Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Farmer Verity Bachelor sits with the new pumpkin crop at “PYO Pumpkins” in Hoo, England. The company began in 2009 and allows families to visit the site to pick their own pumpkins, ahead of Halloween events on October 31.
CREDIT: LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES

A red deer stag during the deer rutting season in Richmond Park, Richmond upon Thames.
CREDIT: DOMINIC LIPINKSI/PA
Market Closes for October 5^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	22775.39	+113.75   +0.50%
S&P 500	2552.07	+14.33   +0.56%
NASDAQ	6585.356	+50.729   +0.78%
TSX	15776.30	+55.30
		+0.35%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20628.56	+1.90
		+0.01%
HANG SENG	28379.18	+205.97
		+0.73%
SENSEX	31592.03	-79.68
		-0.25%
FTSE 100*	7507.99	+40.41
		+0.54%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.100		2.125
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.479		2.492
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3480		2.3247
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.8904		2.8657

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79576	0.80167
US $	1.25666	1.24740
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.47163	0.67952
US $	1.17106	0.85393

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1274.50	1274.25
Oil
WTI Crude Future	50.79	49.98

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks gained as copper prices jumped the most since July, while the loonie fell to a five-week low as Canada’s trade picture deteriorated.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 55 points or 0.4 percent to 15,776.30, the highest since February. Materials stocks rose 0.8 percent as the price of copper jumped 3 percent. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. added 6.8 percent and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. rose 4.8 percent.
     The energy sector rose 0.5 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude prices added 1.6 percent, boosted by signs of growing cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Russia. CES Energy Solutions Corp. rose 5.2 percent.
     In other moves:
                            Stocks
* Shopify Inc. fell 2.1 percent, moderating an earlier drop of as much as 9.3 percent. Analysts broadly dismissed a short- seller report that alleges Shopify is a “get-rich-quick scheme”
* Canopy Growth Corp. jumped 6.7 percent, the most since June, a day after Canada proposed a C$1 per gram tax on recreational pot, lower than expected
* TransCanada Corp. rose 1.1 percent. The company has scrapped two pipeline projects and said it expects to record a C$1 billion charge in the fourth quarter
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.25 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.50 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,269.90 an ounce, the lowest since early August
                             FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.7 percent to C$1.2568 per U.S. dollar, the lowest since August, after Canada’s trade deficit unexpectedly widened in August
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.10 percent
US
By Randall Jensen
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks extended records with an eighth straight gain, the dollar rose to a two-month high and Treasuries dipped as a batch of U.S. data and hawkish Fed speakers strengthened the case for higher rates.
     The S&P 500 Index capped its longest winning streak since July 2013, with tech shares pacing gains as the prospect for faster economic growth got a lift from better-than-forecast factory orders. The CBOE Volatility Index closed at a record low in data going back to 1990. U.S. 10-year note yields edged higher, and the dollar pushed its gain in the past month to 2 percent as comments by regional Fed President John Williams reinforced optimism in the economy. The U.S. government releases September jobs data Friday.
     In Asian markets, holidays this week across the region and a lack of major economic data may curb trading. The Japanese yen was little changed after Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hiroshi Nakaso commented on inflation during a speech in London.
     “The data we’ve had has been pretty good and again hawkish — better than the inflation data we got with the PCE data last week,” Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, said by phone. “There’s more re- pricing necessary in bonds, especially considering we’re seeing pretty good economic data that’s definitely going to keep the Fed on course.”
     European markets firmed Thursday after reports that Catalans were stalling their push for independence from Spain. That sent the nation’s bond yields and equities higher. Minutes from the European Central Bank released showed members discussed how to adjust monetary stimulus next year as policy makers raised concern about the rapid appreciation of the euro.
     Coming Up:
* The U.S. September nonfarm payrolls report, likely to be affected by the impact of hurricanes on southern states, comes out on Friday. Read here why a better look at the data will be coming on Oct. 20.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
                        Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.6 percent to a record 2,552.07 at 4 p.m. New York Time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 114 points to 22,755, rising for the seventh day in a row to a record.
* The Nasdaq 100 Stock Index rose 1 percent to 6,057.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2 percent after falling as much as 0.3 percent.
* Spain’s IBEX Index rose 2.5 percent, the most since in almost six months.
                        Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.6 percent, touching the highest in 11 weeks.
* The Japanese yen fell less than 0.1 percent.
* The Australian dollar dropped 0.9 percent to $0.7793.
* The euro declined 0.5 percent to $1.1705.
* The British pound fell 1 percent to $1.3114, the weakest in four weeks.
                         Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.34 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to 0.46 percent.
* Spain’s 10-year yield fell 9 basis points to 1.699 percent.
                         Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.4 percent to settle at $50.86 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,267.80 an ounce.
* Copper surged 2.9 percent to $304 per pound, the biggest gain in more than five weeks.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” Colin Powell

As ever,

 

Karen

 “Peace begins with a smile..”  Mother Theresa

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Crying for Power? Your Tears Could Generate Electricity
                   -by Sara G. Miller, Staff Writer | October 4, 2017
What do egg whites and human tears have in common? According to a new study from Ireland, both materials can generate electricity, thanks to an enzyme they contain.
The enzyme, called lysozyme, is also found in saliva and mammalian milk, according to the study, which was published Oct. 2 in the Journal of Applied Physics. The enzyme is anti-bacterial; it attacks the cell walls of bacteria, weakening them.
When lysozyme is in a crystalized form, it also appears to have a property called piezoelectricity, meaning the enzyme can convert mechanical energy (when pressure is applied to it) into electrical energy, the researchers wrote. [7 Biggest Mysteries of the Human Body]
Though the name may sound foreign, “piezoelectricity is used all around us,” lead study author Aimee Stapleton, a postgraduate fellow studying physics at the University of Limerick in Ireland, said in statement. For example, piezoelectric materials such as quartz crystals are used in mobile phones (as the vibrating component) and deep-ocean sonar, according to the statement.
Indeed, materials such as bone, wood, tendons and proteins (including collagen and keratin) have piezoelectric properties, according to the study.
But “the capacity to generate electricity from this particular protein [lysozyme] has not been explored,” Stapleton said.
To study the piezoelectric properties of lysozymes, the scientists applied a crystalized form of the enzyme to films. Researchers then applied mechanical force to these films and recorded the amount of electricity generated.
The scientists found that lysozyme could generate electricity just as well as quartz could. But lysozyme is a biological material, so it could have medical applications. Lysozymes are “nontoxic, so [they] could have many innovative applications, such as electroactive, anti-microbial coatings for medical implants,” Stapleton said.
The researchers think that, in the future, lysozymes could be used to power biomedical devices that are used in people’s bodies, the scientists wrote in the study. The enzymes could also be used to power and control the release of drugs in the body, the study said.
More research is needed, however, before the enzyme can be used for these purposes, the researchers said.
Originally published on Live Science.

On Oct. 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit.
Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The spectacular biannual sunrise through a natural sea arch off the North East Coast of England. Occurring once in Autumn and again in Spring, the sun is framed perfectly through the magnesium limestone sea arch on the South Tyneside coast-where at low tide people come to observe this twice yearly sunrise through the ‘natural Stonehenge’.
CREDIT: PAUL KINGSTON/NNP

Canadian nurse Mandy Stantic captured this black bear making use of a discarded sofa at his local dumping ground during one of her regular visits. Appearing chilled, the bear, snapped at this garbage dump in Northern Manitoba, seems to be enjoying all the comforts the landfill had to offer. According to Stantic bears commonly hang around the garbage dump, and despite having moved away from the area, she still has fond memories of going to look for bears there. “You don’t see that very often. He’s just posing, just like a person,” Stantic told CBC.
CREDIT: MANDY STANTIC/COVER IMAGES

People enjoy the last day of the 184^th Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany.
CREDIT: MATTHIAS BALK/DPA VIA AP
Market Closes for October 4^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	22661.64	+19.97   +0.09%
S&P 500	2537.74	+3.16   +0.12%
NASDAQ	6534.629	+2.915   +0.04%
TSX	15721.00	-7.51
		-0.05%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20626.66	+12.59
		+0.06%
HANG SENG	28379.18	+205.97
		+0.73%
SENSEX	31671.71	+174.33
		+0.55%
FTSE 100*	7467.58	-0.53
		-0.01%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.125		2.111
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.492		2.493
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3247		2.3229
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.8657		2.8625

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80167	0.80069
US $	1.24740	1.24892
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.46732	0.68151
US $	1.17631	0.85012

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1274.25	1271.25
Oil
WTI Crude Future	49.98	50.42

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
9
The number of consecutive record closes for the Russell 2000. If it closes Wednesday at a record, it will equal the longest streak ever.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for the first time in six trading days as a short-seller’s report targeting Shopify Inc. pressured technology shares.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 8 points or 0.1 percent to 15,721.00. Shopify was the biggest obstacle, losing 12 percent after Citron Research called it a “get-rich-quick scheme.” The technology sector lost 1.3 percent.
     Energy shares also fell, losing 0.6 percent as oil slid below $50 a barrel for the first time in two weeks. U.S. government data showed record U.S. exports. Precision Drilling Corp. fell 3.9 percent and Secure Energy Services Inc. lost 3.8 percent.
     In other moves:

                             Stocks
* Canopy Growth Corp. rose 4 percent. Canada’s proposed C$1 per gram tax on recreational pot is lower than expected, Beacon Securities said
* Brookfield Property Partners LP added 2.5 percent after Reuters reported it’s considering selling a stake in its northeast U.S. office portfolio
* Cameco Corp. gained 3.8 percent, erasing some of Tuesday’s 9.1 percent drop, after Scotiabank downgraded it on a “materially weaker fundamental outlook for uranium”
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.20 discount to WTI, 1.8 percent wider than Tuesday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.94 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,273.70 an ounce
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.1 percent to C$1.2478 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis point to 2.13 percent
US
By Randall Jensen
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks added to records and the dollar declined as developments from Catalonia to Puerto Rico and the Federal Reserve reverberated through financial markets Wednesday.
      The S&P 500 Index edged higher to another all-time high as consumer stocks led the advance. Treasuries erased gains and the dollar pared losses on data showing America’s services industries rose at the fastest clip in 12 years. That offset earlier moves sparked by speculation the Trump administration is close to nominating a new Fed chair.
     The U.S. president rattled the market for Puerto Rico’s debt after saying the obligations may need to be wiped clean, while turmoil in Catalonia sent debt on Europe’s periphery tumbling.
     The dollar and Treasuries appeared to earlier take their cue from reports that Donald Trump is said to be close to picking a successor to Janet Yellen. Investors are assessing the policy implications based on a shortlist of possible candidates that include current Governor Jerome Powell and ex-board member Kevin Warsh.
    “The market generally is expecting higher interest rates, so I don’t think there will be a major shift if Warsh becomes chair,” Ernie Cecilia, the chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co. in Pennsylvania, said by phone. “There would be a tilt, it’d be more hawkish, but not so much that it would be a major obstacle for the stock market, but it would be more so within the stock market from a sector basis.”
     Speeches from Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May also vied for investor attention, while the continued political turmoil tied to Catalonia weighed on the region’s assets.    
     Among the key events coming this week:
* Also this week are data on U.S. trade, durable goods and Friday’s September nonfarm payrolls report.
* China is due to report monthly foreign-exchange reserves Thursday.
* Minutes of the last ECB meeting are the European economic highlight this week.

