Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Passover begins at sundown today – commemorating the deliverance of the Israelites – their escape from slavery and exodus from Egypt –  when the angel of death, which slew the first born of the Egyptians, passed over their houses and spared all who did as Moses commanded them.  It begins with the meal of the Paschal lamb, but  refraining  from eating leavened foodstuffs lasts for seven days.
1849: safety pin patented.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

Nazi concentration camp survivors Petro Fedorowitsch Mischuk of Ukraine (l.) and Pierre Berg of France chat during the commemoration ceremonies for the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of Mittelbau-Dora camp near Nordhausen, central Germany, on Monday. Jens Meyer/AP

Cherry trees are in full bloom on a sunny morning in Frankfurt, Germany, early Monday. Michael Probst/AP

A man fishes off rocks at dusk as the moon rises in Koh Samui, Thailand, on Monday. Toby Melville/Reuters
Market Closes for April 10^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20658.02	+1.92   +0.01%
S&P 500	2357.16	+1.62   +0.07%
NASDAQ	5880.926	+3.114   +0.05%
TSX	15730.79	+63.66
		+0.41%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18797.88	+133.25
		+0.71%
HANG SENG	24262.18	-5.12
		-0.02%
SENSEX	29575.74	-130.87
		-0.44%
FTSE 100*	7348.94	-0.43
		-0.01%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.601		1.596
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.264		2.260
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3625		2.3822
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9888		3.0078

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75027	0.74707
US $	1.33286	1.33857
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41228	0.70807
US $	1.05959	0.94376

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1250.05	1266.45
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	53.08	52.24

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks continued their upwards march on the back of strong crude prices as oil futures rose for a fifth consecutive day.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 64 points or 0.4 percent to close at 15,730.79. The benchmark only needs to rise another 1.2 percent from its current level to reach the all-time high it hit on Feb. 21.
     The energy index rose 1.1 percent as West Texas Intermediate futures gained 1.6 percent to $53.08, their highest level since March 7. The upcoming summer driving season is expected to help ease the U.S. supply glut, and prices got another boost Monday from reports that Libya’s biggest oil field is suffering another outage.
     In other moves:
* Canopy Growth Corp. jumped 6.6 percent on news that Canada is set to detail its plans for legalized recreational marijuana as early as this week
* Barrick Gold Corp. rose 1.4 percent. Argentinian authorities threatened to rescind the license for the Veladero mine on the same day the company agreed to sell half the asset to a Chinese company
* Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. fell 5.4 percent after Keybanc downgraded the stock to sector weight from overweight
* Fiera Capital Corp. added 4.8 percent following an announcement that its infrastructure division will buy a stake in a portfolio of eight U.S. solar- and wind-power projects.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — Treasuries rose and stocks were little changed with investors erring on the side of caution as geopolitical concerns build in Asia and the Middle East. Oil posted its longest run of gains this year and the dollar weakened for the first time in three trading sessions.
     For the sixth time in seven days, the S&P 500 ran into trouble after crossing above its 21-day moving average. The chart level, roughly the index’s mean altitude over the last month, current sits at 2,360.7. The S&P 500 went as high as 2,366.37 before dropping back to finish little changed. The price swings sent the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX — the market’s standard fear gauge — to the highest level this year.
     Energy shares were one of the few bright spots in the S&P 500 as Libya’s biggest oil field suffered another outage while Russia signaled it’s weighing an extension of OPEC-led production cuts. French bonds fell, widening the yield spread over Germany to the highest since February after polls showed the country’s presidential election is becoming a four-way contest. European stocks traded mostly sideways as equities in France gave up ground.
     Oil rose for a fifth day after advancing 3.2 percent last week following a U.S. military strike on Syria. In Russia, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday his ministry had been in talks with oil companies regarding the need to prolong the six-month deal with OPEC. The U.S.’s decision to divert an aircraft carrier to North Asia sparked a selloff in South Korea assets and renewed concern of Chinese involvement in any regional conflict.
     While demand for haven assets has eased as financial markets attempt to shrug off Friday’s disappointing U.S. employment figures, a ratcheting up of geopolitical tensions and Europe’s looming test of populism curtailed optimism. Corporate results may provide the next fresh catalyst — they’ll accelerate this week with earnings due from the likes of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Tesco Plc and Prada SpA.
     “Geopolitics trumps economics as the main market driver, with strained U.S.-Russian relations and the dispatch of a U.S. aircraft carrier towards the Korean peninsula making the headlines,” Kit Juckes, a global strategist at Societe Generale, wrote in a note. “This week, it will be geopolitics and events outside the U.S. which drive markets.”
     What investors will be watching this week:
* Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile and South Korea are among countries setting interest rates.
* U.S. bank earnings also begin with Citigroup, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo early Thursday.
* U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, and is expected to press the Kremlin about chemical weapons in Syria.
* Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will participate in a Q&A at a meeting of the Minnesota Business Partnership on Tuesday.
* The U.K. economy is in focus. Inflation probably slowed in March, tomorrow’s report may show, though the headline rate should pick up in coming months. Employment figures are likely to have remained steady on Wednesday, while wage growth slowed.

     Here are the main moves in markets:
     Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent at 1,229.06 as of 4:09 p.m. in New York, after advancing 0.3 percent on Friday. The pound gained 0.4 percent versus the greenback.

     Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.07 percent to 2,357.16. The underlying gauge lost 0.3 percent last week.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index finished little changed. France’s CAC 40 Index dropped 0.5 percent

     Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell 2 basis points to 2.36 percent, after climbing four basis points on Friday.
* France’s 10-year yield rose four basis points to 0.93 percent.
That compared to the bund benchmark yield at 0.21 percent, little changed from the previous session.

     Commodities
* Gold was little changed at $1,254.18 per ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6 percent to $53.08 a barrel, after climbing more than 1 percent in each of the previous two sessions.

