August 3, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Happy Friday!

POINTS OF PROGRESS:
BELIZE:
The Belize Barrier Reef has been removed from the United Nations’ list of endangered World Heritage sites.  UNESCO said the government of Belize had taken visionary steps to protect the world’s second largest reef system (behind Australia’s Great Barrier Reef).  The UN added the reef to the endangered list I 2009, citing “mangrove cutting and excessive development.”  Since then, the government has protected the mangroves and put a moratorium on oil exploration around the reef. –The News York Times, BBC.

THE NETHERLANDS:
The low-lying European country is continuing to shutter its prisons because there are not enough criminals to fill them.  Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported that the Netherlands will close four prisons by the end of the summer.  The nation’s crime rate is the lowest it has been since 1980: 49 crimes per 1000 people.  The closures continue a trend of recent years.  In 2013, the country shut down 19 prisons leading to a “storm of protests from prison workers” such that the Dutch government began importing Belgian and Norwegian prisoners so some of the workers could keep their jobs. –The Week.

NORWAY:
The Norwegian government has created a new national park within an area of he Lofoten archipelago.  Despite local residents voting against the designation, Ola Elvstuen, Norway’s climate and environment minister, said it was important because the Lofotodden national Park “has landscape and nature types that do not exist in any of Norway’s other natural areas.”  The park sits in a region that was one of the first to be uncovered after the last ice age and features some of the oldest types of mountain vegetation.  It is also home to cave paintings that date back to the Stone Age. –The Local.

PAKISTAN:
A government program has planted hundreds of millions of trees across previously arid areas of Pakistan’s northwest.  In 2014, the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa launched its “Billion Tree Tsunami” program, which has so far resulted in the planting of  300 million trees of 42 different species across the region.  In addition to 150 million trees given to farmers and strict forest regeneration measures, the region now has more than 1 billion new trees, culminating in what the head of Swiss-based International Union for Conservation of Nature, a green nongovernmental organization, called a “true conservation success story.” –Al Jazeera.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The audience attends the ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’ Pulpit Rock Norway Screening in Forsand, Norway. Credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

People harvest seed pods of lotus flowers from a pond in Tancheng in China’s eastern Shandong province. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

The effects of heat haze is seen as pedestrians cross a street during a heatwave in Tokyo, Japan. Credit: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for August 3^rd, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian equities posted a small gain to end the week, with defensive stocks leading the way as a top White House economic adviser said the U.S. won’t back off from its trade war with China.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 11 points or 0.1 percent to 16,420.24, bringing the benchmark’s weekly gain to 0.2 percent. Utilities and real estate rose 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.
     The telecom sector bucked the defensive trend, falling 0.3 percent as Telus Corp. lost 0.7 percent after growth in postpaid wireless subscribers slowed in the second quarter.
     In other moves:
                            Stocks
* Sierra Wireless Inc. jumped 19 percent to the highest since January after second-quarter earnings and its third-quarter outlook beat estimates
* Aimia Inc. rose 8.1 percent. The company is seeking a higher offer from Air Canada for its Aeroplan loyalty program
* Open Text Corp. added 4 percent to a record after fourth- quarter earnings and revenue beat estimates
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $31.00 discount to WTI, the widest gap since 2013
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.42 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,214.20 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3 percent to C$1.2991 per U.S. dollar after data showed Canada’s trade gap narrowed more than forecast in June
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell 1 basis point to2.35 percent
US
By Brendan Walsh and Olivia Schaber
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P 500 Index extended its fifth straight weekly gain, the dollar fell and Treasury yields dipped after the latest jobs report showed a steady labor market that supported the Federal Reserve’s outlook for only gradual interest-rate increases.
     Major benchmarks closed near their highs of the day as positive earnings surprises lifted U.S. shares, with 3/4 of the S&P 500 companies that reported Friday morning beating analysts’ estimates. Kraft Heinz Co. rallied as deal speculation swirled around the maker of macaroni-and-cheese dinners. Energy companies fell as oil slumped. The dollar broke a three-day winning streak following China’s move to shore up the yuan.
     Stocks got a boost late in Friday’s trading session as the White House said officials had held high-level talks with China about trade in the past months and were open to more discussions. Trade maneuvering kept markets on the back foot this week, competing with a mostly positive earnings season and an upbeat assessment of the economy by the Federal Reserve. About two-thirds of the way into the results season, U.S. and European companies have posted double-digit earnings growth, according to JPMorgan strategists.
     “At the end of the day, economic fundamentals are solid,” said Brendan Erne, the director of portfolio management at Personal Capital.
     Elsewhere, emerging-market stocks and currencies gained. Ten-year Treasury yields held below 3 percent. A rally for banks lifted European equity gauges.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent at the close in New York. The gauge was up 0.8 percent on the week, and its fifth weekly gain is the longest winning streak since late 2017.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.3 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 0.7 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.7 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The euro fell 0.1 percent to $1.1573.
* The British slumped 0.1 percent to $1.3004.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.4 percent to 111.23 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 2.95 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 0.40 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 1.33 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4 percent to $68.67 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,213.44 an ounce.
–With assistance from Christopher Anstey, Yakob Peterseil and Sophie Caronello.

Have a great weekend.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us.
                                                -Earl Nightingale, 1921-1989

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com