November 10, 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Gillian Tett, in her most recent weekend column in the Financial Times, described  the wedding of Robert Hormats to Catherine Azmoodeh as being “memorable for many reasons, not least of which  a bride and groom so besotted they repeatedly declared their love to the glitzy crowd” ( Hormats is a former high-ranking official in the administration of US President Barack Obama).  She writes:  “But the most striking moment arose when, halfway through the ceremony, the bride’s father, whose family comes originally from Tehran stepped forward and read an extract from a poem in Persian. 

Az mohabbat talkh-ha shirin shaved
Az mohabbat mes-ha zarrin shaved
Az mohabbat dord-ha safi shaved
Az mohabbat dard-ha shafi shaved.

He then translated:

By love, the bitter becomes sweet;
By love, copper becomes gold;
By love, dregs become clear,
By love, pains become healing.

         -by the 13^th-century Muslim scholar and philosopher from the mystical Sufi tradition, Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

…Perhaps it is time to include some Rumi poetry not just at weddings but also on the syllabus of American and European schools; if for nothing else than to show western children that there is far more to Islam than the tragedies the see on their screens.”

“Sesame Street” premiered on this day in 1969. The show was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. Today Sesame Street is broadcasted in more than 120 countries and has reached more than 82 million children.

Also on this day, in 1983, Bill Gates unveiled a new computer operating system – Windows 1.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Turks stand for a minute of silence as the Turkish Stars, the Turkish army’s aerobatic demonstration team, shape a heart over the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, hero of the War of Independence and founding father of the modern Turkish Republic at 9:05 a.m., marking the 76th anniversary of his death, in Ankara, Turkey. AP

The view from the new glass floor of the viewing platform as people and cars pass below, as members of the media are among the first people to tour the new viewing platform with a newly installed glass floor, atop Tower Bridge in London, 138 feet above the River Thames. The one million pound improvement to install the glass floor will allow visitors a view of the road and ships passing below as the historic bridge lifts its roadway to allow tall ships to pass underneath. John Stillwell/AP

Market Closes for November 10^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a fourth day, extending a one-month high, as gains at BlackBerry Inc. and among financial shares overshadowed a slump in commodity producers.

     Sun Life Financial Inc. and IGM Financial Inc. added at least 2 percent to pace gains among financial services firms.  Detour Gold Corp. and Silver Standard Resources Inc. sank more than 8.8 percent as metals prices declined. Trilogy Energy Corp. and Athabasca Oil Corp. tumbled at least 7.1 percent as crude slipped on speculation OPEC is in no hurry to cut output. BlackBerry advanced 5.8 percent as Chief Executive Officer John Chen seeks partnerships in China.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 18.97 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,709.80 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The index has increased 2.2 percent in the past four days.

     Data today showed housing starts in Canada dropped unexpectedly to 183,600 in October from 197,400 the previous month as both urban and rural construction slowed. Analysts had forecast 200,000 starts.

     Cott Corp. rallied 3.1 percent to C$7.43 and Loblaw Cos. gained 2.4 percent to C$58.55 as consumer staples stocks climbed 1.9 percent as a group, the most in the S&P/TSX. Eight of 10 industries increased on trading volume in line with the 30-day average.

     Raw-materials producers slumped 2.8 percent as a group, while energy producers tumbled 1 percent. The two groups together account for about a third of the S&P/TSX.

     The S&P/TSX Gold Index sank 5.7 percent as 23 of 24 members retreated. Gold prices slid 0.9 percent in New York after reaching a four-year low last week.

     Athabasca Oil dropped 7.1 percent to C$3.29 and Trilogy Energy retreated 7.2 percent to C$13.95. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 1.6 percent to $77.40 a barrel in New York, while Brent settled at a four-year low. Kuwait’s oil minister said he doesn’t expect OPEC to trim production at the group’s next meeting in Vienna on Nov. 27.

     BlackBerry rallied 5.8 percent to C$12.63, the highest since June 2013. BlackBerry CEO Chen met with the heads of Xiaomi Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd. and is interested in growing the business there, he said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Beijing. Chen took over the struggling smartphone maker last November.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index extending an all-time high, as investors watched corporate results and speculated the economy is strong enough to withstand a global slowdown.

