Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

It’s Blue Monday.  This was worth a read today:

Beating “Blue Monday”

Think positive thoughts and focus on attainable resolutions

By Brent Jolly | January 21, 2013

British post-punk band New Order released the song Blue Monday in 1983. It became the best-selling 12-inch single of all-time. The song begins with lead singer Bernard Sumner asking the rhetorical question: “How does it feel?”

The answer, according to mental health experts: pretty depressing.

While the song remains a popular post-punk anthem, “Blue Monday” has another meaning. Cardiff University psychologist Cliff Arnall has awarded that title to the third Monday in January, which he has identified as the most depressing day of the year.

Cold, dreary weather, holiday debt and shorter days contribute to “blue” feelings, says Dr. Arya Sharma, chairman in obesity at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Another contributor may be that many of us have fallen short of those resolutions made three weeks ago.

If blue Monday is getting you down, Sharma recommends the following:

> Look on the bright side
Sharma is quick to point out that the Blue Monday phenomenon is not rooted in the scientific method, so it lacks proper scientific status. Nevertheless, he says, it makes sense.

“You have short days and long nights,” Sharma says. “It’s cold outside and you could have a bit of SAD [seasonal affective disorder], which has an impact on your mood.”

He encourages you to keep a resilient mind by thinking positive thoughts. Consider what you have accomplished recently, not what you still have left on your to-do list.

> Revisit your resolutions
Check in on how well you are doing with your New Year’s resolutions.

If you have been able to keep up with your goals, Sharma says, give yourself a pat on the back. But falling short in this area can be a source of frustration that colours your mood.

Many New Year’s resolutions fail, Sharma says, because they focus on outcomes we can’t control instead of behaviours we can control.

For example, resolving to lose weight calls for a result that is beyond your control. Resolving to eat more salads or quit smoking involves a behavior you can control.

Says Sharma. “It’s the things you are going to do that are the behaviours.”

> Eat healthy
While a healthy diet can contribute to a feeling of wellbeing, overeating can make you feel worse.

When it is time to dine, Sharma says, focus exclusively on eating — not your mobile devices, the television or paperwork. You will feel more full, and thus, eat fewer calories if you are paying attention to your meal.

> Have a plan
The path to good health — like the path to financial wellbeing — is best done with a good roadmap, Sharma says.

That could mean working with a dietician, for example, or mapping out your workouts with an activity monitor and software. In any case, be sure to keep your goals realistic and attainable.

Says Sharma: “If you have [a plan] and use it properly, it will work.”

photo of the day

01/21st/2013

President Obama hugs Vice President Joe Biden before he takes the oath of office during the 57th Presidential Inauguration on Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington, D.C.

Photo: Ann Hermes/Staff

Market Closes for January 21st, 2013:

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	13649.70	Closed
S&P 500	1485.98	Closed
NASDAQ	3134.705	Closed
TSX	12794.25	+68.56
		+0.54%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	10747.74	-165.56
		-1.52%
HANG  SENG	23590.91	-10.87
		-0.05%
SENSEX	20101.82	+62.78
		+0.31
FTSE 100	6180.98	+26.57
		+0.43

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	1.935	1.919
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.508	2.497
U.S.   10 Year Bond	Closed	1.8399
U.S.   30 Year Bond	Closed	3.0248

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.99287	0.90180
US   $	1.00718	1.00827
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.32221	0.75631
US  $	1.33171	0.75092

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1690.05	1684.85
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	95.56	95.56
BRENT	114.20	113.99

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, closing at the highest level in more than 17 months, as European finance ministers met for the first time this year to discuss a solution to the region’s debt crisis.

Bank of Nova Scotia and Royal Bank of Canada gained at least 0.4 percent. Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry 10 line of smartphones, jumped 11 percent after Die Welt reported Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins said in an interview he’s still considering a sale of hardware production.

Golden Predator Corp. surged 17 percent after announcing on Jan. 18 it plans to transition to a royalty mining company. Home- improvement retailer Rona Inc. added 3.1 percent after naming a new executive chairman.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 68.56 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,794.25 in Toronto, the highest close since August 2011. The benchmark gauge has gained 2.9 percent this year. Markets in New York were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“When there were concerns about Europe a year ago markets took a tumble, now maybe investors are looking at Europe as not as important,” David Cockfield, managing director and fund manager with Northland Wealth Management, said from Toronto. His firm manages about C$200 million ($201 million). “There’s not a lot for the market to get upset about. Markets are somewhat relaxed and people who were on the sidelines are edging back in.”

Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, stepped down as head of the group of euro-area finance ministers as the policy makers met in Brussels today. Jeroen Dijsselbloem of the Netherlands assumes the informal, unpaid post. The ministers are discussing how and when the 500 billion-euro ($666 billion) European Stability Mechanism can bypass governments and provide direct help to banks.

Scotiabank rose 0.8 percent to C$58.34 and Royal Bank added 0.4 percent to C$61.96 as bank stocks contributed most to gains in the S&P/TSX. Trading volume on the S&P/TSX was 47 percent lower than the 30-day average.

RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, rose 11 percent to C$17.41 after Heins, speaking to the German Die Welt newspaper, said the company’s strategic review is continuing. Pressure to sell off assets has diminished because of high cash reserves, and other options include licensing of RIM’s software, Heins said.

Rona, based in Boucherville, Quebec, gained 3.1 percent to C$11.86, the highest close since September.

Rona, with the backing of Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec and Invesco Canada Ltd., its two biggest shareholders, has appointed Robert Chevrier as the company’s new executive chairman. Robert Pare has resigned the post and will continue as a board member. Four new directors, including Bernard Dorval, former group head of insurance at Toronto-Dominion Bank, also immediately join the board.

Golden Predator, which is exploring for gold in the Yukon Territory’s Tintina gold belt, soared 17 percent to 39 Canadian cents after announcing on Jan. 18 it will change the company’s name to Gold Bullion Royalty Corp., focused on royalty creation through its 34 existing projects. The company will also spin off its Golden Predator Canada Corp. unit to shareholders through a dividend or other plan, it said in a statement.

Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc., a Toronto-based wealth- management company, advanced 5.9 percent to C$16.65 after declaring a special semi-annual dividend of 65 Canadian cents a share based on C$34 million of performance fees earned in the six months ended Dec. 31.

Nevsun Resources Ltd., operator of a mine in Eritrea, slumped 8.7 percent to C$4.22 after about 200 Eritrean soldiers mutinied and stormed a Ministry of Information building in the capital of Asmara, Agence France-Presse reported. Nevsun’s Bisha mine is operating normally, an external consultant for the company said today by e-mail.

US

Markets Closed for Martin Luther King Day.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

Duties to self, to the family, to the country,

and the world are not independent of one another.

One cannot do good to the country

by injuring himself or his family.

Similarly one cannot serve the country

by injuring the world at large.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted

time.

-Marthe Troly-Curtin

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP, CIM, FCSI

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:

Last night, I had to do a presentation to the Board of a Charitable Foundation whose money I manage; they’re on the lower mainland, so I got to see how the improvements to Highway 1 (thank goodness!) are progressing (very well since my last presentation to them) and the new Golden Ears Bridge; big expansion happening.

I was reading Dear Abby’s obituary this morning and it was a nostalgic moment for me;  I remember clearly the very first time I ever saw Dear Abby’s column, like it was yesterday.  I was only about 5 or 6 years old and I was visiting my grandmother in the summertime.  The paper arrived and I thought I’d read it.  When I found Dear Abby, I became a devoted reader every day.

Her style differed from her sister’s Ann Landers; Abby’s replies “were often flippant and occasionally risqué one-liners” writes Steve Karnowski of the Associated Press:

Dear Abby:  My boyfriend is going to be 20 years old next month.  I’d like to give him something nice for his birthday.  What do you thinkhe’f like? –Carol

Dear Carol: Never mind what he’d like, give him a tie.

Dear Abby: What inspires you most to write? –Ted

Dear Ted: The Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Dear Abby: I’ve been going with this girl for a year.  How can I get her to say yes? –Don

Dear Don: What’s the question?

If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself. –Albert Einstein.

Photo of the day

01/18/2013

A giant sculpture of a baby titled ‘Planet’ is unveiled in Singapore at the Gardens By The Bay. ‘Planet’ was created by British artist Marc Quinn in 2008 and represents a 7-month-old child made out of painted bronze and steel, with the illusion of being weightless and suspended in mid-air. This sculpture is the newest addition at the Gardens By The Bay, one of the city-state’s newer attractions.

Photo: Wong Maye-E/AP

Market Closes for January 18th, 2013:

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	13649.70	+53.68    +0.39%
S&P 500	1485.98	+5.04    +0.34
NASDAQ	3134.705	-1.297    -0.04%
TSX	12725.69	+50.96
		+0.40%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	10913.30	+303.66
		+2.86%
HANG  SENG	23601.78	+262.02
		+1.12%
SENSEX	20039.04	+75.01
		+0.38
FTSE 100	6154.41	+22.05
		+0.36

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	1.919	1.949
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.497	2.509
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.8399	1.8715
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.0248	3.0655

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90180	0.98553
US   $	1.00827	1.01468
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.32055	0.75726
US  $	1.33147	0.75105

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1684.85	1687.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	95.56	95.49
BRENT	113.99	113.05

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Leslie Picker

Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index to its third weekly gain, as Research In Motion Ltd. climbed and China’s growth accelerated for the first time in two years.

RIM rallied 7 percent after a Jefferies & Co. analyst upgraded the BlackBerry maker’s stock to buy. Harry Winston Diamond Corp. rose 2.9 percent as Nomura Holdings Inc. analysts said demand for diamonds may exceed supply. Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. plunged 5.2 percent, the most since April 2010, as some Canadian provinces said they will buy generic drugs in bulk.

The S&P/TSX increased 50.96 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,725.69 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge, up 1 percent this week, has climbed for the past three weeks, the longest stretch in a year.

“Our fears of a hard landing in China hopefully have been put to rest,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto, which manages about $4 billion. “The rate of growth is higher than the previous quarter, so I think that’s pulling some money into the Canadian market.‘‘ China’s gross domestic product expanded 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, up from a three-year low of 7.4 percent in the previous period, National Bureau of Statistics data showed. Eight out of 10 groups in the benchmark Canadian equity measure rose today.

Canadian factory sales advanced to a six-month high in November and unfilled orders rose to the most in more than three years on automobile and aircraft demand. Sales climbed 1.7 percent to C$49.9 billion ($50.4 billion), Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa.

RIM climbed to its highest price in almost a year after Jefferies analyst Peter Misek upgraded the stock to a buy, citing the potential for its new software to offer corporate e- mail on rival devices. RIM gained 7 percent to C$15.71, advancing the most in the S&P/TSX.

Shoppers Drug Mart, the country’s largest pharmaceutical chain, posted the biggest loss in the Canadian equity benchmark.

Every province except Quebec and three territories plan to buy six generic drugs, which represent about 20 percent of publicly funded spending on such medicines in Canada, in bulk to lower prices, according to a government press release. It lost 5.2 percent to C$41.83.

Harry Winston advanced 2.9 percent to C$14.76. Nomura rated the diamond retailer and mining company a buy, and said prices will stay near current levels in 2013, though exposure for the long term is ‘‘worth investigating.’’ Demand will outstrip supply from 2015, which should boost margins for the robust producers, the analysts said.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd., the copper producer in the midst of a C$5.1 billion hostile bid for Inmet Mining Corp., added 1 percent to C$21.25. Copper futures for delivery in March increased 0.5 percent to settle at $3.679 a pound in New York.

Bank of Nova Scotia rose 0.8 percent to C$57.86. Canada’s third-largest bank said it can boost small loans in Mexico as much as 20 percent in a push for business in Latin America, where lending margins are double the Canadian average. A measure of financial companies added 0.5 percent.

US

By Lu Wang

Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose for a third week, driving benchmark indexes to five-year highs, as earnings from companies including General Electric Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. beat estimates and debt-limit talks progressed.

