U.S. carrier Norfolk Southern Corp. according to people familiar with the matter.

     Energy shares and base-metals producers slipped Monday, as nickel fell to the lowest in more than two months and a basket of global commodities tumbled a fourth day. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. retreated 2.7 percent.

     Crude futures in New York slipped below $44 a barrel to the lowest level in two weeks. Oil has slumped more than 40 percent in the past year amid speculation global oversupply will persist. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. dropped at least 1.3 percent.

     Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Canada’s largest alternative asset manager, lost 5.6 percent for the biggest decline in five years, after an Australian newspaper reported Qube Holdings Ltd. will submit a counter-proposal to Brookfield’s earlier bid for Asciano Ltd., an Australian rail and port operator.

     Financial stocks retreated 1.1 percent as a group, reversing a two-day advance. Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia, among the nation’s largest lenders, slipped at least 0.8 percent.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. increased 3.7 percent for a second day of gains, after rebounding from a 2013 low. The drugmaker will host an investor call Tuesday to provide an update on its operations including the transition from its prior relationship with specialty pharmacy Philidor. Valeant has lost 68 percent from an Aug. 5 high amid pressure over how it prices its drugs.

US

By Kate Garber and Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index tumbled the most in more than a month as the possibility that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as December weighed on equities.

     Investors had shrugged off the threat of higher rates on Friday, focusing instead on a robust jobs report that signaled the U.S. economy may be ready to withstand tighter monetary policy. That sentiment reversed Monday in the absence of any additional data and after American equities ended last week near the highest level in three months.

     “People sort-of stewed on it over the weekend that we’re facing a rate hike in December,” said Robert Pavlik, who helps oversee $9.1 billion as chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth. “I don’t think it’s the 25 basis points that’s necessarily leading the market down, but what comes after. How fast and furious do the rate hikes come now that this cheap money environment is coming to an end?”

     The S&P 500 slipped 1 percent to 2,078.58 at 4 p.m. in New York, the most since Sept. 28 and its fourth straight drop. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 179.85 points, or 1 percent, to 17,730.48. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped 15 percent, its biggest increase since September.

     The day’s selloff was broad-based. Multinationals with exposure to a stronger dollar were hit hard, with Caterpillar Inc. sliding 2.6 percent. Macy’s Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. led retailers lower. Mallinckrodt Plc plummeted 17 percent after the drugmaker was mentioned by the stock-commentary site whose scrutiny helped lead to a rout in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.

     Norfolk Southern Corp. and Apache Corp. rallied on merger speculation, while utility shares had the only gains among 10 S&P 500 groups after plunging 3.6 percent Friday.

     The S&P 500 is coming off its sixth straight weekly gain, a streak that pushed it within 1.5 percent of its May record. The S&P 500’s rebound since suffering its first correction in four years has helped restore almost $2 trillion to the market value of U.S. stocks. 

     “I’m sure a few people will want to use this moment to trim some positions — it’s only prudent,” said Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, a strategist at Deutsche Postbank AG in Bonn, Germany. “We have to consider the levels we’ve reached now, given that the S&P 500 is only just slightly off its record.”

     The benchmark equity gauge rose 1 percent last week even as the best monthly employment report of the year pushed odds for an interest-rate hike in 2015 to as high as 70 percent. The surge in hiring spurred speculation that the world’s largest economy is strong enough to withstand higher borrowing costs.

     Global investors continue to adjust to the increased likelihood that America’s benchmark rate will rise this year, a move that would end an unprecedented era of record-low borrowing costs. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee meets in Washington on Dec. 15-16, when it will decide on whether to raise the benchmark federal funds rate for the first time since 2006.

     Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said in remarks today that encouraging U.S. economic data coupled with emerging signs of risk-taking by some investors make it appropriate for the central bank to consider raising rates as soon as next month, while moving gradually thereafter.

     Consumer-discretionary and energy stocks had the biggest declines among 10 groups in the S&P 500. Macy’s and Kohl’s declined more than 5.4 percent after Citigroup Inc. cut its earnings estimates for the companies, saying the industry is suffering from a sales slowdown and inventory glut.

     Priceline Group Inc. dropped 9.6 percent, the most since 2012. The largest U.S. online travel agent gave a fourth-quarter earnings forecast range that trailed analysts’ estimates as it faces competition from Expedia Inc. and Airbnb Inc.

     Energy shares fell 1.5 percent, with Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. losing more than 1.8 percent.

