Category: Uncategorized

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Early in the morning, a lunar eclipse, known as a blood moon, appears behind a gargoyle atop the Dallas County Courthouse. The moon appears orange or red, the result of sunlight scattering off Earth’s atmosphere. Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News/AP

Turtles make their way into the ocean upon their release in Bali, Indonesia. More than a thousand baby turtles were released during a campaign to save sea turtles. Firdia Lisnawati/AP

Market Closes for October 8^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16994.22	+274.83
		+1.64%
S&P 500	1968.89	+33.79   +1.75%
NASDAQ	4468.594	+83.391   +1.90%
TSX	14666.47	+90.02
		+0.62%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15595.98	-187.85
		-1.19%
HANG SENG	23263.33	-159.19
		-0.68%
SENSEX	26246.79	-25.18
		-0.10%
FTSE 100	6482.24	-13.34
		-0.21%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.017	2.032
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.555	2.555
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3213	2.3427
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0599	3.0488

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90033	0.89510
US $	1.11070	1.11720
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41423	0.70710
US $	1.27238	0.78537

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1221.22	1210.43
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	87.31	89.15

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, rallying from the lowest intraday levels since April, as gold producers and banks surged on speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep interest rates lower for a longer period.

     Torex Gold Resources Inc. and B2Gold Corp. soared at least 13 percent as gold stocks rallied the most in a year. Royal Bank of Canada, the second-largest lender by assets, jumped 1.7 percent to pace gains among financial stocks. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. and Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. tumbled more than 2.4 percent as energy producers dropped to the lowest since March.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index climbed 90.02 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,666.47 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The equity gauge had fallen 1.4 percent in the past two days and has declined for five straight weeks, the longest stretch since April 2012.

     Fed policy makers at their last meeting said a global slowdown and a stronger dollar posed potential risks to the outlook for the U.S. economy. The minutes were released a day after the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast. Gold for immediate delivery increased 0.8 percent in New York and has rallied 2.3 percent in the three days, the most since June.

     Torex Gold soared 16 percent to C$1.70 and B2Gold increased 13 percent to C$2.47 as the S&P/TSX Gold Index surged 7.7 percent, the most since September 2013.

     Seven of 10 industries in the benchmark gauge rose on trading volume 50 percent higher than the 30-day average=.

     Canadian housing starts rose 0.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted 197,343 units, close to the 198,000 median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

     Penn West Petroleum fell 2.4 percent to C$6.21 and Bellatrix Exploration lost 5.1 percent to C$6.17. Energy producers dropped 1 percent as a group for a seventh straight day of declines, the longest since August 2011.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve’s hint that interest rates will stay near zero sent investors rushing back to the stock market, igniting the biggest rally this year for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

     The S&P 500 surged 1.7 percent to 1,968.89 at 4 p.m. in New York. From trough to peak, the index moved 45 points today, the most since February, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The rally recouped yesterday’s slump, when the benchmark gauge sank 1.5 percent amid concern over global growth and weaker economic data from Germany. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 274.83 points, or 1.6 percent, to 16,994.22 today, the most since Dec. 18.

     Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s last meeting showed a number of policy makers said U.S. growth “might be slower than they expected if foreign economic growth came in weaker than anticipated.” In a statement following the September gathering, policy makers renewed their pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a “considerable time” after ending bond purchases this month. They also projected a steeper increase in borrowing costs next year.

     “The market was definitely set for more hawkish Fed minutes than what this was,” said Paul Zemsky, the New York- based head of multi-asset strategies at Voya Investment Management LLC, which oversees $213 billion. “There was this concern that the Fed was on this locked-in tightening path. The minutes today show they are focusing on what’s going on overseas and how the dollar was affected by it.”

     U.S. stocks have lurched back and forth for the past week, driving a measure of 10-day volatility to the highest level since April, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The last time the S&P 500 had back-to-back moves of at least 1.5 percent in opposite directions was in December 2011.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index sank 12 percent to 15.11 today, the biggest drop since July. The gauge known as the VIX jumped 11 percent yesterday to the highest since March.

     The U.S. equities benchmark began its rebound today after S&P 500 futures approached 1,918, a two-month low and a level seen as support by some technical analysts.

     “The overall reaction was they aren’t going to raise rates a lot sooner and didn’t seem hawkish,” Joe Bell, a senior equity analyst at Cincinnati-based Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc., said by phone. “This is really a reflection of the fact the market has been extremely volatile right now and this is extending that idea.”

     Among stocks moving, Costco Wholesale Corp. gained 2.8 percent after saying profit topped forecasts. Merck & Co. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. each jumped 2.9 percent to pace gains in the Dow. Apple Inc. rallied 2.1 percent to send the Nasdaq 100 Index higher by 2.1 percent, its best advance in a year. Alcoa Inc. rose 1.6 percent at 4:27 p.m. in New York after reporting profit that topped analysts’ estimates.

     The S&P 500 sank 1.5 percent yesterday to the lowest since Aug. 12 after the International Monetary Fund cut economic- growth forecasts and warned of “frothy” equities. European stocks today tumbled to a two-month low on concern that equity valuations have overshot the potential for economic growth and earnings.

     The U.S. gauge has been resilient this year, with no losing streak longer than three days. The index has not fallen more than 10 percent in three years and is up 6.5 percent in 2014.

     The Russell 2000 index jumped 1.9 percent, its best gain since June. The small-cap gauge had fallen more than 10 percent from its March record through yesterday as investors sold speculative shares.

     Alcoa Inc. unofficially started the earnings season after the markets closed today. The largest U.S. aluminum producer’s results beat estimates after metal prices rose amid higher aerospace and auto demand.

     Profit at companies in the S&P 500 rose 4.9 percent in the July-September period, according to the average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

     The benchmark index fell 3.3 percent in the past month through yesterday, the worst pre-earnings performance since 2009. The gauge has averaged a 2.2 percent gain in that period since the bull market began.

     Costco rose 2.8 percent to $128.73. The largest U.S. warehouse-club chain posted fiscal fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as sales at its established stores increased.

     Yum! Brands Inc.  gained 1.5 percent to $70.74. The owner of the KFC and Taco Bell fast-food chains reduced its forecast for profit this year as another food-supplier probe hurts sales in its China division. Adjusted profit in the last quarter topped estimates.

     Symantec gained 3.5 percent to $24.01 after people familiar with the matter said the software company is in advanced talks to break up its business into two entities — one offering security programs and another focusing on data storage.

     Energy producers in the gauge advanced 1 percent, reversing a drop of 1.7 percent after U.S. crude plunged to a 17-month low and Brent oil slid into a bear market.

     Monsanto Co. climbed 1.8 percent to $109.73. The world’s largest seed company forecast fiscal 2015 earnings that trailed analysts’ expectations as tumbling grain prices leave farmers with less to spend.

     Sears Holdings Corp. dropped 4.5 percent to $28.85. Three of the biggest insurance firms for the retailer’s suppliers are seeking to reduce coverage, prompting at least one medium-sized vendor to halt shipments to the department-store chain, people with knowledge of the matter said.

     The Bloomberg U.S. Airlines Index slid 2 percent. The gauge has fallen 6.7 percent during a three-day losing streak as concern about the spread of the Ebola virus weighed on travel- related stocks. Delta Air Lines lost 1.3 percent.

     The U.S. will begin Ebola screenings at five U.S. airports for some passengers from three West African nations most stricken by the disease, according to the White House.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

“In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, exept yourself.” Jiddu Krishnamurti 

 

As ever,

 

Karen

“Each day provides its own gifts.” Marcus Aurelius

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A Lilac-breasted roller sits on a branch in the Naboisho Conservancy in Kenya. Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

A patron looks at Heinrich Campendonk’s ‘Harlequin and Columbine’ at the ‘From Van Gogh to Kandinsky: Impressionism to Expressionism’ exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal, Canada. The exhibit runs from Oct. 11 to Jan. 25. Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian 

Market Closes for October 7^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16719.33	-272.58
		-1.60%
S&P 500	1940.17	-24.65   -1.25%
NASDAQ	4385.203	-69.599   -1.56%
TSX	14584.08	-159.04
		-1.08%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15783.83	-107.12
		-0.67%
HANG SENG	23422.52	+107.48
		+0.46%
SENSEX	26271.97	-296.02
		-1.11%
FTSE 100	6495.58	-68.07
		-1.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.032	2.089
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.555	2.597
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3427	2.4160
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0488	3.1200

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89510	0.89811
US $	1.11720	1.11346
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41568	0.70637
US $	1.26711	0.78920

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1210.43	1207.28
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	89.15	90.34

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell to a four month low as the International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for global growth and lower oil prices dragged down energy shares.

     Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. sank more than 3 percent after a train carrying petroleum derailed in Saskatchewan. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. and Athabasca Oil Corp. retreated at least 4.8 percent as crude in New York traded at a 17-month low. Lundin Mining Corp. lost 2.1 percent after agreeing to buy a controlling stake in the Candelaria copper mining complex in Chile from Freeport-McMoRan Inc. for at least $1.8 billion.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 166.67 points, or 1.1 percent, to 14,576.45 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the lowest close since May 20. While the equity gauge is still up 7 percent this year, it has posted losses for the past five weeks. Trading volume was 17 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     The world economy will grow 3.8 percent next year, compared with a July forecast for 4 percent, the IMF said. Financial markets in advanced economies may be overheating after a sustained period of near-zero interest rates, raising the risk of a correction in 2014.

     Canadian building permits plunged 27 percent in August from a record, led by lower intentions for medical buildings in Quebec and multiple-unit housing in Ontario.

     Canadian National sank 3.2 percent to C$75.26, the biggest decline since December, and Canadian Pacific slumped 3.1 percent to C$231.56. A Canadian National train carrying petroleum products and toxic material derailed near the village of Clair in Saskatchewan. Six of the 26 cars in the train were carrying dangerous goods, including petroleum distillate, which caught fire, Jim Feeny, a company spokesman, said by phone.

     Industrial stocks plunged 2.3 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX.

     Pacific Rubiales tumbled 5.1 percent to C$17 and Athabasca Oil slumped 4.8 percent to C$4.98 as oil producers retreated 1.5 percent as a group. Nine of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX retreated.

     West Texas Intermediate for November delivery fell 1.7 percent to $88.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

 US

 By Oliver Renick and Lu Wang

     Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) — Stocks tumbled and bonds rallied, sending yields to the lowest since May 2013, as the International Monetary Fund cut its global outlook and German industrial production plunged. Oil slid to a 17-month low.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.5 percent to 1,935.10 at 4 p.m. in New York, the lowest level since Aug. 12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.6 percent, the most since July. The yield on 30-year Treasuries retreated 8 basis points to 3.05 percent as investors sought safety. Oil tumbled 1.7 percent to the lowest since April 2013, while gold futures climbed 0.4 percent. Volatility rose, with the VIX jumping to the highest since March.

     The IMF cut its outlook for global growth in 2015 and warned about the risks of rising geopolitical tensions and a financial-market correction as stocks reach “frothy” levels. German industrial production dropped 4 percent in August in the biggest decline since 2009. The Federal Reserve releases minutes of its last meeting tomorrow, when Alcoa Inc. unofficially starts the U.S. earnings season.

     “People get worried when they hear the IMF talk about growth prospects around the world falling,” Karyn Cavanaugh, the New York-based senior market strategist at Voya Investment Management LLC, said in a phone interview. “The economic data from Europe is not good, some of the steam is getting let out of the economy. We don’t have earnings data to drive us yet this week and let’s face it, that’s the meat and potatoes of the market.”

     The S&P 500 fell through its average price for the past 100 days in morning trading. Losses accelerated in the afternoon as futures contracts expiring in December slipped below 1,940, a level where two previous declines had ended earlier today.

