June 16, 2015 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Interesting stuff…

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

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Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?  A. Their birthplace

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Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?

A. Obsession

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Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you  would find the letter “A”?    A. One thousand

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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?   A. All were invented by women.

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Q. What is the only food that doesn’t spoil?   A. Honey

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Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?

A. Father’s Day

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In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.

When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase……… “goodnight, sleep tight.”

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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after  the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead  he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts… So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them “Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.”

It’s where we get the phrase “mind your P’s and Q’s

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Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to   get some service. “Wet your whistle” is the phrase inspired by this practice.

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And…on this day in 1884, America’s first roller coaster opened at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. It traveled at about six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Muslim children carry torches during a parade marking Ramadan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday. Ramadan, the holy fasting month, is expected to begin on Thursday. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Achmad Ibrahim/AP

People walk away as huge waves hit the Arabian Sea shore marking the arrival of monsoon season in Mumbai, India, Tuesday. The annual monsoon rains, which usually hit India from Juneto September, are crucial for farmers whose crops feed hundreds of millions of people. Rajanish Kakade/AP

Market Closes for June 16^th, 2015

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

As for it being different this time, it is different every time.  The question is in what way, and to what extent. –Tom McClennan (The McClennan Market Report)

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed, with the benchmark gauge trading near the lowest level in three months, as raw-materials producers retreated with the price of gold to offset a gain among oil shares as crude rebounded.

     Tahoe Resources Inc. sank 9.3 percent after Goldcorp Inc. sold its stake in the company. Goldcorp slipped 1.9 percent. Bombardier Inc. sank 6.5 percent as its CSeries jet failed to garner any new orders at the Paris Air Show. Hudson’s Bay Co. climbed 9 percent after announcing a deal to acquire a German retailer yesterday.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 3 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,753.05 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark slid as much as 0.5 percent in early trading before nearly erasing the slide over the course of the afternoon. The gauge has advanced 0.8 percent this year, among the worst- performers in developed markets in the world.

     Barrick Gold Corp. declined 2.5 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. lost 2.7 percent as raw-materials producers dropped 1 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX. Seven of 10 industries retreated on trading volume 3.1 percent lower than the 30-day average.

     Tahoe Resources tumbled 9.3 percent. Goldcorp, the world’s largest gold producer by market value, sold its 26 percent stake in the company for C$998.5 million in a secondary share sale to increase its near-term liquidity.

     Gold for August delivery slipped 0.4 percent to $1,180.90 an ounce in New York. The Fed meets in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday to plot monetary strategy and update economic forecasts as investors speculate when it will raise interest rates.

     Crescent Point Energy Corp. rose 2.3 percent and Cenovus Energy Inc. added 2.8 percent as energy producers increased 0.5 percent. Oil advanced for the first time in four days.

     Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gave no sign of backing down in the standoff over the country’s bailout. He hurled criticism at Greece’s creditors in a speech to lawmakers in Athens, accusing the International Monetary Fund of “criminal” responsibility for his country’s predicament.

     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.

US

By Jennifer Kaplan and Joseph Ciolli

     (Bloomberg) —  U.S. stocks advanced, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rising above its average price during the past 100 days, as investors speculate the Federal Reserve won’t rush to raise rates amid uncertainty over Greece’s future in the euro.

     Aetna Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. rose more than 2.1 percent amid bets that the health-insurance industry is headed for a round of mergers. Monster Beverage Corp. jumped 4.2 percent to lead consumer staples higher. Oracle Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc. gained more than 1.3 percent. United Rentals Inc.fell 2.6 percent after an analyst downgrade, and airline shares declined for a second day.

     The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.6 percent to 2,096.29 at the close in New York, erasing Monday’s slide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 113.31 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,904.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5 percent. About 5.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges Tuesday, 13 percent below the three-month average.

     “We had a selloff the last few days, and we’re seeing a bounce back from an oversold condition,” said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in Newton, Massachusetts. “I don’t think anyone wanted to be caught short ahead of the Fed meeting. The situation in Greece is still up in the air and will be for a little while, but it doesn’t look like that’s holding investors back today.”                         