      Here are the main moves in markets:

                                  Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 2,537.72 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 18 points to 22,660 for a sixth record close in a row.
* The Russell 200 Index dropped 0.3 percent, for the biggest loss in a month.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1 percent, ending nine straight days of gains.
* Spain’s IBEX Index fell 2.9 percent, the most in more than a year.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.5 percent, rising for the fourth day in a row.
                             Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent, the second day of declines.
* The euro climbed 0.2 percent to $1.1762.
* The British pound increased 0.1 percent to $1.3256.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.1 percent to 112.73 per dollar, falling for the first time in four days.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point to 2.33 percent, trading near the 200-day moving average.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to 0.45 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 1.378 percent.
                             Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 1 percent to settle at $49.98 a barrel, falling for a third day.
* Gold increased 0.3 percent to $1,275.18 an ounce.
* Copper fell 0.2 percent to $2.95 a pound.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

For me, nonviolence is not a mere philosophical principle.
It rules my life.  It is the rule and breath of my life.
It is a matter not of the intellect but of the heart.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

The opportunity for brotherhood presents itself every time you meet a human being.
                                                                        -Jane Wyman, 1917-2007

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On Oct. 3, 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a new unified country.
Go to article »

HANDY HELPER:
Need an easy way to be reminded of that party tomorrow or that morning meeting at the office?  The app Any.do brings together a calendar and a to-do list to make sure you’re on top of everything.  It’s free for iOS and Android.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tourists visit the Crescent Spring and Singing and Singing Sand Dune scenic area in Dunhuang, northwest China’s Gansu Province. From Oct. 1 – 8, the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, around 710 million tourist trips will be made across China, according to predications by China National Tourism Administration.
CREDIT: XINHUA NEW AGENCY/EYEVINE

High Court Judges wait in Westminister Abbey, ahead of the annual service to mark the start of the legal year in London, England. The service, conducted by the Dean of Westminister, dates back to the Middle Ages and is attended by over 700 Judges and Senior Judicial figures.
CREDIT: LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES

The Nissan LEAF 2.ZERO is unveiled in Europe today, running entirely on electricity and featuring cutting-edge technology and increased automation at the DogA-Norwegian Centre for Design & Architecture in Oslo, Norway.
CREDIT: JOHN PHILLIPS/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for October 3^rd, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	22641.67	+84.07   +0.37%
S&P 500	2534.58	+5.46   +0.22%
NASDAQ	6531.715	+14.997   +0.23%
TSX	15728.51	+23.52
		+0.15%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20614.07	+213.29
		+1.05%
HANG SENG	28173.21	+618.91
		+2.25%
SENSEX	31497.38	+213.66
		+0.68%
FTSE 100*	7468.11	+29.27
		+0.39%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.111		2.128
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.493		2.498
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3229		2.3390
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.8625		2.8704

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80069	0.79925
US $	1.24892	1.25117
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.46651	0.68189
US $	1.17424	0.85161

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1271.25	1273.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future	50.42	50.58

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signs the Underwood-Simmons Act into law, re-imposing a federal income tax less than 20 years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared in unconstitutional.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fifth day, propelled by financial and mining stocks and briefly hitting their highest level since February.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 24 points or 0.2 percent to 15,728.51. The benchmark has risen for 14 of the last 17 trading days and is less than 200 points from its all-time closing high set last February.
     The materials sector was the biggest gainer, adding 0.8 percent. Detour Gold Corp. rose 4.7 percent and Guyana Goldfields Inc. added 4.3 percent even as gold prices edged lower. Financial stocks were up 0.4 percent, led by a 1.6 percent gain at Genworth MI Canada Inc. Bank of Montreal rose 1 percent.
     In other moves:
                             Stocks
* Cameco Corp. fell 9.1 percent, the most since November 2016, after the stock was downgraded to underperform at Scotia Capital
* DHX Media Ltd. tumbled 8 percent, backtracking on Monday’s 5.5 percent gain. The company is considering a sale after poor quarterly results
* TMX Group Ltd. lost 4.1 percent, the most since May, after Bank of Nova Scotia and Alberta Investment Management Corp. sold 5.5 million shares in the stock-exchange operator
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11 discount to WTI, the narrowest gap since August
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.62 discount to Henry Hub, the narrowest in more than two weeks
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,271.50 an ounce, the lowest since early August
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.2 percent to C$1.2484 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.11 percent
US
By Randall Jensen
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities added to records as car sales boosted industrial shares, while Treasury yields turned lower and the dollar erased gains after touching a two-month high.
     The S&P 500 Index rose for a sixth day to close at another all-time high after American carmakers reported the best month of the year. Treasuries erased losses that had pushed yields above 2.36 percent on the 10-year note, and the dollar retreated from the highest level since July. Oil held above $50 a barrel.
     Traders in the U.S. appear to be taking stock after the themes of tax reform, a potentially more hawkish Federal Reserve chief and strong PMI data helped to drive recent gains for both the greenback and equities. And some investors have already turned attention to events that might set the tone for markets the rest of the week — Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s speech Wednesday and payrolls on Friday.
     “There weren’t too many economic numbers on tap today, but some stories are starting to focus on the upcoming payroll numbers on Friday,” Peter Jankovskis, who helps oversee $1.6 billion as co-chief investment officer of Lisle, Illinois-based Oakbrook Investments, said by phone.“People are really focused on looking ahead to that employment number.”
     Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts see the greenback as having room to run, thanks to solid growth prospects and the chance that Fed interest-rate hikes will prove more aggressive than market players currently anticipate. The firm sees the dollar rising against the euro, which could be hurt by political concerns amid the Spanish woes over Catalonia and by elections in Austria and Italy in coming months.
     Among the key events coming this week:
* The U.K.’s Johnson, Davis, Rudd, Fox speak at the Conservative Party Conference.
* Investors will monitor progress toward forming coalition governments in Germany and New Zealand after elections last month left no party in either country with a majority.
* U.S. data this week include trade, durable goods and Friday’s September non-farm payrolls report, which may have less predictive power than usual for the economic outlook due to likely distortions from hurricanes that hit from late August.
* The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday is projected to keep benchmark rates unchanged.
* China is due to report monthly foreign-exchange reserves Thursday.
* Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks at an event on Wednesday.
* Minutes of the last ECB meeting are the European economic highlight this week.

      Here are the main moves in markets:

                                 Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to 2,534.58 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
** Carmakers in the S&P jumped 1.6 percent after data indicated the U.S. auto market probably expanded for the first time this year.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 84 points to 22,641 for another record and its fifth straight day of gains.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent, ninth day in a row of increases.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 1.2 percent, the most since July.
                              Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after touching the highest in almost 11 weeks.
* The euro increased 0.1 percent to $1.1748.
* The British pound decreased 0.3 percent to $1.3238, the weakest in almost three weeks.
                              Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 2.33 percent.
** A JPMorgan Chase & Co. survey found clients are the most short the world’s largest bond market in more than a decade.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to 0.46 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to 1.353 percent.
                              Commodities
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,272.02 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery declined 0.4 percent to settle at $50.42 a barrel, the lowest in more than a week.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

To make a decision is an illusion.
Behind the decision
is the hidden belief
that everyone is the same.
Swami Prajnanpad

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

What is defeat?  Nothing but education, nothing but the first step to something better
                                                                               -Wendell Phillips, 1811-1884

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Happy Monday!

The eighth month of the ancient Roman calendar (Latin octo meaning eight) when the year began in March, but now the tenth month.   The old Dutch name was Wynmaand, the Old English Winmōnath, “wine month”, or the time of vintage.  Another Old English name was Winterfylleth, perhaps meaning “winter full moon”, but possibly from fyllan, “to fell” , as a time of tree felling.  In the French Revolutionary calendar, the equivalent month was  Vendémiaire, “time of vintage” corresponding to the period from 23^rd September to 22^nd October.

