Newsletters – Page 193 – Carolann Steinhoff

December 18, 2017

December 18, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Paul Klee, painter, b. 1879
Steven Spielberg, filmmaker, b. 1947
Brad Pitt, actor, b. 1964
Katie Holmes, actor, b. 1978

1898 – Canada’s First Christmas Stamp

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man stargazes as he stands on Brimham Rocks, a collection of balancing rock formations on Brimham Moor in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), in North Yorkshire.
CREDIT: DANNY LAWSON/PA

Rowers dressed as Santa take part in the annual Father Christmas Regatta organized by University Ca’Foscari on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. The Father Christmas Regatta has become a tradition for the university. Champions and amateurs, men and women, all wearing Santa Suits compete in traditional Venetian boats in the Grand Canal. The race begins at San Marco (Pieta) and ends in front of C Foscari.

French skipper Francois Gabart celebrates his world record with his team, in the Brest harbor, western France. Gahart has broken the record for sailing around the world alone, circumnavigating the planet in just 42 hours days and 16 hours.
Market Closes for December 18^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24792.20	+140.46 +0.57%

S&P 500	2690.88	+15.07 +0.56%

NASDAQ	6994.758	+58.175 +0.84%

TSX	16135.42	+93.44
		+0.58%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22901.77	+348.55
		+1.55%
HANG SENG	29050.41	+202.30
		+0.70%
SENSEX	33601.68	+138.71
		+0.41%
FTSE 100*	7537.01	+46.44
		+0.62%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.858	1.835
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.134	2.114
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.3888	2.3530
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7369	2.6873

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77720	0.77686
US $	1.28667	1.28723

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51594	0.65966
US $	1.17819	0.84876

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1260.60	1254.60

Oil
WTI Crude Future	57.16	57.30

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
69
The number of record closes for the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 2017, tying for the most record highs in a single year.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their biggest gain in more than a week, joining a global rally after U.S. Republicans reached an agreement on wide-ranging tax cuts.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 90 points or 0.6 percent to close at 16,131.64 after briefly hitting a record high earlier in the day. Health-care stocks jumped 4.6 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. gained 7.4 percent.
The energy index added 1 percent, the most this month, as the discount for Western Canadian crude narrowed. Materials stocks gained 0.9 percent, led by gold miners. New Gold Inc. added 4.2 percent and Novagold Resources Inc. rose 4.1 percent.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. tumbled 13 percent, the most since May, after reaching an agreement with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. to potentially sell 50 percent of the Pebble Limited Partnership for $1.35 billion. First Quantum fell 0.4 percent
* Alaris Royal Corp. gained 4.9 percent to the highest in six weeks. The company said a series of transactions will increase its distributable cash by C$0.13 per share
* Cameco Corp. rose 2.9 percent. The uranium miner is seeking $681.9 million in damages in an arbitration case against Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $24.50 discount to WTI, the narrowest gap in a week
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.23 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,262.20 an ounce.
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was little changed at C$1.2869 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose two basis points to 1.86 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Kailey Leinz
(Bloomberg) — Stocks kicked off the penultimate week of the year on a positive note after Republicans reached an agreement on the shape of U.S. tax cuts. The dollar dropped and Treasuries headed lower.
The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index hit new highs Monday as investors focused on the progress of the proposed tax legislation. Midweek votes in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are planned on a measure that will reduce corporate and individual tax rates. Lawmakers are aiming for the bill to land on President Donald Trump’s desk for a signature before Christmas.
“I think that there’s still a fair amount of skepticism in markets until it actually happens,” said Luke Tilley, chief economist at money manager Wilmington Trust Corp. in Delaware. “But with passage, we think that there’s still room to run. It’s challenging to say what is priced into the markets, but we do think it will be to the upside.”
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed the most in about five months as real estate, automakers and technology stocks led gains. Sterling advanced as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May addressed Parliament about her plans for Brexit. The euro strengthened after two days of declines.
Copper and gold rose, while oil declined. Bitcoin traded above $18,000 after futures debuted on the CME Group Inc.’s venue, the world’s biggest exchange, giving the cryptocurrency further cachet and access to mainstream investors.
Earlier, equity benchmarks in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Indian shares rebounded as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party looked set to return to power in his home state, an election that’s considered a bellwether before the national vote in early 2019. South Africa’s rand extended gains as Cyril Ramaphosa was elected the next leader of the ruling African National Congress party.
Among the key events investors will be watching this week:
* Xi Jinping kicks off China’s Central Economic Work Conference. Investor focus will be on whether officials will cut the growth target from this year’s “6.5% or higher.”
* U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May meets her cabinet Tuesday to begin work on a trade wish list. Europe will unveil its stance Wednesday.
* The disruption to the Forties oil pipeline is key for commodities traders this week. Details about the extent of the damage and a restart date could come at any time.
* The U.S. and U.K. publish updated estimates of third-quarter GDP; U.S. releases PCE data.
* German December Ifo survey Tuesday.
* Catalonia’s secessionists are at risk of becoming a minority in the Spanish region’s parliament as the main pro-unity party is set to add seats in Thursday’s election.
* The Bank of Japan meets to set monetary policy. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Taiwan and Thailand also set interest rates this week.

And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 0.5 percent at 4:02 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.2 percent to the highest in almost six weeks.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.6 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index rose 1.6 percent.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.8 percent to its highest close on record.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2 percent.
* The euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.1782.
* The British pound climbed 0.5 percent to $1.3383.
* The Japanese yen increased less than 0.05 percent to 112.56 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed four basis points to 2.39 percent, the biggest advance in almost three weeks.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.31 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined less than one basis point to 1.148 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3 percent to $57.13 a barrel.
* Gold increased 0.4 percent to $1,261.55 an ounce, the highest in more than a week.
* Copper gained 0.3 percent to $6,905 a metric ton.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

To reach cosmic understanding,
it is necessary to unite our feeling with that infinite feeling that penetrates everything.
In fact, for man, true progress coincides with the breadth of the base of our feelings.
All our poetry, philosophy, science, art, and religion
serve to embrace with our understanding
the spheres too vast and high.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

Carolann

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and science.
-Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

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

December 15, 2017

December 15, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!
1891 – Canadian physical educator, James Naismith, Invents the Game of Basketball.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Russian Soyuz MS-05 space capsule lands in Kazakhstan. Three astronauts landed back on Earth nearly six months aboard the International Space Station.

The Geminids meteor shower during its peak, in the night sky over Tokarevsky Lighthouse in Russia.

A boy looks at a rainbow during a sunset in Bogota, Columbia.