     The Federal Reserve concludes its two-day meeting Wednesday, and officials are expected to leave interest rates unchanged after the economy contracted in the first quarter amid harsh winter weather. Policy makers anticipate growth will rebound enough to potentially allow for a rate increase this year.

     Recent data from retail sales to wage growth have been improving, though disappointing factory data Monday increased investor uncertainty as to whether the rebound is strong enough to withstand a rate increase.

     A report Monday showed May housing starts totaled 1.04 million at an annualized rate following April’s revised 1.17 million pace, capping the best back-to-back readings since the last two months of 2007. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 1.09 million. Permits for future projects climbed to the highest level in almost eight years.

     Investors continue to look for indications of progress in Greece’s debt talks after the Mediterranean nation signaled it won’t make further concessions to unlock bailout funds needed to avoid default. German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a more conciliatory tone, saying she’ll “do everything possible to keep Greece in the euro zone.”                          

     “The market correctly realizes that Greece is less of a risk than it was a few years back,” said Anthony Valeri, a market strategist with LPL Financial Corp. in San Diego. “Any kind of financial disruption is limited. Investors are correctly viewing this as more of an isolated incident that has far greater ramifications for Greece than it does for the global economy and financial markets.”

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index slipped 3.8 percent to 14.81 Tuesday, as equities gained for the first time in three sessions. The gauge, known as the VIX, reached an 11-week high yesterday.

     Consumer staples shares rose the most in the S&P 500, the group’s first climb in four sessions, as all of the benchmark’s 10 main industries advanced. Staples are down 3.5 percent in the past month, worse than the S&P 500’s 1.3 percent retreat.

     Coty Inc. jumped 19 percent to a record after a report that the Calvin Klein and Adidas fragrance maker won the auction for Procter & Gamble Co.’s haircare unit and two beauty lines in deals which could reach a combined $12 billion. P&G added 1.3 percent.                      

     Monster Beverage rallied 4.2 percent after Citigroup Inc. analysts added the company to the firm’s U.S. Focus List. Campbell Soup Co. rose 2.6 percent, its biggest gain in five months, while Whole Foods Inc. had its biggest advance since April, up 1.7 percent. Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. added at least 1 percent, with Coke posting its best increase in almost two months.

     The health-care group climbed for the fifth time in six sessions. Perrigo Co. advanced 4.3 percent, the most in the S&P 500, after Abbott Laboratories said it would vote its 14.5 percent stake in favor of Mylan NV’s $33 billion bid for Perrigo at a shareholder meeting on a potential deal in July or August.

Mylan lost 2.1 percent, the most in a month.

     UnitedHealth, Aetna and Anthem Inc. added at least 1.4 percent amid a drumbeat for consolidation in the health- insurance industry. Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared 50 percent, the most ever, after U.S. regulators let the company favorably alter the design of a trial for its glaucoma drug.

     Energy companies rallied as oil rose for the first time in four days. Hess Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. gained more than 2.6 percent.

     SunEdison Inc. increased 2.3 percent after raising $402.5 million to help buy renewable energy plants in emerging markets.It also purchased more than 2 gigawatts of wind and solar projects in Central America and Asia.

     Industrial shares were little changed as declines in airline shares weighed. American Airlines Group Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. dropped more than 1.4 percent. A Bloomberg index of U.S. carriers fell 0.9 percent.

     Oshkosh Corp. slumped 7.1 percent, the biggest drop in almost 11 months. The maker of combat vehicles, heavy-duty trucks and other equipment cut its third-quarter and 2015 profit view, citing severe weather and potential rental industry consolidation. United Rentals lost 2.6 percent after it was downgraded to underperform from neutral at Macquarie Research.

     Avalanche Biotechnologies Inc. shares tumbled 56 percent, the most since it went public last July, after some patients in a safety study of its gene therapy for an age-related chronic eye disease still required injections from another drug.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

A mind that is burdened with the past is a sorrowful mind.

Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity.

                                              -Ben Jonson, 1572-1637

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