May 10, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: HAPPY FRIDAY!
1994- Nelson Mandela inauguration day.
1869 – A golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. Go to article »

Blink and you’ll miss it. Japan began tests of the world’s fastest bullet train, the Alfa-X, that’s capable of speeds as fast as 249 mph.

Blue Moon. Jeff Bezos unveiled his rocket company Blue Origin’s new lunar lander, saying it’ll help get astronauts back to the moon by 2024.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Photographer shares incredible lighting shots hitting the Eiffel Tower on Liberation day. Bertrand Kulik from Paris, France, took the shots from his bedroom, which he believes mark the incredible day. He said: With one powerful impact on the Eiffel tower, today was the celebration of the end of the second war. The symbol is strong, the title of my picture is Liberation day.
Mammatus clouds were impressive. We can observe this type of clouds only during a storm. I add a picture of the sunset with mammatus clouds. Mammatus clouds were impressive. We can observe this type of clouds only during a storm.     CREDIT: BERTRAND KULIK/ CATERS

Students protest by blocking the Romulo Gallegos Ave in Caracas, Venezuela – after their school tuitions increased over a 100% in 2019. As the country goes through a political, economic and social crisis, Venezuelan opposition led by Juan Guaida, recognised by many more than 50 nations as the country’s rightful interim ruler, continues to take actions to make Maduro step down of power after failed uprising attempt on April 30^th.     CREDIT: EDILZON GAMEZ/GETTY IMAGES

People cross a street in Tokyo’s Ginza district.     CREDIT: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for May 10^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1965, a young Warren Buffett took control of textile maker Berkshire Hathaway, whose stock closed that day at $18 a share. On Thursday, Berkshire shares closed at $314,400.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks pared earlier losses but closed lower, capping their biggest weekly decline of 2019.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.2% Friday to 16,297.55. Consumer discretionary and materials stocks were the worst performers. Real estate and communication services outperformed. Meanwhile, Canada’s economy posted record job gains in April, along with a pick-up in wages, in the strongest sign yet the nation’s economy has emerged from a soft patch. Employment rose by 106,500 in April, the biggest one-month increase in data going back to 1976.
In other moves:
Stocks
* CES Energy Solutions rose 11% after reporting first-quarter revenue that met estimates
* Sierra Wireless climbed 8% after its full-year adjusted EPS view midpoint beat estimates
* Ritchie Bros declined 3.8% after first-quarter adjusted earnings per share missed the average analyst estimate
* Enerplus climbed 3% after forecasting average production for the second quarter 
Ratings
* AX-U CN: Artis REIT Upgraded to Buy at Echelon Wealth; PT C$13.50
* CPG CN: Crescent Point Energy Upgraded to Outperform at CIBC; PT C$7.50
* EXN CN: Excellon Resources Upgraded to Buy at Cantor; Price Target C$1
* HBM CN: Hudbay Minerals Downgraded to Market Perform at BMO; PT C$10.75
* LUN CN: Lundin Mining Upgraded to Outperform at BMO; Price Target C$8.75
* NTS CN: Nanotech Security Raised to Speculative Buy at Echelon Wealth
* OPT CN: Optiva Downgraded to Sell at Canaccord; PT C$38
* POU CN: Paramount Resources Upgraded to Hold at GMP; PT C$9.25
* SOX CN: Stuart Olson Cut to Underperform at National Bank; PT C$3.50
* WPRT CN: Westport Fuel Systems Upgraded to Buy at Lake Street
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $13.25 discount to WTI\
* Gold spot prices rose 0.1% to $1,286.40 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.4% to C$1.3419 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield climbed to 1.733%
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks closed higher for the first time in five days on renewed optimism that an all-out trade war can be averted even after the U.S. decision to slap fresh tariffs on Chinese goods overnight. While a late-day push sent the S&P 500 into positive territory, the bellwether still finished down on the week by the most since just before Christmas. Ten of the 11 industry sectors gained after all started the day in the red. U.S. and Chinese officials wrapped up high-level trade talks on Friday, lacking a deal yet avoiding a breakdown in negotiations even after President Donald Trump boosted tariffs on $200 billion in goods and threatened to impose more.
     “I believe this is the “end game” for the negotiations,” said Bryce Doty, senior vice president at Sit Investment Associates, which has about $13 billion in assets under management. “Both sides are making a show of resistance as they get closer and closer to a final deal.”
     In Asia, the Shanghai benchmark jumped 3.1% as Chinese state-backed funds bought domestic shares. Treasuries continued to benefit as investors sought havens, with the benchmark 10- year note yield ending the week lower. The dollar weakened after a report showed inflation rose less than forecast in April.
Still, with China yet to specify how it will retaliate against U.S. duties, investors stumbled to the end of a bruising few days after seeing almost $600 billion in equity market value wiped out. The U.S. gave its bottom line in talks in Washington, saying Beijing had three to four weeks more to reach an agreement before the Trump administration acts again.
     “Everything that people thought was going to happen is now back on the table and dirty laundry is all over the place,” said Yousef Abbasi, director of U.S. institutional equities and global market strategist at INTL FCStone. “That’s the scenario we face.”
     Elsewhere, emerging-market currencies strengthened. South Africa’s rand gained as the African National Congress headed toward victory in a national election, and the lira rallied as Turkish banks bought the currency in Asia hours. Bitcoin advanced for a 10th day, the longest winning streak since 2017, the year of its historic leap to almost $20,000.
     These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4% as of 4:07 p.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.3%. 
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.6%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%. 
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1233, while the yen strengthened 0.2% to 109.90 per dollar.
* The British pound weakened less than 0.1% to $1.3009.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index rose 0.3%.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose 2 basis points to 2.46%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at negative 0.05%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate fell 0.2% to $61.57 a barrel.
* Gold gained 0.2% to $1,286 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.1%.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann

A man can fail, but he isn’t a failure until he blames someone else.

                                                       -J. Paul Getty, 1892-1976

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