Dow, S&P 500 Print New Highs, Gold Continues Its Slide

allpennystocks Newsletter

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http://ymlp277.net/zpLdXL ——————————————————————————– June 1, 2014 Week & Month In Review…

  Week In Review For May 26 to May 30, 2014 This week on AllPennyStocks.com:

* Article Published, May 27, 2014: FDA Serves QRxPharma a Third Complete Response Letter for Moxduo IR ( http://www.allpennystocks.com/aps_us/special-reports/448/FDA-Serves-QRxPharma-a-Third-Complete-Response-Letter-for-Moxduo-IR.htm )(U.S. Company) * Article Published, May 28, 2014: Tinkerline Studios Adds to Product Portfolio in Growing 3D Printing Industry ( http://www.allpennystocks.com/aps_ca/special-reports/425/Tinkerline-Studios-Adds-to-Product-Portfolio-in-Growing-3D-Printing-Industry.htm )(CDN Company) * Article Published, May 30, 2014: Boston Therapeutics Initiating Phase 2b Trial for Type 2 Diabetes Patients ( http://www.allpennystocks.com/aps_us/special-reports/449/Boston-Therapeutics-Initiating-Phase-2b-Trial-for-Type-2-Diabetes-Patients.htm )(U.S. Company) Video charts for the week:

* May 30th Technical Video Chart For BIOD. The Biodel chart has made a double bottom at $2 with a move off that base on Wednesday and Thursday. The momentum and trend look to be shifting as the stock price tries to move to the upper half of the bollinger bands, keeping the chart on radar for a continued upward push. view ( http://www.youtube.com/watchv=_3k38EzO-3w ) * May 30th Technical Video Chart For KNE:CA. The Kane Biotech chart has formed a double bottom pattern with support at 7 cents. The chart took on an increase in volume on Thursday and hit a one month high at 9.5 cents as the indicators are shifting into a bullish position, lending to the idea that the move may continue. view ( http://www.youtube.com/watchv=GqU3dM9nM7A )   Featured Link: Try the AllPennyStocks.com Pro newsletter / member area free for 14 days. Members receive exclusive Canadian and U.S.

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WEEKLY UPDATE – DOW, S&P 500 PRINT NEW RECORD HIGHS AS NORTH AMERICAN MARKETS MIXED TO END MAY The final week of May was a tale of two different markets for North American equities. US stocks surged ahead, taking Monday off for Memorial day and then blowing off the first quarterly GDP contraction in three years to hit record highs. Canadian equities, however, did not join the party, falling lower in three of five trading days and proving that a resistance point is set at 14,765. Canadians also had little economic data to chew on and what they did was not super optimistic, namely gross domestic product only growing at an annualized rate of 1.2 percent in the first quarter, against 1.8 percent expected by analysts after 2.7 percent growth in Q4 2013.

US traders returned from the long weekend apparently in a good mood.

The blue chip S&P 500 moved higher each day, less a slight decline on Wednesday, to post its 12th, 13th and 14th new closing high, putting the benchmark index firmly above 1,900 to start June.

Wall Street chose to focus on the shiny side of economic reports and ignore any glaring negatives. For example, GDP being revised to show a full percentage point contraction in Q1, as compared to the 0.1 percent decline originally estimated, was simply blamed on the frigid cold winter that kept consumers in their houses. Dissecting the report, analysts noted that low inventories in Q1 played a big part in GDP shrinkage, noting the companies stockpiled their shelves in Q4, so some demand was missing in the first three months of the year that is expected to bounce back sharply in Q2. Orders for durable goods increased in April, but mostly on the back of higher demand for military equipment, a volatile segment of durable goods. Capital expenditures contracted in the report, showing companies are remaining cautious on spending. Employers are keeping staff, as gauged by the latest report on new filings for jobless claims, but a report on paychecks showed the slowest rate of growth for income this year, again indicating hesitance by companies, actions that can slow growth in the second quarter. Further, 10-year Treasury yields are below 2.5%, a rate which suggests slow pace of economic growth lending to the idea of bi-polar activity between bonds and stocks. Some analysts are saying that the low yields are not a sign of slow growth as historically has been the case, but rather staying down as a result of other factors, such as low supply.

