May 1, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: May Day today.
Polydore Virgil says that the Roman youths used to go into the fields and spend the Calends of May in dancing and singing in honour of Flora, goddess of fruits and flowers.  The English celebrated May Day with games and sports, particularly archery and Morris Dances and the setting up of the Maypole.  In due time, Robin Hood and Maid Marian came to preside as Lord and Lady of the May, and by the 16^th century, May Day was Robin Hood’s Day and Robin Hood plays became an integral part of the festivities. -from Brewer’s Phrase & Fable.

-From today’s New York Times:

But on this day in 1930, “Pluto” was suggested as the name of what was then the newly discovered ninth planet, inspired by a British schoolgirl, Venetia Burney.

Shortly after “Planet X” was discovered in February of that year, Venetia’s grandfather was reading about the news over breakfast. Interested in Greek and Roman mythology, Venetia suggested Pluto, the god of the underworld.

Her grandfather, a retired librarian at Oxford, sent her suggestion to a professor of astronomy at the university, who wrote back: “I think PLUTO excellent!!”

The name worked on a few levels: As the most distant planet, the name of an underworld god was fitting. And the planet’s first two letters matched the initials of Percival Lowell, the astronomer who initiated the search for Pluto.

As a reward, her grandfather gave her a five-pound note, and later an asteroid was named 6235 Burney in her honor, in 1987.

But she was modest about her achievement during an interview with NASA in 2006 (the same year that Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet): “It doesn’t arise in conversation and you don’t just go around telling people that you named Pluto.”

Anna Schaverien wrote today’s Back Story.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Early risers were treated to a dramatic sky on the Northumberland coast this morning as rays of sunlight emit from ominous clouds over Bamburgh Castle sending golden dappled light over the North Sea and the Farnes Islands just after sunrise. Credit: The Telegraph

These are the stunning pictures of seven adorable dogs – which could be the most obedient pooches in Scotland. Kaylee Robertson has six well-trained Shetland sheep-dogs, and one Alaskan Klee Kai which she says are like “fully trained models”. The 28-year-old’s clever pups have been taught to stand together while Kaylee takes pictures of them striking a pose. Some of the dogs, who are named are Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones characters, have been posing since they were four weeks old. The cute pups, whose age range from six months to six years old, are called Fenton, Thiago, Gimli, Mercy, Ghost, Murphy and Jara. Credit: The Telegraph

Bluebells add a dash of colour to Hollybank Woods near Emsworth on the Hampshire/West Sussex border. The woods are a haven to flora and fauna including rare bat species. Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 1^st, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
$ ~ On this day in 1956, seven investors contributed $105,000 to an investment partnership to be run by a 25-year-old from his bedroom in a rented house in Omaha. The “kid” was Warren Buffett.
Number of the Day
2%
The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge was up 2% from a year earlier in March, meeting the central bank’s target for the first time in more than a year.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed with a small gain after spending most of the session in the red, with gains in materials offsetting a big drop in Shopify Inc.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 11 points or 0.1 percent to 15,618.93. Detour Gold Corp. led the gains, rising 9.5 percent after five straight days of declines. The materials sector added 0.5 percent.
     Shopify lost 4.8 percent amid slowing growth metrics. Technology stocks were flat.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Colliers International Group Inc. gained 7.8 percent to a record high after first-quarter earnings and revenue beat the highest analyst estimates
* Cameco Corp. added 6.1 percent, the most this year. TD Securities said it sees uranium prices moving higher over the next 12 months
* Secure Energy Services Inc. fell 5.1 percent after first- quarter earnings missed estimates
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.85 discount to WTI, the narrowest gap since November
* Gold fell 0.9 percent to $1,306.80 an ounce, the lowest since March .
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2858 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose four basis points to 2.35 percent after the Canadian economy rebounded more than expected in February
US
By Janine Wolf and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks closed mixed, with Apple Inc. leading a late afternoon rally in tech shares that helped offset a drop in industrials sparked by weak production data. The dollar registered its biggest advance in more than a week and Treasuries fell.
     “You might be having a little bit of buy on the dip activity,” said Matt Schreiber, president and chief investment strategist at WBI Investments. “If you’re actually following the fundamentals, you’d be putting money to work in the sectors where companies are printing good earnings and revenue.”
     The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined for a third day as U.S. manufacturing expanded at its slowest pace since July. Tech companies including Apple — which reports earnings after the close — bucked the downward trend, pushing the Nasdaq higher. Ten-year Treasury yields gained but remained below 3 percent as the greenback posted its ninth gain in 11 days, with that strength weighing on most commodities: Oil retreated and gold declined to its lowest price since December.
     Sterling slumped after U.K. manufacturing slowed more than predicted. That spurred the FTSE, one of the few European equity gauges trading, to rise a fourth day. Broader European benchmarks were flat, as businesses warned of market uncertainty following the Trump administration’s decision to delay U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs.
     Markets were shut for holidays in countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and India.
     A big focus this week is likely to be central bank policy and economic data. Investors will watch the Federal Reserve meeting closely for any signals that policy makers will raise interest rates another three times this year.
     “There is a tug-of-war in the market as to whether or not the economy is gaining strength, or whether or not it continues to be moderate, and therefore whether or not the economy can withstand three or even four rate hikes, especially if you are seeing a moderation of economic activity in Europe,” Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial Inc., said by phone.
     With the dollar ticking higher, foreign-exchange traders are also asking whether the U.S. currency’s bout of strength has legs or will fade as sellers emerge at key technical levels. The Australian dollar declined after the central bank maintained its policy stance amid below-target inflation and constrained household spending.
     These are some key events to watch this week:
* The Federal Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting on Tuesday. The rates decision is Wednesday.
* The European Commission presents its spring economic forecasts, which include projections for growth, inflation, debt and deficit.
* Payroll gains in the U.S. probably picked up in April, with the unemployment rate forecast to drop to 4 percent, according to surveys of economists.
* Earnings season continues, with Apple Inc. headlining. Other high profile results include Pfizer Inc., HSBC Holdings Inc. and Tesla Inc.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 percent to 2,654.79 as of 4:03 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index rose 1.2 percent to 6,681.96; the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3 percent to 24,099.05.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.2 percent to the highest in almost three months.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index decreased 0.5 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.6 percent to the highest in almost 16 weeks.
* The euro declined 0.7 percent to $1.1993, touching the weakest in almost 16 weeks.
* The British pound fell 1.1 percent to $1.3621.
* The Japanese yen decreased 0.5 percent to 109.88 per dollar, touching the weakest in more than 12 weeks.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased two basis point to 2.97 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.40 percent, its sixth straight decline.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.7 percent to $67.43 a barrel.
* Gold dropped 0.8 percent to $1,305 an ounce, touching the weakest in four months.
* LME copper fell 0.9 percent to $6,716.25 a metric ton.
–With assistance from Anooja Debnath.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought.  There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor. -Victor Hugo, 1802-1885

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com