Category: Uncategorized

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this date in 1902, Teddy Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to ride in a car. He traveled through Connecticut, spoke in New Haven and drove on packed streets of eager onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of the president.-Steven Russolillo, WSJ.

From Maclean’s magazine:

Walking does a body good:  British researchers have found that walking just 20 minutes a day can reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, depression and diabetes – and could save 37,000 lives in the U.K. annually.  This news comes on the heels of an American Cancer Society study showing that women who walked seven hours a week had a 14 per cent lower risk of breast cancer than those who walked three or fewer hours.

Photos of the Day
Clouds engulf the Teton mountain range near the Jackson Lake Lodge near Jackson, Wyo. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is holding the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium at the lodge. John Locher/AP

A woman in a wedding gown and a tourist pose for photos with the skyline of the financial district of Singapore at Marina Bay. Edgar Su/Reuters

Market Closes for August 22^nd, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell a second day, retreating from a record, as energy producers slumped with crude posting the longest losing streak in nine months and investors weighed earnings from Royal Bank of Canada.

     Royal Bank, the first Canadian lender to report third- quarter results, dropped 1.1 percent. Whitecap Resources Inc. and Legacy Oil & Gas Inc. retreated at least 1.4 percent as crude declined on concern refineries will reduce demand.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 20.54 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,535.55 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge closed at a record 15,561.95 on Aug. 20.

     Whitecap Resources dropped 1.5 percent to C$18.28 and Legacy Oil & Gas retreated 1.4 percent to C$8.03 as energy producers fell 0.2 percent as a group. Three of 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge retreated.

     Crude for October delivery slipped 0.3 percent to $93.65 a barrel in New York. The crude price has dropped 3.8 percent this week, for a fifth straight week of declines as the end of summer driving season approaches.

     U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said slack remains in the U.S. labor market even after gains made during the past five years of economic recovery. Yellen spoke today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at a symposium also being attended by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who called on governments to do more to help the euro-area economy.

     Royal Bank, Canada’s second-largest lender by assets, lost 1.1 percent to C$80.80, the biggest decline in three weeks as profit growth in its domestic retail bank was the slowest in more than two years. The bank beat analysts’ estimates as investment-banking fees surged. Bank of Nova Scotia, National Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal are scheduled to report earnings on Aug. 26.

US

By Elena Popina and Lu Wang

     Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) — The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell after reaching an all-time high as investors weighed comments from central bank leaders for clues to monetary policy amid rising geopolitical tension.

     The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,988.40 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark gauge ended the week with a 1.7 percent gain, its biggest advance since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 38.27 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,001.22 today. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 percent to the highest since 2000. About 4.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, the slowest full session this year. Volume has not topped 5 billion shares in each of the past four days.

     “Janet Yellen does not appear to have broken any new ground,” Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Chicago- based Northern Trust Corp., said by phone. His firm manages about $924 billion of assets. “The advance to the record has been supported by good U.S. economic data of late. The Fed is also doing a good job at preparing the market for the eventual increase in interest rates. As long as the economy continues to perform well, the market is in good shape.”

     Equities fluctuated after Federal Reserve Chair Yellen said in a speech at the Kansas City Federal Reserve’s annual economics conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that slack remains in the labor market even after gains made during the five years of economic recovery. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called for governments to do more to help the euro- area economy.                          

     The S&P 500 climbed to an all-time closing high of 1,992.37 yesterday as data from housing to manufacturing indicated that the world’s largest economy continues to strengthen. Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting released earlier this week reinforced the central bank’s commitment to supporting the recovery even as some policy makers indicated a willingness to raise rates sooner than anticipated.

     Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said in an interview the U.S. central bank may begin tightening monetary policy earlier than officials previously expected, while Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart urged more patience.

     “The evidence is leading toward an earlier increase than would have been in the works earlier this year,” Bullard said on Bloomberg Radio in Jackson Hole. “Labor markets have improved quite a bit relative to what the committee was thinking.”

     Atlanta’s Lockhart, who spoke in a separate Bloomberg Radio interview yesterday, still warned of the risk of “moving prematurely and snuffing out some progress.”

     Draghi’s call for politicians to play their part in safeguarding the euro-area recovery comes as pressure mounts on the ECB for radical measures such as quantitative easing. One year after the end of the currency bloc’s longest-ever recession, the economy has stalled, unemployment remains near a record high and inflation is the weakest in almost five years.

     “Draghi has been very good at letting the market know that the ECB is ready to act, but the market will ultimately call his bluff if he doesn’t deliver,” Todd Lowenstein, who helps manage $16 billion at Highmark Capital Management in Los Angeles, said in a phone interview. “There’s a sense of impatience going on with the deterioration in the Eurozone, and there’s a growing desire to see an action plan.”

     In June, the ECB introduced targeted long-term refinancing operations to improve bank lending in the non-financial private sector.

     Three rounds of Fed stimulus and better-than-projected corporate earnings have helped the S&P 500 almost triple since its low in March 2009. The S&P 500 has not had a decline of 10 percent in almost three years. It trades at 17.8 times the reported earnings of its companies, near the highest level since 2010.

     The S&P 500 has rebounded 4.1 percent from a two-month low on Aug. 7, bolstered by easing tensions in Ukraine and speculation that central banks will keep interest rates low.

     Stocks dropped early in the day after NATO said it has seen large transfers of advanced weapons and sees an “alarming build-up” of Russian forces near Ukraine. Trucks carrying what Russia says is humanitarian aid crossed the border into Ukraine, whose government said the move amounted to an invasion because the convoy moved without its consent.

     Russia is invading under the cover of the aid trucks, Valentyn Nalyvaychenko, the head of Ukraine’s security council, said on TV5.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P options prices known as the VIX, slipped 2.5 percent to 11.47, the lowest level since July 16. The gauge has lost 16 percent this year.

     Seven of the 10 main S&P 500 groups declined today, with energy stocks falling 0.7 percent for the worst performance.

     Intuit Inc. fell 2.6 percent to $83.57 after the company forecast 2015 earnings and revenue that missed analysts’ estimates.

     Keurig Green Mountain Inc. surged 13 percent to $133.36, the highest on record, after announcing a deal to bring Kraft Foods Group Inc. coffee brands such as Maxwell House, Yuban and McCafe to its home brewing system.

     GameStop Corp. added 6 percent to $42.90 after the video- game chain reported profit that beat estimates as consumers bought new players and software.

     Ross Stores increased 7.4 percent, the most since January 2013, to $73.37. The operator of bargain-priced clothing and home-goods stores reported earnings of $1.14 per share in the second quarter, exceeding analysts’ projection for $1.08. Ross Stores raised its full-year earnings target.

     Gap Inc. gained 5.2 percent to $45.43. The largest U.S.apparel-focused retailer said profit excluding a gain from an asset sale was 70 cents a share in the second quarter. Net income rose 9.6 percent to $332 million, or 75 cents a share. That beat the average analyst projection of 69 cents.
 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

It is man’s social nature which distinguishes him from the brute creation.

If it is his privilege to be independent, it is equally his duty to be inter-dependent.

Only an arrogant man will claim to be independent of everybody else and be self-contained.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

Peace is when time doesn’t matter as it passes by.

                                   -Maria Schell, 1926-2005

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:

On this date in 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state in the U.S.

The Numbers today:

10,0000: Number of baby boomers who will turn age 65 every day between now and 2030. 

$896,000

The sum Berkshire Hathaway said it has agreed to pay to settle U.S. allegations that it violated antitrust laws by failing to report the acquisition of an equity stake in USG, a gypsum wallboard maker in Chicago.

Blanket

By Brian Johnstone

It flops down from the cupboard shelf by chance,
the grey  of something needing to be spread
again on earth, below taut canvas, half
remembered sky.  Still hinting at the smoke
of memories, it slumps like wood ash now
beneath my feet, green blanket-stitch the moss
on stones placed round a fire.
                              And glowing red?

A name tag tacking this to me, to years
in single figures, summer camps in fields
ploughed over when the tents were razed and gone;
the imprint of the past like patterns left
by grass stems in the flesh of knees,
                              that fade
as skin is stretched in standing, walking tall.

  -from Dry Stone Work, Arc Publications

Photos of the Day

People look at French artist Clement Briend’s photographic light installation ‘Divine Trees’, which features images of divine figures highly revered in Asian cultures projected on trees towering over bystanders, during a media preview of the Singapore Night Festival in Singapore. Edgar Su/Reuters

A home is alight from lanterns during the annual grand illumination night in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. On this night, hundreds of lanterns hung on gingerbread cottage porches are lit. The tradition, dates from the turn of the 19th century. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Market Closes for August 21^st, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Elena Popina

     Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended little changed, with the benchmark index near an all-time high, as declines in gold mining companies were offset by gains in financial shares.

