August 8, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

‘N’em

-Jericho Brown

They said to say goodnight
And not goodbye, unplugged
The TV when it rained.  They hid
Money in mattresses
So to sleep on decision
Some of their children
Were not their children.  Some
Of their parents had no birthdates.
They could sweat a cold out
Of you.  They’d wake without
An alarm telling them to.
Even the short ones reached
Certain shelves.  Even the skinny
Cooked animals too quick
To catch.  And I don’t care
How ugly one of them arrived,
That one got married
To somebody fine.  They fed
Families with change and wiped
Their kitchens clean.
Then another century came.
People like me forgot their names.

Birthdays:
Roger Federer, b. 1981.
Dustin Hoffman, b. 1937

On Aug. 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon announced he would resign following damaging revelations in the Watergate scandal.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Buddhist monks clean the dust off of the 15-meter-high Great Buddha at Todaiji Temple in Nara, Japan.
CREDIT: BUDDHIKA WEERASINGHE/GETTY IMAGES

The Plymouth Lido in Devon, is empty as the UK continues to have unsettled weather for the summer holidays.
CREDIT: SWNS

People out punting in the rain on the river Cam in Cambridge.
CREDIT:  SWNS
Market Closes for August 8^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1896, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hits its lowest level ever: 28.48. That marks a 30.5% decline for the blue-chip index over its first 10 weeks. It’s up 77,563% since.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were little changed as lower energy prices offset gains from strong earnings.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 1.6 points or less than 0.1 percent to 15,256.35. Stocks briefly plunged around 3:30 p.m. in Toronto after U.S. President Donald Trump said North Korean threats would be met with “fire and fury.”
     Energy shares lost 0.8 percent as oil prices fell 0.5 percent. CES Energy Solutions Corp. sank 4.6 percent and Pason Systems Inc. lost 3.7 percent.
     The consumer discretionary index gained 0.9 percent as Great Canadian Gaming Corp. jumped 18 percent to a record . The casino operator, together with Brookfield Business Partners LP, won a bid to operate gaming facilities in the Toronto area that generate revenue of more than C$1 billion. Brookfield Business Partners rose 7.8 percent.
     In other moves:
* Pretium Resources Inc. tumbled 8.7 percent ahead of second- quarter results, when investors will be looking for an operational update
* Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. gained 8 percent. Second- quarter results beat analyst estimates
* Martinrea International Inc. rose 6.8 percent on positive second-quarter earnings
US
By Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell and a measure of equity volatility spiked higher after President Donald Trump delivered a warning to North Korea amid rising tensions between the nations. Treasuries slipped, while the yen strengthened.
     The S&P 500 Index fell to session lows and the CBOE Volatility Index jumped 11 percent shortly before 3:30 p.m. in New York when Trump said further threats from the country would be met with “fire and fury.” The comments jolted markets from a summer slumber, with U.S. assets largely little changed for most of the session. The 10-year Treasury yield rose. Crude retreated toward $49 a barrel.
     Trump’s comments followed a report in the Washington Post, citing a Defense Intelligence Agency analysis, that Pyongyang successfully developed a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could fit onto its missiles. He said North Korea will be “met with fire and fury and, frankly, power the likes of which the world has never seen before” if Kim Jong Un’s regime continues to threaten the U.S.
     Markets had been listless with few catalysts to give investors reason for conviction. South Africa’s rand fell after President Jacob Zuma survived a no-confidence motion in parliament. The focal point of this week looks set to be Friday’s U.S. inflation data, which may be key to the interest- rate outlook of the world’s biggest economy.
     Also among the key events looming this week:
* U.K. factory output for June is due Thursday, with industrial production for Italy on Wednesday and for France on Friday.
* This week’s Fed speakers aren’t done: keep a keen ear out for comments by New York Fed boss Bill Dudley on Thursday.
* Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte resumes talks to form a coalition government on Wednesday.
* Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Serbia and Zambia set monetary policy.
     And here are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,474.97 at 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.48 points, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.2 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased losses to end higher by 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 0.1 percent.
                           Currencies
* The euro fell 0.4 percent to $1.1749.
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.1 percent.
* The British pound decreased 0.4 percent to $1.299, the weakest in more than two weeks on a closing basis.
* South Africa’s rand tumbled 1.2 percent to 13.395 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.27 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to 0.47 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 1.157 percent.
                            Commodities
* Gold futures climbed 0.1 percent to $1,266.20 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.5 percent to settle at $49.17 a barrel amid speculation that stockpiles may rise once the summer period of higher demand ends.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

If you do not think he is different, he is unique;  he exists in his own right,
there cannot be any relationship.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

Carolann

The beginning is always today.
-Mary Shelley, 1797-1851

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