     Asia
* Equities in Tokyo and Sydney climbed with traders in the Asia Pacific region taking their first chance to react to worse-than- forecast U.S. hiring data.
* The Kospi slipped the most in more than five weeks and the won was one of the biggest losers among major currencies as geopolitical concerns lingered in South Korea.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Man lives in confusion and fear until he discovers the uniformity of the law in nature;
until then the world is a stranger to him.
And yet, the law discovered is only the perception of the harmony between reason,
which is the soul of man, and the play of nature.
It is the bond that unites man to the world he lives in.
When he discovers it, man feels an intense joy, because he realizes himself in his environment.
To understand this is to find something to which we belong,
and it is the discovery of ourselves that gives us joy.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,
 

Carolann

 

Character is power.
-Booker T. Washington, 1856-1915

 

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:

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

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

People looks at an installation called ‘Strata,’ by Salviati’s furniture designers, that is part of the Design Fair exhibition in Milan, Italy, on Thursday. Antonio Calanni/AP

Kites fly during the 31st International Kite Festival in Berck, northern France, on Thursday. The festival is held every April. Thibault Camus/AP
Market Closes for April 6^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20662.95	+14.80   +0.07%
S&P 500	2357.49	+4.54   +0.19%
NASDAQ	5878.949	+14.472   +0.25%
TSX	15697.18	+54.19
		+0.35%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18597.06	-264.21
		-1.40%
HANG SENG	24273.72	-127.08
		-0.52%
SENSEX	29927.34	-46.90
		-0.16%
FTSE 100*	7303.20	-28.48
		-0.39%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.550		1.558
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.229		2.241
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3408		2.3372
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9864		2.9872

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74543	0.74417
US $	1.34151	1.34378
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42770	0.70043
US $	1.06425	0.93963

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1252.50	1245.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.70	51.15

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced as crude prices rose to their highest level in a month and U.S. jobless claims came in better than expectations, raising optimism about the health of the world’s biggest economy.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 54 points or 0.4 percent to close at 15,697.18, its highest level in six weeks. Energy shares rose 0.8 percent as the price of West Texas Intermediate Crude rose 1.1 percent to $51.70.
     The health-care index gained 0.9 percent as medical marijuana producer Canopy Growth Corp. added 2.7 percent. The Canadian government confirmed Wednesday that it’s targeting July 1, 2018 to legalize pot.
     In other moves:
* Raging River Exploration Inc. fell 6.2 percent after the company said it ended its engagement with GMP FirstEnergy, which it had hired to explore a potential sale
* Barrick Gold Corp. fell 0.5 percent. Goldman Sachs and BMO said its deal to sell half of its Veladero mine in Argentina to Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd. should be positive for the company’s shares
* Corus Entertainment Inc. lost 2.1 percent following the release of second-quarter profit and revenue that missed expectations
* Detour Gold Corp., Tahoe Resources Inc. and OceanaGold Corp. all gained more than 3 percent as the price of gold added 0.4 percent
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced as investors weighed weekly jobless claims that were better than expectations and assessed the Trump administration’s plans for health care and tax reform.
     The S&P 500 added 0.2 percent 2,357.49 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark fell on Wednesday with banks and energy companies tumbling in the last 90 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 15 points to 20,662.95.
* Energy shares lead market, up 0.8%, as crude oil advanced for 7th time in 8 sessions
* Financials up 0.8% for first gain in a week
* Utility and phone shares down the most as 10-year Treasuries were little changed on day
* Volume 9.9% below YTD average
* VIX down to 12.4; volatility gauge hasn’t risen above 15 for 101 days, the longest stretch since 2007, according to Bloomberg data
* Trump set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida
* In a private meeting with lawmakers, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said he supports a policy that could radically reshape Wall Street’s biggest firms by separating their consumer-lending businesses from their investment banks
* At the same time, the Fed comments Wednesday on shrinking the central bank’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet signaled the prospect of a drop in global liquidity; minutes also showed policy makers had not significantly changed their economic assessment from the prior meeting
* ECONOMY:
** Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Index climbed for the fifth time in the last six weeks, resulting in the strongest quarterly sentiment since 2007
** Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits slumped by 25,000 to 234,000; declined to a five-week low
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** Next earnings on April 12: Fastenal (FAST), Perrigo (PRGO)
* Europe Market
** The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2% after losing as much as 0.8% earlier in the day

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise”. Frank Ocean

 

As ever,

 

Karen 

 

“A ship is always safe at shore, but that is not what it is built for”. Albert Einstein

 

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:

A poem for Spring

Why Did My Plant Die?
      -by Geoffrey B. Charlesworth
You walked too close. You trod on it.
You dropped a piece of sod on it.
You hoed it down. You weeded it.
You planted it the wrong way up.
You grew it in a yogurt cup
But you forgot to make a hole;
The soggy compost took its toll.
September storm. November drought.
It heaved in March, the roots popped out.
You watered it with herbicide.
You scattered bonemeal far and wide.
Attracting local omnivores,
Who ate your plant and stayed for more.
You left it baking in the sun
While you departed at a run
To find a spade, perhaps a trowel,
Meanwhile the plant threw in the towel.
You planted it with crown too high;
The soil washed off, that explains why.
Too high pH. It hated lime.
Alas it needs a gentler clime.
You left the root ball wrapped in plastic.
You broke the roots. They’re not elastic.
You walked too close. You trod on it.
You dropped a piece of sod on it.
You splashed the plant with mower oil.
You should do something to your soil.
Too rich. Too poor. Such wretched tilth.
Your soil is clay. Your soil is filth.
Your plant was eaten by a slug.
The growing point contained a bug.
These aphids are controlled by ants,
Who milk the juice, it kills the plants.
In early spring your garden’s mud.
You walked around! That’s not much good.
With heat and light you hurried it.
You worried it. You buried it.
The poor plant missed the mountain air:
No heat, no summer muggs up there.
You overfed it 10-10-10.
Forgot to water it again.
You hit it sharply with the hose.
You used a can without a rose.
Perhaps you sprinkled from above.
You should have talked to it with love.
The nursery mailed it without roots.
You killed it with those gardening boots.
You walked too close. You trod on it.
You dropped a piece of sod on it.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

People view the new ‘Musical City’ cultural center on the Island of Sequin in Boulogne-Blillancourt, outside Paris, on Wednesday. The center on the Seine river, designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and French architect Jean de Gastines, will open on April 22. Michel Euler/AP

People gather at Trocadero plaza as the lights of the Eiffel Tower fall dark at midnight in Paris on Wednesday. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo says the Eiffel Tower will fall dark overnight to honor the victims of the St. Petersburg subway bombing. Michel Euler/AP

A man presents a self-made robot, that is able to carry a person, in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, China, on Wednesday. China Daily/Reuters
Market Closes for April 5^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20648.15	-41.09   -0.20%
S&P 500	2352.95	-7.21   -0.31%
NASDAQ	5864.477	-34.131   -0.58%
TSX	15642.99	-26.08
		-0.17%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18861.27	+51.02
		+0.27%
HANG SENG	24400.80	+139.32
		+0.57%
SENSEX	29974.24	+64.02
		+0.21%
FTSE 100*	7331.68	+9.86
		+0.13%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.558		1.583
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.241		2.263
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3372		2.3623
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9872		3.0007

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74417	0.74612
US $	1.34378	1.34026
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43312	0.69778
US $	1.06649	0.93766

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1245.80	1257.65
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.15	51.03