     Alamos Gold Inc. and Goldcorp Inc. fell more than 3.5 percent as the metal fell to a two-month low on the outlook for higher U.S. interest rates. Whitecap Resources Inc. rose 7.8 percent after Canaccord Genuity said the company has the potential to increase its dividend by 10 to 15 percent in the next 12 months.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index declined 6.69 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 15,555.26 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has climbed 14 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark. It reached a record of 15,561.95 yesterday.

     Six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX declined on trading volume 18 percent above the 30-day average. Raw-materials producers slid 1.9 percent for the biggest decline, as gold dropped 1.5 percent in New York. Oil dropped 0.5 percent.

     A Chinese Purchasing Managers’ Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics slid to 50.3 this month, missing the 51.5 projected in a Bloomberg survey. Euro-area manufacturing and services activity slowed in August, a preliminary report showed today.

     Financial stocks, which account for the biggest weighting in the broader index, added 0.5 percent. Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.1 percent to C$81.67. The lender is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings tomorrow.

     Cameco Corp. dropped 4.1 percent to C$21.62 after Cowen & Co. equity analyst Daniel Scott cut the stock to market perform, the equivalent of hold, from outperform.

USA

By Oliver Renick and Lu Wang

     Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) — Optimism that the Federal Reserve is committed to supporting a strengthening economy sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to an all-time high and within eight points of the 2,000 milestone.

     The S&P 500 jumped 0.3 percent to a record 1,992.37 at 4 p.m. in New York, rising for a fourth day, the longest streak in two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 60.36 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,039.49. The measure is 0.6 percent below its record after closing above 17,000 for the first time since July 24. Financial shares rallied as Bank of America Corp. added 4.1 percent. Hewlett-Packard Co. surged 5.4 percent to lead technology companies.

     “The market is really in a sweet spot for U.S. stocks, fundamentals continue to be very good,” Jeff Kravetz, the Phoenix-based regional investment director at US Bank’s Private Client Reserve, said via phone.

     The gains are coming after the S&P 500 started August with the worst weekly decline in more than two years. Almost $900 billion has been restored to American equity values since then, bolstered by easing tensions in Ukraine and speculation that central banks will keep interest rates low even as the economy shows signs of recovery. The S&P 500 has rebounded 4.3 percent from a two-month low on Aug. 7.

     About 4.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, the second-slowest full session this year after May 23, the day before the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Volume has not topped 5 billion shares in each of the past three days.

     Minutes to the Fed’s July meeting released yesterday reinforced speculation that the central bank will remain supportive, even as some policy makers indicated a willingness to raise rates sooner than anticipated. While a report today showed fewer Americans than forecast applied for unemployment benefits last week, Fed Chair Janet Yellen has highlighted uneven progress in the labor market in making the case for further accommodation.                         

     Yellen will speak tomorrow at the Fed Bank of Kansas City’s economic symposium that starts today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will also speak.

     “The thesis for the second half is better growth,” Krishna Memani, the New York-based chief investment officer at OppenheimerFunds, said by phone. “The expectation for tomorrow is that Yellen is not going to say anything dramatic that’s going to be different from what she’s said before.”

     Among other data today, purchases of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in July to a 10-month high as low borrowing costs and an increase in inventory drew buyers. The Conference Board’s index of U.S. leading indicators, a gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months, increased 0.9 percent in July, topping forecasts.

     The Markit Economics preliminary August index of U.S. manufacturing jumped to 58, the highest since April 2010, from 55.8 the month before as production, orders and employment picked up. Readings exceeding 50 in the purchasing managers’ gauge indicate expansion.

     “We’ve had a paradigm where good economic news is bad news, but it’s clear this week that good news is just good news,” Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential Financial Inc., which manages more than $1 trillion, said via phone. “The package of data today was strong and the market is responding accordingly.”

     The S&P 500 has almost tripled since its March 2009 low, helped by three rounds of Fed stimulus, coupled with better- than-projected corporate earnings. The S&P 500 has not had a decline of 10 percent in almost three years. It trades at 17.8 times the reported earnings of its companies, near the highest level since 2010.

     The market’s latest rebound was the sixth in two years where equities needed less than two weeks to recover after a drop of 2 percent or more, according to data compiled by Sundial Capital Research Inc. The V-shaped pattern of losses followed by gains is recurring more often than any time in almost eight decades, Sundial data show.

     “It’s like trying to push a beach ball underwater and having it pop right back up,” John Manley, who helps oversee about $233 billion as chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York, said in a phone interview. “That’s what’s been happening to equity markets as the Federal Reserve has been accommodative.”

     Investors are betting that a soft touch on monetary policy will continue to suppress stock volatility, pouring a record stretch of cash into an exchange-traded note that rallies as calm returns to equities. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge known as the VIX, has lost 31 percent this month.

     Among 486 companies in the S&P that have reported second- quarter earnings, more than 75 percent beat analysts’ estimates. Gap Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. are among eight S&P 500 companies reporting results today.                          

     Financial stocks advanced 1.1 percent, the most of 10 primary groups in the S&P 500. Bank of America gained 4.1 percent, its largest increase since May 2013, to $16.16. The company will pay $245 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it failed to disclose rising mortgage losses and the risks of bonds tied to home loans.

     EBay Inc. jumped 4.7 percent to $55.89, the most since January 2013, after The Information reported the company may spin off its PayPal payment unit as soon as next year.

     Hormel Foods Corp. gained 4.3 percent to a record $49.92 after reporting earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates.

     Hewlett-Packard advanced the most in the S&P 500, rising 5.4 percent to $37, the highest since July 2011. The company posted its first sales growth in 12 quarters, fueled by improving personal-computer sales.                       

     Sears Holdings Corp., the retailer controlled by billionaire hedge-fund manager Edward Lampert, fell 7.2 percent to $33.38 after posting a wider second-quarter loss as sales decreased for the 30th straight quarter.

     Dollar Tree Inc. fell 1.3 percent to $54.28 as the discount chain cut the top end of its full-year earnings forecast amid costs related to its bid for Family Dollar Stores Inc. The deal came closer to fruition today after the takeover target rejected a $9 billion offer from Dollar General Corp., citing antitrust hurdles.

     Family Dollar lost 0.5 percent to $79.41 and Dollar General slipped 0.2 percent to $63.61.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Until a radical change takes place and we wipe out all nationalities,

all ideologies, all religious division, and establish a global relationship – psychologically and

inwardly first, then organized in the outside world – we shall go on with war.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

The welfare of each is bound up in the welfare of all.

                                    -Helen Keller, 1880-1968

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:

Rankings of the best places in the world to live published today….Impressive that Vancouver made it to third place, behind only Melbourne and Vienna.   Two other Canadian cities made it on the list – Toronto and Calgary.

In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life.  It Goes On.  –Robert Frost.

Circumstance

Two children in two neighbor villages
Playing mad pranks along the healthy leas;
Two strangers meeting at a festival;
Two lovers whispering by an orchard wall;
Two lives bound fast in one with golden ease;
Two graves grass-green beside a gray church-tower,
Washed with still rains and daisy blossomed;
Two children in one hamlet born and bred;
So runs the round of life from hour to hour.

                           –Alfred, Lord Tennyson

August 20^th 1940: Winston Churchill stood in Parliament and said of the RAF bombers and fighter pilots:  “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.”  The speech, his third major address to Parliament in the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940, may not have been his finest oratorical hour.…But the phrase “The Few” stuck, and gave the British a rallying cry that lasted through the war and beyond. –Simon Houpt, G & M, 8/20/2014.

Photos of the Day
 A horse grazes on a pasture near Sehnde, northern Germany. Julian Stratenschulte/AP

A giant inflatable rubber duck floats past the USS Iowa battleship at the Port of Los Angeles. The world-famous sculpture sailed into the port for the first time to kick off the Tall Ships Festival LA and will remain in the harbor. The duck was designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman and at 61 feet high, 110 feet long 85 feet wide is the largest rubber duck in the world. Hofman debuted the sculpture in 2007 and has since created several of them to sail around the world to places including China, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Nick Ut/AP

Market Closes for August 20^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to a record as crude and base metals prices advanced and the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting indicated stimulus will continue amid uneven labor gains.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Lundin Mining Corp. gained at least 1.5 percent as copper advanced. Athabasca Oil Corp. rose 4 percent to pace gains among energy producers. AltaGas Ltd. lost 1.7 percent after declaring a plan to sell shares to fund capital growth. Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. retreated 2.4 percent after its biggest gain in more than a year yesterday.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 84.78 points, or 0.6 percent, to a record 15,561.95 at 4 p.m. in Toronto.

     Athabasca rose 4 percent to C$7.21 and Crew Energy Inc. added 3.9 percent to C$10.33. Nine of 10 industries in the benchmark Canadian equity gauge advanced.

