September 13, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day in 1814, Francis Scott Key writes a poem called “The Defence of Fort McHenry” after witnessing the bombardment of the fort by the British during the War of 1812. The poem would later be set to the music of a popular English drinking tune, and would become America’s national anthem in 1931, The Star Spangled Banner.

Also on  Sept. 13, 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.
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September 13, 1773, James Boswell wrote in his Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides:
The room where we lay was a celebrated one.  Dr. Johnson’s bed was the very bed in which the grandson of the unfortunate King James II [Bonnie Prince Charlie] lay on one of the nights after the failure of his rash attempt in 1745-6, while he was eluding the pursuit of the emissaries of government, which had offered thirty thousand pounds as a reward for apprehending him.  To see Dr. Samuel Johnson lying in that bed, in the Isle of Skye, in the house of Miss Flora Macdonald, struck me with such a group of ideas as it is not easy for words to describe, as they passed through the mind.  He smiled, and said, “I have had no ambitious thoughts in it.” – from The Book of Days.
(Flora Macdonald assisted the Prince in his escape from Benbecula to Skye in the Hebrides, disguising him as her maid.)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Lightning strikes over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.
CREDIT: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A unique LEGO brick build of the character ‘Matilda”, from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical at the Cambridge Theatre London, to celebrate Roald Dahl Day which marks the storyteller’s birthday on September 13^th. Five more LEGO Roald Dahl Heroes appeared around the UK today including ‘Charlie’ in Manchester, ‘James’ in Cardiff, ‘George’ in Nottingham, ‘Billy’ in Cornwall and ‘Sophie’ in Northern Ireland.  Over 100,000 bricks were used in the creations.
CREDIT: ANTHONY UPTOWN/PA WIRE

King Penguins marching during sunrise, Falkland Islands – Penguins majestically march on sand before heading out for morning swim.  Wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever, 45, visited the Falkland Islands this year to shoot pictures and scout the area for future tours. Wim’s breathtaking images show a small group of king penguins before they head out to sea at sunrise. Wim said: The sunrise created beautiful vibrant colours and amazing reflections.
CREDIT: WIM VAN DEN HEERVER/CATERS NEWS AGENCY 
Market Closes for September 13^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$2 billion
China is preparing to sell $2 billion in bonds this month, its first sale of U.S.-dollar sovereign bonds in more than a decade, in a move
toward expanding its ties with global investors as its economy improves.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell despite a surge in crude prices that lifted energy shares to their biggest gain since July, as falling copper prices weighed on materials shares.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 17 points or 0.1 percent to 15,126.81. Materials saw the the biggest decline, tumbling 1.8 percent as copper prices also lost 1.8 percent amid rising stockpiles. Teck Resources Ltd. fell 5.4 percent.
     The energy index gained 1.2 percent as West Texas Intermediate jumped 2.2 percent to the highest in five weeks on strong demand forecasts from the International Energy Agency and OPEC. Enerflex Ltd. jumped 7.3 percent and Gran Tierra Energy Inc. added 7.1 percent.
     In other moves:
                           Stocks
* Eldorado Gold Corp. jumped 16 percent. The miner said it received a pair of permits from Greece after it threatened to suspend its investment there
* FirstService Corp. fell 5.2 percent, the most since early 2016 after being downgraded to market perform by analysts at William Blair
* Canadian National Railway Co. lost 1.6 percent as Trans- Pacific spot container rates fell for a third week
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.25 discount to WTI, 6.1 percent wider than Tuesday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.78 discount to Henry Hub. The discount has widened by 74 percent in one week
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,324.20 an ounce, its third day of declines
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1 percent to C$1.2180 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose three basis points to 2.07 percent, the highest since 2014.
US
By Brendan Walsh
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged higher and the dollar gained for a third day as investors assessed the latest readings on inflation for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next policy move.
     The S&P 500 Index eked out a gain to end at a record after fluctuating for most of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed at a fresh high. Energy shares paced gains as crude surged to a five-week high on a forecast for higher demand. Treasuries retreated.
     The bull run in equities is provoking concern in some corners of the market, with the number of investors seeking protection from a possible plunge jumping. Leon Cooperman, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Omega Advisors, says a correction could start “very soon.” The reduction of bond purchases by central banks in coming months will put pressure on riskier assets including high-yield bonds and equities, according to Citigroup Inc.
     “Central banks will tread carefully and the direct impact of global tapering on the real economy will likely be modest,” Citigroup economists led by Ebrahim Rahbari wrote in a report. “But there is a material risk in our view that major asset price corrections could be triggered by this global tapering.”
     Renewed hope for a U.S. tax overhaul also bolstered the dollar Wednesday, sending it to the longest winning streak in more than a month. Trump administration officials and congressional Republican leaders are promising a new framework in two weeks for the legislation. They’ve shied away from releasing any details about how the changes would affect individuals or corporations.
     Among the key events this week for markets:
* U.S. consumer-price data on Thursday will be watched by investors for clues on the Fed’s policy-tightening path.
* The Bank of England will almost certainly leave policy unchanged Thursday.
* Also scheduled this week is data on China’s August industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment.
* Australia releases jobs numbers on Thursday.

      Here are the main moves in markets:

                                 Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to close at 2,498.31.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed little changed.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index slipped 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.3 percent. 
                             Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4 percent.
* The euro fell 0.7 percent to $1.1882.
* The British pound weakened 0.6 percent to $1.3201.
* The Japanese yen slipped 0.4 percent to 110.62 per dollar, a one-month low.
                              Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 2.2 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.4 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 1.14 percent.
   Commodities
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to settle at $1,328 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 2.2 percent to settle at $49.30 a barrel.
* Copper declined 1.7 percent to $2.9835 a pound, the lowest in more than three weeks.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The connection of love is total.
In love, difference disappears
and the human soul accomplishes
its object in perfection,
exceeding its own boundaries
and traversing the threshold of infinity.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

Carolann

Champions keep playing until they get it right.
                                       -Billie Jean King, b. 1943

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
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