August 23, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

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

On Aug. 23, 1927, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

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

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

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

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

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

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

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

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

As ever,

Carolann 

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

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

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7 

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com