December 20, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On Dec. 20, 1989, the United States launched Operation Just Cause, sending troops into Panama to topple the government of General Manuel Noriega.
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PRIME NUMBERS:

5,800
Barrels of oil leaked since TransCanada’s existing Keystone pipeline in the Dakotas began operating in 2010.  The company originally predicted spills of 1,000 barrels or more would occur no more than once every 100 years.

110 MILLION
Compensation payment (in Canadian dollars) the Canadian government will pay to victims of its authorized program of discrimination against gay people from the 1950s to 1990s.

375 MILLION
Workers worldwide who will have to change careers by 2030 to avoid being replaced by machines, according to McKinsey Global Institute.

150
Percentage of salaries American Airlines is offering some of its pilots to fly over the Christmas season after a computer error allowed too many to sign up to take that period off.

969
Flights that left Mumbai Airport on November 24, 2017, a new daily record.  India’s aviation industry is booming.

350,000
Highest estimated value (in U$) of the diamond engagement ring Britain’s Prince harry gave fiancée Meghan Markle.  In the US, the average person spends $6,163 on an engagement ring.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mist surrounds Glastonbury Tor on the Somerset Levels.

A man decorates a Christmas tree made of bananas in the Damour area, south of Beirut, Lebanon.

A man takes a photograph of the Christmas lights on Regent Street in London
Market Closes for December 20^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1966, the transmission of trades and quotes from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange is fully automated for the first time.
Number of the Day
26%
The most actively traded copper contract is up 26% so far in 2017, on track to post its best year since 2010, supported by a favorable global economic backdrop and the prospect of mine disruptions across the globe.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at a record high, rebounding from a decline earlier in the day as strong gains in commodity prices offset drops in most other sectors.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 26 points or 0.2 percent to 16,159.67. Materials rose 1.2 percent as copper prices jumped 1.4 percent to the highest in nearly two months. Lundin Mining Corp. gained 3.3 percent.
     The energy index gained 0.7 percent, boosted by a 1.1 gain in crude prices. U.S. weekly imports of Canadian crude saw their biggest inflow since March, new data showed.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* BlackBerry Ltd. jumped 12 percent to the highest since 2013. The company reported record software revenue and said sales for the full year will come in at the high end of its forecast
* Bombardier Inc. added 1 percent. Its CEO is scaling back plans to being a new aircraft program, focusing instead on generating cash flow and cutting debt
* Brookfield Business Partners LP rose 1.3 percent. The stock was initiated with a buy rating at Citi
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $26.85 discount to WTI, the widest gap in four years
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.00 discount to Henry Hub, the narrowest gap in six weeks
* Gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,266.10 an ounce, the highest in two and a half weeks.
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to $1.2828 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose five basis points to 1.99 percent, the highest in nearly two months
US
By Kailey Leinz
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fluctuated while Treasury yields climbed to a nine-month peak as the Republican tax overhaul passed its final vote before going to President Donald Trump for his signature.
     The S&P 500 Index was little changed Wednesday, held back in part by slumping consumer and real estate shares, while the energy and telecom sectors rose. Core European bond yields followed Treasury rates higher, with European Central Bank asset purchases for the year ending Thursday.
     The U.S. Senate approved the tax-cut legislation in a party-line vote and the House of Representatives passed the bill after a re-vote, bringing Trump to the brink of his first major legislative victory. The bill itself will be signed at a later date.
     “The tax reform passing, you’d expect the market to celebrate that,” Kevin Caron, a senior portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, said by phone. “But in reality a lot of this has already been part of the drama over the last year or so in anticipation of this moment. The market has gotten what it has already been discounting in.” 
     Tech shares led the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to its biggest decline in almost three weeks, with Spanish equities underperforming before Thursday’s Catalan poll. Miners gained as the Bloomberg Commodity Index advanced for a sixth day. The euro climbed against the dollar, as did the British pound. The yen had its biggest decline against the greenback in almost two weeks.
     Meanwhile, oil traded above $58 after a report of a drop in U.S. crude stockpiles. Gold edged higher and industrial metals rose.
     Earlier, Japan’s Topix index closed at its highest level since November 1991, while stocks in Hong Kong and China declined.
     Among the key events investors will be watching this week:
* The U.S. and U.K. publish updated estimates of third-quarter GDP.
* The Bank of Japan meets on Thursday to set monetary policy.
* Catalonia votes in an election Thursday that will pose a test for the Spanish region’s secession movement.

      And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell less than 0.05 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.7 percent, its biggest drop in almost three weeks.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.3 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index decreased 1.1 percent. 
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1 percent.
* The euro advanced 0.3 percent to $1.1878, the strongest in more than two weeks.
* The British pound rose less than 0.05 percent to $1.3386.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.4 percent to 113.40 per dollar.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 2.50 percent, its fifth straight advance.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 0.41 percent, the highest in more than five weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed four basis points to 1.25 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9 percent to $58.07 a barrel, the highest in almost three weeks.
* Gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,265.57 an ounce, the highest in more than two weeks.
* Copper increased 1.5 percent to $7,044 a metric ton.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.6 percent to its highest in more than two weeks.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
                                         -Bruce Lee, 1940-1973

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