June 28, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending World War I.

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SEEING STARS
When you’re stargazing this summer with your family, learn even more about what you’re seeing with the Skyview app, which can identify satellites, constellations, and stars.  If you’re out on a hike, don’t worry –Wifi isn’t needed.  The app is free for iOS and Android.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Lightening flashes over Munich, southern Germany.
CREDIT: MARCEL KUSCH/GETTY IMAGES

A worker carries a bunch of delphiniums at the Real Flower Petal Confetti Company in Wick near Pershore, Worcestershire. The delphiniums are turned into confetti and have been planted in a Union Jack pattern to celebrate the company’s 20^th year of growing.
CREDIT: JOE GIDDENS/PA
Market Closes for June 28^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1995, Spyglass Inc., which had licensed the Mosaic web browser from the University of Illinois, sold 2 million shares on the Nasdaq for $8.50 apiece. It was the first internet company to go public. Shares more than tripled in their debut, paving the way for the dot-com boom.

Number of the Day
0.398%
The yield on the German 10-year bund rose to 0.398% on Wednesday, up from 0.342% on Tuesday. That was its largest one-day move since 2015, and up sharply from 0.247% at Monday’s close, after investors were rattled Tuesday when ECB President Mario Draghi hinted the bank may start unwinding its crisis-era stimulus programs.

Canada
By Kristine Owram
    (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks gained as rising bond yields and oil prices injected some life into the lackluster benchmark.
    The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 74 points or 0.5 percent to 15,355.58, its first gain of the week. Financial shares added
0.9 percent to their highest level since April 26 as bond yields spiked.
    Energy shares added 0.4 percent as the price of oil gained
1.1 percent. U.S. government data showed a drop in gasoline supplies that have remained stubbornly high.
In other moves:
* Empire Co. Ltd. jumped 10 percent after reporting fourth- quarter earnings and sales that beat estimates and boosting its quarterly dividend
* Alaris Royalty Corp. added 9.7 percent after hitting a record intraday high. The company was upgraded to buy at GMP and announced a $20-million contribution to Accscient LLC
* Home Capital Group Inc. rose 6 percent ahead of its annual shareholder meeting, scheduled for Thursday. The company is wrapping itself in the Canadian flag in a bid to win back depositors.
US
By Jeremy Herron
    (Bloomberg) — Central banks set the tone on global financial markets Wednesday, with the latest comments from policy officials sparking a risk-on mood that sent U.S. stocks to the biggest gain in two months and roiled currencies from the pound to the loonie.
    The S&P 500 Index rebounded from the biggest selloff in six weeks, with bank shares rising to March highs Treasury 10-year note yields climbed above 2.21 percent. Technology firms snapped back to halt a selloff that dented confidence in the year’s biggest gainers. Small caps led the way with a rally that topped
1.5 percent and took the Russell 2000 Index within a point of an all-time high.
    The mood in U.S. equities reversed shortly before the open, when European Central Bank officials said markets had misinterpreted as hawkish comments Tuesday from Mario Draghi.
That sent the euro tumbling from the highest in a year versus the dollar on bets stimulus would remain robust in the region.
The shared currency reversed again and the pound soared when Bank of England’s Mark Carney, in a sign of confidence in the U.K. economy, said rates may need to rise soon. Canada’s Stephen Poloz then reiterated he’s considering tightening, sending the loonie tearing higher.
    The optimistic reading of the latest central bank proclamations — economies around the globe can withstand tighter financial conditions as growth picks up — changed the tone in financial markets less than a day after a host of events from an IMF cut to its U.S. growth forecast, a fresh blow to the Republican agenda in Washington and a global cyberattack had ushered in note of caution. A trio of Federal Reserve speakers had also suggested that some assets had gotten rich by conventional measures. Markets also got a boost Wednesday as oil’s rebound continued.          Here’s what lies ahead for investors:
* China’s PMI might have declined in June after unexpectedly remaining unchanged in May, reflecting government offers to cut overcapacity and leverage. That reading is due Friday.
* Also slated this week: Japanese inflation, factory output, unemployment, household consumption and housing starts.
    Here are the main moves in markets:
    Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index added 0.9 percent to 2,440.51 as of 4 p.m.
in New York, bouncing back from a loss of 0.8 percent. It’s on pace for a quarterly gain of 3.3 percent, the seventh straight advance.
* Financial shares surged 1.6 percent, touching the highest since March.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.4 percent, while small caps in the Russell 2000 Index rallied 1.5 percent, the most since June 1.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed little changed as it heads for a monthly slide of about 1 percent.
* MSCI’s emerging markets index fell 0.3 percent, paring a quarterly gain of 5.8 percent.
    Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.4 percent to the lowest since October.
* The euro rose 0.4 percent to $1.1385, the highest level since June 2016. The shared currency surged 1.4 percent on Tuesday.
* The pound jumped 0.9 percent to $1.2933 and the loonie surged
1.3 percent to 1.30293.
    Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries added one basis point to 2.21 percent after jumping seven basis points Tuesday.
* The yield on German bunds was little changed at 0.37 percent.
    Commodities
* WTI futures advanced 1.1 percent to settle at $44.74 after climbing 4 percent in the previous four sessions. Prices gained as government data showed a drop in U.S. gasoline supplies that have remained stubbornly high at the start of the summer driving season.
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,251.35 an ounce, climbing for a second day.
    Asia
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent as declines in technology shares overshadowed gains in banks and raw-materials companies. Samsung Electronics Co., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. led the selloff with losses of at least 1.2 percent.
* The yuan continued to rise on speculation of central bank intervention, with the offshore currency up 0.2 percent after surging 0.6 percent Tuesday.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Is there any motion in a straight line?  A straight line infinitely projected becomes a circle,
it returns to the starting point.  You must end where you begin, and as you begin in God,
you must go back to God.  What remains?  Detail work.  Through eternity you have to do the detail work.
Swami Vivekananda

As ever, 

Carolann

Unless we remember we cannot understand.
                         -E.M. Forster, 1879-1970 

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
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