Month: August 2017

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On August 30^th, 1856, Lord  Clarendon wrote to his wife, from Balmoral:
Here everything is Scotch – the curtains, the carpets, the furniture are all of different plaids, and the thistles are in such abundance that they would rejoice the heart of a donkey if they happened to look like his favourite repast, which they don’t.  I am told that it is de rigueur to clothe myself in tweed directly….It is very cold here, and I believe my feet were frost-bitten at dinner, for there was no fire at all there, and in the drawing room there were two little sticks which hissed at the man who attempted to light them; and the Queen, thinking, I suppose, that they meant to burn, had a large screen placed between the royal nose and the unignited wood.  She seemed, I thought, particularly grateful for such small jokes as my freezing state enabled me to crack.  I have a very comfortable room, however, and am now sitting on the hob writing to you.  I must, however, be ready for kirk, where the meenister preaches for two hours and takes his large, rough greyhound into the pulpit with him, so no more at present. –from The Book of Days.

On Aug. 30, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast with devastating force, killing more than 1,700 people and flooding New Orleans after the city’s levees failed.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Two dragonflies share a romantic moment as they stare into each others eyes whilst sat on a flower bud.  The colourful insects were waiting for the sun to rise which would dry their wings that were soaked by the early morning dew.  The spectacular scene was captured in a vineyard near Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy by 47 year old photographer Roberto Aldrovandi.
CREDIT: ROBERTO ALDROVANDI/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Four actors on horseback dressed in Game of Thrones related costumes carry the Queen’s Baton as they make their way along the Dark Hedges in Antrim, Northern Ireland.  The Dark Hedges near Stranocum in County Antrim featured as the King’s Road in season two of Game of Thrones and has become a tourist mecca for fans of the television series along with other filming locations in the province. The Queen’s Baton Relay is currently on a tour of the United Kingdom as it makes its way around Europe in preparation for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
CREDIT:  CHARLES MCQUILLAN/GETTY IMAGES

Aerial view of about 180 people rowing the Miao Dragon Boat on a river during a parade in Shibing, Guizhou Province of China. The Miao Dragon Boat is said to be the longest dragon boat in the world according to Guiness World Record. The Miao Dragon Boat together with other 100 boats in and out of Guizhou Province were on parade during a tourism development conference held in Shibing County.
CREDIT:  VCG VIA GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for August 30th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	21892.43	+27.06   +0.12%
S&P 500	2457.59	+11.29   +0.46%
NASDAQ	6368.309	+66.423   +1.05%
TSX	15133.13	+50.43
		+0.33%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19506.54	+143.99
		+0.74%
HANG SENG	28094.61	+329.60
		+1.19%
SENSEX	31646.46	+258.07
		+0.82%
FTSE 100*	7365.26	+27.83
		+0.38%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.835		1.834
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.269		2.271
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.1362		2.1275
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7407		2.7384

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79216	0.79846
US $	1.26237	1.25241
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50010	0.66662
US $	1.18832	0.84153

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1308.50	1318.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	45.96	46.44

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1930, Warren Buffett was born in Omaha, Neb.
Number of the Day
$503 billion
The gross domestic product of Houston in 2015, according to the most recent data from the Department of Commerce. That makes the city’s economy roughly the size of Sweden’s.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a second day, led by industrial, consumer and financial shares ,as the economy of Canada’s largest trading partner grew at the fastest pace in two years.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 50 points or 0.3 percent to 15,133.13, its highest close in three weeks. Industrials rose 1.1 percent, led by a 3.3 percent gain at CAE Inc., which was upgraded to outperform at BMO.
     The financials index rose 0.3 percent as National Bank of Canada jumped 3.4 percent, the most since early 2016. The bank’s third-quarter profit beat analyst estimates on gains in domestic banking and wealth management. Consumer discretionary stocks advanced 0.7 percent.
     In other moves:
* ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. rose 9.3 percent, adding to Tuesday’s 25 percent gain, after receiving a key drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
* Cineplex Inc. gained 4.9 percent but is still down 25 percent since the beginning of the month. Movie-theater stocks have been hammered by weak box-office revenue
* Alaris Royalty Corp. fell 8.4 percent, the most in more than a year.
US
By Dave Liedtka
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose for a fourth day and the dollar strengthened after data bolstered optimism that the American economy is on firm footing. Gasoline spiked to the highest in two years as Harvey relentlessly pounded the energy- rich Gulf coast.
     The S&P 500 Index pushed above its average price for the past 50 days, overcoming early weakness sparked by a Twitter post from President Donald Trump on North Korea. European stocks gained with Asian shares on optimism that the anxiety after a missile launch this week was receding. Treasuries rose, while the greenback advanced versus most major peers.
     “It doesn’t strike me that the market is extremely nervous here,” said Michael Antonelli, an institutional equity sales trader and managing director at Robert W. Baird & Co. “I think as time goes on these kind of tweets have less and less impact on the market.”
     Investors focused on data showing U.S. second-quarter growth reached the fastest pace in two years on stronger household spending and a bigger gain in business investment. A private report on payrolls indicated robust hiring this month two days before government jobs data will be scoured for clues on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s next rate move.
     “We know what the Federal Reserve will be doing in September,” said Vincent Reinhart, chief economist and investment strategist at Standish Mellon Asset Management in Boston. “The only game is town is what you think the Federal Reserve will do in December.”
     After drenching Texas, Tropical Storm Harvey regained strength over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and crashed ashore again Wednesday in southwest Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm has already knocked out a fifth of the nation’s refining capacity.
     Among other key events looming this week:
* Currency traders will be looking for a statement of independence from South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago today when he speaks on the central bank’s role.

     And here are the main moves in markets:

                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 percent as of 4:03 p.m. in New York.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 1.1 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1 percent higher.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.4 percent, recovering from the biggest drop in almost three weeks on a closing basis.
* Germany’s DAX Index gained 0.5 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4 percent, recovering from the lowest in more than two years.
* The euro dropped 0.7 percent to $1.1886, after touching the strongest in almost three years on Tuesday.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 2.14 percent, while the two-year note yield increased one basis point to 1.33 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.36 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1 percent to $45.96 a barrel.
* Gold was little changed at $1,308.10 an ounce.
* Gasoline for September delivery rose 6.3 percent to $1.8964 a gallon.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Love can come into being only when there is total self-abandonment.
Krishnamurti

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.
                                 -Andre Malraux, 1901-1976

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

POINTS OF PROGRESS:
THAILAND: Bangkok’s skies are blue again.  Thanks to a government initiative in effect over the past couple of decades, Thailand’s capital – which once was an infamously smog-choked city – now boasts better air quality than cities such as San Francisco, Melbourne, and Paris.  Bangkok achieved its goals through a series of reforms: cracking down on polluting vehicles, converting motorbikes to cleaner engines, shifting to the use of lead-free gas, and converting taxis to liquefied petroleum gas.  The city also took the simple but effective step of regularly washing its streets. –Al Jazeera.

UNITED STATES: Bees in the US appear to be rebounding from colony collapse disorder.  A new honeybee health survey released by the US Department of Agriculture states that the number of commercial US honeybee colonies rose 3% to 2.89 million as of April 1 compared with a year earlier.  Also, the report says, the number of disappearing bees was down to 84,430 in this year’s first quarter, a 27% drop from a year earlier.  Colony collapse disorder occurs when a majority of working bees desert a colony, causing it to collapse.  US bees have been troubled by the condition for the past decade. –US Department of Agriculture.

