October 16, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1793~ Marie Antoinette executed
1853~ Crimea War
1854~ Oscar Wilde was born.

On Oct. 16, 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb.  Go to article »

A bridge design sketched by da Vinci produces a stable bridge. (h/t Scott Kominers), Bloomberg.

October
BY ROBERT FROST

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Members of the public admire illuminated art installation entitled ‘Gaia’ by artist Luke Jerram in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, as part of the Lightpool Festival of visuals arts in the centre of Blackpool.
CREDIT: OLI SCRAFF/AFP

Visitors sit in the “pearls” pool installation at The Bubble Tea Factory experience created by the El Masnou collective during a preview in Singapore.
CREDIT: ROSLAN RAHMAN/ AFP

A new 70,000 square feet temporary artwork named ‘Estate’ by artist Richard Woods, has been installed in the grounds of Houghton Hall in Norfolk.
CREDIT: PA
Market Closes for October 16^th, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1973, the Ministerial Committee of the Gulf Members of OPEC, meeting in Kuwait, announced an immediate increase in the price of crude oil to $5.12 a barrel, “to exercise their sovereign right to determine the price of their natural resources.”
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed for a second day as materials were the best performers, while tech stocks were the worst. The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 16,427 in Toronto. Barrick Gold Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.7%. Aritzia Inc. had the largest increase, rising 16%. Meanwhile, Canadian consumer prices continued to hold steady in a tight range around the Bank of Canada’s inflation target, giving policy makers one less reason to consider immediate interest rate cuts. Annual inflation in September was unchanged at 1.9%, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday. That was below economist expectations for a 2.1% reading.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $16.25 discount to WTI
* Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,489.10 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.02% to C$1.3201 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell to 1.554%
Insights
* This year, the index rose 15%, heading for the best year since 2016
* The index advanced 5.4% in the past 52 weeks
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.1% below its 52-week high on Sept. 20, 2019 and 19.2% above its low on Dec. 24, 2018
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8% in the past 5 days and fell 1.9 % in the past 30 days
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 16.4476| 0.9| 42/7
Financials | 14.2542| 0.3| 17/10
Industrials | 4.0313| 0.2| 16/14
Consumer Discretionary | 3.9557| 0.5| 12/4
Communication Services | 3.3524| 0.4| 5/2
Utilities | -0.8317| -0.1| 7/9
Energy | -1.1551| 0.0| 9/23
Health Care | -1.6385| -0.8| 3/6
Consumer Staples | -2.0110| -0.3| 4/6
Real Estate | -2.1786| -0.4| 9/15
Information Technology | -25.4317| -2.9| 2/7
* The benchmark 10-year bond rose and the yield fell 1 basis point to 1.555 %
US
By Claire Ballentine and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, led by energy and technology shares, as investors mulled earnings reports and the prospects of trade negotiations. Treasuries rose after retail sales unexpectedly declined. In earnings, Bank of America jumped after deal fees surged, continuing a string of strong bank results. Nexflix rose in after-hour trading on positive results. The dollar also edged lower after the retail sales report renewed expectations for an October rate cut by the Federal Reserve. “Earnings are not so bad that it causes any sort of violent market reaction,” said Jeff Mills, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co. “But I don’t think they’re going to surprise enough to the upside to be a catalyst for a breakout.” The S&P 500 briefly climbed from the lows of the day after President Donald Trump said a trade deal with China probably will not be signed until he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit next month in Chile.
The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped, while benchmark indexes in Asia finished mostly higher, though most gauges trimmed the gains after China threatened to retaliate if the U.S. offered legislative support to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Stocks dipped in Shanghai and the yuan weakened. The pound strengthened amid signs European leaders are getting ready to gather in Brussels to clinch a deal that will see the U.K. part ways with the European Union. Elsewhere, Turkish stocks fell with the lira after the U.S. brought a criminal case against one of the nation’s largest banks, in what could be an escalation of Washington’s efforts to reprimand Ankara for its military incursion into northern Syria. Crude oil futures rose. Gold ticked higher.

Here are some key events coming up this week:
* China releases third-quarter GDP, September industrial production and retail sales data on Friday.

Here are the main movers in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2% to 2,990.03 as of 4:00 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% to 27,007.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 0.3% to 8,124.18.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1% to 393.46.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% to 1,204.15, the lowest in two months.
* The euro advanced 0.4% to $1.1075, the strongest in almost seven weeks on the biggest gain in almost four weeks.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1% to 108.77 per dollar.
* The British pound advanced 0.3% to $1.2826, the strongest in five months.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries decreased three basis points to 1.59%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.75%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed three basis points to -0.39%, the highest in more than 11 weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 0.713%, the highest in a month.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1% to $53.32 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.6% to $1,489.90 an ounce.
–With assistance from Robert Brand.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Art is not a study of positive reality; it is a search for ideal truth.
                                                 -George Sand, 1804-1876

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