Posted on

April 13, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day in 1997, Tiger Woods becomes, at the age of 21, the youngest person to win the Masters Tournament and the first person of African heritage to claim a major golf title.

Oscar Wilde to Robert Ross, from Rome, April 16, 1900; he had seen Pope Leo XIII the day before:
He was wonderful as he was carried past me on his throne, not of flesh and blood, but a white soul robed in white, and an artist as well as a saint – the only instance in history, if the newspapers are to be believed.
  I have seen nothing like the extraordinary grace of his gesture, as he rose, from moment to moment, to bless – possibly the pilgrims, but certainly me.  Tree [the actor-manager] should see him.  It is his only chance.
  I was deeply impressed; and my walking-stick showed signs of budding…
  How did I get the ticket?  By a miracle, of course.  I thought it was hopeless, and made no effort of any kind.  On Saturday afternoon at five o’clock Harold and I went to have tea at the Hotel de l’Europe.  Suddenly, as I was eating buttered toast, a man, or what seemed to be one, dressed like a hotel porter, entered and asked me would I like to see the Pope on Easter Day.  I bowed my head humbly and said “Non sum dingus” [I am not worthy], or words to that effect.  He at once produced a ticket!
  When I tell you that his countenance was of supernatural ugliness, and that the price of the ticket was thirty pieces of silver, I need say no more.-from The Book of Days.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A visitor looks at Pysanky, traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs, displayed as part of the upcoming Easter celebration in central Kiev, Ukraine, on Wednesday. Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Desert monkeys gather on the slopes of the Sarawat Mountains near the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday. Amr Nabil/AP
Market Closes for April 13th, 2017

Market

Index

 Close Change
Dow

Jones

 20453.25 -138.61

 

-0.67%
 
S&P 500 2334.48 -10.45

 

-0.45%
 
NASDAQ 5805.152 -31.007

 

-0.53%
 
TSX 15534.18 -114.22

 
-0.73%
 

International Markets

Market

Index

 Close Change
NIKKEI 18426.84 -125.77
 
-0.68%
 
HANG

SENG

 24261.66 -51.84
 
-0.21%
 
SENSEX 29461.45 -182.03
 
-0.61%
 
FTSE 100* 7327.59 -21.40
 
-0.29%
 

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous  % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

 1.494 1.519
CND.

30 Year

Bond

 2.163 2.188
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

 2.2374 2.2534
U.S.

30 Year Bond

 2.8923 2.8970

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.75019 0.75513
 
 
US

$

 1.33300 1.32428
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

   Inverse
Canadian $ 1.41502 0.70670
 
 
US

$

 1.06153 0.94203

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

 1284.15 1274.30
     
Oil Close Previous
WTI Crude Future 53.18 53.11

Market Commentary:
NUMBER OF THE DAY
$9 billion
The amount that Saudi Arabia raised in its first international sale of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, as the kingdom rolls out an ambitious plan to reshape its oil-dependent economy.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended the holiday-shortened trading week with a triple-digit loss as falling bond yields hit financials and oil prices slipped for a second day.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 113 points or 0.7 percent to 15,535.48, falling below its 50-day moving average (15,590). The Canadian market will be closed Friday for the Easter holiday weekend.
     The financial index fell 1 percent as falling yields battered lenders. Home Capital Group Inc. plunged 8.6 percent and Genworth MI Canada Inc. tumbled 6 percent. The energy index also lost 1 percent as oil prices fell 0.2 percent to $53.02.
     In other moves:
* Canopy Growth Corp. fell 3.7 percent, part of a wider decline in pot stocks, after Canada laid out its plan to legalize recreational marijuana
* Gold stocks were mixed after the world’s second-largest gold ETF widened the criteria for inclusion. Alacer Gold Corp. tumbled 7.7 percent and Guyana Goldfields Inc. lost 5.4 percent, while Eldorado Gold Corp. gained 4.7 percent and Pan American Silver Corp. rose 4.4 percent
* Source Energy Services Ltd. ended its first day of trading unchanged after earlier rising 2 percent. The fracking sand distributor cut its IPO price to C$10.50 from as much as C$19
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell as the U.S. launched a heavy bombing campaign against Islamic State positions in Afghanistan.
     The S&P 500 Index closed down 0.68 percent at 2,328.96 Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.67 percent to 20,453.25. The dollar rose slightly after dropping below its 200-day moving average on Wednesday. Treasuries were flat, erasing earlier declines.
     “It’s just creating more uncertainty with people,” Frank Ingarra, head trader at NorthCoast Asset Management LLC, which oversees about $1.7 billion, said by phone. “It’s the only big news that’s come out. Does it mean we’re going to be more militarily engaged in the world?”
     In addition, traders are trying to get a handle on President Donald Trump’s fiscal and economic plans following his remarks from Wednesday, in which he called the dollar too strong, signaled a softening on China’s currency practices and left open the possibility of reappointing Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
     “Talk of lower interest rates and a weaker dollar has not helped,” said Mark Kepner, managing director and equity trader at Themis Trading LLC in Chatham, New Jersey.
     Reduced volumes in the shorter trading week before Easter may have compounded the swings as well. The bond market closed at 2 p.m. in New York.
     Here’s what investors are watching:
* With JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. reporting earnings, analysts are looking at the slowdown in commercial loan growth as well as the state of consumer lending amid worries over high levels of student and auto loans.
* Many markets around the world will be closed tomorrow for the Easter holiday weekend.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
     Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 percent, paring an earlier slide of as much as 0.3 percent.
* The yen fell 0.06 percent to 109.10 per dollar.
* The euro was 0.43 percent lower at 1.0619, falling for the first time in four days.

     Stocks
* The Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 0.44 percent, while the Russell 2000 Index slid 1.03 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.35 percent.

     Bonds
* The yield on the 10-year Treasury was essentially flat at 2.23 percent.
* German 10-year yields fell one basis points to 0.19 percent.

     Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate slipped 0.1 percent to $53.04 a barrel. It fell 0.5 percent on Wednesday as a government report showed U.S. output expanded to the highest level in more than a year, countering a decline in stockpiles from a record.
* Gold climbed 0.9 percent to $1,289.50 an ounce.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

If this individuality is wiped away, the creative joy that crystallized it disappears,
even if no material was lost, even if no atom was destroyed.
And if it is lost, it is also a loss for the entire world.  It is particularly precious because it is not universal.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.  The most certain way
to success is always to try just one more time.
                                                -Thomas Edison, 1847-1931

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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

 

Posted on

April 12, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Ga., at age 63. Vice President Harry S Truman became president.
Go to article »
Also on this day….
In 1961, Yuri Gagarin of the USSR became the first man in space.
1947 – David Letterman was born.
1955 – polio vaccine was announced.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A tree blooms above a rapeseed field on a spring morning in Vufflens-la-Ville, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Denis Balibouse/Reuters

The ‘Ecce Homo’ statue by British artist Mark Wallinger as seen outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Wednesday. Hannah McKay/Reuters

The moon sets behind the Eiffel tower (r.) and the Luxor Obelisk at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris. Christian Hartmann/Reuters

A cosplayer, dressed in a Hatsune Miku costume, performs during the press preview for the interactive exhibition ‘MangaMania – Big eyes guaranteed’ at Augustusburg castle in Germany on Wednesday. The exhibition includes more than 200 original Mangas from Japanese and other international artists. The exhibition runs from April 13 to Dec. 10. Jens Meyer/AP
Market Closes for April 12th, 2017

Market

Index

 Close Change
Dow

Jones

 20591.86 -59.44

 

-0.29%
 
S&P 500 2344.93 -8.85

 

-0.38%
 
NASDAQ 5836.160 -30.612

 

-0.52%
 
TSX 15648.40 -78.71

 
-0.50%

 

International Markets

Market

Index

 Close Change
NIKKEI 18552.61 -195.26
 
 
-1.04%
 
 
HANG

SENG

 24313.50 +225.04

 
+0.93%

 
SENSEX 29643.48 -144.87

 
-0.49%

 
FTSE 100* 7348.99 -16.51

 
-0.22%

 

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous  % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

 1.519 1.549

 
CND.

30 Year

Bond

 2.188 2.222
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

 2.2534 2.2962
 
U.S.

30 Year Bond

 2.8970 2.9289
 

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.75513 0.75042
 
 
US

$

 1.32428 1.33259
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

   Inverse
Canadian $ 1.41249 0.70797

 
US

$

 1.06661 0.93755

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

 1274.30 1252.90
     
Oil Close Previous
WTI Crude Future 53.11 53.40
 
 

Market Commentary:
NUMBER OF THE DAY
6,000

The number of employees over the course of various shifts at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif., where there are 4,500 parking spaces. Cars are jammed diagonally in spots, propped up on curbs or resting on gravelly medians. One employee documents the worst offenders on Instagram.

On this day in 1837, immigrants William Procter, an English candlemaker, and James Gamble, an Irish soapmaker, open shop in Cincinnati. The business booms, and soon each man puts up $3,596.47 to launch Procter, Gamble & Co. 
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell as iron ore prices collapsed, financial stocks retreated with bond yields and oil dropped for the first time in seven days.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 79 points or 0.5 percent to 15,648.40. Financial stocks fell 0.8 percent as the Bank of Canada held pat on interest rates. The energy index lost 0.6 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.5 percent to $53.11 a barrel.
     Materials stocks also lost ground, slipping 0.4 percent as iron ore prices fell the most in a year. Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Co. fell 5.2 percent.
     In other moves:
* BlackBerry Ltd. jumped 15.4 percent, the most since January 2015, after it was awarded $814.9 million to end a royalty dispute with Qualcomm Inc.
* Bombardier Inc. fell 6.7 percent after gaining 7.2 percent Tuesday. The company is in talks with Siemens AG to combine their rail operations, according to people familiar with the matter
* Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. gained 7.1 percent. The miner said it has approved the start of construction on the main production shaft at its Platreef mine in South Africa
* Shaw Communications Inc. rose 4.8 percent after the telecom company reported its best subscriber numbers since 2012
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell as investors assessed geopolitical developments from France to Russia and Korea, as well as comments from President Trump on the future of Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
     The S&P 500 lost 0.4 percent to 2,345 as the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased 59 points to 20,592. The S&P 500 closed below its 50-day moving average for first time since Nov. 8 after longest streak above since 2011.
* Seven of 11 S&P 500 sectors lower; health shares little changed
* Materials and industrial shares down at least 1.2% for biggest laggards in market
* Utility, staples and phone stocks higher as bonds strengthen
* S&P 500 has struggled to sustain a rally after last reaching a record in early March; it hasn’t posted gains or losses exceeding 1 percent in the past three weeks
* VIX higher for four straight sessions, to 15.5
** VIX Tuesday rose to its highest since the U.S. election amid heightened geopolitical tensions
* HP (HPQ), Tyson (TSN) among biggest winners in S&P 500, up at least 2.2%
* Tractor Supply (TSCO), Fastenal (FAST) down the most, at least 8%
* Volume on U.S. exchanges 9% below YTD average
* Industrial sector volume 17% above; telecom volume up 8%
* POLITICS:
** President Trump, speaking in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, said he likes the Federal Reserve’s low-interest-rate policy and is leaving open the possibility of renominating Chair Janet Yellen
*** Trump said he will not brand China a currency manipulator and added that the greenback was getting too strong
** Secretary of State Rex Tillerson began talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow after the Trump administration accused the Kremlin of trying to cover up a chemical-weapons attack by its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad
* ECONOMY:
** March import prices down 0.2% m/m after rising 0.4% in Feb.
** MBA mortgage applications index rose 1.5% in week ended April 7 after falling 1.6% in prior week
* EARNINGS:
** Wednesday: Perrigo (PRGO)
** Pre-market Thursday: PNC Financial (PNC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C)
* Europe Market
** Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2% at the close, after jumping as much as 0.7% earlier in the day.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!
 

