Dear Friends,

Tangents: HAPPY FRIDAY!

                    OCTOBER
                       -from C.D’s Urban Almanac

Green becomes gold.  Orange pumpkins appear on the porches.  Tasseled, colored corn hangs mysteriously on the doorframe.  The world is on fire – it is becoming a sun!  The poplars become flaming torches.  Leaves drift weightlessly across the lawn and city parks.  Twilight echoes with crows cawing.  It is time to turn over a new leaf.  Within us, summer’s gift of sun becomes a yearning to find ourselves.  No longer immersed in nature’s greenness, we find ourselves detached from her.  We want to think again, to find meaning in experience.  Thought-life seems to strengthen.  We want to understand.  Perhaps the dead can help us.  The month ends with Celtic Samhain, Christian All Souls and All Saints – Hallowe’en – when the veil between the worlds is thinnest and the spirits of the ancestors come with their gifts.

Martina Navratilova, b. 1956
Chuck Berry, b. 1926

From The New York Times today:

From Bloomberg today:
An AI can beat humans in reading comprehension tests.
Another AI can detect heart failure by hearing just one heartbeat.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Morning mists covers the landscapes near Kekesteto, Hungary.
CREDIT: PETER KOMKA/MTI VIA AP

This stunning snap shows a mirror image of a beautiful sky in a still canal as the sun rises. The incredible picture was taken by Mark Watkins in Hardwicke, near Stroud, Gloucestershire. The professional photographer said: “I realized how amazing the sky was as I put out the morning recycling so I got on my bike and cycled to the spot as quickly as I could. “I knew there would be narrow boats and I’d be looking directly towards the sunrise.”
CREDIT: MARK WATKINS/SWNS

Artist Kiki Smith poses next to her artwork entitled ‘Sleeping, Wandering, Slumber, Looking Aout, Rest Upon’ during the press visit of her exhibition ‘Kiki Smith’ held at the Monnaie de Paris, in Paris, France. The exhibition runs until 9 February 2020.
CREDIT: IAN LANGSDON/EPA-EFE/REX

Market Closes for October 18^th, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
More than a tenth of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported third-quarter earnings so far, with most having topped estimates. Analysts have set a low bar for expectations to account for waning global growth and the U.S.-China trade dispute.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.3 percent, or 49.18 to 16,377.12 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 0.8 percent on Oct. 8. Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 8 of 11 sectors lost; 140 of 233 shares fell, while 87 rose. Gildan Activewear Inc. contributed the most to the index decline and had the largest move, decreasing 25.7 percent.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* This year, the index rose 14 percent, heading for the best year since 2016
* The index advanced 6.3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.6 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.4 percent below its 52-week high on Sept. 20, 2019 and 18.9 percent above its low on Dec. 24, 2018
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.7 on a trailing basis and 15.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.52 trillion
* 30-day price volatility rose to 7.08 percent compared with 7.06 percent in the previous session and the average of 8.35 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -27.0363| -3.1| 0/9
Consumer Discretionary | -19.9681| -2.8| 4/12
Health Care | -5.7730| -2.6| 1/8
Energy | -5.3108| -0.2| 7/25
Consumer Staples | -2.4257| -0.4| 1/9
Industrials | -1.8343| -0.1| 8/22
Real Estate | -1.7456| -0.3| 6/18
Communication Services | -0.5575| -0.1| 2/5
Utilities | 1.7457| 0.2| 9/7
Materials | 3.3637| 0.2| 30/18
Financials | 10.3638| 0.2| 19/7
US
By Claire Ballentine and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities ended the week on a down note after flirting with all-time highs in the wake of mostly positive earnings reports. The dollar weakened to its lowest level since July. Boeing accounted for about two-thirds of the decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while sagging technology stocks such as Microsoft weighed on the Nasdaq Composite. U.S. regulators said Boeing failed to turn over communications between its employees during the certification of the grounded 737 Max jet. “Markets are more forward looking, meaning that what happened in earnings season in the previous quarter has a temporary impact in the markets, but what is more important to know is the big trends,” said Juha Seppala, director of macro asset-allocation strategy for UBS Asset Management. Treasuries rose, while most sovereign bonds fell across Europe. Oil futures fluctuated.
The lira gained after Turkey and the U.S. agreed Thursday to a temporary cease-fire plan for Syria. While sterling was range bound it was still poised for a third week of gains before U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson seeks parliamentary backing on Saturday for his Brexit deal. American earnings so far have been relatively upbeat, after Morgan Stanley on Thursday became the latest big bank to buck concerns about weak growth. Traders will also be mulling the data from China, which showed GDP slow to 6% in the third quarter, with limited pick-up from domestic demand, but factory output improve and retail sales hold up. Earlier in Asia, shares closed down in Shanghai after Chinese GDP rose by the least since the early 1990s last quarter. Benchmarks in Japan and South Korea gave up gains to finish lower.
Here are the main movers in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index declined 0.4% to 2,986.13 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.9% to 26,770.74.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.8% to 8,089.54.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.3% to 391.84.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.3% to 1,196.08, the lowest in 12 weeks.
* The euro advanced 0.3% to $1.1162, the strongest in two months.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 108.42 per dollar, the largest gain in more than a week.
* The British pound climbed 0.4% to $1.2944, the strongest in five months.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 1.57%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped less than one basis point to 1.75%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to -0.38%, the highest in more than 11 weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed three basis points to 0.709%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.4% to $53.74 a barrel.
* Gold weakened 0.1% to $1,490.58 an ounce.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The word “listen” contains the same letters as the word “silent.”
                                                     -Alfred Brendel, b. 1931

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