March 12, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1857 – Disaster – Great Western Railway train travelling from Toronto to Hamilton breaks an axle while crossing the bridge over the Desjardins Canal; the bridge collapses, and the train plunges 12 metres to the frozen canal below; about 59 people killed, 18 injured; the builder/financier of the railway, US promoter Samuel Zimmerman, is one of those killed.
Burlington Heights, Ontario  Go to article »

Jack Kerouac, b. March 12, 1922
What is the feeling when you’re driving away from people, and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing?  It’s the too huge world vaulting for us, and it’s good-bye.  But we lean forward to the next crazy adventure beneath the skies. -Jack Kerouac, from Motivation.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sunrise over Mogshade Pond in the New Forest, Hampshire, UK. Credit: Steven Hogan/Cover Images

Revelers jump above a fire as they take part in the independent ‘La Plaine Carnival’ in Marseille, southern France. Credit: Clement Mahoudeau/AFP/Getty Images

The sun sets behind Wat Saket Temple, or Golden Mount in Bangkok, Thailand. Credit: Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha
Market Closes for March 12^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1986, Oracle went public on Nasdaq at an initial price of $15 a share. The stock closed the day at $20.75, setting the stage for another software company, Microsoft, to go public the following day. Oracle shares closed at $52.66 Monday, giving the company a market value of about $190 billion. The stock is up 17% for the year. 
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a second day as commodity-led gains offset airline weakness amid a deepening crisis at Boeing Co.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.2 percent to 16,136.66. Materials stocks rose 1.3 percent as gold prices moved higher on cooling U.S. inflation. Eldorado Gold Corp. was the biggest gainer on the benchmark Tuesday, adding 6.4 percent to the highest since August.
     Industrials, meanwhile, slid 0.7 percent as Air Canada lost 4 percent and WestJet Airlines Ltd. fell 2.5 percent. Both airlines fly Boeing’s 737 Max jet, which has been grounded by several operators and countries around the world following a second deadly crash.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Linamar Corp. lost 4.4 percent after fourth-quarter sales missed the lowest analyst estimate
* Empire Co. Ltd. slid 3.5 percent, the most since September. The stock was downgraded to hold from buy at Desjardins Securities on higher costs
* NFI Group Inc. fell 4.5 percent ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings release, which is expected post-market on Wednesday
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.35 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,298.10 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3 percent to C$1.3355 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 1.73 percent, the lowest since 2017
US
By Jeremy Herron and Reade Pickert
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks capped a second day of gains, while Treasuries rallied after weak inflation data bolstered bets the Federal Reserve can stay patient. The pound fell as the U.K.’s Brexit turmoil deepened.
     While the S&P 500 Index pushed its two-day gain to 1.8 percent, Brexit and renewed turmoil for Boeing dominated headlines throughout the day. The plane maker sank as a slew of countries grounded its troubled 737 Max jets. Sterling fell after U.K. lawmakers rejected the government’s latest deal to leave the European Union, with uncertain implications for the country’s political future. The 10-year Treasury yield slumped with the dollar. Crude rose.
     “I expect equity markets to remain volatile and to tread water, and there is still too much risk in risk assets, and ultimately I think bond yields will head lower but this is a process that unfolds, it’s not a sudden event,” Suzanne Hutchins, a senior portfolio manager at Newton Investment Management in London, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters.
     The pound whipsawed amid the Brexit drama, rising overnight after Theresa May won a new deal to leave the EU. It tumbled as much as 1.1 percent versus the dollar as the deal’s fate looked uncertain, only to pare the drop amid parliamentary debate. The vote to reject the pact sent it lower again.
     Alongside Brexit developments, investors have a slew of economic data to digest this week. The latest inflation reading came amid falling prices for autos and prescription drugs, adding to evidence the American economy is in no danger of overheating. In the coming days the focus will turn to Chinese production and retail sales, as well as a Bank of Japan policy decision.
Here are some of the key events coming up:
* Chinese retail sales and industrial production data are scheduled for release this week. The National People’s Congress is set to wrap up on Friday.
* Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will speak on Friday, after he and his board meet to decide on monetary policy.
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index increased 0.3 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent. Boeing is its largest component.
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose less than 0.1 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.2 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1.2 percent, the biggest gain in almost six weeks.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 1 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1 percent.
* The euro advanced 0.3 percent to $1.1275.
* The British pound decreased 0.4 percent to $1.3095.
* The Japanese yen increased less than 0.05 percent to 111.20 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell four basis points to 2.5979 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased less than one basis point to 0.07 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 1.189 percent.
Commodities
* Gold increased 0.4 percent to $1,297.98 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1 percent to $57.37 a barrel, the highest in more than two weeks.
–With assistance from Chikako Mogi, Katherine Greifeld, Andreea Papuc and Todd White.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

He who sedulously attends, pointedly asks, calmly speaks, coolly answers, and ceases when he has no more to say is in possession of some of the best requisites of man. -Johann Lavater, 1741-1801

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