Category: Events

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

Photos of the Day

 A stagehand sweeps the stage during at the 87th Academy Awards show in Hollywood, Calif., on Sunday. Mike Blake/Reuters

 A bird flies in front of city sky scrapers covered by fog in the center of Warsaw on Monday. Kacper Pempel/Reuters

 Market Closes for February 23^rd, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18116.84	-23.60
		-0.13%
S&P 500	2109.66	-0.64   -0.03%
NASDAQ	4960.972	+5.005   +0.10%
TSX	15200.26	+28.02
		+0.18%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18466.92	+134.62
		+0.73%
HANG SENG	24836.76	+4.68
		+0.02%
SENSEX	28975.11	-256.30
		-0.88%
FTSE 100	6912.16	-3.04
		-0.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.357	1.419
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.012	2.061
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.0574	2.1117
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.6572	2.7142

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79537	0.79783
US $	1.25727	1.25340
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42495	0.70178
US $	1.13337	0.88233

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1204.50	1208.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.55	50.34

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, snapping a three-day loss, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rallied after agreeing to acquire a U.S.-based drugmaker, offsetting a drop among the nation’s lenders.

     Valeant jumped 15 percent after reaching a deal to buy Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. for $10.1 billion. Parkland Fuel Corp. gained 2.6 percent after agreeing to buy 11 Chevron- branded service stations in British Columbia. Royal Bank of Canada retreated 1.2 percent to pace declines among financials stocks. Ballard Power Systems Inc. surged 7.5 percent after signing technology solutions contracts.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 28.87 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,201.11 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The guage erased losses in the final 30 minutes of trading to extend its gain this  year to 3.9 percent. Trading volume Monday was 24 percent below the 30-day average.

     West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 2.7 percent amid speculation excess supply will increase as Libya restarted a pipeline halted by a fire and the U.S. idled fewer drilling rigs than in previous weeks.

     Prices pared earlier losses after Nigeria’s oil minister was reported by the Financial Times to have said that OPEC members have discussed an emergency meeting. A delegate from the group later denied there are plans for such a meeting. OPEC’s next regular gathering is on June 5.

     Energy shares in the S&P/TSX nearly erased a drop of 1.7 percent on the OPEC report before closing down 0.6 percent. Parkland Fuel added 2.6 percent while Lightstream Resources Ltd. tumbled 10 percent.

     Banks in the Canadian benchmark fell 0.7 percent as a group. The lenders account for about one-third of the broader index by weighting.

     Canadian Western Bank, the lender based in oil-rich Alberta, tumbled 2.8 percent. Royal Bank, the nation’s second- largest lender, retreated 1.2 percent. Bank of Montreal, the first of the big banks to report earnings this week on Tuesday, slipped 0.7 percent.

     Valeant soared 15 percent for the biggest gain since January 2011, extending an all-time high. Shares of the company have surged 20 percent in the past five sessions.

     Valeant’s acquisition of Salix values the company at about $14.5 billion including net debt, and will provide a “modest” addition to earnings this year, according to Bridgewater, New Jersey-based Valeant. The drugmaker expects to win regulatory approval for Salix’s Xifaxan drug for treating irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were little changed, with benchmark indexes near all-time highs, as Apple Inc. rallied to send the Nasdaq Composite Index to its ninth straight gain. Oil fell below $50 a barrel, while gold dropped to a seven-week low. The dollar strengthened and Treasuries rose.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell less than 0.1 percent in New York after closing at an all-time high on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.1 percent to cap its longest rally since September 2010. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell five basis points to 2.06 percent. The euro weakened to $1.1336 at 5:15 p.m. in New York, as a Greek official said the nation was working to finalize a list of pledges to the European Union. U.S. oil fell 2.7 percent, and gold slipped to $1,200.80 an ounce.

     Apple Inc. jumped 2.7 percent to pace gains among technology shares, while energy shares slid 0.4 percent as oil resumed declines. Greece had agreed on Feb. 20 to complete by midnight Monday in Athens a list of policies in return for continued funding. An official said the list would be presented Tuesday. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen addresses Congress in two days of testimony starting Tuesday, with investors watching for clues on the timing of an interest-rate increase.

     “In this market, there’s more just a case of waiting and watching Europe, Greece, OPEC, and waiting to hear from Janet Yellen,” Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion, said in a telephone interview. “You put all that together, you get a market that doesn’t really have much of a direction. It’s more a case of waiting to hear what the next part of that news will be.”

     Six of the 10 main S&P 500 groups retreated today, with phone shares losing 0.6 percent to pace declines.

     Health-care shares advanced 0.4 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. climbed 14 percent to the highest ever after saying it will purchase Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. for $10.1 billion.

     U.S. stocks posted their longest streak of weekly gains since the beginning of December as Greece reached a deal on Feb. 20 to extend its bailout program and investors speculated the Fed will keep rates lower for longer even as the economy shows signs of picking up speed.

     The Nasdaq Composite Index ended last week on an eight-day winning streak that took the gauge to 4,955.97, less than 2 percent away from a record. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6 percent last week and the Dow rose to its first record of the year.

     Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell more than expected in January as a tight supply forced up prices, showing the residential real-estate market faces an uneven recovery. Purchases slowed 4.9 percent to a 4.82 million annualized rate, the least since April, according to figures from the National Association of Realtors.

     Strife over Greece’s debt was among risks to the U.S. economy cited by Fed officials as an argument for keeping rates low for longer, according to minutes from the group’s latest meeting released on Feb. 18. Policy makers said after the gathering that they “can be patient” as they consider when to raise borrowing costs, even as they described the labor market as “strong.”

     The Greek reform measures are still subject to validation by the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission, the institutions collectively known as the troika which Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras vowed not to recognize.

     “Markets have reacted positively in terms of risk sentiment and we’re seeing the periphery doing very well” because of the Greek deal, said Owen Callan, a fixed-income strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald LP in Dublin. “It takes away the big short-term event risk, even if a medium-term risk is still there.”

     The nascent agreement to extend Greece’s bailout funding re-energized bonds from the euro-region’s most indebted nations, sparking their best day since the European Central Bank announced a 1.1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion) stimulus plan.

     Italian and Spanish securities surged, and Portuguese 10- year yields touched a record low, as the accord avoided a cash crunch that threatened to push Greece out of the currency bloc.

     The Stoxx 600 advanced for a fifth day to extend the highest level since 2007. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index surpassed a record close in intraday trading before closing little changed as lower-than-projected profit at HSBC Holdings Plc pushed the stock lower.

     Greece’s ASE Index slipped 4.5 percent last week. The market was closed on Monday for a holiday. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index climbed 1 percent for one of the biggest rallies among 18 western-European markets.

     Greek government bonds rose for a fourth day, with the three-year note yield dropping 156 basis points, or 1.56 percentage point, to 15.062 percent.

     “Greece will still be an issue for the market for some time,” said Kevin Lilley, who helps manage 15 billion pounds ($23 billion) as head of European equities at Old Mutual Global Investors U.K. in London. “If we can get the agreement made in the next couple of days, which is necessary for this extension, then hopefully the market can pop that to one side for a few months and focus on the underlying economy, which is steadily improving.”

     The Swiss franc weakened with core government bonds on reduced demand for haven assets, depreciating 0.8 percent to 1.07701 per euro. The dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to $1.13327 per euro and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.2 percent.

     West Texas Intermediate crude oil for April delivery settled at $49.45 a barrel. Brent was down 2.2 percent at $58.90 in London.

     Oil fell as fields in eastern Libya resumed pumping to Hariga port after a pipeline was repaired, according to state- run National Oil Corp. Oman, the biggest Middle Eastern oil producer that’s not a member of OPEC, is boosting crude output to as much as possible with the global price rout over, said Salim Al Aufi, undersecretary of the oil and gas ministry.

     Copper futures fell for a second straight session on signs that supply is plentiful as demand slows in Europe and China, the world’s biggest user. The metal for  May delivery slid 0.2 percent to settle at $2.5865 in New York.

     Gold futures slid 0.3 percent to settle at $1,200.80 in New York. Prices Monday touched $1,190.60, lowest since Jan. 5.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

As ever,

 

Karen

 

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Lao Tzu

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Oscar weekend is upon us.  What a daunting task for the selection committee this year as it was such a terrific year for films and so many brilliant acting performances.  I don’t know how you could choose best picture when the choices are Birdman,  Boyhood, Selma, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game, American Sniper, The Grand Budapest Hotel – the only contender I haven’t seen yet is Whiplash.  It is a tough choice between Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne for  best actor.

We’re off to LA for the weekend for our annual Oscar watching party…

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tourists go down a hill in the Alpine skiing resort of Saalbach Hinterglemm in Austria Friday. Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters

People throw snowballs after a snowstorm in Amman, Jordan, Friday. Muhammad Hamed/Reuters

Market Closes for February 20^th, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18140.44	+154.64
		+0.86%
S&P 500	2110.30	+12.85   +0.61%
NASDAQ	4955.965	+31.265   +0.63%
TSX	15172.24	-8.09
		-0.05%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18332.30	+67.51
		+0.37%
HANG SENG	24832.08	+47.20
		+0.19%
SENSEX	29231.41	-230.86
		-0.78%
FTSE 100	6915.20	+26.30
		+0.38%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.419	1.470
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.061	2.104
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1117	2.1239
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7142	2.7418

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79783	0.80036
US $	1.25340	1.24944
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42640	0.70107
US $	1.13803	0.87871

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1208.25	1209.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.34	51.16

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed after two days of losses, as declines in financial and energy companies offset gains in consumer and health-care shares.

     Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. slipped 4.5 percent to pace declines after announcing it will sell shares to finance the purchase of Brit Plc. Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased more than 1.5 percent. Iamgold Corp. and Eldorado Gold Corp. rose at least 1.7 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index slid 8.09 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 15,172.24 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge had a weekly decline of 0.6 percent after two weeks of gains.

     Seven of the 10 main groups in the S&P/TSX advanced today. Financial companies, which account for about one-third of the broader index by weighting, fell 0.6 percent.

     Canadian retail sales fell at the fastest pace in more than four years in December as consumers scaled back holiday gift purchases, a sign the effects of lower crude oil prices are spreading through the world’s 11th largest economy. Canada’s dollar fell after the report.

     A gauge of energy producers decreased 0.6 percent, extending its slide to four days. Secure Energy Services Inc. and Lightstream Resources Ltd. declined more than 4.5 percent.

     The S&P/TSX Gold Index added 0.2 percent, paring a weekly loss for the gauge. Eldorado Gold, Goldcorp Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp. rose more than 0.8 percent.

US

By Michelle F. Davis

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to records, after European officials reached a deal to extend Greece’s aid for four months.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.6 percent to a record 2,110.30 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 154.67 points, or 0.9 percent, to 18,140.44, also an all-time high. The Russell 2000 Index reached a record, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 0.6 percent, up for an eighth straight day to its highest level since March 2000.

     “You don’t have that uncertainty hanging over the market as we enter the end of the week,” Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, said in a phone interview. “It’s a removal of an obstacle in the way of growth and earnings for companies.”

     This is the first time the Dow has closed at a record this year. It’s been 56 days since the Dow’s last all-time high, reached on Dec. 26. When the S&P 500 reached its first record of 2015 last week, it had been 46 days since the previous one.

     The Dow climbed to closing records on 38 days in 2014, and on 52 occasions in 2013 as the index recovered from the financial crisis to top its previous high from October 2007 for the first time.

     The S&P 500 is up 0.6 percent for the holiday-shortened week. It has gained 2.5 percent this year, trailing all but three of the 24 developed markets tracked by Bloomberg.

     Euro-area finance ministers reached an accord that would keep bailout funds flowing to Greece in return for a commitment to meet certain conditions, buying time to work out the detail of longer-term Greek financing.

     Talks in Brussels between officials from the 19 euro-area countries concluded Friday evening with an agreement to extend aid to Greece for four months.

     The breakthrough in the standoff between Greece and its creditors eases the immediate risk of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government running out of cash as early as next month.

     U.S. manufacturing expanded at a faster pace in February, according to the Markit Economics preliminary index of U.S. manufacturing. The index rose to 54.3 in February from a final reading of 53.9 a month earlier, the London-based group said Friday.

     Analysts have cut profit forecasts for S&P 500 members amid a rout in oil prices and a rising dollar. They predict earnings will drop this quarter, compared with December projections for an increase. Of the 88 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings this season, 74 beat projections and 56 percent surpassed sales estimates.

     Nine of 10 S&P 500 main groups gained, led by health-care and industrials rising at least 0.9 percent. Health-care companies advanced for an eighth day, the longest streak in four months.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 6.5 percent to 14.30. The gauge, know as the VIX, fell 15 percent last week and is on track for its biggest monthly decline since July 2010.

     More than 6.2 billion shares changed hands Friday on U.S. exchanges, 9 percent below the three-month average.                      

     Intuit Inc. rallied 6.2 percent to an all-time high after reporting a narrower-than-estimated quarterly loss and revenue that exceeded forecasts.

     Ann Inc. rose 4.8 percent as the owner of the Ann Taylor and Loft women’s clothing stores is exploring a sale and has reached out to potential buyers in recent weeks, including rival retailers, people with knowledge of the matter said.

     Iron Mountain Inc. fell 5.5 percent, the most in more than a year and a half, after the storage and information management company cut its 2015 outlook, in part to reflect the impact of a stronger U.S. dollar.

     Fannie Mae lost 4.9 percent after reporting a sharp profit decline in the fourth quarter due largely to accounting treatment for billions of dollars in tax credits. Investments in derivatives were primarily responsible for about $2.5 billion of losses in the quarter and $4.8 billion for the full year.
 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Be magnificent!

There is an orderliness in the universe, there is an unalterable law governing everything

and every being that exists or lives.

 

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.

                                                                             -John Wooden, 1910-2010

 

 

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:

Lunar New Year begins today :)!

Chinese New Year is an important Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the Chinese Calender. In China, it is also known as the Spring Festival, the literal translation of the modern Chinese name.

Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year’s Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. That makes the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar. 

2015 is the year of the Goat or Sheep. This year’s animal according to the Chinese zodiac is yang, in Mandarin. The English translation is goat, sheep, or ram. 

Also….

On this day in 1970, antiwar activists called the Chicago Seven were sentenced after being found guilty of inciting a riot at the August 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The trial drew a lot of attention as the group used the court as a platform to attack President Nixon, the Vietnam War, racism and oppression.

Photos of the Day

Dragon dancers get on an escalator after a performance inside a shopping mall Thursday in Bangkok, Thailand. Chinese people are celebrating the arrival of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Sheep. Sakchai Lalit/AP

Two polar bear cubs follow their mother as they venture outside their enclosures for the first time since they were born at Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen, Netherlands, Thursday. Their father now lives at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in England. Peter Dejong/AP

Market Closes for February 19^th, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17985.77	-44.08
		-0.24%
S&P 500	2097.45	-2.23   -0.11%
NASDAQ	4924.699	+18.335   +0.37%
TSX	15180.33	-32.42
		-0.21%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18264.79	+65.62
		+0.36%
HANG SENG	24832.08	+47.20
		+0.19%
SENSEX	29462.27	+142.01
		+0.48%
FTSE 100	6888.90	-9.18
		-0.13%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.470	1.472
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.104	2.113
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1239	2.0800
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7418	2.7102

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80036	0.80302
US $	1.24944	1.24529
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42010	0.70418
US $	1.13655	0.87985

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1209.50	1206.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.16	52.14

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a second day, to a one- week low, as Goldcorp Inc. slumped the most in more than three months on disappointing earnings and energy shares retreated with the price of oil.

     Goldcorp dropped 7.8 percent after a $2.3 billion writedown on a mine led to a quarterly loss. Energy shares slid 0.4 percent as U.S. crude tumbled after a report showed inventories surged a sixth week. Barrick Gold Corp. jumped 5.4 percent on its plan to cut debt by $3 billion. SNC Lavalin Group Inc. slumped 7.1 percent after being charged with attempted bribery and fraud related to projects in Libya.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 32.42 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,180.33 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the lowest close since Feb. 11. The benchmark gauge has gained 3.7 percent this year. Trading volume today was 20 percent below the 30-day average.

     MEG Energy Corp. sank 4.8 percent and Crescent Point Energy Corp. declined 3.8 percent as energy producers retreated for a third day. Crude futures in New York sank 1.9 percent to settle at $51.16 a barrel after earlier touching $49.15.

     Canadian Western Bank, a regional lender based in oil-rich Alberta, slumped 2.5 percent for a third straight decline. The stock has lost 4.7 percent this week.

     SNC Lavalin slumped 7.1 percent, the most since November. The Montreal-based company, the largest construction and engineering firm in Canada, vowed to “vigorously defend itself,” saying that the case involves former employees who left “long ago.”

     Bombardier Inc. fell 2.4 percent before trading was halted. The struggling manufacturer of jets and trains will raise about C$750 million ($600 million) by selling stock, fulfilling a pledge made last week when it unveiled cost overruns on its CSeries family of jets.

     Barrick Gold jumped 5.4 percent. The world’s largest producer intends to sell two mines in an effort to cut debt by $3 billion. Barrick reported a fourth-quarter loss of $2.85 billion, compared with a loss of $2.83 billion a year ago.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — The Nasdaq Composite Index rose for a seventh straight day, the longest winning streak in a year, as Priceline Group Inc. led a rally in Internet stocks.

     Priceline climbed 8.5 percent after posting better-than- estimated fourth-quarter earnings. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lost 3.2 percent after saying wage increases and other spending initiatives will boost expenses. Energy companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.8 percent, after earlier falling 2.5 percent, as crude trimmed losses.

     The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4 percent to 4,924.7 at 4 p.m. in New York, the highest level since March 2000. The S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 2,097.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 44.08 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,985.77. About 6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 13 percent below the three-month average.

     “Markets are either making new highs or going to pre-2008 highs,” Paul Zemsky, the head of multi-asset strategies at Voya Investment Management LLC, which oversees $213 billion, said by phone from New York. “The backdrop is still pretty good for equities and people are still climbing the wall of worry. With interest rates low around the world, you’re not going to find many other places with better returns.”

     The Nasdaq Composite has soared 4.2 percent in seven days. It is now 2.5 percent away from an all-time high reached in March 2000, which preceded a 78 percent drop in the shares.

     While the Nasdaq has been rallying, the S&P 500 has barely budged from its record level. The benchmark index has closed within four points of 2,100 for four consecutive days, reaching its highest level of 2,100.34 on Feb. 17.

     The S&P 500 also stalled at a record level in August, when it ended within four points of 2,000 for eight trading sessions before hitting a new all-time high of 2,007.71 Sept. 5.

     Equities pared earlier losses Thursday on speculation that Greece will reach an agreement on debt negotiations. Germany is leaving the door open to an agreement on Greece’s bailout funding as officials prepare their negotiating positions going into a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels Friday.

