January 10, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Jan. 10, 1946, the first General Assembly of the United Nations convened in London.
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On this day in 1901, the Spindletop gusher blows its top on a hill near Beaumont, Texas. Within a year, 285 competing wells have been sunk and some 600 companies have sprung up. Nearly all of them fail.
CURRENCY HELP:
If you’re headed abroad and can’t quite remember how the currency conversion will work, let the XE Currency app help. It saves the latest conversion information so you can access it later even without an internet connection.  You can also track as many as 10 different currencies at the same time.  The app is free for iOS & Android.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Attendees enter the LG Electronics booth through a tunnel of OLED televisions at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, US.

Sumo grand champion of ‘yokozuna’, Kisenosato (centre), performs a ring-entering ceremony beside tachimochi, or sword carrier Shohozan (left) and tsuyuharai, or dew sweeper Kagayaki at Meiji shrine in Tokyo, Japan.

Song of Earth is performed by English National Ballet at the London Coliseum.

Snow-covered Stone Buddha statues at a temple in Okcheon, some 170 kilometers southeast of Seoul, South Korea.
Market Closes for January 10^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
119%
Shares of Eastman Kodak rose 119% Tuesday after the company announced plans to launch an initial coin offering. It is up an additional 80% in premarket trading Wednesday. Its coin, KODAKCoin, will be the backbone of a new platform that will help photographers license their work.
Canada
By Carolina Wilson
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell amid weak earnings results, as industrial companies pushed down the benchmark.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 0.4 percent to 16,247.95 at market close in Toronto. Industrials led the slide with a 1.5 percent drop, as shares of railroad and auto companies were among the biggest decliners after Canadian government officials said there’s an increasing chance that U.S. President Donald Trump will give six-months notice to withdraw from the Nafta trade agreement. Canadian Pacific Railway was the worst performer in the industrials index, falling 3.1 percent, the most since May 17.
     Materials was the only gaining sector, climbing 0.7 percent. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. jumped 4.3 percent amid news that state-owned Congolese mining company Gecamines plans talks on existing agreements with partners.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Corus Entertainment sank 16.9 percent to its lowest level in almost two years after citing “weak television advertising market conditions” for the worse-than-expected first-quarter earnings that missed the lowest analyst estimate
* Klondex Mines fell 11.5 percent after being downgraded to neutral at PI Financial
* Hudbay Minerals added 5 percent; company on Tuesday said it was in talks with workers at the Constancia mine in Peru regarding a new contract
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $25.35 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.30 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,317.90 an ounce
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.6 percent to $1.2530 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell to 2.16 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for the first time this year as shares that serve as bond proxies tumbled on speculation interest rates will continue to rise. Treasuries turned higher in late trading after demand at a 10-year auction was robust and Canadian officials were said to see rising odds that the Trump administration will leave Nafta.
     The S&P 500 Index snapped a six-day rally that was the longest since October, with shares in utilities and real-estate firms leading declines. Chipmakers also slumped, while banks rallied on the prospect for higher rates. Canada’s dollar weakened and its two-year bonds surged on the trade-pact report. The 10-year Treasury yield ended little changed after a wild ride that took it toward 2.60 percent on reports that China is considering slowing purchases. Its descent from highs began after a measure of demand at the government auction showed plenty of appetite for the debt.
     The Nafta news damped risk appetite in the U.S. afternoon, halting a comeback for stocks that began the day on the wrong foot thanks to the news out of China. The S&P 500 Index hasn’t fallen this year, as investors speculate the American economy is poised to take off thanks to tax reform. Canadian officials, speaking Wednesday on condition they not be identified, said there’s an increasing likelihood Donald Trump will give notice about a withdrawal from Nafta, threatening the decades-old trade regime.
     Here are some of the main events to watch for this week:
* U.S. inflation data are forecast to show price pressures remain muted for now, giving hawks little reason to argue for faster tightening.
* St. Louis Fed bank President James Bullard and head of the New York Fed Bill Dudley are among central bankers scheduled to speak.
* A reading on China’s money supply is expected in coming days.
* JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. are due to report earnings on Friday    
     These are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 2,748.27 at 4 p.m. in New York. It earlier fell as much as 0.6 percent before erasing that loss, only to turn lower on the Nafta news.
* Real-estate firms and utilities that act as rate proxies fell the most. Semiconductors also slumped.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq 100 Index lost 0.2 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.4 percent, the largest decrease in three weeks.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index retreated for the first time in seven days.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The loonie sank 0.8 percent.
* The euro climbed 0.1 percent to $1.1948.
* The Japanese yen surged 1.1 percent to 111.42 per dollar, the strongest in more than six weeks on the largest jump in seven weeks.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.55 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 1.292 percent, the highest in almost six weeks.
                           Commodities
* Gold futures increased 0.4 percent to $1,318.30 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.8 percent to $63.47 a barrel, the highest in more than two years.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

There is just one life for each of us; our own.
                        -Euripides, 480 BC-406 BC

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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