Month: April 2019

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. About 1,500 people died.
Go to article »

1955~First McDonald’s opens.
1452~ Leonardo da Vinci, born.

Tragic news today about Notre Dame in Paris:
-from The New York Times:
We have photos and video of the disaster, and a short history of this scarred jewel of Gothic architecture.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A penitent of the ‘La Paz’ brotherhood make their way to church for a Palm Sunday procession in Sevilla.Palm Sunday is celebrated by Christians worldwide as it marks the biblical account of the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem signalling the start of the Holy Week to Easter Sunday. FROM THE TELEGRAPH, 4.15.2019

Indian Sikh devotees light candles on the occasion of the Baisakhi festival at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on April 14, 2019. – Baisakhi, usually celebrated on April 13 or 14 every year, is a religious and spring festival that marks the Sikh New Year. CREDIT: NARINDER NANU/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Journalists film inside the newly-discovered tomb of the ancient Egyptian nobleman “Khewi” dating back to the 5^th dynasty (2494 – 2345 BC), at the Saqqara necropolis in Egypt. CREDIT: MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for April 15^th, 2019

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	S26384.77	-27.53 -0.10%
S&P 500	2905.58	-1.83 -0.06%
NASDAQ	7976.012	-8.152 -0.10%
TSX	16515.46	+34.93
		+0.21%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22169.11y	+298.55
		+1.37%
HANG SENG	29810.72y	-99.04
		-0.33%
SENSEX	38905.84	+138.73
		+0.36%
FTSE 100*	7436.87y	-0.19
		n.c.

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.755		1.781
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.058		2.064
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.5543		2.5597
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9682		2.9737

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74783	0.75073
US $	1.33720	1.33231
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51159	0.66155
US $	1.13030	0.88472

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1294.30	1298.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.40	63.89

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1998, the New York Stock Exchange implemented its “circuit-breaker” rules that mandated trading halts when the market dropped at least 10%.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed for the 10th day in the last 11 sessions, as the benchmark index flirted with a record high. Materials and financials were outperformers among the sectors Monday, while pot stocks lagged behind.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.2 percent to 16,515.46 in Toronto. Material stocks advanced, as fertilizer giant Nutrien Ltd. bounced back from a four-day decline. Lundin Mining Corp. also was among the best performers, after agreeing to buy a copper mine in Brazil from gold producer Yamana Gold Inc. for $800 million. Pot stocks lost ground, led by Aphria Inc., which tumbled after reporting a writedown and revenue that missed expectations.
Meanwhile, the loonie’s bullish run in 2019 may soon run out of fuel if crude loses momentum. Many forecasters appear skeptical about the prospects for oil to advance much beyond its current level, potentially sapping some support from the Canadian dollar.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Lundin Mining climbed 8.1 percent on copper mine purchase from Yamana
* Osisko Gold Royalties rose 4 percent, reversing last three days’ decline
* Endeavour Mining also gained after a three-day loss
* Cannabis stocks Cronos Group, Hexo, Canopy Growth were among the biggest decliners
* Hudbay Minerals fell 4.1 percent after reporting first-quarter Manitoba production results and Waterton Global Resource Management sent a letter to the shareholders urging them to vote blue proxy card
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.75 discount to WTI
* Gold spot price fell 0.2 percent to $1,287.95 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.4 percent
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell to 1.75 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks halted a three-day advance mixed after disappointing results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. dragged down bank shares. Crude slumped toward $63 a barrel in New York.
The S&P 500 Index slipped from a six-month high as the U.S. corporate earnings season kicks into high gear. Goldman slumped 3.8 percent for the biggest drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after missing estimates for sales and trading revenue. Citigroup also retreated after its revenue matched expectations. The Bloomberg Commodity Index slid as natural gas and crude futures retreated.
    “The momentum is definitely in the US stock market, but the dramatic rise is looking a bit tired and in need of a few weeks break,” Paul Nolte, a portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management, wrote to clients. “Earnings season could provide the market with a bit of a rest as investors digest the reports and determine the overall strength of corporate America.”
European stocks edged higher, as losses in mining shares offset increases in media and insurance. The euro strengthened for a second day. In Asia, equities approached a fresh six-month high, propelled by markets in Japan and Korea, following the Bank of China’s release of upbeat credit data late Friday. With Chinese trade and lending data showing signs of improvement for the world’s second-biggest economy, investors are turning to the U.S. earnings season to confirm the resilience of corporate America in the face of numerous challenges to growth. JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted strong first- quarter results last week, and Bank of America Corp. is up on Tuesday.
Central banks remain in the picture, with President Donald Trump renewing his attack on the Fed leadership over the weekend, saying the stock market would be “5,000 to 10,000” points higher had it not been for the actions of U.S. policy makers.
Elsewhere, West Texas oil contracts slipped after the longest run of weekly gains in three years as a report showed increased U.S. oil-rig activity. Emerging market stocks pared early gains, while still heading for the 12th increase in 13 sessions. In currencies, Korea’s won jump the most since January.
Here are some notable events coming up:
* Earnings season rolls on this week, with reports due from: Bank of America, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, American Express, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, IBM, United Continental, PepsiCo, Honeywell, Alcoa and Taiwan Semiconductor.
* The Reserve Bank of Australia releases the minutes of its latest rate-decision meeting Tuesday.
* Wednesday brings China GDP, industrial production and retail sales data.
* Stock markets will be closed for Easter holidays in countries including the U.S., U.K. and Germany on Friday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent at 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.5 percent, the largest gain in more than a week.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index slipped 0.3 percent.
* Topix index gained 1.4 percent with the first advance in more than a week.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 percent.
* The euro climbed less than 0.1 percent to $1.13.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index advanced 0.1 percent to the highest in more than three weeks.
* The South Korean Won rose 0.6 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries slipped one basis point to 2.3854 percent.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 2.545 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed less than one basis point to 0.056 percent.
Commodities
* Gold futures declined 0.3 percent to $1,291 an ounce.
* Brent crude fell 0.4 percent to $71.25 a barrel.
* Platinum dipped 1.6 percent to $884.40 an ounce, the lowest in more than a week on the largest decrease in more than two weeks.
–With assistance from Elena Popina, Sarah Ponczek, Adam Haigh and Todd White.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The quieter you become the more you are able to hear.
                                               -Rumi,1207-1273

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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!
April 12, 1945~ Franklin D. Roosevelt died.
April 12, 1955 ~ Polio vaccine.
April 12, 1961 ~ 1^st man in space, Yuri Gagarin, USSR.
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the Earth once before making a safe landing.
April 12, 1981 The space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on its first test flight.