Energy, industrial and consumer companies climbed the most among 10 groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index as GE rallied 4.3 percent. A gauge of homebuilders rose to the highest level since 2007 amid better-than-expected housing data. Morgan Stanley jumped 11 percent after reaching profit-margin targets six months ahead of schedule. Dell Inc. surged 18 percent amid reports it’s in buyout talks. Bank of America Corp. and Intel Corp. sank at least 3.4 percent on disappointing results.

The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 1,485.98, extending its 2013 advance to 4.2 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 161.27 points, or 1.2 percent, to 13,649.70. Both measures closed at their highest levels since December 2007.

“What’s driving the market is an improved economic backdrop and some growing hope that the Congress will come to some sort of reasonable solution to the overhang we’ve had,” Hank Herrmann, Overland Park, Kansas-based chairman and chief executive officer of Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., said in a phone interview. His firm manages $100 billion. “The early indications on earnings are that they’ve been reasonably constructive.”

Equities rose as about 72 percent of the 67 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results beat estimates.

Economic reports showed retail sales advanced more than forecast in December and housing starts climbed 12 percent, capping the best year for the industry since 2008. Confidence among American households unexpectedly fell to a one-year low this month, as higher payroll taxes create a risk that the biggest part of the economy will slow in early 2013.

The benchmark index rallied on the final day of the week after Speaker John Boehner said House Republicans plan to vote on a three-month extension of U.S. borrowing authority in an effort to force the Democratic-led Senate to adopt a budget plan. Lawmakers in Washington remain divided about raising the debt ceiling and cutting government spending.

The Treasury Department has said the U.S. will exceed its $16.4 trillion borrowing authority sometime from mid-February to early March. Since 1960, Congress has raised or revised the limit 79 times, including 49 times under Republican presidents, according to the department.

Apple Inc., Google Inc. and more than 80 other companies in the index are scheduled to announce earnings in the coming week, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Analysts are turning more optimistic, with fourth-quarter earnings projected to grow 3.8 percent, up from 2.5 percent at the end of last week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The federal spending cuts, sequestration, that overhang still exists,” Timothy Ghriskey, who helps oversee $2 billion as chief investment officer at Solaris Group LLC in Bedford Hills, New York, said in a Jan. 17 interview. “But I think what the quarter is showing us so far is that managers actually overall have not put the brakes on, that they continue to move companies ahead, and will adjust to whatever federal environment the government saddles us with.”

The S&P 500 has more than doubled from a 12-year low in 2009 as corporate earnings continued the three-year expansion and the Federal Reserved expanded its bond purchases to keep interest rates low to spur growth. The index is 5.1 percent below its all-time high of 1,565.15 set in October 2007.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the S&P 500, fell 6.7 percent during the week to 12.46, the lowest level since April 2007.

Eight out of 10 S&P 500 groups advanced as energy, industrial and consumer companies rose more than 1.5 percent.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average surged 2.2 percent to a record while the Russell 2000 Index added 1.4 percent to an all- time high.

GE increased 4.3 percent to $22.04. The company’s industrial businesses surpassed gains in finance as emerging- market expansion fueled the aviation and health-care divisions, which helped build a record $210 billion order backlog.

Goldman Sachs rallied 5.3 percent to $144.45 after quarterly profit beat estimates and full-year revenue grew for the first time since 2009.

Morgan Stanley jumped 11 percent to $22.38. The owner of the world’s biggest brokerage said earnings from that business more than doubled in the fourth quarter. The brokerage’s higher profitability strengthens Chief Executive Officer James Gorman’s plan to boost returns as he requests regulatory approval to buy Citigroup Inc.’s remaining 35 percent stake in the business.

An S&P index of homebuilders climbed 3.1 percent to the highest level since August 2007. PulteGroup Inc., the largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, rose 6 percent to $20.49. Lennar Corp. added 2.8 percent to $42.08 after reporting fiscal fourth- quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates as revenue jumped 42 percent and profit margins climbed.

Dell rallied 18 percent to $12.84. Silver Lake Management LLC and partners are close to lining up about $15 billion in funds for a buyout of the third-biggest maker of personal computers, said people familiar with the matter.

Hewlett-Packard Co. jumped 5.9 percent to $17.11 for the biggest increase in the Dow. The personal-computer maker has been approached by investment bankers about selling assets, though it’s not currently considering such a move, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Bank of America dropped 4.2 percent, the most in the Dow, to $11.14. The second-biggest U.S. bank by assets said profit tumbled 63 percent, hurt by shrinking revenue and more costs from cleaning up bad mortgages.

Intel slumped 3.4 percent to $21.25. The world’s largest chipmaker reported a second straight quarter of declining sales.

Intel also said sales may fall for a third quarter, highlighting the company’s struggle to adapt in a world swiftly embracing mobile devices and leaving behind the personal-computer industry it dominates.

Apple declined 3.9 percent to $500 after the Nikkei newswire reported that production of the iPhone was cut on weak demand. Apple ordered about half the 65 million iPhone 5 displays it originally targeted for this quarter, Nikkei said, citing an unnamed executive at a component maker.

Boeing Co. erased 0.2 percent to $75.04, after fluctuating between gains and losses during the week as defective batteries led regulators to ground the company’s global fleet of 787 Dreamliners.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

I cannot imagine anything nobler or more national than that for, say, one hour in a day,

we should all do the labor that the poor must do,

and thus identify ourselves with them and through them with all mankind.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

I got the blues thinking about the future,

so I left off and made some marmalade.

It’s amazing how it cheers one up

to shred oranges and scrub the floor.

-D .H. Lawrence, 1885-1930

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP, CIM, FCSI

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 away at a meeting this afternoon therefore I will be writing the Newsletter on her behalf.

On Tuesday evening I went to the theatre and saw “Les Miserables” with a girlfriend of mine.  I had previously seen the musical in Vancouver years ago, so I was a bit apprehensive as to how the movie would live up to the live performance. Let me tell you, it was incredible!  The actors/actress’ they chose to play the roles, were absolutely amazing!  The Golden Globes recognized this and awarded “Les Miserables” with the Best Picture, Musical or Comedy this year.  Directed by Tom Hooper, this great film defeated other top competitors such as “Silver Linings Playbook”, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and a few others.  Along with the Golden Globe Award, “Les Miserables” also received many nominations for the outstanding acting in the movie.  If you haven’t seen this film yet, I encourage you to do so before it leaves the theatre!

“It is easy to sit up and take notice, What is difficult is getting up and taking action.”- Honore de Balzac

On this day:

1806 – James Madison Randolph, grandson of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, was the first child born in the White House.

1852 – The independence of the Transvaal Boers was recognized by Britain.

1882 – Thomas Edison’s exhibit opened the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London.

1893 – Hawaii‘s monarchy was overthrown when a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate.

1900 – Yaqui Indians in Texas proclaimed their independence from Mexico.

1912 – English explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole. Norwegian Roald Amundsen had beaten him there by one month. Scott and his party died during the return trip.

1916 – The Professional Golfers Association was formed in New York City.

1928 – The fully automatic, film-developing machine was patented by A.M. Josepho.

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” – Winston Churchill

Photos of the day January 17^th, 2013

A man rides his horse through the flames during the “Luminarias” annual religious celebration on the night before Saint Anthony’s, Patron of animals, Day in the village of San Bartolome de los Pinares, about 62 miles northwest of Madrid, Spain, January 16, 2013. According to tradition that dates back 500 years, people ride their horses trough the narrow cobblestone streets of this small village to purify the animals with the smoke from the bonfires.

Photo: Sergio Perez/Reuters

Clearing skies await a tripod-toting photographer looking for a spot to capture the early-morning light at Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. A snowstorm that ended before dawn temporarily transformed Fort Williams Park into a snowy scene. Photo: Robert F. Bukaty/AP

 

Market Closes for January 17^th, 2013:

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	13596.09	+84.86    +0.63%
S&P 500	1482.49	+9.86    +0.67
NASDAQ	3136.002	+18.458    +0.59%
TSX	12681.35	+72.53
		+0.58%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	10609.64	+9.20
		+0.09%
HANG  SENG	23339.76	-17.23
		-0.07%
SENSEX	19964.03	+146.40
		+0.74
FTSE 100	6132.36	+28.38
		+0.46

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	1.949	1.891
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.509	2.461
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.8715	1.8273
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.0655	3.0206

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.98553	0.98554
US   $	1.01468	1.01467
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.31808	0.75868
US  $	1.33742	0.74771

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1687.25	1680.20
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	95.49	94.24
BRENT	113.05	111.90

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to a 10-month high as banks rallied and crude advanced after U.S. reports showed housing starts climbed more than anticipated in December and initial jobless claims dropped to a five-year low.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. gained 2.1 percent as oil rose to a four-month high. Ivanplats Ltd. climbed 2.1 percent after more than doubling resource estimates at its Kamoa copper mine. Sun Life Financial Inc. added 1.1 percent after partnering with Malaysia’s state investment fund to buy an insurance joint venture. H&R Real Estate Investment Trust dropped 2.1 percent as it offered to acquire Primaris Retail Real Estate Investment Trust, trumping a hostile offer from another investor group.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 65.91 points, or 0.5 percent, to 12,674.73 in Toronto, the highest level since March 1. The benchmark gauge has gained 1.9 percent this year.

The U.S. housing and jobs data “is definitely a positive, it’s more validation of a trend that’s been in place,” said Jeff Parent, investment manager with Quadrexx Asset Management in Toronto. The firm manages about C$100 million. “The markets want to move higher but have been pausing and waiting. I’m quite bullish.”

U.S. Commerce Department figures showed housing starts rose 12.1 percent in December to a 954,000 annual rate, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey and the most since June 2008.

Initial jobless claims fell 37,000 to 335,000 last week, the lowest since January 2008, Labor Department figures showed.

The Toronto-Dominion Bank climbed 1 percent to C$82.69 and Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.6 percent to C$61.44 as financial and energy companies contributed most to gains in the S&P/TSX.

All 10 industries advanced, on trading volume 6.7 percent lower than the 30-day average.

Canadian Natural Resources rose 2.1 percent to C$29.33 and TransCanada Corp., builder of the Keystone XL pipeline project, added 0.8 percent to C$48.58. Crude for February delivery surged 1.3 percent to settle at $95.49 a barrel in New York, the highest settlement since Sept. 17.

Ivanplats rose 2.1 percent to C$5.30 after reporting a 115 percent increase in resource estimates compared with September 2011 at its Kamoa copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Copper futures for March delivery rose the most in two weeks, gaining 1.5 percent to settle at $3.662 a pound in New York.

Aecon Group Inc., a Toronto-based construction company, jumped 7.3 percent to C$11.75 after Michael Tupholme, an analyst with TD Securities, raised his price target to C$16 from C$15.50 while maintaining the stock as a top pick.

“We continue to see meaningful upside potential from current levels,” he said in a note to clients today.

Rogers Communications Inc. gained 1.4 percent to C$45.44 after Phillip Huang, an analyst with UBS Securities, said he expects the telecommunications giant to boost its dividend by 10 percent and renew a share buyback program on Feb. 15.

Sun Life added 1.1 percent to C$28.24. Canada’s third- largest insurer partnered with Khazanah Nasional Bhd., Malaysia’s state investment fund, to purchase 98 percent of Aviva Plc and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.’s Malaysian insurance joint venture for 1.8 billion Malaysian ringgit ($600 million).

The deal is part of the company’s strategy to grow its business in Asia, said Kevin Strain, president of Sun Life’s Asian operations.

H&R REIT slipped 2.1 percent to C$23.28. It offered about C$27.33 in cash and stock for Primaris, the Canadian shopping mall owner that was the target of a hostile bid from an investor group led by KingSett Capital Inc. Primaris increased 0.3 percent to C$26.58.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Rita Nazareth

Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) — Stocks rose for a third day and commodities rallied as a jump in U.S. housing starts and drop in jobless claims fueled optimism in the world’s largest economy.

The yen slid to the lowest since 2010 versus the dollar.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.7 percent to 1,482.96 at 4 p.m. in New York, capping the longest rally in a month. Oil surged 1.3 percent to a four-month high of $95.49 a barrel to pace gains in commodities. The yen slid as much as 1.9 percent as Japan’s economy minister said the currency has more room to decline. The euro strengthened against all 16 major peers while the Swiss franc slid to the weakest level since the central bank introduced a currency cap in 2011. Yields on 10- year Treasuries rose five basis points to 1.87 percent.

