March 8, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

In case you missed it today, Lululemon commanded a full page in the Globe & Mail  for the following message to commemorate International Women’s Day.  I think it is very special and I hope you do too:

For you,

If you feel strong, or fragile, or strong and fragile.  If you

sometimes laugh at your mistakes and sometimes cry at

them.  Whether you are loud, or quiet, or are sometimes

loud and sometimes quiet.  If you are a mother, not yet

a mother, a stepmother, will never be a mother, or never

want to be a mother.  If some days you battle the feelings

of being infinitely worthless, and some days you recognize

your infinite worth.  If you take a stand for what you

believe in, or don’t know what to believe in.  Whether you

are full of love, or fear, or sometimes love and sometimes

fear.  If you feel most beautiful in high heels and dark

lips surrounded by bright lights, or most beautiful with

a naked face gazing up at bright stars.  If some days you

refuse to give up, and other days you have nothing left

to give.  Whether you feel lost, are searching, or have

found yourself.   If you take a step forward, or a step back,

but no matter what, you keep stepping.

Wherever you are, in all that you are, we honour you.

Namaste

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

At right, Emma Benany, part of the Egyptian National Rowing Team, rows with team members in the Nile River on International Women’s Day, in Cairo on Wednesday. Nariman El-Mofty/AP

Young girls collect sugar cane husks for cooking and heating fuel in Charsadda, Pakistan on Wednesday. Fayaz Aziz/Reuters
Market Closes for March 8^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks declined the most in eight days as oil slumped more than 5 percent to its lowest level of the year, dragging down energy shares. Nine of the 11 major industries on the S&P/TSX Composite Index fell, with real estate and telecommunication stocks dropping more than 0.7 percent.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.7 percent to 15,496.98 in Toronto. The energy index dropped 2.5 percent as U.S. government data showed record oil stockpiles, indicating production cuts from OPEC haven’t reduced supplies. Baytex Energy Corp., MEG Energy Corp. Secure Energy Services Inc. and Whitecap Resources Inc. all lost more than 7 percent.
     Construction company Aecon Group Inc. was the biggest gainer of the day, up 6.3 percent, after the company reported better than expected fourth-quarter profit and revenue and boosted its dividend. The TSX health care index rose 0.7 percent, led by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. as the company negotiates with its lenders to ease its $30 billion debt load.
     In other moves:
     * West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled 5.4 percent to $50.28 a barrel, the lowest close since Dec. 7. Baytex Energy Corp. fell 8.2 percent while MEG Energy Corp., Secure Energy Services Inc. and Whitecap Resources Inc. fell more than 7 percent.
     *Materials were largely unchanged as commodity prices fell. Methanex Corp. slid 2.9 percent while Asanko Gold Inc. jumped 6.1 percent.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities reversed early gains to end lower Wednesday after ADP data showed companies added the most workers in almost three years to payrolls last month and financial stocks pared an early advance.
     The S&P 500 Index lost 0.2 percent to 2,362.98 as of 4 p.m. in New York for the third consecutive loss in as many days. That’s the longest losing streak in more than a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 percent to 20,855.73.
* Financials end unchanged after rallying as much as 1.3% in early trading
* Bond proxies such as utilities and real estate declined at least 1.4% as the 10-year Treasury yield jumped 3.5 basis points
* Volume in energy stocks 43% above average at this time as the group loses 1.7% with oil down 5.3%
* VIX up 3.6% to 11.9
* S&P 500 still within two percentage points of its record set March 1, and the gauge’s price-to-earnings ratio is wedged close to a more than seven-year high.
* “This is probably only a correction, rather than the beginning of the end,” said Michael McCarthy, chief markets strategist in Sydney at CMC Markets. “The global drivers are still there with the signs of strength in the U.S. economy and China’s economy as well”
* ECONOMY:
** February private payrolls climbed by 298,000 (forecast was 187,000), the most since April 2014, after a revised 261,000 gain in January, according to ADP
* EARNINGS:
** Pre-market Thursday: Fairmount Santrol (FMSA), Signet Jewelers (SIG)
* In Europe, stocks halted a four-day losing streak, as gains in lenders were tempered by losses in energy and mining shares.
Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The person who can wear the mantle of a Master
is one who is devoted to the cause of non-violence and non-possession
who is driven by the quest for truth and the right perspective,
who is capable of solving his own emotional and mental problems and
who can show others the way to overcome their emotional and mental problems.
Acharya Mahaprajna

As ever,

Carolann

If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.
                                -Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, b.1938

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com