September 10, 2013 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

-from A Countrywoman’s Notes for the month of September, by Rosemary Verey:

Rosebay willow is beautiful in the wild but a menace in the garden.  Each September, its appearance reminds me of one day when I was seven.  A friend and I had been allowed to roam alone on the dunes behind Walmer Castle in Kent.  This wonderful willowherb was growing in profusion as tall as we were; we picked armfuls, some in flower and some with ripening seeds, and as we walked home through the garden, each with a cherished bouquet, we met the gardener.  At the time I could not understand his dismay as hundreds of seeds went wafting into his weedless borders.  Now when I see its deceptively pretty pink flowers appearing in my borders I remember that carefree day and pull it out, roots and all.  Autumn is the time to harvest sees of our special flowers; plants such as Nicotiana sylvestris to my mind the sweetest-scented of the tobacco family, and the nasty-smelling Salvia sclaria var. turkestanica, whose mauve bracts last for weeks and always cause comments of approval; all those which are hard to find in the seedsmen’s catalogues.  We should follow Thomas Tusser’s 16^th century advice…

Good huswifes in summer will  save their own seedes,

Against the next years, as occasion needs.

One seed for another, to make an exchange,

With fellowlie neighbourhood seemeth not strange.

Photos of the Day –September 10th, 2013

A black cat strolls over a pile of pumpkins at a farm near Potsdam, eastern Germany. Ralf Hirschberger/dpa/AP

A giant panda with rare brown-and-white fur eats a carrot at a natural conservation area in Qinling, Shaanxi province, China. China Daily/Reuters

Market Closes for September 10^th, 2013

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Nick Taborek

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, after touching the highest level in almost six months yesterday, as materials producers slumped amid signs of easing tensions over Syria.

Argonaut Gold Inc. sank 8 percent as the price of the precious metal plunged the most in two months in New York.

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. sank 7.3 percent to pace losses among silver producers. BlackBerry Ltd. dropped 5.5 percent after the Globe & Mail reported big pension funds have “cooled” on a joining a possible bid for the company.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index fell 30.16 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,824.48 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge rose 0.3 percent yesterday to the highest since March 12. Trading was 8.4 percent above the 30-day average.

“The Syrian situation seems to be at the moment working its way out with possibly a negotiated settlement,” said Paul Gardner, a fund manager with Avenue Investment Management in Toronto. The firm oversees about C$300 million ($288 million).

“You have a stock market rally in the U.S. In Canada the opposite occurs because we’re so heavily weighted towards gold, resources and oil, and that of course has come off due to the crisis settling down.”

U.S. stocks advanced today after France said it will submit a Russian-backed plan to confiscate Syria’s chemical weapons to the United Nations, as Interfax reported that Bashar al-Assad’s government accepted the proposal. U.S. President Barack Obama will outline his intentions on Syria in a speech at 9 p.m. tonight in Washington.

In Canada, five of 10 main groups in the S&P/TSX declined.

Materials stocks plunged 1.9 percent, the most in two weeks. An index of gold producers slumped 5.2 percent for the biggest decline in a month as gold futures tumbled 1.6 percent to settle at $1,364. Silver also retreated.

Goldcorp Inc. fell 6.7 percent to C$28.16 and Torex Gold Resources Inc. slumped 7.6 percent to C$1.45 to pace declines among producers of the precious metal. Argonaut dropped 8 percent to C$6.20. Fortuna Silver dropped 7.3 percent to C$4.09.

BlackBerry lost 5.5 percent to C$11.30, dragging technology stocks lower by 1 percent. The shares climbed 5.9 percent yesterday after a Sunday Times report said Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is close to making a bid. A separate report today in the Globe & Mail, citing people familiar with the situation, said none of the big Canadian pension funds approached by Fairfax Financial have taken to the proposal.

BlackBerry said today it has cut its sales force and moved some staff to the U.S. to bolster sluggish sales of its new devices. The company is struggling with competition from Apple Inc.’s iOS, Google Inc.’s Android and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phone, which is now outselling BlackBerry. Apple introduced two new versions of its iPhone today, including a low-cost model.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. advanced 3.4 percent to $34.02. OAO Uralkali, the Russian potash producer that exited a venture controlling almost half of global exports of the crop nutrient in July, said prices are unlikely to fall below $300 a metric ton as Asian and Brazilian demand will support sales.

US

By Nikolaj Gammeltoft

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed, extending the longest winning streak for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since July, as data showed China’s economy is improving amid signs of easing tensions over Syria.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Visa Inc. and Nike Inc. jumped more than 2.1 percent as the three companies will be added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Bank of America Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Alcoa Inc. Apple Inc. tumbled 2.3 percent as the world’s biggest technology company unveiled new iPhone models.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.7 percent to 1,683.99 at 4 p.m. in New York. The index has gained for six straight days, the most since July 15. The Dow rose 127.94 points, or 0.9 percent, to 15,191.06 today. About 6.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 11 percent above the three-month average.