     Germany regards a proposal submitted by Greece to fellow euro-region governments as a basis for negotiations and doesn’t necessarily see a need for Greece to submit a fresh draft, according to a German government official who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

     The S&P 500 erased a loss Wednesday on speculation that the Federal Reserve will keep rates lower for longer. Minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting showed some policy makers argued for keeping rates low for longer amid risks facing the economy.

     The Federal Open Market Committee pointed to a strengthening dollar, international flash points from Greece to Ukraine, and slow wage growth as weakening the case for the first rate rise since 2006, according to a record of the Jan. 27-28 meeting.

     The FOMC said after its last meeting it “can be patient” as it considers when to raise the benchmark interest rate, even as it described the labor market as “strong.” A report the following week showed payrolls rose more than forecast in January to cap the strongest three-month gain in 17 years.

    Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, showing the labor market is making progress. Jobless claims fell by 21,000 to 283,000 in the week ended Feb. 14, from 304,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed Thursday in Washington.

     The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators, a measure of the outlook for the next three to six months, climbed 0.2 percent in January, the New York-based group said Thursday. The median forecast of 49 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.3 percent advance.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 1 percent to 15.29. The gauge of S&P 500 options prices known as the VIX fell 15 percent last week.

     Six of 10 main S&P 500 industries fell, with utilities sliding 1.1 percent as 10-year U.S. Treasury yields increased. Technology shares led gains, rallying 0.4 percent.

     Priceline climbed 8.5 percent, its biggest gain since September 2014, after the largest U.S. online travel agent reported quarterly revenue and profit that topped analysts’ estimates, buoyed by increased international bookings through its websites. Rival TripAdvisor Inc. rose 3.6 percent to its highest level since October, while Expedia Inc. rallied 2.4 percent to a two-month high.

     Facebook Inc. jumped 3.5 percent and Twitter Inc. advanced 1.8 percent, fueling a 1.6 percent rise in the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index.

     Airlines added to Wednesday’s gains on oil’s decline, led by Delta Air Lines Inc.’s 1.4 percent rise. American Airlines Group Inc. added 1 percent and JetBlue Airways Corp. advanced 1.1 percent.

     Oil prices fell 1.9 percent, paring declines of as much as 5.7 percent after a weekly government report showed U.S. crude inventories increased less than was reported by an industry group. The report showed stockpiles in the world’s biggest consumer still expanded to a record level.

     Energy companies in the S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent after dropping 1.5 percent Wednesday. The group had added 3.5 percent over the three sessions prior to Wednesday’s decline.

     EOG Resources Inc. fell 1.6 percent after the fastest- growing oil producer in the U.S.’s fourth-quarter profit missed estimates. The company plans to slash spending 40 percent and drill half the wells it did in 2014.

     Transocean Ltd. slid 2 percent as analysts said the owner of the world’s largest fleet of offshore rigs will have to do more than slash its dividend by 80 percent to weather the oil price crash.

     Wal-Mart fell 3.2 percent to its lowest close in two months after the retail giant said wage increases and spending on e- commerce initiatives will pressure operating income this year. Fourth-quarter profit exceeded analysts forecasts.

     Earnings for S&P 500 companies will probably drop in the next two quarters after a 4.2 percent increase in the last three months of 2014, according to analysts’ forecasts compiled by Bloomberg. More than 80 percent of S&P 500 companies have reported results for the final quarter of 2014, with 75 percent beating profit estimates, while 57 percent topped sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Man has lost his inner perspective, he measures his greatness by his size

and not by his vital attachment to the infinite; he judges his activity by his own movement

and not by the serenity of perfection, not by the peace that exists in the starry vault,

in the rhythmic dance of incessant creation.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.

                                                                             -Maya Angelou, 1928-2014

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:

Finally went to see the movie The Theory of Everything last night at the theatre.  Excellent acting for the character of Stephen Hawking.  Highly recommend the movie if you haven’t seen yet. We hope to see all the nominees before the Oscars on Sunday night.  There are just so many brilliant movies this year.

Ash Wednesday today – the first day of Lent, when Roman Catholics sprinkle the foreheads of penitents with the consecrated ashes of palms remaining from the previous Palm Sunday.  This custom is of uncertain date but is commonly held to have been introduced by Pope Gregory The Great.  The fast of Lent was introduced in the 4^th century, but it did not become fixed at 40 days until the early 7^th century, thus corresponding with Christ’s fast in the wilderness.  It usually fell in March and the Saxons called March lenctenmonath because in this month the days noticeably lengthen.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The American Falls is partially frozen during sub-freezing temperatures in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Temperatures dropped to 6 degrees Fahrenheit (-14 Celsius) on Tuesday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters

A churchgoer holds a rosary during an Ash Wednesday Mass in Baltimore, Md. Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, a season of prayer and fasting for Christians before Easter. Patrick Semansky/AP

Market Closes for February 18^th, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18029.85	-17.73
		-0.10%
S&P 500	2099.68	-0.66   -0.03%
NASDAQ	4906.363	+7.096   +0.14%
TSX	15212.75	-71.86
		-0.47%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18199.17	+212.08
		+1.18%
HANG SENG	24832.08	+47.20
		+0.19%
SENSEX	29320.26	+184.38
		+0.63%
FTSE 100	6898.08	-0.05
		—

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.472	1.507
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.113	2.130
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.0800	2.1466
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7102	2.7339

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80302	0.80715
US $	1.24529	1.23892
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41979	0.70433
US $	1.14012	0.87710

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1206.00	1209.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.14	53.53

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, snapping the longest winning streak since November, as energy shares sank after crude retreated from a seven-week high ahead of the latest U.S. supply figures.

     Cenovus Energy Inc. dropped 4.9 percent after the company said it plans to sell C$1.5 billion ($1.2 billion) of shares to fund spending amid the slump in crude. Baytex Energy Corp. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. slipped at least 3.4 percent as oil prices reversed Tuesday’s gain. Sherritt International Corp. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. rallied more than 3.6 percent as copper rose on speculation lower production will reduce oversupply.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 71.86 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,212.75 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, halting a six-day rally that added 1.3 percent to the gauge. Trading volume was 11 percent below the 30-day average.

     Cenovus sank 4.9 percent for a seventh straight decline, the worst streak since October. The oil producer, Canada’s fifth-largest by market value, will sell 67.5 million shares at C$22.25 each.

     Canadian Natural Resources lost 3.4 percent, snapping a four-day rally, and Baytex slipped 5.6 percent as energy shares retreated 1.7 percent as a group, most in the S&P/TSX. Five of 10 industries declined.                         

     West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 2.6 percent, declining from its highest closing price in seven weeks in New York on estimates U.S. inventories advanced from a record level last week.

     U.S. stockpiles probably climbed 3 million barrels through Feb. 13, according to analysts’ estimates ahead of a report Thursday.

     Financial shares slid 0.9 percent as Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia fell at least 1.4 percent. Canadian Western Bank, based in Edmonton, slumped 1.9 percent.

     Lumber producer Western Forest Products Inc. tumbled 4.2 percent after U.S. housing starts fell in January on declines in single-family projects as demand cooled.

     Gold rebounded from a six-week low after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed some officials argued for keeping interest rates near record lows for longer.

     Eldorado Gold Corp. climbed 6 percent and Iamgold Corp. surged 7 percent.

US

By Callie Bost and Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erased a loss, after climbing to a record on Tuesday, as speculation that the Federal Reserve will keep rates lower for longer overshadowed a drop in energy shares.

     The S&P 500 slipped less than 1 point to 2,099.68 at 4 p.m. in New York, after losing as much as 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 17.73, or 0.1 percent, to 18,029.85.  About 6.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 11 percent below the three-month average.

     Equities pared losses as minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting showed some policy makers argued for keeping rates low for longer amid risks facing the economy.

     “The fact that they’re staying slow on moving up rates makes you think that the economy might not be as strong as we think it is,” Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion, said in a phone interview. “We still haven’t gotten to the point where a stronger economy and the Fed considering moving rates is an explicit positive for the market.”

     The  Federal Open Market Committee, while considering risks to be “nearly balanced,” pointed to a strengthening dollar, international flash points from Greece to Ukraine, and slow wage growth as weakening the case for the first rate rise since 2006, according to a record of the Jan. 27-28 meeting.

     The FOMC said after its last meeting it “can be patient” as it considers when to raise the benchmark interest rate, even as it described the labor market as “strong.” A report the following week showed payrolls rose more than forecast in January to cap the strongest three-month gain in 17 years.

     “It’s evident that they’re going to stick with the patient theme,” Jeff Sica, president and CEO of advisory firm Circle Squared Alternative Investments, which oversees $1.5 billion, said in a phone interview. “This was a status quo message. They’re playing their cards very close to the vest because of the vulnerability in Europe and the potential of this Greek crisis getting worse.”

     Speculation that a Greek debt impasse is easing helped the S&P 500 reach an all-time high yesterday, while European equities today rallied to their highest in seven years. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Greece will submit its request for a loan extension tomorrow.                     

     Data today showed factory production in the U.S. rose less than forecast in January, held back by a decline in motor vehicle assemblies and weaker demand for construction materials.

     A separate report on housing starts showed builders broke ground on fewer U.S. residential construction projects in January as demand for single-family homes cooled from an almost seven-year high. Wholesale prices in the U.S. fell more than forecast in January, led by plunging energy costs and signaling inflation remains tame even as the economy is expanding.

     The route for stocks this year has been uneven — a 5.3 percent rally in February after the worst month in a year in January has evened out to a 2 percent gain for 2015, trailing most developed markets.

