January 18, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Winnie the Pooh Day  today:  writer A.A. Milne  was born on this day in 1882.

On Jan. 18, 1912, English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had gotten there first.

I started reading The TAO of CHARLIE MUNGER last night.  It’s not really a book that you would read continuously.  It is a compilation of quotes from Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman on life, business and the pursuit of wealth with commentary by David Clark.   Here is a fitting example since we’re starting a new year:

#102  NOT LIVING BEYOND OUR MEANS

“Mozart is a good example of a life ruined by nuttiness.  His achievement wasn’t diminished – he may well have had the best innate musical talent ever – but form the start, he was pretty miserable.  He overspent his income his entire life – that will make you miserable.” –Charlie Munger, b. 1924 

One of the keys to Charlie’s accumulation of wealth is that in his youth he was fanatical about not spending money.  He didn’t buy his first new car until he was almost sixty, and he lived in an upper-middle-class house long after he became a multimillionaire.  Every dollar saved was a dollar that could be invested.  Overspending can make us miserable, but underspending and investing wisely will help speed us along the road to riches. –David Clark
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Two snowshoers hike Schauinsland mountain in the Black Forest in Hofsgrund, southern Germany. Patrick Seeger/dpa/AP

The peloton rides past a road sign warning of kangaroos during stage two of the Tour Down Under bicycle race near Adelaide, Australia, on Wednesday. Dan Peled/AAP/Reuters
Market Closes for January 18^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Joseph Ciolli
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a third straight day as a decline in crude oil led energy companies lower, while industrials, telecommunications and consumer discretionary shares also decreased.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.3 percent to 15,398.25 at 10:40 a.m. in Toronto. The gauge has faltered after flirting with an all-time high in recent weeks, which saw it come within 71 points of its September 2014 peak. The index finished 2016 as the best-performing developed stock market and has risen in each of the last six months. Energy producers paced the loss on Wednesday, falling 1 percent, while industrials shares slid 0.4 percent.
     Cameco Corp. was the biggest loser in the benchmark index, falling as much as 15 percent, the most since March 2011. The uranium miner’s annual adjusted earnings per share will be “significantly lower” than estimates, the company said in an after-market statement on Tuesday. Cameco’s shares will be pressured given the earnings shortfall, as well as a lack of clarity on the reason, according to Royal Bank of Canada analyst Fraser Phillips.
     In other moves:
* Canadian Energy Services & Technology Corp., Torc Oil & Gas Ltd. and Baytex Energy Corp. lost more than 3.2% as crude oil decreased 2%
* Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. climbed 6.9%, offsetting losses of more than 1.7% for fellow raw-material producers Guyana Goldfields Inc. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan
US
By Natasha Doff and Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — Treasuries fell while the dollar advanced in a reversal of Tuesday’s trading as investors weighed the prospect of rising inflation against political uncertainty in the run-up to Donald Trump’s inauguration. U.S. stocks fluctuated amid corporate results.
     Data showing a fifth straight monthly advance in the U.S. cost of living bolstered arguments that inflation is taking hold, sending the yield on 10-year Treasury notes higher. The S&P 500 was little changed as investors assessed results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. while Target Corp. slumped after cutting its holiday sales forecast. Japan’s currency and gold retreated for the first time in eight days. Oil fell below $52 a barrel.
     Rising consumer prices in the U.S. joined data showing strengthening inflation in the U.K. and eurozone, underpinning confidence in a growth rebound a day after concerns about Trump’s policies and Brexit drove investors to haven assets. That’s taken the edge off the so-called reflation trade, with strategists starting to rethink bets on returning inflation and a stronger dollar. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is slated to speak at 3 p.m. New York time, while the European Central Bank meets Thursday.
     Read our Markets Live blog here.
     Here are the main movers for the key asset classes:
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,269.45 at 11:37 a.m. in New York, 0.3 percent below its all-time high set Jan. 6.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 13.91 points to 19,812.86. Goldman Sachs slipped 0.8 percent, while Citigroup Inc. retreated 1.6 percent. Both banks reported profit that topped estimates as bond trading buoyed results.
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.5 percent, after retreating 1.3 percent on Tuesday to the lowest in a month.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3 percent, poised for the highest closing level since Nov. 8.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index halted a five-day rally, retreating 0.5 percent.
* West Texas Intermediate crude slumped 0.6 percent to $52.13 a barrel, the most in a week.
* Gold lost 0.3 percent, snapping a seven-day winning streak that was the longest since November.
* Yields on 10-year Treasuries climbed four basis points to 2.37 percent, after falling seven basis points on Tuesday.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

All of our selfish impulses, all of our personal desires, obscure our true vision of the soul,
as they only point out our shabby ego.  When we are aware of our soul,
we perceive the inner life that surpasses our ego
and that has profound affinities with the Whole.
Rabindranath Tagore

As ever,
 

Carolann

You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others
to come to you.  You have to go to them sometimes.
                                          -A.A. Milne, 1882-1956

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