June 14, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Royal Ascot horse races, England.

POINTS OF PROGRESS:
NORWAY
THE Scandinavian nation has introduced the world’s first zero-emission zone at sea.  The popularity of Norway’s fjords has led to heavy local air pollution; more than 300,000 cruise ship passengers visited the region last year.  The government has responded by mandating that the World Heritage-listed fjords be zero-emission zones by 2026, when only electric ships will be allowed to visit. -ELECTREK

GERMANY
The nation’s  crime rate is the lowest it has been since 1992.  The latest figure, unveiled by German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in May, revealed that in 2017 about 5.76 million crimes were reported, 5 per cent fewer than in 2016. -DEUTCHE WELLE

JOY IN THE SPRING
Check out:
http://bit.ly/mexicats &
http://bit.ly/superorganismlisten.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The sun rises over a poppy field in Kingswinford, West Midlands. Credit: SWNS.COM

Head Gardener Jeremy Lockwood deadheads the roses in front of the Queen Anne Enclosure as Ascot Racecourse. Credit: Geoff Pugh for The Telegraph

German-born British author and illustrator Judith Kerr poses for a photograph at her home in west London as she celebrates turning 95 on Thursday. Her famous children’s book “The Tiger Who Came To Tea” remains the crowning achievement of a life devoted to writing and drawing after she fled Nazi Germany. Credit: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images

Four paintings charting the path of Impressionism from Boudin to Monet and Pissarro which will appear on the market for the first time in over three decades from a private American collection, at the Impressionist & Modern Art Sale at Sotheby’s in London. Credit: Paul Grover for The Telegraph
Market Closes for June 14^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks resumed their run at a fresh high, gaining the most in a week and a half on strength in consumer and materials shares.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 63 points or 0.4 percent to 16,328.96, less than 100 points from its January record. Consumer discretionary stocks rose the most, adding 1.2 percent. Magna International Inc. gained 1.4 percent, shrugging of lingering trade fears.
     The materials sector added 0.8 percent to reach the highest since mid-January. Gold miners led the gains, with Yamana Gold Inc. up 5.6 percent.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* CES Energy Solutions Corp. added 8.5 percent after announcing it will buy back up to 10 percent of its public float and double its dividend
* TransAlta Renewables Inc. slid 5.8 percent, its biggest single-day drop. The company is selling C$150 million of stock through a bought-deal offering
* Canada Goose Holdings Inc. gained 2 percent to a record close.  The retailer reports quarterly results before the market opens Friday
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $18.50 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.12 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,304.00 an ounce, the highest in three weeks
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.8 percent to C$1.3094 per U.S. dollar, the weakest since March
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell five basis points to 2.27 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Janine Wolf
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks closed higher on gains by big technology and media companies, outweighing laggard financial and industrial shares. The dollar hit an 11-month high and 10- year Treasury yields tightened.
     Comcast Corp. and Walt Disney Co. were among the big gainers in the S&P 500 Index Thursday as bidding for 21st Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets heated up. Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and other tech giants also climbed, sending the Nasdaq Composite Index to a record high. But banks lagged thanks to a flattening yield curve.
     “Technology stocks tend to be less inclined to be slowed down by rising interest rates,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR Inc., said by phone. “Of the two major concerns we have in the market, whether it’s monetary policy or trade policy, tech seems to be a bit agnostic to those concerns.
     European stocks also gained after the region’s central bank delivered a somewhat dovish message to investors who had been reeling from disappointing China data and the Federal Reserve’s hawkish shift.
     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed after the ECB held interest rates and signaled that stimulus may last until the end of the year and rates will remain steady until at least the summer of 2019. The euro suffered its biggest drop in about two years and major government bonds rallied.
     After the decision, ECB President Mario Draghi struck a balanced tone. He said substantial progress had been made in adjusting the path of inflation — one of the goals of the QE program — but that growth in the region is poised to slow this year, while protectionism remains a risk.
     The ECB’s mixed message comes hot on the heels of conflicting signals from the world’s two biggest economies. The Fed talked up U.S. growth as it raised rates and hinted at a total of four hikes in 2018, while China’s central bank unexpectedly failed to follow the increase. Policy makers in the Asian nation may well be concerned at its slowing pace of expansion; economic indicators including retail sales and industrial output missed estimates for May. Adding to the gloom, President Donald Trump threatened to “strongly” confront China on trade.
     Asian shares dropped in the wake of the Fed announcement and China data. Haven assets such as gold advanced while emerging-market equities slid.
     These are some key events to watch this week:
* The Bank of Japan June monetary policy decision and news conference is Friday.
* FIFA expects more than 3 billion viewers for the World Cup that begins this week in Russia.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index increased 0.3 percent as of 4:01 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.7 percent to a record high.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.2 percent to the highest in more than three weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index decreased 1 percent to the lowest in almost two weeks.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 1 percent to the highest in 11 months.
* The euro sank 1.7 percent to $1.1586, its biggest drop in about two years.
* The British pound decreased 0.7 percent to $1.3278.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2 percent to 110.61 per dollar.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 2.93 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped six basis points to 0.43 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 1.334 percent, the lowest in more than a week.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5 percent to $66.95 a barrel.
* Gold climbed 0.3 percent to $1,3075.32 an ounce.
* LME copper sank 1.1 percent to $7,177 per metric ton, the biggest drop in three weeks.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Andreea Papuc, Jana Randow, Carolynn Look and Samuel Potter. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

The weakest link in a chain is the strongest because it can break it.
                                                  -Stanislaw J. Lec, 1909-1966

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