Category: Events

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On August 21^st, 1810, Lady Granville wrote to her sister, Lady Morpeth:

Sandon [home of Lord Granville’s sister, Lady Harrowby] is a very modern place with young plantations but the ground lying very prettily and the woods are all well bestowed.  Of comforts and luxuries I never had an idea before – the rooms are so full of couches, armchairs, flowers, books footstools etc. that one’s difficulty is where to settle in the midst of so much possibility of enjoyment.  The flower garden to which everything opens is beautiful, and a greenhouse with sofas in it . . . the very sight of which would make my grandmother [Lady Spencer] and Miss Trimmer [her governess] faint away.  Lady Harrowby is perfectly kind and amiable, but I do not think her quite well – she is oppressed with her situation [pregnancy] and I do think an eighth Ryder [the family name] must incline one to sing á quoi bon. –from The Book of Days.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Visitors admire a display at the Southport Flower Show in Southport, England. The show, first held in 1924, is held annually for four days in August and is the largest independent flower show in Britain. Andrew Yates/Reuters

People interact with ‘Pixel Wave 2015,’ a projection art installation by France’s Miguel Chevalier and local designers Carolyn Kan and Depression, during the Singapore Night Festival at the Singapore Design Center Friday. ‘Pixel Wave 2015’ features geometric patterns that react to movements and interactions of people. The festival features local and international light installations and performances. Edgar Su/Reuters

Market Closes for August 21^st, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16459.75	-530.94     -3.12%
S&P 500	1974.98	-60.75     -2.98%
NASDAQ	4706.039	-171.448   -3.52%
TSX	13493.13	-243.87
		-1.78%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19435.83	-597.69
		-2.98%
HANG SENG	22409.62	-347.85
		-1.53%
SENSEX	27366.07	-241.75
		-0.88%
FTSE 100	6187.65	-180.24
		-2.83%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.271	1.293
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.011	2.018
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.0452	2.0748
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7346	2.7482

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75880	0.76413
US $	1.31787	1.30868
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50058	0.66641
US $	1.13864	0.87824

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1156.50	1147.70
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	40.24	41.37

Market Commentary:

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one and a lily with the other. –Chinese Proverb.

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slumped a fifth day, closing at the lowest level in almost two years, as global markets plunged with commodities amid growing concern economic growth is slowing.

     Equities tumbled the most since September 2011 this week, after manufacturing data from China slowed to the weakest since the global financial crisis. Energy producers, the worst- performing industry in the Canadian benchmark this year, plunged 8.9 percent this week, trading at a March 2009 low. Crude prices capped an eighth straight week of losses, the longest slump since 1986, and dipped to less than $40 a barrel in New York for the first time since 2009.

     Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s largest lender, tumbled 1.7 percent as financial services companies retreated 2 percent. Canada’s largest banks begin reporting third-quarter earnings Aug. 25.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 263.33 points, or 1.9 percent, to 13,473.67 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, a December 2013 low. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has fallen 5.6 percent this week, the worst drop since September 2011.

     “China and the emerging markets are starting to slow significantly,” said James Thorne, a fund manager at Caldwell Investment Management in Toronto. His firm manages about C$1 billion ($759 million). “It’s on the forefront of everybody’s minds. Canada is viewed as a commodity-based economy and international investors are pulling money out of Canada.”

     The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 3.1 percent into a correction and the S&P 500 fell 3.2 percent in New York, the biggest decline since November 2011.

     The MSCI All-Country World Index of developed and developing markets sank 2.7 percent, the most in almost two years. The Shanghai Composite Index decreased 4.3 percent as global markets retreated. European shares tumbled into a correction while equities in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan entered bear markets.                      

     The preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index for China from Caixin Media and Markit Economics was at 47.1 in August, compared with a median estimate of 48.2 and the final reading of 47.8 the previous month. Numbers less than 50 indicate contraction. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner.

     Energy producers are the worst-performing industry in the S&P/TSX this year pacing declines with a 23 percent drop. Crude has slumped more than 30 percent from this year’s June peak amid concern global growth is slowing.

     Baytex Energy Corp. plunged 10 percent after the company said it will suspend its dividend and cut capital spending plans for 2016.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks a basket of 22 resources from crude to gold, sank 1.6 percent to a 2002 low. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. plunged 7.4 percent as copper retreated.

     Eldorado Gold Corp. plunged 14 percent, the most since January, after the gold producer said it would suspend operations in northern Greece. Eldorado is struggling to develop mines in the face of government operation, describing the Greek ministry of energy as “openly hostile.”

     Goldcorp Inc. rose 0.7 percent as gold capped its biggest weekly gain since January with a 4.2 percent increase. The roiling equity markets has investors seeking a haven in gold, seen as an alternative investment. Gold producers rallied 6.1 percent this week.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — Turbulence in financial markets gathered momentum amid intensifying concern over slowing global growth, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a correction and giving other stock gauges their worse losses since 2011.

     More than $3.3 trillion has been erased from the value of global equities after China’s decision to devalue its currency spurred a wave of selling across emerging markets. The worries over slower economic growth come as a strong dollar and plunge in oil prices take a toll on corporate earnings at the same time the Federal Reserve is contemplating the first boost to interest rates since 2006.

     “For much of this year, the glass was considered half full and now people the last 48 hours are thinking it’s looking more empty,” George Hashbarger, who oversees $224 million as chief executive officer and portfolio manager at Knoxville, Tennessee- based Quintium Advisors LLC, said by phone. “This is more like October than it is buy-the-dip.”

     Volatility surged as Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capped the worst week in three years while Europe entered a correction and stocks from Hong Kong to Indonesia tumbled into bear markets. Junk bond yields rose to the highest since October 2012 and U.S. Treasuries had the largest weekly gain in five months. Oil sank below $40 a barrel for the first time since 2009 and was set for its longest losing streak since 1986.

     The S&P 500 dropped 3.2 percent, the most since November 2011, to below 2,000. The index is down more than 7 percent from a record after sinking below a trading range that has supported it for most of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 500 points, as is down 10 percent from its record high in May.

     Investors are selling the biggest winners of 2015. Companies that have come to be known as the Fab Five — Netflix Inc., Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc. and Apple Inc.–have seen $97 billion in market value erased over two days. Losses have pushed the Nasdaq 100 Index down 7 percent, the biggest two-day decline since 2008. Apple entered a bear market, dropping 20 percent from a February high.

     To Apple and energy shares already snared in a bear market, add semiconductor stocks. Meanwhile, the Dow joins biotechnology, small-caps, media, transportation and commodity companies in a correction.

     The VIX, the benchmark gauge of U.S. equity options, more than doubled during the week for its largest gain ever amid demand for contracts to protect against further losses. It is at the highest level since 2011.

     Before this week, U.S. equities had held their ground throughout 2015. The S&P 500 had stayed within a range roughly tracking its 50-, 100- and 200-day moving averages, boosted by signs the economy is recovering and support from central banks. The benchmark index hadn’t had a decline of more than 5 percent all year.

     The selloff “simply means that all areas of the market are in gear now, and unfortunately it’s on the downside,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Market Makers” with Cory Johnson and Olivia Sterns. “Investors have to be much more careful now with that technical development.”

     The week’s retreat from the riskiest assets picked up speed as data showing a gauge of China manufacturing at the lowest level in more than six years highlighted the challenges facing the nation’s economy.

     The MSCI All-Country World Index tumbled 2.7 percent to the lowest since October. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slid 2.2 percent, with the Malaysian ringgit and South Korean won leading currencies lower. Investors have sought safety in the yen, which strengthened for a third day against the dollar. Gold also gained.

     “This week’s selloff started from the yuan’s devaluation, which generated speculation about the true state of China’s economy,” Hertta Alava, who helps oversee the equivalent of $395 million as the head of emerging markets at FIM Asset Management Ltd. in Helsinki, said by e-mail. “China’s PMI was weak, so it is just adding fuel to this negativity.”

     Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.3 percent, taking declines since an April high beyond 20 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index slumped 4.3 percent, bringing the week’s loss to more than 10 percent and coming within one point of erasing all gains since the government began efforts to prop up the market in July.

     “The whole world’s looking a little bit sad,” said Mark Lister, head of private wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners Ltd. in Wellington, which manages about $7.2 billion. “China still looks really worrying on a number of fronts.”

     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 3.3 percent, as the selloff engulfed all western European markets and industries in the benchmark gauge. The index had its worst weekly loss since 2011, down 6.5 percent. It is down 13 percent from an April high, entering a correction.

     Trading patterns show the declines are poised to slow. The 14-day relative strength index on the MSCI All-Country World Index closed below 30 on Thursday, a level that signals an asset is poised to rebound, according to some technical analysts.

     Amid the selloff, the S&P 500 is trading at 17.5 times earnings. That’s down from 18.9 times a month ago, which was near a five-year high, though still exceeds the five-year historical average of 16.1 times profit.

     U.S. Treasuries had their biggest weekly gain in five months as demand for fixed income soared. Ten-year notes drew support from signs the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates close to zero for longer, and from a decline in oil prices that helped push a gauge of inflation expectations toward its lowest since 2010.

     Futures show that traders see a 34 percent chance the Fed will raise interest rates at its September meeting, down from a 48 percent probability at the end of last week.                        

     Government debt from Australia to Britain also gained this week, driving the average yield on developed-nation bonds to a three-month low.

     Yields on junk bonds rose to an average 7.39 percent, the highest since October 2012, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch bond indexes. The premium investors demand to hold junk bonds over investment-grade debt climbed to the most since December, the indexes show.

     Oil briefly plunged below $40 a barrel in New York for the first time in more than six years on signs the supply glut will be prolonged. The U.S. pumped crude in July at the fastest pace for the month since at least 1920, the American Petroleum Institute reported Thursday. Prices dropped for an eighth week, the longest streak since 1986.

     Copper extended its longest run of weekly declines since January, with aluminum, lead, nickel and zinc also dropping.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

A diamond is lost in the mud;

all are seeking it.

Some go to the East – or to the West,

Wishing to find it.

Is it lost in the river?

Or in the rocks?

Kabir, your servant, appreciates it

for its just value.

He will take it away,

warmly sheltered

in a corner of his heart.

Kabir

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

The longer the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.

                                                          -Ralph W. Sockman, 1889-1970

 

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 in 1920, professional football was born when seven men, including legendary athlete Jim Thorpe, met in Canton, Ohio, to organize a professional league. Out of the meeting came the American Professional Football Conference (APFC), the precursor to the National Football League (NFL).