Kinkakuji temple is covered with snow in Kyoto, Japan.
Market Closes for December 15^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24651.74	+143.08 +0.58%

S&P 500	2675.81	+23.80 +0.90%

NASDAQ	6936.582	+80.057 +1.17%

TSX	16041.98	+25.53
		+0.16%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22553.22	-141.23
		-0.62%
HANG SENG	28848.11	-318.27
		-1.09%
SENSEX	33462.97	+216.27
		+0.65%
FTSE 100*	7490.57	+42.45
		+0.57%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.835	1.851
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.114	2.147
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.3530	2.3475
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.6873	2.7040

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77686	0.78028
US $	1.28723	1.28159

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51278	0.66103
US $	1.17522	0.85090

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1254.60	1251.00

Oil
WTI Crude Future	57.30	57.04

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1886, total daily trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange exceeds 1 million shares for the first time.
Number of the Day
-0.9%
The three-month euro-dollar cross-currency basis, where negative numbers denote higher dollar funding costs. The cost of derivatives that allow European investors to access U.S. dollars has rocketed this week.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed higher but gave up a significant chunk of their earlier gains as energy shares turned south.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 26 points or 0.2 percent to 16,041.98. The market fell 0.3 percent on the week.
On Friday, the technology index posted the biggest gain, rising 1.4 percent in tandem with its U.S. counterpart. Enghouse Systems Ltd. jumped 5.8 percent after fourth-quarter earnings beat the highest analyst estimate.
Materials stocks rose 0.6 percent as copper prices jumped 2 percent. Energy shares lost 0.4 percent.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Linamar Corp. jumped 12 percent, the most since 2015. It’s buying agriculture equipment maker MacDon Group for C$1.2 billion
* Torex Gold Resources Inc. added 2.3 percent after employees at its ELG mine voted to return to work
* Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers added 1.8 percent. The company sold more than $50 million worth of equipment in its last Fort Worth, Texas auction of 2017, up 25 percent from the same auction last year
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $26 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.18 discount to Henry Hub, the narrowest gap in five weeks
* Gold was little changed at $1,254.30 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.6 percent to C$1.2876 per U.S. dollar after factory sales fell 0.4 percent in October
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell three basis points to 1.83 percent, the lowest since July
US
By Eric J. Weiner
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied to new highs and the dollar strengthened as investors grew increasingly optimistic that Congress would reach a deal to cut corporate taxes.
The S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 Stock Index closed at records after Republican leaders said they’ll release the final version of the tax overhaul bill Friday evening. A vote is expected next week, with key senators signaling approval. Domestically focused small caps surged to give the Russell 2000 Index its best day since Nov. 16. The dollar gained for the ninth time in 10 sessions as the cuts are expected to bolster the world’s largest economy. Treasury yields were little changed.
Uncertainty surrounding the fate of U.S. tax reform had investors on edge as they look to the end of a stellar year for equities, with money managers showing signs of dialing back their appetite to take risk. That turned on the final session of the week, with the tax overhaul nearing approval days after multiple central banks indicated optimism in their regional economies.
“We’ve got investors heading into year-end trying to figure out where they need to make adjustments in their portfolios with the new tax codes coming into effect and also in general we’re seeing global markets continuing their recovery,” said Chris Gaffney, president of EverBank World Markets in St. Louis.
Aside from the back-and-forth on tax negotiations, a quarterly event known as quadruple witching, when futures and options contracts on indexes and individual shares expire, also added to volatility in the stock market. Volume was 74 percent higher than the daily average in the past 30 days.
Gold climbed with crude, which continued to trade above $57 a barrel. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell. South Africa’s rand gained even as volatility soared before the ruling African National Congress meets this weekend to elect a new leader.
The euro posted its third consecutive weekly loss as the ECB remained cautious about the prospects of reaching its inflation goals while reiterating a pledge to keep stimulus in place. The pound dropped and yields on U.K. gilts fell to the lowest since September amid speculation Brexit talks are about to get more difficult. Russia’s ruble fluctuated after the nation’s central bank cut rates more than expected.

This is the key event investors are watching:
* South Africa’s ruling African National Congress meets this weekend to elect a leader to replace Jacob Zuma as party president. The outcome may be known by Sunday.

And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent to 2,675.63 as of 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Dow gained 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 added 1.2 percent and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.2 percent. The Russell 2000 jumped 1.6 percent, the most since Nov. 16.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index tumbled 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.6 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.4 percent.
* The euro slid 0.2 percent to $1.1756.
* The British pound fell 0.8 percent to $1.3319.
* South Africa’s rand climbed 2.5 percent to 13.1764 per dollar, the strongest in three months.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries were little changed at 2.3476 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.301 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 1.15 percent, the lowest in three months.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.4 percent to $57.29 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,256.74 an ounce.
* Copper gained 2 percent to $3.11 a pound.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

In his essence, man is not a slave to himself, nor to the world; he is a lover.
His freedom and accomplishments are in love,
which is another name for perfect understanding.
In this ability to understand, in this impregnation of everything that is,
he is one with the Spirit that penetrates everything,
and that is also the breath of the soul.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

Carolann

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
-John Wooden, 1910-2010

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

December 15, 2017

December 14, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Dec. 14, 1981, Israel annexed the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967.
Go to article »
Also on this day in 1799, George Washington dies of acute laryngitis at his estate in Mount Vernon, Va. He was 67 years old.
1911- Amundsen reaches the South Pole.
1503 – Nostradamus, astronomer, was born.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An orangutan crosses a river in Indonesia’s Tanjung Putting National Park. The photo, titled ‘Face to face in a river in Borneo,’ has been selected as the grand-prize winner of the 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest.

“Paradise Lost,” by John Milton is illuminated by nanobionic light-emitting plants (two 3.5-week-old watercress plants).

Maru, a two-month-old King Penguin chick looks at an adult penguin from a Christmas theme enclosure in the Penguin Coast exhibit at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore.

A miniature snack bar which wildlife photographer Kate McRae created using doll’s house accessories for the birds in her garden in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Market Closes for December 14^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24508.66	-76.77 -0.31%

S&P 500	2652.01	-10.84 -0.41%

NASDAQ	6856.527	-19.271 -0.28%

TSX	16016.46	-120.13
		-0.74%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22694.45	-63.62
		-0.28%
HANG SENG	29166.38	-55.72
		-0.19%
SENSEX	33246.70	+193.66
		+0.59%
FTSE 100*	7448.12	-48.39
		-0.65%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.851	1.843
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.147	2.156
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.3475	2.3457
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7040	2.7292

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78160	0.78028
US $	1.27943	1.28159

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50712	0.66352
US $	1.17796	0.84893

