May 4, 2015 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Carolann is out of the office, I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sparrows fly in and out of the muzzle of a former Soviet tank in Berlin Monday. The tank is part of a memorial for Red Army soldiers. Markus Schreiber/AP

Members of the media view selections for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala Benefit, ‘China: Through the Looking Glass,’ during a media preview in New York Monday. Stephanie Keith/Reuters

Market Closes for May 4^th, 2015

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day, extending the biggest increase in five weeks, as Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. surged to lead gains among consumer shares and the nation’s largest insurers advanced ahead of earnings.

     Couche-Tard climbed 4.6 percent to snap a three-day slide. Sun Life Financial Inc. and Manulife Financial Corp. added at least 1.3 percent. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. slipped 3.5 percent as copper fell after the largest weekly advance in 40 months.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 27.70 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,367.47 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has advanced 5 percent so far this year.

     Five of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX rose today on trading volume 18 percent lower than the 30-day average. Financial shares climbed 0.4 percent, while consumer staples stocks jumped 1.9 percent.

     Couche-Tard rallied 4.6 percent, the most since December. The Laval, Quebec-based operator of convenience stores and gas stations said in a release an April 24 bankruptcy filing before an Arizona court for The Circle K Corp. was not related to Couche-Tard’s Circle K subsidiary and has no link to the company.

     Sun Life Financial gained 1.6 percent, the biggest increase in seven weeks. The insurer will report first-quarter earnings May 5. Manulife, the nation’s largest insurer, is scheduled to report on May 7.

     Torex Gold Resources Inc. jumped 5.5 percent and Centerra Gold Inc. added 4.6 percent. Gold futures for June delivery climbed 1 percent to settle at $1,186.80 an ounce in New York, rebounding from a six-week low.

     Ensign Energy Services Inc. added 11 percent, the most since 2009, after reporting first-quarter profit ahead of analysts’ estimates.

US

By Stephen Kirkland and Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced toward all-time highs amid corporate results and data showing strength in the economy. Treasuries declined a second day as a rout in European bonds diminished the appeal of relatively higher American yields.

     The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.4 percent at 4 p.m. in New York, within three points of its closing record. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rebounded from the biggest weekly slide this year as euro-area manufacturing increased more than estimated. The euro slipped versus all but one of its 16 major peers. The yield on 10-year German notes jumped, while similar- maturity Treasury notes climbed to a seven-week high. Brazil’s real slid 2 percent. Gold futures climbed 1 percent.

     U.S. factory orders rose 2.1 percent in March for the biggest gain since July, adding to evidence a winter slowdown may have been temporary. Earnings from Comcast Corp. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. beat estimates. The S&P 500 rallied the most in more than a month Friday, while the dollar advanced to stanch slides that reversed some key trends in April Manufacturers in the euro area raised prices for the first time in eight months in April.

     “With nothing negative coming from overseas, you’re seeing a continuation of the positive price action from Friday afternoon,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said by phone. “We still have a pretty heavy slate of earnings this entire week, with a number of high-profile companies reporting, that’ll probably be the focus for the next several days.”

     U.S. equities slipped for the week, with the S&P 500 closing 0.4 percent below an all-time high, as the Federal Reserve left open the possibility of raising interest rates this year, with losses concentrated in biotechnology and social-media sectors that have among the highest valuations.

     Among stocks rising Monday, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. rallied as earnings exceeded forecasts. McDonald’s Corp. slipped as the fast-food giant unveiled its turnaround plan.

     Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. decreased after saying it expects a downturn in demand for offshore drilling to last at least through next year as customers cut spending amid the crude crash.

     Pioneer Natural Resources Co. slipped 1.8 percent after David Einhorn, who runs hedge fund Greenlight Capital, criticized the company for spending too much money without returns. Einhorn was among several money managers speaking at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York on Monday.

     Walt Disney Co. and Mylan NV also release earnings this week. Analysts have tempered their predictions for a corporate profit slump, now projecting a first-quarter drop of 0.4 percent, compared with April 17 calls for a 4.3 percent decline.

     Of the S&P 500 members that have already released results this season, 73 percent beat profit projections and 49 percent topped sales estimates.

     Bill Gross said the bull market “supercycle” for stocks and bonds is approaching its end, as the unconventional monetary policies that have kept it alive since the financial crisis are running out. Gross acknowledged that his calls for the end of the bond rally in both February and April of 2013 were too early.

     The euro slipped 0.5 percent to $1.1149, after surging 4.6 percent in April, its first monthly advance since the middle of last year.

     “Last week’s correction provided a good entry point for a lot of investors,” Alessandro Bee, a strategist at Bank J Safra Sarasin, said by phone from Zurich. “Liquidity is still being poured into markets and the European economy is accelerating. The next step is to understand whether U.S. growth is really slowing, or whether we’ll get a much-needed recovery in the second quarter.”

     The Stoxx 600 slid 3.4 percent, the most since December, in a holiday-shortened week for  most markets. Trading volumes in the Stoxx 600 were 34 percent below the 30-day average on Monday, with London trading closed.

     Gold futures recovered from a six-week low amid the China stimulus speculation. Futures for June delivery rose 1.3 percent to $1,189.40 an ounce in New York.

     Brazil’s real tumbled 2.3 percent to 3.08452 per U.S. dollar to lead global declines as the central bank eased support for the currency.

     Crude oil futures slipped below $59 a barrel in New York trading, as West Texas Intermediate for June delivery fell 0.3 percent to $58.95 a barrel. Prices touched $59.90 on May 1, the highest level since Dec. 11.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’

Martin Luther King, Jr.

As ever,

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy – it’s all that matters.”

Audrey Hepburn

Karen

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7