Stocks jumped as applications for jobless benefits fell in the week ended Jan. 12 to the lowest level in five years, and housing starts climbed 12.1 percent last month, government data showed. Economy Minister Akira Amari said the yen is still in the process of correcting from excessive gains and that his remarks earlier this week on yen weakness were misinterpreted.

“We’re getting signs that both housing and the labor market are improving,” said Paul Zemsky, the New York-based head of asset allocation for ING Investment Management, which oversees $170 billion. “Housing, in particular, is a huge number. It’s positive for the economy, it’s positive for earnings and for the stock market.”

Intel Corp., Walt Disney Co. and Home Depot Inc. paced gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which climbed above its highest close since 2007 during the day before paring gains.

PulteGroup Inc. led an S&P gauge of homebuilders to the highest level since 2007.

U.S. housing starts climbed to a 954,000 annual rate, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists and the most since June 2008, the Commerce Department reported today. Jobless claims decreased by 37,000 to 335,000 in the week ended Jan. 12, Labor Department figures showed. Economists forecast 369,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

CBS Corp. jumped 7.9 percent after saying it will convert its outdoor advertising division into a real estate investment trust and seek a buyer for the European and Asian parts of the business.

BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager, gained 4.4 percent after reporting adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $3.93 a share, compared with the $3.71 a share average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Bank of America Corp. declined 4.2 percent after reporting earnings that decreased 64 percent. Of the 52 companies that posted quarterly results so far, 71 percent topped analysts’ profit projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Almost four shares rose for every one that declined in the Stoxx 600. Carrefour SA, Delhaize Group SA and Associated British Foods Plc led gains among retailers. Carrefour, France’s biggest retailer, climbed 6.1 percent and Delhaize, the owner of Food Lion supermarkets in the U.S., rallied 10 percent as fourth-quarter revenue increased. AB Foods advanced 3.2 percent as the U.K. sugar producer that owns Primark clothing stores reported a 10 percent gain in first-quarter sales.

The yen slid more than 1.5 percent against its 16 major peers before the Bank of Japan reviews its 1 percent inflation goal at a Jan. 21-22 meeting. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for the target to be doubled as he works to spur economic growth.

BOJ and government officials reached basic agreement on a joint statement calling for a 2 percent inflation target and additional funds for purchasing assets, Nikkei reported without attribution.

The 17-nation euro gained 0.7 percent to $1.3377 as it strengthened against all 16 counterparts after Spain’s borrowing costs decreased at a 4.5 billion bond auction.

Switzerland’s franc fell as much as 1 percent to 1.2490 per euro, the weakest since May 2011. The currency declined against 15 of 16 major peers as signs Europe’s debt crisis is easing sapped demand for haven assets.

Major currencies have been roiled this week as policy makers stepped up warnings on swings in exchange rates.

Thailand’s finance minister today said the baht is “not at a good level,” while a Russian central bank official yesterday said the world is on the brink of a “currency war.” A JPMorgan index of volatility for currencies of Group of Seven nations jumped 5.9 percent to 8.9 today, the highest level since August.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.2 percent. India’s Sensex gained 0.7 percent as foreign investors added to their holdings of domestic shares for a 13th straight day. Russia’s Micex Index was little changed and Brazil’s Bovespa gauge gained 0.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.1 percent before a report on fourth-quarter growth figures tomorrow.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone!!

 

Be magnificent!

 

”One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie

 

Kindest Regards,

 

Amanda Bourke

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.

 

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8X 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5808

Fax: 778-430-5838

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

John Keats to his sister Georgiana, on this day in 1820:

George [their brother] is busy this morning in making copies of my verses.  He is making now one of an ode to the nightingale, which is like reading an account of the Black Hole at Calcutta on an iceberg. –from the Book of Days.

Photos of the day

01.16.2013

A woman walks near a merry-go-round at Rossio square in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: Rafael Marchante/Reuters

A statue’s head is seen on the Alexandre III Bridge which crosses the River Seine near the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Photo: Philippe Wojazer/Reuters

 

Market Closes for January 16th, 2013:

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	13511.23	-23.66    -0.17%
S&P 500	1472.63	+0.29    +0.02
NASDAQ	3117.544	+6.766    +0.22%
TSX	12608.82	-33.15
		-0.26%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	10671.29	+70.85
		+0.67%
HANG  SENG	23489.91	+132.92
		+0.57%
SENSEX	19817.63	-169.19
		-0.85
FTSE 100	6103.98	-13.33
		-0.22%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	1.891	1.908
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.461	2.477
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.8273	1.8325
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.0206	3.0197

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.98554	0.98454
US   $	1.01467	1.01570
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.31193	0.76224
US  $	1.33118	0.75122

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1680.20	1679.15
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	94.24	93.46
BRENT	111.90	111.45

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Leslie Picker

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the first time in seven days, led by health-care companies and commodity producers, after the World Bank cut its global growth forecast.

CML Healthcare Inc. slid 4.3 percent as the company said it will sell its diagnostic imaging business. Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. and Taseko Mines Ltd. declined at least 3 percent.

Research In Motion Ltd. rose 2 percent after the BlackBerry 10 maker said more than 1,600 businesses have registered for a training program for the new handsets and software.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index slid 33.15 points, or 0.3 percent, to 12,608.82 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has risen 1.4 percent this year. Trading volume was 9.1 percent lower than the 30-day average.

“Whenever people say global growth is a bit weaker, the knee jerk reaction is to take a little bit out of those spaces,” Michael O’Brien, who oversees $3 billion as a fund manager at TD Asset Management in Toronto, said in a phone interview. “Markets are just deciding to take a breather.”

The World Bank cut its global growth forecast for this year as austerity measures, high unemployment and low business confidence weigh on economies in developed nations. The Washington-based bank yesterday projected the world economy will expand 2.4 percent, down from a June forecast of 3 percent, after growing 2.3 percent in 2012.

CML Healthcare lost 4.3 percent to C$6.92, as the company said it held preliminary talks with prospective buyers for its diagnostic imaging business.

Mining companies declined as copper retreated to a two-week low. Labrador Iron Ore declined 3.2 percent to C$33.28. Taseko Mines, which produces copper and molybdenum, lost 4.4 percent to C$3.25 for the biggest drop in the S&P/TSX.

Copper for delivery in March lost 0.6 percent to $3.6233 a pound.

Rio Alto Mining Ltd., the developer of the La Arena copper and gold mine in Peru, surged the most since June 1 after regulators in the country approved it as an investment for domestic pension funds. Rio Alto Mining Ltd. climbed 5.5 percent to C$5.52.

RIM advanced 2 percent to C$14.55. Of the registered customers, more than 1,000 have already begun using the BlackBerry 10 Ready program since its introduction in early December, Nick Manning, a RIM spokesman, said in an e-mail.

US

By Rita Nazareth and Sarah Pringle

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) — Most U.S. stocks fell, following yesterday’s gain, as a cut in the World Bank’s growth forecasts offset a rally in Apple Inc. as investors watched earnings.

Boeing Co. slumped 3.4 percent as All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co., the world’s largest users of the 787 jets, grounded their entire fleet of Dreamliners. Custody banks Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Northern Trust Corp. dropped at least 2.7 percent. Apple, which slid below $500 a share yesterday for the first time in 11 months, rallied 4.2 percent to halt a three-day decline. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. added 4.1 percent after the bank’s profit almost tripled.

Three stocks retreated for every two rising on U.S. exchanges at 4 p.m. New York time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced less than 0.1 percent to 1,472.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 23.66 points, or 0.2 percent, to 13,511.23. About 5.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, or 8.6 percent below the three-month average.

“The cuts in growth forecasts are reminders that there’s still work to be done,” said Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis at San Francisco-based Charles Schwab Corp.

His firm has $1.92 trillion in client assets. “In the U.S., it’s early to talk about the earnings season, but so far we’re relatively pleased with what we’ve seen. We’ve had a good start to the year in stocks. There’s very little doubt that there’s quite a bit of money on the sidelines that could provide a nice boost higher.”

The World Bank cut its global growth forecast for this year as austerity measures, high unemployment and low business confidence weigh on economies in developed nations. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government cut its growth forecast for Europe’s biggest economy. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean- Claude Juncker said the strength of the euro poses a threat to the region’s economy.

The U.S. economy picked up across much of the country last month, boosted by auto and home sales, even as the outlook for unemployment showed few signs of improvement, the Federal Reserve said. Industrial production in the U.S. climbed for a second month in December as demand picked up for business equipment, showing factories expanded even as lawmakers battled over the federal budget.

Besides JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, nine other companies in the S&P 500 were scheduled to report results today. Almost 75 percent of the 39 S&P 500 companies which reported quarterly results beat analysts forecasts. Fourth-quarter profits grew 2.5 percent, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

That would be the second-slowest quarterly growth since 2009, the data show.

The S&P 500 has risen 3.3 percent so far this year, extending 2012’s 13 percent surge. Yet the benchmark gauge is trading at 14.8 times reported earnings, compared with an average of 16.5 since 1954, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“On the positive side of the ledger we’ve got at least what I consider to be undemanding valuations for stocks in general,” said Norm Conley, chief executive officer at St. Louis-based J.A. Glynn & Co, which manages about $975 million.

“We’ve got earnings season kicking off here and so far no huge bad surprise, so that is an incremental positive.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the S&P 500, lost 1 percent to 13.42. Earlier today, the gauge fell to the lowest level since 2007.

Boeing slumped 3.4 percent to $74.34. The 747 faces fresh scrutiny after the Japanese airlines grounded almost half the world’s Dreamliner fleet for at least two days following an emergency landing. All Nippon Airways pilots on a domestic flight got battery-fault warnings and saw smoke in the cockpit, the U.S. National Transportation Board said today.

The groundings added to the questions plaguing a model that was targeted for a U.S. assessment because of a Jan. 7 fire in a lithium-ion battery pack on a Japan Airlines plane in Boston.

BNY Mellon slumped 2.8 percent to $26.04 and Northern Trust dropped 5.7 percent to $49.78. Both banks have responded to near-zero interest rates by reducing staff and expenses to protect profit margins. While the banks benefited from rising stock prices, which increase fees for overseeing and managing investor money, low interest rates and slow capital-markets activity have hurt their ability to expand earnings.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. fell 5.5 percent to $280.94 after reporting preliminary fourth-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates.

Dell Inc. dropped 4.3 percent to $12.61, after rallying 21 percent over the last two days. The third-largest PC maker is discussing a leveraged buyout with private-equity firms TPG Capital and Silver Lake, a person with knowledge of the matter said this week.

Technology, which comprises the biggest group in the S&P 500, rose the most among 10 industries. Apple rose 4.2 percent to $506.09, after slumping 7.2 percent over the previous three days. The company introduced installment payment plans for buyers of iPhones and MacBook laptops in China as it struggles to compete with low-cost devices in the world’s largest computer and mobile-phone market.

Goldman Sachs rose 4.1 percent to $141.09. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein, 58, has undertaken a $1.9 billion expense-reduction effort since mid-2011 and said he expected earnings growth to resume when the economy and markets improved.

A stock-market rebound and a $500 million profit from selling a hedge fund-administration unit helped revenue recover from the lowest first half since 2005.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. gained 1 percent to $46.82. The largest U.S. bank by assets said fourth-quarter profit rose 53 percent, beating analysts’ estimates as mortgage revenue more than doubled and the lender set aside less for future losses.

Genworth Financial Inc. rallied 8.9 percent to $8.85. The insurer that named a new chief executive officer this month said it is reorganizing to separate most of the company from the mortgage-guaranty operation that saddled the firm with losses.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. rose 5.7 percent to $8.91.

Sturm Ruger & Co. added 5 percent to $50.38. President Barack Obama proposed the most ambitious set of gun control proposals in decades, calling for a renewal of a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and setting out 23 executive actions he’ll take such as ordering agencies to share data for background checks and addressing mental health issues.

“These proposals were widely expected to occur today,” said Rommel Dionisio, analyst at Wedbush Securities based in New York.

