December 09, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Finally got to watch The Irishman on the weekend, Martin Scorsese’s latest tour de force.  The acting performances of DeNiro, Pesci and Pacino are nothing short of brilliant.  It’s now on Netflix, so you don’t have to see it in one sitting, which, given its length, would be a challenge.

It was definitely a year of discovery: Scientists unearthed 71 new species of plants and animals in 2019. –CNN

 On Dec. 9, 2000, the United States Supreme Court voted, 5 to 4, to stop the vote counting in Florida, ending Vice President Al Gore’s presidential hopes. Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Performers dressed as the Krampus creature parade through the city centre of Dobbiaco in Bolzano, Italy.
CREDIT: SIMONE PADOVANI/AWAKENING/GETTY IMAGES

Participants during the Whitby Krampus Run street parade, which celebrates the Krampus, a horned creature who accompanies Saint Nicholas on his rounds. The event at Whitby is the very first to celebrate this folklore character in the UK.
CREDIT: DANNY LAWSON/PA

Demonstrators wearing ‘Pepe the Frog’ and other masks stand during a demonstration in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong, China, on Sunday, Dec. 08, 2019. Hong Kong saw its biggest pro-democracy protest in months on Sunday, signaling more unrest to come in 2020 as the movement that began in June to fight China’s increasing grip on the city shows it staying power.
CREDIT: IVAN ABREU/BLOOMBERG

Market Closes for December 09^th, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1906, Grace Murray Hopper (née Grace Brewster Murray) was born in New York City.  She later served in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral, and invented the COBOL computer language, one of the first software programs enabling computers to be used by non-mathematicians. She also invented the term “bug” for an electronic glitch when, in 1945, she opened a malfunctioning computer and captured a moth that had been fluttering around inside of it and causing electrical relays to fail.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci and Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell Monday despite the Trump administration and House Democrats reaching a tentative deal on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.3% at 16,950.85 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.8%. Seven of eleven sectors dropped, while Canopy Growth Corp.’s 14% surge lifted marijuana stocks higher after the company named a new CEO. Meanwhile, Hudson’s Bay Co. disparaged a shareholder advisory firm’s report that came out against Chairman Richard Baker’s plan to take the retailer private, calling the study “flawed” and reiterating a call to support the deal.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $20.00 discount to WTI
* Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,460.00 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.2% to C$1.3232 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 1.5 basis points to 1.595%
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -25.4023| -0.5| 7/20
Industrials | -11.6903| -0.6| 9/23
Materials | -6.1959| -0.3| 17/30
Consumer Discretionary | -5.5937| -0.8| 5/10
Information Technology | -5.0888| -0.5| 4/5
Consumer Staples | -2.2838| -0.3| 4/6
Communication Services | -2.1479| -0.2| 1/6
Real Estate | 0.5318| 0.1| 17/8
Utilities | 1.2394| 0.2| 10/5
Energy | 1.4166| 0.1| 18/12
Health Care | 9.0974| 4.2| 9/1
US
By Sam Potter
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell in thin trading as investors turned cautious ahead of a week full of potential catalysts, from central bank meetings to a looming tariff deadline. Treasury 10-year notes held modest gains. The S&P 500 ended at session lows in volumes below the 30-day average. Weak China export data added to concern, with investors awaiting news on whether Washington will go ahead with a planned Dec. 15 tariff hike. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated. Stock indexes posted modest increases in Tokyo and Seoul, though gains mostly fizzled in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The pound edged higher as polls continued to show the U.K. Conservative Party on course to win a majority in Thursday’s election, which would likely mean Britain leaving the European Union by Jan. 31. Gold and the yen were also slightly higher. With time running out for the U.S. and China to reach a deal that would ward off an escalation in tariffs, markets will be watching closely for any signs of progress.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Friday the two sides are haggling over the amount of American farm products Beijing is willing to purchase. Data showed China’s exports fell 1.1% in November, with those to the U.S. tumbling 23%, underscoring why the Asian nation may want to resolve the dispute. “There’s no upside risks on the horizon,” Katrina Ell, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, said on Bloomberg TV. “It is weighted to the downside and that big downside risk is coming from the trade war.” Also in focus for investors this week will be central banks, with policy meetings at the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank that may offer clues on whether more monetary easing is in store in 2020. Elsewhere, oil slipped, trimming last week’s rally spurred by Saudi Arabia promising significant additional production cuts beyond what was agreed with fellow OPEC+ members.
Here are some key events to watch this week:
* The Federal Reserve decides on interest rates on Wednesday, followed by a press briefing from Chairman Jerome Powell.
* China reports on inflation Tuesday, and data on credit growth is due at some point in the coming week
* The next European Central Bank policy decision is on Thursday.
* The U.K. holds a general election Thursday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index declined 0.3% to 3,135.96 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.2% to 8,636.72.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.3% to 27,942.76.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index dipped 0.1% to 547.84.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1% to 1,199.94.
*The Japanese yen was little changed at 108.62 per dollar.
*The euro was little changed at $1.1065.
Bonds
*The yield on two-year Treasuries gained one basis point to 1.62%, the highest in more than a week.
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 1.83%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to -0.31%.
*Italy’s 10-year yield decreased eight basis points to 1.276%, the lowest in more than a week.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $58.97 a barrel, the biggest fall in more than a week.
*Gold futures were flat at $1,465.10 an ounce.
*Brent crude fell 0.4% to $64.12 a barrel, the biggest fall in more than a week.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

We generate fears while we sit. We overcome  them by action.
                                                  –Dr. Henry Link, 1889-1952

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