Category: Events

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Earth Day today!

On this day in 1970, Earth Day was first celebrated in the U.S. It increased environmental awareness and led to the establishment of the Environment Protection Agency three months later.

Celebrate with a Mother Earth dinner:  Build the dinner itself around each of the four elements – Earth (root vegetables, grains, mushrooms…), Fire (roasted meats and veggies, hot peppers…), Air (herbs, asparagus, flowers…), and Water (fruits, sorbet…).

For more information on giving an Earth Dinner, see www.earthdinner.org.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Aymara priest Valentin Apaza stands over a burning offering for the ‘Pachamama,’ or Mother Earth, during a ceremony on La Cumbre, a mountain considered sacred ground on the outskirts of La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday. The world marks Earth Day on April 22 to increase awareness and to promote practices for the sustainability and protection of the Earth’s natural environment. Juan Karita/AP

Don the dog at Kirkton Farm in Abington, Scotland who caused tailbacks on a busy motorway on Wednesday. The border collie inspired a traffic scare and social media attention after he plunged down a hill and onto a highway in his master’s vehicle. Wednesday’s incident near Abington, Scotland, began when farmer Tom Hamilton left Don sitting in his utility vehicle as he inspected lambs. He insists the parking brake was on. Danny Lawson/AP

Market Closes for April 22^nd, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18038.27	+88.68
		+0.49%
S&P 500	2107.69	+10.40   +0.50%
NASDAQ	5035.172	+21.070   +0.42%
TSX	15293.79	-52.65
		-0.34%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20133.90	+224.81
		+1.13%
HANG SENG	27933.85	+83.36
		+0.30%
SENSEX	27890.13	+214.09
		+0.77%
FTSE 100	7028.24	-34.69
		-0.49%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.502	1.445
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.095	2.039
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9832	1.9070
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.6686	2.5814

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81656	0.81418
US $	1.22465	1.22823
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31316	0.76152
US $	1.07227	0.93260

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1189.25	1195.30
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	55.06	55.26

I’d be a bum on the street with a cup if the markets were always efficient. –Warren Buffet

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Jennifer Kaplan

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a second day, sending the benchmark gauge to a two week low, as gold miners slumped with the price of the metal.

     Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. fell 7.5 percent and Alacer Gold Corp. slid 6.4 percent as the metal slid the most in six weeks. Cameco Corp. rose 5.6 percent and Pengrowth Energy Corp. added 2 percent as energy shares advanced with Brent crude.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 41.67 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,304.77 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The slide trimmed the benchmark Canadian equity gauge’s advance this year to 4.6 percent, one of the worst performers among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg.

     Six of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX fell, with raw- materials companies losing 2.1 percent. Trading volume was 14 percent below the 30-day average.

     Energy shares rose 0.4 percent as Brent climbed more than 1 percent as fighting in Yemen reignited concerns over supply disruptions in the region.

     Gold miners fell 3.9 percent as futures on the metal declined 1.3 percent, the most since March 6.

     The gold market has fluctuated around $1,200 an ounce since late March as concerns over Greek debt talks offset rising equities. Greece has been struggling to make progress toward releasing financial aid since striking a deal to extend its bailout program in February.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. fell 2.4 percent after rallying yesterday to halt a five-day slide.

     Cameco Corp jumped 5.6 percent, the most in the S&P/TSX, after announcing a C$350 million ($286 million) uranium contract with India.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose toward records, with the Nasdaq Composite Index at the highest closing level since 2000, as technology shares jumped and Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald’s Corp. rallied after reporting earnings.

     Coca-Cola jumped 1.3 percent as it enticed consumers to pay more for its drinks during the quarter. McDonald’s soared 3.1 percent as Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook promised to give details of his turnaround plan next month. Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., the world’s biggest payments networks, surged the most since October on prospects for business in China. Facebook Inc. slipped while EBay Inc. rallied in late trading after posting results.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.5 percent to 2,107.96, less than 10 points from a record, at 4 p.m. in New York. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.4 percent, bringing it less than 0.3 percent from its all-time high in 2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 88.68 points, or 0.5 percent, to 18,038.27.

     “Earnings are coming in better than expected so far, so the dire consequences that were predicted aren’t quite there,” Mark Kepner, an equity trader at Themis Trading LLC, in Chatham, New Jersey, said via phone.

     More than 140 companies in the S&P 500 are posting earnings this week. Of the companies that have reported so far, 78 percent beat profit projections and 48 percent topped sales estimates.

     While analysts predict an earnings slump through September, they have moderated how steep that will be. They now forecast first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies will drop 4.3 percent, better than April 10 estimates for a 5.6 percent decline.

     The S&P 500 is less than 0.5 percent away from a record reached on March 2, the same day the Nasdaq Composite topped 5,000 for the first time in 15 years. While earnings results yesterday weighed on the S&P 500 and the Dow, a takeover offer for Mylan NV pushed the Nasdaq Composite Index higher.

     The S&P 500 has struggled to reach its March record amid two drops of more than 2.5 percent, even as equity indexes from Asia to Europe have climbed to multiyear highs. Even as energy and biotechnology shares have rebounded, the gauge has stalled short of the mark 36 straight days, the longest streak since June 2013.

     Equities have fluctuated during the past month amid concerns that a stronger dollar and lower oil prices would hurt corporate earnings as the Fed considers raising rates.

     “The stock market has been trading in a range for awhile and it seems there’s a little resistance around these levels,” Ron Anari, the Jersey City, New Jersey-based senior vice president of trading at ICAP Plc, said via phone. “Earnings aren’t as bad as expected and if we make it through this season a little better than estimates, we could continue rallying.”

     The Nasdaq Composite has jumped 6.3 percent this year, coming within 7 points of its all-time high on March 20 as biotechnology and Internet stocks have rallied. The Nasdaq Internet Index has increased for 13 of the past 14 days.

     Technology shares helped push the Nasdaq higher today. Broadcom Corp. advanced 5 percent after reporting first-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates and predicted second- quarter sales that may equal analysts’ estimates, helped by orders from phone makers for other kinds of chips. Micron Technology Inc. added 3.3 percent. Intuit Inc. gained 3 percent.

     Tesla Motors Inc. increased 4.8 percent. The maker of luxury electric cars will announce a home battery and a “very large” utility-scale battery on April 30, according to an e- mail sent to investors and analysts Tuesday.

     Facebook slumped 2 percent as of 4:35 p.m. New York time. After the market closed, the company posted results that missed analysts’ sales estimates in the first quarter, breaking a trend of far exceeding expectations. EBay Inc. jumped 4.4 percent after giving a quarterly profit forecast that topped estimates.

     This week has been light on economic data, giving investors few additional clues on the strength of the economy. A report today showed sales of previously owned homes climbed in March to the highest level since September 2013 as job growth and cheap borrowing costs helped sustain the progress in residential real estate.

     All 10 major industries in the S&P 500 rose today, as technology, energy, phone and financial shares jumped more than 0.6 percent.                      
     Coca-Cola advanced 1.3 percent as the world’s largest beverage company reported its first quarterly sales gain in two years after higher drink prices helped make up for sluggish demand.

     McDonald’s jumped 3.1 percent, the most in almost two months, after Easterbrook said a turnaround plan will “improve our performance and deliver enduring profitable growth.” The prospect of a comeback plan placated investors after profit missed analysts’ estimates and the company posted a sixth straight quarter of decreasing U.S. sales.

     Visa surged 4.1 percent and MasterCard increased 3.9 percent. Rules published Wednesday by China’s State Council, which take effect June 1, clear the way for the companies to gain a foothold in an industry that the Central Bank said handles 449.9 trillion yuan ($73 trillion) a year.

     It’s the most explicit China’s government has been about its plans to open up the market to U.S. firms, according to David Ritter, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.

     Boeing lost 1.4 percent for the worst performance in the Dow, after posting higher expenses for the 787 Dreamliner, the plane known for its carbon-composite fuselage and persistent drain on cash.

     The continued struggles with the 787 damped investor optimism over a quarter in which the Chicago-based planemaker beat analysts’ profit estimates to extend a five-year streak of matching or topping projections. Boeing also posted negative free cash flow and a 92 percent plunge in operating cash flow.

     Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. fell 7.4 percent, the biggest decline since October 2012. The company posted first-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates, hurt by higher menu prices and supply-chain woes. Supply shortages, which led to “rolling blackouts” of carnitas in recent months, are expected to last until the end of the year, threatening to undercut the restaurant chain’s growth.

     D.R. Horton Inc. fell 5.4 percent, the most in three months. The largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue said its entry- level Express Homes division may make up a greater share of sales, putting pressure on profit margins. PulteGroup Inc. slumped 2.3 percent.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Everyone is but a manifestation of the Impersonal, the basis of all being,

and misery consists in thinking of ourselves as different from this Infinite, Impersonal Being,

and liberation consists in knowing our unity with this wonderful Impersonality.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Never look backwards or you’ll fall down the stairs.

                           -Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936

 

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 found a new CD release recently that is absolutely wonderful.  It is by Malian singer/guitarist Samba Touré and is called Gandadiko.  The review I read which impelled me to order it on Amazon said “if bluesman John Lee Hooker had been raised in Mali he might have made music like this….hypnotic, soulful, groovy, and captivating.  These 10 songs are more upbeat than his previous album ‘Albala,’ reportedly recorded while radical Islamists punished any musicmaking in his village with public stoning.  ‘Gandadiko’ is the sound of joy and release.”  I agree – it’s terrific.

I’ve been reading The Essays of Warren Buffet ( Lawrence A. Cunningham, 3^rd Edition) lately.  Last night I was reading  these sage passages and thought I’d share them with you:

A short quiz:  If you plan to eat hamburgers throughout your life and are not a cattle producer, should you wish for higher or lower prices for beef?  Likewise, if you are going to buy a car from time to time but are not an auto manufacturer, should you prefer higher or lower car prices?  These questions, of course, answer themselves.

