August 22, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day, August 22ND,1776, the British army lands on Long Island, the first step toward capturing New York City. They would do so a month later, and hold it until the end of the Revolutionary War.
Also on August 22, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt became the first United States chief executive to ride in an automobile in public.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Northern Lights and the Milky Way over Loch Killimister, Caithness, Scotland. These rare photographs show the Northern Lights and the Milky Way in one awe-inspiring frame. In one star-filled image, you can see the billions of stars that make up the galaxy, along side the purple and green hues known around the world as the Aurora. Photographer Maciej Winiarczyk, 44, watched the fascinating display from his window. CREDIT: MACEIJ WINIARCZYK/SWNS.COM

An elderly couple walks along a field of sun flowers as the sun sets in Frankfurt, Germany. CREDIT: MICHAEL PROBST/AP

Luiz Fernando Candeia dangles precariously over the edge of a rock. The stunning backdrop of a blue sea and sandy beach also looks extremely sinister with the apparent drop below him. Luiz, a 28-year-old ecotourism company administrator, sad: The Pedra del Telegrafo stands out for the incredible photos that show people on the edge of the abyss. CREDIT: LUIZ FERNANDO CANDEIA/CATERS NEWS AGENCY

The clock face at midday, on the Queen Elizabeth tower at the Palace of Westminster as Big Ben rings for the last time in London, Britain. Big Ben’s bongs fall silent due to major renovation plans that will stop it ringing for up to four years. CREDIT: ANDY RAIN/EPA
Market Closes for August 22nd, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
2%
Tesla’s first bonds have fallen more than 2% in price since their issuance 10 days ago.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their first gain in six days, bolstered by strong retail sales data and higher oil prices.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 33 points or 0.2 percent to 14,984.96, bouncing off the nine-month low hit Monday. Energy shares were responsible for much of the gain, adding 0.9 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude prices rose 0.6 percent.
     Consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.8 percent after Canadian retail sales excluding autos rose 0.7 percent in June, well ahead of the 0.1 percent estimate. The half-year gain of 4.6 percent was the biggest on record.
     In other moves:
* Cineplex Inc. fell 4.8 percent for a total decline of 23 percent this month. Movie-theater stocks have slumped along with industry-wide box office revenue
* Restaurant Brands International Inc. gained 2.4 percent after the owner of Tim Hortons and Burger King was upgraded to top pick at UBS
* Inter Pipeline Ltd. rose 2.2 percent. The stock was upgraded to outperform at AltaCorp Capital.
US
By Randall Jensen
    (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose the most in a week, while Treasuries declined and the dollar gained on growing speculation the Trump administration is gaining momentum in its efforts to reform the tax code. Industrial metals rallied.
     The S&P 500 Index jumped 1 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added almost 200 points amid reports the Trump team and lawmakers may be making progress toward pro- business reforms. Emerging-market and European equities also advanced. The risk-on tone lifted the dollar and weighed on havens from Treasuries to gold. Crude gained ahead of a U.S. government report that’s forecast to show stockpiles fell.
     Investors seem to be getting over some of the sensitivity that characterized the past week following political turmoil in Washington, terrorist attacks in Europe and ongoing tension between the U.S. and North Korea. Nonetheless, Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates Inc., the world’s largest hedge fund, said he’s “tactically reducing” risk because he’s concerned about growing internal and external conflict “leading to impaired government efficiency” in the U.S., according to a LinkedIn post Monday.
     With little top-tier economic data out this week, markets are set to focus on the annual conference of global central bankers hosted by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It starts on Thursday.
     “No one has a lot of interest in being very negative in the market right here, knowing that there’s this whatever-it-takes backdrop where central bankers globally just have zero interest in seeing financial conditions tighten too much,” Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI, said Tuesday in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
     Among other key events looming this week:
* Amazon.com Inc.’s bid for Whole Foods Market Inc. faces a shareholder vote on Wednesday.
* Combined sales of new (data Wednesday) and previously owned (Thursday) U.S. homes probably edged up in July from the prior month, indicating a still robust real estate market held in check by rising property prices, economists forecast.
* A verdict in the graft trial of Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee is due Friday.
* Kazakhstan and Tunisia set monetary policy.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 2,452.51 as of 4 p.m. in New York, the biggest advance since Aug. 14.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.4 percent to the highest since June.
* The Russell 2000 Index climbed 1.1 percent and the Dow rose 196 points, the most since April.
* Brazil’s Ibovespa surged to the highest since 2011 after an unexpected government proposal to privatize a utility lifted demand for state-run companies.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.8 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index rose 1.4 percent, the most since July.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4 percent.
* The Japanese yen dipped 0.6 percent to 109.58 per dollar.
* The euro sank 0.5 percent to $1.1751.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 2.21 percent.
* Blue-chip companies have sold more than $1 trillion of bonds in 2017, passing that milestone for the sixth straight year.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to 1.087 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6 percent to end at $47.64 a barrel.
* Gold futures fell 0.4 percent to settle at $1,291 an ounce.

Have a wonderful evening everyone. 

Be magnificent!

Meditation can take place when you are sitting in a bus,
or walking in the woods full of light and shadows,
or listening to the singing of the birds,
or looking at the face of your wife or child.
Krishnamurti
 

As ever, 

Carolann

The successful man is the one who had the chance and took it.
                                                 – Roger Babson, 1875-1967

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com