On this day…
1985    actor Rock Hudson becomes the first major U.S. celebrity to die of complications from AIDS. Hudson’s death focused worldwide attention on the disease and helped change public perceptions of it.
1950    The comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz was first published.
1959    “The Twilight Zone” debuted on CBS.
2000    The International Space Station got its first residents as an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrived aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule for a four-month stay.
1991 – October 2 – Record – Toronto Blue Jays baseball club clinches the American League East title and become first team in sports history to draw four million fans in one season. Toronto, Ontario

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A giant puppet representing a grandmother, is sleepy after the last acts and leaves Geneva during the “The Saga of the Giants” street theatre, at Lake Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland.
CREDIT: MARTIAL TREZZINI/KEYSTONE VIA AP

A woman rides a cardboard car on Place de la Bastille during a “car free” day in Paris.
Parisians were encouraged to roller-blade, bike or stroll through the City of Light for a “car-free” day intended to leave the streets vacant for slower, clean forms of transport.
October 1, marks the third time the French capital has experimented with a car ban, but it is by far the most ambitious with the zone set aside for pedestrians or cyclists covering the entire historic heart of the city – 105 square kilometers (40 square miles).
CREDIT: ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for October 2^nd, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	22557.60	+152.51   +0.68%
S&P 500	2527.84	+8.48   +0.34%
NASDAQ	6516.719	+20.759   +0.32%
TSX	15699.34	+64.40
		+0.41%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20400.78	+44.50
		+0.22%
HANG SENG	27554.30	+132.70
		+0.48%
SENSEX	31283.72	+1.24
		—
FTSE 100*	7438.84	+66.08
		+0.90%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.128		2.097
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.498		2.472
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3390		2.3354
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.8704		2.8617

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.79925	0.80313
US $	1.25117	1.24513
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.46843	0.68100
US $	1.17365	0.85204

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1273.70	1283.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future	50.58	51.67

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day:
4
The number of times the S&P 500 has closed out the third quarter at a record high
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s stock benchmark continued to claw back its losses for the year, closing at its highest since April even as oil prices fell the most in three weeks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 70 points or 0.5 percent to 15,705.00 on the first trading day of the fourth quarter. The index is now only 217 points from the all-time high it reached in February.
     The materials index added 1 percent as lead prices climbed to a 10-month high and zinc settled at the highest since 2007. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. added 8.8 percent and Lundin Mining Corp. rose 5.6 percent.
     Energy stocks slipped 0.2 percent, outperforming the price of West Texas Intermediate crude, which tumbled 2.1 percent. Precision Drilling Corp. lost 6.4 percent and Ensign Energy Services Inc. fell 4.5 percent.
     In other moves:
                           Stocks
* DHX Media Ltd. closed up 5.5 percent after earlier falling as much as 4.2 percent. The company is considering a sale after weak quarterly results
* Pengrowth Energy Corp. lost 3.9 percent. Billionaire investor Seymour Schulich increased his stake in the company, betting that oil prices will rise
* Metro Inc. lost 1.3 percent and Jean Coutu Group Inc. rose 1.7 percent. Metro said it will sell assets to reduce its financing needs as part of a C$4.5-billion deal to buy Jean Coutu
* Heroux-Devtek Inc. jumped 7.2 percent. The aerospace parts company is buying a Spanish subsidiary of Airbus SE for $205 million
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.30 discount to WTI, 5 cents wider than Friday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.31 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,272.70 an ounce, the lowest since early August
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.2514 per U.S. dollar, the lowest since August
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 3 basis points to 2.13 percent
US
By Randall Jensen
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities rose to all-time highs and the dollar strengthened as factory data and the prospect for tax cuts boosted optimism in the economy.
     The S&P 500 Index closed at another record to start the fourth quarter and the dollar headed for the strongest level since July after data showed U.S. manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in 13 years. Oil fell toward $50 a barrel and Treasuries fluctuated. Investors are also watching developments in Las Vegas, where more than 50 people have died in the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history.
     Global shares began the final quarter of the year on firm footing amid signs manufacturing is strengthening. China reported an unexpectedly strong factory gauge and Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey showed the country’s big manufacturers are the most confident in a decade. While U.S. factories got a lift from two major hurricanes, the U.K.
reported slowing growth.
     U.S. investors also took into account the prospects that Congress will enact a pro-growth tax plan and ongoing speculation that President Donald Trump will opt for a Fed boss who might pursue more aggressive policy tightening.
     “What we’re looking at today is very similar to what we’ve been looking at the last couple of days and the last couple of weeks and it goes across a few lines,” Chris Harvey, head of equity strategy at Wells Fargo, said by phone. “One is the reinflation trade, the other one is tax reform and the third is technology.”
     Stocks in Spain slumped and the common currency was one of the worst performers among major peers after a violence-marred vote in Catalonia spurred the regional government to press toward a unilateral declaration of independence. The tensions also had a clear impact in the bond market, with Spanish premiums rising as yields on comparable German debt declined.
     Elsewhere, the pound tumbled on concerns about the stability of Prime Minister Theresa May’s government and after manufacturing data.
     Among the key events this week:
* Manufacturing PMIs for September are due for most of the world’s major economies.
* Investors will monitor progress toward forming coalition governments in Germany and New Zealand after elections last month left no party in either country with a majority.
* Other American data this week include trade, durable goods and Friday’s September non-farm payrolls report, which may have less predictive power than usual for the economic outlook due to likely distortions from hurricanes that hit from late August.
* Australia’s central bank on Tuesday is forecast to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1.5 percent.
* The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday is projected to keep benchmark rates unchanged.
* China is due to report monthly foreign-exchange reserves Thursday.
* Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks at an event on Wednesday.
* Minutes of the last ECB meeting are the European economic highlight this week.

     Here are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P Index climbed 0.4 percent to 2,529.17 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153 points to 22,558.42, another record close.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index was steady as tech shares struggled.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.5 percent, highest since June.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.9 percent to the highest in almost two months
* Germany’s DAX Index jumped 0.6 percent to a record close.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.5 percent, headed to highest since July.
* The euro fell 0.7 percent to $1.1737, near a six-week low.
* The British pound decreased 0.9 percent to $1.3276, earlier falling the most since the June.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point at 2.34 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dropped one basis point to 0.45 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased four basis points to 1.328 percent, the largest dip in more than three weeks.
                           Commodities
* Gold declined 0.6 percent to $1,272.48 an ounce, the weakest in almost seven weeks.
* West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 2.1 percent to settle at $50.58 a barrel, lowest level in more than a week.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

We do not progress from error to truth, but from truth to truth.
Thus we must see that none can be blamed for what they are doing, because they are,
at this time, doing the best they can.  We learn only from experience.
Swami Vivekananda

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.
                                -Jane Austen, 1775-1817

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!
Michaelmas  -St. Michael’s Day

Interesting news item today:
Viking Fort Reveals Secrets of Danish King’s Elaborate Military Network
                                         By Tom Metcalfe, Live Science Contributor | September 29, 2017

The discovery of a Viking-age fortress in Denmark has shed new light on a network of military sites built by the 10th-century Danish king Harald Bluetooth, according to archaeologists.
Bluetooth — for whom the eponymous digital network technology is named — is credited with building several large, circular fortresses, or “ring forts,” around Denmark in the 970s and 980s, as he unified the unruly Viking clans of the region into a centralized kingdom.
Until a few years ago, the sites of four such ring forts were known, and in the decades since they were found, debate has raged among Danish historians about these structures’ purpose. 
While some historians argued that the ring forts were genuine military fortifications, others proposed that they were built mainly as regional symbols of Bluetooth’s prestige and political power.
But in 2014, a fifth Bluetooth ring fort was discovered — the first to be found in 60 years — and the circumstances of the find seem to settle the historical argument about their function, said Søren Sindbæk, an archaeologist at Aarhus University in Denmark.
“These are perhaps the rarest and strangest monuments that the Vikings have left us,” Sindbæk told Live Science. “It has been so long since we found a new one and had the opportunity to excavate one with all the new methods.”
The location of the latest fort to be discovered, at Borgring on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, showed that there was a military basis to Bluetooth’s network of ring forts, Sindbæk said.
“It wasn’t just a random collection of monuments that were placed there to display power, but there was a coherent military logic to them,” he said. “They were placed at sites that were particularly vulnerable [to attack], and yet they were able to dominate the landscape.”
Bluetooth’s network
Sindbæk explained that he started researching the distribution of the Bluetooth ring forts around Denmark several years ago, looking for any common features in their locations.
He found that each of the known ring forts was built near major Viking-age land routes, and that each ring fort was accessible by sea but sufficiently far from the coast to be well protected from seaborne attacks.
“If you went by the same criteria, there were just a couple of places in Denmark that we could add,” Sindbæk said. “So we went out to survey those, and at one of those spots, we hit what we were looking for.”
The discovery of the ring fort at Borgring showed that these structures were deliberately located to defend Bluetooth’s new kingdom against foreign invaders, he said.
“It confirmed to us that we did understand the plan behind the network of fortresses, that we understood it well enough to identify yet another ring-fort site,” Sindbæk said.
The structures were also located at strategic spots to potentially defend against military attacks, according to the archaeologists. [Fierce Fighters: 7 Secrets of Viking Seamen]
“They were close to the points in the landscape where an army could have landed by sea, which is the most obvious place for a Viking-age army to come from, and from where they could have taken control,” Sindbæk said. “And these ring forts were placed exactly where you would need to be in order to prevent that.”
Lidar discovery
After Sindbæk and his research colleagues identified the likely site of the fortress beneath farmland at Borgring, they used data from an aerial lidar survey published by the Danish government to confirm its distinctive ring shape, which wasn’t apparent at first, Sindbaek said. (Lidar is an extremely accurate method of surveying land or measuring the distance to objects, based on the timings of reflections of pulses of laser light.)
“The lidar data made it very obvious why we were missing the real shape of the feature in the landscape,” he said. “What was left in some parts of the fortress was literally just a change in the level of the ground of perhaps 30 to 40 centimeters [12 to 16 inches], so it’s nothing that you would see on the ground.”
The lidar discovery was followed by a geophysical survey of the underground fortress, led by geophysicist Helen Goodchild of the University of York.
Goodchild surveyed the Borgring site using a method called fluxgate gradiometry, which can detect subtle traces in underground magnetic fields caused by ancient bacterial processes, such as the rotting of wood.
The results of the geophysical survey, which were published online Aug. 8in the journal Antiquity, clearly showed the ring-shaped fortress ramparts, 470 feet (144 meters) in diameter, as well as the locations of four gatehouses at each of the cardinal compass points around the ring, Goodchild told Live Science.
“The geophysics results were pretty impressive,” Goodchild said. “They essentially showed quite a lot of the layout of the rampart structure, which meant [archaeologists] could target their excavations very precisely.”
Viking workshop
Archaeologists carried out excavations at the Borgring site over the past two summers.
In 2016, the researchers excavated the eastern gatehouse of the fortress, which appeared to have been used as a workshop sometime after the fortress ceased to be used by the military, probably in the 11th century, said Jonas Christensen, an archaeologist at the Danish Castle Center in Vordingborg.
In the gatehouse, the researchers found a Viking toolbox that included several woodworking and metalworkingtools, and pieces of glazed pottery usually associated with wealthy or high-status Viking sites in Denmark and Sweden, Christensen told Live Science.
He said the excavations at Borgring this year also uncovered a plank of ancient oak, shaped and drilled with several holes, which had been used for dendrochronological dating, which is based on distinctive patterns of tree growth rings within the wood.
That dating showed that the plank was cut at the same time as wood dated from other ring-fort sites in Denmark that were known to have been built in the 970s or 980s, he said.
“The way the dates fit on the curve is exactly the same,” Christensen said. “That means the plank was cut and shaped at the same time, and it means [the fort] was built by Harald Bluetooth — so that’s the best date we have yet.”
Original article on Live Science.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An undated handout photo made available by the European Space Agency (ESA) shows an image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the galaxy NGC 4490. The scattered and warped appearance of the galaxy are the result of a past cosmic collision with another galaxy, NGC 4485 (not visible in this image). The extreme tidal forces of the interaction between the two galaxies have carved out the shapes and properties of NGC 4490. Once a barred spiral galaxy, the outlying regions of NGC 4490 have been stretched out, resulting in its nickname of the Cocoon Galaxy.
CREDIT:  EPA/ESA/HUBBLE & NASA/HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