     Mallinckrodt plummeted as much as 26 percent after Citron Research said in a Twitter message that the company has “significantly more downside” than Valeant and is “a far worse offender” of the reimbursement system. The firm is led by short- seller Andrew Left.

     Valeant shares have fallen more than 40 percent since Citron’s report examined the drugmaker’s relationship with specialty pharmacies and questioned whether the company was faking sales through its distribution channel — an allegation Valeant has denied. Valeant rose 4.5 percent today.

     Financial companies slumped 1.2 percent, as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. retreated at least 1.5 percent. The Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index dropped 1.5 percent while an S&P measure of home builders tumbled 1.6 percent. Technology companies also slid as International Business Machines Corp., Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. retreated at least 1.4 percent.

     “I don’t think anyone came into work today figuring that they had to load up on stocks,” Peter Tuz, who helps manage $400 million as president of Chase Investment Counsel Corp. in Charlottesville, Virginia. “With the recovery of the market, there are fewer bargains than there were 6 or 8 weeks ago.”

     Some of the day’s biggest winners were companies tied to acquisition news.

     Norfolk Southern jumped 11 percent, paring a 2.2 percent drop in the Dow Jones Transportation Average, after people familiar with the matter said Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is exploring a takeover of the U.S. carrier in a fresh attempt to consolidate the North American industry.

     Apache jumped 13 percent, its biggest jump since 2008, as people familiar with the matter said the oil and natural gas company has received an unsolicited takeover approach.

     Plum Creek Timber Co. climbed 17 percent as Weyerhaeuser Co. agreed to buy the company for about $8.4 billion to create a real estate investment trust that will be the largest private owner of timberland in the U.S.

     Weight Watchers International Inc. added 3.5 percent after Steven A. Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management reported a new stake in the company. Weight Watchers has more than tripled since announcing a partnership with Oprah Winfrey last month. The shares soared 35 percent Friday as quarterly results topped analysts’ estimates.

     Dean Foods Co. gained 7.3 percent, the most in a year. The largest U.S. dairy processor posted third-quarter profit and forecast earnings for the fourth quarter that both topped analysts’ estimates as it benefits from a decline in raw-milk costs.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!
 

Violence is not merely killing another.

It is violence when we use a sharp word,

when we make a gesture to brush away a person,

when we obey because there is fear.

So violence isn’t merely organized butchery in the name of God,

in the name of society, or country.

Violence is much more subtle, much deeper,

and we are inquiring into the very depths of violence.

Krrishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

                    -Norman Vincent Peale, 1898-1993

 

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:

This week, USA today featured an article with the headline “Evidence of possible alternate universes,” which I found interesting.  Here it is:

Prepare to have your mind blown.

An astrophysicist says he may have found evidence of alternate or parallel universes by looking back in time to just after the Big Bang more than 13 billion years ago.

While mapping the so-called “cosmic microwave background,” which is the light left over from the early universe, scientist Ranga-Ram Chary found what he called a mysterious glow, the International Business Times  reported.

Chary, a researcher at the European Space Agency’s Planck Space Telescope data center at CalTech, said the glow could be due to matter from a neighboring universe “leaking” into ours, according to New Scientist magazine.

“Our universe may simply be a region within an eternally inflating super-region,” scientist Chary wrote in a recent study in the Astrophysical Journal.

“Many other regions beyond our observable universe would exist with each such region governed by a different set of physical parameters than the ones we have measured for our universe,” Chary wrote in the study.

While the findings sound promising and have already gained the attention of other astronomers, as Russia Today (RT) reported, it could be quite complicated to verify, since the Planck telescope provides limited data for further study.

“Unusual claims like evidence for alternate universes require a very high burden of proof,” Chary noted in the study.

On Nov. 6, 1860, former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates for the U.S. presidency.

On this day two years ago, Twitter Inc. priced its IPO at $26 a share. The stock popped in its debut, opening at $45.10, up 73% from its offer price.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A seagull flies past a statue seen in silhouette at sunset in Marseille, France, Friday. Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

A Qantas Boeing 737-800 plane flies through heavy rain as a storm moves towards the city of Sydney, Australia, Friday. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issuing a warning for severe thunderstorms with large hailstones, heavy rainfall and damaging winds. David Gray/Reuters

Market Closes for November 6^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17910.33	+46.90   +0.26%
S&P 500	2099.20	-0.73   -0.03%
NASDAQ	5147.121	+19.383   +0.38%
TSX	13553.30	-5.48
		-0.04%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19265.60	+149.19
		+0.78%
HANG SENG	22867.33	-183.71
		-0.80%
SENSEX	26265.24	-38.96
		-0.15%
FTSE 100	6353.83	-11.07
		-0.17%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.715	1.653
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.415	2.378
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3252	2.2395
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0861	3.0073

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75164	0.75957
US $	1.33042	1.31653
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42877	0.69991
US $	1.07392	0.93117

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1088.90	1106.30
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	44.29	45.88

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks almost erased losses in the final hour of trading as financial services shares rallied after strong jobs data in the U.S. intensified speculation the Federal Reserve will increase rates at its December meeting.

