June 15, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1215: Magna Carta chartered.

PRIME NUMBERS:
5.9 MILLION
Canadians, ages 65 and older, compared with 5.8 million Canadians ages 14 or younger.  The number of seniors in Canada has surpassed the number of children for the first time.

18,000
New plant and animal species discovered by scientists in 2016, including the sorting-hat spider and a centipede that can swim.

55,000+
Amount in (US dollars) raised through crowdfunding campaigns for Steven Jones, a homeless man who assisted injured children at the scene of the Manchester, England, bombing.

500
Members of a burglary gang spanning across Europe that authorities say they have broken up.  The group is thought to be responsible for a fifth of German break-ins.

44
Percentage of young Republicans in the United States ages 18 to 29 who have left the party at some point since December 2015.  Of that group, roughly half returned to the GOP, while the rest switched to the Democratic Party.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Three owls squeeze out of a hole as they wait for their parents to return with food.
Caters News Agency

A storm is pictured in Lincoln, Nevraska, USA.
John Finny/WENN
Market Closes for June 15^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1911, Charles Flint merges Tabulating Machine Co. with Computing Scale Co. of America and International Time Recording Co. to form Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co., the ancestor of IBM.

2.1 million
Gasoline inventories in the U.S. rose by 2.1 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday, compared with the survey’s expectation of a 700,000 decline, underlining worries about global crude-oil oversupply extending to products.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell for a fourth day, reaching a new low for the year as slumping raw-material prices pressured mining companies and energy producers.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 0.1 percent to 15,160.42, its lowest since December 6. Materials stocks dropped 0.8 percent as precious and base metal prices fell. Hudbay Minerals Inc. lost 5.8 percent.
     Energy stocks slid 0.7 percent as oil prices fell 0.6 percent to $44.46 a barrel, their lowest level since November. Baytex Energy Corp. tumbled 8.6 percent and Crew Energy Inc. dropped 5.5 percent.
     In other moves:
* Home Capital Group Inc. gained 13 percent to its highest close since April. The company reached a settlement with regulators and investors over fraudulent mortgages
* North West Co. Inc. added 4.7 percent following an upgrade at Industrial Alliance Securities
* Teck Resources Ltd. fell 3.8 percent. The miner said it expects realized coal prices to fall to $160 to $165 a tonne in the second quarter.
US
By Jeremy Herron and Brian Chappatta
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for the fourth time in five days as selling in technology shares resumed. The dollar advanced with Treasury yields, while gold weakened as traders digested the more hawkish tone struck by the Federal Reserve.
     Equity benchmarks slipped from near record levels, technology shares pacing declines. Commodity producers also retreated, as crude fell to a seven-month low and gold slid more than 1.5 percent. European stocks dropped to levels last seen in April. The greenback strengthened and 10-year Treasury yields climbed as the Fed suggested the strength of the labor market will ultimately prevail over weakness in inflation. Emerging- market equities tumbled more than 1 percent. 
Investors resumed selling the major technology shares that have contributed most to equity records this year, as the threat of higher interest rates prompted a shift from growth into value shares. Softening commodity prices did little bolster arguments that inflation will pick up the pace, even as the U.S. labor market remains on strong footing — raising the specter that central bank officials made a policy error.
     Meanwhile, Washington remained in focus as the special counsel investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election was said to be planning to interview two top U.S. intelligence officials about whether President Donald Trump sought their help to get the FBI to back off a related probe of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
     Here are the key remaining events investors will be watching this week:
* The Bank of Japan concludes a two-day meeting on Friday. While economists don’t expect any significant changes to monetary policy, they will parse the BOJ’s statement and Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s comments for clues to the outlook for inflation.
     Here are the major movers:
     Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,432.49 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring losses that reached 0.8 percent.
* Tech shares in the measure lost 0.5 percent, while bond proxies from real estate to utilities led gains.
* The tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes retreated at least 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 percent from a fresh record.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated 0.4 percent.
* Emerging-market equities tumbled 1.2 percent.
     Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.6 percent following three days of losses.
* The yen was 0.7 percent weaker at 110.34 per dollar after climbing 0.5 percent Wednesday.
* The British pound weakened 0.1 percent to $1.2741 and the euro retreated 0.6 percent to $1.1151.
     Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose three basis points to 2.16 percent, after dropping 8.5 basis points Wednesday to 2.13 percent, the lowest level since November.
* European bonds tracked the move in Treasuries on Wednesday, with the yield on benchmark U.K. bonds rising 11 basis points to 1.03 percent and those of French and German peers increasing six basis points.
     Commodities
* West Texas crude futures fell 0.6 percent to settle at $44.46 a barrel, the lowest in seven months. It tumbled 3.7 percent in the previous session after data showed U.S. gasoline supplies unexpectedly rose for a second week.
* Gold futures sank 1.7 percent to close at $1,254.60 an ounce, notching the biggest drop since Dec. 15.
* Copper fell 0.7 percent to settle at $5,661 a ton on the London Metal Exchange, in a fourth straight decline, longest stretch of losses since March 9.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

My country and your country,
my God and your God – all that is the fragmentation of thought.
Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day.
                                                                           -Franz Liszt, 1811-1886

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
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com