April 18, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Happy Friday!

1775 ~ Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride
1906 ~ San Francisco earthquake and fire kills over 500.
1955 ~Albert Einstein, physicist, d.
2011 ~ Standard & Poor’s lowered its long-term outlook for the U.S. government’s fiscal health from “stable” to “negative.” Go to article »

From The New York Times:

The neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, who died in 2015, was a great believer in the power of gardens. In an excerpt from “Everything in Its Place,” a posthumous collection of his writings, he wrote about nature’s calming and organizing effects on our brains. Above, the Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

“I have seen in my patients the restorative and healing powers of nature and gardens, even for those who are deeply disabled neurologically,” he wrote. “In many cases, gardens and nature are more powerful than any medication.”

If you can, go outside this weekend.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A Balinese groom casts his ballot at a polling station during election in Bali, Indonesia. CREDIT: FIRDIA LISNAWATI/AP

Activists on top of a Dockland Light Railway at Canary Wharf station in east London as part of the ongoing climate change protests in the capital. CREDIT: KIRSTY O’CONNOR/PA

Actor Joanne Haines, in a cherry picker, rehearses with a giant mechanical baby at the Grade I listed Piece Hall, Halifax for Good Friday’s world premiere of Zara: Daughters of Fortune. Haines plays Zara, a learning disabled mother fighting to protect her baby, in the outdoor production by Bradford-based Mind the Gap. The play features 100 mainly learning-disabled actors, a host of special effects including 3D images projected onto the 18^th century Piece Hall, and the mechanical baby which is 22ft when seated and takes eight people to operate. CREDIT: ASADOUR GUZELIAN
Market Closes for April 18^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks extended gains for a third straight week, climbing to a record, buoyed by Canopy Growth Corp.’s proposal to buy New York-based marijuana company Acreage Holdings Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.4 percent to 16,613. Consumer discretionary led the market Friday while health care was a close second. Materials underperformed.
The rally in Canadian shares has been driven by a resurgent energy sector and a stronger cannabis-related shares. Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital Markets, said Canada is in a lot better shape than most people think.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Green Growth Brands Inc. rose 11%
* ERO Copper Corp. jumped 10.5% updating exploration drill programs at its Pilar and Vermelhos mineral districts
* Green Thumb Industries Inc. advanced 5.8% after getting a new buy rating from Roth
* Dollarama Inc. rose 3.3%, the highest since Sept. 28
* Athabasca Oil Corp. fell 4.7%, the most since Jan. 7
* Village Farms International Inc. dropped 4.5%
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.25 discount to WTI
* Gold slightly up about 0.1 percent to $1,277.20 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.3 percent to C$1.3385 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell to 1.767%
US
By Todd White
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged higher ahead of the holiday weekend as gains in industrial stocks slightly outweighed weakness in health-care and energy shares. The dollar advanced.
The S&P 500 Index pushed above 2,900 after data showed retail sales jumped by the most since September 2017 and unemployment claims fell. Pinterest Inc. and Zoom Video Communications Inc. both surged following initial public offerings. Blackstone Group LP rallied after saying it will convert to a corporation. Health insurers and hospitals halted a slide sparked by concern over medical policy.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries slipped, while the dollar strengthened against major peers. The euro fell following disappointing German and euro-area factory numbers. West Texas crude declined, while emerging-market stocks headed for their biggest decline in a week.
Equity investors remained cautious ahead of the three-day weekend for U.S. markets, with many assessing the long-awaited findings of the Special Counsel’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Exchanges across Europe will also be shuttered on Monday. So far this week solid economic data out of China, optimistic signals from the trade talks and a decent start to the earnings season had not been enough to spur much risk appetite, particularly after policy concerns sank American healthcare stocks on Wednesday.
Here are some notable events coming up:
* A swathe of financial markets will close across the Western world for the Good Friday holiday, including in the U.S., U.K. and Germany.

These are the main market moves:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,905.07 at 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Nasdaq 100 added 0.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.6 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.3 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.4 percent.
* The euro sank 0.6 percent to $1.12 on the largest decrease in almost four weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index dropped 0.2 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 2.38 percent.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped three basis points to 2.56 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield lost six basis points to 0.025 percent.
Commodities
* Gold futures were flat at $1,276.80 an ounce.
* West Texas crude gained 0.3 percent to $64.05 a barrel.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh and Cormac Mullen.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

If you are truly serious about preparing your child for the future, don’t teach  him to subtract – teach him to deduct.
  -Fran Lebowitz, b.1946

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