March 20, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Spring 2018!

                          Spring
                   by Thomas Nashe
Spring, the sweet spring, is the year’s pleasant king, 
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring, 
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing: 
       Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo! 

The palm and may make country houses gay, 
Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day, 
And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay: 
       Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo! 

The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet, 
Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit, 
In every street these tunes our ears do greet: 
     Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to witta-woo!
            Spring, the sweet spring!

On this day…
1602: Dutch East India Company est.; it lasted for 196 years.
1854: a meeting took place in Ripon, Wisconsin that is typically remembered as the first meeting of the Republican Party.
1995: in Tokyo, 12 people were killed, more than 5,500 others sickened when packages containing the poisonous gas sarin leaked on five separate subway trains.
Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Cars drive by vineyards covered in snow, in Chamery, near Reims, in the Champagne region, on the eve of the first spring day.
Credit: The Telegraph

The south coastal resort of Dartmouth known for it’s above average climate is seen covered in snow.
Credit: The Telegraph

Violette Jongbloed from Lyon and Turnbull auctioneers views a fully articulated cave bear skeleton valued between £20000-£25000 as part of the African and Oceanic art sale, which will take place on March 21^st at the Edinburgh auctioneers.
Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for March 20th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
1
The number of stocks in the 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average that rose on Monday as the blue-chip index fell 1.3%. The stock, Boeing Co.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s stock benchmark closed higher, boosted by technology and consumer discretionary shares, but failed to erase Monday’s tech-driven selloff.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 27 points or 0.2 percent to 15,616.36. Technology shares were the biggest gainers as they rebounded from Monday’s decline, adding 1.8 percent. Shopify Inc. jumped 5.2 percent to a record high.
     The consumer discretionary index rose 1.1 percent, offsetting a 1.6 percent drop in consumer staples. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. lost 6.5 percent, the most since 2008, amid slowing growth in the U.S.
      In other moves:
                           Stocks
* First Quantum Minerals Ltd. fell 12 percent, the most since 2016, after the miner said it was hit with a $7.9 billion tax bill by Zambia
* TransCanada Corp. lost 3.2 percent as a U.S. tax ruling continued to create uncertainty for the sector
* Thomson Reuters Corp. rose 1.3 percent. The company is said to be considering an initial public offering or sale of bond- trading platform Tradeweb Markets LLC
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $24.75 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,311.90 an ounce, the lowest since March 1
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.3083 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose four basis points to 2.21 percent, the highest in a week
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged higher, led by energy- related companies, as equity markets shrugged off weakness in technology and threats of global trade barriers. Government bond yields increased as investors braced for higher U.S. borrowing rates.
     Crude advanced to a three-week high as the OPEC-led alliance of major oil producers accelerated the time line for curbing a worldwide supply glut, helping to lift the shares of companies such as Hess Corp. and Marathon Petroleum Corp. Facebook Inc.’s mounting Cambridge Analytica data crisis continued to weigh on tech and draw the ire of politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.
     “Things have certainly gotten more volatile,” said Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas. “The Fed, that’s going to be the news tomorrow. Everybody is expecting a rate increase, and then of course the big selloff in tech.”
     Investors are struggling to rediscover their bullishness in the wake of this week’s tech setbacks and with the Federal Reserve rate decision a day away.
     Finance ministers from the world’s largest economies struggled to block President Donald Trump’s push to erect trade barriers that many warned threaten to undermine the broadest global expansion since 2010. Policy makers from the Group of 20 finished talks in Buenos Aires Tuesday with little to show for their efforts to convince U.S. to pare back protectionist steps, including new metal tariffs.
     Elsewhere, the U.K. currency gave up its gains after data showed the nation’s inflation rate fell more than expected in February. Russia’s ruble steadied after six days of losses.
     Here are some key events on the schedule this week:
* The Fed decision and Jerome Powell’s news conference come on Wednesday.
* The Trump administration could impose tariffs on China as soon as this week.
* The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates and its asset-purchase program unchanged on Thursday. Attention will be on language and the odds for a May hike.
* Company earnings scheduled for this week include Tencent, Hermes, PetroChina and Nike.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index edged 0.2 percent higher to 2,717.00 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5 percent to 24,729.82 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 7,364.30.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.5 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.2 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.3 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.4 percent, the first increase in five days.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4 percent.
* The euro fell 0.7 percent to $1.2250, in the biggest drop in more than a week.
* The British pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.4001.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.4 percent to 106.49 per dollar.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index was little changed.
                          Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 2.88 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.58 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed four basis points to 1.48 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery, which expires Tuesday, rose 2.2 percent to settle at $63.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,311.91 an ounce.

Have a wonderful evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources
of cruelty.  To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. -Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970

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
(C): 250.881.0801
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com