A new iceberg calved from Pine Island Glacier, one of the main outlets where ice from the interior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet flows into the ocean.  The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite captured this natural-colour image just before the break.  A rift is clearly visible across the centre of the glacier’s floating ice shelf. The break ultimately produced iceberg B-44.
CREDIT:  NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY/ZUMA WIRE/ZUMAPRESS.COM

Indian people carry an effigy of evil king Ravana on their scooter, ahead of the Dussehra festival in Bhopal, India.  The effigies are burnt during the Hindu festival that commemorates the triumph of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana, marking the victory of good over evil.  Dushera falls on 30 September this year.
CREDIT: EPA/SANJEEV GUPTA

A jaguar ambushes a giant jacare caiman high up on the Three Brothers River in the Pantanal in Mato Grosso, Brazil.  The cat wrestled with the reptile for over twenty minutes in a death struggle witnessed by photographer Chris Brunskill just after ten o’clock in the morning.. Caimans form a large part of the jaguar’s diet in the Pantanal but battles such are this are very rarely observed and seldom photographed.
CREDIT: CHRIS BRUNSKILL LTD/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for September 29^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	22405.09	+23.89   +0.11%
S&P 500	2519.36	+9.30   +0.37%
NASDAQ	6495.961	+42.510   +0.66%
TSX	15634.94	+16.69
		+0.11%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20356.28	-6.83
		-0.03%
HANG SENG	27554.30	+132.70
		+0.48%
SENSEX	31283.72	+1.24
		—
FTSE 100*	7372.76	+49.94
		+0.68%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.097		2.129
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.472		2.504
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3354		2.3085
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.8617		2.8712

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80313	0.80435
US $	1.24513	1.24324
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.46885	0.68081
US $	1.17968	0.84769

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1283.10	1283.55
Oil
WTI Crude Future	51.67	51.56

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1987, Charles Schwab launches its IPO, selling 8 million shares of stock to the public at an original price of $16.50 apiece. Just 20 days later, the Crash of 1987 hits. As the stock market plunges 23% in a single day, Schwab’s stock is hammered down to $6.50 a share.  Since the IPO, the shares have split 8 times, so if you purchased the IPO & didn’t follow the herd, didn’t sell in 1987, your adjusted cost base is now $0.36/share and the shares closed today @$43.74 U$/sh – an increase on invested capital since the IPO of +12,050/sh – not including dividends).
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their biggest monthly gain since July 2016, rising 2.8 percent in September as energy shares rebounded along with the price of oil.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 17 points Friday or 0.1 percent to 15,634.94, the highest close since early May. Financials had the most influence, adding 0.4 percent even as bond yields fell. National Bank of Canada rose 0.2 percent to a record high.
     The materials sector was the biggest decliner, losing 0.7 percent as gold and copper prices fell. Iamgold Corp. tumbled 8 percent after being downgraded at Canaccord Genuity.
     In other moves:
                           Stocks
* Norbord Inc. fell 7.5 percent, the most since February 2016, after being cut to underperform at BMO on the risk of oversupply in the oriented strand board market
* BlackBerry Ltd. rose 7.3 percent to the highest since June, adding to Thursday’s 13 percent gain, following strong earnings that included record software revenue
* Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. added 4.6 percent. The company expects to exceed its commitment to pay down $5 billion in debt by February 2018
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.25 discount to WTI, 5 cents narrower than Thursday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.55 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,281.50 an ounce, the lowest since mid-August
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.2477 per U.S. dollar after Canada GDP growth paused in July
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell three basis points to 2.10 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks surged to all-time highs while Treasuries slumped amid reports that President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to discuss the role of Fed chair.
     The S&P 500 Index, Nasdaq Composite Index and Russell 2000 Index all set records, with the S&P 500 closing out its eighth straight quarterly gain. Trump, who also reportedly met with former Fed governor Jerome Powell, said he expects to make a decision on the central bank’s leadership in two to three weeks.
     Financial shares, which would stand to benefit from Warsh’s views on deregulation, helped spearhead the stock market gains as the KBW Bank Index leaped to the highest since March.  But despite the enthusiasm, some investors predicted that Warsh’s nomination would hurt equities.
     “I don’t think a Warsh nomination would bring confidence to the markets and would expect equities to sell off if he was announced,” Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro Research LLC, wrote in a note to clients Friday. “Normally, the FRB staff assumes the chair knows the ins and outs of monetary economics at least as well as they do. Warsh would not be afforded that assumption. That is a big problem.”
     Prior to the Fed news, Treasuries and the dollar dropped as the PCE core deflator, a key gauge of inflation, rose less than economists expected, deepening concern about the stickiness U.S. consumer prices and what it could mean for an expected interest rate hike this year. Personal spending also cooled.
     “Inflation data today was weak, but Janet Yellen was pretty adamant when she spoke that they’re going to remain on course, and even though the numbers missed expectations today the headline number is still the same level, so it’s not a big downtick,” Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, said by phone. “It’s not optimal to keep policy on course, but it’s not enough to knock policy off course.”
     European shares closed out their best month of the year. European government bonds rebounded. Emerging-market assets rallied, with stocks rising and most currencies strengthening against the greenback.
     Data out of Europe underscored the region’s economic recovery. German unemployment fell to a record low in September, providing encouragement for the European Central Bank as it contemplates reducing asset purchases in coming months. Euro- zone inflation undershot estimates, though not by much. The U.K.’s benchmark stock index was buoyed by data showing that British consumers are in better shape than previously thought.
     What to watch out for prior to the weekend:
* Chinese markets will be shut next week for a holiday.
* South Korea’s markets will be closed next week as well.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent to a record 2,519.35, putting the benchmark up 3.7 percent for the quarter.
* The Nasdaq Composite surged 0.7 percent, bringing its quarterly increase to 6.3 percent, while the Russell 2000 rose 0.1 percent on the day and 4.5 percent for the quarter. Both gauges hit all-time highs.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 0.5 percent, reaching the highest since June.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index bounced 0.4 percent. 
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell less than 0.1 percent. 
* The euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.1819. 
* The British pound declined 0.3 percent to $1.3401. 
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index gained 0.2 percent, the first advance in a week.
                          Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose by three basis points to 2.3354 percent. 
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.462 percent. 
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 1.365 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $51.57 a barrel. 
* Gold retreated 0.6 percent to $1,280.28 an ounce.
* Copper fell 0.9 percent to $2.9545 a pound.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone –enjoy!

 

Be magnificent!

 

Do not destroy.  Iconoclastic reformers do no good to the world.
Help, if you can; if you cannot, fold your hands, stand by, and see things go on.
Therefore say not a word against any man’s convictions, so far as they are sincere.
Secondly, take man where he stands, and from thence give him a lift.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns.
                                                                                         -John Clark, 1948-2017

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
TODAY IN HISTORY

1542, Cabrillo, discovery of California.
1934, Brigitte Bardot was born.
1973, Gwynneth Paltrow was born.

On Sept. 28, 1924, two United States Army planes landed in Seattle, Washington, having completed the first round-the-world flight in 175 days.
Go to article »

Also on this day…
In 1941, the Boston Red Sox’s Ted Williams collects six hits in a double-header against the Philadelphia Athletics to boost his batting average to .406 and become the first player since 1930 to hit .400. No player has finished a season hitting .400 since.

