August 29, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

POINTS OF PROGRESS:
THAILAND: Bangkok’s skies are blue again.  Thanks to a government initiative in effect over the past couple of decades, Thailand’s capital – which once was an infamously smog-choked city – now boasts better air quality than cities such as San Francisco, Melbourne, and Paris.  Bangkok achieved its goals through a series of reforms: cracking down on polluting vehicles, converting motorbikes to cleaner engines, shifting to the use of lead-free gas, and converting taxis to liquefied petroleum gas.  The city also took the simple but effective step of regularly washing its streets. –Al Jazeera.

UNITED STATES: Bees in the US appear to be rebounding from colony collapse disorder.  A new honeybee health survey released by the US Department of Agriculture states that the number of commercial US honeybee colonies rose 3% to 2.89 million as of April 1 compared with a year earlier.  Also, the report says, the number of disappearing bees was down to 84,430 in this year’s first quarter, a 27% drop from a year earlier.  Colony collapse disorder occurs when a majority of working bees desert a colony, causing it to collapse.  US bees have been troubled by the condition for the past decade. –US Department of Agriculture.

TODAY IN HISTORY
1632 – John Locke, philosopher, was born.
1915 – Ingrid Bergman, actress, was born.
1920 – Charlie “Bird” Parker, musician, was born.
1958 – Michael Jackson…

Also on this day, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina makes landfall near New Orleans.
On Aug. 29, 1991, the Supreme Soviet, the parliament of the U.S.S.R., suspended all activities of the Communist Party, bringing an end to the institution.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Coracler Conwy Richards from Norfolk takes part in the Ironbridge Coracle Regatta on the River Severn in his Irish River Boyne Coracle in Ironbridge. A coracle is a small boat made from an interwoven wooden frame and is used traditionally for fishing or transportation. The 30th annual Ironbridge Coracle Regatta is held today at the Ironbridge Rowing Club and sees dozens of coraclers take part in a series of races and events on the Severn. CREDIT: JACK TAYLOR/GETTY IMAGES

Alexendre Jorge evacuates Ethan Colman, 4, from a neighbourhood inundated by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas, USA. CREDIT: CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP

A dramatic sunset behind the Longon Eye Ferris Wheel. Monday was one of the warmest Bank Holidays on record. CREDIT: GUY CORBISHLEY/ALAMY LIVE NEWS
Market Closes for August 29th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$4.50 per day
The minimum wage in Mexico. U.S. and Canadian trade officials and labor advocates want to use the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement to prod Mexico into raising its wages.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed higher, reversing a triple-digit decline as initial fears over North Korea’s saber- rattling eased and materials and industrials shares rose.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 31 points or 0.2 percent to 15,082.70 after earlier falling as low as 14,934. Materials shares were the biggest gainers, rising 1 percent as gold prices touched a nine-month high.
     Financial stocks, which earlier fell as much as 1.1 percent, closed down 0.2 percent. Bank of Montreal lost 2.6 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected loan growth and revenue that missed estimates.
     In other moves:
* ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. jumped 25 percent after its Ryplazimä drug was granted rare pediatric disease designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
* Toromont Industries Ltd. rose 9.8 percent to a record high, adding to Monday’s 11 percent gain. Canaccord Genuity upgraded the stock to buy following its C$1.02-billion acquisition of Hewitt Group
* Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. lost 6.6 percent.
Mizuho analysts said they expect the company to miss its 2017 revenue and Ebitda guidance
* Laurentian Bank of Canada gained 2.1 percent. The bank reported adjusted earnings per share that beat the highest estimate.
US
By Dani Burger and Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded from losses sparked by North Korea’s firing of a missile over Japan as investors speculated the event wouldn’t lead to a wider conflagration. The S&P 500 Index’s reversal was the biggest turnaround since the day after the November election.
     “North Korea uncertainty is translating into a weaker dollar and lower rate hike expectations, but not necessarily a change in economic backdrop,” said Dennis Debusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI. “So the S&P benefits from the combination of a weak dollar, lower rate hike expectations and steady economic growth.”
     Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasuries fell to the lowest this year and the dollar touched the weakened level since January 2015 before recovering. Gold reached a 2017 high, while the Swiss franc was one of the best-performing major currencies.
Gasoline advanced for a sixth day as Tropical Storm Harvey picked up strength again after inundating refineries along the Texas coast.
     Japan called Kim Jong Un’s latest provocation an “unprecedented, grave and serious threat,” and asked the United Nations Security Council to hold an emergency meeting, while President Donald Trump said the U.S. will consider “all options” in the its response. The missile seems likely to reignite the simmering tension between North Korea and the U.S. just days after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson praised the nation for its “restraint.”
     “The market is in a range here and people are willing to buy on the dip,” Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at Newbridge Securities Corp. said. “The fact that Trump’s comment is a little bit moderating was helpful.”
          Among other key events looming this week:
* Inflation data from the euro zone’s largest economies this week may show prices nudged up in August.
* Japan releases figures for the industry on Wednesday.
* Australia is due to publish data on Wednesday detailing construction work done.
* The U.S. updates second-quarter GDP and core price data on Wednesday, and reports on August payrolls on Friday.
     And here are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 2,446.30 as of 4:06 p.m. in New York
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent to 21,865.24, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 6,301.89. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index declined 0.9 percent on the biggest drop in almost three weeks on a closing basis.
* Germany’s DAX Index decreased 1.5 percent, after touching the lowest in six months
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent after dropping to the lowest in more than two years.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1968, after touching the strongest in almost three years.
* The Swiss franc was little changed at $0.9556, after climbing to the strongest in about two years.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 2.13 percent, after dropping as low as 2.08 percent, the least in 10 months.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 0.34 percent, after touching the lowest in two months.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5 percent to $46.36 a barrel.
* Gold increased 0.1 percent to $1,309.03 an ounce, after reaching the strongest level in 11 months.
* Gasoline for September delivery rose 5.4 percent to $1.8051 a gallon after climbing 2.7 percent on Monday.
                              Asia
* Japan’s Topix index closed 0.2 percent lower after falling as much as 0.7 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.2 percent, paring a drop of as much as 1.6 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 Index in Sydney declined 0.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.4 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index fluctuated before edging higher.
* Thailand’s SET Index bucked the main trend, rising 1.8 percent. Concern about political violence has eased, according to CLSA.
* The yuan weakened the most in two weeks.

Have a wonderful evening everyone. 

Be magnificent!

How does seeing the difference permit unity?
Quite simply, because physically speaking there cannot be unity, since the physical plane consists of shapes,
and all shapes are different.
Unity only exists in the heart.  It is a feeling: love.
And in love the notion of self disappears; only the other remains.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever, 

Carolann

Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.
                                                -Morihei Ueshiba, 1883-1969
 

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