Category: Events

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

It is with sadness that I greeted the news this morning that the ancient site of Palmyra had fallen into ISIS hands.  I visited this archeological wonder when visiting Syria a few years ago and it truly is one of the most well preserved ancient wonders in existence on planet Earth.  We can only pray that it is not destroyed as so many of Iraq’s vestiges of antiquity were forever destroyed by ISIS.

FYI…

INSIDE ABBEY ROAD

The London landmark made famous by the Beatles is still a busy and functioning studio as the recording home of the London Symphony Orchestra and pop stars Adele, Coldplay and Kanye West, among others.  Google has created a VIP pass at insideabbeyroad.withgoogle.com; you can take a guided tour with host Giles Martin, a house producer and son of the so-called Fifth Beatle, producer George Martin.  Listen to interviews and live clips, and try your hand at production.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Photographers work during a photocall for the film ‘Youth’ in competition at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday. Yves Herman/Reuters

A koala feeds on eucalyptus leaves in its new enclosure at the Singapore Zoo Wednesday. Four koalas, originating from Brisbane’s Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, will stay at the zoo until January 2016 before returning to Australia. The Singapore Zoo is known for its efforts to promote and educate the public about the importance of wildlife conservation through its educational programs and through the breeding of endangered species in captivity. Koalas are considered ‘vulnerable’ and are threatened by habitat loss and encroachment. Wong Maye-E/AP

Market Closes for May 21^st, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18285.74	+0.34
		—
S&P 500	2130.82	+4.97   +0.23%
NASDAQ	5090.793	+19.050   +0.38%
TSX	15203.61	+130.78
		+0.87%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20202.87	+6.31
		+0.03%
HANG SENG	27523.72	-61.33
		-0.22%
SENSEX	27809.35	-27.86
		-0.10%
FTSE 100	7013.47	+6.21
		+0.09%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.749	1.803
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.347	2.410
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1933	2.2620
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9920	3.0640

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81975	0.81962
US $	1.21988	1.22008
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.35563	0.73767
US $	1.11128	0.89986

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1205.00	1210.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.97	58.48

The ideas of debtor and creditor as to what constitutes a good time never coincide. –P.G. Wodehouse.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Jennifer Kaplan

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose the most in two months as energy producers jumped with the price of crude and health- care companies rallied with railroads.

     Penn West Petroleum Ltd. gained 7.2 percent to lead a rise in energy shares as oil advanced 3 percent in New York. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped 2.4 percent, contributing to a 2 percent gain for health-care companies. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. climbed 1.8 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 130.78 points, or 0.9 percent, to 15,203.61 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, for the best rally since March 16.

     Seven of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX gained on trading volume 7.3 percent lower than the 30-day average. Crescent Point Energy Corp. and Trinidad Drilling Ltd. rose more than 5.2 percent, as energy shares gained 2 percent as a group.

     Oil rose for a second day as U.S. crude stockpiles shrank, indicating the supply glut may be easing. Futures advanced 3 percent in New York.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals added to annual gains that together with Concordia Healthcare Corp. have boosted total returns for the members of the S&P/TSX Composite Health Care Index to almost six times that of its U.S. counterpart, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     ATS Automation Tooling Systems, Inc. soared 8.2 percent, the most in the S&P/TSX after reporting first quarter earnings that outpaced analysts’ estimates.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rising to an all-time high, amid better-than- forecast results from Salesforce.com Inc. and Best Buy Co. while gauges on the strength of economic growth were mixed.

     Best Buy and Salesforce surged 3.9 percent. Energy shares rallied with oil and Transocean Ltd. gained after reaching a settlement from BP Plc on issues related to the 2010 disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. CVS Health Corp. added 2.4 percent after saying it will acquire the nursing-home pharmacy Omnicare Inc. NetApp Inc. tumbled 10 percent after forecasting sales that missed analysts’ projections.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,130.82 at 4 p.m. in New York, its fourth all-time high in the last six sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.34 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 18,285.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4 percent. Both the Dow and Nasdaq briefly rose above their record closing levels. About 5.7 billion shares changed hands on U.S.

exchanges, 12 percent below the three-month average.

     “We’re locked in this environment where we’re more trendless than trending,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist in Philadelphia at Janney Capital Management LLC, which oversees about $68 billion. “There’s enough buying power to keep a bid in equity prices. We’re in this trendless, sideways trading range, maybe grinding higher but no breakout one way or the other.”

     Investors are keeping a close watch on the Federal Reserve as policy makers debate the timing on their first interest rate increase since 2006. Meanwhile, the data they’re dependent on for their rate decision continues to provide mixed signals.                           

     Purchases of previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in April, a sign the industry’s recovery remains uneven. Contract closings dropped 3.3 percent, after a 6.5 percent gain in March which was the strongest in almost two years. Economists in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.8 percent rise. Prices jumped as the number of houses for sales declined from the same time last year.

     Other reports showed the index of leading economic indicators rose in April by the most in nine months, manufacturing in the Philadelphia region grew less than economists forecast in May and the four-week average for jobless claims decreased to a 15-year low.

     Fed officials last month didn’t expect to raise rates at their June meeting even as they concluded that a first-quarter economic slowdown was unlikely to persist, the April minutes showed yesterday. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is due to give a speech tomorrow on the economic outlook.                         

     “Investors in the U.S. are sitting on all-time highs,” said Christian Gattiker, head of research at Julius Baer Group Ltd. in Zurich. “They’re experiencing some vertigo once in a while, looking down and asking, will it hold? The June rate hike was off the table a long time ago, but there’s some relief the Fed acknowledged this. It’s not good enough to drive markets much higher.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 6 percent to 12.11, the lowest level of 2015. The gauge, known as the VIX, is on track for its second straight weekly decline.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups gained, with energy and phone company shares leading the way. Noble Corp. and Transocean rose at least 4.3 percent as oil rallied for a second day.

     Bank of America Corp. analysts led by Savita Subramanian recommended in a note today that investors increase their allocations to the energy group to more than their weighting in the S&P 500, citing a better outlook for commodity prices and a likely trough in earnings revisions.

     Financial companies slipped 0.2 percent. Insurer Aflac Inc. sank 2.8 percent after the chief executive said the company is seeking to replace Kriss Cloninger as chief financial officer by the end of June.

     Best Buy climbed 3.9 percent, its best gain of the year, after posting first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates after large-screen televisions and the new iPhone helped boost U.S. sales.

     Salesforce rallied 3.9 percent after raising its revenue forecast as large enterprises signed up for the company’s products, underscoring its potential appeal as a takeover target.

     Joining Salesforce in pacing gains in technology, Hewlett- Packard Co. climbed 2.3 percent after selling a majority stake in its Chinese server, storage and technology assets for $2.3 billion to Tsinghua University. Qualcomm Inc. advanced 1.2 percent as it began an accelerated $5 billion share buyback. Apple Inc. increased 1 percent.                       

     CVS gained 2.4 percent, the most since December after its deal valued at $12.7 billion to acquire Omnicare, which adds services for the elderly to bolster its position as the biggest U.S. retailer of prescription drugs. Competitor Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. increased 2.7 percent, and pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co. advanced 1.7 percent.

     Transportation companies rebounded as railroads rallied. An airlines selloff Wednesday sent S&P 500 transports to their worst drop in two months. Kansas City Southern, Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. rose at least 1 percent Thursday.

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average jumped 0.6 percent to rebound from a 2 percent rout Wednesday. The gauge has fallen 6.4 percent this year, trailing the Dow’s 2.6 percent gain.

     “Transportation stocks are more reflective of how our economy is starting to show significant cracks,” said Yousef Abbasi, the global market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC in New York. “The market making news highs while TRAN is making new lows is never a good sign.”                         

     NetApp Inc. slumped 10 percent, the most in three years, after quarterly earnings and revenue missed analysts’ estimates and the data management company cut its full-year forecast.

     Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. plunged 17 percent to its lowest level in more than three years after saying Chief Executive Officer Robert Lynch will step down as the company grapples with the fallout of a report that it sold flooring with toxic levels of formaldehyde.

     Real-estate companies in the S&P 500 fell for a fourth day, their longest losing streak this month. CBRE Group Inc. and Iron Mountain Inc. declined more than 1.1 percent.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Contemplation is seeing the here and now.

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

I believe that every person is born with talent.

                         -Maya Angelou, 1928-2014

 

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

Senior 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 1873, businessman Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis received a patent to create work pants with metal rivets, marking the birth of blue jeans.

David Letterman’s last show tonight…hard to believe….I’ll be watching to see who his last guests are; it was great to see Bill Murray last night – his very first guest and Bob Dylan!
 
Bill Murray spray paints Dave Letterman’s desk on the first taping of ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ on Aug, 30, 1993, on CBS.

CBS

Wednesday night marks David Letterman’s last show as host of “The Late Show,” a gig he’s had since 1993. The final episode will likely garner a lot of viewers who want to see the last broadcast from a comedy legend.

What have been the most popular “Late Show” broadcasts over the years?  As a nod to Letterman’s Top 10 skits, we’ve compiled his top 10 most-watched episodes, using same-day viewership data from Nielsen, a market research film specializing in TV.

Of the list, it’s important to note that five of the top 10 broadcasts were during the 1994 Winter Olympics, which CBS broadcast. In this instance, Letterman might have benefited from the Olympics lead-in. Other notable moments include his beef with Oprah, his first show with Bill Murray, and that time he came back from heart surgery.

