June 26, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 1974, the first item with a Universal Product Code was scanned at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio.

The rectangular bar code was the result of many decades of invention and collaboration, but it was based on an original, circular design by N. Joseph Woodland. He came up with the idea while sitting on the beach.

Now ubiquitous, the U.P.C. had its origins on a beach.
GS1 US

As a graduate student at the Drexel Institute of Technology, Mr. Woodland heard from a classmate about a supermarket executive in search of a solution to long checkout lines. Intrigued, they started trying to solve the problem. Mr. Woodland eventually moved to his grandparents’ house in Miami Beach to devote himself full time to the endeavor.

It’s there that he drew four lines in the sand with his fingers, envisioning a kind of graphical Morse code.

It was a flash of inspiration that Mr. Woodland said “sounds like a fairy tale.”

Though the original patent was sold for a paltry $15,000, Mr. Woodland was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 1992 by President George Bush.

Emma McAleavy wrote today’s Back Story, The New York Times, June 26, 2018.

June 26, 2000 – Rival scientific teams completed the first rough map of the human genetic code.

Abner Doubleday, invented baseball, b. June 26,1819

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An art installation called “Concentric Eccentric Circles” by Swiss artist Felice Varini on the outside of the medieval city in Carcassonne, France. To help celebrate 20 years of the site being listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, the Center for National monuments in France invited the artist to create a piece of art on the exterior walls. The work consists of 15 yellow circles and has not been to everyone’s taste with some people deeply disliking the art work and some enjoying the dramatic sight. Credit: James D. Morgan/Getty Images

A Lego sculpture of a chameleon created by New York – based artist Sean Kenny is displayed during the “Nature Connects” Lego exhibition at the Chengdu International Finance Square (IFS) in downtown Chengdu, China. Credit: Imaginechina/Rex/Shutterstock

San Francisco City Hall is lit up in rainbow colours following the Pride parade in San Francisco, US. Credit: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for June 26^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as Brent crude oil surged past $76 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate neared $71 a barrel, thanks to concern over sanctions on Iranian crude.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.6 percent to 16,280.09 points, led by energy, up 2.1 percent, trailed by telecom, ahead 0.8 percent, and materials, higher by 0.7 percent.
     Birchcliff Energy Ltd., an exploration and production company in Western Canada, rallied 4 percent.
     In other moves:
                             Stocks
* Stelco Holdings Inc. fell 0.8 percent amid escalating tensions on steel imports
* Telecom rose 0.8 percent, nearing its January high. Rogers led the pack, climbing 1.6 percent
                             Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $20.50 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.05 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,260.80 an ounce
                             FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.05 percent to C$1.3301 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis points to 2.11 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded from the worst selloff since early April as a rally in American crude overshadowed lingering concerns about the impact of heightened trade tensions. The dollar advanced.
     The S&P 500 Index rose back above its 50-day moving average, while technology shares hit hardest Monday bounced back to give the Nasdaq indexes advances. Energy producers led gains after oil popped above $70 a barrel following reports the U.S. is pressing allies to halt imports of Iranian crude. The dollar jumped versus major peers.
     The spike in oil prices took some attention from the simmering trade tensions as investors await more clarity from the White House on its plans. President Donald Trump signaled he may take a less confrontational path toward curbing Chinese investments, backing down from earlier reports that the U.S. would bar Chinese money in certain technologies. As traders fret over the immediate outlook they also have doubts about the longer-term path for U.S. rates; the Treasury curve is the flattest in years, stoking fears about the prospect of a recession.
     “Trade is weighing on the markets,” Carin Pai, director of equity management at Fiduciary Trust Company International in New York, said by phone. “But so far we do have the view that the fundamentals are strong enough to weather a lot of the negotiations, and we do think that right now a lot of it is negotiation.”
     In Asia, Chinese equities entered a bear market on concern about the country’s ability to fight a trade war. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 3.5 percent. Brent crude rose above $76 a barrel after U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry suggested a planned production hike isn’t enough to stop a price spike. The pound weakened as a new Bank of England member spoke about the risks of raising interest rates too fast. Emerging-market stocks dropped. Metals retreated, with zinc falling a ninth day and gold touching the lowest price this year.
     These are key events coming up this week:
* New Zealand and Indonesia monetary policy decisions on Thursday.
* U.S. personal spending probably increased in May for a third month, economists forecast ahead of Friday’s data.
* China manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI are due on Saturday.
     Here are the main market moves.
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,722.99 at 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index climbed 0.4 percent.
* The Russell 2000 added 0.7 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index ended higher by less than 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index sank 0.5 percent to the lowest in about 10 months.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.1 percent to the lowest in eight months.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.3 percent, the first advance in a week.
* The euro fell 0.1 percent to $1.1643.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3 percent to 110.108 per dollar.
* The Turkish lira jumped 1.3 percent to 4.622 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 2.7 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.34 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 3.5 percent to $70.48 a barrel.
* Gold futures fell 0.6 percent to $1,260.70 an ounce.
* Brent crude rose 2.3 percent to $76.43 a barrel.
–With assistance from Sophie Caronello, Andreea Papuc, Adam Haigh, Ranjeetha Pakiam and Eddie van der Walt.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann 

Dream big and dare to fail.
-Norman Dane Vaughan, 1905-2005

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