April 11, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

April’s full moon which will be in full view tonight is known as the “Pink Moon.” 

While many may be hoping to see a light pink moon, the first full moon in April is called a “pink moon” because it’s when a spring flower called moss pink or phlox typically blooms, according to the Farmer’s Almanac, Space.com reported. According to Space.com, the name likely comes from a Native American tradition. In addition to the Pink Moon, the first full moon in April is also called the Egg Moon, Fish Moon and Sprouting Grass Moon, Space.com reported.
In the early evening sky, you’ll find the star Spica above and to the right of the moon. Jupiter will be directly above the star, and the three will move along the night sky together (which means you don’t have to look up at a precise time).  It will be easy to find the alignment of this threesome with the naked eye, but more amazing to see with a set of binoculars.
The celestial threesome will reach their highest peak around midnight and hang low in the western sky until sunrise.  

Edward FitzGerald in London – he spent most of his time in his cottage at Boulge, near Wodbridge in Suffolk – wrote the following to Bernard Barton, the “Quaker Poet,” a Woodbridge resident, on April 11^th, 1844:

A cloud comes over Charlotte Street and seems as if it were sailing softly on the April wind to fall in a blessed shower upon the lilac buds and thirsty anemones somewhere in Essex; or, who knows? perhaps at Boulge.  Out will run Mrs. Faiers [his housekeeper], and with red arms and face of woe haul in the struggling windows of the cottage, and make all tight.  Beauty Bob [his parrot] will cast a bird’s eye out at the shower, and bless the useful wet.  Mr. Loder [the Woodbridge stationer] will observe to the farmer for whom he is doing up a dozen of Queen’s Heads [the new penny-post stamps], and it will be of great use:  and the farmer will agree that his young barleys wanted it much.  The German Ocean will dimple with innumerable pinpoints, and porpoises rolling near the surface sneeze with unusual pellets of fresh water. –from The Book of Days.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, spews lava during an eruption in the early hours of Tuesday behind the Sicilian town of Riposto, Italy. Salvatore Allegra/AP

Penitents from ‘Cristo de la Buena Muerte,’ or ‘Good Dead Christ,’ brotherhood take part in a procession in Madrid in the early hours of Tuesday. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week. Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP
Market Closes for April 11^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
NUMBER OF THE DAY
8.8%
The stake Jana Partners has built in Whole Foods along with several allies. The activist investor wants the organic grocer to accelerate its turnaround and explore a possible sale, increasing pressure after its rapid growth stalled.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed lower after marijuana companies dragged the group down, while gold and silver miners advanced as investors turned to metals as a safe haven.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 3.7 points to close at 15,727.11. The index is down about 1.2 percent since reaching a record high on Feb. 21.
     Canopy Growth Corp. fell 5.3 percent, along with other Canadian marijuana companies. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is expected as early as this week to unveil details of a plan to legalize recreational marijuana.
     Gold climbed to the highest in five months as geopolitical tensions fueled demand for the metal as a haven. Gold futures for June delivery gained 1.6 percent to settle at $1,274.20 an ounce at 1:40 p.m. on the Comex in New York.
     In other moves:
*Hudson’s Bay Company gained 8% on heavy volume amid the company’s comment about an initial public offering of its real estate properties during the earnings conference call on April 5
* New Gold, First Majestic, Detour Gold closed higher amid gold and silver price rally
* ProMetic Life Sciences was among the biggest decliners in the health-care sector for TSX.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slid as investors assessed geopolitical risks and tech stocks extended their decline to an eighth straight session.
* S&P 500 down 0.1% to 2,353.78 at 4 p.m. in New York
* Index has traded above the 50 day average for 105 sessions, longest streak since 2011
* Dow Jones Industrial Average little changed at 20,651.30
* 7 of 11 sectors lower on day
* Tech shares down 0.4% as biggest laggard
* Financial stocks end 0.3% lower after losing as much as 1.3%; the group has declined in all but four trading sessions since March 20
* VIX up 7% to 15.1
* The White House press secretary warned Syria to stop using barrel bombs against civilians, suggesting President Trump may expand the criteria for U.S. action against Bashar al- Assad’s regime
* U.S. stock gains are justified by economic and earnings growth, according to Ross Yarrow, director of U.S. equities at Robert W. Baird, who recommended being overweight the shares
* ECONOMY:
* Fed Chair Yellen said late yesterday that the U.S. central bank’s task has shifted from a post-crisis exercise of healing the economy to one aimed at holding on to progress made
* Traders are pricing in a 59% chance of higher borrowing costs by June, Fed fund futures show
* EARNINGS:
* Pre-market Wednesday: Delta Air Lines (DAL), Fastenal (FAST)

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

By the term religion, I am using it
in its broadest sense, meaning thereby self realization
or knowledge of the self.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long
at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
                                                                    -Helen Keller, 1880-1968

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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