Constellation Brands Inc. added 6.2 percent to $38.65 after being rated buy in new coverage at Buckingham Research by equity analyst Alice Longley.

The Dow is better positioned to set a record now that its transportation-stock counterpart has done so, according to Richard Moroney, editor of the Dow Theory Forecasts newsletter.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average has led the Dow industrials throughout the rally which started in March 2009. Yesterday the Dow transports closed at 5,639.64, an all-time high. The average had climbed 6.3 percent for the year, its best performance through Jan. 15 since 1987.

“It’s a legitimate move,” Moroney, who serves as the chief investment officer at Horizon Investment Services LLC as well as the newsletter’s editor, said yesterday in a telephone interview. “I take it as a positive.”

All 20 companies in the Dow transports had gains for the year as of yesterday. Delta Air Lines Inc., the world’s second- largest airline, set the pace by rising 15 percent. Most beat the Dow industrials’ 3.3 percent advance for 2013 as well.

Fourth-quarter earnings reports will largely determine whether the industrials reach a record any time soon, according to Moroney. The average would have to advance 4.7 percent to surpass its peak of 14,164.53 in October 2007. It’s 0.6 percent away from beating last year’s high.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

Whenever I see an erring man, I say to myself I have also erred;

when I see a lustful man I say to myself, so was I once;

and in this way I feel kinship with everyone in the world

and feel that I cannot be happy without the humblest of us being happy.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

For every minute you are angry you lose

sixty seconds of happiness.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP, CIM, FCSI

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:

Birthday:  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., January 15, 1929.

In 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, a black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.  She had defied segregation, which required blacks to sit in the rear of southern buses, and she was fined $14.  The incident led to a boycott of the city’s buses, and Marin Luther King, Jr., a minister who was born on this day in 1929, was chosen to lead it.  A year later the city’s buses were integrated.  King subsequently organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to promote civil rights and in 1964 won the Nobel Peace Prize.  By the age of 39, when he was assassinated, he had inspired millions to share his dream of equality.

Personally, I draw more inspiration from Rosa Parks, as I am sure many do….however, as you all know, this quote is on my bulletin board behind my desk:

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. –Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968.

Photos of the day, 01.15.13

Icicles hang from a grove of orange trees in Redlands, Calif. A cold snap that has California farmers struggling to protect a $1.5 billion citrus crop has slowly started to ease, though frigid temperatures were still the norm Tuesday morning throughout the state and across other parts of the West.

Photo: Jae C. Hong/AP

Children enjoy the snow at the river Rhine bank in Duisburg, Germany. Snow and cold temperatures below zero caused traffic problems in the morning rush hours all over Germany.

Photo: Frank Augstein/AP

 

Market Closes for January 15th, 2013:

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	13534.89	+27.57    +0.20%
S&P 500	1472.34	+1.66    +0.11
NASDAQ	3110.778	-6.725    -0.22%
TSX	12641.97	+38.88
		+0.31%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	10879.08	+77.51
		+0.72%
HANG  SENG	23381.51	-31.75
		-0.14%
SENSEX	19986.82	+80.41
		+0.40
FTSE 100	6117.31	+9.45
		+0.15%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	1.908	1.940
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.477	2.505
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.8325	1.8448
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.0197	3.0313

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.98454	0.98378
US   $	1.01570	1.01649
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.30911	0.76388
US  $	1.32966	0.75207

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1679.15	1667.35
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	93.46	94.14
BRENT	111.45	112.64

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam and Leslie Picker

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a sixth day, the longest stretch since November, as gold producers advanced as the price of the metal increased amid concerns about U.S. debt ceiling discussions.

Centerra Gold Inc. climbed 6.6 percent after its gold production forecast was almost double from last year. Barrick Gold Corp. and Goldcorp Inc. added at least 1 percent as gold rose for a second day. Manulife Financial Corp. lost 1.4 percent after Bank of Montreal analysts lowered their rating on the stock. Lululemon Athletica Inc., the Canadian yoga-wear retailer, sank 4.1 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange after forecasting fourth-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 38.88 points, or 0.3 percent, to 12,641.97 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark gauge has gained 1.7 percent this year. Trading volume was 6.5 percent higher than the 30-day average at this time of the day.

“The one thing that’s holding up the TSX Index today is material stocks, in particular the gold sector,” Youssef Zohny, a fund manager with Stenner Investment Partners of Richardson GMP Ltd., said on the phone from Vancouver. Richardson GMP manages about C$16 billion ($16.3 billion). “We’re seeing Republicans and Democrats start to dig in with their upcoming debt ceiling fights in February and March and that’s helping gold prices today.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner warned yesterday of severe economic hardship should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling that lawmakers have increased or revised 79 times since 1960, including 49 times under Republican presidents. President Barack Obama vowed he won’t negotiate over raising the government’s debt ceiling.

Centerra Gold Inc. rallied 6.6 percent to C$10. The company said 2013 gold production will be between 605,000 and 660,000 ounces, almost double its 2012 gold production of 387,076 ounces.

Barrick, the world’s largest producer of gold, gained 1.1 percent to C$34.03 and Goldcorp, the second-largest, rose 1.1 percent to C$36.83.

Gold for February delivery advanced 0.9 percent to $1,683.90 an ounce in New York. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday that while the economy is responding to monetary stimulus “there is still quite a ways to go.”

Manulife, Canada’s largest insurer, fell 1.4 percent to C$14.12. Tom Mackinnon, analyst with BMO Capital Markets, cut his rating for Manulife to market perform from outperform due to valuation after a 20 percent rally in the past two months.

The shares trade at 25.1 times reported earnings, more than twice the multiple for a group of financials in the S&P/TSX, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Lululemon slumped 4.1 percent to C$68.24 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company, which has posted double-digit gains in same-store sales for 13 straight quarters, yesterday said it expects a high single-digit increase.

Revenue for the quarter will be at the “high end” of its original forecast of $475 million to $480 million, the company said. Analysts projected $489 million, according to the average of 22 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Celestica Inc., an electronic components manufacturer, dropped 1.6 percent to C$8.17. Gus Papageorgiou, an analyst with Bank of Nova Scotia, cut his recommendation on the stock to sector perform from sector outperform, citing its valuation relative to peers. The stock is up 23 percent since touching a three-year low in October.

US

By Rita Nazareth and Sarah Pringle

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, rebounding from earlier losses in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as a rally in retail and transportation companies overshadowed concern about discussions on raising the debt ceiling.

Consumer discretionary companies led the gains in the S&P 500 as data showed retail sales rose more than forecast in December. Dell Inc. rallied 7.2 percent, following yesterday’s 13 percent surge, as the computer maker is said to be in buyout talks. Apple Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. dropped at least 2.4 percent to pace losses in technology shares. Facebook Inc. retreated 2.7 percent after the company introduced a tool for searching information posted to its social network.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 1,472.34 at 4 p.m. New York time, after falling as much as 0.5 percent earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 27.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to 13,534.89. The Dow Jones Transportation Average gained 0.7 percent to a record 5,639.64. About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, or 5.7 percent below the three-month average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The retail data is good news for economic expansion,” said Peter Jankovskis, who helps oversee $3 billion of assets as co-chief investment officer at Lisle, Illinois-based Oakbrook Investments LLC. He spoke in a telephone interview. “It’s encouraging. We have the earnings season going on, people are on wait-and-see mode. In addition, there’s a lot of rhetoric on the debt-ceiling front. Though it’s probably a bit early to start getting concerned about that.”

Retail sales rose more than forecast in December to end 2012 on a positive note, indicating Americans may be able to rise above Washington’s budget rancor to keep contributing to economic growth. Manufacturing in the New York region contracted in January for the sixth straight month as the industry continued to face the effects of fiscal uncertainty in the U.S. and lackluster demand overseas.

With as little as a month until the U.S. runs out of money to pay its bills, President Barack Obama warned Republicans in Congress not to use the need for a debt-limit increase to force through new spending cuts. Obama insisted yesterday he won’t negotiate on raising the debt ceiling because the U.S. has no choice other than to pay for spending it has authorized. Many Republicans in Congress say a boost in borrowing authority must be linked to spending cuts.

The Treasury Department has been using emergency measures since the end of December to prevent a breach of the $16.4 trillion debt limit. In a letter yesterday to House Speaker John Boehner, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the department expects to exhaust those measures “between mid-February and early March.”

Since 1960, Congress has raised or revised the limit 79 times, including 49 times under Republican presidents, according to the Treasury Department. A failure of U.S. lawmakers to raise the nation’s debt ceiling would prompt a “formal review” of its credit rating, Fitch Ratings said in a press release today.

“The debt-ceiling concern means more uncertainty in play,” Tom Wirth, who helps manage $1.6 billion as senior investment officer for Chemung Canal Trust Co., in Elmira, New York, said in a phone interview. “Obama can’t say he won’t negotiate because he has no choice. He’s not Congress. It’s not good for the economy to have a government shutdown. It just feels like August 2011. The Congress is going to take us to the brink once again.”

Investors also watched earnings reports. Almost 80 percent of the 30 S&P 500 companies which reported quarterly results beat analysts forecasts. Fourth-quarter profits at S&P 500 companies grew 2.5 percent, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would be the second-slowest quarterly growth since 2009, the data show.

Today’s rally in the Dow Jones Transportation Average extended this year’s advance to 6.3 percent, compared with a 3.2 percent gain in the S&P 500. The index rose 5.7 percent last year, underperforming the S&P 500.

“The transportation sector lagged the general market last year,” Richard Weiss, who oversees $16 billion as a senior portfolio manager at American Century Investments in Mountain View, California, said in a phone interview. “It’s catching up in 2013 pretty significantly. We’re relatively optimistic on the consumer and the economy. I don’t think that anybody is arguing at this point that the consumer and the housing sector are on the mend. That’s a major driver to the U.S. and the global economy.”

Retailers had the second-best performance among 24 industries in the S&P 500. Limited Brands Inc. rose 2 percent to $46.43, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. added 2.8 percent to $50.20, and J.C. Penney Co. climbed 3.4 percent to $18.71.

Dell rallied 7.2 percent to $13.17. The third-largest personal-computer maker is discussing a leveraged buyout with private-equity firms TPG Capital and Silver Lake, a person with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Its stock has lost 43 percent in the past five years, compared with a 3.8 percent gain by the S&P 500.

Express Inc. rallied 24 percent, the most since its initial public offering in May 2010, to $17.40. The retail apparel chain raised its outlook for the fourth quarter and full year 2012.

Three out of 10 groups in the S&P 500 retreated as phone and technology shares had the biggest losses. Apple, the world’s most valuable company lost 3.2 percent to $485.92. HP dropped 2.5 percent to $16.53. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the S&P 500, rose 0.2 percent to 13.55. The gauge ended last week at the lowest level since 2007.

Facebook fell 2.7 percent to $30.10. The Graph Search, which lets users seek people, photos and places, doesn’t look for Web-based content, Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said at the company’s Menlo Park, California, headquarters. While Zuckerberg said the new feature could be a “business” in the future, he didn’t outline how it will make money soon.

Zuckerberg is adding services to step up revenue growth and shake off the concerns that the company doesn’t know how to make money from its user base. While Facebook has rebounded from a record intraday low of $17.55 on Sept. 4, the company is still in the early stages of generating revenue from ads placed on mobile devices.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. slid 3.9 percent to $69.47 after the Canadian yoga-wear retailer forecast fourth-quarter sales that trailed analysts’ estimates.

U.S. companies from Intel Corp. to General Electric Co. are caught in an earnings slump that shows few signs of improving until midyear as a weak global economy and gridlock in Congress weigh on profits.

Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor maker, is poised to report its biggest quarterly earnings drop in 3 1/2 years this week, based on analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

GE, the maker of jet engines and electrical generation equipment, may post its slowest profit growth in three quarters.

The results would contribute to a predicted 2.5 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings for the S&P 500, the second- worst showing since 2009. Without a bump from financial companies that have cut jobs, the gain would be lower at 0.4 percent. A pickup may start in the second quarter, when analysts foresee earnings rising 8.2 percent from improving employment and housing and more clarity on government spending.

