September 8, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Happy Friday Everyone.

We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same. –Anne Frank.

International Literacy Day today.
According to UNESCO, 781 million adults over the age of 15 estimated to be illiterate, approximately 26% of adults in the world today do not know how to read and write.
www.reading.org/meetings/ild/

Birthdays today:
551 BC, philosopher Confucius
1925, actor Peter Sellers
1932, singer Patsy Cline
Also, on Sept. 8, 1974, President Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former President Nixon.
Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Volunteers and patients at the Bethlem Royal Hospital harvest apples from the Victorian orchard in the grounds of the London psychiatric institution which was also the origin of the word Bedlam for chaos or madness. The harvest which is co-ordinated by ‘The Orchard Project’ then goes into making a London’s only cider and apple juice product made entirely from apples found in the capital.
CREDIT: HENRY NICHOLLS/SWNS.COM

Breath-taking images have been released showing the moment a pod of humpback whales emerged from the water to bubble net feed just feet away from a boat of photographers. Other incredible pictured in the series show the moment one 30-ton whale breached the water before making an almighty splash on the way back down to the surface.  Another underwater shot shows an adorable calf resting underneath its mother as they glide through the water.  The pictures were taken by award-winning nature photographer, Tony Wu, in Alaska, USA and the South Pacific.  Tony dedicates his working life to researching and documenting rarely seen marine animals and environments.
CREDIT: TONY WU/NPL/MEDIADRUMWORLD.COM
Market Closes for September 8^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Elena Popina
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell to a two-week low as investors headed for the exits amid concern over the effects of financial exposure due to Hurricane Irma, he state of manufacturing in China and geopolitical tension surrounding the Korean peninsula.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 39 or 0.3% to 14,985.32, falling for a 5th day. Materials stocks led the decline, falling 1.2%, while energy companies retreated to the lowest this month.
     In other moves:
     Stocks
* Hudbay Minerals tumbled 10 percent after a bought deal that will see a syndicate of underwriters buy 24m shares at C$10.10 each, below Thursday’s closing price
* Canopy Growth added 1.9 percent. Ontario formed a cannabis control board Friday with plans to open as many as 60 storefronts, CBC reported
* Enghouse Systems lost 3.2% after 3Q EPS missed analyst estimates
* TransCanada fell 0.5%. It’s seeking a 30-day suspension on two project applications
* Lundin Mining fell 5.1%. The stock was downgraded to hold at Berenberg, which said copper stocks are susceptible to an unwinding of speculative positioning
     Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.25 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.51 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose less than 0.1 percent to $1,351.10 an ounce
     FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar slid 0.2% to C$1.2139 per U.S. dollar, its first decline in 4 days* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 5 bps to 1.99%
US
By Andrew Dunn
     (Bloomberg) — The dollar fell to the weakest in more than two years, while stocks were mixed as natural disasters damped expectations for another U.S. rate increase this year.
     The S&P 500 Index was little changed, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose after erasing an early decline. The dollar dropped as traders girded for economic damage to Florida from Hurricane Irma, set to make landfall on Sunday. Overnight, the most powerful earthquake in a century shook Mexico, adding to investor anxiety. The Mexican Bolsa and peso both declined.
     Ten-year Treasury yields hovered around 2.07 percent. Copper led a drop in industrial metals. Gold and oil also fell.
     New York Fed President William Dudley and his Kansas City counterpart Esther George were the latest U.S. central bankers to lay out their views ahead of a policy-setting meeting this month. Both reiterated the need to continue raising rates while conceding that low inflation remained a concern. In an interview with CNBC, Dudley said hurricanes could affect the timing of rate hikes.
     Stocks in Europe struggled for traction as the euro stayed above $1.20. A robust economic recovery amid stubbornly low inflation in the euro region is helping propel the common currency’s surge of more than 14 percent against the dollar this year.
     “If the euro stabilizes, or continues a gradual appreciation path as in our base scenario, the ECB could announce — maybe in October — a reduction, starting in January 2018, of the quantitative easing program,” Philippe Ithurbide, global head of research at Amundi Asset Management, said in a report. “Should the euro continue to appreciate rapidly, the ECB could become more dovish and postpone its tapering.”
     Meanwhile, the threat from North Korea lingers. U.S. President Donald Trump said it’s not “inevitable” that the U.S. will wind up in a war with North Korea over its continued development of nuclear weapons, though military action remains an option. Pyongyang may test a missile this weekend to coincide with its “founding day” on Sept. 9.
     The key events this week:
* The White House is considering at least six candidates to succeed Janet Yellen as the next Fed chair, people familiar with the matter said.
* The ECB is said to be studying bond-buying options that stick to existing limits, according to euro-area officials familiar with the matter.
     And here are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell less than 0.05 percent as of 11:38 a.m. New York time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.19 percent.
* The Mexican Bolsa IPC Index fell 0.4 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.1 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index climbed 0.1 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.3 percent.
                             Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2 percent.
* The euro increased 0.1 percent to $1.2034, reaching the strongest in almost three years on its fifth consecutive advance.
* The British pound advanced 0.7 percent to $1.3196.
* The Japanese yen advanced 0.6 percent to 107.76 per dollar, the strongest in 10 months.
* The Mexican peso declined 0.4 percent to 17.7442 per dollar, the biggest fall in more than a week.
                              Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed three basis points to 2.07 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to 0.32 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased three basis point to 0.997 percent.
                              Commodities
* Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,346.23 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude declined 1.7 percent to $48.28 a barrel.
* Copper fell 2.9 percent to $3.05 a pound, the biggest drop in more than four months.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

Two people who have lived together for a long time
have an image of each other which prevents them from really relating to each other.
Therefore, it is important to understand, not intellectually, but actually in your daily life,
how you have built these images about your wife, your husband,
your neighbor, your child, your country, your leaders, your politicians,
your gods – you have nothing but images.
These images create the space between you
and what you observe
and in that space there is conflict.
Krishnamurti

As always,

Carolann

Where words fail, music speaks.
-Hans Christian Anderson, 1805-1875

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