July 24, 2015 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1911, Machu Picchu was discovered by American archeologist Hiram Bingham.

And it looks like there are civilizations yet to be discovered in future….exciting!
In the news

• NASA finds ‘Earth’s bigger, older cousin’

CNN – 23 hours ago

… first nearly Earth-size planet to be found in the habitable zone of a star similar to our own.

• Kepler 452b: NASA discovers planet orbiting ‘cousin’ of sun in closest match to Earth yet!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A competitor jumps from a cliff during a cliff diving competition in the Maggia valley in Ponte Brolla, southern Switzerland, Friday. Samuel Golay/Keystone/AP

A man rides his bicycle between taxis parked on the street during a protest against the online car-sharing service Uber in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

Market Closes for July 24^th, 2015

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

It isn’t  the incompetent who destroy an organization.  It is those who have achieved something and want to rest upon their achievements who are forever clogging things up. – Charles E. Sorenson (Danish-American engineer, officer , director of Ford Motor Co. 1907-1950, helped develop 1^st auto assembly line, 1881-1968).

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — The sustained slump in global commodity prices has pushed Canadian stocks to the longest losing streak in two years.

     Encana Corp. tumbled 8.6 percent after the company posted a wider operating loss than estimated. Baytex Energy Corp. decreased 8.2 percent as U.S. crude traded in a bear market. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. lost 1 percent to snap a two-day gain after overtaking Royal Bank of Canada as the nation’s largest company by market value.

     Producers of energy and raw materials, which account for about 30 percent of the equity benchmark, are the worst- performing stocks in Canada this year amid a rout in commodities on concern global economic growth is slowing. The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials dropped 1.2 percent for a third day of declines, extending a 13-year low.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 79.13 points, or 0.6 percent, to 14,186.24 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, a sixth straight decline. The gauge has fallen 3.5 percent, to a January low, during its current six-day slide, the longest streak since June 2013 and is now lower by 3.1 percent on the year.

     Suncor Energy Inc. dropped 1.7 percent and Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. sank 5.9 percent as energy producers lost 1.3 percent as a group to an April 2009 low. Six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX retreated on trading volume 27 percent higher than the 30-day average.

     Encana tumbled 8.6 percent, extending a July 2002 low. The company’s full-year production forecast doesn’t seem to be achievable, BMO Capital Markets analyst Randy Ollenberger said in a note.

     Encana was also expected to announce staff cuts of about 200 people, the Globe and Mail reported, according to an internal memo.

     Companies in the benchmark equity gauge are expected to report a 39 percent slump in earnings per share in the latest earnings season, the worst in six years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. More than 200 companies in the S&P/TSX are set to report earnings by the end of August.

     Teck Resources Ltd. slumped 6.8 percent and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 2.3 percent as copper touched the lowest price since 2009. Chinese preliminary manufacturing data from Caixin Media and Markit Economics unexpectedly fell to the lowest in 15 months.

US

By Joseph Ciolli and Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst week since January, as biotechnology shares slumped and raw-material producers sank amid fresh signs of a slowdown in China.

     Biogen Inc. lost 22 percent after cutting its 2015 earnings forecast. Raw-material and energy shares in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell at least 1.9 percent. Amazon surged 9.8 percent, while Visa Inc. gained 4.3 percent after profits beat predictions. An index of homebuilders decreased 2.6 percent after new-home sales unexpectedly dropped.

     The S&P 500 dropped 1.1 percent to 2,079.65 at 4 p.m. in New York, and marked its biggest weekly loss in four months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 163.39 points, or 0.9 percent to 17,568.53, and fell 2.9 percent on the week. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 1.1 percent to complete its worst week since March after closing at a record Monday.

     “Certainly the ongoing collapse in commodity prices emanating from weak data in China and weak earnings reports from companies because of China, such as Caterpillar, are weighing on the market,” said Jim Paulsen, the Minneapolis-based chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management Inc. His firm oversees $351 billion. “We’ve got a pretty big collapse going on here.”

     A private gauge of Chinese manufacturing unexpectedly fell to the lowest in 15 months, reinforcing the need for further policy support in an economy that had seen signs of stabilization recently. A separate report showed sales of new homes in the U.S. dropped to a seven-month low, surprising economists who forecast a gain and painting a picture of less robust improvement during the industry’s busiest time of year.

     The S&P 500 lost 2.2 percent this week, its worst since March and the fourth weekly decline out of five, after briefly rising Monday above the all-time closing high. The gauge is 2.4 percent away from its May record, after sliding as much as 4 percent from the high as concerns about Greece’s debt crisis and China’s stock market rout weighed on sentiment.