By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in a child and man – body, mind, and spirit.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Always deliver more than expected.
                  -Larry Page, b. 1973

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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

Posted on

April 11, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

April’s full moon which will be in full view tonight is known as the “Pink Moon.” 

While many may be hoping to see a light pink moon, the first full moon in April is called a “pink moon” because it’s when a spring flower called moss pink or phlox typically blooms, according to the Farmer’s Almanac, Space.com reported. According to Space.com, the name likely comes from a Native American tradition. In addition to the Pink Moon, the first full moon in April is also called the Egg Moon, Fish Moon and Sprouting Grass Moon, Space.com reported.
In the early evening sky, you’ll find the star Spica above and to the right of the moon. Jupiter will be directly above the star, and the three will move along the night sky together (which means you don’t have to look up at a precise time).  It will be easy to find the alignment of this threesome with the naked eye, but more amazing to see with a set of binoculars.
The celestial threesome will reach their highest peak around midnight and hang low in the western sky until sunrise.  

Edward FitzGerald in London – he spent most of his time in his cottage at Boulge, near Wodbridge in Suffolk – wrote the following to Bernard Barton, the “Quaker Poet,” a Woodbridge resident, on April 11th, 1844:

A cloud comes over Charlotte Street and seems as if it were sailing softly on the April wind to fall in a blessed shower upon the lilac buds and thirsty anemones somewhere in Essex; or, who knows? perhaps at Boulge.  Out will run Mrs. Faiers [his housekeeper], and with red arms and face of woe haul in the struggling windows of the cottage, and make all tight.  Beauty Bob [his parrot] will cast a bird’s eye out at the shower, and bless the useful wet.  Mr. Loder [the Woodbridge stationer] will observe to the farmer for whom he is doing up a dozen of Queen’s Heads [the new penny-post stamps], and it will be of great use:  and the farmer will agree that his young barleys wanted it much.  The German Ocean will dimple with innumerable pinpoints, and porpoises rolling near the surface sneeze with unusual pellets of fresh water. –from The Book of Days.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, spews lava during an eruption in the early hours of Tuesday behind the Sicilian town of Riposto, Italy. Salvatore Allegra/AP

Penitents from ‘Cristo de la Buena Muerte,’ or ‘Good Dead Christ,’ brotherhood take part in a procession in Madrid in the early hours of Tuesday. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP
Market Closes for April 11th, 2017

Market

Index

 Close Change
Dow

Jones

 20651.30 -6.72

 

-0.03%
 
S&P 500 2353.78 -3.38

 

-0.14%
 
NASDAQ 5866.73 -14.153

 

-0.24%
 
TSX 15727.11 -3.68

 
-0.02%
 
 

International Markets

Market

Index

 Close Change
NIKKEI 18747.87 -50.01

 
-0.27%
 
 
HANG

SENG

 24088.46 -173.72
 
 
-0.72%

 
SENSEX 29788.35 +212.61

 
+0.72%

 
FTSE 100* 7365.50 +16.56

 
+0.23%

 

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous  % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

 1.549 1.601
CND.

30 Year

Bond

 2.222 2.264
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

 2.2962 2.3625
U.S.

30 Year Bond

 2.9289 2.9888

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.75042 0.75027
 
 
US

$

 1.33259 1.33286
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

   Inverse
Canadian $ 1.41339 0.70752

 
US

$

 1.06064 0.94283

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

 1252.90 1250.05
     
Oil Close Previous
WTI Crude Future 53.40 53.08

Market Commentary:
NUMBER OF THE DAY
8.8%
The stake Jana Partners has built in Whole Foods along with several allies. The activist investor wants the organic grocer to accelerate its turnaround and explore a possible sale, increasing pressure after its rapid growth stalled.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed lower after marijuana companies dragged the group down, while gold and silver miners advanced as investors turned to metals as a safe haven.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 3.7 points to close at 15,727.11. The index is down about 1.2 percent since reaching a record high on Feb. 21.
     Canopy Growth Corp. fell 5.3 percent, along with other Canadian marijuana companies. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is expected as early as this week to unveil details of a plan to legalize recreational marijuana.
     Gold climbed to the highest in five months as geopolitical tensions fueled demand for the metal as a haven. Gold futures for June delivery gained 1.6 percent to settle at $1,274.20 an ounce at 1:40 p.m. on the Comex in New York.
     In other moves:
*Hudson’s Bay Company gained 8% on heavy volume amid the company’s comment about an initial public offering of its real estate properties during the earnings conference call on April 5
* New Gold, First Majestic, Detour Gold closed higher amid gold and silver price rally
* ProMetic Life Sciences was among the biggest decliners in the health-care sector for TSX.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slid as investors assessed geopolitical risks and tech stocks extended their decline to an eighth straight session.
* S&P 500 down 0.1% to 2,353.78 at 4 p.m. in New York
* Index has traded above the 50 day average for 105 sessions, longest streak since 2011
* Dow Jones Industrial Average little changed at 20,651.30
* 7 of 11 sectors lower on day
* Tech shares down 0.4% as biggest laggard
* Financial stocks end 0.3% lower after losing as much as 1.3%; the group has declined in all but four trading sessions since March 20
* VIX up 7% to 15.1
* The White House press secretary warned Syria to stop using barrel bombs against civilians, suggesting President Trump may expand the criteria for U.S. action against Bashar al- Assad’s regime
* U.S. stock gains are justified by economic and earnings growth, according to Ross Yarrow, director of U.S. equities at Robert W. Baird, who recommended being overweight the shares
* ECONOMY:
* Fed Chair Yellen said late yesterday that the U.S. central bank’s task has shifted from a post-crisis exercise of healing the economy to one aimed at holding on to progress made
* Traders are pricing in a 59% chance of higher borrowing costs by June, Fed fund futures show
* EARNINGS:
* Pre-market Wednesday: Delta Air Lines (DAL), Fastenal (FAST)