     West Texas Intermediate crude rose for the first time in three days after U.S. stockpiles decreased more than expected last week.

     First Quantum gained 3.2 percent to C$25.02 and Lundin Mining rose 1.5 percent to C$6.11 as copper futures climbed.

     Gold fell to a two-week low after the Fed minutes were released. In the minutes, Fed policy makers raised the possibility that an end to aggressive stimulus might occur sooner than anticipated while acknowledging continued slack in the labor market. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will speak on labor markets on Aug. 22 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

     AltaGas dropped 1.7 percent to C$52. The company plans to sell 7.85 million common shares at C$51 to raise about C$400 million, with the proceeds to be used for capital growth, lowering debt and general corporate purposes.       AltaGas also agreed yesterday to a 15-year alliance with Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. for the development of processing infrastructure and marketing services for natural gas in British Columbia. Painted Pony climbed 6.9 percent to C$14.36 today.       Bellatrix lost 2.4 percent to C$8.52. The oil and gas explorer jumped yesterday after activist investor Orange Capital LLC acquired a 5.3 percent stake in Bellatrix with as it seeks board changes and a possible sale.

     Canadian wholesale sales climbed 0.6 percent to C$53 billion ($48.4 billion), Statistics Canada said in Ottawa, faster than all 11 responses in a Bloomberg survey. The data adds to reports suggesting the world’s 11th economy rebounded in the second quarter after a tough winter disrupted production.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks gained for a third day, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to within two points of a record, as minutes indicated the Federal Reserve will continue to support the economy amid uneven gains in the labor market.

     The S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to 1,986.51 at 4 p.m. in New York. The gauge touched 1,988.57, briefly surpassing a closing high of 1,987.98 reached July 24, before pulling back. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.54 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,979.13. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies slipped 0.4 percent. About 4.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 14 percent below the three-month average.

     “The Fed said if data points move toward their objectives faster than expected they’ll raise rates sooner than expected,”  Todd Salamone, senior vice president of research at Cincinnati- based Schaeffer’s Investment Research, said via phone. “That’s still a big ‘if.’”

     In minutes to the central banks’ July meeting, released today, Fed officials raised the possibility that an end to aggressive stimulus might occur sooner than anticipated while acknowledging continued slack in the labor market. The Fed is on pace to wind down its monthly bond purchases in October, and intends to keep the benchmark interest rate low for a “considerable time” after that.

     The Fed minutes said that “many participants” noted that if jobs data moved toward the committee’s objectives more quickly than expected, “it might become appropriate to begin removing monetary policy accommodation sooner than they currently anticipated.”

     Chair Janet Yellen has committed monetary policy to stronger labor markets, which she measures with an array of indicators, so long as inflation remains in check. In their statement after the July 29-30 meeting, Fed officials downplayed recent declines in the unemployment rate, highlighting “significant underutilization of labor resources.”

     Low inflation has given the Fed room to hold rates near zero even as economic growth shows signs of accelerating. Data yesterday showed inflation remains below the Fed’s target, while a report on Aug. 1 indicated employers added more than 200,000 jobs for a sixth straight month in July, the longest such period since 1997.

     Yellen will speak on labor markets Aug. 22 at the annual Fed Bank of Kansas City’s economic symposium that begins tomorrow in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Policy makers including European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will also speak.

     Three rounds of Fed stimulus and better-than-estimated corporate earnings have sent the S&P 500 higher by 194 percent from its bear-market low on March 2009.

     The index has rebounded 4 percent from a three-month low on Aug. 7 as investors speculated central banks won’t raise rates sooner than anticipated. The S&P 500 has not had a decline of 10 percent in almost three years. It trades at 17.8 times the reported earnings of its companies, near the highest level since 2010.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P options prices known as the VIX, declined 3.5 percent to 11.78, the lowest level since July 23. The gauge has lost 14 percent this year.

     Eight of 10 primary groups in the S&P advanced, with industrial stocks pacing gains with a 1 percent advance. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. jumped 3.1 percent to $53.90. ADT Corp. increased 2.7 percent to $37.22 and Southwest Airlines Co.advanced 2.7 percent to $31.57.

     International Rectifier Corp. soared 47 percent to $39.10. Infineon Technologies AG, Germany’s largest chipmaker, agreed to buy the company for about $3 billion in cash, adding to its power-management technology business.

     Hewlett-Packard Co. and Target Corp. are among the six S&P 500 companies reporting earnings today. Stocks rallied yesterday as retailers including Home Depot Inc. and TJX Cos. led gains on better-than-projected results.

     Staples Inc. declined 2.6 percent to $11.32 for the biggest loss in the S&P 500. The world’s largest office-supply chain will shut about 140 locations this year, part of a store-closing plan announced earlier, as the retailer responds to online competition.

     J.M. Smucker Co. fell 1 percent to $102.42 after the maker of peanut butter and fruit spreads reported earnings that missed analysts’ estimates, citing slow sales of consumer foods and coffee.                          

   “With multiples getting pushed up to full value, the market is starting to demand earnings-driven returns and top- line growth and they’re going to be a little more critical of earnings as a result,” Leo Kelly, the Hunt Valley, Maryland- based partner and chief executive officer of HighTower’s Kelly Wealth Management, said in a phone interview.

     Hertz Global Holdings Inc. slumped 3.9 percent to $30.33 after saying its full-year results will miss the low end of its forecast. The company said its performance is being hurt by a record number of auto recalls, higher-than-expected operating expenses in the U.S. rental-car market and sluggish demand for its equipment business.

     Investor Fir Tree Partners, which holds more than 3 percent of the stock, is urging Hertz’s board to replace Chief Executive Officer Mark Frissora, while billionaire Carl Icahn disclosed a stake and said he may seek representation on the board.

     Software companies declined the most of 24 groups in the S&P. Adobe Systems Inc. lost 1.4 percent to $71.02 and Yahoo! Inc. slid 0.9 percent to $37.50.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Better never love,

if that makes us hate others.

Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

It takes a genius to whine appealingly.

         -F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896-1940

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:

Today is Google’s 10^th birthday since the IPO.  It’s been a great investment.  Apple has rewarded its loyal investors this year with excellent returns as well.

On apples:

Besides keeping the doctor away, an apple a day could be your best protecting against heart attack.  Some time ago The Vancouver Sun reported on what was then new research indication that apples could be just as effective as statins when it comes to preventing strokes and heart attacks.  University of Oxford researchers recently concluded that roughly 8,500 deaths could be prevented each year if people in their 50s who weren’t on statins simply ate an apple each day.  It turns out that apples are high in soluble fibre, which slows the buildup of cholesterol-laden plaque in the heart’s arteries.  “While no one currently prescribed medicine should replace them for apples, we could all benefit from eating more fruit,” said Oxford researcher Adam Briggs.

Photos of the Day

Newborn giant panda triplets, which were born to giant panda Juxiao, are seen inside an incubator at the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. According to local media, this is the fourth set of giant panda triplets born with the help of artificial insemination procedures in China, and the birth is seen as a miracle due to the low reproduction rate of giant pandas. Reuters

Devotees try to form a human pyramid to break a clay pot containing curd during the celebrations to mark the Hindu festival of Janmashtami in Mumbai. Janmashtami, which marks the birthday of Hindu god Krishna, is being celebrated across the country today. Shailesh Andrade/Reuters

Market Closes for August 19^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose the most in a month, as banks and energy producers rallied amid data showing growth in the U.S. housing sector and as tensions in Ukraine and Iraq eased.

     Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. surged 10 percent after activist investor Orange Capital LLC bought a stake in the oil and gas explorer to seek board changes. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. rose 1.4 percent after a report the convenience store operator made the short list to buy a $16 billion stake in China’s Sinopec Sales.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 138.70 points, or 0.9 percent, to 15,477.17 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has climbed 14 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     Bellatrix advanced 10 percent to C$8.73. Orange Capital has taken a 5.3 percent stake in the company seeking board changes with an eye to exploring strategic alternatives including a sale, according to regulatory filings.

     Orange has been building its position in Bellatrix since July 2 and is the company’s largest shareholder slightly ahead of Fiera Capital Corp., which holds 5.2 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Lumber producer West Fraser Timber Co. increased 6.5 percent to C$53.68 and wood panel maker Norbord Inc. added 6.3 percent to C$23.43 as lumber makers rallied on U.S. housing data.

     U.S. home starts surged in July to the highest level in eight months as optimism in the residential real-estate market gains some traction.

     Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. jumped 7.5 percent and Crew Energy Inc. rose 5.2 percent to C$9.94 as energy stocks added 1.6 percent as a group. All 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced today.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. climbed 4.1 percent to C$124.51, the biggest gain since June 25. The company’s takeover target, Allergan Inc., approached Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and at least one other company, according to the Wall Street Journal.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks are closing in on record highs, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebounding at the fastest pace since February, as concerns over global crises give way to optimism that central banks will continue to accommodate a recovering economy.

