August 10, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

With Earth’s first Clay They did the Last
Man knead.
And there of the Last harvest sow’d the Seed:
And the first Morning of Creation wrote
What the Last Dawn of Reckoning shall read.
Yesterday this Day’s Madness did prepare;
To-morrow’s Silence, Triumph or Despair:
Drink; for you know not whence you came,
nor why:
Drink; for you know not why you go, nor
where.
–from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

1846 – Smithsonian Institution established.
On this day in 1944, U.S. forces overcome Japanese resistance on Guam during World War II.
1945 – Japan surrenders.
1965- Watts Riot, Los Angeles
August 10, 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell makes the world’s First long-distance telephone call from the Bell homestead to a shoe and boot store in Paris, Ontario; using a 13 km long telegraph line strung from Brantford. Brantford, Ontario.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

These hummingbirds perfectly symmetrical, making them incredibly pleasing on the eye. As they can be seen eating from flowers, with their wings spread, the birds appear almost perfectly symmetrical. The different breeds, including Buff Tailed Coronet and Fawn Breasted Brilliant, can be seen with matching details on either side of their body. CREDIT: HYMAKAR VALLURI/CATERS NEWS.

A man walks through the rain in Regents Park, London, as wet weather continues to hit the UK. CREDIT: VICTORIA JONES/PA

(L-R) Annie Hagg, Nikita Lebedev and Roxanna Kadyrova perform in ‘Staging Wittgenstein’ at the Edinborough International Festival at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. Staging Wittgenstein is a combination of physical art, comedy and suspense, based on a nearly 100-year-old piece of philosophy, performers wear human-size latex balloons to explore and celebrate language. CREDIT: MARK RUNNACLES/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for August 10th, 2017 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$2.6 trillion
The amount U.S. companies now hold in funds outside the country
Canada
By Natalie Wong
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks extended a decline to a third day, falling the most since mid-June, as losses in info tech and health care offset gains in materials.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.9 percent to 15,074.25.
Tech dropped a third day, falling 2.2 percent, as Shopify Inc. slumped 6.9 percent, the most in a month, and Sierra Wireless Inc. lost 3.7 percent.
Health care fell 1.5 percent as Knight Therapeutics Inc. dropped 7 percent and Prometic Life Sciences Inc. slipped 3.9 percent, after dropping as much as 22 percent intraday, the lowest in almost three years, amid the Galapagos lung drug data.
Materials gained 0.7 percent as SSR Mining Inc. rose 12.5 percent and Credit Suisse wrote that the company is likely to reach the higher end of year production and Pan American Silver Corp. jumped 10.7 percent.
In other moves:
* Nevsun Resources Ltd. dropped 16.4 percent after cutting Bisha mine life and disappointing analysts, and was the worst- performing stock on the index
* Energy dropped 1.5 percent as Parex Resources Inc. fell 5.9 percent on a legal charge related to settlement of litigation involving the 2012 acquisition of Ramshorn International Ltd. and Nexgen Energy Ltd. lost 5.5 percent
* Financials dropped 1.5 percent as Element Fleet Management Corp. lost 8.9 percent on 2Q results that included shrinking net interest margins and Manulife Financial Corp. fell 4.7 percent, after it acknowledged that it has challenging businesses amid spinoff speculation
* Aimia Inc. rose 20.1 percent, the most since 2009, as redemptions held steady
US
By Jeremy Herron
(Bloomberg) — Rising geopolitical tension rattled financial markets around the world Thursday, sending U.S. stocks to the biggest loss since May and stoking demand for haven assets.
The S&P 500 Index halted an unprecedented stretch of calm on American equity markets and the CBOE Volatility Index spiked to its highest since April after President Donald Trump dialed up his warning to North Korea on threats to American allies.
Gold surged to a nine-week high, the yen advanced below 110 per dollar and Treasuries strengthened.
Risk assets succumbed Thursday to a third day of saber rattling by Trump and Kim Jong Un, as the spat threatened to boil over into military confrontation. The selloff in U.S.
stocks halted a streak of 15 days without a swing of 0.3 percent in either direction for the S&P 500 and jolted the VIX above 16 for only the fourth time this year. Gold futures neared $1,300 and crude slumped toward $48 a barrel.
“The markets in general are very on edge and they’re very leery about risk,” said Mariann Montagne, a portfolio manager at Gradient Investments LLC, which oversees about $1.4 billion.
“When earnings are not beating expectations there’s a sell off in the companies, and we’re just not seeing that money reinvested because of the geopolitical risks.”
Geopolitical tensions may be the trigger for the latest bout of risk aversion, but with global equities trading near record highs and yield premiums on high-yield debt creeping up, some of the biggest names in the asset management industry have already been warning that it’s time to take risk off the table.
Pimco told investors to pare U.S. equities and junk bonds, but keep exposure to real assets, such as inflation-linked debt, commodities and gold. T. Rowe Price cut its stock allocation to the lowest level since 2000. Morgan Stanley strategists said investors should consider betting against U.S. junk-bonds as recent price weakness may be the beginning of a correction.
Here are some important upcoming events:
* The central bank’s inflation puzzle means Friday’s CPI data in the U.S. will get close attention.
Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index lost 1.5 percent to 2,438.25 at 4 p.m. in New York. That’s the steepest slide since May 17 and the lowest close since July 11.
* The VIX rose 45 percent to 16.12, it’s highest closing price of Donald Trump’s presidency.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 2.1 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 200 points.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 1 percent to the lowest since March 27.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 1.4 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.1772.
* The British pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.2978.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 2.20 percent, the lowest since June 26.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased two basis points to 0.41 percent, the lowest in six weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped three basis points to 1.081 percent, the lowest in more than six weeks.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose fell 2 percent to settle at $48.59 a barrel.
* Gold climbed 0.5 percent to $1,283.28 an ounce, the strongest in two months.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

One person is not another person.

What is hem the?  He is unique.

Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

Carolann 

Much learning does not teach understanding.

                -Heraclitus,  c. 535BC-c.475 BC

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