But now for the final exam:  If you expect to be a net saver during the next five years, should you hope for a higher or stock market during that period?  Many investors get this one wrong.  Even though they are going to be net buyers of stocks for many years to come, they are elated when stock prices rise and depressed when they fall.  In effect, they rejoice because prices have risen for the “hamburgers” they will soon be buying.  This reaction makes no sense.  Only those who will be sellers of equities in the near future should be happy at seeing stocks rise.  Prospective purchasers should much prefer sinking prices….So smile when you read a headline that says “Investors lose as market falls.”  Edit it in your mind to “Disinvestors lose as market falls – but investors gain.”  Though writers often forget this truism, there is a buyer for every seller and what hurts one necessarily helps the other.  (As they say I golf matches:  “Every putt makes someone happy.”) –Warren Buffet, Finance And Investing, the Essays of Warren Buffett.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Woman wearing sevillana dresses stand during the traditional Feria de Abril (April fair) in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain on Tuesday. Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters

Tourists take pictures of a floral arrangement depicting Dutch master Vincent van Gogh at Keukenhof, a spring park with approximately seven million flower bulbs, in Lisse, Netherlands, Tuesday. Peter Dejong/AP

Market Closes for April 21^st, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17949.59	-85.34
		-0.47%
S&P 500	2097.29	-3.11   -0.15%
NASDAQ	5014.102	+19.500   +0.39%
TSX	15346.44	-66.16
		-0.43%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19909.09	+274.60
		+1.40%
HANG SENG	27850.49	+755.56
		+2.79%
SENSEX	27676.04	-210.17
		-0.75%
FTSE 100	7062.93	+10.80
		+0.15%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.445	1.424
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.039	2.035
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9070	1.8896
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5814	2.5624

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81418	0.81781
US $	1.22823	1.22278
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31847	0.75845
US $	1.07347	0.93156

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1195.30	1196.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	55.26	56.38

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, after halting a two- day slide yesterday, as Canadian National Railway Co. and Teck Resources Ltd. dropped amid earnings reports.

     Teck Resources plunged 6.4 percent after slashing its dividend for the first time since the financial crisis. Canadian National Railway declined 3.1 percent after the rail operator lowered its 2015 forecast for commodity shipments. Pason Systems Inc. sank 5.9 percent after analysts at CIBC World Markets cut their rating for the stock.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 66.16 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,346.44 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has advanced 4.9 percent this year, one of the worst performers among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg.

     Canadian National Railway tumbled 3.1 percent to pace declines as industrials shares lost 2.2 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX. Five of 10 industries in the equity gauge fell on trading volume that was 11 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     The railway said it now forecasts customer shipments of energy-related commodities, including crude, will increase by 40,000 carloads in 2015, compared with its January projection of a 75,000 gain.

     Trican Well Service Ltd. dropped 9.1 percent and Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. lost 7.3 percent as energy producers retreated 1.2 percent as a group.

     Oil dropped the most in two weeks as crude inventories probably increased by 2.5 million barrels last week, a Bloomberg survey showed before an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday.

     Teck Resources sank 6.4 percent to the lowest since January. The second-largest exporter of coal used in steelmaking cut its biannual dividend 67 percent, the first reduction since Teck halted its payout in November 2008. First-quarter adjusted profit fell short of analysts’ estimates.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped 3.3 percent, halting a five-day slide, and Concordia Healthcare Corp. rose 2.8 percent. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. made an unsolicited $40.1 billion offer to buy Mylan NV, the drug industry’s largest takeover attempt this year.

     Brookfield Asset Management Inc. lost 3.6 percent, the biggest drop since October 2011. The company is issuing shares to raise about $1 billion for “general corporate purposes” including future investments.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as DuPont Co. and Travelers Cos. slumped after reporting results, while a takeover offer for Mylan NV pushed the Nasdaq Composite Index higher.

     DuPont tumbled 3 percent after saying the dollar is putting pressure on full-year profit. Travelers tumbled 4 percent as first-quarter profit fell 21 percent. Biotechnology shares rallied as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. proposed to buy Mylan for about $40.1 billion.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 2,097.29 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4 percent, to within 0.7 percent of its all-time high. The Dow fell 85.34 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,949.59.

     “Earnings have been a little better than reduced expectations, and with interest rates as low as they are, corporations like Teva are able to continue issuing debt at basically free levels,” Andrew Brenner, the head of international fixed income for National Alliance Capital Markets, said by phone.

     The S&P 500 is 1 percent away from a record reached on March 2, the same day the Nasdaq Composite Index topped 5,000 for the first time in 15 years. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9 percent yesterday amid a rally in technology shares, recovering nearly all of Friday’s selloff.

     While equity indexes from Asia to Europe have climbed to multiyear highs in the past week, the S&P 500 has struggled to reach its March 2 record amid two drops of more than 2.5 percent. While an energy rally took the gauge to within 10 points of an all-time high Wednesday, it has stalled short of the mark 35 straight days, the longest streak since June 2013.                         

     The S&P 500 fell as much as 3.6 percent through March 11 amid concerns that a stronger dollar and lower oil prices would hurt corporate earnings as the Fed considers raising rates. Signals by central-bank officials that they are in no rush to boost borrowing costs propelled the gauge to within 0.4 percent of its record by March 20, before it retreated again.

     The Nasdaq Composite has jumped 5.9 percent this year, coming within 7 points of its all-time high on March 20 as biotechnology and Internet stocks have rallied. The Nasdaq Internet Index has increased for 12 of the past 13 days.

     More than 140 S&P 500 companies report earnings this week, including Yahoo! Inc. and Amgen Inc. today. While analysts predict a slump through September, they have moderated how steep that will be.

     Yahoo slid 2 percent at 4:25 p.m. in New York, while Amgen added 2.2 percent in late trading after reporting results.

     Analysts now forecast first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies will drop 4.3 percent, better than April 10 estimates for a 5.6 percent decline. Of those that have reported so far, 84 percent beat profit projections and 51 percent topped sales estimates.

     “People have gone too far in cutting their profit estimates for U.S. companies,” Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Reyl & Cie. said by phone from Geneva. “This may give the market a short-term rebound as more earnings reports come in. I’m still cautious regarding growth in the next few quarters because of the impact of the economic slowdown and the surging dollar.”

     With data due this week on housing and jobs, investors are seeking clues on the economic recovery after reports pointed to weaker growth and the dollar strengthened.

     Seven of 10 main groups in the S&P 500 declined, led by energy companies, which lost 1 percent amid a 2 percent slump in crude. Transocean Ltd. slid 5.5 percent and Chesapeake Energy Corp. dropped 4.8 percent.

     DuPont lost 3 percent. The company, which is facing a proxy showdown with activist shareholder Trian Fund Management, warned that the stronger dollar is putting pressure on full-year profit as first-quarter sales missed analyst estimates.                      

     Travelers tumbled 4 percent. First-quarter profit fell as investment income declined and the pace slowed for rate increases to commercial clients.

     Harley-Davidson Inc. slid 9.8 percent after lowering its growth estimates on motorcycle shipments.

     Under Armour Inc. dropped 4.8 percent after forecasting sales for the year that trailed analysts’ estimates as growth in its core apparel business cools off.

     Mylan soared 8.9 percent amid the drug industry’s largest takeover attempt this year. A purchase of the company by Teva would create a generic powerhouse with more than $27 billion in revenue and re-establish Teva as the predominant giant in the generic drug industry.

     In late trading Perrigo Co. climbed 0.7 percent. The company’s board unanimously rejected an unsolicited bid proposal from Mylan.

     Lam Research Corp. jumped 8.1 percent after profit exceeded projections and the company forecast fourth-quarter earnings above analysts’ estimates.

     Kimberly-Clark Corp. added 5.4 percent. First-quarter profit topped analysts’ estimates as the maker of Kleenex tissue and Huggies diapers benefited from product innovation and $100 million worth of cost cuts last quarter.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Yoga is concerned with freedom from spiritual disturbance.

The first step in yoga is to engage in introspection,

and thereby understand the inner obstacles that must be overcome.

The purpose of yoga is to weaken the hindrances which obstruct knowledge of the soul.

There are five hindrances: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion and tenacity.

 

Patanjali

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Every noble work is at first impossible.

             -Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1881

 

 

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:

April’s the busy month, the month that grows
Faster than hand can follow at its task;
No time to relish and no time to bask,
(Though when indeed is that the gardener’s lot,
However large, however small his plot?)
April’s the month for pruning of the rose,
April’s the month when the good gardener sows
More annuals for summer, cheap and quick,
Yet always sows too thick
From penny packets scattered on  a patch
With here a batch of poppy, there a batch
Of the low candytuft or scabious tall
That country children call
Pincushions, with their gift
Of accurate observance and their swift
Naming more vivid than the botanist,
So the good gardener will sow his drift
Of larkspur and forget-me-not
To fill blank space, or recklessly to pick;
And gay nasturtium writhing up a fence
Splotching with mock of sunlight sunless days
When latening summer brings the usual mist.

     -V. Sackville-West, The Garden, Spring.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Customers watch android robot ‘Aiko Chihira’ at the reception of Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo, Monday. The lifelike android robot, which was developed by Japanese electronics manufacturer Toshiba, marked her first day at work as a receptionist at the department store on Monday, greetings customers as they walked in. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP

Boston Marathon runner Alberto De Bonis, of Trieste, Italy, poses before boarding a shuttle bus, Monday, in Boston, en route to the starting line in Hopkinton, Mass. Robert F. Bukaty/AP

Today we deal with 65,000 more pieces of information each day than did our ancestors 100 years ago. –Dr. Jean Houston.

Market Closes for April 20^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18034.93	+208.63
		+1.17%
S&P 500	2100.40	+19.22   +0.92%
NASDAQ	4994.602	+62.787   +1.27%
TSX	15412.60	+52.05
		+0.34%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19634.49	-18.39
		-0.09%
HANG SENG	27094.93	-558.19
		-2.02%
SENSEX	27886.21	-555.89
		-1.95%
FTSE 100	7052.13	+57.50
		+0.82%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.424	1.405
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.035	2.021
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.8896	1.8653
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5624	2.5194

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81781	0.81689
US $	1.22278	1.22415
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31358	0.76128
US $	1.07426	0.93087

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1196.50	1203.35
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	56.38	55.74

MARKET COMMENTARY:

CANADA

By Jennifer Kaplan

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as railroad companies sent industrial shares higher while energy producers advanced with the price of crude amid signs of increased stimulus from China’s central bank.

     Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. jumped more than 2.2 percent to lead gains among industrial companies. Toronto-Dominion Bank climbed 0.7 percent as financial shares gained. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. slid 1.6 percent to lead consumer shares lower.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index gained 52.05 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,412.60 at the close in Toronto. The gauge halted a two-day slide after closing April 15 at a seven-month high.