TODAY IN HISTORY
1632 – John Locke, philosopher, was born.
1915 – Ingrid Bergman, actress, was born.
1920 – Charlie “Bird” Parker, musician, was born.
1958 – Michael Jackson…

Also on this day, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina makes landfall near New Orleans.
On Aug. 29, 1991, the Supreme Soviet, the parliament of the U.S.S.R., suspended all activities of the Communist Party, bringing an end to the institution.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Coracler Conwy Richards from Norfolk takes part in the Ironbridge Coracle Regatta on the River Severn in his Irish River Boyne Coracle in Ironbridge. A coracle is a small boat made from an interwoven wooden frame and is used traditionally for fishing or transportation. The 30th annual Ironbridge Coracle Regatta is held today at the Ironbridge Rowing Club and sees dozens of coraclers take part in a series of races and events on the Severn. CREDIT: JACK TAYLOR/GETTY IMAGES

Alexendre Jorge evacuates Ethan Colman, 4, from a neighbourhood inundated by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas, USA. CREDIT: CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP

A dramatic sunset behind the Longon Eye Ferris Wheel. Monday was one of the warmest Bank Holidays on record. CREDIT: GUY CORBISHLEY/ALAMY LIVE NEWS
Market Closes for August 29th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	21865.37	+56.97    +0.26%
S&P 500	2446.41	+2.17   +0.09%
NASDAQ	6301.887	+18.872   +0.30%
TSX	15081.11	+29.08
		+0.19%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19362.55	-87.35
		-0.45%
HANG SENG	27765.01	-98.28
		-0.35%
SENSEX	31388.39	-362.43
		-1.14%
FTSE 100*	7337.43	-64.03
		-0.87%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.834		1.869
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.271		2.303
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.1275		2.1571
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7384		2.7554

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79846	0.79949
US $	1.25241	1.25080
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49927	0.66699
US $	1.19710	0.83535

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1318.65	1285.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	46.44	46.57

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$4.50 per day
The minimum wage in Mexico. U.S. and Canadian trade officials and labor advocates want to use the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement to prod Mexico into raising its wages.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed higher, reversing a triple-digit decline as initial fears over North Korea’s saber- rattling eased and materials and industrials shares rose.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 31 points or 0.2 percent to 15,082.70 after earlier falling as low as 14,934. Materials shares were the biggest gainers, rising 1 percent as gold prices touched a nine-month high.
     Financial stocks, which earlier fell as much as 1.1 percent, closed down 0.2 percent. Bank of Montreal lost 2.6 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected loan growth and revenue that missed estimates.
     In other moves:
* ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. jumped 25 percent after its Ryplazimä drug was granted rare pediatric disease designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
* Toromont Industries Ltd. rose 9.8 percent to a record high, adding to Monday’s 11 percent gain. Canaccord Genuity upgraded the stock to buy following its C$1.02-billion acquisition of Hewitt Group
* Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. lost 6.6 percent.
Mizuho analysts said they expect the company to miss its 2017 revenue and Ebitda guidance
* Laurentian Bank of Canada gained 2.1 percent. The bank reported adjusted earnings per share that beat the highest estimate.
US
By Dani Burger and Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded from losses sparked by North Korea’s firing of a missile over Japan as investors speculated the event wouldn’t lead to a wider conflagration. The S&P 500 Index’s reversal was the biggest turnaround since the day after the November election.
     “North Korea uncertainty is translating into a weaker dollar and lower rate hike expectations, but not necessarily a change in economic backdrop,” said Dennis Debusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI. “So the S&P benefits from the combination of a weak dollar, lower rate hike expectations and steady economic growth.”
     Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasuries fell to the lowest this year and the dollar touched the weakened level since January 2015 before recovering. Gold reached a 2017 high, while the Swiss franc was one of the best-performing major currencies.
Gasoline advanced for a sixth day as Tropical Storm Harvey picked up strength again after inundating refineries along the Texas coast.
     Japan called Kim Jong Un’s latest provocation an “unprecedented, grave and serious threat,” and asked the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency meeting, while President Donald Trump said the U.S. will consider “all options” in the its response. The missile seems likely to reignite the simmering tension between North Korea and the U.S. just days after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson praised the nation for its “restraint.”
     “The market is in a range here and people are willing to buy on the dip,” Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at Newbridge Securities Corp. said. “The fact that Trump’s comment is a little bit moderating was helpful.”
          Among other key events looming this week:
* Inflation data from the euro zone’s largest economies this week may show prices nudged up in August.
* Japan releases figures for the industry on Wednesday.
* Australia is due to publish data on Wednesday detailing construction work done.
* The U.S. updates second-quarter GDP and core price data on Wednesday, and reports on August payrolls on Friday.
     And here are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 2,446.30 as of 4:06 p.m. in New York
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent to 21,865.24, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 6,301.89. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index declined 0.9 percent on the biggest drop in almost three weeks on a closing basis.
* Germany’s DAX Index decreased 1.5 percent, after touching the lowest in six months
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent after dropping to the lowest in more than two years.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1968, after touching the strongest in almost three years.
* The Swiss franc was little changed at $0.9556, after climbing to the strongest in about two years.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 2.13 percent, after dropping as low as 2.08 percent, the least in 10 months.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 0.34 percent, after touching the lowest in two months.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5 percent to $46.36 a barrel.
* Gold increased 0.1 percent to $1,309.03 an ounce, after reaching the strongest level in 11 months.
* Gasoline for September delivery rose 5.4 percent to $1.8051 a gallon after climbing 2.7 percent on Monday.
                              Asia
* Japan’s Topix index closed 0.2 percent lower after falling as much as 0.7 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.2 percent, paring a drop of as much as 1.6 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 Index in Sydney declined 0.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.4 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index fluctuated before edging higher.
* Thailand’s SET Index bucked the main trend, rising 1.8 percent. Concern about political violence has eased, according to CLSA.
* The yuan weakened the most in two weeks.

Have a wonderful evening everyone. 

Be magnificent!

How does seeing the difference permit unity?
Quite simply, because physically speaking there cannot be unity, since the physical plane consists of shapes,
and all shapes are different.
Unity only exists in the heart.  It is a feeling: love.
And in love the notion of self disappears; only the other remains.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever, 

Carolann

Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.
                                                -Morihei Ueshiba, 1883-1969
 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Birthday: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, August 28, 1749. 
Copied into journals, folded carefully and tucked in a wallet, stuck up on refrigerators, and emailed across the world, is a passage that has given inspiration and courage to thousands of people.  The words are most always attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, that giant of German culture and his country’s Shakespeare.  They sound like him, urging us forward and into life, but only the last 18 words, from Faust, are really his.  It is the Scottish adventurer, W.H. Murray, who wrote the passage in his book, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition, published in 1951, about what it takes to begin a real journey.  In the spirit of giving credit  where credit is due, here is Murray’s famous paragraph – in context and not paraphrased – with its homage to Goethe:
 “But when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter.  We had definitely committed ourselves and we were halfway out of our ruts.  We had put down our passage money – booked a sailing to Bombay.  This may sound too simple, but it is great in consequence.  Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.  Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.  I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
WHATEVER YOU CAN DO OR DREAM YOU CAN, BEGIN IT.  BOLDNESS HAS GENIUS, POWERE AND MAGIC IN IT.” 