     Dean Foods Co. rallied 14 percent after reporting profit that topped forecasts. Toll Brothers Inc. climbed 2.3 percent to lead homebuilders higher after saying it expects to report sales that beat analysts’ estimates. Time Warner Cable Inc. and Comcast Corp. dropped at least 4 percent after President Barack Obama called for rules protecting an open Internet. Dendreon Corp. sank 81 percent after the maker of a prostate-cancer drug filed for bankruptcy.

     The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,038.26 at 4 p.m. in New York for a fourth day of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 39.81 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,613.74, a record after five straight advances.

     “The numbers in the third quarter showed a steady economy, we continue to have oil below $80, consumers feeling confident, low interest rates, and that’s a combination that works well for stocks,” Mark Kepner, an equity trader at Chatham, New Jersey- based Themis Trading LLC, said by phone. “Central banks have also been quite accommodative in what they’ve been saying and it seems to be working.”

     U.S. companies added 230,000 workers to payrolls in October, ADP Research Institute reported last week. The jobless rate unexpectedly fell to a six-year low, even as more people entered the labor forcer. Earlier this month, The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index climbed to the second-highest level since 2008, as West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to below $80 for the first time since 2009.

     The S&P 500 has rebounded 9.4 percent from a six-month low on Oct. 15 amid better-than-estimated corporate results and economic data indicating the economy is strong enough to overcome any effects from a global slowdown and the end of Federal Reserve bond buying. The index rose 0.7 percent last week for a third straight gain and closed Nov. 7 at a record.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility index fell 3.4 percent to 12.67. The gauge of S&P 500 options has fallen 9.7 percent this month.

     Last week’s rally “celebrated the fundamentals” as earnings and economic data point to “sustainability” of the expansion, John Stoltzfus, Oppenheimer & Co. chief market strategist, wrote in a note to investors today.

     Stoltzfus raised his year-end target for the S&P 500 to 2,080 from 2,014, implying a 2.4 percent gain from Nov. 7. The median target of strategists in a Bloomberg survey was 2,040.

     Cisco Systems Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are among S&P 500 companies that report earnings this week. Of those that have posted results so far, 80 percent beat estimates for profit and 60 percent topped sales estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     “There is no downward pressure and people are waiting for another leg upwards,” Herbert Perus, who helps oversee $36 billion as head of equities at Raiffeisen Capital Management in Vienna, said in a phone interview. “One of the triggers could be the company news out this week with quarterly figures from Cisco and Wal-Mart.”

     Eight of the 10 main S&P 500 groups advanced today, with health-care stocks rebounding to gain 1 percent. Energy shares sank 0.8 percent as oil resumed a selloff.

     The Dow Jones Transportation Average added 1.3 percent to a record, with JetBlue Airways Corp. leading gains as crude oil futures lost 1.7 percent.

     An S&P index of homebuilders rallied 1.3 percent. Lennar Corp. surged 1.7 percent to the highest since June 2007, and PulteGroup Inc. added 1.8 percent as nine of 11 members in the gauge advanced.

     Dean Foods advanced 14 percent, the most in two years, to $16.40 after reporting third-quarter revenue of $2.37 billion, compared with the consensus analyst estimate of $2.35 billion.

     Abercrombie & Fitch Co. retreated 2.8 percent to $28.69 after Oppenheimer & Co. downgraded the shares to market perform, or hold, from outperform, or buy.

     Time Warner Cable lost 4.9 percent to $136.50 and Comcast fell 4 percent to $52.95. Obama called for the “strongest possible rules” to protect the open Internet, saying there shouldn’t be “fast lanes” and that high-speed service should be regulated.

     Dendreon sank 81 percent to 18 cents. The maker of Provenge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, potentially wiping out shareholders.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

It is quite evident that our world is useful and that it provides for our needs,

but our connection to it does not end there.

We are united to it by a connection much larger and more truthful than that of necessity.

Our soul is drawn to it; our love of life is in reality a desire in us to seek our connection with this universe.

And this connection is love.

Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

Carolann

Encourage all your virtuous dispositions, and exercise them whenever

an opportunity arises; being assured that they will gain strength by exercise,

as a limb of the body does, and that exercise will make them habitual.

                                                  -Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square,

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7