August 2, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

August: Formerly called Sextilis in the Roman calendar, as the sixth month from March, when the year began.  The name was changed to Augustus in 8 BC in honour of Augustus (63 BC- 14 AD), the first Roman emperor, whose “lucky month” it was.  It was the month in which he began his first consulship, celebrated three Triumphs, received the allegiance of the legions on the Janiculum, reduced Egypt and also ended the civil wars.
   The Old English name for August was W?odm?nath, “weed month”, w?od meaning “grass” or “herbs”.  In the French Revolutionary Calendar the equivalent month was Thermidor, “gift of heat”, which lasted from 20 July to 18 August. –from Brewar’s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable.

August 2, 1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait.
August 2,1943  – PT-109, a Navy patrol torpedo boat commanded by Lt. John F. Kennedy, sank after being sheared in two by a Japanese destroyer off the Solomon Islands. Kennedy was credited with saving members of the crew.  
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Civil Dignitaries from around Yorkshire parade through Ripon to celebrate Yorkshire Day. Credit: Charlotte Graham for the Telegraph

A diver poses for a photograph next to an immersed tank off the coast of the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon. Environmental activists dropped off old battle tanks provided by the Lebanese Armed Forces into the Mediterranean Sea, about three kilometres off the coast of the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon to create new habitat for marine life. Credit: Ibrahim Chalhoub/AFP/Getty Images

Tourists walk past giant hand structure on Gold Bridge on Ba Na hill near Danang City, Vietnam. Credit: Kham/Reuters
Market Closes for August 2^nd, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose, pulled higher by technology, following the trend in the U.S., as the sector soared and Apple Inc.’s market value reached $1 trillion.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.2% percent to 16,409. Info tech led gains, rising 2.5 percent — the most in three weeks. Shopify Inc. surged 5.9 percent and Sierra Wireless gained 3.5 percent, the most since March.
     Gildan Activewear Inc. soared 22 percent to its highest since February after second-quarter profit and sales topped estimates as the world flocked to fleece. The surge picked up the consumer discretionary group, leading the sector to a 1.2 percent gain.
     In other moves:
                           Stocks
* Nutrien Ltd. gained 4.7 percent after boosting its full-year earnings forecast yesterday, citing higher sales volumes for potash and nitrogen and rising phosphate prices, pushing other fertilizer stocks higher
* Seven Generations Energy Ltd. climbed 8.1 percent after reporting a second-quarter condensate beat and strong well results
* Kinross Gold Corp fell 4.1 percent after its CEO said that talks on its Mauritania mine are proceeding slowly and the country appears to want foreign investment
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $30.80 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.97 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.9 percent to $1,216.80 an ounce
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2 percent to C$1.3023 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.364 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — Tech companies led gains in U.S. stocks on favorable earnings reports as Apple Inc.’s market value reached $1 trillion. The dollar climbed with oil.
     The Nasdaq Composite Index rose for a third day as Tesla Inc. and payments processor Square Inc. jumped after reporting second-quarter results. Exporters such as Boeing Co., 3M Co. and DowDuPont Inc. weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average after Donald Trump asked his trade representative to consider hiking tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. European equities tracked declines in China spurred by renewed trade concerns.
     The dollar strengthened, while the pound dropped as the Bank of England’s hawkish rhetoric failed to convince investors of a brighter economic outlook. Turkey’s lira fell to a record as the U.S. imposed sanctions on its NATO ally over the imprisonment of an American pastor.
     Markets have been under pressure as higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods look increasingly likely, with Trump considering a boost to proposed levies on $200 billion of imports to 25 percent from 10 percent. While China pledged to fight back, it also left the door open for further negotiations.
     The gloom on trade is coming up against a mostly-positive earnings season and an upbeat message on the American economy delivered by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Of the almost 400 members of the S&P 500 that have reported earnings this season, about 85 percent of them beat analysts’ estimates. Data due Friday will probably show that the U.S. economy added jobs at a healthy clip again in July.
     “On one hand you’ve got the uncertainty from the trade issues,” said Curtis Holden, the chief investment officer at Tanglewood Total Wealth Management in Houston. “But on the flip side you’ve got a very strong, at least at the moment, economic backdrop in the U.S.”
     Elsewhere, Italian and Greek bonds sank, while a French 20- year note sale saw the lowest demand in more than a decade. Ten- year JGB yields touched the highest since February 2017 before erasing the increase as the Bank of Japan made an unscheduled offer to buy bonds.
     Copper extended a decline. Emerging-market currencies sold off, with the lira and South Africa’s rand leading the way. Oil rallied from the lowest level in more than a month amid signs the drain from the biggest U.S. supply hub will continue.
     Here are some events to watch out for during the remainder of this week:
* Earnings season continues with Berkshire Hathaway and Toyota among companies reporting results.
* The U.S. jobs report is on Friday, and is predicted to show a healthy labor market, with 193,000 new jobs.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 percent at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.8 percent on the largest dip in three weeks.
* Germany’s DAX Index sank 1.5 percent on the largest tumble in more than five weeks.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.4 percent.
* The Shanghai Composite Index retreated 2 percent to the lowest in almost four weeks.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4 percent to a two-week high.
* The euro declined 0.6 percent to $1.1592, the weakest in almost five weeks.
* The British pound dipped 0.8 percent to $1.3019.
* The Turkish lira decreased 1.5 percent to a record.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 2.98 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.38 percent.
* Japan’s 10-year yield declined less than one basis point to 0.113 percent.
                            Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index added 0.3 percent.
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.1 percent to $69.05 a barrel.
* Copper decreased 0.6 percent to $2.73 a pound, a two-week low.
* Gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,208.95 an ounce, the lowest in more than a year.
–With assistance from Chikafumi Hodo, Andreea Papuc, Adam Haigh, Sheldon Reback, Christopher Anstey, Eddie van der Walt, Yakob Peterseil, Erin Douglas and Sophie Caronello.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever, 

Carolann

Feel the fear and do it anyway.
          -Susan Jeffers, 1938-2012

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