The slowness in growth is coming at a time when the Federal Reserve is unwinding its massive stimulus package meant to stoke the economy. The Fed has reduced its purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities by $10 billion each month so far this year after buying $85 billion every month since September 2012. Fed officials have been saying that they see the first quarter as an anomaly predicated upon inclement weather and that the nation will grow by about 3 percent this year despite the slow start, but the figures for April don`t necessarily support that contention. All this equates to the main bank likely keeping interest rates at historic lows well into 2015 unless there is some significant signs of a strengthening economy in the coming months. Traders have come to terms with the reduction in asset purchases as a sign of economic strength, but want to see interest rates stay low as long as possible to support consumer spending, which makes up about three quarters of the economy.

Overseas, economists are expecting history to be made when the European Central Bank holds its policy meeting on June 5. Europe has survived the economic collapse that threatened to cripple the euro, but is still languishing amid deflationary pressures. Last week, ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio reiterated comments previously made by ECB President Mario Draghi, saying that the bank is ready to act and not complacent with the risks from a protracted period of low inflation. Draghi also said that the ECB could embark on a large-scale package of bond buying to help the economy. With that, the majority of analysts are expecting the central bank to announce taking interest rates into negative territory to combat deflation and try and spark Europe`s economy. If the ECB does indeed move rates to the -0.1% rate expected, it would be the first time a major central bank has taken its key interest rate into negative territory. Stocks in Europe have been very strong amid stimulus speculation. The Stoxx Europe 600 added another 0.7% last week, marking its seventh straight weekly advance.

In Ukraine, fighting reached its highest level yet as the government unleashed helicopters, fighter planes and paratroopers, killing dozens of pro-Russian separatists (some reports claim up to 100 killed) to regain control of Donetsk International Airport while not losing a single life of a Ukrainian soldier. The battle came only a day after Petro Poroshenko was elected as the new President of Ukraine. Aside from the conflict in Donetsk, Poroshenko`s new position seems to be making an impact on the strained relationship between Russia and Ukraine, as the two countries are in negotiations about a $2-billion past due natural gas bill owed to Russia and possible compensation to Ukraine for Russia annexing Crimea in March. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov even told Poroshenko that he would have a serious partner in Russia if he will end military operations and urged both sides to stop fighting. It may just be lip service, but it`s a step in the right direction.

This coming week, the trading communities will get the always influential reports on labor markets in Canada and the US. There are plenty of theories about the polar vortex being to blame for the sluggish start to the year and economies are going to have a strong second quarter and remainder of 2014. At the same time, there are equally as many analysts on the other side of the fence saying that everything can`t be blamed on the weather and the markets are full of fluff and going to retrace. Who is right is anyone`s guess, but the rubber is going to start to meet the road as more data from the second quarter starts to come in, including jobs reports from May at the end of this week.

The Canadian dollar changed little in comparison to the US dollar as traders digested economic data from both countries, including sobering GDP reports that showed growth to be even weaker than first thought.

The loonie has been edging higher against the greenback, but the two are stuck in a relatively tight trading range between C$1.083 and C$1.0935. Investors also took a conservative approach ahead of the Bank of Canada`s interest rate decision and ECB meeting coming this week. Part of the strength in the CDN dollar has been because investors have moved away from the euro, but policy changes could encourage traders to re-enter the common European currency. Not much is expected from the BofC, but investors will be closely listening for potentially more hawkish comments from officials on inflation and what that could mean in the future for the key interest rate. On the week, the Canadian dollar inched up by 0.17%, or $0.00161, against the USD, meaning next week will begin with one Canadian dollar buying US$0.922025. For the month of May, the Canadian dollar gained 1.18% on the US dollar.