The final season of “Game of Thrones” begins Sunday night after a nearly two-year hiatus. As the fantasy saga heads for the explosive finale it has promised, our TV critic is hoping for a little more conversation and a little less action. We also have this very thorough guide that details where the show left off, and what’s to come. –NY Times.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Chihuly at Kew: Reflections on nature at Kew Gardens, London. The individual blown glass forms of Sapphire Star radiate outward to create a celestial visual experience. The world’s most celebrated contemporary glass artist brings his work to Kew Gardens, in a major exhibition of installations. The majority of the artworks have never been seen in the UK. The exhibition runs from 13^th April to 27^th October 2019. CREDIT: ELLIOTT FRANKS

The 10^th Red Ball Ragnarok annual snowkite race held in Hardangervidda National Park, Norway. The skies above the stark wilderness of Scandinavia’s biggest national park were filled with hundreds of colourful snowkites for the Red Bull Ragnarok annual race. The stunning images show hundreds of snowkites floating above the stark frozen plateau. This year 250 participants from 30 different nations tackled the gruelling five-lap course which was held in Hardangervidda National Park for the 10^th time. CREDIT: RED BULL/SWNS.COM

Framed through the Empty Sky Memorial in Jersey City, N.J., sunrise lights up the sky behind the New York City skyline. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/J. DAVID AKE

The Milky Way over Dunstanburgh Castle in the early hours of Thursday morning. Dunstanburgh castle is a 14^th-century fortification on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster between 1313 and 1322. CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA WIRE
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1996, Yahoo launched its IPO on the Nasdaq Composite, selling 2.6 million shares at an initial price of $13 a share. In one of Wall Street’s wildest feeding frenzies, mutual funds and other big investors “flipped” the shares over and over until the first day’s trading volume hit 204.36 million shares, meaning that each share changed hands more than 78 times that day. The stock finished the day with a 34% gain.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed for the ninth day in 10, hovering near all-time high. Canopy Growth led the gainers amid news that the company will replace Goldcorp Inc. in the S&P/TSX 60 Index.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index 0.5 percent to 16,480.53. in Toronto. All sectors were in the green, with financials in the No. 2 spot as bank earnings took off for some of the big U.S. companies. Materials lagged, mainly as fertilizer giant Nutrien underperformed.
Meanwhile, even with danger signs piling up, the shares of the six biggest Canadian banks have stubbornly refused to drop –
— frustrating short sellers hoping to make money on stock-price declines.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Lundin Mining Corp. continued Thursday’s gains after being upgraded to buy at Goldman as copper outperformed all the other metals
* Teck Resources, Ero Copper, Hudbay Minerals are also among base metal miners that rose with copper prices
* Encana Corp. rose 5.3 percent; Goldman named the stock as one of the best stock ideas
* Crescent Point, Ensign Energy, Whitecap Energy are among the energy companies rising with oil prices
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.25 discount to WTI
* Gold spot price fell 0.1 percent to $1,290.77 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4 percent
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.781
US
By Randall Jensen and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose amid solid bank earnings and a major deal in the energy sector, while Treasuries fell as Chinese data bolstered optimism in the global economy.
The S&P 500 gained for a third straight week as it punched through the key 2,900 level for the first time in six months. JPMorgan Chase & Co. surged on a strong first-quarter report, while Walt Disney Co. jumped to a record after it announced a new streaming service, sinking Netflix Inc.’s shares. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. soared along with shares in its competitors after Chevron agreed to buy the energy producer. Chevron slumped. Health-insurer stocks slid for a second day as policy makers in Washington spared over proposals that threatened to disrupt their businesses, weighing on the Nasdaq indexes.
The 10-year Treasury yield pushed to the highest level in nearly a month, while the dollar gave back Thursday’s gains after China’s trade and lending signaled that the world’s second-largest economy is on more stable footing.
“We’ll see financials move today because of the bank earnings, but a lot of other sectors we probably won’t see much action in,” Michael O’Rourke, JonesTrading’s chief market strategist, said by phone. “Today seems more like a lot of the past two weeks where you just have a lot of sideways action with a slight upward bias.”
The rally in equities since late December had been struggling for momentum over the last week amid renewed trade tensions and reports of slowing global growth. Earnings and Chinese data Friday helped to ease some of those concerns. Traders will now be looking to companies to provide the next kicker as the reporting season in the U.S. gathers pace.
Elsewhere, the pound rose after Prime Minister Theresa May accepted the European Union’s offer to push the Brexit deadline out to October.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index increased 0.7 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index added 0.3 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1 percent to the lowest in more than two weeks.
* The euro advanced 0.4 percent to 1.1296.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.4 percent to 112.09 per dollar.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index rose 0.1 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose six basis points to 2.55 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained six basis points to 0.055 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose six basis points to 1.212 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4 percent to $63.86 a barrel.
* Gold gained 0.1 percent to 1,294.30.
* Copper climbed 1.8 percent to $2.93 a pound.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric and Todd White.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

All my possessions for a moment of time.
                      -Elizabeth l, 1533-1603

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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:
April 11, 1945: Liberation of Buchenwald
1968: Civil Rights Act is signed into law.
1713 – France cedes Acadia and Newfoundland to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht.  Go to article »
You saw that first-ever image of a black hole yesterday, right? You can thank this grad student for the historic photo.

WHAT WE NEED
The Emperor,
his bullies
and henchmen,
terrorize the world
every day

which is why
every day

we need

a little poem
of kindness,

a small song
of peace,

a brief moment
of joy.
  –by David Budbill
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

One of the world’s largest flower gardens, renowned for its tulips, Keukenhof in the Netherlands is pictured from
the air. CREDIT: REMKO DE WAAL/EPA

A boat house is framed by branches at Lake Ammersee in Stegen, Bavaria. CREDIT: LUKAS BARTH-TUTTAS/EPA

Deer stand on a field near Hildesheim, Germany. CREDIT: MORITZ FRANKENBERG/DPA/AP

An image of a black hole surrounded by swirling ring of fire has been captured by a global team of more than 200 scientists using eight telescopes. The image, hailed as ‘huge breakthrough for humanity’ shows a glowing mass of plasma with a clear circular area of distorted spacetime in the centre. CREDIT: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION VIA GETTY IMAGES.
Market Closes for April 11^th, 2019

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	S26143.05	-14.11 -0.05%
S&P 500	2888.32	+0.11 n.c.
NASDAQ	7947.359	-16.885 -0.21%
TSX	16399.47	+3.18
		+0.02%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	21711.38y	+23.81
		+0.11%
HANG SENG	29839.45y	-280.11
		-0.93%
SENSEX	38607.01	+21.66
		+0.06%
FTSE 100*	7417.95y	-3.96
		-0.05%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.721		1.682
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.017		1.978
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4970		2.4649
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9265		2.8946

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74732	0.75101
US $	1.33810	1.33165
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50615	0.66394
US $	1.12560	0.88842

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1305.45	1303.00
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.58	64.61