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$79.1 billion
Pimco’s Income Fund had $79.1 billion in assets under management as of March 31, surpassing TCW Group’s Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Fund as the biggest actively managed bond fund.
Canada
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell as gains sparked by a bullish U.S. payrolls report failed to persist amid a drop in oil prices and the latest Federal Reserve minutes.
     The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent to 15,642.99 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, reversing an increase of as much as 0.6 percent. The benchmark measure has advanced in all but two days since March 21, rebounding from its 2017 low, as crude prices climbed above $50 a barrel.
     Stocks opened higher after a private report showed American companies added workers to payrolls in March at the fastest pace since December 2014. The index started coming off those levels as oil fell amid government data that U.S. stockpiles unexpectedly climbed to a record last week. The retreat picked up momentum as Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed officials continue to see gradual rate hikes, with some seeing equity prices as “quite high.”
In other movers:
     Hudson’s Bay Co. surged 7.7 percent. The company said on a conference call that it intends to sell its real estate in an initial public offering.
     Raging River Exploration Inc. rose 3.9 percent. The oil and gas exploration company has hired GMP FirstEnergy to explore a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
     Telus Corp. rose 1.2 percent to a record close. The phone service provider was raised to outperform from neutral by CIBC World Markets analyst Robert Bek.
     Imperial Oil Ltd. fell 1.6 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Neil Mehta downgraded it to sell from neutral.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks tumbled in the last 90 minutes of trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average giving up a 198- point gain as traders assessed the path for interest rates and weighed the likelihood of tax reform by the Trump administration.
     The S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent to 2,352.95 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark was little changed on Tuesday, with volatility dropping for the first time in four sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% to 20,648.15.
* Banks and energy companies paced the late-session swoon, with the S&P 500 Financial Index going from up more than 1% at around 10 a.m. in New York to down 0.7% by the close
* Utility and real-estate firms only groups higher as 10-year Yield drops 3 basis points after Federal Reserve minutes released
* House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a Q&A event that tax reform could take longer than health care overhaul, according to Reuters
* Volume in SPY jumped to highest of day between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. to almost three times the average during that period
** Total shares traded: 7.5 billion, most in more than two weeks
* Potential that Fed will halt reinvestments sooner than expected, as well as continued discord in Washington, weighing on investors, says Jonestrading global strategist Yousef Abbasi
* China’s President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled to meet today
* “The U.S. market looking expensive compared to its global peers,” Citigroup Inc.’s chief U.S. equity strategist Tobias Levkovich wrote in a report to clients. Still, valuations “look more reasonable compared to bond yields. While a strong U.S. dollar may prove a drag on profits, easing credit conditions bode well for future economic growth, he says
** S&P 500 has traded above 17.6 times its estimated earnings in April, near a 15-year high, while the ratio stands at about 16 times for the MSCI ACWI Index
* Bloomberg Intelligence Equity Strategists Gina Martin Adams and Peter Chung mirror Levkovich’s view, saying that stocks are becoming expensive relative to historical valuations, but they remain cheaper than bonds based on earnings and interest rates
* ECONOMY
** Most Federal Reserve officials said they backed a policy change that would begin shrinking the central bank’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet
** Private payrolls climbed by 263,000 (forecast was 185,000) on solid gains in construction and manufacturing and at small businesses
** American service companies expanded in March at the slowest pace in five months; ISM’S non-manufacturing index eased to 55.2 (forecast was 57)
* EARNINGS (S&P 500)
** After-market Wednesday: Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY)
** Pre-market Thursday: Constellation Brands (STZ), CarMax (KMX)
* Europe Market
** Stoxx Europe 600 inched higher for second gain this week as oil companies and basic resource suppliers climbed, offsetting a 1% decline in carmakers

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The main purpose of life is to live rightly, think rightly, act rightly.
The soul must languish when we give all our thought to the body.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Spring makes its statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems
to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.
                                     -Geoffrey B. Charlesworth, 1920-2008

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 April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn.
Go to article »

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY

Tibetan devotees greet their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as he arrives at the Thubchok Gatsel Ling Monastery in Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh, India on Tuesday. India said Tuesday that China should not interfere in its internal affairs, as the Dalai Lama began a weeklong visit to India’s remote northeast that Beijing has protested. Tenzin Choejor/AP

A man carries his pet cat as he walk under the cherry blossoms at Tongji University in Shanghai, China on Tuesday. Aly Song/Reuters
Market Closes for April 4^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20689.24	+39.03   +0.19%
S&P 500	2360.16	+1.32   +0.06%
NASDAQ	5898.609	+3.927   +0.07%
TSX	15669.07	+84.67
		+0.54%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18810.25	-172.98
		-0.91%
HANG SENG	24261.48	+149.89
		+0.62%
SENSEX	29910.22	+289.72
		+0.98%
FTSE 100*	7321.82	+39.13
		+0.54%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.583		1.579
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.263		2.261
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3623		2.3336
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0007		2.9698

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74612	0.74721
US $	1.34026	1.33831
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43058	0.69901
US $	1.06739	0.93686

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1257.65	1247.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	51.03	50.24

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, U.S. stocks experience one of their wildest days on record. The Dow drops 503.53 points, 4.5%, and Nasdaq tumbles 574.57, or 13.6%, by midday. Both indexes rebound in the afternoon to close off 57.09 and 74.79, respectively.
Number of the Day
15%
About 15% of the tech companies that went public in the U.S. between 2012 and 2016, including Facebook, Fitbit and Twilio, did so with at least two classes of stock, up from 8% between 2007 and 2011, according to data compiled by University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed higher on a broad- based rally in commodities that boosted most sectors, offsetting news of an unexpected trade deficit.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 85 points or 0.5 percent to 15,669.07. Energy stocks rose 1.2 percent and materials stocks gained 0.9 percent as oil, gold and copper all moved higher. West Texas Intermediate futures added 1.6 percent to a four-week high.
     The commodity rally helped offset data from Statistics Canada that showed a February trade deficit of C$972 million, bucking analyst expectations for a surplus of C$600 million.
     In other moves:
* Auto suppliers lost ground following weaker-than-expected U.S. auto sales numbers Monday. Linamar Corp. fell 3.7 percent, Magna International Inc. lost 3 percent and Martinrea International Inc. fell 2.5 percent
* Hudson’s Bay Co. lost 2.4 percent following Monday’s 8.1 percent decline. The retailer is scheduled to report earnings after the bell
* BlackBerry Ltd. added 3.6 percent on ongoing buying activity following a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter
* Cenovus Energy Inc. fell 0.6 percent. The company is selling $2.9 billion worth of bonds to help fund its C$17.7 billion purchase of oil-sands assets from ConocoPhillips.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities were little changed Tuesday as investors weighed economic data and the likelihood of fiscal stimulus from the Trump administration. Energy shares rallied with oil.
     The S&P 500 added less than 0.1 percent to 2,360.16 by 4 p.m. The benchmark dropped Monday, the first day of the second quarter, with falling bond yields weighing on banks, while automakers slid as fading monthly sales offered a warning that the market may have become saturated. The Dow Jones Industrial average added 39 points to 20,689.
* Energy shares lead market, up 0.7% with crude oil 1.6% higher
* Consumer discretionary shares lost 0.1% for second down day
** Short-sellers are most bearish on consumer discretionary space, with a median 2.6% short interest in those companies, according to Markit data compiled by Bloomberg
* VIX down for first time in four sessions to 11.8
* Volume 10% below YTD average
* The S&P 500 last week capped its best quarter since 2015, with a 5.5% gain; the benchmark has jumped about 10% since U.S. election, supported by expectations Trump would deliver on promises including lower taxes and increased fiscal spending
* ECONOMY
** U.S. factory orders for Jan. revised up to 1.5%; forecast range for Feb is +0.5% to 1.3%
** Capital goods non-defense ex aircraft new orders for Feb. fall 0.1% after rising 0.2% in Jan.
** Durables orders for Feb. rise 1.8% after rising 2.4% in Jan.
** The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in February to a four-month low
** Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker resigned on Tuesday as he disclosed his role in the leak of confidential information about the policy options that the Fed was considering in 2012
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** Pre-market Wednesday: Monsanto (MON), Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)
* Europe Market
** Stoxx Europe 600 Index up 0.2% to 380.03