Interesting Story published today:
Lost City of Alexander the Great Unearthed in Kurdish Iraq
By Tia Ghose, Senior Writer | September 28, 2017
A lost city that was overrun by Alexander the Great on his conquest of Persia has finally been unearthed in the Kurdish region of Iraq, decades after it was first seen on spy satellite imagery.
The site, called Qalatga Darband, was directly on the route that Alexander the Great took as he pursued the Persian ruler Darius III in 331 B.C. before their epic battle at Gaugamela. The site bears signs of Greco-Roman influence, including wine presses and smashed statues that may have once depicted the gods Persephone and Adonis.
“It’s early days, but we think it would have been a bustling city on a road from Iraq to Iran. You can imagine people supplying wine to soldiers passing through,” lead archaeologist John MacGinnis, from the British Museum, told The Times. [The 25 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth]
Surprising spy data
In the 1960s, American spy satellite imagery, from the Corona satellite program, revealed the existence of an ancient site, near the rocky Darband-i Rania pass in the Zagros Mountains in Iraq. But that data was classified. When it was finally made public, archaeologists from the British Museum pored over the data. Later drone footage of the area revealed several large limestone blocks, as well as hints of larger buildings lying buried beneath the ground. However, by the time the archaeologists knew of the site’s existence, political instability made it difficult to explore the region, they said.
Only in recent years has the area become safe enough for archaeologists from the British Museum to take a closer look. When they did, they found a huge trove of ancient artifacts. The ceramics found at the site suggest that at least one area of Qalatga Darband was founded during the second and first centuries B.C. by the Seleucids, or the Hellenistic people who ruled after Alexander the Great, according to a statement. Later, the Seleucids were overthrown and followed by the Parthians, who may have built extra fortification walls to protect against the Romans who were encroaching during that period.
The site contains a large fort, as well as several structures that are likely wine presses. In addition, two buildings employ terra-cotta roof tiles, which are characteristic of Greco-Roman architecture of the time, the researchers noted in a statement.
On the southern end of the site, archaeologists found a large stone mound, beneath which was a giant temple-like structure. The building contained smashed statues that looked like Greek gods. One, of a naked man, was likely to be Adonis, while another seated female figure was probably the goddess Persephone, the reluctant bride of Hades, ruler of the underworld, according to the statement.
Nearby in the Darband-I Rania mountain pass, archaeologists have also uncovered evidence of an even older settlement. That fortress likely dates to the Assyrian period, between the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. The fort had 20-foot-thick (6 meters) walls and was likely a way for the Assyrians to control the flow of people through the pass. At the same site, archaeologists uncovered a grave with a coin that dates to the Parthian period, the researchers said.
The grave bore the inscription “King of kings, beneficent, the just, the manifest, friend of the Greeks, this is the king who fought against the Roman army led by Crassus at Carrhae in 54/53 BC.”
That inscription suggests the grave belongs to King Orodes II of Parthia, who ruled between 57 B.C. and 38 B.C., and may have referred to a period when the Romans attempted to conquer the Parthian Empire. The Parthians deflected that attack with horse-riding archers who shot arrows down on the Roman troops, according to the statement
Originally published on Live Science.

If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A fly covered in dew drops with the flowers reflecting in the water drops. A fly coated in dewdrops looks like it has a flower crown on its head as the water reflects a brightly coloured bud. The macro photographs show flies and damselfies resting on daises and wild plants covered in early morning dew.  Photographer Alberto Panizza then carefully places a flower close by to create the reflections in the water and give the illusion the insects are wearing flower crowns. The 42-year-old walks around ponds and the riverbanks of the Po river, near his home, in Parma, Italy, looking for insects he can potentially photograph.
CREDIT: ALBERTO GHIZZA PANIZZA/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

General view of Burj Khalifa during a heavy fog in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
CREDIT:  TOM DULAT/GETTY IMAGES

“Pumpkins Screaming About Love Beyond Inifinity” by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is displayed in her museum during the press preview in Tokyo. The Yayoi Kusama Museum will open to the public in Tokyo from October 1, 2017.
CREDIT: TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP

A half-moon shines behind a ferris wheel at the Theresienwise fairgrounds of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, southern Germany. The world’s largest beer festival Oktoberfest take place until October 3, 2017.
CREDIT: CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for September 28^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	22381.20	+40.49     +0.18%
S&P 500	2510.06	+3.02   +0.12%
NASDAQ	6453.449	+0.186   —
TSX	15618.25	+8.59
		+0.06%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20363.11	+96.06
		+0.47%
HANG SENG	27421.60	-220.83
		-0.80%
SENSEX	31282.48	+122.67
		+0.39%
FTSE 100*	7322.82	+9.31
		+0.13%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.129		2.124
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.504		2.489
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3085		2.3014
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.8712		2.8545

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80435	0.80148
US $	1.24324	1.24769
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.46489	0.68264
US $	1.17838	0.84863

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1283.55	1282.55
Oil
WTI Crude Future	51.56	52.14

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
100%
Publicly held federal debt, now 77% of GDP, is on track to hit 91% in a decade as aging baby boomers draw on Social Security and Medicare. A $1.5 trillion tax cut would push that to 100%, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a watchdog group.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks eked out a small gain and closed at the highest since mid-May, helped by strong earnings at BlackBerry Ltd. and rising copper prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 9 points or 0.1 percent to 15,618.25. Technology saw the largest gains, up 0.8 percent as BlackBerry jumped 13 percent, the most since April. The company reported record software revenue, reassuring investors that its pivot away from hardware is succeeding.
Materials stocks gained 0.4 percent as copper prices surged 2.4 percent, the most this month. Signs of a stronger economy in the U.S. and China boosted the metal. Hudbay Minerals Inc. gained 5.9 percent.
In other moves:
Stocks
* DHX Media Ltd. tumbled 16 percent, the most since 2009. The company’s quarterly results missed the lowest estimates and at least two analysts downgraded the stock
* Superior Plus Corp. gained 6.1 percent. The stock was upgraded to buy at Canaccord Genuity after closing its acquisition of Canwest Propane
* Bombardier Inc. rose 5.2 percent, rebounding from Wednesday’s 7.5 percent decline. The company says it can still win orders for its C Series jetliner this year despite losing a ruling in a trade battle with Boeing Co.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.30 discount to WTI, unchanged this week
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.73 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,285.50 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to C$1.2432 per U.S. dollar, the biggest gain in two and a half weeks
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.13 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose to record levels and headed for an eighth straight quarterly gain, while the dollar slipped as investors assessed the implications of Donald Trump’s tax proposal. Oil slid back after bouncing into bull market territory earlier in the session.
The S&P 500 Index inched up to all-time high and has increased about 3.5 percent over the last three months. The small cap Russell 2000 Index added to its advance after jumping nearly 2 percent on Wednesday following the tax-cut plan announcement. The gauge is up more than 5 percent for the quarter.
Trump’s tax plan is expected to be a boon for businesses and the wealthy, with specific cuts aimed at them. However, it’s difficult to determine precisely what the benefits would amount to since there are few details so far. This puts investors in a quandary, trying to guess which parts of the package the administration is prioritizing. And that’s before the fighting begins in Congress over passing it as a bill.
“U.S. tax policy is key right now but we don’t have a lot of details,” said Mark McCormick, North American head of foreign-exchange strategy at Toronto-Dominion Bank. “The key is we don’t know the trade-off, we don’t know who wins and we don’t know who loses.”
Bloomberg’s dollar spot index headed for a third straight quarterly drop, pushing its loss in 2017 above 8 percent. Gold traded near the lowest since August, on track for the worst month of the year. Oil fell below $51 a barrel, and yields on 10-year Treasuries were flat.
German and French debt was lower. The euro posted its first rise in four days as a regional economic confidence index climbed to a decade-high, giving European Central Bank policy makers more positive signals as they decide on the future of their bond-buying program. But the policy outlook for the world’s biggest economies isn’t the only thing on investors’ minds: end-of-quarter volatility may be near and major markets, including China, will shut next week for a holiday.

          What to watch out for the rest of this week:
* Japan August industrial production and retail sales are due Friday as is South Korea’s current account balance for August.
* The euro-area inflation rate may have accelerated a touch to 1.6 percent in September from 1.5 percent but the core will probably remain at 1.2 percent. The data is out on Friday.

      And here are the main moves in markets:

                               Stocks
* The S&P 500 added 0.1 percent to a record 2,510.07. The small cap Russell 2000 climbed 0.3 percent bringing its increase for the week to more than 2.5 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index jumped 0.4 percent to the highest since June.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index gained 0.2 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2 percent.
* The euro advanced 0.3 percent to $1.1783, the biggest gain in a week.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries were unchanged at 2.3103 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 0.479 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.375 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1 percent to $51.59 a barrel, reversing course after touching the highest level since April earlier in the session.
* Gold added 0.3 percent to $1,286.54 an ounce.
* Copper advanced 1.6 percent to $2.9775 a pound.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

We know now that toleration is not sufficient toward another religion; we must accept it.
Thus it is not a question of subtraction, it is a question of addition.
The truth is the result of all these different sides added together.
Each religion represents one side, the fullness being the addition of all these.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

Carolann

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.
                                 -Joseph Chilton Pearce, 1926-2016

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

I read this today and thought it is fascinating; hope you do as well:

Zealandia: Sunken 8th Continent Reveals Its Buried Secrets
By Tia Ghose, Senior Writer | September 27, 2017

A journey to plumb the remote ocean depths has revealed that Earth does indeed have an eighth continent.
A nine-week voyage took scientists from around the world to drill and explore the seafloor off New Zealand and Australia. They found evidence of land-based fossils, revealing that the ancient landmass wasn’t always buried beneath the waves.
“Zealandia, a sunken continent long lost beneath the oceans, is giving up its 60 million-year-old secrets through scientific ocean drilling,” Jamie Allan, program director in the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences, said in a statement. [Photos: The World’s Weirdest Geological Formations]
Lost 8th continent
Earlier this year, scientists argued that the known seven continents had a long-lost brother – Zealandia, a narrow strip of land that encompasses New Zealand and lies off the east coast of Australia, and whose landmass is mostly 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) below sea level beneath the ocean’s surface. Among the evidence for Zealandia: The crust that makes up Zealandia is much shallower than the surrounding oceanic crust, and its geologic makeup looks more like continental versus oceanic crust. What’s more, a narrow strip of oceanic crust separates Australia from Zealandia, which suggests the two landmasses were separate.
However, the area is so remote that few geologists had explored the region.
To answer questions about the mysterious continent, scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a research drilling vessel, drilled sediment cores from six sites along the ocean seabed that makes up Zealandia.  The cores plumbed 8,202 feet (2,500 m) below the surface, revealing 70 million years of the ancient continent’s history.
The team found a treasure trove of fossils that reveal Zealandia wasn’t always under the ocean.
“More than 8,000 specimens were studied, and several hundred fossil species were identified,” expedition co-chief scientist Gerald Dickens of Rice University in Texas, said in statement. “The discovery of microscopic shells of organisms that lived in warm shallow seas, and of spores and pollen from land plants, reveal that the geography and climate of Zealandia were dramatically different in the past.”
About 100 million years ago, Australia, Antarctica and Zealandia were all part of a mega-continent. The new drilling revealed that although Zealandia split off from these regions and sank below water about 80 million years ago, the chain of volcanism that makes up the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire” may have caused Zealandia to buckle about 40 million to 50 million years ago, which also dramatically reshaped the landscape.
The findings could reveal how plants and animals dispersed across the South Pacific. In the past, this area provided some shallow seas and some strips of land to allow species to migrate and move between regions, the researchers said.
  Originally published on Live Science.