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Carolina Wilson
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed for the eighth day in nine, pushed up by energy and information technology. One of the best performers was the online platform for merchants, Shopify Inc., which hit an all-time high.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.02 percent to 16,399 in Toronto. Energy stocks extended Wednesday’s gains when crude traded near a five-month high. Health care was the worst- performing sector, as cannabis stocks dragged down the group.
Shopify reached a record after Roth Capital said channel checks suggest growth in merchant’s businesses remained healthy in first quarter, implying another strong quarter when it reports results on April 30.
In other moves:
Stocks
* SSR Mining rose 3.8 percent after reporting 1Q production numbers
* Lundin Mining Corp. climbed after being upgraded to buy at Goldman
* MTY Food Group fell 8.2 percent after news that the company will buy Papa Murphy’s
* Boralex Inc. declined 3.6 percent after being downgraded to sector perform at RBC
* Waste Connections Inc. slumped after being downgraded to hold at Stifel on headwinds to recycling business
* Cronos, CannTrust, Canopy Growth were among the worst performing pot companies
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.20 discount to WTI
* Gold spot price fell 1.2 percent to $1,291.92 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.4 percent
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.721 percent
US
By Randall Jensen and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Most U.S. equity benchmarks declined amid thin volumes Thursday as investors cast an eye toward the start of earnings season. Treasuries dropped as data confirmed the economy remains on solid footing.
The S&P 500 was an outlier among stock indexes, eking out its 10th gain in 11 sessions in trading more than 20 percent below its 30-day average. Health insurers led decliners as political risks intensified, while industrials paced gains as Boeing, still embattled in the 737 Max crisis, snapped a four- day losing streak. Banking shares rose before Wells Fargo and JPMorgan report first-quarter earnings that will lead off the season Friday.
The 10-year Treasury yield pushed toward 2.50 percent after data showed a strong U.S. labor market and tepid price gains. The dollar advanced the most in more than a week, while the pound fell as Prime Minister Theresa May accepted the European Union’s offer to push the Brexit deadline out six months. Oil in New York retreated from a five-month high as an increase in U.S. inventories to the highest since late 2017 overshadowed OPEC’s efforts to reduce production.
“People are not yet wholly embracing the rally that’s happened. I think that’s evident in some of the numbers,” Mike Stritch, chief investment officer for U.S. wealth management at BMO Wealth Management, said in an interview. “Earnings season is upon us. People are going to wait and see what expectations look like for the rest of the year. That’s going to be the key theme.” Investor optimism on global stocks and commodities has endured even as warnings about a global economic slowdown abound. That bullishness may be tested as companies report earnings. Caution over economic pullbacks has emerged in comments from the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and in the Federal Reserve minutes — which reinforced expectations that interest rates should be on hold for the rest of this year.
In emerging markets, equities declined and were poised to snap their longest streak of gains in more than one year. India’s rupee strengthened as elections started.
Here are some notable events coming up:
* U.S. banks begin reporting first-quarter earnings, led by JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.
* Singapore decides on monetary policy and releases GDP data Friday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index was little changed at 2,888.32 as of 4:00 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.2 percent, while the Dow industrial dropped 0.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 0.6 percent to the lowest in more than a week.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.8 percent, the first retreat in more than two weeks.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.3 percent.
* The euro fell 0.2 percent at $1.1256.
* The Japanese yen dipped 0.6 percent to 111.64 per dollar.
* The British pound declined 0.2 percent to $1.3059.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index was little changed.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to2.495 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to -0.01percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 1.15 percent.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index sank 1 percent.
* West Texas crude fell 1.4 percent to $63.72 a barrel.
* Gold decreased 1.4 percent to $1,295.80 an ounce.
–With assistance from Randall Jensen and Eddie van der Walt.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Fear or stupidity has always been the basis of most human actions.
                                                      -Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor
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:

The Stanley Cup

For someone who called Canada home for only about five years, Frederick Arthur Stanley certainly found effective ways for his name to live on. 

The park that dominates Vancouver’s downtown bears his name. Even more famously, there’s the Stanley Cup, the silver trophy he donated in 1892. (It cost about $50.) Top teams in the National Hockey League begin this year’s competition for it today.

Stanley was a British politician who was appointed governor general of Canada in 1888. Canadians were still British subjects, and he was Queen Victoria’s representative.

He created the hockey award because of his sons’ interest in the sport. Originally called the Dominion Challenge Trophy, it was for the best amateur team in Canada.

But there is no indication that the man who first awarded it ever picked up a stick and took to the ice. His passion was horse racing. -from The NY Times, 4/10/19.

April 10, 1849: Safety pin patented.

19,555: Estimated weight (in pounds) of Scotty, a Tyrannosaurus rex whose fossil remains were discovered in the province of Saskatchewan.  Scotty is the largest T. rex ever found, outweighing previous record-holder Sue by about 900 pounds.

Interesting app to check out: MinutePhysics YouTube channel: www.YouTube.com/user/minutephysics.

Scientists discovered a new human species.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Fishermen drag their net during the traditional Poutine fishing in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France, April 9, 2019. Poutine are minute baby sardines which are exclusively fished between Antibes and Menton on the French Riviera for only 45 days each year at the end of the winter and fetch around 50 Euros per kilos at market. CREDIT: REUTERS/ERIC GAILLARD

English Heritage staff secure a temporary installation of giant inflatable snakes at Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire, as the imposing ruin re-opens to the public today. The installation, to celebrate the charity’s £1.6 million revamping of the abbey including a new museum, is based on the legend of St Hild, the founder of the abbey who drove a plague of snakes over the cliffs where they turned to stone. The installation will remain on site until Sunday 14 April. CREDIT: JIM HOLDEN

Betty Bromage completes her Wing Walk this afternoon, Pilot David Barrell A daredevil grandmother is celebrating her 90^th birthday in spectacular style by taking on a series of adrenaline-fuelled charity challenges. At a time of life when others are content to sit back and retire gracefully, Betty Bromage is gearing up to not only complete a dizzying wing-walk hundreds of feet above the Gloucestershire countryside, but a high-octane zip line ride, and a thrilling abseil. The nonagenarian hopes her fearless exploits will help raise £10,000 to build a new summerhouse and wheelchair friendly community garden at the Abbeyfield Gloucestershire home in Cheltenham where she lives. CREDIT CHARLOTTE GRAHAM FOR THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.
Market Closes for April 10^th, 2019

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26157.16	+6.58 +0.03%
S&P 500	2888.21	+10.01 +0.35%
NASDAQ	7964.242	+54.965 +0.69%
TSX	16396.29	+59.84
		+0.37%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	21687.57	-115.02
		-0.53%
HANG SENG	30119.56	-37.93
		-0.13%
SENSEX	38585.35	-353.87
		-0.91%
FTSE 100*	7421.91y	-3.66
		-0.05%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.682		1.728
CND. 30 Year Bond		1.978		2.008
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4649		2.5024
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.8946		2.9133

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75101	0.75044
US $	1.33165	1.33254
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50142	0.66603
US $	1.12753	0.88690

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1303.00	1300.00
Oil
WTI Crude Future	64.61	63.98

