December 1, 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
December: Latin, 10^th month.  December was the tenth month in the Roman calendar when the year began in March with the vernal equinox.

Silence slips peacefully over the black-and-white world.  The wind moans.  The Earth is hard as iron.  Mist and cold penetrate to the bone.  The days grow shorter, the snowfalls heavier.  Bare trees and hunched figures in overcoats and heavy jackets dot the streets.  But inside it is warm.…People gather in expectation of the rebirth of the light.  There is almost the sense that the Sun will break forth again from the interior of the Earth – or from within our own souls.  Christmas and Hanukka, among other celebrations, hold forth the promise that, by our dedication and self-sacrifice a new green world of meaning, love, and compassion can be born.  At the solstice, the heavens show us the rebirth of the light, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti – the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People sit on a bench on a warm autumn evening in a park near Lake Leman in Lutry, Switzerland, on Thursday. Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Staff members pose for photographs during the unveiling of a Christmas tree, by Iranian-born artist Shirazeh Houshiary, in the Rotunda of the Tate Britain gallery in London on Thursday. The tree is part of the gallery’s annual festive commissions. Matt Dunham/AP

Visitors walk through the annual year-end illumination ‘Canyon d’Azur’ in Tokyo’s Shiodome district on Thursday. Shuji Kajiyama/AP

The 84th annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is on display after the lighting ceremony in Manhattan, New York, on Wednesday. Alex Wroblewski/Reuters
Market Closes for December 1^st, 2016

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Eric Lam
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks retreated from an 18-month high as raw-materials producers tumbled with metals prices, while pipeline companies were a drag on energy shares. Earnings from the nation’s largest lenders bolstered bank stocks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.4 percent to 15,027.53 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after Wednesday capping a fifth straight monthly gain that’s the longest winning streak in two years. Trading volume in the Canadian equity benchmark was 32 percent higher than the 30-day average. The index is up 16 percent in 2016, the top performer among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg, well ahead of No. 2 market Norway’s 10 percent advance.
     Energy producers fell 0.1 percent as a group, reversing an earlier gain after posting a 5 percent surge Wednesday as OPEC signaled an agreement to curb oil output and crude rose above $50 a barrel in New York. Pipeline companies TransCanada Corp. and Enbridge Inc. fell at least 2.3 percent, offsetting gains among producers. Crescent Point Energy Corp. and Tourmaline Oil Corp. gained at least 1.6 percent.
     Natural resource producers are the top-performing industries in the S&P/TSX this year. Teck Resources Ltd., the nation’s largest diversified miner, has surged six-fold to pace gains as metallurgical coal and zinc prices have rallied.
     In other moves:
* Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce jumped 2.2 percent, trading at a record after posting fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates, raising its quarterly dividend 2.5 percent.
* Toronto-Dominion Bank fell 0.8 percent as earnings stalled in its domestic retail business, offsetting gains in capital markets and U.S. consumer lending. Adjusted earnings were in line with analysts’ forecasts.
* Canopy Growth Corp., the largest marijuana producer by market capitalization in Canada, fell 4.3 percent, reversing an earlier gain after agreeing to buy competitor Mettrum Health Corp. for about C$430 million in an all-share deal. Mettrum soared 29 percent to a record.
US
By Joseph Ciolli and Julie Edde
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell from near all-time highs, after equities capped their first monthly advance in four, as technology shares plunged to overshadow rallies in bank and energy shares.
     The S&P 500 Index fell 0.4 percent to 2,191.08 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark index climbed 3.4 percent in November for its best gain in eight months amid speculation the incoming president will push through policies that boost growth in the world’s largest economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 68.35 points to 19,191.93 Thursday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index slid 1.6 percent to a two-week low.
     Technology shares have lagged behind during a post-election rally that’s boosted banks to the highest since February 2008 amid speculation Donald Trump’s cabinet picks signal a slackening of regulations for the financial sector. Oil shares added to gains sparked by OPEC’s intention to curb crude output. Trump’s trade policies may have the potential to harm large-cap technology providers.
     The group slumped Thursday after a report that Apple Inc. has started reducing orders from iPhone 7 suppliers. Semiconductor shares plunged 4.6 percent. IBM Corp. and Microsoft Corp. lost at least 1.5 percent.
     “You have the potential for higher interest rates resulting from bigger deficits, and that’s causing some of the rate- sensitive areas to once again come under pressure,” said Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer of McQueen, Ball & Associates Inc. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “On the flipside, you have another day of strength in the oil patch, and the beneficiaries from higher infrastructure spending are moving up.”
     Attention will turn to tomorrow’s government payrolls data for clues on the strength of the economy and the timing for higher interest rates. A private report yesterday showed better- than-forecast figures. Traders are pricing in a 100 percent chance policy makers will increase rates this month, up from 68 percent at the start of November.
     Among stocks moving Thursday:
* Automakers rose, with General Motors Co. adding 5.5 percent and Ford Motor Co. gaining 3.9 percent after reporting sales that exceeded analyst estimates.
* Energy shares increased for a second day as ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil Corp. and Whiting Petroleum Corp. climbed more than 2.4 percent after OPEC agreed to cut production for the first time since 2008.
* Dollar General Corp. slipped 5 percent after the dollar-store chain’s earnings and sales for the fiscal third quarter trailed analyst estimates.
* Guess? Inc. plunged 10 percent after the apparel maker cut its fiscal-year earnings forecast by about 30 percent after reporting third-quarter profit that trailed analyst forecasts.
* B/E Aerospace Inc. slid after a proposed $6.4 billion purchase of the aircraft-parts maker by Rockwell Collins ran into opposition from the activist investor Starboard Value.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

How is this dream to be broken,
how shall we wake up form this dream
that we are little men and women,
and all such things?
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

Start where you are.  Use what you have.  Do what you can.
                                              -Arthur Ashe, 1943-1993

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
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