June 15, 2015 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Poem

The colloquialism of the title, which means “and them” = as in “Tell your mama  ’n’em I said hello” – encompasses a host of people made familiar by the world of the poem.  Most of us have known them: elders, and distant ancestors whose way of being was rooted in the wisdom of folk knowledge, a generation now all but gone.  –Natasha Tretheway, NY Times, 4/19/15.

’N’em

By Jericho Brown

They said to say goodnight

And not goodbye, unplugged

The TV when it rained.  They hid

Money in mattresses

So to sleep on decisions.

Some of their children

Were not their children.  Some

Of their parents had no birthdates.

They could sweat a cold out

Of you.  They’d wake without

An alarm telling them to.

Even the short ones reached

Certain shelves.  Even the skinny

Cooked animals too quick

To catch.  And I don’t care

How ugly one of them arrived,

That one got married

To somebody fine.  They fed

Families with change and wiped

Their kitchens clean.

Then another century came.

People like me forgot their names.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth walks in a procession at the annual Order of the Garter service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Monday. Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Hot lava flows from the crater of Mount Sinabung as seen from Tiga Serangkai, North Sumatra, Indonesia, early Monday morning. Authorities have been closely monitoring the 8,070 foot-high volcano since June 2, when its status was raised to the highest alert level due to the growing size of its lava dome. Binsar Bakkara/AP

Market Closes for June 15^th, 2015

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. –Steve Jobs 

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) —  Canadian stocks were little-changed after two days of losses, as a retail rally overshadowed a global equities selloff amid concern that Greece won’t reach a deal with creditors to avert a default.

     Hudson’s Bay Co. soared 7.9 percent after agreeing to buy German retailer Galeria Kaufhof from Metro AG. Bombardier Inc. climbed 3.2 percent after its long-delayed CSeries jet took to the sky at the Paris Air Show for the first time. RMP Energy Inc. and Surge Energy Inc. retreated more than 4.3 percent as oil declined a third day, leading energy shares lower.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 14.90 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,756.05 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge declined 1.4 percent last week for a third straight decline.

     Six of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced on trading volume 11 percent below the 30-day average. Producers of consumer staples rallied 1.2 percent to lead gains. Financial stocks, which account for about one-third of the index, added 0.3 percent.

     Hudson’s Bay, Canada’s oldest company, surged the most since February. The company will pay 2.83 billion euros ($3.2 billion) for Kaufhof, putting one of Germany’s longest-standing and best-known retailers under the same ownership as Saks Fifth Avenue.

     Suncor Energy Inc. lost 1.7 percent and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. declined 1.3 percent as energy producers decreased 0.4 percent as a group.

     Developed equity markets tumbled around the world, with the S&P 500 losing 0.5 percent in New York and the Stoxx Europe 600 falling 1.6 percent after Greece failed to reach an agreement with creditors in talks on the weekend.

     Attention now shifts to a June 18 meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Luxembourg as the next deadline in a saga that opened in 2009. Officials have focused on that as a make- or-break session for Greece’s ability to avert default and stay in the currency union.

     Canadian factory sales slumped 2.1 percent in April, quadrupling forecasts on lower receipts of food, aerospace and energy. It is the third monthly drop this year for the measure, as manufacturers have struggled to recapture orders lost in the 2008-2009 recession.

US

By Jennifer Kaplan and Callie Bost

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipping below its average price during the past 100 days, after weekend negotiations between Greece and its creditors broke down and factory data were weaker than forecast.

     Industrial shares led declines as United Technologies Corp. dropped 2.5 percent after lowering its 2015 profit target amid weakness at the Sikorsky helicopter unit being targeted for divestiture. Micron Technology Inc. lost 3.5 percent after an analyst downgrade. Microsoft Corp. fell 1.1 percent, down for a third day. Cigna Corp. jumped 12 percent after a report that it was a takeover target.

     The S&P 500 slid 0.5 percent to 2,084.43 at 4 p.m. in New York, after earlier losing as much as 1 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 107.67 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,791.17, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.4 percent. About 5.9 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges Monday, 7.6 percent below the three-month average.