     The world economy will grow 3.8 percent next year, compared with a July forecast for 4 percent, after a 3.3 percent expansion this year, the Washington-based IMF said. U.S. growth is helping lead a worldwide acceleration that’s weaker than the fund predicted 2 1/2 months ago as the outlooks for the euro area, Brazil, Russia and Japan deteriorate.

     The IMF predicted the U.S. economy will grow 2.2 percent this year, compared with a 1.7 percent projection in July.

     According to the IMF’s report, a sustained period of policy interest rates near zero in advanced economies has raised the risk that some financial markets may be overheating.

     “Downside risks related to an equity price correction in 2014 have also risen, consistent with the notion that some valuations could be frothy,” the IMF said without naming specific markets.

     The report comes three months after the Fed said prices were stretched in some small-cap and biotechnology stocks. Since then, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index has rallied almost 6 percent while the Russell 2000 Index last week entered a correction, falling more than 10 percent from a record in March. The Russell 2000 lost 1.6 percent today, the most since July 31.

     “We don’t share the view of a frothy market,” Frederic Dickson, who helps oversee $45 billion as the chief investment strategist of D.A. Davidson & Co., said by phone from Baltimore. “Where there has been froth in the market, it’s been with some high-flying, small-cap, illiquid stocks that have taken a beating in the last three months.”

     With a valuation of almost 18 times earnings, the S&P 500 is at the same multiple as in October 2007, the beginning of the last bear market. Compared with the dot-com bubble, the S&P 500’s valuation is about 60 percent below the level from 1999.

     Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said today at the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit that stocks are now “in a zone of reasonableness.”

     The S&P 500 rose to a record on Sept. 18. The gauge has not fallen four straight days this year, and has not slid more than 10 percent in three years. The index has retreated 3.8 percent since its all-time high as the Fed remains on track to end bond purchases this month, trimming its gain for the year to 4.7 percent. The Dow is up 0.9 percent for the year.

     The Federal Open Market Committee will release minutes from its Sept. 16-17 meeting tomorrow. Investors have been concerned the central bank may increase interest rates sooner than anticipated as the U.S. economy gains strength.

     Forecasts for the Fed to raise rates in mid-2015 are “reasonable” as policy makers wait for unemployment to fall further and inflation to rise, New York Fed President William C. Dudley said today in a speech in Troy, New York.

     Investors will also turn to corporate profits for clues on the strength of the U.S. economy. Profit at companies in the S&P 500 rose 4.9 percent in the July-September period, according to the average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

     AGCO Corp. sank 11 percent to lead industrial shares lower today. The world’s third-largest maker of agricultural equipment cut its forecast because of lower sales in all regions and the stronger dollar. The Dow Jones Transportation Average retreated 2.5 percent to an almost two-month low.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 11 percent to 17.20 today, the highest level since March 14. The gauge known as the VIX jumped 36 percent in September, the most since July.

     “It’s definitely a risk-off day with ugly European data and growth concerns and I think we’re seeing some of that negative sentiment just getting ahead of itself here,” Mark Kepner, an equity trader at Chatham, New Jersey-based Themis Trading LLC, said by phone.

     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 1.5 percent to the lowest level since Aug. 15, after advancing in the past two days. Travel and leisure companies declined the most, after a Madrid nursing assistant became the first person outside Africa to be diagnosed with Ebola.

     Rio Tinto Plc added 0.8 percent, paring an earlier rally of 6.2 percent, as Glencore Plc abandoned a bid for the company after a July offer to create the world’s largest miner was rebuffed. Rio Tinto said today it has had no further contact over a potential deal. Glencore fell 2.5 percent and Anglo American Plc gained 2 percent.

     “A combination of not-perfect economic data and some geopolitical risk has put doubt in some investors’ minds and that brings some volatility,” Dan Curtin, the Boston-based global investment specialist at JP Morgan Private Bank, said in a phone interview. “The dollar surge, Hong Kong protests, Ebola scare and weakening oil prices, somewhere circled together in those things is the root of this recent pullback.

     Treasuries rose as the U.S. sale of $27 billion of three- year notes drew the strongest demand since February amid concern global economic growth may be slowing. The notes yielded 0.994 percent at the auction, compared with a forecast of 1.004 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of six of the Federal Reserve’s 22 primary dealers.

     The U.S. will sell $21 billion in 10-year notes tomorrow and $13 billion in 30-year debt the next day.

     The benchmark 10-year yield dropped 8 basis points to 2.34 percent, the lowest level since August.

     West Texas Intermediate oil fell to $88.85 a barrel before a government report that may show U.S. inventories increased last week. Brent crude lost 0.7 percent to $92.11, the lowest since June 2012.

     U.S. crude inventories expanded by 2 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 3, a Bloomberg News survey showed before Energy Information Administration data tomorrow. The EIA cut its 2014 and 2015 crude price forecasts today because of rising output and reduced demand.

     Gold rose for a second day as the dollar’s decline boosted the metal’s appeal as an alternative investment. Futures added 0.4 percent to $1,212.4 an ounce, after rallying 1.2 percent yesterday.

     The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2 percent, after dropping 0.9 percent yesterday. The gauge has rallied for seven weeks and closed at a four-year high on Oct. 3 as investors speculated on the timing of an interest-rate increase by the Fed.

     The yen strengthened against most of its 16 major peers on speculation officials are growing uncomfortable with the pace of its depreciation. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank will closely monitor the exchange rate and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said its weakness is hurting small companies and households.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

“Health is the greatest gift,

contentment the greatest wealth,

faithfulness the best relationship”

Buddha

As ever,

 

Karen

“Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” Swami Sivananda 

 

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A member of the Samaritan sect decorates a traditional hut known as a sukkah with fruits and vegetables on Mount Gerizim, on the outskirts of the West Bank City of Nablus. A sukkah is a ritual hut used during the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot which begins Monday at sundown. The Samaritans, who trace their roots to the northern Kingdom of Israel in what is now the northern West Bank, observe religious practices similar to those of Judaism. Abed Omar Qusini/Reuters

Exhibition curator Stephanie Stepanek talks about two paintings in the new exhibit ‘Goya: Order and Disorder’ during a press preview of works by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. The two paintings are portraits of the Duchess and Duke of Alba. Brian Snyder/Reuters

Market Closes for October 6^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16991.91	-17.78
		-0.10%
S&P 500	1964.82	-3.08   -0.16%
NASDAQ	4454.801	-20.823   -0.47%
TSX	14743.12	-46.66
		-0.32%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15890.95	+182.30
		+1.16%
HANG SENG	23315.04	+250.48
		+1.09%
SENSEX	26567.99	-62.52
		-0.23%
FTSE 100	6563.65	+35.74
		+0.55%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.089	2.096
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.597	2.614
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.4160	2.4358
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1200	3.1273

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89811	0.88937
US $	1.11346	1.12440
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40928	0.70958
US $	1.26568	0.79009

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1207.28	1190.95
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	90.34	89.74

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell to a four-month low as declines among industrial shares and energy producers offset an advance in gold miners.

     Finning International Inc. tumbled 3.1 percent after analysts at Canaccord Genuity Corp. cut their rating for the stock to a hold from a buy. Air Canada jumped 3.9 percent after reporting gains in capacity and traffic in September. Torex Gold Resources Inc. rose 3.8 percent as gold increased from the lowest price this year.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 46.66 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,743.12 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the lowest close since June 3. The equity gauge has risen 8.2 percent this year.

     Eight of 10 industries in the benchmark gauge declined on trading volume 3.6 percent below the 30-day average today.

     Energy stocks fell 0.4 percent as a group, erasing earlier gains for a fifth straight decline. Oil rebounded from declines after gasoline futures climbed on reports that units at Irving Oil Corp.’s Saint John, New Brunswick, refinery will be shut for unplanned repairs through Nov. 20.

     The Canadian plant has the capacity to process 298,800 barrels a day of oil and exports over half of its refined products to the U.S. Northeast. The refinery will keep its largest fluid catalyst cracker closed, according to two people familiar with the repairs.

     Brent crude earlier fell to a 27-month low after Saudi Arabia cut its oil prices to all destinations, prompting speculation the world’s biggest exporter won’t lead supply cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

     Air Canada soared 3.9 percent to C$8.18 after reporting a system load factor of 84.7 percent in September, compared with 83.2 percent a year ago, on higher system capacity. Load factor is a measure of airline efficiency relative to capacity.

     Postmedia Network Canada Corp., operator of the National Post, jumped 11 percent to C$2.50 after agreeing to buy 175 newspapers and trade publications for C$316 million ($282 million) from Quebecor Inc.

     The sale includes English-language publications Toronto Sun and Calgary Sun, as well as the Canoe.com website and real- estate properties.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index halting a two-day advance, as small-cap shares resumed a selloff and investors awaited the start of corporate earnings season to assess the strength of the economy.

     Micron Technology Inc. fell 4 percent after Samsung Electronics Co. said it will spend $15 billion building a chip plant in South Korea. GT Advanced Technologies Inc. sank 93 percent after the company filed for bankruptcy. Hewlett-Packard Co. jumped 4.7 percent after saying it will split into two companies. CareFusion Corp. surged 23 percent as Becton, Dickinson & Co. agreed to buy the company for $12.2 billion.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,964.84 at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing an earlier 0.5 percent gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 17.72 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,991.97. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies dropped 0.9 percent after the gauge capped its fifth straight weekly decline.

     “We see stocks trading a little nervously today and this week before third-quarter earnings,” Jim Russell, a senior equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Cincinnati, said in a phone interview. “We’re anxious to see how company managements comment on the strong U.S. dollar and overseas revenue.”

     Alcoa Inc. unofficially starts the U.S. earnings season on Oct. 8. Eight other S&P 500 companies will post results this week, including  Yum! Brands Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. Profit at companies in the gauge rose 4.9 percent in the July-September period, according to the average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

     The S&P 500 climbed 1.1 percent on Oct. 3, paring a weekly decline, after data showed the U.S. jobless rate declined to a six-year low and employers hired more workers than economists had estimated. The dollar strengthened last week to a four-year high before weakening today.

     Stocks tumbled last week amid signs of economic weakness in Europe and geopolitical turmoil as the Federal Reserve is on course to end its bond-buying program this month. Investors have been concerned the central bank may raise interest rates sooner than anticipated as the U.S. economy gains strength.

     The Federal Open Market Committee releases minutes from its Sept. 16-17 meeting on Oct. 8.

     Selling last week was heaviest among small-cap stocks, with the Russell 2000 sliding 1.3 percent. The fifth weekly drop was its longest streak since 2008. The gauge closed Oct. 1 more than 10 percent below its record from March, meeting the common definition of a correction, before rallying in the final two days of the week.

     Losses today came as GT Advanced Technologies plunged 93 percent to less than $1. The maker of lab-grown sapphire used in mobile-device screens and parts supplier for Apple Inc. said it would continue operations during reorganization.

     “That came as a big sucker punch out of the blue,” said Michael Block, chief equity strategist at Rhino Trading Partners LLC in New York. “It underscores how fragile any rally in the small caps is at this juncture. The small caps are behaving like frightened bunnies.”

     About 6.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 9.4 percent below the three-month average. Last week saw the busiest trading in six months for U.S. equities, with an average 7.2 billion shares moving each day.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 5.2 percent to 15.31 today. The gauge known as the VIX slid 2 percent last week.

     Seven of the 10 main industries in the S&P 500 retreated today, with consumer-discretionary stocks sliding 0.6 percent for the biggest loss. Phone stocks jumped 0.4 percent to pace gains.

     H&R Block Inc. fell 5.6 percent for the biggest decline in the S&P 500. The tax preparer said the sale of its banking unit to BofI Federal Bank is being slowed by a regulatory approval process. The firm had predicted the deal would close before tax season begins.