Changi Airport, Singapore: Butterfly Garden

(© Kevin R. Morris/Corbis )

Singapore’s Changi Airport routinely tops “Best Airports in the World” lists for its incredible amenities: a free 24-hour movie theater, a swimming pool, an enormous indoor children’s slide, massage chair lounges and more. But Changi’s outdoor spaces are perhaps the most innovative of its offerings. Most airports don’t allow travelers outside once they’ve cleared security, which can make long delays or layovers feel even longer. But Changi has several unique outdoor spaces within its terminals, including a rooftop cactus garden, a cheerful sunflower garden and various orchid displays (orchids are Singapore’s national flower). Our favorite is the butterfly garden. Visitors step into a fenced outdoor grotto, where some 1,000 butterflies flit from flower to flower, occasionally landing on a head or shoulder. If you’re lucky, you can even see one emerging from its chrysalis in a special “emergence enclosure.”  -Smithsonian Magazine, 8/20/2015

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Artworks, sculptures, and performers are seen at ‘Dismaland,’ a theme park-styled art installation by British artist Banksy at Weston-Super-Mare in southwest England Thursday. Toby Melville/Reuters

Mechanics with the Ferrari Formula One team push the car of driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany in the pit lane ahead of this weekend’s Belgian F1 Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, Thursday. Yves Herman/Reuters

Market Closes for August 20^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16990.82	-357.91   -2.06%
S&P 500	2040.85	-38.76   -1.86%
NASDAQ	4877.488	-141.563   -2.82%
TSX	13761.94	-274.69
		-1.96%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20033.52	-189.11
		-0.94%
HANG SENG	22757.47	-410.38
		-1.77%
SENSEX	27607.82	-323.82
		-1.16%
FTSE 100	6367.89	-35.56
		-0.56%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.293	1.316
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.018	2.050
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.0748	2.1239
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7482	2.8099

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76413	0.76237
US $	1.30868	1.31170
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.47078	0.67991
US $	1.12386	0.88979

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1147.70	1126.15
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	41.37	40.80

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks joined a global selloff in equities, falling to the lowest since December as the rout in emerging markets spread.

     The benchmark equity gauge slumped a fourth day, as equities around the world tumbled on intensifying concern that global growth is slowing. Canadian energy producers decreased 2.7 percent, extending a 2009 low. Barrick Gold Corp. jumped as gold rallied to the highest in more than a month as investors sought safety.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 299.63 points, or 2.1 percent, to 13,737 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the lowest level since Dec. 15. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has fallen 6.1 percent this year.

     The MSCI All-Country World Index of developing and developed markets declined a third session to a January low.

     Selling in emerging-market currencies intensified after Kazakhstan switched to a free float for the tenge, triggering a 23 percent slide. It’s the latest sign emerging nations will stop defending their currencies after China devalued the yuan, roiling markets and highlighting risks in emerging markets.

     Commodities producers are the worst-performing industries in the S&P/TSX this year with energy producers pacing declines with an 22 percent drop. Crude has slumped more than 30 percent from this year’s June peak and metals from copper to gold have declined amid concern global growth is slowing.

     Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. tumbled 3.5 percent and Canadian National Railway Co. retreated 2.7 percent as industrials stocks slumped the most in the S&P/TSX. North American commodity carloads fell 5.8 percent in the week ended Aug. 15, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report.

     Bank of Nova Scotia declined 2.2 percent and Royal Bank of Canada lost 1.2 percent. The nation’s largest lenders begin reporting third-quarter earnings next week.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. sank 6.7 percent after agreeing to buy female libido-drug developer Sprout Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $1 billion. Sprout received approval to sell the pill this week from U.S. regulators

US

By Callie Bost and Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index tumbled the most since February 2014, sending it below a trading range that has supported it for most of the year amid intensifying concern that global growth is slowing.

     The S&P 500 slipped out of the 70-point trading range it has been stuck in since March, falling below 2,040 to as low as 2,035.73. The gauge erased its gain for the year and is now 4.5 percent below its May record. The benchmark slid through its average price for the past 200 days for the fourth time this month, failing to rise back above it by the close for the first time since July 9.

     “Until today we’ve had nothing to break us out of the bottom or top end of the trading range,” Frank Ingarra, head trader at Greenwich, Connecticut-based NorthCoast Asset Management LLC, said by phone. “The question is if this is the catalyst that will break us to the downside or if we’ll go back into the range.”

     Other major indexes also tumbled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 358.04 points, or 2.1 percent, to 16,990.69, the lowest level since October. The Nasdaq 100 Index retreated 2.8 percent, with only four members advancing. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose for a fourth day, heading for its biggest weekly gain of 2015.

     Netflix Inc. lost 7.8 percent as investors targeted the biggest winners of the year. Media stocks entered a correction as Walt Disney Co. tumbled 6 percent amid an analyst downgrade. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index also entered a correction, falling more than 10 percent from a record set a month ago. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slid into a bear market, plunging more than 20 percent from a June peak.                   
     U.S. equities had held their ground throughout 2015, weathering turmoil from Greece and headwinds including a strong dollar that threatened multinationals’ earnings and a more than 60 percent drop in oil prices.

     The S&P 500 stuck within a range roughly tracking its 50-, 100- and 200-day moving averages, boosted by signs the economy is recovering and support from central banks. The S&P 500 hasn’t had a decline of more than 5 percent all year, and hasn’t dropped more than 10 percent since 2011.

     The index today plunged below the 200-day moving average as the rout in emerging markets intensified, with Kazakhstan becoming the latest country to stop defending its currency, as developing nations struggle to overcome plunging prices for commodity exports and China’s shock devaluation.

     Currency weakness and a slowdown in Chinese growth prompted Citigroup to cut its 2016 global growth forecast to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent, its third consecutive downgrade, while holding its 2015 estimate at 2.7 percent.

     “Right now there are so many more concerns than hopes,” said Larry Peruzzi, director of international trading at Cabrera Capital Markets LLC in Boston. “There are global growth concerns, Fed minutes created some uncertainty about rates, and also playing a part is oil poised to dip below $40.”

     Slower growth may cause the Fed to delay its first interest rate increase since 2006. Minutes of the central bank’s latest meeting, released yesterday, showed officials are concerned about stubbornly low inflation even as the job market improves. Traders are now pricing in a 34 percent probability of a rate move at the September meeting, down from 50 percent before the release of the minutes.

     Led by a 7.8 percent plunge in Netflix, companies that have come to be known as the Fab Five saw $49 billion in market value erased Thursday, the most since Jan. 2013. Losses in Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc. and Apple Inc. pushed the Nasdaq 100 down the most since April 2014.

     “You’re finally starting to see the untouchable stocks — some of the biggest weighting of the market — get touched,”  said Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at MKM Holdings LLC. “Eventually the market needed to correct and for that to happen, the larger-cap stocks needed to get hit. We’re finally seeing that happen.”

     The VIX jumped 26 percent to 19.14. The volatility gauge has rallied 49 percent over four days, heading for its biggest weekly advance since December.

     All 10 major groups in the S&P 500 retreated. Financial companies dropped 2.1 percent, and technology and consumer- discretionary shares slid more than 2.4 percent.

     Disney fell 6 percent to the lowest since February after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. downgraded the entertainment company to market perform from outperform.

     Eli Lilly & Co. rallied 4.3 percent. A diabetes drug sold by Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH lowered the risk of heart attacks, stroke and death in a large trial of adults with type 2 diabetes, compared with the standard of care alone. The results could give the companies an advantage in a market crowded with diabetes treatments. Merck & Co. slid 4.5 percent.

     “We have been conditioned to buying on the dip,” said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist for Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential Financial Inc., which oversees more than $1 trillion. “What’s happening is that investors want that dip deeper. It’s no longer a knee-jerk reaction to buy on the dip because the Fed will underpin the market. Investors are being much more cautious and not as sure that the Fed will be there.”

 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Your way is very good for you, but not for me.

My way is good for me, but not for you.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked.

                       -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., 1809-1894

 

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 1964, The Beatles kicked off their first American tour at San Francisco’s Cow Palace.

1871: Orville Wright, aviator, was born.
1946: Bill Clinton, 42^nd president was born.

The saying, “Getting there is half the fun” became obsolete with the advent of commercial airlines. –Henry Tillman.

Numbers:
30
The number of text messages sent or received by the average US teen on a typical day. (Pew Research Ctr.)
25
Average monthly disposable income (in US dollars) in Cuba, after taxes.  More than 2,000 Cubans have registered their homes for short-term tourist stays through the online service Airbnb, charging multiples of that amount.
17000
Fewer children die each day than in 1990.  In 2013, the mortality rate for children under 5 years of age in all developing countries was cut in half (from 99 deaths per 1,000 births in 1990).  Still, current trends suggest developing countries will short of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing under-5 mortality by two-thirds by the end of 2015. (World Bank)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Stad Amsterdam clipper ship sails during the Sail-In Parade Wednesday marking the beginning of Sail Amsterdam 2015, a nautical festival held every five years in the Netherlands. Toussaint Kluiters/United Photos/Reuters

Children sign their name and draw on a giant board during the Vacation for Everyone event at the Eiffel Tower in Paris Wednesday. The French charity Secours Populaire brought children from dozens of different countries, including those living through war, poverty or natural disasters, to join French kids for a day of summer fun, allowing even those with limited means to take a vacation at the height of the French holiday season. Francois Mori/AP

Market Closes for August 19^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17348.86	-162.48   -0.93%
S&P 500	2084.89	-12.03   -0.57%
NASDAQ	5019.051	-40.296   -0.80%
TSX	14039.74	-154.13
		-1.09%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20222.63	-331.84
		-1.61%
HANG SENG	23167.85	-307.12
		-1.31%
SENSEX	27931.64	+100.10
		+0.36%
FTSE 100	6403.45	-122.84
		-1.88%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.316	1.399
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.050	2.100
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1239	2.1943
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8099	2.8602

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76237	0.76571
US $	1.31170	1.30598
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45876	0.68551
US $	1.11211	0.89919

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1126.15	1111.45
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	40.80	42.62

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — The rout in Canadian energy producers worsened amid concern the global supply glut will persist, sending the nation’s benchmark stock index to a third day of losses.

     Energy stocks tumbled to an April 2009 low and a seventh day of losses as an unexpected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles sent oil prices deeper into a bear market. West Texas Intermediate in New York tumbled 4.3 percent to the lowest level in more than six years.

     Stocks also fell amid increasing anxiety over deteriorating overseas markets. The selloff gripping emerging markets isn’t letting up as stocks drop to four-year lows and countries including Vietnam and Kazakhstan weaken their currencies to adjust to the fallout from China’s devaluation.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 157.24 points, or 1.1 percent, to 14,036.63 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest decline since July 27. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has fallen 4.1 percent this year.

     Crescent Point Energy Corp. fell 6.7 percent and Baytex Energy Corp. sank 17 percent as energy stocks retreated 3.5 percent as a group, the most since January. Oil plunged as the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude supplies rose 2.62 million barrels last week. An 820,000 barrel stockpile decline was projected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

     Commodities producers are the worst-performing industries in the S&P/TSX this year with energy producers pacing declines with an 18 percent drop. Crude has slumped more than 30 percent from this year’s June peak and metals from copper to gold have declined amid concern global growth is slowing.

     Bombardier Inc. lost 2.5 percent, extending a 1991 low. The struggling aerospace manufacturer has slumped for five sessions and is the second-worst performing stock in the S&P/TSX this year with a 71 percent slide.

US

By Callie Bost and Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — A midafternoon rally in U.S. stocks faded as encouragement from Federal Reserve minutes proved fleeting and investors refocused on China and the global economy.

