January 10, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
The Poem

Possible Journey’s End
        –by Michel Houellebecq

Why be anxious? I’ll have lived all the same
And observed clouds and people
I’ve participated little, I’ve known everything all the same
Especially in the afternoon, there have been moments.

The configuration of garden furniture
I’ve known very well, for want of innocence;
Supermarkets and urban routes,
The immobile boredom of the holidays.

I’ll have lived here, at this century’s end,
And my journey hasn’t always been painful
(Sun on skin and the burns of being);
I want to rest on the impassive grass.

Like the grass I am old and of this time,
Spring fills me with insects and illusions
I too will have lived, tortured and serene,
The last years of a civilization.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The ‘Elbphilharmonie,’ or Philharmonic Hall, which will open its doors to the public on Jan. 11, is illuminated during a light test in downtown Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday. Fabian Bimmer/Reuters

The Parthenon temple atop the ancient Acropolis is seen following a rare snowfall in Athens, Greece, on Tuesday. Antonis Nikolopoulos/Eurokinissi/Reuters

Bern, Switzerland, is covered with snow on Tuesday. A polar spell gripped a large swathe of the continent. Anthony Anex/Keystone/AP
Market Closes for January 10^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed as an index of commodities rallied and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. led health-care companies higher after the beleaguered drugmaker agreed to sell $2.1 billion in assets.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 15,426.28 by 4 p.m. in Toronto, after declining Monday. The gauge had flirted with an all-time high last week, closing Thursday 71 points away from its September 2014 peak. The index finished 2016 as the best-performing developed stock market and has risen in each of the last six months.
     Health care stocks gained 4.4 percent, leading six of the 11 industry sectors higher. Raw-materials shares also advanced, climbing 1.6 percent as a Bloomberg index of commodity prices rallied.
* Bloomberg commodity index up 0.6 percent
* Mag Silver, First Quantum Minerals up at least 5.1 percent; First Quantum was cut to sector outperform after rated as a “focus stock” by Scotiabank
* Hudbay Minerals up 6.7 percent after being raised to focus stock at Scotiabank with a price target of C$12
* Hudson’s Bay down 13% for biggest loss in benchmark after cutting its year sales forecast yesterday and receiving analyst downgrades
* Aimia shares 4.4% lower after being cut to underperform at CIBC Monday night.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities were unchanged Tuesday as a rally in financial companies was offset by losses in energy shares.
     The S&P 500 Index closed at 4 p.m. unchanged from the day after swinging between gains and losses throughout the day. The Dow Industrial Average lost 0.2 percent to 19,855.53 and the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.4% to a record. That gauge has climbed for six straight sessions.
* Russell 2000 Index added 1%
* Optimism among America’s small businesses soared in December by the most since 1980 as expectations about the economy’s prospects improved dramatically in the aftermath of the presidential election
* Banking shares lead rally with 0.4% gain as health-care stocks add 0.3%
* Energy shares down for second straight day; utilities down 0.3%
* VIX declines 0.6%
* About 6.7 billion shares traded hands, compared with average of 7.3 billion a day last year
* The S&P 500 has gained 4.6% since the U.S. election, boosted by hopes of increased fiscal spending and tax cuts
* The Bloomberg dollar spot gauge of the greenback against 10 major peers has fallen 0.3% in 2017
* EARNINGS:
** After-market Wednesday: KB Home (KBH)

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Life is an aspiration.  Its mission is to strive after perfection, which is self-fulfillment.
The ideal must not be lowered because of our weaknesses or imperfections.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

Life is mostly froth and bubble.  Two things stand like stone.
Kindness in another’s trouble.  Courage in your own.
                                        -Adam L. Gordon, 1833-1870

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
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com