December 03, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends, 

Tangents:
Joseph Conrad, writer, b. 1857
Carlos Montoya, b. 1903
Maria Callas, b. 1923
Julianne Moore, actor, b. 1961
Darryl Hannah, actor, b. 1961

Scientists find a black hole so massive it shouldn’t theoretically exist. (h/t Ellen Kominers) 
“Sesame Street” turns 50. (h/t Alisair Lowe) 

All a man can betray is his conscience.-Joseph Conrad.

It’s a great thing to be recognized for something that you’ve done.  But it’s a moment in time.  You can’t live off of those accolades and make them the sum total of your importance in life, or your purpose in life.  You can’t let them define who you are.  Those awards, they’re wonderful.  But they’re never going to define you.  I define myself by my ability to give.  I define myself by my ability to understand.  I define myself by my ethics and by my truth.  These are the things that inform who I am, other than exterior moments that ebb and flow. –Goldie Hawn.

From The New York Times today:

And finally, take a spin around Titan

Saturn’s largest moon, almost 900 million cold miles from the sun, has gasoline for rain, soot for snow and layers of ice that float on subsurface oceans of ammonia. But besides Earth, Titan is the only world in the universe known to harbor liquid on its surface.

Now there’s a map to guide the search for possible life there. Awash in organic materials, Titan has risen to the top of the list of homes, as our cosmos reporter calls it, for Possible Weird Life Out There.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A white snow owl as it flies purposefully across the sky. Taken by photographer Hamas Bouresli, the sequence shows the owl staring directly at the camera, its piercing yellow eyes show. In another shot, the owl beats its wings as it purposefully flies off in search of prey in Southern Kuwait. Hamad said: There is an organisation in Kuwait that brings owls to Kuwait for education purposes.
CREDIT: DR HAMAD BOURESLI/CATERS NEWS

Stockbreeders try to return to their town with their live stocks due to harsh winter conditions right after they have taken the hundreds of small cattle to meadow at Karlidere village of Mus in Turkey.
CREDIT: IBRAHIM YALDIZ/ANADOLU AGENCY BIA GETTY IMAGE

This is the moment a big brown bear recreated Baloo’s iconic back-scratching scene from Disney classic The Jungle Nook – standing on his hind legs and even doing the full rub down. Photographer Erik Mandre captured the moment the huge mammal backed up against a tree and rubbed against the bark to satisfy a hard-to-reach itch. The cute shots bring to life the scene where Baloo serenades Mowgli while rubbing his back against a tree during the classic tune The Bare Necessities.
CREDIT: KENNEDY NEWS AND MEDIA/ERIK MAND

Market Closes for December 03^rd, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1984, in one of the worst industrial disasters in modern history, a Union Carbide pesticide plant leaked a lethal cloud of methyl isocyanate gas into the midnight breezes blowing through the residential alleyways of Bhopal, India. In the days and weeks that followed, some 3,800 people died from exposure to the toxic gas, and thousands more suffered permanent disabilities. By early 2001, Dow Chemical had acquired Union Carbide for $7.3 billion

Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.5 percent, or 89.29 to 16,892.18 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 0.8 percent on Oct. 8. Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 6 of 11 sectors lost; 149 of 233 shares fell, while 81 rose. Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.2 percent. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 6.1 percent.

Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 1.4 percent
* This year, the index rose 18 percent, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* The index advanced 11 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 11 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.3 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 28, 2019 and 22.6 percent above its low on Dec. 24, 2018
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.1 on a trailing basis and 15.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.61t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 4.70 percent compared with 4.49 percent in the previous session and the average of 5.22 percent over the past month

================================================================
| Index Points | |Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -57.6676| -1.0| 3/24
Industrials | -24.4136| -1.3| 5/27
Energy | -23.1026| -0.8| 7/25
Consumer Discretionary | -6.9757| -1.0| 3/13
Communication Services | -2.2302| -0.2| 1/6
Real Estate | -1.5278| -0.3| 13/12
Consumer Staples | 0.2507| 0.0| 6/4
Health Care | 1.9439| 0.9| 5/5
Utilities | 2.7664| 0.3| 8/8
Materials | 10.8189| 0.6| 29/17
Information Technology | 10.8603| 1.2| 1/8

US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stocks dropped around the world and bonds rallied after President Donald Trump aimed his tariff weapon on economies from South America to Europe and China, denting hopes for a global recovery. The S&P 500 Index fell for a third day, though it pared some of its losses in afternoon trading. The morning brought a flood of trade headlines that rattled markets, with the Trump administration signaling the U.S. plans to move forward with tariffs on Chinese goods if no deal is reached before the mid- December deadline. The president had earlier indicated he’d be willing to wait another year before striking an agreement with China. He also threatened levies on France after hitting steel from Brazil and Argentina.
Treasuries surged, driving yields down the most since August, as gold, the yen and the Swiss franc paced gains among haven assets. The cost to protect North American investment- grade debt against default jumped as trade-war induced volatility shook markets. Jefferies warned currency traders to buckle up before the tariff deadline, saying “put your helmet back on.” The flurry of trade news roiled global markets just as investors started dipping their toes into riskier waters. A rush to assets that usually outperform during times of economic growth pushed U.S. stocks to record highs last month. But renewed tariff tension and signs of profit deterioration could make traders again more cautious amid the longest bull market on record. “The narrative on trade has quickly been turned upside down as negative headlines on tariffs have ignited a risk-averse tone in the markets,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management. “Today’s headlines are a short reminder of the downside risks that still remain across the investing landscape.”
Chinese state media said Tuesday the government would soon publish a list of “unreliable entities” that could lead to sanctions against American companies. Meantime, France said the European Union would retaliate if the U.S. follows through on a threat to hit about $2.4 billion of French products with levies.
In afternoon trading, U.S. equities trimmed their declines amid a rally in defensive companies such as real estate and utilities. Despite Tuesday’s losses, the S&P 500 was still up 23% this year. “Let’s keep in mind that 2019 has been a remarkable year in the markets,” said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial Corp. “Regardless of trade tensions, it’s natural to see a bit of a dip.”
Elsewhere, oil rose as traders focused on the upcoming OPEC+ meeting that could lead to deeper supply cuts by some of the biggest crude producers.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
* Germany releases factory-order data for October on Thursday.
* Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering is scheduled to be priced on Thursday, with Riyadh looking to raise more than $25 billion.
* Friday brings the U.S. jobs report, where estimates are for non-farm payrolls to rise by 190,000 in November.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 dipped 0.7% to 3,093.20 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.6%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.1%.
* The euro was little changed at $1.108.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.3% to 108.64 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries slid 11 basis points to 1.71%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield sank seven basis points to -0.35%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped seven basis points to 0.67%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index advanced 0.3%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed to $56.10 a barrel.
* Gold gained 1% to $1,484.40 an ounce.
–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Andreea Papuc, Todd
White, Sam Potter, Yakob Peterseil, Sophie Caronello, Sarah Ponczek and Luke Kawa.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.
                                                     -Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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

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