Commodity Snapshot:

* Gold futures were victimized by the utter lack of a catalyst and traders moving into rising equities, sending gold to its lowest closing price in four months and worst month in 2014. Gold had been rangebound for most of May, looking for a reason to break one way or the other. With the markets climbing and no new appeal as a safe haven asset as Ukrainian elections went off without a hitch, the hammer dropped on Tuesday when US markets re-opened following the holiday with gold losing about $30 per ounce. Gold fell in every trading day last week, running its losing streak to five days. Adding more downside pressure, Friday marked the first notice day for June gold, meaning longs had to exit their positions or perhaps be called upon by the exchange to take delivery of the commodity. August contracts became the most actively traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, losing $45.90, or 3.55%, per ounce to $1,246.00.

For all of May, spot gold prices declined by $40.60, or 3.14%.

* Silver futures dropped with traders exiting precious metals, sending spot silver to its lowest monthly close since August 2010. In silver news, the London Metal Exchange and CME Group are working separately on devising a new pricing benchmark when the nearly 12-century-old London silver fix is set on August 14. The organizations are reportedly working on benchmarks based upon actual trades of silver to reduce potential market disruptions and employ best practice regulatory compliance, although little details have been disclosed to date. July contracts for silver were the most actively traded, declining by 73.6 cents, or 3.79%, to $18.682 per ounce.

Across May, spot silver fell for the third straight month, losing 35 cents, or 1.85%.

* Copper futures kicked off the week rising to near three month highs as optimism remained strong for future demand against a backdrop of shriveling inventories. Stockpiles tracked by the London Metal Exchange have contracted by 54 percent in 2014, including a plunge of nearly 7 percent on Wednesday, the largest drop in more than six years. China, the world`s largest copper consumer by far, aiming to implement some stimulus to prod its economy has been supportive of copper recently, but investors took the opportunity to dock some profits ahead of manufacturing data coming from China this week, pulling copper lower and paring the monthly advance. July contracts were the most actively traded on New York`s COMEX exchange during the week; edging down by 4.4 cents, or 1.39 percent, to $3.1235 per pound.

For the month of May, spot copper climbed 12 cents per pound, or 4.01%.

* Oil futures faded from near 2014 highs to have their worst week in May, finding little impetus for advancement as Russia and Ukraine seemingly working together quelled any concerns about a supply interruption. Further pressure came on oil when Reuters reported that a poll showed analysts expecting Brent crude oil prices to average $105.90 per barrel in 2014, meaning that prices will be much lower than the $108.70 averaged so far this year. The poll also showed the prices for Brent crude will slide to 102.50 per barrel in 2015.

Regarding US light crude oil, also called West Texas Intermediate Crude, analysts expect prices to average $98.70 per barrel this year, lower than the $99.93 average so far this year. Last week, July contracts for West Texas Intermediate Crude were the most actively traded; slipping $1.64, or 1.57%, to $102.71 per barrel. For all of May, WTI crude gained $3.19 per barrel, or 3.2%.

Equity Market Snapshot:

(All percentages on a weekly basis unless otherwise noted) * Major gold miners trended lower with falling bullion prices.

Agnico-Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM, -5.39%), Goldcorp (TSX:G, -4.13%), Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX, -2.00%), Yamana Gold (TSX:YRI, -1.46%) and Kinross Gold (TSX:K, -5.56%) all gave up ground.

* Major energy plays were mixed with crude prices moving lower.

Talisman Energy (NYSE:TLM, +0.58%) and Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE, +1.78%) advanced, while Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU, -1.13%), Imperial Oil Ltd. (NYSE:IMO, -0.71%), , Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ, -1.05%), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM, -0.78%) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX, -0.47%) logged losses. XLE, the Energy Select Sector SPDR, rallied for the second straight week with an advance of 1.23 percent.

* The biggest of banks in the US carried through some momentum from a week earlier. UBS AG (NYSE:UBS, even) was flat, but Wells Fargo & Co.

(NYSE:WFC, +1.24%), Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS, +0.12%), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM, +1.91%), Citigroup (NYSE:C, +0.59%) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC, +2.85%) all gained ground. XLF (NYSE:XLF, +1.13%), the financial select sector SPDR that tracks the financial stocks in the S&P 500, advanced for the second time in as many weeks.

