August 17, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Aug. 17, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded near Bethel, N.Y.
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On Aug. 18, 1872, Aaron Montgomery Ward, a Chicago businessman, set in motion an idea that seemed humble at the time but would go on to shape the retail industry.

On a sheet of paper, he listed about 150 items for sale. That one page turned into hundreds, and by 1888, annual sales from the catalog reached $1 million.

The cover of the Montgomery Ward catalog from 1904.
Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

The catalog was popular with the largely rural population of the U.S., which suddenly gained access to everything from fur coats to washing machines. The success of Ward’s creation was driven, in part, by a more efficient postal service that had started delivering packages door to door.

The earliest reported catalogs appeared in Venice in the 1400s. In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin used the mail order concept to sell books.

Catalogs from Montgomery Ward and another mail order pioneer, Sears, Roebuck and Company, started an industry that vied for a spot in mailboxes for decades.

The rise of shopping malls and the internet eventually spelled the demise of the mail order catalog. In 1985, Montgomery Ward discontinued its catalog because of persistent losses.

But what’s old is new again: Amazon is reportedly working on its own holiday catalog this year.

Alisha Haridasani Gupta wrote today’s Back Story. -New York Times, August 17, 2018

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A 1,800 square mt flower carpet on the theme “Guanajuato, cultural pride of Mexico” and made with over 500,000 dahlias and begonias is seen at Brussel’s Grand Place, Belgium. Credit: The Telegraph

This is the sweet moment a loving mama swallow flies over to her four little baby birds to give them their morning feed. The adorable baby swallows can be seen snuggled up to each other waiting for their breakfast with their mouths wide open. Peter Tonkin, 75, captures the series of images, which show the swallows nesting as the sun started to rise, around seven o’clock in the morning in Hayle, Cornwall, UK. Credit: Peter Tonkin/SWNS.COM

Flamingos take off from Lake Tuz during their incubation period in Aksaray, Turkey. Credit: Murat Oner Tasi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Market Closes for August 17^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1998, the Russian government devalued the ruble and declared a moratorium on paying its foreign debt, a de facto default that roiled bond markets and triggered the collapse of the giant hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose amid news that China would hold talks with American officials, cooling rhetoric in the ongoing trade war.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.7 percent to 16,261.30 points at 9:44 a.m. in Toronto. Health care continued its acceleration led by pot stocks, surging 1.5 percent. Canopy climbed 1.7 percent amid news that the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries could be eyeing the cannabis industry.
     Materials surged 1.5 percent with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. jumping ~6 percent and First Majestic Silver Corp. rising ~6.5 percent.
     In other moves:
* BCE Inc. rose 0.6 percent after announcing a partnership with Vice to become the exclusive Canadian broadcaster for new original programming from VICELAND
* Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. climbed 3 percent after Anglo Pacific Group PLC acquired a stake in the company
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $27.75 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.79 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1.185.70 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was flat at C$1.31406 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 2.251 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose in light summer trading Friday on strength in technology hardware shares and optimism for a resolution in America’s trade dispute with China amid reports that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in November in an attempt to end the roadblock. Crude climbed to just below $66 a barrel, the dollar fell and Treasuries were stable.
     All major equity benchmarks surged following the U.S.-China news. The S&P 500 Index erased an earlier decline and notched its sixth weekly advance in the last seven weeks. Department store chain Nordstrom Inc. was the best performing company in the benchmark as investors responded to its strong second- quarter results and healthy profit outlook for the year.
     The Nasdaq 100 Index rebounded from weakness in semiconductors after Nvidia Corp. and Applied Materials Inc. warned after the market closed Thursday that their revenues were running below analyst forecasts. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index dropped 0.7 percent, its fourth consecutive decline.
     “Investors should avoid the urge to become too bearish too quickly,” Brian Rauscher, chief portfolio strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co., wrote in a note to clients Friday. “We urge investors to keep their attention focused on the still robust backdrop of corporate profits.”
     In Europe, equities rose despite weakness in banks and technology shares. Most Asian markets advanced. Canada’s dollar jumped after inflation in July blew past estimates. And developing-nation stocks gained but remained close to the technical definition of a bear market.
     “The roadmap to a potential November deal helps to increase the possibility that Trump ‘punts’ on September 5, as talks continue, while setting up for a ‘win’ right before midterms,” Naufal Sanaullah, chief macro strategist at EIA All Weather Alpha Partners, wrote in a note to clients Friday. “We see these as very bullish developments for EMs.”
     Turkey’s lira erased an early gain and retreated after rising more than 15 percent in three days. A Turkish appeals court refused to release American pastor Andrew Brunson — who the Trump administration says is being held illegally — which the U.S. promised would trigger further sanctions in retaliation. With a holiday closing Turkey’s stock markets for most of next week, traders took a cautious tone.
     Elsewhere, commodities rose as natural gas jumped and copper rebounded. But zinc headed for its worst weekly performance since 2011.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,850.13.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent.
* The MSCI ACWI climbed 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7 percent.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.5 percent.
* The euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.1439.
* The Japanese yen increased 0.3 percent to 110.59 per dollar, the strongest in a month.
* The Turkish lira erased an earlier gain and slumped 3.3 percent to 6.0301 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.8641 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.305
* Italy’s 10-year yield was essentially unchanged at 3.121 percent.
                            Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index climbed 0.4 percent.
* LME zinc dropped 0.1 percent to $2,389.50 per metric ton and was down 6.2 percent for the week.
* WTI crude jumped 0.6 percent to $65.84 a barrel.
* Gold gained 0.8 percent to 1,183.92 an ounce.
–With assistance from Yakob Peterseil, Todd White and Luke Kawa.
Have a wonderful weekend. 

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.
                                          -W C Fields, 1880-1946

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