     “All eyes are on the tumultuous Greek negotiations which have moved the risk markets not only here in the United States, but across the globe,” said Chad Morganlander, a money manager in Florham Park, New Jersey, for Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., which oversees about $170 billion. “That as well as the weekly thematic will be the message from central banks, in particular the Federal Reserve.”

     The latest round of bailout talks between Greece and its creditors ended in acrimony after leaders met for just 45 minutes in Brussels on Sunday. European policy makers raised pressure on Greece to return to the negotiating table and make further concessions to unlock aid, as each side laid out its demands to rally support for its respective position.                          

     The Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting Tuesday, at which officials are expected to leave interest rates unchanged. Improving economic reports since the central bank’s last session have pushed the probability for a September increase to 53 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Chair Janet Yellen may provide further clues at a press conference on June 17.

     Manufacturing data today showed improvement from early year weakness remains uneven. Factory production unexpectedly declined in May as the slump in energy output deepened. The sluggish data signal that a stronger dollar and decrease in fuel prices are still holding back American factories. An earlier report showed manufacturing activity in the New York region unexpectedly worsened this month amid a drop in new orders.

     Another report showed confidence among homebuilders rebounded in June to a nine-month high as warmer weather and a brighter economic outlook drew prospective buyers back to the market.

     The specter of higher borrowing costs is also keeping U.S. equities in check, even after data last week signaled a pickup in consumer spending. The S&P 500 Friday finished its seventh straight week with a move of less than 1 percent.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index jumped 12 percent Monday to 15.38, an 11-week high. The gauge, know as the VIX, slipped 3 percent last week.

     Industrial and consumer staple companies fell the most of 10 main groups in the S&P 500 Index. United Technologies had its biggest drop in three months, weighing on the industrials group along with the weaker-than-forecast factory data. Rockwell Automation Inc. and Raytheon Company lost more than 1.4 percent to pace a retreat among capital goods companies. 3M Co. decreased 1.4 percent to a seven-month low.

     Micron Technology declined the most in the benchmark gauge, down 3.5 percent to the lowest in more than a year after being cut to the equivalent of sell by Morgan Stanley. Microsoft lost 1.1 percent for its ninth drop in 10 sessions, while Teradata Corp. declined 2.8 percent to its lowest since 2010 after JMP Securities LLC downgraded the stock. SanDisk Corp. fell 2.9 percent to a two-month low.                       

     Netflix Inc. declined 1.1 percent. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is planning to build China’s version of Netflix and HBO via a new service called Tmall Box Office, as it tries to service 600 million families craving more entertainment content.

     Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV slumped 2.6 percent. Morgan Stanley restricted coverage of General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler by analyst Adam Jonas because GM, a longstanding advisory client, disclosed that FCA approached it about a merger, said two people familiar with the matter.

     Coal miner Peabody Energy Corp. slid 5.5 percent to an all- time low. Shares dropped for a fourth consecutive session and have lost 27 percent over the period.

     Cigna surged 12 percent to a record. A person with knowledge of the matter said Anthem Inc. has explored takeovers of smaller health-insurance rivals Cigna and Humana Inc. Anthem gained 2.3 percent.                  

     Cigna’s rally helped to push health-care companies in the S&P 500 higher. Aetna Inc. rose 4.4 percent, the most in more than a year, to an all-time high. UnitedHealth Group Inc.advanced 1.1 percent.

     Standard Pacific Corp. and Ryland Group Inc. added at least 5.2 percent after the homebuilders agreed to merge. The combined entity, which will build entry-level to luxury homes, will be in 41 metropolitan areas and 17 states. The deal, coupled with a jump in monthly builders’ sentiment, lifted an S&P index of builders 0.7 percent to a three-week high.

     Dealertrack Technologies Inc. soared 58 percent after Cox Enterprises’ automotive unit agreed to buy the supplier of software services for vehicle retailers for $4 billion to expand from used-car services and data.

     CVS Health Corp. will pay $1.9 billion to buy Target Corp.’s pharmacies and clinics, expanding its reach by adding stores bearing its name inside the U.S. retail chain. Target gained 1.2 percent, while CVS added 0.4 percent after earlier rising as much as 1.1 percent.

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

Not everyone can see his dreams come true in the same way.

                                                   -Paulo Coelho, 1947-

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