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

By the term religion, I am using it
in its broadest sense, meaning thereby self realization
or knowledge of the self.
Mahatma Gandhi

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long
at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
                                                                    -Helen Keller, 1880-1968

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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

Posted on

April 10, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Passover begins at sundown today – commemorating the deliverance of the Israelites – their escape from slavery and exodus from Egypt –  when the angel of death, which slew the first born of the Egyptians, passed over their houses and spared all who did as Moses commanded them.  It begins with the meal of the Paschal lamb, but  refraining  from eating leavened foodstuffs lasts for seven days.
1849: safety pin patented.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

Nazi concentration camp survivors Petro Fedorowitsch Mischuk of Ukraine (l.) and Pierre Berg of France chat during the commemoration ceremonies for the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of Mittelbau-Dora camp near Nordhausen, central Germany, on Monday. Jens Meyer/AP

Cherry trees are in full bloom on a sunny morning in Frankfurt, Germany, early Monday. Michael Probst/AP

A man fishes off rocks at dusk as the moon rises in Koh Samui, Thailand, on Monday. Toby Melville/Reuters
Market Closes for April 10th, 2017

Market

Index

 Close Change
Dow

Jones

 20658.02 +1.92

 

+0.01%
 
S&P 500 2357.16 +1.62

 

+0.07%
 
NASDAQ 5880.926 +3.114

 

+0.05%
 
TSX 15730.79 +63.66

 
+0.41%

 

International Markets

Market

Index

 Close Change
NIKKEI 18797.88 +133.25
 
 
+0.71%

 
HANG

SENG

 24262.18 -5.12

 
-0.02%

 
SENSEX 29575.74 -130.87

 
-0.44%

 
FTSE 100* 7348.94 -0.43

 
-0.01%

 

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous  % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

 1.601 1.596
 
CND.

30 Year

Bond

 2.264 2.260
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

 2.3625 2.3822
 
 
U.S.

30 Year Bond

 2.9888 3.0078
 
 

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.75027 0.74707
 
 
US

$

 1.33286 1.33857
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

   Inverse
Canadian $ 1.41228 0.70807

 
US

$

 1.05959 0.94376

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

 1250.05 1266.45
     
Oil Close Previous
WTI Crude Future 53.08 52.24

 

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks continued their upwards march on the back of strong crude prices as oil futures rose for a fifth consecutive day.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 64 points or 0.4 percent to close at 15,730.79. The benchmark only needs to rise another 1.2 percent from its current level to reach the all-time high it hit on Feb. 21.
     The energy index rose 1.1 percent as West Texas Intermediate futures gained 1.6 percent to $53.08, their highest level since March 7. The upcoming summer driving season is expected to help ease the U.S. supply glut, and prices got another boost Monday from reports that Libya’s biggest oil field is suffering another outage.
     In other moves:
* Canopy Growth Corp. jumped 6.6 percent on news that Canada is set to detail its plans for legalized recreational marijuana as early as this week
* Barrick Gold Corp. rose 1.4 percent. Argentinian authorities threatened to rescind the license for the Veladero mine on the same day the company agreed to sell half the asset to a Chinese company
* Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. fell 5.4 percent after Keybanc downgraded the stock to sector weight from overweight
* Fiera Capital Corp. added 4.8 percent following an announcement that its infrastructure division will buy a stake in a portfolio of eight U.S. solar- and wind-power projects.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — Treasuries rose and stocks were little changed with investors erring on the side of caution as geopolitical concerns build in Asia and the Middle East. Oil posted its longest run of gains this year and the dollar weakened for the first time in three trading sessions.
     For the sixth time in seven days, the S&P 500 ran into trouble after crossing above its 21-day moving average. The chart level, roughly the index’s mean altitude over the last month, current sits at 2,360.7. The S&P 500 went as high as 2,366.37 before dropping back to finish little changed. The price swings sent the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX — the market’s standard fear gauge — to the highest level this year.
     Energy shares were one of the few bright spots in the S&P 500 as Libya’s biggest oil field suffered another outage while Russia signaled it’s weighing an extension of OPEC-led production cuts. French bonds fell, widening the yield spread over Germany to the highest since February after polls showed the country’s presidential election is becoming a four-way contest. European stocks traded mostly sideways as equities in France gave up ground.
     Oil rose for a fifth day after advancing 3.2 percent last week following a U.S. military strike on Syria. In Russia, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday his ministry had been in talks with oil companies regarding the need to prolong the six-month deal with OPEC. The U.S.’s decision to divert an aircraft carrier to North Asia sparked a selloff in South Korea assets and renewed concern of Chinese involvement in any regional conflict.
     While demand for haven assets has eased as financial markets attempt to shrug off Friday’s disappointing U.S. employment figures, a ratcheting up of geopolitical tensions and Europe’s looming test of populism curtailed optimism. Corporate results may provide the next fresh catalyst — they’ll accelerate this week with earnings due from the likes of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Tesco Plc and Prada SpA.
     “Geopolitics trumps economics as the main market driver, with strained U.S.-Russian relations and the dispatch of a U.S. aircraft carrier towards the Korean peninsula making the headlines,” Kit Juckes, a global strategist at Societe Generale, wrote in a note. “This week, it will be geopolitics and events outside the U.S. which drive markets.”
     What investors will be watching this week:
* Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile and South Korea are among countries setting interest rates.
* U.S. bank earnings also begin with Citigroup, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo early Thursday.
* U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, and is expected to press the Kremlin about chemical weapons in Syria.
* Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will participate in a Q&A at a meeting of the Minnesota Business Partnership on Tuesday.
* The U.K. economy is in focus. Inflation probably slowed in March, tomorrow’s report may show, though the headline rate should pick up in coming months. Employment figures are likely to have remained steady on Wednesday, while wage growth slowed.