On Aug. 28, 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A prospective bride with a traditional face painting, is seen in Prizren, Kosovo. Pre-wedding face painting tradition is carried on by 65-year-old Bosniak woman Aziza Setifagic. Prospective brides let their faces made-up with traditional symbols and shapes over a white paint in several Bosniak villages on the foothills of the Sar (Sharr) Mountains of south of Kosovo. CREDIT: HARIS ALIJA/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES

A contestant of the ‘fantasy’ category prepares to be judged during the Daegu International Bodypainting Festival in Daegu, South Korea. CREDIT: ED JONES/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Painted houses in Beirut’s southern Ouzai neighbourhood. CREDIT: ANWAR AMRO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Alphorn musicians play their instruments during a meeting in Engetried near Markt Rettenbach, southern Germany. CREDIT: STEFAN PUCHNER/DPA VIA AP
Market Closes for August 28th, 2017 

MarketIndex	Close	Change
DowJones	21808.40	-5.27   -0.02%
S&P 500	2444.24	+1.19  +0.05%
NASDAQ	6283.016	+17.372  +0.28%
TSX	15052.03	-3.96
		-0.03%

International Markets

MarketIndex	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19449.90	-2.71
		-0.01%
HANGSENG	27863.29	+15.13
		+0.05%
SENSEX	31750.82	+154.76
		+0.49%
FTSE 100*	7401.46	-5.60
		-0.08%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND.10 Year Bond		1.869		1.871
CND.30 Year Bond		2.303		2.297
U.S.   10 Year Bond		2.1571		2.1694
U.S.30 Year Bond		2.7554		2.7492

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79949	0.80081
US$	1.25080	1.24874
Euro Rate1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49827	0.66744
US$	1.19790	0.83480

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London GoldFix	1285.30	1285.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	46.57	47.62

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
28%
In 1963, about half the papers published in the top American economics journals were theoretical. By 2011, that figure had shrunk to 28%, while the percentage of empirical papers rose.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed Monday as the fallout from Hurricane Harvey weighed on oil prices, offsetting the best day for materials shares in seven weeks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 4 points or less than 0.1 percent to 15,052.03. Materials stocks jumped 2.5 percent, the most since July 10, as gold futures closed above $1,300 an ounce for the first time this year. Copper also continued its rally, closing at its highest price since 2014.
     On the other side of the ledger, energy shares fell 0.8 percent as the price of West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.7 percent. Refinery closures across the Texas Gulf Coast are expected to hurt demand for weeks to come.
     In other moves:
* Toromont Industries Ltd. jumped 11 percent, the most since 1990, after announcing a C$1.02-billion deal to buy Caterpillar Inc. dealer Hewitt Group. Competitor Finning International Inc. gained 5.5 percent
* Aimia Inc. gained 8.2 percent. The loyalty program operator sold the Air Miles trademarks for Canada to Diversified Royalty Corp., which rose 13 percent
* Hudson’s Bay Co. rose 4.7 percent, adding to Friday’s 14 percent gain. Reuters reported the company is reviewing its strategic options in the face of pressure from an activist shareholder.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — The U.S. equity market was little changed Monday as investors assessed fallout from Hurricane Harvey.
Health-care stocks advanced as financial shares declined.
* S&P 500 index little changed at 2,444
* Dow Jones 5 points lower to 21,808
* VIX up to 11.3
* 10-year Treasury yield down less than 1bp
* Energy stocks down 0.5% as oil drops 2.4%
** Oil and gas refiners in S&P 500 index up 1.2% for fifth straight day of gains
* Health-care stocks up 0.6% for biggest gain among sectors
* S&P 500 volume 22% below 30-day average
* POLITICS:
** U.S. President Donald Trump will undo another Obama-era initiative, lifting his predecessor’s ban on giving local police departments military-grade equipment like armored vehicles, search-and-rescue vehicles and grenade launchers, according to details provided by the Justice Department
* ECONOMY:
** Harvey’s second act across southern Texas is turning into an economic catastrophe — with damages likely to stretch into tens of billions of dollars and an unusually large share of victims lacking adequate insurance, according to early estimates
* EARNINGS:
** Pre-market Tuesday: Best Buy (BBY) 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Knowledge is the annihilation of the separation between me and the other.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever, 

Carolann

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies,
but the silence of our friends. –Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday! 

UNTITLED
-by Emily Dickinson
To make a prairie it takes
A clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few. 

Birthdays:
1939 – The Wizard of Oz was released.
1918 – Leonard Berstein, b.
1930 – Sean Connery, b.
1954 – Elvis Costello, b.
1970- Claudia Schiffer, b.

On Aug. 25, 1944, Paris was liberated by Allied forces after four years of Nazi occupation.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

British landscape photographer John Finney captured this dramatic shot of sun rays cutting through approaching storm clouds and bathing the landscape below in golden sunlight, highlighting the orange, red and blue colours of rock in the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. CREDIT: JOHN FINNEY/COVER IMAGES

Two beautiful male birds fight each other in a territorial battle over an area of stunning wetland. Pictured in a moment of engagement, the two aim to dive above the other and attach with their long pointed beak. The birds are Black Tailed Godwits and are known for their tendency to fight over land to impress a female. The photos were taken on the wetlands of Mangalajodi, a small village located on the northern banks of Chilika Lake in Odisha State, India. CREDIT: SUJAY SANKAR ROY/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

A woman buys flowers at a flower market on the eve of the Hindu Elephant headed God Lord Ganesha or Ganesha Chaturthi festival, in Bangalore, India. Ganesha Chaturthi is one of the biggest Hindu festivals which is celebrated in honor of the God Ganesha for ten days throughout India. During the festival, idols of Ganesha are installed and worshipped in temporary public shrines as well as at home before they are immersed in water bodies after a gala street procession. CREDIT: JAGADEESH NV/EPA
Market Closes for August 25th, 2017 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	21813.67	+30.27    +0.14%
S&P 500	2443.45	+4.48   +0.18%
NASDAQ	6265.645	-5.682   -0.09%
TSX	15058.18	-17.98
		-0.12%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19452.61	+98.84
		+0.51%
HANG SENG	27848.16	+329.56
		+1.20%
SENSEX	31596.06	+28.05
		+0.09%
FTSE 100*	7401.46	-5.60
		-0.08%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.871		1.887
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.297		2.307
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.1694		2.1939
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7492		2.7685

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80081	0.79878
US $	1.24874	1.25191
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.48906	0.67156
US $	1.19245	0.83861

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1285.30	1289.00
Oil
WTI Crude Future	47.62	47.23

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1995, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.  announced a $2.3 billion cash deal to buy the 49% of car insurer Geico Corp. it didn’t already own.
Number of the Day
-8.1%
Grocery chain Kroger Co. dropped 8.1% on heavy volume Thursday, after Amazon.com Inc. announced that it would cut prices at Whole Foods Market Inc. when it closes on its acquisition of the company on Monday.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell, ending a three-day advance, pressured by energy shares as Hurricane Harvey approached the Texas coast.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 20 points or 0.1 percent to close at 15,055.99. The benchmark was up 0.7 percent on the week.
     Energy shares fell 0.5 percent even as West Texas Intermediate crude prices gained 0.9 percent. Pipeline stocks including Enbridge Inc. and TransCanada Corp. led the index to the downside amid investor fears of the damage Harvey could wreak on their networks.
     Healthcare stocks fell 1.8 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. lost 5.4 percent. The drug company is facing a new, potentially costly lawsuit.
     In other moves:
* Aecon Group Inc. jumped 20 percent, the most since 2004; the construction company confirmed Friday that it has hired advisers to explore a potential sale
* Tahoe Resources Inc. tumbled 19 percent to a record low after a constitutional court in Guatemala upheld an earlier ruling to suspend a license for its Escobal mine
* Hudson’s Bay Co. gained 14 percent; Reuters reported the retailer is reviewing its strategic options.
US
By Randall Jensen
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks and Treasuries rose while the dollar sank after Janet Yellen’s speech didn’t take the hawkish tone some expected. Oil gained as Hurricane Harvey churned toward the energy-rich Texas coast.
     The S&P 500 Index had its best week in over a month as the measure held earlier gains sparked by comments from the president’s top economic adviser. The euro touched the highest in two and half years versus the greenback as traders showed signs of relief after Mario Draghi didn’t talk down the value of the currency in his Jackson Hole speech. Bloomberg’s dollar gauge fell to its lowest level since January 2015.
     Earlier, stocks jumped on remarks by Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, who said in an interview that he expects tax reform to pass this year and that he didn’t intend to resign in protest over the president’s reaction to riots in Charlottesville, Virginia.
     Investors are keeping their eyes on strengthening Hurricane Harvey, which was upgraded to Category 3 and is set for landfall in Texas overnight Friday. Oil refiners in the Gulf Coast, home to as much as half of the nation’s refining capacity, began halting operations amid warnings of deadly floods and storm surges. It will be the strongest storm to hit the U.S. since Wilma in 2005.
     “We think that the flooding impact of Hurricane Harvey could make it more destructive to U.S. crude and product supplies as well as port facilities than the market is currently assuming,” Barclays energy analyst Michael Cohen wrote in a note Friday.
          Here are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to 2,443.09 as of 4 p.m. in New York, for a weekly gain of 0.7 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent, set for a third monthly loss.
* The MSCI World Index of developed countries advanced 0.4 percent.
                           Currencies
* Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.7 percent, touching the lowest since January 2015.
* The euro advanced 1.1 percent to $1.1923, biggest gain since July and touched the highest level since January 2015 at $1.1941.
* The British pound increased 0.7 percent to $1.2884, set for its first weekly gain this month.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3 percent to 109.25 per dollar.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 2.17 percent, touching its lowest level since June during the day.
* Britain’s 10-year yield is steady at 1.053 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained less than one basis point to 0.38 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed about 1 percent to settle at $47.87 a barrel, its fourth weekly slide in a row.
* Gold futures rose 0.5 percent to settle at $1,297.90 an ounce.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. 