On Sept. 27, 1964, the Warren Commission issued a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.
Go to article »

Today is Ancestor Appreciation Day.

It is certainly desirable to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors. –Plutarch

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A swan at sunset over Poole Harbour, Dorset.
CREDIT: DONNA CHALLINOR/SWNS.COM

Ralf Hamilton, 3, and his sister Nora, 2 with the giant pumpkin. Twin brothers who spend hours each day tending to their pumpkins are about to ‘smash’ the record for the largest one in Britain,  Stuart and Ian Paton, 56, use 100 gallons of water daily to help their gigantic squashes grow – and they increase in weight by 60lbs a day at their peak.  The brothers are the current UK record holders, with a pumpkin they grew last year weighing in at the biggest ever – 161 stone (2254 lbs).
CREDIT: SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Katy Perry performs on stage at the Capital One Arena in Washington
CREDIT:  BRENT N CLARKE/INVISION/AP

A tourist stretches out a shawl as they stand at the gate of Penataran Agung Lempuyang temple with mount Agung seen in the background, enshrouded by clouds in Karangasem regency, Island of Bali, Indonesia. Indonesian authorities raised the alert level for the Mount Agung volcano to the highest level as nearly 50,000 villagers around the mountain evacuated their homes and travel warnings have issued for the popular tourist destination.  Indonesian authorities warned Mount Agung has the potential to erupt imminently although flights to Bali and its main tourist areas remain unaffected for now.
CREDIT: ULET IFANSASTI/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for September 27^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	22340.71	+56.39   +0.25%
S&P 500	2506.69	+9.85   +0.39%
NASDAQ	6453.262	+73.098   +1.15%
TSX	15596.66	+122.54
		+0.79%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20267.05	-63.14
		-0.31%
HANG SENG	27642.43	+129.42
		+0.47%
SENSEX	31159.81	-439.95
		-1.39%
FTSE 100*	7313.51	+27.77
		+0.38%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.124		2.112
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.489		2.451
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3014		2.2339
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.8545		2.7731

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80148	0.80976
US $	1.24769	1.23494
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.46575	0.68225
US $	1.17477	0.85123

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1282.55	1300.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	52.14	51.88

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1985, Philip Morris agreed to buy General Foods for $5.75 billion in what was at the time one of the largest takeovers in history.

Number of the Day
64%
The volume of maturing yuan bonds issued by Chinese home builders will jump 64% in 2018 to at least 230 billion yuan ($35 billion), and rise another 87% the year after that, according to data provider Wind Information Co.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks gained the most since May in a broad-based rally that saw rate-sensitive groups jump as bond yields hit their highest in three years.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 136 points or 0.9 percent to 15,609.66, the highest close in more than four months. 
     Financials rose 1.1 percent, helped by higher 10-year government bond yields that briefly rose as much as nine basis points. Canadian Western Bank jumped 4.9 percent to the highest since 2014 after Bank of Nova Scotia analysts lifted their price target to a street high. National Bank of Canada reached an all- time record.
     Consumer staples gained 0.8 percent as grocer Metro Inc. said it’s in advanced talks to buy pharmacy chain Jean Coutu Group Inc. for C$4.5 billion. Metro added 8.8 percent and Jean Coutu rose 6.3 percent, the biggest gains since 2014 for both.
     In other moves:

                              Stocks
* Bombardier Inc. fell 7.5 percent, the most since March 2016, after the U.S. levied import duties on its biggest jetliner and competitors Siemens AG and Alstom SA announced plans to merge their rail units
* Tahoe Resources Inc. tumbled 11 percent after Guatemala’s Supreme Court declined to order a renewal of its export credentials
* BRP Inc. lost 7.8 percent. The Ski-Doo maker filed a secondary for 10 million shares
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.30 discount to WTI, unchanged from Tuesday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.04 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 1.1 percent to $1,284.10 an ounce, the lowest since August, as investors piled into riskier assets
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 1.1 percent to C$1.2480 per U.S. dollar, the biggest drop since January
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis point to 2.13 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied, the dollar extended gains and Treasuries slumped on speculation President Donald Trump’s tax-cut plan will become law this year. Gold sank.
     The S&P 500 Index inched close to a record high as banks and tech shares surged on the prospect lower taxes will fuel economic growth. Small caps, a group with among the highest tax rates, jumped the most since March. The Bloomberg dollar index hit a six-week peak, and 10-year note yields climbed to the highest in two months. Gold fell below its 50-day average for the first time since July.
     The urgent effort by Trump and Congressional Republicans to pass tax cuts they say will spur growth and investment drove investor demand for assets that will benefit from gains in the world’s largest economy. Coupled with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s hawkish tone in remarks on Tuesday that boosted the chances for a December interest-rate hike, rumblings over the tax plan revived trades that gained favor following Trump’s stunning win almost a year ago.
     “Tax reform will be crucial in both making America competitive again and possibly extending this aging economic recovery, but it won’t happen in a vacuum and interest rates are not going to sit idly by if growth and inflation truly respond to any fiscal boost,” Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, wrote in a note to clients Wednesday.
     The plan announcement is just the start of what’s expected to be a brutal fight in Congress, but equity investors were encouraged by several proposals, such as allowing companies to write off capital expenditures for five years. The dollar received a push from the prospect of capital inflows as companies take advantage of a proposed one-time repatriation tax. 
     “There’s the likelihood now that it may not be a tax reform, but we’ll likely get a tax cut, and the market likes a tax cut probably better than tax reform,” John Stoltzfus, chief market strategist at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York, said by phone. “Everybody likes a quick fix, and the market has shown for years it accepts kicking the can down the road.”
     What to watch out for this week:
* U.S. data on GDP and personal spending Thursday will provide further clues as to the potential Fed policy path.
* The euro-area inflation rate may have accelerated a touch to 1.6 percent in September from 1.5 percent but the core will probably remain at 1.2 percent. The data is out on Friday.

      And here are the main moves in markets:

                                Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to 2,507.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 56 points for a 0.3 percent increase.
* The Russell 2000 soared 1.9 percent, the most in six months, to reach another record, while the Nasdaq 100 Index gained 1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.4 percent to the highest since July.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.3 percent, hitting the lowest in five weeks.
                              Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.6 percent to the highest since August.
* The euro dipped 0.4 percent to $1.1749, the lowest in six weeks.
* The British pound decreased 0.5 percent to $1.3393.
* The Swiss franc fell 0.4 percent to $0.9722, the weakest in six weeks.
                              Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries jumped seven basis points to 2.3032 percent, the highest in two months.
* Germany’s 10-year yield added six basis points to 0.468 percent, the highest in seven weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 1.38 percent.
                              Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4 percent to $52.07, slipping after hitting a five-month high earlier in the session.
* Gold declined 0.8 percent to $1,283.59 an ounce, the weakest in five weeks.
                               Asia
* Japan’s Topix index slid 0.5 percent at the close in Tokyo.
* Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.1 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index ended less than 0.1 percent lower.
* Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.5 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4 percent.
* The Japanese yen sank 0.7 percent to 113.06 per dollar, the weakest in almost 11 weeks.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

That which is immoral is imperfectly moral,
just as that which is false is true to an inadequate degree.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Equilibrium is the profoundest tendency of all human activity.
                                             -Jean Piaget, 1896-1980

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On Sept. 26, 1960, the first televised debate between presidential candidates took place in Chicago as Republican Richard M. Nixon and Democrat John F. Kennedy squared off.
Go to article »

1888, T.S. Eliot was born.

SWEENEY AMONG THE NIGHTINGALES
by: T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
PENECK Sweeney spreads his knees
Letting his arms hang down to laugh,
The zebra stripes along his jaw
Swelling to maculate giraffe.

The circles of the stormy moon
Slide westward toward the River Plate,
Death and the Raven drift above
And Sweeney guards the horned gate.

Gloomy Orion and the Dog
Are veiled; and hushed the shrunken seas;
The person in the Spanish cape
Tries to sit on Sweeney’s knees

Slips and pulls the table cloth
Overturns a coffee-cup,
Reorganized upon the floor
She yawns and draws a stocking up;

The silent man in mocha brown
Sprawls at the window-sill and gapes;
The waiter brings in oranges
Bananas figs and hothouse grapes;

The silent vertebrate in brown
Contracts and concentrates, withdraws;
Rachel née Rabinovitch
Tears at the grapes with murderous paws;

She and the lady in the cape
Are suspect, thought to be in league;
Therefore the man with heavy eyes
Declines the gambit, shows fatigue,

Leaves the room and reappears
Outside the window, leaning in,
Branches of wistaria
Circumscribe a golden grin;

The host with someone indistinct
Converses at the door apart,
The nightingales are singing near
The Convent of the Sacred Heart,

And sang within the bloody wood
When Agamemnon cried aloud,
And let their liquid droppings fall
To stain the stiff dishonoured shroud.