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1251.00	1242.65

Oil
WTI Crude Future	57.04	56.60

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$4 billion
Money raised from initial coin offerings, or ICOs, has surged past $4 billion, even as regulators world-wide have escalated warnings about the new form of corporate funding.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell the most in four months as concerns grew that the U.S. tax overhaul won’t make it through the Senate, pressuring equities on both sides of the border.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 120 points or 0.7 percent to 16,016.46, the biggest drop since August. Health-care stocks tumbled 5.2 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. fell 11 percent. JPMorgan downgraded Valeant, saying its valuation looks stretched.
The consumer discretionary index lost 1.2 percent and energy stocks retreated 1 percent, even as the price of crude gained 0.8 percent. Cenovus Energy Inc. fell 5.1 percent after it said it will cut 15 percent of its workforce in 2018.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Mitel Networks Corp. jumped 11 percent, the most since mid-2016. Analysts at Craig-Hallum said its current valuation doesn’t reflect its growth opportunities
* Transcontinental inc. fell 1.9 percent after fourth-quarter earnings missed the lowest analyst estimate
* Husky Energy Inc. gained 2.5 percent after three analysts raised their ratings on the stock, saying its refining profits will help offset falling heavy crude prices
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $25 discount to WTI, the first time the gap has narrowed in seven trading days
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.36 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.7 percent to $1,253.80 an ounce, the biggest gain in three weeks
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.1 percent to C$1.2801 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis point to 1.85 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities slumped, with small caps leading losses, and the dollar erased a gain as concern mounted that the Republican tax overhaul package may struggle to pass the Senate.
All major U.S. equity gauges were lower. The S&P 500 Index dropped in afternoon trading after Republican Senator Marco Rubio’s spokeswoman said he told Senate leaders he’ll oppose tax legislation unless they agree to a larger child tax credit. Republicans can only afford to lose two votes and still guarantee passage.
“I think it’s primarily the tax headlines,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Weeden Capital Management. “We’re getting right down to the wire here, and I think there’s some added pressure, with Moore losing the election, to make sure that this doesn’t get derailed and not get done by the end of the year.”
The Russell 2000 Index, whose domestically focused members stand to benefit most from cuts, lost roughly 1 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index retreated from an earlier advance after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s decision to sweep aside internet neutrality rules.
The dollar tumbled despite data showing U.S. retail sales topped estimates last month. Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose slightly. The retail figures signaled a broad strengthening of consumer demand as the holiday shopping season got under way, bolstering optimism in the world’s largest economy.
The Fed on Wednesday said the labor market was tightening but it still didn’t see inflation accelerating. The euro retreated with the ECB remaining cautious about the prospects of reaching its inflation goals, even as the central bank reiterated its pledge to keep stimulus in place.
The tax debate appeared to overshadow a raft of central bank decisions affirming optimism that economic growth is picking up around the world. Concern is mounting after Rubio’s statement put him in the company of a handful of Republicans who’ve said they’re undecided.
Meanwhile, in comments after Europe’s central bank kept rates steady, ECB President Mario Draghi stopped short of declaring that the lender will meet its inflation goal in 2020, signaling that the euro-area economy isn’t yet strong enough to warrant cutting monetary stimulus.
“For the ECB, the big question is what is their next steps once tapering is done?” said Alex Dryden, a London-based market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. “The most important central bank to be watching in 2018 is the ECB. They are the ones with some of the biggest question marks over their heads, there’s a lot of clarity that is needed on what will be happening there.”
Elsewhere, the Mexican peso strengthened versus the dollar as the country’s central bank raised its benchmark rate. The pound slipped following the Bank of England’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. Turkey’s lira fell after its central bank raised a key rate less than investors expected. Gold slid and crude rose, reversing Wednesday’s declines to trade above $57 a barrel.

Here are some of the key events scheduled for this week:
* European lawmakers continue to debate Brexit and weigh moves on the next step, while North America Free Trade Agreement negotiators meet again.

And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 finished down 0.4 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.3 percent after rising as much as 0.4 percent earlier in the session.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.5 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index dipped 0.2 percent for its first decline in a week.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.7 percent, the largest retreat in two weeks.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gave up earlier gains and was little changed.
* The euro decreased 0.3 percent to $1.1787.
* The British pound rose 0.1 percent to $1.343.
* The Japanese yen added 0.3 percent to 112.26 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 2.3511 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 1.174 percent, the lowest in three months.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.316 percent.
* France’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.644 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.9 percent to $57.11 a barrel.
* Gold dropped 0.2 percent to $1,253.24 an ounce.
* Copper rose 0.7 percent to $3.07 a pound.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

When water joins with water, it is not a meeting but a unification.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

Carolann

Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time.
-M. Scott Peck, 1936-2005

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

December 13, 2017

December 13, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Luciadagen, St. Lucia’s Day, Sweden.

Spectacular Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight! How to Watch Online
By Elizabeth Howell, Live Science Contributor | December 13, 2017

The Geminids will shine brightly this year with almost no obscuring moonlight. The most meteors will appear in the hours after midnight, although you can see a good show earlier, too.
Credit: Gregg Dinderman/Sky & Telescope
If it’s clear outside on Wednesday night (Dec. 13) and Thursday morning (Dec. 14) before dawn, be sure to go outdoors. One of the year’s top meteor showers, the Geminids, will peak, with rates as high as one or two meteors per minute at around 10 p.m. local time. However, the show will start around 7 p.m. local time, according to the magazine Sky & Telescope.
But if you can’t make it out, or if skies are gloomy, you can also watch a Geminids webcast here from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama starting at sunset, about 4:40 p.m. CST (5:40 p.m. EST, or 2230 GMT) on Dec. 13. The Virtual Telescope Project will also host a webcast here showing live views from Italy, starting at 5 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) on Dec. 13, and Arizona, starting at 5 a.m. (1000 GMT) on Dec. 14.
“The Geminids are usually one of the two best meteor showers of the year,” Alan MacRobert, senior editor at Sky & Telescope, said in a statement. “Sometimes, they’re more impressive than the better-known Perseids of August.” [Geminid Meteor Shower 2017: When, Where & How to See It Next]
The meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Gemini, which is in between the constellations Taurus and Cancer. To find Gemini, look for the bright constellation Orion (easily visible due to the “belt” of three stars in a row). Gemini is just over Orion’s right shoulder. But there’s no need to look directly at Gemini to see the meteors.
“Don’t fixate on looking toward Gemini,” Kelly Beatty, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope, said in the statement. “Geminids can appear anywhere in the sky, so the best direction to watch is wherever your sky is darkest, which is probably straight up.”
You just need some warm clothing and your eyes to see a meteor shower in person. But if you have a small telescope and are watching in the Northern Hemisphere, you will get an extra treat. The source for the Geminids, the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, is coincidentally making its closest approach to Earth this week and so has 11th-magnitude visibility. (Lower magnitudes are brighter. By comparison, the faintest stars you can see with the naked eye are around magnitude 6, and the planet Venus is minus 5.) To find Phaethon, you can use this sky chart on Space.com.
You can also spot the object virtually in the next few days: The Virtual Telescope will host a webcast with live views from Arizona starting at 3 a.m. EST (0800 GMT) on Dec. 15 and Italy starting Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT).
The Geminids have been known as an annual meteor shower since 1862, but Phaethon wasn’t discovered until 1983. It’s about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) across and orbits the sun every 1.4 years. Phaethon sheds material when it gets close to the sun, and its surface is heated to about 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit (700 Celsius.)
Meteor showers like the Geminids occur when the Earth plows into a stream of debris in space left behind by a comet or asteroid. The debris stream’s location in space can alter from year to year depending on the influence of Jupiter’s gravity, among other factors, which contributes to the intensity of the shower.
The light of the moon can wash out fainter meteors. However, this year, the moon is just a waning crescent and will not rise until early in the morning, after 3 a.m. To best see the meteors, find an area as far away as possible from artificial lights and give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Also make sure to dress warmly.
“Go out late in the evening, lie back in a reclining lawn chair, and gaze up into the stars,” MacRobert said. “Be patient.”
Editor’s note: If you capture a great shot of a Geminid meteor or any other night-sky view that you would like to share with Space.com for a possible story or gallery, send images and comments in to: spacephotos@space.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY
1837 – William Lyon Mackenzie proclaims Republic of Canada on Navy Island in Niagara River.
On this day in 1983, the Detroit Pistons defeat the Denver Nuggets by a score of 186-184 in triple overtime, in the highest-scoring game in NBA history.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry attend The European Premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
CREDIT: EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH

A building in the flooded town of Brescello, Italy, after the Enza river breached its banks following heavy rain throughout the northern Italian Emilia-Romagna region.