     China’s leaders swung into stimulus mode, cutting the amount of cash lenders must set aside as reserves by the most since the global financial crisis, just days after a report showed the slowest economic growth in six years. China is Canada’s second largest trading partner after the U.S.

     Seven of the 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX gained, with industrials jumping 1.5 percent. Trading volume was 17 percent below the 30-day average.

     Energy companies rose 0.3 percent. Trican Well Service Ltd. jumped 5 percent as U.S. crude settled at $56.38 a barrel in New York, near the highest level of the year.

     Encana Corp. surged 3.8 percent to a two-month high. The company announced it is seeking buyers for its natural gas properties in Louisiana as it focuses on drilling for oil and other liquids in Texas and Canada, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Haynesville Shale basin acreage is valued at as much as $1 billion, the people said.

     Financial companies rose 0.5 percent. The group accounts for about one-third of the S&P/TSX by weighting.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded from the worst slide in three weeks as IBM Corp. led a rally in technology shares. The euro halted its best winning streak in a year as tensions mounted over Greece’s debt repayments, while oil gained.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.9 percent, after a 1.1 percent tumble on Friday. International Business Machines Corp. jumped 3.4 percent in regular trading before adding less than 0.1 percent at 5 p.m. in New York after the company reported profit that topped estimates. The Nasdaq 100 Index rallied the most in two months. The euro halted a four-day advance versus the dollar. Greece’s bonds declined after the government ordered municipalities to transfer cash to the central bank. Chinese shares retreated from levels last seen in 2008.

     Shares from Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. surged as technology companies in the S&P 500 rebounded from a selloff. The decision by Greece’s government is another sign of the worsening situation in a  standoff with creditors. China lowered the amount of cash lenders must set aside as reserves by the most since 2008 to support the economy amid the slowest expansion in six years.

     “If you want to foretell what may come down the pipe, tech companies are a good example of that,” Krishna Memani, the New York-based chief investment officer at Oppenheimer Funds Inc., said by phone. “Tech companies are often growth companies with a higher beta relative to the market. The world needs a good growth story.”                         

     A Friday rout in global equities sent U.S. stocks to their first weekly loss of the month, as disappointing earnings, signs of higher inflation and concerns from China to Greece curbed demand for risk assets.

  `   Technology shares in the S&P 500 surged 1.8 percet, rebounding from a 1.4 percent drop, as Apple, Microsoft and Facebook Inc. jumped at least 2.3 percent.

     As a group, the computer and biotechnology stocks that make up the Nasdaq 100 Index have seen their market value jump by $3.3 trillion since March 2009, more than any other industry. Now they’re on the hook to generate $320 billion in profits this year, more than technology companies ever made at the height of the Internet craze.

     Among other U.S. shares moving Monday, Morgan Stanley added 0.6 percent after reporting the highest adjusted revenue in more than five years. Hasbro Inc. jumped 13 percent as the toymaker posted better-than-estimated quarterly results. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. slumped 8 percent as the company cut its forecast for the full year.

     Transportation shares surged 1.7 percent, as railroads from CSX Corp. to Kansas City Southern jumped at least 2.7 percent.

     “There are still a lot of cards left to play this week with an extremely busy earnings calendar,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said by phone. “The market was nervous for several weeks so it’s no surprise that a move like Friday happened. There were a lot of data points to heighten nervousness and things kind of crescendoed on Friday.”

     The twin pillars of earnings and Federal Reserve stimulus that have underpinned the bull market showed signs of wobbling. Results last week from American Express Co. to Norfolk Southern Corp. missed estimates while rising inflation bolstered the case for higher borrowing costs.

     Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley said Monday he is relatively optimistic that a rebound in U.S. growth will support a decision to raise interest rates later this year while highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the timing of an increase.                          

     The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.5 percent, with the euro slipping 0.6 percent to $1.0737. The single currency dropped versus most of its major peers. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said in Washington Saturday that while Greece’s situation is “urgent,” it’s premature to speculate about the nation quitting the currency union.

     Greek bonds fell, sending the three-year yield 193 basis points higher to 28.69 percent. Euro-area finance ministers meet this week to review what policy changes Greece can deliver by mid-May as the nation seeks to unlock new aid payments and avoid a default.

     The Greek government issued a decree that forces local governments to transfer cash balances to the central bank, as debt to the International Monetary Fund and month-end salary payments come due.                          

     Treasuries declined as haven demand waned after oil and stocks rallied on speculation Chinese policy makers will act to support economic growth. The U.S. 10-year yield rose two basis points to 1.88 percent.

     It touched 1.85 percent, close to the 1.82 percent on April 6 that was the lowest since January. That compares with a five- year average of 2.60 percent.

     “It’s still a very bullish environment for the market,” said Michael Kapler, who manages equities at Mittelbrandenburgische Sparkasse in Potsdam, Germany. “Central banks are extremely supportive around the world, and that will definitely stay that way for some time.”

     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.8 percent after its worst week of the year. Miners posted the best performance among 19 industry groups in the index, which has climbed 19 percent this year. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group gained at least 2.4 percent.                    

     The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell for a second day, losing 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.6 percent and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland shares listed in Hong Kong lost 2.9 percent, the most in three months.

     The reserve-requirement ratio will be cut 1 percentage point from Monday, the People’s Bank of China said. The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced measures on Friday to clamp down on the use of sh`adow financing for equity purchases and increase the supply of shares available for short sellers.

     Chinese shares swung between gains and losses for much of early trading as investors weighed authorities’ steps to curb speculative trading against the cut in reserve requirements. The Shanghai gauge has jumped 79 percent in the past six months, the most among 93 benchmark indexes globally.

     Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. became China’s first developer to default on its U.S. currency debt after failing to honor missed payments on two dollar bonds.

     The ruble slid 2.8 percent after the central bank raised the cost of borrowing foreign currency. The dollar-denominated RTS Index of equities climbed 0.7 percent.

     U.S. oil futures climbed near their highest level of the year on speculation that supply growth is beginning to slow. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery rose to settle at $56.38 a barrel in New York. Futures touched $57.42 last week, the highest level since Dec. 23.

     Prices capped their biggest weekly advance in more than four years in New York on growing expectations that a decline in drilling will curb production. Brent futures closed unchanged at $63.45 a barrel in London.

     Gold futures fell the most in a week as rallies by equities and the dollar reduced demand for precious metals as alternative investments.

     Gold for June delivery fell 0.8 percent to settle at $1,193.70 an ounce in New York. The metal declined for three straight quarters amid concern that the Fed will raise interest rates.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The only way to achiever consciousness

is by concentrating on the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.

Concentration on the powers of the spirit to discover unity

in diversity is called consciousness.

All that draws on unity is moral, all that draws on diversity is immoral.

`

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We are not the makers of history.  We are made by history.

                                -Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968

 

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:

Today on this day in 1991, the Dow Jones topped 3000.

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. –Woody Allen.

On April 17^th, 1906, Jack London witnesses the San Francisco earthquake and fire:

On Wednesday morning at  a quarter past five came the earthquake.  A minute later the flames were leaping upward.  In a dozen different quarters south of Market Street, in the working-class ghetto, and in the factories, fires started.  There was no opposing flames.  There was no organization ,no communication.  All the cunning adjustments of a twentieth century city had been smashed by the earthquake.  The streets were humped into ridges and depressions and piled with debris of fallen walls.  The steel rails were twisted into perpendicular and horizontal angles.  The telephone and telegraph systems were disrupted.  And the great water mains had burst.  All the shrewd contrivances and safeguards of man had been thrown out of gear by thirty seconds’ twitching of earth crust…

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Ricardo Christie, of New Zealand, competing in the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro surfing competition in Margaret River, Australia, Friday. Kelly Cestari/World Surf League/AP

Tourists visit the ancient Roman forum in Rome, Friday. Three-times Oscar winning Italian director of photography, Vittorio Storaro designed the new illumination system of the Roman Forum that will be unveiled on April 21, during the anniversary of Rome’s foundation. Gregorio Borgia/AP

Market Closes for April 16^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17826.30	-279.47
		-1.54%
S&P 500	2081.18	-23.81   -1.13%
NASDAQ	4931.816	-75.974   -1.52%
TSX	15360.55	-26.22
		-0.17%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19652.88	-232.89
		-1.17%
HANG SENG	27653.12	-86.59
		-0.31%
SENSEX	28442.10	-223.94
		-0.78%
FTSE 100	6994.63	-65.82
		-0.93%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.405	1.375
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.021	2.026
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.8653	1.8914
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5194	2.5745

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81689	0.82031
US $	1.22415	1.21906
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.32282	0.75596
US $	1.08060	0.92541

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1203.35	1204.35
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	55.74	56.71

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a second day after a report showed the core inflation rate was the fastest in more than six years last month.

     Technology stocks led losses among groups in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index as DH Corp. and Sierra Wireless Inc. dropped more than 2.4 percent. Gold miners climbed 0.7 percent as futures on the metal rose. Energy shares climbed, capping their best week in two months.

     The S&P/TSX lost 26.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,360.55 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge slumped 0.6 percent in two days after reaching a seven-month high on Wednesday. It ended the week with a decline of 0.2 percent.

     Canada’s core consumer price index, which excludes gasoline and seven other items with volatile prices, quickened to 2.4 percent from 2.1 percent in February, the fastest since December 2008, Statistics Canada reported Friday from Ottawa.

     Data also showed Canadian retail sales rose faster than economists forecast in February, with gains across all major categories led by general merchandise stores and the first gain in car sales in five months.

     Seven of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX slid, with technology and consumer companies losing at least 0.6 percent. Trading in the index’s stocks was 18 percent below the 30-day average.

     The S&P/TSX Gold Index added 0.7 percent. Gold futures rose on demand for a haven as Greece remained locked in negotiations to secure funding and avoid a default.

     Alamos Gold Inc. jumped 3.8 percent, ending the week with a 9.6 percent advance. Barrick Gold Corp. surged 1.4 percent.

     Energy companies added 0.4 percent as oil climbed 7.9 percent this week amid expectations that the idling of U.S. rigs is spurring a slowdown that will trim the global surplus.

US

By Oliver Renick

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated amid a global selloff, falling the most in three weeks, as American Express Co. tumbled, data signaled stronger inflation and China tightened trading rules.