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, Jeffrey M. Applegate, chief U.S. investment strategist at Lehman Brothers, recommended that his clients have at least 60% of their portfolios in tech stocks, nearly twice the market weighting. Over the next year, tech stocks lost over half their value as their earnings growth completely disappeared.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rebounded from their first drop in seven days as oil prices rose and soft U.S. inflation was seen as encouraging a dovish tone from central bankers. The pot sector also rose after a two-day decline.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.4 percent to 16,396.29 in Toronto. Energy stocks rose as crude traded near a five-month high, boosted by a sharp drop in U.S. gasoline stockpiles.
Aurora Cannabis Inc. was among the best performers in pot stocks after saying it will expand a production facility by one-third to support global demand for high-quality medical pot.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Energy stocks that advanced included Baytex Energy Corp., Whitecap Resources Inc., MEG Energy Corp. and Crescent Point Energy Corp.
* Shaw Communications Inc. added 0.9 percent, rebounding from Tuesday’s 3.3 percent drop. The telecom firm added fewer wireless subscribers than analysts expected in its fiscal second quarter
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.90 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,312.30 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was little changed at C$1.33227 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell 5 basis points to 1.683 percent
US
By Randall Jensen and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced, while Treasuries held gains after Federal Reserve meeting minutes confirmed the central bank’s dovish tilt on policy this year. The dollar declined.
The S&P 500 rebounded from its first loss in nine days as unexpectedly soft inflation reading potentially boosted the Fed’s new wait-and-see approach to rate hikes. The bank’s March minutes showed that a majority of committee members saw risks warranting rates on hold through 2019.
“I think this confirms the message that we got from the March meeting,” said James McCann, senior economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments, which has about $736 billion in assets under management. “This is a Fed that’s pretty happy to just sit on its hands for the time being and stay on hold and see how some of these cross currents play out.”
Tech shares paced the advance, boosting the Nasdaq indexes. Boeing continued its slide in the wake of the 737 Max fallout, helping to hold down the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The dollar slid against the euro after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated warnings that global risks continue to batter the region’s economy as the ECB signaled no rate hikes for the rest of 2019. The pound advanced as the European Union leaders met in Brussels to hash out the terms of a Brexit delay.
The weaker-than-expected inflation data has heightened the focus on Fed policy, as investors try to figure out what it will take to budge the central bank out of its steady approach. The central bank’s minutes offered few clues. Sentiment remains fragile after the ECB’s and IMF’s somber economic reports Tuesday, and amid an escalation of the U.S.-EU trade dispute while negotiations with China remain unsettled.
Elsewhere, Israeli stocks climbed as Benjamin Netanyahu looks set for a fifth term as prime minister after a bruising election campaign. Oil futures gained as speculation that supplies will tighten outweighed Russian caution on more output cuts. Emerging-market stocks advanced for a 10th day, extending their longest run since January 2018.
Here are some notable events coming up:
* U.S. banks begin reporting first-quarter earnings, led by JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.
* The spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF continue in Washington.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 0.4 percent to 2,888.21 as of 4:00 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.7 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 added 0.6 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.3 percent, hitting the highest in almost 10 months.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.1273.
* The British pound increased 0.3 percent to $1.3095.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.2 percent to 110.95 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 2.47 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to -0.03 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dropped less than one basis point to 1.119 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.8 percent to $64.46 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.3 percent $1,312.30 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 0.5 percent.
–With assistance from Sarah Ponczek and Robert Brand.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

One man that has a mind and knows it can always beat ten men who haven’t and don’t.
                                                                        -George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor
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:
1865 – US Civil War ends.
1866 – US Civil Rights Bill passed.
1917 – Canadians Capture Vimy Ridge.  Go to article »
Source: History.com
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Women dressed in historical costumes making their way to a photo session making the start of the asparagus harvesting season in a field in Beelitz, eastern Germany. FROM THE TELEGRAPH, 4.9.19.

Indian married women take part in the Gangaur festival in Udaipur, in Rajasthan state. During the Gangaur festival, married women worship the Hindu goddess Gauri, consort of the deity Shiva. CREDIT: HIMANSHU SHARMA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES.

Workers checking the tulips in Britain’s last remaining bulb field near King’s Lynn, Norfolk, UK, in the warm spring sunshine. Siblings Finley and Aimee Everitt tiptoed through the tulips with the flowers blooming two weeks early this year. CREDIT: GEOFF ROBINSON
Market Closes for April 9^th, 2019

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26150.58	-190.44 -0.72%
S&P 500	2878.20	-17.57 -0.61%
NASDAQ	7909.277	-44.607 -0.56%
TSX	16336.45	-70.84
		-0.43%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	21802.59	+40.94
		+0.19%
HANG SENG	30157.49	+80.34
		+0.27%
SENSEX	38939.22	+238.69
		+0.62%
FTSE 100*	7425.57y	-26.32
		-0.35%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.728		1.734
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.008		2.003
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.5024		2.5186
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9133		2.9227

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75044	0.75117
US $	1.33254	1.33125
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50089	0.66627
US $	1.12639	0.88780

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1300.00	1288.45
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.98	64.40

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1998, K-Tel International, which sold compilations of old rock’n’roll songs on late-night TV, announced that it would soon begin selling music over the Internet. The stock, which closed at $6.63 the day before, surged to $67.75 by May 4. Within two years, the stock had been delisted from Nasdaq and traded at about $2 a share.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks snapped six days of gains on Tuesday, falling along with U.S. equities, as pot stocks underperformed for a second straight session. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.4 percent to 16,336.45. The pot sector contributed to the decline in health care, the worst performing sector, dropping again after Cowen cut revenue estimates for several marijuana stocks yesterday, citing expectations for “modest” growth in first quarter.
Meanwhile, Canadian market potential for legal marijuana continues to be hindered by a patchwork of provincial regulations, according to a new report. Canadian sales are expected to grow to $5.2 billion in 2024, Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics said. That’s down from a January forecast of $5.9 billion by 2022.
Stocks
* Gold miners rose as bullion gained on tension from Europe-U.S. tariff threats. Endeavour Mining, New Gold, Eldorado Gold were among gainers
* Canada Goose climbed after planning to open six new stores in 2019
* Pot companies led by CannTrust, Hexo were among the decliners
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.40 discount to WTI
* Gold spot price rose 0.6 percent to $1,304.57 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.08 percent to C$1.3324 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell to 1.728 percent
US
By Randall Jensen and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks ended the longest winning streak in 18 months Tuesday amid renewed concerns about slowing global growth and an escalation of trade tensions. Treasuries advanced.
The S&P 500 fell for the first time in nine sessions as the Trump administration threatened tariffs on the European Union and the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth outlook to the lowest since the financial crisis. Multinationals bore the brunt of the selling, with Caterpillar and Boeing dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower. Airlines tumbled along with materials and energy producers.
Ten-year Treasury yields fell below 2.50 percent, while the greenback was mixed against major currencies. The pound dropped
as the EU looked set to force the U.K to delay Brexit for as long as a year.
“Equity markets have been up for a really long time,” Josh Kutin, head of asset allocation for North America at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “It seems that there is just more and more data coming in which is suggesting the economy is slowing down — not in a recession, but slowing down,” he said, adding the IMF’s outlook cut is “sort of endemic of what’s going on right now.”
Investors remain on edge as the IMF’s latest report on global growth helped renew fears about a slowing world economy just as the U.S. and the EU appeared to open another front in their trade war, all while negotiations with China remain unsettled. Federal Reserve minutes, American inflation data and a European Central Bank decision later this week could add to anxieties or help provide calm.
Elsewhere, Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, received more than $100 billion in orders for its debut bond sale, kick-starting an offering with yields likely to fall in line with or below Saudi Arabia’s sovereign debt. Israel’s stocks climbed with the shekel as the country went to the polls. Emerging-market currencies and shares advanced. Crude held near a five-month high.
Here are some notable events coming up:
* U.S. banks begin reporting first-quarter earnings, led by JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.
* The annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF begin in Washington Tuesday.
* The Federal Reserve release minutes of its March meeting Wednesday.
* The ECB will probably leave its key interest rates unchanged Wednesday. Investors will be looking for further details on TLTRO.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.6 percent to 2,878.24 as of 4 p.m. New York time, the most since March 22.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.5 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.4 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro was steady at $1.1263.
* The Japanese yen increased 0.3 percent to 111.12 per dollar.
* The British pound fell 0.1 percent to $1.3054.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index advanced 0.2 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank two basis points to 2.49 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.01 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped two basis points to 1.099 percent.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 0.2 percent.
* West Texas crude fell 0.5 percent to $64.05 a barrel.
* Gold gained 0.5 percent to $1,308.10 an ounce.
–With assistance from Javier Blas, Eddie van der Walt and Vildana Hajric.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

 
Logic will get you from A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere.
                                                         -Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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 Monday!
Today is Buddha’s birthday ~ Siddhartha, “the enlightened one.”  Buddha is Sanskrit for “the Enlightened”.  It was the title given to Prince Siddhartha or Gautama (c. 563-483 BC), the founder of Buddhism.  He is also called Sakyamuni from the name of the Sakyas, the warrior people into whom he was born.  This title means “Sakya sage”.

