April 20, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day in 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform kills 11 workers and causes an estimated 200 million gallons of crude to begin spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.

EXIT GUIDANCE
Yes, the sign says you can find gas and lunch at that highway exit.  But how far will you  have to drive to get there?  The app iExit will tell you exactly where a restaurant is and where you can find Wi-Fi, among other information, taking the guess-work out of pit stops.  The app is free for iOS and Android.-CSM.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Two girls ride their horses between fields of rapeseed on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany, on a sunny Thursday evening. Michael Probst/AP

A woman takes a selfie with her smartphone next to a bed of tulips at a Beijing park on Thursday. Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Market Closes for April 20^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Numbers of the Day
3.76%
The percentage that U.S. crude futures fell Wednesday, their worst day since early March.
$1.93 billion
Morgan Stanley’s first-quarter profit, as it rode a boost in debt trading to surpass rival Goldman Sachs and join other big Wall Street firms in posting strong results to start the year.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended the day higher as industrials shares gained on strong rail earnings and financials rallied together with their U.S. peers.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 73 points or 0.5 percent to close at 15,625.56. The industrials index rose 1.1 percent as Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. jumped 2.6 percent and Canadian National Railway Co. climbed 1.7 percent. CP reported strong first-quarter earnings, including its first sales increase since the third quarter of 2015.
     Financial shares rose 0.6 percent despite a plunge in shares of Home Capital Group Inc., which lost 20.7 percent following allegations that current and former executives misled investors on the reason behind a decline in mortgage originations.
     In other moves:
* Nevsun Resources Ltd. gained 6.7 percent, its biggest gain since Nov. 10. The miner said its pre-feasibility study for a Serbian project is on track and infill drilling is largely complete
* Mullen Group Ltd. dropped 6 percent. The trucking company reported earnings late Wednesday that missed expectations
* Martinrea International Inc. added 3.2 percent.
US
By Jeremy Herron and Dani Burger
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks jumped amid corporate results and comments from the Treasury Secretary that bolstered bets the Trump administration would cut taxes soon. The dollar all but erased losses and Treasuries fell as the odds for a June interest-rate hike climbed.
     The S&P 500 Index had its second best day since March as Steven Mnuchin said plans to reform taxes have progressed. Financial shares continued an up-and-down week as American Express Co. powered the group to a gain of 1.6 percent two days after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sent it tumbling. Bloomberg’s dollar spot index was flat after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the country will maintain an accommodative monetary policy.
     Mnuchin’s comments eased growing concern that President Donald Trump’s fiscal agenda is foundering, while the odds for a rates hike in June surged toward toward 60 percent after Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan reiterated that three increases this year remain appropriate. Earnings continued paint a mixed picture on the health of the economy, while investors kept an eye on a series of elections in Europe and tensions around North Korea and Syria that threaten to ratchet up market risks.
     Read our Markets Live blog here.
     Here are the events that investors will be watching:
* U.S. Vice President Mike Pence continues his Asia-Pacific trip with a stop in Jakarta.
* The first round of voting in the French election is on Sunday, and the two leading candidates will run off in a winner-takes- all contest on May 7.
     And here are the main moves in markets:
     Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent to 2,355.92 at 4 p.m. in New York.
* AmEx surged nearly 6 percent to pace gains in the financial group after its results topped estimates.
* Qualcomm Inc. rose slightly and EBay Inc. retreated on earnings reports, while CSX Corp. jumped after announcing a share buyback.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index edged higher by 0.2 percent after swinging between gains and losses.
* Emerging-market equities jumped 0.6 percent.

      Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was unchanged, erasing a loss that reached 0.3 percent after Kuroda’s comments to Bloomberg News. The measure surged 0.5 percent Wednesday.
* The pound rose 0.3 percent to $1.2819 and the euro climbed 0.13 percent to $1.0725.
* The yen weakened 0.4 percent to 109.34 per dollar, following a 0.4 percent decline on Wednesday.

     Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.24 after a five-basis-point advance Wednesday.
* German government bond yields with a similar maturity added four basis points to 0.24 percent.

     Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate oil fell 0.3 percent to $50.27 a barrel, after tumbling 3.8 percent Wednesday when a report showed U.S. gasoline supplies increased for the first time since February, while crude output keeps rising.
* Gold futures were little changed at $1,282.80 an ounce in New York.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The first condition of humanness is a little humility and a little diffidence
about the correctness of one’s conduct and  a little receptiveness.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

The evil of the world is made possible by nothing
but the sanction you give it.
                             -Ayn Rand, 1905-1982

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