And now for the list:

10. Marv and Sinead
Date: February 22, 1994
Viewers: 10.2 million
Episode/guests: Marv Albert; Sinead O’Connor; illusionist Ricky Jay; Dave’s mom Dorothy from the Winter Olympics with Norman Schwarzkopf and Katarina Witt

9. Robin Williams and the Whiz Kid
Date: August 31, 1993
Viewers: 10.7 million
Episode/guests: Robin Williams; John Mellencamp; 4-year-old geography whiz Jonathan Estrada

8. Don Imus, meet Nancy Kerrigan
Date: February 24, 1994
Viewers: 10.7 million
Episode/guests: Brett Butler; Don Imus; Linda Ronstadt; “bowling on 53rd Street” with Dick Weber; Dave’s mom Dorothy at Winter Olympics with Nancy Kerrigan

7. Hillary’s day
Date: January 12, 2000
Viewers: 11.2 million
Episode/guests: Hillary Clinton (first appearance on the show); Art Donovan

6. The heart-to-heart moment
Date: February 21, 2000
Viewers: 11.7 million
Episode/guests: Letterman’s first broadcast after heart surgery; Regis Philbin; Robin Williams; Foo Fighters

5. Dave’s Mom, superstar reporter
Date: February 18, 1994
Viewers: 12.8 million
Episode/guests: Bebe Neuwirth; Jackson Browne; Dave’s mom Dorothy at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer and Top 10 with speed skater Dan Jansen
 
CBS/Everett Collection

4. The Oprah Beef 
Date: December 1, 2005
Viewers: 13.5 million
Episode/guests: Oprah Winfrey; Bonnie Raitt

3. The Power of Stupid Human Tricks
Date: February 23, 1994
Viewers: 14.2 million
Episode/guests: Stupid Human Tricks; Wynonna; Laurence Fishburne; Dave’s mom Dorothy at Winter Olympics with Norwegian athlete Arne Hansen and Calvert De Forest

2. A Double “Bill”
Date: August 30, 1993
Viewers: 15.2 million
Episode/guests: First “Late Show” broadcast; Bill Murray; Billy Joel

1. That time Michael J. Fox, the Who’s Roger Daltrey and the Spin Doctors hung out
Date: February 25, 1994
Viewers: 15.5 million
Episode/guests: Michael J. Fox; Roger Daltrey; the Spin Doctors; Dave’s mom Dorothy from the Winter Olympics

All images courtesy of CBS.

Market Closes for May 20^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18285.47	-26.92
		-0.15%
S&P 500	2126.68	-1.15   -0.05%
NASDAQ	5071.742	+1.708   +0.03%
TSX	15091.79	-29.23
		-0.19%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20196.56	+170.18
		+0.85%
HANG SENG	27585.05	-108.49
		-0.39%
SENSEX	27837.21	+191.68
		+0.69%
FTSE 100	7007.26	+12.16
		+0.17%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.803	1.828
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.410	2.432
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2620	2.2850
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0640	3.0729

Currencies 

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81962	0.81777
US $	1.22008	1.22284
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.35346	0.73884
US $	1.10934	0.90144

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1210.50	1214.30
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	58.48	57.26

Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.  – John Wesley

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, snapping a three-day advance, as the nation’s largest lenders retreated to lead loss among nine of 10 main industries.

     Bank of Nova Scotia and Royal Bank of Canada dropped at least 0.6 percent to pace declines among the banks. Air Canada tumbled 3.7 percent as concerns about competition in the U.S. sent airlines lower. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and Surge Energy Inc. advanced at least 4.3 percent as oil climbed in New York. B2Gold Corp. increased 6.9 percent after securing a new revolving credit facility and boosting its gold production.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 48.19 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,072.83 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge had increased 0.9 percent in the past three days.

     Nine of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX retreated on trading volume 13 percent lower than the 30-day average today.

     Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce declined 0.8 percent as the lender is reportedly withdrawing from its U.S. credit business, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.

     Pacific Rubiales climbed 6.4 percent and Suncor Energy Inc. increased 0.8 percent as energy producers gained 0.3 percent as a group. West Texas Intermediate oil for July delivery gained 1.7 percent to settle at $58.98 a barrel in New York.

     Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. added 0.6 percent. Gold futures for June delivery were little-changed in New York after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed officials last month didn’t expect to raise rates at their next gathering in June.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks closed little changed, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipping for a second day, as a selloff in airlines offset Federal Reserve meeting minutes that showed officials in no hurry to raise interest rates.

     Southwest Airlines Co. fell to a six-month low to pace a drop among air carriers. Lowe’s Cos. slid 4.6 percent after reporting first-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates. Yahoo! Inc. climbed 4.4 percent after affirming plans to spin off a stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Cablevision Systems Corp. jumped 18 percent amid cable industry deal speculation.

     The S&P 500 Index fell 0.1 percent to 2,125.85 at 4 p.m. in New York, after briefly climbing above its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 26.99 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,285.40 after closing Tuesday at a record. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose less than 0.1 percent. About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 9.6 percent below the three-month average.

     “While the Fed continues to be data-dependent, they’re pushing back the timeline to later this year,” said Eric Wiegand, a senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in New York. “June is off the table. ‘‘Clarity is going to come in bits and pieces in further labor data and second-quarter earnings.’’

     Fed officials last month didn’t expect to raise rates at their June meeting even as they concluded that a first-quarter economic slowdown was unlikely to persist, the meeting minutes showed. A ‘‘few’’ members said they anticipated the economy would be ready for a June liftoff.

     In its April statement, Fed policy makers said the economy slowed partly reflecting ‘‘transitory factors,’’ and that it expected growth at a ‘‘moderate pace.’’ Since the meeting, payrolls figures have improved, while weaker-than-forecast data on manufacturing and retail sales prompted economists to mark down projections for second-quarter economic growth.

     Chicago Fed President Charles Evans on Monday repeated his call to hold interest rates near zero until early 2016 and raise them only gradually thereafter, because inflation is still too far below the Fed’s goal.

     The Fed has been struggling with raising rates as inflation remains tepid even as the job market has strengthened. A report on Friday is forecast to show consumer prices grew by 1.7 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. The Fed’s target is 2 percent.                       

     ‘‘It’s still difficult to understand by how much U.S. growth is really picking up,” said Ros Price, the chief investment strategist at Seven Investment Management in London. “The Fed won’t have enough data — even by September. Economic reports have been quite poor, and then we get a number like yesterday showing a solid housing market. It wouldn’t surprise me if we got a rate rise in December or even early next year.”

     U.S. stocks held near their records yesterday as improving home-construction data bolstered speculation the economy will rebound from a weak winter. The S&P 500 has risen 1.9 percent this month. An increase in May would mark the index’s first back-to-back gains in six months. The gauge still trails most developed-market equity benchmarks in 2015 as a rising dollar and disappointing economic data limited gains.

     Most S&P 500 members have reported results this earnings season, and 71 percent surpassed profit estimates. More than half missed sales projections. Hewlett-Packard Co., Best Buy Co. Inc. and Deere & Co. are among companies due to release earnings this week.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 0.2 percent to 12.88 The gauge, known as the VIX, fell 3.7 percent last week for its first weekly decline in three weeks.

     Five of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined, with industrial companies weighed down the most by the slide in airline shares. Phone companies posted the best gains, after Altice SA’s $9.1 billion deal to buy a 70 percent stake in Suddenlink Communications, the seventh-largest U.S. cable company.

     A Bloomberg index of airline stocks lost 8 percent, the most since Oct. 2011, amid signs that a year of lower fuel costs has left them poised to ramp up competition for customers with cut-rate fares and more routes.

     Southwest Airlines Co. tumbled 9.1 percent after the carrier yesterday forecast its passenger unit revenue will fall 3 percent in the second quarter, and also said fuel costs in the period will be higher than what it predicted in an earnings call April 23.

     JetBlue Airways Corp. slid 6.9 percent, while United Continental Holdings Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. fell 10 percent. The Dow Jones Transportation Average lost 2 percent, the biggest retreat in two months, to the lowest level since Oct. 23.

     JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. sank at least 0.7 percent and Bank of America Corp. was little changed after JPMorgan and Citi agreed to plead guilty to charges tied to a currency-rigging probe and pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. The Fed fined Bank of America $205 million.

     Bank shares in the S&P 500 declined from a seven-year high as Treasury yields retreated for the first time this week. Fifth Third Bancorp and SunTrust Banks Inc. lost more than 1.4 percent after Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst David George downgraded their shares.

     Etsy Inc. plunged 18 percent. The online marketplace for hand-crafted goods said in its first earnings report as a public company that the strong dollar ate into first-quarter revenue.

     Cablevision Systems Corp. soared 18 percent to its highest since 2011 on speculation that an agreement by Europe’s Altice to acquire control of Suddenlink may spur more deals in the cable industry.

     Time Warner Cable Inc. climbed 5.4 percent to a record. The company, whose merger with Comcast Corp. was called off last month, has received a takeover approach from Altice, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

     Hormel Foods Corp. jumped 4.2 percent, the most since August, after its quarterly profit exceeded analysts’ forecasts while revenue missed.

     Yahoo added 4.4 percent after falling 7.6 percent Tuesday on concerns that Internal Revenue Service changes would affect efforts to exit from Alibaba. Potential changes to the tax-free treatment of spinoffs shouldn’t affect previously filed requests, the Web portal said in an e-mailed statement.

     Endo Pharmaceuticals Plc led the health-care group higher, extending a rebound after a 5.4 percent drop Monday on its Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. buyout. Shares rose 3.2 percent after climbing 2.8 percent yesterday, Endo’s best two-day gain since January.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Such awareness is like living with a snake in the room;

you watch its every movement, you are very, very sensitive to the slightest sound it makes.

Such a state of attention is total energy;

in such awareness the totality of yourself is revealed in an instant.

Krishnamurti

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at once.

                                                      -Samuel Smiles, 1812-1904

 

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

Senior 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 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, was beheaded in London on charges of adultery, incest, witchcraft and conspiracy against the king.

Also on this day, in 1936, Gone with the Wind was published.

And Dorothy Wordsworth wrote in her Journal on May 19^th, 1800:

Sauntered a good deal in the garden, bound carpets, mended old clothes.  Read Timon of Athens.  Dried linen.  Molly weeded the turnips, John stuck the peas.  We had not much sunshine or wind, but no rain till about seven o’clock, when we had a slight shower just after I had set out upon my walk.  I did not return but walked up into the Black Quarter [Easedale].  I sauntered a long time among the rocks above the church….I strolled on, gathered mosses etc.   the quietness and still seclusion of the valley affected me even to producing the deepest melancholy.  I forced myself from it.

