March 25, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Old New Year’s Day was on this date until 1751.  The Romans began their year in March.  With the introduction of the Gregorian year, January 1st was accepted as New Year’s Day by most Christian countries, but not until 1600 in Scotland and 1752 in England.
March 25, 1958 – Aviation – Crowd of 14,000 Avro employees cheer maiden flight of supersonic fighter the AVRO CF-105 Arrow at Malton Airport; one of world’s most advanced airplanes at the time; cancelled five months later. Toronto, Ontario  Go to article »

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
  by  William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
PICTURES OF THE DAY

Five-year-old Henly Mills with Martha, a day-old lamb, a day-old lamb, on his family’s farm in Arley, near Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Credit: Peter Lopeman/Alamy Live News

The RAF Benevolent Fund are commemorating the 75^th anniversary of The Great Escape – the mass escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp in 1944 that inspired the iconic film of the same name. There original stunt man Tim Gibbes sits on the original Triumph TR6 motorcycle. Credit: Jeff Gilbert for The Telegraph

Visitors flock a street under blooming cherry blossoms near Jiming Temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China. Credit: Reuters
Market Closes for March 25^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1966, Bank of America executive Kenneth Larkin drafted a memo proposing that Bankamericard should expand outside the bank’s home state of California and offer credit-card services to merchants and retail customers nationwide. The Visa card, and the ability to borrow and spend anywhere at any time, were born.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.1 percent, or 23.47 to 16,065.86 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since March 8.
     Suncor Energy Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.3 percent. Crescent Point Energy Corp. had the largest drop, falling 4.7 percent.
Today, 133 of 243 shares fell, while 105 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -33.6225| -1.1| 6/35
Financials | -12.9165| -0.3| 6/20
Industrials | -5.2508| -0.3| 11/17
Communication Services | -3.6285| -0.4| 3/4
Information Technology | -0.2963| 0.0| 6/3
Consumer Discretionary | -0.0650| 0.0| 7/10
Utilities | 0.6515| 0.1| 7/9
Real Estate | 0.9474| 0.2| 15/10
Health Care | 1.2436| 0.3| 5/6
Consumer Staples | 8.7093| 1.4| 6/4
Materials | 20.7539| 1.1| 33/15
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Suncor Energy | -11.4700| -2.3| -49.9| 15.8
Canadian Natural | | | |
Resources | -6.7380| -2.1| -6.6| 10.0
Bank of Nova Scotia| -5.2180| -0.8| 54.2| 4.0
Goldcorp | 2.4010| 2.7| 14.9| 11.4
Couche-Tard | 7.3560| 3.3| 12.8| 10.6
Barrick Gold | 9.5700| 4.2| 14.5| 3.8
================================================================
| | Index | Volume VS |YTD Change
Biggest Gainers | % Change |Points Move|20D AVG (%)| (%)
================================================================
Cronos Group | 6.0| 1.8430| 97.4| 90.3
Yamana Gold | 6.0| 1.4150| 90.9| 15.9
Eldorado Gold | 5.6| 0.3940| -4.9| 64.3
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| |Index Points| 20D AVG |YTD Change
Biggest Losers | % Change | Move | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Crescent Point Energy | -4.7| -0.8200| -41.8| 2.7
Canada Goose | -4.1| -1.1170| 57.5| 4.2
Birchcliff Energy | -3.5| -0.2640| -38.3| 25.3
* The benchmark 10-year bond rose and the yield fell 4.3basis points to 1.554 percent
* The S&P 500 Index declined slightly, down 0.1 percent
US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — A rally in Treasuries sent benchmark yields briefly below 2.4 percent for the first time since December 2017. Stocks were mixed and the dollar retreated.
     Technology shares led losses in the S&P 500 Index as Apple Inc. slumped during Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook’s address.
     Consumer discretionary and industrial companies gained. Treasury 10-year yields extended their slide into a second day as investors wager the Federal Reserve will need to cut rates amid an economic slowdown. The pound turned lower after Prime Minister Theresa May stumped for her Brexit deal before a parliamentary vote.
     Traders pushed down the value of risk assets amid mounting concern over a global downturn and after stock valuations climbed near levels reached during the height of last year’s euphoria. The Fed may have to put rate hikes on hold or even ease monetary policy if economic forecasts for 2019 disappoint, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said.
     “We’re still biased to the downside,” said Mona Mahajan, a U.S. investment strategist at Allianz Global Investors.
     “Generally, a low long rate means people are worried about long- term prospects for the economy. That weighs on equity markets as well.”
     Donald Trump warned that unspecified “people” who prompted Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation would be investigated, and said he wouldn’t object if the special counsel’s report is publicly released. Mueller said in a report that he didn’t find evidence the president or his campaign collaborated with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, according to a letter
     Attorney General William Barr sent to Congress on Sunday. The pound retreated as May said she doesn’t yet have enough support to put her Brexit deal to a vote in Parliament and will continue to try to convince MPs to back it. As lawmakers try to take control of the process, she’s wielding the threat of a long extension if her deal isn’t passed.
     European shares dropped even after data showed confidence among German companies improved. Australia’s 10-year bond yield recorded an all-time low and Japan’s hit the lowest since September 2016. The Turkish lira recouped some of its Friday slump, which followed the start of an investigation by the country’s banking regulator into JPMorgan Chase & Co. and another probe of unspecified banks for stoking the currency’s plunge.
Here are some key events coming up: * U.S.-China trade talks resume, with a cabinet-level American delegation due in China.
* U.K. Parliament is likely to stage several key votes on Brexit.
* China’s Boao Forum for Asia holds its annual conference this
week. A top Chinese government leader will deliver a keynote speech, and officials including Central Bank Governor Yi Gang and Finance Minister Liu Kun are scheduled to speak.
* Fed Governor Randal Quarles will speak Friday to the Shadow Open Market Committee on “Strategic Approaches to the Fed’s Balance Sheet and Communications.”
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.1 percent to 2,798.39 at 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq-100 Index dropped 0.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.5 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 1.9 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The euro increased 0.1 percent to $1.1314.
* The British pound decreased 0.1 percent to $1.3196.
* The Japanese yen dipped 0.1 percent to 110 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped three basis points to 2.41 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.03 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 0.986 percent.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index increased 0.2 percent.
* West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.4 percent to $58.82 a barrel.
* Gold posted a fifth straight gain as the dollar weakened.
–With assistance from Liz Capo McCormick, Alexandra Harris, Adam Haigh, Eddie van der Walt, Yakob Peterseil and Nick Baker.

Have a great night. 

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Hope tells us tomorrow will be better.
                 –Tibullus, 55 BC-19 BC

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