July 12, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
July 12, 1690: Protestant forces led by William of Orange defeated the Roman Catholic army of James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.
Read article

The history of Aborginial Australians stretches back more than 40,000 years, but a flag represnting them wasn’t flown until this day in 1971. 

Back Story, NY  Times:
In the late 1960s, Aboriginal Australians were battling for land rights. Demonstrations featured numerous banners and posters, but for Harold Thomas, an Indigenous artist and activist, representation of Aboriginal identity was missing. 

The flag representing Aboriginal Australians.
Daniel Munoz/EPA-Shutterstock 

He designed a flag to correct that: A yellow circle symbolizing the sun divides a black half (representing Aboriginal Australians) and a red one (their relationship to the land). 

The Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman made waves in 1994 when she took a victory lap at the Commonwealth Games with both the Australian national flag and the Aboriginal flag. 

The aboriginal design was officially adopted as a flag of Australia in 1995. 

Last year, it earned digital recognition when Twitter added an emoji for it. (The emoji also includes the flag of the Torres Strait Islanders, another group of Indigenous Australians.) 

“The Aboriginal flag is central to our national identity,” Mr. Thomas told The Times when the emoji was released. “We are the first people here, for a very long time, and we’ll stay here until eternity.” 

Remy Tumin wrote today’s Back Story, New York Times, July 12, 2018

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

New observations with ESO’s Very Large Telescope show the star cluster RCW 38 in all its glory. The image, taken during testing of the HAWK-I camera with the GRAAL adaptive optics system, shows the cluster and its surrounding clouds of brightly glowing gas in exquisite detail, with dark tendrils of dust threading through the bright core of this young gathering of stars. Credit: European Southern Observatory

A Japanese fireworks performer set off fireworks to celebrate annual opening of Mount Fuji for the public at Sengentaisha Shrine in Fujinomiya, Japan. Credit: Aflo/Barcroft Images

Tamer Uysal at work cleaning windows in Eskisehir dressed as Spiderman. Credit: Emrah Yasar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Market Closes for July 12^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose the most in two and a half months to a record high, following global benchmarks in rebounding from Wednesday’s trade-related slump.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 150 points or 0.9 percent to 16,567.42 after China appeared to tone down its response to U.S. tariff threats. Technology shares jumped 3 percent to the highest since 2008, with Constellation Software Inc. adding 4.6 percent.
     Consumer staples rose 2 percent, the sector’s fifth straight gain. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. added 3.2 percent following strong earnings earlier this week.
     In other moves:
                            Stocks
* Cogeco Communications Inc. rose 9.1 percent, the most since 2007. CEO Louis Audet said the company is considering a move into wireless services
* Aritzia Inc. jumped 11 percent, the most since 2016, after a nod from Meghan Markle pushed first-quarter same-store-sales growth to 10.9 percent
* Hydro One Ltd. fell 3.2 percent, the most in 14 months. The utility’s CEO stepped down and its entire board resigned amid government pressure, prompting four analyst downgrades
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $19.50 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,246.60 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4 percent to C$1.3158 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 1 basis point to 2.16 percent
US
By Randall Jensen and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks rallied as trade tensions appeared to ease after China held off from immediately retaliating against the latest U.S. salvo. The dollar declined.
     The S&P 500 Index closed at the highest level since February as China seemed to strike a conciliatory tone in reaction to President Donald Trump’s newest escalation of the trade war between the two countries. Technology shares led gains, sending the Nasdaq Composite Index to a record.
     Ten-year Treasury yields traded little changed, and the dollar dropped against most peers after U.S. consumer prices rose less than forecast in June. West Texas crude fell to $70 a barrel.
     While markets welcome the lull in the trade war, they’ll remain on edge as they await a potential reprisal from Beijing to Trump’s latest volley. Investors concerns had overshadowed economic data hinting that global growth is on track as well as the start of earnings season.
     “What’s going on in the market right now is the tariffs are lending a tremendous amount of uncertainty,” Dave Haviland, managing partner of Beaumont Capital Management in Needham, Massachusetts, said by phone. “It’s the day-to-day back and forth, markets tend to overreact or react emotionally to news. This whole cauldron that is swirling around, all these worries and uncertainties are really causing this daily tug-of-war.”
     Elsewhere, Turkey’s lira recovered from a record low. The won fell, with little reaction to the Bank of Korea holding its benchmark rate at 1.5 percent.
     These are some events to look out for this week:
* Earnings season gets into gear with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. among the largest companies due to give results, as well as India’s Infosys Ltd.
* Chinese trade data due at the end of the week will probably show slightly slower export growth, after early indicators pointed to softer overseas demand and weaker export orders, Bloomberg Economics said.
     And here are the main market moves:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.9 percent to 2,798.34, the highest close since Feb. 1, 2018, as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.8 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index gained 0.6 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.5 percent.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1 percent.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1677.
* The British pound was steady at $1.3209.
* The Japanese yen decreased 0.4 percent to 112.50 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries were little changed at 2.85 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to 0.36 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 1.275 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2 percent to $70.22 a barrel.
* Brent crude rose 1.1 percent at $74.20 a barrel.
* Copper gained 1.3 percent to $2.77 a pound.
* Gold increased 0.4 percent to $1,246.87 an ounce.
–With assistance from Samuel Potter.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Experience teaches slowly and at the cost of mistakes.
                           -James A. Froude, 1818-1894\

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
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