     Stocks briefly trimmed losses as Fed minutes showed policy makers judged conditions for higher rates haven’t been met yet. While that reduced speculation the central bank will raise rates at its next gathering, China’s shock devaluation continued to roil emerging-market assets and threatened to slow global growth amid a rout in commodities.

     “No matter what you’re going to get a knee-jerk reaction,” Steve Bombardiere, an equity trader at Conifer Securities LLC in New York, said by phone. “Trading is so thin it’s easy to push things around but there is some nervousness now with commodities getting weaker and China seeming like it’s losing a little control.”

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.8 percent to 2,079.61 at 4 p.m. in New York, hovering above its average price for the past 200 days. The gauge nearly erased all of its losses after the minutes were released, before it resumed a slide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 162.61 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,348.73.

     Caterpillar Inc. and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. paced declines as raw-material and industrial shares slumped more than 1 percent as a group. Energy shares tumbled the most since January as an unexpected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles sent oil prices deeper into a bear market.

     Investor anxiety over deteriorating overseas markets is returning to American equities after a week of relative calm. The selloff gripping emerging markets isn’t letting up as stocks drop to four-year lows and countries including Vietnam and Kazakhstan weaken their currencies to adjust to the fallout from China’s devaluation. Meanwhile, oil has tumbled more than 30 percent since this year’s peak amid signs that producers are maintaining output despite surpluses.

     U.S. stocks slumped with global equities, as the MSCI All- Country World Index dropped 0.9 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index tumbled 1.8 percent. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, known as the VIX, rose 11 percent to 15.25 for its third day of gains.

     Concerns about global growth are increasing as the Fed considers the timing of its first interest rate increase since 2006. Officials said last month that while conditions for raising interest rates were approaching, they saw more room for labor market healing and need more confidence that inflation is moving toward their goal, according to Fed minutes released Wednesday.

     “Almost all voters needed more evidence on inflation,” said Anthony Valeri, a market strategist with LPL Financial Corp. in San Diego. “Since the meeting, inflation expectations have declined, the dollar has increased further and China has devalued its currency. All of those would argue inflation is less of a risk now than it was at the time of the meeting. That would argue against a Fed rate hike.”

     The Fed gathering preceded China’s surprise devaluation on Aug. 11 that prompted some investors to scale back bets on a rate increase in September. Those odds were reduced further on Wednesday, with traders pricing in a 36 percent probability of a rate move next month.

     Data earlier in the day showed the cost of living in the U.S. rose in July at the slowest pace in three months, casting doubt on how quickly inflation will return toward the Fed’s goal.

     Oil’s plunge will probably hold down inflation in the coming months. When combined with a stronger dollar and slower growth overseas, the energy slump will make the Fed’s 2 percent inflation target even more elusive.                         

     The benchmark measure is stuck in the tightest trading range since 1927. Some momentum trades that worked well for investors earlier this year are showing signs of unraveling. A Citigroup Inc. index that tracks U.S. momentum stocks like Apple Inc. and Netflix Inc. fell last week.

     Despite the gloom, some fund managers aren’t shying away from U.S. stocks, citing confidence in the economy and the American consumer. The S&P 500 is still up 1 percent for 2015, and is less than 2.5 percent away from a record reached in May.

     Eight of 10 major groups in the S&P 500 dropped on Wednesday. Energy shares slid 2.8 percent as data showed U.S. crude inventories rose 2.62 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Analysts projected a 820,000 barrel decline in stockpiles.

     Target Corp. rose 0.7 percent, paring an earlier rally of 5.4 percent. While second-quarter earnings beat estimates, the retailer said on a conference call that it’s having difficulties with items being out of stock.

     As the earnings season winds down, about 74 percent of the S&P 500 members that have reported so far beat profit estimates, while 48 percent topped sales projections.

     Yum! Brands Inc. rose 2.2 percent after saying Mickey Pant will succeed Sam Su as chief executive officer of its China unit.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Truth resides in the heart of every man.

And it is there that he must seek it, in order to be guided by it so that,

at the least, it will appear to him.

But we do not have the right to force others to see the Truth in our way.

Mahatma Gandhi

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Procrastination is the thief of time.

         -Edward Young, 1683-1765

 

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

Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

In case you missed it, the following article appeared in The New York Times last Sunday, August 16^th, 2015:

The Closing of the Canadian Mind

  The prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has called an election for Oct. 19, but he doesn’t want anyone to talk about it.

  He has chosen not to participate in the traditional series of debates on national television, confronting his opponents in quieter, less public venues, like the scholarly Munk Debates and CPAC, Canada’s equivalent of CSPAN. His own campaign events were subject to gag orders until a public outcry forced him to rescind the forced silence of his supporters.

  Mr. Harper’s campaign for re-election has so far been utterly consistent with the personality trait that has defined his tenure as prime minister: his peculiar hatred for sharing information.

  Americans have traditionally looked to Canada as a liberal haven, with gun control, universal health care and good public education.

  But the nine and half years of Mr. Harper’s tenure have seen the slow-motion erosion of that reputation for open, responsible government. His stance has been a know-nothing conservatism, applied broadly and effectively. He has consistently limited the capacity of the public to understand what its government is doing, cloaking himself and his Conservative Party in an entitled secrecy, and the country in ignorance.

  His relationship to the press is one of outright hostility. At his notoriously brief news conferences, his handlers vet every journalist, picking and choosing who can ask questions. In the usual give-and-take between press and politicians, the hurly-burly of any healthy democracy, he has simply removed the give.

  Mr. Harper’s war against science has been even more damaging to the capacity of Canadians to know what their government is doing. The prime minister’s base of support is Alberta, a western province financially dependent on the oil industry, and he has been dedicated to protecting petrochemical companies from having their feelings hurt by any inconvenient research.

  In 2012, he tried to defund government research centers in the High Arctic, and placed Canadian environmental scientists under gag orders. That year, National Research Council members were barred from discussing their work on snowfall with the media. Scientists for the governmental agency Environment Canada, under threat of losing their jobs, have been banned from discussing their research without political approval. Mentions of federal climate change research in the Canadian press have dropped 80 percent. The union that represents federal scientists and other professionals has, for the first time in its history, abandoned neutrality to campaign against Mr. Harper.

  His active promotion of ignorance extends into the functions of government itself. Most shockingly, he ended the mandatory long-form census, a decision protested by nearly 500 organizations in Canada, including the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Catholic Council of Bishops. In the age of information, he has stripped Canada of its capacity to gather information about itself. The Harper years have seen a subtle darkening of Canadian life.

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  The darkness has resulted, organically, in one of the most scandal-plagued administrations in Canadian history. Mr. Harper’s tenure coincided with the scandal of Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto who admitted to smoking crack while in office and whose secret life came to light only when Gawker, an American website, broke the story. In a famous video at a Ford family barbecue, Mr. Harper praised the Fords as a “Conservative political dynasty.”

  Mr. Harper’s appointments to the Senate — which in Canada is a mercifully impotent body employed strictly for political payoffs — have proved greedier than the norm. Mr. Harper’s chief of staff was forced out for paying off a senator who fudged his expenses. The Mounties have pressed criminal charges.

  After the 2011 election, a Conservative staffer, Michael Sona, was convicted of using robocalls to send voters to the wrong polling places in Guelph, Ontario. In the words of the judge, he was guilty of “callous and blatant disregard for the right of people to vote.” In advance of this election, instead of such petty ploys, the Canadian Conservatives have passed the Fair Elections Act, a law with a classically Orwellian title, which not only needlessly tightens the requirements for voting but also has restricted the chief executive of Elections Canada from promoting the act of voting. Mr. Harper seems to think that his job is to prevent democracy.

  But the worst of the Harper years is that all this secrecy and informational control have been at the service of no larger vision for the country. The policies that he has undertaken have been negligible — more irritating distractions than substantial changes. He is “tough on crime,” and so he has built more prisons at great expense at the exact moment when even American conservatives have realized that over-incarceration causes more problems than it solves. Then there is a new law that allows the government to revoke citizenship for dual citizens convicted of terrorism or high treason — effectively creating levels of Canadianness and problems where none existed.

  For a man who insists on such intense control, the prime minister has not managed to control much that matters. The argument for all this secrecy was a technocratic impulse — he imagined Canada as a kind of Singapore, only more polite and rule abiding.

  The major foreign policy goal of his tenure was the Keystone Pipeline, which Mr. Harper ultimately failed to deliver. The Canadian dollar has returned to the low levels that once earned it the title of the northern peso. Despite being left in a luxurious position of strength after the global recession, he coasted on what he knew: oil. In the run-up to the election, the Bank of Canada has announced that Canada just had two straight quarters of contraction — the technical definition of a recession. He has been a poor manager by any metric.

  The early polls show Mr. Harper trailing, but he’s beaten bad polls before. He has been prime minister for nearly a decade for a reason: He promised a steady and quiet life, undisturbed by painful facts. The Harper years have not been terrible; they’ve just been bland and purposeless. Mr. Harper represents the politics of willful ignorance. It has its attractions.

  Whether or not he loses, he will leave Canada more ignorant than he found it. The real question for the coming election is a simple but grand one: Do Canadians like their country like that?

                                      -by Stephen Marche, A novelist and a columnist at Esquire Magazine who lives in Toronto.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Dancers from the ‘Legend Lin Dance Theatre’ perform the artistic director and choreographer Li-chen Lin’s classic works ‘Hymne aux Fleurs qui Passent, Anthem to the Fading Flowers’ during a rehearsal at the National Theater Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday. The piece pays tribute to the cycle of the year and the complementary principles of Yin and Yang whose eternal struggle provides the driving force behind the changing of the seasons. Chiang Ying-ying/AP 

Ants carry a leaf with a slogan reading ‘Forest = Future’ at the zoo in Cologne, Germany, Tuesday. Some of the zoo’s 500,000 leaf-cutting ants carry laser-cut leaves with slogans during a campaign to protect the Amazon rain forest organized by the German branch of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Cologne Zoo. Ina Fassbender/Reuters

Market Closes for August 18^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17511.34	-33.84   -0.19%
S&P 500	2096.13	-6.31   -0.30%
NASDAQ	5059.348	-32.352   -0.64%
TSX	14196.04	-55.49
		-0.39%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20554.47	-65.79
		-0.32%
HANG SENG	23474.97	-339.68
		-1.43%
SENSEX	27831.54	-46.73
		-0.17%
FTSE 100	6526.29	-24.01
		-0.37%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.399	1.372
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.100	2.078
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1943	2.1678
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8602	2.8176

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76571	0.76429
US $	1.30598	1.30840
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44028	0.69431
US $	1.10286	0.90673

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1111.45	1118.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	42.62	41.87

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — The deepening rout in commodities from copper to silver sent Canadian stocks to a three-week low.

     The miners and energy producers that make up about one- third of Canada’s benchmark stock index led losses as metals prices plunged to levels last seen in 2009 amid signs China’s economy is weakening further. China is the world’s biggest consumer of commodities and Canada’s second-largest trading partner.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 57.66 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,193.87 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the lowest level since July 28. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has fallen 3 percent this year.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, a basket of 22 raw materials including crude and gold, tumbled 0.6 percent for a sixth straight decline. The gauge is trading at a 2002 low and has slumped 14 percent this year.

