June 21, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: HAPPY FRIDAY!  It’s officially summer!  

 On this day

 
1749 – Edward Cornwallis founds settlement at Halifax with 2,576 English colonists.
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-from today’s New York Times:

It’s the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the period when the region is most tilted toward the sun. The opposite is happening in the Southern Hemisphere.

A Mongolian shaman performing a sun ritual during the summer solstice last year.  Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Jenna Wortham, the host of The Times’s “Still Processing” podcast, says the solstice “is an invitation to lean into the light and awaken the awareness that lives inside of us all.” How?

Your Back Story writer today is a communications director at The Times, and also a yoga instructor. So, of course, I recommend a few postures.

As it happens, the United Nations has declared today the International Day of Yoga, so I invite you to look up at the sky and consider our connection to the universe. The word yoga, after all, means “union” in Sanskrit.

You can do an abbreviated sun salutation by inhaling and reaching both arms straight up to the sky, then exhaling, bending at the waist and bowing forward. Or try the full version.

You can do an abbreviated sun salutation by inhaling and reaching both arms straight up to the sky, then exhaling, bending at the waist and bowing forward. Or try the full version.

Whichever you choose, namaste — meaning the teacher in me salutes the teacher in you.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

HM The Queen and The Princess Royal arrive at Ascot races, UK, on Ladies Day.
CREDIT: EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Children dressed in the tradition clothes of the Sorbs attend a holy mass during a Corpus Christi procession in Crostwitz, Germany, Thursday. The catholic faithful Sorbs are acknowledged as a national minority near the German-Polish border with their own language in eastern Germany. The procession to commemorate the solemnity of the body and blood of Christ has been a tradition in Lusatia (Laustiz) region.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO /JENS MEYER

Men dressed in traditional clothes start for a Corpus Christi procession at lake Staffelsee in Seehausen near Murnau, Germany
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/ MATTHIAS SCHRADER

A woman walking along a suspension bridge at a height of 2320 metres at the Rosa Khutor alpine ski restore in Krasnaya Polyana
CREDIT: DMITRY FEOKTISTOV/TASS/BARCROFT MEDIA
Market Closes for June 21st, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1970, Penn Central, one of the world’s largest and oldest railroad operators, declared bankruptcy when the Federal government refused to guarantee $200 million in emergency loans.  Investors—especially banks and holders of the railway’s commercial paper—were caught almost completely by surprise.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian equities ended their six day win streak as the market couldn’t shake off weakness from Canopy Growth Corp.’s disappointing earnings.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 0.3% to 16,525. Health care and consumer staples lagged while materials rose.
     Meanwhile, Bill C-69 passed Canada’s Senate last night. A broad range of social, economic, and health impacts will become part of the federal permitting plan for major industrial, transportation, and energy projects under the bill.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Village Farms International Inc. lost 8.8% 
* Canopy Growth Corp. dropped 7.6% 
* Ensign Energy Services Inc. fell 3.7% 
* Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. rose 5.8% 
* Eldorado Gold Corp. gained 5.7% 
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $13.35 discount to WTI=
* Gold spot price rose 0.4% to $1,403 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.2% to C$1.3212 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.483%
US
By Vildana Hajric and Olivia Rinaldi
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were mixed after touching record highs as an escalation of tensions with Iran slowed this week’s rally in risk assets sparked by dovish central banks. Oil gained as escalating tensions with Iran fanned fears of conflict.
     The S&P 500 spiked to a fresh intraday high and the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly surpassed its Oct. 3 closing record. The index whipsawed Friday with volumes higher than the 30-day average as futures and options expire. The dollar was little changed after slumping in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s dovish signals earlier in the week, while gold traded around $1,400 an ounce for the first time since 2013. U.S. crude topped $57 a barrel. “The last time we had a quad-witching day like this we had similar volatility,” said Sean O’Hara, president of Pacer ETFs Distributors. “Bigger picture issue is I think people are trying to sort of digest all of the news of the week and weigh that against the potential threats in Iran.”
     The risk-on mood was damped after President Donald Trump said he approved strikes overnight against Iran in retaliation for downing a U.S. drone, but then called off the operation. West Texas Intermediate remained on pace for its biggest weekly increase since December 2016.
     “I’m curious about what happens over the next 24-48 hours because this aborted strike on Iran leaves open the question about what does happen next? It has implications for oil prices and potentially the economy,” said Kevin Caron, a senior portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors. Policy makers in the U.S., Europe and Australia were among those signaling a readiness to do more to support growth this week, helping fuel gains for equities while putting increased pressure on sovereign bond yields. Next week, the trade issue is back up: Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet during the Group of 20 summit in Japan.
     Gains for stocks have “been built on the potential for monetary policy support from the Federal Reserve on one side, and the easing of trade tensions on the other,” Alex Dryden, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, told Bloomberg TV. “That is not the best basis for building an equity market rally in a sustainable manner.”
     The euro strengthened and most European bonds slipped after data showed economic activity in the region improved in June. Health care firms weighed on the Stoxx 600 Index. Asian markets were also red overall, with Japanese, South Korean and Australian shares declining as Chinese stocks rose.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index was little changed as of 2:32 p.m. New York time. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index eased less than 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.4%, the first decrease in four days. 
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
* The euro gained 0.6% to $1.1365, while the yen weakened 0.1% to 107.40 per dollar. 
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2713.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index was little changed.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased 3 basis points to 2.06%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed 3 basis points to -0.29%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose 4 basis points to 0.85%. 
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate rose 1.6% to $57.54 a barrel. 
* Gold increased 0.7% to $1,398 an ounce. 
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 0.2%.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

 Be magnificent!

Carolann

As ever,

Since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable.

                                                                              -Brenda Ueland, 1891-1985

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