Rosemary Verey wrote:  “An amusing and interesting discussion arose yesterday when I asked a group of Americans from California what struck them most about our countryside.  “Its greenness” was their immediate answer.  The hedgerows and trees have changed now from brown to green.  When you stop to consider, green is the predominant colour of our countryside and when huge fields of the strident yellow oil-seed rape make a sheet of bright colour, you wonder if you like it.  I do.  I know it is only momentary and it lightens the landscape from dawn to dusk, and even by moonlight.  Counting these fields is an occupying game for children when they are making a long journey from one side of England to the other.  Travelling between East Anglia and Gloustershire, the wife of one of my farming neighbors said her children stopped counting when they reached 250.  “Why does no one develop paler yellow or even white rape flowers/”  one American lady asked.  We discussed how pretty the fields would look – just like an enormous spring garden planted with white honesty and yellow tulips. –from A Countrywoman’s Notes.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Britain’s Prince Charles (c.) talks with Bridget Barry, Burren BEO trust, and Dr Brendan Dunford, Burren Farming for Conservation Program’s Project Manager, during a visit to the Burren in County Clare, Ireland, Tuesday. Prince Charles visited the Burren, an ancient and dramatic stony outcrop famed for its rare plant life, biodiversity and archaeology, on the first day of his four-day visit to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.Peter Morrison/AP

A man walks a student to school in the rain in Boulder, Colo., Tuesday. Colorado braced for a spring storm with unseasonably heavy rains and several inches of snow expected in the high country. Brennan Linsley/AP

Market Closes for May 19^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18312.39	+13.51
		+0.07%
S&P 500	2127.86	-1.34   -0.06%
NASDAQ	5070.035	-8.404   -0.17%
TSX	15123.72	+15.60
		+0.10%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20026.38	+136.11
		+0.68%
HANG SENG	27693.54	+102.29
		+0.37%
SENSEX	27645.53	-41.77
		-0.15%
FTSE 100	6995.10	+26.23
		+0.38%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.828	1.712
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.432	2.336
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2850	2.1459
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0729	2.9331

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81777	0.83235
US $	1.22284	1.20142
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.36314	0.73360
US $	1.11473	0.89708

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1214.30	1220.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	57.26	59.69

No finance, no romance.  –Lyle Lovett

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed after two days of gains, as an advance among health-care stocks offset a slump in energy producers after oil slid to a three-week low.

     Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. rose 5 percent after Mongolia and parent Rio Tinto Group settled a dispute over the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. increased 3.3 percent to pace gains among health stocks. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. and Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. fell more than 7.3 percent as crude slid a fifth day in New York.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 12.90 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,121.02 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. Canadian markets were closed Monday for the Victoria Day holiday.

     Six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX retreated on trading volume 5.4 percent lower than the 30-day average today. Valeant and ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. jumped as health-care companies gained 3 percent as a group.

     ProMetic increased 4.2 percent, to an almost three-week high, after the company agreed to a 15-year manufacturing pact with Emergent BioSolutions Inc. The deal gives ProMetic access to Emergent’s biopharmaceuticals facility in Winnipeg.

     Imperial Metals Corp. tumbled 6.3 percent after its top shareholder agreed to provide additional funds to the copper miner after a delay to the start of production.

     Penn West Petroleum retreated 9.5 percent as energy companies dropped 1.4 percent as a group.

     West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery fell 3.7 percent to $57.26 a barrel in New York, the lowest since April 28, as the dollar strengthened and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said a continuing surplus would send prices back to $45 a barrel by October.

US

By Callie Bost and Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks closed little changed, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipping from a record, after data showing housing starts surged to a seven-year high bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates this year.

     Wal-Mart Stores Inc. slumped 4.4 percent after quarterly results missed estimates, while Urban Outfitters Inc. tumbled 15 percent after profit and sales were short of analysts’ projections. Energy shares slid with oil prices. Yahoo! Inc. fell 7.6 percent, leading technology shares lower. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. jumped 18 percent after its results beat forecasts.

     The S&P 500 Index declined 0.1 percent to 2,127.83 at 4 p.m. in New York, snapping a three-session string of all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 13.51 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,312.39, a record for a second day. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.2 percent. About 6.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 4 percent below the three-month average.

     “When we get stronger news, we get concern about rising interest rates,” said Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “We’re back to the guessing  game of what happens with rates and whether economic data will be strong enough for the Fed to act.”

     A report today showed new residential construction surged in April to the highest level since November 2007, while more permits, a proxy for future construction, were issued than at any time since June 2008.

     An improving labor market and mortgage costs close to multi-year lows are reviving residential construction, a sign that the weakness in early 2015 was probably due to harsh winter weather.

     That supports the Federal Reserve’s view that a slowdown in first-quarter economic growth was likely temporary, as policy makers debate the timing of raising interest rates. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s April meeting will be released tomorrow.

     U.S. equities rose to all-time highs Monday, helped by merger activity, an advance in Apple Inc. and higher bond yields that sent banks rallying.

     “You saw that housing starts report, which was nice and solid,” said Michael Antonelli, an institutional equity sales trader and managing director at Robert W. Baird & Co. “It’s nice to see U.S. economic data beating, given how bad of a run we’ve seen with macro data. I thought that would be enough of a kick to keep us going in the follow-through, but crude oil is down a little bit which is curbing risk-taking a little.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 0.9 percent to 12.85, after a 2.8 percent gain on Monday. The gauge, know as the VIX, fell 3.7 percent last week for its first weekly decline in three weeks.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined Tuesday, led by energy. Financial shares in the benchmark index advanced for a second day to a 2015 high, as Treasury yields extended their climb after stronger-than-forecast housing data. Wells Fargo & Co., BB&T Corp. and Huntington Bancshares Inc. added at least 1.1 percent. Wells Fargo reached an all-time high, while Huntington hit its highest level since Sept. 2008.

     An S&P gauge of homebuilders rose 0.9 percent to the highest since April after the better-than-forecast housing starts. The index rose for a fourth day, its longest streak since January. KB Home jumped 2.4 percent, while Ryland Group Inc. and D.R. Horton Inc. added at least 1.1 percent.

     With signs of better economic growth in the housing data and a drop in oil prices, companies that stand to benefit from healthier consumer spending got a lift. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. rose 1.8 percent, bringing its May gain to 13 percent, the best month since July 2013. Olive Garden chain owner Darden Restaurants Inc. advanced 1.7 percent.

     Merck & Co. added 0.9 percent amid an advance in health- care shares, which also rose for a fourth day. Pfizer Inc. climbed 0.7 percent. Endo International Plc rebounded 2.8 percent after losing 5.4 percent Monday on its Par Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. buyout. Hospital operators HCA Holdings Inc. and Tenet Healthcare Corp. increased more than 1.7 percent, with HCA posting a third straight record close.

     Energy companies in the S&P 500 dropped 1.2 percent to a one-month low, as crude oil declined 3.7 percent. Chevron Corp. lost 1.5 percent, while Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. and Transocean Ltd. retreated more than 4.9 percent.

     Raw-material shares fell for a second day as the dollar’s best two-day gain since De. 2011 reduces the appeal of commodities priced in the U.S. currency. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. lost 3.8 percent, after falling 3.1 percent Monday, while steelmaker Nucor Corp. slipped 2.2 percent.

     Technology shares slid, led by a slump in Yahoo. The stock lost 7.6 percent on reports that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is considering a rule change that might complicate efforts to exit a stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Alibaba rose 1.3 percent.

     Take-Two Interactive soared 18 percent, the most since Feb. 2008, as the video game maker’s quarterly results benefited from sales of the latest edition of Grand Theft Auto as well as Evolve, a shooter game released Feb. 10.                        

    TJX Companies Inc. jumped 2.9 percent, its biggest gain since February. The off-price apparel and home fashion retailer boosted its full-year profit and sales growth forecasts.

     Wal-Mart dropped 4.4 percent, the most in three years, to a six-month low after first-quarter U.S. sales grew more slowly than projected and currency fluctuations ate into profit.

     Urban Outfitters tumbled 15 percent, the most since January 2012, to a four-month low after the apparel retailer’s first- quarter profit and sales missed analysts’ forecasts.

     MBIA Inc. sank 8.4 percent, the biggest decline in more than two years. Warburg Pincus LLC, the largest holder of MBIA’s stock, said it will reduce its stake by more than half.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is only when we give complete attention to a problem,

and solve it immediately – never carrying it over to the next day,

the next minute – that there is solitude.

To have inward solitude and space is very important

because it implies freedom to be, to go, to function, to fly.

Krishnamurti

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.

                                           -Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968

 

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

Senior 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, May 15^th, in 1905, A.C. Benson, wrote this in his diary:

I had one of the most curiously beautiful [bicycle] rides of my life.  I got to Milton:  saw the church, in its green shade, with its elaborately written monuments, its glorious little window of Jacob, with hands like parsnips:  then crossed the line, among the green pastures, so full of great thorn-thickets:  and then along the towpath, riding slowly down the Cam.  Such a sweet clear, fresh day.  I wound slowly along past Baitsbite and the Waterbeach bridge, into the heart of the fen.  The space below the towpath full of masses of cow-parsley:  the river sapphire blue between the green banks – the huge fields running for miles to the right, with the long lines of dyke and lode; far away the blue tower of Ely, the brown roofs of Reach, and the low wolds of Newmarket.  It was simply enchanting!

… so I wound on and on, full of peace and content;  I declare that the absolutely flat country, golden with buttercups, and the blue tree-clumps far away backed by hills, and over all the vast sky-perspective, is the most beautiful thing of all.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY

Competitors take part in a coaching marathon along the ‘Long Walk’ during the third day of the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Friday. Steve Parsons/AP

A woman walks along a ‘Street of flying umbrellas’ art installation in St.Petersburg, Russia, Friday. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP

Market Closes for May 15^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18272.56	+20.32
		+0.11%
S&P 500	2122.73	+1.63   +0.08%
NASDAQ	5048.293	-2.502   -0.05%
TSX	15108.12	+80.00
		+0.53%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19732.92	+162.68
		+0.83%
HANG SENG	27822.28	+535.73
		+1.96%
SENSEX	27324.00	+117.94
		+0.43%
FTSE 100	6960.49	-12.55
		-0.18%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.712	1.805
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.336	2.418
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1459	2.2354
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9331	3.0584

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.83235	0.83388
US $	1.20142	1.19921
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.37643	0.72652
US $	1.14568	0.87285

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1220.50	1225.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.69	59.88

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day, paring a third week of losses, as raw-materials producers and railway shares climbed.

     Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. surged 11 percent after Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. bought a stake in the company. Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. gained at least 0.8 percent to pace gains among industrial stocks.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index gained 80 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,108.12 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index dropped 0.4 percent this week, for a third decline, its worst streak this year.

