January 3, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

January:

Outside, it is cold, silvery, and suffused with a delicate milky haze.  Gray hushed days follow each other, calling us to inner activity.  Sitting by the fire or hurrying through the streets, our power of thinking grows.  Filled with new ideas, we feel creative and courageous.  Legend says “words spoken in winter go unheard until next summer.”  This is the message from Janus, the old Etruscan god of the doorway, after whom January was named.  Janus stands between past and future, new and old.  He has two faces.  One looks back, the other forward.  His third face is invisible.  This is the face of eternity, the present moment: NOW.   Warmth settles around our hearts.  Summoned to great deeds of right action and selfless  love, Janus bids us pass through his gate. – Christopher Bamford.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
        -Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The sun rises behind a snow-covered tree during foggy weather near Amtzell, southwestern Germany on Tuesday. Felix Kaestle/AP

Michael Hayboeck of Austria soars through the air during his trial jump at the third stage of the 65th annual Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Innsbruck, Austria on Tuesday. Matthias Schrader/AP

The view of fir trees covered with snow on Tuesday, after many days of heavy snow, on Troodos mountain in Cyprus. Cyprus is in the grip of a mid-winter storm bringing heavy rains, low temperatures, and snow in the Troodos mountain range. Petros Karadjias/AP
Market Closes for January 3^rd, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Joseph Ciolli
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for the third time in four sessions, building on the best annual rally since 2009, as energy companies and commodity producers led gains and oil prices headed for the highest close in 18 months.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 1 percent to 15,437.47 at 10 a.m. in Toronto, putting the benchmark on pace to close at the highest level since April 2015. The gauge finished 2016 as the best-performing developed stock market and has risen in each of the last six months. Raw-material producers paced the gain Tuesday, adding 1.8 percent, while real estate and utility stocks fell.
     Shares of Canadian winemaker Andrew Peller Ltd. rose 2.1 percent, adding to the company’s 71 percent surge in 2016. The strength last year defied the 1.1 percent annual decline seen by its global beverage peers.
     In other moves:
* Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., Iamgold Corp. and Goldcorp Inc. gained more than 0.4% as gold prices climbed 0.3%
* MEG Energy Corp., Enerplus Corp. and TORC Oil & Gas Ltd. added at least 4.3% as crude oil increased 2.5%
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose Tuesday for Wall Street’s first session of the new year, helped by a string of robust economic data from China and Europe that sent all but one industry higher on the day.
     The S&P 500 added 0.9 percent to 2,257.83 at 4 p.m. in New York, the biggest gain in almost a month, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 119 points to 19,881.76. The S&P 500 rose 9.5 percent last year, boosted by optimism over fiscal stimulus and stronger economic growth.
* Phone stocks up 1.9% with health care up 1.4%
* Financial shares add 1%; BofA, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase rise
* Utility shares drop after adding 4% the last month
* VIX down for first time in six sessions, to 12.9
* S&P 500 dropped 1.5% first day of 2016
* 400 stocks in S&P 500 higher
* Data showed China’s factories and services both ended 2016 on relatively robust notes, while U.K. manufacturing grew at the fastest pace in 2 1/2 years in December, mirroring strong figures for the euro zone released on Monday
* JPMorgan equity strategists including Mislav Matejka wrote in a note they are positive on equity markets globally, even after the recent sharp rally, and that the push toward more expansionary fiscal stance through greater spending, looser budget targets and tax cuts is set to remain an important investment theme this year
* EARNINGS:
** Before-market Wednesday: UniFirst Corp/MA (UNF)

Have a wonderful evening everyone.
Be magnificent!

There is no weapon more powerful in achieving the truth than acceptance of oneself.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

Carolann

Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health.
                           -Carl Gustav Jung, 1875-1961

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