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Chitragupta, who is supposed to be writing out our deeds in an account book
is no other than the conscious and unconscious parts of our mind.
The Lord of Law, to whom we have to render the account,
is the Soul within us.
Gopal Singh

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.
                               -Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012

 

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:

April is the month of golden Aphrodite, modest, gentle goddess of love and beauty.   It is popularly thought to derive from the Latin aperire “to open”, but it is more likely from the Etruscan apru.  It is the month when trees unfold and the earth opens with new life.  By mid-month, warblers, vireos and flycatchers that have spent the winter in Mexico and Central America are arriving in full force on the west coast.  Look above and you will see the beautiful aerial courtship dances of many birds especially hawks…

On this day in…
1948, President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion in aid for 16 European countries.
Go to article »
1934, Jane Goodall was born.
1924, Marlon Brando was born.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Drops of water cover a spider’s web at the Chateau La Louviere in Leognan, France, on Monday. Regis Duvignau/Reuters

People walk through the entrance of the ‘Giro Giro Tondo design for children’ exhibition at the Triennale museum in Milan, Italy, on Monday. Milan Design week is taking place in various locations across the city from April 4-9. Antonio Calanni/AP
Market Closes for April 3^rd, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20650.21	-13.01     -0.06%
S&P 500	2359.11	-3.61   -0.15%
NASDAQ	5894.684	-17.054     -0.29%
TSX	15575.55	+27.80
		+0.18%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18983.23	+73.97
		+0.39%
HANG SENG	24261.48	+149.89
		+0.62%
SENSEX	29910.22	+289.72
		+0.98%
FTSE 100*	7282.69	-40.23
		-0.55%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.579		1.627
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.261		2.305
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3336		2.3892
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9698		3.0126

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74721	0.75087
US $	1.33831	1.33180
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42780	0.70038
US $	1.06687	0.93732

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1247.25	1244.85
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.24	50.60

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, Microsoft’s stock plunges 14.5%, shedding $80 billion in market value, after U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issues a final ruling finding that Microsoft had violated Federal antitrust law. The slide in Microsoft’s shares causes the Nasdaq to suffer one of its worst days ever, plunging 349.15 points, or 7.6%.
Numbers of the Day
$413.1 billion:

The amount of debt issued by high-grade companies in the first quarter, the most in a quarter on record, according to Dealogic.
$52.6 billion:

The value of dollar bonds issued in the first quarter by Chinese companies, up 72% from the previous quarter and nearly five times the year-earlier total.

Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed slightly higher, diverging from oil prices late in the day as gains in materials offset declines in energy stocks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 37 points or 0.2 percent to 15,584.40. Materials shares rose 1.7 percent, led by a 5.5 percent gain at Teck Resources Ltd., which was boosted by a big gain in the price of coking coal.
     Energy shares dipped 0.2 percent as the price of West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7 percent to $50.26. Production resumed at Libya’s biggest oil field, offsetting optimism that OPEC will extend its production cuts.
     In other moves:
* Hudson’s Bay Co. fell 8 percent, its biggest decline since January 10, on heavy volume. The company reports fourth-quarter earnings after the market close on Tuesday
* Magna International Inc. lost 2.2 percent as several major automakers reported bigger March sales declines than analysts had expected.
US
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell on the first day of the second quarter, with falling bond yields and crude prices weighing on banks and energy companies. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. slipped after the automakers reported fewer U.S. vehicle sales in March than analysts had projected.
     The S&P 500 Index retreated 0.2 percent to 2,358.84 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring losses after the measure approached the 50-day average of 2,341, a level seen by some analysts as providing support. The benchmark measure last week capped its biggest increase in six weeks, taking its first quarter gain to 5.5 percent, the most since 2015. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 percent to 20,650.21 on Monday.
* Small-cap stocks resumed their underperformance this year, with the Russell 2000 Index erasing 1.2 percent and halting a seven-day advance
* The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3 percent, after touching an intraday record high
* The S&P 500 Automobiles & Components Index sank 2.3 percent to the lowest close since December
* The S&P 500 has jumped 14 percent from before the U.S. election, as corporate earnings rebounded and investors speculated U.S. President Donald Trump would deliver on his promises including lower taxes and higher fiscal spending
* “While political developments in Washington and around the world are likely to garner the most attention across media headlines in the months ahead, we expect investors will focus their attention on earnings results, economic data and signals from Federal Reserve officials,” John Stoltzfus, chief market strategist at Oppenheimer & Co., wrote in a note.
* First quarter profit in the S&P 500 probably grew 9.7 percent, led by technology and financial companies, analyst estimates show. The gain would solidify the earnings recovery that started in the second half of 2016 after a five-quarter contraction.
* Tesla Inc. rose 7.3 percent after setting a record for deliveries and production in the first quarter, beating analysts’ estimates.
* Earnings reports from Monsanto Co. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. are due this week, followed by releases from banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. next week.
* ECONOMY:
** America’s factories continued to expand in March at a robust pace, with the latest Institute for Supply Management data matching economist forecasts. Yet higher-than-expected readings on employment and prices paid suggest inflation pressure.
** Investors will also watch a meeting between China’s President Xi Jinping and President Trump this week, and the March U.S. jobs report Friday.
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** None until April 4
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.5 percent for its first decline in five days after the market posted longest run of quarterly gains since 2014 and investors last week added the most money to European equity funds in a year. Banks declined the most, followed by carmakers and insurers.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The human voice can never reach the distance
that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.
                                                -Albert Camus, 1913-1960

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:

March 31^st: 1889: Eiffel Tower opens.

