February 26, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday!

PRIME NUMBERS:
16.5 TRILLION
Facebook messages sent in 2017, approximately 31.25 million per minute.
3.5 MILLION
Google searches made every minute (on average) during 2017.  Other “per minute” numbers include 70,017 Netflix hours watched and 1.8 million Snaps created on Snapchat.
5
Years until Sweden’s economy is expected to be essentially cash-free, according to a study.  The nation is on track to switch almost entirely to card and mobile payments by 2023.
Sources: CNET, CNN Money, world Economic Forum

PRINTING HOMES:
  3-D printing has been used to create everything from  jet airliner components to custom-fit shoes.  Many experts say the process of turning digital files into three-dimensional objects could ultimately usher in a  new industrial revolution.
  One of the latest manifestations of 3-D wizardry: building houses.  It’s an application that could transform construction practices that have remained unchanged for centuries. 
  Using a swiveling robotic arm that extrudes concrete, a San Francisco company, Apis Cor, 3-D printed the concrete walls for a 400-square foot house in Russia in less than 24 hours in 2017.  And researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge have built a robotic arm and a vehicle that dispenses concrete for a 50-foot-diameter, 12-foot-high dome in less than 14 hours.
  The technology could greatly speed up the construction of homes and reduce the waste.  Construction refuse accounts for half of all solid waste in the United States.
  Robot-printed houses might also prove useful if humans ever try to colonize Mars or other areas of the cosmos.  In November, NASA opened the third phase of its 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, offering a $2 million prize for inventors who can print a foundation and a small home using indigenous materials. -CSM.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Robots fight during the 32^nd ROBO-ONE tournament in Tokyo, Japan. According to the organizer, the ROBO-ONE, held by the Biped Robotics Association, is a robot fighting competition for bipedal walking robots, aiming to improve the robotic technology and spread the popularity of bipedal walking robots.
CREDIT: THE TELEGRAPH

Artists perform during the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
CREDIT: THE TELEGRPAH

Drones are seen on the runway at the Dolce & Gabbana show during Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2018/19 in Milan, Italy.
CREDIT: THE TELEGRAPH

People watch hundreds of thousands of starlings coming in to Roost at Westhay, Somerset.
CREDIT: THE TELEGRAPH
Market Closes for February 26th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1987, Templeton Emerging Markets Fund, the first portfolio of emerging markets stocks for retail investors, was launched.
Number of the Day
$642.8 billion
The amount retail and institutional investors have borrowed against their portfolios, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, as they try to pocket bigger gains by ramping up their exposure to stocks.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at the highest since Feb. 1, the day before the recent rout began in earnest, as all but one sector gained.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 76 points or 0.5 percent to 15,714.66, the benchmark’s second straight gain. Industrials rose 1.2 percent as Air Canada added 3.8 percent and Canadian National Railway Co. gained 2.2 percent.
     The energy index advanced 0.7 percent, matching the gain in the price of crude. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said over the weekend that OPEC may begin easing output cuts in 2019.
     In other moves:
                             Stocks
* Lucara Diamond Corp. jumped 17 percent, the most since 2015. Lucara is buying a blockchain technology firm to track the quality and ethics of gems
* Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust rose 9.1 percent to the highest since August. Fourth-quarter funds from operations beat analyst estimates
* Maxar Technologies Ltd. fell 7.7 percent to the lowest since 2013 after the sudden departure of its chief financial officer
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $26.70 discount toWTI, the narrowest gap in more than a week
* Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,330.70 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.3 percent to C$1.2674 per U.S. dollar as Nafta negotiations resumed in Mexico City
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 2.25 percent ahead of Tuesday’s federal budget
US
By Eric J. Weiner and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose to a nearly four-week high Monday as continuing gains in Treasuries pushed yields further below 2.9 percent, alleviating investor angst that higher rates will accelerate fiscal tightening. Oil climbed with gold.
     The S&P 500 Index gained for a third day and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to its highest level in almost a month, buoyed by strength in technology and financial shares.
Volume was lower than usual as investors await the first public comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday.
The 10-year yield fell for a third straight day, reaching a two- week low. The dollar was little changed.
     “There was a lot of talk from various Federal Reserve related folks last week and that provided to a certain extent a sense of calm that we won’t see rates spike in the second half of this year,” said Matt Schreiber, president and chief investment strategist at WBI Investments. “The market freaked out when they thought Jerome Powell might raise rates faster than expected — his first comments are eagerly anticipated here.”
     Powell may help set a new direction for investors at a time when some of the biggest names in markets are at odds over the implications of this month’s surge in U.S. bond yields. Morgan Stanley put out a bullish call on Treasuries Monday, countering warnings on the securities from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Warren Buffett.
     “Investors are starting to realize and understand that this former low rate, low inflation environment is evolving,” Erik Knutzen, multi-asset class chief investment officer at Neuberger Berman Group, said by phone. “Rates are going to higher levels, inflation is going to higher levels, and as long as rates and inflation, and to a certain extent the dollar, don’t move too far too fast, then this can continue to be a reasonably good environment for equities and for credit.”
     Overseas, the Stoxx 600 Index reached its highest level in three weeks. The pound and euro fluctuated, and Russia’s ruble appreciated the most among emerging market currencies after S&P Global Ratings boosted its credit score to investment grade.
     Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank has no plan to overhaul its current form of easing, adding that he saw no need to do another comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of the bank’s policies. Oil futures edged lower after Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih said OPEC and its allies may ease output curbs in 2019 in a way that won’t disturb the market. Bitcoin erased its decline and broke above $10,000.
     Here are some key events scheduled for this week:
* Powell testifies before a House panel on Tuesday. He’ll discuss the Fed’s Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report and the state of the economy. Powell returns on March 1 before a Senate committee.
* Companies announcing earnings this week include: Vale, BASF, Standard Chartered, Bayer, Lowe’s, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Peugeot, WPP, and London Stock Exchange Group.
* U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech on Britain’s relationship with the European Union after Brexit.
* A barrage of data is expected out of Japan including retail sales and industrial production Wednesday, and capital spending Thursday.
* Bank of Korea has policy decision and briefing on Tuesday.
* In China, the official and Caixin purchasing managers’ indexes on Wednesday and Thursday respectively may show growth momentum slowed slightly in February, though the signal may be clouded by the holidays. 

     These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent to 2,779.59, its highest level in almost a month.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.5 percent to the highest in more than three weeks.
* Germany’s DAX Index gained 0.4 percent to the highest in almost three weeks.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index added 0.9 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was essentially flat.
* The euro added 0.1 percent to $1.2312.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 106.92 per dollar.
* The British pound declined less than 0.1 percent to $1.3962.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dropped one basis point tom2.86 percent, the lowest in almost two weeks.
* Germany’s 10-year yield slid less than a basis point to 0.65 percent, reaching the lowest in a month on its fifth straight decline.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.7 percent to $63.98 a barrel, the highest in three weeks.
* Gold increased 0.4 percent to $1,333.46 an ounce.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh and Natasha Doff.

Have a great week ahead!

Be magnificent! 

As ever, 

Carolann

The beginning is always today.
-Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 1797-1851

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com