May 10, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1980: Chrysler Canada saved from bankruptcy

The Poem:

GIRLHOOD
was when I slept in the woods
bareheaded beneath jagged
stars and the membranous
near-misses of bats, when
I tasted watercress,
wild carrot, and sorrel,
when I was known
by the lilac I hid beside,
and when that lilac, burdened
by my expectations of lilacs,
began a journey
without me, as when
the dirt road sang, O,
rugosa rose, farewell,
and ran behind the clipped
white pine hedge into
the immeasurable
heartbreaks of the field.
             -Cecily Parks

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Kindergarten pupils wave national flags as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reviews the guard of honour with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a welcoming ceremony in Tokyo. Credit: Toru Hanai/Reuters

A model holds The Farnese Blue, an unknown historic blue diamond to be sold for the first time in 300 years, during a preview of Sotheby’s auction sale in Geneva, Switzerland. Credit: Pierre Albouy/Reuters

A new sail if fitted to Wicken Villiage windmill in Cambridgeshire. The windmill which was built in 1813 and is still used to grind grain to make flour is the “only surviving, workable one of its type in the UK”. Credit: Joe Giddens/PA
Market Closes for May 10^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$12.1 million
The median pay for CEOs of the biggest U.S. companies in 2017, a new post-recession high.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fifth day, creeping back toward their high for the year, as gains in gambling stocks and an auto parts supplier boosted the benchmark.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 49 points or 0.3 percent to 15,959.50, less than 500 points from the all-time high reached in early January. Consumer discretionary stocks led the gains, rising 1.2 percent as Great Canadian Gaming Corp. jumped 27 percent and The Stars Group Inc. added 9.5 percent. Both stocks hit a record high on strong earnings.
     Magna International Inc., also a member of the consumer discretionary sector, rose 2.7 percent to a record high after beating first-quarter estimates and boosting its forecast for the year.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* TMX Group Ltd., the owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange, gained 9.3 percent to a record high. First-quarter results beat estimates and the company boosted its dividend.
* Canadian Tire Corp. slid 5.4 percent, the most in a year, after agreeing to buy Helly Hansen for C$985 million from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
* Open Text Corp. lost 6.3 percent, the most in three years. Earnings missed the lowest estimate but analysts say the results are just a seasonal trend
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.20 discount to WTI
* Gold gained 0.7 percent to $1,322.30 an ounce as U.S. consumer prices rose less than forecast in April
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.7 percent to C$1.2766 per U.S. dollar, the strongest in nearly four weeks
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis point to 2.40 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rallied to a seven-week high while the dollar sank after a weak inflation reading signaled the Federal Reserve won’t need to step up the pace of interest- rate increases.
     Chipmakers paced gains in major American equity benchmarks, while rate-sensitive shares added to the bullish mood as the 10- year Treasury yield slipped to 2.97 percent. A gauge of small- cap stocks set a record and emerging-market shares rallied on the more-favorable outlook for global borrowing costs. The dollar fell the most since March 21, lifting commodities. The pound weakened after the Bank of England held interest rates.
     The U.S. inflation data showed costs for big-ticket items such as automobiles and airfares declined last month, reducing chances that consumer-price increases will run significantly above the Fed’s target. The news energized bulls, with the S&P 500 Index crossing above its 100-day moving average and breaking out of the downward-sloping trendline that’s been in place since late January.
     “The market is breathing a sigh of relief that there was not an upside surprise to the inflation stats,” Peter Boockvar, the chief investment officer of Bleakley Financial Group, wrote in an email to clients.
     Elsewhere, trading in non-deliverable forwards suggested Malaysia’s ringgit will tumble in the wake of the surprise ouster of the country’s ruling party. Developing markets more broadly signaled stability, and the MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced for a fourth day. European shares snapped a four-day winning streak. The New Zealand dollar slid after the central bank left the door open to an interest rate cut as inflation remains contained.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.9 percent at the close of trading in New York.
* The S&P 600 Small Cap Index added 0.5 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 1.4 percent in its fourth day of gains.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent to the highest in three weeks.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.7 percent, the first retreat in a week.
* The euro climbed 0.6 percent to $1.1925.
* The British pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.352.
* The Japanese yen advanced 0.3 percent to 109.4 per dollar.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank two basis points to 2.97 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.55 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 1.43 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate rose 0.3 percent to $71.38 a barrel.
* Copper rallied 1.8 percent to $3.1115 a pound, the highest in two weeks.
* Gold climbed 0.6 percent to $1,320.66 an ounce, the highest in almost two weeks.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Ven Ram, Christopher Anstey, Samuel Potter, Sophie Caronello and Natasha Doff. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.
              -Yogi Berra, 1925-2015

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