August 24, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
79 AD – Mount Vesuvius erupts;  Pompeii destroyed.
1814 – British torch Washington to avenge burning of York (Toronto), Upper Canada in 1813.

1988 – Writer Jorge Luis Borges was born.

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library. -Jorge Luis Borges.

This weekend is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the conductor Leonard Bernstein. Our writers reflected on one of the most indelible figures in the history of the arts. 

Leonard Bernstein in 1959.
Sam Falk/The New York Times 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Danish Royal Family are on a four-day visit to the Faroe Islands. Seen here in traditional Faroese dress are Prince Frederick and Princess Mary and Prince Christian and Princess Isabella and Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine. Credit: PPE/Face To Face

A Maasai boy with a painted face looks at the camera during an initiation into an age group ceremony near the town of Bisil, Kajiado county, Kenya. Credit: Baz Ratner/Reuters

General view of the Train Night Market Ratchada in Bangkok in Thailand. Credit: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

A car is stuck partially submerged in floodwaters from Hurricane Lane rainfall on the Big Island in Hilo, Hawaii. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Market Closes for August 23^rd, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Tatiana Darie
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian equities moved higher, along with global peers, as optimism about cannabis stocks boosted health- care shares to the highest since Jan. 17.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 0.2% , led by health care, tech and materials. Cannabis stocks rallied after BNN Bloomberg TV reported beverage company Diageo is in talks with at least three major cannabis producers in Canada. Consumer staples and industrials were weakest.
     In other moves:
                            Stocks
* Canopy Growth Corp. advanced 8 percent to a record after reports that Diageo is said to be pursuing a cannabis deal in Canada.
* Newstrike Brands Ltd. rallied 10 percent after its wholly- owned unit was selected by Nova Scotia Liquor as one of 14 licensed producers for initial purchase orders for adult-use cannabis.
* Enbridge Inc. fell 1.7 percent after agreeing to buy Spectra Energy Partners LP in a deal aimed at streamlining its corporate structure in the wake of U.S. tax changes.                          
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $27 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 1.5 percent to $1,211.80 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar gained 0.4 percent to C$1.3028 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield gained 3 basis points to 2.263 percent                            
US
By Randall Jensen and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending the S&P 500 Index past its January record, as an expanding economy and surging earnings erased a six-month drought in which equities tumbled into a correction. The dollar dropped.
     Equities capped a second straight week of gains and the dollar slumped Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled the central bank has no intention of raising interest rates at a faster pace. The latest stocks record marks another milestone in a nine-year bull run that’s now the longest in history.
     The dollar fell for the sixth time in seven days as Powell said that gradual rate increases are likely appropriate if growth stays strong, and “there does not seem to be an elevated risk of overheating.” The 10-year Treasury yield edged lower to 2.82 percent. Crude settled above $68 a barrel in New York and gold jumped above $1,200 an ounce.
     “It looks like he understands the light touch he has to have on raising rates versus inflation,” Kim Forrest, senior portfolio manager at Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC in Pittsburgh, said by phone. “It doesn’t sound like he’s going to do a Greenspan, over-tighten. But he does understand inflation is now probably his primary objective, keeping that measure as the primary issue in the economy. But you also don’t want to kill the recovery and kill strong growth. He’s going to let the data decide.”
     The Chinese yuan traded offshore surged against the greenback after the People’s Bank of China said it tweaked how it fixes the level of its nation’s currency. The government also said Friday it was removing limits on foreign ownership of its banks. The changes come after low-level talks between the U.S. and China this week failed to make any progress in ending the trade war as both side slapped new tariffs on each other.
     Investors hoping for a global-trade resolution were left disappointed after the U.S. talks with China ended with an increased likelihood that tit-for-tat tariffs will escalate, casting a shadow over the global-growth outlook. But the focus has shifted back to Fed policy, with bond traders now more certain of two rate hikes by year-end. However, this view could be tested with the turmoil in emerging markets, continuing trade tensions and political drama in Washington still hanging in the background.
     Elsewhere, the Mexican peso pared gains against the greenback as cracks emerged in Nafta negotiations. Oil headed for the first weekly rise in two months amid prospects of tightening supplies from the North Sea to the Middle East. Most industrial metals rose along with gold and platinum.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.6 percent to 2,874.72, a closing record, as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.9 percent to a record.
* The Russell 2000 Index gained 0.5 percent to a record.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index advanced 0.5 percent.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5 percent.
* The euro gained 0.7 percent to $1.1625.
* The British pound climbed 0.3 percent.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1 percent to 111.19 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell less one basis point to 2.82 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.34 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to 1.30 percent.
* Japan’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to 0.101 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.1 percent to $68.60 a barrel, the highest in more than three weeks.
* Gold advanced 1.7 percent to $1,205.47 an ounce.
* Copper climbed 1.5 percent to $2.72 a pound.
–With assistance from Robert Brand and Luke Kawa. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Be magnificent!

As ever, 

Carolann

It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
                                                    -Grace Hopper, 1906-1992

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