October 24, 2014 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Lightning strikes over Lycabettus hill in Athens. A fierce storm wreaked havoc in Athens as it uprooted trees, swept cars and flooded basements and streets. The torrential downpour in Greece’s capital turned streets into rivers trapping commuters in their vehicles and overturning parked cars. In some districts, cars were seen stacked one on top of another as the deluge swept them away. Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters

Visitors sit inside a sculpture titled ‘We’re Frying Out Here’ created by artist Andrew Hankin at Sculpture By The Sea, in Sydney, Australia. Sculptures created by 109 artists from 16 countries, are displayed across the coastal area of Sydney. Rob Griffith/AP

Market Closes for October 24^th, 2014    

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

     Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose a second day, capping its best weekly gain since July 2013, as Agrium Inc. paced gains in the benchmark index, offsetting a decline among oil producers.

     Agrium jumped 7.6 percent, the most in five years, after activist investor VA Partners disclosed a stake in the fertilizer company. Corus Entertainment Inc. sank 7.6 percent after analysts at Canaccord Genuity Corp. and National Bank of Canada cut their ratings for the stock due to an earnings miss. Athabasca Oil Corp. and Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. dropped more than 4.2 percent to pace declines among energy shares.

     The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 56.99 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,543.82 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge rallied 2.2 percent this week, for a second straight gain after six weeks of declines. Trading volume today was 32 percent below the 30-day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     The S&P/TSX trades at 18.5 times reported earnings, down from a peak of 21 set in June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Nine of the 10 main groups in the equity benchmark advanced. Materials producers rallied 1.1 percent, while consumer-staples stocks paced gains with 2.5 percent rally. Loblaw Cos. Ltd. climbed 4 percent to C$56.71 after being raised to an “action list buy” at TD Securities.

     Corus sank 7.6 percent to C$21.51 for a fourth straight decline that left it at the lowest since February 2012. The media company yesterday reported fourth-quarter earnings short of analysts’ forecasts.

     Athabasca Oil sank 3.3 percent to C$4.17 and Bellatrix Exploration retreated 4.2 percent to C$5.48 as energy shares declined 0.6 percent as a group.

     West Texas Intermediate fell following the biggest gain since September and Brent crude slid in London amid speculation a drop in Saudi Arabian oil supplies isn’t a signal that OPEC’s largest producer has decided to cut production.

     MTY Food Group Inc. rose 0.8 percent to C$30.32 after agreeing yesterday to acquire the assets of a group of companies operating the Manchu Wok, Wasabi Grill & Noodle and SenseAsian brands in Canada and the U.S. for C$7.9 million.

US

By Oliver Renick

     Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capping its best week since 2013, as companies from Procter & Gamble Co. to Microsoft Corp. climbed after reporting earnings.

     P&G added 2.3 percent after saying it would exit its Duracell battery business. Microsoft gained 2.5 percent as quarterly sales topped estimates on cloud-computing growth. SodaStream International Ltd. surged 15 percent after a report that it is testing PepsiCo Inc. brands. Amazon.com Inc. slid 8.3 percent after posting the biggest quarterly net loss since at least 2003.

     The S&P 500 added 0.7 percent to 1,964.57 at 4 p.m. in New York. The equity rallied 4.1percent this week, the most since January 2013. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 127.51 points, or 0.8 percent, to 16,805.41.

     “Earnings have been very good,” Mark Spellman, a portfolio manager who helps oversee $4.3 billion at Alpine Funds in Purchase, New York, said by phone. “A large part of this market rise since the decline has been on the idea the Fed will be here to protect you.”

     Markets started to turn around on Oct. 16 after St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said policy makers should consider delaying the end of quantitative easing. The S&P 500 is up more than 5 percent since then, recouping about half of the drop since its record in mid-September.

     The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index slid 1.4 percent to 16.30 today. The gauge known as the VIX has fallen 38 percent since the S&P touched a 6-month low on Oct. 15.

     Health-care shares added 1.4 percent, the biggest gain among the 10 main industries in the S&P 500. A New York City doctor tested positive for Ebola after returning from aid work in West Africa.

     Almost 80 percent of S&P 500 companies that have released results this season beat profit projections, while 61 percent surpassed revenue estimates.

     P&G gained 2.3 percent to $85.16. The company said it would exit Duracell, preferably by splitting the business into a standalone company and giving shareholders the option of exchanging P&G shares for stock in the new entity.

     Microsoft climbed 2.5 percent to $46.13. Revenue at the ailing Nokia handset business, which Microsoft acquired earlier this year, also topped projections, while sales of Azure cloud software and Web-based versions of Office programs more than doubled.

     United Parcel Service Inc. advanced 0.1 percent to $100.59 after profit beat estimates. The company said it expects shipments during December to climb 11 percent. FedEx this week forecast record shipments of packages between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, an 8.8 percent increase from last year, as e- commerce hits a peak.

     SodaStream surged 15 percent to $24.45, the most since May 2012, after industry newsletter Beverage Digest said the company plans to test PepsiCo-branded products.

     Amazon shares lost 8.3 percent to $287.06, the lowest since August 2013. The online retailer forecast sales and profit for the fourth quarter that missed analysts’ projections. That puts Amazon on track to lose an estimated $40.5 million for the year, which would be the company’s largest annual loss in 12 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     Pandora Media Inc. plunged 13 percent to $20, the lowest in a year. The largest Internet radio service reported user growth slowed to 5.2 percent in the third quarter.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

“Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” Swami Sivananda 

Karen

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have”. Vince Lombardi

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