September 11, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Patriot Day, USA
On Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the 110-story twin towers to collapse. Another hijacked airliner hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

New students at the University of St Andrews take part in the traditional Pier Walk along the harbour walls of St Andrews before the start of the new academic year. The Martinmas Semester starts on Monday September 11, 2017, for all students.
CREDIT: JANE BARLOW/PA

Misty view of the village Corfe Castle in Dorset at sunrise.
CREDIT: GRAHAM HUNT/ALAMY LIVE NEWS
Market Closes for September 11^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1789, President George Washington appoints Alexander Hamilton as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury.

Number of the Day
5.9 million
As of Monday morning, about 5.9 million electricity customers in Florida had lost power, according to the state’s disaster agency.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for the first time in six trading days in a classic risk-on rally spurred by investor relief that North Korea hasn’t tested another missile and Hurricane Irma didn’t cause as much damage as feared.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 55 points or 0.4 percent to 15,040.30, its first gain since Aug. 31. Financials had the most influence to the upside as insurers rose, propelled higher by a hurricane that was less destructive than forecast. Manulife Financial Corp. added 1.3 percent and Industrial Alliance Insurance & Financial Services Inc. gained 1.2 percent.
     The materials index was one of only two sectors in the red, falling 0.9 percent. Lower gold prices offset a rebound in copper prices in a busy day for mining news.
     In other moves:
                           Stocks
* Tahoe Resources Inc. surged 34 percent after the Guatemalan Supreme Court reinstated the company’s Escobal mining license
* Alamos Gold Inc. tumbled 16 percent. The company is buying Richmont Mines Inc. for $770 million
* Eldorado Gold Corp. fell 6 percent after the miner said it would suspend its Greek operations over delays to permits and licenses
* Centerra Gold rose 3.3 percent. The company reached a settlement with the Kyrgyz Republic over its Kumtor project
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.65 discount to WTI, 3.6 percent wider than Friday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.66 discount to Henry Hub, the widest in at least three years, as Irma suppressed demand for natural gas
* Gold fell 1.2 percent to $1,331.80 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3 percent to C$1.2122 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose four basis points to 2.03 percent, the highest since July 31
US
By Brendan Walsh and Samuel Potter
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose to a record, the dollar strengthened and Treasuries tumbled as investors piled into riskier assets after Hurricane Irma wreaked less damage than forecast and North Korea failed to exacerbate tensions.
     The S&P 500 Index jumped the most since April to close at its first record in a month and the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 22,000. Bloomberg’s dollar index rose for the first time in eight days and 10-year Treasury yields climbed past 2.10 percent. European and emerging-market equities also advanced, while gold, the yen and the Swiss franc retreated.
     Pyongyang warned of retaliation if the UN Security Council approves harsher sanctions over its recent nuclear test in a vote Monday. But speculation that the country would mark the anniversary of its founding with another missile over the weekend didn’t come to pass.
     “The better risk environment has seen Treasury yields move higher while the yen retreated,” Chris Scicluna, the head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets in London, wrote to clients. Hurricane Irma appeared “not to be quite as catastrophic as had been feared last week” and “thankfully there was no bad weekend news out of North Korea.”
     The U.S. stocks rally was broad, with the ratio of S&P 500 shares that were rising relative to those that were falling at the highest in three months. The VIX “fear gauge” saw its biggest decline in almost three weeks as financial and technology shares led gains.
     Insurers jumped in markets from Europe to Florida, cruise- ship operators rallied and oil advanced amid signs that predictions about Hurricane Irma’s wrath were overdone. By one estimate, damages will total $49 billion instead of an earlier prediction of $200 billion. Still, almost 7 million were without power and millions were displaced in what may go down as one of the worst storms in Florida’s history.
     Meanwhile, Federal Reserve speakers are now in a blackout period before next week’s policy meeting, so investors are likely to devote much of their attention to assessing the impact of natural disasters on U.S. growth.
     The key events this week:
* U.S. retail sales and inflation data are due this week.
* Brexit Secretary David Davis warned U.K. lawmakers that blocking the Repeal Bill could lead to a “chaotic” departure from the EU. The measure goes to a vote Monday.
* The Frankfurt Motor Show is underway.
* Apple Inc. will reveal its newest products on Tuesday, which will probably include new iPhones and a fresh version of the Apple watch.
* The Bank of England will almost certainly leave policy unchanged Thursday, even though the U.K. inflation reading two days earlier may show a pickup.
* Also due this week, India’s trade surplus and China’s August industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment.
* Australia releases jobs data on Thursday.

     Here are the main moves in markets:

                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index added 1.1 percent at the close to 2,487.96
* Giant reinsurers like Swiss Re and Munich Re posted their biggest gains of the year.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 1 percent to the highest in a month.
* Brazil’s Ibovespa surged to a record on speculation the government will succeed in pushing through measures to shore up fiscal accounts
* The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 0.8 percent to the highest on record.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 0.7 percent to the highest in three years.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.5 percent for the first advance in more than a week.
* The euro declined 0.7 percent to $1.1952, the first retreat in more than a week.
* The Japanese yen sank 1.5 percent, the most since January, to 109.45 per dollar.
* Russia’s ruble posted the biggest advance in emerging markets, climbing 0.3 percent.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose eight basis points to 2.13 percent, the highest in a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.33 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased five basis points to 1.04 percent.
Commodities
* Gold sank 1.1 percent to settle at $1,335.70 an ounce for the biggest tumble in two months.
* West Texas Intermediate rose 1.2 percent to settle at $48.07 a barrel
* Base metals rebound from their biggest drop in 9 months.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

In nature there is a fundamental unity running through all the diversity we see about us.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

Those whom we support hold us up in life.
-Marie Ebner von Eschenbach, 1830-1965

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

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

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