January 4, 2013 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

It is the start of a new year! Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to stay healthy and get active?  Now is a good opportunity to make a fresh start; to get our healthy eating and positive life changes into gear!  Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Get good rest: Poor sleep patterns not only leave us feeling sluggish during the day, but also increase our vulnerability to getting sick. Sleep heals our body, so not getting enough can impair our ability to fight infection and stay well.

2. Get moving: In the middle of winter, the last thing on our mind can be to get out and be active – but it’s key to keeping your immune system strong. When we exercise, our immune function is strengthened with the production of fighter cells that ward off germs. As a bonus, exercise also stimulates the release of endorphins, which make us happy, help us deal with stress and promote a feeling of well being.

3. De-stress: Easier said than done, but chronic stress depresses our natural immune response and blunts our ability to fight off colds and flus. Some good stress reducers to build into your day include exercise, meditation and spending time with friends and loved ones.

5. Get your vitamin D: This essential vitamin is crucial in helping our immune cells efficiently fight off viruses and bacteria. In Canada, with our limited exposure to sunlight, the only way to get vitamin D is in certain foods (fatty fish and fortified milk or cereals) or through a supplement.

6. Eat right: Choose foods that are rich in antioxidants that help boost your body’s ability to heal and resist infection. Choosing whole grains, dark leafy greens and berries are good options. They not only help satisfy your appetite, but they also help your immune system.

7. Wash your hands: This is a simple habit that can have a big impact. Viruses and bacteria are everywhere, so any time you use public transit, bathrooms or are traveling in crowded areas, make sure you wash your hands or use hand sanitizer afterward to prevent picking up germs.

Remember to set concrete, realistic goals that fit your lifestyle! 🙂

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world” ― Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

On this day in…

1885 – Dr. William Grant performed the first successful appendectomy. The patient was Mary Gartside.

1896 – Utah became the 45th U.S. state.

1928 – NBC Radio debuted “The Dodge Victory Hour” which starred Will Rogers, Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra and singer Al Jolson.

1935 – Bob Hope was heard for the first time on network radio as part of “The Intimate Revue.”

1936 – The first pop music chart based on national sales was published by “Billboard” magazine.

1944 – The attack on Monte Cassino was launched by the British Fifth Army in Italy.

1948 – Britain granted independence to Burma.

“Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.

Photos of the day January 4th, 2013

A solar eruption rises up from the sun in this NASA image from Dec. 31 and released today. The length of the eruption extends about 160,000 miles out from the Sun. With Earth about 7,900 miles in diameter, this relatively minor eruption is about 20 times the diameter of planet earth.

NASA/SDO/Reuters

Anori, a one-year-old polar bear, plays in her enclosure at the zoo in Wuppertal, Germany.

Ina Fassbender/Reuters

Indian children fly kites on a rooftop ahead of a kite festival in Ahmadabad, India. Kites are flown in many parts of India during Makar Sakranti, a festival that marks the transition of winter to spring.

Ajit Solanki/AP

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions” ― Dalai Lama XIV

Market Closes for January 4th, 2013:

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, led by energy and financial companies, as better-than-forecast jobs data in the U.S. and Canada offset a decline in gold producers.

Suncor Energy Inc. rose 0.5 percent after announcing it will co-develop the Hebron oil field off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia advanced more than 0.4 percent. Kinross Gold Corp. and Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. slipped at least 0.6 percent as gold capped the longest run of weekly losses since 2004. Lululemon Athletica Inc., the yoga apparel retailer, dropped 4.6 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG cut the stock’s rating.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 70.37 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,540.81 in Toronto. The benchmark gauge gained 1.8 percent this week.

“We’re seeing improved macroeconomic data that should lead to more optimism,” said Philip Petursson, managing director of the portfolio advisory group with Manulife Asset Management Ltd. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$235 billion ($238.2 billion). “The market is digesting the news, trying to gain a sense of direction after a few strong days.”

U.S. payrolls rose by 155,000 workers last month, ahead of economists’ expectations, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The unemployment rate held at 7.8 percent after the November figure was revised up from a previously reported 7.7 percent.

Federal Reserve minutes released yesterday showed a divide among Fed members on how long the monthly bond purchases should last, sending the U.S. dollar higher. Gold futures dropped 0.4 percent for the week, its sixth straight weekly loss.

