December 13, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Luciadagen, St. Lucia’s Day, Sweden.

Spectacular Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight! How to Watch Online
By Elizabeth Howell, Live Science Contributor | December 13, 2017

The Geminids will shine brightly this year with almost no obscuring moonlight. The most meteors will appear in the hours after midnight, although you can see a good show earlier, too.
Credit: Gregg Dinderman/Sky & Telescope
If it’s clear outside on Wednesday night (Dec. 13) and Thursday morning (Dec. 14) before dawn, be sure to go outdoors. One of the year’s top meteor showers, the Geminids, will peak, with rates as high as one or two meteors per minute at around 10 p.m. local time. However, the show will start around 7 p.m. local time, according to the magazine Sky & Telescope.
But if you can’t make it out, or if skies are gloomy, you can also watch a Geminids webcast here from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama starting at sunset, about 4:40 p.m. CST (5:40 p.m. EST, or 2230 GMT) on Dec. 13. The Virtual Telescope Project will also host a webcast here showing live views from Italy, starting at 5 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) on Dec. 13, and Arizona, starting at 5 a.m. (1000 GMT) on Dec. 14.
“The Geminids are usually one of the two best meteor showers of the year,” Alan MacRobert, senior editor at Sky & Telescope, said in a statement. “Sometimes, they’re more impressive than the better-known Perseids of August.” [Geminid Meteor Shower 2017: When, Where & How to See It Next]
The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini, which is in between the constellations Taurus and Cancer. To find Gemini, look for the bright constellation Orion (easily visible due to the “belt” of three stars in a row). Gemini is just over Orion’s right shoulder. But there’s no need to look directly at Gemini to see the meteors.
“Don’t fixate on looking toward Gemini,” Kelly Beatty, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope, said in the statement. “Geminids can appear anywhere in the sky, so the best direction to watch is wherever your sky is darkest, which is probably straight up.”
You just need some warm clothing and your eyes to see a meteor shower in person. But if you have a small telescope and are watching in the Northern Hemisphere, you will get an extra treat. The source for the Geminids, the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, is coincidentally making its closest approach to Earth this week and so has 11th-magnitude visibility. (Lower magnitudes are brighter. By comparison, the faintest stars you can see with the naked eye are around magnitude 6, and the planet Venus is minus 5.) To find Phaethon, you can use this sky chart on Space.com.
You can also spot the object virtually in the next few days: The Virtual Telescope will host a webcast with live views from Arizona starting at 3 a.m. EST (0800 GMT) on Dec. 15 and Italy starting Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT). 
The Geminids have been known as an annual meteor shower since 1862, but Phaethon wasn’t discovered until 1983. It’s about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) across and orbits the sun every 1.4 years. Phaethon sheds material when it gets close to the sun, and its surface is heated to about 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit (700 Celsius.)
Meteor showers like the Geminids occur when the Earth plows into a stream of debris in space left behind by a comet or asteroid. The debris stream’s location in space can alter from year to year depending on the influence of Jupiter’s gravity, among other factors, which contributes to the intensity of the shower. 
The light of the moon can wash out fainter meteors. However, this year, the moon is just a waning crescent and will not rise until early in the morning, after 3 a.m. To best see the meteors, find an area as far away as possible from artificial lights and give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Also make sure to dress warmly.
“Go out late in the evening, lie back in a reclining lawn chair, and gaze up into the stars,” MacRobert said. “Be patient.”
Editor’s note: If you capture a great shot of a Geminid meteor or any other night-sky view that you would like to share with Space.com for a possible story or gallery, send images and comments in to: spacephotos@space.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY
1837 – William Lyon Mackenzie proclaims Republic of Canada on Navy Island in Niagara River.
On this day in 1983, the Detroit Pistons defeat the Denver Nuggets by a score of 186-184 in triple overtime, in the highest-scoring game in NBA history.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry attend The European Premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
CREDIT: EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH

A building in the flooded town of Brescello, Italy, after the Enza river breached its banks following heavy rain throughout the northern Italian Emilia-Romagna region.