     Equities ended little changed after nearly wiping out a 0.6 percent, as financials rallied on the prospects for higher lending rates. TransCanada Corp. led energy shares lower after the U.S. government rejected the Keystone XL pipeline. U.S., payrolls climbed the most this year, wage growth accelerated and the unemployment rate fell to 5 percent. Canadian employment rose more than economists forecast.

     “We clearly see the Canadian economy is back to expansion mode after a brutal summer. It’s a good sign,” said Barry Schwartz, fund manager at Baskin Wealth Management in Toronto. His firm manages about C$825 million. The Fed raising rates is “probably a done deal,” he said. “It was bound to happen, it’s years in the making.”

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 5.48 points to 13,553.30 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index climbed 1.7 percent in October, the most since April. It was nevertheless the worst performance among 24 developed-nation markets in that time, as a gauge of global equities capped its best month in four years.

     Manulife Financial Corp. climbed 3.7 percent, the most in more than two months, and Sun Life Financial Inc. added 2.7 percent as financial services stocks increased 0.7 percent as a group. Insurers typically carry long-duration investments that benefit in times of higher interest rates.                      

     TransCanada declined 4.3 percent after President Barack Obama ended seven years of debate over the Keystone pipeline by rejecting an infrastructure project that swelled into one of the most contentious environmental issues of his presidency.

     TransCanada has slumped 24 percent this year, amid a 17 percent retreat in the S&P/TSX Energy Index. The proposed cross- border pipeline, which would have carried Canadian oil sands to U.S. refineries near the Gulf of Mexico, soured diplomatic relations between Obama and Canada’s previous prime minister Stephen Harper. The incoming Liberal government led by Justin Trudeau is much less wedded to the project.

     Baskin Wealth, Schwartz’s firm, has been expanding its U.S. positions throughout the year with few options for earnings growth in Canada, he said. Schwartz prefers U.S. health-care companies involved in distribution, including pharmacies CVS Health Corp. and Express Scripts Holding Co., as well as financials and technology firms.

     With the U.S. dollar rising on the latest jobs data, Schwartz is hesitant to add U.S. names Friday, and is instead considering Canadian stocks that have shown recent weakness such as Telus Corp. and Magna International Inc.

     “Some of the names that got hurt yesterday, names like Telus and Magna, have attractive entry points,” he said. “I liked the earnings from TMX Group, and if commodity prices recover this thing is going to be on fire.”

     TMX Group Ltd., owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange, added 4.5 percent after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter revenue. Magna, the largest North American auto-parts supplier, slumped the most since 2011 yesterday on weaker quarterly sales. Telus retreated after declaring it will cut 1,500 jobs to reduce costs.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped 5.6 percent, rebounding from a 2013 low.

US

By Kate Garber and Anna-Louise Jackson

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks erased declines in the final hour of trading as the biggest monthly surge in payrolls this year boosted optimism on the economy, even as the Federal Reserve prepared to raise interest rates.

     Sharp gains in bond yields and the dollar separated the session’s biggest winners and losers in equities. Banks rallied as investors bet rising rates will help boost profits, while utilities in the S&P 500 fell the most since August as the group’s dividend payout becomes less attractive compared to Treasury yields. Energy shares followed oil lower as a stronger currency reduces the appeal of dollar-denominated commodities.

     “People need to prepare for a December rate hike,” said John Canally, chief economic strategist at LPL Financial Corp. in Boston. “I’d expect the probability of a December liftoff to go to the low 90s unless something really bad happens between now and then. There’s no soft spot in the economy, that’s over. Things are tightening all around.”

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 2,099.20 at 4:01 p.m. in New York, after earlier losing 0.8 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 46.90 points to 17,910.33, after erasing a 95-point slide. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. combined to contribute more than 60 points on the Dow. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4 percent as semiconductors rallied on results from Qorvo Inc. and Nvidia Corp.

