THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2013 | WWW.PGCITIZEN.CA Money 23 Bringing Discipline to your Equity Portfolio Michele Santos, Vice-President & Investment Advisor Tel: 250 960-2707 • Fax: 250 563-7154 • michele.santos@cibc.ca CIBC Wood Gundy is a division of CIBC Wodd Markets Inc.. a subsidiary of CIBC and a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. If you are currently a CIBC Wood Gundy client, please contact your Investment Advisor. CIBC Wood Gundy www.woodgundy.com U.S. economy contracts The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank from October through December, the first quarterly drop since 2009 and a reminder of the economy’s vulnerability as automatic cuts in government spending loom. The Commerce Department said the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.1 per cent mainly because companies restocked at a slower rate and the government slashed defence spending. Those trends partly reflected uncertainty late last year about the fiscal cliff, which Congress averted in a deal reached Jan. 1. Economists say those factors could prove temporary, and the likelihood of another recession appears remote. Still, the sharp slowdown from the 3.1 per cent annual growth rate in the July-September quarter, also driven by a drop in U.S. exports, raised concerns about 2013. Congressional Republicans seem determined to permit deep cuts to defence and domestic programs to kick in as scheduled March 1. And Americans are coming to grips with an increase in Social Security taxes that has begun to leave them with less take-home pay. Government spending cuts and slower company restocking, which can fluctuate sharply, subtracted a combined 2.6 percentage points from GDP. Those two factors offset a 2.2 per cent increase in consumer spending. And business spending on equipment and software rose after shrinking over the summer. The Federal Reserve referred to the fourth-quarter slowdown in a statement after it ended a policy meeting Wednesday. The U.S. economy appears to have “paused in recent months,” the Fed said, mainly because of temporary factors. The Fed reaffirmed its commitment to stimulating the economy by keeping borrowing costs low for the foreseeable future. For all of 2012, the economy expanded 2.2 per cent, better than 2011’s growth of 1.8 per cent. For 2013, analysts generally think the economy will grow at a steady if modest pace of roughly 2 per cent as the housing and auto sectors continue to recover along with bank lending and consumer spending. “Frankly, this is the best-looking contraction in U.S. GDP you’ll ever see,” Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a research note. “The drag from defence spending and inventories is a one-off. The rest of the report is all encouraging.” The plunge in defence spending in the October-December quarter followed a jump in the third quarter. The fluctuation might have reflected higher-than-usual spending that occurred in the July-September period in anticipation of government spending cuts later in the year. Some defence contractors reported lower government spending at the end of the year. TSX down on U.S. data The Canadian Press TORONTO — The Toronto stock market was lower Wednesday as Research In Motion Ltd. stock fell following the launch of its long-awaited BlackBerry 10 products and data showed a surprising weakening of the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter. The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 36.11 points to 12,794.44 while the TSX Venture Exchange was down 9.57 points at 1,222.35. RIM (TSX:RIM) had been up as much as four per cent before chief executive Thorsten Heins unveiled the BB10 and announced the company’s corporate name would be changed to BlackBerry at a widely covered event in New York City. But RIM stock closed down $1.85 or 11.78 per cent to $13.86 on very heavy volume of 22.73 million shares. The stock was hit with a wave of profit taking after hitting a 52-week high of $18.49 early last week. That represented a stunning gain of 203 per cent since hitting a 52-week low of $6.10 last September