“Many companies slowed down their capital spending until they saw what was going to happen with the fiscal cliff,” said Stanley Nabi, who helps manage more than $11 billion as vice chairman of Silvercrest Asset Management Group in New York. “As employment increases, more people are earning income and spending. This supports the economy. We’ll have higher profits because we’re going to have higher revenue.”

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

Where we suffer we have made it into a personal affair.

We shut out all the suffering of mankind.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We accept the love we think we deserve.

-Stephen Chbosky, 1972-

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1952, the Yankee Clipper Joe Dimaggio and actress Marilyn Monroe were married in a ceremony that took place in San Francisco at City Hall. –Steve Russolillo, WSJ.

And also on this day in…

1784 – The end of the American Revolution.

1869 – Philosopher Albert Schweitzer was born. You must give some time to your fellow men.  Even if it’s a little thing, do something for others – something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. –Albert Schweitzer

1970 – Diana Ross and the Supremes performed their last concert together, at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.

1993 – Late-night TV talk show host David Letterman announced he was moving from NBC to CBS.

1994 – President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed accords in Moscow to stop aiming missiles at any nation and to dismantle the nuclear arsenal of Ukraine.

2004 – Former Enron finance chief Andrew Fastow pleaded guilty to conspiracy as he accepted a 10-year prison sentence.

2004 – J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. struck a deal to buy Bank One Corp. for $58 billion.

2004 – President George W. Bush unveiled a plan to send astronauts to the moon, Mars and beyond.

2005 – Army Specialist Charles Graner Jr., the reputed ringleader of a band of rogue guards at the Abu Ghraib prison, was convicted at Fort Hood, Texas, of abusing Iraqi detainees. (He was later sentenced to 10 years in prison.)

2008 – Republican Bobby Jindal, the first elected Indian-American governor in the United States, took office in Louisiana.

Success is not so much what we have, as it is what we are.  Jim Rohn

photos of the day

January 14th, 2013

The crescent moon is seen behind an ice sculpture during ice and snow sculptures festival at the ‘Eight Lakes’ Park-Resort outside Almaty, Kazakhstan. Photo: Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters

A Japanese woman in a kimono attends a ceremony celebrating Coming of Age Day in heavy snowfall at Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo. Youths across Japan are honored with special coming-of-age ceremonies when they reach the age of 20. Photo: Yuya Shino/Reuters

Market Closes for January 14th, 2013:

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	13507.32	+18.89    +0.14%
S&P 500	1470.68	-1.37    -0.09
NASDAQ	3117.503	-8.132    -0.26%
TSX	12603.09	+0.91
		+0.01%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	10801.57	+148.93
		+1.40%
HANG  SENG	23413.26	+149.19
		+0.64%
SENSEX	19906.41	+242.77
		+1.23
FTSE 100	6107.86	-13.72
		-0.22%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	1.940	1.941
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.505	2.506
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.8448	1.8677
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.0313	3.0479

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.98378	0.98515
US   $	1.01649	1.01507
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.31617	0.75978
US  $	1.33787	0.74746

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1667.35	1662.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	94.14	93.56
BRENT	112.64	111.84

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fifth day, the longest streak since November, as a rally in acquisition targets Aurizon Mines Ltd. and Uranium One Inc. offset declines in energy shares.

Aurizon Mines soared 33 percent as Alamos Gold Inc. offered C$780 million ($793 million) for the company. Alamos sank 12 percent. Uranium One jumped 15 percent as Russian state-owned JSC Atomredmetzoloto planned to buy the rest of the company it doesn’t already own for C$1.3 billion. Research In Motion Ltd. surged 10 percent amid signs that demand for rival Apple Inc.’s iPhone 5 is slipping. Tahoe Resources Inc. slid 6.9 percent after an attack at its silver mine in Guatemala.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 0.91 point, or less than 0.1 percent, to 12,603.09 in Toronto. The benchmark gauge has gained 1.4 percent this year. Trading volume was 43 percent higher than the 30-day average.

“It’s a bit of a quiet start to the week; some of it is nervousness after the strong start to the year,” Greg Taylor, fund manager with Aurion Capital Management, said on the phone from Toronto. His firm manages about C$8 billion. “The Alamos- Aurizon deal has people scratching their heads as there aren’t a lot of synergies. It seems RIM goes up when Apple goes down, and it probably isn’t any more complicated than that.”

RIM climbed 10 percent to C$14.70 as technology companies paced gains in the S&P/TSX. RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is set to debut its BlackBerry 10 line of smartphones on Jan. 30.

A report in Japan’s Nikkei newspaper today said Apple has reduced its orders for iPhone 5 screens this quarter by about half from its original target of 65 million displays. Apple fell 3.6 percent to $501.75 in New York.

Aurizon Mines jumped 33 percent to C$4.55, its biggest gain since May 2006. Alamos Gold, a gold producer in Mexico, offered to buy the company for either C$4.65 or 0.2801 of an Alamos share for each Aurizon share. If successful, the bid would give Alamos Gold access to projects in the Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec.

Alamos, which already owns a 16 percent stake in Aurizon, plunged 12 percent to C$14.90, the biggest loss since January 2009.

Uranium One soared 15 percent to C$2.77, its highest close since May. Russia’s ARMZ together with other units owns 51.4 percent of Uranium One. The C$1.3 billion offer is a 32 percent premium to the company’s 20-day weighted average price in Toronto, the company said.

Harry Winston Diamond Corp. gained 4.4 percent to C$14.90, paring earlier gains of as much as 12 percent after agreeing to sell its watch and jewelry unit to Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group AG for about $1 billion.

Robert A. Gannicott, chief executive officer of the diamond miner, said in an interview that the company also is interested in acquiring Rio Tinto Group’s 60 percent stake in the Diavik mine in the Northwest Territories. Harry Winston owns 40 percent.

Tahoe Resources sank 6.9 percent to C$16.96 after the company said two security guards were killed in an ambush at its Escobal silver mine in Guatemala on Jan. 12. The attack was one of three against mining entities in Guatemala this week, Tahoe said.

Talisman Energy Inc. lost 2.6 percent to C$11.78. Talisman slumped after the stock was cut to market perform from outperform at Raymond James Financial Inc.

Encana Corp., Canada’s largest natural gas producer, slipped 2.3 percent to C$19.05 after Chief Executive Officer Randall Eresman resigned on Jan. 11. Eresman will serve as an adviser until Feb. 28. Clayton Woitas, a member of the board, will fill in as chief executive until a successor is found.

US

By Rita Nazareth and Sarah Pringle

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined from near a five-year high as Apple Inc.’s slump amid concern about iPhone sales offset a rally in Dell Inc.

Apple, the most valuable company, sank 3.6 percent on reports it curbed iPhone production on weak demand. Sprint Nextel Corp. dropped 3.9 percent after the wireless carrier was cut at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dell surged 13 percent as two people with knowledge of the matter said the company is in buyout talks with private-equity firms. Hewlett Packard Co. rose 4.9 percent as market researcher Gartner Inc. said it retook the spot as the top personal-computer maker from Lenovo Group Ltd.

The S&P 500 retreated 0.1 percent to 1,470.68 at 4 p.m. New York time. The benchmark gauge for U.S. equities trimmed a decline of as much as 0.4 percent amid Dell’s rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 18.89 points, or 0.1 percent, to 13,507.32. About 5.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, or 8.1 percent below the three-month average.

“As Apple goes, so goes the market,” Frank Ingarra, who helps manage $1.4 billion at Greenwich, Connecticut-based NorthCoast Asset Management LLC, said in a phone interview.

“The problem you run into is that eventually they run out of people to sell stuff to. There’s just not enough people in the world to keep buying all these Apple products. It makes sense that it’s pulling back, and it makes sense that its effecting the market because it’s such a large weight.”

Almost 80 percent of the 28 S&P 500 companies which reported quarterly results beat analysts forecasts. Fourth- quarter profits at S&P 500 companies grew 2.5 percent, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would be the second-slowest quarterly growth since 2009, the data show.

Consumer staples and industrial shares in the S&P 500 rose today while phone and technology companies slumped. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the S&P 500, rose 1.2 percent to 13.52. The gauge ended last week at the lowest level since 2007.

Apple sank 3.6 percent to $501.75. The Cupertino, California-based company reduced its original target to order 65 million iPhone 5 displays this quarter by about half, Nikkei said, citing an unidentified senior executive at a component maker it didn’t name. IPhone sales are slowing because smartphones have saturated developed markets, where Apple is strongest, said James Cordwell, an analyst at Atlantic Equities Service in London.

Research In Motion Ltd. added 10 percent to $14.95. The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone jumped amid signs that demand for rival Apple’s market-leading iPhone is ebbing.

Sprint Nextel slid 3.9 percent to $5.69. The company was downgraded to neutral from overweight at JPMorgan by equity analyst Philip Cusick. The 12-month share-price estimate is $6.

Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. slid 1.1 percent to $59.15. The television home of Paula Deen’s mashed potatoes was cut to hold from buy at Deutsche Bank AG by equity analyst Douglas Mitchelson. The 12-month share-price estimate is $65.

H&R Block Inc. slumped 2.9 percent to $19.41. The biggest U.S. tax preparer was cut to underweight from equalweight at Morgan Stanley.

International Business Machines Corp. dropped 0.9 percent to $192.62. The company was downgraded to neutral from overweight at JPMorgan by equity analyst Mark Moskowitz. The 12- month share-price estimate is $197.

SunPower Corp. slid 6 percent to $7.70. The solar-panel company majority-owned by Total SA fell after an announcement of higher-than-anticipated restructuring costs and a downgrade by Credit Agricole Securities.

Dell surged 13 percent, the most since October 2008, to $12.29. Round Rock, Texas-based Dell is discussing going private with at least two firms, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. The discussions are preliminary and could fall apart because the firms may not be able to line up the needed financing or resolve how to exit the investment in the future, the people said.

“There’s nothing like a good rumor to get the market going in the absence of macro news,” Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at the private-banking unit of KeyCorp in Cleveland, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees $20 billion.

“We’ve had a pretty decent 2012 in stocks and a good start to this year and people are watching the earnings season.”

Hewlett Packard added 4.9 percent to $16.95. While Lenovo’s sales growth of 8.2 percent from a year earlier was the fastest of the top five computer makers, Hewlett Packard’s dominance in professional PCs helped it retake the lead from Lenovo, market researcher Gartner said in a report today. Hewlett-Packard shipped 16.2 percent of PCs last quarter compared with 15.5 percent a year earlier.

Cisco Systems Inc. gained 2.4 percent to $20.97. The biggest maker of computer networking equipment was raised to outperform at both Robert W. Baird & Co. and William Blair & Co.

Sears Holdings Corp. rose 8.9 percent to $44.60 after Chairman Edward Lampert disclosed that he increased his stake in the retailer last week after being named chief executive officer.

Harry Winston Diamond Corp. jumped 4.3 percent to $15.08, the highest level since April. Swatch Group AG, the biggest maker of Swiss timepieces, agreed to buy the Harry Winston watch and jewelry unit for about $1 billion, adding a luxury label in its biggest acquisition.

Herbalife Ltd. rose 10 percent to $44.08. The shares rallied to the highest price since before hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman called the nutrition company a pyramid scheme and announced he had taken a short position in the shares.

United Parcel Service Inc. climbed 1.7 percent to $79.24.

The company said it scrapped a 5.16 billion-euro ($6.9 billion) bid for TNT Express NV after European regulators moved to block the deal. Separately, the stock was raised to market perform from underperform at Avondale Partners LLC.

Starz Class A stock gained 9.8 percent to $15.59. The rival to HBO and Showtime in the premium-cable channel market rose on its first day of trading after being broken off from Liberty Media Corp. in a spinoff. Shares of the Englewood, Colorado- based company traded under the ticker STRZA on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Volatility will deter investors from moving into stocks from bonds in 2013 even as dividend returns exceed fixed-income yields, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s U.S. equity strategist.

“It’s the drawdown risk that is inhibiting investors from reducing bond holdings and increasing equity holdings,” David Kostin said at a presentation in London today. “You need to have more stable markets. I do not anticipate flows into equities from bonds. It should happen; it won’t happen this year.”

