March 19, 2013 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Carolann is out of the office this afternoon at an appointment.

Just a fun fact! Today in history the first world’s largest omelette was made in Japan! Last year, on August 11^th the world record was broken! The omelette made, weighed in at 6.466 tonnes (14,225 lb 6 oz). It took a team of 55 people 6 hours to make this omelette, all led by a head chef, Pedro Mendes. A 4,290-kg pan was used, with a 10.3-metre diameter. The omelette used 145,000 eggs, 880 lbs of oil and 220 lbs of butter. All eggs used were free range. This omelette was made at a festival held in the region for Portuguese people who live and work elsewhere during the year.

Today In History

1831 – The first bank robbery in America was reported. The City Bank of New York City lost $245,000 in the robbery.

1915 – Pluto was photographed for the first time. However, it was not known at the time.

1918 – The U.S. Congress approved Daylight-Saving Time.

1949 – The Soviet People’s Council signed the constitution of the German Democratic Republic, and declared that the North Atlantic Treaty was merely a war weapon.

1953 – The Academy Awards aired on television for the first time.

1963 – In Costa Rica, U.S. President John F. Kennedy and six Latin American presidents pledged to fight Communism.

1977 – The last episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” aired.

1990 – The first world ice hockey tournament for women was held in Ottawa.
a season.

Photos of the Day – March 19^th, 2013

Lightning steaks across the sky behind the Young Meadows Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Strong storms moved across the state bringing hail, high winds, and heavy rainfall as a cold front passed through. Dave Martin/AP

Campaigners dressed as Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne congregate in Parliament Square in central London. They were protesting on behalf of ‘Enough Food for Everyone IF’, a campaign to end global hunger. Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine

Market Closes for March 19^th, 2013

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

March 19 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a second day as commodities producers declined after Cypriot lawmakers rejected an unprecedented bank levy, sparking concerns Europe’s debt crisis will worsen.

Pengrowth Energy Corp. lost 1.2 percent as oil retreated after the euro fell to a three-month low versus the dollar.

Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. slid 5.6 percent after an analyst raised concerns about its debt. Taseko Mines Ltd. and Teck Resources Ltd. fell at least 4 percent as copper touched the lowest level in almost seven months. Lululemon Athletica Inc. slumped 2.6 percent after it said a shortage of women’s pants will cause quarterly revenue to miss company forecasts.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 7.89 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,773.87 in Toronto, after gaining as much as 0.4 percent earlier in the day. The S&P/TSX has risen 2.7 percent this year. Trading volume was 5.5 percent below the 30- day average.

“It’s a knee-jerk reaction, given how small Cyprus is,” said Anil Tahiliani, a fund manager with McLean & Partners in Calgary. The firm manages about C$1 billion ($973 million). The European Union “won’t let Cyprus implode. I think people are using this as an excuse to take money off the table.”

The island nation’s parliament voted against imposing losses on depositors, a key demand of European officials in return for bailout funds. Equities briefly pared losses after the vote when the European Central Bank said it will provide liquidity to Cyprus within existing rules.

While the country accounts for less than half a percent of the euro economy, the fight over the bank tax risks triggering new turmoil in the financial crisis that began in 2009 in Greece.

Canadian stocks rose earlier as data showed U.S. home construction increased by a more-than-estimated 0.8 percent in February, and building permits climbed to the highest level in almost five years.

Pengrowth fell 1.2 percent to C$5.60, as oil slid 1.7 percent to settle at $92.16 in New York. The euro declined as much as 0.9 percent to $1.2844, the lowest since Nov. 22, reducing the appeal of crude as an investment. Trican Well Service Ltd. dropped 1.4 percent to C$14.62.

Legacy Oil + Gas tumbled 5.6 percent to C$5.71. Allan Stepa, analyst with Desjardins Securities Inc., said Legacy’s C$486 million in net debt at the end of 2012 remains a concern.

“The key catalyst for Legacy will be additional measures to strengthen its balance sheet,” he said in a note to clients today.

Raw-materials producers contributed most to declines in the S&P/TSX index, falling 0.3 percent as a group. Taseko Mines dropped 4 percent to C$2.85 and Teck Resources declined 4.7 percent to C$28.45. Copper futures slid for a third straight day, losing 0.7 percent to settle at $3.4055 a pound.

Lululemon erased 2.6 percent to C$65.74, the lowest close since January. The yoga-wear retailer fell as much as 8.2 percent after saying a shortage of a women’s pants line will have a “significant” effect on financial results and will lead to lower-than-forecast first-quarter revenue.

Certain shipments of its black Luon pants are too sheer and don’t meet the company’s standards, impacting about 17 percent of all women’s pants in its stores, the company said.

Rona Inc., the nation’s largest home-improvement retailer, advanced 4 percent to C$10.98 after it announced supermarket executive Robert Sawyer will take over in April as CEO. Sawyer had been chief operating officer at Metro Inc.

Dundee Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust slipped 1.7 percent to C$10.76 after agreeing to buy C2C Industrial Properties Inc. in a transaction valued at about C$226 million.