Be magnificent!

At one pole of my existence,
I am one with the stones and the tree branches.
Thus, I must submit to the yoke of the universal law.
It is this, in the end, that is the very basis of my life.
And that force comes from that which is closely bound up in the unity of the world,
which is in full communication with all things.
But at the other pole, I am distinct from all of the rest.
Here, I have broken the barriers of equality and I find myself alone, as an individual.
I am absolutely unique, I am me, I am incomparable.
The whole of the mass of the universe can not crush this individuality that is mine.
I maintain it, despite the formidable gravitation of all that exists.
It is small in appearance, but great in reality.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

Carolann

The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted.
                                       -Georg Lichtenberg, 1742-1799 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Aug. 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida, causing record damage; 55 deaths in Florida, Louisiana and the Bahamas were blamed on the storm.
Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A bolt from a lightning storm hits the spire on top of the One World Trade Center tower in New York City. CREDIT: JULIO CORTEX/AP

Visitors interact with an art installation of human sized figurines, ‘The Standing Men’ by AADN of France during the Singapore Night Festival media preview. CREDIT: SUHAIMI ABDULLAH/GETTY IMAGES

DJ Koh speaks at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2017 event in New York, as Samsung unveiled the new generation of its flagship Galaxy Note smartphone. CREDIT: DON EMMERT/GETTY IMAGES

Landscape photographer Emily Endean captures a beautiful morning sunrise over Brighton Beach. CREDIT: EMILY ENDEAN/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for August 24th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	21783.40	-28.69    -0.13%
S&P 500	2438.97	-5.07   -0.21%
NASDAQ	6271.328	-7.078   -0.11%
TSX	15076.16	+13.00
		+0.09%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19353.77	-80.87
		-0.42%
HANG SENG	27518.60	+116.93
		+0.43%
SENSEX	31596.06	+28.05
		+0.09%
FTSE 100*	7407.06	+24.41
		+0.33%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.887		1.882
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.307		2.295
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.1939		2.1660
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7685		2.7446

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79878	0.79678
US $	1.25191	1.25505
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.47717	0.67697
US $	1.17993	0.84751

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1289.00	1286.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	47.23	48.26

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1909, Edward H. Harriman, the railroad titan who had run the Union Pacific and Northern Pacific, dies. The Dow Jones Railroad index loses 3% of its value over the subsequent two days.
Number of the Day
-$143 million
Retail-store sales of craft-style beers—from brewers big and small—fell $143 million to $2.3 billion in the first half of 2017, according to data from Nielsen.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a third day on low trading volume as copper prices hit a three-year high, boosting materials shares.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 13 points or 0.1 percent to 15,076.16 on volume that was 20 percent below the 30-day average. Materials stocks added 0.5 percent as copper prices reached their highest level since 2014. Nevsun Resources Ltd. led the way with a gain of 7.9 percent, rebounding from a 16 percent decline following its second-quarter results.
     The financials index added 0.3 percent even as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce fell 1.9 percent following third- quarter results that showed the bank’s mortgage balances continue to rise in the face of slowing home prices.
     In other moves:
* Cineplex Inc. fell 5.5 percent, continuing a decline that has seen it lose 31 percent year-to-date. Movie-theater stocks have been hammered by weak box-office revenues
* Hudson’s Bay Co. lost 5.4 percent. The retailer said the president of HBC International, Don Watros, will leave the company next month
* Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. gained 5 percent after striking a deal to sell First Capital to Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. for $1.6 billion.
US
By Randall Jensen
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks and Treasuries edged lower as markets struck a cautious tone amid political wrangling over the debt ceiling and ahead of central bank speeches in Jackson Hole.
Oil fell as a storm strengthened into a hurricane aimed at Texas.
     The S&P 500 Index ended the day lower after whipsawing from gains to losses. Food retailers led declines after Hormel Foods Corp. and JM Smucker Co. reported earnings that missed estimates and Amazon.com Inc. said it’d start cutting prices at Whole Foods locations next week. The dollar gained against most peers, while U.S. benchmark yields rose to 2.19 percent. Crude slid below $48 a barrel and natural gas futures climbed.
     With little to trade on, investors focused on events that have the potential to roil markets in the next few days.
Speeches Friday by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi may offer clues on the timing of stimulus reduction. President Donald Trump again used Twitter to fuel the debate on legislation to keep the U.S. government open next month. Countering, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday the borrowing limit will be raised.
     Hurricane Harvey is forecast to turn into a Category 3 storm when it makes landfall late Friday in an area of Texas thick with oil refineries and natural gas plants. It’s unlikely to have a major impact on Gulf oil production, but any damage to refineries could sap demand for crude.
     “We’re going to continue to trade in ranges — there’s not enough going on and you still have the central bank puts. Enough is on the sidelines and volumes are very small,” said Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income at Natalliance Securities LLC. “People are maybe anticipating something out of tomorrow’s Jackson Hole speeches, but I’d be very surprised if anything happens.”

     Among other key events looming this week:
* Yellen is scheduled to discuss financial stability at 10 a.m. New York time on Friday at the Kansas City Fed’s symposium in Jackson Hole. Draghi is set to speak at 3 p.m.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,438.98 as of 4 p.m. in New York. The gauge is down over 1 percent for the month.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2 percent, and is set for third monthly slide.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.3 percent, touching the highest in over a week.
* Germany’s DAX Index rose 0.1 percent, on track for first monthly gain since June.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2 percent, targeting its first monthly rise in six months.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5 percent to 109.57 per dollar.
* The euro dropped 0.1 percent at $1.801.
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2803.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained two basis points to 2.19 percent. The rate on Treasury bills maturing Oct. 12 jumped by as much as five basis points Thursday, the largest intraday move since March.
* Germany’s 10-year yield steady at 0.38 percent, the sixth day without a gain.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.05 percent, lowest since June.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude declined about 2 percent to settle at $47.43 a barrel, on track for its fourth weekly decline.
* Gold futures fell 0.2 percent to settle at $1,292 an ounce, set to rise for the second month in a row. 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The key to an easy relationship with other people is not to impose your ego,
nor to crush the ego of others.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

Carolann

Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
-Christian Nestell Bovee, 1820-1904

 

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Director Christopher Nolan’s latest movie, Dunkirk, has received rave reviews for its depiction of the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Allied troops during World War ll.  If you enjoyed the movie, you may want to check out Winston Churchill’s remarks on the triumph, commonly known as his “We shall fight on the beaches” speech.  Churchill’s legendary moment  can be found on the YouTube channel Audio Productions at http://bit.ly/churchillbeaches.