April 8, 2009 – Somali pirates hijacked the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama. (The crew retook the cargo ship, and Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship’s American captain.) Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

British Sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green puts the finishing touches to his new 6m high copper horse in his Surrey studio, before it is transported to Venice in Italy for the Biennale Art fair, which runs from May 1 to July 31. CREDIT: STEVE PARSONS/PA

Participants in a re-enactment of the Battle of Dintingdale, from the Wars of the Roses, take a break at the Royal Armouries at Leeds Dock, West Yorkshire. CREDIT: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Re-enactors dressed as Star Wars characters attend on the second day of the Scarborough Sci-Fi weekend in the North Yorkshire seaside town. CREDIT: IAN FORSYTH/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for April 8^th, 2019

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26341.02	-83.97 -0.32%
S&P 500	2895.77	+3.03 +0.10%
NASDAQ	7953.883	+15.191 +0.19%
TSX	16407.29	+11.14
		+0.07%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	21761.65	-45.85
		-0.21%
HANG SENG	30077.15	+140.83
		+0.47%
SENSEX	38700.53	-161.70
		-0.42%
FTSE 100*	7451.89y	+5.02
		+0.07%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.734		1.711
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.003		1.993
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.5186		2.5223
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9227		2.9321

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75117	0.74934
US $	1.33125	1.33442
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49932	0.66697
US $	1.12624	0.88791

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1288.45	1290.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	64.40	62.46

Market Commentary:
April 1999 was the first month ever to gain 1000 Dow Points.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rallied late Monday to close positive, extending gains made all last week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.07 percent to 16,407.29. Energy and materials gained while health care dropped. Canadian pot stocks retreated after Cowen cut revenue estimates on the expectation that first-quarter growth will be modest.
Separately, Justin Trudeau’s government is threatening to crack down on Google, Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., saying the tech giants aren’t doing enough to help fight meddling in the lead-up to Canada’s fall election.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Crescent Point Energy Corp. rallied 12.2%
* Gran Tierra Energy Inc. gained 7.6%
* Valeura Energy Inc. advanced 11.5% after a mention in The Telegraph
* Painted Pony Energy Ltd. rose 7.7%
* Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. fell 7.4%; block of 1.88m shares traded earlier
* Village Farms International Inc. lost 7.9%
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.15 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,301.90 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.5 percent to C$1.3312 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.73 percent
US
By Randall Jensen and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stocks edged higher, with the S&P 500 extending its longest rally since 2017 to eight days, as investors awaited signs of progress in the trade war with China ahead of the latest corporate earnings season. Treasuries dropped, while West Texas crude hit a five-month high.
The S&P 500 eked out a gain in thin volumes, rising to about 1.3 percent from its all-time high. However, catalysts remained scant Monday after trade talks ended last week in Washington without any timetable for an agreement. Apple lifted the Nasdaq 100, while energy producers rose along with oil prices. General Electric tumbled after JPMorgan cut its rating on the stock and Boeing dropping amid the ongoing fallout surrounding the 737 Max airplane.
Crude extended its advance as an escalation of fighting in OPEC producer Libya overshadowed the biggest increase in U.S. active rigs since May. The dollar fell for the first time in three sessions.
“Today we’re just taking a bit of a breather,” said Evan Brown, head of macro asset allocation strategy at UBS Asset Management, in a phone interview. “We’ve had a good run higher in equities and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a little bit of profit taking ahead of a few events — earnings, and we have the ECB and Fed minutes later this week. So it’s just a period of digestion here.”
Following a stellar first quarter across many assets classes, investors are assessing prospects for further gains as the U.S-China seem unable to come to a final decision on trade and earnings season gets underway. Despite a lack of details emerging from last week’s discussions, Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the two sides are closer to a deal, and that top-tier officials would be talking this week. A better U.S. jobs report Friday didn’t stop President Trump from suggesting the Fed should cut interest rates.
Elsewhere, the pound edged higher as British Prime Minister Theresa May appealed to both the public and politicians in search of support for a compromise Brexit plan. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited “widespread irregularities” in local elections in Istanbul, sending the lira lower.
Here are some notable events coming up:
* U.S. banks begin reporting first-quarter earnings, led by JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.
* Israel votes in an election Tuesday.
* The annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF begin in Washington Tuesday.
* The ECB will probably leave its key interest rates unchanged Wednesday. Investors will be looking for further details on TLTRO.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent as of 4:01 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.3 percent, while the Down Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.4 percent, hitting the highest in more than eight months.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent to the highest in about six months.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2 percent.
* The euro increased 0.4 percent to $1.1261, the strongest in almost two weeks.
* The British pound climbed 0.2 percent to $1.3062.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.2 percent to 111.46 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained two basis points to 2.51 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell less than one basis point to 0.004 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 1.107 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2 percent to $64.36 a barrel, the highest in five months.
* Gold advanced 0.5 percent to $1,301.90 an ounce, the highest in more than a week.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Adam Haigh, Sarah Ponczek and Yakob Peterseil.

Have  a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Take sides.  Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.  Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
-Elie Wiesel, 1928-2016

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor
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!
Birthdays:
Spencer Tracy, actor, born 1900.
Bette Davis, actor, born 1908.
Gregory Peck, actor, born 1916.

Today is Tomb Sweeping Day is Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites, pray to their ancestors, and make ritual offerings.  The holiday recognizes the traditional reverence of one’s ancestors in Chinese culture.  It falls on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. This makes it the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, either 4 or 5 April in a given year. –from Wikipedia.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sir David Attenborough was joined by the Duke of Cambridge, Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex at the premiere of his Netflix series Our Planet at the Natural History Museum in London. CREDIT: EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH

An eagle eyed bird of prey successfully caught a fish with a mid-air snatch in these fantastic split second photographs. Wildlife photographer Nicolas Reusens, 43, took the stunning shots in Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan and it was safe to say this particular eagle wasn’t a fish out of water when it came to hunting. CREDIT: NICOLAS REUSENS/CATERS NEWS

Photographer John Fatkin captured these jaw-dropping images of a rainbow and ferry on the River Tyne, UK, with the iconic red-painted Herd Groyne Lighthouse. CREDIT: TOM FATKIN/COVER IMAGES

These are icebergs, but as you’ve never seen them before as algae in the water has turned them completely turquoise. The stunning jadebergs are formed when seawater containing algae freezes on the bottom of a glacier. Photographer of five years Nicholas Cullen, 30, was lucky enough to capture the rare phenomenon during a trip across the Southern Ocean of East Antarctica earlier this year. CREDIT: NICHOLAS CULLEN/CATERS NEWS
Market Closes for April 5^th, 2019

