December 19, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1989: The Simpsons cartoon debuts.

On Dec. 19, 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice by a divided House of Representatives, which recommended virtually along party lines that the Senate remove the nation’s 42d President from office.  Go to article »

Holiday Travel Tip: Before checking in at the airport, take a  photograph of your luggage in case it gets lost.

Don’t sweat the decade’s end because time’s not real.-Bloomberg.

What mindfulness is saying to all of us is, Find your own way.  Listen to your own heart.  Listen to your own longing.  Because what we’re really trying to do is live our life as if it really matters.
It does. -Jon Kabat-Zinn.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A busy Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, Germany.
CREDIT: HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/REUTERS

Welding robots work on a car at the Nachi booth during the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.
CREDIT: FRANCK ROBICHON/ EPA

Lights and smoke are admired amongst the rhododendrons at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in St. Austell, Cornwall, where an art installation by international light artist Ulf Pederson is on display.
CREDIT: BEN BIRCHALL/PA

Market Closes for December 19^th, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
The S&P 500 index pushed past 3,200 for the first time.
Sweden’s central bank, one of the pioneers in wielding negative interest rates, became the first to end that policy Thursday, hiking rates to zero. The move was closely watched by other institutions that have resorted to what was supposed to be a radical and short-lived monetary policy measure.

On this day in 1868, Cornelius Vanderbilt bought up 130,000 more shares of the New York Central Railroad, which he already controlled, for $120 a share. Then Vanderbilt convened an emergency evening meeting of the board of directors, who dutifully declared an 80% dividend. That sent the stock shooting up to $165 over the next two days, at which point Vanderbilt dumped his new shares for a $5.5 million profit.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.2 percent at 17,064.04 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.3 percent. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.4 percent. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. had the largest increase, rising 6.3 percent. Today, 135 of 231 shares rose, while 90 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.4 percent.
* This quarter, the index rose 2.4 percent.
* This year, the index rose 19 percent, heading for the best year in at least 10 years.
* The index advanced 20 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 27 percent in the same period.
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 28, 2019 and 23.9 percent above its low on Dec. 24, 2018.
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.7 percent in the past 5 days and rose 0.3 percent 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 16 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 fell to 4.70 percent compared with 4.82 percent in the previous session and the average of 4.59 percent over the past month.
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 20.7129| 0.7| 22/10
Communication Services | 8.4889| 0.9| 6/1
Information Technology | 7.3156| 0.8| 6/3
Health Care | 5.1791| 2.4| 7/1
Real Estate | 3.0656| 0.5| 21/3
Consumer Discretionary | -0.6868| -0.1| 7/9
Materials | -0.9858| -0.1| 27/20
Utilities | -1.0506| -0.1| 6/9
Financials | -1.9800| 0.0| 16/11
Consumer Staples | -2.3174| -0.3| 4/5
Industrials | -5.7012| -0.3| 13/18
US
By Jeremy Herron and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks bounced back to claim fresh records as investors chased gains that have added more than $5 trillion to valuations this year. Oil topped $61 a barrel and Treasuries edged higher. After dipping Wednesday, the S&P 500 index on Thursday pushed past 3,200 for the first time, led by tech, health-care and communications shares. The benchmark is up more than 7% in the fourth quarter and 27% so far this year. Data showing that jobless claims fell less than forecast did little to alter views on the health of the economy. Markets ignored the impeachment of President Donald Trump. The dollar steadied against its major peers. China said it was in close contact with the U.S. to sign the initial trade deal announced last Friday. Treasuries bucked a sell-off in sovereign bonds from London to Tokyo as monetary decisions rolled out. Sweden’s central bank raised its benchmark to end half a decade of sub-zero interest rates, a move that will provide a test case for global counterparts with negative borrowing costs.
“We’ve been up like six of the last seven days so tactically we are overbought,” said Alec Young, managing director of Global Markets Research at FTSE Russell. “People know the seasonals are good, they know the macro situation has improved in terms of global growth and the trade situation. The concern is that a lot of this is already reflected in the market.” With few new catalysts on the horizon to revive the equity rally and details of the trade deal remaining vague, equity traders appear to be in a holding pattern. Central banks likewise seem to be on hold, with policy makers in Japan, Taiwan, Norway and the U.K. leaving interest rates unchanged on Thursday. Elsewhere, the pound fell, adding to worst two-day plunge since July. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced. Earlier in Asia, equities dipped in Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong while they edged higher in Seoul. Stocks in China were unchanged after erasing the day’s losses as the central bank injected moreliquidity before a year-end cash squeeze.
Here are some key events to watch for this week:
* 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 the session.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.4% to 3,205.28 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.5% to 28,376.21, the highest on record with the biggest gain in a week.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.2% to 415.07.
*The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.2% to 1,106.68, the first retreat in more than a week and the biggest drop in more than two weeks.
*The MSCI World Index of developed countries advanced 0.3% to 2,340.84, the highest on record.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1% to 1,195.23.
*The British pound decreased 0.5% to $1.3014, the weakest in more than two weeks.
*The euro gained 0.1% to $1.1124.
*The Japanese yen appreciated 0.2% to 109.30 per dollar, the strongest in more than a week on the largest rise in more than two weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped less than one basis point to 1.91%.
*The yield on two-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 1.62%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.24%, the highest in six weeks.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.5% to $61.22 a barrel, the highest in seven months.
*Gold strengthened 0.3% to $1,479.15 an ounce, the highest in six weeks.
–With assistance from Sophie Caronello, Andreea Papuc and Todd White.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind  don’t matter,
and those who matter don’t mind.
                                                                                               -Bernard Baruch, 1870-1965

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