The remains of Surp Lusavoric Armenian Church in Palu district of Turkey.
Market Closes for December 13^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24585.43	+80.63 +0.33%

S&P 500	2662.85	-1.26 -0.05%

NASDAQ	6875.801	+13.484 +0.20%

TSX	16136.59	+22.56
		+0.14%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22758.07	-108.10
		-0.47%
HANG SENG	29222.10	+428.22
		+1.49%
SENSEX	33053.04	-174.95
		-0.53%
FTSE 100*	7496.51	-3.90
		-0.05%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.843	1.867
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.156	2.167
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.3457	2.4011
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7292	2.7762

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78028	0.77707
US $	1.28159	1.28688

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51577	0.65973
US $	1.18272	0.84551

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1242.65	1240.90

Oil
WTI Crude Future	56.60	57.14

Market Commentary:
$$$: On this day in 1962, Warren Buffett puts in his first buy order for shares of Berkshire Hathaway. He pays $7.50 apiece for the initial 2,000 shares.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at a record high as materials shares surged the most since August, led by gold miners.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 23 points or 0.1 percent to 16,136.59. Materials jumped 2.4 percent as gold and silver prices rose. The U.S. Federal Reserve said it expects to hike rates three times next year, easing fears of a faster pace of monetary tightening. Kinross Gold Corp. gained 6.8 percent and Goldcorp Inc. added 5.6 percent.
The energy index fell 0.8 percent as crude prices lost 1 percent. U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose twice as much as analysts expected last week.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Finning International Inc. gained 7 percent, the most in four months, after winning its first Chilean mining contract since 2014
* Empire Co. fell 6 percent, the most in a year. The grocery retailer may face significant restructuring costs as labor contracts are renegotiated, CIBC said
* Stelco Holdings Inc. rose 3.6 percent after three analysts initiated coverage of the steelmaker with buy ratings
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $26.75 discount to WTI, the widest gap in four years
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.32 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,245.40 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to C$1.2821 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 1.84 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
(Bloomberg) — Treasuries rose and the dollar slipped for the first time in five days after the Federal Reserve increased interest rates and raised its outlook for economic growth in 2018 without lifting its forecast for the number of hikes next year. Stocks were mixed and gold surged.
The S&P 500 Index swooned in the final 15 minutes of trading to end lower. Earlier, stocks spiked to an intraday record on the Fed’s widely anticipated announcement that it was hiking rates by a quarter of a percentage point amid rising optimism in the economy. The yield on 10-year Treasuries slumped with the dollar after central bankers kept their projection for three hikes next year unchanged as inflation remains persistently sluggish. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index, whose members’ fortunes are most closely tied to economic gains, was the strongest performing equity gauge.
“Averaging through hurricane-related fluctuations, job gains have been solid, and the unemployment rate declined further,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Wednesday following a two-day meeting in Washington. Inflation will remain below the Fed’s 2 percent goal in the near term but will “stabilize” around the target in the medium term, the central bank said.
Market strategists said the Fed’s statement was good news for stocks.
“This is a tailwind for equities as it implies that growth has improved while inflation remains weak making the FOMC unlikely to tighten too quickly,” Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note to clients. “Inflation will move higher next year, which will firm up market expectations for rate hikes toward the Fed’s view and cyclical/financial stocks will outperform.”
The dollar halted four days of gains, its longest winning streak since January 2016. Earlier, data showed U.S. consumer inflation picked up in November, though the so-called core gauge — which excludes food and energy costs — unexpectedly slowed. On Tuesday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the producer price index rose more than forecast in November.
“If you believe in growth, then you’re sort of expecting higher inflation, but it’s hard to predict where and when and how much,” said Michael Cuggino, president and portfolio manager of the Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds in San Francisco. “But gradually rising interest rates are a bi-product of a healthy, growing economy. You need to adjust monetary supply in reflection of that growth.”
The European Central Bank is expected to reveal details of plans to taper asset purchases on Thursday. Comments on the outlook for 2018 will be the focus for investors as they weigh the impact of coming policy normalization on global asset prices.
Meanwhile, crude reversed direction and slid below $57 a barrel after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that production is rising to keep up with falling inventories.

Here are some of the key events scheduled for this week:
* The ECB, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank set monetary policy at their respective meetings on Thursday.
* U.S. retail sales data is due on Thursday.
* European lawmakers continue to debate Brexit and weigh moves on the next step, while North America Free Trade Agreement negotiators meet again.

And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,662.85, ending a four-day rally. It earlier hit a record 2,671.88.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq 100 Stock Index and Nasdaq Composite Index advanced. The Russell 2000 added 0.6 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index declined 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.5 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.7 percent, the first retreat in more than a week.
* The euro climbed 0.7 percent to $1.1826, the biggest increase in three weeks.
* The British pound gained 0.7 percent to $1.3416.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell five basis points to 2.3475 percent, the first retreat in a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 0.314 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dropped less than one basis point to 1.216 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7 percent to $56.74 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.9 percent to $1,255.52 an ounce.
* Copper increased 1 percent to $3.03 a pound, hitting the highest in more than a week with its sixth consecutive advance.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The characteristic of my nation is this transcendentalism,
this struggle to go beyond, this daring to tear the veil off the face of nature
and have at any price,
a glimpse of the beyond.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.
-George Edward Woodbury, 1855-1930

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

December 12, 2017

December 12, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Carolann is out of the office this afternoon, I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A decorative deer model is carried past Number 10 Downing Street in London, England.

A DRC-Hubo robot carries the Olympic torch during the Olympic Torch Relay in Daejeon, South Korea. The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be held from February 9 – 25 in South Korea.
Market Closes for December 12^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24504.80	+118.77 +0.49%

S&P 500	2664.11	+4.12 +0.15%

NASDAQ	6862.316	-12.761 -0.19%

TSX	16114.03	+10.52
		+0.07%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22866.17	-72.56
		-0.32%
HANG SENG	28793.88	-171.41
		-0.59%
SENSEX	33227.99	-227.80
		-0.68%
FTSE 100*	7500.41	+46.93
		+0.63%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.867	1.862
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.167	2.161
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.4011	2.3868
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7762	2.7746

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77707	0.77781
US $	1.28688	1.28566

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51132	0.66167
US $	1.17441	0.85149