and at one point was up 50 per cent during January alone. Analysts said that consumer reaction to the new product will ultimately determine where the stock goes. “I think it’s too early to all of a sudden, draw any real conclusions to this whole thing,” said Fred Ketchen, manager of equity trading at Scotia Capital. “It’s going to take some weeks, maybe take some months, until we get a real clear view. Now that it’s going out and people will be able to buy it and use it and express their preferences, likes and dislikes - that’s what will count most.” The U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the economy shrank by 0.1 per cent amid a plunge in defence spending and a 5.7 per cent drop in exports that analysts think was linked to hurricane Sandy. The recession in parts of the eurozone also hurt performance. Economists had expected growth of 1.1 per cent in the October-December period. The Canadian dollar gained 0.09 of a cent to 99.85 cents US. U.S. indexes seemed unaffected by the scheduled announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve at the end of its two-day meeting on interest rates. The Dow Jones industrials closed down 44 points at 13,910.42. The Nasdaq shed 11.35 points to 3,142.31 while the S&P 500 index was off 5.88 points at 1,501.96. DID YOU KNOW that there is a very practical way to make a donation? 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EPC, CMS 114 - 1717 3rd Avenue Toll Free: 1 800-773-3233 • fpcinc@telus.net * Empire Life Standard Life rn-sniNDUsniiAL riarsjllNVESTIA LEA: alliance lii. *MKWHW1>K SAVING & INVESTING ' RETIREMENT & ESTATE PLANNING SINCE 1982 TSE winners TSE losers TSE locals Stock Symbol Last dollar % 52 Wk 52 Wk Stock Symbol Last dollar % 52 Wk 52 Wk Stock Symbol Last dollar % 52 Wk 52 Wk Trade Chge Chge High Low Trade Chge Chge High Low Trade Chge Chge High Low Kinr WT C K.WT.C 0.01 +0.01 +100.0 0.80 0.01 PlatoGold PGC 0.01 -0.01 -50.0 0.03 0.01 BallardPo BLD 0.660 -0.030 -4.3 1 .740 0.580 RPTUraniu RPT 0.01 +0.01 +100.0 0.10 0.01 Trio Gold TGK 0.01 -0.01 -50.0 0.04 0.01 Canfor CFP 18.500 -0.680 -3.5 19.800 10.140 Vitality VPI 0.07 +0.03 +62.5 0.08 0.03 BellCoppe BCU 0.01 -0.01 -50.0 0.11 0.01 CdnNat'lR CNR 95.460 -0.440 -0.5 96.280 74.500 NobleMeta NMG 0.02 +0.01 +50.0 0.03 0.01 PetroGlob PGB 0.01 -0.01 -50.0 0.03 0.01 Chemtr UN CHE.UN 16.640 0.210 +1.3 17.330 14.410 StroudRes SDR 0.03 +0.01 +50.0 0.09 0.02 BuzzTeleC BZZ 0.01 -0.01 -50.0 0.06 0.01 Enbridge ENB 44.200 -0.350 -0.8 44.870 36.470 Huntingto HEI 0.05 +0.02 +42.9 0.09 0.02 GalahadMt GAX 0.01 -0.01 -50.0 0.07 0.01 HuskyEner HSE 31.550 -0.490 -1.5 32.340 22.040 InMontRes IMT 0.04 +0.01 +40.0 0.06 0.02 TigerIntl TGR 0.20 -0.15 -42.9 0.49 0.17 ImperialM III 1 3.320 0.220 +1.7 17.450 8.130 MelcoChin MCG 0.04 +0.01 +40.0 0.14 0.02 BrazaltaR BRX 0.01 -0.01 -33.3 0.05 0.01 Int'lFo A IFP.A 8.600 -0.400 -4.4 9.250 4.260 GalantasG GAL 0.06 +0.02 +37.5 0.10 0.04 AllonTher NPC 0.01 -0.01 -33.3 0.53 0.01 M,D&Assoc MDA 62.600 -0.330 -0.5 64.050 39.640 AmadorGol AGX 0.04 +0.01 +33.3 0.08 0.03 InfinitoG IG 0.01 -0.01 -33.3 0.08 0.01 NovaGoldR NG 4.510 0.250 +5.9 10.700 3.660 Brookemon BKT 0.02 +0.01 +33.3 0.17 0.01 Leeward LWC 0.01 -0.01 -33.3 0.05 0.01 TELUS T 66.250 -0.270 -0.4 66.760 55.190 MessinaMn MMI 0.02 +0.01 +33.3 0.07 0.01 SeawayEgy SEW 0.01 -0.01 -33.3 0.04 0.01 ThompsonC TCM 4.020 -0.090 -2.2 9.430 2.230 Fjordland FEX 0.02 +0.01 +33.3 0.09 0.01 StellarPa SPX 0.01 -0.01 -33.3 0.13 0.01 TimHorton THI 50.570 -0.040 -0.1 57.910 45.110 PlayfairM PLY 0.02 +0.01 +33.3 0.07 0.01 MaximRes MXM 0.06 -0.03 -31.3 0.10 0.01 WestFrase WFT 79.560 -1.220 -1.5 83.220 40.160 WminsterR WMR 0.12 +0.03 +33.3 0.19 0.09 AlturasMn ALT 0.06 -0.03 -29.4 0.15 0.05 WestJetAi WJA 22.010 -0.590 -2.6 22.640 12.170 MUTUAL FUNDS best/worst Best Net Asset 3-Month Fund Value % Chge Renaissance China Plus Fund 18.068 23.824 Chou RRSP Fund 26.316 21.951 iShares Japan Fundamental Idx (CH)-CJP 8.587 18.956 iShares China Index Fund 20.162 18.519 TD International Value GIF 2.655 17.374 Copernican British Banks Fund 2.024 16.109 Dynamic European Value Fund 18.440 15.854 iShares