The forecast is at odds with Goldman Sachs Asset Management Chairman Jim O’Neill’s comment this year that funds may see a “great rotation” into equities. Investor deposits into global equity mutual funds in the first week of January were higher than any other period except one, a sign they may be returning to stocks after withdrawing cash for the past six years, according to data from EPFR Global.

The S&P 500 ended last year with a dividend yield that was 56 basis points, or 0.56 percentage points, higher than the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury, according to Bloomberg data. The spread reached a record weekly high of 1.16 percentage points in 2009 in favor of equities.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

Nonviolence is the summit of bravery.

-Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Knowledge is a comfortable and necessary retreat

and shelter for us in advanced age, and if we do not

plant it while young, it will give us no shade

when we grow old.

-Lord Chesterfield, 1694-1773

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP, CIM, FCSI

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

 

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1863, the London Underground opened.  John Allemang writes in the Globe & Mail today:

“Lord Palmerston, the 79-year old prime minister, skipped the VIP preview the day before – at his age, he said, he preferred to stay above ground as long as he could.  The private-sector backers of the seven-stop Metropolitan Railway had reason to fear they would have trouble luring travelers into London’s murky depths, described by the skeptical Times newspaper as ‘foul subsoil’ that was ‘beyond the reach of light or life.’  But 30,000 people rode the world’s first urban subway line on opening day, reassured by the gas-lamps on the wooden carriages that made subterranean travel a rational, everyday experience.  However, pollution from coal-fired steam locomotives was hellish in the unventilated tunnels – electrification was decades away.  But in a Victorian boomtown choked with horse-drawn traffic, underground travel turned out to be an irresistible idea, progress at its most basic.”

Look at the first picture below…

I personally loved riding the subway, the Metro as it is called in Montreal, into school every day when I was a girl; you could read a book or chat with the person next to you or just daydream away.

And also on this day in…

1878 – Women’s Suffrage Amendment was introduced.

1920 – the League of Nations was founded.

1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the moon and receiving the reflected signals.

1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea killing 35 people.

1962 – Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle. It became better known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission.

1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.

1981 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments.

1984 – The United States and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations after 117 years.

1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.

1990 – Time Warner is formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications.

1999 – Sanjeev Nanda kills three policemen in New Delhi, India with his car, an act for which he was later acquitted, resulting in a sharp drop in public confidence in the Indian legal system.

Patience and passage of time do more than strength and fury. –Jean de la Fontaine, 1621-95.

photos of the day

January 10th, 2013

Passengers arrive at Canary Wharf underground station in London. Britain’s capital began year-long celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the world’s oldest underground passenger railway with reams of newsprint and plans for exhibitions, books, poetry, and a commemorative steam train ride.

Photo: Olivia Harris/Reuters

Volunteers and employees of Selfridges department store on Oxford Street in London, pose for the media in ‘The Silence Room,’ a space they unveiled for shoppers to quietly relax in. The Silence Room, where shoes are to be left outside and mobile phones not to be used, is part of a campaign by the store to integrate shopping with meditation to encourage people to be more considered and mindful in their everyday life.

Photo: Matt Dunham/AP

Market Closes for January 10th, 2013:

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	13471.22	+80.71    +0.60%
S&P 500	1472.12	+11.10    +0.76%
NASDAQ	3121.759	+15.947    +0.51%
TSX	12599.74	+77.50
		+0.62%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	10652.64	+74.07
		+0.70%
HANG  SENG	23354.31	+135.84
		+0.59%
SENSEX	19663.55	-3.04
		-0.02%
FTSE 100	6101.51	+2.86
		+0.05%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	1.956	1.907
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.517	2.475
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.8958	1.8639
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.0796	3.0662

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.98295	0.98785
US   $	1.01735	1.01230
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.30456	0.76654
US  $	1.32720	0.75347

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1674.65	1655.85
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	93.82	93.10
BRENT	113.09	112.96

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a third day as resource companies advanced after China’s exports jumped more than forecast last month.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. added at least 0.9 percent as crude rose to a three-month high.

Yamana Gold Inc. gained 5.8 percent as gold rose the most in two months. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. added 2.2 percent after Leucadia National Corp., the top shareholder of Inmet Mining Corp., said it plans to tender its shares to First Quantum’s hostile C$5.1 billion ($5.2 billion) bid for the copper mining company.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 77.5 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,599.74 in Toronto. The benchmark gauge has gained 1.3 percent this year.

“The market today is moving primarily on the Chinese data, so gold is up and crude is up which is very good for the Canadian market,” said John Kinsey, fund manager with Caldwell Securities Ltd. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$1 billion.

“Those are the two areas that have been dragging.” Materials and energy stocks fell the most among 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge in 2012, slumping 6.9 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.

Overseas shipments increased 14.1 percent in November from a year earlier, the most since May, China customs administration data showed today, compared with the 5 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 40 economists.

Raw-materials and energy stocks contributed the most to gains in the S&P/TSX today as nine of 10 industries advanced.

Trading volume was 15 percent higher than the 30-day average at this time of the day.

The S&P/TSX Gold subindex rallied 2.5 percent, the most in more than a week, as 25 of 31 members advanced.

Yamana climbed 5.8 percent to C$17.26 and Eldorado Gold Corp. advanced 3.8 percent to C$12.67 as gold futures for February delivery gained 1.4 percent to settle at $1,678 an ounce in New York, the biggest jump for a most-active contract since Nov. 6.

Colossus Minerals Inc. increased 4.1 percent to C$4.87. The company reported drill results that included high-grade gold values near the surface in the Elefante area in Brazil.

First Quantum added 2.2 percent to C$21.05. Leucadia, which owns about 16 percent of Inmet, said it will tender its shares into First Quantum’s C$72-a-share hostile offer unless a better deal emerges.

Suncor gained 0.9 percent to C$33.58 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. added 1.8 percent to C$29.69. Crude for February delivery increased 0.8 percent to $93.82 a barrel in New York, the highest settlement since Sept. 18.

Karnalyte Resources Inc., a potash mining company based in Okotoks, Alberta, jumped 6.1 percent to C$8.49 after announcing Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. will buy a 20 percent stake in the company for C$45 million.

The publicly-traded Indian agribusiness company has also agreed to a 20-year deal for potash from Karnalyte’s Wynyard project in Saskatchewan.

US

By Rita Nazareth and Sarah Pringle

Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the highest level in five years, amid better-than-estimated data on Chinese exports.

Financial shares had the biggest gain in the S&P 500 among 10 industry groups as Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley rallied at least 3 percent. Ford Motor Co. climbed 2.7 percent after boosting its dividend. Supervalu Inc. rose 14 percent as a Cerberus Capital Management LP-led investor group agreed to buy five of its chains in a deal valued at about $3.3 billion.

Tiffany & Co. slumped 4.5 percent as the jewelry retailer said full-year earnings will be at the low end of its forecast.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.8 percent to 1,472.12 at 4 p.m. New York time, the highest level since December 2007. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 80.71 points, or 0.6 percent, to 13,471.22. About 6.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, or 9.9 percent above the three-month average.

“The market is encouraged by evidence of healing on the international front,” said Alan Gayle, senior strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management in Richmond, Virginia, which oversees about $47 billion. “In the U.S., the earnings season is just getting started and there’s a lot of things that we don’t know. Investors will still be on that wait-and-see mode.”

Equities followed global shares higher as China’s overseas sales rose 14.1 percent in December from a year earlier, almost triple the 5 percent gain predicted. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the euro-area economy will slowly return to health in 2013 as the region’s bond markets stabilize after three years of turmoil. More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week.

Investors also watched corporate results. Fourth-quarter profits at S&P 500 companies grew 2.9 percent, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would be the second-slowest quarterly growth since 2009, the data show.

All 10 groups in the S&P 500 rose today as financial and energy shares had the biggest gains. The KBW Bank Index of 24 stocks added 1.3 percent. Bank of America rallied 3.1 percent to $11.78, after tumbling 5.6 percent over the previous three days.

Morgan Stanley rose 3.7 percent to $20.34.

Wall Street banks such as Morgan Stanley will benefit more from shareholders demanding reforms than regulators imposing new rules, CLSA Ltd.’s Mike Mayo said.

Activist investors including Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management LP and Dan Loeb’s Third Point LLC will have more success in changing the biggest U.S. banks by holding managements’ “feet to the fire,” Mayo said today in a Bloomberg Television interview with Betty Liu.

“We need more Dan Loebs than we need regulators,” Mayo said. “We need more shareholders to step up to the plate.”

Ford jumped 2.7 percent to $13.83. The second-largest U.S. automaker doubled its dividend to 10 cents per share after record profit margins boosted its cash. Ford, which resumed paying a dividend last year after a five-year hiatus, cited its strengthening business as the reason for boosting the payout.

Supervalu climbed 14 percent to $3.47. A Cerberus-led investor group agreed to acquire Supervalu’s Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Star Market grocery stores. Cerberus also will lead a group to conduct a tender offer to buy as much as 30 percent of Supervalu’s common stock for $4 a share in cash, the companies said today in a statement.

DirecTV jumped 1.1 percent to $52.44. The company is planning to raise $750 million with bonds that may fund share repurchases at the largest U.S. satellite-TV operator, whose stock trades cheaper relative to earnings than its average U.S. competitor.

News Corp. gained 2.2 percent to $26.97. The media company run by billionaire Rupert Murdoch was raised to outperform from market perform at Sanford C Bernstein & Co.

Altria Group Inc. rose 2.5 percent to $32.70. The largest seller of tobacco in the U.S. was raised to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus Corp. by equity analyst Christopher Growe. The 12-month share-price estimate is $36.

Legg Mason Inc. rallied 3.2 percent to $26.84. The money manager searching for a new chief executive officer rose after Reuters said today that two large private-equity investors showed interest in financing a buyout led by the Baltimore-based firm’s largest affiliates. Legg Mason’s board has refused to engage in discussions about a sale, said Reuters, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter.

Tiffany slumped 4.5 percent to $60.40. High-income consumers’ confidence waned in the U.S. as the prospect of higher taxes approached, David Schick, an analyst at Stifel Financial Corp., who recommends holding the shares, wrote in a Jan. 7 note.

Orbitz Worldwide Inc. dropped 10 percent to $2.98.  The resignation of Chief Financial Officer Mitch Marcus amplified investor concerns about the company’s ability to expand hotel bookings.

Herbalife Ltd. slipped 1.8 percent to $39.24, reversing an earlier rally of 7.6 percent. Chief Executive Officer Michael Johnson accused hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of “gross mischaracterizations” about the nutrition company’s direct- selling model as Herbalife executives mounted a point-by-point defense for investors.

Ackman said today in a statement that Herbalife “distorted, mischaracterized, and outright ignored” major portions of a Dec. 20 presentation accusing Herbalife of using inflated pricing, misleading sales information and a complicated incentive structure to hide a pyramid scheme.

Molycorp Inc. tumbled 23 percent to $8.34. The owner of the largest rare-earth deposit outside China missed its 2012 output target and said revenue will be lower than forecast this year after the new chief executive officer changed its ramp-up schedule.

Microsoft Corp. lost 0.9 percent to $26.46. The world’s largest software maker was downgraded to equalweight from overweight at Morgan Stanley.

The two-month rally in U.S. stocks will end as the advance in the S&P 500 toward 1,500 depletes buyers, according to Tom DeMark, the creator of indicators to show turning points in securities.

The benchmark index for U.S. equities will climb to an intraday high of 1,492.73 and form a sell signal on a daily Combo indicator, which is designed to identify market tops and bottoms, said DeMark, who has spent more than 40 years developing market-timing indicators. The S&P 500 will then fall at least 5.5 percent, he said.

“This high could occur as early as tomorrow,” DeMark wrote in an e-mail. “1,492.73 is just shy of psychological 1,500 as most traders are predisposed to look at markets in terms of round numbers and will expect 1,500 to be hit. And just to confound them, expect market to trade not quite to 1,500.”

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

Nonviolence is not a cloistered virtue to be practiced

by the individual for peace and final salvation,

but it is a rule of conduct for society,

if it is to live consistently with human dignity

and make progress towards the attainment of peace

for which it has been yearning for ages past.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

We can pay our debt to the past by putting

the future in debt to ourselves.