     Stantec Inc. rallied 3.7 percent and Air Canada climbed 1 percent as industrials shares increased 1.2 percent as a group. Nine of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX rose on trading volume 17 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Canadian factory sales rose 2.9 percent to C$51 billion ($42 billion) in March, the fastest pace in almost four years, as production of planes and automobiles rebounded. Economists had forecast a median 1 percent increase. A weaker Canadian dollar is helping manufacturing because it makes their goods cheaper to foreign customers.

     Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. added 3.3 percent as silver futures for July delivery increased in New York. Gold futures capped the biggest weekly rally since mid-January, climbing 2.9 percent. OceanaGold Corp. rose 3.2 percent.

     Manulife Financial Corp. retreated 0.5 percent for a fourth day of losses. The S&P/TSX Financials Index lost 0.1 percent as Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s largest lenders, each slipped.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed at record for a second straight day, as investors speculated the Federal Reserve would continue to support economic growth after data showed an unexpected drop in consumer confidence and weak factory output.

     Netflix Inc. added 4.5 percent after people familiar with the matter said the company is in partnership talks with a Chinese media firm. Pepco Holdings Inc. and Exelon Corp. surged after Maryland regulators approved their merger. Keurig Green Mountain Inc. lost 8.6 percent, and bank shares capped their biggest retreat in a month.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,122.70 at 4 p.m. in New York. The gauge added 0.3 percent this week for its first back- to-back weekly gain in more than a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 20.32 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,272.56. About 5.7 billion shares traded hands Friday, 11 percent below the three-month average.

     “The data plays into the renewed concern that economy in the second quarter will move at a glacial place, renewing hope that the Fed won’t move aggressively in 2015,” said Chad Morganlander, a money manager at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., which oversees about $170 billion. “The market is listless today and you had a big move yesterday that took everybody by surprise on the back of economic data.”

     Consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in May by the most in more than two years, as the University of Michigan preliminary index of sentiment dropped to the lowest since October.                         

     A separate report showed factory production stalled in April, following a 0.3 percent March gain that was larger than previously estimated. The data add to previous reports that suggest economic growth isn’t strong enough to warrant higher interest rates.

     A report Thursday showed wholesale prices unexpectedly declined in April, indicating inflation is well-contained as Fed officials weigh when to raise the benchmark rate. Concern the Fed would raise interest rates even with worsening economic data and predictions for earnings declines have whipsawed stocks between gains and losses in the previous five weeks.

     Signs that the global bond market selloff has run its course and the dollar’s retreat yesterday spurred gains in multinational companies, helping the S&P 500 erase declines earlier in the week and close at a new high. The weaker dollar lessens the drag on the economy and corporate profits as it makes exports more competitive.                       

     With the earnings season drawing to a close, S&P 500 members are now on track to deliver income growth of 0.4 percent in the first quarter, compared with projections for a 5.8 percent decline as recently as March. Out of 460 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings, 72 percent have beaten earnings expectations, while 47 percent have exceeded sales estimates.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 2.8 percent to 12.38, after sliding 7.4 percent Thursday. The gauge fell 3.7 percent in the week, its first drop for the gauge, known as the VIX, in three.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups were higher, with utilities and consumer discretionary companies gaining the most while financial and technology shares led declines.

     Netflix rose 4.5 percent to an all-time high, bolstering gains in consumer discretionary shares. People familiar with the matter said it’s in talks with a Chinese media company backed by Jack Ma and other possible partners as it seeks entry into the country’s $5.9 billion online video market.

     Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. jumped 5.3 percent, its biggest gain since September, after Leonard Green & Partners LP reported a new stake in the retailer.

     Transportation stocks in the S&P 500 advanced, as United Parcel Service Inc. climbed 1.7 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgraded its share recommendation to buy from hold. Railroads CSX Corp. and Union Pacific Corp. each increased 1.7 percent.

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average gained 1 percent as Avis Budget Group Inc. jumped 10 percent, the most since May 2012, after competitor Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said it’s raising prices in expectation of a busy summer travel season. Hertz added 5.3 percent.

     Yum! Brands Inc. gained 4.4 percent to $93.96, a record, after JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst John Ivankoe raised his rating on the shares to overweight from neutral.

     Pepco Holdings rallied 5.2 percent, the most in a year, and Exelon rose 2.9 percent to lead utilities higher after the Maryland Public Service Commission approved Exelon’s $6.8 billion buyout of Pepco.

     Financial shares in the S&P 500 dropped 0.4 percent as yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries slid the most in six weeks on economic data. Traders are viewing softer-than-projected economic gauges as a challenge to any Fed interest-rate increase this year.

     The group has rallied as much as 2.6 percent this month as 10-year note yields climbed for three straight weeks. Charles Schwab Corp. and E*Trade Financial Corp. slipped more than 2 percent. Regions Financial Corp. fell 1.8 percent, the most in a month, while SunTrust Banks Inc. dropped 1.5 percent.

     Symantec Corp.’s 5.5 percent retreat weighed on the technology group after the the security software maker issued profit and revenue forecasts short of analysts’ predictions. Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. gave back some of Thursday’s gains, each losing 1 percent.

     Keurig Green Mountain declined 8.6 percent after the company said its new cold brewing system won’t be available in all its retail outlets until next year, a slower schedule than investors had expected.

     Deere & Co. dropped 3.3 percent, the most since October, after JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Ann Duignan cut the stock to underweight, the equivalent of a sell rating, from neutral.

 

Have a wonderful  long weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

There is no weapon more powerful in achieving the truth than acceptance of oneself.

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Learning never exhausts the mind.

     -Leonardo da Vinci. 1452-1519

 

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

Senior 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:

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Visitors watch ‘Skuls’, Lego sculptures by US artist Nathan Sawaya presented during an exhibition The Art of the Brick, in Paris, France, Thursday. The exhibition is created with Lego bricks and runs until Aug. 30. Christophe Ena/AP

 

The pack of riders competes during the sixth stage of the 98th Tour of Italy cycling race from Montecatini Terme to Castiglione della Pescaia, Italy, Thursday. Lotto Soudal rider Andre Greipel of Germany won the stage while Tinkoff Saxo rider Alberto Contador of Spain retained the leader’s pink jersey. Fabio Ferrari/Reuters

Market Closes for May 14^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18252.24	+191.75
		+1.06%
S&P 500	2120.78	+22.30   +1.06%
NASDAQ	5050.797	+69.105   +1.39%
TSX	15022.60	+41.88
		+0.28%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19570.24	-194.48
		-0.98%
HANG SENG	27286.55	+37.27
		+0.14%
SENSEX	27206.06	-45.04
		-0.17%
FTSE 100	6937.04	+23.41
		+0.34%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.805	1.822
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.418	2.427
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2354	2.2835
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0584	3.0704

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.83388	0.83561
US $	1.19921	1.19674
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.36866	0.73064
US $	1.14129	0.87620

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1225.00	1210.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.88	60.97

I WOULD RATHER BE POSITIONED AS A PETRIFIED BULL RATHER THAN A PENNILESS BEAR. –JOHN L. PERSON.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, snapping a three-day slide, as consumer shares rallied and raw-materials producers climbed after precious metals extended a rally.

     DHX Media Ltd. jumped 11 percent after reporting third- quarter earnings and sales that topped analysts’ estimates. Silver Standard Resources Inc. added 4.8 percent, while OceanaGold Corp. climbed 4.4 percent to its highest since September after gold hit a 12-week high.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 47.40 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,028.12 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index had dropped 1.3 percent in the prior three days to the lowest since April 1.

     Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. rallied 3.1 percent to lead a gain in the consumer staples group. Eight of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 6.2 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     Gold for June delivery added 0.6 percent to $1,225.20 an ounce, the highest level since Feb. 17. Silver climbed to the most expensive since Feb. 4. The metals rallied as the dollar fell to a January low against a basket of 10 currencies, boosting demand for the precious metals as alternative investments.

     Canadian Tire added 1.3 percent after the retailer reported earnings in line with analysts’ estimates. DHX, a television programming producer, surged 11 percent, the most since Nov. 2013. The company’s third-quarter revenue almost tripled to C$85.6 million from C$29 million a year ago.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose for the first time this week, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index topping its closing record, as a weaker dollar boosted multinational companies and a bond-market selloff showed signs of easing.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 1 percent at 3:03 p.m. in New York. The gauge has climbed 1.8 percent since falling to a one-month low May 6. Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. jumped more than 2 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index retreated 0.3 percent, headed for a fifth weekly decline. The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell five basis points to 2.24 percent while German bund rates slipped two basis points. Gold rose to the highest since February.

     The Bloomberg dollar gauge has retreated from its highest level in data back to 2005 as economic reports undermine prospects for higher borrowing costs. An unexpected drop in wholesale prices fueled doubt about whether inflation is high enough to warrant a rate increase. Declines in the currency have generally boosted shares of the biggest U.S. companies on speculation they make American products more attractive.

     “The dollar’s getting a little bit weaker and the bond market is actually rallying a bit as opposed to what’s been happening,” Mark Kepner, an equity trader at Themis Trading LLC, in Chatham, New Jersey, said via phone. “The jobless claims numbers were also good and continue to show the job market is getting better, while PPI numbers didn’t show any worries about inflation.”                        

     The S&P 500’s record was its first since April 24. The gauge fell as much as 1.8 percent through May 6, amid concern the Fed would raise interest rates even with worsening economic data. Stocks have whipsawed between gains and losses in the past six weeks as investors weigh whether a first-quarter slowdown in growth was temporary. It is 0.2 percent higher this week.

     Data Thursday showed fewer Americans than forecast filed for unemployment benefits last week. A report yesterday indicated retail sales stagnated after data Friday showed better-than-forecast hiring.

     The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1 percent, as all but one of its 30 members gained. All but one of the 10 main S&P 500 industries advanced Thursday, with technology shares rallying a second day.

     The dollar had climbed nine straight months through March on speculation the first hike in almost a decade was looming. The greenback weakened to $1.1402 per euro, after dropping 1.2 percent Wednesday. The euro briefly trimmed advances after Mario Draghi said the European Central Bank will implement its bond- buying program “in full.”

     Yields on 30-year Treasuries retreated three basis points to 3.06 percent after surging seven basis points Wednesday. Investors in the U.S. and Europe clamored to buy securities at government debt auctions this week, even as prices of outstanding bonds tumbled in secondary-market trading.

     More than $400 billion has been wiped off the value of global bonds in May, led by a rout in German bunds. The rate on the 10-year bond slipped two basis points to 0.70 percent Thursday, its first decline this week.