     Materials producers sank 1.7 percent, as Teck Resources Ltd., the biggest diversified miner in Canada, dropped 8 percent and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. sank 9.7 percent.

     Commodities producers are the worst-performing industries in the S&P/TSX this year as crude has slumped more than 30 percent from this year’s June peak into a bear market and metals from copper to gold have declined amid concern global growth is slowing.

     Commodities selling resumed today after shares in Shanghai sank 6.2 percent, the most in three weeks, as investors lowered expectations for further monetary stimulus. China is growing more slowly than official data suggests and below potential, a Bloomberg survey indicates.

     Bombardier Inc. slumped 6.2 percent for a fourth day of losses, extending a 1993 low. The stock has plunged 71 percent this year and is the second-worst performing stock in the S&P/TSX ahead of Trican Well Service Ltd.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell as concern over slowing growth in China and other developing nations amid a deepening commodities selloff overshadowed improvements in America’s housing market.

     Freeport McMoRan Inc. dropped 3.1 percent as copper prices tumbled. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 3.4 percent after cutting its annual earnings forecast, while Home Depot Inc. added 2.6 percent after boosting its outlook. Homebuilders extended yesterday’s rally, with Lennar Corp. and Toll Brothers Inc. pacing gains.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.3 percent to 2,096.92 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 33.84 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,511.34. About 5.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 16 percent below the three-month average.

     “We’re seeing China dominating headlines and concern the consumer is not all in right now,” said Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates Inc. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “Until this economic environment and earnings stabilize, we’re going to continue to see the back-and-forth in stocks.”

     Copper led a slide in commodities on speculation the global fuel glut will persist and China’s economy will face further headwinds. The declines come a week after China’s first major currency devaluation since 1994 surprised global investors and fueled concern authorities are struggling to combat a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.                        

     Concern over the impact on global growth comes as the Federal Reserve is signaling it will raise interest rates this year. The central bank releases minutes from its July meeting on Wednesday, with market expectations of a September rate hike falling to about 48 percent from about 50 percent last week.

     The S&P 500 continues to trade in the tightest range in nine decades, and is hovering around its average price for the past 100 days. The index is about 1.6 percent below its all-time high reached May 21.

     “You can’t get any definitive traction in the market one way or another,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist in Philadelphia at Janney Capital Management LLC, which oversees about $68 billion. “You don’t feel the impetus to invest money because it looks like the market will run away from you, but at the same time it doesn’t cause enough selling pressure because investors feel economic strength is decent and profit growth is OK.”

     The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent on Monday as data showing strong confidence among U.S. homebuilders helped reverse earlier losses spurred by weak manufacturing in the New York region.                        

     Futures pared losses early today after data showed new-home construction in the U.S. climbed in July to the highest level in almost eight years. A drop in permits, a proxy for future construction, signals additional gains will take time to develop.

     Homebuilder stocks in the S&P 500 added 2.1 percent, posting their best two-day rally since January. Lennar and Toll Brothers surged more than 2.7 percent.

     Up 19 percent in 2015 to the highest level since 2006, the S&P Supercomposite Homebuilding Index has climbed in seven of the last eight days. The group’s 13 members rose yesterday as the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo said its builder sentiment gauge advanced to the highest since November 2005.

     Home Depot climbed 2.6 percent to a record. The world’s largest home-improvement retailer is benefiting from 40 straight months of rising U.S. housing prices, which make homeowners more confident about investing in their dwellings. Americans also may be betting on future gains, since home prices still haven’t returned to their 2006 peak.

     Wal-Mart dropped the most since May. Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon is coping with a strong dollar overseas, which has cut into revenue. He’s also raised wages in the U.S., aiming to retain more employees and improve customer service.

     About three-quarters of S&P 500 members that have reported so far this earnings season beat profit estimates, while almost half topped sales projections. Analysts expect a 2.1 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, according to an August 14 Bloomberg survey.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 5.9 percent to 13.79 for its second day of gains.

     Eight of 10 main S&P 500 industries declined, with technology and raw-materials shares dropping more than 0.5 percent.

     Semiconductor stocks slid 1.9 percent as Micron Technology Inc. slumped 4.9 percent, SanDisk Corp. lost 2.2 percent and Skyworks Solutions Inc. tumbled 5.8 percent. Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Simon Woo wrote in a note today that he is cautious on the memory chip sector given high capital expenditure targets.

     Energy shares pared a steeper loss of as much as 0.9 percent after oil rebounded on speculation that a government report will show that U.S. crude inventories declined for a fourth week.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To go from opinion to perception,

from imagination to fact, from illusion to reality,

from something that is not there,

to something that is;

that is the way forward.

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

One can acquire everything in solitude except character.

                                               -Stendhal, 1783-1842

 

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:

So passes Summer, still without one brief
Respite from labour, simply to enjoy;
Never that empty moment of relief
When every task is done, no urgent ploy.
Martha not Mary bustles to her chares
Living, not saying, her creative prayers…

       -Vita Sackville- West

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Supporters look at jockey Jonathan Bartoletti (c.) and his horse, Bened of the Lupa (Wolf), during a blessing ceremony in a church before the Palio race in Siena, Italy, Monday. Every year on July 2 and August 16, almost without fail since the mid-1600s, 10 riders compete bareback around Siena’s shell-shaped central square in a bid to win the Palio, a silk banner depicting the Madonna and child. The race was postponed to Aug. 17 due to rain. Fabio Muzzi/Reuters

Stevie Wonder performs a surprise, free, 5-song concert outside the D.C. Armory in Washington Monday. Wonder also planned free pop-up concerts later in Philadelphia and New York. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

A lobsterman motors through a channel as he leaves Cape Porpoise Harbor at sunrise Monday in Kennebunkport, Maine. Robert F. Bukaty/AP

Market Closes for August 17^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17545.18	+67.78   +0.39%
S&P 500	2102.44	+10.90   +0.52%
NASDAQ	5091.699	+43.464   +0.86%
TSX	14251.53	-26.35
		-0.18%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20620.26	+100.81
		+0.49%
HANG SENG	23814.65	-176.38
		-0.74%
SENSEX	27878.27	-189.04
		-0.67%
FTSE 100	6550.30	-0.44
		-0.01%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.372	1.391
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.078	2.086
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1678	2.1942
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8176	2.8392

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76429	0.76358
US $	1.30840	1.30962
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44956	0.68987
US $	1.10788	0.90262

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1118.80	1118.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	41.87	42.68

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks resumed their slide, falling for the fourth time in five sessions, as crude prices traded at the lowest in more than six years and financial shares slumped.

     Energy producers paced a decline in equities as crude futures dropped 1.5 percent in New York amid an increase in U.S. drilling and the prospect OPEC production may rise to a record after sanctions on Iran are lifted. Concerns grew that demand for oil may slip as manufacturing in New York unexpectedly shrank and Japan’s economy contracted last quarter.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 26.35 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,251.53 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, paring a loss of as much as 0.7 percent in the final half hour of trading. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has fallen 2.6 percent this year.

     Commodities producers are the worst-performing industries in the S&P/TSX this year as crude has slumped more than 30 percent from this year’s June peak into a bear market and metals from copper to gold have declined amid concern global growth is slowing. Energy and raw-materials account for about 30 percent of the benchmark equity gauge.

     Trican Well Service Ltd. plunged 11 percent, extending a 2000 low, after plunging a record 32 percent Aug. 14. The company warned there’s a risk it won’t emerge from the oil slump. The stock has slumped 78 percent this year, the worst- performing stock in the S&P/TSX.

     Trican forecasts breaching a covenant with lenders by the end of September that may trigger its debt to become due on demand.

     Financial shares dropped 0.5 percent. Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal retreated at least 0.7 percent. The nation’s largest lenders are scheduled to report third-quarter earnings beginning Aug. 25.

US

By Callie Bost and Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, following last week’s gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, with homebuilders pacing the advance amid light volume before further clues from the Federal Reserve on the path for interest rates.

     The S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to 2,102.44 at 4 p.m. in New York, climbing above its average price for the past 100 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 67.78 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,545.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.9 percent. About 5.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 15 percent below the three-month average.

     “We kind of felt the tide turning last week on Wednesday’s reversal with managers getting long, not short,” said Rick Fier, director of equity trading at Conifer Securities LLC in New York. “Traders are positioned to the upside.”

     The S&P 500 advanced 0.7 percent last week, continuing to trade in the tightest range in nine decades. The benchmark gauge briefly erased its gain for the year on Aug. 12 amid China’s currency devaluation, coming within 10 points of the low end of the trading range before staging the biggest intraday turnaround in three years.

     U.S. stocks have shown resiliency characteristic of the 6 1/2-year bull market even as China’s move touched off financial turmoil that ravaged emerging-market currencies and deepened a rout in commodities from oil to copper.

     As concerns over China have eased, investors are refocusing attention on the strength of the U.S. economy and its implications for Fed interest-rate policy.                         

     Equities fell early Monday as a report showed manufacturing in the New York region slumped at the fastest pace since the depths of the last recession. Stocks reversed losses as separate data showed confidence among U.S. homebuilders climbed in August to the highest level in almost a decade, indicating the residential real-estate market is making strides.

     “It’s a quiet Monday and the market is fairly easy to move around right now,” said Michael Antonelli, an institutional equity sales trader and managing director at Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. “We’re in this tug of war where we’ve reached a stalemate and we’re not going to break out until we see something from the Fed.”

     The Fed releases minutes from its July meeting on Aug. 19. Traders have raised their expectations for a September rate increase, with the probability rising to 46 percent from 40 percent Tuesday, according to futures trading data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index increased 1.5 percent to 13.02, paring an earlier gain of 13 percent. The gauge known as the VIX slid 4.2 percent last week.                      

     Nine of 10 major groups in the S&P 500 advanced, with health-care and consumer-discretionary companies climbing the most. Energy shares had the only loss as a group as oil prices slid 1.5 percent. Chevron Corp. tumbled 2 percent.

     Homebuilder stocks in the S&P 500 climbed 2.1 percent as TopBuild Corp. and KB Home gained more than 3.1 percent. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment gauge rose to 61, the highest since November 2005, from 60 in the prior two months. Readings greater than 50 mean more respondents report good market conditions.

     Airlines also rallied, with the Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index reaching the highest level since May. Southwest Airlines Co. jumped 2.8 percent while American Airlines Group Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. increased more than 1.8 percent.

     Tesla Motors Inc. climbed 4.9 percent. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas boosted his price target on Tesla to $465, 91 percent higher than its close Friday, citing potential rewards in shifting driving from humans to robots and sharing cars.

     Zulily Inc. soared 49 percent after Liberty Interactive Corp., owner of the QVC home-shopping service, agreed to buy the online retailer for $2.4 billion. Zulily, which operates daily flash sales of items ranging from maternity clothes to bibs and toys, is bringing a younger clientele and expertise in personalizing offers to the QVC network.

     Estee Lauder Cos. slid 6.8 percent for the worst performance in the S&P 500. The fragrance manufacturer posted fourth-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates.