* Things weren`t quite as rosy for Canada`s biggest banks, the most heavily weighted component of the TSX Composite, as earnings kept rolling in. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD, +0.69%), Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS, +2.46%) and Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO, +0.01%) advanced, as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSX:CM, -3.18%), Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY, -0.88%) and National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA, -2.15%) backstepped.

* Scotiabank`s topped analysts with a 14% rise in second quarter profits and also got support from saying it is unloading most of its stake in CI Financial by selling shares directly to public investors.

Scotiabank is offering 72 million shares at $31.60 each, equating to $2.3 billion, which is one of the largest public offerings in Canada.

* In other earnings reports, Bank of Montreal reported a 12% climb in quarterly net income to $1.1 billion. Adjusted earnings were $1.63 per share, up 13% from the same quarter last year and 10 cents ahead of analyst predictions. BOM also raised its quarterly dividend by two cents to 78 cents per share. National Bank disappointed with a 13% year-over-year reduction in quarterly profits to $362 million.

Adjusted earnings of $1.05 a share topped analysts by a penny, but revenue of $1.28 billion was short of $1.34 billion estimates. As for CIBC, $453 million in charges related to its Caribbean banking unit crippled profits by almost 66%. Still, CIBC recorded earnings of $306 million, or 73 cents a share. Adjusted earnings were $2.17 per share, a dime better than analyst expectations.

* It was a crazy week for Hillshire Brands Co. (NYSE:HSH, +44.48%) as Pilgrim`s Pride Corp. (NASDAQ:PPC, +1.35%) offered $45 a share to buy the company provided that Hillshire cancels its $6.6-billion deal to acquire Pinnacle Foods (NYSE:PF, -5.26%). Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN, +7.09%) then stepped in and offered $50 per share to buy Hillshire, in a deal valuing the company at $6.2 billion, but also made the offer contingent on Hillshire not buying Pinnacle.

* Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL, +3.07%) continued on its two-month upward climb after announcing that it is spending $3 billion to acquire headphone maker Beats and the start of its developers` conference tomorrow. Shares of the tech giant are now at their highest level since August 2012.

* Shares of AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN, -0.11%) continued to retreat after rejecting Pfizer`s (NYSE:PFE, +0.47%) $110 billion buyout offer a week earlier and Pfizer letting a deadline pass to make a higher proposal in what would have been the biggest biotech merger in history.

* Botox maker Allergan Inc (NYSE:AGN, -5.35%) is still playing a cat-and-mouse game in the hostile takeover attempt by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International`s (TSX:VRX, -1.84%) to acquire the company, saying that the $47-billion offer overstated potential by merging the companies in terms of research and development and in tax structure. Valeant came back and upped the cash portion of its offer by $10 to $58.30 a share. No change was made to the stock portion of the deal, keeping that at 0.83 of a Valeant share, making the total offer worth nearly $50 billion.

* Shares of propylene producer PetroLogistics L.P. (NYSE:PDH, +11.19%) jumped ahead after a subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc.

agreed to buy the company in a deal worth about $2.1 billion in cash, including debt.

* Amsurg Corp. (NASDAQ:AMSG, +7.35%) fell from highs, but still posted a nice weekly advance after saying that it will buy Sheridan Healthcare in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $2.35 billion.

* A big loser for the week was network control company Infoblox Inc.

(NYSE:BLOX, -35.55%) after reporting less-than-expected sales in the first quarter and the resignation of CEO Robert Thomas.

* Shares of Intercontinental Hotels (NYSE:IHG, +5.79%), the company behind Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inns, got a boost after reportedly rejecting a secret £6-billion ($10 billion U.S.) bid by a U.S. suitor to buy the hotel chain. Hedge fund Marcato Capital, which owns a 3.8% stake in Intercontinental, is now urging the company to pursue a merger as it has “strategic and financial merit.” * Shares of BlackBerry (TSX:BB, +5.08%) snapped a three-week losing streak as CEO John Chen said the company isn`t dead yet at Recode`s Code Conference last week. Chen had said before that the smartphone maker had a 50/50 chance of recovering from its financial woes and loss of market share, but he boosted that estimate to 80 percent at the conference.