“The news from Syria is positive and we had decent economic data out of China,” Gary Flam, a portfolio manager at Bel Air Investment Advisors LLC in Los Angeles, said in a phone interview. His firm oversees $7 billion. “Investors came into September cautiously positioned, but one by one their concerns are being removed or lessened.”

The S&P 500 has risen 3.1 percent in the first six trading days of the month, recovering from a drop of as much as 4.6 percent since a record high on Aug. 2. The benchmark index declined amid concern over a possible military strike against Syria and the prospect for the Federal Reserve scaling back its monetary stimulus.

President Barack Obama asked Democratic senators to delay a vote on authorizing military strikes to allow time for talks on eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons, lawmakers said today.

France said it will submit a Russian-backed plan to confiscate Syria’s chemical weapons to the United Nations, as Interfax reported that Bashar al-Assad’s government accepted the proposal. Obama is scheduled to outline his intentions on Syria in a speech at 9 p.m. tonight in Washington.

Stocks rose earlier after China’s industrial output rose 10.4 percent in August from a year earlier and the nation’s retail sales gained 13.4 percent. Both results exceeded economists’ estimates. Equities climbed yesterday as China’s exports topped forecasts.

The Fed is watching economic data ahead of its Sept. 17-18 meeting as it considers reducing its monthly $85 billion in asset buying. The S&P 500 has rallied as much as 153 percent since the beginning of the bull market in March 2009 as the central bank continued to provide stimulus to the economy.

Economists estimate the Fed this month will taper its monthly bond buying by $10 billion, to $75 billion, according to the median of 34 responses in a Bloomberg News survey.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or VIX, dropped 7 percent to 14.53. The equity volatility gauge is down 15 percent in September after rallying 26 percent in August, the biggest monthly gain since May 2012.

The Dow Jones Transportation Index jumped 1.9 percent to the highest level in a month. Shares in companies whose earnings are most closely tied to economic growth rose, sending the Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index up 1.7 percent to the highest level since the gauge started in 1978. Industrial and financial shares rallied the most among 10 groups in the S&P 500, adding at least 1.1 percent.

Microsoft Corp. climbed 2.3 percent to $32.39 for the biggest gain in the Dow. General Electric Co. advanced 2.1 percent to $23.87, while United Technologies Corp., the maker of Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Sikorsky helicopters, increased 1.7 percent to $106.26.

Goldman Sachs climbed 3.5 percent to $165.14. Nike jumped 2.2 percent to $66.82 and Visa increased 3.4 percent to $184.59.

Hewlett-Packard lost 0.4 percent to $22.27. Alcoa slipped 0.3 percent to $8.06. Bank of America added 0.9 percent to $14.61.

The changes to the Dow will be the biggest reshuffling since April 2004. It will boost the influence of banking and computer companies in the 30-member gauge as the fifth-biggest U.S. bank by assets and the largest payment network join seven other financial and technology firms, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Cisco Systems Inc. Bank of America exits even after rising 109 percent in 2012, the Dow’s largest gain. The changes will take effect after the close on Sept. 20.

McDonald’s Corp. climbed 0.5 percent to $96.89. The world’s largest restaurant chain said same-store sales increased 1.9 percent last month, helped by demand in Europe. Analysts projected a 0.3 percent increase, the average of 16 estimates from Consensus Metrix. McDonald’s said it benefited from demand in France and Russia as well as the introduction of blended-ice beverages in the U.K.

E*Trade Financial Corp. soared 3.6 percent to $17.10, the highest level since February 2011. The online brokerage said its daily average revenue-generating trades rose 5 percent in August compared to the previous month and the stock was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie Group Ltd.

Apple tumbled 2.3 percent to $494.64. The company unveiled a cheaper $99 version of the iPhone in bright colors and an updated high-end device, in a strategy shift by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to reach a broader range of customers around the world as competing devices running Google Inc.’s Android software gain in popularity.

“The competition has caught up and it’s now purely about how quickly it can innovate and drive its own experience forward,” said Benedict Evans, an analyst with Enders Analysis in London.

Apple also said it was adding Japan’s largest carrier, NTT DoCoMo Inc., and that it would have devices available upon introduction in China for the first time. The company is near a deal with China Mobile Ltd., the world’s largest carrier, people familiar with the plans have said.

Urban Outfitters Inc. fell the most in the S&P 500, losing 10 percent to $38.35. The teen-clothing retailer said third- quarter comparable sales so far are growing at a mid-single- digit pace. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC last week estimated the company would report that the sales were running at a “high- single digit” rate.

Have  a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Contemplation is seeing the here and now.

-Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

Carolann

A man’s homeland is wherever he prospers.

-Aristophanes, 446 BC-386 BC

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

Senior Vice-President &

Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,

St. Andrew’s Square

Suite 340A, 730 View St.,

Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7