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26424.99	+40.36 +0.15%
S&P 500	2892.74	+13.35 +0.46%
NASDAQ	7938.691	+46.907 +0.59%
TSX	16396.15	+84.54
		+0.52%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	21807.50	+82.55
		+0.38%
HANG SENG	29936.32y	-50.07
		-0.17%
SENSEX	38862.23	+177.51
		+0.46%
FTSE 100*	7446.87y	+44.93
		+0.61%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.700		1.697
CND. 30 Year Bond		1.972		1.977
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4989		2.5080
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9071		2.9149

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74718	0.74869
US $	1.33836	1.33572
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50124	0.66612
US $	1.12170	0.89151

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1283.15	1290.45
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.08	62.10

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1990, the “thrift crisis” was everywhere at once. The estimated cost of bailing out failed savings-and-loan companies—pegged just one year earlier at $158 billion—was revised by government forecasters to a minimum of $285 billion to $350 billion.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks gained for a fifth day, their longest winning streak since January, as a strong jobs report from south of the border offset Canada’s first employment drop in seven months.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.5 percent to 16,396.15, bringing its weekly gain to 1.8 percent. Energy shares rose 1.7 percent on the back of higher crude prices, which capped their longest run of gains since 2017.
Strength in pot stocks boosted the health-care index to a gain 1.3 percent. Aurora Cannabis Inc. rose 2.8 percent and Aphria Inc. added 1.1 percent after both won licenses to grow medical marijuana in Germany.
In other moves:
Stocks
* SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. lost 1.6 percent after agreeing to sell a 10 percent stake in a Toronto-area toll highway for as much as
C$3.25 billion
* Shopify Inc. rose 1.3 percent, regaining some of Thursday’s 4 percent drop. Analysts at Baird said Shopify continues to take market share despite competitive concerns, a day after short-seller Citron Research warned of headwinds
* Hudbay Minerals Inc. rose 0.7 percent after earlier gaining as much as 1.7 percent. The miner has agreed to nominate two directors backed by a dissident investor
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.30 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,290.40 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2 percent to C$1.3387 per U.S. dollar after the country lost 7,200 jobs in March
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 1.70 percent
US
By Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks pushed toward all-time highs, the dollar strengthened and the Treasury yield curve flattened after a report showed the economy is adding jobs with few signs of inflation and President Donald Trump pressured the Federal Reserve to sustain growth. “On the bigger picture, it looks like a very strong labor market is a good sign for the economy, but low inflation is also attractive for financial markets,” said John Vail, chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management, which has around $202 billion in assets under management. “So it’s a bit of a Goldilocks situation.”
The S&P 500 index rose for a seventh consecutive day, the longest rally since 2017, and approaching the record high reached in September. The benchmark, along with the Dow and Nasdaq indexes, finished at six-month highs. Global stocks edged higher earlier following remarks from both China and the U.S. that progress was being made in trade talks. The pound weakened after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May asked the EU to delay Brexit to June 30.
Payrolls rose by 196,000 in March, a Labor Department report showed. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey saw an increase of 177,000. Wage gains eased and the unemployment rate held near a 49-year low.
“This report came out right in the sweet spot, where it still showed that employment and the labor market are still solid, which will underpin a strong consumer moving forward,” said Shawn Cruz, TD Ameritrade’s manager of trader strategy. Even so, Trump said the Fed should cut interest rates and stop shrinking its balance sheet, maintaining his pressure on the central bank over its monetary policy. The Fed’s interest rate increases last year outraged the president, who even discussed firing the central bank’s chairman, Jerome Powell. “He’s made these kinds of comments before,” said Olivia Engel, chief investment officer for active quantitative equities at State Street Global Advisors. “I think the market is focused on other things like the real sources of earnings, the real state of the economy.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is pushing for a rapid conclusion to the negotiations with the U.S., while Trump on Thursday talked up prospects for a “monumental” agreement that may still be some weeks away. The improved tone in the talks has helped drive the recent rally in equities, with the MSCI All Country World Index touching a six-month high this week. Elsewhere, West Texas crude strengthened above $62 a barrel, preserving its fifth straight weekly advance. Bitcoin climbed and hovered around $5,000.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 percent as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.6 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2 percent.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1218, while the yen weakened 0.1 percent to 111.67 per dollar.
* The British pound weakened 0.3 percent to $1.3036.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index was little changed.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 2.50 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.05 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to 1.12 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate rose 1.9 percent to $63.28 a barrel.
* Gold was little changed at $1,292 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.2 percent, the fifth consecutive daily gain.
–With assistance from Michael P. Regan.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

One is never as unhappy as one thinks, nor as happy as one hopes.
                                             -Duc de la Rochefoucauld, 1613-80

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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:

April 4, 1968 ~ Martin Luther King , Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn.  Go to article »
1929 ~ Maya Angelou, writer, born.
“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.  Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.  We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous or honest.” –Maya Angelou, 1928-2014.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization turns 70 today.

Having lunch in the cafeteria at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels is like attending a costume party, given the varied uniforms of the 29 members. A 30th nation, North Macedonia, is to join soon.

The appeal is a mutual defense pact that has a rejuvenated purpose: to keep Russia contained and Germany defended.

Tensions that had seemed to diminish with the fall of the Soviet Union are back, thanks to the 2008 Georgian war, the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and warfare in eastern Ukraine, and Russian meddling in Greece, Montenegro and other countries.

President Trump has disparaged NATO’s new headquarters as too expensive. But for this frequent visitor, it was a needed replacement for the ramshackle old structure. I once nearly lost my foot going through a rotten floor that was thrown together when Charles de Gaulle threw NATO out of France in 1966.

(France came back to full membership 10 years ago.) –by Steven Erlanger, NY Times’ Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Batmaker John Bowles crafts a handmade cricket bat at Warsop Stebbing in East Hanningfield, Essex ahead of the start of the cricket season this weekend. Warsop Stebbing is a family-run business who have been handcrafting cricket bats since the mid 1800s, and is now owned and run by the fifth generation of the family, Clere Warsop. CREDIT: KIRSTY O’CONNOR/PA

A Kashmiri boatman rows a boat inside Dal Lake while sun sets in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. The weather in Indian Kashmir improved with the maximum temperature of 20 degree Celsius. Weather improves in Indian Kashmir, Srinagar, India. CREDIT: FAROOQ KHAN/EPA
Market Closes for April 4^th, 2019

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26384.63	+166.50 +0.64%
S&P 500	2879.39	+5.99 +0.21%
NASDAQ	7891.785	-3.768 -0.05%
TSX	16311.61	+31.75
		+0.20%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	21724.95	+11.74
		+0.05%
HANG SENG	29936.32	-50.07
		-0.17%
SENSEX	38684.72	-192.40
		-0.49%
FTSE 100*	7401.94y	-16.34
		-0.22%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.697		1.711
CND. 30 Year Bond		1.977		1.993
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.5080		2.5223
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9149		2.9321

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74869	0.74934
US $	1.33572	1.33442
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49989	0.66714
US $	1.12224	0.89107

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1290.45	1290.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	62.10	62.46

