December 11, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1946, UNICEF  founded.
1936, Edward VIII abdicates to marry Wallis Simpson:
Edward VIII becomes the first English monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne. He chooses to step down after less than a year as king when the British government, public, and the Church of England condemn his decision to marry an American divorcée.
Tom Hayden, activist, b. 1939
John F. Kerry, US senator, b.1943
Hector Berlioz, composer, b. 1803
On Dec. 11, 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind.
Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Over eight thousand members of the public make their way up St Vincent Street, Glasgow as part of the annual Santa dash.
CREDIT: JEFF J MITCHELL

Rory, Jude and Luke, all 5, play on a hill in Eckington, Worcestershire, as much of the UK experiences heavy snow.
CREDIT: DAVID HEDGES

The trio of Ghost Mantises are pictured in identical poses reminiscent of John Travolta’s iconic pose in the 1977 film Grease, in Costa Brava, Spain.
CREDIT: JIMMY HOFFMAN
Market Closes for December 11^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
15%
Less than 15% of U.S. Treasury purchases in October auctions were made by foreign investors, down from nearly 43% in June 2009.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s equity benchmark edged higher as gains in commodity, health-care and technology stocks offset declines in most other sectors.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 7 points or 0.1 percent to 16,103.51, the highest in more than two weeks. Health-care stocks jumped 2.9 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose 4.3 percent to the highest in more than a year.
     The technology index added 0.8 percent, in line with gains made by its U.S. counterpart. Energy and materials shares both rose 0.5 percent as oil and copper prices gained.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. rose 6.3 percent, the most in five weeks, after receiving a key designation for one of its drugs
* Cascades Inc. added 5.7 percent. The stock was upgraded to outperform at CIBC on more moderate input costs and a coming price hike
* Baytex Energy Corp. fell 3.2 percent after a downgrade at GMP FirstEnergy
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $21.75 discount to WTI, the widest gap since 2014
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.68 discount to Henry Hub, the widest gap since October
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,243.80 an ounce, the lowest in five months
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2858 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 1.86 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks finished higher and the S&P 500 Index rose to a record, as investors put off big bets before a series of key central bank meetings this week. Oil climbed to $58 a barrel.
     Most major equity gauges advanced, led by more than 1 percent increases in media, telephone and technology hardware shares. Earlier, index futures briefly erased gains after an explosion rocked midtown Manhattan in what authorities have labeled a terrorist attack. Treasuries fell with gold, and the dollar was up slightly.
     In Europe, stocks struggled for direction. Bonds rose and the euro climbed. The pound slipped, as some of the promises made to clinch a breakthrough Brexit deal last week started to fray. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 reclaimed a 26-year high.
     Monetary policy takes center stage this week, with the Fed expected to raise interest rates at its meeting on Wednesday and the European Central Bank set to reveal details of plans to taper asset purchases on Thursday. The Bank of England and Swiss National Bank also meet. With the global economy heading into its strongest period since 2011, Wall Street economists are bracing investors for the biggest tightening in more than a decade.
     “We have a pretty busy week here,” Ernie Cecilia, the chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co., said by phone. “I don’t want to dismiss what’s going on in New York, that’s not my point, but it looks like until we know what’s involved, it looks like I’ll call it under control, whatever that might mean. We have a number of things this week. Further work on tax reform from a conference perspective and there will probably be issues that get leaked out as they try to reconcile the Senate and House bills. That will be key and whether or not there are any significant changes.”
     Elsewhere, oil rose as U.S. drillers expanded the crude rig count to a three-month high. Bitcoin futures began trading in Chicago and were at $18,630 as of 4:00 p.m. in New York.
     Here are some of the key events scheduled for this week:
* Fed policy makers on Wednesday are projected to raise the target range for their benchmark interest rate against a backdrop of continuing robust U.S. economic conditions, a vibrant labor market and forecasts for inflation to pick up.
* The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank set monetary policy at their respective meetings on Thursday.
* Among top U.S. economic reports are consumer inflation on Wednesday and retail sales on Thursday.
* European lawmakers continue to debate Brexit and weigh moves on the next step, while North America Free Trade Agreement negotiators meet again.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 closed up 0.3 percent to a record 2,659.98.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell less than 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 0.7 percent to the highest in more than a week.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 0.8 percent to the highest in a week.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.1 percent.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1772.
* The British pound dipped 0.4 percent to $1.3338, the weakest in two weeks.
* The Japanese yen fell less than 0.1 percent to 113.55 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 2.3868 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.293 percent, the lowest in more than five months.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased eight basis points to 1.202 percent, the lowest in almost three months.
* Japan’s 10-year yield dipped less than one basis point to 0.05 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 1.1 percent to $58 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,242.85 an ounce.
* Copper increased 1.1 percent to $3.01 a pound.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

It is quite evident that our world is useful and that it provides for our needs,
but our connection to it does not end there.
We are united to it by a connection much larger and more truthful than that of necessity.
Our soul is drawn to it; our love of life is in reality a desire in us to seek our connection with this universe.
And this connection is love.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

Carolann

We accept the love we think we deserve.
                 -Stephen Chbosky, b. 1970

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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