On Aug. 23, 1927, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery.
Go to article » 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tourists enjoy in the garden of Pari Mahal in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir, India. Kashmir the Muslim majority state, known as the ‘Paradise on Earth’ and has for centuries captured the imagination of many writers, poets and film makers and it integral to the tourist trade. Kashmir has been a contested land between nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan since 1947, the year both the countries attained freedom from the British rule. CREDIT: YAWAR NAZIR/GETTY IMAGES

Robots perform dancing during a robot contest in Dezhour, Shandong province, China. CREDIT: REUTERS

An explosion of gunpowder fills the night sky above Whitby Abbey, silhouetting the ruined Benedictine monastery – as part of the grand finale to the Whitby Regatta on the North Yorkshire coast. CREDIT: PAUL KINGSTON/NNP

The wings of a cuckoo are spectacularly silhouetted as the sun sets on a calm English summer evening. Photographer Jules Cox captured the bird with wings at full stretch at Thursley Common, Surrey as it prepares for it’s flight Africa. The adults arrive in Britain in late March or April after 4000 journey from their wintering quarters in Africa. They stay only a few short months to breed, departing in July to August, with young birds leaving a month or so later. CREDIT: JULES COX/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY
Market Closes for August 23rd, 2017

MarketIndex	Close	Change
DowJones	21812.09	-87.80   -0.40%
S&P 500	2444.04	-8.47  -0.35%
NASDAQ	6278.406	-19.071  -0.30%
TSX	15063.16	+78.20
		+0.52%

International Markets

MarketIndex	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19434.64	+50.80
		+0.26%
HANGSENG	27401.67	+246.99
		+0.91%
SENSEX	31568.01	+276.16
		+0.88%
FTSE 100*	7382.65	+0.91
		+0.01%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND.10 Year Bond		1.882		1.919
CND.30 Year Bond		2.295		2.319
U.S.   10 Year Bond		2.1660		2.2131
U.S.30 Year Bond		2.7446		2.7847

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79678	0.79592
US$	1.25505	1.25641
Euro Rate1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.48214	0.67470
US$	1.18099	0.84675

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London GoldFix	1286.65	1284.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	48.26	47.64

Market Commentary:
On this day in in 1976, Vanguard launches First Index Investment Trust, the first retail index fund. It’s now known as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund and is one of the largest mutual funds in the world.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as U.S. stocks fell, a divergence that hasn’t happened since July, as strong earnings from Royal Bank of Canada boosted financials.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 78 points or 0.5 percent to 15,063.16. By contrast, the S&P 500 Index fell 0.4 percent, the first time Canadian stocks have gained in the face of U.S. losses since July 31.
     Financial shares rose 0.5 percent after RBC reported strong performance in its domestic banking and wealth management operations, helping it beat third-quarter profit estimates. RBC shares rose 1.1 percent and an index of the big Canadian banks gained 0.7 percent.
     Energy stocks added 1.2 percent as the price of crude jumped 1.6 percent. The U.S. government reported another decline in crude and gasoline stockpiles Wednesday.
     In other moves:
* Cominar REIT rose 5.2 percent, the most since 2009, after announcing plans to sell C$1.2 billion of non-core properties and pay down debt. The stock was also upgraded to outperform at BMO
* Element Fleet Management Corp. gained 4.5 percent, breaking its 50-day moving average for the first time in two weeks
* Air Canada rose 3.8 percent to a record high. The airline has gained 75 percent year-to-date.
US
By Randall Jensen
    (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for the first time in three days, the dollar slumped and Treasuries gained as Donald Trump’s threat to shut down the government sparked concern Congress won’t easily raise the debt ceiling and deliver on tax reform.
Oil rose after a report on stockpiles.
     All major American equity benchmarks retreated and the 10- year Treasury yield hit the lowest since June as Trump’s gambit prompted Fitch Ratings to warn the country risks a review of its sovereign rating if it fails to raise the limit next month. The dollar slipped amid fresh data showing uneven U.S. growth that contrasted with renewed evidence of strength in Europe ahead of a central-bank symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
     Trump’s latest comments, which included talk of ending the North American Free Trade Agreement, rekindled concerns about the administration’s ability to deliver on its fiscal plans and heightened unease about the future of global trade. A day earlier, his treasury secretary said getting Congress to raise the debt ceiling and reforming the tax code were priorities, sparking a rally of 1 percent in the S&P.
     “The increased prospects of a tax reform bill seemed to get most of the credit for the rally” Tuesday, Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co., wrote in a note to clients.
“At least some of that has gone out the window.” Contributing to the slump are reports that “the relationship between the President and Senate Majority Leader McConnell has broken down badly,” he said.
          Among other key events looming this week:
* Combined sales of previously owned U.S. homes (Thursday) has probably edged up in July from the prior month, indicating a still robust real estate market held in check by rising property prices, economists forecast.
* Federal Reserve Chair Yellen is scheduled to speak about financial stability at 10 a.m. New York time on Friday at the Kansas City Fed’s symposium. ECB President Mario Draghi is set to give a speech at 3 p.m.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.3 percent to 2,444.01 as of 4 p.m. in New York, with consumer discretionary and industrial shares leading declines. The index is down 1.1 percent in August after four straight monthly gains.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 87.86 points to 21,812.03.
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.1 percent, outperforming other U.S. gauges.
* The MSCI’s emerging-market index rose for a third straight day.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 0.5 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.3 percent, paring its first monthly gain since February to 0.2 percent.
* The Japanese yen climbed 0.6 percent to 108.968 per dollar.
* The Mexican peso fell 0.1 percent to 17.7164 per dollar, rebounding from a slide that reached 1 percent following Trump’s remarks.
* The euro advanced 0.5 percent to $1.1819.
* The British pound weakened to the lowest in more than seven weeks. 
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell five basis points to 2.17 percent, the lowest since June 26.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped two basis points to 0.38 percent, as the note rose for the fifth consecutive time on a closing basis. 
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 1.05 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose more than 1 percent to settle at $48.41 a barrel. Oil stockpiles have dropped every week since late June and gasoline inventories also fell, while crude production climbed for a second week, according to an EIA report Wednesday.
* Gold futures gained 0.3 percent to end at $1,294.70 an ounce, rebounding from a 0.4 percent drop Tuesday.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

He whom I have searched for has come to meet me,
and he who calls me Other has become me!
Kabir

As ever,

Carolann 

One finds limits by pushing them.
      -Herbert Simon, 1916-2001

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day, August 22ND,1776, the British army lands on Long Island, the first step toward capturing New York City. They would do so a month later, and hold it until the end of the Revolutionary War.
Also on August 22, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first United States chief executive to ride in an automobile in public.
Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Northern Lights and the Milky Way over Loch Killimister, Caithness, Scotland. These rare photographs show the Northern Lights and the Milky Way in one awe-inspiring frame. In one star-filled image, you can see the billions of stars that make up the galaxy, along side the purple and green hues known around the world as the Aurora. Photographer Maciej Winiarczyk, 44, watched the fascinating display from his window. CREDIT: MACEIJ WINIARCZYK/SWNS.COM

An elderly couple walks along a field of sun flowers as the sun sets in Frankfurt, Germany. CREDIT: MICHAEL PROBST/AP

Luiz Fernando Candeia dangles precariously over the edge of a rock. The stunning backdrop of a blue sea and sandy beach also looks extremely sinister with the apparent drop below him. Luiz, a 28-year-old ecotourism company administrator, sad: The Pedra del Telegrafo stands out for the incredible photos that show people on the edge of the abyss. CREDIT: LUIZ FERNANDO CANDEIA/CATERS NEWS AGENCY

