August 10, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Carolann is out of the office this afternoon, I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Wildlife photographer Varun Thakkar captured this moment when a Myna bird landed on the face of a Barasingha deer at the Kanha reserve in Madya Pradesh, India. The rare Barasingha deer suddenly had her sight blocked as the Myna bird hopped on to her head while out hunting for its next meal. Credit: Varun Thakkar/SWNS.COM

A jogger stretching in the doorway of colourful beach huts on a fresh Thursday morning at Saltburn on the Yorkshire coast. Credit: Alan Dawson/Alamy

Volunteers gather flamingo chicks together during a banding operation at the salt marsh of Aigues-Mortes, southern France. Credit: Pascal Guyot/AFP
Market Closes for August 10^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks followed global markets lower amid the ongoing trade war, with President Donald Trump doubling steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkish imports.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.6 percent to 16,326.51. Health care led losses, sinking 2.4 percent, the most in three weeks. Bausch Health Companies Inc., the drug company formerly known as Valeant, tumbled 5.4 percent, the most since mid-June.
     NuVista Energy Ltd. plummeted 11 percent, the most since December 2015, after agreeing to buy Cenovus Energy Inc.’s Pipestone assets in Canada’s Montney shale region for C$625 million ($477 million) in cash.
     In other moves:
* Enerflex Ltd. surged 9.4 percent after its second-quarter earnings, with National Bank of Canada analyst Greg Colman citing growth of the company’s flagship Houston facility
* Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. jumped 6.4 percent to its highest since March 2017 after second-quarter earnings per share beat analyst estimates
* CCL Industries Inc. slumped 4.5 percent as packaging stocks were broadly lower amid trade concerns and disappointing earnings.
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $27.00 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,219.30 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.6 percent to C$1.31251 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell three basis points to 2.3 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks sold off around the world, with U.S. equities erasing what would’ve been a sixth weekly gain as Turkey’s economic crisis deepened. The dollar capped its best week since June as the lira sank to a record.
     The S&P 500 Index slumped in thin trading, zapping gains that had taken it within striking distance of an all-time high. European and emerging-market equities bore the brunt of selling, with losses of more than 1 percent after the U.S. escalated a diplomatic row that tipped Turkey’s economy deeper into crisis.
     The 10-year yield slid below 2.9 percent as price data reinforced the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike intentions and investors sought havens. A government report on agriculture stocks sent soybean, cotton and wheat futures tumbling. Oil settled above $67 a barrel.
     Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and other countries set the tone for markets this week, with a speech from President Recep Erdogan doing little to quell investor angst that Turkey’s crisis will spread to other economies. The Trump administration doubled tariffs, exacerbating the issue.
     Earlier in the week, China responded to the Trump administration’s trade war volley with additional tariffs of its own. The ruble fell the most since the 2015 oil shock after the U.S. announced new sanctions on Russia over a nerve-agent attack in the U.K. Amid it all, Elon Musk roiled Tesla Inc.’s shares with a tweet signaled he’d take the firm private. The stock ended lower than where it was at the time of the missive.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent as of 4 p.m. in New York. It dropped 0.25 percent on the week.
* The domestically focused Russell 2000 Index slipped 0.3 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 1.1 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index lost 2 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 1.7 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 1 percent.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.7 percent to the highest in more than six weeks on the largest climb in a month.
* The euro sank 1 percent to $1.1410, the weakest in 13 months on the biggest dip in more than two weeks.
* The Japanese yen climbed 0.2 percent to 110.852 per dollar.
* The Turkish lira decreased 14 percent to 6.46 per dollar, the weakest on record with the largest tumble in more than 17 years.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank five basis points to 2.87 percent.
* Turkey’s 10-year surged 15 basis points to 20.34 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell four basis points to 0.33 percent.
* Italy’s 10-year yield increased nine basis points to 2.986 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.2 percent to $67.63 a barrel.
* Gold futures decreased 0.1 percent to $1,219.20 an ounce.
* Corn, cotton and wheat futures slumped more than 2.3 percent.

Have a great weekend!

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Karen

“Genius is eternal patience” – Michelangelo Di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

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