     The results come as the earnings season nears its end. Out of 464 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, about 74 percent have beaten profit estimates, while almost half topped sales projections.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Find the Unique and possess the Whole.

This truly is our highest, most sublime privilege.

It is in the law of this unity that is, as long as we understand it,

our immutable force.  Its living principle is the force that resides in truth –

Truth is one.

 

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A promise made is a debt unpaid.

    -Robert W. Service, 1874-1958

 

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:

V-J DAY AUGUST 14^TH, 1945

THE POEM

Last Love

Towards our end, as life runs out,
love is more troubled and more tender.
Fade not, fade not, departing light
of our last love, our farewell splendour.

Shadow overshadows half the sky;
far to the west the last rays wander.
Shine on, shine on, last light of day;
allow us still to watch and wonder.

What if our blood runs thinner, cooler?
This does not make the heart less tender.
Last love, last love, what can I call you?
Joy and despair, mortal surrender.

       -by Fyodor Tyutchev, 1851.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Milky Way is seen in the night sky over rocks in the natural reserve area of Wadi Al-Hitan, or the Valley of the Whales, in the desert of Al Fayoum Governorate, southwest of Cairo, Friday. Wadi Al-Hitan holds an impressive collection of fossils and bones, some of which date back more than 40 million years. The entire site resembles an open-air museum with marked trails that visitors can follow to admire the fossils and rock formations that extend over a vast area. Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

Members of the Devipujak tribe gather at a graveyard during the Diwaso festival in Ahmadabad, India, Friday. They decorate graves, mourn and offer gifts to deceased relatives during this annual festival. Ajit Solanki/AP

 

Married couple Kenji and Kristen Kawasaki (l.) join others as they re-enact the iconic 1945 Alfred Eisenstaedt kiss photo Friday in New York’s Times Square. Dozens of couples gathered to re-enact the famous kiss that celebrated the end of WWII. A 25-foot-high sculpture replica of the original kiss (top), entitled ‘Embracing Peace,’ is in Times Square until Sunday. Bebeto Matthews/AP

Market Closes for August 14^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17479.34	+71.09     +0.41%
S&P 500	2091.58	+8.19   +0.39%
NASDAQ	5048.234	+14.677   +0.29%
TSX	14284.60	+46.20
		+0.32%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20519.45	-76.10
		-0.37%
HANG SENG	23991.03	-27.77
		-0.12%
SENSEX	28067.31	+517.78
		+1.88%
FTSE 100	6550.74	-17.59
		-0.27%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.391	1.399
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.086	2.097
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1942	2.1871
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8392	2.8558

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76358	0.76572
US $	1.30962	1.30595
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45536	0.68711
US $	1.11129	0.89986

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1118.25	1116.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	42.68	42.23

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, halting a three-day decline, as an advance in the nation’s largest lenders overcame losses among energy producers after crude capped the longest weekly slump since January.

     Royal Bank of Canada added 0.8 percent and Just Energy Group Inc. surged 9.2 perent to lead gains among financial- services and utilities stocks.

     Bombardier Inc. and Air Canada slumped after Canadian factory sales rose in June by less than half the advance forecast by economists. Faltering exports of non-energy goods have been a puzzle to the Bank of Canada, which cut interest rates a second time this year.

     Gold producers retreated, paring their increase for the week to 8.7 percent, the most since January. China unexpectedly updated its bullion positions for a second time after six years of silence. Energy stocks slipped to extend their weekly slide to 1 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 39.48 points to 14,277.88 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has fallen 0.2 percent this week.

     Commodities producers are the worst-performing industries in the S&P/TSX this year as crude slumped into a bear market and metals from copper to gold have declined amid concern global growth is slowing. Energy and raw-materials account for about 30 percent of the benchmark equity gauge.

     Trican Well Service Ltd. plunged a record 32 percent after warning there’s a risk it won’t emerge from the oil slump, even after agreeing to sell its Russian unit for $140 million. The stock has slumped 76 percent this year, the worst-performing stock in the S&P/TSX.

     Trican forecasts breaching a covenant with lenders by the end of September that may trigger its debt to become due on demand.

     Bombardier slumped 7.5 percent, extending a 1993 low, after the struggling aerospace manufacturer’s third-largest shareholder said Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare will need more time to reverse the company’s fortunes. Bombardier, the second-worst stock in the S&P/TSX this year, is down 67 percent in 2015.

US

By Callie Bost and Sofia Horta e Costa

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities advanced, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index higher for the week, as investors turned their attention to economic reports amid the Federal Reserve’s intention to raise interest rates.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to 2,091.54 at 4 p.m. in New York, giving it a gain of 0.7 percent for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 69.15 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,477.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.3 percent.

     “Economic data has been a bit better than expected and people are not worrying as much about China,” said Paul Zemsky, head of multi-asset strategies at Voya Investment Management LLC. “Those are helping, and the fact that the yuan has stabilized and hasn’t come crashing down has given a bid under the market.”

     Data today showed factory production rose more than economists forecast, indicating American manufacturing is regaining its footing after a slowdown. Improving U.S. demand will help cushion factories from weakening global markets, the stronger dollar and the slump in oil prices.

     Separate data showed wholesale prices in the U.S. climbed at a slower pace in July. Confidence among U.S. consumers eased for a second month in August as households braced for an increase in interest rates.

    Traders have raised their expectations for a September rate move by the Fed, amid the data and as concerns about the impact of China’s currency devaluation ease. The probability of a rate increase in September is 48 percent, up from 40 percent Tuesday, according to futures trading data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Even with predictions rates will rise next month, calm has blanketed the U.S. stock market. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, known as the VIX, is below its 12- month average. The gauge slipped 4.9 percent to 12.83 on Friday.

     U.S. stocks still trail most developed markets this year, with the S&P 500 holding in the tightest trading range since 1927. Just five mega-cap stocks — Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc., Google Inc. and Netflix Inc. — are propping up the market, with combined gains in 2015 that actually exceed the entire S&P 500.

     As the earnings season winds down, about three-quarters of the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far beat profit estimates, while less than half topped sales projections. Analysts expect a 2.1 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, less than July 10 calls for a 6.4 percent decline.

     Nine of 10 major industries in the S&P 500 advanced, led by financial, industrial and utility companies. Energy shares slipped 0.2 percent.

     Among stocks moving on corporate news, Nordstrom Inc. rose 4.3 percent after its full-year profit forecast exceeded analysts’ estimates. J.C. Penney Co. jumped 5.6 percent after posting a second-quarter loss that was smaller than analysts estimated and saying the back-to-school shopping season was off to a “strong start.”

     Sysco Corp. rose 7.4 percent, the most since December 2013, after activist investor Nelson Peltz disclosed a 7.1 percent stake in the food distributor and said he may seek representation on the board.

     King Digital Entertainment Plc dropped 11 percent as the maker of the Candy Crush video games said bookings will drop in the third quarter.

     Applied Materials Inc. fell 2.4 percent as the largest maker of machinery used to build computer chips forecast fiscal fourth-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates.

     El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. dropped 21 percent to a record low after the chain of chicken restaurants said sales this year would rise at the low end of its forecasted range.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed.

I want the cultures of all the lands to blow about my house as freely as possible.

But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.

                                    -Robert F. Kennedy, 1925-1968

 

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:

Some good news from around the World:

Norway: “Oslo built a “bee superhighway.”  To support the crop-critical pollinators, the capital city created feeding stations of marigolds and other flowers along an east-west pathway.  An online map shows where residents can participate by planting bee-appropriate flowers in gardens and on rooftops.   (In the US, meanwhile, more retailers are unilaterally dropping insecticides that use bee-killing neonicotinoids.) – from theSmithsonian.

Mauritius, Ghana and ZamBia:  Significant gains in education were made, putting these three nations atop the list of sub-Saharan countries on that score.  Mauritius has eliminated its gender gap in secondary education.   Ghana graduated 72,000 students last year – half in business, law, or social science.  Zambia, one of the world’s poorest countries, enacted free basic primary education in 2002, and has increased its number of universities.  –from World Economic Forum, Government of the United Kingdom.

The Netherlands: A court ruled on government greenhouse gas emissions, a global first.  The Hague District Court ordered the Dutch government to cut emissions at least 25 percent by 2020, calling current government policies inadequate.  Because much of the Netherlands is below sea level, rising seas due to climate change present a considerable incentive for action. –Mashable, Urgenda Foundation.

Peru: Greenhouses are boosting nutrition.  Harsh climate and poor soil make malnutrition a consistent problem for high-altitude Andean communities.  Now a number of nongovernmental organizations have partnered to help these communities build small greenhouses operated by community members trained to grow produce adhering to biointensive standards, including using natural pesticides and organic fertilizers. –Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development.

Worldwide: Spam e-mail is at a 12-year low.  In June, 49.7 percent of the messages scanned by security firm Symantec – there are billions – were considered junk e-mails.  People still get a lot, clearly, but this is the first time the number has dipped below half in more than a decade.  Action against “botnets” (networks of hijacked computers) is credited.  It also means cyber criminals are now seeking other avenues, allowed the firm.  The production of malware, for example, has increased. –Symantec, BBC.

Germany: The Berlin wall that was erected on this day, August 13^th, in 1961, no longer exists!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Youth filling out job applications at Opportunity Fair and Forum at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill., on Thursday, as part of the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative. The Initiative creates pathways for youth with untapped talent and potential to build skills, gain credentials and employment, and reclaim the American Dream. Peter Wynn Thompson/100,000 Opportunities Initiative/AP

A Cambodian woman binds rice seedlings as she collects them at a nursery on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday. Farmers transplant the seedlings in other rice paddies to grow rice. Heng Sinith/AP

Baker Eulogio Pillco bakes traditional bread using an oven made of clay in the town of Pisac, Cusco, Peru, Thursday. Mr. Pillco, who wears traditional Andean clothes, has been baking for 30 years, following in the footsteps of his father who taught him the craft. Pilar Olivares/Reuters

Market Closes for August 13^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17408.25	+5.74     +0.03
S&P 500	2083.94	-2.11     -0.10%
NASDAQ	5033.559	-10.829     -0.21%
TSX	14241.89	-97.64
		-0.68%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20595.55	+202.78
		+0.99%
HANG SENG	24018.80	+102.78
		+0.43%
SENSEX	27549.53	+37.27
		+0.14%
FTSE 100	6568.33	-2.86
		-0.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.399	1.394
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.097	2.093
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1871	2.1462
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8558	2.8366

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76572	0.77007
US $	1.30595	1.29859
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45732	0.68619
US $	1.11590	0.89613

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1116.75	1119.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	42.23	43.30

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Crude’s slump to a six-year low sent Canadian stocks lower for a third day, with oil producers resuming a rout and gold miners tumbling.

     The slide in energy stocks overshadowed an easing of anxiety in global financial markets caused by China’s shock devaluing of its currency. An ebb in demand for haven assets such as gold sent the metal lower after a five-day rally and dropped shares of Canadian miners.

     Energy and raw-materials producers renewed slides that have made the two the worst-performing industries in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index this year.

