April 22, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Today is Earth Day est. 1970.

Try CNN’s Earth Day Quiz:
Special Earth Day edition

How old is the Earth?
A. 4.5 billion years
B. 1.2 trillion years
C. 624 million years
D. 8.4 billion years
Play CNN’s special Earth Day quiz to see if your answer is correct.

And from The New York Times:

Around the world, at least a billion people are expected to participate in garbage cleanups, tree planting or other environmental activities.

The day has been celebrated since 1970 as pollution became more evident — and as space exploration made clear that our planet is finite.

One powerful factor was “Earthrise,” a photograph taken by the Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders in December 1968. He realized that only color film would do the image justice, and scrambled to load his Hasselblad camera before the moment passed.

The fragile blue marble we call home. William A. Anders/NASA Photography, along with spacewalks and scientific experiments, is part of astronauts’ job description.

Today, astronauts are equipped with state-of-the-art gear and receive technical training. American astronauts learn about photography and video from instructors like Paul Reichert of NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate. NASA collects their work.

Don Pettit and Jeff Williams are among the astronauts whose images have earned special note.

1937, Jack Nicholson, actor, b.
1955~ Congress orders all US coins to bear the motto, In God We Trust.
2010 – The Deepwater Horizon oil platform, operated by BP, sank into the Gulf of Mexico two days after a massive explosion that killed 11 workers.  Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Residents dress up with colorful local version of Roman soldiers as they celebrate Easter Sunday in Mogpog in Marinduque, Philippines. CREDIT: JES ANZAR/GETTY IMAGES

Muslim Shiite pilgrims light candles during the Shaabaniya ceremony commemorating the birth of Imam al-Mahdi, the 12^th holiest figure for Shiite Muslims, in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala. CREDIT: MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Europe’s first ever pop-up Shakespearean Theatre, today announces the creative team for its Blenheim Palace nine-week season, following a hugely successful inaugural run at its original site in York in 2018. Picture shows Paul Hawkyard (Macduff/Bottom) Leandra Ashton (Lady Macbeth) as they attend a photo call for upcoming show, Macbeth. CREDIT: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM
Market Closes for April 22^nd, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1970, the Dow dropped 1.3% to 762.61, and H. Ross Perot suffered the worst one-day personal investment loss then on record. His Electronic Data Systems dropped from roughly $150 a share to around $80 in chaotic over-the-counter trading, a paper loss of $450 million for Perot.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks retreated following last week’s record high as lumber shares tumbled amid lower-than- usual trading volume.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.2 percent to 16,577.28 on volumes that were about 30 percent below the 100-day average due to the Easter long weekend.
Materials stocks slid 1.5 percent as lumber prices fell the most since December. Interfor Corp. was the biggest decliner on the benchmark, losing 8.1 percent, while Canfor Corp. fell 5.5 percent and West Fraser Timber Co. lost 4.6 percent.
Energy stocks gained 1.1 percent after the U.S. government said it won’t renew waivers that let countries buy Iranian oil without facing sanctions, pushing crude prices to the highest since October.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Rogers Communications Inc. fell 3.8 percent, the telecom stock’s biggest drop since 2016. Two analysts cut
their ratings following disappointing first-quarter results last week
* Canopy Growth Corp. gained 7.9 percent, bringing its two-day gain to 13 percent. The pot company is buying Acreage Holdings Inc. in a $3.4 billion deal that’s contingent on the U.S. legalizing cannabis
* Teck Resources Ltd. lost 1.3 percent. The company reports earnings pre-market on Tuesday
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.25 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,273.50 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3 percent to C$1.3349 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 2 basis points to 1.79 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities eked out a gain in light volume as investors prepared for a deluge of earnings news. Oil jumped after the White House said it will scrap waivers that allow the purchase of some Iranian crude.
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent even as most members of the gauge fell, and closed about 1 percent below its all-time high. Energy shares rallied alongside crude prices, while real- estate companies slumped after sales of previously owned U.S. homes eased more than forecast in March. The dollar was steady as 10-year Treasury yields inched up.
With corporate reporting season in full flow, investors are looking for clues as to whether the dovish policy pivot from the world’s central banks can shore up global growth enough to outweigh any deterioration in earnings. The stock market appears to be saying yes for now, with the U.S. equity benchmark near a record high and an MSCI gauge of global equities on track for a fourth month of gains.
“It’s going to take something else to push the S&P 500 to new all-time highs,” Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter, wrote to clients Monday. “That was the main takeaway from last week, as good Chinese economic data, ‘progress’ on U.S.-China trade, and dovish Fed utterances about average inflation failed to spur a rally in stocks — reflecting the fact that all those positives are now priced into markets.”
Traders have a week full of company earnings releases to look forward to, including from major technology firms. They’ll also be focused on the U.S. economy, with first-quarter gross domestic product data due Friday.
Elsewhere, Chinese stocks and bonds fell as investors wagered future stimulus will be limited, while shares in Japan finished slightly higher. In Sri Lanka, bonds and the rupee slipped after Sunday’s terrorist attacks. The Easter holiday weekend shut trading in much of Europe. Bloomberg’s commodity index climbed as West Texas oil rose to the highest since October.
Here are some notable events coming up:
* A Who’s Who of the tech world reports this week, with Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and Tesla among the heavy hitters on tap. European bank earnings kick into full gear with reports from Deutsche Bank, UBS, Barclays, Credit Suisse and Swedbank.
* The Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada, Bank of Russia, Sweden’s Riksbank and Bank of Indonesia set monetary policy.
* Germany’s IFO data is released Wednesday.
* Japan’s Shinzo Abe meets leaders of the European Union Thursday before flying to the U.S. for a summit with President Donald Trump.
* The initial print on first-quarter U.S. GDP Friday will be closely watched for clues as to how the economy responded to the government shutdown and fallout from the fourth-quarter market rout.

These are the main market moves:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent at the close of trading in New York.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2 percent.
* The Shanghai Composite Index decreased 1.7 percent, the largest dip in more than three weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.3 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The offshore yuan fell 0.2 percent.
* The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.1259.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index fell 0.1 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point to 2.387 percent.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 2.59 percent.
Commodities
* Bloomberg’s commodity index rose 0.3 percent.
* Gold was little changed at $1,275.13 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 2.7 percent to $65.70 a barrel.
* Copper sank 0.5 percent to $2.9115 a pound.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen and Todd White.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.
Harper Lee, 1926-2016  To Kill a Mockingbird

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