POEM # 63
   -e.e. cummings

…come quickly come
run run
with me now
jump shout (laugh
dance cry
sing) for it’s Spring…

Earth’s crammed with heaven. –Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Canada’s Keean White, riding For Freedom Z, competes in the FEI World Cup equestrian jumping speed class in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday.Nati Harnik/AP

New York Mets infielder Jose Reyes talks with members of the media in the clubhouse at CitiField on Friday in New York. The Mets open their season at home on Monday against the Atlanta Braves. Julie Jacobson/AP

A visitor to St. James’s Park takes a selfie while lying among daffodils in London on Friday. Peter Nicholls/Reuters
Market Closes for March 31^st, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20663.22	-65.27     -0.31%
S&P 500	2362.72	-5.34     -0.23%
NASDAQ	5911.738	-2.606     -0.04%
TSX	15547.75	-31.01
		-0.20%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18909.26	-153.96
		-0.81%
HANG SENG	24111.59	-189.50
		-0.78%
SENSEX	29620.50	-26.92
		-0.09%
FTSE 100*	7322.92	-46.60
		-0.63%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.627		1.628
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.305		2.322
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3892		2.4179
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0126		3.0310

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75087	0.74967
US $	1.33180	1.33392
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.41903	0.70471
US $	1.06550	0.93852

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1244.85	1248.80
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.60	50.35

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day:
$6.5 billion

The sum the U.S. government awarded AT&T, along with valuable airwaves, to start building a nationwide broadband network for first responders.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended an uninspired first quarter with a slight decline Friday but managed to eke out a fifth consecutive quarterly gain, the longest streak of advances since 2007.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 31 points or 0.2 percent to close out the quarter at 15,547.75, an increase of just 1.7 percent since the beginning of the year, placing it 21st out of 24 developed-world benchmarks.
     Financials were the biggest decliner, falling 0.6 percent. Energy shares added 0.2 percent as the price of oil rose 0.8 percent to $50.73.
     In other moves:
* The information technology index rose 0.6 percent as BlackBerry Ltd. jumped 14 percent. The company continued its transformation into a software provider, beating fourth-quarter earnings estimates and surpassing its software-revenue target for the full year
* Enercare Inc. rose 3.8 percent after rival Reliance Home Comfort was bought by Hong Kong’s richest man for C$2.82 billion.
US
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — Its last day may have been a washout, but the first quarter just took its place among the best of the lengthening bull run for U.S. stocks.
     Even with a 0.2 percent decline Friday, the S&P 500 Index surged 5.5 percent in the three months ended March 31, the biggest advance since shares jumped 6.5 percent at the end of 2015. More than 350 companies rose in the quarter as gains that began just before Election Day swelled to 14 percent.
     While equities have lost the momentum of February, when investors anticipating President Donald Trump growth programs pushed the S&P 500 higher for six straight weeks, March’s final five sessions still notched the best return since Valentine’s week. Energy producers led the advance, rallying 2.2 percent for the biggest increase since early December while consumer stocks, commodity companies tech shares each climbed more than 1 percent.
     March just missed becoming the fifth consecutive up month for equities, a span that encompasses the entirety of the Trump bump that has reinvigorated the rally that turned eight years old on March 9. Equities are jumping as corporate earnings bounce back and investors pour money into shares in anticipation of Trump promises including lower taxes and greater public spending.
     “Confidence returns not only to the stock market, but also to the economy,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “The carrot is still out there, with the carrot being tax reform and infrastructure spending. Till those things come to the forefront, it’s still buy the rumor.”
     Friday’s session reprised a pattern that has held for more than a month in which a week’s final hour saw exaggerated volatility, this time to the downside. The S&P 500 erased a gain in the session’s last 30 minutes. Banks and energy companies paced the retreat, offsetting gains in real-estate trusts and utilities that came as Treasury yields slipped. Also today:
* FMC Corp. rose 13 percent, the most in the S&P 500. The pesticide maker agreed to acquire DuPont Co.’s crop-protection assets and DuPont agreed to acquire FMC’s health and nutrition business.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 20,663.22, trimming its advance since January to 4.6 percent.
* Russell 2000 Index rose for a seventh day, the longest streak since November. It has now completed the retracement of all its losses from March 21, when concern began to build that President Donald Trump’s health-care bill might falter.
* Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed on Friday. Up 9.8 percent, the tech-heavy gauge posted the best quarter since 2013. Just a week ago, it looked as if the dormant CBOE Volatility Index was awakening. Fast-forward five days, and the gauge known as the VIX is closing in on its lowest quarterly average since the final months of 2006. The measure has lost 18 percent this year through Thursday as the S&P 500 Index climbed 5.8 percent.
* CBOE VIX Index rose 7.2 percent, trimming its weekly loss to 4.6 percent
* ECONOMY:
** U.S. consumer spending rose less than forecast in February even as wage growth improved, according to government data that also showed inflation reached the Federal Reserve’s goal for the first time in almost five years.
** Fed New York President William Dudley said the central bank’s median forecast for three rate hikes this year “is in a reasonable place” but the number could be a little bit more, or a little bit less, depending on how the economy performs.
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** None until April 4
* European stocks rose for a fourth day, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index adding 0.2 percent. The index rounded out its longest run of quarterly gains since 2014, rising 5.5 percent, as a chorus of strategists and investors say the reflation rally in Europe has more to go, boosted by those seeking sanctuary from lofty U.S. stock valuations.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

In Sanskrit, one calls the bird twice born.
And this name is also given to the man who submits for at least twelve years
to the discipline of mastering his self and the noble thought, who emerges from it with simple needs,
with a pure heart, and ready to take upon himself all the responsibilities of life
in a broad and disinterested spirit.  One estimates that this man is born again from the blind envelopment
of the ego to the freedom of the life of the soul,
that he has entered into a lively connection with his environment,
that he has become one with the Whole.
Rabindranath Tagore

 

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life
as by the obstacles which he has overcome.
           -Booker T. Washington, 1856-1915

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:

Birthday: Vincent Van Gogh, b. March 30, 1880.