The remains of Surp Lusavoric Armenian Church in Palu district of Turkey.
Market Closes for December 13^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
$$$: On this day in 1962, Warren Buffett puts in his first buy order for shares of Berkshire Hathaway. He pays $7.50 apiece for the initial 2,000 shares.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at a record high as materials shares surged the most since August, led by gold miners.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 23 points or 0.1 percent to 16,136.59. Materials jumped 2.4 percent as gold and silver prices rose. The U.S. Federal Reserve said it expects to hike rates three times next year, easing fears of a faster pace of monetary tightening. Kinross Gold Corp. gained 6.8 percent and Goldcorp Inc. added 5.6 percent.
     The energy index fell 0.8 percent as crude prices lost 1 percent. U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose twice as much as analysts expected last week.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Finning International Inc. gained 7 percent, the most in four months, after winning its first Chilean mining contract since 2014
* Empire Co. fell 6 percent, the most in a year. The grocery retailer may face significant restructuring costs as labor contracts are renegotiated, CIBC said
* Stelco Holdings Inc. rose 3.6 percent after three analysts initiated coverage of the steelmaker with buy ratings
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $26.75 discount to WTI, the widest gap in four years
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.32 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,245.40 an ounce
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to C$1.2821 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 1.84 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — Treasuries rose and the dollar slipped for the first time in five days after the Federal Reserve increased interest rates and raised its outlook for economic growth in 2018 without lifting its forecast for the number of hikes next year. Stocks were mixed and gold surged.
     The S&P 500 Index swooned in the final 15 minutes of trading to end lower. Earlier, stocks spiked to an intraday record on the Fed’s widely anticipated announcement that it was hiking rates by a quarter of a percentage point amid rising optimism in the economy. The yield on 10-year Treasuries slumped with the dollar after central bankers kept their projection for three hikes next year unchanged as inflation remains persistently sluggish. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index, whose members’ fortunes are most closely tied to economic gains, was the strongest performing equity gauge.
     “Averaging through hurricane-related fluctuations, job gains have been solid, and the unemployment rate declined further,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Wednesday following a two-day meeting in Washington. Inflation will remain below the Fed’s 2 percent goal in the near term but will “stabilize” around the target in the medium term, the central bank said.
     Market strategists said the Fed’s statement was good news for stocks.
     “This is a tailwind for equities as it implies that growth has improved while inflation remains weak making the FOMC unlikely to tighten too quickly,” Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note to clients. “Inflation will move higher next year, which will firm up market expectations for rate hikes toward the Fed’s view and cyclical/financial stocks will outperform.”
     The dollar halted four days of gains, its longest winning streak since January 2016. Earlier, data showed U.S. consumer inflation picked up in November, though the so-called core gauge — which excludes food and energy costs — unexpectedly slowed. On Tuesday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the producer price index rose more than forecast in November.
     “If you believe in growth, then you’re sort of expecting higher inflation, but it’s hard to predict where and when and how much,” said Michael Cuggino, president and portfolio manager of the Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds in San Francisco. “But gradually rising interest rates are a bi-product of a healthy, growing economy. You need to adjust monetary supply in reflection of that growth.”
     The European Central Bank is expected to reveal details of plans to taper asset purchases on Thursday. Comments on the outlook for 2018 will be the focus for investors as they weigh the impact of coming policy normalization on global asset prices.
     Meanwhile, crude reversed direction and slid below $57 a barrel after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that production is rising to keep up with falling inventories.

     Here are some of the key events scheduled for this week:
* The ECB, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank set monetary policy at their respective meetings on Thursday.
* U.S. retail sales data is due 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 fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,662.85, ending a four-day rally. It earlier hit a record 2,671.88.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq 100 Stock Index and Nasdaq Composite Index advanced. The Russell 2000 added 0.6 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index declined 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.5 percent.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.7 percent, the first retreat in more than a week.
* The euro climbed 0.7 percent to $1.1826, the biggest increase in three weeks.
* The British pound gained 0.7 percent to $1.3416.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell five basis points to 2.3475 percent, the first retreat in a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 0.314 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dropped less than one basis point to 1.216 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7 percent to $56.74 a barrel. 
* Gold rose 0.9 percent to $1,255.52 an ounce. 
* Copper increased 1 percent to $3.03 a pound, hitting the highest in more than a week with its sixth consecutive advance.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The characteristic of my nation is this transcendentalism,
this struggle to go beyond, this daring to tear the veil off the face of nature
and have at any price,
a glimpse of the beyond.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

Defeat is not the worst of failures.  Not to have tried is the true failure.
                                        -George Edward Woodbury, 1855-1930

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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