January 25, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Poet Robert Burns Day
On Jan. 25, 1915, the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, inaugurated U.S. transcontinental telephone service.
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Birthdays:
Virginia Woolf, 1882
Robert Burns, 1759 ~ Gie me ae spark o’ Nature’s fire, That’s a’ the learning I desire.

On January 25^th, 1915, Virginia Woolf wrote in her Diary:
My birthday – and let me count up all the things I had.  Leonard had sworn he would give me nothing, and like a good wife, I believed him.  But he crept into my bed, with a little parcel, which was a beautiful green purse.  And he brought up breakfast, with a paper which announced a naval victory (we have sunk a German battleship) and a square brown parcel, with The Abbot [by Sir Walter Scott]in it  – a lovely first edition.   So I had a very pleasing morning – which indeed was only surpassed by the afternoon.  I was then taken up to town, free of charge, and given a treat, first at a picture palace, and then at Buszards [Tea Rooms].   I  don’t think I’ve had a birthday treat for ten years; and it felt like one too – being a fine frosty day, everything brisk and cheerful, as it should be, but never is.  We exactly caught a non-stop train, and I have been very happy reading father [Sir Leslie Stephen] on Pope, which is very witty and bright, without a single dead sentence in it.  In fact I don’t know when I have enjoyed a birthday so much – not since I was a child anyhow. 

A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction. –Virginia Woolf.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A climber has captured Snowdonia in all it’s glory with these stunning shots of a starry snowy night on the mountain range. Keen mountaineer and photographer Gareth Owen snapped the beautiful images while on a night time climb to the Crib Goch ridge on Saturday night. The 29-year-old electrician said he had been waiting to get the shot for a few weeks and when the cloud started to clear on Saturday he headed up to the knife-edge ridge with friend Eilir Hughes. One of the snaps shows Gareth standing on top of the snowy ridge which is lit with a glowing blueish light created by his head torch while thousands of stars light up the night sky. Gareth, from Llanberis, Wales, said: “We usually go out once or twice a week if the weather allows. We try and get a sunrise or a sunset. “ I’ve been climbing on and off since I was about 12 years old but fo the past six or seven months I’ve been going regularly and have started to get into photography. “It gives you a real sense of achievement if you get to the top and to capture that sunset or sunrise. CREDIT: THE TELEGRAPH

Photo issued by the Chinese Academy of Sciences of long-tailed macaques monkeys Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua who are the first primates to be closed using transferred DNA. CREDIT: THE TELEGRPAH

Ducks perch on a park bench by Tewkesbury Cricket Club, Gloucestershire, after the area suffered persistent rainfall. CREDIT: THE TELEGRAPH
Market Closes for January 25^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1853, basic financial disclosure becomes mandatory for all companies seeking to list their stock for trading on the New York Stock and Exchange Board.
Number of the Day
6.8%
The latest blast of bitterly cold arctic air bearing down on the U.S. is sending natural-gas futures prices to their highest level in more than a year. On Tuesday alone, prices surged by more than 6.8%.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at their lowest since December as comments by U.S. President Donald Trump strengthened the U.S. dollar and sent oil and gold prices tumbling.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 80 points or 0.5 percent to 16,204.01, the lowest since Dec. 27. Materials lost 1.4 percent as precious and base metals fell after Trump said he ultimately wants a stronger dollar. 
     Energy also fell 1.4 percent as crude prices reversed earlier gains. Seven Generations Energy Ltd. and Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. both lost 3.9 percent.
     In other moves:
                             Stocks
* Celestica Inc. fell 5.4 percent, the most since October, after 4Q profit missed analyst estimates. The company is also buying Atrenne Integrated Solutions Inc. for $139m
* TransCanada Corp. fell 2.6 percent. The company’s CEO said the Keystone XL pipeline is feasible even after Nebraska regulators imposed an alternative route
* Rogers Communications Inc. lost 1 percent to the lowest since April after 2018 guidance came in below estimates and it didn’t hike its dividend as some analysts had expected
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $28.00 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,351.90 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2 percent to $1.2368 per U.S. dollar, the first decline in four trading days
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 2.24 percent
US
By Randall Jensen
     (Bloomberg) — The greenback surged after President Donald Trump said he wants a strong dollar, countermanding comments by his Treasury secretary. U.S. stocks pared gains sparked by strong corporate earnings.
     “The dollar is going to get stronger and stronger and ultimately I want to see a strong dollar,” Trump said during an interview with CNBC from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
     The dollar turned higher after the president’s comments, which ran counter to Steven Mnuchin’s endorsement of a weak greenback just a day earlier that had sent it tumbling into Thursday trading. Earlier, the currency had added to a three-day slide after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said robust growth justifies a stronger euro. Treasuries added to gains, taking the 10-year yield to 2.62 percent.
     Read more: Draghi Hits Back at Mnuchin in Global Currency War of Words
     Stocks swung between gains and losses as investors assessed the greenback’s gyrations and the impact on equities. Corporate results had set the tone, major indexes at the whim of big moves in individual stocks. Caterpillar Inc. advanced after earnings topped estimates, while Varian Medical Systems Inc. rallied along with 3M Co. on optimistic forecasts. Newell Brands Inc. tumbled when the company said it plans to sell off a swath of business. European equities fell as the euro gained.
     “You tend not get too many comments on the dollar’s value from either Treasury secretaries or presidents, it’s a rare event. So the market tends to pay attention when they do happen,” Shahab Jalinoos, global head of foreign-exchange strategy at Credit Suisse, said by phone. “The market can easily imagine the idea that this White House might well change its stance on the currency.”
Trump’s comments roiled a market where investors are already on edge as Mnuchin and Draghi engaged in public discussions of currency levels. That has investors reassessing the global risk- on rally that’s stretched valuations across asset classes. So far, U.S. equities have continued to march higher amid solid corporate results, but rising currencies have threatened stock gains from Japan to Europe. Investors are also casting a watchful on the World Economic Forum, where Trump will deliver a keynote as his administration ramps up protectionist rhetoric.
     Here’s what to watch out for this week:
* Earnings season is in full swing: Intel, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Starbucks and Hyundai Motor all come this week.
* Barring any last minute changes in Washington, Trump will join world leaders and senior executives in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum.
* The U.K. House of Lords is considering Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit bill this week. 

     These are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose less than 0.1 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 140.67 points to 26,392.79.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.6 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.1 percent, hitting the highest in more than 10 years.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 percent, after hitting the lowest in more than three years.
* The euro was little changed at $1.2408, after touching the strongest in more than three years.
* The British pound fell 0.7 percent to $1.4146.
* The Japanese yen was steady at 109.26 per dollar.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index rose 0.6 percent.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 2.62 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 0.61 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 1.41 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6 percent to $65.21 a barrel.
* Gold dropped 0.8 percent to $1,348.24 an ounce.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content.
                                          -Louis L’Amour, 1908-1988

 
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