Van Gogh’s first solo show opened in Paris on March 15^th, 1901.  He went to his grave in 1890 having sold only one of his roughly 900 paintings. His first-ever show occurred 11 years after his death when the influential Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris mounted an exhibition of 71 of the Dutch artist’s works.  During its two-week run, the show caused a sensation.  Among the painters who strolled through the gallery were Henri Matisse, Maurice de Vlaminck and Claude Monet (who was especially taken with an 1889 canvas, Field with Poppies).  It was van Gogh’s first big step on the road to becoming an art superstar.  One of the show’s paintings, Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, would later smash records when it sold in 1987 to a Japanese buyer for nearly $40 million US.  –Christopher Harris, Globe & Mail.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

George Lewys, 5, poses for a photograph with Owl butterflies during an event to launch the Sensational Butterflies exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London on Thursday. Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Sofia Lopez (r.) and Eve Chick, both 3 years old, meet Moominmamma (r.) and Moomintroll during a photo call for the Moomin Adventures at Kew Gardens Easter Festival at the Royal Botanic Gardens in London on Thursday. The festival will run from April 1-17. Moomins are fairytale characters taken from the books of Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Market Closes for March 30^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20728.49	+69.17   +0.33%
S&P 500	2367.64	+6.51   +0.28%
NASDAQ	5914.344	+16.797   +0.28%
TSX	15574.53	-83.10
		-0.53%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19063.22	-154.26
		-0.80%
HANG SENG	24301.09	-90.96
		-0.37%
SENSEX	29647.42	+115.99
		+0.39%
FTSE 100*	7369.52	-4.20
		-0.06%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.628		1.592
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.322		2.289
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4179		2.3801
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0310		2.9864

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74967	0.75034
US $	1.33392	1.33273
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.42463	0.70194
US $	1.06800	0.93633

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1248.80	1251.10
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	50.35	49.51

Market Commentary:
Numbers of the day:
$271 billion

The value of global withdrawn M&A in 2017, the second highest first-quarter total on record after 2007.
$582.2 billion

The amount investors borrowed against their brokerage accounts in February, a record high for margin debt and a fresh sign of bullishness among flummoxed investors trying to navigate the political and economic crosscurrents driving markets.

On this day in 1999, shares of Priceline.com soar 331% during their first day of trading to close at $69. The company had priced its initial public offering at $16. A month later, the stock hits $162.375, but within 18 months, the stock is trading at less than $5 per share.

Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed lower as investors reacted negatively to a big deal in the oil patch, offsetting crude prices that rose above $50 a barrel for the first time in more than three weeks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 79 points or 0.5 percent to close at 15,578.76, its first decline in seven trading days.
     The energy index tumbled 1.9 percent as Cenovus Energy Inc. plunged 14 percent, its biggest one-day drop ever. The company is buying C$17.7-billion worth of Canadian assets from ConocoPhillips, adding risk to its operations at a time of uncertain oil prices.
     The decline in the energy index came despite a 1.7 percent gain in the price of West Texas Intermediate crude to $50.37, the first time it’s hit the $50 mark since March 8. The materials index also fell, losing 0.7 percent as the price of gold fell 0.8 percent.
     In other moves:
* Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lost 2.9 percent after the bank announced that it has increased its offer for PrivateBancorp Inc. by 20 percent to about $4.9 billion
* Dollarama Inc. jumped 11 percent after the retailer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, boosted its dividend and said it plans to open 1,700 new locations across Canada.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed as investors assessed the latest numbers on fourth-quarter growth and consumer spending, while two policy makers said the Federal Reserve may have to raise rates more than currently forecast.
     The S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to 2,368 at 4 p.m. in New York as the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 69 to 20,728.
The Russell 2000 Index of small-cap shares jumped 0.8 percent.
* Financial stocks lead market, up 1.2%
* Energy shares up for third day as crude oil adds 1.8%
* Consumer staples and utility stocks underperform as 10-year Treasury yield gains 4bps
* “The honeymoon period with the Trump administration may be ending,” BMO Capital Markets strategists Brian G. Belski and Nicholas Roccanova wrote in a note. “Stock prices are likely to bounce back-and-forth in the coming months as investors work through the potential ‘negatives’ associated with policy rhetoric and the ‘positives’ of the improving macro and earnings growth environment”
* VIX up for first time this week to 11.5
* Volume 12% below year-to-date average across all exchanges
* ECONOMY:
** U.S. economy grew at 2.1% pace in 4Q, revised from 1.9%
** The dollar rose after Fed Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said four rate increases may be needed in 2017 to guard against overheating the U.S. economy
** San Francisco’s John Williams said he wouldn’t rule out more than three hikes in total in 2017
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** None until April 4
* European stocks rose, closing at their highest since early December, as miners and energy producers climbed
** Commodity producers gained for a third day, while energy shares tracked oil prices higher.

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

The purity of life is the highest and most authentic art to follow.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

A Goal without a plan is just a wish.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 1900-1944

 

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

RESILIENT WINDMILLS
Windmills located in Nashtifan, Iran, are believed to have been create between AD 500 and 900 and are still operational today.  Check out National Geographic’s video about the history of these structures at http://bit.ly/natgeowindmills.

On March 29, 1973, the last United States troops left South Vietnam, ending America’s direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.
Go to article »

Worry is a misuse of your imagination.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Some of the 404 participants pose for a photo in Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday during the ‘Next Einstein’ competition, which set a Guinness World Record for the ‘largest gathering of people dressed as Albert Einstein,’ according to organizers of the Einstein Legacy Project to encourage innovation and free-thinking. Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University/Reuters

Models wear floral arrangements as they interact with travelers at Central Station in Utrecht, Netherlands, on Wednesday. About 20,000 spring flowers were used to promote Keukenhof, the largest flower show in the world. Peter Dejong/AP

A protester wearing a European Union-flag-themed beret takes part in an anti-Brexit demonstration in Birmingham, England, on Wednesday after Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the process by which the United Kingdom will leave the European Union. Darren Staples/Reuters
Market Closes for March 29^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20659.32	-42.18     -0.20%
S&P 500	2360.49	+1.92   +0.08%
NASDAQ	5897.547	+22.407   +0.38%
TSX	15648.55	+49.98
		+0.32%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19217.48	+14.61
		+0.08%
HANG SENG	24392.05	+46.18
		+0.19%
SENSEX	29531.43	+121.91
		+0.41%
FTSE 100*	7373.72	+30.30
		+0.41%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.592		1.624
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.289		2.311
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3801		2.4160
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9864		3.0190

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75034	0.74743
US $	1.33273	1.33791
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.43480	0.69696
US $	1.07658	0.92882

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1251.10	1257.25
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	49.51	48.37

