March 11, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
March 11, 1935 – Finance – Bank of Canada starts operations under Governor Graham Towers; has mandate to issue currency and regulate money supply; begins as a privately owned institution, with shares sold to the public; shortly becomes a government-owned central bank; the Bank of Canada Act received royal assent on July 3, 1934. Ottawa, Ontario.  Go to article »

POINTS OF PROGRESS:
GERMANY:  The country is shutting down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants.  Germany is one of the world’s biggest coal consumers, and it has been missing its emissions reduction targets in recent years.  The new plan, which aims to shut down all plants over the nest 19 years, will enable it to meet its international commitments for emissions reduction.  Currently, 40% of Germany’s electricity comes from coal-fired plants. -Los Angeles Times.

CHINA & INDIA: The world is getting greener, thanks to China and India.  A satellite imagery study conducted by NASA revealed that the world’s total green leaf area has increased by 5% since 2000 (though deforestation continues to negatively affect certain important ecosystems).  India and China have the largest populations in the world, and are often ranked among the most polluted.  However, the two countries are responsible for a full third of the increase in green foliage noted by NASA, due to tree-planting projects and expanded agriculture. -CNN.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People’s Climate March Amsterdam, Netherlands. Credit: Robin Utrecht/SIPA USA

White tailed eagles fight over fish, northern Japan. From sea eagles fighting in Japan to wild horses thundering through the Camargue in France, these are just two of the pictures set to go on show in a wildlife photo exhibition at the Patching Art Centre, Calverton, Nottingham. Credit: Peter Jones/SWNS.COM

13th Strade Biance 2019 a 184 km race from Siena to Siena-Piazza del Campo in Italy. Credit: Tim De Waele/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 11^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1991, Microsoft confirmed that it was the subject of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. Over the coming years, evidence of Microsoft’s monopolistic behavior mounted until a U.S. district issued a final ruling on April 3, 2000, finding that Microsoft violated Federal antitrust law. That day, the company’s stock plunged 14.5%, and Microsoft lost $80 billion in market value.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose to their highest level since September with every sector gaining as global indexes rebounded from a gloomy week.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.7 percent to 16,106.24. That’s the biggest gain since mid-February and more than erases last week’s drop, which was the first weekly decline of the year.
     Technology stocks led the way, rising 1.8 percent to the highest since 2008. Shopify Inc. jumped 5.5 percent to a record high after it was added to the S&P/TSX 60 Index. Energy stocks also gained, adding 1.1 percent as Saudi Arabia moved to extend supply curbs.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Barrick Gold Corp. rose 2 percent. The company abandoned its $17.8 billion bid for Newmont Mining Corp., instead announcing a joint venture for the companies’ Nevada assets
* Computer Modelling Group Ltd. fell 4.1 percent after being deleted from the S&P/TSX Composite Index while ARC Resources Ltd. lost 3.4 percent after it was removed from the S&P/TSX 60 Index
* Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. jumped 11 percent. The cannabis company is acquiring closely held Verano Holdings LLC for about $850 million
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.80 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,291.10 an ounce, the biggest drop in a week
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.1 percent to C$1.3403 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 1.76 percent
US
By Reade Pickert and Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks jumped the most in six weeks as chipmakers rallied on deal news and the latest retail-sales data boosted confidence that the economy isn’t headed for a downturn. Treasuries slipped.
     The S&P 500 surged past its 200-day moving average, while the Nasdaq 100 jumped more than 2 percent amid an Apple upgrade. Nvidia agreed to buy a competitor, sending the Philadelphia Semiconductor index to its biggest gain in a month. The Dow Jones Transportation Average stopped the longest string of drops since 1972. Boeing retreated after some airlines grounded 737 Max flights following a crash Sunday. It is the biggest component of the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average and the only of the 30 blue chips to retreat.
     Stocks are coming off the worst week since December after a slew of negative news about the global economy, including a weak American jobs report and a sharp dovish turn by the European Central Bank. The S&P 500 failed to hold above 2,800 — a level that has capped prior rallies — and its decline accelerated after it slid through the average price over the past 200 days.
     “With retail sales coming out this morning, that provided the catalyst to move stocks upward,” Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco Ltd., said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “Certainly, M&A activity never hurts in terms of creating some positive sentiment for stocks. So it’s been a nice relief rally after what was a relatively dark week for stocks last week.”
     A slew of data releases this week will be closely watched for clues on growth and the impact of central bank policy in the U.S., European Union and China, with the Bank of Japan the next to meet. On the trade front, Beijing and Washington are in general agreement on many crucial issues and have held meaningful discussions on foreign exchange, People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said.
     “We’ve had a bit of a pullback in this market — one of the bigger ones all year,” Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group, said in an interview. “It looks like buying on the dip more than anything else. There’s been a lot of money waiting on the sidelines.”
     Europe’s benchmark stock gauge rose the most in three weeks. In Asia, Chinese shares outperformed, paring some of Friday’s losses, with stocks in Japan and Hong Kong also higher.
Treasuries declined with most European sovereign bonds. In Norway, the krone strengthened as surging inflation increased the odds of a rate hike next week.
     Elsewhere, oil prices climbed as Saudi Arabia extended deeper-than-agreed production cuts into a second month. The pound gained as another key Brexit vote looms in parliament on Prime Minister Theresa May’s revised deal. Turkey’s lira edged higher even as the country entered its first recession in a decade.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Chinese retail sales and industrial production data are all scheduled for release this week. The National People’s Congress is set to wrap up with a speech on Friday from Premier Li Keqiang.
* U.K. House of Commons votes Tuesday on May’s revised Brexit deal, 20 days before Britain is scheduled to leave the EU.
* Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will speak on Friday, after he and his board meet to decide on monetary policy. 
These are the latest moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent at 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Dow average added 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq 100 climbed 2.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.8 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 0.7 percent, the largest climb in two weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 1.1 percent, the biggest increase in two weeks.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.1 percent.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1244.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1 percent to 111.26 per dollar.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index jumped 0.2 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 2.64 percent, the first advance in more than a week.
* The two-year yield rose one basis point to 2.475 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased less than one basis point to 0.06 percent, the lowest in more than two years.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index dipped 0.3 percent to the lowest in three weeks.
* WTI crude rose 1.3 percent to $56.77 a barrel, the largest advance in a week.
* Gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,292.15 an ounce, the largest drop in a week.
–With assistance from Nancy Moran, Adam Haigh, Eddie van der Walt and Brendan Walsh.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Never look back unless you are planning to go that way. – Henry David  Thoreau, 1817-1862

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com