     “We’ve seen a reversal in what were some pretty crowded trades,” Carin Pai, director of equity strategy at Fiduciary Trust Company International in New York, said by phone. “With the ECB announcing their QE program there was a lot of pressure on European bond yields.”

     The MSCI Emerging Markets Index gained 0.3 percent. The Hang Seng China Enterprises gauge dropped for a third day, retreating 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index was little changed. Taiwan’s Taiex Index retreated 1.2 percent, halting a two-day advance.

     Gold futures for June delivery rose 0.6 percent to settle at $1,225.20 an ounce. Earlier, the price reached $1,227.70, the highest for a most-active contract since Feb. 17. Silver futures for July delivery climbed 1.4 percent to $17.465 an ounce. The price reached $17.585, the highest since Feb. 4.

     Oil fell for a second day after the biggest drop in U.S.refinery activity in four months cut crude demand.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Not only must we be aware of the nature and structure of the problem

and see it completely,

but meet it as it arises and resolve it immediately,

so that it does not take root in the mind.

If one allows a problem to endure for a month or a day,

or even for a few minutes, it distorts the mind.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing.

                                            -Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

 

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

I’ve been in Toronto the past few days visiting my clients who live there.  I have been so amazed over the past ten years or so at how vibrant the culinary landscape has evolved to be in that city.  The Daniel Boulud restaurant  in the new Four Seasons Hotel is absolutely fantastic, as is the food served at  his DB Bar.  One of my clients suggested we meet for lunch yesterday at a restaurant near his office on King Street, named Ovest Cucina, where a Sicilian chef prepares an impressive Italian cuisine.  The hospitality industry was hosting their annual Terroir conference, featuring several chefs and food industry notables, and I ducked in for a few of the  sessions.  I especially wanted to see Natalie Crenn, whose Atelier Crenn in San Francisco rates as one of my favorite restaurants in the world.  When she first opened a few years ago, and I had my first sampling of her culinary talent, I suggested to her that she’ll be a 3 Michelin-starred chef some day soon.  It didn’t take long – she now has two Michelin stars, the first female chef in the USA to garner the honor. 

It is wonderful to hear chefs embracing and emphasizing sustainability in food sourcing, which can only occur if farmers, fishers are paid fairly and profitably. 

Chef Gavin Kaysen, formerly of Café Boulud in NYC and now Chef-owner of Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis showed an inspiring  video of winning the Bocuse d’Or.  After placing “an embarrassing 14^th” in the 2007 Bocuse d’Or, he vowed to get US chefs on the podium at this world chef championship for the first time ever.  Along with Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Jerome Bocuse, Kaysen co-launched the Ment’Or Foundation – a support system offering rigorous training and financial assistance for future contenders – and he served as head coach for 2011, 2013, and 2015.  The food shown in the video that they prepared to cinch the award was sublime – unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

The game is lost only when we stop trying. –Mario Cuomo.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Worshipers release doves during a mass at the Our Lady of Fatima shrine, in Fatima, central Portugal, Wednesday. Every year on May 12 and 13 tens of thousands of Catholic believers go on pilgrimage to the Fatima sanctuary to pray and attend masses where the apparitions of the Virgin Mary were witnessed by three shepherd children Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco in 1917. Francisco Seco/AP

Sunlight sparkles off the water’s surface as pink flamingos gather in the Camargue regional natural park near Arles, southern France. Situated in the delta of the Rhone River on the French Mediterranean coast, classified by UNESCO, the Camargue Biosphere Reserve is made up of a mosaic of lagoons of fresh, brackish, and saline wetlands, one of the most important in Europe. Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

Market Closes for May 13^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18060.89	-7.34
		-0.04%
S&P 500	2097.29	-1.83   -0.09%
NASDAQ	4981.691	+5.502   +0.11%
TSX	14972.80	-70.35
		-0.47%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19764.72	+139.88
		+0.71%
HANG SENG	27249.28	-157.90
		-0.58%
SENSEX	27251.10	+373.62
		+1.39%
FTSE 100	6949.63	+15.83
		+0.23%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.822	1.797
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.427	2.393
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2835	2.2489
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0704	3.0127

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.83561	0.83218
US $	1.19674	1.20167
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.35777	0.73650
US $	1.13457	0.88139

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1210.50	1191.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	60.97	60.75

The first human who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization.  –Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell to a six-week low as the nation’s largest railways tumbled and energy producers declined, overshadowing a rally among precious metals producers.

     Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. retreated more than 2.3 percent to pace declines among industrial shares. Pipeline operators Enbridge Inc. and TransCanada Corp. slipped at least 0.7 percent. Encana Corp. tumbled 2.3 percent after analysts at RBC Capital Markets lowered the stock’s rating to the equivalent of a hold.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 62.43 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,980.72 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has dropped 1.3 percent in three days to the lowest since April 1.

     Canadian National Railway declined 3.2 percent and Canadian Pacific Railway lost 2.4 percent as industrial stocks fell lost 1.8 percent as a group, most in the S&P/TSX. Eight of 10 industries in the benchmark equity gauge retreated on trading volume 6.5 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     Railway commodity carloads tumbled 7.5 percent in the week ended May 9 from year-ago levels according to AAR data, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Talon Custer and Lee Klaskow said in a report. Canadian Pacific Railway traffic dropped 13 percent amid weakness in coal and agriculture shipments, the report showed.

     Trican Well Service Ltd. plunged 14 percent after the company cut 2,000 jobs, suspended its dividend and said there is significant doubt the company can “continue as a going concern” after forecasting a potential breach of an interest coverage ratio covenant.

     Gold futures for June delivery jumped to a five-week high as stalling U.S. retail sales revived speculation a sputtering economy will spur the Federal Reserve to delay raising interest rates.

     Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. added 1.9 percent after meeting its 2015 output guidance and raised its forecast for 2016.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks closed little changed as corporate deal activity was overshadowed by concern a fixed- income selloff is not done, and weaker-than-forecast retail sales disappointed investors who were expecting a rebound from a winter slowdown.

     Owens-Illinois Inc. climbed 9.2 percent after a pact to buy the food-and-beverage glass business of Vitro SAB. Williams Cos. rallied 6.2 percent as it plans to buy the 40 percent of Williams Partners LP it doesn’t already own. Pall Corp. added 4.4 percent after its $13.8 billion deal with Danaher Corp. Retailers’ shares slipped after the sales data, led lower by Macy’s Inc.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,098.48 at 4:00 p.m. in New York, as the benchmark dropped for a third day, its longest losing streak in six weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 7.74 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 18,060.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.1 percent. About 6.2 billion shares traded hands Wednesday, 3.7 percent below the three-month average.

     “We’ve been at the mercy of the bond market because of a news vacuum with corporate earnings finished and a light economic calendar, but equities have been remarkably resilient in the face of yields and uncertainty about when the Fed will pull the trigger,” said Kelly Bogdanov, the San Francisco-based vice president and portfolio analyst at RBC Wealth Management.

     The S&P 500 slid Tuesday as a rout in fixed-income markets spread to equities, with the 10-year Treasury note’s yield reaching the highest since November before slipping. Yield on the benchmark notes rose three basis points to 2.28 percent Wednesday.

     The unchanged April retail sales reading followed a revised 1.1 percent gain in March that was the biggest in a year and larger than previously estimated. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.2 percent gain in April. Data are also due later this week on consumer sentiment, jobless claims and industrial production.

     Concern the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates even with worsening economic data and predictions for an earnings slump have whipsawed stocks between gains and losses in the past five weeks. The S&P 500 fell for the past two days after jumping the most since March on Friday amid data that showed hiring bounced back in April from a winter slowdown.

     “We had a couple down days and now all this bad data just pushes out the Fed longer to tighten,” said Frank Ingarra, head trader at Greenwich, Connecticut-based NorthCoast Asset Management LLC. NorthCoast has $3 billion under management. “It’s going to be range-bound trading until we get something that will break us through.”

     The S&P 500 is trading within its tightest trading range to start a year in almost a decade: roughly 125 points. The peak- to-trough move of 6.3 percent is the smallest at this point of any year since 2006. The gauge is 0.9 percent below its April 24 record.

     Most companies in the benchmark have already reported results this earnings season, with 72 percent beating estimates. Analysts now project profit at S&P 500 members grew 0.2 percent in the first quarter, reversing earlier predictions for a decline. Their March estimates called for a 5.8 percent drop.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 0.7 percent to 13.76, after ending little changed Tuesday. The gauge, known as the VIX, is on track for its third straight weekly gain for the first time since September. Six of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined Wednesday, led by energy, consumer discretionary and utilities shares. Technology companies advanced the most, up 0.5 percent.                      

     Semiconductors rebounded from a 0.9 percent drop Tuesday, lifting tech shares. Micron Technology Inc. and Intel Corp. rose more than 1.1 percent. Microsoft Corp. added 0.6 percent after Deutsche Bank analyst Karl Keirstead upgraded shares to buy from hold, citing “relatively cheap” valuation with more positive than negative catalysts.

     Qualcomm Inc. advanced 1.4 percent as the chipmaker plans to tap the corporate bond market for the first time, with proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes, including financing a capital return program and acquisitions.

     Owens-Illinois rallied 10 percent, the biggest jump since 2009, after the world’s largest maker of glass containers agreed to buy Vitro’s business for about $2.15 billion to extend its reach in Mexico.

     Pall Corp. added 4.4 percent to its 19 percent rally Tuesday after Danaher agreed to buy the water-systems maker for $13.8 billion. It’s Danaher’s biggest-ever acquisition, and it plans to split itself into two dependent, publicly traded companies.

     Williams Partners jumped 21 percent, the most ever, after Williams Cos. agreed to buy the 40 percent of the pipeline company it doesn’t already own for $13.8 billion, simplifying its corporate structure in a bid to reduce taxes, increase payouts and accumulate cash for expansion.

     “There’s an awful lot of M&A and it’s certainly helping from a confidence level,” said Mark Spellman, a portfolio manager who helps oversee $4.2 billion at Alpine Funds in Purchase, New York. “If they thought there was a recession or profit problem in the near-term they probably wouldn’t do that.”