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1240.90	1247.15

Oil
WTI Crude Future	57.14	57.99

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at a five-week high amid gains in material and consumer shares, while the Western Canada crude differential hit the widest gap in four years.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 11 points or 0.1 percent to 16,114.03. Materials stocks rose 0.6 percent, propelled by a 2.8 percent gain at Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and a 2.9 percent increase at Agrium Inc. Agrium is buying Louis Dreyfus Co.’s fertilizer business.
The energy index lost 0.5 percent. Crude prices fell 1.5 percent as fears subsided that a crack in a major North Sea pipeline would disrupt supplies.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Element Fleet Management Corp. rose 8.7 percent to the highest since May. Canada’s largest pension fund and Onex Corp. are bidding for the company, according to people familiar with the matter
* Hudson’s Bay Co. gained 6.6 percent after activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management said it still believes the retailer’s real estate portfolio is undervalued
* MTY Food Group Inc. fell 4.7 percent and Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc. fell 2.6 percent. MTY is acquiring Imvescor for C$248 million
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $26.50 discount to WTI, the widest gap in four years, amid bottlenecks on pipelines and rail networks
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.46 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,238.50 an ounce, the lowest since July
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2869 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis point to 1.87 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fluctuated, while the dollar rose and Treasuries slipped as investors kept an eye on upcoming central bank meetings and the special Senate election in Alabama.
The S&P 500 Index climbed to another record, overcoming a dip sparked by Republican Senator Rand Paul tweeting his opposition to adding to the federal debt. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index both turned lower, as did the small-cap Russell 2000 Index. Telephone stocks, banks and diversified financial companies were up substantially, while utilities and semiconductors led decliners.
The dollar rose for a fourth straight day and 10-year Treasury yields hit 2.4 percent after data showed signs of inflation in producer prices as the Federal Reserve starts its two-day meeting. The Fed’s expected to raise rates after its meeting on Wednesday, and it’s anticipated that the European Central Bank will reveal details of plans to taper asset purchases on Thursday. The Bank of England and Swiss National Bank will also meet. Comments on the outlook for 2018 will be the focus for investors as they weigh the impact of coming policy normalization on global asset prices.
“PPI final demand prices are rising 3 percent, and this will give Fed officials that are cautious on the inflation outlook the confidence to raise rates this week,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank, wrote in an email.
Alabama’s U.S. Senate race will conclude Tuesday evening, with polls showing Republican Roy Moore in the lead despite allegations that he initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year- old girl when he was in his 30s. The winner probably won’t be certified until late December, after the expected vote on business-friendly tax cuts. Republicans hold 52 of the 100 seats in the chamber.
In Europe, stocks pushed to a five-week high amid a $5 billion deal in the tech sector. The euro weakened and most European bonds declined as German investor confidence slid in December for the first time in four months.
Brent crude jumped above $65 a barrel for the first time since June 2015 after one of the most important pipelines in the world was shut because of a crack, before turning lower. WTI crude slid below $58 a barrel after crossing the threshold on Monday. U.K. natural gas prices surged following a pipeline explosion in Austria that threatened to tighten flows. Gold rose slightly, while most industrial metals declined.
Here are some of the key events scheduled for this week:
* Fed policy makers announce their decision on Wednesday.
* The ECB, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank set monetary policy at their respective meetings on Thursday.
* Among top U.S. economic reports are consumer inflation on Wednesday and retail sales on Thursday.
* European lawmakers continue to debate Brexit and weigh moves on the next step, while North America Free Trade Agreement negotiators meet again.
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 closed up 0.2 percent to reach a record 2,664.22.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 0.7 percent to the highest in almost five weeks.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.6 percent to the highest in more than a month.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index dipped 0.7 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2 percent to the highest in a month.
* The euro dropped 0.2 percent to $1.1745, the weakest in three weeks.
* The British pound declined 0.2 percent to $1.3319.
* The Japanese yen rose less than 0.1 percent to 113.52 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 2.3993 percent, the highest in more than a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.314 percent, the highest in a week.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 1.223 percent.
* Japan’s 10-year yield dipped less than one basis point to 0.047 percent, the lowest in a week.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude slid 1.3 percent to $57.25 a barrel.
* Gold added 0.2 percent to $1,244.89 an ounce.
* Copper rose 0.4 percent to $3.02 a pound.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt

As ever,

Karen

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” Helen Keller

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

December 12, 2017

December 11, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1946, UNICEF founded.
1936, Edward VIII abdicates to marry Wallis Simpson:
Edward VIII becomes the first English monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne. He chooses to step down after less than a year as king when the British government, public, and the Church of England condemn his decision to marry an American divorcée.
Tom Hayden, activist, b. 1939
John F. Kerry, US senator, b.1943
Hector Berlioz, composer, b. 1803
On Dec. 11, 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind.
Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Over eight thousand members of the public make their way up St Vincent Street, Glasgow as part of the annual Santa dash.
CREDIT: JEFF J MITCHELL

Rory, Jude and Luke, all 5, play on a hill in Eckington, Worcestershire, as much of the UK experiences heavy snow.
CREDIT: DAVID HEDGES

The trio of Ghost Mantises are pictured in identical poses reminiscent of John Travolta’s iconic pose in the 1977 film Grease, in Costa Brava, Spain.
CREDIT: JIMMY HOFFMAN
Market Closes for December 11^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24386.03	+56.87 +0.23%

S&P 500	2659.99	+8.49 +0.32%

NASDAQ	6875.078	+34.998 +0.51%

TSX	16103.51	+7.44
		+0.05%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22938.73	+127.65
		+0.56%
HANG SENG	28965.29	+325.44
		+1.14%
SENSEX	33455.79	+205.49
		+0.62%
FTSE 100*	7453.48	+59.52
		+0.80%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.862	1.859
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.161	2.167
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.3868	2.3760
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7746	2.7661

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77781	0.77852
US $	1.28566	1.28449

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51357	0.66069
US $	1.17727	0.84942

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1247.15	1250.65

Oil
WTI Crude Future	57.99	57.36

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
15%
Less than 15% of U.S. Treasury purchases in October auctions were made by foreign investors, down from nearly 43% in June 2009.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canada’s equity benchmark edged higher as gains in commodity, health-care and technology stocks offset declines in most other sectors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 7 points or 0.1 percent to 16,103.51, the highest in more than two weeks. Health-care stocks jumped 2.9 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. rose 4.3 percent to the highest in more than a year.
The technology index added 0.8 percent, in line with gains made by its U.S. counterpart. Energy and materials shares both rose 0.5 percent as oil and copper prices gained.
In other moves:
Stocks
* ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. rose 6.3 percent, the most in five weeks, after receiving a key designation for one of its drugs
* Cascades Inc. added 5.7 percent. The stock was upgraded to outperform at CIBC on more moderate input costs and a coming price hike
* Baytex Energy Corp. fell 3.2 percent after a downgrade at GMP FirstEnergy
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $21.75 discount to WTI, the widest gap since 2014
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.68 discount to Henry Hub, the widest gap since October
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,243.80 an ounce, the lowest in five months
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2858 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 1.86 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks finished higher and the S&P 500 Index rose to a record, as investors put off big bets before a series of key central bank meetings this week. Oil climbed to $58 a barrel.
Most major equity gauges advanced, led by more than 1 percent increases in media, telephone and technology hardware shares. Earlier, index futures briefly erased gains after an explosion rocked midtown Manhattan in what authorities have labeled a terrorist attack. Treasuries fell with gold, and the dollar was up slightly.
In Europe, stocks struggled for direction. Bonds rose and the euro climbed. The pound slipped, as some of the promises made to clinch a breakthrough Brexit deal last week started to fray. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 reclaimed a 26-year high.
Monetary policy takes center stage this week, with the Fed expected to raise interest rates at its meeting on Wednesday and the European Central Bank set to reveal details of plans to taper asset purchases on Thursday. The Bank of England and Swiss National Bank also meet. With the global economy heading into its strongest period since 2011, Wall Street economists are bracing investors for the biggest tightening in more than a decade.
“We have a pretty busy week here,” Ernie Cecilia, the chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co., said by phone. “I don’t want to dismiss what’s going on in New York, that’s not my point, but it looks like until we know what’s involved, it looks like I’ll call it under control, whatever that might mean. We have a number of things this week. Further work on tax reform from a conference perspective and there will probably be issues that get leaked out as they try to reconcile the Senate and House bills. That will be key and whether or not there are any significant changes.”
Elsewhere, oil rose as U.S. drillers expanded the crude rig count to a three-month high. Bitcoin futures began trading in Chicago and were at $18,630 as of 4:00 p.m. in New York.
Here are some of the key events scheduled for this week:
* Fed policy makers on Wednesday are projected to raise the target range for their benchmark interest rate against a backdrop of continuing robust U.S. economic conditions, a vibrant labor market and forecasts for inflation to pick up.
* The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank set monetary policy at their respective meetings on Thursday.
* Among top U.S. economic reports are consumer inflation on Wednesday and retail sales on Thursday.
* European lawmakers continue to debate Brexit and weigh moves on the next step, while North America Free Trade Agreement negotiators meet again.
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 closed up 0.3 percent to a record 2,659.98.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell less than 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 0.7 percent to the highest in more than a week.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 0.8 percent to the highest in a week.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.1 percent.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1772.
* The British pound dipped 0.4 percent to $1.3338, the weakest in two weeks.
* The Japanese yen fell less than 0.1 percent to 113.55 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 2.3868 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.293 percent, the lowest in more than five months.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased eight basis points to 1.202 percent, the lowest in almost three months.
* Japan’s 10-year yield dipped less than one basis point to 0.05 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 1.1 percent to $58 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,242.85 an ounce.
* Copper increased 1.1 percent to $3.01 a pound.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

