August 07, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1942 U.S. forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.  Go to article »

1960: Sir Winston Churchill died.

1959: First Photo of Earth from Space was released.  The U.S, satellite Explorer VI transmitted the first picture of Earth.   But it would take years for the general public to see the pictures of Earth from space.

“In 1966 I conceived and sold buttons which read, ‘Why Haven’t We Seen A Photograph of the Whole Earth Yet?’  Legend has it that this accelerated NASA’s making good color photos from distant space….We saw the photograph of the Earth from space that we got  from the Apollo program in 1969.  The first Earth Day was in 1970.  This is not an accident.  The ecology movement really took off once we had those photographs from space.” -Stewart Brand, founder, Whole Earth Catalog.

ICYMI -from Scott Kominers , Bloomberg.
Scientists bake bread with 4,500-year-old yeast. 
Ancient parrot was more than 3 feet tall.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A flock of sheep crosses alpine terrain in Flaesch, Switzerland.
CREDIT: GIAN EHRENZELLER/ KEYSTONE VIA AP

Ashtalaxmi Dinakaran (L) holding onto a canvas as her son Yugan Navin Jeyaratnam, 4, creates a watercolor and acrylic painting in at Splat Paint House in Singapore. -Singaporeans dressed in overalls squirted paint onto walls and canvas using water pistols and syringes at a new pop-up art studio where people get messy to relieve stress.
CREDITS: ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A festival-goer rests in a hammock on the premises of the Sziget (Island) Festival on Shipyard Island, Northern Budapest, Hungary, on the eve of the opening. The festival is one of the biggest cultural events in Europe, offering art exhibitions, theatrical and circus performances and above all music concerts in seven days. Sziget Festival on Shipyard, Budpest, Hungary.
CREDIT: MARTOM MONUS/EPA-EFE/REX

Market Closes for August 7th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
With worries about tariffs slowing the U.S. economy intensifying, federal-funds futures used to wager on the direction of monetary policy now show a market-implied probability of about 43% that the Fed lowers rates at least three more times in its final three meetings of the year. 
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.7 percent at 16,265.22 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 0.9 percent on June 18 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.8 percent. Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as 10 of 11 sectors gained; 131 of 239 shares rose, while 103 fell. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.5 percent. B2Gold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 11.5 percent.

Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain 17 times. The next day, it advanced 10 times for an average 0.5 percent and declined seven times for an average 0.4 percent.
* The index was little changed in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 0.6 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.4 percent below its 52-week high on April 23, 2019 and 18.1 percent above its low on Dec. 24, 2018
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.2 percent in the past 5 days and fell 1.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.4 on a trailing basis and 15 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12- month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.48 trillion
* 30-day price volatility fell to 6.32 percent compared with 6.45 percent in the previous session and the average of 6.35 percent over the past month

Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 30.2667| 1.6| 29/17
Financials | 15.0428| 0.3| 12/13
Consumer Discretionary | 13.7743| 2.0| 11/5
Information Technology | 12.7133| 1.5| 9/1
Energy | 12.4788| 0.5| 7/31
Communication Services | 9.4201| 1.0| 5/2
Real Estate | 8.0945| 1.4| 25/0
Industrials | 6.8395| 0.4| 11/20
Consumer Staples | 6.0495| 0.9| 7/3
Utilities | 3.0901| 0.4| 11/4
Health Care | -2.0471| -0.7| 4/7

| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Enbridge Inc | 15.6100| 2.5| 143.6| 5.2
Barrick Gold | 9.1330| 3.1| 108.8| 30.5
Shopify | 8.3390| 2.7| 26.9| 140.3
Canadian Pacific | -1.9270| -0.6| 68.2| 25.3
Manulife Financial | -2.1080| -0.7| 102.6| 13.0
TD Bank | -2.3490| -0.2| 5.1| 9.6

Biggest Gainers | % Change | Move | (%) | (%)
================================================================
B2Gold | 11.5| 3.8030| 288.1| 29.3
First Majestic | 6.1| 0.9930| 75.2| 73.6
Finning International| 6.1| 1.5280| 66.1| -3.7

Biggest Losers| % Change | Move |20D AVG (%)| (%)
================================================================
NuVista Energy| -13.5| -0.5630| 552.1| -45.1
Eldorado Gold | -8.1| -1.0430| 173.2| 160.8
ERO Copper | -8.1| -0.8030| 206.5| 119.8

* The benchmark 10-year bond rose and the yield fell 0.7 basis points to 1.232 percent
* The S&P 500 Index advanced slightly, up 0.1 percent

US
By Vildana Hajric and Olivia Rinaldi
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities and benchmark Treasury yields mounted an impressive comeback late in the day, reversing sharp drops as investors turned more positive on the outlook for global growth amid central-bank moves to ease monetary policy. The S&P 500 Index eked out a modest gain after tumbling as much as 2%, with CVS Health Corp.’s biggest jump in almost eight years and an advance for the biggest tech companies supporting the gauge. Yields on 10-year Treasuries edged higher after an earlier plunge. Currency markets were volatile after rate cuts in New Zealand, India and Thailand. Traders are weighing asset valuations after this week saw the biggest one-day plunge in global equities since February 2018 amid fear an escalation in the trade war will spur a global recession. Threats of expanded tariffs are also creating uncertainty in corporate boardrooms, spurring concern there will be a pullback in capital outlays and a drop in earnings. Hope is resting on central banks to buoy growth.
“A lot of investors feel like we’re getting ready to hit a wall because of the actions of the trade war,” said Bob Phillips, managing principal at Spectrum Management Group. “I’m hoping wiser heads will prevail in this trade battle and something will work out.” New Zealand’s dollar tumbled after a bigger-than-expected rate cut. The yuan dipped after China set its reference rate slightly weaker than expected. India’s rupee and the Thai baht slipped. The U.S. dollar was steady, while the yen gained and gold rallied toward $1,500 an ounce. The dovish moves by three central banks underscore the global shift toward easier policy even after the Federal Reserve’s unexpectedly hawkish stance last week. President Donald Trump again on Wednesday urged the Fed to ease policy, saying in a tweet that “They must Cut Rates bigger and faster, and stop their ridiculous quantitative tightening NOW.”
Elsewhere, oil extended a decline after Brent crude closed in a bear market on Tuesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 erased most of an advance that reached 1.1% at one point. Shares were mixed and calmer in Asia, with Japanese stocks closing barely changed
while equities in Shanghai fell.
These are some key events to watch out for this week:
* A string of Fed policy makers speak this week, including Chicago’s Charles Evans on Wednesday.

Here are the main moves in markets (all sizes and scopes are on a closing basis):
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1% at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2%.
* The MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1215.
* The British pound declined 0.2% to $1.2146.
* The Japanese yen advanced 0.2% to 106.21 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 1.71%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased five basis points to -0.59%, hitting the lowest on record.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 0.48%, the lowest on record.
* Japan’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to -0.2%, the lowest in about three years.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.4% to $52.32 a barrel, the lowest since early June.
* Gold gained 2% to $1,504.66 an ounce, the highest in more than six years.

–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Eddie van der Walt, Robert
Brand, Claire Boston and Vildana Hajric.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Forever is composed of nows.
-Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886

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