* Big Lots Inc. (NYSE:BIG, +11.77%) had its best week in about three months upon beating analysts with its first quarter revenue, despite an expected massive drop in profits (to 6 cents per share from 56 cents per share in Q1 2013). Further, the retailer rallied by raising its outlook for the fiscal year from $2.25 – $2.35 per share to $2.35 – $2.50 per share. The high end of earnings forecast for the current quarter of 30 cents per share topped analyst expectations of 28 cents per share.

* Shares of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA, +0.23%) muddled sideways after Standard & Poors slapped a junk bond status rating. S&P cited Tesla`s $3 billion of debt, lack of diversification and limited track record as reasons for taking the company below investment grade status.

Weekly Indices Results:

The S&P TSX Composite Index failed again to break resistance around 14,800, moving lower by 103.94 points, or 0.71%, to 14,604.16. The TSX-Venture Composite Index gave up gains to close modestly lower, edging down 3.85 points, or 0.39%, to 983.99.

In the States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted another new record high, ending the week up by 110.90 points, or 0.67%, to 16,717.17. The much-broader S&P 500 also roared to a new all-time high, jumping 23.04 points, or 1.21%, to close at 1,923.57. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite had a strong week also, rising 56.81 points, or 1.36%, to 4,242.62.

Canadian Economic Data:

* Statistics Canada reported that the Industrial Product Price Index declined 0.2% in April, after rising 0.4% in March. This was the first decline in the IPPI since October 2013. Of the 21 major product groups, 2 were up, 15 were down and 4 were unchanged. The decrease of the IPPI was mainly attributable to lower prices for primary non-ferrous metal products (-1.9%), with the decline moderated by higher prices for meat, fish, and dairy products (+2.5%). The IPPI increased 3.9% during the 12-month period ending in April, after rising 3.0% in March.

* The Raw Materials Price Index edged up 0.1% in April, after rising 0.7% in March. It was the fifth consecutive monthly increase. Of the six major commodity groups, two were up and four were down. The increase of the RMPI was mainly attributable to higher prices for animals and animal products (+4.4%), which posted a fourth straight monthly gain. Gains in the RMPI were moderated mostly by crude energy products (-0.8%), down for a second consecutive month. The RMPI increased 9.1% during the 12-month period ending in April, after advancing 6.5% in March.

* Stats Can said that real gross domestic product rose 0.3% in the first quarter, following 0.7% growth in the fourth quarter of 2013.

This was the smallest increase since the fourth quarter of 2012. GDP decelerated to an annualized 1.2% in Q1, the slowest pace since the fourth quarter of 2012, from a downwardly revised 2.7% in the fourth quarter of last year. Exports dropped 2.4 percent and imports were down 7.2 percent. On a monthly basis, real GDP by industry edged up 0.1% in March. Household final consumption expenditure rose 0.3%, the smallest gain in four quarters. Increased spending on non-durable goods (+1.0%) more than offset decreased spending on durable and semi-durable goods. Exports fell 0.6% despite a 3.8% increase in exports of energy products.

This week, major economic data reports will include the Trade Balance and Bank of Canada`s latest interest rate decision on Wednesday; Building Permits and Ivey PMI on Thursday; and the Labour Force Survey on Friday.

U.S. Economic Data:

* The Commerce Department reported that orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last more than three years, unexpectedly rose in April and March orders were even stronger than originally estimated. Durable goods orders advance 0.8 percent in April and March`s figure was revised to show a 3.6 percent jump, the largest one-month move since November. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched figure as a proxy for future business spending, declined by 1.2 percent in April, following a 4.7 percent expansion a month earlier.

