December 18, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

It’s another hump day today.

1987 – Ivan F. Boesky was sentenced to three years in prison for plotting Wall Street’s biggest insider-trading scandal.  Go to article »

Birthdays:
Antonio Stradivari, violin maker, b.1737
Stephen Spielberg, b. 1947
Brad Pitt, b. 1964
Katie Holmes, b.1978

-from today’s New York Times:
Manuela Kragler lives upstairs from a Munich cheese shop whose pungent smells permeate her home. So over three years, she picketed the shop and plastered signs on its windows protesting the odoriferous invasion.
This week, a court in Germany — which produces more cheese than even France or Italy — told her to knock it off.
While Ms. Kragler is allowed to “claim that she considers the smell to be stinky and a form of pollution,” the court said she is not allowed to post warning signs.

-from Bloomberg today:
Here’s our optimist’s guide to 2020.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Employees riding on Winglet personal mobility devices look at an HSR robot moving inside the Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD) head office in Nihonbashi Muromachi Mitsui Tower in Tokyo, Japan.
CREDIT: TOMOHIRO OHSUM/ GETTY IMAGES

Prime Minister Boris Johnson chairs the first meeting of the Cabinet in number ten Downing street following the general election.
CREDIT:RICHARD POHLE/TIMES NEWSPAPER LTD.

Taylor Swift arrives on the red carpet at the world premiere of “Cats” at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on Monday, December 16, 2019 in New York City.
CREDIT: JOHN ANGELILLO/UPI/BARCROFT MEDIA

Market Closes for December 18^th, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1899, rocked by news of heavy casualties in the battle against rebels in the Philippines, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its fifth-worst daily percentage loss of all time, plunging 8.7%, or 5.57 points, to close the day at 58.27.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.3 percent at 17,031.98 in Toronto. The move was the biggest loss since Dec. 9 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.1 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.0 percent. Hexo Corp. had the largest drop, falling 8.3 percent. Today, 116 of 231 shares fell, while 111 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 2.2 percent
* This year, the index rose 19 percent, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* The index advanced 18 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.5 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 28, 2019 and 23.6 percent above its low on Dec. 24, 2018
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.5 percent in the past 5 days and was little changed in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.3 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.62t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 4.82 percent compared with 4.82 percent in the previous session and the average of 4.60 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -30.3051| -0.5| 10/17
Communication Services | -8.8292| -0.9| 2/5
Consumer Staples | -8.2394| -1.2| 4/6
Health Care | -6.6046| -3.0| 3/7
Utilities | -4.9770| -0.6| 6/10
Industrials | -3.9405| -0.2| 15/16
Consumer Discretionary | -0.6570| -0.1| 9/7
Real Estate | 2.4172| 0.4| 19/5
Materials | 3.6773| 0.2| 22/24
Information Technology | 4.9784| 0.5| 5/4
Energy | 9.2401| 0.3| 16/15

* The benchmark 10-year bond fell and the yield rose 5.8 basis points to 1.692 percent
US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks receded just before the closing bell as investors digested a flurry of corporate news and
Congress debated the impeachment of Donald Trump. Treasuries slipped and the British pound weakened. The S&P 500 Index fell Wednesday — after spending most of the day higher — snapping a five-session streak of gains. Tech shares stumbled toward the end of regular trading as Apple Inc. slid from the day’s highs. FedEx Corp. plunged after a forecast cut. With few big economic headlines imminent, and much of the U.S. focused on the impeachment vote, investors may take a wait- and-see stance as the holidays near. “We think it’s largely going to be a non-event,” Candice Bangsund, a vice president and portfolio manager at Fiera Capital, said of the impeachment. “It’s going to be the story likely for the next two to three weeks and then it will be ancient history and we’ll be moving on to the elections, to trade negotiations.” With global stocks close to all-time highs and the U.S.- China trade accord announced Friday yet to be signed, traders are finding few reasons to bid prices higher.
The outlook for America’s monetary policy remains steady — two Federal Reserve policy makers reiterated that interest rates are on hold — yet the miserable results from FedEx were a reminder of the headwinds to growth. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed lower as national benchmarks traded mixed, with Germany’s gauge underperforming even as data showed business expectations improved for a third month. PSA Group rose and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV was steady as they agreed to combine in a deal to create the world’s fourth-biggest auto manufacturer. Bang & Olufsen A/S plunged after the luxury TV and stereo maker issued its fourth profit warning in a year.The pound extended its losses after tumbling Tuesday on renewed concern that a no-deal Brexit is possible. The dollar strengthened against most of its G-10 peers. Earlier in Asia, equities were mixed, with shares falling in Tokyo but rising in Hong Kong and India. The yuan was steady offshore after China’s central bank injected liquidity into the financial system. Meanwhile, West Texas crude rebounded, and energy shares rose, after a bullish U.S. inventory report.
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.
* Revised U.S. GDP data are due Friday.
* Friday also 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 was little changed at 3,191.14 as of 4:05 p.m.
*New York time, the first retreat in more than a week and the largest fall in a week.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1% to 414.38.
*The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.2% to 7,540.75, hitting the highest in almost 20 weeks with its sixth consecutive advance.
*Germany’s DAX Index decreased 0.5% to 13,222.16.
*The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 0.6% to 1,108.81, hitting the highest in 18 months with its sixth consecutive advance.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1% to 1,195.87, the highest in a week.
*The euro declined 0.3% to $1.1118, the weakest in a week on the largest drop in more than a week.
*The British pound decreased 0.3% to $1.3086, the weakest in two weeks.
*The Japanese yen depreciated 0.1% to 109.57 per dollar, the weakest in almost seven months.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained four basis points to 1.92%, the highest in five weeks.
*Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to -0.25%, the highest in five weeks.
*Britain’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 0.775%.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.1% to $60.97 a barrel, hitting the highest in three months with its fifth consecutive advance.
*Gold weakened 0.1% to $1,475.54 an ounce.

–With assistance from Sophie Caronello, Andreea Papuc and Sam Potter.
Have  a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
                                                                        -Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012

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