-John Buchan, 1875-1940

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP, CIM, FCSI

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:

Looking for some great wines with great flavor for under $20.00?  Start the new year with these fresh sips!

Cline Zinfandel 2010, California – Price $15 | Score 85/100

Peppery, tobacco leaf, licorice root, cedar, resin, plum and herbal aromas. Round, fresh, warm and slightly sweet palate with light tannins. Black plum, chocolate, peppery, tobacco leaf, leather, meaty, resin flavors with a pruny finish.

Monte Nobile Nero d’Avola 2010, Sicily, Italy – Price $15 | Score 86/100

This simple Italian red is both dry and fresh with meaty, cherry, licorice and dried floral aromas. The palate is similar if slightly astringent with cherry, prune, coffee and tobacco flavors with a bit of chocolate in the finish. There is good fruit and concentration. Good value in a spaghetti red.

The Show Malbec 2011, Mendoza, Argentina – Price $19 | Score 87/100

Charles Bieler, Roger Scommegna and Joel Gott are the 3 Thieves Wine Company and The Show Malbec is a blend of high-altitude fruit from Luan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley. The ’09 is a touch better than last year with ripe sweet fruit, all aged in soft sweet American oak. There is a bit of a savory element that saves it from being too sweet. Serve this with grilled ribs or steaks to best effect.

Las Perdices Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Mendoza, Argentina – Price $17 | Score 87/100

Peppery, cassis, rooty, licorice, compost, vanilla, coffee, black olive aromas. Fresh, juicy, round, supple palate with savory, peppery, black olive, cassis, blackberry, tobacco leaf and leather flavors with a coffee, warm prune finish. A bit hot and ripe but with fine overall balance. Try this with grilled meats, meat pasta dishes and soft cheeses. Good value

My personal favorite under $20.00, would have to be Apothic Red.  This wine is priced at $15.95 and has a Ruby color. The aromas include plum, blackberry, spice notes, raspberry and vanilla.  It’s a medium body wine with layers of ripe fruit and vanilla flavors with a long finish.

Looking for something a little more pricy?? Try out Châteauneuf du Pape, another one of my personal favorites. This wine is thick, harsh, powerful and richly colored. It’s a red wine only and is elaborated with 13 authorized and controlled grape-varieties among which Syrah, Grenache and Clairette.

“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa

On this day in…

1838 – Alfred Vail demonstrated a telegraph code he had devised using dots and dashes as letters. The code was the predecessor to Samuel Morse’s code.

1853 – A bronze statue of Andrew Jackson on a horse was unveiled in Lafayette Park in Washington, DC. The statue was the work of Clark Mills.

1856 – Borax (hydrated sodium borate) was discovered by Dr. John Veatch.

1886 – The Severn Railway Tunnel, Britain’s longest, was opened.

1889 – The tabulating machine was patented by Dr. Herman Hollerith. His firm, Tabulating Machine Company, later became International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

1901 – The first tournament sanctioned by the American Bowling Congress was held in Chicago, IL.

1916 – During World War I, the final withdrawal of Allied troops from Gallipoli took place.

1918 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announced his Fourteen Points as the basis for peace upon the end of World War I.

1921 – David Lloyd George became the first prime minister tenant at Chequers Court, Buckinghamshire.

1929 – William S. Paley appeared on CBS Radio for the first time to announce that CBS had become the largest regular chain of broadcasting chains in radio history.

1955 – After 130 home basketball wins, Georgia Tech defeated Kentucky 59-58. It was the first Kentucky loss at home since January 2, 1943. 

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

Photos of the day January 8^th, 2013

An Oman fan is seen before their match against Qatar during the Gulf Cup Tournament soccer match at Isa Sports City in Isa Town, Bahrain. Photo: Mohammed Dabbous/Reuters

The San Francisco Bay Bridge is pictured in San Francisco, California on January 7, 2013, with the Golden Gate Bridge at bottom right. Photo: Noah Berger/Reuters

A snowboarder glides down a ski path at Sno Mountain on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013 in Scranton, Pa.Photo: Butch Comegys/The Scranton Times-Tribune/AP

“Give light and people will find the way.” – Ella Baker

Market Closes for January 8^th, 2013:

 

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	13328.85	-55.44    -0.41%
S&P 500	1457.15	-4.74    -0.32%
NASDAQ	3091.809	-7.005    -0.23%
TSX	12504.81	+5.26
		+0.04%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	10508.06	-90.95
		-0.86%
HANG  SENG	23111.19	-218.56
		-0.94%
SENSEX	19742.52	+51.10
		+0.26%
FTSE 100	6053.63	-10.95
		-0.18%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	1.908	1.941
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.475	2.501
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.8683	1.8974
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.0679	3.1006

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.98666	0.98592
US   $	1.01352	1.01428
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.29095	0.77463
US  $	1.30840	0.76429

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1659.20	1647.15
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	93.15	93.19
BRENT	113.26	113.04

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks erased losses in the last half hour of trading as financial shares reversed earlier declines and gold gained the most in a week.

Manulife Financial Corp. added 2.6 percent and Bank of Nova Scotia rose 0.2 percent. Goldcorp Inc. jumped 3.2 percent, while Barrick Gold Corp. retreated 1.3 percent after it said it has ended talks with China National Gold Group Corp. to sell its African unit. Sears Canada Inc. lost 3.5 percent after same- store sales fell for the nine-week period ended Dec. 29.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 5.26 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 12,504.81 in Toronto, reversing earlier losses of as much as 0.4 percent. The benchmark gauge has risen 0.6 percent this year, trailing every developed market in the world.

“We’re in a holding pattern: Everybody was waiting for the fiscal cliff, and we had a rally after that, but now there seem to be other mini-cliffs that the market is waiting for,” said Anish Chopra, managing director and fund manager with TD Asset Management Inc. in Toronto. The firm manages about C$204 billion ($206.5 billion).

The S&P/TSX rose 1.8 percent last week as a budget compromise was reached in Washington that averted most of the so-called fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax increases.

Goldcorp added 3.2 percent to C$35.81. Futures for February delivery of the metal rose 1 percent to settle at $1,662.20 an ounce on the Comex in New York amid increasing demand from China, the world’s second-biggest buyer. That was the biggest gain for a most-active contract since Dec. 31.

Materials producers and financial companies contributed most to gains in the S&P/TSX as six of 10 industries rose.

Manulife added 2.6 percent to C$14.39. Bank of Nova Scotia rose 0.2 percent to C$57.77.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. declined 1.5 percent to C$29.34 after an executive said the company needs to see higher returns and lower costs before developing its gas projects.

Suncor Energy Inc., Canada’s largest oil producer, slipped 0.3 percent to C$33.14 and Encana Corp. declined 1.9 percent to C$19.55.

Barrick decreased 1.3 percent to C$33.14 after cutting off sale talks with China National for its African unit, African Barrick Gold Plc. African Barrick was spun off by Barrick in March 2010 and has since struggled to meet production targets amid operational setbacks.

Sears Canada dropped 3.5 percent to C$9.70 after its parent, Sears Holdings Corp., said the Canadian unit’s same- store sales during the nine-week holiday shopping period slid 5.8 percent.

Fourth-quarter earnings before certain items including taxes and interest is expected to be about half of the year-ago result for the Canadian unit, Sears said in a statement. It cited a decline in electronics sales as well as unseasonably warm temperatures in most parts of Canada.

US

By Rich Miller and William Selway

Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) — State and local governments are in their best financial shape since the recession, giving them leeway to cushion the U.S. economy from federal budget cuts with spending and hiring of their own.

After slashing their workforces by about half a million in the past five years, state and local authorities will add employees in 2013, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Their payrolls in the fourth quarter will be 220,000 larger than in the same period for 2012, he projects.

Their expenditures and investment also will be higher, rising by 1.8 percent, triple the increase last year, according to projections by St. Louis-based Macroeconomic Advisers.

“The bloodletting on the state- and local-government level has finally passed through,” said Jim Diffley, chief U.S. regional economist for IHS Global Insight in Philadelphia.

“They’re no longer subtracting from growth.” The shift will help the U.S. weather the blow from federal tax increases and spending cuts, keeping the expansion on course, Zandi said. He forecasts that gross domestic product will climb 2.1 percent this year after rising 2.3 percent in 2012, with the expansion getting stronger as the year progresses.

States and municipalities, which accounted for 12 percent of GDP in 2011, won’t be a drag on growth this year for the first time since 2009, said Ben Herzon, a senior economist at Macroeconomic Advisers. The economic rebound means they’re collecting more taxes, reducing the need for more spending cuts.

State revenue will increase 3.9 percent during the 2012-2013 budget year to surpass the peak reached before the full effect of the 18-month recession took hold, according to a Dec. 14 report by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers.

Fifty-seven percent of cities said they were “better able to meet financial needs” in 2012 than in 2011, the first time a majority reported an improvement since the economic contraction that began in December 2007, a separate National League of Cities survey released Sept. 13 found.

The improvement in finances has helped allay concerns among investors about defaults in the tax-exempt municipal-bond market, where the securities have rallied in anticipation of higher taxes on the wealthy. The $3.7 trillion muni market returned 7.3 percent in 2012, compared with 2.2 percent for U.S. Treasury debt, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch data.

Last year was the fourth in a row for gains in total municipal- bond returns, the longest such stretch since 2007.

Last week’s federal budget deal, which included a rise in the top income-tax rate to 39.6 percent from 35 percent, was “positive for municipals,” said Alan Schankel, head of fixed- income research at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia.

Bill Gross, manager of the world’s largest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, California, has directed 5 percent of the fund’s $285 billion to munis for three straight months — the longest since at least 2006 that local borrowings have represented that large a share of holdings.

Gross said he’s taking a “cautious” approach to state and local debt because Congress may change the tax-exempt status of the securities.

“We’re holding on to our positions, but muni rates are in this cloud of ‘will they or won’t they’ be taxed in terms of withholdings,” he told Bloomberg Television’s “Market Makers” on Jan. 4.

Faced with the need to balance their budgets, state and local governments were forced into austerity mode after the recession hit, Diffley said. That continued into last year.

Payrolls in December alone fell 10,000 on a seasonally-adjusted basis, as reductions by counties and cities overwhelmed an increase by the states, according to data from the Labor Department in Washington.

Now they may be poised to expand, said Donald Boyd, a senior fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, New York. “We’re likely to see some growth in payrolls” this year, he said.

California, the most-populous U.S. state, will end unpaid furlough days for its workers in June, a policy it first put in place in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis.

Building also is picking up. After falling in March to its lowest level in more than five years, construction by state and local governments rose 2.3 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $252 billion in November, figures from the Commerce Department in Washington show.

The country’s third most-populous state, New York, may break ground this year on a $3.14 billion new bridge to replace the 57-year-old Tappan Zee crossing over the Hudson River. The city government in Oxford, Mississippi, is building a new firehouse, expanding tennis courts and giving its employees a 3 percent raise, Mayor George Patterson said.

“We kept our heads down for a few years, but this year we feel like we’re turning the corner,” he said.

That’s not to say states and municipalities are trouble- free. While they’ve come through the worst of the crisis, they still face longer-term financial challenges, including rising costs for the Medicaid health-care program and underfunded pension plans, Boyd said.

He cited another big danger: the likelihood that the federal government will reduce its aid to the states as it seeks to rein in a budget deficit that has topped $1 trillion in each of the past four years. States get about one-third of their revenues from Washington.

The agreement Congress hammered out to avoid more than $600 billion in automatic spending reductions and tax increases –the so-called fiscal cliff — spared states from cutbacks, at least for now. Under the pact, the decrease in expenditures was put off until March.

The reductions would have cost states $7.5 billion for education, health-care and community-development programs, according to Federal Funds Information for States, a budget- tracking service created by the National Conference of State Legislatures, based in Denver, and the National Governors Association in Washington.

While that’s a small share of the approximately $519 billion that states received in aid last year, Boyd said further cuts are likely.

That means local governments may get less help from the states, Diffley said.