     Micron Technology fell 4 percent and SanDisk Corp. dropped 2.7 percent after Samsung announced plans for the new chip factory.

     Hewlett-Packard jumped 4.7 percent after announcing a split separating its corporate hardware and services operations, which will be led by current chief Meg Whitman, from the personal- computer and printer business. The latter will be led by Dion Weisler, currently vice president in charge of those operations.

     CareFusion soared 23 percent. Becton, Dickinson agreed to pay $58 a share for the San Diego-based company that provides drug management and patient safety services to hospitals. That’s a 26 percent premium to its Oct. 3 closing price. Becton, Dickinson climbed 7.9 percent.

     Durata Therapeutics Inc. rallied 75 percent as Actavis Plc announced a deal to acquire the maker of a skin-infection treatment.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

“In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.”  Jiddu Krishnamurti

 

As ever,

 

Karen

 

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” Dalai Lama

 

 Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

October:

Birthdays: September 23 – October 22^nd, Libra

                October 23 –November 21, Scorpio.

October Flower: Cornflower

October Birthstone: Opal

Green becomes gold.  Orange pumpkins appear on the porches.  Tasseled, colored corn hangs mysteriously on the doorframe.  The world is on fire – it is becoming the sun!  The maples redden.  The poplars become flaming torches.  Leaves drift weightlessly across the lawn and city parks.  Twilight echoes with crows cawing.  It is time to turn over a new leaf.  Within us, summer’s gift of sun becomes a yearning to find ourselves.   No longer immersed in nature’s greenness, we find ourselves detached from her.  We want to think again, to find meaning in experience.  Thought-life seems to strengthen.  We want to understand.  Perhaps the dead can help us.  The month ends with Celtic Samhain, Christian All Souls and All Saints – Hallowe’en – when the veil between the worlds is thinnest and the spirits of the ancestors come with their gifts.  –by Christopher Bamford.

On this day in 1950, the comic strip Peanuts, written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, was first published. It predominately ran on Sundays up until Feb. 2000, and continued in reruns years later.

Birthdays today:

Singer Sting was born on this day in 1951.

Mahatma Gandhi was born October 2, 1869.

Groucho Marx on this day in 1890.

Writer Graham Green was born on this day in 1904.

Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. –Mahatma Gandhi.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Rescuers walk in line after their search operation near the peak of Mount Ontake in central Japan. Saturday’s eruption of the volcano was the worst fatal eruption in postwar history in Japan. Kimi Takeuchi/Mainichi Shimbun/AP

A Philadelphia Fire Department boat makes a water display as pedestrians and cyclists move along the newly-christened 2,000-foot concrete Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk in Philadelphia. Matt Rourke/AP

Butchers from the Chatsworth Estate wait for the funeral procession of Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, central England. Deborah, the last of the Mitford sisters, who transformed Chatsworth into a popular tourist attraction, died aged 94 last week. Darren Staples/Reuters

Market Closes for October 2^nd, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16801.05	-3.66
		-0.02%
S&P 500	1946.17	+0.01   —
NASDAQ	4430.195	+8.110   +0.18%
TSX	14760.64	-44.80
		-0.30%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	15661.99	-420.26
		-2.61%
HANG SENG	22932.98	-296.23
		-1.28%
SENSEX	26567.99	-62.52
		-0.23%
FTSE 100	6446.39	-111.13
		-1.69%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.093	2.079
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.624	2.671
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.4339	2.3891
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1443	3.0999

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89600	0.89560
US $	1.11608	1.11657
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41339	0.70752
US $	1.26639	0.78695

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1214.33	1214.86
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	91.01	90.73

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a fourth day, extending a four-month low, as energy producers dropped after Brent crude tumbled to the cheapest since 2012. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. sank the most in two months.

     Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and BlackPearl Resources Inc. tumbled at least 2.9 percent to pace declines among energy stocks. Valeant sank 3.7 percent to lead health-care shares lower. Sears Canada Inc. lost 1.1 percent after parent company Sears Holdings Corp. said it will offer shares of the unit to generate as much as $380 million. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. jumped 5.4 percent to a record as the company started talks on developing surplus lands.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 44.80 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,760.64 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, retreating for a fourth straight day. The index lost 4.3 percent in September, the most since May 2012, and fell 1.2 percent in the third quarter.

     Canadian shares plunged as much as 1.8 percent, following a rout in European equities on speculation new stimulus measures won’t be enough to revive growth in the euro area. The S&P/TSX pared declines in late trading as U.S. crude reversed.     Six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX retreated on trading volume 40 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     Crude in New York dipped below $90 a barrel for the first time in 17 months before rebounding, while Brent crude dropped to the lowest level since June 2012 amid signs that global supplies are outstripping demand.

     Bankers Petroleum fell 4.8 percent to C$5.01 and BlackPearl lost 2.9 percent as energy producers slid 0.7 percent as a group.

US

By Callie Bost and Jeremy Herron

     Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) — Most U.S. stocks rose, as small cap shares rebounded on speculation selling was overdone and as concern over Europe’s stimulus plan faded. Brent tumbled to the lowest since June 2012.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was little changed at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing an earlier slide of 1 percent. The Russell 2000 Index jumped 1 percent as small caps rebounded from a selloff yesterday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 2.4 percent, the most since June 2013. The euro rose as much as 0.6 percent, advancing for the first time in three days versus the dollar. Treasuries weakened after gaining the most in more than eight months yesterday.

     The European Central Bank left its main refinancing rate at 0.05 percent at its meeting today in Naples, Italy. Draghi said the central bank will buy assets for at least two years to boost inflation and economic growth in the euro area. U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly dropped last week. Pro-democracy leaders in Hong Kong said they will escalate protests if their demands aren’t addressed.

     “People will come back to the market once they realize Europe is not falling a cliff and the U.S. economy is still pretty strong, but not so strong as to get the Fed to raise interest rates early,” Gary Black, global co-chief investment officer for Calamos Investments in Naperville, Illinois, said by phone. The firm oversees $25.6 billion. “We’re using this weakness to buy into names that got beaten up over the last week or so.”

       The S&P 500 fell yesterday to its lowest level since Aug. 12, while the Russell 2000 Index of smaller shares sank 1.5 percent to close more than 10 percent below its record in March amid signs of economic weakness in Europe and geopolitical turmoil. The  S&P 500 has fallen 3.2 percent since a Sept. 18 record.

     While Europe is stepping up its stimulus efforts, the U.S. is on course to halt its monthly bond-buying program this month. Investors have been analyzing economic reports for clues on whether growth will withstand the end of quantitative easing and higher interest rates.

     The U.S. jobless claims data come before the government’s labor report on Oct. 3, which may show that payrolls added 215,000 workers in September after a 142,000 increase the month prior that was the smallest this year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The jobless rate probably held at 6.1 percent.

     The ECB’s asset-buying plan is part of a range of stimulus measures it has announced since June to fight the threat of falling prices in the 18-nation currency bloc. Inflation slowed to 0.3 percent last month, the least in almost five years, and the central bank’s preferred measure of medium-term inflation expectations has extended its decline.

     Today’s decline left the Stoxx 600 down 4.8 percent from an almost six-year high on Sept. 4. All 19 of the index’s main groups sank at least 1.5 percent. Oil and gas producers plunged 4 percent, the most in three years, while banks tumbled 3.2 percent.

     “Draghi did not bring out the big bazooka that the market had hoped for,” Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank A/S in Hellerup, Denmark, said by telephone. “Sentiment was already tilted to the downside on economic data and we are seeing an increasing likelihood of deflationary pressures. It seems that the market is interpreting Draghi’s words negatively and as not providing the salvation that was hoped for.”                          

     The euro rose as investors curbed bets the central bank’s purchases would expand the ECB’s balance sheet enough to weaken the currency.

     The euro added 0.3 percent to $1.2665 after touching $1.2571 on Sept. 30, the lowest level since September 2012. The yen appreciated 0.4 percent to 108.44 per dollar, having reached 110.09 yesterday, the weakest since Aug. 25, 2008.

     “The view is that what they’re doing is simply not enough with buying bond assets for the next couple of years,” Dan Veru, chief investment officer at Fort Lee, New Jersey-based Palisade Capital Management, said by phone. The firm oversees $5 billion in assets. “I wouldn’t want to underestimate them. I believe in Draghi and that he will do whatever it takes and I believe that will include some new tools.”

     The global economy needs bold policies to avoid a “new mediocre” period of sluggish growth as the world struggles with a disappointing recovery six years after the financial crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.

     “We see continued weakness in the global economy,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a speech today at Georgetown University in Washington. She cited “some serious clouds on the horizon,” including high unemployment and low inflation in the euro area, financial excesses building in advanced economies, and market and liquidity risks that are migrating to less-regulated parts of the financial system.

     Treasuries gave back some of the biggest gain in eight months on speculation the performance of the U.S. labor market is strengthening. The benchmark 10-year yield rose five basis points, or 0.05 percentage point, to 2.43 percent.

     Developing-nation stocks fell 0.4 percent to the lowest since April. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is now down 9.8 percent since a Sept. 3 high. The measure has fallen 0.9 percent in 2014 and trades at 10.6 times projected 12-month earnings, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Argentine bond and stock markets deepened their losses after the resignation of Central Bank President Juan Carlos Fabrega dimmed the prospect of a second peso devaluation this year.

     The Merval stock index sank 7.1 percent, bringing losses to 15 percent since President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on Sept. 30 publicly criticized the bank for allegedly leaking inside information.

     The Micex Index tumbled 1.7 percent for a second day of losses. Russia’s central bank intervened for the first time since May to stem the world’s worst currency slide since June, ending the ruble’s five-day losing streak. The ruble gained 0.1 percent to 44.3072 against the central bank’s basket of dollars and euros.

     The Jakarta Composite Index declined the most since April and the rupiah depreciated 0.2 percent after Indonesia’s parliament chose a house speaker that may challenge President- elect Joko Widodo’s plans to boost economic growth.

     Equities in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary lost at least 1.1 percent. Hungary central bank Deputy Governor Adam Balog is set to speak at a conference on the nation’s economic outlook and banking sector.

     Markets in China and India are shut for holidays.

     West Texas Intermediate oil dropped below $90 for the first time in 17 months, before erasing losses, amid signs that global supplies are outstripping demand. WTI fell as much as 2.8 percent to $88.18 a barrel in New York, before settling 0.3 percent higher at $91.01.

     Brent for November settlement slipped 0.8 percent, to end the session at $93.42 a barrel in London. It’s the lowest close since June 28, 2012.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!
 

Water, you are the one that brings us life.  You are the source of nourishment that gives us strength.

We rejoice at your existence.

We drink you with joy, as babies drink their mothers’ milk.

And when we swallow you, we receive love.

Water, carry away all my sins and my failures, all that has been bad in my life.

I seek you today; I shall plunge into your wetness.

Drown me in splendor.

 

The Vedas

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The best way to predict the future is to create it.

                           -Peter Drucker, 1909-2005

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

October:  the eight month of the ancient Roman calendar – Latin, octo = eight – when the year began in March, but now the tenth month.  The Old English name was Winmonath,  wine month, or the time of vintage.  Another Old English name was Winterfylleth, perhaps meaning winter full moon, but possibly from fyllan, to fell, as time of tree-felling.  In the French Revolutionary calendar, the equivalent month wasVendémaire, time of vintage, corresponding to the period from 23 September to 22 October.

October Club: In the reign of Queen Anne, a group of High Tory MPs who met at a tavern near the Houses of Parliament to drink October ale and to abuse the Whigs.  It became politically prominent about 1710 although it had probably existed form the end of William III’s reign.

October 1, 1890, Yosemite National Park was established.