     Energy companies in the S&P 500 dropped 1.5 percent, led by Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc.’s 7.5 percent retreat, as oil prices resumed a decline after three days of gains. West Texas Intermediate slipped 2.6 percent. Crude lost more than 3 percent Tuesday before rebounding to a 1.4 percent gain.

     Exxon Mobil Corp. declined 2.2 percent after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. exited a $3.7 billion investment in the company.

     Some big hedge fund managers have cut their holdings in U.S. stocks in the fourth quarter and shifted assets globally as the slide in oil prices hammered energy holdings.

     Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn said he’s scaled back bets on stock gains after markets climbed and as a stronger dollar threatens to limit earnings of U.S. companies from operations overseas.

     David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management had $2.74 billion less in U.S. stocks in the fourth quarter, a 40 percent drop from the previous quarter. Soros Fund Management, the family office of billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros, moved about $2 billion into companies in Asia and Europe, according to a person familiar with the strategy.

     Some managers, such as Leon Cooperman, 71, remain bullish on the U.S., while predicting bigger gains elsewhere.

     “We expect the European and Japanese equity markets to outperform the U.S. in the coming year,” Cooperman, who runs Omega Advisors, wrote in an investor letter last month.                        

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 2.2 percent to 15.45. The gauge, know as the VIX, fell 15 percent last week.

     Fossil Group Inc. tumbled 16 percent. The maker of watches, handbags and other accessories posted fourth-quarter sales and an annual forecast that trailed analysts’ estimates. Earnings this year won’t exceed $6.05, the company said. Analysts estimated $7.52.

     Bank stocks fell, with the KBW Bank Index’s 1.4 percent drop marking its biggest decline this month, after Fed minutes signaled interest rates will remain low for longer. Bank of America Corp. slid 2 percent and Comerica Inc. lost 2.3 percent.

     Boston Scientific jumped 12 percent. The company said it will pay $600 million to Johnson & Johnson to settle a lawsuit over its $27.5 billion acquisition of Guidant Corp. almost a decade ago.

     Deere & Co. climbed 3.2 percent after Berkshire Hathaway more than doubled its stake in the company in the fourth quarter, to 17.1 million shares.

     Utility companies were the S&P 500’s best performers Wednesday, rising 2.4 percent after falling 4.5 percent over the previous four sessions.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Does  a flower, full of beauty, light and loveliness say, “I am giving, helping, serving?”

It is!  And because it is not trying to do anything it covers the earth.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

                             -Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862

 

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:

It is Mardi Gras today – Fat Tuesday from the French; also known as Shrove Tuesday  and also known as Pancake Day.  Pancakes are traditionally cooked and eaten on this day before the long period of Lenten fasting begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday.  And so, it is the last day of the Lent Carnival in France and Lent carnivals all over the world such as Brazil and New Orleans.  In Paris, a fat ox, crowned with a fillet, used to be paraded through the streets.  It was accompanied by mock priests and a band of tin instruments in imitation of a Roman sacrificial procession.

Some towns in England, e.g., Olney, Buckinghamshire and at Westminster School, Pancake Day races and Scrimmages still persist from olden times.

The ingredients in pancakes are symbolic:  eggs, the symbols of creation, flour for the staff of life, salt for wholesomeness and milk for purity.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Children compete in a youngsters pancake race in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England, Tuesday. A pancake race has been run in the town since 1445 to mark the start of Lent. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, shine over Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland, England, Tuesday. Owen Humphreys/PA/AP

Market Closes for February 17^th, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18047.58	+28.23
		+0.16
S&P 500	2100.34	+3.35   +0.16
NASDAQ	4899.266	+5.430   +0.11%
TSX	15284.61	+19.80
		+0.13%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17987.09	-17.68
		-0.10%
HANG SENG	24784.88	+58.35
		+0.24%
SENSEX	29135.88	+40.95
		+0.14%
FTSE 100	6898.13	+41.08
		+0.60%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.507	1.432
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.130	2.070
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.1466	2.0504
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7339	2.6478

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80715	0.80200
US $	1.23892	1.24688
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41362	0.70741
US $	1.14101	0.87642

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1209.50	1229.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	53.53	52.78

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Michelle F. Davis

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced for a sixth session, extending a five-month high, as a rally among consumer shares amid corporate earnings offset a drop in raw-materials companies.

     Restaurant Brands International Inc., owner of the Tim Hortons chain, gained 8.1 percent to a record after same-store sales increased last quarter. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. jumped 7.8 percent after it agreed to buy Brit Plc for $1.88 billion in the latest round of industry consolidation. Goldcorp Inc. fell 3.9 percent as gold slipped for the first time in three sessions.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 19.80 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,284.61 at the close in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge rose 1.2 percent last week and has climbed 4.5 percent this year. Trading volume was 21 percent below the 30-day average. Canadian equity markets were closed Monday for a holiday.

     Benchmark equity gauges in Europe and the U.S. finished little changed amid ongoing debt discussions between Greece and its creditors. Greece’s government may request an extension of its loan agreement for six months, according to a person familiar with the matter, a step that could ease a standoff with creditors over the country’s future financing.

     Discussions aimed at finding common ground ended on Monday without breaking an impasse. With no deal, the government could run out of money by March and be forced to choose between breaking election promises or abandoning the euro.

     Raw-materials shares led declines in the Toronto index, retreating 2 percent as gold lost 1.5 percent to a six-week low and silver plunged 5.3 percent. The precious metals tumbled on speculation Chinese demand will fall during the Lunar New Year holiday that will close markets for five days starting Wednesday.

     Energy companies slid as West Texas Intermediate for March delivery gained 1.4 percent, paring an earlier loss of more than 3.7 percent.

     Rona Inc. paced gains among consumer shares, advancing 7.8 percent, after the company posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Consumer-discretionary and consumer- staples shares gained at least 1.2 percent to pace gains in the S&P/TSX.

     Restaurant Brands, the newly formed parent company of Burger King and Tim Hortons, added 8.1 percent to the highest on record after posting a 3 percent same-store sales gain for its burger chain last quarter and 4.1 percent growth at its recently acquired coffee-and-doughnuts business.

     Fairfax Financial Holdings rose the most since 2008 after it agreed to buy specialty U.K. underwriter Brit, becoming the latest firm to strengthen its position amid increasing competition from hedge funds and others to take on insurance risks.

US

By Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reached a record for a second day on speculation that the Greek debt impasse is easing while oil prices erased earlier declines.

     Medtronic Plc rose 3.7 percent after its quarterly profit beat analysts’ estimates, helping lift S&P 500 health-care companies 0.6 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude rallied 1.4 percent, and energy stocks were little changed after earlier losing more than 1 percent.

     The S&P 500 climbed 0.2 percent to 2,100.34 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 28.23 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,047.58. The Russell 2000 Index advanced 0.2 percent after reaching a record Friday. About 6.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 8.4 percent below the three-month average.

     “We’ve had a pretty sizable rally here,” Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab Corp., said by phone. His firm oversees $2.45 trillion in client assets. “Oil prices were heading lower earlier and now they’ve turned around. The developments in Greece are big, but I’d say this is more oil.”

     Greece’s government may request an extension of its loan agreement for six months, according to a person familiar with the matter, a step that could ease a standoff with creditors over the country’s future financing.

     Discussions aimed at finding common ground between Greece and its creditors ended on Monday without breaking an impasse. With no deal, the government could run out of money by March and be forced to choose between breaking election promises or abandoning the euro.

     The S&P 500 rose to an all-time high last week as technology shares rallied and oil rebounded to end stocks’ longest dip since 2013. Signs of easing tension between Greece and European leaders also helped push U.S. equities higher.                         

     Crude prices jumped 1.4 percent after earlier falling 3.7 percent. Noble Corp. rose 5.1 percent, after an earlier 1.5 percent drop, and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. added 4.9 percent, erasing a 2.9 percent retreat.

     “One day oil goes up $1 and risk assets rally, the next day oil goes down $1 and risk assets sell off,” Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist in Philadelphia at Janney Capital Management LLC, which oversees about $68 billion in assets, said by phone. “I suspect this will be the case until the market can figure out that supply has corrected to demand levels.”

     Utility companies in the benchmark index fell 0.1 percent Tuesday after earlier rising 0.9 percent. The group fell in five of the prior six sessions and is down 7 percent in February.   Economic data Tuesday showed manufacturing in the New York area grew at a slower pace in February. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index fell to 7.78, below economist estimates for a level of 8. Positive readings signal expansion in New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.

     The route for stocks this year has been uneven — the S&P 500 has rallied 5.3 percent in February, heading for the best monthly performance since October 2011, after losing 3.1 percent in January for its worst month in a year. That evens out to a 2 percent gain for 2015, trailing most developed markets.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index climbed 7.6 percent to 15.8. The gauge, known as the VIX, fell 15 percent last week.

     The S&P 500 has gone more than three years without a retreat of 10 percent or more, known as a correction. Still, a strong dollar and a plunge in oil prices that threaten investment and earnings growth have tested the resilience of investors as the bull market nears its seventh year.

     Earnings for S&P 500 companies rose 4.2 percent last quarter, and will probably drop in the next two periods, according to analysts’ forecasts compiled by Bloomberg. More than three-quarters of the S&P 500 companies have reported results for the final three months of 2014, with 76 percent beating profit estimates, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Noble Energy Inc., and Discovery Communications Inc. are among companies releasing financial results this week.

     Waste Management Inc. jumped 5.2 percent to the highest level since 1999. The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that beat analysts’ expectations and forecast a higher- than-estimated adjusted profit this year.