It is quite evident that our world is useful and that it provides for our needs,
but our connection to it does not end there.
We are united to it by a connection much larger and more truthful than that of necessity.
Our soul is drawn to it; our love of life is in reality a desire in us to seek our connection with this universe.
And this connection is love.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

Carolann

We accept the love we think we deserve.
-Stephen Chbosky, b. 1970

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

December 12, 2017

December 8, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On December 7, 1813, Lord Byron wrote in his Journal:
Awoke, up an hour before being called; but dawdled three hours in dressing. When one subtracts from life infancy (which is vegetation), sleep, eating, and swilling – buttoning and unbuttoning – how much remains of downright existence? The summer of a dormouse. -from The Book of Days.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes attacked the home base of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, drawing the United States into World War II. More than 2,300 Americans were killed.
Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Alexa Meade attends Refinery29’s ‘29Rooms Los Angeles: Turn It Into Art’ in California, US.
CREDIT: EMMA MCINTYRE/GETTY IMAGES FOR REFINERY29

Jay Fai (left), the cook and owner of a street food eatery in Bangkok, speaks to reporters after her street-side eatery was recognized with a one-star Michelin guide mark at a hotel in Bangkok. Jay Fai’s was the only streetside establishment listeed in Michelin’s first-ever Bangkok guide released on December 6 that touted the Thai capital’s culinary scene as “diverse as it is surprising.”
‘Buttnmandl’, men masqueraded with straw and bells, walk with a Santa Claus through a snow covered mountain landscape in Berchtesgaden, southern Germany.

A wildfire burns along the 101 Freeway in Venture, US. Raked by ferocious Santa Ana winds, explosive wildfires northwest of Los Angeles and in the city’s foothills burned a psychiatric hospital and scores of homes and other structures Tuesday and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
Market Closes for December 7^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24211.48	+70.57 +0.29%

S&P 500	2635.56	+6.29 +0.24%

NASDAQ	6812.840	+36.464 +0.54%

TSX	16012.79	+104.00
		+0.65%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22498.03	+320.99
		+1.45%
HANG SENG	28303.19	+78.39
		+0.28%
SENSEX	32949.21	+352.03
		+1.08%
FTSE 100*	7320.75	-27.28
		-0.37%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.851	1.856
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.165	2.166
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.3581	2.3385
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7584	2.7300

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77777	0.78199
US $	1.28573	1.27879

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51384	0.66057
US $	1.17742	0.84931

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1255.00	1263.70

Oil
WTI Crude Future	56.69	55.96

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1999, Yahoo formally joins the Standard and Poor’s 500. It had climbed 32% in the prior week.

Number of the Day
$15,058
The latest all-time high for Bitcoin, which topped $15,000 early Thursday. It was at $11,000 on Monday and around $1,000 at the start of 2017.
Hackers Steal $70 Million in Bitcoin: Nearly $70 million worth of bitcoin was stolen from a cryptocurrency-mining service called NiceHash following a security breach.

Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their biggest gain in 10 weeks, ending a 4-day decline as oil prices rebounded and a risk appetites revived.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 107 points or 0.7 percent to 16,015.68. Energy shares gained 0.8 percent as crude rose 1.3 percent. Cenovus Energy Inc. added 2.7 percent.
The consumer discretionary index gained 1.3 percent as Dollarama Inc. jumped 5.3 percent, the most in three months. The retailer snapped a 6-day losing streak as strong results from Dollar General boosted its competitors.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Canadian Western Bank gained 3.3 percent, the most in five weeks, after fourth-quarter earnings beat the highest analyst estimate
* BlackBerry Ltd. rose 1.2 percent. The wireless equipment company is collaborating with Qualcomm Inc. on connected-vehicle platforms
* Athabasca Oil Corp. fell 3.4 percent. The oil sands company expects to produce 38,500 to 41,000 barrels a day in 2018
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $19.35 discount to WTI, the widest gap since 2015
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.41 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 1 percent to $1,249.80 an ounce, the lowest since July
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.5 percent to C$1.2853 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 1.85 percent
US
By Brendan Walsh and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose as investors evaluated the outlook for a final tax bill while the dollar advanced for a fourth day and oil rebounded from its worst selloff in two months.
The S&P 500 ended a four-day losing streak, with industrial and consumer discretionary shares among the best performers in a modest but broad rally that saw two stocks gain for every one that dropped. Gold fell to a four-month low. The pound jumped on speculation that Ireland and Britain were close to a Brexit deal. Brazil’s real and stocks tumbled amid growing skepticism a pension overhaul will be passed this year.
Stocks resumed their runup tied to speculation that the U.S. tax overhaul will boost corporate profits. That follows a few days in which the markets drifted as investors awaited the details of a final bill. Focus has also started to turn to efforts to avert a U.S. government shutdown at the end of the week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell named eight Republican lawmakers to be part of the conference committee responsible for negotiating a final tax bill with GOP House lawmakers.
“Stock-market investors are nervous right now,” Matthew Litfin, a portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments who helps oversee $473 billion in assets, said by email. “Looking ahead into 2018, the tailwind of global earnings growth is strong, U.S. corporate tax rates are probably going to be lower, and investors likely will still be in the mood to take on risk.”
Elsewhere, West Texas oil rose past $56 a barrel after falling the most in two months on Wednesday. The Australian dollar dropped to the lowest since June after trade data missed estimates. European equities were little changed. Asian equities were mixed, with stocks rising in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia and falling in China and South Korea.

Here are some of the key events facing markets in the coming days:
* The U.S. faces a partial government shutdown after money runs out on Dec. 8 if Congress can’t agree on a spending bill by then.
* U.S. employers probably hired at a robust pace in November as the unemployment rate held at an almost 17-year low. The Labor Department’s jobs report Friday may also show a bump up in average hourly earnings.
* Theresa May will present draft wording on the Irish border as soon as Thursday.