     Investors are also watching economic reports for clues on when the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates. Along with the housing data, a separate report today said a July gauge of U.S. manufacturing improved slightly from the weakest reading since October 2013.

     Economists surveyed by Bloomberg continued to put the odds for a September rate increase at 50 percent, even after Greece and China temporarily rocked markets. Fed policy makers gather for a two-day meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

     Meanwhile, earnings season has been spotty so far, with sluggish demand overseas damping returns for U.S. multinational companies at the same time the dollar has strengthened to near the highest level since April.

     From Apple Inc. to Caterpillar Inc. and Microsoft Corp., a parade of blue chips have disappointed investors in the past two weeks. The impact has been the most pronounced on the Dow, which had its worst week since January. Analysts now call for a 4 percent drop in second-quarter profit for the equity gauge’s members, shallower than July 17 estimates for a 5.3 percent decline.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index rose 8.7 percent Friday to 13.74. The gauge, know as the VIX, rose 15 percent for the week after it tumbled 29 percent last week, the biggest such slide since January. About 7.3 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 14 percent above the three-month average.

     Nine of the S&P 500’s 10 main groups retreated, led by raw- materials, energy and health-care shares. Biogen Inc. plummeted 22 percent, the biggest drop in almost seven years, after the biotech company lowered its forecast for 2015 profit and sales, revising expectations for growth as its top-selling multiple sclerosis drug faces tougher competition.                       

     The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index fell 4 percent, the most since April 27. Gilead Sciences Inc. and Celgene Corp. declined at least 2.9 percent, while Vertex Pharmaceuticals lost 4.1 percent.

     Raw-material stocks in the index slipped 2.2 percent. A gauge of commodities dropped 1.1 percent to its lowest level since Jan. 29. Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the copper miner that bet big on the energy market two years ago, fell 9.9 percent to its lowest since January 2009 after it failed to offer investors a plan to withstand plunging prices for almost everything it produces.

     Dow Chemical Co. sank to a more than five-month low, down 3.8 percent and falling for a sixth day, the longest losing streak in a year. DuPont Co. decreased 2.6 percent to its lowest in nearly 18 months.

     Energy companies in the benchmark index tumbled 2 percent, as crude oil fell for a third day. The resource, which fell more than 5 percent for the week, is back in a bear market. Helmerich & Payne Inc. and Ensco Plc lost more than 4.9 percent to pace the declines. Chevron Corp. declined 2.5 percent to its lowest since Oct. 2011. Exxon Mobil Corp. fell 1.5 percent.

     “We’re seeing commodities and energy sink very low, and you’re seeing profit-taking in some high-multiple health-care names,” said Tim Ghriskey, who helps oversee $1.5 billion as managing director and chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management. “There’s a bit of fear there’s going to be more to this selloff. The Chinese PMI showed an even worse contraction in China, and that’s also having a negative effect.”

     Capital One Financial Corp. dropped 13 percent, the most in more than six years, after reporting a profit that missed analysts’ estimates as the lender set aside $1.1 billion to cover credit losses. American Express Co. posted its biggest two-day slide in three months, losing 1.4 percent on top of a 2.5 percent retreat Thursday after its quarterly results disappointed.

     TripAdvisor Inc. plunged 13 percent after quarterly profit and sales missed analysts’ estimates. Shares fell the most since November after reaching a 10-month high on Thursday.

     Amazon rose as much as 20 percent to an all-time high as the Web retailer posted a surprise profit that showed investors it can make money when it puts brakes on investments. It is now the world’s biggest retailer by market value, surpassing Wal- Mart Stores Inc. Amazon’s chairman and largest shareholder Jeff Bezos added more than $7 billion to his personal fortune on the share price move.

     Starbucks Corp. gained 1.3 percent to a record after posting a quarterly profit that topped analysts’ estimates, helped by new beverages and the growth of its loyalty program.

     Juniper Networks Inc. advanced 4 percent, the most in two months, after projecting third-quarter results that may top analysts’ estimates and reiterated its forecast for improved spending on networking equipment in the second half.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As long as there is division in any form

there must be conflict.

You are responsible, not only to your children,

but to the rest of humanity.

Unless you deeply understand this, not through words or ideas or the intellect,

but feel this in your blood, in your way of looking at life, in your actions,

you are supporting organized murder which is called war.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

Success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom.

                                      -George S. Patton, 1885-1945

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM

Senior Portfolio Manager &

Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7