     Medtronic climbed 3.7 percent, leading health-care stocks higher. The world’s biggest maker of heart-rhythm devices reported profit that beat analysts’ estimates, buoyed by the introduction of new products. Tenet Healthcare Corp. advanced 2.3 percent, and Biogen Idec Inc. added 1.6 percent.

     Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. rose 2.7 percent after its fourth-quarter profit exceeded forecasts.                      

     Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. added 2.7 percent after the owner of the Sheraton and W brands said Chief Executive Officer Frits van Paasschen resigned by mutual consent with the board of directors.

     Cablevision Systems Corp. dropped 4.1 percent for the biggest decline in the S&P 500. UBS Securities LLC analyst John Hodulik downgraded the shares to sell from neutral, citing concerns about the potential for more aggressive competition from Verizon Communications Inc., and lower odds that the company will get acquired.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Beauty lies in the total abandonment of the observer and the observed,

and there can be self-abandonment only when there is total austerity.

There is no ladder to climb; there is only the first step

and the first step is the everlasting step.

Krishnamurti

As ever,
 
 

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.

                                            -John Rohn, 1930-2009

 

Carolann

 

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:

Diana Krall has a new CD that Gary picked up at Starbuck’s on Saturday morning.  It is fantastic – I think we played it 4 times over the weekend – it’s that good.  Wallflower is produced by David Foster and on it, Krall records tracks from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s  and today, classics including California Dreamin’, Desperado, Alone Again (Naturally), Don’t Dream It’s Over and I’m Not In Love.   She only sings, Foster plays all the piano on every track. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A couple walks hand-in-hand through the snow in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood during a winter blizzard on Feb. 15. The Northeast faced yet another major winter storm during the weekend, with blizzard conditions in six states’ coastal regions, much of which are already buried under record-setting snow, forecasters said. Brian Snyder/Reuters

Ethnic Intha fishermen with their legs wrapped around oars pull up nets in Inle lake, northeastern Shan state, Myanmar, Sunday. Intha fisherman are known for a unique style of rowing with one leg wrapped around a single oar instead of using their hands. Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP

Market Closes for February 16^th, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18019.35	Closed
S&P 500	2096.99	Closed
NASDAQ	4893.836	Closed
TSX	15264.81	Closed

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18004.77	+91.41
		+0.51%
HANG SENG	24726.53	+43.99
		+0.18%
SENSEX	29135.88	+40.95
		+0.14%
FTSE 100	6857.05	-16.47
		-0.24%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	Closed	1.432
CND. 30 Year Bond	Closed	2.070
U.S.    10 Year Bond	Closed	2.0504
U.S. 30 Year Bond	Closed	2.6478

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80200	0.80331
US $	1.24688	1.24485
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41461	0.70691
US $	1.13452	0.88143

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1229.25	1232.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.78	51.21

Market Commentary:

Canada

Markets Closed for Family Day.
 

US

Markets Closed for President’s Day.
 

 
Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

What does it matter if we do not understand the exact meaning of the grand harmony?

Is it not like the bow player who touches a string and at once releases every resonance?  This is the language of beauty,

this is the caress that comes from the heart of the world and goes straight to our hearts.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.

                                                                        -Lucille Ball, 1911-1989

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Happy Valentine’s weekend!

  On February 13^th, 1840, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal, that it was the third day of her marriage,  and that “My dearest Albert put on my stockings for me.  I went and saw him shave; a great delight for me.”

Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That’s what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway. 

         –John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

Gary was on call last weekend so on a whim I decided to use some of my airline points and take the red eye to New York City for the weekend.  There is a Cathay flight out of Vancouver that leaves around nine and arrives in NYC at 6 AM.  I spent one day at the met and one day at MOMA, then took the red eye home.  I wanted to see the special Cezanne exhibit at the Met which consists of all the paintings and drawings of his wife during their lifetime together.  It is a wonderful exhibit and she appears to be an enduring inspiration for the artist.  I believe it continues for a few more months, so if you happen to be in NY, worth the visit.  I spent all my time at MOMA on this visit studying the Warhols.  I didn’t realize his famous 52 Campbell Soup varieties was originally shown at a gallery in LA without frames situated on grocery store shelves set up in the gallery.  It is truly a masterpiece.

And on this day…

382 years ago – in 1633 – Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome to face charges of heresy for supporting Copernican theory that holds the Earth revolves around the Sun. He faced the Roman Inquisition later that year in April and pled guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A toddler stands in a Lunar New Year display featuring sheep at a shopping mall in Hong Kong Friday. The Chinese Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 will welcome the Year of the Sheep. Bobby Yip/Reuters

Children check out a room in the Ice Hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Mathieu Belanger/Reuters

Market Closes for February 13^th, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	18019.35	+46.97
		+0.26%
S&P 500	2096.99	+8.51   +0.41%
NASDAQ	4893.836	+36.224   +0.75%
TSX	15264.81	+36.29
		+0.24%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17913.36	-66.36
		-0.37%
HANG SENG	24682.54	+260.39
		+1.07%
SENSEX	29094.93	+289.93
		+1.01%
FTSE 100	6873.52	+45.41
		+0.67%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.432	1.394
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.070	2.039
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.0504	1.9861
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.6478	2.5770

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80331	0.79903
US $	1.24485	1.25151
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41688	0.70578
US $	1.13819	0.87859

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1232.50	1222.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	52.78	51.21

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a fifth day, extending an almost five-month high, as energy producers gained with the price of oil in London topping $60 a barrel for the first time this year.

     PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. and Enerplus Corp. gained at least 4.5 percent as energy stocks advanced. Dream Unlimited Corp., the commercial and residential real estate manager, jumped 7.5 percent after posting better-than-expected earnings. Centerra Gold Inc. jumped 4.5 percent as gold posted the first back-to- back gains in more than three weeks.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 36.29 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,264.81 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest since Sept. 19. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge rose 1.2 percent in the week and has climbed 4.3 percent this year. Trading volume was 17 percent below the 30-day average. Canadian equity markets are closed Monday for a holiday.

     PrairieSky Royalty climbed 5.3 percent and Enerplus increased 4.6 percent as energy shares rallied 0.4 percent as a group. The S&P/TSX Energy Index gained 1.7 percent this week.

     Brent crude rose 3.8 percent to climb above $60 a barrel for the first time this year amid speculation a decline in U.S. drilling will slow production and curb a global supply glut. West Texas Intermediate oil jumped 3.1 percent.

     B2Gold added 2.6 percent as raw-materials producers rose 0.6 percent as a group.

     Gold for April delivery added 0.5 percent to settle at $1,227.10 an ounce in New York. The metal price rose for its first back-to-back advance in more than three weeks as falling U.S. retail sales cast doubt on the pace of growth in the world’s largest economy.

     Teck Resources Ltd., Canada’s largest diversified miner, rose 2.6 percent and Lundin Mining Corp. added 6.4 percent as tin climbed and copper advanced for a second week. Sherritt International Corp. jumped 11 percent.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — A second straight weekly rally pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to an all-time high, as Apple Inc. advanced with technology shares and oil rebounded to end stocks’ longest dip since 2013.

     Energy shares jumped 2.6 percent as crude continued to climb back from the lowest level in almost six years. Apple reached a record, boosting its market cap above $700 billion, as technology shares led gains in the S&P 500. TripAdvisor Inc. surged 24 percent after Expedia Inc. agreed to acquire Orbitz Worldwide Inc.

     The S&P 500 rose 2 percent to 2,096.99 for the week, topping a previous record set in December. The Russell 2000 Index increased 1.5 percent to an all-time high, while the Nasdaq Composite Index and Nasdaq 100 Index reached the highest levels since 2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 195.06 points, or 1.1 percent, to 18,019.35, less than 0.2 percent from its December peak. U.S. equity markets will be closed Monday for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

     “The market is making new highs, and yet you don’t see any celebrations, which come toward the end of a bull market,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based RW Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion, said in a phone interview. “That leads us to believe we’re going to go higher here.”

     Equities received a boost from events in Europe, where government officials taking part in Greece’s debt negotiations said both sides are signaling a willingness to compromise, while Russia agreed to enforce a cease-fire in the eastern part of Ukraine. Data also indicated the euro-area economy expanded faster than forecast last quarter.

      U.S. stocks topped record levels for the first time in 2015 amid corporate earnings that have eclipsed analyst estimates and optimism in the economy following the biggest three-month rise in hiring in 17 years.

     The week’s advance pushed the S&P 500’s gain in February to 5.1 percent, following a 3.1 percent drop in January that was its worst month in a year.

     Prior to the leg up that helped it reach a record Friday, the S&P 500 had been whipsawed by investors. It experienced three declines of more than 2.7 percent since the start of the year, only to recover within a week each time. Daily swings in the S&P 500 have averaged 0.86 percent so far this year, compared with 0.53 percent in 2014.                         

     It’s been 46 days since the S&P 500’s last record, reached on Dec. 29, the longest stretch without a high since the 47-day run through Sept. 18, 2013. Prior to that, it had taken about seven days on average to break a new high since March 27, 2013. The S&P 500 closed at a record 53 times in 2014.

     U.S. equities struggled to advance in 2015 as the strongest dollar in at least a decade and a plunge in oil prices threatened earnings growth and tested the resilience of investors as the bull market nears its seventh year.

     Stocks began rising in February as companies from Apple to Schlumberger Ltd. weathered the crude slump and the dollar’s appreciation, helping to deliver profit growth of 5.1 percent among the nearly 400 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far.

     Technology stocks led the S&P 500 higher during the week, rising 4.3 percent as large stocks in the group extended rallies this year.                         

