November 18th, 2011 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
Tangents:
-from The Book of Days,
John Donne, November 19th, 1627:
Angels are creatures that have not so much of a body as flesh is, as froth is, as a vapour is, as a sigh is; and yet with a touch they shall moulder a rock into less atoms than the sand that it stands upon, and a millstone into smaller flour than it grinds. They are creatures made – yet not a minute older now than when they were first made, if they were made before all measure of time began. Nor, if they were made in the beginning of time and be now six thousand years old, have they one wrinkle of age in their face or one sob of weariness in their lungs. They are God’s eldest sons. They are super-elementary meteors. They hang between the nature of God and the nature of man and are of middle condition. And (if we may without offence express it so) they are the riddles of Heaven and the perplexities of speculation.
P.S. I believe in angels.
Photos of the day
November 18, 2011
A woman carries a bag as she harvests chrysanthemum at a field in a flower plantation in Tongxiang, Zhejiang province, China. Reuters.
Market Commentary:
Canada
By Matt Walcoff
Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, completing a third straight weekly decline, as gold producers dropped after the U.S. Dollar Index erased most of the day’s loss.
Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest gold producer, decreased 1 percent as the metal finished its biggest weekly slump since Sept. 23. TransCanada Corp., the owner of the country’s largest pipeline system, advanced 2.4 percent after Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling said it will fund a rerouted Keystone XL pipeline without issuing more debt.
The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index slipped 22.99 points, or 0.2 percent, to 11,892.44, extending its weekly decline to 3.1 percent.
“We are caught in this purgatory; the market doesn’t know what it wants to do,” Greg Taylor, a money manager at Aurion Capital Management in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about C$5 billion ($4.9 billion). “The fears of Europe have compressed valuations on every stock out there.”
The index dropped the most since Sept. 23 this week as bond yields increased in Italy, Spain and France, indicating concern the European debt crisis’s spread will continue. Raw-materials companies led the retreat as the U.S. dollar climbed against 15 of 16 other major currencies.
Gold erased most of its gains today, after advancing as much as 1.1 percent on the Comex in New York, as the U.S. Dollar Index pared its loss to 0.3 percent, after falling as much as 1 percent. Barrick slipped 1 percent to C$50.17. Eldorado Gold Corp., Canada’s fifth-largest gold producer by market value, retreated 2.1 percent to C$17.62.
Great Basin Gold Ltd., which mines in Nevada, slumped 6.9 percent to C$1.22, the lowest since March 2009. Leon Esterhuizen, an analyst at Royal Bank of Canada, cut his rating on the shares to “sector perform” from “outperform.”
Pipeline companies in the S&P/TSX rose for a fourth day. Enbridge Inc., Canada’s biggest pipeline company, rose 0.7 percent to a record C$36.19, advancing for a third day after saying it will buy a stake in the Seaway pipeline system. At least four analysts boosted their 12-month price estimates on the shares yesterday.
TransCanada gained 2.4 percent to C$41.57. The company fell to its lowest market value relative to Enbridge’s since 2000 yesterday after the U.S. State Department delayed approval of the proposed Keystone XL line due to environmental concerns.
Neo Material Technologies Inc. surged 10 percent to C$7.83.
The rare earths and zirconium products maker may have jumped because Mark Smith, chief executive officer of Molycorp Inc., said he may buy a company in that industry, Matthew Gowing, an analyst at Mackie Research Capital Corp., said in a telephone interview. Molycorp is considering companies listed on the TSX, Smith said.
Canadian National Railway Co., the country’s largest railroad, advanced for the first time this week, increasing 1.6 percent to C$80.02 as crude oil fell to a seven-day low.
The S&P/TSX Commercial Banks Index climbed after closing at the lowest relative to earnings since March 2009 yesterday.
Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest lender by assets, rose 1.1 percent to C$44.42. Bank of Nova Scotia, the third- biggest bank, gained 1.2 percent to C$49.89.
US
By Rita Nazareth
Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index completing its biggest weekly drop in two months, as technology and energy losses overshadowed optimism that the economy is accelerating.
The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1 percent to 1,215.66 at 4 p.m. New York time after rising 0.6 percent earlier, according to preliminary closing data. It retreated 3.8 percent this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 25.50 points, or 0.2 percent, to 11,796.23.
“The next big catalyst for the stock market will probably be a growing appreciation that not only is the U.S. economy not recessing, but U.S. economic growth is actually accelerating,” James Paulsen, who helps oversee about $333 billion as chief investment strategist at Minneapolis-based Wells Capital Management, said in an e-mail.
The S&P 500 swung between gains and losses as investors watched developments in Europe. The Conference Board’s index of U.S. leading indicators rose more than forecast in October, signaling the largest economy will keep growing in 2012. The U.S. economy may end 2011 expanding at its fastest pace in 18 months as analysts increase their forecasts for the fourth quarter.
Economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York now see gross domestic product rising 3 percent in the final quarter, up from a previous prediction of 2.5 percent. Macroeconomic Advisers in St. Louis increased its forecast to 3.2 percent from 2.9 percent at the start of November, while Morgan Stanley boosted its outlook to 3.5 percent from 3 percent.
Stocks erased gains earlier today as Deutsche Presse- Agentur reported that Germany’s Foreign Ministry said the nation was considering the possibility of “orderly defaults” beyond Greece. The euro snapped a four-day slump as European Central Bank purchases pushed down Italian and Spanish bond yields and speculation grew that the International Monetary Fund may play a larger role in fighting the debt crisis.
“Until we have some sense of stability in Europe, the volatility will continue,” Mark Bronzo, who helps manage $24 billion at Security Global Investors in Irvington, New York, said in an e-mail. “Better economic growth in the U.S. will provide support for the markets and potentially set the stage for a nice rally if and when Europe does stabilize.”
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Be magnificent!
How can you regard yourself as subject and other beings as objects,
when you know that all are one.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
As ever,
Carolann
Each time someone stands up for an ideal,
or acts to improve the lot of others or
strikes out against injustice, he sends
forth a tiny ripple of hope.
-Robert F. Kennedy, 1925-1968