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1996, AT&T spun off Lucent Technologies at an initial price of $27 per share, raising $3.02 billion in what was the biggest IPO of all time. The issue was four to five times oversubscribed, meaning investors were seeking to buy at least four shares for each one that was actually available—even though the offering price had been lifted from the early estimate of $22 to $25. More than 42 million shares were traded, accounting for 11% of the day’s volume on the New York Stock Exchange, and Lucent closed up 13%.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fourth day to their highest level since August as gold stocks rallied, offsetting a dip in Shopify Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite added 0.2 percent to 16,311.61, marking its longest streak of gains since February and bringing it within 1.7 percent of a record high. Materials jumped 1.8 percent on strength in gold miners and Teck Resources Ltd.
     Technology stocks slid 2.1 percent as Shopify fell 4 percent, the most since early January. The online platform for merchants was targeted by Citron Research, which said a trio of troubles may knock its stock down to $100 in the next 12 months.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Richelieu Hardware Ltd. tumbled 6.1 percent to the lowest since December after reporting a 20 percent drop in first-quarter net profit
* Guyana Goldfields Inc. lost 2.1 percent to the lowest since 2008. A group of activist investors is pointing to a dramatic drop in the miner’s shares as further signs of waning investor confidence
* Goldcorp Inc. gained 2 percent after shareholders overwhelmingly approved a merger with Newmont Mining Corp.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.40 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,289.00 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.3353 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 1.70 percent
US
Here are some key events coming up:
* The monthly U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show non-farm payrolls up 175,000 in March, versus the 186,000 average over the prior three months, after recent readings whipsawed analysts.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent as of 4:06 p.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq Composite Index eased less than 0.1
percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 slumped 0.3 percent, the first drop in five days.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index eased 0.2 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2 percent.
* The euro eased 0.2 percent to $1.1216, while the yen weakened about 0.1 percent to 111.55 per dollar.
* The British pound weakened 0.5 percent to $1.3098, the first decrease in four days.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index fell 0.2 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 2.52 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dropped one basis point to negative 0.008 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.09 percent.
Commodities
* Brent crude rose 0.9 percent to $69.90 a barrel, after climbing to $70.03 earlier.
* Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,293 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose less than 0.1 percent.
–With assistance from Todd White.

Have a great evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever, 

Carolann

 

Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.
                                          -Herbert Asquith, 1852-1928
 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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:
April 3, 1860 – Pony Express established.
Marlon Brando, actor, born April 3, 1924
On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion ($53-billion 2019 dollars) in aid for 16 European countries.
Go to article »
 
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Chefs attend the theatre Vincenzo Bellini “Cibo Nostrum 2019” on day 2 of the great feast of Italian cuisine, celebrating the culture of food and wine in Catania, Italy. CREDIT: FABRIZIO VILLA/GETTY IMAGE

Armathwaite Hall hotel in Keswick, Cumbria holds Lemoga classes with the lemurs from Lake District Wild Life Park mingling with the class to create a personal yoga experience which aims to heighten the sense of wellbeing for both lemur and human. CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA

The sun rises behind the ‘Eiserne Steg’ (Iron Footbridge) pedestrian bridge in Frankfurt, Germany. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/MICHAEL PROBST
Market Closes for April 3^rd, 2019

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26218.13	+39.00 +0.15%
S&P 500	2873.40	+6.16 +0.21%
NASDAQ	7895.555	+46.866 +0.60%
TSX	16279.86	+15.99
		+0.10%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	21713.21	+207.90
		+0.97%
HANG SENG	29986.39	+361.72
		+1.22%
SENSEX	38877.12	-179.53
		-0.46%
FTSE 100*	7418.28y	+27.16
		+0.37%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.711		1.663
CND. 30 Year Bond		1.993		1.952
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.5223		2.4688
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9321		2.8739

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74934	0.74983
US $	1.33442	1.33370
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49918	0.66703
US $	1.12356	0.89003

Commodities

 

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1290.30	1293.50
Oil
WTI Crude Future	62.46	62.58

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issued a final ruling finding that Microsoft had violated Federal antitrust law. Shares of the software company plunged 14%, slicing $80 billion off the firm’s market value to put it at $473 billion. The Nasdaq suffered one of its worst days ever, tumbling 7.6%. Today, Microsoft has a market cap of $914 billion.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks edged higher for a third day, boosted by results from retailer Hudson’s Bay Co. and progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 16,279.86. Hudson’s Bay Co. was the biggest gainer on the benchmark, adding 5.8 percent, the most since February, after its Saks Fifth Avenue chain reported a 3.9 percent increase in same-store sales.The gains were moderated by a 0.5 percent drop in energy stocks after a report showed U.S. crude stockpiles grew by the most since January.
Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. lost 5 percent and Encana Corp. fell 4.7 percent.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Tricon Capital Group Inc. slid 5.8 percent, the most since
2015. The real-estate company’s $1.4 billion portfolio acquisition creates a potential overhang but the positives outweigh the negatives, according to TD Securities
* Teck Resources Ltd. fell 2.6 percent. The miner said it expects the global copper market to remain in deficit to 2025 even at low demand growth rates
* Boyd Group Income Fund gained 3.7 percent to a record high after expanding a credit facility to $400 million
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.20 discount to WTI
* Gold was little changed at $1,289.90 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.3344 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 4 basis points to 1.71 percent
US
By Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek
      (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks staged a late rally to close at almost six-month highs as optimism over global growth revived investor risk appetite. Sovereign-debt yields continued to climb from recent two-year lows.
The benchmark S&P 500 finished positive for a fifth day, equaling the longest winning streak in two months. U.S. equities had slumped midday after Bloomberg News reported that millions of Facebook user records were found on cloud computing servers.
On the trade front, the deal that the U.S. and China are crafting would give Beijing until 2025 to meet commitments on commodity purchases and allow American companies to wholly own enterprises in the Asian nation, according to three peoplefamiliar with the talks.
“Trade matters because it could impact corporate earnings,” said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research for FTSE Russell. “As a result, the biggest thing investors will be looking for is a full rollback of all existing tariffs plus commitments not to initiate new tariffs in the future.”
Investors are looking for fresh catalysts to sustain an equities rally that so far has weathered underwhelming global-growth data. Topping their agenda are signs of a rebound in China’s economy, the trade war possibly ending and moves toward a softer Brexit. Trade talks are continuing in Washington where Chinese Vice Premier Liu He began planned meetings on Wednesday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index jumped after a string of economic reports from Italy to Germany helped earlier to ease concern over the euro area’s growth outlook. Treasuries fell with sovereign bonds in Europe, where the key German 10-year yield climbed back above zero for the first time in a week.
Elsewhere, oil hovered not far from a four-month high in New York. MSCI’s gauge of emerging-market stocks climbed to an eight-month high. The Bloomberg Commodities Index climbed for a third day as iron ore bounded higher on concern over supplies from Brazil.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The monthly U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show non-farm payrolls up 180,000 in March, similar to the 186,000 average over the prior three months, after recent readings whipsawed analysts.
* India’s central bank will set policy on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent as of 4:05 p.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 1 percent, the fourth consecutive rise.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 0.8 percent, the fifth straight increase.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent, the fourth consecutive gain.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The euro gained 0.3 percent to $1.1240, while the yen weakened 0.1 percent to 111.46 per dollar.
* The British pound strengthened 0.3 percent to $1.3163, the third straight increase.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index increased 0.2 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 2.52 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased six basis points to 0.01 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield jumped nine basis points to 1.10 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate fell 0.3 percent to $62.42 a barrel, the first drop in four days.
* Gold eased 0.2 percent to $1,290 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.4 percent, the third straight increase.

Have a great night!