     Apple advanced 6.9 percent in the week to a record, bringing the advance in 2015 to 15 percent. Optimism in the world’s largest company by market capitalization has been growing since Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook revealed larger- screened, more expensive iPhones in September, which helped fuel a record profit during the last three months of 2014.

     Netflix Inc. has surged 36 percent this year, and Amazon.com Inc. has risen 23 percent.

     Cisco Systems Inc. surged 8 percent in the week to erase a loss from January after reporting quarterly profit and sales that topped estimates.

     The gains in technology shares sent the Nasdaq Composite higher by 3.2 percent in the week to 4,893.84, the highest level in almost 15 years. The gauge ended the week 3.1 percent below its all-time closing high of 5,048.62, set on March 10, 2000. It closed below 4,000 twice last year, on Feb. 3 and April 11, but has rallied 22 percent since then.                        

     Energy producers in the S&P 500 have surged 11 percent since Jan. 15, as U.S. crude climbed above $50 a barrel, bolstered by speculation that a decline in drilling will slow output and curb a global supply glut. The group tumbled 10 percent in 2014 as crude sank more than 50 percent.

     Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. led gains in the group for the week, rising at least 6.8 percent.

     Coca-Cola Co. increased 1.3 percent for the five-day period after the company beat forecasts as quarterly profit benefited from cost-cutting efforts. PepsiCo Inc. rose 2.5 percent as its profits also topped estimates, even as currency headwinds eroded sales.

     American Express Co. slid 8.2 percent after saying on Thursday it plans to end co-brand and merchant agreements with Costco Wholesale Corp. The next day, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its price target for the card issuer.

     Utility stocks in the benchmark gauge slipped 3.3 percent in the week for the worst performance among the 10 main S&P 500 groups. The group has fallen 4.8 percent in 2015 after rallying 24 percent last year. The declines come as U.S. 10-year Treasury yields jumped 40 basis points since the start of February. Utilities have the second-highest dividend yield in the broader index.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The divine music is incessantly going on within ourselves,

but the loud senses drown the delicate music,

which is unlike and infinitely superior to anything w4e can perceive with our senses.

 

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

 

Work hard, stay positive, and get up early.  It’s the best part of the day.

                                              -George Allen, 1918-1990

 

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:

A Jewish grandma and her grandson are at the beach. He’s playing in the water, she is standing on the shore not wanting to get her feet wet when all of a sudden, a huge wave appears from nowhere and crashes directly onto the spot where the boy is wading. The water recedes and the boy is no longer there… he was swept away.

The grandma holds her hands to the sky, screams and cries: “How could you do this? 
Haven’t I been a wonderful grandmother? 
Haven’t I been a wonderful mother? 
Haven’t I kept a kosher home? 
Haven’t I given to charity? 
Haven’t I lit candles every Friday night? 
Haven’t I tried my very best to live a life that you would be proud of?”

A voice booms from the sky, “All right already!”

A moment later another huge wave appears out of nowhere and crashes on the beach. As the water recedes, the boy is standing there. He is smiling and splashing around as if nothing had ever happened.

The voice booms again. “I have returned your grandson. Now are you satisfied?”

She responds … He had a hat.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People walk across a fog bridge, created by Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya, in Bristol, England, Thursday, to celebrate the city’s status as a European Green Capital. Ben Birchall/PA/AP

Surfers make their way into the ocean at dawn in Cardiff, Calif., Thursday. Warm Santa Ana winds are expected to push temperatures above 80 degrees in southern California for the next few days. Mike Blake/Reuters

Market Closes for February 12^th, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17972.38	+110.24
		+0.62%
S&P 500	2088.48	+19.95   +0.96
NASDAQ	4857.613	+56.432   +1.18%
TSX	15228.52	+77.02
		+0.51%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17979.72	+327.04
		+1.85%
HANG SENG	24422.15	+107.13
		+0.44%
SENSEX	28805.10	+271.13
		+0.95%
FTSE 100	6828.11	+9.94
		+0.15%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.394	1.449
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.039	2.064
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.9861	2.0176
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5770	2.5863

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79903	0.79224
US $	1.25151	1.26225
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42711	0.70072
US $	1.14031	0.87696

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1222.50	1223.75
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.21	48.84

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Michelle F. Davis and Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fourth day, extending a four-month high as gains among oil and metals producers offset declines in Bombardier Inc. and the nation’s largest insurers.

     Lightstream Resources Ltd. jumped 10 percent amid a rally in oil. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. added at least 6 percent as copper advanced. Precision Drilling Corp. gained 3.5 percent as earnings beat analysts’ estimates. Bombardier dropped 12 percent after the company announced a replacement for its chief executive officer and suspended its dividend. Manulife Financial Corp. lost 2.3 percent as fourth- quarter profit slid 51 percent.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 77.02 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,228.52 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest since Sept. 19. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has climbed 4.1 percent this year. Trading volume was 12 percent above the 30-day average.

     Lightstream Resources jumped 10 percent and RMP Energy Inc. climbed 6.3 percent as energy shares rose 1.3 percent as a group. Suncor Energy Inc. increased 1.6 percent.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 1.4 percent, rebounding from a two-day retreat as prices for commodities from copper to oil rose.

     West Texas Intermediate crude increased 4.9 percent as producers from Total SA to Apache Corp. announced cutbacks in response to the seven-month collapse in prices. Oil demand is increasing and there are indications that prices are stabilizing, according to Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali al- Naimi.

     Copper advanced 2.5 percent in New York amid optimism that a cease-fire in Ukraine will stabilize the region and reduce tensions between Russia and its European neighbors.

     Bombardier plunged 12 percent after saying Alain Bellemare will take over as chief executive officer to replace Pierre Beaudoin, who becomes executive chairman. Faced with delays and cost overruns, the company also suspended its dividend and announced plans to sell debt and equity to shore up its balance sheet.

     Manulife Financial, Canada’s largest insurer, dropped 2.4 percent as profit fell as oil and gas investments languished and it paid out more for policies in North America. Sun Life Financial Inc. sank 6.5 percent.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending the Nasdaq Composite Index to the highest level in almost 15 years, as Cisco Systems Inc. and Expedia Inc. rallied and optimism grew over a cease-fire in Ukraine.

     Cisco jumped 9.4 percent as profit and sales topped estimates. Expedia rose 15 percent after agreeing to acquire Orbitz Worldwide Inc. Online travel rival TripAdvisor Inc. soared 23 percent. American Express Co. slipped 6.4 percent as it plans to end co-brand and merchant agreements with Costco Wholesale Corp.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 1 percent to 2,088.48 at 4 p.m. in New York. The index is less than 3 points from a record reached Dec. 29. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2 percent to 4,857.61, the highest level since March 2000. The Nasdaq 100 Index surged 1.2 percent, also reaching a nearly 15-year high. About 7.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 4.8 percent above the three-month average.

     “There’s general optimism around the U.S. economy and a little bit of relief that some of the major international issues are not going to impinge just yet on positive trends here,” John Carey, a Boston-based fund manager at Pioneer Investment Management, which oversees about $230 billion, said in a phone interview. “For the moment people seem to be somewhat more at ease about some of the trouble spots in the world. People are looking at the glass half full.”                        

     Equities are approaching record levels for the first time in 2015, bolstered by the biggest three-month rise in hiring in 17 years and signs of easing tension between Greece and its euro-area creditors. The S&P 500 has rallied 4.7 percent in February after sinking 3.1 percent in January for its worst month in a year.

     The Nasdaq Composite closed below 4,000 twice last year, on Feb. 3 and April 11, but has rallied nearly 22 percent since then. The gauge is now 3.8 percent below its all-time closing high of 5,048.62, set on March 10, 2000.

     The index has gotten a boost in 2015 from large technology stocks. Apple Inc. has increased 15 percent, Netflix Inc. has surged 34 percent and Amazon.com Inc. has risen 22 percent year- to-date. Apple climbed to a record of $126.46 high today, while Amazon is about 6.2 percent from an all-time high.

     U.S. stocks have traded for the last two months in one of the tightest ranges since 2007, marked by a record high of 2,090.57 and Dec. 16 low of 1,972.74 for the S&P 500.                        

     The strongest dollar in a decade and a plunge in oil prices that threaten investment and earnings growth have tested the resilience of investors as the bull market nears its seventh anniversary. Concern that European growth is slipping amid signs of deflation, coupled with a showdown that led to speculation Greece would exit from the region’s shared currency also weighed on investor sentiment.

     A peace summit between Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French and German leaders ended early Thursday with an accord on a cease- fire to stem the conflict that’s devastated eastern Ukraine.

     European Union leaders will take up the baton on Greece when they gather in Brussels on Thursday after finance ministers from the euro area concluded talks saying that compromise was possible on the country’s future financing. The ministers failed to bridge their differences in six hours of discussions Wednesday and agreed to reconvene for another attempt on Monday.

     “The Ukraine resolution is just one less thing to think about or be concerned about at this point,” Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion, said in a phone interview. “U.S.-based companies keep proving that they’re the best place to be, and the market is continuing to have some really nice upward momentum this month.”

     With the S&P 500 trading at 17.5 times its members’

projected earnings, a multiple 22 percent higher than the five- year average, investors are analyzing earnings reports and economic data to assess stocks valuations.

     Equities pared early gains Thursday as data showed sales at U.S. retailers fell more than forecast in January, reflecting smaller receipts at gasoline stations and declines at clothing and sporting goods stores. A separate report showed applications for unemployment benefits climbed last week to a level that’s consistent with progress in the U.S. labor market.

