December 29, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On December 29^th, 1170, Edward Grim, a clerk in the following of the Archbishop Thomas à Becket, describes his murder by four knights in Canterbury Cathedral, 1170:

But when he [Beckett] would not be persuaded by arguments or prayer to take refuge in the church the monks caught hold of him in spite of his resistance, and pulled, dragged, and pushed him, not heeding his clamours to be let go, and brought him to the church…And straightway [the knights] entered the house of peace and reconciliation with swords sacrilegiously drawn causing horror to the beholders by their very looks and the clanging of their arms…Inspired by fury the knights called out, “Where is Thomas Becket, traitor to the King and realm?”  As he answered not they cried out the more furiously, “Where is the Archbishop?”  At this…he descended from the stair where he had been dragged by the monks in fear of the knights, and in a clear voice answered, “I am here, no traitor to the King, but a priest.  Why do ye seek me?”
  “Absolve”, they cried, “and restore to communion those whom you have excommunicated, and restore their powers to those whom you have suspended.”  He answered, “There has been no satisfaction, and I will not absolve them.”  “Then you shall die,” they cried, “and receive what you deserve”…They laid sacrilegious hands on him, pulling and dragging him that they might kill him outside the church, or carry him away a prisoner, as they afterwards confessed.  But when he could not be forced away from the pillar, one of them pressed on him and clung to him more closely.  Him he pushed off calling him “pander” and saying, “Touch me not, Reginald; you owe me fealty and subjection; you and your accomplices act like madmen”… The wicked knight, fearing lest he should be rescued by the people and escape alive, leapt upon him suddenly and wounded this lamb who was sacrificed to God on the head, cutting off the top of the crown which the sacred unction of the chrism  had dedicated to God; and by the same blow he wounded the arm of him who tells this…Then he received a second blow on the head but still stood firm.  At the third blow he fell on his knees and elbows… the third knight inflicted a terrible wound as he lay, by which the sword was broken against the pavement, and the crown which was large was separated from the head; so that the blood white with brain and the brain red with blood, dyed the surface of the virgin mother church with the life and death of the confessor and martyr in the colours of the lily and the rose. –from The Book of Days.

On Dec. 29, On Dec. 29, 1940, during World War II, Germany began dropping incendiary bombs on London.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Rough seas off the beach at Tynemouth with the lighthouse of the town’s North Pier in the background.

A walker looks out across the Lake District at dawn this morning, as the rising sun highlights the wind-driven snowy summit of Blencathra, which like many of the Lakeland fells is covered in snow following the recent wintry blast.

Ants balance to carry pete cina seeds, in Java, Indonesia.
Market Closes for December 29^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1954, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 400 for the first time, finishing the day at 401.97. It took a quarter century to climb from 300.
Number of the Day
24%
The gain this year in the MSCI AC World ex-USA Index, which tracks stocks across developed and emerging markets outside the U.S. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up 20%. It’s the first time international equities outpaced the U.S. since 2012.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed the last trading day of 2017 in the red as the marijuana rally failed to reach new highs. Crude oil above $60/barrel also wasn’t enough to propel the energy sector.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 13 points, or 0.1 percent to 16,209.13. The health care sector, including marijuana- exposed stocks, was the worst performer. Canopy Growth Corp. fell 2.2 percent, and was earlier halted as IIROC cited a single-stock circuit breaker.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. rose 13 percent
* Supreme Cannabis Co. rose 13 percent
* Viemed Healthcare Inc. fell 24 percent\
* Global Blockchain Technologies Corp. fell 7.7 percent
                         Commodities
* Gold rose 0.9 percent to $1,342.50 an ounce
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to $1.25770 per U.S. dollar
* Canada 10-year government bond yield little changed at 2.04 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron and Kailey Leinz
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks pared the best annual gain since 2013, slipping on the final market day in thin trading. The dollar’s slump continued as it heads for its worst year since 2005, pushing the euro above $1.20.
     The S&P 500 Index fell to finish the year higher by 19 percent. The bulk of Friday’s losses came in the final 15 minutes of trading. Volume was 28 percent lower than the 30-day average as investors prepare for a three-day weekend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell from a record to trim its 2017 rise to 25 percent. Small caps rose only 13 percent in the year, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 29 percent. European equities edged lower but notched the fifth rise in the past six years. 
     The Bloomberg Dollar Index fell to the lowest level since Dec. 1, leaving it lower by 8.5 percent in 2017. The euro topped $1.20 for the first time since September as the common currency looks for its best annual gain in 14 years. The Bloomberg Commodity Index extended a record-breaking string of gains, as WTI crude held above $60 a barrel.
     With little news to drive trading ahead of the New Year holidays, investors returned to themes familiar for the year — a synchronous global expansion and go-slow approach toward monetary-stimulus withdrawal in major economies, which has been a winning recipe for equities and a loser for the greenback.
     When investors return from the New Year holiday, they’ll have a week full of economic data to mull. Purchasing manager indexes and data on the services industries come before the monthly government jobs report and the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting.
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.5 percent at 4 p.m. in New York. The Dow lost 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.7 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index headed for a third straight weekly gain and its highest close since 2011.  Japan’s Topix Index fell 0.1 percent as of the close in Tokyo, still near its highest level since 1991.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.4 percent to the lowest in more than three months.
* The euro climbed 0.4 percent to $1.20, the strongest in more than 14 weeks.
* The British pound gained 0.6 percent to $1.3525, hitting the strongest in 14 weeks.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.3 percent to 112.56 per dollar, the strongest in more than a week.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to2.41 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.44 percent, the highest in more than two months.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 1.199 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.4 percent to $60.05 a barrel, the highest in more than two years.
* Gold climbed 0.4 percent to $1,299.90 an ounce, hitting the highest in 11 weeks with its eighth consecutive advance.
* Copper dipped 0.8 percent to $3.28 a pound, the first retreat in more than three weeks.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 0.1 percent to 87.79, hitting the highest in more than seven weeks with its 12th straight advance.

Have a wonderful New Year’s long weekend!

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.
                                                                   -Aaron Rose

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

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