June 24, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
St. Jean Baptiste Day~ big celebrations in Quebec taking place.  

June 24, 1497: Discovery of Newfoundland
On June 24, 1997, the Air Force released a report on the so-called “Roswell Incident,” suggesting the alien bodies witnesses reported seeing in 1947 were actually life-sized dummies. Go to article »

 RULES TO LIVE BY
These 11 rules are part of Charles Syke’s book “Dumbing Down Our Kids”. 

1. “Life is not fair – get used to it.” The more time you spend complaining about the things you can’t control, the less time you’ll devote to the things you can.
2. “The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem.” Respect is earned, not given. You need to achieve something on your own in order for others to stand up and applaud your contribution.
3. “You won’t earn $60,000 right out of high school.” You’ll need to work your way up, and – in many ways – the lessons and failures you experience along the way will serve as your real education.
4. “If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.” In many cases, it’s your tuition that’s paying the teacher. In the business world, it’s the teacher who’s paying you.
5. “Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.” When your grandparents were young, flipping burgers was an opportunity to learn.
6. “If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault … It’s yours.” Don’t waste time blaming others. They’ll resent you, and it doesn’t earn you any real respect.
7. “Take responsibility for your own contribution, rather than waiting for others to place opportunities in front of you.” Don’t waste years of your life waiting for someone to show up on your doorsteps and hand you the roadmap to success. Go out and grab it.
8. “Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not.” Hard work is often its own reward. And consistent hard work leads to greater rewards.
9. “Life is not divided into semesters and you won’t have the summers off.” Make time for yourself, but devote yourself to being focused and equal to the task on a daily basis.
10. “Television is not real life.” You need to step outside your comfort zone to really experience life.
11. “Be nice to nerds … Chances are, you’ll end up working for one.”

 PHOTOS OF THE DAY

With Chatsworth House as a backdrop, Freya Kirkpatrick flies a kite over a field of poppies near Baslow in the Derbyshire Peak District.
CREDIT: ROD KIRKPATRICK/F STOP PRESS/NATIONAL TRUST

A motorcyclist from Switzerland arrives with his motorcycle to attend a Blessing of the Bikes service at the Cathedral St-Nicolas in Fribourg.
CREDIT: STEFAN WERMUTH/AFP

Tom Power and Emma Louise at the Harrogate 1940s festival. PRESS Association Photo. Pictures date: Sunday June 23.2019. The annual 1940s festival in Yorkshire sees the clock wound back eight decades with a variety of wartime costumes, vintage vehicles and music from the decade. Many of the regular attendees dress for the event that organisers say attracted more than 40,000 visitors last year.
CREDIT: DANNY LAWSON/PA
Market Closes for June 24th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1971, an entrepreneur named Fred Smith founded a company to compete with the U.S. Postal Service. He called the new outfit Federal Express.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended slightly lower Monday despite a strong rally in gold.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index edge down to 16,523. Technology dropped, led by Shopify Inc., after the latter was downgraded at Roth Capital on valuation.
     Separately, lawyers for Huawei Technologies Co.’s chief financial officer urged Canada’s justice minister to end extradition proceedings, arguing that he has the power to withdraw a process that’s been politicized by the U.S.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Continental Gold Inc. jumped 12.2% after Eric Sprott agreed to buy shares 
* New Gold Inc. rose 8.9% 
* Gran Tierra Energy Inc. lost 6.1% 
* Charlottes Web Holdings Inc. dropped 6.1% 
* Seven Generations Energy Ltd. fell 4.6% 
* Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. declined 4.1% after CEO to step down
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $13.35 discount to WTI
* Spot gold rose 1.4% to $1,419.14 an ounce 
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3% to C$1.3183 per U.S. dollar 
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell to 1.458%
US
By Randall Jensen and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged away from records as investors weighed expectations for easier monetary policy against concerns about a slowing global economy. Treasuries gained, while the dollar dropped.
     The S&P 500 fell for a second session, stalling below last week’s all-time high that was fueled by the prospect of rate cuts. Health-care paced losses as Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co. tumbled after the company said it will strip out a top drug from its merger with Celgene Corp. to get regulatory approval. Energy producers dropped in the wake of new U.S. sanctions on Iran. The Russell 2000 Index slumped. 
     Investors in risk assets have continued to shrug off signs of an economic slowdown and focus on the increasingly dovish tone at central banks around the world. That attention will intensify Tuesday when Fed Chair Jerome Powell discusses monetary policy. But sentiment could be at a crossroads as the conflict between the America and Iran has ramped up, and themeeting between China’s President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump this week at the Group of 20 conference in Japan presents a pivot point for trade relations between the two countries. The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 2.02%, while West Texas crude rose toward $58 a barrel. The euro touched a three- month high against the dollar even as data showed that a slump in German business confidence deepened in June.
     It’s “a pretty good guess that we won’t see a whole lot of movement in front of the big upcoming meetings (G20 and OPEC),” wrote Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. “Given the meeting between President Trump & President Xi at the one and the impact the situation with Iran could/should have on the other, the results of those meetings should be quite important to the stock market’s next move.”
     Elsewhere, gold extended its advance above $1,400 an ounce, while Bitcoin surged toward 11,000.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York Tuesday. He’ll discuss the challenges facing the U.S. economy.
* MSCI Inc. announces results of its 2019 Market Classification Review on Tuesday, including whether Kuwait gets upgraded from frontier to emerging-market status.
* The Group of 20 summit is in Osaka, Japan on Friday and Saturday.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 0.3%, while the Russell 2000 Index slid 1.3%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.3% to the lowest in a week.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.1%. 
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1388, the strongest in almost 14 weeks.
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2736.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 107.31 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped four basis points to 2.02%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.31%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to -0.154%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $57.78 a barrel.
* Gold climbed 1.5% to $1,421.60 an ounce, reaching the highest in almost six years.
–With assistance from Anchalee Worrachate, Yakob Peterseil and Vildana Hajric.

Have  a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

 Carolann

Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.

                                -Michel De Montaigne, 1533-1592

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