     Macy’s slumped 2.5 percent after the largest U.S. department-store chain reported first-quarter earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates as bad weather in Northeastern states and product delays at the West Coast ports hurt sales. Ralph Lauren Corp. sank 3 percent, the most in three months, and Fossil Group Inc. fell 2.1 percent to its lowest since 2012 to pace a retreat in consumer discretionary shares.                          

     DuPont Co. lost 7.4 percent, the biggest drop since 2012, as investors rejected investor Nelson Peltz’s attempt to get on the chemical maker’s board, the first failure for an activist campaign mounted by his firm Trian Fund Management since it was founded a decade ago.

     Union Pacific Corp., CSX Corp. and Kansas City Southern declined more than 1.5 percent, leading a 1 percent retreat in the Dow Jones Transportation Average which fell to a six-month low. Union Pacific slid to its lowest level since October as Wolf Research LLC analyst Scott Group cut second-quarter profit estimates for railroads, citing lower coal and grain volumes.

     The utilities group fell 1.1 percent to a two-month low as rising yields on Treasuries make the sector’s 3.7 percent dividend payout less attractive. Edison International Inc. sank 1.1 percent to an almost seven-month low.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

All the responsibility of good and evil is on you.  This is the great hope.

What I have done, that I can undo.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Adventure is worthwhile in itself.

          -Amelia Earhart, 1897-1937

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A worker sets up a giant canvas of the official poster for the 68th Cannes Film Festival, featuring the late actress Ingrid Bergman, at the Festival Palace in Cannes, Southern France, Monday. The festival will run from May 13 to 24. Regis Duvignau/Reuters

Britain’s Prince Harry sits in on a class during his visit to the Halfmoon Bay school on Stewart Island in southern New Zealand Monday.Robyn Edie/Reuters

Market Closes for May 12^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18068.23	-36.94
		-0.20%
S&P 500	2099.12	-6.21   -0.29%
NASDAQ	4976.188	-17.385   -0.35%
TSX	15043.15	-109.49
		-0.72%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19624.84	+3.93
		+0.02%
HANG SENG	27407.18	-311.02
		-1.12%
SENSEX	26877.48	-629.82
		-2.29%
FTSE 100	6933.80	-96.05
		-1.37%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.797	1.817
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.393	2.402
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2489	2.2779
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0127	3.0401

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.83218	0.82615
US $	1.20167	1.21043
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.34717	0.74230
US $	1.12109	0.89199

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1191.50	1189.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	60.75	59.25

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Joseph Ciolli and Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks declined for a second day, joining a slide among global equities, as transportation companies and banks led losses.

     Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. slumped at least 2.3 percent to pace declines among industrial stocks. Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s largest lender, dropped 0.6 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., an investment target of hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman, slid 1.2 percent. Air Canada jumped 3.8 percent after reporting profit that topped estimates.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 109.49 points, or 0.7 percent, to 15,043.15 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The slide trimmed its advance in 2015 to 2.8 percent.

     Global stocks joined a selloff in bonds from Japan to Europe as the MSCI World Index of developed markets slipped 0.3 percent for a second day of losses. The U.S. benchmark S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent in New York.

     All 10 of the main groups in the S&P/TSX declined on trading volume 3 percent higher than the 30-day average. Financial companies, which account for about one-third of the broader index by weighting, fell 0.7 percent.

     TMX Group Ltd., operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, sank 5.1 percent for the biggest drop since October 2013, after reporting earnings short of analysts’ estimates.

     Technology stocks slid for the first time in four days as BlackBerry Ltd. fell 3.2 percent.

     Valeant started exerting influence over the Canadian equity gauge, with its 85 percent surge in the 12 months to May 8 accounting for 60 percent of the index’s advance, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management is the drugmaker’s second-biggest shareholder.

     Air Canada climbed after reporting first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as the country’s biggest carrier benefited from a drop in fuel prices and revenue advanced.

US

By Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, as global equities joined a selloff in bonds from Japan to Europe. Treasuries recovered from earlier losses amid demand for the securities at a government auction, while the dollar weakened.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.3 percent by 4 p.m. in New York. The gauge briefly erased a 0.9 percent slide as yields on the 10-year Treasury note retreated from the highest level since November to decline three basis points to 2.25 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 1.3 percent, while emerging-market shares declined 0.7 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slid 0.5 percent. Oil rallied.

     Treasuries stabilized a day after the biggest drop in 30- year bonds since 2013 as an auction of three-year notes drew the strongest bidding since 2009, and as traders found value in debt. A global bond rout had wiped out more than $450 billion from the market. The S&P 500 ended Friday two points shy of a record before two days of losses at the start of this week.

     “When you have stocks at the high end of the historical range you need better news than what we have,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in Newton, Massachusetts. “This rise in rates isn’t coming from a better economy or a fundamental reason.”

     U.S. benchmark 10-year yields touched 2.36 percent before reversing, while Treasury 30-year rates fell three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 3.01 percent. Thirty-year yields jumped 14 basis points on Monday.

     The global bond selloff has intensified during the past three weeks as traders exited positions. Investors returned to the U.S. market a day after the biggest drop in two months.

     “We got to yield levels where guys were happy to take their paper back,” said Thomas Tucci, managing director and head of Treasury trading in New York at CIBC World Markets Corp.

     The S&P 500 nearly erased its losses for the day as Treasuries reached their highs. An index of oil and gas producers was the only one of 10 main groups to advance as West Texas Intermediate crude climbed above $60 a barrel.

     Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said Tuesday that he is in “wait and see mode” headed into the next meeting on interest rates in June. Data are due later this week on retail sales, industrial production and consumer sentiment.

     The drop in Treasuries had stabilized last week before resuming Monday amid selling in Europe. Those losses spread to Asia Tuesday, with Japanese 10-year yields rising six basis points to 0.45 percent. German yields have advanced in 11 of the past 12 sessions, climbing 52 basis points to 0.68 percent.

     The selling in bonds also spread to equities, with the MSCI All-Country World Index slipping 0.3 percent Tuesday. All but two of 18 main western-European indexes retreated. Germany’s DAX Index tumbled 1.7 percent, while France’s CAC 40 Index Spain’s and IBEX 35 Index slipped at least 1 percent.

     “The weakness today is broad-based,” said Espen Furnes, who helps oversee $85 billion at Storebrand Asset Management in Oslo. “You can’t hide the fact that equity markets have had an excellent start to the year. In that context I find it reasonable that some investors wish to take some profits.”

     Greece’s ASE Index gained 1.4 percent. The country has readied a repayment to the International Monetary Fund, officials said, while euro-area nations warned Greece still faces a battle to release financial aid.

     The dollar’s decline on Tuesday wiped out all of its gains from the previous day. The euro rallied versus most of its 16 major peers, adding 0.3 percent to 134.41 yen. The greenback was down 0.2 percent at 119.87 yen.

     Crude oil climbed after OPEC boosted its global oil demand outlook and the dollar weakened.

     WTI for June delivery advanced 2.5 percent to settle at $60.75 a barrel in New York. Prices have increased 14 percent this year. Brent gained 3 percent to close at $66.86 a barrel in London.

     U.S. shale oil output fell by about 1 percent this month and the decline will gather momentum in June, the Energy Information Administration said on Monday.

     Soybean futures slid 1.9 percent Tuesday after the U.S. government predicted stockpiles of the crop will reach a record. The Bloomberg Commodity Index added 1.2 percent, its biggest one-day gain since April 15.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!


“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” Newt Gingrich 

As ever,

 

Karen

 

“There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.” George Sand

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Villarrica Volcano lights up the sky Sunday night near Pucon town, Chile. Villarrica, located near the popular tourist resort of Pucon, is among the most active in South America. Cristobal Saavedra/Reuters

Workers prepare incense to hang from the ceiling of a temple as they get ready for a ceremony to celebrate the birth of sea goddess Mazu in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, Sunday. Reuters

Market Closes for May 11^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18105.17	-85.94
		-0.47%
S&P 500	2107.16	-8.94   -0.42%
NASDAQ	4993.574	-9.975   -0.20%
TSX	15152.06	-17.96
		-0.12%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19620.91	+241.72
		+1.25%
HANG SENG	27718.20	+140.86
		+0.51%
SENSEX	27507.30	+401.91
		+1.48%
FTSE 100	7029.85	-16.97
		-0.24%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.817	1.695
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.402	2.295
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.2779	2.1406
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0401	2.8957

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.82615	0.82690
US $	1.21043	1.20933
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.34996	0.74077
US $	1.11527	0.89664

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1189.25	1186.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.25	59.39

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, halting a two-day advance, as energy companies retreated with the price of oil amid speculation global oversupply will persist.

     Canadian Energy Services & Technology Corp. sank 3.3 percent as energy shares declined 0.7 percent as a group. Manulife Financial Corp., the nation’s largest insurer, added 0.4 percent to close at the highest level since 2009.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 17.38 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,152.64 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring an earlier decline of 0.4 percent in the final hour of trading. The gauge slide cut its advance in 2015 to 3.6 percent.

     Six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 15 percent lower than the 30-day average. Health-care shares climbed 1 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International rose 1.1 percent.

     Energy shares slid the most in the index, as oil dropped a third day in New York. U.S. crude inventories remain more than 100 million barrels above the five-year average for this time of year, government data show.

     China’s central bank cut interest rates for the third time in six months, reducing the one-year lending rate 0.25 percentage points to 5.1 percent and the one-year deposit rate by the same amount to 2.25 percent, effective Monday. The bank will also raise the limit on what banks can pay savers.

     Imports and exports for the world’s second-largest economy and Canada’s second-biggest trading partner after the U.S. declined in April, underscoring China’s struggle to match its 2015 growth target of 7 percent.

     AutoCanada Inc. jumped 7.8 percent after rallying the most since November 2009 on May 8, after reporting earlier it was in talks with acquisition targets. The stock has surged 29 percent in two sessions, the biggest rally since 2009.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, halting a two-day advance as energy shares slid with crude oil. Treasuries tumbled the most in two months, while European government debt resumed a selloff amid doubt Greece can resolve its debt problems.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.5 percent by 4 p.m. in New York, after closing Friday two points shy of a record. Noble Energy Inc. sank 6.2 percent to lead energy producers to their worst day since January. The euro fell 0.4 percent to $1.1155 in a third day of declines. German and Italian bond yields climbed, and rates on 10-year Treasury notes gained 13 basis points to 2.28 percent, the biggest climb since March 6.

