March 23, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1839, the initials “O.K” were first published in The Boston Morning Post. O.K. was an abbreviation for “oll korrect,” a widely-used slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time.
2001 Russia’s orbiting Mir space station ended its 15-year odyssey with a fiery plunge into the South Pacific.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Atacama skeleton is just six inches long, with a cone-shaped head, 10 pairs of ribs, and bones that looked like those of an eight-year-old child. Found in the Atacama Desert of Chile and later affectionately nicknamed “Ata”, the skeleton made its way onto the black market for archeological finds and then to a collector in Spain who thought it might be the remains of an extraterrestrial being. 
Credit: The Telegraph

People cast their shadows on a paved street and tramway tracks as morning sun shines on Freiburg, southwestern Germany. 
Credit: The Telegraph

Sherlock’s elementary roots inspire new tartan. Sherlock Holmes, the famous fictional detective, has become the first literary character to have his own tartan approved by the Scottish Register of Tartans. Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who was born in Edinburgh and gained his medical degree from Edinburgh University. And it is a Conan Doyle descendant who has highlighted these Scottish links through creation of a uniquely Scottish textile for his most famous character. Rather than a study in scarlet, the Sherlock Holmes tartan is predominately green and blue reflecting Conan Doyle’s Irish and Scottish heritage “highlighted by a lighter blue line to represent the Reichenbach Falls and a yellow line to represent the deductive clarity of Sherlock. It was designed by Tania Henzell, a great-great step granddaughter of the author, who worked with weavers the House of Edgar to finalise the design and have it registered. Modelling the tartan in the Capital’s Arthur’s Seat is Harry Chamberlain the great great great grandson of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 
Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for March 23^rd, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their biggest weekly decline since the market rout in early February as inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in more than three years and investors grew increasingly fearful of a global trade war.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index tumbled 176 points or 1.1 percent to 15,223.74 on Friday, bringing the benchmark’s total one-week decline to 3.1 percent. Technology stocks led Friday’s drop, falling 1.7 percent. Sierra Wireless Inc. lost 4.2 percent and BlackBerry Ltd. fell 3.3 percent.
     Financials retreated 1.6 percent, as Canadian Western Bank lost 2.8 percent and National Bank of Canada fell 2.4 percent. Energy shares lost 1.3 percent even as the price of crude jumped 2.5 percent following the appointment of a hawkish new U.S. national security adviser.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Canopy Growth Corp. gained 5.4 percent and Aurora Cannabis Inc. added 5 percent after Canada moved a step closer to legalizing recreational pot
* Mining stocks jumped as gold futures posted the biggest weekly advance in almost two years. Kinross Gold Corp. rose 6.2 percent and Goldcorp Inc. added 4.3 percent
* Fiera Capital Corp. fell 4.7 percent after fourth-quarter earnings missed estimates
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $23.50 discount to WTI, unchanged from Thursday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.41 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 1.7 percent to $1,349.90 an ounce, the highest since mid-February
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.5 percent to C$1.2871 per U.S. dollar as inflation accelerated
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose two basis points to 2.20 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks tumbled, sending the S&P 500 Index to its biggest weekly loss in more than two years, on concern that a trade war and higher borrowing rates could throttle global growth. Oil surged on speculation sanctions on Iran will be re-imposed.
     The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped to the lowest since November, led by losses Friday in companies as diverse as 3M Co. to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The S&P 500 dropped to its least since the volatility-fueled meltdown in early February. Gold rallied and Treasury yields declined as investors sought safe havens.
     Global markets were caught in a risk-off mode after China announced retaliation against President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs announced Thursday. China’s ambassador to the U.S. wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the Asian nation scaling back purchases of Treasuries in response to the tariffs.
     It’s been a miserable week for higher-risk markets globally, as a trade war edged closer, the tech sector was roiled by Facebook Inc.’s privacy scandal and data showed European growth sputtering. The tech heavy Nasdaq 100 dropped 7.3 percent this week, the most since 2015. Traders had already been bracing for the possibility of slowing expansion as the Federal Reserve reiterated its commitment to further interest- rate increases after Wednesday’s hike.
     “There is a tug of war between Fed tightening, fiscal stimulus, strong earning but slowing sales and now tariffs and potential trade wars,” said Jason Browne, chief investment strategist at FundX Investment Group.
     Adding to the image of the ascendance of the “America first” faction, Trump replaced White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster with John Bolton, a controversial foreign- affairs specialist whom the U.S. Senate declined to confirm as President George W. Bush’s ambassador to the United Nations.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index dropped 2.1 percent to 2,588.24 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 1.8 percent to 23,532.30 and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.4 percent to 6,992.67. On the week, the S&P 500 tumbled 5.9 percent, the Dow dropped 5.7 percent and the Nasdaq slumped 6.5 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.9 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index tumbled 2.6 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.4 percent, after touching the lowest in more than 15 months.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 2 percent.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3 percent.
* The euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.2362, the strongest in more than a week.
* The British pound increased 0.3 percent to $1.4137.
* The Japanese yen advanced 0.5 percent to 104.78 per dollar, the strongest in more than 16 months.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 2.82 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.53 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained one basis points to 1.44 percent.
                             Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 2.5 percent to $65.89 a barrel.
* Gold increased 1.4 percent to $1,348.21 an ounce, the highest in more than a month. 
–With assistance from Robert Brand.

Have a great weekend.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

I hadn’t been aware that there were doors closed to me until I started knocking on them.
                                                          -Gertrude Belle Elion, 1918-1999

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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