     Here are the main moves in markets:
     Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent at 1,229.06 as of 4:09 p.m. in New York, after advancing 0.3 percent on Friday. The pound gained 0.4 percent versus the greenback.

     Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.07 percent to 2,357.16. The underlying gauge lost 0.3 percent last week.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index finished little changed. France’s CAC 40 Index dropped 0.5 percent

     Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell 2 basis points to 2.36 percent, after climbing four basis points on Friday.
* France’s 10-year yield rose four basis points to 0.93 percent.
That compared to the bund benchmark yield at 0.21 percent, little changed from the previous session.

     Commodities
* Gold was little changed at $1,254.18 per ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6 percent to $53.08 a barrel, after climbing more than 1 percent in each of the previous two sessions.

     Asia
* Equities in Tokyo and Sydney climbed with traders in the Asia Pacific region taking their first chance to react to worse-than- forecast U.S. hiring data.
* The Kospi slipped the most in more than five weeks and the won was one of the biggest losers among major currencies as geopolitical concerns lingered in South Korea.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Man lives in confusion and fear until he discovers the uniformity of the law in nature;
until then the world is a stranger to him.
And yet, the law discovered is only the perception of the harmony between reason,
which is the soul of man, and the play of nature.
It is the bond that unites man to the world he lives in.
When he discovers it, man feels an intense joy, because he realizes himself in his environment.
To understand this is to find something to which we belong,
and it is the discovery of ourselves that gives us joy.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Character is power.
-Booker T. Washington, 1856-1915

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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

Posted on

April 6, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

People looks at an installation called ‘Strata,’ by Salviati’s furniture designers, that is part of the Design Fair exhibition in Milan, Italy, on Thursday. Antonio Calanni/AP

Kites fly during the 31st International Kite Festival in Berck, northern France, on Thursday. The festival is held every April. Thibault Camus/AP
Market Closes for April 6th, 2017

Market

Index

 Close Change
Dow

Jones

 20662.95 +14.80

 

+0.07%
 
S&P 500 2357.49 +4.54

 

+0.19%
 
NASDAQ 5878.949 +14.472

 

+0.25%
 
TSX 15697.18 +54.19

 
+0.35%

 

International Markets

Market

Index

 Close Change
NIKKEI 18597.06 -264.21
 
-1.40%
 
HANG

SENG

 24273.72 -127.08
 
-0.52%
 
SENSEX 29927.34 -46.90
 
-0.16%
 
FTSE 100* 7303.20 -28.48
 
-0.39%
 

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous  % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

 1.550 1.558
CND.

30 Year

Bond

 2.229 2.241
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

 2.3408 2.3372
U.S.

30 Year Bond

 2.9864 2.9872
           

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.74543 0.74417

 
US

$

 1.34151 1.34378
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

   Inverse
Canadian $ 1.42770 0.70043

 
US

$

 1.06425 0.93963

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

 1252.50 1245.80
     
Oil Close Previous
WTI Crude Future 51.70 51.15
 

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced as crude prices rose to their highest level in a month and U.S. jobless claims came in better than expectations, raising optimism about the health of the world’s biggest economy.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 54 points or 0.4 percent to close at 15,697.18, its highest level in six weeks. Energy shares rose 0.8 percent as the price of West Texas Intermediate Crude rose 1.1 percent to $51.70.
     The health-care index gained 0.9 percent as medical marijuana producer Canopy Growth Corp. added 2.7 percent. The Canadian government confirmed Wednesday that it’s targeting July 1, 2018 to legalize pot.
     In other moves:
* Raging River Exploration Inc. fell 6.2 percent after the company said it ended its engagement with GMP FirstEnergy, which it had hired to explore a potential sale
* Barrick Gold Corp. fell 0.5 percent. Goldman Sachs and BMO said its deal to sell half of its Veladero mine in Argentina to Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd. should be positive for the company’s shares
* Corus Entertainment Inc. lost 2.1 percent following the release of second-quarter profit and revenue that missed expectations
* Detour Gold Corp., Tahoe Resources Inc. and OceanaGold Corp. all gained more than 3 percent as the price of gold added 0.4 percent
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced as investors weighed weekly jobless claims that were better than expectations and assessed the Trump administration’s plans for health care and tax reform.
     The S&P 500 added 0.2 percent 2,357.49 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark fell on Wednesday with banks and energy companies tumbling in the last 90 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 15 points to 20,662.95.
* Energy shares lead market, up 0.8%, as crude oil advanced for 7th time in 8 sessions
* Financials up 0.8% for first gain in a week
* Utility and phone shares down the most as 10-year Treasuries were little changed on day
* Volume 9.9% below YTD average
* VIX down to 12.4; volatility gauge hasn’t risen above 15 for 101 days, the longest stretch since 2007, according to Bloomberg data
* Trump set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida
* In a private meeting with lawmakers, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said he supports a policy that could radically reshape Wall Street’s biggest firms by separating their consumer-lending businesses from their investment banks
* At the same time, the Fed comments Wednesday on shrinking the central bank’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet signaled the prospect of a drop in global liquidity; minutes also showed policy makers had not significantly changed their economic assessment from the prior meeting
* ECONOMY:
** Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Index climbed for the fifth time in the last six weeks, resulting in the strongest quarterly sentiment since 2007
** Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits slumped by 25,000 to 234,000; declined to a five-week low
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** Next earnings on April 12: Fastenal (FAST), Perrigo (PRGO)
* Europe Market
** The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2% after losing as much as 0.8% earlier in the day

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise”. Frank Ocean

 

As ever,

 

Karen 

 

“A ship is always safe at shore, but that is not what it is built for”. Albert Einstein

 