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1999, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 10,000 for the first time, finishing the day at 10006.78.
Numbers of the Day
1%
The Dow industirals have drifted lower for 10 of the past 12 sessions but are down just 1% over that period.
$37,000
The U.S. price for a year of a newly approved eczema drug, a figure that Regeneron and Sanofi said was reached after months of negotiations with pharmacy-benefit managers.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed higher, buoyed by crude producers as oil rose to a three-week high.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 59 points or 0.4 percent to 15,657.63 after data from the Energy Information Administration showed a decline in U.S. fuel supplies last week.
     The price of West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 2.1 percent to $49.40, pushing the energy index up 1.1 percent.
     Materials stocks added 0.7 percent, led by Eldorado Gold Corp., which jumped 9.9 percent after the company said it received improved terms for concentrate sales at its Olympias mine.
     In other moves:
* Enghouse Systems Ltd. plunged 9.4 percent after the company’s rating was cut by RBC
* The health-care index rose 1.7 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. gained 4 percent.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged higher on the third slowest trading day of the year as investors assessed economic data and continued to weigh the likelihood of legislative reform in the Trump administration.
     The S&P 500 added 0.1 percent to 2,361 at 4 p.m. in New York, as Europe ended higher and Asian markets were mixed. The U.S. benchmark gained the most in nearly two weeks on Tuesday as data showed consumers are more upbeat than any time since 2000, helping investors shrug off President Donald Trump’s health-care flop last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 42 points to 20,659.
* Utility shares lower by 0.5% and real estate stocks higher by 0.3%
** 10-year Treasury yield down 4bps
* Financial shares lost 0.5% for biggest decline in market after rallying Tuesday
* Oil extended Tuesday’s gain as an unexpected disruption in Libyan crude output overshadowed record U.S. stockpiles; energy shares gained 1.2%
* VIX down for 4th session to 11.4
* Volume reached 5.86b shares, third-lowest of 2017
* A gauge tracking global stocks excluding the U.S. has outperformed America by almost 300bps so far in 2017; that trend will continue over the next 12 months because policy optimism and valuations are high in the U.S., whereas overseas markets show a better cyclical backdrop, according to strategist Ian Wright at Goldman Sachs
* ECONOMY:
** MBA mortgage applications index fell 0.8% in week ended March 24
** February pending home sales index rose 5.5% to most since July 2010
** Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said post- market yesterday that two more interest-rate increases in 2017 seem about right
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** Wednesday: Perrigo (PRGO)
* Europe Market
** Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3% as oil extended gains after U.S. crude stockpiles rose less than forecast
** Mining shares climbed the most, tracking copper prices higher

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

My work will be finished if I succeed in carrying conviction to the human family, t
hat every man or woman, however weak in body,
is the guardian of his or her self-respect and liberty, and that this defence prevails,
though the world be against the individual resister.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

It does not so much matter what happens.  It is what one does when it happens that really counts.
                                                                                                     -Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1867-1957

 

 

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 March 28, 1979, America’s worst commercial nuclear accident occurred inside the Unit Two reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pa.
Go to article »

Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.  If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence,
our servant may prove to be our executioner. –Omar Bradley.

On March 29^th, 1857, Edward Fitzgerald wrote to E.B. and Elizabeth Cowell:
Now the black trees in the Regent’s Park opposite are beginning to show green buds; and men come by with great baskets of flowers; primroses, hepaticas, crocuses, great daisies etc., calling as they go, “Growing, growing, growing!  All the glory going!”  -from The Book of Days.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Cherry trees line a road in Gui’an new district, Guizhou province, China, on Monday. China Daily/Reuters

A man carries children to school on his bicycle in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir, on Tuesday. Danish Ismail/Reuters

The Oxford University men’s crew team take their oars and boat out of the water following training on the River Thames in London on Tuesday. Toby Melville/Reuters
Market Closes for March 28^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20701.50	+150.52   +0.73%
S&P 500	2358.57	+16.98   +0.73%
NASDAQ	5875.141	+34.767   +0.60%
TSX	15598.57	+92.35
		+0.60%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	19202.87	+217.28
		+1.14%
HANG SENG	24345.87	+152.17
		+0.63%
SENSEX	29409.52	+172.37
		+0.59%
FTSE 100*	7343.42	+49.92
		+0.68%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.624		1.606
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.311		2.284
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.4160		2.3782
U.S. 30 Year Bond		3.0190		2.9848

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74743	0.74735
US $	1.33791	1.33806
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.44673	0.69121
US $	1.08133	0.92478

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1257.25	1257.55
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	48.37	47.73

Market Commentary:
NUMBER OF THE DAY
$81 million
The amount for which Pacific Investment Management Co. settled a breach-of-contract suit filed by former star manager Bill Gross, ending a feud that shook the investing world. 
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s benchmark equity index gained for a fifth day as strength in energy and financial stocks offset large declines in gold producers.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 92 points or 0.6 percent to close at 15,598.57 as a spike in U.S. consumer confidence renewed investor optimism in the strength of the world’s biggest economy.
     The energy index gained 1.4 percent as the price of oil jumped 1.3 percent to $48.35. The materials index fell 1.7 percent as the spot gold price got crushed by a spiking U.S. dollar.
     In other moves:
* Goldcorp Inc. plunged 6.9 percent, the most since October 4, after it announced a partnership with Barrick Gold Corp. to develop a deposit in Chile. Barrick fell 2.5 percent
* Home Capital Group Inc. fell 9.6 percent after its board removed CEO Martin Reid amid an investigation into falsified mortgage documents
* BRP Inc. rose 6.5 percent, touching a three-year high.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed amid a rebound in financials and a rally in energy and materials companies.
     The S&P 500 jumped 0.7 percent to 2,359 at 4 p.m. in New York, as European markets climbed. The U.S. benchmark sparked a recovery in foreign markets as it pared losses to 0.1 percent on Monday, after posting its biggest five-day drop since November last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 151 points to 20,702.
* Financial shares rally 1.4% for biggest jump since March 1
* Energy and materials stocks up at least 1.1% with West Texas crude ahead 1.3% and Bloomberg Commodity Index rising for 1st time in 7 sessions
* 10-year Treasury yield up 4bps to 2.42%
* VIX down for 3rd session to 11.5
* Volume 4.7% below YTD average
* While there is investor skepticism that Trump will fare better on tax reform and infrastructure spending than on health care, “some in the market do appear to want to give him the benefit of the doubt for now,” Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, wrote in a note
* ECONOMY:
** Richmond Fed March mfg. survey at 22 vs est. 15
** Consumer confidence jumped in March to the highest in more than 16 years
** U.S. merchandise-trade deficit narrowed by more than projected in February
** U.S. Feb. advance wholesale inventories rose 0.4%; est 0.2%
** Home prices in 20 U.S. cities climbed in the 12 months through January at the fastest pace since July 2014
** Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said two interest rate increases may be right for this year, given uncertainty surrounding the outlook for inflation and government spending
** Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said the central bank is making slow and gradual progress toward its inflation goal
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** After-market Tuesday: RH (RH)
** Pre-market Wednesday: Paychex (PAYX)

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Fearlessness is the first requirement of spirituality.
Cowards can never be moral.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.
     -Indira Gandhi, 1917-1984

 

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:

POINTS OF PROGRESS
NORWAY
Surging ahead in  its uptake of electric cars, the country has now welcomed more than 100,000 all-electric vehicles onto its  roads, aiming for 400,000 by 2020. In 2015, about 2 percent of its car fleet was all-electric, double that of its closest competitor, the Netherlands.  Last year, reports emerged of a ban on gas and diesel cars by 2025, but analysts say electric vehicles will likely dominate by then anyway, not least because of the incentives – including tax and road toll exemptions, free parking in the city center, and bus lane access. –Triplepundit, Electrek, The Economist, The New York Times.