The clock face at midday, on the Queen Elizabeth tower at the Palace of Westminster as Big Ben rings for the last time in London, Britain. Big Ben’s bongs fall silent due to major renovation plans that will stop it ringing for up to four years. CREDIT: ANDY RAIN/EPA
Market Closes for August 22nd, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	21899.89	+196.14    +0.90%
S&P 500	2452.51	+24.14   +0.99%
NASDAQ	6297.477	+84.349   +1.36%
TSX	14984.96	+33.08
		+0.22%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19383.84	-9.29
		-0.05%
HANG SENG	27401.67	+246.99
		+0.91%
SENSEX	31291.85	+33.00
		+0.11%
FTSE 100*	7381.74	+62.86
		+0.86%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.919		1.883
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.319		2.297
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.2131		2.1817
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7847		2.7631

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79592	0.79636
US $	1.25641	1.25571
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.47782	0.67667
US $	1.17619	0.85020

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1284.20	1292.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	47.64	47.37

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
2%
Tesla’s first bonds have fallen more than 2% in price since their issuance 10 days ago.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their first gain in six days, bolstered by strong retail sales data and higher oil prices.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 33 points or 0.2 percent to 14,984.96, bouncing off the nine-month low hit Monday. Energy shares were responsible for much of the gain, adding 0.9 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude prices rose 0.6 percent.
     Consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.8 percent after Canadian retail sales excluding autos rose 0.7 percent in June, well ahead of the 0.1 percent estimate. The half-year gain of 4.6 percent was the biggest on record.
     In other moves:
* Cineplex Inc. fell 4.8 percent for a total decline of 23 percent this month. Movie-theater stocks have slumped along with industry-wide box office revenue
* Restaurant Brands International Inc. gained 2.4 percent after the owner of Tim Hortons and Burger King was upgraded to top pick at UBS
* Inter Pipeline Ltd. rose 2.2 percent. The stock was upgraded to outperform at AltaCorp Capital.
US
By Randall Jensen
    (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose the most in a week, while Treasuries declined and the dollar gained on growing speculation the Trump administration is gaining momentum in its efforts to reform the tax code. Industrial metals rallied.
     The S&P 500 Index jumped 1 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added almost 200 points amid reports the Trump team and lawmakers may be making progress toward pro- business reforms. Emerging-market and European equities also advanced. The risk-on tone lifted the dollar and weighed on havens from Treasuries to gold. Crude gained ahead of a U.S. government report that’s forecast to show stockpiles fell.
     Investors seem to be getting over some of the sensitivity that characterized the past week following political turmoil in Washington, terrorist attacks in Europe and ongoing tension between the U.S. and North Korea. Nonetheless, Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates Inc., the world’s largest hedge fund, said he’s “tactically reducing” risk because he’s concerned about growing internal and external conflict “leading to impaired government efficiency” in the U.S., according to a LinkedIn post Monday.
     With little top-tier economic data out this week, markets are set to focus on the annual conference of global central bankers hosted by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It starts on Thursday.
     “No one has a lot of interest in being very negative in the market right here, knowing that there’s this whatever-it-takes backdrop where central bankers globally just have zero interest in seeing financial conditions tighten too much,” Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI, said Tuesday in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
     Among other key events looming this week:
* Amazon.com Inc.’s bid for Whole Foods Market Inc. faces a shareholder vote on Wednesday.
* Combined sales of new (data Wednesday) and previously owned (Thursday) U.S. homes probably edged up in July from the prior month, indicating a still robust real estate market held in check by rising property prices, economists forecast.
* A verdict in the graft trial of Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee is due Friday.
* Kazakhstan and Tunisia set monetary policy.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 2,452.51 as of 4 p.m. in New York, the biggest advance since Aug. 14.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.4 percent to the highest since June.
* The Russell 2000 Index climbed 1.1 percent and the Dow rose 196 points, the most since April.
* Brazil’s Ibovespa surged to the highest since 2011 after an unexpected government proposal to privatize a utility lifted demand for state-run companies.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.8 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index rose 1.4 percent, the most since July.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4 percent.
* The Japanese yen dipped 0.6 percent to 109.58 per dollar.
* The euro sank 0.5 percent to $1.1751.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 2.21 percent.
* Blue-chip companies have sold more than $1 trillion of bonds in 2017, passing that milestone for the sixth straight year.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to 1.087 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6 percent to end at $47.64 a barrel.
* Gold futures fell 0.4 percent to settle at $1,291 an ounce.

Have a wonderful evening everyone. 

 

Be magnificent!

Meditation can take place when you are sitting in a bus,
or walking in the woods full of light and shadows,
or listening to the singing of the birds,
or looking at the face of your wife or child.
Krishnamurti
 

As ever, 

Carolann

 

The successful man is the one who had the chance and took it.
                                                 – Roger Babson, 1875-1967

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
From The Economist today:
If you are standing in the right place on Earth today, you will see a total eclipse. That this is possible is a happy accident: the moon has slowly been receding from Earth ever since its creation 4.5bn years ago. Millions of years from now, our satellite will not be close enough to Earth to entirely hide the sun. Eclipse-hunters today are lucky to live in an era where this cosmic spectacle is visible, writes our data team
TODAY IN HISTORY
On Aug. 21, 1959, President Eisenhower signed an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union.
Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Riders are silhouetted against strong evening sunshine on Barassie beach in Scotland with the Island of Arran on the horizon. CREDIT: SKULLY/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race sets out from Liverpool. CREDIT: PAUL COOPER FOR THE TELEGRAPH

A total solar eclipse is seen above Madras, Oregon. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Market Closes for August 21st, 2017 

 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	21703.75	+29.24    +0.13%
S&P 500	2428.37	+2.82   +0.12%
NASDAQ	6213.129	-3.398   -0.05%
TSX	14951.88	-0.45
		—

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19393.13	-77.28
		-0.40%
HANG SENG	27154.68	+107.11
		+0.40%
SENSEX	31258.85	+265.83
		-0.84%
FTSE 100*	7318.88	-5.10
		-0.07%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.883		1.872
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.297		2.287
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.1817		2.1957
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7631		2.7785

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79636	0.79475
US $	1.25571	1.25825
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.48346	0.67410
US $	1.18137	0.84651

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1292.90	1295.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	47.37	48.51