* Real gross domestic product, the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States, decreased at an annual rate of 1.0 percent in the first quarter according to the second of three estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 2.6 percent. The decrease in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected negative contributions from private inventory investment, exports, nonresidential fixed investment, state and local government spending, and residential fixed investment that were partly offset by a positive contribution from personal consumption expenditures. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased. Real personal consumption expenditures increased 3.1 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 3.3 percent in the fourth.

* The Labor Department said that initial jobless claims dropped by 27,000 to 300,000 in the week ended May 24, beating economist expectations for a decline to 318,000. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure of the labor market, declined to 311,500 from 322,750, marking the lowest level since August 2007.

* The Commerce Department reported that expansion in wages and salaries grew by only 0.2 percent in April, the weakest month so far in 2014. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased $8.1 billion, or 0.1 percent. In March, personal income increased $76.3 billion, or 0.5 percent, disposable personal income (DPI) increased $65.0 billion, or 0.5 percent, and PCE increased $117.6 billion, or 1.0 percent, based on revised estimates. The 1% expansion in March was the biggest surge in almost five years, which had economists expecting another solid start to the second quarter. The adjusted figure for consumer spending, which factors in changes for prices and is used in calculating GDP, showed a 0.3% contraction, after 0.8% expansion in March.

This week, data in the States will include the ISM Manufacturing Index on Monday; the Trade Balance on Wednesday; Initial Jobless Claims on Thursday; and the Employment Situation report on Friday.

The Month at a Glance – May A soft final week cost the TSX Composite its 10-month winning streak, giving the benchmark Canadian index its first losing month since last June. That`s quite an impressive run and the resource-heavy index actually didn`t have a bad month considering gold and silver prices dropped. Heading into May, analysts were saying that it was time for a pause in the TSX Composite, so May could have been a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has now enjoyed four straight green months and the same goes for the S&P 500, with both of the indices setting new all-time highs during May, including the S&P 500 taking out 1,900 for the first time ever. The Nasdaq stopped a two-month slide to be the best performing index on a percentage basis. With some uncertainty still underscoring economies, traders in the past couple months moved away from the technology and momentum stocks that fill the Naz, but startied making their way back in May. May marked the first time that all three US indices were simultaneously in the green for the year. The TSX-Venture is still struggling to get its legs under it, not even close to enjoying the return to glory of the bigger indices since the Great Recession as junior miners have stayed out of favor for investors.

People and organizations are piping in with their growth forecasts for 2014 now that some space is being put between the bitterly cold and snowy winter that blanketed most of North America and stymied economic growth. New Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen encouraged investors when she testified before the Senate Budget Committee, affirming the central bank`s commitment to be there to support the US economy. Moreover, Yellen said that even with the pathetic start to the year that she thinks that 2014 growth will outpace the 1.9% increase in GDP in 2013. Essentially, Yellen told Wall Street exactly what it wanted to hear: the Fed is here to help, interest rates will stay low and the economy will get stronger this year. Other than that, nothing too special came from the Fed. Investors have grown used to the bank trimming $10 billion each month from its stimulus efforts of buying Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, which happened again in May to virtually no one`s surprise. Minutes from the latest FOMC meeting showed that the Fed is going to remain accommodative and low inflation is giving them room to maneuver as officials explore a variety of options in making a final exodus from its stimulus plan.

On the inflation note, Statistics Canada reported that rising energy costs helped consumer prices climb 2.0 percent in April, compared to April 2013. It was the first time that inflation hit the Bank of Canada`s target since April 2012. The climb decreased the likelihood of the Bank of Canada lowering interest rates at the time, but the soft GDP data that came last week now has investors wondering again about what the central bank`s next move will be.

Others seemed to agree with Yellen about economic growth, but in a bit of a backwards way by seeing 2014 as better than 2013, but not as good as they originally figured. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development forecast the global economy will grow by 3.4 percent in 2014, down 0.2 percent from its previous estimate in November. The organization lowered its 2014 growth estimate for the United States from 2.9 percent to 2.6 percent. Canada is expected to outstrip US expansion, with a forecast of 2.75 percent this year.

