January 18, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!
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. Go to article »

In memoriam: Mary Oliver, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, used plain language and minute attention to write about the natural world. She earned wide popularity, and comparisons to Walt Whitman and Robert Frost, although critical reaction was mixed. She died on Thursday at 83.
-from Mary Oliver:
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

The streets are closed in Cremona, Italy, and the mayor has asked citizens for silence. Even a broken glass may trigger a police visit.

Cremona was once home to Antonio Stradivari, who in the 17th and 18th centuries produced some of the finest violins and cellos ever made. And an ambitious project to digitally record the sounds of his instruments requires absolute quiet.

Sound engineers using 32 ultrasensitive microphones are producing a database to store all the possible tones that four instruments selected from the Museo del Violino’s collection can produce. The quiet, and the recording, lasts through January. -NY Times, January 18^th, 2019.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A shark said to be ‘Deep Blue’, is one of the largest recorded individuals, swims offshore Hawaii, U.S. in this picture obtained from social media. Credit: Juansharks/@oceanramsay/Juan Oliphant/oneoceandiving/com via Reuters

HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing No, 26 Motorbike ridden by Carlos Gracida Garza of Mexico competes in the sand, desert and dunes during Stage Nine of the 2019 Dakar Rally near Ica in Pisco, Peru. Credit” Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Bryony Frost riding Myplaceatmidnight (L) lead all the way to win The Towergate Caravan Insurance Handicap Hurdle at Wincanton Racecourse in Wincanton, England. Credit: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
Market Closes for January 18^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks extended gains for an 11th consecutive session, the longest advance for the S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Index since May 2018. Global markets continued to see a risk-on tone, as U.S. equities climbed amid further optimism for U.S.-China trade talks.
     The benchmark climbed 0.6 percent in Toronto, led by technology and health care, while materials underperformed. The index breached the 100-day moving average for the first time since late September. The index’s rally so far this year has been driven mainly by pot producers. In fact, the last time Canadian stocks started the year with such a dramatic gain, Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” was the number one song.
     Canadian inflation unexpectedly accelerated on a surge in airfares last month, but underlying price pressures remained steady. The consumer price index in December gained 2 percent from a year ago, up from 1.7 percent in November, driven by a 22 percent surge in the cost of air transportation. Economists had been expected inflation to be unchanged.
Stocks
* Cronos Group Inc. climbed 8.7 percent after CIBC Capital Markets initiated coverage with a sector outperform rating  * Aphria rose 3.4 percent after falling 3 days
* NFI Group advanced 7.8 percent after the company doubled the size of its buyback
* Gold miners fell amid optimism for progress in U.S.-China trade talks that boosted equities
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.40 discount to WTI
* Gold fell about 0.9 percent to $1,280.94 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose about 0.03 percent to C$1.3275 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 2.033%
US
By Randall Jensen and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks rallied to the highest level in six weeks as signs the U.S. and China are closing in on a trade truce and stronger factory numbers boosted investor confidence in the global economy. Treasuries slid and the dollar gained.
     The S&P 500 Index advanced for a fourth week, the longest streak since August, as technology firms and trade-sensitive companies from Boeing to Caterpillar rose after a report by Bloomberg News said China has offered a path to eliminate its trade gap with America. Major indexes padded earlier gains fueled by the biggest increase in factory output in 10 months.
     Facebook pared its rise after the Washington Post said regulators discussed fining the social-media giant. The dollar strengthened for a fourth day, while the 10-year Treasury yield reached 2.78 percent. West Texas crude pushed above $53 a barrel, and gold slid along with the Japanese yen.
     “Trade has been a weight on the market for some time now, I think the good thing is it’s pretty clear the administration wants a deal,” said Andrew Kenney, the chief investment officer of Delaware Life, which manages $37 billion.
     The newest signal of easing tensions followed a Wall Street Journal report Thursday, which was later denied, that offered fresh hope that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would be able to de-escalate the spat. Adding to the bullish sentiment has been a slew of better-than-expected economic data this week.
     Elsewhere, the pound weakened, erasing Thursday’s rally when U.K. opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said that a second referendum remains an option in the Brexit saga.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 1.3 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time, to the highest since Dec. 6. 
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.8 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 0.7 percent to the highest in more than six weeks.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.4 percent.
* The euro fell 0.2 percent at $1.1366.
* The Japanese yen decreased 0.4 percent to 109.72 per dollar.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index slipped 0.1 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 2.78 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.26 percent.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 1.2 percent to a five-week high.
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 3.1 percent to $53.71 a barrel, the highest in five weeks.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Todd White and Brendan Walsh.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.
                                                      -Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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