     The S&P/TSX fell 101.13 points, or 0.7 percent, to 14,238.40 at 4 p.m. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has fallen 2.7 percent this year and is at a two-week low.

     West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 2.5 percent to $42.23, the lowest since March 2009, as U.S. crude inventories remained above the five-year average. Oil moved into a bear market in July.

     Encana Corp. lost 6.2 percent and Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. tumbled 10 percent to lead energy stocks lower. Trican Well Service Ltd. plunged 14 percent to a November 2000 low.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks a basket of prices for raw materials including gold, natural gas and crude, slipped 0.4 percent, for a third straight drop. The index had fallen to a 13-year low last week, dragging down companies that comprise about one-third of Canada’s stock market. Prices have tumbled 13 percent this year.

     Goldcorp Inc. fell 4.5 percent and Barrick Gold Corp. decreased 4 percent as gold producers tumbled. Gold for December delivery lost 0.7 percent in New York. The S&P/TSX Gold Index had soared 20 percent in a five-day rally through Wednesday, the biggest gain since December 2008.

US

By Oliver Renick and Annelise Alexander

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks closed lower, after fluctuating throughout the day, as anxiety over China eased while investors focused on economic data and the pace of any Federal Reserve interest-rate increases.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ran out of steam after yesterday staging its biggest intraday recovery in three years. Stocks held in the tightest trading range since 1927, after China earlier this week roiled global markets with a shock currency devaluation. Labor and sales data today bolstered the case for higher interest rates as soon as next month.

     The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 2,083.46 at 4 p.m. in New York, after ranging between a 0.3 percent gain and falling as much as 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5.74 points to 17,408.25, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.4 percent. About 6.2 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges today, 5 percent below the three-month average.

     “The markets overreacted, we saw the turnaround yesterday, and that’s all nice but the S&P is in a well-worn range and the range may continue to prevail,” said Julian Emanuel, executive director of U.S. equity and derivatives strategy at UBS Securities LLC in New York.

     The S&P 500 yesterday erased a 1.5 percent loss sparked by concerns China’s economy is faltering, reversing after it fell below 2,050. That’s toward the bottom end of a range its been stuck in all year, with the top being its May 21 record of 2,130. The gauge has advanced 1.2 percent in 2015, never closing more than 3.5 percent above or below where it started the year.                        

     Global markets have been jolted since Chinese policy makers on Tuesday unexpectedly devalued the yuan. The currency’s tumble slowed today after the People’s Bank of China said that there’s no basis for depreciation to persist and policy makers will step in to control large fluctuations.

     “The statement out of the Chinese authorities calmed fears regarding the prospect of these awful phrases like ‘currency wars,’” said Daniel Murray, London-based head of research at EFG Asset Management. “With concerns about China and Greece fading, the market can focus on fundamentals underlying the U.S. economy.”

     Data today showed sales at U.S. retailers rose in July on growing demand for everything from cars to clothing, and a decline the previous month was wiped away, signaling consumers are propelling growth in the world’s largest economy. The 0.6 percent advance matched the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

     “I don’t think it’s a market mover and I don’t think it will influence the Fed’s upcoming decision on raising interest rates, but I do think it’s a good number given that it shows some stability,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion.                           

     A separate report showed applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. are hovering close to a four-decade low, a sign of muted firings and steady progress in the labor market.

     Traders have raised their expectations for a September rate move by the Fed, amid the data and as concerns about the impact of China’s currency devaluation ease. The probability of a rate increase in September rose to 48 percent from 40 percent Tuesday, according to futures trading data compiled by Bloomberg. Odds were at 54 percent after the July jobs report last Friday.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 1 percent Thursday to 13.49. The gauge, known as the VIX, is up about 11 percent so far in August, recovering a third of July’s biggest monthly drop since February.

     Eight of the S&P 500’s 10 major groups declined today, led by a 1.4 percent drop in energy shares that followed a nearly 2 percent jump in the sector Wednesday. Consumer discretionary and financial companies rose.

     Consol Energy Inc. and Transocean Ltd. paced declines among the benchmark’s energy stocks, falling more than 6.5 percent. Crude oil slumped to a six-year low as a global glut and a rising dollar curbed investor demand for commodities. Energy shares led yesterday’s rebound, with Consol and Transocean rising more than 3.8 percent.

     Kohl’s Corp. dropped 8.8 percent to the lowest level since November after the retailer reported second-quarter sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates and said profits this year will be at the low end of its forecast.                     

     Shake Shack Inc. fell 16 percent, the most since its January trading debut, after pricing a secondary stock offering at $60 a share, below Wednesday’s close.

     Retailers were among the best performers in the equity benchmark following the report showing broad-based sales gains in July, and as Advance Auto Parts Inc. rallied 9.2 percent to a record on better-than-estimated quarterly profits. O’Reilly Automotive Inc. and AutoZone Inc. rose more than 2.4 percent. Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos Inc. added at least 1.8 percent.

     An S&P index of homebuilders rose 1.8 percent to a two- month high. PulteGroup Inc. gained 2.3 percent, and D.R. Horton Inc. reached its highest since February 2007, up 2.4 percent.

     Cisco Systems Inc. rose 2.9 percent, the most since February, as quarterly revenue beat estimates. News Corp. gained 7.6 percent, its biggest rise in more than a year, after saying it is nearing the conclusion of talks to sell its Amplify Inc. education unit, even as sales missed forecasts.

     Netflix Inc. climbed 2.7 percent. Pay-TV services recorded their biggest-ever quarterly drop in subscribers, losing 625,000 TV customers, according to a report from the research firm SNL Kagan. So-called cord cutters are dropping pay-TV packages that cost an average $87 a month in favor of online services from Netflix and Amazon.com Inc. priced at under $10.

     As the earnings season winds down, about three-quarters of the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far beat profit estimates, while almost half topped sales projections. Analysts expect a 2.1 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, less than July 10 calls for a 6.4 percent decline.

 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Never under any circumstances ask “how.”

When you use the word “how” you really want someone to tell you what to do,

some guide, some system, someone to lead you by the hand so that you lose your freedom,

your capacity to observe, your own activities, your own thoughts, your own way of life.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.

                 -Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970

 

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:

Tonight is the Night of the Shooting Stars!  Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight and early tomorrow morning.  Ivan Semenius writes in The Globe & Mail today, ”Meteors are small particles of space dust that burn up when they plunge through Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds.  To the eye, they appear as fleeting streaks of light that dart across the sky.  During the Perseid shower, Earth passes through an entire stream of such particles all moving in the same direction….the shower’s official name stems from the fact that the meteors appear to emanate from the constellation Perseus, which happens to lie in the direction of the approaching stream.” 

Supposedly we will have a great view tonight because of a favourable weather forecast and the absence of moonlight.

On this day 25 years ago, parts of the largest-ever Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton were discovered jutting out of a cliff near Faith, South Dakota.  It can be viewed at the Field museum in Chicago.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Stars seen as streaks from a long camera exposure are seen behind a Stations of The Cross, in Ujue, northern Spain, Wednesday. The meteor shower is expected to peak Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Alvaro Barrientos/AP

A couple play in foam during the Sziget music festival on an island in the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary on Wednesday. Laszlo Balogh/Reuters

Market Closes for August 12^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17402.84	+0.07     —
S&P 500	2085.75	+1.68     +0.08%
NASDAQ	5044.387	+7.597     +0.15%
TSX	14333.87	-80.80
		-0.56%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20392.77	-327.98
		-1.58%
HANG SENG	23916.02	-582.19
		-2.38%
SENSEX	27512.26	-353.83
		-1.27%
FTSE 100	6571.19	-93.35
		-1.40%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.394	1.395
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.093	2.087
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1462	2.1409
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8366	2.8092

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77007	0.76257
US $	1.29859	1.31135
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44916	0.69006
US $	1.11595	0.89610

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1119.00	1108.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	43.30	43.08

Number of the day:  800 Billion

Capital (in US dollars) that has left China in the past year.  The large exodus is coupled with a steep drop in China’s stock markets that began mid-June and a continuing economic slowdown.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a second day amid continued concern that increased volatility from China will constrain global growth.

     Selling eased in afternoon trading as equities in the U.S. staged a rebound. Industrials and consumer shares slumped with banks in Toronto. Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s largest lender, dropped 1 percent. Gold producers rallied for the biggest five-day gain since 2008 as the price of gold jumped.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 75.14 points, or 0.5 percent, to 14,339.53 at 4 p.m., paring an earlier decline of as much as 1.6 percent. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has fallen 2 percent this year, making one of the worst-performing developed-nation markets.

     The S&P 500 erased a 1.5 percent decline, ending the session little-changed. Markets in Europe and developing nations tumbled amid concern that China’s economy is faltering and will hurt growth around the world. The nation is Canada’s second- largest trading partner after the U.S. and the world’s biggest commodities consumer.

     The MSCI All-Country World Index tracking both developed and developing markets declined 0.6 percent to a two-week low. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 2.7 percent, the biggest decline since October.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks a basket of prices for raw materials including gold, natural gas and crude, slipped 0.3 percent. The index had fallen to a 13-year low last week, dragging down companies that comprise about one-third of Canada’s stock market. Prices have tumbled 13 percent this year.

     Commodities provided a haven for investors Wednesday, as Yamana Gold Inc. increased 9.1 percent and Barrick Gold Corp. rallied 4.9 percent as investors traded into the safety of gold. The metal is seen as a safe-haven investment in times of increased volatility.

     The S&P/TSX Gold Index surged 5.5 percent. The gauge has soared 20 percent in a five-day rally, the biggest gain since December 2008.

     Air Canada tumbled 6.4 percent after second-quarter revenue fell short of analysts’ estimates. The carrier predicted average fares will decline amid increased capacity. Industrials stocks dropped 1.4 percent as a group.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erased a 1.5 percent loss sparked by concerns on China’s economy, as the gauge rose back above its average price during the past 200 days.

     Energy companies led the comeback as some of the market’s more beaten-down shares rallied. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. advanced more than 1.1 percent. Apple Inc. climbed 1.5 percent, reversing an earlier 3.4 percent drop, and Intel Corp. rose 1.7 percent to pace gains among technology companies. Financials fell, with Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. losing more than 1.4 percent.

     The S&P 500 advanced 0.1 percent to 2,086.05 at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing losses as it climbed back above its 200-day moving average. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 1 point to 17,402.51, after dropping as much as 1.6 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2 percent, erasing a 1.8 percent slide. About 8.3 billion shares traded hands today, 27 percent above the three-month average.

     “It’s been like a spectator sport today,” said Tim Dreiling, senior portfolio manager at the Private Client Reserve of US Bank in Kansas City. The firm oversees about $127 billion. “It may have been buyers coming off technical triggers, but anytime over the last few years we get a disruption or tiny catalyst to take risk off the table, we get a hiccup and once the concerns abate throughout the trading day, capital comes in and gives some support.”

     The S&P 500 has closed below its 200-day moving average only two times in 2015, as the level once again halted declines in the average. The gauge has advanced 1.3 percent this year as it remains stuck in the tightest trading range since 1927. The last time the index erased an intraday decline of at least 1.5 percent was on May 23, 2012.                       