The employment picture was painted differently in Canada and the US, as reported early in May. The number of jobs decreased in Canada by 29,000 in April and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.9% as the number of people participating in the labour market edged down (-0.4% to 66.1%). In short, the labor market in Canada has been pretty flat for the past year.

In the U.S., the report was much different, showing that the nation added 288,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate dropped from 6.7 percent in March to 6.3 percent, marking the lowest level since September 2008. Further, the figures for February and March were upwardly revised to show 36,000 more new jobs that originally estimated, equating to the nation averaging 214,000 new positions per month so far in 2014.

Overseas, it was all about Ukraine and Russia in May. Geopolitical tensions have been growing increasingly violent ever since Russia annexed Crimea in March, with pro-Russian militants seizing areas in Ukraine and calling for sovereignty. In the Black Sea port of Odessa, pro-Russian militants stormed police headquarters early in the month to free 67 detainees from the violent riots a week earlier that killed at least 34 people, taking the tensions in the country to all new heights and putting Ukraine on the brink of a civil war. Pro-Russian separatists declared victory on sovereignty following a succession referendum, although the vote (which was plagued with irregularities) was not recognized by Kiev or the West, further raising tensions in the region. Tensions at the elected official level seemed to calm with Russian President Vladimir Putin not interfering with a presidential election in Ukraine last Sunday, in which candy tycoon Petro Poroshenko was picked to lead the country. After the Ukrainian government used force last week to reclaim one of its main airports, there seems to be a greater sense of calm between the two countries working to resolve their problems, but only time will tell where things go next.

China, as the world`s second biggest economy and major reason that global expansion remains respectable, is always in focus. Economic data continued to show sluggishness, but with some modest improvement.

The markets cheered reformative activity in the country as the government said it plans to allow more foreign investment in listed shares, boost capital flow quotas and take actions to raise commodity trading. Also, China`s central bank directed leading banks to slash mortgage rates and employ other policies to lend support to the housing market.

In Europe, as mentioned above, ECB President Mario Draghi has made it perfectly clear that he is willing to employ unconventional methods to support Europe to try and halt deflation and high unemployment rates.

During the first quarter GDP for the EU expanded only 0.2 percent, half of what economists expected. The story of ECB action will begin to unfold this week.

Monthly Indices Results:

* S&P TSX Composite: down 0.33% (-47.71 pts.) * TSX-Venture: down 1.74% (-17.45 pts.) * Dow Jones Industrial Average: up 0.82% (+136.33 pts.) * S&P 500: up 2.10% (+39.62 pts.) * NASDAQ: up 3.11% (+128.06 pts.) Monthly Equity Market Snapshot:(All percentages on a monthly basis unless otherwise noted) * YouTube, a property of Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL, +6.87%), reached a deal to buy privately held Twitch, a video-streaming service for gamers, for more than $1 billion, according to sources supposedly close to the matter.

* Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ, +1.33%) said that it plans to cut between 11,000 and 16,000 jobs, running the total number of jobs eliminated since Meg Whitman took control in 2012 to approximately 50,000. The world`s largest personal computer maker reported adjusted earnings of 88 cents per share in the first quarter on sales of $27.3 billion. Both top and bottom figures were short of analyst expectations, but investors seemed to like the idea of further expense cuts.

* Encana (TSX:ECA, -0.55%) said that it is almost doubling its oil output by acquiring producing assets in the Eagle Ford shale field in Texas from Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX, -0.93%) for $3.1 billion. The Eagle Ford assets include 45,500 net acres and net reserves of 59 million barrels of oil equivalent. The wells produced 53,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter.

* Shire plc (NASDAQ:SHPG, +0.95%) agreed to pay $260 million up front, an undisclosed amount at closing and more for near-term milestones for privately-held Lumena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its rare disease pipeline assets. Lumena, who was scheduled to be raising $75 million in an IPO, has its lead drug LUM001 in seven different Phase 2 clinical trials to evaluate its ability to block bile acid buildup in the liver, as well as other drugs targeting liver disease, including LUM002, which is targeting non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or “NASH.” * AT&T (NYSE:T, -0.64%) agreed to buy satellite-television company DirecTV (NYSE:DTV, +6.24%) for $67.1 billion (including debt) in cash and stock. The merged company, which still has to clear regulatory anti-trust hurdles, would be the second biggest provider of television subscribers in the U.S., trailing only Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA, +0.85%)/Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC, +0.32%), which agreed to merge earlier this year (a deal still not approved by regulators).

