December 11, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1946~UNICEF founded.
1936~Edward VIII abdicates to marry Wallis Simpson.
John F. Kerry, b.1943
On Dec. 11, 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind.  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A woman takes pictures in a forest on a bank of the Yenisei River covered with snow and hoarfrost with the air temperature at about -16 degrees of Celsius outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. Credit: The Telegraph

The Fearless Girl statue is unveiled at her new home facing the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during an event held by the city of New York and State Street Global Advisors, New York, USA. Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Retired businessman Brian Moodie herds his flock of turkeys along the street near his home in Camelon, Stirlingshire. Christmas holds no fear for the birds who are strictly off the menu on December 25. Mr. Moodie, who will be having steak pie for Christmas dinner, started keeping turkeys in his back garden eight years ago in a bid to help conserve rare breeds. They are the ultimate free range turkeys who even know how to cross the road as they are taken for a stroll around the town each day. Credit: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
Market Closes for December 11^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2008, fund adviser Bernard Madoff was arrested by federal agents, accused in separate SEC and FBI complaints of a multibillion-dollar fraud.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell 0.4 percent on Tuesday, extending a four-day rout, in their longest losing streak since mid-November, as the index slid to its lowest level in two years.
     The S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index failed to stage a comeback despite a late-session spike in pot stocks after the New York Post reported that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will introduce a plan for legalizing recreational marijuana.
     Health care and consumer staples sectors led gains helped by pot stocks and earnings from North West Co., which topped the highest analyst estimate. Some beaten-down energy stocks caught a bid as oil advanced. Miners also gained as metal prices climbed on trade optimism between U.S. and China.
Stocks
* NuVista Energy Ltd and Trican Well Service Ltd were among outperformers within the energy sector. 
* First Quantum Minerals Ltd. rose 6.5 percent; Teck Resources Ltd advanced 3.9 percent. 
* Aphria Inc. rose 8.9 percent, while Canopy Growth climbed 6.2 percent.
* Maxar Technologies Ltd fell 6.9 percent after saying its chief operations officer will retire.
* WestJet Airlines Ltd fell 6 percent, extending a three-day slide.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,241.90 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was little changed at C$1.33923 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 2 basis points to 2.08 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Brendan Walsh
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks ended little changed after a volatile session as investors weighed the prospects for a trade deal and an agreement to fund the American government.
     The S&P 500 Index started out strong, took a turn down, then recovered from the day’s lows as key Senate leaders signaled a desire to avoid a government shutdown hours after Donald Trump threatened to do so in a spat over funding for his border wall. Carmakers rose as China signaled it may cut tariffs on auto imports, but investors were cautious about a broader deal. The dollar climbed.
     U.S. markets have been whipsawed in recent weeks as traders searched Trump’s tweets for clues about the outlook for trade talks, tried to decide if a stock selloff could prompt the Federal Reserve to pare back rate increases and evaluated economic data that signaled a slowdown may be coming. Monday’s session saw the S&P 500 Index’s biggest full reversal since Feb. 6 as it erased a 1.9 percent decline and ended 0.2 percent higher, while Tuesday saw gains as big as 1.4 percent and losses as deep as 0.6 percent.
     “It went from headline excitement to cold reality challenges,” said Mike Bailey, the director of research at FBB Capital Partners. “You’ve got a pretty skeptical market out there.” The news on car tariffs followed reports that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He discussed a timetable for trade talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Yet investors also have an eye on the continuing flap over Canada’s arrest of the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co., and the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is preparing a series of actions this week to condemn China for efforts to steal U.S. technology. And among a plethora of political risks, the U.K. is struggling to put its Brexit deal back on track and fears linger over the possibility a French protest movement could escalate further.
     Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed the most in six weeks. India’s assets saw a choppy session, with stocks initially roiled by a surprise resignation of the central bank governor Monday, before posting a recovery. Emerging-market shares edged higher.
     Here are some key events on the calendar this week:
* The European Central Bank is set to cap asset purchases at its final policy meeting of 2018 on Thursday.
* China industrial production, retail sales data for November is due Friday.
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.5 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index added 0.1 percent
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.2 percent.
* The Nikkei-225 Stock Average slipped 0.3 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1 percent.
* The euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.1323.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.38 per dollar.
* The British pound fell 0.6 percent to $1.2491.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.87 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.23 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.18 percent.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 0.1 percent.
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.4 percent to $51.70 a barrel.
* Gold slipped 0.1 percent to $1,243.12 an ounce.
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Christopher Anstey, Todd White, Lu Wang and Eddie van der Walt.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
      -George Herman Ruth “Babe”, 1895-1948

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com