     American Express fell 4.4 percent to its lowest level since 2013 after quarterly revenue missed estimates. Travelers Cos., 3M Co. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. dropped more than 2.3 percent to pace declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as all 30 of its components slid. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. slumped 10 percent after saying it is hard to see whether the second half will be “substantially better” than the first half of the year.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.1 percent to 2,081.18 at 4 p.m. in New York, below its average price for the past 50 days. For the week, the gauge declined 1 percent. The Dow lost 279.47 points Friday, or 1.5 percent, to 17,826.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 1.5 percent. About 7.1 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges Friday, 6.4 percent more than the three-month average.

     “We’re very early in the earnings season,” said Steve Bombardiere, an equity trader at Conifer Securities LLC in New York. “We need to get further into the season until we get some direction, so right now these little things in the background are good fodder for some short-term gut wrenching.”                         

     The S&P 500 was little changed yesterday after approaching its all-time high. While equity indexes from Asia to Europe have climbed to multiyear highs in recent days, the S&P 500 and Dow last hit theirs on March 2, the same day the Nasdaq Composite Index topped 5,000 for the first time in 15 years. The 32-day stretch without celebrating a fresh high is the S&P 500’s longest since July 2013.

     The benchmark index has been stuck in a range of 52 points since March 20 when it last neared its record, as weaker-than- forecast data from hiring to manufacturing elevated concern about earnings while at the same time bolstered the case for keeping interest rates lower for longer.

     Investors are weighing economic reports for clues on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s first rate increase since 2006. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data.

     The cost of living in the U.S. rose in March for a third month, signaling inflation is starting to firm. A separate report showed consumer confidence improved in April to the second-highest level in more than eight years as Americans held more favorable views of the economic outlook and inflation.                          

     Analysts predict earnings for S&P 500 companies fell 4.3 percent in the first quarter, which would be the first such period of negative profit growth since 2009, amid concern over a surging dollar and worse-than-forecast economic reports.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped 10 percent to 13.89 on Friday. The gauge, known as the VIX, has fallen 28 percent so far this year.

     U.S. equity futures slumped early in the day after Chinese regulators clamped down on the use of shadow financing to buy equities and expanded the supply of shares available for short sellers.

     Regulators in China banned the margin trading businesses of brokerages from taking part in umbrella trusts, and said fund managers can lend shares for short selling. Investors in China have ramped up wagers on stocks by borrowing through umbrella trusts, which allow for more leverage than brokerage financing.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index more than doubled over the past 12 months.                       

     Chinese stock-index futures on the Hang Seng Index tumbled more than 2 percent in after-hours trading. In the U.S., the Bank of New York Mellon China ADR Index of U.S.-listed Chinese companies slid 2.1 percent, the most since January.

     “The China news shows there was a lot of leverage in that market and there’s a lot of leverage in ours, it shows how vulnerable the market can be when that’s the case,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in Newton, Massachusetts.

     Greece’s latest standoff with its creditors has also drawn renewed concern as negotiations over its economic reform commitments drag on before it receives the next disbursement of its bailout funds to avoid a default.

     All 10 of the S&P 500’s main groups fell, as technology, consumer discretionary and financial companies tumbled more than 1.3 percent. American Express dropped 4.4 percent to its lowest since October 2013. Travelers, Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and E*Trade Financial Corp. slumped more than 2.4 percent.                         

    Software companies Adobe Systems Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. lost at least 2.6 percent to help send tech shares lower. EBay Inc. retreated 2.2 percent, while Yahoo! Inc. fell 2.9 percent.

     Losses of more than 2.7 percent in Gannett Co., Amazon.com Inc. and GameStop Corp. paced declines among consumer discretionary shares. Time Warner Cable Inc. lost 5.4 percent and Comcast Corp. dropped 2.1 percent after people familiar with the matter said staff attorneys at the Justice Department’s antitrust division are nearing a recommendation to block Comcast’s bid to buy Time Warner Cable.

     Homebuilders fell for a second day as Lennar Corp. and Toll Brothers Inc. dropped more than 1 percent. An S&P gauge of builders slid 1.2 percent for its biggest two-day retreat in three months.

     Energy companies slipped 0.8 percent while crude oil declined after six days of gains that pushed prices up more than 12 percent. Transocean Ltd., Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. slumped at least 2.6 percent.

     Mattel Inc. rose 5.8 percent, the most in the S&P 500. The toy maker reported that sales declines slowed in its Barbie and Fisher-Price products, and the company posted a smaller-than- estimated quarterly loss.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The only way to achieve consciousness

is by concentrating on the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.

Concentration on the powers of the spirit to discover unity

in  diversity is called consciousness.

All that draws on unity is moral, all that draws on diversity is immoral.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Work is the best antidote to sorrow.

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859-1930

 

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 in 1943, the hallucinogenic effects of LSD were discovered and documented by Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist working at the Sandoz pharmaceutical laboratory. He accidentally consumed LSD, a synthetic drug he created in 1938 as part of his research, and noted that it caused him to experience unusual sensations and hallucinations.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A 249-feet bronze-forged white Buddhist Avalokitesvara or Guan Yin statue, part of the Tsz Shan Monastery, stands behind luxurious houses at Taipo district in Hong Kong on Thursday. The monastery, officially opened to the public by reservation on Wednesday, received contribution of $219 million from Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s personal foundation to cover the construction and daily operating costs, according to the monastery. Bobby Yip/Reuters

A Star Wars fan dressed as a red stormtrooper attends the Star Wars Celebration: The Ultimate Fan Experience held at the Anaheim Convention Center on Thursday, in Anaheim, Calif. Richard Shotwell/AP

Market Closes for April 16^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18105.77	-6.84
		-0.04%
S&P 500	2104.99	-1.64   -0.08%
NASDAQ	5007.789	-3.229   -0.06%
TSX	15386.77	-64.10
		-0.41%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19885.77	+16.01
		+0.08%
HANG SENG	27739.71	+120.89
		+0.44%
SENSEX	28666.04	-133.65
		-0.46%
FTSE 100	7060.45	-36.33
		-0.51%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.375	1.346
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.026	1.987
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.8914	1.8889
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5745	2.5404

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.82031	0.81319
US $	1.21906	1.22972
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31225	0.76205
US $	1.07645	0.92898

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1204.35	1192.90
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	56.71	56.39

If you spend  more than 14 minutes a year worrying about the market, you’ve wasted 12 minutes. –Peter Lynch, One Up on Wall Street, b. 1944.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks declined from a seven-month high as energy companies ended a five-day rally and gold producers slumped.

     Precision Drilling Corp. and Torc Oil & Gas Ltd. sank more than 3.4 percent. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. soared on renewed speculation its largest shareholder will make a takeover offer. Alacer Gold Corp. and Tahoe Resources Inc. slid at least 3.8 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index lost 64.1 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,386.77 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge yesterday reached the highest level since September, buoyed by seven straight days of gains earlier this month.

     Eight of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX slid, with shares of raw materials and phone companies leading declines. Trading in the index’s stocks was 9.4 percent above the 30-day average at the close.

     Oil and gas stocks slid 0.7 percent after surging 5.6 percent over the last five trading sessions. Crude prices rose 0.6 percent today, after dropping as much as 2.3 percent earlier amid concern a surge in OPEC production led by Saudi Arabia will add to a global glut.

     Precision Drilling slumped 5.1 percent, while Torc dropped 3.4 percent. Raging River Exploration Inc. slid 3 percent.

     Canada’s oil and gas industry is projected to report the biggest drop in profit in at least a decade as crude’s collapse pummels one of the world’s costliest producers. Earnings per share for Canadian petroleum producers will fall more than half to 20 cents for energy companies in the S&P/TSX, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Pacific Rubiales soared 18 percent. Mexican conglomerate Alfa SAB would consider buying, selling or keeping shares of Pacific Rubiales, Chairman Armando Garza said at a press conference on Wednesday. Such a decision “isn’t easy to make,” he said.

     Pacific Rubiales, Latin America’s biggest non-state-owned crude producer, has rallied 45 percent this week, rebounding from the lowest level since 2009.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index neared a record, as semiconductors declined on SanDisk Corp. results to offset a rally in Netflix Inc.

     SanDisk sank 4.5 percent after predicting 2015 sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates. Netflix Inc. surged 18 percent as it reported a jump in quarterly subscribers.

Citigroup Inc. added 1.5 percent as results topped estimates, and UnitedHealth Group Inc. gained 3.7 percent after raising its full-year forecast.

     The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 2,104.99 at 4 p.m. in New York, after earlier rising within 0.3 percent of its record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 6.84 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 18,105.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index also fell less than 0.1 percent. About 6.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent below the three-month average.

     “We’re right up near the all-time highs in the S&P, and sometimes you take a breather before you break through those levels,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in Newton, Massachusetts.

     Energy shares in the S&P 500 erased a drop of 1.1 percent to rise as much as 0.5 percent before slipping again. The group’s 6.5 percent rally in April — its best month since January 2013 — has underpinned the S&P 500’s latest run at its first record since March 2.                        

     The S&P 500 has been stuck in a range of 52 points since March 20 when it last neared its record, as weaker-than-forecast data from hiring to manufacturing elevated concern about earnings while at the same time bolstered the case for keeping interest rates lower for longer.

     The benchmark has advanced 2.2 percent this year, trailing benchmark gauges in all developed markets tracked by Bloomberg except Greece, with the Federal Reserve set to raise rates this year.

     Investors are weighing economic reports for clues on the timing of the Fed’s first rate increase since 2006. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data. Housing starts rose less than forecast in March, while jobless claims increased in the latest week.

     Fourteen companies reported quarterly results today. Analysts predict earnings for S&P 500 companies fell 5.6 percent in the first quarter, cutting projections amid concern over a surging dollar and worse-than-forecast economic reports.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups fell Thursday, led by utilities, phone and raw-material companies. Consumer and financial companies rose, with Netflix’s 18 percent climb to a record leading the discretionary category.

     The company said its video-streaming service topped 62 million subscribers worldwide. U.S. subscribers jumped by 2.28 million in the first quarter, while international accounts rose 2.6 million, both beating the company’s earlier forecast. Netflix has been one of the biggest contributors to the Nasdaq Composite’s gains this year amid the stock’s 65 percent rally.

     Semiconductors retreated as SanDisk fell 4.5 percent. The company, which makes memory chips used in mobile devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone, said sales will fall in 2015 as it loses customers, delays products and chip prices fall. Applied Materials Inc. lost 3 percent and Broadcom Corp. slid 1.2 percent.

     Chipmakers were the best performers yesterday among 24 industries in the S&P 500 after Intel Corp.’s earnings and outlook. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index Thursday declined 0.5 percent after rising 1.6 percent Wednesday.