On this date in 1908, the first Model T rolled off the production line at a Ford factory in Detroit. Priced at $825 apiece, it was the first car designed to be affordable for the masses.

Also on this day, in 1924, Jimmy Carter, 39^th President of the US, was born.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
An Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is seen over a mountain camp north of the Arctic Circle, near the village of Mestervik. Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

A squirrel uses its tail to shield it from the weather as rain falls in south London. Official figures showed that last month was the driest September in the UK since records began over one hundred years ago. Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Market Closes for October 1^st, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16804.51	-238.39
		-1.40%
S&P 500	1949.47	-22.82   -1.16%
NASDAQ	4422.086	-71.304   -1.59%
TSX	14816.36	-144.15
		-0.96%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16082.25	-91.27
		-0.56%
HANG SENG	22932.98	-296.23
		-1.28%
SENSEX	26567.99	-62.52
		-0.23%
FTSE 100	6557.52	-65.20
		-0.98%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.079	2.149
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.604	2.671
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.3891	2.4915
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.0999	3.1975

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89560	0.89309
US $	1.11657	1.11971
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.40913	0.70966
US $	1.26202	0.79238

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1214.86	1208.35
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	90.73	91.16

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, sending the benchmark index to the lowest level since June, as energy and industrial shares tumbled amid a selloff in U.S. equity markets.

     Westport Innovations Inc., a maker of natural gas engines and components, plunged 25 percent after cutting its revenue guidance for the year. Penn West Petroleum Ltd. and Enerplus Corp. slumped more than 4.4 percent as Brent crude dropped to the lowest level in more than two years.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 155.07 points, or 1 percent, to 14,805.44 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, retreating for a third straight day. The index lost 4.3 percent in September, the most since May 2012, and fell 1.2 percent in the third quarter.

     U.S. stocks tumbled today amid concern over economic growth in Europe and geopolitical turmoil as the Federal Reserve prepares to end its bond-buying program. The Russell 2000 Index dropped more than 10 percent from a record reached in March, meeting the common definition of a correction.

     Equities fell as Italy cut its growth forecast, German manufacturing shrank and euro-area factories lowered prices in September by the most in more than a year. The weakness underlined the mounting challenge facing policy makers before the European Central Bank meets tomorrow.

     Westport Innovations sank 25 percent to C$8.84, the most since 1996, as industrial stocks dropped 2.2 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX. Trading volume was 18 percent higher than the 30-day average today.

     Energy shares slumped 1.8 percent as a group, erasing an early gain, as Brent oil tumbled 0.5 percent after Saudi Arabia cut its November official selling prices to all areas.

     AGF Management Ltd. declined 4.1 percent to C$11.20 and Element Financial Corp. fell 3.9 percent to C$13.05 as the S&P/TSX Financials Index lost 0.8 percent.

US

By Jeremy Herron and Callie Bost

     Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks tumbled, with the Russell 2000 Index extending losses from a record to 10 percent, while Treasuries rallied the most in six weeks as the Federal Reserve remains on pace to end bond-buying this month amid growing signs of economic weakness in Europe.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 1.3 percent at 4 p.m. in New York to the lowest since Aug. 12. The Russell 2000 dropped 1.5 percent and is 10 percent below its March record. The Dow Jones Transportation Average sank the most since February as airlines retreated after the first reported U.S. case of the Ebola virus. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.8 percent. The rate on 10-year Treasury notes sank 10 basis points to 2.39 percent. Brent crude fell to its lowest level in more than two years.

     Euro-area factories reduced prices by the most in more than a year and German manufacturing shrank, underlining the mounting challenge facing policy makers before the central bank meets tomorrow. U.S. manufacturing cooled in September following the strongest rate of growth in three years, while companies accelerated hiring for the first time in three months. A person familiar with German government policy said Russia risks an escalation of sanctions. Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests swelled for a sixth day.

     “The headwinds have come to the forefront and investors are starting to recognize that,” Randy Bateman, chief investment officer of Huntington Asset Advisors, which manages about $2.8 billion, said by phone. “You’ve got a whole bunch of geopolitical situations and you have concerns about economic weakness. We’ve always relied on the Fed priming the pump. This is the month the pump dries up so now people are focused on these other issues.”                        

     The Fed is set to end later this month asset purchases that have helped nearly triple the S&P 500 during the bull market at a time when conflict between Ukraine and Russia threatens to tip Europe back into a recession and economists forecast growth from Japan to China will slow every year through 2016.

     More than $200 billion in assets was erased from U.S. equity markets during the past three months, as stronger economic data fueled concern the Fed may also raise interest rates sooner than anticipated. The U.S. economy expanded in the second quarter at the fastest rate since 2011.

     The S&P 500 has fallen three straight days and is down 3.2 percent since closing at a record on Sept. 18. The index added 0.6 percent last quarter, its seventh gain and longest streak since 1998. The gauge has not fallen four straight days this year, and has not slid more than 10 percent in three years.

     Among stocks moving today, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. led makers of experimental Ebola treatments higher following the first reported U.S. case of the deadly disease. That also sent carriers from American Airlines Group Inc. to Delta Air Lines Inc. lower.

     Shares held by Relational Investors LLC tumbled an average of 2.5 percent amid news that the firm will dissolve current funds by the end of next year, according to people familiar with the plans. Hewlett-Packard Co., the firm’s top holding in August according to a regulatory filing, slid 2.6 percent.

     The Russell 2000 tumbled 7.7 percent in the third quarter, its worst performance in three years, as investors sold speculative stocks.

     The Russell has seen some of the heaviest selling after the index beat the S&P 500 by more than 70 percentage points and traded at more than 60 times annual earnings after the first 5 1/2 years of the bull market. Thee small-cap gauge is down 6.7 percent this year, while the S&P 500 has advanced 5.3 percent.

     “The market is showing nervousness just over the last couple weeks as we’ve been having this choppiness, especially in smaller companies,” Tim Courtney, who helps oversee about $1.3 billion as chief investment officer of Exencial Wealth Advisors, said in a phone interview from Oklahoma City. “Small caps have historically led the way down. This could be the beginning of a normal 10 percent correction.”

     While the Institute for Supply Management’s index dropped to 56.6 from 59 in August, the gauge’s average over the past three months was the highest since early 2011, figures from the Tempe, Arizona-based group showed today.

     The Fed has been analyzing U.S. economic reports for clues on whether growth will withstand the end of quantitative easing and higher interest rates.

     Concern that the central bank will be forced to move forward the timing of any rate increase bolstered the greenback last quarter. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which measures the currency against a basket of 10 peers, rallied 6.7 percent in the July-September period, the most since 2008. The index was little changed today.

      The dollar rose 0.1 percent to $1.26183 per euro.  It touched $1.2571 yesterday, the strongest level since September 2012. The greenback dropped 0.6 percent to 108.95 yen after rising earlier to 110.09 yen, the highest since Aug. 25, 2008.

     Treasuries rallied the most in six weeks as yields higher relative to most Group of Seven nations increased demand from investors worldwide concerned global growth is stalling.

     Benchmark 10-year notes yielded almost the most versus their German counterparts since 1999 after the dollar touched a two-year high versus the euro yesterday.

     “We have this quest for growth and central banks are unable to produce it,” said Richard Gilhooly, an interest-rate strategist in New York at TD Securities Inc., one of 22 primary dealers that trade with the Federal Reserve. “We have a global deflationary situation developing.”                      

     The yields have gained versus bunds for a record nine quarters as the European Central Bank unveiled a series of stimulus measures to boost credit lending and combat the threat of deflation. The ECB is forecast to announce tomorrow details of its plan to buy asset-backed securities.

     The ECB is on a mission to avert deflation as the euro region’s economic landscape deteriorates. Purchasing Managers’ Indexes from Markit Economic showed manufacturing also contracted in France, Austria and Greece, with a gauge for the 18-nation region pointing to near-stagnation. A separate report showed spillover to the U.K., with factory growth there at a 17- month low.

     The Stoxx 600 fell today after climbing 0.4 percent last quarter, a fifth increase and the longest stretch since 2006. J Sainsbury Plc slumped to the lowest price in more than 11 years after saying it won’t see a return to growth in same-store sales this year. Orange SA fell 7 percent as Bpifrance sold a stake in the company for 580 million euros ($730 million).

     Developing-nation stocks dropped for a fifth day and currencies slid amid prospects for higher U.S. interest rates. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.9 percent to the lowest level since May.                      

     The ruble weakened 0.2 percent versus a target basket of dollars and euros, a day after briefly crossing the level at which the central bank intervenes to halt declines.

     Two officials with direct knowledge of the discussions said yesterday that Russia’s central bank is weighing temporary capital controls if outflows intensify. The central bank denied it’s considering such measures.

     If separatists took the Donetsk airport or the city of Mariupol in an effort to create a land corridor in eastern Ukraine, the EU might impose additional sanctions, according to the official, who asked not to be named because he isn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Russia has denied any involvement.

     Russia’s economy will expand 0.5 percent next year, the International Monetary Fund said today, cutting its previous growth forecast in half.

     The Brazilian real depreciated 1.3 percent and South Korea’s won dropped to a six-month low. Pro-democracy protests continued in Hong Kong with markets in the city and China shut for holidays.

     Brazil’s Ibovespa sank 2.3 percent as a voter poll showing President Dilma Rousseff’s victory in this month’s election curbed bets that a new administration would reduce intervention in the economy and act to bolster growth.

     Brent crude dropped to the lowest level in more than two years after Saudi Arabia cut its November official selling prices to all areas. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped to a 17-month low.

     Brent for November settlement fell 51 cents, or 0.5 percent, to end the session at $94.16 a barrel on the London- based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It closed at the lowest level since June 28, 2012.

     Nickel prices fell to a six-month low as inventories monitored by the London Metal Exchange extended an increase to a record. Aluminum tumbled the most in 14 months.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!
 

How can you regard yourself as subject and other beings as objects,

when you know that all are one?

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Sublimity is the echo of a noble mind.

                -Longinus, 213-273 AD

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal today entitled What’s the Best time to go to Bed?

By  Heidi Mitchell

Sept. 29, 2014 7:01 p.m. ET

Many people categorize themselves as morning larks or night owls, but even they can have trouble finding the optimal moment to turn in for the night. One expert, Rafael Pelayo, a clinical professor in the division of sleep medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine, explains the secret to sorting out bedtime and why 8-year-olds are the best sleepers.

The Brain Goes Tick-Tock

The suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN, is the part of the brain where the optic nerves crisscross, (near the hypothalamus), says Dr. Pelayo. It actually ticks, he says, keeping time at about 24 hours and 10 minutes a day. “It’s what forces us to get sleepy when it’s nighttime,” he says. In fact, this internal clock is so important, it gets better blood supply than any part of the brain, and is nearly impossible to destroy, even in a stroke. “There is a very basic need for us to be able to predict time,” says Dr. Pelayo. Humans are diurnal, and adults aren’t normally “random” sleepers.

Always on Alert

Humans’ alertness levels aren’t constant, however, adds Dr. Pelayo. “People think that sleep is like gasoline, that in the morning, just after a good sleep, you’re most alert because your tank is full, but that’s not the case,” he says. Because of our long evolution, humans have developed sleep patterns and alertness to match needs for survival. “People are most alert in midmorning and just before going to bed; we’re less alert in the late afternoon, when the days are hottest and the lions were less likely to attack us,” he says, adding that this explains why many people get drowsy after lunch, but not after breakfast. Later in the day, he says, all humans have a second wind, about two to three hours before their falling-asleep time.

The Cycle of Sleep

The 90-minute sleep cycle also evolved from the need to be alert at times in the night. “Humans are meant to have a brief awakening every 90 minutes for 20 to 30 seconds, look around and be sure everyone is safe, and then fall back asleep,” says Dr. Pelayo, which is why new mothers are able to nurse in the night and then sleep again. “If you’re cozied up in bed and then begin to worry about the door being locked, eventually the biological need to sleep will overpower you. But after three to four hours, you will wake up and check the door,” he says. That need for security is deep-seated, and providing a safe environment is the best way to begin the process of going to sleep.

