April 4, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

April 4, 1968 ~ Martin Luther King , Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn.  Go to article »
1929 ~ Maya Angelou, writer, born.
“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential.  Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.  We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous or honest.” –Maya Angelou, 1928-2014.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization turns 70 today.

Having lunch in the cafeteria at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels is like attending a costume party, given the varied uniforms of the 29 members. A 30th nation, North Macedonia, is to join soon.

The appeal is a mutual defense pact that has a rejuvenated purpose: to keep Russia contained and Germany defended.

Tensions that had seemed to diminish with the fall of the Soviet Union are back, thanks to the 2008 Georgian war, the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and warfare in eastern Ukraine, and Russian meddling in Greece, Montenegro and other countries.

President Trump has disparaged NATO’s new headquarters as too expensive. But for this frequent visitor, it was a needed replacement for the ramshackle old structure. I once nearly lost my foot going through a rotten floor that was thrown together when Charles de Gaulle threw NATO out of France in 1966.

(France came back to full membership 10 years ago.) –by Steven Erlanger, NY Times’ Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Batmaker John Bowles crafts a handmade cricket bat at Warsop Stebbing in East Hanningfield, Essex ahead of the start of the cricket season this weekend. Warsop Stebbing is a family-run business who have been handcrafting cricket bats since the mid 1800s, and is now owned and run by the fifth generation of the family, Clere Warsop. CREDIT: KIRSTY O’CONNOR/PA

A Kashmiri boatman rows a boat inside Dal Lake while sun sets in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. The weather in Indian Kashmir improved with the maximum temperature of 20 degree Celsius. Weather improves in Indian Kashmir, Srinagar, India. CREDIT: FAROOQ KHAN/EPA
Market Closes for April 4^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1996, AT&T spun off Lucent Technologies at an initial price of $27 per share, raising $3.02 billion in what was the biggest IPO of all time. The issue was four to five times oversubscribed, meaning investors were seeking to buy at least four shares for each one that was actually available—even though the offering price had been lifted from the early estimate of $22 to $25. More than 42 million shares were traded, accounting for 11% of the day’s volume on the New York Stock Exchange, and Lucent closed up 13%.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fourth day to their highest level since August as gold stocks rallied, offsetting a dip in Shopify Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite added 0.2 percent to 16,311.61, marking its longest streak of gains since February and bringing it within 1.7 percent of a record high. Materials jumped 1.8 percent on strength in gold miners and Teck Resources Ltd.
     Technology stocks slid 2.1 percent as Shopify fell 4 percent, the most since early January. The online platform for merchants was targeted by Citron Research, which said a trio of troubles may knock its stock down to $100 in the next 12 months.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Richelieu Hardware Ltd. tumbled 6.1 percent to the lowest since December after reporting a 20 percent drop in first-quarter net profit
* Guyana Goldfields Inc. lost 2.1 percent to the lowest since 2008. A group of activist investors is pointing to a dramatic drop in the miner’s shares as further signs of waning investor confidence
* Goldcorp Inc. gained 2 percent after shareholders overwhelmingly approved a merger with Newmont Mining Corp.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.40 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,289.00 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.3353 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 1.70 percent
US
Here are some key events coming up:
* The monthly U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show non-farm payrolls up 175,000 in March, versus the 186,000 average over the prior three months, after recent readings whipsawed analysts.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent as of 4:06 p.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq Composite Index eased less than 0.1
percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 slumped 0.3 percent, the first drop in five days.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index eased 0.2 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2 percent.
* The euro eased 0.2 percent to $1.1216, while the yen weakened about 0.1 percent to 111.55 per dollar.
* The British pound weakened 0.5 percent to $1.3098, the first decrease in four days.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index fell 0.2 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 2.52 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dropped one basis point to negative 0.008 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.09 percent.
Commodities
* Brent crude rose 0.9 percent to $69.90 a barrel, after climbing to $70.03 earlier.
* Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,293 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose less than 0.1 percent.
–With assistance from Todd White.

Have a great evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever, 

Carolann

Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.
                                          -Herbert Asquith, 1852-1928
 

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