     The S&P 500 has more than tripled from its bear-market low in March 2009, propelled higher by better-than-forecast corporate earnings and three rounds of Federal Reserve bond purchases. The Fed renewed its pledge in January to maintain record-low borrowing costs even as the economy shows signs of acceleration.                       

     Almost three-quarters of index members have reported results so far, with 77 percent beating profit estimates and 57 percent topping sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 9.6 percent to 15.34. The gauge, know as the VIX, is down 11 percent for the week after losing more than 17 percent last week.

     Eight of 10 major industries in the S&P 500 climbed today, with commodity, energy and technology companies jumping at least 1.3 percent.                         

     Cisco Systems rallied 9.4 percent to a seven-year high on better-than-forecast results as customers upgraded their networks and cost-cutting efforts are starting to show up in the bottom line.

     Orbitz Worldwide soared 22 percent after Expedia agreed to acquire the company for $12 a share in cash. Expedia last month also agreed to acquire Sabre Corp.’s Travelocity in an effort to bulk up against Priceline Group Inc. and other competitors. Rival TripAdvisor surged 23 percent, its biggest jump ever, amid a recent spate of deal making in online travel.

     Freeport-McMoRan Inc. rose 4.7 percent to help lead raw material stocks higher as copper prices climbed 2.4 percent.

     Among S&P 500 energy companies, Marathon Oil Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. added more than 2.1 percent as oil prices increased 4.9 percent, halting a two-day slide amid production cuts and speculation that demand is strengthening.

     Lenders rallied, with all 24 members of the KBW Bank Index advancing. The gauge closed at the highest level since Jan. 2., as Zions Bancorp. surged 3 percent to pace gains. JPMorgan Chase & Co. jumped 2.1 percent for the second-biggest rise in the Dow, while Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. added at least 0.7 percent.

     American Express slipped 6.4 percent, its biggest drop in more than three years, as it plans to end co-brand and merchant agreements with Costco next year. The partnership accounts for about 10 percent of AmEx’s total cards, according to the company.

     Tesla Motors Inc. lost 4.7 percent, on pace for its worst decline since October, after the electric-car maker missed targets for vehicle deliveries and reported an unexpected loss.

     Kellogg Co. fell 4.5 percent, the most in more than six months after cutting its long-term growth forecast, hurt by a decline in consumers eating cereal as part of their morning routine.
 

Have a wonderful evening!

 

Be magnificent!

At our first meeting with beauty, we see it in its gaudy faded finery, jarring us with its garish tones,

its frills and flounces, even its deformed shapes.  But when we get to know it better,

the apparent discord reveals itself to us as rhythmic modulations.

At first, we isolate beauty from all that is around it;  we detach it from the rest;

but in the end, we understand its harmony with the whole.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists,

to make his life full, significant and interesting.

                                                                 -Aldous Huxley, 1894-1963

 

 

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 read a wonderful book on the weekend, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, please do so.  You’ll be profoundly enriched if you do…. I picked it up when I read that Timeawarded it the #1 book of fiction of 2012, but only just got around to reading it this past weekend.

Here’s 3 critics’ assessments:

“Damn near genius . . . The Fault in Our Stars is a love story, one of the most genuine and moving ones in recent American fiction, but it’s also an existential tragedy of tremendous intelligence and courage and sadness.” —Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine

 
“This is a book that breaks your heart—not by wearing it down, but by making it bigger until it bursts.”
—The Atlantic
 
“In its every aspect, this novel is a triumph.”
—Booklist, starred review

Quote from The Fault in Our Stars:

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Roses are selected for a bouquet ahead of Valentine’s Day in Subachoque. Colombia, the world’s second-largest flower exporter behind the Netherlands, exports about 500 million flowers to the US for Valentine’s Day. John Vizcaino/Reuters

The sun sets over Lake Geneva and the Swiss and French Alps above Montreux, southwestern Switzerland, Wednesday. Laurent Gillieron/Keystone/AP

Market Closes for February 11^th, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17862.14	-6.62
		-0.04%
S&P 500	2068.53	-0.06   —
NASDAQ	4801.180	+13.535   +0.28%
TSX	15151.50	+38.98
		+0.26%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17652.68	-59.25
		-0.33%
HANG SENG	24315.02	-213.08
		-0.87%
SENSEX	28533.97	+178.35
		+0.63%
FTSE 100	6818.17	-10.95
		-0.16%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.449	1.429
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.064	2.042
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.0176	2.0002
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5863	2.5785

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79224	0.79454
US $	1.26225	1.25858
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43100	0.69881
US $	1.13369	0.88208

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1223.75	1234.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.84	50.02

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam and Michelle F. Davis

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to the highest since September as consumer and financial companies rallied to offset a drop in Air Canada and raw-material shares.

     Air Canada dropped 10 percent, the most in a year, after fourth-quarter earnings fell short of analysts’ estimates as the weaker Canadian dollar offset cheaper fuel. Ballard Power Systems Inc. soared 64 percent after signing a technology deal with Volkswagen AG and Audi AG. FirstService surged to a record after posting profit and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 38.98 points, or 0.3 percent, to 15,151.50 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest level since Sept. 19. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has climbed 3.6 percent this year. Trading volume was 7.9 percent below the 30-day average.

     Kinross Gold Corp. lost 6.7 percent and Barrick Gold Corp. retreated 1.3 percent as raw materials shares sank 0.5 percent as a group. Semafo Inc. dropped 9.5 percent, the most in three months.

     Gold futures slipped 1 percent to the lowest in a month as gains for the U.S. dollar cut demand for the precious metal as an alternative asset.

     Lightstream Resources Ltd. retreated 4 percent as oil fell a second day.

     West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 2.4 percent in New York as rising U.S. crude and fuel inventories added to excess global stockpiles.

     Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. jumped 18 percent after Baupost Group LLC reported an about 11 percent stake in the company in a regulatory filing.

     Air Canada, the nation’s largest airline, dropped 10 percent to pace declines among industrial stocks. The air carrier wasn’t able to reduce costs as much as planned as it spent more on jet maintenance and employee benefits.

     FirstService surged 6.9 percent after posting profit and revenue ahead of analysts’ estimates. The real estate services company also said it will separate into commercial and residential real estate units.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stock-index futures rose, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed little changed, on speculation that Greece and its euro-area creditors would reach an agreement on a bailout plan.

     S&P 500 futures contracts expiring in March advanced 0.5 percent to 2,074.30 at 5:02 p.m. in New York. The underlying index on Wednesday fell less than one point to 2,068.53 after rallying 1.1 percent a day earlier.

     Euro-area financial ministers are closing in on a statement pledging the goal of an extension of Greece’s rescue agreement with its creditors, according to four euro-area officials.

     Greece entered the Wednesday meeting in Brussels trying to drum up support for a 10 billion-euro ($11.3 billion) bridge plan to stave off a funding crunch and buy time to win an easing in austerity terms, while Germany has maintained Greece must comply with its bailout terms.

     The financial ministers will take up the issue again at a previously scheduled meeting on Feb. 16.

     In regular trading Wednesday, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.3 percent, approaching an almost 15-year high, as Apple Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. rallied. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased less than 0.1 percent to 17,862.14. About 6.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 3.4 percent below the three-month average.                         

     Apple extended a record as billionaire activist Carl Icahn raised his anticipated price for the company’s shares. PepsiCo Inc. increased 2.5 percent as profit topped estimates even as currency headwinds eroded sales. Utility companies in the S&P 500 lost 2.4 percent. Energy shares fell 0.7 percent as oil prices declined for a second day.

     “It’s tug of war between some of the macro things, like what’s going to happen with Greece, and decent corporate earnings results in the U.S.,” John Fox, director of research at Fenimore Asset Management in Cobleskill, New York, said in a phone interview. “Those are kind of offsetting one another.”

     Gains in Coca-Cola Co. and General Motors Co. helped spur a rally in stocks Tuesday. The fourth 1 percent rally in seven days pushed the S&P 500 past levels where previous rallies failed and within 25 points of a record.

     U.S. stocks have traded for the last two months in one of the tightest ranges since 2007, marked by a record high of 2,090.57 and Dec. 16 low of 1,972.74. Even as swings in the index become more violent, the gauge has failed to break out, rising above then falling below its 50-day average four times since December.

     The S&P 500 declined 3.1 percent last month as analysts lowered forecasts for corporate profits. Estimates for first- quarter earnings slipped more than 6 percentage points over three months, the biggest decrease in six years, as oil’s plunge triggered revisions for energy companies.

     More than two-thirds of index members have reported results so far, with 77 percent beating profit estimates and 56 percent topping sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Energy stocks in the S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent as a report showed U.S. crude-oil stockpiles and output advanced to the highest level in more than three decades, a sign that a global supply glut will linger.

     Pioneer Natural Resources Co. lost 4 percent after fourth- quarter results were below forecasts. Apache Corp. fell 2.3 percent and Transocean Ltd. retreated 4.1 percent.

     Genworth Financial Inc. rose 6.7 percent to its highest level since early January. Losses at the insurer’s long-term care unit were narrower than some analysts had expected.                            

     Pier 1 tumbled 24 percent, the most since 2009, after cutting its full-year forecast. The operator of more than 1,000 home-decor stores in North America said profit per share in the year ending Feb. 28 will not exceed 83 cents. The average analyst estimate was for $1.

     Rite Aid added 6.6 percent to its highest level since June after agreeing to buy EnvisionRX for about $2 billion in cash and stock. With the purchase, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid is shifting toward offering services that help insurers and large employers provide drug coverage.

