April 8, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday!
Today is Buddha’s birthday ~ Siddhartha, “the enlightened one.”  Buddha is Sanskrit for “the Enlightened”.  It was the title given to Prince Siddhartha or Gautama (c. 563-483 BC), the founder of Buddhism.  He is also called Sakyamuni from the name of the Sakyas, the warrior people into whom he was born.  This title means “Sakya sage”.

April 8, 2009 – Somali pirates hijacked the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama. (The crew retook the cargo ship, and Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship’s American captain.) Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

British Sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green puts the finishing touches to his new 6m high copper horse in his Surrey studio, before it is transported to Venice in Italy for the Biennale Art fair, which runs from May 1 to July 31. CREDIT: STEVE PARSONS/PA

Participants in a re-enactment of the Battle of Dintingdale, from the Wars of the Roses, take a break at the Royal Armouries at Leeds Dock, West Yorkshire. CREDIT: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Re-enactors dressed as Star Wars characters attend on the second day of the Scarborough Sci-Fi weekend in the North Yorkshire seaside town. CREDIT: IAN FORSYTH/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for April 8^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
April 1999 was the first month ever to gain 1000 Dow Points.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rallied late Monday to close positive, extending gains made all last week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.07 percent to 16,407.29. Energy and materials gained while health care dropped. Canadian pot stocks retreated after Cowen cut revenue estimates on the expectation that first-quarter growth will be modest.
Separately, Justin Trudeau’s government is threatening to crack down on Google, Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., saying the tech giants aren’t doing enough to help fight meddling in the lead-up to Canada’s fall election.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Crescent Point Energy Corp. rallied 12.2%
* Gran Tierra Energy Inc. gained 7.6%
* Valeura Energy Inc. advanced 11.5% after a mention in The Telegraph
* Painted Pony Energy Ltd. rose 7.7%
* Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. fell 7.4%; block of 1.88m shares traded earlier
* Village Farms International Inc. lost 7.9%
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.15 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,301.90 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.5 percent to C$1.3312 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.73 percent
US
By Randall Jensen and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stocks edged higher, with the S&P 500 extending its longest rally since 2017 to eight days, as investors awaited signs of progress in the trade war with China ahead of the latest corporate earnings season. Treasuries dropped, while West Texas crude hit a five-month high.
The S&P 500 eked out a gain in thin volumes, rising to about 1.3 percent from its all-time high. However, catalysts remained scant Monday after trade talks ended last week in Washington without any timetable for an agreement. Apple lifted the Nasdaq 100, while energy producers rose along with oil prices. General Electric tumbled after JPMorgan cut its rating on the stock and Boeing dropping amid the ongoing fallout surrounding the 737 Max airplane.
Crude extended its advance as an escalation of fighting in OPEC producer Libya overshadowed the biggest increase in U.S. active rigs since May. The dollar fell for the first time in three sessions.
“Today we’re just taking a bit of a breather,” said Evan Brown, head of macro asset allocation strategy at UBS Asset Management, in a phone interview. “We’ve had a good run higher in equities and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a little bit of profit taking ahead of a few events — earnings, and we have the ECB and Fed minutes later this week. So it’s just a period of digestion here.”
Following a stellar first quarter across many assets classes, investors are assessing prospects for further gains as the U.S-China seem unable to come to a final decision on trade and earnings season gets underway. Despite a lack of details emerging from last week’s discussions, Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the two sides are closer to a deal, and that top-tier officials would be talking this week. A better U.S. jobs report Friday didn’t stop President Trump from suggesting the Fed should cut interest rates.
Elsewhere, the pound edged higher as British Prime Minister Theresa May appealed to both the public and politicians in search of support for a compromise Brexit plan. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited “widespread irregularities” in local elections in Istanbul, sending the lira lower.
Here are some notable events coming up:
* U.S. banks begin reporting first-quarter earnings, led by JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.
* Israel votes in an election Tuesday.
* The annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF begin in Washington Tuesday.
* The ECB will probably leave its key interest rates unchanged Wednesday. Investors will be looking for further details on TLTRO.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent as of 4:01 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.3 percent, while the Down Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.4 percent, hitting the highest in more than eight months.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent to the highest in about six months.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2 percent.
* The euro increased 0.4 percent to $1.1261, the strongest in almost two weeks.
* The British pound climbed 0.2 percent to $1.3062.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.2 percent to 111.46 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained two basis points to 2.51 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell less than one basis point to 0.004 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 1.107 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2 percent to $64.36 a barrel, the highest in five months.
* Gold advanced 0.5 percent to $1,301.90 an ounce, the highest in more than a week.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Adam Haigh, Sarah Ponczek and Yakob Peterseil.

Have  a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Take sides.  Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.  Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.
-Elie Wiesel, 1928-2016

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