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

Posted on

April 5, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

A poem for Spring

Why Did My Plant Die?
      -by Geoffrey B. Charlesworth
You walked too close. You trod on it.
You dropped a piece of sod on it.
You hoed it down. You weeded it.
You planted it the wrong way up.
You grew it in a yogurt cup
But you forgot to make a hole;
The soggy compost took its toll.
September storm. November drought.
It heaved in March, the roots popped out.
You watered it with herbicide.
You scattered bonemeal far and wide.
Attracting local omnivores,
Who ate your plant and stayed for more.
You left it baking in the sun
While you departed at a run
To find a spade, perhaps a trowel,
Meanwhile the plant threw in the towel.
You planted it with crown too high;
The soil washed off, that explains why.
Too high pH. It hated lime.
Alas it needs a gentler clime.
You left the root ball wrapped in plastic.
You broke the roots. They’re not elastic.
You walked too close. You trod on it.
You dropped a piece of sod on it.
You splashed the plant with mower oil.
You should do something to your soil.
Too rich. Too poor. Such wretched tilth.
Your soil is clay. Your soil is filth.
Your plant was eaten by a slug.
The growing point contained a bug.
These aphids are controlled by ants,
Who milk the juice, it kills the plants.
In early spring your garden’s mud.
You walked around! That’s not much good.
With heat and light you hurried it.
You worried it. You buried it.
The poor plant missed the mountain air:
No heat, no summer muggs up there.
You overfed it 10-10-10.
Forgot to water it again.
You hit it sharply with the hose.
You used a can without a rose.
Perhaps you sprinkled from above.
You should have talked to it with love.
The nursery mailed it without roots.
You killed it with those gardening boots.
You walked too close. You trod on it.
You dropped a piece of sod on it.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

People view the new ‘Musical City’ cultural center on the Island of Sequin in Boulogne-Blillancourt, outside Paris, on Wednesday. The center on the Seine river, designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and French architect Jean de Gastines, will open on April 22. Michel Euler/AP

People gather at Trocadero plaza as the lights of the Eiffel Tower fall dark at midnight in Paris on Wednesday. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo says the Eiffel Tower will fall dark overnight to honor the victims of the St. Petersburg subway bombing. Michel Euler/AP

A man presents a self-made robot, that is able to carry a person, in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, China, on Wednesday. China Daily/Reuters
Market Closes for April 5th, 2017

Market

Index

 Close Change
Dow

Jones

 20648.15 -41.09

 

-0.20%
 
S&P 500 2352.95 -7.21

 

-0.31%
 
NASDAQ 5864.477 -34.131

 

-0.58%
 
TSX 15642.99 -26.08

 
-0.17%

 

International Markets

Market

Index

 Close Change
NIKKEI 18861.27 +51.02

 
+0.27%
 
 
HANG

SENG

 24400.80 +139.32
 
 
+0.57%
 
 
SENSEX 29974.24 +64.02
 
 
+0.21%
 
 
FTSE 100* 7331.68 +9.86
 
 
+0.13%
 
 

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous  % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

 1.558 1.583
 
CND.

30 Year

Bond

 2.241 2.263
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

 2.3372 2.3623
 
 
U.S.

30 Year Bond

 2.9872 3.0007

 
           
           

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.74417 0.74612

 
US

$

 1.34378 1.34026
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

   Inverse
Canadian $ 1.43312 0.69778

 
US

$

 1.06649 0.93766

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

 1245.80 1257.65
     
Oil Close Previous
WTI Crude Future 51.15 51.03

 

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$79.1 billion
Pimco’s Income Fund had $79.1 billion in assets under management as of March 31, surpassing TCW Group’s Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Fund as the biggest actively managed bond fund.
Canada
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell as gains sparked by a bullish U.S. payrolls report failed to persist amid a drop in oil prices and the latest Federal Reserve minutes.
     The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent to 15,642.99 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, reversing an increase of as much as 0.6 percent. The benchmark measure has advanced in all but two days since March 21, rebounding from its 2017 low, as crude prices climbed above $50 a barrel.
     Stocks opened higher after a private report showed American companies added workers to payrolls in March at the fastest pace since December 2014. The index started coming off those levels as oil fell amid government data that U.S. stockpiles unexpectedly climbed to a record last week. The retreat picked up momentum as Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed officials continue to see gradual rate hikes, with some seeing equity prices as “quite high.”
In other movers:
     Hudson’s Bay Co. surged 7.7 percent. The company said on a conference call that it intends to sell its real estate in an initial public offering.
     Raging River Exploration Inc. rose 3.9 percent. The oil and gas exploration company has hired GMP FirstEnergy to explore a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
     Telus Corp. rose 1.2 percent to a record close. The phone service provider was raised to outperform from neutral by CIBC World Markets analyst Robert Bek.
     Imperial Oil Ltd. fell 1.6 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Neil Mehta downgraded it to sell from neutral.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks tumbled in the last 90 minutes of trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average giving up a 198- point gain as traders assessed the path for interest rates and weighed the likelihood of tax reform by the Trump administration.
     The S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent to 2,352.95 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark was little changed on Tuesday, with volatility dropping for the first time in four sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% to 20,648.15.
* Banks and energy companies paced the late-session swoon, with the S&P 500 Financial Index going from up more than 1% at around 10 a.m. in New York to down 0.7% by the close
* Utility and real-estate firms only groups higher as 10-year Yield drops 3 basis points after Federal Reserve minutes released
* House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a Q&A event that tax reform could take longer than health care overhaul, according to Reuters
* Volume in SPY jumped to highest of day between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. to almost three times the average during that period
** Total shares traded: 7.5 billion, most in more than two weeks
* Potential that Fed will halt reinvestments sooner than expected, as well as continued discord in Washington, weighing on investors, says Jonestrading global strategist Yousef Abbasi
* China’s President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled to meet today
* “The U.S. market looking expensive compared to its global peers,” Citigroup Inc.’s chief U.S. equity strategist Tobias Levkovich wrote in a report to clients. Still, valuations “look more reasonable compared to bond yields. While a strong U.S. dollar may prove a drag on profits, easing credit conditions bode well for future economic growth, he says
** S&P 500 has traded above 17.6 times its estimated earnings in April, near a 15-year high, while the ratio stands at about 16 times for the MSCI ACWI Index
* Bloomberg Intelligence Equity Strategists Gina Martin Adams and Peter Chung mirror Levkovich’s view, saying that stocks are becoming expensive relative to historical valuations, but they remain cheaper than bonds based on earnings and interest rates
* ECONOMY
** Most Federal Reserve officials said they backed a policy change that would begin shrinking the central bank’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet
** Private payrolls climbed by 263,000 (forecast was 185,000) on solid gains in construction and manufacturing and at small businesses
** American service companies expanded in March at the slowest pace in five months; ISM’S non-manufacturing index eased to 55.2 (forecast was 57)
* EARNINGS (S&P 500)
** After-market Wednesday: Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY)
** Pre-market Thursday: Constellation Brands (STZ), CarMax (KMX)
* Europe Market
** Stoxx Europe 600 inched higher for second gain this week as oil companies and basic resource suppliers climbed, offsetting a 1% decline in carmakers

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly.
The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Spring makes its statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems
to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.
                                     -Geoffrey B. Charlesworth, 1920-2008

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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

Posted on

April 4, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn.
Go to article »

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY

Tibetan devotees greet their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as he arrives at the Thubchok Gatsel Ling Monastery in Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh, India on Tuesday. India said Tuesday that China should not interfere in its internal affairs, as the Dalai Lama began a weeklong visit to India’s remote northeast that Beijing has protested. Tenzin Choejor/AP

A man carries his pet cat as he walk under the cherry blossoms at Tongji University in Shanghai, China on Tuesday. Aly Song/Reuters
Market Closes for April 4th, 2017

Market

Index

 Close Change
Dow

Jones

 20689.24 +39.03

 

+0.19%
 
S&P 500 2360.16 +1.32

 

+0.06%
 
NASDAQ 5898.609 +3.927

 

+0.07%
 
TSX 15669.07 +84.67

 
+0.54%
 
 

International Markets

Market

Index

 Close Change
NIKKEI 18810.25 -172.98
 
-0.91%
 
HANG

SENG

 24261.48 +149.89
 
+0.62%
 
SENSEX 29910.22 +289.72
 
+0.98%
 
FTSE 100* 7321.82 +39.13
 
+0.54%
 

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous  % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

 1.583 1.579
CND.

30 Year

Bond

 2.263 2.261
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

 2.3623 2.3336
 
U.S.

30 Year Bond

 3.0007 2.9698
 
           
           

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.74612 0.74721

 
US

$

 1.34026 1.33831
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

   Inverse
Canadian $ 1.43058 0.69901
 
 
US

$

 1.06739 0.93686

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

 1257.65 1247.25
     
Oil Close Previous
WTI Crude Future 51.03 50.24

 

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, U.S. stocks experience one of their wildest days on record. The Dow drops 503.53 points, 4.5%, and Nasdaq tumbles 574.57, or 13.6%, by midday. Both indexes rebound in the afternoon to close off 57.09 and 74.79, respectively.
Number of the Day
15%
About 15% of the tech companies that went public in the U.S. between 2012 and 2016, including Facebook, Fitbit and Twilio, did so with at least two classes of stock, up from 8% between 2007 and 2011, according to data compiled by University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed higher on a broad- based rally in commodities that boosted most sectors, offsetting news of an unexpected trade deficit.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 85 points or 0.5 percent to 15,669.07. Energy stocks rose 1.2 percent and materials stocks gained 0.9 percent as oil, gold and copper all moved higher. West Texas Intermediate futures added 1.6 percent to a four-week high.
     The commodity rally helped offset data from Statistics Canada that showed a February trade deficit of C$972 million, bucking analyst expectations for a surplus of C$600 million.
     In other moves:
* Auto suppliers lost ground following weaker-than-expected U.S. auto sales numbers Monday. Linamar Corp. fell 3.7 percent, Magna International Inc. lost 3 percent and Martinrea International Inc. fell 2.5 percent
* Hudson’s Bay Co. lost 2.4 percent following Monday’s 8.1 percent decline. The retailer is scheduled to report earnings after the bell
* BlackBerry Ltd. added 3.6 percent on ongoing buying activity following a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter
* Cenovus Energy Inc. fell 0.6 percent. The company is selling $2.9 billion worth of bonds to help fund its C$17.7 billion purchase of oil-sands assets from ConocoPhillips.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities were little changed Tuesday as investors weighed economic data and the likelihood of fiscal stimulus from the Trump administration. Energy shares rallied with oil.
     The S&P 500 added less than 0.1 percent to 2,360.16 by 4 p.m. The benchmark dropped Monday, the first day of the second quarter, with falling bond yields weighing on banks, while automakers slid as fading monthly sales offered a warning that the market may have become saturated. The Dow Jones Industrial average added 39 points to 20,689.
* Energy shares lead market, up 0.7% with crude oil 1.6% higher
* Consumer discretionary shares lost 0.1% for second down day
** Short-sellers are most bearish on consumer discretionary space, with a median 2.6% short interest in those companies, according to Markit data compiled by Bloomberg
* VIX down for first time in four sessions to 11.8
* Volume 10% below YTD average
* The S&P 500 last week capped its best quarter since 2015, with a 5.5% gain; the benchmark has jumped about 10% since U.S. election, supported by expectations Trump would deliver on promises including lower taxes and increased fiscal spending
* ECONOMY
** U.S. factory orders for Jan. revised up to 1.5%; forecast range for Feb is +0.5% to 1.3%
** Capital goods non-defense ex aircraft new orders for Feb. fall 0.1% after rising 0.2% in Jan.
** Durables orders for Feb. rise 1.8% after rising 2.4% in Jan.
** The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in February to a four-month low
** Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker resigned on Tuesday as he disclosed his role in the leak of confidential information about the policy options that the Fed was considering in 2012
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** Pre-market Wednesday: Monsanto (MON), Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)
* Europe Market
** Stoxx Europe 600 Index up 0.2% to 380.03