The deal adds a portfolio of more than 2.5 million square feet of gross leasable area, Dundee said in a statement. C2C soared 26 percent to C$4.68.

US

By Lu Wang and Sarah Pringle

March 19 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its longest slump of the year, as Cypriot lawmakers’ rejection of a bank levy overshadowed data showing growth in new-home construction.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. tumbled 6.6 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its forecast for iron-ore prices.

Electronic Arts Inc. slumped 8.3 percent after the video-game maker ousted its chief executive officer. Cardinal Health Inc. fell 8.2 percent after saying its contract with Walgreen Co. won’t be renewed. Walgreen rose 5.4 percent and AmerisourceBergen Corp. surged 3.6 percent after agreeing to a partnership.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,548.34 at 4 p.m. in New York, after dropping as much as 0.9 percent earlier. The gauge lost 1 percent over three days, the longest streak since Dec. 28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 3.76 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,455.82. About 6.8 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges today, or 7.4 percent above the three- month average.

“Obviously the situation in Europe is not what we want it to be,” John Manley, who helps oversee about $223.6 billion as chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds in New York, said in a phone interview. “The next couple weeks will be more periods of chopping around. I don’t think it’s more than 2 to 4 percent in terms of risk on the market,” he said. “The housing market does seem to be on a bit more steady ground and that helps U.S. consumers.”

Stocks fell as Cyprus’s parliament rejected an unprecedented levy on bank deposits, dealing a blow to European plans to force savers to shoulder part of the country’s bailout in a standoff that risks renewed tumult in the euro area.

Hammered out by euro-area finance chiefs at the weekend, the deal had sought to raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) by drawing funds from Cyprus bank accounts in return for 10 billion euros in international aid.

Equities trimmed losses late in the trading day after the European Central Bank reaffirmed its commitment to provide liquidity “as needed within the existing rules.”

The S&P 500 rose earlier as a Commerce Department report showed builders broke ground on 917,000 homes at an annual rate, up 0.8 percent from a revised 910,000 pace in January that was higher than initially estimated. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, advanced 4.6 percent to 946,000, the strongest since June 2008.

The bull market in U.S. equities entered its fifth year this month. The S&P 500 has more than doubled from its bottom in 2009, driven by better-than-estimated corporate earnings and three rounds of bond purchases by the Fed. The S&P 500 rose to within two points of its 2007 record last week while the Dow reached an all-time high.

The Federal Open Market Committee began a two-day meeting today. The policy makers agreed in December to link record-low interest rates to thresholds for unemployment and inflation so that investors and households know what conditions will prompt the Federal Reserve to consider raising rates.

The push by Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to continue record stimulus faltered with the Jan. 3 release of minutes from the FOMC’s December meeting, which said several officials favored slowing or stopping bond buying well before the end of 2013.

“I don’t think there is any mystery at all,” Christopher Beck, senior vice president at Delaware Investments, said in a phone interview. His firm had more than $179 billion under management as of as of Dec. 31. “The Fed is not going to change the tone. They’re going to confirm the easing bias.”

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the S&P 500, jumped 7.7 percent to 14.39 today, after surging 18 percent yesterday. The gauge, known as the VIX, is down 20 percent this year.

Six out of 10 S&P 500 groups retreated as energy, consumer- discretionary and financial companies fell the most, sinking at least 0.5 percent.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., the biggest U.S. iron ore producer, tumbled 6.6 percent to $20.33. Goldman Sachs trimmed its price forecast on the commodity, citing seaborne expansion projects and increasing production in China.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. slumped 5.1 percent to $21.04.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., the world’s second largest copper miner, slid 1.6 percent to $32.98.

Electronic Arts dropped 8.3 percent to $17.15. The second- largest U.S. maker of video games said John Riccitiello is stepping down as chief executive officer and warned quarterly results may fall short of forecasts.

Juniper Networks Inc. fell 5.3 percent to $19.14. Goldman Sachs downgraded the No. 2 maker of networking gear to sell from neutral, citing competition from Cisco Systems Inc. and Alcatel- Lucent.

Cardinal dropped 8.2 percent to $42.35 after saying its pharmaceutical distribution contract with Walgreen won’t be renewed after it expires in August. Walgreen accounted for about 21 percent of Cardinal’s revenue in 2012.

Walgreen, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, and Alliance Boots GmbH agreed to a long-term partnership with AmerisourceBergen, gaining the right to acquire a minority stake in the pharmaceutical services provider. Walgreen also reported second-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ estimates.

AmerisourceBergen surged 3.6 percent to $50.06 and Walgreen rallied 5.4 percent to $44.74.

EBay Inc. climbed 2 percent to $51.10. The operator of the world’s largest online marketplace is overhauling fees for sellers for the first time since 2010, seeking to reduce costs and make pricing less complicated as it competes with bigger rival Amazon.com Inc. for online merchants.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

“I don’t regret the things I’ve done, I regret the things I didn’t do when I had the chance.” – Unknown

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

Fax: 778-430-5838