December 16. 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday!
I took my Mom to see the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre’s afternoon production of the Sound of Music on Saturday and have to report to you that it is amazing, super fantastic, most enjoyable etc. etc.  It is on until the first week of January so if you can, head over to the Stanley Theatre on South Granville and catch a performance.  You will be enthralled, I promise.

On this day…
Ludwig Von Beethoven, composer, b.1770
Jane Austen, novelist, b. 1775
Margaret Mead, anthropologist, b. 1901
The Frick Collection opened to the public on this day in 1935 in NYC.

2018 – Miners unearthed the biggest diamond ever found in Canada.

The 552-carat yellow gem is almost 3 times the size of the next largest stone discovered in North America  Go to article »
From Bloomberg:
Special Holiday Section: Bloomberg Opinion Book Club
Fifteen books to challenge your assumptions. — Stephen Carter 
Ten books on thinking about thinking. — Barry Ritholtz 
Five books on the biggest business themes of 2019. — Andrew Dunn
And…
The 40 best Christmas movies of all time.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sunlight breaks through dark clouds illuminating a wind farm in Wilhelmshaven, on the North Sea coast of Germany
CREDIT: MOHSSEN ASSAINMOGHADDAM/DAP VIA AP

A woman works behind a nutcracker displaying Queen Elizabeth II, right, in the Richard Glaesser company, manufacturer of the traditionally hand – made wooden Christmas decoration, in the toy village Sheaffe, eastern Germany. The traditional wooden Christmas figures manufactured in the Erzgebirge mountain region are sold all over the world.
CREDIT: HENS MEYER/AP

A Christmas tree is decorated with baubles and festive lights in Manezhnaya Square ahead of the holiday season in Moscow, Russia
CREDIT: STANISLAV KRASILNIKOV\\TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES

Carlos Bahia, dressed as Santa Claus, surfs at the Maresias beach in Sao Sebastiao, Sao Paulo state, Brazil
CREDIT: AMANDA PEROBELLI/REUTERS
Market Closes for December 16^th, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1685, under orders from the British Governor General, workmen finished laying out a 36-foot-wide street of stone and dirt in lower Manhattan. The thoroughfare, which ran along the wall that kept marauding pigs and native Americans from entering the city, was naturally named Wall Street.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a third straight session as Cineplex Inc. surged on a takeover plan and investor optimism about a partial trade deal between America and China boosted global markets.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.3% to 17,056.36 on Monday. Utilities stocks led the market higher as eight of 11 sectors rose. Shopify contributed the most to the index’s advance, increasing 1.8%. Cineplex had the largest gain, rising more than 41%. Barrick Gold was the biggest drag on the index, declining 1.5%.
     On the M&A front, Britain’s Cineworld Group Plc is on track to become North America’s biggest operator of movie theaters with its plan to buy Canada’s Cineplex for C$2.15 billion ($1.64 billion). Meanwhile, Hudson’s Bay Co. Chairman Richard Baker may scrap an offer to take the struggling retailer private after regulators delayed a vote on the deal following complaints from a minority shareholder. And the bid by billionaire Jim Pattison to take Canfor Corp. private is facing growing opposition from shareholders, though the investment firm has no plans to sweeten its bid for the Canadian lumber company.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $22 discount to WTI
* Gold spot price was flat at $1,476.60 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.04% to C$1.3162 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose about 4 basis points to 1.637%
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Yakob Peterseil
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities climbed to a new high Monday amid hopes that a partial trade deal between America and China will ease a key risk for investors heading into year-end. Treasuries and the dollar fell.
     With tech and health-care leading the charge, the S&P 500 Index rose in the wake of the agreement, which will see Washington reduce tariffs and Beijing increase purchases of American farm goods, although many details are still to be ironed out. In another positive sign, the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York’s survey measure of general business conditions in
the next six months jumped to a five-month high.
     The Stoxx Europe 600 also hit a new peak as it jumped for a fourth day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index reached a 19-week high. Stocks were mixed in Asia, but equities in Shanghai rose after Chinese data showed industrial output and retail sales both exceeded expectations.
     The announcement of the preliminary U.S.-China deal staved off a scheduled Dec. 15 tariff hike, a prospect that had loomed large for markets. It remains unclear how China will follow through on pledges to boost American agricultural imports, or how quickly the U.S. promise to roll back half of a September tariff hike will happen.
     “Now that the ‘good news’ is here, what is next for stocks? This week should be the last week with any decent volume as investors head for home for Christmas and the New Year’s holiday,” Paul Nolte, a portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago, wrote to clients. “Slow volume should also mean modest moves in stocks, so investors should be able to sleep easy and dream of sugar plum fairies to close out a very good year.”
     Still, China’s threat of retaliation against Germany if it excludes Huawei Technologies Co. as a supplier of 5G wireless equipment shows that tensions remain high elsewhere. Also, the U.S. spent Monday acting to ease Mexico’s concerns over labor monitors under the USMCA trade deal.
     Elsewhere, oil hovered near a three-month high and gold held steady. Bitcoin slipped below $7,000.
     Here are some key events to watch for this week:
* Policy decisions are due Thursday from the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England.
* Federal Reserve district bank presidents including Robert Kaplan of Dallas, Eric Rosengren of Boston and John Williams of New York are scheduled to speak this week.
* Revised U.S. GDP data are due Friday.
* Friday brings quadruple witching in the U.S., the simultaneous expiration date of stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures. Expect elevated trading volume, particularly in the last hour of trading.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 0.7% to 3,191.40 as of 4:00 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1.4% to 417.75, the highest on record with the biggest rise in more than two months.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index increased 2.3% to 7,519.05, the highest in more than 19 weeks on the largest climb in almost a year. Germany’s DAX Index rose 0.9% to 13,407.66, the highest in almost 23 months on the biggest advance in more than a week.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 0.3% to 1,089.76, the highest in eight months.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2% to 1,192.66, the lowest in five months.
* The euro climbed 0.2% to $1.1144, the strongest in more than six weeks.
* The British pound increased 0.1% to $1.3343, the strongest in 18 months.
* The Japanese yen depreciated 0.2% to 109.57 per dollar, the weakest in almost seven months.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed six basis points to 1.88%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to -0.28%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to 0.822%, the highest in about five months.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $60.23 a barrel, the highest in three months.
* Gold was little changed at $1,476.45 an ounce, the highest in almost two weeks.
–With assistance from Sophie Caronello and Andreea Papuc.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else  says distract you from your goals.
                                                                                                         -Michelle Obama, b. 1964

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