July 13, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On July 13, 1977, a 25-hour blackout hit the New York City area after lightning struck upstate power lines.
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Points of Progress:
INDIA: The world’s largest beach cleanup project is complete.  Afroz Shah, who in 2015 began cleaning Versova beach with his 84-year old neighbor, eventually rallied hundreds and then thousands of local residents to help clear the 11,684,500 pounds of trash that once littered the shoreline.  Mr. Shah, a young lawyer, led the work over a period of 21 months and was recently awarded the United Nations’ Champion of the Earth award.  –ECO WATCH, CNN.

SOUTH AFRICA:  The future of South Africa’s airports is green.  In the past year, state-owned airport operator Airports Company South Africa has unveiled three solar-powered regional airports across the country and plans to have another three by the end of the year.  Solar farms currently supply 45 percent of the power needed; the rest comes from conventional sources.  The company, which also operates South Africa’s three international airports, says its long-term goal is to have airports generate their own energy.  It has plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025. –CNN.

UNITED STATES: Brienne Minor became the first black woman to win the NCAA  Tennis women’s  singles title.  A University of Michigan sophomore, Ms. Minor picked up her passion for the game from her grandfather, who started playing in Indianapolis parks back when blacks were banned from country clubs.  She was also the first African-American to win the Division 1 title since Arthur Ashe in 1965. –The Washington Post.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A military vessel sail at sunset off Trieste , northern Italy. Photo Credit: AFP

A vietnamese boat driver waits for customers at a riverside park on the river Song Hau river in the Southern vietnamese city of Can Tho. Photo Credit: AFP

The pack rides past a sunflowers field during the 214,5 km twelth stage of the 104th edition of the Tour de France cycing race on July 13th , 2017 between Pau and Peyragudes. Photo Credit: AFP
Market Closes for July 13^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1852, Henry Wells and William G. Fargo found Wells Fargo in San Francisco and Sacramento to convert gold dust into cash for miners, as well as to transport and safeguard letters, gold nuggets and other valuable byproducts of the California Gold Rush.
Canada
By Natalie Wong
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell slightly as losses in materials and telecom offset gains in health care and financials.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 0.06 percent to 15,135. Telecom slipped 0.5 percent as BCE Inc. lost 0.5 percent and Telus Corp. fell 0.7 percent.
     Materials slipped 0.5 percent as Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. dropped 2.3 percent and Barrick Gold Corp lost 0.4 percent.
     Health care rose 0.8 percent and was Canada’s top performing sector, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. gained 2.2 percent after announcing plans in August to redeem the remaining $500 million of bonds scheduled to come due next year.
     In other moves:
* Financials rose 0.2 percent as Manulife Financial Corp. gained 1.9 percent, surging to a five-month high on a report it may take John Hancock public
* Shopify Inc. fell 1.7 percent paring a four-day rally, despite news that its merchants will soon be able to sell through EBay
* Hudson’s Bay Co. rose 3.7 percent and was the top performing stock in Canada.
US
By Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes toward all-time highs, while Treasuries fell as Janet Yellen signaled continued stimulus as the American economy sustains a steady pace of growth.
     The S&P 500 Index closed within five points of its record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a fresh high as the central bank chair reiterated her intention to tighten only gradually. Financial shares led gains with three large banks slated to deliver earnings Friday. Treasuries gave up Wednesday’s gains as Yellen offered a note of caution on the economy’s growth rate, while the dollar was mixed against its major peers.  
     “It’s something that would be wonderful if you can accomplish it — I’d love to see it,” Yellen said of 3 percent growth rates in response to a question during her Senate hearing. “It would be quite challenging.”
     Yellen’s signal that the economy is not in danger of overheating, with inflation rates stubbornly below Fed targets, comes as the central bank seems likely to err on the side of not tightening too quickly. Investors will get clues on how choppy data during the second quarter translated into corporate earnings when JPMorgan Chase & Co., Well Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. report Friday.
     Investors also digested fresh news out of Washington, where Senate Republicans unveiled a new health-care bill they hope to bring up for a vote next week. The move comes as the Trump administration attempts to move past the latest diversion from its policy agenda.
     Here’s what investors are watching:
* U.S. CPI reading is due Friday.
* The three American lenders report before the opening bell Friday.
     These are the main moves in markets: 
     Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,447.93 at 4 p.m. in New York, 0.2 percent below its closing record of 2,453.46.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average added to its all-time high, rising 0.1 percent to 21,553.50, while the Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.2 percent for a fifth straight gain.
* Small caps lagged behind, with the Russell 2000 Index little changed.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.3 percent, building on Wednesday’s 1.5 percent gain.
* The MSCI ACWI Index, which includes emerging and developed world markets, rose 0.3 percent to a record high.
     Rates
* The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield gained three basis points to 2.34 percent.
* German benchmark bund yields rose a similar amount to 0.59 percent.
     Currencies
* The greenback fell against most of its major peers, with the dollar index touching the lowest since Sept. 22 before trading little changed.
* The Canadian dollar added 0.2 percent to $1.27243.
* The pound climbed 0.5 percent to $1.2946. The euro was little changed at $1.1406.
     Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose for a fourth day, adding 1.3 percent to settle at $46.08 a barrel. Brent added 68 cents to end at $48.42. The WTI settlement was the highest since July 3 and came on a forecast that global demand growth will accelerate this year, even as supplies drain more slowly than anticipated.
* Gold futures slipped 0.2 percent to $1,217.10 an ounce, after gaining three days on expectations rates will stay low.
* Spring wheat for September delivery fell as much as 1.6 percent to $7.7025 a bushel before recouping losses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said domestic production will be greater than analysts expected.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

In man, reason quickens and guides the feeling,
in brute, the soul lies forever dormant.
To awaken the heart is to awaken the dormant soul.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.
                            -Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519

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