June 10, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday!
1943 ~ Ballpoint pen patented
On June 10, 1967, the Six-Day War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United Nations-mediated cease-fire. Go to article »

Some interesting stuff from Bloomberg today:
The human brain operates right on the edge of chaos, a study has shown. (h/t Scott Kominers)
A “lost” $450 million Da Vinci painting is apparently on MBS’s yacht.
Brain surgeons are upgrading memories with implanted computer chips.
As for the Tony Awards, the night’s big winner was “Hadestown,” which won Best Musical, one of its eight wins. “The Ferryman” was named Best Play. Click here to see the full list of winners and the best photos from the night.  I saw Hadestown a couple of years ago in London and thought it was spectacular, so nice to see it getting the acclaim I think it deserves.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta in London
CREDIT: JEFF GILBERT FOR THE TELEGRAPH

MSC Magnifica is seen from one of the canals leading into the Venice Lagoo in Venice. Thousands of people took to the streets, calling for a ban on large cruise ships in the city following last week’s collusion between a massive vessel and a tourist boat.
CREDIT: MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP

Sunrise over Stonehenge in Wiltshire just after 5am on a misty morning.
CREDIT: NICK BULL/PICTUREEXCLUSIVE.COM

Members if the ancient Samaritan community pray during the holiday of Shavuot on Mount Gerizim near the West Bank town of Nablus, Sunday, June 9, 2019. Samaritans descended from the ancient Israelite tribes of Menashe and Efraim but broke away from mainstream Judaism 2,800 years ago. Today, the remaining 700 Samaritans live in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank and the Israeli seaside town of Holon, South of Tel Aviv.
CREEDIT: AP PHOTO/MAJDI MOHAMMED
Market Closes for June 10th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Markets are constantly in a state of uncertainty and flux and money is made by discounting to obvious and betting on the unexpected. -George Soros, Financier, author, philosopher, b. 1930.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks dropped Monday, erasing gains earlier in the trading session.
     S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.1%. Industrials, materials, and energy lagged while health care, including marijuana stocks, rallied, led by Cronos Group Inc., up 9.2%.
     Meanwhile, a U.S. ban on China technology may not only hurt the Asian nation’s economy, it may bring recession to other parts of the world, according to Chief Executive Officer Mark Machin of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Additionally, gold giants including Barrick and newly merged Newmont Goldcorp Corp. are battling to lure back investors.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Hudson’s Bay Co. jumped 42% after plans to sell Europe assets and take-private bid 
* Flowr Corp. gained 7.8% 
* Just Energy Group Inc. advanced 4.2%, extending gains from Friday after plans to review options after expressions of interest
* Kelt Exploration Ltd. dropped 6.6% 
* Paramount Resources Ltd. fell 6.1% 
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $13.55 discount to WTI
* Gold fell close to 1% to $1,332.30 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was little changed at C$1.3268 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.517%
US
By Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — Global stocks climbed after President Donald Trump suspended plans for tariffs on Mexico. Sovereign bonds fell, along with gold and the yen, as demand for havens ebbed.
     The S&P 500 Index rose for a fifth straight session, led by chipmakers, retailers and auto companies, though ended off its highs of the day. Emerging-market shares jumped the most since January as Mexico’s peso posted its best day in almost a year after the accord with the U.S. late Friday. The dollar edged higher while the onshore yuan fell to its weakest level since November after China’s central bank hinted it could fall further.
     The benchmark U.S. gauge reached the highest in a month, recovering from a painful rout in May, as large takeover deals Monday provided additional support. But the giddiness was tempered as investors looked toward the next developments in the U.S.-China trade showdown. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said the “main progress” on trade may occur when presidents Trump and Xi Jinping meet at the G-20 summit later this month, while finance chiefs over the weekend warned about escalating risks from geopolitical tensions. “The fact that the president removed the tariffs that were going to take effect shortly is a positive for the markets,” said Michael Sheldon, the chief investment officer at RDM Financial Group at HighTower. “The big question remains the trade talks with China that are overhanging the economy and the markets.”
Here are some key events coming up:
* ECB President Mario Draghi speaks at a conference in Frankfurt on Wednesday.
* A key measure of U.S. inflation, the consumer price index, is also due Wednesday.
* The race to succeed Theresa May heats up with the first Conservative Party leadership ballot Thursday. 
* Euro-area finance ministers meet in Luxembourg Thursday. On the agenda: financial penalties for Italy over its debt load, and the euro-area budget. 
* China and the U.S. release industrial production, retail sales data Friday.
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index added 0.5% at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2%.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.6%, reaching the highest in five weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index surged 1.5%, the most since January.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.1%.
* The Japanese yen sank 0.2% to 108.43 per dollar.
* The onshore yuan declined 0.3% to 6.9311 per dollar.
* The euro declined 0.1% to $1.1319.
* The British pound sank 0.3% to $1.2694.
* Mexico’s peso surged 2.2% to 19.1989 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries increased five basis points to 1.9%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose six basis points to 2.14%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed four basis points to -0.22%, the first increase in a week.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% to $53.31 a barrel.
* Gold sank 0.9% to $1,328.46 an ounce on the biggest tumble in two months.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen and Todd White.

Have  a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Experience is the teacher of all things.

-Gaius Julius Caesar, 100 BC-45 BC

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com