Serenity Now

There is an old saying that “one hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after midnight,” but Dr. Pelayo says this statement is totally false. “It’s a mistake to go to bed too early,” he says. “Trying to go to sleep when your body wants to be awake is like swimming upstream.”

Instead, a good strategy, says Dr. Pelayo, is to lock in the wake-up time and restrict your time in bed to your usual amount of sleep (which may not be the oft-cited eight hours). “Restricting your opportunity to sleep may actually make you go to bed later but the biologic drive to sleep will help you fall asleep faster and sleep deeper,” he says.

By his equation, “your ideal bedtime should be about 10 to 15 minutes before you want to fall asleep,” he says. “So if you want to be up at 7:30 a.m. and want to sleep 7.5 hours, you should get into bed about 11:45 p.m.”

The best sleepers in our society, he says, are 8-year-olds, who still have rules about bedtimes and go to bed without any worries. To sleep like one of those serene children, says Dr. Pelayo, “put your mind at ease, say your day is done, don’t spend too much time in bed and always, always get up at the same time in the morning.”

Email your Burning Questions to burning@wsj.com

On this date in 1927, Yankee great Babe Ruth set a baseball record by hitting his 60th home run of the regular season

Also on this day in 1955, James Dean was killed in an automobile collision.

On September 30^th, 1452, the Gutenberg Bible was published.

1928, Elie Wiesel was born.

1924, Truman Capote was born.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Postman Fiete Nissen, poses in his trolley on the track from the coast of Dagebuell, north of Hamburg, to the tiny North Sea islands of Oland and Langeness on his last working-day. Nissen was the official postman for the islands’ 139 residents for more than 37 years. Fabian Bimmer/Reuters

Vehicles drive by as a display of Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is seen north of the Arctic Circle, over the village of Mestervik in northern Norway. Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

Aerial view of a river in Peru’s Amazon region of Loreto. Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters

Market Closes for September 30^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17042.90	-28.32
		-0.17%
S&P 500	1972.29	-5.51   -0.28%
NASDAQ	4493.391	-12.462   -0.28%
TSX	14960.51	-16.41
		-0.11%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16173.52	-137.12
		-0.84%
HANG SENG	22932.98	-296.23
		-1.28%
SENSEX	26630.51	+33.40
		+0.13%
FTSE 100	6622.72	-23.88
		-0.36%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.149	2.124
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.671	2.647
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.4915	2.4771
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1975	3.1647

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89309	0.89582
US $	1.11971	1.11630
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41416	0.70713
US $	1.26296	0.79179

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1208.35	1215.98
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	91.16	94.57

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a second day, capping the biggest monthly loss in more than two years, as oil slumped the most in almost two years and data showed economic growth in the nation unexpectedly stalled in July.

     Ithaca Energy Inc. and BlackPearl Resources Inc. plunged at least 6.7 percent to pace declines among energy stocks. Detour Gold Corp. and Centerra Gold Inc. slipped at least 6 percent as the price of gold retreated to an eight-month low. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. climbed 1.7 percent to pace an advance among industrial companies.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 16.41 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,960.51 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index lost 4.3 percent in September, the most since may 2012, and fell 1.2 percent in the third quarter.

     Canada’s gross domestic product was little changed in July, short of the median forecast for a 0.3 percent expansion in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Oil and gas extraction fell by 1.6 percent in July as cooler-than-normal temperatures curbed output of utilities, Statistics Canada said.

     BlackPearl Resources slumped 6.7 percent to C$2.10 and Ithaca Energy lost 7.9 percent to C$2.10. Crude in New York sank 3.6 percent to $91.16 a barrel and plunged 13 percent in the quarter, the most since June 2012.

     Detour Gold sank 6 percent to C$8.78 and Centerra Gold slumped 7.6 percent to C$5.02 as raw-materials stocks retreated 1 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX.

     Sherritt International Corp. plunged 11 percent to C$3.10, a six-month low. Nickel, which fell into a bear market yesterday, lost 2.2 percent in London.

     Industrial shares jumped 0.6  percent and financial stocks added 0.2 percent as six of 10 groups in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge rose on trading volume 25 percent higher than the 30-day average today.

US

By Callie Bost and Eric Lam

     Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, trimming a seventh straight quarterly gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as small-cap and energy shares slumped amid an unexpected decline in consumer confidence.

     Energy shares in the S&P 500 tumbled 1.2 percent as oil futures plunged more than 3.5 percent. Ford Motor Co. dropped 2.1 percent after saying it will miss a profit forecast for 2014. EBay Inc. jumped 7.5 percent after the world’s biggest online marketplace said it will separate from its payments unit PayPal next year. Move Inc. rallied 37 percent after News Corp. agreed to buy the owner of real-estate websites.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent to 1,972.29 at 4 p.m. in New York, ending the quarter with a 0.6 percent gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 28.32 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,042.90. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller shares dropped 1.5 percent, capping its worst quarter in three years. About 7.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 29 percent higher than the three-month average.

     “It’s quarter-end, investors are parsing out the economic data and the geopolitical landscape,” said Craig Fehr, Canadian market strategist at Edward Jones on the phone from St. Louis. The firm manages about $800 billion globally. “Investors are trying to digest all of this news and we’re here at the end of the month and end of the quarter so there’s some short-term repositioning in the market.”

     The S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent yesterday as Hong Kong protests spurred political concern and a rebound in consumer spending fueled speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than anticipated. The gauge lost 1.6 percent in September with the Fed on course to end its monthly bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing, in October.

     Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly declined in September to a four-month low as Americans’ views of the labor market deteriorated. The Conference Board’s index decreased to 86 this month, weaker than the most pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists, from an August reading of 93.4 that was the strongest since October 2007.

     The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 6.7 percent from July 2013, the smallest 12-month gain since November 2012, a report from the group showed today.

     Investors are analyzing reports to assess whether economic growth is strong enough to withstand higher interest rates. The S&P 500 reached a record on Sept. 18 as the Fed maintained a commitment to keep interest rates near zero for a considerable time after completing asset purchases. The central bank also said that the timing could move forward if data continue to exceed expectations.

     Data on the manufacturing and services industries are due later this week, in addition to the government’s monthly labor report. Alcoa Inc. unofficially kicks off the earnings season when it reports quarterly results on Oct. 8.

     “The idea of earnings growing is going to be the more vital issue over the next year, as opposed to P/E expansion,”  David Kostin, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Market Makers” with Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle. “The idea of an expanding economy is what drives sales.”

     Kostin reiterated his year-end forecast of 2,050 for the S&P 500. He forecasts that the benchmark gauge will increased 8.5 percent to 2,150 over the next 12 months.

     Equity futures fell earlier in the day as two officials with direct knowledge of the discussions said Russia’s central bank is weighing the introduction of temporary capital controls if the flow of money out of the country intensifies. Stocks rebounded after the central bank said on its website that it isn’t considering imposing limits on cross-border capital flows.

     “There’s just a lot of cross currents out there today,”  James W. Gaul, a portfolio manager at Boston Advisors LLC, which oversees about $2.9 billion, said by phone. “With earnings season looming around the corner, there’s not a lot of impetus to move either way. We could just be taking a pause and waiting for the next catalyst to move us either way.”

     The S&P 500 is up 0.6 percent for the quarter, its seventh straight advance and longest rally since June 1998. It has not had a four-day losing streak this year and has not fallen more than 10 percent in three years. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 5.2 percent in the three months.

     Small-cap stocks haven’t had the same success. The Russell 2000 is down 7.7 percent for the quarter, and has dropped 8.9 percent from a record reached in March as investors have sold more speculative shares.

     The Chicago Board Options Volatility Index, a gauge of investor trepidation derived from options, averaged 14.5 last week, 12 percent above its mean level during the third quarter. The VIX climbed 2.1 percent to 16.31 today.

     Six out of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 declined. Energy shares had the biggest drop, losing 1.2 percent. The group has lost 9.2 percent for the quarter, the worst showing in the S&P 500 and its largest retreat in three years.

     Ford dropped 2.1 percent to $14.79, adding to yesterday’s 7.5 percent plunge. The second-largest U.S. automaker said it will miss a profit forecast for 2014 as weakening sales in Russia, deflation in South America and recall costs in North America reduce income.

     EBay jumped 7.5 percent to $56.63. The San Jose, California-based company announced it will split itself into two publicly listed entities. The announcement follows activist shareholder Carl Icahn’s campaign earlier this year for PayPal’s spinoff.

     Move rallied 37 percent to $20.96. News Corp. will buy the San Jose, California-based company for $21 a share. That’s 37 percent higher than Move’s $15.29 closing price yesterday. News Corp. fell 2.7 percent to $16.35.
 

Have a wonderful evening  everyone.

 

Be magnificent!
 

I often ask myself at what point can a man and a beast that cannot talk recognize each other.

From the early paradise, at the dawn of creation, runs the path where their hearts meet.

Although their connection has long been forgotten,

traces of their continuing association has not been erased.

And , suddenly, in a wordless harmony,

a dim memory awakens and the beast looks on the face of the man with tender trust

and the man casts his eyes upon the beast with an amused tenderness.

It is as if two friends, both wearing masks, meet

and vaguely recognize each other through their disguises.

 

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

You cannot open a book without learning something.

                           -Confucius, 551 BCE – 479 BCE

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

We checked out the new incarnation of Chambar in Vancouver on Saturday night and highly recommend it.  So for all of you who live in Vancouver or travel there frequently as I do, it’s very good – nice décor as well.  Still on Beatty Street, just a few door away from the old local.  And what’s more, it’s walking distance to Rogers’ theatre if you are going to a show or the stadium for a game.  Food and service are excellent.  Russell Peters still very funny!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A calm and tranquil North Sea laps against the art installation, ‘The Couple’ by artist Sean Henery just off the coast at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, in north east England, as the warmer than usual temperatures continue across the United Kingdom. Owen Humphreys/AP

 

Surfer Dog Tillman rides a wave at the Surf City surf dog contest in Huntington Beach, California. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Market Closes for September 29^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17071.22	-41.93
		-0.25%
S&P 500	1977.80	-5.05   -0.25%
NASDAQ	4505.852	-6.342   -0.14%
TSX	14976.92	-49.85
		-0.33%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16310.64	+80.78
		+0.50%
HANG SENG	23229.21	-449.20
		-1.90%
SENSEX	26597.11	-29.21
		-0.11%
FTSE 100	6646.60	-2.79
		-0.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.124	2.163
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.647	2.684
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.4771	2.5258
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.1647	3.2140

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89582	0.89637
US $	1.11630	1.11561
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41649	0.70597
US $	1.26891	0.78808

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1215.98	1217.93
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	94.57	93.54

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, after rallying the most in five weeks, as markets around the world slumped after pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong added to geopolitical concerns.

     Toronto-Dominion Bank, the nation’s largest lender, tumbled 0.9 percent to pace declines among financial stocks. Pembina Pipeline Corp. and Talisman Energy Inc. retreated more than 1.8 percent. Encana Corp. rose 2 percent after agreeing to buy Athlon Energy Inc. for $5.93 billion to gain a foothold in Texas.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 49.85 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,976.92 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge rose 0.9 percent on Sept. 26, paring a weekly loss to 1.6 percent. The index has plunged 4.2 percent so far in September, poised for its worst month in more than two years.

     The MSCI All-World Index, which tracks both developed and emerging markets, slumped 0.5 percent today to a seven-week low.

     Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters poured back into the streets of Hong Kong after a weekend of demonstrations, demanding free and open elections and the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun Ying. The benchmark Hang Seng stock index plunged 1.9 percent.

     Toronto-Dominion sank 0.9 percent to C$54.91 as financial stocks fell 0.7 percent as a group. Six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX retreated on trading volume 4.7 percent lower than the 30-day average today.

     Pembina Pipeline dropped 2 percent to C$46.64 for a seventh day of losses, the worst streak since 2012, and Talisman Energy lost 1.8 percent to C$9.75.

     Encana gained 2 percent to C$24.06 after making its largest purchase since the Calgary-based company was formed in 2002. Encana, which split its oil production into a separate company in 2009, is returning to crude amid a supply glut that’s lowered natural gas prices 2.3 percent this year.

US

By Callie Bost and Oliver Renick

     Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, after the worst week in almost two months for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as Hong Kong protests added to geopolitical concern and a rebound in consumer spending fueled speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than anticipated.

     Ford Motor Co. slid 7.5 percent after saying pretax profit this year will miss its goal amid weaker results in South America and Europe. An S&P index of homebuilders retreated 1 percent as U.S. contracts to buy existing houses fell in August. Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts Ltd. dropped more than 2.9 percent as casino companies slid. Semiconductor stocks in the S&P 500 climbed as Micron Technology Inc. and Intel Corp. gained at least 1.8 percent.

     The S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent to 1,977.80 at 4 p.m. in New York, trading near its 50-day moving average after paring an earlier drop of 1 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 41.93 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,071.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index retreated 0.1 percent. About 5.9 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 4.2 percent above the three-month average.

     “There’s this sense of foreboding in the stock markets that we’re almost deserving of at least a correction,” Drew Wilson, an investment analyst with Fenimore Asset Management in Cobleskill, New York, said in a phone interview. “Nobody wants to be in the way of that. We’ve had one tiger awaken in Russia and now we have a tiger awakening in China and that’s a little too much risk and uncertainty for U.S. stock market investors to have on their plates.”

     The S&P 500 is down 1.3 percent for the month, paring a gain for the quarter to 0.9 percent. It has not had a four-day losing streak this year and has not fallen more than 10 percent in three years.                          

     Swings in equities have widened at the end of the quarter, with the Dow alternating between gains and losses of more than 100 points the previous four days.

     The Chicago Board Options Volatility Index, a gauge of investor trepidation derived from options, averaged 14.5 last week, 12 percent above its mean level during the third quarter. The VIX added 7.6 percent to 15.98 today.

     The S&P 500 slid 1.4 percent last week, the biggest decline in almost two months, amid an escalation in the Middle East conflict and a selloff in small-capitalized stocks and technology shares. It jumped 0.9 percent on Sept. 26 after a report showed the U.S. economy expanded in the second quarter at the fastest rate since 2011.

     “We’re in a giant yo-yo the past six sessions but central banks are still accommodative, U.S. growth is decent, the grind higher is still intact,” Michael Block, chief equity strategist at New York-based Rhino Trading Partners LLC, said in a phone interview. “We’re just hitting some bumps with macro issues.”

     Data today showed consumer spending in the U.S. rebounded in August as further job gains encouraged households to loosen their purse strings. Purchases increased 0.5 percent last month after little change in July. Incomes increased 0.3 percent.

     A report from the National Association of Realtors showed contracts to purchase previously owned homes declined in August as tighter credit and limited wage growth weigh on potential buyers. The pending home sales index dropped 1 percent after a 3.2 percent increase in July.

     KB Home dropped 2.4 percent to $15.19, while PulteGroup Inc. slid 0.8 percent to $17.74.

     Investors are analyzing reports to assess whether economic growth is strong enough to withstand higher interest rates. The S&P 500 reached a record on Sept. 18 as the Fed maintained a commitment to keep interest rates near zero for a considerable time after completing asset purchases. The central bank also said that the timing could move forward if data continue to exceed expectations.

     The Fed mustn’t “fall behind the curve” as it weighs when to start raising interest rates, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said in a Fox News interview, citing strengthening U.S. growth and building wage-price pressures.

     U.S. data on employment and output from the manufacturing and services industries are due this week, and companies next month will begin to report earnings for the third quarter. Alcoa Inc. unofficially kicks off the earnings season when it reports quarterly results on Oct. 8.

     Stock markets overseas slumped today as tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters poured back into the streets of Hong Kong to press demands for free and open elections. Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong pledged to continue demonstrations unless the city’s top official steps down.

     The turmoil added to the crises around the globe that have weighed on equities. Ukraine’s army endured its deadliest day since signing a cease-fire with pro-Russian militants 3 1/2 weeks ago, straining efforts to find a lasting settlement to the six-month conflict in the nation’s east. Investors are also watching the situation in Syria, where the U.S. and its allies are carrying out strikes against Islamic State positions.

     Brazilian shares retreated 4.5 percent after a poll showed increased support for President Dilma Rousseff’s re-election bid. Traders are paring bets on the chances a new government will be elected next month and jump-start economic growth after the country fell into a recession in the first half of the year.

     “Although we saw strong GDP numbers for the second quarter last week, there’s still a suspicion that unrest outside of our borders will impact economic growth here,” Jim Dunigan, chief investment officer at PNC Bank NA, which oversees $130 billion, said by phone from Philadelphia.

     Nine of 10 main industries in the S&P 500 slumped today. Consumer-discretionary shares had the biggest loss among the group, sliding 0.6 percent.

     Ford Motor tumbled 7.5 percent, the most since 2011, to $15.11. The second-largest U.S. automaker said it will earn a pretax profit of $6 billion this year, missing its goal of $7 billion to $8 billion. Ford told investors it will lose $1 billion in South America as inflation and other currency problems hurt operations there. Ford also forecast a loss of $1.2 billion in Europe this year and a loss of $250 million there in 2015.

     Casino companies with operations in Macau slid amid the protests in Hong Kong. Las Vegas Sands Corp. tumbled 2.9 percent to $60.15, while Wynn Resorts Ltd. dropped 3 percent to $178.99. Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. fell 2.9 percent to $25.73 and MGM Resorts International slipped 1.9 percent to $22.16.                        

      Civeo Corp. sank 50 percent to $12.84 after saying it won’t convert to a real estate investment trust and will re-domicile to Canada. The provider of workforce accommodation said it expects 2015 revenues and margins to be “materially lower” than in 2014.

     Semiconductor stocks climbed 0.8 percent for the best performance among 24 S&P 500 groups. Micron jumped 2 percent to $34.50, while Intel rose 1.9 percent to $34.90.

     DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. surged 26 percent to $28.18 as people familiar with the matter said SoftBank Corp. is in talks to buy the company. An acquisition hasn’t been formally discussed by senior executives at SoftBank, and the chances of reaching a final agreement are low, said another person familiar with matters at Tokyo-based SoftBank.

     Computer Sciences Corp. jumped 5.3 percent to $59.62. The technology consultant for governments and companies has contacted private-equity firms including Blackstone Group LP and Bain Capital LLC to gauge their interest in a leveraged buyout, people with knowledge of the matter said.

     Athlon Energy Inc. jumped 25 percent to $58.32 after Encana Corp. agreed to buy it for $5.93 billion in cash, gaining a foothold in the most-prolific U.S. oil producing region.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Between me and the smallest animal,

the difference is only in manifestation,

but as a principal he is the same as I am,

he is my brother, he has the same soul as I have.

 

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

                                  -Salvador Dali, 1904-1989

 

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

Poet T.S. Eliot  was born on this day in 1888.

We shall not cease from our exploration and at the end of all our exploring, we shall arrive where  we started and know the place for the first time. –T.S. Eliot.

Going to see comedian Russell Peter’s show in Vancouver tomorrow night, his “Almost Famous World Tour” – should be a lot of laughs – still the best medicine!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Chris Vierra, renowned pumpkin carver from Villafane Studios, creates a lifelike Tyrannosaurus Rex sculpture using pumpkins and squash at Field Station: Dinosaurs, a 20-acre outdoor Jurassic learning expedition and family tourist attraction in Secaucus, N.J. Charles Sykes/Invision for Field Station: Dinosaurs/AP

The pack rides during the Men Under 23 road race over 113 miles of the Road Cycling World Championships in Ponferrada, northwestern Spain. Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP

Market Closes for September 26^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17113.15	+167.35
		+0.99%
S&P 500	1982.85	+16.86   +0.86%
NASDAQ	4512.195	+45.448   +1.02%
TSX	15026.77	+133.20
		+0.89%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16229.86	-144.28
		-0.88%
HANG SENG	23678.41	-89.72
		-0.38%
SENSEX	26626.32	+157.96
		+0.60%
FTSE 100	6649.39	+9.68
		+0.15%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.163	2.145
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.684	2.679
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.5258	2.5004
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2140	3.2107

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89637	0.89998
US $	1.11561	1.11114
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41496	0.70673
US $	1.26832	0.78844

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1217.93	1221.46
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	93.54	94.33

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced the most in five weeks, rebounding from a three-month low, as Bombardier Inc. and BlackBerry Ltd. rallied while crude producers climbed on speculation U.S. economic growth will increase demand.

     Bombardier jumped the most since April after signing a firm purchase agreement with Macquarie AirFinance to sell at least 40 C-Series aircraft. BlackBerry Ltd. added 5.2 percent after reporting a narrower loss than analysts’ projected and selling out its new Passport smartphone. Toronto-Dominion Bank, the nation’s largest lender, gained 1 percent as banks snapped a five-day loss. Torex Gold Resources Inc. and B2Gold Corp. retreated more than 1.9 percent to pace declines among raw- materials stocks.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 133.20 points, or 0.9 percent to 15,026.77 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the most since Aug. 19. The benchmark equity gauge lost 1.6 percent in the past five days, its fourth straight weekly decline, the longest losing streak this year.

     BlackPearl Resources Inc. jumped 4.7 percent to C$2.23 and RMP Energy Inc. climbed 3.4 percent C$6.96 as energy stocks rallied 1.3 percent as a group. Crude in New York surged 1.1 percent, capping the biggest weekly gain in a month.

     The U.S. economy grew a revised 4.6 percent in the second quarter, up from a previous estimate of 4.2 percent. Busier assembly lines at the nation’s factories and job growth that’s kept Americans spending indicate companies are a bit more upbeat about the prospects for demand.

     Torex Gold declined 1.9 percent to C$1.52 and B2Gold lost 3.8 percent to C$2.27 as the S&P/TSX Materials Index fell 0.1 percent.

     BlackBerry rose 5.2 percent to C$11.44, snapping a three- day loss. The smartphone maker has sold 200,000 of its new square-screen Passport phone in its debut this week and reported a net loss of 2 cents a share, ahead of the 16-cent deficit forecast by analysts.

US

By Callie Bost

     Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded from the worst day since July, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumping the most in five weeks, as corporate results topped estimates and data showed the fastest economic growth since 2011.

     Nike Inc. jumped 12 percent after reporting first-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates. Micron Technology Inc. added 6.8 percent after a surge in quarterly sales beat projections. Yahoo! Inc. jumped after Starboard Value LP said it wants the Web portal to explore a combination with AOL Inc. Janus Capital Group Inc. rallied 43 percent after hiring Bill Gross, co-founder and co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent to 1,982.85 at 4 p.m. in New York. The equity benchmark slumped the most since July yesterday and lost 1.4 percent in the past five days, its worst week in eight. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 165.88 points, or 1 percent, to 17,113.15, its best rally since Aug. 18. The Dow dropped 1 percent this week. About 5.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 12 percent below the three-month average.

     “With some decent economic news in GDP, we’re now just seeing an oversold bounce as people get in line for the end of the quarter,” Ryan Detrick, a Cincinnati-based market strategist at the investment research firm, said in a phone interview. “We kept that beach ball down for a while and now it’s popping back up.”                        

