December 17, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Saturnalia: December 17-23, – Roman masters served their slaves.
1790- Aztec calendar stone discovered.
 
1903- Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, N.C. Go to article »

A 3,600-year disposable cup is set to go on display at the British Museum
Apparently, even our ancestors hated doing dishes. -CNN.

The Poem:
             The Still Life
               -by Mark Sanders

Now – just at that silent place,
between sadness and gratitude,
wind-worn balances we all weather –
a cardinal leaps from a bare trim limb,
its red bloom lingering.  The sun down
in deepening darkness
where night clouds consume it,
evanescence of orange and purple.

How moment passes, how memory
holds. The heart must break
if it has ever felt joy. The heart must
break because diminished things matter,
and having mattered hold, still.
You were here. For us. Then break, heart.
Your fingers lie upon the pulse of our days.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A spider building a web among moss buds in the rain in a forest near the Po River, Italy. These mesmerizing macro photos show insects covered in rain droplets after a spell of rain in a beautiful Italian forest.
CREDIT: ALBERTO GHIZZI PANIZZA/SWNS.COM

A few of the total of 58 Indian star tortoises rescued from an attempted smuggling are seen in Riau province, Indonesia.
CREDIT: ANTARA FOTO/FB ANGGORO/VIA REUTERS

Orangutans cubs are seen after they were saved from illegal wildlife trafficking by Riau Police authority in Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia.
CREDIT: JEFTA IMAGES/BARCROFT MEDIA

A Gnawa traditional group performs in the city of Essaouir, Morocco. Gnawa culture, a centuries-old Moroccan practice rooted in music, African rituals and Sufi traditions, was added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity earlier in the week.
CREDIT: FADEL SENNA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for December 17^th, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1992, the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed after 14 months of negotiations. After several “side agreements” on labor and the environment, it finally went into effect more than two-and-a-half years after the negotiations began, linking the U.S. and Mexican economies more closely than ever before.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf and Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks continued their rally for the fourth day, on pace to close out 2019 as the best year in a decade. Energy and industrials were the best-performing sectors, while health care stocks were the worst, paced by pot companies. The S&P/TSX Composite climbed 0.1% to 17,074.69 in Toronto on Tuesday, the highest closing level since Nov. 28. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.1%. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 7.7%. Meanwhile, minority shareholders in Canada scored major victories in the voting booth this week, thwarting bids to take Hudson’s Bay Co. and Canfor Corp. private. The proxy wins haven’t helped the share prices.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $20.50 discount to WTI
* Gold spot price was flat at $1,476.43 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar flat at C$1.3154 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell to 1.633%
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 2.5%
* This year, the index rose 19%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* The index advanced 19% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3% below its 52-week high on Nov. 28, 2019 and 24% above its low on Dec. 24, 2018
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.7% in the past 5 days and rose 0.3% in the past 30 days
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 24.6229| 0.9| 28/4
Financials | 14.3691| 0.3| 16/11
Industrials | 9.5802| 0.5| 23/8
Consumer Staples | 2.2213| 0.3| 3/6
Real Estate | 0.3647| 0.1| 12/12
Consumer Discretionary | -0.4582| -0.1| 11/5
Health Care | -4.1080| -1.8| 3/7
Utilities | -5.4107| -0.7| 4/12
Information Technology | -5.4883| -0.6| 4/5
Materials | -5.7641| -0.3| 19/28
Communication Services | -11.0712| -1.2| 1/6

* The benchmark 10-year bond was little changed at 1.634 %

US
By Todd White and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks inched upward Tuesday as manufacturing and housing data topped expectations, just as the sugar rush of a partial trade deal between America and China began to wear off. The dollar gained while 10-year Treasuries slipped. The S&P 500 Index closed at a new high, barely topping the previous session’s record, amid news that U.S. factory production last month rebounded by more than forecast and that construction of new U.S. homes beat estimates as permits to build climbed to a 12-year high. Financial and consumer discretionary stocks led the benchmark higher. “Housing is an economic bellwether and its recent strengthis further encouraged by the strength we’ve seen in manufacturing, as those two industries are typically related,” said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial. “But critical to the health of housing is ongoing trade tensions.”
The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped from Monday’s record close, as Unilever tumbled in the wake of a sales-growth warning and led a slump in personal goods makers. U.K. shares were particularly volatile, and sterling sank the most since July versus the euro after Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed a legal change that revived the chances of a no-deal Brexit. Earlier in Asia, a benchmark stock gauge rose to the highest level since mid-2018. European government bonds drifted higher.With a $44 trillion global gauge of stocks close to an all- time high and benchmarks in Europe and the U.S. also hovering near record levels, concerns linger over the details of the China accord. The warning by bellwether Unilever also took some of the shine from improved forecasts for the global economy. Elsewhere, West Texas intermediate crude edged higher, while gold was little changed. Bitcoin’s woes continued, as the digital currency languished below $7,000.
Here are some key events to watch for this week:
* Policy decisions are due Thursday from the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England.
* Federal Reserve district bank presidents including Eric Rosengren of Boston and John Williams of New York are scheduled to speak this week.
* Revised U.S. GDP data are due Friday.
* Friday brings quadruple witching in the U.S., the simultaneous expiration date of stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures. Expect elevated trading volume, particularly in the last hour of trading.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index was little changed at 3,192.23 as of 4:00 p.m.
* New York time, hitting the highest on record with its fifth consecutive advance.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.7% to 414.92, the first retreat in a week and the biggest drop in more than two weeks.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.1% to 7,525.28, hitting the highest in almost 20 weeks with its fifth consecutive advance.
* Germany’s DAX Index declined 0.9% to 13,287.83, the first retreat in a week and the biggest drop in more than two weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 1.3% to 1,102.51, hitting the highest in 18 months with its fifth consecutive advance.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.2% to 1,194.79, the biggest increase in more than three weeks.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1146, the strongest in more than six weeks.
* The British pound sank 1.6% to $1.3123, the weakest in almost two weeks on the biggest tumble in 13 months.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.52 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to1.88%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.30%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell six basis points to 0.762%, the lowest in almost two weeks on the biggest fall in two weeks.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.1% to $60.89 a barrel, the highest in three months.
* Gold was little changed at $1,475.96 an ounce.
–With assistance from Abhishek Vishnoi and Andreea Papuc.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Some things have to be believed to be seen.
                                                               -Ralph Hodgson, 1871-1962

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