Cities and counties also are lagging behind because they depend on property taxes for much of their revenue, and home prices are just now starting to recover, he added. Prices rose 4.3 percent in October from a year earlier, the biggest 12-month advance since May 2010, according to the most recent data from the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite 20-City Home Price Index.

Columbus, Ohio, fired more than 100 workers when the worst of the recession hit the city and successfully sought approval for higher income taxes from voters, said Dan Williamson, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Coleman. Now it is holding employment steady, he said.

It has been working on a $342 million sewer project and is planning another program to create more parkland along its riverfront.

“We faced our own fiscal cliff in 2009,” Williamson said. “Now, we’re in very good shape. There’s always stresses, there’s always worries, but we feel whatever comes our way in the near term, we can handle it.”

 

Have a great evening everyone!!!

 

Be Magnificent!

 

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Amanda Bourke

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.

 

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8X 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5808

Fax: 778-430-5838

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Are you planning on taking a trip sometime in the upcoming year? If so, here are the top 10 travel destinations according to the Globe and Mail:

1)The View from The Shard, London: The city’s highest and most vertiginous views become accessible to the public on Feb. 1. The View from the Shard is an observation area that spans levels 68 to 72 of the Shard, the pointy 310-metre high Renzo Piano-designed skyscraper, the tallest building in Western Europe.

2)Fogo Island, Nfld: The community’s cultural heritage is drawing interest from travellers who never would have considered the tiny floating speck in northeast Newfoundland. Established in 2006, her Shorefast Foundation has been hard at work supporting local entrepreneurs through micro-loans, funding artists and developing an inn that is set to open this year.

3)Amsterdam: It’s the year of milestones in Amsterdam and the city plans to whoop it up. This month, join in the fun by skating along the postcard perfect, UNESCO-listed canal ring that was constructed 400 years ago.

4)Colombia: Is evolving into a safer, more refined tourist destination. It offers everything from beach getaways to colonial city stays. Bogota couple Santiago and Camilla traded in city life to open up Hacienda Bambusa (haciendabambusa.com) near Armenia, a peaceful hideaway surrounded by coffee plantations, sleepy villages and lush rain forests.

5)Hobart, Tasmania: Australia’s rugged island outpost has a new sophisticated side. The year-old Museum of Old and New Art (MONA for short) is the unlikely epicentre; a vast subterranean space carved out of an ancient sandstone cliff to display multimillionaire David Walsh’s private art collection. This month’s main event is MONA FOMA, a seven-day festival that showcases international musicians (David Byrne and St. Vincent, Bickram Ghosh, Elvis Costello, and more).

6)Pienza, Italy: The Tuscan hills are awash with upmarket holiday villas, but there are few modern boutique hotels that put you in the thick of village life. Pienza itself is a charming Renaissance village, within an hour’s drive to Siena and Cortona, and only a half hour to southern Tuscany’s famed wine capitals, Montalcino and Montepulciano.

7)Bahia, Brazil: Brazil is priming for an epic close-up. Bahia, in northern Brazil, is the place to find barefoot eco-friendly beach luxury at its best. The seaside village of Trancoso is home to Uxua Casa Hotel (uxua.com), a stylish nine-villa bolthole that was built mostly by hand from recycled wood and designed by the creative director of Italian fashion brand Diesel.

8)Stockholm, Sweden: On May 7, after a four-year delay, the new ABBA museum opens on the leafy Stockholm island Djurgarden. It will be a permanent exhibition within the new Swedish Music Hall of Fame, and perhaps the ultimate homage to the seventies-era band whose tunes can still be heard blasting in the bars and clubs of Sweden’s capital.

9)East Africa: Hoteliers in East Africa are unveiling new accommodations for the well-heeled traveller. Opening in March, Hemingways Nairobi (hemingways-nairobi.com) is the first five-star hotel in the Kenyan capital and delivers such luxe amenities as personal butlers and running coaches who have trained with Olympian sprinters.

10)Quito, Ecuador: Much needed infrastructure improvements will make it a lot more pleasant to travel to (and through) Quito. If you have the time, spend at least two nights in Quito’s cobblestone colonial quarter which has a few notable boutique hotels (La Casona de la Ronda Hotel, Casa Gangotena) and an emerging arts scene.

“ There is only one happiness in life — to love and to be loved” – George Sand

On this day in…

1904 – The distress signal “CQD” was established. Two years later “SOS” became the radio distress signal because it was quicker to send by wireless radio.

1927 – Transatlantic telephone service Service began between New York and London. 31 calls were made on this first day.

1927 – In Hinckley IL, the Harlem Globetrotters played their first game.

1929 – The debut of “Buck Rogers 2429 A.D.” occurred in newspapers around the U.S. The title of the comic strip was later changed to “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.”

1935 – French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval and Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini signed the Italo-French agreements.

1942 – The World War II siege of Bataan began.

1949 – The announcement of the first photograph of genes was shown at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

1953 – U.S. President Harry Truman announced the development of the hydrogen bomb.

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” – Confucius

Photos of the day January 7th, 2013

A boy in traditional attire plays his drum during an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Record at a field in Titabar town in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Sunday. A total of 14,833 Assamese people attempted to enter the Guinness Book of World Record by playing the drums for 15 minutes non stop.

Photo: Utpal Baruah/Reuters

An actor portraying the Holly Man arrives by rowboat at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on the South Bank of the Thames River, during Twelfth Night celebrations in London, Sunday.

Photo: Chris Helgren/Reuters

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” – Confucius

Market Closes for January 7th, 2013:

Market  Index	Close	Change
Dow  Jones	13384.29	-50.92    -0.38%
S&P 500	1461.89	-4.58    -0.31%
NASDAQ	3098.814	-2.843    -0.09%
TSX	12499.55	-41.26
		-0.33%

International Markets

Market  Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	10599.01	-89.10
		-0.83%
HANG  SENG	23329.75	-1.34
		-0.01%
SENSEX	19691.42	-92.66
		-0.47%
FTSE 100	6064.58	-25.26
		-0.41%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND.  10 Year Bond	1.941	1.937
CND.   30 Year Bond	2.501	2.485
U.S.   10 Year Bond	1.8974	1.9008
U.S.   30 Year Bond	3.1006	3.0964

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.98592	0.98723
US   $	1.01428	1.01293
Euro Rate  1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian   $	1.29366	0.77300
US  $	1.31213	0.76212

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold   Fix	1647.15	1658.00
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	93.19	93.09
BRENT	113.04	112.78

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Ari Altstedter

Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — The Canadian Dollar rose for a second day against its U.S. counterpart after a measure of business activity expanded more than forecast in December, adding to signals of faster economic growth.

The currency strengthened after Canada’s Ivey purchasing managers’ index was 52.8 in December, following a November reading of 47.5, according to a statement on the website of Western University’s business school. Canada’s dollar posted its biggest gain versus the greenback in almost five months last week as employers in December added almost twice the number of jobs forecast.

“It’s a sign that the recovery that’s burgeoning in the U.S. is starting to spill over the border, or at least optimism over the U.S. recovery is encouraging factories to ramp up production or hiring,” Adam Button, a currency analyst at Forexlive.com, said by phone from Montreal. “Everywhere you look, it seems you find good news in terms of the U.S. and Canadian economy.”

The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is known for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, rose 0.1 percent against its U.S. counterpart to 98.59 cents per U.S. dollar at 5:03 p.m. in Toronto. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0143.

Crude oil, Canada’s largest export, rose 0.2 percent to $93.30 per barrel. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 0.3 percent.

A gauge of volatility hovered at almost the lowest in two weeks. Implied volatility for three-month options on the U.S. dollar versus the loonie touched 5.46 percent, the lowest since Dec. 21.

The country’s 10-year bond yield was little changed at 1.94 percent. The 2.75 percent security due in June 2022 traded at C$106.94.

The Bank of Canada said it will sell C$3.4 billion ($3.5 billion) of five-year notes on Jan. 9. The 1.25 percent securities will mature in March 2018. It will announce further details of a two-year note sale on Jan. 10.

Canada’s Ivey index rose for the first time in five months Economists had forecast a reading of 49.8. Readings of more than 50 indicate purchasing by governments and companies advanced.

“It was a pleasant surprise, it did put Canada back into expansionary territory,” said Camilla Sutton head of currency strategy at Bank of Nova Scotia by phone from Toronto. “What we’ve seen out of PMIs this round has been most of North America, Asia and Latin America have been expansionary, with Europe and Japan still contracting, and much of it contracting at faster rates. Today’s Ivey sort of falls in line with that.”

Employers added 39,800 workers to payrolls in December, lowering the unemployment rate to 7.1 percent from 7.2 percent the previous month, Statistics Canada said Jan. 4 in Ottawa.

The loonie traded close to a level reached Jan. 2, when it gained the most in more than three months, after lawmakers in the U.S. avoided automatic austerity measures by agreeing to raise taxes on the wealthy and putting off decisions on spending cuts.

“You’re waiting for the next shoe to fall,” David Tulk, chief macro strategist at Toronto-Dominion Bank’s TD Securities unit, said by phone from Toronto. “A lot of the fiscal-cliff information has already been absorbed into the market and we’re not quite out of the woods yet there either — negotiations on the spending side are ongoing.”

Canada’s currency has gained 0.9 percent during the past 12 months versus nine developed-nation peers tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The greenback has dropped 3.7 percent.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Rita Nazareth

Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — Stocks slipped before the start of earnings season, pulling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down from a five-year high, and the Dollar Index fell for the first time in four days. European banks rose as regulators eased liquidity rules while Italian bonds slid.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent to 1,461.78 at 3:24 p.m. in New York and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, which last week reached its highest level since February 2011, closed 0.4 percent lower.

BNP Paribas SA and Barclays Plc paced bank gains in Europe. The yen advanced against 14 of 16 major peers, adding 0.5 percent versus the U.S. currency, while the Dollar Index retreated 0.3 percent from the highest level since November. Treasuries were little changed while commodities rose.

Alcoa Inc. will unofficially start the U.S. earnings reporting season after the market closes tomorrow, with analysts predicting 2.9 percent growth in quarterly profit for S&P 500 companies. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s Governing Council will meet Jan. 10 to focus on nursing the euro region back to economic health.

“We’ve come a long way in a very short time,” said Tom Wirth, who helps manage $1.6 billion as senior investment officer for Chemung Canal Trust Co., in Elmira, New York, in a phone interview. “I’m expecting better-than-anticipated earnings. Yet we need to see some consolidation first.”

Utilities, energy and consumer-staples companies led losses in eight of the 10 main industry groups in the S&P 500 today.

Illumina Inc. tumbled 6.9 percent after Roche Holding AG Chairman Franz Humer told a Swiss newspaper that a deal to buy the U.S. genetics company is off the table. Applied Materials Inc., the world’s largest producer of chipmaking equipment, lost 2.4 percent after being downgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Boeing Co. tumbled 2.1 percent after a 787 Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines Co. caught fire on the ground this morning at Boston’s Logan International Airport.

Bank of America Corp., the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, was little changed after agreeing to pay Fannie Mae $3.6 billion to resolve home-loan repurchase claims. The lender will also pay $6.75 billion to repurchase residential mortgages sold to Fannie Mae. The deal will “substantially resolve outstanding claims for compensatory fees” between the two companies, according to the statement.

The KBW Bank Index slipped 0.4 percent. Ten of the largest U.S. mortgage servicers will pay a combined $8.5 billion under an agreement that will end case-by-case reviews of foreclosure- abuse claims stemming from a 2011 deal with regulators.

Companies including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and Citigroup Inc. must provide $5.2 billion in mortgage assistance and $3.3 billion in direct payments to wronged borrowers, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve said in a statement today.

Earnings at banks and diversified financial companies are forecast by analysts to have grown 28 percent and 71 percent, respectively. Earnings at insurance companies fared the worst among 24 groups, decreasing 48 percent amid claims from Superstorm Sandy, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Stocks surged last week, sending the S&P 500 up 4.6 percent for its biggest gain in 13 months, after U.S. President Barack Obama and lawmakers reached a compromise that averted the package of spending cuts and tax increases known as the fiscal cliff.

 

Have a great evening everyone!!!

 

Be Magnificent!

 

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” – Mahatma Gandhi

 

Karen Parnham

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.

 

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8X 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5808