     Equities extended gains in afternoon trading as the S&P 500 moved above its average price for the past 50 days. The gauge dropped below the level yesterday for the first time since August. The index has advanced 7.3 percent this year, extending a bull market that has nearly tripled its level since 2009, amid continued Federal Reserve stimulus even as the economic recovery shows signs of strengthening.

     The S&P 500 had fallen 2.3 percent since reaching a record on Sept. 18. Apple Inc., the largest company in the gauge, led a 1.6 percent selloff yesterday and dragged the Nasdaq 100 Index to its worst performance since April.

     The Nasdaq 100 rebounded 1.2 percent today while the Russell 2000 Index added 0.8 percent after a 1.6 percent selloff yesterday. Apple advanced 2.8 percent.

     “I do think it’s still a buy the dips market,” James Liu, global market strategist at JP Morgan Funds in New York, said by phone. The firm oversees about $400 billion in the U.S. “There’s always short-term news that can derail the market. But in the end, the underlying strength of the U.S. market still comes back so you’ve had upward momentum despite the dips.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge known as the VIX, retreated 5.1 percent to 14.85 today. The index rallied 18 percent yesterday, the most since July, and added 23 percent this week.

     Data today showed gross domestic product grew at a revised 4.6 percent annualized rate, up from a previous estimate of 4.2 percent, as companies stepped up investment and households boosted spending. A separate report indicated consumer confidence climbed in September to a 14-month high as Americans’ outlooks for the economy improved.

     The Fed last week maintained a commitment to keep interest rates near zero for a considerable time after completing asset purchases. The Fed also said that the timing could move forward if data continues to exceed expectations. Investors are analyzing reports to assess whether growth is strong enough to withstand higher interest rates.

     Economic reports on employment and output from the manufacturing and services industries are due next week.

     “Clearly the economy has seen varying degrees of improvement, but the level of improvement is not at where it warrants higher interest rates,” Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said by phone. “At present, it’s too early to put the bear suit on. It’s a ’buy on the dips’ equity and we may grind higher until earnings.”

     All of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today. Producers of consumer-discretionary products added 1.1 percent, while energy shares surged 1.3 percent.

     Nike Inc. rallied 12 percent to a record $89.50. The world’s largest sporting-goods maker, posted first-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates after the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament boosted sales.

     Technology shares jumped 1.2 percent, as Micron and Yahoo surged. The group had its worst day since April yesterday.

     Yahoo added 4.4 percent to $40.66. Starboard, which acquired a stake in the company, said Yahoo should review a tie- up with AOL to “unlock value.” AOL shares gained 3.7 percent to $44.55.

     Micron Technology added 6.8 percent to $33.84. The largest U.S. maker of computer-memory chips said fourth-quarter sales rose 49 percent, exceeding analysts’ estimates, as corporate demand for personal computers boosted prices.

     Janus Capital surged 43 percent to $15.89, the highest since 2008. Gross is leaving Pimco amid record redemptions at his main mutual fund, the $222 billion Pimco Total Return fund. Allianz SE, the German insurer that owns Pimco, declined 6.2 percent in Frankfurt, the most since 2011.

     “It’s a coup for Janus and it shows you with the stock price today how much investors weigh having Gross at Pimco,” said Kevin Headland, director of the portfolio advisory group at Manulife Asset Management in Toronto. The firm manages $281 billion. “The name of the person is the biggest name we have out there in North American money management, he’s all over the news and the news is quite shocking, so it drives people to take the money out and see where the chips lie.”                          

     Pimco’s Global StocksPLUS & Income Fund slipped 5.7 percent, while the firm’s High Income Fund decreased 6.1 percent, after earlier falling the most in almost two years.

     Closed-end funds bore the brunt of the selling because they aren’t subject to the intraday redemption and creation processes that cause exchange-traded funds to hew to the market prices of their underlying assets. For instance, as of yesterday, the Global StockPlus & Income fund traded at a 78 percent premium to its net asset value, while the High Income Fund cost 46 percent more than the value of its bonds.

     “A lot of people bought into Pimco because of Bill Gross who was the face of the organization and so they’re shooting first and asking questions later,” Bill Mann, chief investment officer of Alexandria, Virginia-based Motley Fool Asset Management LLC, said by phone.
 

Have  a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!
 

Bees suck nectar from many different flowers, and then make honey.

One drop of honey cannot claim to come from one flower, and another drop of honey from another flower,

the honey is a single consistent whole.

In the same way, all beings are one even though they are not aware of this.

The tiger and the lion, the wolf and the boar, the worm and the moth, the gnat and the mosquito,

all come from the soul, and are part of the soul.

 

Chandogya Upanishad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.

                                   -Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962

 

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

When I arrived home last night, the new CD that I had ordered a couple of days on Amazon was waiting.   I immediately opened it, flipped it into the CD player and we sat down to listen and were mesmerized by it.  Highly recommended – I am referring to Barbra Streisand’s latest, entitled Partners.  She sings duets with vocalists ranging from her son, Jason Gould to Elvis Presley.  Some of the highlights are a duet with Billy Joel where they perform A New York State of Mind, one with Lionel Ritchie  – an amazing rendition of The Way We Were, also ones with Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, Josh Groban and BabyFace, to name a few.  It debuted at the top spot on this week’s Billboard 200 album chart and it is easy to understand why.  We love it!

The writer William Faulkner was born on this day in 1897.

The past is not dead.  In fact, it’s not even past. –William Faulkner.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Saint Peter’s square is silhouetted during a sunset in Rome. Tony Gentile/Reuters

A field of pumpkins are seen next to palm trees along the coastline in Encinitas, California. Mike Blake/Reuters

Market Closes for September 25^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	16945.80	-264.26
		-1.54%
S&P 500	1965.99	-32.31   -1.62%
NASDAQ	4466.746	-88.475   -1.94%
TSX	14893.57	-226.97
		-1.50%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16374.14	+206.69
		+1.28%
HANG SENG	23768.13	-153.48
		-0.64%
SENSEX	26468.36	-276.33
		-1.03%
FTSE 100	6639.71	-66.56
		-0.99%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.145	2.202
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.679	2.737
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.5004	2.5637
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2107	3.2765

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.89998	0.90421
US $	1.11114	1.10594
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41665	0.70589
US $	1.27495	0.78434

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1221.46	1216.96
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	94.33	94.00

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a fifth day, the longest streak in more than a year, as banks slumped and raw-materials producers retreated with metals prices.

     National Bank of Canada lost 1.7 percent to pace declines among financial stocks. Raging River Exploration Inc. and Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. slumped more than 4 percent as energy producers extended a five-month low. OceanaGold Corp. dropped 3.8 percent as gold fell to an eight-month low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 1 percent to 14,966.18 at 10:27 a.m. in Toronto, the lowest level since June. The benchmark equity gauge has lost 3.2 percent during its five- day slide, the longest since June 2013.

     Nine of the 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX dropped today on trading volume 28 percent above the 30-day average.

     Advantage Oil & Gas sank 4.1 percent to C$5.59 and Raging River lost 4.7 percent to C$9.19 as the S&P/TSX Energy Index slumped 1.6 percent for a fifth day of declines, headed for the lowest close since April 7.

     OceanaGold tumbled 3.8 percent to C$2.29 as raw-materials stocks plunged 0.8 percent as a group.

     Gold for December delivery fell as the dollar climbed to a four-year high against 10 major currencies.

     Teck Resources Ltd. slumped 2.6 percent to C$21.42 and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 1.3 percent to C$21.86 as copper and aluminum paced declines among industrial metals.

     BlackBerry Ltd. retreated 2.8 percent to C$11.28. The company yesterday unveiled its Passport smartphone with a unique square screen, aimed at professionals.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped 2.8 percent to C$141.17, the highest since June. The drugmaker has rallied 11 percent in the past two days after announcing its third-quarter earnings results were expected to beat consensus forecasts for revenue.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Oliver Renick

     Sept. 25 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks sank, with the Nasdaq 100 plunging the most since April, as Apple Inc. sank on complaints related to its new smartphone and amid signs of worsening conflict in Russia and the Middle East.

     Apple plunged 3.8 percent to lead the selloff in technology shares. Biogen Idec Inc. and TripAdvisor Inc. lost at least 3.3 percent as investors sold some of the bull market’s biggest winners. Allegheny Technologies Inc. sank 4.8 percent as industrial metals slid. The Russell 2000 Index of small-cap stocks sank 1.6 percent to close at a four-month low.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell the most since July, sliding 1.6 percent to 1,965.99 at 4 p.m. in New York. All but 14 of the index’s components retreated, the broadest slump since Feb. 3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 264.26 points, or 1.5 percent, to 16,945.80. The Nasdaq 100 dropped 2.1 percent. About 6.4 billion changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 13 percent above the three-month average.

     “We could have a pull back of 5 percent anytime if you have a confluence of factors that impact investor psychology or geopolitical factors that seem to get out of control,” Marshall Front, chief investment officer at Chicago-based Front Barnett Associates LLC, said by phone. “Stocks are no longer undervalued. There are rumors the Russian parliament authorized confiscation of foreign investments, Apple is weighing on the tech sector, and the durable goods top line number was very weak.”

     Equities opened lower as data on equipment orders and jobless claims bolstered speculation the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to raise rates sooner than estimated. Stocks extended losses on a report that Russian lawmakers drafted legislation that would allow the government to seize foreign assets. U.S. and Arab airstrikes targeted oil refineries in the east of Syria.

     Today’s decline in the S&P 500 sent the benchmark gauge below its average price for the past 50 days for the first time since August. The index is down 1.9 percent in September, headed for its worst month since January.

     Investors sold some of the market’s best performers, with the companies with the 10 biggest losses in the Nasdaq 100 Index having risen an average of 64 percent last year. An index compiled by Wells Fargo of companies with the biggest hedge fund ownership declined 1.7 percent.

     The small-cap Russell 2000 has plunged 8.1 percent from a high on July 3, while the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index has lost 5.1 percent since Sept. 8.

     U.S. data today showed applications for unemployment benefits increased less than forecast last week, while orders for business equipment climbed more than forecast in August. Demand for all durable goods slumped a record 18.2 percent.

     The S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent yesterday, its biggest gain since Aug. 18, to rebound from a 1.4 percent slide over three days after closing Sept. 18 at an all-time high.

     The gauge has not had a four consecutive declines this year as it continues a bull market that nearly tripled its level since March 2009. It is down 2.2 percent this week.

     “There’s a broad-based fear that things could turn negative — the market has been short-term skittish,” Tom Sudyka, president of Lawson Kroeker Investment Management in Omaha, Nebraska, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees about $500 million. “Every time we get near or at a record, there’s always a pause to see if it’s a reasonable valuation.”

     The S&P 500 trades at 17.8 times the reported earnings of its companies, near the highest level since 2010. The Nasdaq 100 has a price-earnings ratio of 23.6. It topped 24 this month for the first time since 2010.                      

      The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge known as the VIX, increased 18 percent to 15.64 today, the most since July. The index slid 11 percent yesterday after surging 24 percent over the prior three days.

     Eight of the 10 main S&P 500 groups retreated at least 1 percent today, with technology shares sinking 2.3 percent to pace losses. Materials producers plunged 1.5 percent. No stock in the benchmark gauge climbed more than 0.7 percent.

     Apple’s 3.8 percent slide was the biggest since Sept. 3 and left the shares at a six-week low. The company pulled a new mobile-software update after the program caused some people to lose cellular service yesterday. Scores of consumers also criticized the new 6 Plus iPhone and how it can bend. Apple said the bending is “extremely rare.”

     Biogen Idec dropped 3.7 percent and Illumina Inc. slid 2.8 percent to pace declines in the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100. The two had rallied at least 90 percent in 2013.