HAWAII
Humpback whales will get a helping hand as they retreat from Alaska each winter to the warmer waters off the Hawaiian islands.  Operation Kohola Guardian – a joint effort between the US Coast Guard and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources – seeks to keep them safe by monitoring the multitude of whale-watchers and fishermen and minimizing boat strikes and entanglement in fishing nets.  Some 12,000 whales make the journey each year. –Civil Beat.

AUSTRALIA
The resource-rich nation has seen 25 years without recession, bringing it within a whisker of the record set by the Netherlands between 1982 and 2008.  Though its economy contracted by 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2016, a surprise rise of 1.1 percent in the final quarter hauled the annual growth rate up to 2.4 percent – and prevented the country from slipping into recession, which is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. –BBC.

URUGUAY
Investment in the country’s hinterlands is set to explode with the assistance of a $600 million  credit line from the inter-American Development Bank.  Half of that money  is to be used on infrastructure – rural roads – with the aim of boosting agricultural productivity as well as passenger and cargo transit.  The other half is to target the governments of the 18 inland departments, strengthening their fiscal management capabilities and their abilities to develop strategic sectors of the economy. –Inter-American Development Bank, Mercopress.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (l.) receives a hongi, a traditional Maori greeting, from Maori elder Professor Piri Sciascia at Government House in Wellington, New Zealand, on Monday. Mr. Li is on three-day visit to New Zealand for high-level talks at a time that both countries are pushing to expand free trade. Mark Mitchell/NZ Herald/AP

Women wearing cheongsam pose for pictures on a walkway along a cliff during an event in Chongqing Municipality, China, on Sunday.Reuters

A passenger views the white cliffs of Dover, the closest British coastline to mainland Europe, from a cross-channel ferry between Dover in Britain and Calais in France on Monday. Toby Melville/Reuters
Market Closes for March 27^th, 2017

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	20550.98	-45.74   -0.22%
S&P 500	2341.59	-2.39   -0.10%
NASDAQ	5840.375	+11.637   +0.20%
TSX	15506.22	+63.55
		+0.41%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	18985.59	-276.94
		-1.44%
HANG SENG	24193.70	-164.57
		-0.68%
SENSEX	29237.15	-184.25
		-0.63%
FTSE 100*	7293.50	-43.32
		-0.59%

Bonds

Bonds		% Yield		Previous  % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond		1.606		1.634
CND. 30 Year Bond		2.284		2.303
U.S.    10 Year Bond		2.3782		2.4105
U.S. 30 Year Bond		2.9848		3.0134

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74735	0.74732
US $	1.33806	1.33812
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.45381	0.68785
US $	1.08652	0.92037

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1257.55	1247.50
Oil	Close	Previous
WTI Crude Future	47.73	47.32

Market Commentary:
NUMBER OF THE DAY
$4.1 billion
America’s trade deficit in advanced “flexible manufacturing” goods with Japan, the European Union and Switzerland last year, according to Commerce Department data. The U.S. is losing the battle to supply the kind of cutting-edge production machinery that is powering the new automated factory floor, from digital machine tools to complex packaging systems and robotic arms. 
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian investors left the hand-wringing over U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies to the Americans, pushing stocks higher despite lower oil prices and ongoing concerns that the so-called Trump rally is faltering.
     The S&P/TSX Composite index gained 64 points or 0.4 percent to 15,506.22 even as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average finished lower. Banks, energy and materials stocks gained.
     The price of oil slipped 0.4 percent to $47.79 amid ongoing concerns about a global supply glut, but Canadian energy stocks rose 0.3 percent. NuVista Energy Ltd., Birchcliff Energy Ltd. and Crew Energy Inc. all gained more than 4.5 percent.
     In other moves:
* Pot stock Canopy Growth Corp. jumped 11.1 percent, its biggest gain since November 23, after CBC News reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will introduce legislation to legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018. The health-care index, which includes Canopy, gained 1.6 percent
* The materials index added 1.4 percent as Asanko Gold Inc. and Yamana Gold Inc. both gained more than 4 percent. Gold prices rose 0.6 percent.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, dropping for a 7th day in 8, after President Trump and House Republicans failed to pass his health-care bill, undermining optimism he can enact his promised growth policies.
* S&P 500 index ends 0.1% lower at 2,342 at 4pm after paring early losses of as much as 0.9%
** Loss last week was the most since the week before the election
* Dow Industrials down 0.2% to 20,545
* Financial and industrial shares down, losing at least 0.4% after paring steep declines in early trading
** Morgan Stanley, Capital One and Charles Schwab among worst performers, down at least 1.5%
* Utility and real-estate shares reversed early gains to end the day as the biggest underperformers; 10-year Treasury yield fell 4bps to 2.37%
* Crude oil down 0.4% amid concern that global stockpiles are swollen, even as producers pledged to consider extending a deal to reduce output; energy stocks down 0.4%
* With the drama over the Republican effort to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act over, Trump said he’s ready to move on to tax reform
** House Speaker Paul Ryan said the failure of the health-care bill has made tax overhaul more difficult
* “The obstacles to tax reform are at least as great as those that blocked the health-care bill,” Tan Kai Xian, an analyst at consultancy GaveKal Research, wrote in a note; “it is now abundantly clear that fiscal and regulatory reforms are going to take a lot longer to accomplish than many investors previously hoped”
* VIX fell to 12.50 after earlier climbing to the highest since November
* Volume 8.4% lower than YTD average
* ECONOMY:
** Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in interview with Bloomberg News that two rate hikes may be right for U.S. economy
** Dallas Fed March manufacturing survey at 16.9 vs 24.5 in the prior month; estimate 22
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** Pre-market Tuesday: Carnival (CCL)
* Stoxx Europe 600 Index down 0.4% with a gauge for the basic resources sector dropping 3.3%
** Mining stocks had been been among the biggest beneficiaries of the Trump rally that began in November

 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

 

Be magnificent!

Strength does not come from physical capacity.  It comes from an indomitable will.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

 

Carolann

 

Every human benefit, every virtue and every prudent act, is founded on compromise.
                                                                               -Edmund Burke, 1729-1797

 

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