March 22, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
March 22, 1993: Intel Corp. unveiled the original Pentium computer chip. Go to article »

March 22, 1933: President Franklin D. Roosevelt took the first step toward ending prohibition by signing the Beer and Wine Revenue Act, which legalized the sale of those beverages.

PRIME NUMBER:
1
MILLION: Proceeds (in dollars) from the movie “Black Panther” Disney said it will donate to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s science, technology, engineering and math programs.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A hospital struggling to cope with soaring numbers of patients has solved the problem – by using ROBOT NURSES. The Mongkutwattana General Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, was bombarded with new patients but was unable to hire enough staff. Instead of taking on new nurses, they bought three robotic nurses and kitted them out in the health facility’s yellow uniform. The machines travel now between desks delivering important paperwork and medicines to doctors. 
Credit: The Telegraph

Reed cutter Paul Eldridge stacks bundles of reed on the Norfolk Broads near Irstead, Norfolk. 
Credit: The Telegraph

Five cute and fluffy, one week old baby ducklings pictured in the sunshine at Bocketts Farm in Surrey this morning. The spring weather may have now finally arrived with a mixed forecast for the weekend. Credit: The Telegraph

This little bear cub looks perfectly pleased as he appears to give himself a round of a-PAWS. The youngster put on quite a display for photographer Barret Hedges, as he took pictures in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. And now, the set of images of the bear cub appearing to play peek-a-boo with Barret, dancing a jig and even leaping from his mothers back have thousands of fans after Barrett posted them on social media earlier this month. 
Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for March 22^nd, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
1.5% to 1.75%
Fed officials said Wednesday they would increase their benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 1.5% and 1.75% and penciled in a total of three rate increases for this year.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell the most since September 2016 but still managed to outperform U.S. benchmarks amid the growing threat of a trade war with China.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 275 points or 1.8 percent to 15,399.93, the lowest close in nearly three weeks. Consumer discretionary shares tumbled 2.4 percent as auto suppliers retreated in the face of renewed trade threats. Magna International Inc. lost 5.4 percent and Linamar Corp. fell 4.4 percent.
     The energy index lost 2.1 percent as crude prices retreated from Wednesday’s gains. Cenovus Energy Inc. fell 5.6 percent as the company announced a slowdown in production because of difficulties shipping its crude.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Eldorado Gold Corp. tumbled 11 percent to the lowest since 2002 after reporting an unexpected fourth-quarter loss
* New Flyer Industries Inc. gained 4.5 percent to a record high, bucking the broader market trend. The bus maker’s fourth-quarter earnings beat the highest analyst estimate
* AutoCanada Inc. fell 0.7 percent after earlier gaining as much as 4.4 percent. The dealership group announced its first foray into the U.S. market
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $23.50 discount to WTI, the narrowest gap since mid-February
* Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,327.40 an ounce, the highest in two weeks
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2 percent to C$1.2927 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell eight basis points to 2.18 percent, the biggest decline since August
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks tumbled, pushing benchmark gauges back toward the lows set during the worst of the February rout, as President Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on Chinese goods heightened concern that a trade war could throttle global growth.
     The S&P 500 Index sank 2.5 percent, the biggest one-day drop in six weeks, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 700 points. As investors dumped stocks, they rushed to the safety of the Treasury bond market, where yields fell back toward 2.8 percent, and the yen, which rallied the most in three weeks.
     In a stock market that’s been floundering ever since it hit record highs in late January, the prospect of a widening trade spat only added to jitters. Traders had already been bracing for the possibility of slowing growth as the Federal Reserve reiterated its commitment to further interest-rate increases after Wednesday’s hike. Not even technology stocks, long the favorite of Wall Street investors, have provided relief of late as the latest data fiasco at Facebook sparked a rout in the sector this week. The Nasdaq is down more than 6 percent since its record 10 days ago.
     “Tariffs mean a trade war and the news has the world’s investors running for the exits,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank. “Those are storm clouds out there, that’s what the stock market is saying and that’s why investors are running for the exits.”
     Trump’s first trade action directly aimed at China comes as policy makers including IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warn of a global trade conflict that could undermine the broadest world recovery in years. Stocks were also hit earlier when John Dowd resigned as Trump’s lead attorney countering Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe as the inquiry into possible collusion in the 2016 election intensifies.
     “The market doesn’t like trade wars, the market doesn’t like that the Fed is adamant about raising rates,” said Matt Schreiber, president and chief investment strategist at WBI Investments in Red Bank, New Jersey.
     The technology rout also picked up steam, in large part because the sector stands to lose if China retaliates as it said it will. There was more, though. Facebook renewed its slide as the controversy over its handling of user data prompted calls for the Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to appear before lawmakers. The Fed’s decision on Wednesday to raise rates and possibly accelerate the pace of tightening also has investors on edge.
     Elsewhere, West Texas oil fluctuated before falling and the Australian dollar slipped after the country’s unemployment rate climbed. The British pound initially jumped after the country’s central bank voted 7-2 to maintain interest rates, but pared as investors digested comments from policy makers that weren’t overtly hawkish.
     Here are some key events on the schedule for the remainder of this week:
* The Bank of Russia’s rate decision is on Friday.
* U.S. government funding is due to expire at the end of the day on Friday.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 2.5 percent as of 4:03 p.m. New York time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.9 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 2.4 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.7 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index dipped 1.5 percent, touching the lowest in 15 months.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 1.2 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent, rebounding from the largest drop since January.
* The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.2318.
* The British pound dropped 0.2 percent to $1.4111.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.6 percent to 105.41 per dollar.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell six basis point to 2.82 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dropped six basis point to 0.53 percent, declining from the highest in more than a week.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell nine basis points to 1.44 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 1.4 percent to $64.24 a barrel, easing from the highest in almost seven weeks.
* Gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,329.07 an ounce a day after the biggest rise since May 2017. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

The only difference between the saint and the sinner
is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.
                                                   –Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900

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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