     More than $710 billion has been restored to American equities in the past month and the S&P 500 is within 0.3 percent of an all-time high amid bets that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates near zero for longer even as economic growth shows signs of accelerating. The U.S. equity benchmark added 0.5 percent to 1,981.60 at 4 p.m. in New York today.

     Stocks rallied today as retailers led gains on better-than- projected earnings while data showed inflation pressures remain limited and housing starts jumped. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.4 percent, its fifth straight day of increases, to the highest level since 2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 80.85 points, or 0.5 percent, to 16,919.59, still 219 points from its record. Apple Inc. jumped 1.4 percent to close at an all-time high.

     “The market has come back strong this week in a repeat of what we’ve seen throughout the bull run, the ability to motor through geopolitical events,” Tim Rudderow, president and chief investment officer at Newtown, Pennsylvania-based Mount Lucas Management Corp., said via phone. He helps oversee $1.5 billion. “Today’s numbers were solid but not spectacular, and that’s perfect in an environment where really robust economic growth would not be positive.”

     The S&P 500 has rebounded 3.8 percent since a three-month low on Aug. 7, the best eight-day return since the period ended Feb. 18. The gauge tumbled as much as 3.9 percent from its all- time high on July 24 amid growing concern over global conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza and Iraq.                     

     The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4 percent today after rallying 1 percent to its highest level since March 2000 yesterday. The Dow Jones Internet Composite Index is at the highest since March after tumbling nearly 20 percent after investors sold off the best performers during the five-year bull market amid concern valuations had become too expensive.

     The Nasdaq is 13 percent above its February low. The last time the measure closed this high, on March 31, 2000, it went on to sink 46 percent through the end of that year as the dot-com bubble burst.

     The S&P 500 is trading at 17.8 times the reported earnings of its companies, near the highest level since 2010. The gauge is back above its average price for the past 50 days, after having plunged below it on July 31. The Dow closed today above its 50-day average for the first time this month.

     “Valuations are getting a little on the higher range compared on a short-term basis,” Diane Garnick, chief executive officer of New York-based Clear Alternatives LLC, said in a phone interview. “People tend to compare to only what they remember, so as a result, people are absolutely sensitive to higher valuations. If we had this level in 1998 nobody would notice.”

     Stifel Nicolaus & Co.’s Barry B. Bannister increased his year-end forecast for the S&P 500 to 2,300, giving him the highest projection among 19 strategists tracked by Bloomberg. Previously he was tied for the lowest at 1,850. Bannister’s new estimate implies a 16 percent rally by the end of December.

     Foreign investors may increase purchases of U.S. stocks because of doubts about their own economies and central-bank policies, according to the report from Stifel.

     Other strategists are predicting weaker returns. Jonathan Glionna of Barclays Plc said overseas markets are generating too little demand for the S&P 500 to end the year any higher than current levels. Gains approaching 25 percent annually will weaken to 3 percent over the next decade as profit expansion reverts to its historic rate since 1929, said Doug Ramsey, the chief investment officer at Leuthold Group Llc.

     Three rounds of Fed stimulus and better-than-estimated corporate earnings have sent the S&P 500 higher by as much as 194 percent from its bear-market low on March 2009. The gauge has not had a decline of 10 percent in almost three years.

     Stocks fell earlier this month after data showing strong economic growth and hiring stoked speculation the Fed may raise rates sooner than investors had been anticipating. The S&P 500 rallied 1.2 percent last week as data on retail sales and jobless claims showed an uneven economic recovery, fueling bets the central bank will leave rates near record lows for longer.

     The Fed will release the minutes of its last gathering tomorrow, before central bankers meet in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Fed Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will be among the speakers at the annual symposium on monetary policy.

     A report today showed the cost of living in the U.S. climbed in July at the slowest pace in five months, indicating price pressures remain limited even as the economy picks up.

     Inflation continues to run below the Fed’s target as sluggish global demand limits companies’ ability to charge customers more. Restrained increases give the central bank’s policy makers room to keep interest rates low well after the projected end of their bond-buying program in October.

     “We keep hearing about Federal Reserve liquidity and how it’s going to put inflation through the roof, but inflation has been right in line,” Matt Maley, the Newton, Massachusetts- based equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. LLC, said via phone.

     Housing starts surged in July to the highest level in eight months, underscoring the recent pickup in builder optimism as the U.S. residential real-estate market gains some traction.

     An S&P index of homebuilders gained 2.6 percent, giving it the biggest two-day rally since May after jumping 2.1 percent yesterday on a report showing industry confidence rose in August. D.R. Horton Inc. advanced 3.3 percent and KB Home increased 2.7 percent.

     “With tame inflation data and the housing market benefiting from the drop in mortgage rates, it’s painting a pretty sanguine picture,” Russ Koesterich, chief investment strategist at New York-based BlackRock Inc., said by phone. “Housing starts were encouraging, and the housing market is one area the Fed has been concerned about being somewhat fragile.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P options prices known as the VIX, declined 0.9 percent to 12.21. The gauge is down 11 percent for the year.

     Retailers had the biggest advance among 24 groups in the S&P 500, climbing 1.9 percent.

     Home Depot Inc. advanced 5.6 percent to a record $88.23 after earnings topped analysts’ estimates and the company raised its forecast. Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake has focused Home Depot on boosting sales from existing locations and investing in e-commerce, rather than opening new stores.

     TJX Cos. increased 8.7 percent to $58.56. The discount apparel company that owns T.J. Maxx and Marshalls raised its profit forecast after comparable-store sales grew faster than estimated. Dick’s Sporting Good Inc. added 1.6 percent to $44.21. The company beat second-quarter earnings projections, though it said promotions and advertising will weigh on profit the rest of the year.

     The results, together with the rosy outlook from Home Depot, fueled investor optimism after a series of disappointing retail earnings reports. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, posted stagnant U.S. same-store sales last week, marking the sixth straight period of no growth. That followed a report from the Commerce Department that retail sales were little changed in July, hampered by a lack of wage gains.

     Aeropostale Inc. rose 19 percent, the most since 2002, to $3.87 after the struggling kids and teen apparel chain said Julian Geiger has returned as chief executive officer.

     Apple rose 1.4 percent to $100.53. The stock capped a fifth day of gains as investors look ahead to new products such as bigger-screen iPhones and a wristwatch-like device that may jump-start revenue growth. Today’s close topped the split- adjusted record of $100.30 reached Sept. 19, 2012, just before the iPhone 5 went on sale.

     Elizabeth Arden Inc. plunged 23 percent to $15.05, the lowest level since 2010, after saying a decline in sales of celebrity fragrances was steeper than anticipated in the fourth quarter. Net sales dropped 28 percent from the prior year as Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift fragrances slumped.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind.

It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.

Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

Men are equal; it is not birth but virtue that makes the difference.

                                                               -Voltaire, 1694-1778

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:

On this date in 1982, trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 100 million shares in a single day for the first time ever.
The 19^th amendment was ratified on this day in 1920, giving women the right to vote in the USA.

We went to a charming movie last night, The Hundred-Foot Journey.  Helen Mirren’s acting is brilliant as it always it, but the Papa played by Indian actor Omi Puri was a pleasant surprise.  He is superb.  And you end leaving the cinema feeling good.  It’s playing everywhere right now.

Photos of the Day

Tuk the macaw sits on the shoulder of a guest in front of a 1956 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV H.J. Mulliner Saloon during the Concours d’Elegance at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. Michael Fiala/Reuters

Workers hang outside the clock face as they clean the face of the clocktower popularly known as Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament in London, as they undertake essential maintenance and cleaning of the four faces of the clock. Sang Tan/AP

Market Closes for August 18^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a third day, extending a two-week high, as global equities on signs that tension from Ukraine to Iraq had eased.

     Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.7 percent before the lender reports earnings later this week. Air Canada jumped 5.9 percent as crude oil fell. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. lost 2.2 percent after extending its hostile bid for Allergan Inc.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 34.23 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,338.47 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has climbed 13 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     The MSCI All-Country World Index added 0.7 percent for a two-week high. Ukraine and Russia made some progress in “difficult” talks in Berlin, according to German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, while his Russian counterpart said the meeting is yet to produce a resolution. Kurdish forces retook control of Iraq’s largest dam, while Israel and Palestinian militants agreed to extend their truce, media on both sides of the conflict reported.

     Seven of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 31 percent below the 30-day average. Materials producers gained 0.6 percent as silver and copper advanced.

     Royal Bank climbed 0.7 percent to C$80.41 and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce added 0.4 percent to C$101.76 as financial stocks increased 0.4 percent as a group. Royal Bank, the second-largest lender by assets in Canada, is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings Aug. 22.