     Allegheny Technologies sank 4.8 percent for the biggest drop in the equities benchmark. The metals miner led losses among material producers as commodities declined after the dollar touched a four-year high.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

 

Autumn

 

The autumn comes, a maiden fair

In slenderness and grace,

With nodding rice-stems in her hair

And lilies in her face.

In flowers of grasses she is clad;

And as she  moves along, birds greet her with their cooing glad

Like bracelets’ tinkling song.

 

Kalidasa

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The surest test of discipline is its absence.

                    -Clara Barton, 1821-1912

 

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

The Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah, begins at sundown this evening.  Rabbi Harry Brechner of Victoria’s Congregation Emanu-El wrote a cogent piece in today’s local paper.  Some thoughts merit reflection:  “When the Jewish new Year begins at sundown tonight, it’s the culmination of a month when we ask ourselves questions that everyone – Jews and non-Jews – should ask in their quest to become better people.

‘Where am I in terms of my relationships?’  ‘Where  am I  in my self-growth?’  ‘What do I hope to achieve next year and in my life?’  ‘What’s the most meaningful thing in my life?’

….In Genesis, it teaches that we as humans are created in God’s image….At the same time, our actual selves that walk around on our planet are capable of feeling envy, lying, hurting ourselves and others.  Our actual selves are what we see in truth in the mirror, with all of our scars, our warts, our bad habit.  The path from our actual selves to our potential selves is our authentic self.  The authentic self is our person on the pathway of teshuvah/repentance…. When we cause pain or hurt, we need to do our utmost to repair that which we have damaged and to seek forgiveness through contrition.  We also need to promise the person we have wronged that we have changed and will not repeat those same behaviours.

  Underlying the concept of forgiving the other is a sense that when I hurt someone, I also hurt God and in turn, hurt myself.  If we see others as God’s children, the parallel is simple:  As a human parent, we know that when our children are hurt and in pain, we as parents feel pain as well…”

On this day in 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game at Ebbets Field. The franchise moved to Los Angeles the following season.

Also on this day in 1896, F. Scott Fitzgerald was born.

At 18 our convictions are hills from which we look.  At 45 they are caves in which we hide. –F. Scott Fitzgerald.

And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

                                                                                 -from The Great Gatsby

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Artist Nathan Sawaya poses for photographs with his Sculpture ‘Yellow’ at the Old Truman Brewery, East London. His exhibition which uses LEGO bricks as his medium will run from September 26 until January 4, 2015. Paul Hackett/Reuters

A devotee lights candles at a Chinese shrine during the annual vegetarian festival in Bangkok. The festival celebrates the local Chinese community’s belief that abstinence from meat and various stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar will help them obtain good health and peace of mind. Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

Market Closes for September 24^th, 2014    

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	17210.06	+154.19
		+0.90%
S&P 500	1998.30	+15.53   +0.78%
NASDAQ	4555.23	+46.535   +1.03%
TSX	15120.54	-5.13
		-0.03%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	16167.45	-38.45
		-0.24%
HANG SENG	23921.61	+84.54
		+0.35%
SENSEX	26744.69	-31.00
		-0.12%
FTSE 100	6706.27	+30.19
		+0.45%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.202	2.172
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.737	2.718
U.S.    10 Year Bond	2.5637	2.5256
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.2765	3.2430

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.90421	0.90271
US $	1.10594	1.10777
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41340	0.70751
US $	1.27802	0.78246

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1216.96	1224.05
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	94.00	92.56

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little-changed at a six-week low, paring an earlier loss as financial shares retreated while Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rallied the most in five months.

     Talisman Energy Inc. and TransGlobe Energy Corp. lost at least 2.1 percent as energy stocks slumped to a five-month low. Bank of Nova Scotia sank 1.1 percent to pace losses among lenders. Valeant jumped 7 percent after the company said it expects to report third-quarter results that top estimates.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 15,120.54 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the lowest since Aug. 7, recovering from an earlier loss of as much as 0.8 percent. The index touched a record Sept. 3.

     Five of the 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX dropped today on trading volume 35 percent above the 30-day average.

     Talisman Energy fell 2.9 percent to C$9.97 and TransGlobe Energy lost 2.1 percent to C$6.52. The S&P/TSX Energy Index has fallen for four days, to the lowest since April.

     Financial stocks, which account for about one-third of the weighting in the S&P/TSX, slid 0.5 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia lost 1.1 percent and Toronto-Dominion Bank slipped 0.8 percent.

     Valeant jumped 7 percent to C$137.29, the biggest gain since April. The drugmaker reports third-quarter earnings Oct. 20.

     Sherritt International Corp. jumped 9.7 percent to C$3.62, the biggest rally since December. Base metal prices rallied in London as copper futures rose from a 14-week low.

     BlackBerry Ltd. lost 0.8 percent to C$11.61, erasing an earlier gain. Chief Executive Officer John Chen unveiled a square-screened smartphone at an event in Toronto. The Passport is BlackBerry’s first major new device introduced globally since Chen was named CEO in November.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Cordell Eddings

     Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded as new-home sales surged and health-care shares erased yesterday’s losses.  European equities rose on central bank stimulus bets, while Treasuries fell and the dollar strengthened.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.8 percent at 4 p.m. in New York, halting a three-day drop. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.7 percent. Both gauges closed yesterday at the lowest levels of the month. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose 4 basis points to 2.57 percent after a notes sale drew lower- than-average demand. The euro fell below $1.28 for the first time in 14 months. Oil jumped 1.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed to the highest since March 2013.

     New-home sales in the U.S. surged in August to the highest level in more than six years, a sign that the housing recovery is making progress. German business confidence fell more than forecast in September, after the European Central Bank said earlier this week it’ll be more active in its efforts to bolster the economy. Pfizer Inc. paced a rally in health-care stocks amid signs that efforts to curtail tax-friendly overseas deals might fall short.

     “We had three down days in a row, but the size of the home sales increase was a surprise,” Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion, said in a phone interview. “Improved confidence and stocks being cheaper than they were a few days ago prompted some buying. Stock performance this year has been good because dips haven’t lasted very long.”

     The S&P 500 dropped 1.4 percent during a three-day losing streak after closing Sept. 18 at a record. The gauge has not fallen four straight days since December.                       

     The benchmark index rallied last week as the Fed reaffirmed that its benchmark interest rate will stay low for a “considerable time” after the central bank ends a bond- purchase program intended to spur growth.

     Data today showed sales of new U.S. houses jumped 18 percent to a 504,000 annualized pace, the most since May 2008. The median forecast of 74 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for the pace to accelerate to 430,000. The one-month increase was the biggest since January 1992.

     Treasuries fell for the first time in five days as the U.S. received the lowest demand at a five-year auction this year, with investors speculating the Fed is moving closer to raising interest rates. The $35 billion sale’s bid-to-cover ratio, which gauges demand by comparing total bids with the amount of securities offered, was 2.56, versus an average of 2.75 for the past 10 sales.                       

     The benchmark 10-year yield rose four basis points to 2.57 percent after dropping nine basis points the previous four days, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. Treasuries are headed for the steepest monthly loss this year after Fed officials raised their median forecast for borrowing costs earlier this month.

     “The weak auction is reflecting a market that realizes that we are at a crossroads — the Fed seems on course to raise rates,” said Carl Lantz, head of interest-rate strategy in New York at Credit Suisse Group AG, which as a primary dealer is obligated to bid at U.S. auctions. “The market is finally starting to trade with that in mind, and it’s clear that time isn’t on your side anymore.”

     Volatility across stocks, bonds and currencies worldwide is close to record or multi-year lows, even after Fed Chair Janet Yellen cautioned last week that the central bank could pull forward the timing of a rate increase if U.S. economic performance continues to exceed expectations.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge known as the VIX, decreased 11 percent to 13.27 today for the largest decline since Aug. 4. The index had surged 24 percent over the prior three days.                       

     Small-cap and Internet stocks have led recent declines in U.S. equities. Drugmakers with pending cross-border mergers tumbled yesterday after the U.S. disclosed plans to limit tax- driven deals.

     Health-care stocks had the biggest gains among 10 groups in the S&P 500 today, jumping 1.7 percent, amid signs that cross- border deals may continue despite the government’s efforts to curtail inversions. Pfizer climbed 0.9 percent after people with knowledge of the matter said the company has approached Actavis Plc about a deal that could allow it to move its address overseas and reduce taxes.

     Among other movers, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. rallied 7.4 percent after posting quarterly profit and sales that topped analysts’ estimates. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. jumped 2 percent after reaching a deal with prepaid-card firm Green Dot Corp. to offer checking accounts to the retailer’s customers. Citizens Financial Group Inc. gained 7.4 percent in its trading debut after raising $3 billion in an initial public offering.

     The Stoxx 600 rose after sliding 1.4 percent yesterday, the most since July 8. The volume of shares changing hands was 15 percent above the 30-day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The Ifo institute’s business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, dropped to 104.7 from 106.3 in August. Economists predicted a decline to 105.8, according to the median of 36 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The index is now at its lowest since April 2013.

     Since June, ECB President Mario Draghi has cut interest rates to record lows, offered cheap long-term cash to banks, and pledged to buy asset-backed securities and covered bonds in a bid to revive the euro-area economy. He has said policy makers will go further if needed, leaving open the option of quantitative easing, or large-scale buying of sovereign debt.                     

      “At least for the ECB, today’s Ifo index is good news,” said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING-DiBa in Frankfurt. “It should hush German protests against the latest asset- purchasing program and even against future possible quantitative easing.”

     The euro dropped 0.5 percent to $1.2780 on bets the ECB will add further monetary stimulus. The shared currency declined against most of its 31 major counterparts after Draghi said the exchange rate is in line with the divergence of monetary policy in Europe from other countries.

     The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent, strengthening for a fourth day and extending a four-year high.  The U.S. currency climbed 0.2 percent to 109.05 yen.

     Gold futures fell 0.2 percent to $1,219.50 as the dollar rallied, damping demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.

     Oil jumped 1.4 percent after the Energy Information Administration said inventories dropped to an eight-month low. U.S. crude supplies decreased 4.27 million barrels last week as imports declined, according to the Energy Department’s statistical arm. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected an increase.

     The MSCI All-Country World Index gained 0.4 percent, after three days of declines. The gauge closed at its lowest level since Aug. 12 yesterday. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.2 percent, after four straight sessions of losses. The gauge is down 4.7 percent for September. The MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index was little changed after closing at its lowest level since June 5.

     Russia’s Micex added 0.9 percent and the ruble strengthened 1.2 percent against the dollar as the government held its first local debt auction in 10 weeks.

     NATO said Russia has embarked on a “significant” withdrawal of forces from Ukraine, adding to signs that a truce is taking hold between the Kiev government and separatist groups.

     Markets in the Middle East mostly declined. Dubai’s DFM General Index and Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock gauge dropped1.2 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

     The bombing of Islamic State militants in Syria is being carried out by the broadest Arab-U.S. military coalition since the 1991 Gulf War. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar all joined the first wave of U.S.-led airstrikes against the group yesterday.

     The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.5 percent as a jump in new trading accounts lifted brokerages. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong rallied 1.4 percent, rebounding from a two-month low.

     Cotton fell 2 percent and touched 61.02 cents a pound, the lowest price since 2009. China, the biggest buyer of the fiber, will restrict imports next year to encourage use of domestic cotton, the government said on Sept. 22.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

I make no distinction between one religion and another.

People may worship me in any form they wish.

The form of worship does not matter to me;

my only concern is the quality of love which is expressed in worship.

I accept every kind of worship, because I am supreme.

The Bhagavad Gita

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.

                          -Fulton J. Sheen, 1895-1979

 

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

 

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7