Kinross lost 0.6 percent to C$9.26 and Agnico-Eagle dropped 1.1 percent to C$50.39.

Canada’s unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 7.1 percent in December and employment rose by 39,800, according to data released by Statistics Canada today.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. gained 2.1 percent to C$30.15 and Encana Corp. increased 2.8 percent to C$20.16 as energy and financial stocks contributed most to gains in the S&P/TSX. All 10 industries in the index advanced, with trading volume 18 percent lower than the 30-day average.

TD Bank rose 0.5 percent to C$82.80 and Scotiabank increased 0.4 percent to C$57.59.

Suncor advanced 0.5 percent to C$33.58. The company will work with Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Statoil ASA and Nalcor Energy Corp. to develop the Hebron oil field, 350 kilometers (218 miles) southeast of St. John’s.

The project is estimated to cost $14 billion. Suncor said it holds a 23 percent stake in the project, which is expected to produce more than 700 million barrels of crude through its lifespan.

Lululemon sank 4.6 percent to C$70.88. Christian Buss, an analyst based in New York with Credit Suisse, cut his rating for the company to neutral from outperform and trimmed the share- price target to $80 from $86. The retailer will struggle to increase sales at existing stores and discounts are higher than historically seen, he said.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Inyoung Hwang

Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a five-year high, as government data showed employers added more workers while the jobless rate held at a level that’s unlikely to hasten the end of Federal Reserve stimulus. Treasuries erased early losses.

The S&P 500 added 0.5 percent to 1,466.47 at 4 p.m. in New York to extend a weekly gain to 4.6 percent and send it to its best closing level since December 2007. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.4 percent, closing at the highest since February 2011. The Dollar Index increased 0.1 percent after earlier jumping as much as 0.6 percent. Treasury 10-year yields fell one basis point to 1.90 percent after rising for three days and touching the highest since April earlier. Silver and gold slid.

U.S. employers added workers in December at about the same pace as in the prior month even as lawmakers struggled to reach a budget deal, according to the Labor Department’s monthly payrolls report. Fed policy makers said yesterday they will probably end their $85 billion monthly bond purchases, known as quantitative easing, in 2013, according to minutes of their Dec. 11-12 meeting released yesterday.

The jobs report “reinforces the view that the labor market is healing but at a very slow pace,” Joseph Tanious, a New York-based global market strategist for JPMorgan Funds, which oversees $400 billion, said by telephone. “It’s a good report that suggests the economy is healing but it’s not so good that the Fed might pull out of QE. It’s been a shortened week but jam packed and everybody’s still digesting everything.”

The S&P 500 retreated 0.2 percent yesterday after the release of the Fed minutes. The gauge soared 2.5 percent on Jan. 2 after Republicans and Democrats agreed on a compromise budget that avoided the so-called fiscal cliff of sweeping tax increases and spending cuts.

The VIX, as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index is known, slid 5 percent today to a four-month low of 13.83. The benchmark gauge of U.S. equity options tumbled 39 percent since Dec. 28, its biggest weekly loss on record.

Commodity, industrial and financial companies helped lead the market’s gain today, with Walt Disney Co., Johnson & Johnson and JPMorgan Chase & Co. climbing at least 1.8 percent for the biggest gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Eli Lilly & Co. jumped 3.7 percent as the drugmaker forecast 2013 earnings above analyst expectations. Citigroup Inc. advanced 2.5 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. added the bank to its conviction buy list. Avon Products Inc. gained 3.2 percent after Bank of America Corp. raised its rating on the stock.

Apple Inc. slumped 2.8 percent, the most since Dec. 14. Deutsche Bank AG said supply-chain movements suggest iPhone and iPad production may be declining. Technology shares had the only decline among the 10 main S&P 500 groups.

S&P 500 futures extended gains before the open of exchanges in New York after the jobs data were released. Payrolls rose by 155,000 workers last month following a revised 161,000 advance in November that was more than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today. The median estimate of 82 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase of 152,000. The unemployment rate held at 7.8 percent, matching the lowest since December 2008.

“At 7.8, that tells us we still have an unemployment problem and the Fed will still be engaged,” Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., said on Bloomberg Television.

Have a great evening everyone!!!

Be Magnificent!

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”

― William W. Purkey

Karen Parnham

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8X 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5808