     Air Canada jumped 5.9 percent to C$8.48, snapping a five- day losing streak. U.S. crude oil sank 1 percent to $96.41 a barrel as tension in Iraq eased, while Brent crude dropped to a 14-month low.

     Valeant Pharmaceuticals International dropped 2.2 percent to C$119.59 after extending its offer to purchase Allergan until the end of the year. The conditions of the offer remain unchanged.

USA

By Oliver Renick

     Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, extending the biggest weekly gain since July for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as tensions eased over global conflicts and Dollar General Corp. rallied on merger activity.

     Dollar General surged 12 percent after offering $9.7 billion for Family Dollar, which rallied 4.9 percent. Southwest Airlines Co. and Delta Air Lines Inc. led gains among industrial companies as oil prices fell. Homebuilders rose as confidence in the industry climbed to the highest level in seven months. Internet and biotechnology stocks rallied, continuing to pare losses from earlier this year.

     The S&P 500 increased 0.9 percent to 1,971.74 at 4 p.m. in New York, within 0.8 percent of an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 175.83 points, or 1.1 percent, to 16,838.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1 percent to the highest level since 2000. About 5.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 12 percent below the three-month average.

     “People that were concerned about the possibility of a serious deterioration of the Russia-Ukraine situation and had no idea what was going to happen over the weekend came in this morning with a different perspective,” Marshall Front, chief investment officer at Chicago-based Front Barnett Associates LLC, said via phone. His firm manages $800 million. “The market opened up higher and we’ve been creeping up since then with some positive housing sentiment figures.”

     Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov for more than five hours of talks in Berlin, as they sought to ease tension after officials in Kiev said troops had partially destroyed an armed convoy from Russia. Klimkin said the talks had brought “moderate progress,” though he called on Russia to follow words with actions.

     Iraqi and Kurdish forces retook control of the Mosul Dam, Iraqiya television reported, citing military spokesman Qassem Ata. The U.S. widened its airstrikes in Iraq at the weekend to help secure the dam near Mosul, Iraq’s largest northern city, after it was seized by Islamist militants. Iraq is OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer.

     Israel and Palestinian militants agreed to extend their truce, media on both sides of the conflict reported, providing more time for negotiations on a long-term accord to end violence that has devastated Gaza.

     “We’ve seen very good earnings, and geopolitical tensions are not as elevated at the moment,” Patrick Spencer, head of U.S. equity sales at Robert W. Baird & Co., said by phone. “There’s been a lot of talk about a correction for equities, but markets are already a couple of points off their highs.”

     The S&P 500 fell as much as 3.9 percent from a record reached on July 24 amid growing concern over global conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza and Iraq. The benchmark index gained 1.2 percent last week as signs of a slowing economy stoked bets central banks will leave interest rates near record lows for longer.

     Reports showed the euro area’s recovery stalled in the second quarter, spurring speculation the European Central Bank will boost stimulus measures. In the U.S., July retail sales registered the worst performance in six months, jobless claims rose more than forecast and consumer sentiment slipped.

     The Federal Reserve is watching economic data to help gauge adjustments to monetary stimulus. The central bank remains on pace to wind down its monthly bond purchases in October. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said officials will keep its benchmark interest rate low for a “considerable time” after the bond buying ends. The central bank releases minutes from its July meeting on Aug. 20.                         

     The following day, the Fed Bank of Kansas City begins its annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where leading economists and central bankers will discuss the outlook for the economy and monetary policy. Yellen and ECB President Mario Draghi are among the speakers at the conference, this year titled “Re-Evaluating Labor Market Dynamics.”

     Previous conferences there have foreshadowed some of the Fed’s biggest policy shifts since the financial crisis. In 2010 and 2012, then-Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled new bond buying that has pumped up the Fed’s balance sheet to a record $4.43 trillion.

     “Ever since the Bernanke comments made a few years back that’s one of the things you have to keep an eye on,” Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Chatham, New Jersey-based Themis Trading LLC, said via phone. “When the Fed gathers, you have to watch it. We all know what moves markets now, and it’s the Fed.”

     Clothing retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. reported earnings today that beat analysts’ estimates. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results this season, 76 percent have topped earnings estimates, while 65 percent exceeded sales projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the gauge of S&P 500 options prices known as the VIX, declined 6.3 percent to 12.32.

     Dollar General jumped 12 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to a record $64.14. The company proposed to pay $78.50 a share in cash for Family Dollar, challenging Dollar Tree Inc.’s takeover bid of $74.50 a share in cash and stock. Dollar General forecast synergies of as much as $600 million on an annual basis, three years after completion of the deal.

     Family Dollar shares added 4.9 percent to $79.81, while Dollar Tree fell 2.4 percent to $54.26.

     Eight of 10 main groups in the S&P 500 advanced. Industrial stocks had the largest increase, surging 1.5 percent as airline shares climbed amid falling oil prices.

     Delta Air gained 2.5 percent to $39.51, while Southwest Airlines added 3.6 percent to $30.82. Brent crude slid 1.8 percent to a 14-month low.

     An S&P index of homebuilders gained 2.1 percent to the highest in three weeks as a report showed confidence rose in August, indicating the industry is making more headway after weakness earlier this year. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo sentiment measure climbed to 55 from 53 in July, the highest level in seven months.

     Lennar Corp. increased 1.7 percent to $37.55 and D.R. Horton Inc. jumped 1.4 percent to $21.13.

     Yahoo! Inc. rallied 2.5 percent to $37.38, helping to send the Dow Jones Internet Composite Index to the highest since March. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index jumped 1 percent to the highest closing level in five months. Both indexes have recovered most of their losses from March and April, when investors sold off the best performers during the five-year bull market amid concern valuations had become too expensive.

     Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. advanced 3.1 percent to $9.54, extending gains for a seventh straight session. The biopharmaceutical company was raised to “buy” from “hold” by Deutsche Bank analyst Alethia Young.

     Monster Beverage Corp. lost 5.4 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to $88.44 after Jefferies Group LLC downgraded the stock to hold from buy, saying it is fully valued. Monster Beverage surged 30 percent on Aug. 15 after Coca Cola Co. agreed to buy a stake, pushing its valuation to 36.1 times estimated earnings. That compares with a five-year average multiple of 24.7.

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

However much I may sympathize with and admire worthy motives,

I am an uncompromising opponent of violent methods even to serve the noblest of causes.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

Carolann

Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us.

                                                 -Earl Nightingale, 1921-1989

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:

Caught the first Canadian concert for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers current tour in Vancouver last night.  They were playing at Roger’s Arena and  confirmed their status as Rock n’ Roll royalty playing for an enthusiastic crowd. 

Their new album Hypnotic Eye which has already gone platinum.  They played most of the tunes on that album and one in particular entitled American Dream Plan B offers great lyrics.  Stevie Winwood is the opening act, so pretty impressive lineup of musicians.  I just checked their tour dates; they’re in Washington state tonight, then return to Canada to play in Edmonton, Calgary, etc. – all in all, around 35 more scheduled concerts in North America before they wind up the tour with the second of two concerts in LA on October 11^th.  Try to get to one if you’re  a fan – you won’t be disappointed.

Photos of the Day

Students of Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School are suspended in mid-air as they practise in a dress rehearsal for a stunt performance which is part of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, at a stadium in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China. A total of 520 students took part in the performance named ‘Building the dream’, which will be performed during the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games. Reuters

Vessels anchor in the sea as storm clouds gather over the east coast of Singapore. Edgar Su/Reuters

Market Closes for August 15^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, extending a two-week high, as corrected data that showed the economy added more jobs in July than initially reported and crude prices jumped the most in a month on tension in Ukraine.

     Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. jumped 5 percent after reporting rising production and lower costs. Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. rallied at least 2.4 percent as oil producers snapped a three-day loss. Alacer Gold Corp. and B2Gold Corp. lost at least 1 percent as the price of gold dropped the most this month.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 13.03 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,304.21 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has climbed 12 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     Painted Pony added 3.3 percent to C$12.40 and Suncor rose 2.4 percent to C$42.95, the most since June 12, as energy stocks climbed 0.9 percent as a group. Four of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 4.9 percent below the 30-day average.

     West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped 1.9 percent to settle at $97.35 a barrel in New York, the biggest gain since July 17.

     Ukraine said its troops attacked and partially destroyed a column of armed vehicles that had crossed the border from Russian territory, while Russia said it was concerned about an attack on another convoy carrying aid.                         

     Alacer Gold lost 2.5 percent to C$2.36 and B2Gold slipped 1 percent to C$2.89. Gold for December delivery retreated 0.7 percent to $1,306.20 an ounce in New York, the biggest drop since July 31.

     Canadian employment rose by 41,700 in July, Statistics Canada said today, after it retracted incorrect figures from a week ago that showed a gain of 200 positions.