Cumulatively, AT&T/DirecTV and Comcast/TWC would control over half of the U.S. market.

* Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK, -1.20%) agreed to sell its consumer-care business, including the popular allergy medication Claritin and nasal decongestant Afrin, to Bayer AG (OTCQX:BAYRY, +3.77%) for $14.2 billion. Bayer said that the acquisition makes them the biggest seller of over-the-counter products in the US and second-biggest in the world. The deal also includes a collaboration agreement between Merck and Bayer to develop new therapies for cardiovascular disease.

* Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI, +0.82%) disclosed plans to sell its Red Lobster chain to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital $2.1 billion and use the cash to pay down debt.

* Shares of retailer Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:SHLD, -4.01%) slid as it said it is pondering unloading it 51% stake in Sears Canada (TSX:SCC, -14.02%) as the U. S.-based company keeps fighting to turn its business around after years of declining sales.

* Pernix Therapeutics Holdings (NASDAQ:PTX, +47.82%) shares surged after penning a deal with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK, -1.45%) to acquire the U.S rights to Treximet, a drug for the acute treatment of migraine attacks with or without aura in adults.

* Target (NYSE:TGT, -7.40%)had a tough month, first announcing that long-time employee and CEO for the last six years Gregg Steinhafel was resigning, effective immediately and then whiffing on first-quarter earnings. Target has been struggling to gain investor and consumer confidence after a massive data breach six months ago. CFO John Mulligan was appointed to serve as interim CEO of the company.

* Speaking of hunting for a new top executive, the board of directors at TMX Group (TSX:X, +0.20%) began its search for a new CEO, with Thomas Kloet set to retire in August. TMX Group, which owns the Toronto Stock Exchange, says that it is looking both internally and externally for a successor to Kloet, who has been seated as the top executive for six years.

* SNC-Lavalin Inc. (TSX:SNC, +5.85%) got a boost after announcing its joint venture with AECON Atlantic Group, a division of AECON Group Inc. (TSX:ARE, -8.47%), has been awarded a $64.8-million contract by the Government of Canada for the construction of a new housing and training facility for Junior Ranks personnel at Canadian Forces Base Halifax. The joint venture`s mandate is to build a 12-story tower consisting of 300 new residence rooms for training, as well as dining and mess facilities. The new facilities are being designed to meet LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver standards.

* Reuters reported that tobacco giant Reynolds American Inc.

(NYSE:RAI, +5.67%) is in advanced negotiations to buy rival cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. (NYSE:LO, +5.71%). Citing sources close to the matter, the merger would also include British American Tobacco, since British American Tobacco owns 42% of Reynolds American. Merging the industries second and third biggest companies would put the new company in close proximity to the 50% market share that is currently controlled Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO, +3.62%).

Penny Stock of the Day:

The May “Penny Stock of The Day” companies continued to generate solid returns with six companies notching double digit gains since they were highlighted last month. It was a tight race, but the winner for the month was CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR) which rose 28.83% since we highlighted the “rounded bottom” chart at $3.33 on May 13, just before it began a steady run-up to a high of $4.29 last Wednesday. It`s notable that a former spotlight company of ours, MagneGas Corp.

(OTCBB:MNGA) was a close second with a gain of 26.87%.

The Penny Stock of the Day ( http://www.allpennystocks.com/aps_us/stocks2watch/performance/ ) is a premium feature available to AllPennyStocks.com Pro members. With over 20 “Penny Stock of the Day” trading ideas per month along with monthly stock picks and market commentary, its easy to see why this service is seeing so much investor demand. Get the edge over other investors with AllPennyStocks.com Pro, try it free ( http://www.allpennystocks.com/allpennypro/ ) for the first 14 days…

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