February 1, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
February 1, 1793: William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister, in the House of Commons; France declared war this day, Louis XVI having been executed on January 31^st:

They [the French] have stated that they would organize every country by a disorganizing principle; and afterwards they tell you all this is done by the will of the people.  And then comes this plain question, what is the will of the people?  It is the power of the French….This has given a more fatal blow to the liberties of mankind than any they have suffered, even from the boldest attempts of the most aspiring monarchs.

FEBRUARY:  The month of purification among the ancient Romans (Latin februum, purgation).  The Dutch used to call the month Spokkelmaand, meaning vegetation month and the Anglo Saxons knew it as solomonath, meaning mud month.  In the French Revolutionary  calendar is equivalent, from 21 January to 19 February, was Pluviose, rain month. –from Brewar’s.

The days lengthen.   The sun is still more red than gold.  Yet the sky brightens when the clouds part and the rain – or snow – passes.  The month opens with the Celtic festival of Imbolc, marking the lactation of the ewes, the flow of milk announcing the return of life: the joy of becoming.  But spring is still far away.  Patience and faith are called for.  Perhaps this is why the month takes its name from Februa, the Roman festival of Purification.  To purify is to separate the gold from the dross, the good from the bad.  It requires memory and the practice of discernment.  Discernment is often symbolized by a sword, but there is something feminine about February.  It is a gentle month, filled with feasts celebrating female figures like St. Brigit, the Virgin Mary, and the Virgin Goddess Artemis.  They ask us to practice keeping silent, pondering all things in our hearts.  Great strength, you may be sure, will come from such discretion. –CD.

FEBRUARY BIRTHSTONE: Amethyst
FEBRUARY FLOWER: Violet
Jan 20-Feb 18: Aquarius
Feb 19-Mar 20: Pisces
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Fr. Denis Crosby blesses a live lamb during a Pattern Day mass to St. Brigid at the holy well of St. Brigid in Liscannor, Ireland on Wednesday. Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

A woman prays for good fortune on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at Baiyun Temple in Beijing, China on Wednesday. Jason Lee/Reuters
Market Closes for February 1^st, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks reverse losses after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged while acknowledging rising confidence among U.S. consumers and businesses following Donald Trump’s election victory.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 15,402.39 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after falling as much as 0.4 percent. Materials and consumer discretionary shares led Wednesday’s gain, countering losses from utility and health-care shares. The benchmark index had fallen four straight days after reaching a record high on Jan. 25.
     Cameco Corp. plunged 11 percent after the uranium miner said it’s rejecting Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s termination notice of a multi-year supply contract.
     While Fed hailed Trump’s effects on U.S. economy, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said uncertainty becomes more prominent under the new U.S. president. In remarks to the University of Alberta School of Business, Poloz outlined how uncertainty means policy making is far from an exact science and judgment matters. Geopolitical risks, for example, could increase the central bank’s tolerance of small shocks, he said.
     In other movers:
     * First Global Data Ltd. (FGD CN) climbed 7 percent after saying it’s close to reaching an agreement with Aamra Group for its mobile payment services to be deployed in Bangladesh.
     * Concordia International Corp. (CXR CN) jumped 12 percent. The pharmaceutical company said it paid out the final installment related to its October acquisition of Amdipharm Mercury.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fluctuated Wednesday before ending flat after the Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain interest rates and a report showed companies last month added the most workers to payrolls since June.
     The S&P 500 Index added less than 0.1 percent to 2,279.55 at 12:50 p.m. in New York, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 27 points to 19,890.94 and the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.5 percent.
     Utility shares and energy stocks weighed on the market after the S&P 500 on Tuesday capped its longest streak without gains since the week before the U.S. presidential election, trimming a third monthly advance.
* Utility stocks down 1.7% after the Dow utilities closed above its 200-day average on Tuesday; S&P utilities posted worst day since Nov. 30 with 27 of 28 members in index lower;
** 10-year Treasury yield up 2.1 basis points to 2.474%
** Dominion Resources worst performer after warning of “challenging year” pushed shares down 5.8%; American Water Works, Aqua America, Shenandoah Telecommunications, Telephone and Data Systems and Iridium Communications Inc. all decline
* REITs down 1.2% for fifth loss in six sessions
* Tech and health-care shares lead market, up at least 0.6%
* Energy shares decline 0.8% even as oil adds 1.3%
* VIX down from a two-week high, falling 2% after jumping 12% on Monday
* Volume: about 7.6 billion shares traded hands, above the year- to-date average of 6.7 billion
* Apple up 6.1% after reporting better-than-forecast quarterly earnings, while Facebook Inc. added 2.2% ahead of its results due Wednesday before adding to gains in after-market trading
* Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged while acknowledging rising confidence among consumers and businesses following Donald Trump’s election victory
* More than a third of S&P 500 members have released quarterly results so far this season, of which about three-quarters beat profit estimates and half topped sales forecasts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
* EARNINGS:
** After-market Wednesday: Lincoln National (LNC), MetLife (MET), AvalonBay Communities (AVB), Qorvo (QRVO), Ameriprise Financial (AMP), Hologic (HOLX), Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA), Lannett Co (LCI), Tractor Supply (TSCO), Symantec (SYMC), Facebook (FB), Torchmark (TMK), Allstate (ALL), Edwards Lifesciences (EW), Unum Group (UNM)
** Pre-market Thursday: Xcel Energy (XEL), Ball (BLL), Ryder System (R),Gartner (IT), Eaton (ETN)Snap-on (SNA), Becton Dickinson (BDX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Cigna (CI), Boston Scientific (BSX), Harris (HRS), Merck (MRK), Estee Lauder (EL), Xylem (XYL), Marsh & McLennan (MMC), IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX), Sirius XM (SIRI), CME Group (CME), Philip Morris International (PM), CMS Energy (CMS), Parker-Hannifin (PH), Ralph Lauren (RL)

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

To expect something is to look for something pleasant.
Searching for the pleasurable is  a form of denial.
You cannot expect anything, because the expectation is within you,
and what you are waiting for is dependent on external forces.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,
 

Carolann

Better to trip with the feet than with the tongue.
                                 -Zeno of Citium, 334-262 BC

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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