     The jobs report revisions reduced the full-time job loss to 18,100 from 59,700 and raised the employment gain in the province of Ontario to 39,500 from 15,100. Staff failed to run a program that is part of a scheduled update to the survey, leaving uncounted workers who should have been classified as full-time employees, Statistics Canada said in the report.

     Imperial Metals Corp. rallied 16 percent to C$10.11 after disclosing a plan to raise C$100 million by selling convertible bonds to help pay for the cleanup at its Mount Polley mine, the scene of the worst waste spill in Canada in at least two decades.

     British Columbia officials are investigating the Aug. 4 failure of a dam at the waste pond at Mount Polley. The resulting torrent of waste poured into local waterways, leaving local people without drinking water. The stock has slumped 40 percent since the accident.

US

By Joseph Ciolli

     Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks erased losses as increasing violence in Ukraine sent oil prices to the biggest increase in a month and spurred a rally in energy producers.

     Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Cimarex Energy Co. and Kinder Morgan Inc. led a measure of oil and natural gas producers in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a 0.5 percent advance, the most among 10 main industries. Nordstrom Inc. sank 5.2 percent after reporting sales that missed analysts’ estimates. Monster Beverage Corp. soared 30 percent after Coca-Cola Co. agreed to buy a stake in the company.

     The S&P 500 pared declines in the late afternoon, ending the day little changed at 1,955.06 as 4 p.m. in New York. It earlier fell as much as 0.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 50.67 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,662.91. About 6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 5.7 percent above the three-month average.

     “Investors are trying to weed through what exactly is going on in Ukraine, and the market is drifting back,” Stephen Carl, principal and head equity trader at New York-based Williams Capital Group LP, said in a phone interview. “We have a geopolitical situation that needs to be addressed, and that’s overshadowing everything else in the market.”

     Ukrainian government troops attacked an armed convoy that had crossed the border from Russian territory, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the country’s military, told reporters in Kiev. Ukrainian soldiers continue to come under shelling, including rounds fired from Russia, he said.                          

     The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Ukraine is attempting to disrupt an aid convoy, and called for a cease-fire to allow delivery of supplies. The government in Kiev has for months said that separatist rebels in its easternmost regions are receiving support from Russia, which backs them with artillery fire. Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Ukrainian unrest.

     The turmoil pushed energy prices higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude rising 1.9 percent to $97.35 a barrel. Kinder Morgan Inc. rallied 3.9 percent, bringing gains for the week to 15 percent after Houston billionaire Richard Kinder made a move to consolidate his pipeline empire. Cimarex and Anadarko climbed more than 2 percent.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which usually moves in the opposite direction to the S&P 500, jumped 5.9 percent to 13.15, halting five days of declines. The gauge lost 17 percent for the week.

     The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent this week as signs of a slowing economy stoked bets central banks will leave interest rates near record lows for longer, overshadowing escalating tensions in Ukraine.

     Economic data today showed industrial production advanced 0.4 percent in July, while the New York Fed Empire Manufacturing gauge fell more than estimated and consumer confidence unexpectedly declined to its lowest level of the year.

     Nineteen S&P 500 companies, including Home Depot Inc. and Hewlett Packard Co., are scheduled to release earnings next week. About 76 percent of those that have reported so far this season have beaten analyst estimates for earnings, while 65 percent have exceeded sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Nordstrom slid 5.2 percent to $65.11, the lowest since May.  The largest U.S. luxury department-store chain reported same- store sales that missed estimates in the most recent quarter.

     Monster Beverage soared 30 percent to a record $93.49.  Coca-Cola agreed to swap some brands and buy a 17 percent stake in the company for about $2.15 billion, increasing its exposure to the growing energy-drink market. Coca-Cola added 1.7 percent to $40.88 for the biggest gain in the Dow.

     Applied Materials Inc. jumped 6.3 percent to $22.48 after forecasting sales that may top analysts’ estimates. The largest maker of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment forecast fiscal fourth-quarter sales that may top estimates as it steals orders from rivals demand rises for machines that make displays.

     Vringo Inc. plummeted 72 percent to 88 cents. The patent licensing firm, which reported $1.1 million in revenue last year, fell after Google Inc. won its bid to overturn a $30.5 million patent-infringement verdict. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington determined that the Vringo patents in the case were invalid, according to an opinion on the court’s website.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

I am asking whether it is possible for a human being living psychologically in any society

to clear violence from himself inwardly.

If it is, the very process will produce a different way of living in this world.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

Carolann

It is never too late to be what your might have been.

                                    -George Eliot, 1819-1880

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:

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

Photos of the Day The Iberian Peninsula at night, showing Spain and Portugal, is seen in an undated NASA handout picture taken from the International Space Station. Madrid is the bright spot just above the center. The clarity of the night image is possible thanks to the European Space Agency’s NightPod, installed on the station in 2012, according to a NASA news release. It incorporates a motorized tripod that compensates for the station’s speed of approximately 17,500 mph and the motion of the Earth below. NASA/Reuters

The finished giant turkish flower carpet is seen at Brussels’ Grand Place in Blegium. Yves Herman/Reuters

Market Closes for August 14^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Canada By Eric Lam

     Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for the fourth day out of five, joining gains in global markets amid signs of easing tensions in Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will work to end the conflict.

     Badger Daylighting Ltd., a construction services company, rallied 6.4 percent after slumping the most in 18 years yesterday on lower margins. Element Financial Corp., a transportation leasing business, added 4.2 percent for a second day of gains after reporting rising revenue. Royal Bank of Canada advanced 0.8 percent to pace gains among the nation’s largest lenders.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 28.45 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,291.18 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has climbed 12 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

     The MSCI World Index added 0.4 percent as Putin, visiting Crimea today, pledged to work to halt the conflict that’s flared for months between pro-Russian separatists and government forces, killing more than 1,500 people.

     Eight of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 7.4 percent lower compared with the 30-day average.

     Financial stocks, which account for the biggest weighting in the broader index, added 0.6 percent. Element Financial climbed 4.2 percent to C$14.83, a four-month high. Royal Bank, the second-largest lender by assets, rose 0.8 percent to C$80.18 for a fourth day of gains. Royal Bank is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Aug. 22.

     First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 2 percent to C$23.97, the lowest in six weeks, as copper prices fell to a seven-week low in New York. Output in China rose to the highest since November.

     The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials dropped 0.5 percent, erasing gains for the year. Lean hogs, Brent crude and gasoline fell at least 1.6 percent.

     Penn West Petroleum Ltd. dropped 4.2 percent to C$7.75. Crude futures for September delivery in New York slid 2.1 percent amid speculation U.S. oil demand is slowing after a government report showed weekly inventories expanded for the first time since June.

USA By Elena Popina

     Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a two-week high, as speculation the crisis in Ukraine won’t escalate overshadowed weaker-than- estimated economic employment data.

     Kohl’s Corp. added 3.3 percent to a four-month high after quarterly results beat estimates. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. gained 0.5 percent after reporting stagnant same-store sales and lowering its profit forecast, while Cisco Systems Inc. declined 2.6 percent after forecasting little to no sales growth. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Class A shares traded above $200,000 for the first time.

     The S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to 1,955.18 at 4 p.m. in New York, the highest since July 30. The index has advanced 1.2 percent this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61.78 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,713.58. About 4.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, the slowest day since July 3.

     “The market is ebbing and flowing off of geopolitical news, it’s been all quiet in the past 24 hours, and that has given a positive push to the market today,” Chad Morganlander, a money manager at St. Louis-based Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., which oversees about $160 billion, said in a phone interview. “The overall jobs market in the U.S. remains bullish, but there is somewhat cautious tone on the European economy.”

     Equity futures and European stocks erased earlier losses after President Vladimir Putin said Russia will do everything it can to stop the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Stocks had slumped after data showed the euro area’s recovery unexpectedly stalled in the second quarter after its three biggest economies

     Prospects of the euro-region’s economy slipping back into recession have fueled speculation the European Central Bank may boost stimulus measures, while U.S. economic strength has created concern that the Federal Reserve may be forced to act on rates sooner than anticipated.

     The U.S. central bank remains on pace to wind down its monthly bond purchases in October. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said officials will keep the benchmark rate low for a “considerable time” after the bond buying ends.

     The S&P 500 reached a record on July 24 before sliding as much as 3.9 percent as President Barack Obama authorized air strikes against militants in Iraq and concern grew that fighting in Ukraine would disrupt world trade. The gauge closed 1.7 percent below its all-time high.

     Data today showed applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. rose more than forecast last week, interrupting a steady decline to pre-recession lows. Jobless claims climbed by 21,000 to 311,000 in the period ended Aug. 9, the highest in six weeks, a Labor Department report said.

     “The jobless claims data may shake things up in the market a little bit, but we have to factor in some volatility in the summer jobless claims numbers,” John Manley, who helps oversee about $233 billion as chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York, said in a phone interview. “Even if the jobless claims numbers are higher than expected, this negativity can be overshadowed by the fact that rates will remain lower.”

