January 12, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

-from A Countrywoman’s Notes by Rosemary Varey:
January
Some people are far more sensitive to light than other and are at their happiest when there is plenty of sunlight and they can throw open the windows and walk outside.  None of us is immune to seasonal changes, though we may think we are, but we are certainly less so than plants and animals.  Fading and increasing light tells them to hibernate or drop their leaves, mate or be active.  I welcome winter as a time when I can slightly change my way of life, stay indoors more, read, and give way to lethargy I do not have in summer.  I am aware that the light as it meets our eyes produces a set of nerve impulses that travel to the gland between the hemispheres of our brain, and that the hormones in this gland have a powerful effect on our sleep as well as our mood, so perhaps my lethargy is quite natural.  “A sad tale’s best for winter”, wrote Shakespeare.  I believe he meant this to fit the winter mood of the reader.  I have just talked to a friend who is moving back to London after two winters and a summer in the country.  She says she feels depressed in the country and wants the companionship and activity of town life.  I am wondering if it is really the lack of sunlight through the naturally short days that she is missing rather than the glitter of town lights.  Soon spring will be with us and the days much longer, so our spirits should be lightened too.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People protect themselves from the rain under umbrellas at Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Thursday. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

A man climbs up an artificial ice wall in Liberec, Czech Republic, on Thursday. Central Europe has been hit by unusually cold weather in recent days. Petr David Josek/AP

Children sled near Gund, Indian-controlled Kashmir, on Thursday. For the past couple of days, the Kashmir valley has been experiencing intense cold conditions with widespread snowfall. Dar Yasin/AP
Market Closes for January 11^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell as losses in consumer discretionary shares and energy stocks outweighed gains in utility and health-care companies.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.5 percent to 15,418 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, after climbing Wednesday. 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.
* 19 of 23 companies in the consumer discretionary group were unchanged to lower, led by losses of at least 2.6% in Dorel Industries and Hudson’s Bay Co.
* Materials shares lost 0.4% for the first decline this week even as a Bloomberg Commodity Index added 1.5% for a third straight advance
* Health care shares added 0.3% as a Valeant Pharmaceuticals reversed early losses to end the day 1.3% higher.
* Energy shares down 0.6% as oil posted gains for a second day
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined as investors assessed President-elect Donald Trump’s comments on healthcare and imports during his first press conference since the election. Semiconductor shares retreated amid declines of 2.1 percent in Micron Technology Inc. and 3.9 percent for Advanced Micro Devices.
     The S&P 500 index lost 0.2 percent to 2,270.44 at 4 pm. in New York after adding 0.3 percent on Wednesday. Biotech shares climbed, reversing earlier losses, one a day after Trump said the industry needed “more competitive drug bidding.” Financial shares slid as the yield on 10-year Treasuries fell.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has hovered below the 20,000 mark since mid-December without crossing it, lost 0.3 percent to 19,891.00 
* The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.3% after climbing for seven straight sessions to records
* 7 of 11 sectors fell, led by financial and technology shares
* Banks down 0.7% with 10-year yield down to 2.358% from 2.372%; technology stocks fall after analysts lowered estimates on Apple and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expressed caution on semiconductors
* Health-care stocks little changed with Nasdaq Biotech Index up 0.4% after reversing earlier losses of as much as 1.1%
* VIX up 2.5% for just second advance in eight sessions
* The U.S. dollar sank against all 16 of major peers on Thursday as Trump’s news conference disappointed investors who were expecting more comments on his economic-stimulus plans
* Trump reaffirmed a campaign promise to impose a significant tax on U.S. companies that shift production overseas. For Neil Dwane, global strategist at Allianz Global Investors, if the border tax is enacted, and spurs a 10 percent rally in the dollar, it may lead more companies to relocate operations back in the U.S. He told reporters in Hong Kong that large importers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. would be “badly affected”
* EARNINGS:
** Pre-market Friday: BlackRock (BLK), First Horizon National Corp (FHN), Bank of America Corp (BAC), PNC Financial Services (PNC), First Republic Bank (FRC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC)

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Life is like a garden.  Quite naturally, leaves wither and flowers fade.
Only if we clear the decay of the past
then and there can we really enjoy the beauty of the new leaves and flowers.
Likewise, we must clear the murkiness of past bad experiences from our minds.
Life is remembrance in forgetfulness.
Forgive what ought to be forgiven; forget what ought to be forgotten.
Let us embrace life with renewed vigor…
We should be able to face every moment of life with renewed expectation, like a freshly blossomed flower.
Mata Amritanandamayi

As ever,

Carolann

Men at some times are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
                                                                    -William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

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