June 11, 2018 Newsletter

ear Friends,

Tangents:

On June 11, 1942, the United States and the Soviet Union signed a lend lease agreement to aid the Soviet war effort in World War II. 
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The English Diarist and theatre critic, James Agate, wrote in Ego on June 11, 1944:

I was telling someone in the Club today Esmé Percy’s story of how Sarah Bernhardt played Lady Macbeth dressed entirely in Leopard skins.  Howard Young looked up from his paper and said, “Tell us James.  How did she deal with the line ‘Out, damned spot’?”

-from today’s New York Times:

The upscale resort island in Singapore where President Trump plans to meet Kim Jong-un tomorrow is named Sentosa. In Malay, the word means “tranquility.”

But the island has a troubled past. 

A tranquil place. Nowadays.
Roslan Rahman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Until 1970, it was known as Pulau Blakang Mati, a reference to a hill there whose name means “Behind Death.” One theory holds that the island was long a sanctuary for the spirits of warriors who had been buried on an adjacent island (which was itself associated with piracy). 

Pulau Blakang Mati was also the site of a mysterious epidemic (probably malaria) during the British colonial era, and it was one of the places where Japanese soldiers killed thousands of Chinese male civilians after invading Singapore in 1942. 

In 1969, four years after Singapore gained independence, the government attempted to rebrand Pulau Blakang Mati by soliciting ideas for a new name. It later awarded $500 each to the five people who proposed “Sentosa.” 

A cable car was also built from Sentosa to Singapore’s main island in 1974. A local newspaper said in 1969 that the project would be the city-state’s “trump card in its campaign to lure tourists.” 

Mike Ives wrote today’s Back Story. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Knockhundred Shuttles Morris Group from Midhurst, West Sussex dance at the Weald And Downland Living Museum Morris Day Of Dance event in West Sussex. Credit: Scott Ramsay/Alamy Live News

People join hands to form a 125 miles (202km) long human chain linking the cities of Sebastian, Vitoria and Bilbao to call for a right to vote on Basque independence near Vitoria, Spain. Credit: Vincent West/Reuters

Charity Anna’s Hope attempts the Guinness World Record for the Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Fairies in One Place, Cathedral Square, Peterborough. Credit: Terry Harris
Market Closes for June 11^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1930, New York Stock Exchange President Richard Whitney had the press witness him making a bid (with his own money) of $160 a share for a 60,000-share block of U.S. Steel stock as he tried to rebuild public confidence in the market. Shortly thereafter, the stock sank below $150, on its way to $21 in the market bottom of 1932
Number of the Day
$150 billion
The approximate valuation of Jack Ma’s fintech giant Ant Financial after the firm raised $14 billion in one of the largest private-capital raises on record.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks shrugged off a fierce trade battle developing between Canada and the U.S. as energy stocks gained. The loonie weakened.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 61 points or 0.4 percent to 16,263.29, its sixth straight gain. The benchmark is about 150 points away from a record closing high.
     Energy stocks added 1.3 percent as crude rose to the highest in more than a week amid an OPEC rift over whether to allow more oil to flow onto global markets. MEG Energy Corp. gained 6 percent.
     Auto suppliers, some of the most trade-sensitive stocks, were mixed. Magna International Inc. rose 0.4 percent and Linamar Corp. fell 1 percent.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. added 3.7 percent after agreeing to sell a 19.9 percent stake to China’s CITIC Metal Co., making it the largest shareholder
* ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. slid 4.2 percent to the lowest in a month. The stock will be delisted from the S&P/TSX Composite Index on June 18
* AutoCanada Inc. gained 5.8 percent after an investor urged it to launch a strategic review
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $18.75 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,298.90 an ounce
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.2981 per U.S.dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.31 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Janine Wolf
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities shrugged off the weekend’s trade drama as investors started a hectic week during which three major central banks set interest rates, President Donald Trump meets North Korea’s leader and Brexit returns to the fore.
     The S&P 500 Index rose Monday for the second straight session, but not without giving up some gains just before the close. The dollar climbed with Treasury yields, and Texas crude and gold both advanced.
     Investors are steeling themselves for geopolitical noise as the week picks up, with Trump saying he feels “very good” about the summit with Kim Jong Un in Singapore. After that, traders will switch their focus to the views of the world’s biggest central banks. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates, while European Central Bank officials are poised to hold formal talks on ending its bond-buying program. The Bank of Japan meets Friday, with no change to policy expected.
     “Much more likely to be market-moving are the Fed meeting this Wednesday and the ECB meeting the following day,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer of Independent Advisor Alliance, said in an email. “The ECB meeting on Thursday is important because if they elect to begin tapering (e.g. like the Fed has) then the implications for the Euro could be important.”
     Earlier, shares in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea showed modest advances while Chinese stocks underperformed. Australian markets were shut for a holiday. Meanwhile, Canada’s dollar fell in the wake of the G-7 meeting, which ended with deepening tensions over U.S. tariffs and a dispute between Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Argentine peso led decliners in emerging-market currencies.
     In Europe, the mood was cautiously risk-on, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rising the most in more than a week and core European bonds slipping. The euro strengthened and Italian bonds and stocks jumped after the country’s new finance minister confirmed his commitment to the common currency. The pound fell in what could be a key week for Theresa May’s Brexit strategy, and as data showed a slump in U.K. manufacturing.
     Oil pared losses as cracks in a pipeline threatened Nigerian exports and a schism deepened within OPEC over whether to allow more crude to flow onto global markets. Bitcoin traded near a two-month low following a hacking incident at South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinrail.
     These are some key events to watch this week:
* President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet for an historic summit in Singapore Tuesday, which will be late Monday in New York
* U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May faces votes that could derail her Brexit policy, also Tuesday
* The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates Wednesday as the U.S. economy remains solid
* The European Central Bank rates decision comes Thursday with a briefing from President Mario Draghi
* The Bank of Japan June monetary policy decision and news conference is Friday
* FIFA expects more than 3 billion viewers for the World Cup that begins this week in Russia
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.7 percent, the largest climb in more than a week.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index jumped 0.7 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.2 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.3 percent, the biggest climb in more than a week.
* The euro climbed 0.1 percent to $1.1784.
* The British pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.3382.
* The Japanese yen declined 0.4 percent to 110.04 per dollar.
* The Canadian dollar decreased 0.4 percent to C$1.2986 per U.S. dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced less than one basis point to 2.95 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to 0.49 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 1.407 percent, the highest in almost three weeks.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.5 percent to $66.05 a barrel.
* Gold gained 0.2 percent to $1,300.52 an ounce.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen and Samuel Potter. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.
                              -Michel De Montaigne, 1533-1592

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com