Sweeney Among the Nightingales was originally printed in Little Review, September, 1918.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Birds vie for position on power lines at dusk in Kansas City, Kansas, US.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/CHARLIE RIEDEL

Human canvases modeling world famous artworks including Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Edvard Munch’s The Scream take to the streets of London in a bid to mend Britain’s disconnect with art. Award winning body paint artist Sarah Attwell was commissioned by online art platform Rise Art to show that great art is for everybody, following research that revealed 1 in 6 Brits have never set foot in an art gallery.
CREDIT: ADRIAN BROOKS/IMAGEWISE

A participant balances on a slackline over the Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic. This event was part of campaign supporting diabetic people.
CREDIT: EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK
Market Closes for September 26^th, 2017

MarketIndex	Close	Change
DowJones	22284.32	-11.77  -0.05%
S&P 500	2496.84	+0.18  +0.01%
NASDAQ	6380.164	+9.571  +0.15%
TSX	15474.12	-42.11
		-0.27%

International Markets

MarketIndex	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20330.19	-67.39
		-0.33%
HANGSENG	27513.01	+12.67
		+0.05%
SENSEX	31599.76	-26.87
		-0.08%
FTSE 100*	7285.74	-15.55
		-0.21%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND.10 Year Bond		2.112		2.092
CND.30 Year Bond		2.451		2.433
U.S.   10 Year Bond		2.2339		2.2180
U.S.30 Year Bond		2.7731		2.7599

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80976	0.80822
US$	1.23494	1.23729
Euro Rate1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45636	0.68664
US$	1.17930	0.84796

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London GoldFix	1300.05	1293.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	51.88	51.92

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1914, the US Federal Trade Commission is established.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks snapped a rally that saw the benchmark index gain 2.6 percent in eight trading days, edging lower as falling metals prices weighed on mining shares.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 42 points or 0.3 percent to 15,474.12 as the materials sector fell 1.1 percent. Gold prices tumbled as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the U.S. central bank should be “wary of moving too gradually,” pressuring shares of miners such as Eldorado Gold Corp., which fell 4.8 percent.
     Industrials were the only gainers, up 0.2 percent as Bombardier Inc. jumped 6.1 percent. Reuters reported the planemaker is in talks with China’s three biggest airlines.
     In other moves:
                          
                          Stocks
* Freshii Inc. plunged 35 percent after the chain slashed its store-opening forecast
* Lucara Diamond Corp. rose 5.2 percent. The miner sold a 1,109- carat diamond for $53 million
* Crew Energy Inc. rose 3 percent as the energy index fell 0.2 percent. The stock was raised to top pick at Cormark
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.30 discount to WTI, unchanged from Monday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.04 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,297.70 an ounce
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.1 percent to C$1.2358 per U.S. dollar, its first gain in eight trading days, after Finance Minister Bill Morneau said he’s confident the economy can keep humming as the loonie rises
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose two basis points to 2.11 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks crept higher as Janet Yellen warned that the Federal Reserve should be wary of tightening monetary policy too gradually. The dollar gave back some earlier gains and Treasuries added to losses.
     The S&P 500 Index all but erased its increase in the final 30 minutes of trading to finish essentially unchanged, while technology shares climbed and small caps rose to a record. Bloomberg’s dollar index, which had jumped the most since January in early trading, retreated but remained positive as the Fed chair said raising interest rates gradually is the appropriate policy stance considering the uncertainty surrounding inflation. Yields on 10-year treasuries held at 2.23 percent.
     “It looks like the committee is headed toward a December hike unless something disappoints on the inflation side,” Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI, said by phone. “But beside that, it’s total uncertainty because Yellen is less likely to be here after that. What the speech seemed to do is give you a lot of different scenarios, all of which will be the job for the new Fed chair to handle.”
     The euro fell to a five-week low following the steepest drop of the year on Monday after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s comments on Brexit negotiations. The yen pared some of the previous day’s gains, which followed North Korea’s declaration it could shoot down U.S. warplanes. WTI crude declined, though was still close to a five-month high after Turkey threatened to shut down Kurdish crude shipments. Emerging market shares tumbled.
     Markets have been oscillating between risk-on and risk-off stances since early August as tensions simmer on the Korean Peninsula. Now, an assortment of geopolitical risks appear set to further cloud the outlook, not least the worry that gains by far-right parties in Germany’s vote signal a new populist bent in Europe.
     “As we saw with the German elections, the populist undercurrent is still there in Europe,” Charles Diebel, head of rates at Aviva Investors on London, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Mark Barton. “That could be more fundamental to the progress for Europe.”
     Read more in our story, Global Markets on Edge as Elections Thrust Politics Back to Fore.
     This week’s bevy of central bank speakers continues to offer more clues to the path of monetary policy and the fate of stimulus. Investors also are monitoring the ongoing saga of President Donald Trump’s domestic policies in an attempt to gauge the chances of meaningful tax reform in the world’s biggest economy.
     What to watch out for this week:
* U.S. data on durable-goods orders, GDP and personal spending later in the week will provide further clues as to the Fed’s policy path.
* Brexit negotiations are getting underway again.
* Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington Tuesday while his team back in Madrid attempts to turn the screws on a secessionist push in Catalonia.
* The euro-area inflation rate may have accelerated a touch to 1.6 percent in September from 1.5 percent but the core will probably remain at 1.2 percent when data is out on Friday.

      And here are the main moves in markets:

                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed at 2,496.84, the Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.2 percent and the small cap Russell 2000 Index gained 0.3 percent to reach a record high.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.2 percent, while Germany’s DAX Index gained less than 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 0.3 percent to the lowest in over two weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index sank 0.8 percent to the lowest in more than a month.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.3 percent to the highest since August.
* The euro sank 0.5 percent to $1.1792, the weakest in five weeks.
* The British pound dipped 0.1 percent to $1.3451, the lowest in more than a week. 
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries added one basis point to 2.2322 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 0.406 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell less than one basis point to 1.33 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5 percent to $51.94 a barrel.
* Gold declined 1.14 percent to $1,295.85 an ounce.
                            Asia
* Japan’s Topix index closed flat after trading in a narrow range. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.3 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.2 percent.
* Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added less than 0.1 percent after slumping 1.4 percent on Monday as Chinese property developers tumbled on fresh mainland home curbs. Read how one of the world’s most extreme stock rallies gets a reality check.
* The Japanese yen decreased 0.2 percent to 111.98 per dollar.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Selfishness in man is a beginning.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

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

 

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday!

1956, The first trans-Atlantic telephone cable went into service.
Also on this day in…
1789, the first Congress of the United States passes twelve amendments to the Constitution, and sends them to the states for ratification. Ten of the amendments are ratified and become known as the Bill of Rights.
1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

POINTS OF PROGRESS:

KENYA: now has one of the toughest bans on plastic bags in the world.  Effective August 28, 2017, a new law aims to  eliminate the ubiquitous items, which clog oceans and kill marine life.  The rule will punish those manufacturing, selling, or importing plastic bags with as many as four years in prison or a $19,000 to $38,000 fine.  Kenyan shoppers are estimated to use 100 million plastic bags per year. –The New York Times.

INDIA: Muslim men can no longer dissolve their marriage by uttering three words.  For centuries, Muslim men here only had to say the Arabic word “talaq” (divorce) three times to divorce their wives, while women had to obtain a husband’s consent.  But on August 22^nd, India’s five-member Supreme Court declared that law unconstitutional in a 3-to-2 decision, placing  a six-month block on the practice pending a parliamentary debate on a law to ban it permanently.  The country is home to 172 million Muslims, 14% of its population. –The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Startling photos show a cluttered housing block reaching towards the sky in Hon Kong. Made up of wildly different looking flats, it almost appears as if the apartments have been added on ad-hoc as buildings close in on all sides. The pictures of the Yick Cheong building in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong hint at the extraordinarily crowded living conditions in the city.  Professional photographer Jesus M. Garcia, travelled half way around the world from his home in the city of Toledo, Spain, just to capture the amazing scene.
CREDIT: JESUS M.GARCIA/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

On your bike. This mantis looks to be riding a bicycle but is in fact climbing up two stems. Taken alongside the Po river in Province of Reggio Emilia, Italy, photographer Alberto Ghizzi Panizza was walking along the river bank when he spotted the insect. Alberto did not see the connections to the mantis looking like was riding a pedal cycle until he looked at the picture back at his computer. Alberto said, ‘I just spotted this mantis on this plant and I tried to take the most interesting pictures of it. A lot of people are scared of mantis but they are harmless to people. So I love to have taken this nice photo of this wonderful insect’.
CREDIT:  ALBERTO GHIZZI PANIZZA/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

The Great Sheep Drive of London Bridge & Wool Fair 2017.  Mary Berry CBE, TV Presenter and Cook, and Liveryman driving sheep over London Bridge, London, UK.
CREDIT: PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Market Closes for September 25^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	22296.09	-53.50     -0.24%
S&P 500	2496.55	-5.67   -0.23%
NASDAQ	6370.594	-56.328   -0.88%
TSX	15513.73	+59.50
		+0.39%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20397.58	+101.13
		+0.50%
HANG SENG	27500.34	-380.19
		-1.36%
SENSEX	31626.63	-295.81
		-0.93%
FTSE 100*	7301.29	-9.35
		-0.13%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.092		2.113
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.433		2.455
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.2180		2.2570
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7599		2.7886

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.80822	0.81084
US $	1.23729	1.23329
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.46576	0.68224
US $	1.18465	0.84413

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1293.30	1294.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	51.92	50.31

