July 9, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

This poem appeared in the Financial Times this past Saturday:

BRONTESAURUS
   -by Jeanette Winterson

Fossil record of a miracle
Bone by Bone
Word for Word
Three Women writing the Past into the Future
Line by Line
Listen to the Wildfell of your heart
Do not betray what you love
The earth opens like a book
You are come back to me then?
BRONTISSIMO

This new, unpublished poem is part of the Brontë Stones project being launched this weekend [July7-8, 2018], commissioned by Bradford Literature Festival in association with Provident Financial Group.  The project features four new, original works of writing by Jeanette Winterson, Kate Bush, Carol Ann Duffy and Jackie Kay, engraved on to stones in different locations connecting the Brontë sisters’ birthplace in Thornton and the Brontë family parsonage (now Brontë Parsonage Museum) at Haworth.  bradfordlitfest.co.uk.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Three-masted topsail schooner Oosterschelde, of the Sail Royal Greenwich Tall Ships Festival Fleet, passes under Tower Bridge as tourists took in the sights of the River Themes. Credit: Paul Quezada-Neiman/Alamy Live News

Horseman ride in a choreographed cavalry charge in a fantasia during the 14^th Tan-Tan Moussem Berber festival in the western Moroccan desert town of Tan-Tan. The festival, which is recognized by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, is organized every year to promote local traditions and brings together nomadic tribes from northern Africa. Credit: Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images

A ballerina watches the broadcast of the World Cup quarter-final match between Russia and Croatia at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Credit: Anton Vaganov/Reuters
Market Closes for July 9^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at a fresh record, tracking global indexes higher, as investors shrugged off trade fears, with industrials leading the gains.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 81 points or 0.5 percent to 16,452.34, just ahead of its previous high of 16,450 hit on June 22. Industrials rose 1.9 percent as trade-sensitive stocks rallied, with Air Canada gaining 3.8 percent and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. adding 3.4 percent.
     Utilities were the biggest decliners, losing 1 percent as bond yields rose. Atco Ltd. fell 2 percent and Fortis Inc. slid 1.9 percent.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Pretium Resources Inc. jumped 15 percent to the highest since January after it reported second-quarter production results and said its Brucejack mine reached steady-state production
* Precision Drilling Corp. gained 6.8 percent, the most in three months. The oilfield driller was awarded a contract in Kuwait and said it has 54 active rigs in Canada
* Canadian National Railway Co. rose 2.7 percent. The carrier was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank on expected margin expansion and earnings growth
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $19.00 discount to WTI, the narrowest gap in more than three weeks
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,259.60 an ounce, the highest in two weeks
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2 percent to C$1.3118 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose three basis points to 2.16 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities rose to the highest in almost a month as investors set aside concern about escalating trade tensions and rising political tension abroad to focus on the coming earnings season. The dollar gained versus major peers and Treasuries retreated.
     The S&P 500 Index climbed for a third day and the Dow Jones Industrial Average popped through key technical levels. Miners and energy producers took the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to a fifth consecutive advance, the longest winning streak since March. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped the most in a month.
     The pound erased gains after pro-Brexit official Boris Johnson quit as U.K. foreign secretary throwing the U.K. government into turmoil over negotiations to leave the European Union. The dollar strengthened against most major peers. The Turkish lira retreated after President Recep Erdogan named his son-in-law finance minister. The Chinese yuan rebounded after its fourth weekly decline.
     The start of earnings season this week may divert some attention away from the trade war that’s kept global stocks under pressure, while data out Friday supported sentiment. The U.S. jobs report showed another month of gains in excess of 200,000, while German industrial production beat all estimates for May. Those signs of strength contrasted with protectionist tensions after China retaliated against U.S. tariff increases.
     “The markets, especially after the report on unemployment last week, seem to be pretty comfortable looking ahead and getting all the jitters about the trade war away,” Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer for equities at Charles Schwab Investment Management, said by phone. “Having the market paying more attention to earnings and fundamentals is clearly a good sign.”
     These are some events to look out for this week:
* 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. China releases June PPI and CPI on Tuesday, both of which should show a pickup.
* The most noteworthy U.S. data is the June inflation report on Thursday, which consensus expects will show both headline and core price growth picking up. There’s another deluge of Treasury debt sales too, with a total $156 billion of notes and bills offered.
* Earnings season gets going with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup among the largest companies due to give results, as well as India’s Infosys Ltd.
     Here are the main market moves:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent to 2,784.28 as of 4 p.m. in New York, the highest close since June 12.
* The Dow added 321 points to 24,777.51, a level last seen on June 18.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.6 percent, hitting the highest in more than two weeks.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index increased 0.9 percent to the highest in almost three weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 1.4 percent on the largest gain in more than a week.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index surged 1.3 percent.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 percent.
* The euro fell 0.1 percent to $1.1736.
* The British pound fell 0.5 percent to $1.3215.
* The Japanese yen slid 0.4 percent to 110.852 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained four basis points to2.86 percent, the highest in a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased three basis points to 0.32 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 1.312 percent.
                            Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index was little changed after touching the highest a week.
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1 percent to $73.72 a barrel.
* Gold futures increased 0.6 percent to $1,263.60 an ounce, the highest in two weeks.
–With assistance from Eddie van der Walt. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

No man can lose what he never had.
            -Izaak Walton, 1593-1683

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com