     Data today showed 271,000 jobs were added in October, exceeding the 185,000 predicted in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Wage growth accelerated and the jobless rate fell to 5 percent, a seven-year low. In the wake of sluggish job gains the prior two months, last month’s advance allays concerns that an abrupt hiring slowdown would hinder the expansion’s progress as economies overseas strive to gain traction.

     One of the Federal Reserve’s preconditions for raising rates is further improvement in the labor market, and the latest report showed diminishing slack as the number of Americans working part-time because of a weak economy fell to the lowest since 2008. Fed officials said in October that they would consider a rate increase at their next gathering, and Chair Janet Yellen this week reinforced the view by saying December was a “live possibility.”                          

     Those comments from Yellen helped put the brakes on a rally that had carried the S&P 500 to within 1 percent of its record. The benchmark has risen as much as 13 percent from an August low, with gains in the past two months paced by a rebound in commodity shares after they led declines during a summer selloff sparked by worries that weakness in China’s economy would spread. The index closed Friday with a sixth consecutive weekly gain, extending its longest such streak this year.

     Traders have shifted their bets on a December rise in rates, now pricing in a 68 percent chance the central bank will move at next month’s meeting, up from 56 percent before the jobs report and as low as 27 percent last month.

     In remarks today prepared in advance of the payrolls report, Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said a stronger labor market and reduced financial market stress are among the factors supporting the case for the Fed to raise rates. Policy makers will have one more monthly employment report to assess before their December meeting.

     “The job gains in October were a blowout,” said Jim McDonald, the chief investment strategist at Chicago-based Northern Trust Corp., which oversees $946 billion. “We took advantage of the weakness of August and September to put money to work in the international markets and in high-yield. We seasonally would expect some strength through the end of the year, but the easy money had been made in the bounce back from the correction.”

     Beyond the jobs data, the U.S. quarterly earnings season is drawing to a close. About 74 percent of S&P 500 companies have beaten earnings estimates, while only 44 percent have topped sales forecasts. Analysts estimate profits dropped 3.8 percent in the third quarter, up from predictions for a 6.1 percent decline two weeks ago.

     “There will also be an earnings drag as rate speculation leads to a stronger dollar, which will weigh on corporate top- line growth,” said Chad Morganlander, a money manager at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in Florham Park, New Jersey, which oversees about $170 billion.                       

     Walt Disney Co. rose as much as 3.3 percent after its earnings topped analyst estimates amid stronger profits from its cable networks and movies. Cable networks surprised investors as a highlight, as they lifted profit by 30 percent.

     Qorvo, a communications chipmaker, surged 23 percent after its profit beat estimates. Nvidia rose 14 percent after its fourth-quarter revenue outlook exceeded analysts’ estimates. Stamps.com Inc. soared 38 percent to its highest since the dot- com bust after boosting its 2015 revenue and profit view. TripAdvisor shares fell 6.9 percent after its third-quarter sales missed expectations.

     Six of the S&P 500’s 10 main industries declined Friday, with utilities falling 3.6 percent, the steepest slide since August. Consumer staples lost 1.1 percent. Banks led financial companies higher while semiconductors bolstered technology shares.                       

     Reynolds American Inc., Philip Morris International Inc. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. — all companies with substantial revenue overseas vulnerable to a stronger dollar — fell at least 2 percent. Coca-Cola Co. lost 0.9 percent, and Campbell Soup Co sank 3.2 percent. The stronger greenback can weigh on American multinational companies’ profits when their overseas earnings are converted back to the U.S. currency.

     Kraft Heinz Co. lost 4.5 percent to lead the retreat among consumer staples. The food giant reported a drop in sales and profit for its first quarter since being created in a merger orchestrated by billionaire Warren Buffett and 3G Capital.

     “Multinational companies are going to continue to have a hard time, so we’re concentrating on companies that have U.S.- centric revenue streams,” said Mark Spellman, a fund manager who helps oversee $4.2 billion at Alpine Funds in Purchase, New York. “We’ll continue to look for financials that will benefit from higher rates.”

     Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase added at least 3 percent, the best performers in the Dow, on optimism for stronger profits. Bank of America Corp. and KeyCorp jumped more than 3 percent. The KBW Bank Index gained 2.7 percent and posted its best week since February. Charles Schwab Corp. rallied 6.2 percent, and E*Trade Financial Corp. advanced 5 percent to a four-month high.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 4.8 percent to 14.33. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX is hovering near its lowest since August after its biggest monthly drop ever in October. About 7.8 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 4 percent above the three-month average.
 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Being human,

I feel profoundly the necessity of putting an end to violence,

and I will make sure to put an end to it in myself.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

                                                  -Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790

 

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