     U.S. stocks stalled near all-time highs, after rallying the most in two months on Friday, as oil fell for a third day. Policy makers could raise key rates at any meeting, depending on economic data, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams reiterated on CNBC Monday. The next major report is April retail sales on Wednesday. German bunds and other euro- region sovereign debt declined as China cut interest rates.

     “There’s a little malaise in the stock market after the reaction to the last jobs report and there’s no clear direction from the data,” Kevin Mahn, president of Parsippany, New Jersey-based Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc., said by phone. “The best way to characterize the market right now is trendless volatility.”

     Concern the Fed would raise borrowing costs, along with forecasts for a slump in corporate profits, have whipsawed stocks between gains and losses during the past five weeks.

     Almost $100 million worth of options pegged to volatility in U.S. equities changed hands in a split second Monday in Chicago, transactions that together would represent more than half a normal day’s volume.

     About 40 different trades went off at 12:16:04 p.m., encompassing contracts that gain in value should the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rise over the next few months, according to options data compiled by Bloomberg. The four biggest were each more than 130,000 contracts. The index known as the VIX climbed 7.7 percent Monday.

     All of the 10 main S&P 500 groups retreated Monday, following Friday’s 1.4 percent advance, the biggest one-day gain since March 16. Energy shares sank 2.1 percent, the most since January.

     Treasuries resumed declines after stabilizing Friday following a global bond rout that sent 10-year yields to a 2015- high of 2.31 percent. The notes fell Monday for the first time in three days as the U.S. prepared to auction $64 billion in coupon-bearing debt.

     The drop was also propelled by the ongoing slump in bonds from Germany and other euro-region nations. Spain’s 10-year bond yield rose eight basis points, or 0.08 percentage point, to 1.75 percent, and German 10-year bund yields increased six basis points to 0.61 percent.

     The euro extended its slide from a 2 1/2-month high as the region’s finance ministers met on aid for Greece before the country’s debt-repayment deadline Tuesday.

     Greece — which needs to pay about 750 million euros ($837 million) to the International Monetary Fund — dodged an economic bullet by persuading an increasingly skeptical German- led bloc of creditors that it is serious about delivering the tight budget policies needed to escape a default.

     “The to-ing and fro-ing on Greece, given they’ve got that payment to the IMF due very soon,” is weighing on the euro, said Joseph Capurso, a strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. Uncertainty over Greece’s future is set to continue as negotiations will probably be “kicking the can down the road for a while longer,” he said.

     Greece’s ASE Index of stocks fell 2.5 percent, for the biggest decline among western-European markets. Ten-year bond yields increased 29 basis points to 10.96 percent.

     Gains in retailers and miners sent European stocks up for a third day. Delhaize Group jumped 15 percent and Royal Ahold NV jumped 5.5 percent after reports that the companies are in early stages of merger talks.

     Commodity producers climbed after the People’s Bank of China lowered the one-year lending rate and the one-year deposit rate by 0.25 percentage point as it ratcheted up support for the economy.

     The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 3 percent, posting its largest two-day gain since January. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed 1.3 percent, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.1 percent.

     Copper futures fell the most in more than two weeks amid concern the rate cut won’t be enough to boost demand in China, the world’s biggest consumer of industrial metals.

     Oil dropped a third day amid speculation that a global oversupply will persist. Brent crude futures declined 0.7 percent to settle at $64.91 a barrel in London, and West Texas Intermediate oil for June delivery dropped 0.2 percent to $59.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

     New Zealand’s dollar tumbled 2.1 percent versus the dollar and sank to its weakest level since January against its Australian counterpart as the number of banks predicting the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will cut rates mounted.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

“Be true to yourself. Make each day a masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day.” John Wooden

As ever,

 

Karen

 

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” Frederick Keonig

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

1945, VE DAY: Victory in Europe.

On this day in 1963, Scottish actor Sean Connery, relatively unknown at the time, starred in his first James Bond movie “Dr. No.” He went on to appear in six more 007 films over the years, including “From Russia With Love,” “Goldfinger” and “Diamonds Are Forever.”

Once

  -by Saskia Hamilton

    In the night, the bed was as long
as the hours, the hours were as long as the road
or the future, the past was not our destiny,
the foreboding or foretelling was left on the shelves to the longplaying records
we’d switch on for the warmth of the scratches
that pocked the music like rain, as the needle
wandered all that black circumference –

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The results of exit polls are projected onto the side of Broadcasting House, the headquarters of the BBC, in central London after voting closed in Britain’s general election Friday. Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Bobo skateboards past office workers during evening rush hour in Singapore’s central business district Friday. The four-year-old British bulldog, who can skateboard independently, was performing as part of a promotion for a luxury pet hotel and resort. Edgar Su/Reuters

Market Closes for May 8^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18191.11	+267.05
		+1.49%
S&P 500	2116.59	+28.59   +1.37%
NASDAQ	5003.551	+58.006   +1.17%
TSX	15172.57	+83.75
		+0.56%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19379.19	+87.20
		+0.45%
HANG SENG	27577.34	+287.37
		+1.05%
SENSEX	27105.39	+506.28
		+1.90%
FTSE 100	7046.82	+159.87
		+2.32%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.695	1.748
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.295	2.331
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1406	2.1800
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.8957	2.9105

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.82690	0.82569
US $	1.20933	1.21110
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.35547	0.73775
US $	1.12085	0.89218

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1186.00	1187.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	59.39	58.94

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day, paring a weekly loss, after jobs data from Canada and the U.S. spurred speculation central banks won’t raise interest rates soon.

     Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank increased at least 0.4 percent to pace gains among the nation’s largest lenders. Gran Tierra Energy Inc. added 1.6 percent after agreeing to demands from investor West Face Capital Inc. to expand the company board and appoint a new chief executive officer.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 81.20 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,170.02 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has retreated 1.1 percent this week, for a second straight week of declines.

     “The bounce in oil has bought us some time,” said Frank Maeba, managing partner at Breton Hill Capital Ltd. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$930 million ($768 million). “Longer term the central bank will take a more dovish stance. It’s reassessing information as we go on, but in general the trajectory is keeping easing into the future.”

     Canada lost 19,700 jobs in April on the biggest drop in part-time work in four years. Employment fell the most since August and the jobless rate remained at 6.8 percent for a third month, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 5,000 job decrease and the jobless rate to rise to 6.9 percent.

     U.S. payrolls rebounded in April with a 223,000 net increase in employment following the smallest gain since June 2012 in March. The jobless rate fell to the lowest since May 2008. The rebound in hiring bolsters optimism economic growth is accelerating in the U.S. at a pace slow enough to keep the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates in June.

     AutoCanada Inc. jumped 20 percent, the biggest gain since November 2009, as consumer discretionary stocks climbed 1 percent as a group. Trading volume was 7.1 percent higher than the 30-day average as eight of 10 industries advanced.

     AutoCanada said it was in talks with acquisition targets and in position to report two deals in 45 days, while also reporting first-quarter profit ahead of estimates.

     Energy companies jumped 1.3 percent for the biggest gain among groups. Crew Energy Inc. and Bonavista Energy Corp. climbed more than 11 percent to lead the advance amid a 0.8 percent rebound in oil.

US

By Oliver Renick and Lu Wang

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose the most since March after a rebound in hiring last month bolstered optimism that economic growth is accelerating, but not fast enough to warrant higher interest rates in June.

     Raw-material shares rallied to a two-month high after a jump in construction jobs. Home Depot Inc. and Whirlpool Corp. advanced at least 1.7 percent. Lennar Corp.’s 2.2 percent climb led gains among homebuilders. Microsoft Corp. rose 2.3 percent, pacing an increase in technology stocks for a second day. Visa Inc. surged 4.3 percent amid a report that it’s in talks to buy its former European subsidiary for as much as $20 billion.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 1.4 percent to 2,116.10 at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing a weekly decline and closed within two points of its record set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 267.05 points, or 1.5 percent, to 18,191.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.2 percent.

     “This is just-right jobs for stocks,” said Darrell Cronk, president of Wells Fargo Investment Institute in New York. “We hit it right where we needed to be, not too much and not too little. You want an economy growing north of 200,000 jobs, but if you get closer to 300,000 you start to have conversations about inflationary pressures and the economy heating up too fast, so this number is perfect.”

     The S&P 500 had slipped 1.8 percent through Wednesday from its all-time high set on April 24th, amid concerns that the economy was slowing as the Federal Reserve considers raising interest rates. About 6.6 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, roughly the average in the past three months.                          

     The 223,000 net increase in April employment followed a March gain that was the smallest since June 2012. The jobless rate fell to 5.4 percent, the lowest since May 2008. The job growth and steadily rising wages may keep the Fed on track to raise its benchmark interest rate later this year.

     Wage growth remains limited, though, with average hourly earnings rising 0.1 percent after a revised 0.2 percent March gain that was weaker than initially reported. Hourly pay was up 2.2 percent last month from a year earlier.

     While a futures-based measure indicates the Fed remains on track to raise rates this year, the data make a hike in June less likely.

     “The jobs report is not indicating the economy is overheating and it’s certainly not indicating the economic environment is further on the decline,” said Michael Arone, the Boston-based chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors’ U.S. Intermediary Business. The firm oversees $2.4 trillion. “You’re feeling a big sigh of relief in the capital markets.”                     

     Fed policy makers are monitoring labor data to help determine when to raise borrowing costs after growth slowed in the first quarter. Fed Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said this week the central bank should wait for more evidence wages are advancing before boosting interest rates.

     Companies in the S&P 500 are beating earnings estimates and analysts have reversed their predictions for a slump in corporate profits. Analysts now project a first-quarter gain of 0.2 percent, compared with a 5.6 percent drop at the start of the earnings season. They still predict declines in the second and third quarter.

     Hedge-fund manager Daniel Loeb said he expects that rising corporate profits will present opportunities for stock investments even if the Fed lifts rates. “We think that equities are going to trade on prospective earnings appreciation,” Loeb said Friday in a conference call discussing results at Third Point Reinsurance Ltd., the Bermuda-based reinsurer that he co-founded.

     A rally in U.K. stocks today pushed European shares to their biggest gain of 2015 after a surprise election victory for the Conservatives kept David Cameron on course to return as Britain’s prime minister. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 2.9 percent.                        

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index sank 15 percent to 12.86, its biggest drop since December. The gauge, known as the VIX, still rose for a second straight week.