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
21.75 gigawatts
The capacity of the utility-scale solar generation plants in the U.S. Seventeen large solar plants are in the direct path of Monday’s solar eclipse and so, for approximately three minutes, won’t generate any solar power at all.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — The August doldrums hit Canadian stocks, leaving them little changed on low trading volume as a continued rally in mining shares was offset by falling oil prices.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell half a point or less than 0.1 percent to 14,951.88, its lowest close in nine months.
Trading volume was 23 percent below the 10-day average.
     Individual sector moves were more dramatic, with materials stocks gaining 1 percent as industrial metals extended their longest weekly rally in three years. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. rose 5 percent after it resolved a tariff dispute with Zambia.
     Energy shares fell 1.1 percent as the price of oil tumbled 2.3 percent, the most in a week. Baytex Energy Corp. lost 4.7 percent and MEG Energy Corp. fell 4.6 percent.
     In other moves:
* Transat AT Inc. jumped 11 percent to the highest since 2014 after the travel company was upgraded by Laurentian Bank Securities and National Bank
* Cardiome Pharma Corp. tumbled 35 percent to the lowest since 2013. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Cardiome’s proposed data package would not be sufficient to support a resubmission of its Brinavess drug application
* AGF Management Ltd. rose 4.2 percent. The asset manager said its 32-percent-owned Smith & Williamson, is in talks with Rathbone Brothers about a possible merger
US
By Robert Brand and Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — Most U.S. stocks rose, while the dollar edged lower amid growing unease about persistent low inflation and as investors await central bank speeches at Jackson Hole.
     The S&P 500 Index eked out an advance in the final hour of trading to halt a two-day slide that had taken stocks to the lowest level since July. Trading 18 percent below the 30-day average. Emerging-market equities edged higher, while European shares slipped. The yen strengthened past 109 per dollar.
Treasuries climbed, gold resumed its trudge toward $1,300 per ounce and oil fell.
     Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will be among the officials addressing this year’s installment of the annual conference hosted by the Kansas City Fed. The summit, held at a Wyoming mountain retreat, comes as central banks in advanced economies grapple with ending years of unprecedented monetary easing, even as stubbornly tepid inflation clouds the outlook.
     “The key event this week is the Jackson Hole central bank policy forum which begins on Thursday,” Citigroup strategists including Peter Goves wrote in a note to clients. “The market spotlight will likely focus on Yellen, given the generally low U.S. inflation environment and the likelihood of Fed balance sheet reduction occurring relatively soon.”
          Among the key events this week:
* Amazon.com Inc.’s bid for Whole Foods Market Inc. faces a shareholder vote on Wednesday.
* Combined sales of new (data Wednesday) and previously owned
(Thursday) U.S. homes probably edged up in July from the prior month, indicating a still robust real estate market held in check by rising property prices, economists forecast.
* A verdict in the graft trial of Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee is due Friday.
* Botswana, Hungary, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Tunisia set monetary policy.
* A raft of survey data will probably show euro-area growth slowed in the third quarter.
* The annual Jackson Hole economic symposium begins on Thursday.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,428.29 at 4 p.m. in New York. Almost 280 stocks rose, while 220 retreated.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index advanced 0.1 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index lost 0.8 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index added 0.3 percent.
                           Currencies
* The euro advanced 0.4 percent to $1.1810.
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.3 percent to the lowest since Aug. 3.
* The British pound climbed 0.2 percent to $1.29.
* The Japanese yen increased 0.4 percent to 108.82 per dollar, the strongest in almost four months on a closing basis.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 2.18 percent, the lowest in almost two months.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.40 percent.
                          Commodities
* Gold advanced 0.4 percent to $1,287.75 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude lost 1.3 percent to $47.88 a barrel.
                              Asia
* Japan’s Topix index fell 0.1 percent at the close with volume was about 16 percent below the 30-day intraday average. South
Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.4 percent, with BlueScope Steel Ltd. tumbling as
much as 23 percent after the company reported disappointing earnings.
* Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.4 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.6 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.1 percent.                 

Have a wonderful evening everyone. 

Be magnificent!

In your veins, and in mine, there is only one blood,
The same life that animates us all!
Since one unique mother begat us all,
Where did we learn to divide ourselves?
Kabir

As ever, 

Carolann

A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places.
-Isabelle Eberhardt, 1877-1904

 

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

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!
August 18, 1948 – Manufacturing – Studebaker assembly line rolls off its first vehicle, a blue Champion four-door sedan; the plant, a former anti-aircraft gun factory purchased from the Canadian government, has 400 employees; produces cars until March 16, 1966. Hamilton, Ontario

On this day in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified by Tennessee, meaning enough states approved of it to make it the law of the land. The amendment guarantees women the right to vote.

Check this out from National Geographic: http://bit.ly/featherstar.

Fans of Mozart can add a visual component to their enjoyment with a video by filmmaker Matthew Rycroft titled Siege of Salzburg.  The composer’s “Lacrimosa,” from his Requiem mass in D Minor, accompanies shots of Salzburg, Austria, Mozart’s birthday, so that beautiful footage complements the legendary music.  See Rycroft’s work at http://bit.ly/siegesalzburg.

Points of Progress:
INDIA: Once-illiterate grandmothers are going to school.  In a town outside Mumbai, a one-year program is teaching women who never received adequate schooling because of lack of access or because it was once culturally unacceptable for them to read and write.  These women cook and clean before heading to school between 2 and 4 pm.  Some have grandchildren that help them with their homework..  “When a girl is educated, we all benefit,” said participant Sunanda Datari. GREAT BIG STORY

BRITAIN: London is expanding its use of coffee grounds to power homes and buses.  Clean-technology company Bio-bean has partnered with multiple coffee companies to turn coffee waste into biofuel, which has heated 15,000 London homes.  It recently expanded its collection route to the University of Birmingham, which produces 24 tons of coffee grounds each year.  Bio-bean will unveil a bus that runs on coffee in the coming weeks. EDIE.NET, BBC.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Red Arrows take to the skies and perform a magnificent display over Weymouth, Dorset. CREDIT: JASON BRYANT/APEX

A boy runs past a dinosaur shaped structure made with old tires at Nishi Rokugo Park, also known as the Tire Park, at Ota-Ku, in Tokyo, Japan. CREDIT: KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS

Participants seen climbing greased poles to collect prizes during a ‘Panjat Pinang’ event organized to mark the celebration of Indonesia’s 72nd Independence day in Jakarta, Indonesia. Dating back to the Dutch colonial days, Panjat Pinang is one of the oldest, most popular traditions in Indonesia. Every year, in towns and villages around the country, tall nut-trees are chopped down and their trunks placed vertically, in the center of each settlement. A wheel full of prizes is placed on top, before the trunk is covered with oil or other lubricants, and young men are invited to try and reach the prizes. CREDIT: SOLO IMAJI/BARCROFT IMAGES
Market Closes for August 18th, 2017 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	21674.51	-76.22    -0.35%
S&P 500	2425.55	-4.46   -0.18%
NASDAQ	6216.527	-5.387   -0.09%
TSX	14952.33	-81.31
		-0.54%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19470.41	-232.22
		-1.18%
HANG SENG	27047.57	-296.65
		-1.08%
SENSEX	31524.68	+270.78
		+0.85%
FTSE 100*	7323.98	-63.89
		-0.86%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.872		1.848
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.287		2.291
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.1957		2.1835
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7785		2.7739

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79475	0.78878
US $	1.25825	1.26778
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.48010	0.67563
US $	1.17615	0.85023

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1295.80	1285.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future	48.51	47.09

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Natalie Wong
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at a year-low price, taking a hit from this week’s political turmoil down south, terrorist attacks in Europe and contentious Nafta renegotiation talks.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 0.5 percent to 14,952.33. Materials led the decline with a 1.1 percent drop as Endeavour Mining Corp. lost 4.2 percent and Centerra Gold Inc. slipped 3.7 percent. Kinross Gold Corp. decreased 3.6 percent after being cut to hold at Accountability Research Corp.
Industrials fell 1 percent, the most in three weeks, as Transcontinental Inc. dropped 2.3 percent and Cae Inc. lost 2.1 percent.
In other moves:
* Prometic Life Sciences Inc. rose 7.7 percent, snapping a two- day slump where it dropped more than 15 percent
* Cineplex Inc. dropped 4 percent as movie theater stocks declined amid news that could threaten ticket sales, including reported developments in talks of a rental plan with studios and distributors. A movie subscription service also cut its membership price.
US
By Eric J. Weiner
(Bloomberg) — Stocks rallied from early session lows after the White House announced that Steve Bannon would be leaving his job as chief strategist on Friday. Oil surged, while havens such as gold and the yen gave back some gains.
U.S. equity gauges briefly bounced into positive territory on the news, but ended down for the day. In Europe, stocks extended their declines after a terrorist attack in Barcelona added to unease about U.S. policy paralysis and lingering tensions over North Korea. Treasuries fell and the dollar weakened.
The removal of Bannon, the former chairman of Breitbart News and a controversial key adviser to President Donald Trump, may quell some of the fallout from Trump’s remarks on violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, which continue to raise questions about his ability to retain his team and focus on his economic plans.
Earlier Friday, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called on Trump to “acknowledge he was wrong” and apologize to the American people. Speculation that former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President Gary Cohn, was poised to resign as head of the National Economic Council roiled markets on Thursday, until the White House issued a statement that he was staying.
“Picking fights and getting criticized by members of one’s own party don’t help in pursuing one’s agenda,” Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, wrote in a note to clients Friday.
Investors pulled $1.3 billion from equity funds in the week ending Aug. 16 as tensions over the Korean peninsula escalated, according to EPFR Global data. Outflows from U.S. stock funds were triple that, suggesting doubts about Trump’s stimulus plans are an additional worry. Heightened terror fears added to the malaise after at least 13 people died when a van plowed into pedestrians in Barcelona Thursday.
“The terror attacks in the U.S. and Spain just add to all the other geopolitical mess,” Simon Quijano-Evans, a strategist at London-based Legal & General Investment Management Ltd., said in a note to clients. “At some stage that is likely to culminate into a more extreme market reaction.”
Still, Naoki Fujiwara, chief fund manager of Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo, cautioned investors against drawing any long-term conclusions because the terrorist attack in Spain and political turmoil in the U.S. don’t amount a trend.
“Both the U.S. and Japanese economies are doing well, and what’s most important is the direction of U.S. monetary policy,”
Fujiwara said. “As long as the fundamentals are steady, the market will recover.”
Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index ended down 0.2 percent at 2,425.55.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 76 points to 21,674.51, while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 0.7 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index slid 0.3 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index decreased 0.3 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index tumbled 0.9 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index dipped 0.2 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.3 percent.
* The euro advanced 0.4 percent to $1.1764.
* The British pound climbed less than 0.1 percent to $1.2876.
* The Japanese yen increased 0.4 percent to 109.17 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 2.191 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 0.41 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose less than a basis point to 1.089 percent.
Commodities
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to 1286.49.
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.3 percent to $48.62 a barrel.
Asia
* Japan’s Topix index fell 1.1 percent at the close, down 1.2 percent lower. The Kospi index ended 0.1 percent lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.4 percent.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

Variety is the first principle of life.
What makes us formed beings?
Differentiation.
Perfect balance will be destruction.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world
would be a little better place in which to live.
                                                                       -John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Aug. 17, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded near Bethel, N.Y.
Go to article »

On this day in 1998, Russia devalues the ruble and declares a moratorium on paying its foreign debt, sending the global bond markets crashing. The move would trigger the collapse of the giant U.S. hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management and sends shockwaves through the world’s financial system.

NEW GAUDI
Spanish architect Gaudi is well known for the colorful visuals found at the structures he worked on such as Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia and the Park Guëll.  Now, Casa Vicens, the first house to be created by the artist, will be opening for the first time in the fall; you can get a preview from the Casa Vincens YouTube channel, found at http://bit.ly/casavinceschannel.  The video on restoring the ceramic parts of the building is particularly intriguing.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Royal Photographic Society of Aurora over a glacier lagoon by James Woodend, one of the 100 images shortlisted for the Royal Photographic Society’s International Images for Science competition. The competition is supported by Siemens as part of the Curiosity Project, a three-year programme which aims to engage young people with science and engineering. The five winners will be announced in an award ceremony in London on 12 September. CREDIT: JAMES WOODEND/PA

HMS Queen Elizebeth, the UK’s newest aircraft carrier arrives in Portsmouth. The 65,000-tonne carrier, the largest warship ever to be built in Britain, is expected to be the Navy’s flagship for at least 50 years. CREDIT: GARETH FULLER/PA

Royal Photographic Society “Angel In Love”, a pair of sea slugs by Andrey Nachuk, one of the 100 images shortlisted for the Society’s International Images for Science competition. CREDIT: ANDREY NARCHUK/PA
Market Closes for August 17th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	21750.73	-274.14    -1.24%
S&P 500	2430.01	-38.10   -1.54%
NASDAQ	6221.914	-123.195   -1.94%
TSX	15033.64	-48.57
		-0.32%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19702.63	-26.65
		-0.14%
HANG SENG	27344.22	-64.85
		-0.24%
SENSEX	31795.46	+24.57
		+0.08%
FTSE 100*	7387.87	-45.16
		-0.61%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.848		1.870
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.291		2.311
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.1835		2.2220
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7739		2.8073

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78878	0.79215
US $	1.26778	1.26239
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.48610	0.67290
US $	1.17220	0.85310

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1285.15	1272.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	47.09	46.78

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
13.4%
Japanese exports rose 13.4% in July from a year ago, helped by exports of cars and automotive components. It was the eighth straight monthly gain in exports, data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance showed Thursday.
Canada
By Natalie Wong
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slumped for the seventh day in eight, following the retreat of global markets amid tension over the future of President Donald Trump’s policy proposals and a terrorist attack in Barcelona.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 0.3 percent to 15,033.64. Materials led the decline and fell 0.5 percent as Eight Capital initiated research coverage on four mining stocks.
Hudbay Minerals Inc. dropped 4.2 percent and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. lost 1.8 percent despite both being rated new buys. Nevsun Resources Ltd. and Tahoe Resources Inc. also dropped more than 2 percent after being rated new neutrals.
     Health care was the only group that advanced and rose 0.5 percent. Extendicare Inc. jumped 2.7 percent, Knight Therapeutics Inc. gained 1.8 percent and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose 1.6 percent, after Cantor analyst said it was ’hard to ignore’ recent positives.     In other moves:
* Financials fell 0.4 percent. Bank of Montreal dropped 0.5 percent to the lowest in 10 weeks.
US
By Eric J. Weiner and Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — A sense of growing unease gripped financial markets as President Donald Trump exacerbated the controversy sparked by a racist rally in Virginia and terrorists struck a crowded street in Barcelona.
     U.S. stocks retreated, with the S&P 500 Index posting its second biggest one-day decline of the year, and a measure of market volatility spiked higher. Treasuries rose with the yen as investors sought havens. Gold jumped.
     Stocks began the day lower on speculation that Trump’s policy agenda was increasingly imperiled after he disbanded two advisory councils staffed by CEOs and slammed Republican members of Congress who were critical of his remarks on race. Rumors that former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn would resign as head of the national economic council added to the selling until reports that he’d opted to stay momentarily buoyed the market.
Cohn has been leading the president’s efforts on tax reform.
     “Certainly the Cohn stuff started it and while there isn’t much out there yet about what’s happening now in Barcelona, it’s also adding to it,” Robert Parks, managing director in equity derivatives at RJ O’Brien and Associates LLC, said by phone.
“And in the background is Donald Trump and everything negative that’s swirling around him. Is he going to be able to get anything done that was expected?”
     While Cohn’s continued presence in the White House brought a measure of calm to markets, it failed to end the controversy sparked by Trump’s polarizing remarks, leaving his agenda with an uncertain future. The terror news was a reminder that geopolitical unrest remains a threat to global growth, with nerves still raw after last week’s escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.
     Still, some strategists cautioned that equity markets don’t appear poised to crack — at least not right now. The S&P 500 Index sits 2 percent below its all-time high reached 10 days ago.
     “A correction is coming at some point, catalysts are not always obvious,” Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income for National Alliance Capital Markets, wrote in an email.
“But with central banks pulling back from the tapering mode, we doubt this is it.”
     Earlier, European stocks dropped as minutes from the region’s last central bank meeting revealed concern among officials that the currency could overheat. Gold and tin were among the best performing metals, and zinc traded near a 10-year high. Most European bonds edged higher as they tried to catch up to U.S. yields. Sterling slipped after growth in U.K. retail sales dropped.
          Here are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 plunged 1.5 percent to 2,430.04, the biggest decline since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 274 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.9 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.6 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index sank 0.6 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index slid 0.5 percent, the biggest slide in a week.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index dropped 0.8 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.2 percent after Wednesday’s decline.
* The euro dipped 0.3 percent to $1.1729.
* The British pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.2871.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 2.1888 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased two basis points to 0.43 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield slid two basis points to 1.087 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5 percent to $47.03 a barrel.
* Gold climbed 0.4 percent to $1,288.68 an ounce.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

When the poor come to you in great need, begging for food,
do not harden your hearts against them.
Remember that the poor may once have been rich,
and you may one day be poor.
…remember that you may need their friendship in times to come.
Rig Veda

As ever, 

Carolann

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.
–Robert F. Kennedy, 1925-1968

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