August 7, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
August 7, 1959: first photo of earth from Space.  The US satellite Explorer VI transmitted the first picture of Earth from Space 59 years ago today.  For the first time we had a likeness of our planet based on more than projections and conjecture.  But it would take years for the general public to see the pictures.  

The first Earth Day was in 1970.

The Central American nation of Costa Rica has developed a type of “green asphalt.”  The asphalt, which contains a plastic that makes it far more durable, was developed by the University of Costa Rica’s National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models and its project partners.  A similar asphalt is already used in countries including England, India, and Canada, but Costa Rica is pioneering its use in Latin America.  The Costa Rican blend uses PET plastic derived from recycled plastic bottles.  Every ton of asphalt uses 1,000 plastic bottles. –The Costa Rica News
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The word ‘EIRE’ is shown burned on a hill in Bray, a town south of Dublin, Ireland. The sign, built with stones during World War II for navigating and alerting pilots, was revealed on Saturday after the hill caught fire due to the recent heatwave. Credit: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

A bank of sea mist rolls in over the coast near Lands End, Cornwall. Credit: Dan Bourne/Magnus News
Market Closes for August 7^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks tumbled across all sectors, bucking a global trend of higher prices that came even in the face of continued trade tensions.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.8 percent to 16,286.30, its biggest loss since late June. Materials sunk 1.8 percent to their lowest since May. Metal miners tumbled even as the price of gold rose, with New Gold Inc. slumping 6.4 percent and Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. falling 5.9 percent.
     Consumer staples fell 1.4 percent to the lowest since early July. Saputo Inc. weighed on the sector, falling 4.4 percent after its first-quarter results trailed analyst estimates amid low international and U.S. dairy ingredient prices and costs from the acquisition of Australia-based Murray Goulburn.
     In other moves:
* Maxar Technologies Ltd. plummeted 13 percent to its lowest since 2012 after Spruce Point said in a report that the company may be “inflating” its earnings through “aggressive” M&A accounting
* Bausch Health Companies Inc., formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals, rose 3.5 percent after the drugmaker reported strong growth in its gastrointestinal business and raised its full-year earnings outlook
* Aurora Cannabis Inc. fell 5.8 percent to its lowest since November as health care fell 0.2 percent
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $31.00 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,218.60 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.30531 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose two basis points to 2.371 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged higher pushed their winning streak to four days amid a relative cooling of protectionist rhetoric between the world’s two largest economies and optimism growth can continue. Tesla Inc. surged after Elon Musk proposed taking the company private.
     The S&P 500 Index closed at the highest level since its Jan. 26 record. Gains faded in the final half hour of trading as investors moved out of rate-sensitive shares amid a rise in Treasury yields. Industrial and energy stocks paced gains. The Cboe Volatility Index slid below 11 for the first time since May. Musk’s tweet punished short sellers. Commodities advanced. Chinese stocks drove a broad rally in Asia.
     The Tesla news dominated an otherwise quiet afternoon session on Wall Street, with investors speculating on how serious the chief executive is about what would be the largest leveraged buyout in history. It overshadowed a strong end phase of an earnings season that’s seen most major U.S. companies surprise to the upside. That’s pushed the S&P 500 within 20 points of a record, even as investors fret over the escalating trade war between America and China.
     The gains in emerging-market equities overshadowed rising woes in Turkey, where the yield on the country’s 10-year bonds touched a record high amid a diplomatic spat with the U.S. The lira clawed its way back from a record low, only to later give up some gains.
     Here are some key events coming up this week:
* The Bank of Japan releases a summary of opinions Wednesday from its July 30-31 meeting, at which it tweaked elements of its stimulus policy to make it more sustainable.
* Samsung Electronics unveils its next Galaxy Note smartphone.
* U.S. consumer prices probably rose in July, consistent with a pickup in inflation that’s projected to keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest-rate increases, economists forecast before Friday’s release.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,858.56 as of 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.5 percent to the highest in a week.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index increased 0.5 percent to the highest in more than 20 weeks on the biggest climb in almost two weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 0.8 percent, the largest increase in two weeks.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2 percent.
* The euro increased 0.4 percent to $1.1599, the first advance in more than a week.
* The Japanese yen was flat at 111.396 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed three basis points to 2.97 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained two basis point to 0.404 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 1.304 percent.
                            Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 0.5 percent to the highest in four weeks.
* West Texas Intermediate crude was flat at $69.02 a barrel, after earlier touching the highest in more than a week.
* Gold futures rose 0.1 percent to $1,218.30 an ounce.
–With assistance from Randall Jensen and Eddie van der Walt.

Have a great evening. 

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

It is not the mountain that we conquer but ourselves.
                 -Edmund Percival Hillary, 1919-2008

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com