     A report yesterday showed retail sales were little changed in July, the worst performance in six months, as car demand slowed and tepid wage growth restrained U.S. consumers. Home Depot Inc. to Target Corp. and Gap Inc. are among retailers in the S&P 500 that report earnings in the next week.

     Wal-Mart gained 0.5 percent to $74.39. The world’s largest retailer said sales at stores open at least a year were stagnant in the last quarter. The company cut its 2014 profit forecast because of higher health-care costs and slow traffic at its supercenters.

     Kohl’s advanced 3.3 percent to $56.91, the highest since April. The department-store chain posted second-quarter profit of $1.13 per share, more than the $1.07 projected by analysts.

     Cisco slipped 2.6 percent to $24.54 for the biggest drop in the Dow. The world’s largest networking-equipment maker forecast adjusted earnings of 51 cents to 53 cents a share, compared with the 53-cent average analyst projection. Cisco will also take a charge of as much as $700 million to cut 6,000 jobs.

     About 75 percent of the S&P 500-listed companies that have posted results this season have beaten analysts’ estimates, while 65 percent have exceeded sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

     Profit for members of the equity benchmark probably climbed 9.7 percent in the second quarter, while sales increased 4.3 percent, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The S&P 500 trades at 16.3 times the projected earnings of its members, down from a multiple of 16.7 in July.

     The equities benchmark has been trading below its 50-day moving average of 1,956.8 for the past 11 periods. Since early 2013, it has dipped below that measure while remaining above its 200-day average on six occasions, Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $124 billion, said in a note to clients. Each time, the gauge rebounded to continue its upward ascent, Sandven wrote.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which usually moves in the opposite direction to the S&P 500, slid 3.7 percent to 12.42 today in its fifth day of declines, the longest losing streak since May. The gauge has lost 25 percent during the slump.

     Nine of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today, with health-care and utilities stocks rising at least 0.9 percent for the best performances.

     Perrigo Co., a maker of generic drugs, added 7.3 percent for the biggest advance in the S&P 500 after it reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings that topped estimates.

     Avago Technologies Ltd. jumped 2.6 percent to $73.84. The company agreed to sell its Axxia networking business to Intel Corp. for $650 million.

     Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares advanced 1.6 percent to $202,850, an all-time high. The stock traded above $200,000 for the first time, further validating Buffett’s vision for building wealth at the company he’s run for almost five decades.

Have a wonderful evening everyone. 

Be magnificent!

“Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realize it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love – enjoy it.”

Sai Baba

As ever,

Karen

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” –  Joseph Campbell

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1961, the Brandenburg Gate was closed separating East and West Berlin and construction of the Berlin Wall began.

Exciting story reported today, this from the Guardian newspaper:

Archaeologists uncover vast ancient tomb in Greece

Site dates to end of Alexander the Great’s reign in 4th century BC and may be grave of a prominent Macedonian, say officials

Reuters,The Guardian, Wednesday 13 August 2014
Archaeologists have unearthed a vast ancient tomb in Greece, distinguished by two sphinxes and frescoed walls and dating to 300-325BC, the government announced on Tuesday.

The tomb, in the country’s north-eastern Macedonia region, which has been gradually unearthed over the past two years, marks a significant discovery from the early Hellenistic era. A culture ministry official said that there was no evidence yet to suggest a link to Alexander the Great – who died in 323BC after an unprecedented military campaign through the Middle East, Asia and northeast Africa – or his family.

The official said the Amphipolis site, about 65 miles north-east of Greece’s second-biggest city, Thessaloniki, appeared to be the largest ancient tomb to have been discovered in Greece.

Archaeologists began excavating the site in 2012 and expect to enter the tomb by the end of the month to determine who was buried there.

“It looks like the tomb of a prominent Macedonian of that era,” said a second culture ministry official. Alexander the Great died in Babylonia, in modern Iraq, and his actual burial place is not known.

Archaeologists have found two sphinxes, thought to have guarded the tomb’s entrance, and a 4.5-metre-wide road leading into it, with walls on both sides covered by frescoes. It is circled by a 497-metre marble outer wall.

Experts believe a five-metre-tall lion sculpture previously discovered nearby once stood atop the tomb.

“It is certain that we stand before an especially significant finding. The land of Macedonia continues to move and surprise us, revealing its unique treasures,” the prime minister, Antonis Samaras, said on Tuesday during a visit to the site.

Photos of the DayA meteor streaks over the sky during the Perseid meteor shower at the Maculje archaeological site near Novi Travnik. According to NASA, the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak on August 12 and 13 in Europe. The fireballs from the meteorites are fast and plentiful, although a nearly full moon (Supermoon) makes it difficult to view them this year, the agency adds. Dado Ruvic/Reuters

A visitor tries Sony’s ‘Project Morpheus’ virtual reality headset at an exhibition stand during the Gamescom 2014 fair in Cologne. The Gamescom convention, Europe’s largest video games trade fair, runs from August 13 to August 17. Ina Fassbender/Reuters

Market Closes for August 13^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Jacob Barach

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended a three-day rally as raw-material companies dropped after China’s industrial production trailed analyst estimates.

Badger Daylighting Ltd., an excavation company, fell 24 percent after it reported lower profit margins on slower activity in North America and wet weather in Saskatchewan. Black Diamond Group Ltd. slid 3.7 percent after its earnings fell short of analyst estimates. Secure Energy Services Inc. rose 13 percent on better-than-forecast profit.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index dropped 11.50 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,262.73 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The equity gauge is up 12 percent this year, and had advanced 1 percent over the previous three days.

Teck Resources Ltd., Canada’s largest diversified mine operator, slid 0.3 percent. Copper fell 1.3 percent amid concern about the outlook for demand in China, the biggest consumer of the metal. Zinc and aluminum slid in London.

China’s industrial output expanded 9 percent in July, less than the 9.2 percent estimate from economists in a Bloomberg survey, government statistics showed today. The country’s broadest measure of credit slumped to the lowest since the global financial crisis.

Badger Daylighting plunged 24 percent to C$27.25. Adjusted Ebitda margins were 25 percent for the second quarter, compared with 29 percent a year ago, the company said.

Black Diamond fell 3.7 percent to C$28.67. The provider of temporary work space reported earnings excluding some items of 23 cents a share, compared with the 31-cent average analyst estimate, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Yesterday, the stock was reduced to market perform, the equivalent of hold, from outperform at BMO Capital Markets.

Secure Energy Services gained 13 percent to C$27.18. The company, which sells services to the oil and gas industry, had earnings of 5 cents a share, compared with the average analyst estimate of 4 cents. It also agreed to buy Predator Midstream Ltd., according to a statement from the company yesterday.

USA

By Elena Popina

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a two-week high, as a slowdown in retail sales boosted speculation the Federal Reserve won’t be forced to raise rates sooner than anticipated.

Amazon.com Inc. climbed 2.2 percent after ChannelAdvisor Corp. said the retailer’s same-store sales rose 40 percent in July. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. jumped 3.9 percent to lead gains among health-care stocks. King Digital Entertainment Plc plummeted 23 percent trading after posting worse-than-forecast sales and cutting its 2014 outlook. Macy’s Inc. lost 5.5 percent after profit fell short of estimates.

The S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent to 1,946.72 at 4 p.m. in New York, the highest since July 30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 91.26 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,651.80, also the highest in two weeks. About 5.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 11 percent below the three-month average.

“There is some feeling that events overseas are beginning to cool down a little bit but also the retail numbers might suggest that the Fed is not going to be so aggressive in raising rates any time soon,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based RW Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion, said in a phone interview. “That has been the backbone of the market for the past five years.”

Retail sales were little changed in July, the worst performance in six months, as car demand slowed and tepid wage growth restrained U.S. consumers. The slowdown in purchases followed a 0.2 percent advance in June, the Commerce Department reported today in Washington.

Recent data have shown U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 4 percent annual pace in the second quarter, confirming the Fed’s view that a first-quarter contraction was transitory. Employers in the U.S. added more than 200,000 jobs for a sixth straight month in July, the longest such period since 1997.

The economic strength had created concern that the Fed may be forced to act on rates sooner than anticipated, as the central bank remains on pace to wind down its monthly bond purchases in October. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said officials will keep its benchmark low for a “considerable time” after the bond buying ends.

Three-rounds of bond purchases and record-low interest rates have helped push stocks higher by as much as 194 percent from a bear-market low in 2009.

The S&P 500 last closed at a record on July 24 before tumbling 3.9 percent on concerns that geopolitical crises from Ukraine to Israel and Iraq could derail the global economy. The gauge closed today 2.1 percent below its all-time high.

In Iraq, Kurdish forces fought to retake positions overrun last week by Islamic State fighters in the northern part of the country, while a political standoff between President Fouad Masoum and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki continued.