And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index ended little changed.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.4 percent.
* Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.4 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index slipped 0.1 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.3 percent to the highest in more than two weeks.
* The euro slipped 0.2 percent to $1.1776
* The British pound rose 0.7 percent to $1.3481.
* The Japanese yen decreased 0.7 percent to 113.07 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.36 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.29 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 1.25 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.1 percent to $56.60 a barrel.
* Gold fell 1.3 percent to $1,249.40 an ounce, the weakest since July.
* Copper gained 0.1 percent to $2.9645 a pound.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

What then do I mean by the ideal of a universal religion?
I do not mean a universal philosophy, or a universal mythology, or a universal ritual,
but I mean that this world must go on, wheel within wheel.
What can we do?
We can make it run smoothly, we can lessen friction, we can grease the wheels, as it were.
By what?
By recognizing variation.
Just as we have recognized unity, by our very nature so we must also recognize variation.
We must learn that truth may be expressed in a thousand ways, and each one yet be true.
We must learn that the same thing can be viewed from a hundred different standpoints,
and yet be the same thing.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

One man’s poison ivy is another man’s spinach.
-George Ade, 1866-1944

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

December 12, 2017

December 7, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24211.48	+70.57 +0.29%

S&P 500	2635.56	+6.29 +0.24%

NASDAQ	6812.840	+36.464 +0.54%

TSX	16012.79	+104.00
		+0.65%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22498.03	+320.99
		+1.45%
HANG SENG	28303.19	+78.39
		+0.28%
SENSEX	32949.21	+352.03
		+1.08%
FTSE 100*	7320.75	-27.28
		-0.37%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.851	1.856
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.165	2.166
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.3581	2.3385
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7584	2.7300

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77777	0.78199
US $	1.28573	1.27879

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.51384	0.66057
US $	1.17742	0.84931

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1255.00	1263.70

Oil
WTI Crude Future	56.69	55.96

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1999, Yahoo formally joins the Standard and Poor’s 500. It had climbed 32% in the prior week.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

One man’s poison ivy is another man’s spinach.
-George Ade, 1866-1944

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

December 12, 2017

December 6, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1917 – Halifax Explosion Kills Almost 2,000 People

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
A four week old silky shark swims in front of Christmas decoration in the “children” fish tank of the aquarium Aquadom and Sea Life in Berlin.

A visitor passes in front of a painting at the exhibition “13^th Wonder of the World” of Belarusian artist Aleksandr Vyshka at the “Galleria” sopping centre in Minsk, Belarus/. Vyshka uses special luminous paints which gives her artworks their unique glow.
An almost full moon shines down over St. Mary’s lighthouse at Whitly Bay. Tyne, and Wear as photographer lines up a shot while waiting for the Northern Lights to appear in the sky.

A surfer on Coolangatta beach with a rainbow in the background Seasonal Weather, Coolangatta, Queensland, Austrialine.
Market Closes for December 6^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24140.91	-39.73 -0.16%

S&P 500	2629.27	-0.30 -0.01%

NASDAQ	6776.375	+14.162 +0.21%

TSX	15908.78	-6.90
		-0.04%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22177.04	-445.34
		-1.97%
HANG SENG	28224.80	-618.00
		-2.14%
SENSEX	32597.18	-205.26
		-0.63%
FTSE 100*	7348.03	+20.53
		+0.28%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.856	1.898
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.166	2.193
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.3385	2.3527
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7300	2.7331

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78199	0.78755
US $	1.27879	1.26976

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50969	0.66239
US $	1.18063	0.84700

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1263.70	1266.30

Oil
WTI Crude Future	55.96	57.62

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1974, a nearly two-year long stock-market crash reaches its nadir as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 577.60, down 45% from its high in January 1973
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed little changed, with declines in commodity stocks offset by increases in most other sectors, after a roller-coaster day that saw the benchmark swing a total of about 1 percent from losses to gains and back again.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 5 points or less than 0.1 percent to 15,910.63. Energy stocks fell 1.1 percent as oil tumbled the most in two months, the result of a surge in U.S. gasoline inventories.
The materials sector lost 0.6 percent even as copper rebounded from its biggest 1-day slump in 2 years. Lumber producers fell as the U.S. International Trade Commission prepares to vote Thursday on softwood lumber imports.
In other moves:

Stocks
* Hudson’s Bay Co. tumbled 13 percent, the most ever, after reporting a larger loss than analysts expected and a decline in same-store sales
* Dollarama Inc. closed down 2.1 percent after falling as much as 14 percent. The retailer’s 3Q sales missed estimates
* Laurentian Bank of Canada fell 1.3 percent, adding to Tuesday’s 7.9 percent drop. At least two analysts downgraded the
stock after the bank disclosed problems with its mortgage portfolio

Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $18.50 discount to WTI, the widest gap since 2015
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.57 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,262.80 an ounce

FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.8 percent to C$1.2789 per U.S. dollar after the Bank of Canada reiterated that it will be “cautious” with future rate increases
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell five basis points to 1.85 percent, the biggest drop in three months
US
By Brendan Walsh
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks put the brakes on a global equity selloff as technology shares advanced. Oil tumbled the most in two months, while the dollar strengthened amid a broad risk-off mood.
Gains in tech shares fought slumps in consumer and financial firms to a virtual draw, leaving the S&P 500 down less than a point. However small, it was the fourth loss in a row, the longest slump since March. European stocks almost erased losses following the Nikkei’s worst rout in nine months. Treasuries rose as investors’ focus turned to efforts to avert a U.S. government shutdown Saturday. Developing-nation stocks sank to a two-month low.
Global markets have succumbed to a bout of profit taking this week, while U.S. equities struggled to maintain gains, as traders move out of some of 2017’s biggest winners, including technology shares and emerging-market stocks. The pause in the rally comes as investors assess U.S. tax reform developments and wrangling over spending after a Republican plan to avoid a federal shutdown Saturday was thrown into disarray by infighting.
Investors are “locking in profits earlier than usual for the year and not opening any new positions,” said Andrew Clarke, director of trading at Mirabaud (Asia) Ltd. “Eventually, as profit taking subsides, buying for the new year will appear as people look toward 2018.”
Elsewhere, sterling weakened as efforts to rescue Brexit talks appeared to stumble. Australia’s dollar dropped as slower- than-expected growth spurred traders to dial back their forecasts on interest-rate increases.

Here are some of the key events facing markets in the coming days:
* The European Commission College of Commissioners discusses Brexit on Wednesday and will likely make its recommendation on whether sufficient progress has been made to move negotiations onto the future relationship.
* The U.S. faces a partial government shutdown after money runs out on Dec. 8 if Congress can’t agree on a spending bill by then.
* U.S. employers probably hired at a robust pace in November as the unemployment rate held at an almost 17-year low. The Labor Department’s jobs report Friday may also show a bump up in average hourly earnings.
* Brazil’s central bank is set to cut its key rate to record of 7 percent Wednesday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of the close of trading in New York.
* Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 percent as Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.3 percent.
* Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 2 percent to a three-week low.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.3 percent to the lowest in almost six weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index dipped 1.5 percent.

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.3 percent.
* The euro declined 0.2 percent to $1.1799.
* The British pound decreased 0.4 percent to $1.3389.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4 percent to 112.19 per dollar.

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased two basis points to 2.33 percent.\
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.29 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 1.23 percent.

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.9 percent to $55.93 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,264.78 an ounce.
* Copper gained 0.6 percent to $2.9645 a pound.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Respect for the truth is an acquired taste.
-Mark Van Doren, 1894-1972

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

December 5, 2017

December 5, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1901– b. Walt Disney
1837 – Upper Canada Rebellion Breaks Out as Mackenzie leads 800 rebels to Toronto.