     The U.S. equity benchmark dropped the most in more than two weeks Tuesday as China devalued its currency, sparking worries that the world’s second-largest economy is faltering. The S&P 500 had the biggest reversal since last October’s selloff, erasing three-quarters of Monday’s gain — an advance that itself had wiped out the previous week’s decline.

     Investors are watching as rallies and retreats alternate with uncommon speed in a market that has gone virtually nowhere in seven months, even as the average daily swing widened almost 20 percent from a year ago.

     China’s unexpected currency move has bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve may have to delay raising interest rates. The threat of a slowdown in China could harm global growth, while lower commodity prices damp inflation. The probability of a rate increase in September slipped to 42 percent from 54 percent Monday, according to futures trading data compiled by Bloomberg.

     “It could have positive implications for the market because the Fed may be inclined to postpone raising rates, but I’m not sure how surprised they are by it,” said Gene Peroni, a fund manager at Advisors Asset Management Inc. in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. “Weakness in the Chinese economy didn’t come about over the weekend.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 1 percent Wednesday to 13.61, erasing an earlier jump of almost 19 percent. The gauge, known as the VIX, rose 10 percent last week after posting its biggest monthly drop since February.

     Six of the S&P 500’s 10  main groups rose today, led by energy, utilities and technology companies. Financial, consumer discretionary and phone companies fell.

     Consol Energy Inc., Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Transocean Ltd. added more than 3.4 percent to help lead the energy rally. The group gained 1.9 percent after falling as much as 0.8 percent intraday, and has had daily swings of more than 1.5 percent in four of the last five sessions.

     Qorvo Inc., Micron Technology Inc. and Intel rose at least 1.6 percent to bolster tech gains. Semiconductors in the S&P 500 climbed 1.1 percent. Fidelity National Information Services Inc. increased 8.7 percent, the most in five years, after the provider of banking technology agreed to buy software maker SunGard Data Systems Inc. in a deal valued at $9.1 billion, including debt.

     Banks in the benchmark gauge retreated as the yield on 10- Year U.S. Treasuries earlier dropped to a three-month low. Lenders had surged in recent months amid expectations that a Fed rate increase will expand lending margins and boost profits.

     Citigroup Inc., Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase lost more than 1.2 percent. Charles Schwab Corp. SunTrust Banks Inc. decreased at least 2.3 percent. The KBW Bank Index had its worst two-day slide in six months, down 3.1 percent.

     Luxury goods makers Tiffany & Co. and Coach Inc. declined at least 4.1 percent to pace a retreat in consumer discretionary companies, amid concerns that China’s weakening economy could dent sales. Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. fell for the first time in six sessions, down 2.1 percent.

     Macy’s Inc. tumbled 5.1 percent, the most in a year. The retailer posted second-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates after resorting to discounts to clear slow-selling inventory. Delays at West Coast ports caused a backlog of seasonal products in the second quarter, forcing Macy’s to cut prices to make way for new items.

     As the earnings season nears its end, about three-quarters of the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far beat profit estimates, while almost half topped sales projections. Analysts expect a 2.1 percent drop in second-quarter earnings, less than July 10 calls for a 6.4 percent decline.

     Investors will also watch economic reports this week, including U.S. retail sales and import-price data on Thursday, and industrial production and consumer sentiment on Friday. A report today from the Labor Department showed job openings decreased in June, while the pace of hiring increased to the strongest this year.
 

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To grow is to go beyond what you are today.

Stand up as yourself.  Do not imitate.

Do not pretend to have achieved your goal, and do not try to cut corners.

Just try to grow.

Swami Prajnanpad

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Good luck needs no explanation.

 -Shirley Temple Black, 1928-2014

 

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:
1934 – first federal prisoners land on Alcatraz.
1965 – Watts riots begin.
2014 – Robin Williams dies at 63 years of age.
1928 –  Virginia Woolf wrote this in her Diary:

At Charleston we had tea from bright blue cups under the pink light of the giant hollyhock.  We were all a little drugged with the country; a little bucolic I thought.  It was lovely enough – made me envious of its country peace; the trees all standing securely  – why did my eye catch the trees?  The look of things has a great power over me.  Even now, I have to watch myself instinctively ‘What’s the phrase for that?’  and try to make more and more vivid the roughness of the air current and the tremor of the rook’s wing slicing as if the air were full of ridges and ripples and roughnesses.  They rise and sink, up and down, as if the exercise rubbed and braced them like swimmers in rough water.  But what a little I can get down into my pen of what is so vivid to my eyes, and not only to my eyes; also to some nervous fibre, or fanlike membrane in my species.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Singers from Opera Australia, dressed in costumes, gather around a banquet table on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House during a promotional event celebrating the art company’s 60th birthday, Tuesday. The event also marked Opera Australia’s 2016 season launch. David Gray/Reuters

Dairy farmer Mike Gorton walks on his Lower Harebarrow farm in Macclesfield, north west England, Tuesday. British farmers warned they were facing financial ruin with falls in the price of milk forcing many out of work and spurring others to blockade distribution centers and walk cows through supermarkets. Farming unions from across the country were meeting in London to urge the government to provide more help for an industry that has seen a 25 percent year-on-year drop in the amount farmers are paid for milk. Andrew Yates/Reuters

Hot air balloons take off during the 19th FAI Hot Air Balloon European Championship in Debrecen, Hungary, Tuesday. Hundred and two contestants from twenty-three countries participate in the event until Aug. 18. Zsolt Czegledi/MTI/AP

A gardener waters plants as part of a floral display at the ‘Flowertime’ event on Brussels’ Grand Place, Belgium, Tuesday. The event, which will open to visitors between August 13 and 16, has an Italian baroque theme this year. Francois Lenoir/Reuters

Market Closes for August 11^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17402.84	-212.33   -1.21%
S&P 500	2084.07	-20.11   -0.96%
NASDAQ	5036.789	-65.010   -1.27%
TSX	14414.67	-51.72
		-0.36%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20720.75	-87.94
		-0.42%
HANG SENG	24498.21	-22.91
		-0.09%
SENSEX	27866.09	-235.63
		-0.84%
FTSE 100	6664.54	-71.68
		-1.06%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.395	1.475
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.087	2.143
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1409	2.2287
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8092	2.8960

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76257	0.76868
US $	1.31135	1.30093
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44805	0.69059
US $	1.10424	0.90560

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1108.25	1097.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	43.08	44.96

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, a session after raw- materials producers had their strongest gains this year, as China’s currency devaluation prompted a selloff in commodities.

     Miners declined amid speculation that resources demand will slow amid signs of decelerating growth in China, the world’s biggest consumer of energy and metals. Equities pared declines in the final 90 minutes of trading, as a rout in energy producers eased even as crude settled at the lowest level in six years.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 51.72 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,414.67 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, trimming a drop of 1.4 percent. The gauge surged 1.1 percent Monday.

     China devalued the yuan by the most in two decades in an effort to support its exporters. The central bank cut its daily reference rate by 1.9 percent. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks a basket of prices for raw materials including gold, natural gas and crude, sank 1.6 percent a day after rising the most since February. The index had fallen to a 13-year low last week, dragging down companies that comprise about one-third of Canada’s stock market. Prices have tumbled 13 percent this year.

     Oil sank as OPEC raised output by 100,700 barrels a day to 31.5 million last month, the most since 2012, due to a recovery in Iranian production, exacerbating a supply glut. Oil has dropped more than 25 percent since this year’s peak in June.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. sank 7.8 percent and Teck Resources Ltd. tumbled 6.9 percent as all six main metals on the London Metal Exchange retreated, led by aluminum and copper at six-year lows.

     B2Gold Corp. jumped 10 percent and Eldorado Gold Corp. increased 5.5 percent. Gold, which is often bought as an alternative to currencies, rose 0.3 percent in New York.

     Aecon Group Inc. jumped 9.3 percent, the most in almost four years, after posting a surprise profit in the second quarter and revenue that topped  analysts’ estimates.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slid, following equities’ biggest gain since May, as China’s currency devaluation sparked concern across global markets that the world’s second-largest economy is headed for a deeper slowdown.

     Companies that rely heavily on exports to China, including auto and luxury goods makers, retreated. General Motors Co. and Tiffany & Co. lost more than 2.1 percent. Apple Inc. sank 5.2 percent. Commodity producers from Freeport-McMoRan Inc. to Dow Chemical Co. fell at least 2.9 percent amid concerns about China’s growth. Google Inc. advanced 4.1 percent after saying it will reorganize into a holding company called Alphabet Inc.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 1 percent to 2,084.07 at 4 p.m. in New York, holding above its average price during the past 200 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 212.33 points, or 1.2 percent, to 17,402.84, its worst drop in a month. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 1.3 percent. About 7.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 9 percent above the three-month average.

     “The driving forces today continue to be macro-oriented with China the most important,” said Tom Wright, the New York- based director of equities at JMP Securities. “We spend a lot of time obsessing over Greece or Puerto Rico, but China is a much bigger economy and a much bigger problem to the global economy and devaluing the currency is shaking people up.”

     China devalued the yuan by 1.9 percent, the most in two decades, after data this month showed a plunge in exports, weaker-than-estimated manufacturing and a slowdown credit growth. The surprise move rippled through global markets, sparking selloffs in emerging-market currencies, commodities, and auto and luxury stocks with exposure to China.

     A rally in commodities from oil to copper helped the S&P 500 jump 1.3 percent Monday. Those trades largely reversed today on concern demand from China, the world’s biggest consumer of energy and metals, will slow and yuan weakness will erode the buying power of Chinese consumers. Similar worries about the country’s growth helped send the benchmark index down as much as 4 percent last month from its May record.

     Raw-material companies in the S&P 500 retreated 1.9 percent after the biggest year-to-date gain yesterday. Miner Freeport- McMoRan plunged 12 percent, the most since 2012 and eclipsing Monday’s 11 percent climb. Alcoa Inc. sank 6 percent after a 7.1 percent jump yesterday.

     Joy Global Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. lost at least 2.6 percent as industrial shares slid 1.2 percent. Caterpillar, one of the largest producers of mining trucks, may be hurt by weak demand following low mining-equipment shipments in the second quarter, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report. Railroads CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. fell more than 1.9 percent.                        

     Micron Technology Inc. paced a tumble among technology shares, losing 5 percent. Sales from China comprised 41 percent of the chipmaker’s fiscal 2014 revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Apple sank 5.2 percent, its biggest drop since January 2014 after yesterday marking its strongest gain in six months. Apple reported that 27 percent of its sales in the June-ended quarter came from China.

     Symantec Corp. decreased 6.9 percent to its lowest in more than a year after the security software maker agreed to sell its Veritas data-storage unit for $8 billion to Carlyle Group LP. Credit Suisse Holdings USA Inc. downgraded the shares to neutral from outperform, citing “destruction” of value from the tax liability on the deal relative to a previously proposed spinoff.