Ukrainian officials said today they’d refuse entry to a truck convoy that Russia says is loaded with humanitarian assistance for rebel-held eastern areas, while pledging to send their own aid to the embattled region.

“The many geopolitical issues are a little quieter or on the back burner at the moment,” Richard Sichel, chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., which oversees $2 billion, said in a phone interview. “It’s given investors an opportunity to take a look and see if they want to add to positions, and it looks like that’s what they’re doing today.”

Four companies, including Macy’s and Cisco Systems Inc. report earnings today. About 75 percent of those that have posted results this season have beaten analyst estimates, while 64 percent have exceeded sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which usually moves in the opposite direction to the S&P 500, slid 8.7 percent to 12.90 today.

All 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today, with health-care and information technology stocks advancing at least 1.1 percent for the best performances. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. added 3.9 percent for the biggest advance in the S&P 500 while Intel Corp. jumped 2.9 percent to lead gains in the Dow.

Health Care REIT Inc. added 2.3 percent to $64.95 as it agreed to buy HealthLease Properties Real Estate Investment Trust and formed a partnership for additional properties to expand in senior care.

InterMune Inc. jumped 14 percent to $52.06, the most since October 2000, after reports the company had received takeover bids from some of Europe’s biggest drugmakers, including Sanofi and Roche Holding AG.

Amazon.com climbed 2.2 percent to $326.28. ChannelAdvisor said the company’s rate of sales growth has increased each month this year.

EBay Inc. slipped 0.9 percent to $52.94. Its July sales grew by 9.7 percent, down from a 12 percent gain in June, according to ChannelAdvisor.

Macy’s sank 5.5 percent to $56.47 for its biggest slide in two years. The second-largest U.S. department-store company’s earnings missed estimates after discounts meant to lure shoppers eroded profit margins. The Cincinnati-based company, which operates about 840 stores, cut its full-year forecast for comparable-sales growth.

Macy’s led clothing and accessories retailers lower. Fossil Group Inc. tumbled 5.6 percent for the biggest drop in the S&P 500. Tiffany & Co., Kohl’s Corp. and TJX Cos. dropped at least

1.5 percent.

FleetCor Technologies Inc. added 9.8 percent to $142.10. The provider of fuel cards agreed to buy Comdata Inc. for $3.45 billion.

King Digital tumbled 23 percent to $13.99. The maker of the Candy Crush Saga video game said yesterday that gross bookings — the value of virtual merchandise sold — will fall in the third quarter. It also reported second-quarter adjusted revenue that missed analysts’ projections.

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. dropped 33 percent to $18.90, the lowest since its debut in April 2013. Third-quarter earnings missed estimates as controversy over treatment of captive whales in its theme-park shows hurt attendance, the company said.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

As ever,

Carolann

Beauty is power; a smile is its sword.

-Charles Reid, 1814-1884

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:

Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight.

Do you think God gets stoned? I think so….look at the platypus. –Robin Williams.

Photos of the DayFlowers decorate the late Robin Williams’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, Calif. Comedians, politicians, and several generations of fans collectively mourned the death of Robin Williams, the actor famous for his fast-paced and freewheeling comedy, whose apparent suicide at age 63 prompted an outpouring of tributes. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Fireworks explode over the Grand Palace to mark the birthday of Thailand’s Queen Sirikit in Bangkok. Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

Market Closes for August 12^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

By Eric Lam

Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a third day as gold miners advanced to pace gains among raw-materials stocks while crude slipped to send energy producers lower.

Pretium Resources Inc. and Torex Gold Resources Inc. rallied at least 4.2 percent. Legacy Oil & Gas Inc. retreated 3.4 percent as Brent crude fell to a 13-month low. Teck Resources Ltd. dropped 2.5 percent after analysts at Goldman Sachs & Co. cut their rating for the stock.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 12.59 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,274.23 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge has climbed 12 percent this year, the second-best performer among the world’s developed markets behind Denmark.

Six of the 10 main industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 5.8 percent lower than the 30-day average.

Raw-materials producers jumped 0.9 percent for the biggest advance, as gold fluctuated around $1,310 an ounce in New York. Gold has rallied 9 percent this year amid concern crises in Ukraine and Iraq could disrupt global growth.

Pretium advanced 4.2 percent to C$7.89, the highest in three weeks, and Torex increased 6.6 percent to C$1.62.

A Russian humanitarian mission was headed toward eastern Ukraine after the U.S. warned President Vladimir Putin not to use aid as a cover to send in troops.

Iraq’s political crisis deepened as embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki refused to hand power to designated successor Haidar al-Abadi, and soldiers and militiamen fanned out across the capital, Baghdad.

Energy shares slipped 0.3 percent, as Brent oil slumped after the International Energy Agency said a supply glut was shielding the market against threats in the Middle East.

Legacy Oil dropped 3.4 percent to C$7.87, and Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. retreated 5.6 percent to C$11.63.

US

By Elena Popina and Callie Bost

Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index produced its biggest two-day gain since April, as investors watched geopolitical developments and energy shares sank after Brent crude fell to a 13-month low.

Nuance Communications Inc. tumbled 9 percent after posting third-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates. Consol Energy Inc. slipped 2.4 percent to pace losses among energy shares. Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared 17 percent after a clinical trial met its primary goal. Newmont Mining Corp. jumped 2 percent to the highest since November after an eighth day of gains.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,933.75 at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 9.44 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,560.54. The Russell 2000 Index of small stocks retreated 0.8 percent. About 4.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, the slowest day in a month.

“We’re in a zone of ambivalence with investors maintaining a cautious bias,” Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $124 billion, said by phone. “Equities appear to be navigating the dog days of summer with markets being driven more by geopolitical events than economic and company fundamentals.”

The S&P 500 climbed 1.4 percent in the previous two trading days amid speculation that tension in Ukraine would lessen. The S&P 500 had fallen as much as 3.9 percent from its record of 1,987.98 on July 24 on concern that conflicts from Iraq to Israel and Ukraine could slow global economic growth.

Data today from Germany reignited those concerns, after investor confidence reported by the ZEW Center dropped for an eighth month as the crisis in Ukraine and a sluggish euro-area recovery damped the outlook for Europe’s largest economy.

A Russian humanitarian mission was headed toward eastern Ukraine after the U.S. warned President Vladimir Putin not to use aid as a cover to send in troops. Ukraine said it won’t let the convoy enter in its current form because it argues the mission doesn’t adhere to international rules.

Equities pared declines after Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Germany to assist with the aid mission. Lavrov spoke by phone with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier today, the Russian Foreign Ministry website said.

In the Middle East, wide gaps remain between Israel and the Palestinians in reaching a long-term deal on the Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said, as Hamas warned there would be no more truces beyond the one due to end at midnight tomorrow.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki chaired a meeting of military officers in the latest sign that he won’t hand power to designated successor Haidar al-Abadi.

“We have some bad news on German investor confidence, and bad news from the euro zone in the long term impact the U.S.,” Walter Todd, who oversees more than $1 billion as chief investment officer for Greenwood, South Carolina-based Greenwood Capital Associates LLC, said in a phone interview. “The economic data from the U.S. is very good, but if the economic situation in Europe continues to deteriorate, we’re not going be immune from that forever.”

Recent reports have shown U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 4 percent annual pace in the second quarter, confirming the Fed’s view that a first-quarter contraction was transitory. Employers in the U.S. added more than 200,000 jobs for a sixth straight month in July, the longest such period since 1997.

A government report today showed job openings rose in June to the highest level in more than 13 years, firming up the U.S. labor market picture for the second half of the year. The figures are among those on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s labor-market “dashboard,” which she uses to help guide monetary policy.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which usually moves in the opposite direction to the S&P 500, slid 0.7 percent to 14.13 today.

Seven of the 10 main groups in the S&P 500 declined, with energy companies dropping 0.7 percent to lead the slide as Brent crude settled at the lowest level since July 2013. The International Energy Agency said a supply glut was shielding the market against threats in the Middle East.

Consol Energy lost 2.4 percent, while Kinder Morgan Inc. fell 1.6 percent after yesterday rallying 9 percent. Pioneer Natural Resources Co. slid 2 percent.

Nuance Communications dropped 9 percent to $16.47 after the maker of speech-recognition software reported adjusted third- quarter revenue of $486.8 million, missing the average analyst projection of $498.5 million.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals surged 17 percent to $276.52. The company said a treatment based on bile acid met the primary goal in a test of 219 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Newmont Mining rose 2 percent to $27.06 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 and its highest level since November 2013. The gold miner’s eight-day rally is its longest in three years.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Facts are not frightening.

But if you try to avoid them, turn your back and run, then that is frightening.

Krishnamurti, 1895-1986

As ever,

Carolann

If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.

-Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1889-1951

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