Be magnificent.
As ever,

Carolann

But be not afraid of greatness: some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
  -William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor 

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 April 1, 1945, American forces invaded Okinawa during World War II.  Go to article »
April 1, 1970 – Cigarette ads banned from TV.

100 years of the Bauhaus

The Bauhaus art school celebrates the centenary of its founding today.

The Modernist school (whose name inverts “Hausbau,” the German word for “house building”) was among the first to combine the teaching of crafts, design, architecture and fine art.

Walter Gropius, the architect who established the school in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, wrote in the Bauhaus’s program that the ultimate aim was the “unified work of art.”

He enlisted masters of various artistic disciplines, such as Wassily Kandinsky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Paul Klee, to join the faculty.

The school survived for little more than a decade before it was shut down in 1933 under pressure from the Nazis.

But the Bauhaus principles of uniting art and functional design in everyday life were long-lasting and spread worldwide. – Anna Schaverien, NY Times.

Spring Letter from the South
             -by Keetje Kuipers
Mother, it’s like summer here. I miss 
the way the mountains get cold at night,
draw their shoulders up. In the evenings
we walk through the old neighborhoods,
past the frayed houses where magnolias
collapse their heavy bosoms against
each roof’s pitched elbows. Everything
the baby does — proclaiming song-words
to the birds, commanding trees
to hold still or spill their guts —
is magic I haven’t given up on yet.
That pollen-rot smell is starting again:
one year later and it’s like a year
hasn’t passed. When she sleeps pressed against
me, we still feel so young — all of us.
Even the cemetery is beautiful
this time of year. Do you remember
when you were here? It’s like that.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Spring lambs on Dartmoor. CREDIT: RICHARD AUSTIN

A Northern Hawk Owl peeks out of the trunk of a hollow tree in Gakona, Alaska. CREDIT: MICHAEL QUINTON/MINDEN PICTURES/SOLENT NEWS

A woman flies her kite on the National Mall in Washington, DC, during the Cherry Blossom Kite Festival. CREDIT: EVA HAMBACH/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for April 1^st, 2019

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26258.42	+329.74   +1.27%
S&P 500	2867.19	+32.79   +1.16%
NASDAQ	7828.910	+99.589   +1.29%
TSX	16228.06	+125.97
		+0.78%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	21509.03	+303.22
		+1.43%
HANG SENG	29562.02	+510.66
		+1.76%
SENSEX	38871.87	+198.96
		+0.51%
FTSE 100*	7317.38	+38.19
		+0.52%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.705		1.617
CND. 30 Year Bond		1.975		1.892
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.5009		2.4050
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.8908		2.8143

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75124	0.74422
US $	1.33113	1.34369
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.49139	0.67055
US $	1.12040	0.89254

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1295.40	1309.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future	61.59	59.30

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1930, in one of the biggest “suckers’ rallies” of all time, the total market value of New York Stock Exchange-listed companies hit $67.5 billion, up roughly 40% from their trough in the Great Crash of 1929. As the New York Fed cut interest rates yet again to just 3.5% (down from 6% in 1929), investors turned bullish and many leading stocks such as RCA and Columbia Graphophone roughly doubled from their 1929 lows. By year-end, however, stocks were down more than 40% from here.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks kicked off the second quarter on an upbeat note, gaining the most since mid-February amid a widespread global rally prompted by strong Chinese manufacturing data.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.8 percent to 16,228.06, about 300 points from its record closing high. Consumer discretionary stocks led the way, rising 2.2 percent as Dollarama Inc. jumped 6.1 percent, the most since 2017. The stock has been rising steadily since the discount retailer reported earnings last week.
     On the other side of the ledger, materials lost 0.6 percent as precious metals prices fell. MAG Silver Corp. was the biggest decliner on the benchmark, losing 7.2 percent.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Cresco Labs Inc. rose 3.7 percent and Origin House fell 1.6 percent. Cresco, one of the most valuable U.S.-focused cannabis companies, is buying Origin House for about $820 million
* Village Farms International Inc. jumped 8.5 percent after Beacon Securities boosted its price target on the produce-and-pot stock to a street high of C$60
* Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. gained 2.6 percent amid a broader rally in financial stocks. The firm is cutting jobs in London as Brexit hurts capital markets
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.25 discount to WTI, the narrowest gap since January
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,288.40 an ounce FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3 percent to C$1.3315 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 8 basis points to 1.70 percent, the biggest gain since January, amid a global slump in bond prices
US
By Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks strengthened worldwide as strong manufacturing data out of the world’s second largest economy helped allay investor concern about a slowdown in global growth.
     Yields on Treasuries rose the most since January after as a gauge of U.S. factories topped estimates in March.
     The S&P 500 closed at the highest level since October, while the Dow gained the most since Feb. 15. Shares of Lyft dropped below its IPO price as analysts noted there is limited visibility into the company’s path to growth and profitability.
     The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed on the heels of its best quarter in four years after key China manufacturing PMIs for March beat the highest estimate in Bloomberg surveys of economists. That’s despite manufacturing data for Europe coming in at the lowest since 2013.
     “This is good news for investors wondering what the next catalyst for stocks will be in 2019,” wrote Nancy Tengler, chief investment strategist at Tengler Wealth Management, in an email. ‘It means momentum is turning more bullish in an intermediate to long term,” David Russell, vice president at TradeStation, said in an interview. “This chart pattern does not happen a lot.”
     In Asia, Chinese shares surged to the highest since May, while Hong Kong stocks entered a bull market. The yen declined, while the Turkish lira fluctuated as preliminary results from the weekend’s municipal elections showed the popularity of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is being tested.
     Global equities are building on their strongest quarter since 2010 amid bets that dovish tilts by major central banks will help prop up earnings. The Chinese data went some way toward easing worries about a slowdown prior to the release of American monthly jobs numbers at the end of the week. U.S.-China trade talks will resume when Vice Premier Liu He leads a delegation to Washington later this week, potentially offering more positive developments for investors.
     Elsewhere, the pound extended its gain as U.K. factory data reached a 13-month high on Brexit stockpiling and as lawmakers prepare to vote on alternative options to replace Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce plan.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The Reserve Bank of Australia decides on monetary policy Tuesday at a time of falling growth forecasts. Then Australia will release its federal budget that evening. 
* Chinese Vice Premier Liu He leads a delegation of trade negotiators to Washington on Wednesday, days after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer traveled to Beijing.
* The monthly U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show nonfarm payrolls up 175,000 in March, similar to the 186,000 average over the prior three months, after recent readings whipsawed analysts. Economists think the jobless rate held at 3.8 percent with hourly earnings growing at a strong clip.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 1.2 percent to 2,867. 19 as of 4:03 p.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.3 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.3 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.2 percent. 
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 1.2 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1 percent. 
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index eased less than 0.1 percent, the first drop in five trading sessions.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1212, while the yen weakened 0.4 percent to 111.35 per dollar.
* The British pound gained 0.6 percent to $1.3113.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index rose 0.4 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries jumped nine basis points to 2.49 percent, the biggest one-day increase since January.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed four basis points to negative 0.03 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose five basis points to 1.05 percent. 
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate rose 1.5 percent to $61.64 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,289 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.7 percent, the first increase in four sessions.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

 

Carolann

Most people ignore most poetry because
most poetry ignores most people.
      -Adrian Mitchell, 1932-2008

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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