     Yum! Brands Inc. and Wynn Resorts Ltd. slumped at least 4.3 percent to pace a 1 percent slide in consumer discretionary shares. Yum derived 53 percent of its second-quarter revenue from China, while 59 percent of Wynn’s quarterly sales came from its operations in Macau, according to their reports.

     Auto-parts makers Delphi Automotive Plc and BorgWarner Inc. declined more than 3.7 percent, tracking GM’s biggest slide in a month as China auto sales slumped to a 17-month low.

     Banks in the S&P 500 had their worst day in a month as yields on U.S. 10-Year Treasuries dropped the most since July 6, and investors speculated that low interest rates will continue to hobble lenders’ earnings. Citigroup Inc. and Comerica Inc. fell more than 1.8 percent, while Bank of America Corp. slipped 1.4 percent.

     Energy shares pared a decline of as much as 2.3 percent to end little changed, despite West Texas Intermediate crude sinking to its lowest since March 2009. Consol Energy Inc. lost 3 percent and Chesapeake Energy Corp. fell 4.9 percent. Those losses were largely offset by gains of more than 2.1 percent for Valero Energy Corp. and Range Resources Corp, while Marathon Petroleum Corp. added 4.9 percent.

     A Bloomberg index of U.S. airlines gained 1.8 percent amid oil’s decline, and advanced for a second day. Spirit Airlines Inc., American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. each added at least 1.6 percent.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index climbed 12 percent Tuesday to 13.71. The gauge, known as the VIX, rose 10 percent last week after posting its biggest monthly drop since February.

     The unexpected move by China’s policy makers bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve may have to delay raising rates, as the threat of a slowdown in China could harm global growth, while lower commodity prices damp inflation. The probability of a rate increase in September slipped to 44 percent from 54 percent Monday, according to futures trading data compiled by Bloomberg.

     U.S. economic data today showed worker productivity struggled to gain traction in the second quarter. Less efficiency limits how quickly the economy can grow without spurring inflation, adding another variable for policy makers to consider in deciding when to raise rates. A separate report showed inventories at wholesalers jumped the most since April 2014.

     Cisco Systems Inc. and News Corp. are among companies posting quarterly updates this week as earnings season nears its conclusion. Of the S&P 500 members that have already reported, 74 percent beat profit estimates and 48 percent topped sales projections. Analysts now project a more modest drop in second- quarter earnings, calling for a 2.1 percent fall instead of a 6.4 percent decline a month earlier.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Every day a man must solve the problem

of widening the field of his life and adjusting his burdens.

These are too complex and numerous for him to carry himself,

but he knows that by being methodical he can lighten the load.

When the burdens are too complicated and difficult to manage, he must understand the reason:

he has not found a system that will put everything in place and distribute the weight he carries more evenly.

the search for this system is actually the search for the whole, for synthesis;

it is our effort to create harmony, thanks to an interior adaptation,

in the heterogeneous complex of exterior material.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.

                                          -Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865

 

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 1793, the Louvre Museum opened.
August 10^th, 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was created.
August 10, 1945, Japan surrenders.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Fireworks explode over Marina Bay during Singapore’s Golden Jubilee celebrations Sunday. Singapore is marking 50 years of independence. An island of 5.5 million people that sits just north of the equator, what was once a post-colonial backwater at the time of independence from Malaysia in 1965 is now a global business hub whose economic and social model is the envy of nations around the world. Tan Shung Sin/Reuters

Doves fly over the Peace Statue in Nagasaki’s Peace Park during a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the bombing of the city in Nagasaki, western Japan, Sunday. On August 9, 1945, the US dropped a second atomic bomb, which killed about 40,000 instantly. Toru Hanai/Reuters

Market Closes for August 10^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17615.17	+241.79     +1.39%
S&P 500	2104.18	+26.61     +1.28%
NASDAQ	5101.801	+58.526     +1.16%
TSX	14466.39	+163.69
		+1.14%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20808.69	+84.13
		+0.41%
HANG SENG	24521.12	-31.35
		-0.13%
SENSEX	28101.72	-134.67
		-0.48%
FTSE 100	6736.22	+17.73
		+0.26%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.475	1.424
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.143	2.093
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2287	2.1712
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8960	2.8260

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76868	0.76122
US $	1.30093	1.31369
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43321	0.69773
US $	1.10168	0.90770

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1097.00	1093.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	44.96	44.00

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — The best day for Canadian miners this year lifted the nation’s benchmark stock index after a two-day slide.

     Raw-materials producers surged the most since December as Canadian stocks snapped back from a 1.2 percent drop last week. Mining companies rallied 3.9 percent while oil producers advanced 2.2 percent, trimming annual slides for the worst performers in the nation’s benchmark index.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks a basket of prices for raw materials including gold, natural gas and crude, soared 2.4 percent for its biggest gain since February. Oil and copper added at least 2.5 percent, while gold climbed 0.9 percent. The index had fallen to a 13-year low last week, dragging down companies that comprise about one-third of Canada’s stock market.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 163.69 points, or 1.1 percent, to 14,466.39 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the biggest gain since July 29. The gauge has fallen 1.1 percent in 2015, one of only three developed markets in negative territory for the year among the 24 tracked by Bloomberg.

     A volatility index of S&P/TSX 60 options dropped 5.1 percent to 13.83 for a second straight decline. The measure had previously alternated gains and losses for 15 straight days across more than three weeks.

     China’s crude oil imports rose to a record in July, driven by small, private refineries amid low prices. China imported about 7.3 million barrels a day last month, or 30.71 million metric tons, ahead of the previous record in December. China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer and Canada’s second- biggest trading partner after the U.S.

     Cameco Corp. gained 5.4 percent, the most since April, and NexGen Energy Ltd. rallied 7.6 percent as North American uranium producers climbed on renewed optimism Japan is poised to resume nuclear-power production.

     Telus Corp. dropped 1.5 percent, the most in three weeks, after Joe Natale resigned as chief executive officer, replaced by his predecessor Darren Entwistle.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks gained, with equities rising the most in three months, after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed to buy Precision Castparts Corp. and commodities- related shares rallied.

     Precision Castparts, a maker of equipment for the aerospace and energy industries, jumped 19 percent on the $37.2 billion deal to pace industrials. Boeing Co. advanced 2.4 percent. Energy and raw-materials shares climbed more than 2.5 percent. Apple Inc. rose the most in six months, bouncing after its worst week since January. Google Inc. advanced in late trading after announcing a new holding structure.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 1.3 percent to 2,104.18 at 4 p.m. in New York, its biggest gain since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average halted its longest losing streak since 2011, adding 241.79 points, or 1.4 percent, to 17,615.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.2 percent, and the Russell 2000 Index surged 1.3 percent, the most in a month.

     “China started it off with a 5 percent rally, there was another test of the S&P 200-day moving average, plus merger activity with Berkshire and PCP kind of gave the market an excuse to rally,” said Mark Kepner, an equity trader at Themis Trading LLC in Chatham, New Jersey.

     China’s stocks posted their biggest gain in a month amid speculation the government will accelerate mergers of state- owned enterprises to bolster economic growth. Investors also speculated China will act to prop up growth following a wider- than-expected drop in exports.

     Google rose 4.7 percent as of 5:01 p.m. after saying Alphabet Inc. will replace Google Inc. as the publicly-traded entity and all shares of Google will automatically convert into the same number of shares of Alphabet, with all of the same rights. Google will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet. Two classes of shares will continue to trade on Nasdaq as GOOGL and GOOG.

     The S&P 500 dropped 1.3 percent last week while the Dow posted its longest losing streak in four years, amid a slump in media and biotechnology shares and as Apple Inc. fell into a correction. The S&P 500 has trailed most developed-market gauges this year, while speculators’ appetite for stock-market volatility has reached a nine-year high. The gauge closed Monday 1.3 percent below its May record.

     Investors will watch economic reports this week, including U.S. retail sales data on Thursday, after a report Friday showed a broad-based gain in hiring. The jobs data boosted the chance of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September by four percentage points to 54 percent, according to futures trading data compiled by Bloomberg.                         

     Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said in a Bloomberg Television interview Monday that stubbornly low inflation in the U.S. won’t persist with the economy near full employment. The Fed is looking for signs that inflation will strengthen toward its 2 percent target before it starts to increase rates.

     Kraft Heinz Co. is among companies reporting earnings on Monday, with those from Macy’s Inc. and News Corp. due later this week.

     Most S&P 500 members have released results this season, of which 74 percent beat profit estimates and about half topped sales projections. Analysts now project a more modest drop in second-quarter earnings, calling for a 2.1 percent fall instead of a 6.4 percent decline a month earlier.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 8.7 percent Monday to 12.23. The gauge, known as the VIX, rose 10 percent last week after posting its biggest monthly drop since February.

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups climbed today, with energy, raw-material and industrial shares rallying the most. Utilities lagged, following the sector’s best week in more than two months.                       

     A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. measure of the most-shorted stocks rallied 2.6 percent for its best day since February as many of last week’s biggest decliners reversed. Apple, which had entered a correction after plunging 13 percent from a high, rallied 3.6 percent Monday.

     The energy group posted its biggest jump in nearly seven months, with oil rebounding as China’s crude imports surged to a record on a monthly basis. Consol Energy Inc., Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. and Transocean Ltd. advanced at least 5.4 percent

     “Energy prices have been guiding us up or down for awhile and with energy names leading the way, nothing is really down,” said Thomas Garcia, the head of equity trading at Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Thornburg Investment Management Inc. “At this point investors want to get the rate hike done and move on, and with commodity prices moving up a little that’s a good thing, as they’ve gotten just decimated over the last year.”

     Shares of industrial companies gained 1.9 percent, the biggest jump in seven months. Joy Global Inc. added 8.4 percent, the most in more than three years, and Caterpillar Inc. climbed 3.7 percent as the group got a boost from Precision Castparts’ 19 percent climb and speculation on further stimulus in China.

     “One of the biggest fears in the marketplace is not so much the Fed, it’s the slowdown in China,” said Andrew Brenner, the head of international fixed income for National Alliance Capital Markets. “If all of a sudden people think the Chinese are going to have serious stimulus, that’s going to turn things around.”

     Materials companies also advanced the most this year, adding 2.5 percent as copper rose from a six-year low after torrential rains in Chile halted work at some of the world’s biggest mines. Miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. rallied 11 percent, the most in six years. Alcoa Inc. rose 7.1 percent, its best rise since October 2013. The Bloomberg Commodity Index jumped 2.4 percent, the biggest climb in six months.

     Texas Instruments Inc. gained 3.5 percent to the highest in more than a month after the shares were raised to outperform from neutral at Macquarie Research. Semiconductors in the benchmark index had their strongest gain in more than two months. Intel Corp. and Avago Technologies Ltd. climbed at least 2.6 percent.

     Dean Foods Co. shares lost 2.9 percent after the company declined to offer an explanation for the sudden resignation of its board chairman. Shares earlier fell nearly 18 percent before trimming their decline.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The phrase ‘to meditate’ does not only mean to examine, observe, reflect, question, weigh;

it also has in the Sanskrit, a more profound meaning, which is ‘to become’.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The best revenge is massive success.

             -Frank Sinatra, 1915-1998

 

 

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