The Newsletter for Thursday July 4, 2013

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Happy Independence Day to all my American friends.

Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln

Four score and seven years ago

our fathers brought forth on this continent

a new nation, conceived in liberty,

and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war,

testing whether that nation,

or any nation so conceived and so dedicated,

can long endure.

We are met on a great battlefield of that war.

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field

as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives

that that nation might live.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in  a larger sense, we cannot dedicate –

we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow – this ground.

The brave men, living and dead, who struggle here,

have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here,

but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here

to the unfinished work which they who fought here

have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated

to the great task remaining before us-

that from these honored dead we take increased devotion

to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion –

that we here highly resolve

that these dead shall not have died in vain –

that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom –

and that government of the people, by the people, for the people,

shall not perish from the earth.

Photos of the Day –July 4th, 2013

A man looks toward the statue of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, during a visit to the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.  Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Aisha Al Dulaimi (l.) sister Noor Al Dulaimi with their father, Max (r.) all from Iraq, and Adam Omar (c.) from Sudan, celebrate Independence Day with American neighbors and new refugees in Durham, N.C. Bernard Thomas/The Herald-Sun/AP

Market Closes for July 4^th, 2013

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada

By Eric Lam

July 4 (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as metals and energy producers advanced and investors braced for U.S. and Canadian jobs data tomorrow.

Centerra Gold Inc. rose 6.2 percent and Alacer Gold Corp.

added 1.2 percent as the price of gold headed for the biggest weekly gain in two months. Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Niko Resources Ltd. gained at least 3.6 percent as the price of crude traded near a 14-month high. TransGlobe Energy Corp., an oil and gas producer with operations in Egypt, lost 3.9 percent. WestJet Airlines Ltd. slipped 0.5 percent after reporting that planes were less full in June than a year earlier.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rose 20.98 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,166.66 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge has fallen 2.2 percent this year. With many U.S. markets closed due to the Independence Day holiday, trading volume was 76 percent lower than the 30-day average.

Adly Mansour, chief justice of Egypt’s constitutional court, was sworn in as interim president after the army ousted Mohamed Mursi yesterday amid widespread protests in the country that spiked crude oil prices on concern of shipping disruptions through the Suez Canal.

Mark Carney, in his first meeting as governor of the Bank of England, signaled the bank will keep interest rates at a record low for longer than investors had expected.

“We’re getting some calm out of Egypt, and the Bank of England comments are supportive of accommodative policy which may imply the Fed won’t be as quick to taper QE,” said Philip Petursson, director of institutional equities with Manulife Asset Management Ltd. in Toronto. His firm manages about C$252 billion ($240 million). “The markets want to rally and investors want to put their money to work.”

Nine of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced. Centerra Gold jumped 6.2 percent to C$3.76 and Alacer Gold added 1.2 percent to C$2.48. Gold for August delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $1,249.50 an ounce in New York. The gold price has advanced 2.1 percent this week, headed for the biggest weekly gain since April.

Economists estimate U.S. payrolls grew by 165,000 workers after rising by 175,000 in May, according to the median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey ahead of a report from the Labor Department tomorrow. The unemployment rate is expected to drop to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent.

U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers said last month they would trim bond purchases before the end of the year if unemployment continues to fall.

Canada is forecast to lose 7,500 jobs in June, following a 95,000 increase in May, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate will stay at 7.1 percent.

TransGlobe Energy slumped 3.9 percent to C$6.48. In 2012, the company’s Egyptian operations accounted for 93 percent of its revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Bankers Petroleum surged 5.1 percent to C$2.90 and Niko Resources added 3.6 percent to C$9. Crude for August delivery was little changed at $101.12 a barrel in electronic trading in New York after rising to a 14-month high yesterday, crossing the $100 level for the first time since May 2012.

WestJet fell 0.5 percent to C$22.39 after the Calgary-based airliner reported its June load factor declined 2.2 percentage points to 76.8 percent from 79 percent a year earlier, while year-to-date the measure has slipped 0.4 percentage points to 81.9 percent. Load factor measures capacity usage in the airline industry.

US

The US markets were closed today.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

An animal, a child and an ignoramus are slaves to their desires.

They want to satisfy them immediately, whatever the time, the place or the circumstances…

How can a man be distinguished from them?  Before satisfying his desires, a man takes into account the time,

the place and the circumstances, because he is trying to achieve an aim.

Swami Prajnanpad, 1891-1974

As ever,

Carolann

The human mind is our fundamental resource.

–John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963

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

Tel: 778.430.5808

(C): 250.881.0801

Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895

Fax: 778.430.5828

www.carolannsteinhoff.com