     Steel companies Nucor Corp. and Allegheny Technologies Inc. fell more than 2.3 percent to lead materials companies lower. Sherwin-Williams Co. lost 1.7 percent after the paint maker’s first-quarter earnings missed analysts estimates.

     UnitedHealth Group Inc. climbed 3.7 percent to an all-time high. The largest U.S. health insurer raised its 2015 forecast and posted first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates amid higher revenue from its Optum technology business. Peers Aetna Inc., Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp. all rebounded more than 1.9 percent after each lost at least 1.6 percent yesterday.

     Philip Morris International Inc. jumped 8.7 percent, the most in the more than six years, to lead consumer staples higher. The world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company beat first-quarter profit estimates after sales volume was better than the company expected.

     Citigroup’s 1.5 percent climb paced gains in financial companies as the group rose for a fourth day. Citi’s earnings exceeded analysts’ forecasts as a cost-cutting push helped the third-largest U.S. bank weather a slump in trading. Bank of America Corp. advanced 1 percent.

     Three initial public offerings all jumped in their trading debuts, with artisan website Etsy Inc. posting the biggest gain, up 88 percent. High-frequency trader Virtu Financial Inc. climbed 17 percent, while party-supplies retailer Party City Holdco Inc. added 22 percent.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 1.9 percent to 12.60. The gauge, known as the VIX, declined 14 percent last week to its lowest level of 2015.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

What is the object of jnana yoga?  Freedom.

Freedom from what?  Freedom from our imperfections, freedom from the suffering of life.

Why are we unhappy?  We are unhappy because we are enslaved.  And what are we enslaved by?

The enslavement of nature.  Who enslaves us?

We do, ourselves.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The beginning is the most important part of the work.

                                            -Plato, 428 -348 BCE

 

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:

“April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.”

    -Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales.

Tax Day in the US.
Two more weeks for Canadians.

The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. –Albert Einstein.

On this day in 1955, the first McDonald’s opened.
Leonardo da Vinci was born.

The Titanic sank.

Harold Bride, wireless operator on the Titanic, 1912:

“We only saw the big stream of sparks.  The ship was turning gradually on her nose –just like a duck that goes for a dive.  I had only one thing on my mind – to get away from the suction.  The bank was still playing.  I guess all of them went down.  They were playing ‘Autumn’ then.  I swam with all my might.  I suppose I was 150 feet away when the Titanic, on her nose, with her after-quarter sticking straight up in the air, began to settle – slowly.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A blue tit sits between blossoms on a tree during warm and sunny weather near Sehnde, northern Germany, Wednesday. Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/AP

A gosling peers out from its mother’s wings Wednesday, in Santa Clara, Calif. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Market Closes for April 15^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18112.61	+75.91
		+0.42%
S&P 500	2106.63	+10.79   +0.51%
NASDAQ	5011.020	+33.733   +0.68%
TSX	15450.87	+61.59
		+0.40%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19869.76	-38.92
		-0.20%
HANG SENG	27618.82	+57.33
		+0.21%
SENSEX	28799.69	-244.75
		-0.84%
FTSE 100	7096.78	+21.52
		+0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.346	1.320
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.987	1.985
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.8889	1.8985
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5404	2.5427

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81319	0.80056
US $	1.22972	1.24913
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.31357	0.76129
US $	1.06818	0.93617

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1192.90	1194.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	56.39	53.29

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

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed to a seven-month high, sending the benchmark equities gauge closer to a record, as energy shares soared while the Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate unchanged.

     Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and Surge Energy Inc. jumped more than 9 percent as energy producers led gains among groups in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. dropped 3.1 percent for a second day of losses.

     The S&P/TSX rose 61.59 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,450.87 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge is now 1.3 percent from a record reached in September.

     Policy makers held the benchmark rate on overnight loans between commercial banks at 0.75 percent for a second straight meeting after a surprise January cut.

     Output stalled in the first quarter as lower oil prices hurt incomes and investment, the bank said. Growth will quicken to a quarterly average of about 2.5 percent through mid-2016 with gains in non-energy exports and employment returning in a few months as the “dominant trend.”

     Five of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX rallied. Financial and technology shares gained more than 0.6 percent. Trading in the index’s stocks was 31 percent above the 30-day average at the close.

     Energy stocks surged 2 percent as crude prices rose to the highest level of the year after a government report showed that U.S. crude stockpiles climbed by the least since January.

     The Bank of Canada said in its statement today that damage from an oil-price shock may already be fading. The drop in crude has triggered layoffs and canceled investments from companies such as Talisman Energy Inc. and Cnooc Ltd.’s Nexen Energy.

     Pacific Rubiales soared 15 percent for the best gain among S&P/TSX companies. Surge Energy added 9.5 percent and Trican Well Service Ltd. jumped 8.3 percent. Energy companies, the worst performers in the broader S&P/TSX Composite Index last year, have rebounded 8.7 percent in April, heading for the best monthly performance since 2011.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to within 0.5 percent of its record, as Intel Corp. climbed and energy companies rallied with oil reaching a 2015 high.

     Intel rose 4.3 percent after its forecast for the second quarter exceeded some analysts’ projections. Energy companies hit an almost five-month high as oil gained for a fifth day. Delta Air Lines Inc. climbed 2.6 percent after reporting better- than-expected first-quarter earnings. Netflix Inc. soared 12 percent in late trading amid a jump in subscribers.

     The S&P 500 increased 0.5 percent to 2,106.63 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 75.91 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,112.61. The Russell 2000 Index added 0.8 percent to an all-time high, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.7 percent to close above 5,000 for the first time in three weeks. About 7.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent above the three-month average.

     “Fed action is probably put off further and earnings are coming in better than expected,” said Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “We went into the earnings season by lowering expectations, so we’re set up for a little bit of a rebound here coming into the actual announcements.”

     While equity indexes from Asia to Europe have climbed to multiyear highs in recent days, the S&P 500 and Dow last set records on March 2, the same day the Nasdaq Composite topped 5,000 for the first time in 15 years.                     

     The S&P 500 has zigzagged since, falling as much as 3.6 percent through March 11 amid concerns that a stronger dollar and lower oil prices would hurt corporate earnings as the Fed considers raising rates. Signals by central-bank officials that they are in no rush to boost borrowing costs propelled the gauge to within 0.4 percent of its record by March 20, before it retreated again.

     The index has been stuck in a range of 52 points since then, as weaker-than-forecast data from hiring to manufacturing elevated concern about earnings while at the same time bolstered the case for keeping rates lower for longer.

     The Nasdaq Composite has jumped 5.8 percent this year, coming within 7 points of its all-time high on March 20 as biotechnology and Internet stocks have rallied. The Nasdaq Internet Index has increased for nine straight days, the longest streak since November 2012.

      Netflix, which has been one of the biggest contributors to the Nasdaq Composite’s gains this year with a 39 percent climb, soared 12 percent as of 4:55 p.m. in New York.

     After the market close, the company said U.S. subscribers jumped by 2.28 million, while international customers rose 2.6 million. Both figures beat the company’s Jan. 20 forecast.

     Energy shares in the S&P 500 rallied 2.3 percent during regular trading Wednesday, pushing their gain in April to 6.8 percent. The gauge is on track for its best month since January 2013. Its rally has propelled the S&P 500 back above its average price for the past 50 days and to within 11 points of its record.

     Semiconductor companies in the benchmark jumped 2.7 percent, the best performers of 24 industries in the index after Intel’s earnings and outlook.

     “In many ways companies have surprised a bit to the upside,” said Ernie Cecilia, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co. in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. The firm oversees $8 billion. “The market is slowly getting comfortable with foreign exchange headwinds and taking a look at how the intrinsic business is doing.”

     Profit at S&P 500 companies probably fell 5.6 percent in the first quarter, analysts estimate, and they project quarterly declines through September.

     Investors are weighing economic data to gauge when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. A report showed factory output barely climbed in March, buoyed by a rebound in auto making as other industries retreated, indicating a strong dollar and cheap oil are hurting American manufacturing.

     The 0.1 percent gain in manufacturing was the first advance in four months, matching the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 24 economists. Total industrial production declined more than projected as utility use dropped by the most in nine years. Another report Wednesday showed manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly contracted this month as orders slumped.

     Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data, with recent releases missing projections by the most in six years. The economy expanded across most U.S. regions from mid- February to the end of March, with higher retail sales and rising demand for business services, according to the Fed’s Beige Book report.

     The European Central Bank Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged at record lows as it focuses on a bond-buying program to bolster the euro-area economy. ECB President Mario Draghi said at a press conference in Frankfurt that bond purchases will continue until “a sustained adjustment” in inflation is seen.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 6.1 percent to 12.84. The gauge, known as the VIX, declined 14 percent last week to its lowest level of 2015.

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups advanced, led by energy, raw materials and technology. Dow Chemical Co. and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. rallied more than 2.6 percent to help lead materials to the highest level in a month.

     Energy companies in the benchmark gauge climbed for a second day to their highest since November while oil jumped 5 percent. Transocean Ltd. and Noble Corp. gained more than 7.2 percent, while Southwestern Energy Co. and Halliburton Co. increased more than 4.4 percent.

     The rally in offshore drillers over the past four weeks is tied to investors unwinding short positions, James West, an analyst at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note to clients.

     HCA Holdings Inc. rose 2.5 percent to a record. The biggest for-profit U.S. hospital chain by patient volume raised its 2015 forecast as hospital visits and insurance reinbursements helped lift preliminary first-quarter results above analysts’ estimates.                        

     JPMorgan Chase & Co. advanced 1.9 percent to pace gains in financial shares, up for a second day after Monday’s earnings report, to a 15-year high. Comerica Inc. and Morgan Stanley added at least 1.5 percent.

     Delta Air Lines gained 2.6 percent, paring an earlier climb of more than 5 percent, after better-than-expected earnings. The carrier said it plans to cut seating capacity later this year on international routes as the strong dollar and declining oil prices damps overseas travel demand.

     Precision Castparts Corp. dropped the most in the S&P 500, losing 3.7 percent. The manufacturer of metal components forecast lower-than-expected quarterly profit and said it will take as much as $363 million in writedowns because of declining demand for pipes used in the energy industry.

     UnitedHealth Group Inc. fell 2.2 percent, the most since March and the biggest drop in the Dow. Competitors Anthem Inc., Aetna Inc. and Cigna Corp. lost at least 1.6 percent.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

What we are about to undertake is an expedition together, a journey of discovery

into the most secret recesses of our consciousness.