     All 10 of the S&P 500’s main groups rose today, led by health-care, raw-material and energy companies. Seven of the groups rallied more than 1 percent.

     Martin Marietta Materials Inc. climbed 2.9 percent to a more than seven-year high. The producer of ingredients for concrete helped lead the raw-materials group to a two-month high after construction companies last month added the most workers since January 2014. DuPont Co. and Dow Chemical Co. added more than 2.3 percent.

     Biotechnology shares were top performers in health-care, as the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index climbed for a third day, up 2.3 percent. Health-care companies in the S&P 500 advanced 1.6 percent as Biogen Inc. added 4 percent, its best gain since March, after saying it will buy back $5 billion in stock.

     Boeing Co. rose 2.8 percent, the most since Feb. 20, to help lead industrials higher. Airlines rallied for a third day as Southwest Airlines Co. and Delta Air Lines Inc. increased at least 1.7 percent.

     Among consumer shares, travel-related companies paced the rally. Cruise lines Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Carnival Corp. climbed more than 3.7 percent, the most in more than a month. TripAdvisor Inc. jumped 4.4 percent and Marriott International Inc. increased 2.3 percent.                         

     AOL soared 10 percent, the most in 16 months, after quarterly profit beat analysts’ estimates as the owner of the Huffington Post and other websites increased global advertising revenue.

     Monster Beverage Corp. fell 10 percent, the biggest drop since October 2012, as first-quarter profit and sales trailed analysts’ estimates.

     Nvidia Corp. lost 7.4 percent, the most since August 2011, as the largest maker of chips for computer-graphics cards gave a forecast for second-quarter sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates, hurt by the persistent slump in PC demand.
 

Have  a fantastic weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The idea of a duty to understand violence engenders for me

a great vitality and passion for knowledge.

But to transcend this violence, I need not repress it, nor deny it, nor say to myself

It has become a part of me, I can do nothing about it; or, I wish to reject it.

I must observe it, study it, enter into it intimately,

and for that purpose I need neither condemn it nor justify it.

And yet, it is this that we do.

I would ask you, then, to suspend for an instant your judgments on the subject.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.

                                       -Elizabeth Kenny, 1880-1952

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day 21 years ago, Norway’s famous painting, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, was recovered nearly three months after it was stolen from a museum in Oslo.

Just back from  an investment conference in New York which was very useful and informative.  New York is as crazy busy, exciting as ever….lots of catching up to do today!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Groom Roberto Luna washes the face of Dortmund, third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, after a morning jog at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Thursday. Dortmund, like stablemate American Pharoah, the Kentucky Derby winner, continue to train at Churchill Downs before shipping to Baltimore next week for the Preakness Stakes on May 16th. Garry Jones/AP

A man works out on a punch bag in East Hull Boxing Club, which is being used as a polling station, as people arrive to cast their votes during the British election in Hull, Thursday. Darren Staples/Reuters

Market Closes for May 7^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17924.06	+82.08
		+0.46%
S&P 500	2088.00	+7.85   +0.38%
NASDAQ	4945.543	+25.898   +0.53%
TSX	15088.82	+64.93
		+0.43%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19291.99	-239.64
		-1.23%
HANG SENG	27289.97	-350.94
		-1.27%
SENSEX	26599.11	-118.26
		-0.44%
FTSE 100	6886.95	-46.79
		-0.67%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.748	1.821
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.331	2.404
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1800	2.2431
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.9105	2.9929

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.82569	0.83051
US $	1.21110	1.20407
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.36294	0.73376
US $	1.12532	0.88864

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1187.00	1194.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	58.94	60.93

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose from a one-month low, snapping a two-day slide, as Linamar Corp. surged to a record and Bombardier Inc. climbed the most in two years, offsetting losses among energy producers.

     Bombardier added 6.7 percent as the company unveiled plans for an initial offering of its train unit to pay down debt. Linamar advanced 14 percent after reporting better-than-forecast earnings. Gran Tierra Energy Inc. lost 4.5 percent after reporting a first-quarter loss. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. and MEG Energy Corp. retreated more than 5.4 percent to pace declines among oil and gas producers.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 64.93 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,088.82 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, rebounding from an April 1 low. The gauge has advanced 3.1 percent this year.

     Linamar rallied to an all-time high as consumer discretionary stocks jumped 1.9 percent as a group, most in the S&P/TSX. Eight of 10 industries in the benchmark equity gauge advanced on trading volume 43 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     Suncor Energy Inc., the nation’s largest oil producer, dropped 1.9 percent for a sixth straight loss, the longest streak since October, and Crescent Point Energy Corp. dropped 2.6 percent as energy stocks fell a third day. The S&P/TSX Energy Index has plunged 4.9 percent in that period.

     The New Democratic Party, led by Rachel Notley, ended a 44- year Progressive Conservative dynasty by winning a majority of districts in elections Tuesday.

     The NDP promises to boost corporate taxes, review the government’s take of energy revenue, scale back advocacy for pipelines and phase out coal power more quickly. U.S. benchmark crude futures also fell for the first time in three days in New York.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) —  U.S. stocks advanced, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell to its lowest in a month, as Yahoo! Inc. led a rebound in technology shares before Friday’s labor report.

     Alibaba Group Holding Inc. jumped 7.5 percent after reporting a 45 percent increase in quarterly revenue. Yahoo, which owns a stake in Alibaba, added 5.3 percent. Microsoft Corp. climbed after its steepest drop in six weeks. Whole Foods Market Inc. and Keurig Green Mountain Inc. lost at least 9.1 percent after their quarterly reports disappointed investors.

     The S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to 2,088 at 4 p.m. in New York, near its average price during the past 50 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 82.08 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,924.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5 percent. About 7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 7 percent above the three-month average.

     “We’re seeing a rebound off some selling that took place recently,” said Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “The next trend will be set by whatever the employment numbers dictate tomorrow.”

     U.S. stocks fell yesterday, dragged lower after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen warned of high equity market valuations and after a private report that showed hiring slowed.

     Stocks bounced back after a two-day selloff that sent the number of equities trading above their 50-day moving average to the lowest level in three months, data compiled by Bloomberg show. At yesterday’s close, 200 members in the S&P 500 traded above the threshold, which is viewed by analysts to gauge a security’s momentum. That’s the lowest reading since Jan. 30.

     Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, dropping the average over the past month to the lowest in 15 years. Investors are looking to Friday’s government payroll numbers for clues on the American economy’s strength. Economists forecast a 228,000 rise in April, according to a Bloomberg survey, after a 126,000 gain in March.

     Fed policy makers are watching hiring data to help determine the timing of raising borrowing costs after economic growth slowed in the first quarter for reasons the central bank called “transitory.” The quarter’s weaker-than-forecast data have stoked concerns that the Fed may soon raise borrowing costs even as the economy slows.

     “The market has been getting mixed-to-negative messages over the last few days,” said Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion. “The economic numbers have recently been more disappointing than not, so it makes tomorrow’s jobs number even more newsworthy than usual.”

     Analysts have tempered their predictions for a slump in first-quarter corporate profits, while more than two-thirds of companies that have posted earnings so far have beat estimates.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 0.1 percent to 15.13. The gauge, know as the VIX, is heading toward its biggest weekly gain since January. Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups climbed, led by technology and financial companies.

     Yahoo’s 5.3 percent rally led an increase in technology shares, with the group rising 0.7 percent after a 0.8 percent drop Wednesday. The Internet portal and Alibaba stakeholder posted its best advance since September after Alibaba named a new chief executive and posted a 45 percent increase in revenue.

     Motorola Solutions Inc. added 2.1 percent after Gabelli & Co. and Raymond James Financial Inc. upgraded the shares. Microsoft climbed 0.9 percent after a 2.8 percent retreat yesterday, its biggest slide since March.

     Google Inc. increased 1.3 percent. Leon Cooperman, founder of Omega Advisors, said his hedge fund bought shares of the Internet search giant as he believes the company could take steps to enhance shareholder value.

     Yelp Inc. surged 23 percent, the most since August 2013. A person with knowledge of the matter said the consumer-review website is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to find a buyer.

     Airlines jumped the most in more than three months amid oil’s decline, with a Bloomberg gauge on U.S. carriers up 3.5 percent. United Continental Holdings Inc. rose 5.2 percent, its best advance since February. American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. each gained at least 2.9 percent.

     Real-estate companies were among the best performers in the S&P 500’s financial group, with Essex Property Trust Inc. and Equity Residential rising at least 1.9 percent. Citigroup climbed 1 percent even as an index of bank stocks slid 0.1 percent.

     Carnival Corp. increased 2.4 percent, pacing consumer discretionary shares. The world’s No. 1 cruise company said late Wednesday that it’s planning to base a fifth passenger liner in Shanghai in 2017, adding to a foothold in China’s fast-growing leisure cruise market. Darden Restaurants Inc. and homebuilder Lennar Corp. also added more than 2.3 percent.

     Health-care shares rebounded after two days of declines, with Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. up 5.1 percent. The company’s shares tumbled 8 percent Wednesday after it agreed to buy Synageva BioPharma Corp. for $8.4 billion. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 0.9 percent, gaining  for a second day.                         

     Energy stocks in the S&P 500 lost 1.1 percent, the most in the benchmark as oil had its biggest slump in a month. Transocean Ltd. and Noble Corp. fell more than 3.5 percent, while Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. and Apache Corp. slid at least 3.3 percent.

     Whole Foods Market Inc. plunged 9.7 percent, the most in a year. The supermarket operator reported revenue and comparable- store sales that trailed analysts’ estimates.

     Keurig Green Mountain Inc., the maker of single-serve coffee machines, dropped 9.2 percent after cutting its annual forecast, hurt by slow sales of its second-generation brewing system.

     Teradata Corp. decreased 7 percent to its lowest level since February after reporting first-quarter earnings that missed consensus analyst estimates.

 

Have a  wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The idea of a duty to understand violence engenders for me

a great vitality and passion for knowledge.

But to transcend this violence, I need not repress it, nor deny it, nor say to myself:

It has become a part of me, I can do nothing about it; or, I wish to reject it.

I must observe it, study it, enter into it intimately,

and for that purpose I need neither condemn it nor justify it.

And yet, it is this that we do.

I would ask you, then, to suspend for an instant your judgments on the subject.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.

                                      -Lucille Ball, 1911-1989

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7