June 17, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday!

Rich people are buying forests, betting the global decline in arable land and rising food demand makes them a good investment.

Scientists discover plastic-eating mushroom.

On June 17, 1994, the police charged O. J. Simpson with murdering his former wife and a friend of hers, and then pursued him for about 50 miles along Southern California highways before he finally surrendered outside his home. Go to article »

1972 – Watergate arrests.
M.C, Escher, artist, b.1898
Igor Stravinsky, composer, b. 1882.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Pianist-composer Alain plays his vertical piano during a performance on the occasion of an Open Day at the construction site of the Future Theatre de Carouge, in Geneva, Switzerland
CREDIT: MARTIAL TREZZIN/EPA-EFE/REX

French athlete Benoit Outters looks at paragliders flying during a training session prior the Red Bull X-Alps race on June 14,2019 in Bergbahnen Werfenweng, western Austria.
CREDIT: LUCAS BARIOULET/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A Ford Model A make its return to the pit area during the Vintage Hot Rod Racing on Pendine Sands on June 16, 2019 in Carmarthen, Wales.
CREDIT: ALAN CROWHURST/ GETTY IMAGES

A double rainbow forms off the coast of Whitley Bay on the North East coast.
CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA
Market Closes for June 17th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
The main event this week is likely to be the Fed decision. In light of recent market volatility, trade tensions, soft labor data, benign inflation and falling inflation expectations, talk of rate cuts is front and center. But the consensus is that there won’t be one just yet. 
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian equities and U.S. stocks gained Monday, while crude oil slipped further into a bear market.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.3%, led by health care (mainly marijuana stocks), and materials. Consumer staples also rose. Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Hexo Corp. plan to start selling multiple types of pot beverages on Canadian shelves the first day they can do so legally.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Street Capital Group Inc. rallied 32% after being acquired by RFA Capital Holdings 
* GMP Capital Inc. rose 13% after Stifel Financial Corp. agreed to buy GMP’s advisory and trading business 
* Bombardier Inc. gained 10% as Mitsubishi said buying Bombardier’s jet division would make sense 
* iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc. rose 11.7% 
* Lightspeed POS Inc. dropped 9.4% 
* MEG Energy Corp. fell 3% 
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11 discount to WTI
* Gold spot price fell 0.1% to $1,339.95 an ounce 
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was flat at C$1.3414 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.445%
US
By Vildana Hajric and Colin Beresford
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities gained, led by FANG shares, while European stocks pared losses following a mixed session in Asia as a big week for central-bank policy gets underway. Crude oil slumped for the first time in three days. 
     Facebook, Apple, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet led the Nasdaq Composite higher, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed little changed. Deutsche Bank boosted lenders on reports that it’s considering creating a “non-core unit” to wind down legacy assets as part of a broader overhaul. Japanese and Australian shares declined, while equities in Hong Kong rose after the government suspended a controversial extradition bill.
     The dollar briefly weakened after a Federal Reserve survey of factories in New York State plunged in June by the most on record, before climbing back from the day’s lows. Treasuries pared a drop on the news, but they stayed mostly lower alongside European bonds as investors looked ahead to a week in which the Fed, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England all set monetary policy.
     “We’ll find out Wednesday if the market is right about how dovish it is when it comes to monetary policy,” said Arthur Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities Corp. “So what we’re looking for is affirmation of where the market is already, and anything that fails to affirm that probably is a negative toward the S&P 500.” Investors will be scrutinizing the Fed’s decision and messaging on Wednesday for signals on the chances of rates cuts ahead. Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross reiterated that the prospect of a major trade deal is unlikely to emerge from a possible meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka this month. 
     “We know that the Fed doesn’t like to surprise people and the idea at this point of them digging in their heels and saying ’absolutely no cuts,’ I think is very unlikely,” Josh Kutin, head of asset allocation for Columbia Threadneedle, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “Will it be the full number that’s priced in right now? I think that’s unlikely as well. I think somewhere between is pretty fair.”
     Elsewhere, oil futures fell as Saudi Arabia expressed hope that OPEC and its allies will agree to extend production cuts into the second half. Bitcoin jumped as much as 11%, heading toward its highest close in more than a year.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England all set monetary policy, along with central banks in Norway, Brazil, Taiwan and Indonesia.
* The Fed meeting begins Tuesday with a decision and press conference the next day. Officials are expected to debate a rate cut to shelter the U.S. economy, in part, from the fallout caused by escalating trade disputes.
* In the U.K. Tuesday there will be a second ballot on the leadership contest to choose Theresa May’s successor as leader of the country’s ruling party.
* Final May CPI data for the euro zone are due Tuesday.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1% as of 4:03 p.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.1%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 eased less than 0.1%. 
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index dropped 0.4%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4%, the fourth consecutive decline. 
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.1%.
* The euro rose less than 0.1% to $1.1218, while the yen was little changed at 108.57 per dollar.
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2542.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index fell 0.1%, the fourth consecutive decline.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose less than 1 basis point to 2.09%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose 1 basis point to negative 0.25%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate fell 1.2% to $51.87 a barrel, the first drop in three trading sessions.
* Gold dropped 0.2% to $1,339 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell less than 0.1%, the first drop in third days. 
–With assistance from Yakob Peterseil.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The universe has no restrictions.  You place restrictions on the universe with your expectations.

                                                                                -Deepak K Chopra, b. 1947

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

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