And for such an adventure we must travel light, we cannot burden ourselves

with opinions, prejudices, conclusions that is, with all the baggage that we have collected

over the past two thousand years or more.  Forget everything you know about yourself;

forget everything that you have thought about yourself;

we are going to set off as if we know nothing.

 

Krishnamurti

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

You should strive to find happiness every day and

not believe that it comes at the end of the

journey.

               -Bill Clinton, 1946-

 

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:

Just before midnight on this day in 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic, sinking just a few hours later at about 2:20 a.m. on the morning of April 15.

April 14, 1965: Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

1928: First Webster’s Dictionary was printed.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Stars are pictured over the famous Matterhorn mountain, seen from the Riffelberg area, in Zermatt, Switzerland on Monday. Jean-Christophe Bott/AP

Principal Dianne Coplin performs yoga as she works from atop the school dressed as the Cat in the Hat, Tuesday, at Colonel Donald McMonagle Elementary in Mt. Morris Township, Mich. Students at the school read 6,693 books, exceeding their reading month goal of 5,000, resulting in Coplin dressing as the famous Dr. Suess character. Jake May/The Flint Journal/AP

Market Closes for April 14^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18036.70	+59.66
		+0.33%
S&P 500	2095.84	+3.41   +0.16%
NASDAQ	4977.285	-10.964   -0.22%
TSX	15389.28	+5.69
		+0.04%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19908.68	+3.22
		+0.02%
HANG SENG	27561.49	-454.85
		-1.62%
SENSEX	29044.44	+165.06
		+0.57%
FTSE 100	7075.26	+10.96
		+0.16%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.320	1.352
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.985	2.022
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.8985	1.9272
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5427	2.5730

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80056	0.79389
US $	1.24913	1.25962
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.33053	0.75158
US $	1.06517	0.93882

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1194.75	1198.90
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	53.29	51.91

There are two kinds of people who lose money: those who know nothing and those who know everything. –Henry Kaufman, b. 1927.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed, erasing an earlier decline, as gains among energy companies offset a slump in railroad stocks.

     Shares of energy producers increased 1.4 percent as oil gained for a fourth day. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co. dropped at least 0.8 percent after Norfolk Southern Corp. reported weaker-than-forecast earnings, heralding a difficult season for railroad profits.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 5.69 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 15,389.28 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has rallied 3.3 percent in April, posting seven straight days of gains through last week.

     Nine of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX slid. Health-care stocks dropped 1.1 percent for the biggest loss. Trading in the index’s stocks was 4.4 percent below the 30-day average at the close.

     Canadian Pacific Railway slipped 1.3 percent, while Canadian National Railway sank 0.8 percent. Norfolk Southern, the second-largest railroad in the eastern U.S., said profit last quarter declined, missing analyst estimates.

     Coal shipments for most U.S. railroads fell during the first quarter as lower natural gas prices spurred power plants to switch to the fuel from coal.

     Consumer-discretionary shares slid 0.8 percent. Data released this morning showed sales at U.S. retailers rose less than forecast in March after being depressed by harsh winter weather, signaling consumers are intent on not overextending themselves.

     Energy shares in the S&P/TSX surged 1.4 percent as crude prices rose 2.7 percent. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. jumped 9.3 percent, while Bonavista Energy Corp. added 8.3 percent and Surge Energy Inc. rose 6.7 percent.

     As energy companies, the worst performers in the broader S&P/TSX Composite Index last year, have rebounded 6.5 percent in April and Canadian stocks climb toward an all-time high reached in September, traders are seeking protection.

     Bearish bets for the iShares Standard & Poor’s/TSX 60 Index exchange-traded fund, Canada’s largest ETF by assets, have surged this year to as much as nine times the number of calls.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index near its average price for the past 50 days, as a rally in energy companies overshadowed weaker-than-forecast retail sales.

     Chevron Corp. climbed 2.2 percent as oil rose for a fourth day. JPMorgan Chase & Co. advanced 1.6 percent after quarterly profit beat analysts’ estimates. Norfolk Southern Corp. fell 4.2 percent on lower-than-expected revenue. Semiconductors retreated during regular trading hours, while Intel Corp. rebounded 2.3 percent after the market close.

     The S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent to 2,095.84 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 59.66 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,036.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2 percent. About 5.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 13 percent below the three-month average.

     “The market will go as earnings go for the next couple of weeks,” said Terry Morris, a senior equity manager who helps oversee about $2.8 billion at Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based National Penn Investors Trust Co. “The market wants to see some sales growth, but we haven’t seen it yet.”

     Sales at U.S. retailers rose less than forecast in March after being depressed by harsh winter weather, signaling consumers are intent on not overextending themselves.

     Purchases increased 0.9 percent, the first gain in four months, after a 0.5 percent drop in February, Commerce Department figures showed. The median forecast of 87 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 1.1 percent advance.                       

     A separate report showed wholesale prices in the U.S.climbed in March for the first time in five months, reflecting higher costs for fuels and motor vehicles.

     A pickup in wholesale costs that filters through to consumers would help reassure Federal Reserve policy makers that inflation will advance toward their goal. At the same time, a rising dollar and limited growth overseas may hamper efforts by American companies to be more aggressive in raising prices.

     Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data. Recent economic releases have missed projections by the most in six years.

     The S&P 500 fell on Monday as General Electric Co. retreated from a six-year high, leading industrial companies lower. Last week, both the S&P 500 and the Dow closed near records.

     Analysts have slashed profit projections, predicting a slump through September amid concern that a stronger dollar and tumbling oil prices are hurting results. Earnings probably fell 5.6 percent in the first quarter, they predict.

     JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank, gained 1.6 percent after saying profit climbed 12 percent as first-quarter revenue from trading stocks and bonds increased for the first time since 2010.

     Norfolk Southern Corp., the second-largest railroad in the eastern U.S., tumbled 4.2 percent after first-quarter profit declined and missed analyst estimates amid decreased coal shipments. Union Pacific Corp. slipped 0.3 percent, after earlier losing almost 4 percent.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 1.9 percent to 13.67. The gauge, known as the VIX, fell 14 percent last week to its lowest level of 2015.

     Seven of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups rose, led by energy and utility shares. Energy companies jumped 1.8 percent to the highest level in more than seven weeks. Apache Corp., Transocean Ltd. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. added at least 3.4 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.7 percent.

     Consumer staples increased 0.2 percent, paced by gains in Hershey Co. and PepsiCo Inc. of at least 1 percent. Estee Lauder Cos. and Tyson Foods Inc. added more than 1.7 percent.

     Semiconductor companies led a retreat among tech shares as Intel, Broadcom Corp. and Altera Corp. fell at least 0.8 percent during regular hours. Google lost 1.6 percent as the company could face possible fines and new constraints in the European Union.

     Intel jumped 2.3 percent as of 4:42 p.m. in New York. After the market close, the world’s largest chipmaker gave a forecast for second-quarter sales that was in line with analysts’  estimates, helped by demand for chips that power servers in data centers.

     Laptop production rebounded last month, potentially helping Intel’s sales recover after a slump early in the year led it to slash its first-quarter revenue forecast.

     Wells Fargo & Co. slipped 0.7 percent as first-quarter net income fell 1.1 percent from a year earlier, and net interest margin dropped below 3 percent for the first time since the 1990s.

     “We’re starting to hit the reporting season which is going to be a major driver for the next few weeks,” said Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank AG in London. “The market is not looking for a good set of numbers as demand has been hit by a stronger dollar, but the numbers for financials are expected to be reasonably decent for this quarter.”

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Fear comes from the selfish idea

of cutting one’s self off from the universe.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

         -Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519

 

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:

We went to Paris last weekend for the Easter holiday.  There are so many good reasons to make it to Paris this year, not least because the Euro is so low.  The Musée Picasso has now reopened in the Marais on Rue de Thorigny, after a five year renovation.   The Bernard Arnault’s spectacular Fondation Louis Vuitton, which opened in October in the Bois de Boulogne offers visitors a viewing heaven with a stash of loans that the FT commented “‘would astonish and enthrall in any world class museum.”   Matisse’s “The Dance”  comes from the Hermitage; works by Barancusi, Kandinsky and Léger are visitors from MOMA.  In the opening room, Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” faces a howling Francis Bacon pope, “Study for Portrait” from Chicago.  A Giocometti “Walking Man” is on show.  Two of Monet’s greatest “Water Lily” canvases hail from the Musée Marmottan Monet and Musée d’Orsay.  The Frank Gehry designed building is in itself, a wonder to behold.

There are many hotel and restaurant rebirths in Paris this year as well.  The Ritz and the Hotel de Crillon will reopen after major renovations.  We stayed at the brand new Peninsula, which is fabulous.  The rooftop restaurant L’Oiseau Blanc is wonderful with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower.  Guy Savoy’s new restaurant is not open yet but should be opened any day now in a 4300-square-foot space at the top of the Monnaie de Paris, the French Mint.

We had a terrific dinner one night at Le Restaurant, which is situated in the building (now a small hotel, named l’Hotel) in the Latin Quarter where Oscar Wilde spent his last few months and eventually died.  It actually played host to Jorge Luis Borges and Marlon Brnado for a time.  On my way out, I asked the concierge if it is possible to see Oscar Wilde’s room and he said normally yes, but the hotel was fully booked that night.  I asked him if the wall paper had been changed, remembering Oscar Wilde’s famous last words, “This wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. Either it goes or I do.”   He said yes it has, but it’s still pretty wild.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Competitors run down the Champs Elysees below the Arc de Triomphe at the start of the 39th Paris Marathon, Sunday. Benoit Tessier/Reuters

A man stands next to the Egyptian Obelisk that stands in the center of the Place de la Concorde, in Paris, Sunday. Thibault Camus/AP

Market Closes for April 13^th, 2015

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17977.04	-80.61
		-0.45%
S&P 500	2092.43	-9.63   -0.46%
NASDAQ	4988.250	-7.728   -0.15%
TSX	15383.59	-4.84
		-0.03%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19905.46	-2.17
		-0.01%
HANG SENG	28016.34	+743.95
		+2.73%
SENSEX	29044.44	+165.06
		+0.57%
FTSE 100	7064.30	-25.47
		-0.36%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.352	1.372
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.022	2.040
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9272	1.9473
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5730	2.5791

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79389	0.79574
US $	1.25962	1.25670
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.33118	0.75121
US $	1.05681	0.94624

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1198.90	1207.35
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.91	51.64

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slid, breaking a seven-day streak of gains, as materials producers slumped after an unexpected drop in China’s exports fueled concern over the strength of the world’s second-largest economy.

     Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. tumbled 6.1 percent to lead a 1 percent drop in raw-materials producers. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. climbed 1.1 percent to pace gains among health-care shares. AuRico Gold Inc. surged 8.2 percent on plans to merge with Alamos Gold Inc.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 4.84 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 15,383.59 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The drop today ended the longest rally since June.

     Six of 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX rose. Consumer staples and health-care shares added 0.8 percent for the biggest gains. Trading in the index’s stocks was 20 percent below the 30-day average at the close.

     Materials producers led declines as the S&P/TSX Gold Index slumped 1.6 percent. Torex Gold Resources Inc. dropped 5.5 percent.

     Gold futures declined for the fourth time in five sessions after a rise in the dollar cut demand for the metal as an alternative investment and China’s economy showed signs of slowing.

     AuRico soared, while Alamos jumped 6.6 percent. The deal, which would create a mining company with a market value of about $1.5 billion and operations in Mexico and Canada, is a so-called merger of equals, the Toronto-based companies said Monday in a joint statement.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell as General Electric Co. retreated from a six-year high, leading industrial companies lower while investors awaited this week’s corporate earnings reports.

     General Electric Co. slid 3.1 percent, after its biggest rally Friday since 2009. Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp fell more than 3.8 percent as energy companies dropped. Netflix added 4.4 percent after an analyst upgrade.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 0.5 percent to 2,092.43 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.2 percent, erasing an earlier gain that took it above 5,000 for the first time in three weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 80.61 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,977.04.  About 5.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 19 percent below the three-month average.

     “There’s a lack of economic numbers today, so investors are gearing up for earnings season,” said Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at New York-based Williams Capital Group LP. “It remains to be seen if good economic numbers and positive earnings reports will fuel things in a positive vein over the short-term.”

     The Nasdaq Composite climbed earlier Monday to within 25 points of its record. Last month the index closed above 5,000 three times, its first forays past that level since March 2000. It stalled on March 20 within seven points of its dot-com-era record, before dropping 2.5 percent to the end of the month. It has rebounded about 2 percent in April after posting its ninth consecutive quarterly gain, its longest streak ever.                    

     The Dow traded Friday within 1.3 percent of a record hit in March, while the S&P 500 pulled within 1 percent of its all-time high. With valuations near their highest level in more than five years, investors are looking to corporate profits for further clues on the strength of the U.S. bull market that hasn’t seen a 10 percent correction since 2011.

     JPMorgan Chase & Co., Johnson & Johnson and Intel Corp. are among the 36 S&P 500 members reporting financial results this week. Analysts have slashed their profit projections, predicting a slump through September amid concern that a stronger dollar and tumbling oil prices are hurting results.  Earnings probably fell 5.6 percent in the first quarter, they predict.

     “We know this earnings season is not going to look good,” said Allan von Mehren, chief analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “The first quarter’s economic slowdown and stronger dollar has definitely put pressure on profits. The question now will be whether expectations have been lowered enough.”                         

     Investors are also trying to gauge when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, with recent economic releases missing projections by the most in six years. March reports are due this week on retail sales, industrial production and housing starts.

     Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data. Fed members next meet on April 28-29 to discuss monetary policy.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 11 percent Monday, the most in more than two weeks, to 13.94. The gauge, known as the VIX, fell 14 percent last week to its lowest level of 2015.

     GE slipped 3.1 percent, the most in more than a year, to lead industrial companies down 1.1 percent. GE reached a more than six-year high Friday amid an 11 percent rally driven by the company’s plan to buy back as much as $50 billion in stock and sell most of its lending business. Union Pacific Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. slipped at least 1.6 percent.                         

     Energy shares retreated 0.8 percent, even as oil prices increased, and utilities lost 1 percent as nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups declined.

     Netflix led gains in Internet companies, up 4.4 percent after UBS AG analyst Douglas Mitchelson raised shares to buy from neutral. Facebook Inc. rose 1.2 percent, while Priceline Group Inc. advanced 0.9 percent.

     Financial shares in the S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent, led by Genworth Financial Inc.’s 2.7 percent climb. JPMorgan Chase & Co. was the Dow’s best performer, up 0.6 percent before its earnings report Tuesday. Huntington Bancshares Inc. paced gains in S&P 500 banks, rising 2.1 percent.

     JetBlue Airways Corp. climbed 4.2 percent after saying after the close on Friday that a measure of passenger revenue per available seat mile increased by 8 percent year-over-year for March.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

When a man begins to have a vision larger than his own truth,

when he realizes that it is much larger than it at first seemed, he begins to become conscious of his moral nature.

His perspective on life necessarily changes, and his will takes the place of his desires.

So comes about the conflict between our inferior self and our superior self,

between our desires and our will, between our greed for objects that appeal to our senses

and the purpose that comes from the bottom of our heart.

 

Rabindranath Tagore.

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth.  We are all crew.

                                        –Marshall McLuhan, 1911-1980

 

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:

APRIL

…On some spring days I imagine I can see the plants growing, especially when the earth smells good.  This morning as I went outside in the sunshine after rain, the familiar smell of the balsam poplars wafted my way.  The delicious resinous scent is strongest as the leaf buds are opening in April.  Another sure sign of spring, and almost merging into summer, is the arrival of the swallows.  As soon as they come we must remember to leave a crack in the garage doors to allow them inside.  They always build in the rafters above the windscreen of my car.  The poets have got it right.  Chaucer chose “Aprille with his schowres swoote” as the  pleasantest month for his Canterbury pilgrims to “go on pilgrimage.”  Spenser describes it as

Garnished with garlands goodly dight

Of all the fairest flowers and freshest buds

Which the earth brings forth. 

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The four Yorkshire Terriers Bobby, Billy, Benni and Zorro look out of the car of their owner during bright sunshine in Ravensburg, southern Germany, Friday. Felix Kaestle/dpa/AP

A buyer chooses hand decorated Easter eggs at Green Market, in Belgrade, Serbia, on Orthodox Good Friday. Orthodox Serbs celebrate Easter on April 12, according to old Julian calendar, and the ancient tradition of hand decorated eggs is upheld in this Orthodox Easter custom. Darko Vojinovic/AP

Market Closes for April 10, 2015 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18057.65	+98.92
		+0.55%
S&P 500	2102.06	+10.88   +0.52%
NASDAQ	4995.977	+21.412   +0.48%
TSX	15388.43	+62.12
		+0.41%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19907.63	-30.09
		-0.15%
HANG SENG	27272.39	+328.00
		+1.22%
SENSEX	28879.38	-5.38
		-0.02%
FTSE 100	7089.77	+74.41
		+1.06%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.372	1.373
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.040	2.034
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9473	1.9596
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5791	2.5981

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79574	0.79466
US $	1.25670	1.25843
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.33239	0.75053
US $	1.06023	0.94319

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1207.35	1194.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.64	50.79

Any fool can buy.  It is the wise man who knows how to sell. –Albert W. Thomas, b. 1927.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a seventh day, the longest stretch since June, as gold prices advanced for the first time in four days and the economy unexpectedly gained jobs in March.

     Cara Operations Ltd., operator of the Swiss Chalet and Harvey’s food chains, surged 43 percent in its trading debut. Capstone Mining Corp. and Alacer Gold Corp. advanced at least 6.3 percent to pace gains among raw-materials producers. Athabasca Oil Corp. rallied 4 percent as oil capped the longest stretch of weekly gains in a year.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index climbed 62.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,388.43 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest closing level since Sept. 18. The equity gauge has advanced 3.3 percent over seven days and is up 5.2 percent for the year.

     Goldcorp Inc. increased 2.7 percent and Barrick Gold Corp. rose 2.1 percent as raw-materials producers advanced 1.1 percent. Nine of 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge rose on trading volume 12 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Gold for June delivery increased 0.9 percent to $1,204.60 an ounce on the Comex in New York after holdings in exchange- traded products backed by bullion saw the largest increase in more than six weeks. Silver climbed 1.3 percent. Silver Wheaton Corp. added 2 percent.

     Canada’s economy added 28,700 jobs in March as the jobless rate remained at 6.8 percent, according to data from Statistics Canada. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecasted the jobless rate would rise to 6.9 percent and employment would be unchanged. The gains were powered by services from retailing to transportation and part-time work.

     Cara Operations soared 43 percent to C$32.90 in its first day of trading on the TSX. The food company completed a C$200 million initial offering that priced shares at C$23 today.

     Bombardier Inc. rose 1.5 percent to a two-month high. The company is considering options that include a sale or an initial public offering of its transportation arm as it seeks to offset challenges in its aerospace unit, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied to within 1 percent of its all-time high after General Electric Co. announced a broad restructuring plan and investors awaited further clues on the strength of corporate profits.

     GE rose the most in six years after saying it plans to exit the majority of its finance business, and it authorized a stock buyback of as much as $50 billion. Health-care companies advanced for a sixth day. Netflix Inc. climbed more than 3.4 percent, while financial stocks lagged as insurance companies slipped.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to 2,102.06 at 4 p.m. in New York, and posted back-to-back weekly advances for the first time in almost two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 98.92 points, or 0.6 percent, to 18,057.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.4 percent. About 5.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 17 percent below the three-month average.

     “I’m a little surprised the market is moving with this level of enthusiasm,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist in Philadelphia at Janney Capital Management LLC, which oversees about $68 billion. “The announcement of the GE share buyback is gargantuan, and with it being a very widely- held position, a share price boost is also boosting investor portfolios and stock indices.”

     The S&P 500 is now less than 1 percent from its all-time high set on March 2. The benchmark index added 1.7 percent this week, and marked three consecutive days of gains for the first time since Feb. 17. The Nasdaq Composite is 1 percent away from its March 2000 high, while the Dow is 1.3 percent from its record set last month.

     BlackRock Inc.’s global chief investment strategist Russ Koesterich predicted in a note to clients that the current six- year bull market won’t end until “sometime between 2016 and 2017.”

     JPMorgan Chase & Co., Johnson & Johnson and Intel Corp. are among S&P 500 members reporting quarterly results next week. Analysts have slashed corporate profit projections, predicting a slump through September. Earnings probably fell 5.6 percent in the first quarter, they estimated.

     Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, the New York-based head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a client note Friday lowered the firm’s 2015 earnings-per-share forecast for the S&P 500 to $123 from $127.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 3.9 percent to 12.58. The gauge, known as the VIX, is down almost 15 percent in the last three days and closed at its lowest level since December.                       

    The VIX closed Thursday more than 10 percent below its 10- day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Before March, the gauge of U.S. equity trader anxiety hadn’t fallen that much since July 2013, data compiled by Sundial Capital Research Inc. show. Some of investors’ anxiety has been alleviated as a slew of weaker economic data has signaled the Federal Reserve may have reason to delay raising interest rates beyond this summer.

     Fed Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said he continues to favor a first rate increase in June because recent soft readings on the economy will probably prove temporary.

     “Readings on some indicators have been unexpectedly weak in recent weeks, some of which may be attributable to unseasonably adverse weather,” Lacker, who votes on monetary policy this year, said in Sarasota, Florida, on Friday. Minutes released Wednesday from the Fed’s latest meeting showed officials were split on whether they would raise interest rates in June.                         

     GE was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500, surging 11 percent, after authorizing a stock buyback of as much as $50 billion. The company also said it plans to exit the bulk of its lending business, including a $26.5 billion sale of most of its real estate.

     The industrial giant’s stock price reached its highest level since Sept. 2008 as almost 352 million shares traded, the largest daily volume since March 2009. GE contributed 18.55 points, or about 19 percent, of the Dow’s Friday gain.

     A group of industrial companies in the S&P 500 jumped 1.8 percent, led by GE and also gains of more than 1.4 percent for Caterpillar Inc. and Union Pacific Corp. The sector rose 3.3 percent for the week, the biggest increase in the benchmark gauge.

     Consumer discretionary companies advanced for a third day, their longest streak in two months, led by a 4.8 percent increase in Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants Inc. and Staples Inc. also climbed more than 1.9 percent.

     AbbVie Inc. and Intuitive Surgical Inc. increased at least 2.7 percent, bolstering health-care shares for a sixth session, the best stretch in three weeks. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Eli Lilly & Co. rose more than 1.8 percent.                         

     Netflix gained 3.4 percent after Citigroup Inc. upgraded the company to buy from neutral, in part citing improvement in recently released content and content line-up for the rest of this year.

     Financial companies in the S&P 500 lagged among the index’s 10 main groups. Morgan Stanley lost 1.1 percent, while Prudential Financial Inc. and MetLife Inc. slid at least 1 percent.

     Citrix Systems dropped 1.3 percent, paring an earlier decline of almost 6 percent. The company was downgraded to market perform from outperform at William Blair & Co. by equity analyst Bhavan Suri after the software maker cut its first- quarter sales and profit guidance.

  

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Everyone is a manifestation of the Impersonal, the basis of all being,

and misery consists in thinking of ourselves as different from this Infinite, Impersonal Being,

and liberation consists in knowing our unity with this wonderful Impersonality.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

While there is life there is hope.

      -Jules Verne, 1828-1905

 

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 in 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Va., effectively ending the American Civil War.

A Confederate flag bearer watches the battle during a re-enactment of the Battle of Appomattox Courthouse as part of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House in Appomattox, Va., Thursday. The battle was the final battle of the army of Confederate General Robert E. Lee before his surrender to Union troops. Steve Helber/AP

Getty Images

Apple Watch on display

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000369730

Market Closes for April 9, 2015  

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17958.73	+56.22
		+0.31%
S&P 500	2091.18	+9.28   +0.45%
NASDAQ	4974.566	+23.746   +0.48%
TSX	15326.31	112.71
		+0.74%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19937.72	+147.91
		+0.75%
HANG SENG	26944.39	+707.53
		+2.70%
SENSEX	28885.21	+177.46
		+0.62%
FTSE 100	7015.36	+77.95
		+1.12%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.373	1.340
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.034	1.991
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9596	1.9047
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5981	2.5291

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79466	0.7972
US $	1.25843	1.2543
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.34209	0.74510
US $	1.06620	0.93791

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1194.80	1207.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.79	50.42

The worst crime against working people is a company that fails to make a profit.  –Samuel Gompers, 1850-1924.

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rallied a sixth day, for the highest closing level since September, as energy producers advanced after oil rebounded from the biggest one-day decline in two months.

     Brookfield Asset Management Inc. gained 2.1 percent after the company said it will increase its dividend and split its stock 3-for-2. Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. and Pengrowth Energy Corp. increased at least 3.5 percent as oil rallied. Hudson’s Bay Co. lost 3.4 percent after two investors sold shares of the retailer.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index climbed 112.71 points, or 0.7 percent, to 15,326.31 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The equity gauge has advanced 2.8 percent over six days and is up 4.7 percent for the year.

     Suncor Energy Inc. increased 1.4 percent and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. rose 1.3 percent as energy producers increased 1.4 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX. Nine of 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge rose on trading volume 3.5 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Crude futures climbed 0.7 percent in New York following a 6.6 percent slump on Wednesday. Iran said it would only agree to curb its nuclear program if all trade restrictions are removed, while U.S. and EU officials have said the restrictions should be lifted gradually.

     Concordia Healthcare Corp., the best-performing stock in the S&P/TSX this year, increased 7.1 percent for a third day of gains, extending a record.

     The company yesterday closed a C$368 million deal selling subscription receipts for shares, in part to fund its $1.2 billion proposed acquisition of assets from Covis Pharma Holdings Sarl. Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson is seeking larger acquisitions and more assets in Europe.

     Detour Gold Corp. retreated 4.3 percent as gold for June delivery lost 0.8 percent to $1,193.60 in New York, a one-week low on speculation the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising interest rates. Policy makers with the central bank were split on a potential rate hike in June, according to the latest minutes.

     Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. slumped 6.7 percent after Tony Robson, analyst at BMO Capital Markets, cut his rating for the stock to market perform, the equivalent of a hold, from outperform, or buy.

US

By Callie Bost and Jennifer Kaplan

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose as energy companies gained amid a rebound in crude, offsetting quarterly results from Alcoa Inc. and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. that disappointed investors.

     Halliburton Co. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. added more than 3.2 percent as oil rose after its biggest drop in two months. Health-care companies climbed for a fifth day. Alcoa dropped 3.4 percent after first-quarter sales missed projections and the company forecast a global supply glut for the metal in 2015. Bed Bath & Beyond declined 5.4 percent, leading retailers down after lower-than-estimated earnings and outlook.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.5 percent to 2,091.18 at 4 p.m. in New York, after trading around its average price for the past 50 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 56.22 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,958.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.5 percent, while the Russell 2000 Index slipped 0.3 percent.

     “There’s no real news today except for jobless claims,” said Paul Zemsky, the head of multi-asset strategies at Voya Investment Management LLC, which oversees $213 billion. “The Hang Seng broke out to new highs and the Euro Stoxx did the same. Do you want to go home short with another strong night tonight? If I were a trader, I wouldn’t want to go home if you’re short the U.S.”

     The biggest three-day rally since January propelled the Stoxx Europe 600 Index above a previous all-time high reached in 2000. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied overnight to a seven- year high.

     The S&P 500 posted a second day of gains after minutes Wednesday from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, held before last week’s worse-than-forecast jobs data, showed officials were split on whether they would raise interest rates in June. The benchmark gauge has fallen 1.2 percent from a March 2 record amid concern a stronger dollar and tumbling oil prices will hurt profits.

     JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. are among 35 S&P 500 companies reporting results next week. Analysts have slashed corporate profit projections, predicting a slump through September. Earnings fell 5.8 percent in the first quarter, they estimated, after having forecast an increase as recently as January.

     Still, projections have a history of pessimism. Going back five years in data compiled by Bloomberg, analyst predictions for S&P 500 companies were on average 5.1 percent lower than the final quarterly results.                        

     A report Thursday showed fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits over the past four weeks than at any time in almost 15 years, signaling underlying strength in the labor market even as hiring cooled last month. Applications over the latest week climbed by 14,000 to 281,000. The median forecast of 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 283,000.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 6.4 percent Thursday to 13.09. The gauge, known as the VIX, marked its biggest two-day decline in almost two months, down 11 percent. About 6.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 11 percent below the three-month average.

     Eight of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups rose, led by energy shares’ 1.5 percent gain as West Texas Intermediate crude advanced after a 6.6 percent plunge Wednesday. Baker Hughes Inc., Transocean Ltd. and Marathon Oil Corp. all climbed at least 2.6 percent.

     Health-care companies advanced as Mylan NV reached an all- time high, adding 2.5 percent to a 15 percent rally Wednesday after it offered to buy Perrigo Co. for $28.9 billion.

     Express Scripts Holding Co. climbed 4.9 percent to a record after Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s chief executive said the company is looking into a buyout of a company in the drug- distribution supply chain or a joint venture with a partner. Walgreens rose 5.6 percent.

     Altera Corp. rallied 3.2 percent, leading semiconductor companies higher, as investors bet it would be forced to reconsider a $54-per-share takeover offer from Intel Corp. Altera fell as much as 7.9 percent, as people familiar with the negotiations said the company broke off talks to be acquired. Intel slipped 0.2 percent. Nvidia Corp. and Micron Technology Inc. added at least 2.3 percent.

     General Electric Co. jumped 2.9 percent, the most in the Dow. It’s near an agreement to sell a real estate portfolio worth as much as $30 billion to Blackstone Group LP and Wells Fargo & Co., according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

     Consumer discretionary and financial companies lagged for most of the session before erasing declines late in the day. Bed Bath & Beyond retreated 5.4 percent, its biggest drop in three months, while Macy’s Inc. slid 2.6 percent after reaching a record Wednesday. Home Depot Inc. lost 0.9 percent, the leading decline in the Dow.

     Costco Wholesale Corp. fell 2.1 percent, the most in two months, after releasing March sales numbers that were lower than analysts’ estimates. The company’s sales are subject to falling gas prices and foreign exchange pressure, Bloomberg Intelligence reported.

     Real-estate companies within the S&P 500’s financial group dropped the most, with Essex Property Trust Inc., Equity Residential and Kimco Realty Corp. losing at least 2.6 percent.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

First of all, accept yourself.

When you do not accept yourself and imagine yourself to be someone different,

a conflict arises between what you believe you are and what you really are.

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

No one has ever become poor by giving.

                    -Anne Frank, 1929-1945

 

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