China All-Cap Index Fund - CHI 19.768 15.393 Global Banks Premium Income Trust 3.277 14.940 Investors Greater China Class A 12.490 14.010 Worst Net Asset 3-Month Fund Value % Chge Dynamic Precious Metals Fund Series A 6.450 -15.939 Dominion Equity Resource Gro Cl Ser MF 6.765 -15.894 CIBC Precious Metals Fund 16.038 -15.251 BMO Junior Gold Index ETF 12.910 -15.112 Sprott Resource Class Series A 7.057 -15.084 Lawrence Enterprise Fund Series I 3.460 -13.837 BlackRock Silver Bullion Trust CH SVR.UN 18.257 -13.674 Sprott 2012 F-T LP 13.867 -13.484 TD Precious Metals Fund - I 46.550 -13.480 Dynamic Strategic Gold Class Series A 11.390 -13.469 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS TORONTO (CP) — Highlights at the close of Wednesday at world financial market trading. Stocks S&P/TSX Composite Index - 12,794.44 down 36.11 points TSX Venture Exchange - 1,222.35 down 9.57 points Dow - 13,910.42 down 44 points S&P 500 - 1,501.96 down 5.88 points Nasdaq - 3,142.31 down 11.35 points Currencies at close Cdn - 99.85 cents US, up 0.09 of a cent Euro - C$1.3584, up 0.61 of a cent Oil futures US$97.94, up 37 cents (March contract) Gold futures $1,681.60 per oz., up $18.90 (April contract) Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman $33.531 per oz., up 82.8 cents TORONTO (CP) --- These are CURRENCIES Russia rouble 0.0334 indicative wholesale rates for for- Saudi Arabia riyal 0.2675 eign currency provided by the India rupee 0.0189 Sweden krona 0.1580 Bank of Montreal at midday on Japan yen 0.011020 Switzerland franc 1.1011 Wednesday. Please inquire at any Mexico peso 0.0788 Thailand baht 0.0338 branch for cash rates. Quotations N.Z. dollar 0.8339 Trin-Tob dollar 0.1580 in Canadian funds. Norway krone 0.1829 Turkey lira 0.5678 Australia dollar 1.0458 Pakistan rupee 0.0103 Ukraine hryvnia 0.1232 Brazil real 0.5046 Philippine peso 0.0247 U.A.E. dirham 0.2732 China renminbi 0.1613 Poland zloty 0.3245 U.K. pound 1.5844 Euro 1.3609 Romania leu 0.3107 U.S. dollar 1.0033 MARKET MOVERS TORONTO (CP) — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (12,794.44 down 36.11 points): Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM). Wireless technology. Down $1.85, or 11.78 per cent, at $13.86 on 22,757,108 shares. The smartphone pioneer is rebranding itself as BlackBerry on the day it launched its new line of phones. The touchscreen model, BlackBerry Z10, will be available in Canada next Tuesday while the model with a physical keyboard will follow at a later date. The devices were originally due for release last year. Northland Resources S.A. (TSX:NAU). Miner. Up four cents, or 27.59 per cent, at 18.5 cents on 7,734,254 shares. The Luxembourg-based company said that it will start loading its first shipment of 40,000 tonnes of high grade iron ore concentrate on Feb. 9. The cargo is going to Tata Steel in the Netherlands where the product will be used in their pellet plant. Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Transportation equipment. Down six cents, or 1.47 per cent, at $4.01 on 4,911,673 shares. B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO). Miner. Up three cents, or 0.79 per cent, at $3.83 on 4,380,883 shares. B2Gold announced 2012 exploration results and plans and budgets for the the Vancouver-based miner’s projects in Namibia, Nicaragua, Uruguay and the Philippines. Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K). Miner. Down eight cents, or 0.94 per cent, at $8.39 on 4,053,587 shares. The gold sector dropped 0.39 per cent to 279.98 points. Osisko Mining Corp. (TSX:OSK). Miner. Up 26 cents, or 3.84 per cent, at $7.03 on 3,782,483 shares. The Montreal-based company released assay results of its diamond drill program at the Upper Beaver gold project in Kirkland Lake, Ont. TSX Venture Exchange (1,222.35 down 9.57points): Majestic Gold Corp. (TSXV:MJS). Gold producer. Up half a cent, or five per cent, at 10.5 cents on 5,392,762 shares. Underground Energy Corp. (TSX:UGE). Oil and gas. Unchanged at two cents, or 3,978,000 shares. FULL MUTUAL FUND LISTINGS IN YOUR SATURDAY PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN