November 16, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1885 – Louis Riel is hanged in the North West Mounted Police barracks in Regina.

On this day in 1907, Oklahoma officially becomes the 46th U.S. state.

SMARTIFY YOURSELF
By using the Smartify app, you can hold your phone in front of a piece of art to identify the work and learn how it was created.  The app is currently usable for works of art in galleries including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles’s J. Paul Getty Museum, and London’s National Portrait Gallery.  It’s free for iOS and Android.

An Ancient Skull, and Telltale Signs of a Deadly Wave:
In 1929, a geologist found bone fragments embedded in a creek bank on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea.  Analysis would show it belonged to a human who lived 6,000 years ago.
  New research suggest the remains – known as the Aitape skull – could be something more: the earliest known victim of a tsunami.
  The findings may offer historical context for how ancient humans living along the Pacific Ocean’s coasts faced fierce natural hazards.
  Researchers found that the sediment collected from the skull site contained fossilized deep sea diatoms, microscopic organisms that were a sign that ocean water had drowned the area at some point.  They also found geochemical signals that provided evidence that tsunami had struck around 6,000 years ago.

-Nichola St. Fleur, NYTimes.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Ice sculptor Darren Jackson puts the finishing touches to an ice sculpture of two stags, which makes up part of a forthcoming exhibition, “The Ice Adventure: A Journey Through Frozen Scotland”, in Edinburgh, Scotland.


Two Bedouin men walk their camel in Bidiya, Oman.
Market Closes for November 16th, 2017

Market

Index

Close Change
Dow

Jones

23458.36 +187.08

 

+0.80%

 
S&P 500 2585.64 +21.02

 

+0.82%

 
NASDAQ 6793.293 +87.085

 

+1.30%

 
TSX 15935.05 +56.57

 

+0.36%

International Markets

Market

Index

Close Change
NIKKEI 22351.12 +322.80
+1.47%
HANG

SENG

29018.76 +167.07
+0.58%
SENSEX 33106.82 +346.38
+1.06%
FTSE 100* 7386.94 +14.33
+0.19%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

1.972 1.908
CND.

30 Year

Bond

2.296 2.244
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

2.3736 2.3204
U.S.

30 Year Bond

2.8237 2.7631

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78376 0.78327
US

$

1.27591 1.27669
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

  Inverse
Canadian $ 1.50191 0.66582
US

$

1.17713 0.84952

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

1280.00 1282.20
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 55.14 55.33

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
70

The weighted average maturity of U.S. debt has exceeded 70 months for the past year, near a multidecade high and up from 49 months in 2008. The Treasury Department is now looking to issue more short-term debt.
Canada
By Kristine Owram

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks snapped a seven-day losing streak, as most major sectors — with the exception of energy — moved higher.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 57 points or 0.4 percent to 15,935.37, the biggest gain since Nov. 6. Technology shares rose 1.2 percent as Shopify Inc. jumped 6 percent, part of a broader tech rally in the U.S.
     Financials had the biggest influence to the upside, rising 0.7 percent, while energy fell 0.3 percent, tracking the decline in the price of crude.
     In other moves:
                        Stocks
* Seven Generations Energy Ltd. tumbled 9.2 percent to the lowest in 20 months after issuing its 2018-19 growth outlook
* Aurora Cannabis Inc. lost 13 percent, the most in a year. It will issue warrants to raise C$100 million in financing
* Restaurant Brands International Inc. gained 2.8 percent. The fast food operator is favored by 10 hedge funds, 13F filings show
                        Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.20 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.48 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold was little changed at $1,278.20 an ounce
                        FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.1 percent to C$1.2754 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose six basis points to 1.97 percent, the biggest gain since early September
US
By Randall Jensen

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks gained the most in two months amid a rally in technology shares and rising odds of corporate tax cuts. Treasuries fell and the dollar traded little changed.
     The S&P 500 Index rose within 0.5 percent of a record as results from Cisco Systems Inc. boosted tech shares and earnings from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spurred consumer staples. Equities in Europe and Japan halted the longest slumps in a year. A slide in commodities eased following an injection of cash by China’s central bank into its financial system. Treasury yields pushed higher after two sessions of declines.
     Chances American firms will get a tax break appeared to improve after Republican Senator Ron Johnson, who had declared his opposition to the Senate’s tax plan, said he is optimistic his concerns can be addressed. The House passed its version of the bill Thursday.
     Investors seem to be regaining their appetite for risk after several days of global declines in stocks and high-yield credit that had many questioning whether the selloff could become a rout. Volatility measures had been climbing since the record high reached last week in equities gave way to days of decline. Global growth remains resilient and earnings forecasts strong, despite uncertainty surrounding U.S. tax overhaul, the path for China’s economy, and the U.K.’s exit from the European Union.
     “We’re just running out of time to have a correction, we’ve only got six weeks left (this year), and I think we’re seeing more positive data,” Mariann Montagne, a portfolio manager at Minnesota-based Gradient Investments, which manages $1.8 billion, said by phone. “It looked like we were going to get that pullback, but we’re seeing progress on the earnings front and the political front.”

     Here are some key events slated for the remainder of this week:
* A string of Fed appearances may further illuminate the FOMC’s commitment to a December hike.
    And these are the main moves in markets:
                       Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 0.8 percent to 2,585.65 as of 4 p.m. in New York, on track for the largest gain since Sept. 11.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 185.84 points to 23,457.12, the biggest rise in two months.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.3 percent, touching a record on the biggest advance in three weeks.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.8 percent, the first advance in more than a week.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index gained 0.8 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 1.4 percent.
                       Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.1769, the biggest decrease in more than a week.
* The Japanese yen dropped 0.1 percent to 112.96 per dollar.
* The British pound climbed 0.1 percent to $1.3182, the strongest in more than two weeks.
                        Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose five basis points to 2.368 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to 1.309 percent.
                        Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 0.4 percent.
* West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.4 percent to $55.13 a barrel.
* Gold rose less than 0.1 percent to $1,278.73 an ounce.

 

Have a lovely evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is this desire to express himself that leads him to search for riches and power.
But he must understand that to accumulate material wealth is not to find this fulfillment.
What brings him back too himself is the interior light, and not exterior objects.
Rabindranath Tagore

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

It is always the simple that produces the marvelous.
                                   -Amelia Barr, 1831-1919

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

November 15, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day in 1971, the microprocessor is officially born as Intel introduces its new 4004 chip. The holder of the commercial rights, Busicom of Japan, sees no use for the chip and sells its entire interest to Intel for $60,000.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A harvest mouse collects berries in Morpeth, Northumberland. These adorable creatures are often seen climbing through meadows and hedgerows but due to the change in farming, sightings are becoming few and far between.

CREDIT: ROGER COAN/SWNS

Dancers, who perform a section of their routine with their faces completely covered by wigs, on stage during in an open technical rehearsal for Scottish Dance Theatre production YAMA (mountain in Japanese) at Dundee Rep in Tay Square, Dundee.

(Left to right) A Ferrari F-40 1987, a Ferrari Testarossa Spyder 1986 and Ferrari 275 GTB/4 1967 on display at the ‘Ferrari:  Under the Skin’ exhibition at the Design Museum in London.
Market Closes for November 16th, 2017

Market

Index

Close Change
Dow

Jones

23271.28 -138.19

 

-0.59%

 
S&P 500 2563.66 -15.21

 

-0.59%

 
NASDAQ 6706.207 -31.665

 

-0.47%

 
TSX 15873.10 -40.02

 

-0.25%

International Markets

Market

Index

Close Change
NIKKEI 22028.32 -351.69
-1.57%
HANG

SENG

28851.69 -300.43
-1.03%
SENSEX 32760.44 -181.43
-0.55%
FTSE 100* 7372.61 -41.81
-0.56%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

1.908 1.955
CND.

30 Year

Bond

2.244 2.281
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

2.3204 2.3753
U.S.

30 Year Bond

2.7631 2.8331

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78327 0.78522
US

$

1.27669 1.27353
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

  Inverse
Canadian $ 1.50401 0.66489
US

$

1.17805 0.84886

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

1282.20 1274.60
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 55.33 55.70

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at their lowest level in three weeks as falling commodity prices weighed on the benchmark amid a growing global risk-off mood.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 35 points or 0.2 percent to 15,878.48. The index has fallen six days in a row, the longest streak of declines since January 2016.
     Energy shares declined 0.6 percent as the price of crude fell near $55 a barrel, its lowest level in almost two weeks. Russia is said to be casting doubt on whether OPEC should extend output cuts.
     The consumer staples sector was the only significant gainer, adding 0.4 percent. Premium Brands Holdings Corp. gained 4.9 percent, rebounding from Tuesday’s 6.6 percent drop, after BMO Capital Markets upgraded the stock to outperform.
     In other moves:
                            Stocks
* Martinrea International Inc. jumped 11 percent to the highest since mid-2015. The company beat earnings estimates and said it’s relatively well positioned even if Nafta is scrapped
* Home Capital Group Inc. rose 3.3 percent after third-quarter earnings beat estimates, even as the company struggles to regain customers
* Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust fell 6.4 percent. Third-quarter funds from operations missed estimates
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.15 discount to WTI, unchanged from Tuesday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.54 discount to Henry Hub, the widest gap this month
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,277.70 an ounce
                             FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.3 percent to C$1.2767 per U.S. dollar, the lowest in more than a week
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell four basis points to 1.91 percent, the biggest drop this month
US
— U.S. stocks fell to a three-week low, while the dollar slumped with Treasury yields as concerns persisted over global growth and the prospects for tax cuts.

     The S&P 500 notched its fourth drop in five days, retreating from near session highs in the final half hour of trading on a report that a key Republican opposes the Senate’s latest tax bill. Energy shares led declines as crude continued its slide toward $55 a barrel. A renewed commodities slump overshadowed data showing the U.S. consumer remains robust, while inflation data helped boost bank shares.
     The latest batch of data from the U.S. helped ease concern that the world’s economic growth engine was starting to sputter after the flattest yield curve in a decade spooked investors. Stocks still fell partly on the threat that cracks in the market for high-yield debt could spread and on new obstacles to the passage of tax reform. At the same time, weak data out of China stirred anxiety of a slowdown there, sending commodities prices into a tailspin.
     Investors had a raft of potential market-moving news to digest Wednesday, as President Donald Trump returned from his 12-day Asia trip to a domestic political landscape buffeted by a Congressional battle over tax cuts and a controversial Senate race in Alabama. The House looks set to vote on its version of the tax plan, while the Senate’s latest version would expand temporary cuts for businesses, boosting optimism among investors.
     “When a market wants to move higher, it moves higher, nothing bothers it. But when a market needs to pull back, everything seems to bother it. Every headline bothers it,” Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial Inc, said by phone. “That’s where we are right now, but if history is any guide, by history I mean the last eight years, buyers will start to pick up some of the names that they wanted to go into but were waiting for a pullback.”
     Here are some key events investors are watching this week:
* Bank of England officials address the bank’s future on Thursday, while European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi speaks Friday.
* A string of Fed appearances may further illuminate the FOMC’s commitment to a December hike.
   And these are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.6 percent to 2,564.71 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.5 percent for its seventh consecutive decline.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index declined 0.4 percent, reaching the lowest in almost three weeks on its fifth consecutive decline.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.6 percent, hitting the lowest in almost three weeks with its fifth consecutive decline.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent, after touching the lowest in almost four weeks.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1797, reaching the strongest in almost four weeks on its sixth consecutive advance.
* The British pound rose 0.1 percent at $1.3175.
* The Japanese yen advanced 0.3 percent to 113.09 per dollar, after touching the strongest in almost four weeks on the biggest increase in almost 10 weeks.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 2.32 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped two basis points to 0.38 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell four basis points to 1.286 percent, the largest drop in almost two weeks.
                            Commodities
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,278.69 an ounce, after touching the highest in almost four weeks on the biggest gain in a week.
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.8 percent to $55.27 a barrel, touching the lowest in almost two weeks.

  

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

If the recognized leaders of mankind who have control over the engines of destructions
were wholly to renounce their use, with full knowledge of its implications, permanent peace can be obtained. This is clearly impossible without the Great Powers of the earth renouncing their imperialistic design. This again seems impossible without great nations ceasing to believe in soul-destroying competition and to desire to multiply wants and, therefore, increase their material possessions.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

 

It takes twenty years to make an overnight success.
                                 -Eddie Cantor, 1892-1964

 

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

November 14, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1666: First blood transfusion.

Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, b. 1948.
Claude Monet, b. 1840
Aaron Copeland, composer, b. 1900

We went to see the movie Vincent on the weekend, on Vincent Van Gogh’s life story.  It will leave you mesmerized – truly a masterpiece of a film.  Don’t miss it!

This is interesting…
When I was washing a recyclable bottle of Snapple to return to the store, I noticed writing on the inside label identified as “Real Fact” #1410.

It’s quite an amazing fact: There are more people on Facebook today than there were on the Earth 200 years ago.   You can get all the “Real Facts” at snapple.com.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Officers from Nature Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and environmental activists try to refloat nine stranded sperm whales in Aceh Besar, Indonesia.


Archeologists work at the No. 3 Horse and Chariot Pit, one of a cluster of tombs belonging to noble families of the Zheng State, near the city of Xinzheng in central China’s Henan Province.
Market Closes for November 14th, 2017

Market

Index

Close Change
Dow

Jones

23409.47 -30.23

 

-0.13%

 
S&P 500 2578.91 -5.93

 

-0.23%

 
NASDAQ 6737.871 -19.724

 

-0.29%

 
TSX 15902.88 -123.38

 

-0.77%

International Markets

Market

Index

Close Change
NIKKEI 22380.01 -0.98
 —
HANG

SENG

29152.12 -30.06
-0.10%
SENSEX 32941.87 -91.69
-0.28%
FTSE 100* 7414.42 -0.76
-0.01%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

1.955 1.969
CND.

30 Year

Bond

2.281 2.307
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

2.3753 2.3984
U.S.

30 Year Bond

2.8331 2.8797

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78522 0.78844
US

$

1.27353 1.26833
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

  Inverse
Canadian $ 1.50270 0.66547
US

$

1.17990 0.84753

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

1274.60 1284.30
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 55.70 56.74

Market Commentary:
On Nov. 14, 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 1,000 for the first time, ending the day at 1,003.16.
Also on November 14, 1986, Ivan Boesky, one of Wall Street’s top arbitrageurs and traders, settles with the government on charges of securities fraud, implicating Michael Milken of Drexel Burnham Lambert.

Canada
By Natalie Wong
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the fifth day in a row as commodities dropped amid signs of shaky demand that reignited glut concerns around the world.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.7 percent to 15,913.13. Energy stocks dropped 2.5 percent amid signs of softening demand in the oil market. Precision Drilling Corp. dropped 8.4 percent as Templeton Global Advisors exited its equity investment in the company.
Telecom was the only sector that flashed green with a 0.4 percent gain. Rogers Communications Inc. gained 1.1 percent and BCE Inc. added 0.4 percent.
In other moves:

                               Stocks
* Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. fell 8.2 percent as all major metals dropped on the LME after reports showed China’s economic expansion slowed
* Premium Brands Holdings Corp. dropped 6.7 percent after disappointing earnings results
* Brookfield Property Partners LP gained 0.7 percent, after bidding about $14.8 billion to acquire the stake it doesn’t already hold in U.S. mall owner GGP Inc.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.15 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.25 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,280.30 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.04 percent to C$1.2737 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 1.95 percent

US
By Randall Jensen
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slipped amid signs of a commodities glut and uncertain prospects for American tax cuts, while the dollar lost the most since September as the American yield curve flattened further ahead of inflation data.
The S&P 500 Index fell for the third time in four days. Energy and materials producers led losses as Bloomberg’s commodity index declined the most in six months. Crude slid the most in more a month after a tepid demand forecast. Miners led Europe’s equity benchmark to its longest slide in a year. The greenback touched a three-week low, while the euro soared on optimism over the region’s economy.
Investors will turn to data on U.S. consumer prices and retail sales Wednesday for clues on the strength of the world’s largest economy after the flattest American yield curve in a decade and weak data from China raised concern that growth is slowing. Volatility has increased since equities reached records a week ago, while credit spreads have widened as a sense of caution gripped global markets.
The House may vote on its version of the tax cut bill as soon as Thursday, while the Senate continues to hammer out its take. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a note Tuesday the debate is moving faster than they expected, boosting the odds that tax reform will be enacted by early next year to 80 percent from 65 percent.

     Here are some key events investors are watching this week:
* BOE officials address the bank’s future on Thursday, while Draghi speaks a second time Friday.
* A string of Fed appearances may further illuminate the FOMC’s commitment to a December hike.
* U.S. CPI and retail sales data will be released Wednesday morning

      These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index dropped 0.2 percent to 2,578.91 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 0.6 percent, after hitting the lowest in seven weeks with its sixth consecutive decline.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.4 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.5 percent, touching lowest in almost three weeks on the largest dip since Sept. 7.
* The euro climbed 1.1 percent to $1.1794, reaching the strongest in almost three weeks on its fifth consecutive advance.
* The British pound gained 0.4 percent to $1.3168.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 2.3771 percent, the first retreat in a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.39 percent, the biggest drop in more than a week.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dropped one basis point to 1.321 percent.
Commodities
* Gold rose 0.2 percent at $1,281 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.1 percent to $55.55 a barrel.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

The noblest moral law
is that we should unremittingly
work for the good of mankind.
Mahatma Gandhi

Be magnificent!

 

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Age does not matter if the matter does not age.
                   -Carlos Pena Romulo, 1898-1985

 

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

November 10, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: HAPPY FRIDAY!
1871, Stanley finds Livingstone.
1951, Area codes introdued
1983, Microsoft releases Windows.
On Nov. 10, 1982, the newly finished Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington, D.C.
Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A brown-hooded kingfisher sits on a branch with a freshly caught frog in its beak.  Riaan Marais who took the photo said, ‘We were doing a boat safari on the Rufiji river in Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania when I spotted the bird with the frog on an overhanging branch on the river bank. It most probably caught the frog in the reeds along the river’s edge as this is where these frogs stay.  The kingfisher must have caught the Common Reed Frog just before I took the image, as the frog was still alive, I had a brief moment to take the image before the bird flew off with the frog’.
CREDIT: RIAAN MARAIS/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY


A woman plays with her three dogs at the beach after sunset in Del Mar, California, USA.

Blue Man Group perform on stage on November 8, 2017 in Milan, Italy.
Market Closes for November 10th, 2017

Market

Index

Close Change
Dow

Jones

23422.21 -39.73

 

-0.17%

 
S&P 500 2582.30 -2.32

 

-0.09%

 
NASDAQ 6750.938 +0.884

 

+0.01%

 
TSX 16039.26 -42.83

 

-0.27%

International Markets

Market

Index

Close Change
NIKKEI 22681.42 -187.29
 -0.82%
HANG

SENG

29120.92 -15.65
-0.05%
SENSEX 33314.56 +63.63
+0.19%
FTSE 100* 7432.99 -51.11
-0.68%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

1.969 1.933
CND.

30 Year

Bond

2.307 2.270
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

2.3984 2.3310
U.S.

30 Year Bond

2.8797 2.8075

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78844 0.78877
US

$

1.26833 1.26780
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

  Inverse
Canadian $ 1.47950 0.67590
US

$

1.16650 0.85726

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

1284.30 1284.80
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 56.74 57.17

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1494, the first edition of Luca Pacioli’s Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita is printed in Venice. The book contains 36 brief chapters on accounting and, for the first time, popularizes the concept of double-entry bookkeeping.

Number of the Day
2,654

The number of new or limited-time items that the 100 biggest restaurant chains added to their menus last year, up 46% from 2015. That’s helping revive sales, but it’s also stretching supply chains
Canada
By Kristine Owram

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a third day amid a broader global selloff as concern grows that U.S. tax reform is encountering stumbling blocks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 6 points or less than 0.1 percent to 16,076.12 at 9:51 a.m. in Toronto. Financials fell 0.4 percent as Manulife Financial Corp. lost 1.5 percent, giving up some of Thursday’s 4.1 percent gain.
     Industrials lost 0.2 percent. Ritche Bros. Auctioneers Inc. tumbled 7.7 percent, the biggest decliner on the benchmark, after third-quarter earnings missed the lowest analyst estimate.
     In other moves:

                             Stocks
* Klondex Mines Ltd. fell 6.9 percent after the miner reported a wider loss and lower sales than expected
* Just Energy Group Inc. fell 5.4 percent, adding to Thursday’s 9.7 percent drop. The stock was downgraded to hold at TD Securities after weak earnings
* Enerflex Ltd. lost 4.1 percent after third-quarter revenue missed the lowest analyst estimate
* Torstar Corp. rose 4.6 percent. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is buying 13.3 percent of the company’s Class B shares
* CAE Inc. fell 3.2 percent after earnings missed estimates
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.30 discount to WTI, the widest gap since March
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.05 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,285.20 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2694 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose three basis points to 1.96 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek

     (Bloomberg) — Treasuries fell for a third day and U.S. stocks limped to the end of a week that saw a bout of volatility return to global financial markets.
     The S&P 500 Index slumped, posting its first down week since early September. The move was led in part by health-care shares, which dropped as the industry grapples with how to handle Amazon as a potential competitor. Energy stocks also struggled as crude slipped below $57 a barrel amid rising tensions in the Persian Gulf.
     “Market participants expect OPEC to extend the production cuts beyond March 2018 and stocks to decline further,” commodities analysts at Commerzbank wrote in a note to clients Friday. “That said, the reduction of stocks should be sluggish even if the agreement to cut production is extended. What’s more, the higher price level should lead to a further rise in U.S. shale oil production. Oil is already much too expensive even if the latest developments in Saudi Arabia justify a certain risk premium on the oil price.”
     The yield on 10-year Treasuries punched through 2.4 percent, joining a spike in European sovereign rates with inflation worries ratcheting up. The dollar was little changed as President Donald Trump’s Asia trip wound down. High-yield debt steadied, the largest junk bond exchange-traded fund rose after three days of declines.
     Carmakers led the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to its biggest two-day drop since August, with most industry sectors declining. Stocks in Asia fell after a rally earlier in the week that saw them touch record highs. Yields on core European bond yields rose.
     Global equities hit historic highs during the week as investors were encouraged by solid earnings and synchronized economic growth. But they sold off sharply on Thursday as the U.S. Senate revealed that its tax plan would delay cuts to the corporate rate until 2019. The move fed growing pessimism about the prospects for meaningful U.S. fiscal reform, which had buoyed share prices in the U.S. On Friday, economists at the University of Michigan reported that consumer sentiment in November fell by the most in a year.
     “We think Americans are confused by the current tax cut proposals, which will radically change how workers will pay Uncle Sam,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., wrote in an email. “Washington uncertainty is back. Big time. Bet on it.
     In addition, traders have begun preparing for a series of potential interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve over the next 12 months.
     “You have a Fed that with a 4.1 percent unemployment rate appears to be on cruise control for three or four hikes over the next year,” said Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI. “In the context of there being very little inflation, if they do that it implies tighter financial conditions, which will help flatten yield curves and increase risk premiums a bit. That has a lot to do with what’s going on right now.”

 

      Here are key events investors were watching:
* Economists at the University of Michigan released preliminary consumer sentiment figures for November.
* European Central Bank Executive Board member Yves Mersch spoke at a conference in Windsor, U.K.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 2,582.30 and was down 0.2 percent for the week.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.4 percent to the lowest in more than two weeks.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.7 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index dipped 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.6 percent, the biggest drop in more than three weeks. 
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro gained 0.2 percent to $1.1668.
* The British pound climbed 0.4 percent to $1.3198.
* The Japanese yen dropped less than 0.1 percent to 113.55 per dollar.
* South Africa’s rand sank 0.9 percent to 14.3772 per dollar, the weakest in a year.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose six basis points to 2.402 percent, the largest climb in three weeks.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to 0.41 percent, the highest in more than two weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield surged eight basis points to 1.342 percent, the largest increase since September.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.6 percent to $56.83 a barrel.
* Gold dropped 0.7 percent to $1,275.67 an ounce.
* Copper fell 0.4 percent to $3.07 a pound.

 

 

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Unity is and intellectual concept.
On an emotional level unity is serenity, equality, and equilibrium.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

 

Carolann

A schedule defends from chaos and whim.
                          -Annie Dillard, b. 1945

 

 

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

November 9, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Nov. 9, 1989, East Germany lifted restrictions on emigration or travel to the West, and within hours tens of thousands of East and West Berliners swarmed across the infamous Berlin Wall for a boisterous celebration.

Go to article »
The following day, celebrating Germans begin to tear the wall down.

November 9, 1938: Kristallnacht, Crystal Night – pogrom against Jews in Germany.
November 9th, 1942, James Agate wrote in his diary, Ego, (the Torch landings at Casablanca, Algiers and Oran had taken place the day before):

A glorious day, in every sense of the word.  Alexander’s great victory [Alamein] and the invasion by the Americans of French North Africa have put people of this country into better fettle than they have known since 1925, when, at Melbourne on the third day of the second Test Match, Hobbs and Sutcliffe put on 283 runs for England’s first wicket and sent the Stock Exchange up two points. –from The Book of Days.

1965 – East Coast blackout.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

This photo of the Aurora over Loch Lomond in southern Scotland was sent in by reader Jaymes Harris.
CREDIT:  JAYMES HARRIS


An aerial view of Dawn Redwood trees in Nanjing, China.

A world map in the form of a set of gores for a terrestrial globe, from 1507 by cartographer Martin Waldseemueller is displayed at Christie’s auction rooms in London. The map is the first map to name America, and is expected to fetch £600,000-900,000 when it goes under the hammer on December 13.

Big wave surfer Andrew Cotton drops a wave during a surf session at Praia do Norte in Nazare, Portugal.
Market Closes for November 9th, 2017

Market

Index

Close Change
Dow

Jones

23461.94 -101.42

 

-0.43%

 
S&P 500 2584.67 -9.71

 

-0.37%

 
NASDAQ 6750.055 -39.063

 

-0.58%

 
TSX 16081.33 -24.01

 

-0.15%

International Markets

Market

Index

Close Change
NIKKEI 22868.71 -45.11
 -0.20%
HANG

SENG

29136.57 +228.97
+0.79%
SENSEX 33250.93 +32.12
+0.10%
FTSE 100* 7484.10 -45.62
-0.61%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

1.933 1.917
CND.

30 Year

Bond

2.270 2.250
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

2.3310 2.3325
U.S.

30 Year Bond

2.8075 2.7902

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78877 0.78579
US

$

1.26780 1.27261
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

  Inverse
Canadian $ 1.47578 0.67761
US

$

1.16405 0.85907

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

1284.80 1284.00
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 57.17 56.81

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$57.6 billion

Global spending on hardware and software related to artificial intelligence could expand to $57.6 billion in 2021 from $12 billion this year, according to International Data Corp.
Canada
By Kristine Owram

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their first two-day streak of losses in two months, as a global risk-off climate weighed on the benchmark’s biggest sectors.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 23 points or 0.1 percent to 16,082.09. Combined with Wednesday’s 0.2 percent drop, it marks the first consecutive drops since the recent rally began on Sept. 8.
     Materials stocks were the biggest decliners, losing 0.8 percent as copper traders turned bearish for the first time since September and nickel slumped by the most in almost seven weeks. Lundin Mining Corp. fell 3.7 percent.
     Energy and financial shares both lost 0.1 percent, and industrials lost 0.2 percent.
     In other moves:

                               Stocks
* NexGen Energy Ltd. jumped 24 percent, the most in 20 months, amid Cameco Corp.’s plan to shut the world’s biggest uranium mines for most of 2018. Cameco rose 3 percent on speculation the move would lead to higher prices
* Just Energy Group Inc. tumbled 9.7 percent to the lowest since mid-2015. The company said Ebitda fell below expectations given mild summer weather and hurricane disruptions
* Uni-Select Inc. lost 8.6 percent to the lowest since mid-2015. Third-quarter earnings missed the lowest analyst estimate
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.15 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.05 discount to Henry Hub, the widest gap in eight trading days
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,287.50 an ounce, the highest in more than three weeks
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to C$1.2678 per U.S. dollar, the strongest in two and a half weeks
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis point to 1.93 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks stumbled Thursday, with losses widening after the Senate revealed that its tax plan would delay cuts to the corporate rate until 2019. Treasuries turned higher and the dollar extended losses.
     All major U.S. equity gauges fell, with selling heaviest in technology shares that had been on a 10-day surge. Semiconductor stocks tumbled after Intel Corp. hired away a key executive at Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to run its new graphics chip business. 
     “The market wants to see tax cuts this year,” said Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas. “That’s the reason were seeing the selloff now.
     The bond market took its main cue from technical factors, as sovereign debt halted a rally that started two-weeks ago. Corporate credit faltered amid a glut of year-end issuance, with the starkest declines coming among the lowest-rated companies. Volatility spiked as investors appear to be growing increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for meaningful fiscal reform with both houses of Congress struggling to put forward tax proposals that have reasonable chances of becoming law.
     “Policy makers hope to pass a tax plan by Thanksgiving,” said Mark McCormick, North American head of foreign-exchange strategy at Toronto-Dominion Bank. “But the looming political trade-offs and divergence in House and Senate proposals argue this deadline is nothing short of a holiday miracle.”
     European equities fell the most since August as basic- resources shares dropped following a decline in industrial- metals prices. Inflation concerns also crept into markets, as the European Commission was the latest authority to raise growth forecasts. Sterling fluctuated amid a resumption in Brexit talks, while oil looked to halt a two-day drop.
     President Donald Trump wrapped up his visit to Beijing with little in the way of trade concessions and no agreement on how to handle North Korea. It’s been a year since Trump’s election win and investors are taking stock of his promises to get tough on trade, cut taxes and slash regulations. Meanwhile, reports of fresh arrests in Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on corruption added to geopolitical concerns.

      Here are the key events investors are watching:
* The Philippines’ central bank announced its rate decision.
* A number of central bankers were scheduled to speak Thursday, including the ECB’s Benoit Coeure, Yves Mersch, Vitro Constancio and Villeroy de Galhau and Sabine Lautenschlager.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.4 percent to 2,584.62, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 0.5 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 1.1 percent, the biggest decrease since July.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.1 percent to the highest in about 10 years.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index dipped 0.1 percent.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.3 percent. 
* The euro gained 0.4 percent to $1.1644, the largest increase in a two weeks. 
* The British pound rose 0.2 percent percent to $1.3148. 
* The Japanese yen gained 0.4 percent to 113.37 per dollar.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell less then 1 basis point to 2.3292 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 0.375 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 1.265 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.5 percent to $57.07 a barrel.
* Gold gained 0.4 percent to $1,286.14 an ounce, the highest in three weeks.
* Copper fell 0.3 percent to $3.09 a pound, the lowest in a month.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

I do not know of any religion apart from human activity.
It provides a moral basis to all other activities which they would otherwise lack,
reducing life to a maze of “sound and fury signifying nothing.”
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.
                     -Theodore Roethke, 1908-1963

 

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

November 8, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

AMAZING NATURE STORY: Gary just called me to tell me his experience from a few minutes before the call: he was driving south along the island Highway returning to Victoria from Sidney; as he was sitting at a red light in Saanich, looking out the window, he watched a rabbit hopping around in the field adjacent to the road.  Then, in a flash, a bald eagle appeared out of nowhere and snatched the rabbit up!  The rabbit was so heavy, the eagle could only fly about 3 feet from the ground until I guess he found an acceptable dining room amongst the fields.  Pretty awesome!

On November 8, 1960, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.
Go to article »

Also on this day, in 1895, German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen becomes the first person to observe X-rays, a discovery that occurred accidentally in his lab when he was conducting an unrelated test.

And in 1519, Cortes conquers Mexico.
b. 1656, Edmund Halley, astronomer.
b. 1900, Margaret Mitchell, writer.
b. 1949, Bonnie Raitt, singer.

If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it.  -Charles Kettering, 1876-1958.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Starling murmuration over Burscough, Merseyside.

A 36 metre Giant Redwood tree is lit up for Christmas at Wakehurst Place in Haywards Heath, England. 1800 low-energy lamps are being hung by specialists from Wakehurst’s Conservation and Woodlands unit in a process that takes two days. The fully lit tree can be seen by pilots flying into nearby Gatwick Airport.

A snow covered chapel is seen after the first snowfall of the season in the western Austrian village of Tulfes.

Canoeists take part in the annual Hawaiki nui va’a race from the island of Huahine in French Polynesia.
Market Closes for November 8th, 2017

Market

Index

Close Change
Dow

Jones

23563.36 +6.13

 

+0.03%

 
S&P 500 2594.38 +3.74

 

+0.14%

 
NASDAQ 6789.117 +21.334

 

+0.32%

 
TSX 16105.35 -26.44

 

-0.16%

International Markets

Market

Index

Close Change
NIKKEI 22913.82 -23.78
 -0.10%
HANG

SENG

28907.60 -86.74
-0.30%
SENSEX 33218.81 -151.95
-0.46%
FTSE 100* 7529.72 +16.61
+0.22%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

1.917 1.893
CND.

30 Year

Bond

2.250 2.224
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

2.3325 2.3127
U.S.

30 Year Bond

2.7902 2.7747

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78579 0.78258
US

$

1.27261 1.27782
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

  Inverse
Canadian $ 1.47551 0.67773
US

$

1.15944 0.86249

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

1284.00 1275.60
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 56.81 57.20

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
23%
The percentage decline since 2015 in the average price per square foot of apartments sold in New York’s Trump Tower.

Canada
By Natalie Wong

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks dropped the most in two weeks as weak earnings offset gains in health care.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 0.2 percent to 16,105.35. Info tech shares fell 1.3 percent as CGI Group Inc. lost 2.2 percent after its fourth-quarter revenue missed the lowest analyst estimate. Mitel Networks Corp. dropped 2.6 percent.
     Consumer discretionary lost 1 percent as Linamar Corp. dropped 14 percent, the most since 2009, after auto parts and industrial segments missed third-quarter estimates.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Pason Systems Inc. tumbled 6.1 percent. Third-quarter earnings missed estimates and the stock was downgraded at National Bank Financial
* SSR Mining Inc. dropped 9.1 percent after posting disappointing third-quarter production results
* Iamgold Corp. jumped 7.3 percent, extending gains after third- quarter adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations beat the highest analyst estimate
* Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. added 5 percent to Tuesday’s 17 percent post-earnings gain
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.05 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.01 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,281.60 an ounce
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to C$1.2726 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 2 basis points to 1.91 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose as a surge in technology shares more than made up for weakness in financial firms sparked by concerns that the Republican tax bill faces an uphill battle in Congress. The dollar fell with Treasuries and crude.
     All of the major U.S. equity gauges were higher, led by the Nasdaq 100 Index. Meanwhile, the KBW Bank Index plunged for a fourth straight day on speculation about the viability of Trump’s business-friendly programs following Tuesday’s election results. KBW described the vote as a “bloodbath” that could push Congressional Republicans to strike a more populist tone on taxes.
     “Democrats took the governor’s mansion in Virginia and New Jersey and picked up state legislative seats in almost every state with seats up for grabs yesterday,” Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, wrote in an email. “Off-year elections tend to be about turnout, and the party out of power tends to gain as their voters are usually the easiest to get to the polls. Nevertheless, it should serve as a reminder to Republicans in Congress their time to pass legislation is limited, especially if they undermine their base by failing to get anything done.”
     However, some investors were more sanguine about U.S. taxes, noting that the stock market’s climb has been largely divorced from political wrangling.
     “A lot of people want to tie the markets in these past months to these events but in reality it has little to do with it,” Brian Kraus, head of the investment consulting team at Hartford Funds, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “It’s due to strong earnings, low interest rates and global synchronized growth — not what happened in the election in Virginia last night.”
     Traders are also looking at geopolitics as Trump continues his tour of Asia with a central mission of rallying the world to stand up to North Korea. Calling out Russia and China by name, the president said Wednesday that all responsible nations must join forces to deny Kim Jong Un’s regime of support. He’s also expected to discuss trade with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
     “In the big picture it’s all the exogenous events that could happen,” said Sean Simko, head of fixed income portfolio management at SEI Investments Co. “It’s something you see everyday in the headlines. You get North Korea bubbling up from time to time, we heard something in the past two days but prior to that it’s been about two weeks since we heard something from them. You have that going on, what’s going on in Spain, you have oil moving. It’s a lot of moving pieces right now, like a jigsaw puzzle.”
     Saudi Arabian stocks rose, even as nervousness among regional investors about perceptions of risks stemming from the kingdom battered neighboring markets. The main equities benchmark erased losses of as much as 1.1 percent to finish Wednesday at its session high.
     European shares slipped following disappointing results from Credit Agricole SA. The euro strengthened and core government bond yields nudged lower. The pound fell amid tensions in the U.K. government, where Prime Minister Theresa May is weighing whether to fire a cabinet member only seven days after her defense secretary quit in a sexual harassment scandal.    
     Here are key events to watch out for this week:
* U.S. consumer sentiment probably cooled in early November from a more than 13-year high; the University of Michigan’s report is out on Friday.
* OPEC releases its World Oil Outlook.
* Argentina’s central bank unexpectedly raised borrowing costs. Mexico, New Zealand and Malaysia are also holding monetary- policy meetings this week.
* The European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis resume talks.
* Earnings season continues with announcements from Walt Disney Co., Adidas AG, and Siemens AG. European financial companies set to report include Allianz SE and Zurich Insurance Group AG.

      And these are the main moves in markets:

                              Stocks
* The S&P 500 closed up 0.1 percent Wednesday, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank less than 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 0.2 percent to the highest in about 10 years.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained less than 0.1 percent.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1 percent.
* The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.1598.
* The British pound decreased 0.4 percent to $1.3117.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.2 percent to 113.81 per dollar.
                          Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries added two basis points to to 2.3307.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.326 percent, the lowest in two months.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased less than one basis point to 1.225 percent, the lowest in eight weeks.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7 percent to $56.81 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,281.29 an ounce.
* Copper gained 0.4 percent to $3.10 a pound.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Do you live and work in the world?
Always act according to the highest moral standards, both in private and in public.
Always be honest in word and deed, both in private and in public.
Master your emotions and control your senses, both in private and in public.
Be calm and patient, both in private and in public.
Take every opportunity to serve others, both in private and in public.
Be kind and gentle to your children, both in private and in public.
Taittiriya Upanishad

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A man who limits his interests, limits his life.
                     -Vincent Price, 1911-1993

 

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

November 7, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
November 7,1917 – Russian Revolution.

Joni Mitchell, b. 1943
Albert Camus, existentialist, b. 1913
On this day in 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected to an unprecedented fourth term. He remains the only president to have served more than two terms in office.
1885 – Donald Smith Drives in CPR Last Spike at Craigellachie, BC

As Winter Sets In, A Shrew’s Tiny Brain Gets Even Tinier
Bad news, bears. Hibernation is no longer the coolest thing animals do to survive the winter. 
  As cold weather approaches, tiny mole-like creatures known as red-toothed shrews will shrink their own heads, reducing their skull and brain mass by as much as 20%, according to new research.  When warm weather returns, they will regrow the region.  The study speculates that the shrinking helps them conserve energy when resources are scarce. -Douglas Quenqua, NYT.

Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity. –Albert Camus.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An abyss of red sea can be seen encompassing the adventurous diver, as he swims around the Cenote Carwash – a popular cavern just outside of Tulum, Mexico.  These incredible photographs show a diver exploring a darkening red sea, with just a small wrist flashlight to light up the way.

Rowers out on the River Cam in Cambridge, UK, as the temperatures hit minus 4 degrees.

A beautiful sunrise can be seen amidst a break from heavy rain in Galera Point, Trinidad. The area is where the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet.

Starling mumuration over Tarleton. Last dance before bed as tens of thousands of starlings gather over Martin Mere as the onset of colder weather, and early nights triggers this autumn gathering and winter groupings. The noise they make described as a mumur or chatter, but is quite intense and is thought to form part of a communication of sorts. The interaction between the huge numbers is amazing and is thought to be formed on the single principal of maintain a defined distance to nearest the bird.
Market Closes for November 7th, 2017

MarketIndex Close Change
DowJones 23557.23 +8.81 

+0.04%

 
S&P 500 2589.91 -1.22 

-0.05%

 
NASDAQ 6767.781 -18.654 

-0.27%

 
TSX 16117.01 +24.81 
+0.15%

International Markets

MarketIndex Close Change
NIKKEI 22937.60 +389.25
 +1.73%
HANGSENG 28994.34 +397.54
+1.39%
SENSEX 33370.76 -360.43
-1.07%
FTSE 100* 7513.11 -49.17
-0.65%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.10 Year Bond 1.893 1.925
CND.30 Year

Bond

2.224 2.247
U.S.   10 Year Bond 2.3127 2.3163
U.S.30 Year Bond 2.7747 2.7957

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78258 0.78713
US$ 1.27782 1.27044
     
Euro Rate1 Euro=   Inverse
Canadian $ 1.48061 0.67540
US$ 1.15870 0.86304

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London GoldFix 1275.60 1270.90
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 57.20 57.35

Market Commentary:
Canada
     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s equity benchmark continued the rally that has seen it gain eight of the last nine trading days as health-care stocks jumped and telecom shares moved higher.

     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 36 points or 0.2 percent to 16,127.72 at 9:49 a.m. in Toronto, on track for a third consecutive record high. The health-care index was the biggest gainer by far, adding 6.3 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. jumped 16 percent. Valeant maintained its profit forecast, indicating progress in its recovery plan.
     Telecom shares added 0.4 percent as BCE Inc. gained 0.3 percent. The company is buying Alarmforce Industries Inc. for about $166 million.
     In other moves:
                           Stocks
* Tahoe Resources Inc. tumbled 8.9 percent. The miner’s third- quarter loss was wider than the average analyst estimate
* Alaris Royalty Corp. fell 3.3 percent after reporting an unexpected third-quarter loss
* Cineplex Inc. lost 2.9 percent after revenue missed analyst estimates
* Alarmforce Industries Inc. surged 71 percent. BCE Inc. is buying the company for $166 million
* Finning International Inc. gained 2.3 percent after earnings per share and revenue beat estimates
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.00 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a 93-cent discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,279.20 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.6 percent to C$1.2777 per U.S. dollar as the greenback strengthened
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 1.90 percent, the ninth decline in 10 trading days
US
By Sarah Ponczek

     (Bloomberg) — Stocks fell while the dollar strengthened and Treasuries nudged higher as investors turned their attention to fiscal policy, with tax writers from the House of Representatives expected to hammer out their plan this week.
     The S&P 500 Index drifted lower, led by financial companies, which were the worst performing group in the gauge. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped, erasing an earlier advance, but remained close to an all-time high. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed to a level last seen more than 25 years ago.
     “Tax reform is the number one thing on everybody’s minds right now,” said Michael Hanson, the chief U.S. macro strategist at TD Securities in New York. “The Senate has indicated they’re going to announce their own bill Thursday, and that bill is extensively based off of the House bill, but there’s likely to be some important differences.”
     Equity indexes across the Persian Gulf were among the world’s worst performers amid a widening a crackdown on corruption in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s Tadawul All Share Index at one point fell the most in a year before regaining some of its losses. Oil slid from Monday’s climb, when it reached the highest price since June 2015.
     “The current news backdrop argues against any correction in the near future: the latest developments in Saudi Arabia justify a risk premium on the oil price,” commodity researchers at Commerzbank AG wrote in a note Tuesday. “President Trump has expressly approved the clean sweep, which is likely to encourage the king and crown prince in their plans to build on their power and to take action against Iran.”
     Investors’ focus on geopolitics sharpened further as President Donald Trump continued his tour of Asia. Speaking next to South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Seoul, Trump said he saw some progress on North Korea and called on the rogue state to “come to the table” and make a deal on its missile and nuclear program. He added that the U.S. and South Korea will act together to confront North Korea’s actions, and the U.S. stands ready to use its full range of military capabilities “if need be.”
     Elsewhere, industrial metals pared some of yesterdays gains and gold declined.
     Here are key events to watch out for this week:
* U.S. consumer sentiment probably cooled in early November from a more than 13-year high; the University of Michigan’s report is out on Friday.
* OPEC releases its World Oil Outlook.
* Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand, Malaysia and Thailand also have monetary-policy decisions this week.
* The European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis resume talks.
* Earnings season continues with announcements from Walt Disney Co., Adidas AG, and Siemens AG. European financial companies set to report include Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, Credit Agricole SA, Allianz SE and Zurich Insurance Group AG.

      And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 slid less than 0.1 percent to 2,590.64.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.5 percent.
* Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.7 percent to the highest since January 1992.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.9 percent to the highest in about 10 years.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 0.3 percent to the highest in more than six years.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.3 percent.
* The euro decreased 0.2 percent to $1.159, the weakest since July.
* The British pound declined less than 0.1 percent to $1.3168.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2 percent to 113.94 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries slid less than one basis point to 2.3109 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.327 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 1.231 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.2 percent to $57.23 a barrel.
* Gold declined 0.4 percent to $1,276.53 an ounce.
* Copper fell 2.1 percent to $3.09 a pound, the lowest in a month.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don’t.
                                                         -W. Somerset Maugham, 1874-1965

 

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

November 6, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Gustavus Adolphus Day: Swedish king killed in 1632.

Aldolphe Sax, saxophone inventor, b. 1814.
Sally Field, actor, b. 1946.
James Naismith, basketball creator, b. 1861.
On Nov. 6, 1860, former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates for the U.S. presidency.
Go to article »

HOW BEETS BECAME BEET-RED:
As the seasons change, a riot of red shows up in the world around us, showcasing some of the most vivid hues that plant biochemistry can create.  The red pigments in maple leaves, called anthocyanins, are the same kind that light up the cranberries…or the ruddy apples you’d put in a pie.

  But as you slide a tray of beets into the oven to roast, you’ll be seeing something that’s completely different at the molecular level. Biologists have discovered a key step in the evolution of this process.
  The pigments that give red beets their incandescent tint are called betalains.  They’re made using an amino acid called tyrosine, the starting material for thousands of compounds made by plants.  A tyrosine-making enzyme, which in most plants gets turned off after a certain amount is made, stays on longer in beets and some related species, producing an overload of the amino acid.  This is likely the pivotal change that gave beets what they would need to develop their special red.  Veronique Greenwood, NYTimes.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The moon rises over the Sacre Coeur Basilica in Montmartre in Paris, France.

CREDIT:  CHRISTIAN HARTMANN/REUTERS

A stunning Aurora Borealis lights up the northern Europeanskies.

Fisherman try their luck from a boat in a morning fog at the Liptovska Mara dam near the village of Liptovska Sielnica, Slovakia.

A man representing the Winter King holds a flaming sword as her takes part in a ceremony as they celebrate Samhain at the Glastonbury Dragons Samhain Wild Hunt 2017 in Somerset, England.  To celebrate Samhain, the Glastonbury Dragons, alongside Gwythyr Ap Greidal, the Summer King and the Winter King, Gwyn Ap Nudd, were paraded through the town to the lower slopes of Glastonbury Tor where the event was marked with ritual theatre, dancing and a fire to honour the dead.  The Celtic festival of Samhain, which was later adopted by Christians and became Halloween, is a very important date in the Pagan calendar as it marks the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter).
Market Closes for November 6th, 2017

Market

Index

Close Change
Dow

Jones

23548.42 +9.23

 

+0.04%

 
S&P 500 2591.13 +3.29

 

+0.13%

 
NASDAQ 6786.438 +22.002

 

+0.33%

 
TSX 16092.20 +72.04

 

+0.45%

International Markets

Market

Index

Close Change
NIKKEI 22548.35 +9.23
 +0.04%
HANG

SENG

28596.80 -6.81
-0.02%
SENSEX 33731.19 +45.63
+0.14%
FTSE 100* 7562.28 +1.93
+0.03%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

1.925 1.956
CND.

30 Year

Bond

2.247 2.269
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

2.3163 2.3289
U.S.

30 Year Bond

2.7957 2.8106

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78713 0.78349
US

$

1.27044 1.27634
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

  Inverse
Canadian $ 1.47496 0.67798
US

$

1.16098 0.86134

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

1270.90 1267.20
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 57.35 55.64

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$103 billion

The enterprise value of Broadcom’s bid on Monday for fellow-chip maker Qualcomm. The $70-per-share offer represents a 28% premium from Thursday’s closing price, before the Journal reported that an approach might happen.
Canada
By Kristine Owram

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at a fresh high, their fifth in seven trading days, as oil prices soared to levels not seen since mid-2015.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 72 points or 0.5 percent to 16,092.20. Energy shares jumped 1.6 percent as the price of crude rallied 3.1 percent above $57 a barrel, spurred by widespread arrests that raised fears of instability in Saudi Arabia.
     The materials sector was close behind, gaining 1.5 percent. Nickel closed it its highest level since 2015 and copper rose 1.3 percent. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. added 7.2 percent and Hudbay Minerals Inc. rose 5.2 percent.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Canopy Growth Corp. jumped 14 percent to a record high as most marijuana stocks rallied
* Sierra Wireless Inc. fell 7.2 percent to a nine-month low. CIBC lowered its price target and said it doesn’t recommend buying the shares
* Cogeco Communications Inc. lost 6 percent, the most since July, after Macquarie and Canaccord Genuity downgraded the shares
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a 90-cent discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 1 percent to $1,281.60 an ounce, the biggest gain since September
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to C$1.2708 per U.S. dollar, the highest in two weeks
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell three basis points to 1.93 percent, the lowest since early September
US
By Sarah Ponczek

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed and bonds advanced, while the dollar slipped as President Donald Trump tried to tackle trade on his Asia tour. A crackdown on corruption in Saudi Arabia sent oil soaring to its highest price in more than two years.
     Equities posted broad gains despite weakness in telephone shares following the collapse of merger talks between Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile U.S. Inc. Technology stocks rose as Broadcom Ltd. geared up for a hostile bid for Qualcomm Inc., in what would be the largest tech deal ever.
     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed after a European purchasing managers index indicated strong momentum at the start of the fourth quarter. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average reached its highest level in more than 21 years. Commodities rallied, and precious metals surged.
     “We have stressed repeatedly that the biggest ‘risk’ to our conservative (oil) price forecast is a destabilization of the situation in Saudi Arabia,” commodity analysts at Commerzbank AG wrote in a note to clients Monday. “The probability at least of such a scenario increased at the weekend after eleven princes, four ministers and dozens of former ministers were arrested in Saudi Arabia. If we also consider the reports of another ballistic missile from Yemen that was intercepted near Riyadh, the crash of a helicopter in Saudi Arabia with a number of government representatives on board, and the completely unexpected resignation of Lebanon’s Saudi-backed prime minister, the tensions in the Middle East become virtually tangible.”
     News out of Asia was a dominant theme for many assets, with investors digesting inflation comments from Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, remarks on excessive leverage from his Chinese counterpart Zhou Xiaochuan and the grievances on the balance of trade from the U.S. president, who goes on to South Korea and China this week.
     “I think there is a bit too much noise that comes from Trump’s trips abroad to get a decent signal for markets,” said Mark McCormick, North American head of foreign-exchange strategy at Toronto-Dominion Bank. “The good old macro story is still running behind the scenes, so I don’t see Trump headlines offering much impact on the markets this week.”
     McCormick added that Wall Street’s more likely to react to geopolitics than trade chatter.
     “I think you have to keep North Korea on the radar this week, especially if they try to poke the bear over the next two weeks,” he said. “I think many are concerned they might to provoke Trump on the visit, with a missile launch or nuclear test. That would have a much greater impact (though fleeting) than rhetoric on trade or economic policy.”
     News on central bankers also will be closely watched. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley plans to retire in the middle of next year. His early departure would mean changes at the Fed’s top three positions within a relatively short period. Trump announced last week that Fed Governor Jerome Powell will be nominated to replace Chair Janet Yellen when her term expires in February. Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer retired in mid-October. But investors are hopeful that despite the moves there won’t be an acceleration of rate hikes on the horizon.
     “The U.S. economy really bottomed out during the summer and has been on a clear upward trend since then,” said Jon Adams, a Chicago-based senior investment strategist with BMO Global Asset Management. “Investors are digesting payrolls figures from Friday as well as tax reform prospects right now. But payrolls in particular really solidified our view that we’re on solid economic footing and there’s really no reason for central banks to get too carried away as far as rate hikes right now.”
     Here are key events to watch out for this week:
* The European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis resume talks.
* Earnings season continues with announcements from Toyota Motor Corp., BMW AG, Walt Disney Co., Adidas AG, and Siemens AG. European financial companies set to report include Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA,Credit Agricole SA, Allianz SE and Zurich Insurance Group AG.
* Donald Trump continues on his first official trip to Asia as president, accompanied by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and a group of U.S. business leaders.
* New Jersey and Virginia will choose new governors Tuesday in an off-year election
* U.S. consumer sentiment probably cooled in early November from a more than 13-year high; the University of Michigan’s report is out on Friday.
* OPEC releases its World Oil Outlook.
* Argentina, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Malaysia, Poland, Serbia and Thailand set monetary policy. \

    And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index closed up 0.1 percent at 2,591.13, while the Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.3 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.1 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained less than 0.1 percent to the highest on record.
* Germany’s DAX Index fell less than 0.1 percent.
* Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose less than 0.1 percent to the highest since June 1996.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 0.7 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.3 percent.
* The euro gained less than 0.05 percent to $1.161.
* The British pound climbed 0.7 percent to $1.3174.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.3 percent to 113.75 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis point to 2.316 percent, the lowest in more than two weeks.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 0.336 percent, the lowest in almost two months.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined less than one basis point to 1.256 percent, the lowest in more than seven weeks.
* Japan’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 0.024 percent, the lowest since September.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 3.1 percent to $57.34 a barrel, the highest since June 2015.
* Gold increased 0.9 percent to $1,281.04 an ounce.
* Copper rose 1.4 percent to $3.16 a pound, the highest in more than a week.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

It is man’s social nature which distinguishes him from the brute creation.
If it is his privilege to be independent, it is equally his duty to be inter-dependent,
Only an arrogant man will claim to be independent of everybody else and be self-contained.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Happiness is not a reward – it is a consequence
                  -Robert Green Ingersoll, 1833-1899

 

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

November 3, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!

Daylight Saving Time ends November 5th; remember to set your clocks back Saturday night.

Whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul…I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. -Ishmael in Moby Dick, Herman Melville.

November 3, 1911    The Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was founded in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant.

Louis Chevrolet at the wheel of his prototype for the 1912 Chevrolet The Chevrolet Motor Car Company was founded on November 3, 1911 by Louis Chevrolet, a race car driver and automotive engineer and William C. Durant, the founder of General Motors who, after five years, lost control of the company in 1910.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A bird silhouetted by the rising sun as it perched on Chalvington church’s spire on a cool misty autumnal morning in East Sussex, UK.
CREDIT: PETER CRIPSS/ALAMY LIVE NEWS


Autumn leaves are illuminated as the test lighting takes place at Eikando Zenrinji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. The night illumination begins from November 7.

Thousands of Starlings perform a acrobatic show above the remains of the Brighton West Pier at sunset, UK.

Autumn colours reflect in Derwent water at Keswick in Cumbria.

A skier makes a jump during the 100 Days Out 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Celebration – Team USA in Times Square in New York City.
Market Closes for November 3rd, 2017

Market

Index

Close Change
Dow

Jones

23539.19 +22.93

 

+0.10%

 
S&P 500 2587.84 +7.99

 

+0.31%

 
NASDAQ 6764.434 +49.491

 

+0.74%

 
TSX 16020.16 +5.17
+0.03%

International Markets

Market

Index

Close Change
NIKKEI 22539.12 +119.04
 +0.53%
HANG

SENG

28603.61 +84.97
+0.30%
SENSEX 33685.56 +112.34
+0.33%
FTSE 100* 7560.35 +5.03
+0.07%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

1.956 1.958
CND.

30 Year

Bond

2.269 2.285
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

2.3289 2.3468
U.S.

30 Year Bond

2.8106 2.8294

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78349 0.78098
US

$

1.27634 1.28044
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

  Inverse
Canadian $ 1.48179 0.67486
US

$

1.16097 0.86135

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

1267.20 1279.60
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 55.64 54.54

Market  Commentary:
Number of the Day
$900 billion
Apple shares are up to $174.10 before the bell, putting the tech giant within inches of hitting a market value of $900 billion for the first time.

Canada
By Kristine Owram

     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their longest string of weekly gains since 2006 as the country’s benchmark closed slightly higher Friday, boosted by energy stocks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 5 points or less than 0.1 percent to close at 16,020.16 Friday. It rose 0.4 percent on the week, marking its eighth straight weekly gain.
     Energy stocks rose 0.8 percent as the price of crude gained 2 percent to its highest since mid-2015. Baytex Energy Corp. jumped 6.9 percent and Parkland Fuel Corp. added 4.9 percent.
     Offsetting that gain, the materials sector fell 0.7 percent as copper and gold prices declined. First Majestic Silver Corp. tumbled 7 percent.
     In other moves:
                           Stocks
* Genworth MI Canada Inc. rose 6.1 percent to a record high after third-quarter earnings beat estimates and two analysts upgraded the stock
* Bombardier Inc. added 6.1 percent to the highest since January 2015, when Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare took the reins and began his turnaround plan
* Stella-Jones Inc. fell 5.7 percent, the most since January. Management guided to the bottom range of its previous Ebitda margin forecast and said some softness in railroad ties persists
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.25 discount to WTI, the biggest gap since March
* Aeco natural gas traded at a 79-cent discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,269.20 an ounce.
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3 percent to C$1.2769 per U.S. dollar after Canada added more jobs than expected in October for the biggest-ever two-month gain in full-time employment
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 1.96 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron and Sarah Ponczek

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks capped the longest string of weekly gains since 2013 as Apple Inc. results and strong services sector data added to optimism in the economy. The dollar rose, while Treasuries edged higher as the latest jobs report did little to alter views on the timing for higher interest rates.
     The S&P 500 Index finished higher for an eighth week as Apple jumped 2.6 percent to a record. The Cboe Volatility Index headed for the lowest close on record. The dollar added to gains after the services sector looked robust. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 2.33 percent. Crude topped $55 a barrel on reports Mexico’s state-owned oil company made a major discovery. An index of emerging-market currencies declined the most in a month amid Venezuela’s plan to restructure its debt.
     Payrolls data provided a mixed picture of the strength of the labor market, though distortions from the hurricanes in August made it difficult to draw firm conclusions. Based on fed fund futures, the odds for a rate hike in December were unchanged at a high level. Investors are also weighing the impact of House Republican leaders’ sweeping tax plan, which includes lowering the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent.
     Meanwhile, President Nicolas Maduro said Venezuela will seek to restructure its global debt after the state oil company makes one more payment. While the risk of contagion is low, an index of emerging-market currencies declined for the first time this week.

     Here are some of the remaining scheduled events this week:
* Trump left for an 11-day trip to Asia, his first as president, on Friday. Trade and security issues — particularly North Korea — will probably be in focus.
* Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is among companies announcing results.
* iPhone X debuted in stores.

      Here are the main moves in markets:

                                 Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to a record 2,587.69 at 4 p.m. in New York, to notch a weekly gain of 0.3 percent. It was the eighth straight weekly advance, the longest run since November 2013.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed, ending the week higher by 0.4 percent at an all-time high.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.9 percent, capping a weekly gain of 1.3 percent. It closed at a record.
* The VIX lost 9 percent to 9.08. A close at that level would be a record low.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 percent. 
                             Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.3 percent to erase a loss for the week.
* A Bloomberg basket of emerging market currencies fell 0.7 percent.
* The euro lost less than 0.1 percent to $1.1610.
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3075.
                              Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 2.33 percent. The rate fell seven basis points in the week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased less than one basis point to 0.37 percent.
                              Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $54.64 a barrel, near a 28-month high. Futures rose for a fourth straight week.
* Gold futures fell 0.6 percent to $1,270.50 an ounce. The contract ended a week ago at $1,271.80.
                               Asia
* Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.5 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi index rose by the same amount.
* Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3 percent.
* Apple suppliers in Taiwan advanced. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the main assembler of Apple devices, rose as much as 1.8 percent; Wistron Corp., another Apple assembler, gained 2.5 percent and Genius Electronic Optical Co. climbed 2.8 percent.
* The Japanese yen climbed less than 0.05 percent to 114.07 per dollar.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Until a radical change takes place and we wipe out all nationalities,
all ideologies, all religious division, and establish a global relationship – psychologically and
inwardly first, then organized in the outside world  – we shall go on with war.
Krishnamurti

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.
            -Lorraine Hansberry, 1930-1965

 

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

November 2, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

ALL SOULS DAY, CHRISTIAN CALENDAR.
DAY OF THE DEAD, Dia de los Muertos, Mexico.

DEPARTED LEGEND: Rock legend Tom Petty, who died October 2nd, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.  Check out the musician and his band performing one of their most well-known hits, “American Girl,” for the ceremony via the hall of Fame’s video at  http://bit.ly/tompettyrockroll.

1971 – November 2 – Science – National Research Council scientist Gerhard Herzberg, and German-Canadian wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in molecular spectroscopy.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Starlings fly at dusk over Aberystwyth, Wales.


Deer silhouetted during the autumn sunrise at Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire.

Mammatus clouds at St. Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay.

The finishing touches are added to a Spitfire model at West Quay, Southampton. A model Spitfire covered in 1,600 poppies was unveiled to commemorate Remembrance Day. The bright red, half-size replica stands in Southampton, Hants, the city where the famous World War II fighter plane was built by aeronautical company Supermarine and will remain by shopping centre West Quay until November 12.
Market Closes for November 2nd, 2017

Market

Index

Close Change
Dow

Jones

23515.30 +80.29

 

+0.34%

 
S&P 500 2580.66 +1.30

 

+0.05%

 
NASDAQ 6714.941 -1.592

 

-0.02%

 
TSX 16019.31 -10.02

 

-0.06%

International Markets

Market

Index

Close Change
NIKKEI 22539.12 +119.04
 +0.53%
HANG

SENG

28518.64 -75.42
-0.26%
SENSEX 33573.22 -27.05
-0.08%
FTSE 100* 7555.32 +67.36
+0.90%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.

10 Year Bond

1.958 1.970
CND.

30 Year

Bond

2.285 2.300
U.S.   

10 Year Bond

2.3468 2.3703
U.S.

30 Year Bond

2.8294 2.8547

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.78098 0.77730
US

$

1.28044 1.28651
     
Euro Rate

1 Euro=

  Inverse
Canadian $ 1.49308 0.66976
US

$

1.16606 0.85759

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold

Fix

1279.60 1277.05
     
Oil    
WTI Crude Future 54.54 54.30

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$1.4 billion

The amount of cash Tesla burned through in the third quarter en route to a $619 million loss.
Canada
By Kristine Owram

     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s equity benchmark fell for the first time in six trading days as weak results from North America’s largest pipeline operator weighed on energy stocks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 14 points or 0.1 percent to 16,014.99. Energy shares retreated 1.2 percent as Enbridge Inc. fell 4.8 percent to the lowest in 20 months. Third-quarter profit missed estimates amid weakness in its natural gas business.
     The materials sector lost 0.4 percent as metals prices fell from recent highs. Utilities fell 1 percent as Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. lost 3.3 percent following a deal to buy a 25 percent stake in Abengoa SA for $608 million.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. tumbled 13 percent, the most ever, after a “challenging quarter” from Tempur Sealy International Inc. weighed on the sector and same-store sales missed estimates
* Kinaxis Inc. jumped 12 percent, the most since 2015, after better-than-expected earnings prompted an analyst upgrade
* Bombardier Inc. rose 6.1 percent to the highest since February 2015. The company won the first major sales agreement in 18 months for its C Series jet
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $13.85 discount to WTI, slightly narrower than Wednesday when it hit the widest gap since March as new oil-sands projects approach completion
* Aeco natural gas traded at a 74-cent discount to Henry Hub
* Gold remained relatively unchanged around $1,276.80 an ounce.
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.5 percent to C$1.2807 per U.S. dollar, the biggest gain in two weeks
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 1.96 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron

     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks eked out a gain in the final half hour of trading, the dollar slumped and Treasuries advanced as investors reacted to details of the Republican plan to cut taxes.
     The S&P 500 Index ended higher on the strength of gains in financial and real-estate shares that advanced amid a drop in 10-year Treasury yields. Investors parsed the tax plan details for winners and losers, giving a boost to small caps on speculation they will benefit most from a proposal to cut the corporate tax rate. The housing sector was walloped on changes to how mortgage interest will be treated. 
     Facebook Inc. lost more than 2 percent after earnings disappointed, weighing on tech shares before Apple Inc. reports later Thursday. Time Warner Inc. tumbled on a Dow Jones report that the Justice Department may reject its takeover by AT&T Inc. Newell Brands Inc. sank the most in the S&P 500 on weak earnings.
     “Maybe people think there’s not enough things to raise revenue in there, which is going to be bad for the deficit which is bad for the dollar,” Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, said by phone. “This is the House version of the bill, so whatever it is it has to match up with the Senate, and we’ll get a clearer picture.”
     Markets showed little reaction to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Jerome Powell to lead the Federal Reserve. The pound slumped and gilts surged after the Bank of England indicated its first rate hike in a decade might be the last for a while. U.S. crude closed at the highest level in more than two years.
     House Republican leaders rolled out their version of tax cuts that makes sweeping changes for business and individual rates. The bill would cut corporate tax rate to 20 percent and impose a tax of as much as 12 percent on multinational companies’ accumulated offshore earnings.
     Trump nominated Powell to the top job at the U.S. central bank, a decision that was greeted with a shrug by investors who see the Fed governor as a continuity candidate. Powell has generally backed current chair Janet Yellen’s cautious approach to withdrawing stimulus.
     Elsewhere, bitcoin extended gains for the fourth consecutive day, hitting $7,000 to establish a fresh record before paring the advance.
     Here are some of the remaining scheduled events this week:
* Trump starts an 11-day trip to Asia, his first as president, on Friday. Trade and security issues — particularly North Korea — will probably be in focus.
* The slew of earnings releases will culminate with Apple Inc. results.

      And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose less than one point at 4 p.m. in New York.
* An S&P index of homebuilders sank 2.6 percent, the most since September 2016. Home Depot Inc. lost 1.6 percent.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index lost 0.2 percent as Facebook Inc. lost 2.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.7 percent, the first retreat in more than a week.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3 percent to 1,181.30.
* The euro climbed 0.3 percent to $1.1651, the strongest in more than a week.
* The British pound decreased 1 percent to $1.311, the weakest in almost four weeks on the biggest tumble in almost 21 weeks.
* The Japanese yen was unchanged at 114.18 per dollar, the strongest in about six months.           
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 2.35 percent, the lowest in two weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased eight basis points to 1.26 percent, the lowest in more than two weeks on the largest tumble in three months.                          
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 0.4 percent to settle at $54.54 a barrel, the highest since July 2015.
* Gold futures declined less than 0.05 percent to $1,276.90 an ounce. 
* Copper decreased 0.6 percent to $3.12 a pound.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Better never love,
if that love makes us hate others.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.
                                                            -Kazuo Ishiguro, b. 1954

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