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Chitragupta, who is supposed to be writing out our deeds in an account book
is no other than the conscious and unconscious parts of our mind.
The Lord of Law, to whom we have to render the account,
is the Soul within us.
Gopal Singh

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.
                               -Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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

Posted on

April 3, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

April is the month of golden Aphrodite, modest, gentle goddess of love and beauty.   It is popularly thought to derive from the Latin aperire “to open”, but it is more likely from the Etruscan apru.  It is the month when trees unfold and the earth opens with new life.  By mid-month, warblers, vireos and flycatchers that have spent the winter in Mexico and Central America are arriving in full force on the west coast.  Look above and you will see the beautiful aerial courtship dances of many birds especially hawks…

On this day in…
1948, President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion in aid for 16 European countries.
Go to article »
1934, Jane Goodall was born.
1924, Marlon Brando was born.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Drops of water cover a spider’s web at the Chateau La Louviere in Leognan, France, on Monday. Regis Duvignau/Reuters

People walk through the entrance of the ‘Giro Giro Tondo design for children’ exhibition at the Triennale museum in Milan, Italy, on Monday. Milan Design week is taking place in various locations across the city from April 4-9. Antonio Calanni/AP
Market Closes for April 3rd, 2017

Market

Index

 Close Change
Dow

Jones

 20650.21 -13.01

 

 

-0.06%
 
S&P 500 2359.11 -3.61

 

-0.15%
 
NASDAQ 5894.684 -17.054

 
 

-0.29%
 
TSX 15575.55 +27.80

 
+0.18%

 

International Markets

Market

Index

 Close Change
NIKKEI 18983.23 +73.97
 
+0.39%
 
HANG

SENG

 24261.48 +149.89
 
+0.62%
 
SENSEX 29910.22 +289.72
 
+0.98%
 
FTSE 100* 7282.69 -40.23
 
-0.55%
 

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous  % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

 1.579 1.627
CND.

30 Year

Bond

 2.261 2.305
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

 2.3336 2.3892

 
U.S.

30 Year Bond

 2.9698 3.0126
 
 
           
           

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.74721 0.75087

 
US

$

 1.33831 1.33180
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

   Inverse
Canadian $ 1.42780 0.70038
 
 
US

$

 1.06687 0.93732

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

 1247.25 1244.85
     
Oil Close Previous
WTI Crude Future 50.24 50.60

 

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, Microsoft’s stock plunges 14.5%, shedding $80 billion in market value, after U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issues a final ruling finding that Microsoft had violated Federal antitrust law. The slide in Microsoft’s shares causes the Nasdaq to suffer one of its worst days ever, plunging 349.15 points, or 7.6%.
Numbers of the Day
$413.1 billion:

The amount of debt issued by high-grade companies in the first quarter, the most in a quarter on record, according to Dealogic.
$52.6 billion:

The value of dollar bonds issued in the first quarter by Chinese companies, up 72% from the previous quarter and nearly five times the year-earlier total.

Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed slightly higher, diverging from oil prices late in the day as gains in materials offset declines in energy stocks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 37 points or 0.2 percent to 15,584.40. Materials shares rose 1.7 percent, led by a 5.5 percent gain at Teck Resources Ltd., which was boosted by a big gain in the price of coking coal.
     Energy shares dipped 0.2 percent as the price of West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7 percent to $50.26. Production resumed at Libya’s biggest oil field, offsetting optimism that OPEC will extend its production cuts.
     In other moves:
* Hudson’s Bay Co. fell 8 percent, its biggest decline since January 10, on heavy volume. The company reports fourth-quarter earnings after the market close on Tuesday
* Magna International Inc. lost 2.2 percent as several major automakers reported bigger March sales declines than analysts had expected.
US
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell on the first day of the second quarter, with falling bond yields and crude prices weighing on banks and energy companies. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. slipped after the automakers reported fewer U.S. vehicle sales in March than analysts had projected.
     The S&P 500 Index retreated 0.2 percent to 2,358.84 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring losses after the measure approached the 50-day average of 2,341, a level seen by some analysts as providing support. The benchmark measure last week capped its biggest increase in six weeks, taking its first quarter gain to 5.5 percent, the most since 2015. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 percent to 20,650.21 on Monday.
* Small-cap stocks resumed their underperformance this year, with the Russell 2000 Index erasing 1.2 percent and halting a seven-day advance
* The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3 percent, after touching an intraday record high
* The S&P 500 Automobiles & Components Index sank 2.3 percent to the lowest close since December
* The S&P 500 has jumped 14 percent from before the U.S. election, as corporate earnings rebounded and investors speculated U.S. President Donald Trump would deliver on his promises including lower taxes and higher fiscal spending
* “While political developments in Washington and around the world are likely to garner the most attention across media headlines in the months ahead, we expect investors will focus their attention on earnings results, economic data and signals from Federal Reserve officials,” John Stoltzfus, chief market strategist at Oppenheimer & Co., wrote in a note.
* First quarter profit in the S&P 500 probably grew 9.7 percent, led by technology and financial companies, analyst estimates show. The gain would solidify the earnings recovery that started in the second half of 2016 after a five-quarter contraction.
* Tesla Inc. rose 7.3 percent after setting a record for deliveries and production in the first quarter, beating analysts’ estimates.
* Earnings reports from Monsanto Co. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. are due this week, followed by releases from banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. next week.
* ECONOMY:
** America’s factories continued to expand in March at a robust pace, with the latest Institute for Supply Management data matching economist forecasts. Yet higher-than-expected readings on employment and prices paid suggest inflation pressure.
** Investors will also watch a meeting between China’s President Xi Jinping and President Trump this week, and the March U.S. jobs report Friday.
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** None until April 4
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.5 percent for its first decline in five days after the market posted longest run of quarterly gains since 2014 and investors last week added the most money to European equity funds in a year. Banks declined the most, followed by carmakers and insurers.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The human voice can never reach the distance
that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.
                                                -Albert Camus, 1913-1960

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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