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks extended their latest advance, propelled by rising oil prices that pushed energy shares to their highest in more than three months.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 62 points or 0.4 percent to 15,516.23, its highest close since May. The benchmark has now gained for seven of the last eight days.
     The energy sector, which accounts for one-fifth of the Canadian index, rose 1.5 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude prices jumped 3.1 percent, the most since April, as Turkey threatened to shut down Kurdish oil shipments through its territory. Ensign Energy Services Inc. gained 7.6 percent and Crew Energy Inc. added 5.9 percent.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* B2Gold Corp. jumped 8.9 percent after being upgraded at Eight Capital and National Bank
* Cascades Inc. lost 7.8 percent. The company was downgraded at CIBC
* Bombardier Inc. fell 4 percent. Germany’s Siemens AG is exploring a rail-equipment deal with Alstom SA after months of talks with Bombardier
                        Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.30 discount to WTI, the narrowest gap in more than two weeks
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.06 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 1.1 percent to $1,307.10 an ounce, the biggest gain this month
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.3 percent to C$1.2379 per U.S. dollar, the lowest in three weeks
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 2.09 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell as selling in large-cap technology shares intensified, while Treasuries advanced with gold after North Korea ratcheted up tensions with America.
     The Nasdaq 100 Index posted its steepest loss in five weeks, with the FANG cohort of megacaps leading declines. Small- cap shares fared better as investors continued to rotate into the year’s laggards. Haven assets advanced after North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho described President Donald Trump’s recent comments as tantamount to a declaration of war.
     “Without a doubt, North Korea is hovering over the market, but it sort of zigs and zags onto the scene,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial Inc. “What you are seeing is those tech names pulling back. The fact is that right now, you have a fully valued market and little catalysts at this point to push the market higher. ”
     Ri, speaking in New York Monday, also declared that North Korea can shoot down U.S. warplanes as part of its right to self-defense under the United Nations charter, adding to weeks of rhetoric that has intermittently rattled financial markets. U.S. markets also kept an eye on the latest domestic political developments, with the most recent effort to overhaul the health-care system on life support and a Republican tax proposal still lacking details.
     Elections dominated trading overseas. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed, and the euro weakened after Chancellor Angela Merkel won Germany’s election, while the country’s main far- right party had a surprisingly strong result. The process of building a new government could take weeks, so markets may well move on from the result quickly.
     “Investors were expecting a victory for Angela Merkel, but there has been a surprise in the relatively poor performance of the CDU and SPD, who suffered their worst results since 1949,” Nick Peters, multi asset portfolio manager at Fidelity International, wrote in a note.
     The yen stayed weaker as Japan’s prime minister unveiled a fresh stimulus package and said he’ll dissolve the lower house of parliament ahead of a general election. Most government bonds advanced.
     What to watch out for this week:
* Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks in Cleveland on Tuesday. Later in the week, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaks, as does soon-to-depart Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer.
* European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and U.K. counterpart David Davis begin their next round of negotiations.
* Household spending last month in the U.S. probably posted the smallest gain since February as motor-vehicle sales shifted into a lower gear, economists forecast government figures to show.
* The euro-area inflation rate may have accelerated a touch to 1.6 percent in September from 1.5 percent but the core will probably remain at 1.2 percent on Friday.

      Here are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,496.66, the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.9 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.2 percent and the Russell 2000 gained less than 0.1 percent after rising to a record high earlier in the session.
* Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.2 percent to the highest since July.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index declined 0.4 percent to the lowest in two weeks.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.4 percent to the highest in more than three weeks.
* The euro dipped 0.9 percent to $1.1847, the weakest in a month.
* The British pound slipped 0.3 percent to $1.3466.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dropped three basis points to 2.2198 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 0.399 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 1.334 percent.
                           Commodities
* Gold jumped 1 percent to $1,310.25 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3 percent to $52.18 a barrel, the highest since April.
                            Asia
* Japan’s Topix index advanced 0.5 percent at the close in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index ended virtually unchanged and South Korea’s Kospi index slid 0.4 percent.
* The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 1.4 percent with Chinese property developers slumping after several cities on the mainland tightened rules on home sales.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2 percent to 112.22 per dollar.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Though they may take various roads, all are on the way.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Tact is after all a kind of mind reading.
   -Sarah Orne Jewett, 1849-1909

 

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: HAPPY FRIDAY!
Happy Rosh Hoshana to all my Jewish friends – thus begins the year 5778. 

MORE ECLIPSE:
A NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center G-lll aircraft was over Oregon’s coast during the eclipse on August 21st and captured a video of the moon’s umbra.  Check it out at http://bit.ly/moonumbra.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An intrepid goat took a peek at a brave photographer as both of them balanced on a precarious cliff edge – 650ft above the ground. Researcher and photographer Stefano Marsi, 54, scaled the Jof di Montasio in the Italian Alps with his sister in order to track down Alpine ibexes. The duo were thrilled when their tough climb was rewarded and Mr. Marsi was able to get within a metre of the creature, which is a skilled climber due to split hooves that can act as pincers and capable of living 10,000ft above sea level Mr. Marsi walked for an hour and a half to find the animal, in a location he knew they frequented. CREDIT: STEFANO MARSI/SOLENT NEWS.

People view horsemen from the Lincoln Knights Trail at Lincoln Castle, UK. The 36 sculptures celebrate the 800TH anniversary of the Battle of Lincoln and the sealing of the Charter of the Forest. CREDIT: JOE GIDDENS/ PA WIREIMAGE TITLE.

Celebrated ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev, will be commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque on the building he considered his London home. Two students from the Royal School of Ballet as they pose in front of the newly unveiled plaque. The male dancer will be wearing a costume from Rudolf Nureyev’s production of Don Quixote (1979 for The Zurich Ballet; revised 1983 USA Tour, Nureyev with The Zurich Ballet.  CREDIT: EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH.

An unusual and rare triple rainbow appears over Loughros Point on Ireland’s ‘Wild Atlandtic Way’, Ardara, County Donegal, Ireland. CREDIT: RICHARD WAYMAN/ALAMY LIVE NEWS.
Market Closes for September 22^nd, 2017 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	22349.59	-9.64    -0.04%
S&P 500	2503.25	+2.65   +0.11%
NASDAQ	6426.922	+4.229   +0.07%
TSX	15458.09	+3.17
		+0.02%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	20296.45	-51.03
		-0.25%
HANG SENG	27880.53	-229.80
		-0.82%
SENSEX	31922.44	-447.60
		-1.38%
FTSE 100*	7310.64	+46.74
		+0.64%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		2.113		2.120
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.455		2.460
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.2570		2.2765
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.7886		2.8042

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.81084	0.81123
US $	1.23329	1.23269
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.47321	0.67879
US $	1.19458	0.83711

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1294.80	1292.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future	50.31	50.20

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$180 billion
U.S. officials are considering whether to remove federal oversight of insurer American International Group Inc., according to The Wall Street Journal. The company was at the center of the global markets meltdown in 2008 and was effectively nationalized through a government bailout that topped $180 billion.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks posted their biggest weekly gain in 10 months as energy shares broke out of their months- long doldrums.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped less than one point Friday to close at 15,454.23. The weekly gain of 1.9 percent was the biggest since November 2016 and saw the benchmark move back into positive territory for the year after months in the red.
     Materials stocks were the biggest gainers Friday, adding 0.7 percent as gold and copper prices rose. Pretium Resources gained 7.5 percent and Novagold Resources Inc. added 5.4 percent. Energy shares slipped 0.5 percent, reducing their gain for the week to 2.6 percent.
     In other moves: 

                             Stocks
* BRP Inc. jumped 8.9 percent after the Ski-Doo maker was upgraded to buy at UBS
* Bombardier Inc. lost 5.9 percent. Alstom SA said it’s in talks with Siemens AG about a possible merger, potentially leaving Bombardier exposed to Chinese competition
* Hudson’s Bay Co. added 2 percent after CNBC reported that Chairman Richard Baker is trying to take the retailer private
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.55 discount to WTI, 5 cents wider than Thursday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.98 discount to Henry Hub, 7.5 percent narrower than Thursday
* Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,293.30 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2332 per U.S.
dollar after August inflation missed estimates
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.11 percent.
US
By Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks vacillated Friday before ending little changed and Treasuries gained with gold, as investors reached for safe haven assets after North Korea ratcheted up its threats against the U.S. 
     The S&P 500 Index, churning in one of the tightest ranges in its history, rose slightly, continuing an eight-day stretch without a move of more than 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted downward, while the Nasdaq Composite Index posted a marginal gain.
     The dollar fell after North Korea’s leader promised retaliation. The pound weakened following U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on Brexit. The euro gained on strong economic data before Germany votes Sunday. Crude maintained its rally above $50 a barrel as OPEC members gathered in Vienna.
     Central bank policy vied with continued geopolitical tension for investor attention this week. The latter won out Friday after North Korea’s foreign minister suggested the country could test a hydrogen bomb, sparking haven demand. The dollar slid, erasing a rally sparked by the Federal Reserve’s signal that it intends to wind down its balance sheet and raise interest rates.
     Meanwhile, purchasing managers indexes from German and French manufacturers and a composite euro-zone private-sector activity gauge provided support for European policy makers as they consider scaling back stimulus. Germany goes to the polls on Sunday, with Chancellor Angela Merkel expected to secure a fourth term, although she may not win an outright majority.
          What to watch out as the week comes to an end:
* The U.K. will pay into the EU until 2020, Prime Minister Theresa May said in a speech in Florence.
* Angela Merkel is poised to win a fourth term as German Chancellor on Sunday, but may not get an overall majority with her existing partners.
* OPEC met in Vienna amid mixed signals on whether they’ll consider deeper or longer cuts.
* New Zealand heads to the polls on Saturday.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 closed up less than 0.1 percent, finishing the week with a 0.1 percent gain.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.1 percent to the highest in two months.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index increased 0.6 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.1 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2 percent, the biggest drop in a week. 
* The euro gained less than 0.1 percent to $1.1944. 
* The British pound declined 0.4 percent to $1.3524. 
* The Japanese yen advanced 0.4 percent to 112.09 per dollar, the first gain in more than a week.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 2.261 percent, the first retreat in more than a week. 
* Germany’s 10-year yield slid less than one basis point to 0.445 percent. 
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 1.355 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2 percent to $50.63 a barrel. 
* Gold increased 0.5 percent to $1,297.17 an ounce. 
* Copper added 0.4 percent to $2.9265 a pound.
                              Asia
* Japan’s Topix index fell 0.3 percent at the close in Tokyo and South Korea’s Kospi index slid 0.7 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.5 percent.
* Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.8 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.2 percent.
* Taiwan’s Taiex index fell 1.2 percent, the biggest slide in Asia.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.2 percent.

Have a wonderful  weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

Our contribution
to the progress of the world must, therefore,
consist in setting our own house in order.
Mahatma Gandhi 

Carolann

 

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
–William Arthur Ward, 1921-1994

 

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