Terrance Hayes is the award winning author of five collections of poetry; Stephanie Burt is a professor of English at Harvard University. Her most recent collection of poems is Advice From the Lights, published under the name Stephen Burt in October by Graywolf Press.

Last week, in the NY Times, Hayes featured one of Burt’s poems, Roly-Poly Bug, with this introduction: This poem displays a clever folding and unfolding. Alliterative “ll” sounds braid each stanza with a mix of lull and lullaby. “I could always make something else of myself,” it declares, bouncing between introversion and confession. Sly engineering makes the poem something more than a child’s riddle. Even the almost overlooked epigraph – non serviam, Latin for “I will not serve” – makes it something more than playful.

Roly-Poly Bug
By Stephanie Burt
Non serviam

Because I can’t ever appear
as I would like to appear,
I once tried to make it so you couldn’t see me at all.

I named myself after a pill
but it didn’t help. I liked
the feeling of feeling small,

as long as it let me feel mobile; I wanted to roll
up and down and around the tiny hall

of a groove in discarded cardboard. I used to appall
my peers with risky behavior. I might fall

to my death in a half-inch ditch
full of oil or lawnmower grease. I stall

at the brush of a fingertip. I’m so afraid
of a grand faux pas that I answer the most banal

questions by quoting the questioner, so as to let
his words shield mine. I cover my anger
imperfectly, so I can breathe

with my head between my ten legs; I am my own
backyard slat fence, my own slate garden wall.

I am chitin and ichor inside, but I’ll never let on
how I look underneath. I could always make something
else of myself. I could be having a ball.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A majestic owl swopping on its next meal was caught flying straight towards the photographer in this stunning snap. The Great Grey owl stared straight down the lens as he winged his way towards snapper Rick Dobson, who saw his own reflection in the owl’s pupils. The retired civil servant stood completely still so not to spook the enormous owl, which flew past him at the last minute.

The supermoon is seen shining brightly behind the Shard building in London.

The leaders of the Orthodox Churches and archpriests of the Russian Orthodox Church attend a liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on the feast-day of the Presentation of Virgin Mary in the Temple; the liturgy celebrates the 100^th anniversary of the enthronement of Saint Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow.
Market Closes for December 5^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	24180.64	-109.41 -0.45%

S&P 500	2630.33	-9.11 -0.35%

NASDAQ	6762.215	-13.151 -0.19%

TSX	15915.38	-53.65
		-0.34%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22622.38	-84.78
		-0.37%
HANG SENG	28842.80	-295.48
		-1.01%
SENSEX	32802.44	-67.28
		-0.20%
FTSE 100*	7327.50	-11.47
		-0.16%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.898	1.924
CND. 30 Year Bond	2.193	2.216
U.S. 10 Year Bond	2.3527	2.3723
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.7331	2.7638

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78755	0.78875
US $	1.26976	1.26783

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.50184	0.66585
US $	1.18253	0.84564

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1266.30	1273.45

Oil
WTI Crude Future	57.62	57.47

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1996, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan gives his “irrational exuberance” speech,  in which he obliquely warns about the inflated stock market. Stocks fall the following day but double over the next three years before the tech bubble bursts.
Number of the Day
19%
The earnings-per-share of a FactSet index of over 20,000 listed companies from around the world  increased nearly 19%  in the last year, the fastest year-over-year rise since 2011.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell to the lowest in three weeks as a disclosure of flawed mortgage data at Laurentian Bank of Canada weighed on financials.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 50 points or 0.3 percent to 15,919.43. Financial stocks fell 0.5 percent as Laurentian tumbled 7.9 percent, the most since 2009. Laurentian had earlier gained as much as 3.5 percent after fourth-quarter results beat estimates.
The materials index fell 1.3 percent as copper tumbled 4.7 percent, its worst day in more than two years. An uptick in stockpiles and the prospect of weaker Chinese demand pressured the metal.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Aphria Inc. jumped 14 percent to a record after striking a deal to supply pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart with its cannabis
* Bank of Montreal fell 0.5 percent. Fourth-quarter results missed estimates but the bank said it expects to boost productivity into 2018 and beyond
* Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. fell 2.6 percent. The pipeline company said the “scope and pace” of permits and approvals is delaying its planned expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $17.35 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.23 discount to Henry Hub, the narrowest gap in a week
* Gold fell 1 percent to $1,261.60 an ounce, the lowest in four months
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2 percent to C$1.2697 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell three basis points to 1.90 percent
US
By Brendan Walsh and Julie Verhage
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, with an afternoon swoon wiping out early gains for a second straight day, as investors assessed the impact of proposed tax cuts. The dollar rose and industrial metals dropped.
Industrial shares dragged the S&P 500 Index lower, giving it the first three-day slide since August. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index erased almost all of a rally that had sent it up as much as 1.2 percent as traders weighed the latest developments in efforts to overhaul taxes in the world’s largest economy, including the surprise inclusion of the alternative minimum rate for businesses in the Senate measure. Ten-year Treasury yields slid to 2.35 percent.
Copper’s biggest plunge in almost three years hit mining shares and made Chile’s peso among the worst performing currencies in emerging markets. The euro fell even as indicators showed economic momentum accelerated.
In the U.S., House and Senate lawmakers are poised to begin working on compromise tax-overhaul legislation — a key step in their drive to send a bill with tax cuts for corporations and individuals to President Donald Trump by the end of the year. A global stock rally that has led indexes to record highs had stalled this month as investors locked in profits in tech stocks, the year’s best performers, and switched to firms seen benefiting most from a potential reduction in the corporate tax rate such as banks.
Elsewhere, oil climbed back toward $58 a barrel before U.S. government data forecast to show crude stockpiles decreased for a third week. The U.S. trade deficit widened in October to a nine-month high on record imports that reflect steady domestic demand. Earlier, indexes fluctuated in Tokyo, while shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell even as a report showed China’s service sector expanded more firmly last month than in October.
Here are some of the key events facing markets in the coming days:* The European Commission College of Commissioners discusses Brexit on Wednesday and will likely make its recommendation on whether sufficient progress has been made to move negotiations onto the future relationship.
* The U.S. faces a partial government shutdown after money runs out on Dec. 8 if Congress can’t agree on a spending bill by then.
* U.S. employers probably hired at a robust pace in November as the unemployment rate held at an almost 17-year low. The Labor Department’s jobs report Friday may also show a bump up in average hourly earnings.
* Other countries setting monetary policy this week include Brazil, Canada, and Poland.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index slipped 0.4 percent at the close of trading in New York.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index was little changed.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed down 0.2 percent.
* Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index sank 0.5 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.2 percent.
* The euro declined 0.3 percent to $1.1826.
* The British pound decreased 0.3 percent to $1.3446.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1 percent to 112.57 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 2.35 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.32 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 1.26 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate rose 0.3 percent to $57.63 a barrel.
* Gold dipped 0.6 percent to $1,269.50 an ounce, the lowest since Oct. 26.
* The Bloomberg Base Metals 3-Month Price Commodity Index dropped 2.7 percent to the lowest since mid-September.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

If all were of the same religious opinion, there would be no religion.
No sooner does a religion start than it breaks into pieces.
The process is for the religion to go on dividing until each man has his own religion,
until each man has thought out his own thoughts
and carved out for himself his own religion.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
-Edgar Allan Poe, 1908-1849

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