     Consumer staples in the S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent as PepsiCo shares increased 2.5 percent after the company posted fourth- quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates even as currency headwinds eroded sales. Oreo cookies maker Mondelez International Inc.’s results also exceeded analysts’ estimates after cutting costs and raising prices, sending shares up 2.6 percent.                       

     Information technology shares in the benchmark gauge gained 0.4 percent. Akamai Technologies Inc. rose 2.7 percent after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded estimates.

     Apple jumped 2.3 percent to $124.88 as Icahn, who has pushed Apple to return more money to shareholders, raised his anticipated price for the company’s shares after Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said the company is reviewing its capital- return program and will announce changes in April.

     Utility stocks in the S&P 500 slipped 2.4 percent. The index has fallen 5.3 percent since last Thursday’s close ahead of Friday’s report, which showed the U.S. added more jobs than forecast in January, capping the biggest three-month gain in 17 years. Workers’ earnings also jumped. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields have jumped 10 percent during the same period.

     “With the 10-year Treasury back to 2 percent, that’s good for financial stocks, but it’s bad for stocks people have been buying as income substitutes,” said Fox of Fenimore Asset Management. “It’s all the interest rate trade.”

     All 30 companies in the utilities index declined today, led by NiSource Inc. and CenterPoint Energy Inc. falling more than 3.4 percent. Wisconsin Energy Corp. slid 3 percent after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of analyst estimates.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

A man is a universe in miniature, and the universe, a giant living body;

the cosmos is similar to a large man,

and a man is similar to a small cosmos; so say the Sufis.

Kabir

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.

                                                                            -Aldous Huxley,  1894-1963

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Artist Anat Ronen works on a mural featuring a gorilla Monday in Houston. The mural is one of five commissioned by the Houston Zoo to celebrate the arrival of seven western lowland gorillas. Pat Sullivan/AP

A herdsman takes a rest with his goats in a corn field at Dashiwo village, on the outskirts of Beijing. The Chinese Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 will welcome the Year of the Sheep (also known as the Year of the Goat or Ram.) Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Market Closes for February 10^th, 2015     

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17868.76	+139.55
		+0.79%
S&P 500	2068.59	+21.85   +1.07%
NASDAQ	4787.645	+61.632   +1.30%
TSX	15112.52	+11.82
		+0.08%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	17652.68	-59.25
		-0.33%
HANG SENG	24528.10	+7.10
		+0.03%
SENSEX	28355.62	+128.23
		+0.45%
FTSE 100	6829.12	-8.03
		-0.12%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.429	1.446
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.042	2.028
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.0002	1.9549
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.5785	2.5252

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79454	0.79896
US $	1.25858	1.25163
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42425	0.70212
US $	1.13163	0.88368

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1234.50	1241.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.02	51.69

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, erasing an earlier loss, as gains among health-care and industrial shares offset a drop in commodities producers as oil snapped a three-day rally.

     Uni-Select Inc. surged 15 percent after agreeing to sell its U.S. automotive parts distribution business to Icahn Enterprises LP. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. climbed to a record after Barclays Plc recommended the stock. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and Legacy Oil & Gas Inc. sank at least 10 percent as energy producers slumped. Amaya Inc. slipped 1.8 percent after a Globe and Mail report said regulators are probing the online gambling company over its acquisition of PokerStars last year.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 11.82 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,112.52 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has climbed 3.3 percent this year. Trading volume was 15 percent below the 30-day average.

     Pacific Rubiales sank 16 percent and Eldorado Gold plunged 3.5 percent as energy and raw-materials producers were the only two industries among 10 to decline in the S&P/TSX. The two industries account for about 34 percent of the broader equity gauge.

     Air Canada, the nation’s largest airline, soared 3.7 percent to C$13.29, the highest since 2007, to pace gains among industrial stocks. Air Canada, which reports earnings Wednesday in Toronto, has benefited from cheaper fuel costs amid oil’s plunge.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index slipped 1.4 percent, snapping a three-day rally as prices for commodities from copper to oil fell.

     West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery dropped 5.4 percent in New York. The U.S. will contribute most to global growth in oil supplies through 2020, the International Energy Agency said. U.S. inventories probably rose last week, according to analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey before government data on Wednesday.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 3 percent for a second day of declines as copper dropped the most in a week. China reported consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in more than five years, deepening concerns about demand from the world’s biggest consumer of metals. China is also Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erased losses for 2015, closing above a level where previous rallies fizzled out this year, as companies from Coca-Cola Co. to General Motors Co. surged and optimism grew over Greece talks.

     Coke gained 2.8 percent as profit benefited from cost- cutting efforts, while GM rose 4.2 percent on buyback speculation. Apple Inc. climbed to an all-time high, with its market capitalization closing above $700 billion for the first time. Health-care and utility stocks rebounded after falling at least 0.9 percent Monday.

     The S&P 500 climbed 1.1 percent to 2,068.59 at 4 p.m. in New York, the highest level since Dec. 30. The gauge is 1.1 percent away from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 139.55 points, or 0.8 percent, to 17,868.76. The Nasdaq 100 Index rallied 1.5 percent to the highest since December. About 6.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 3.6 percent below the three-month average.

     “You’re seeing a continuation of the short-term momentum we experienced for most of last week,” Joe Bell, a Cincinnati- based senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc., said in a phone interview. “We’ve been pretty choppy throughout most of 2015 — a lot of volatility but not a lot of net direction. You had some positive news out of Greece. Most people expect that somehow, someway there will be some sort of settlement.”

     The S&P 500 closed above a level where previous rallies have failed. Since the start of the year, three separate advances in the benchmark gauge have fizzled out just above 2,060, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     U.S. stocks have traded for the last two months in one of the tightest ranges since 2007, marked by a record high of 2,090.57 and Dec. 16 low of 1,972.74. Even as swings in the index become more violent, the gauge failed to break out, rising above then falling below its 50-day average four times since December.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index fell 7.1 percent to 17.23. The gauge, know as the VIX, fell more than 17 percent last week.

     “We had a breakout here recently,” Walter “Bucky” Hellwig, who helps manage $17 billion at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama, said in a phone interview. “In addition to the favorable fundamentals that are pulling investor dollars into the market from a trading standpoint, the turnaround we saw has brought in some high-frequency momentum trading.”

     Equities rose early in the day as speculation grew that Greece will reach an agreement at a Feb. 11 emergency meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Brussels. U.S. and European stocks briefly pared gains after German Financial Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said reports that Greece would get six months to work out a debt deal are “wrong.”

     Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told lawmakers on Monday the country will implement about 70 percent of reforms already included in the current bailout accord. He is also seeking support for a bridge funding plan.

     “If this Greece compromise comes about, that will be a clear positive,” Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at New York-based Williams Capital Group LP, said in a phone interview. “On the domestic front, you have some nice moves on earnings like Coca-Cola.”

     Eighteen S&P 500 companies release quarterly results today. PepsiCo Inc., Time Warner Inc. and Kraft Foods Group Inc. follow later this week. About two-thirds of the S&P 500 companies have reported results so far, with 77 percent beating profit estimates and 56 percent topping sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Earnings rose 4.1 percent last quarter, while sales gained 1.4 percent, according to analysts’ forecasts compiled by Bloomberg. That’s up from projections at the start of the year.

     Coke gained 2.8 percent. Chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent, coping with currency challenges and sluggish growth worldwide, is trimming expenses and selling more premium-priced beverages. He aims to pare $3 billion from Coca-Cola’s annual costs.

     GM rose 4.2 percent as Harry J. Wilson, a member of President Barack Obama’s auto team that restructured GM and Chrysler, intends to nominate himself for a seat on GM’s board and propose an $8 billion stock buyback. He is acting in concert with four investment funds, including Appaloosa Management LP, which together own about 2.1 percent of GM’s stock.

     Health-care companies in the benchmark equity gauge increased 1.4 percent. Pfizer Inc., Tenet Healthcare Corp. and HCA Holdings Inc. rose more than 2.6 percent.

     The S&P 500 Consumer Services Index climbed 2.6 percent, led by a pair of hotel operators that exceeded earnings expectations. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. jumped 6.6 percent after reporting fourth-quarter profit that beat projections and saying it will spin off its vacation-ownership unit into a publicly traded company. Hotel rival Wyndham Worldwide Corp. rose 8.7 percent after its results were better than forecast and the company raised its profit outlook.

     Qualcomm Inc. advanced 4.7 percent, helping to drive the S&P 500 information technology group up 1.6 percent, after Chinese regulators ended an antitrust probe with a $975 million fine on the chipmaker. Micron Technology Inc. rose 9.7 percent, the best gain in more than a year, and Apple Inc. climbed 1.9 percent to an all-time high. The company sold 1.25 billion Swiss francs ($1.35 billion) of bonds in its debut offering in the currency.

     Sealed Air Corp. shares jumped more than 10 percent, their biggest advance since 2012, and reached a record after the company raised its 2015 profit outlook.

     Oil prices snapped a three-day streak of gains, falling 5.4 percent amid speculation that increasing U.S. supply is exacerbating a global glut.

     Energy stocks in the S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent as Transocean Ltd., Denbury Resources Inc. and Nabors Industries Ltd. all slipped more than 4.9 percent.

     Halliburton Co. slid 2.1 percent to $42.60 after announcing it’s cutting as much as 8 percent of its global workforce of more than 80,000 as it confronts the collapse of oil prices and brings job reductions more in line with its largest competitors.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!
 

“Happiness doesn’t depend on how much you have to enjoy, but how much you enjoy what you have.” Tom Wilson

As ever,

 

Karen

  

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7