May 14, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1914 – Dingman Discovery No.1 in Turner Valley ushers in Alberta Oil Industry.

MIDNIGHT SUN, until July 30, Norway
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

An aerial view of newly built mosque complex that was built over 125,000 square meters is seen in Ankara, Turkey. The compound that has meal center, 60 Turkish bazaars, Turkish baths and handicraft facilities is planning to be opened at the beginning of Eid al-Fitr. Credit: The Telegraph

Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii. Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 14^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
$$ Fun tweet: Neil deGrasse Tyson, over the weekend: “Not that anybody asked, but @JeffBezos’ 130-Billion dollars, laid end-to-end, can circle Earth 200 times then reach the Moon & back 15 times then, with what’s left over, circle Earth another 8 times.”
Number of the Day
$4 billion
The amount of money that investors have pulled from emerging-market bond funds over the past three weeks as the dollar’s rise spooked investors.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed within 2 percent of their all-time high, bolstered by trade-related optimism and a cannabis producer’s decision to list in the U.S.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.6 percent to 16,085.60, the benchmark’s seventh consecutive gain and the first close above 16,000 since Jan. 29. It peaked at 16,412.94 on Jan. 4.
     Health-care stocks gained 1.2 percent as Canopy Growth Corp. jumped 6.9 percent. Canopy has applied to become the first pot producer listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
     Consumer discretionary stocks gained 1.8 percent as Magna International Inc. added 3.7 percent amid two new outperform ratings from analysts who say the auto supplier is set to benefit from tech-related growth.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Aurora Cannabis Inc. fell 2 percent and MedReleaf rose 1.7 percent. Aurora is buying MedReleaf for C$2.9 billion, the biggest deal in Canada’s marijuana industry
* Element Fleet Management Corp. gained 10 percent, the most since October. The company appointed a new chief executive officer and said founder Steve Hudson will step down from the board
* The Stars Group Inc. added 10 percent to a record high after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that bans betting on individual sporting events in most of the country
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.25 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,318.20 an ounce
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2805 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose four basis points to 2.42 percent, the highest since 2014
US
By Jeremy Herron and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks ended the day little changed in light trading, while the 10-year Treasury yield topped 3 percent as investors assess the outlook for trade relations and tensions in the Middle East. Crude oil rose.
     The S&P 500 Index eked out a small gain on volume 17 percent below the 30-day average. Technology indexes remained higher, boosted by President Donald Trump’s easing of tension in a trade spat with China. Oil pushed higher as the Gaza Strip erupted over the U.S.’s moving of its embassy to Jerusalem. Rate-sensitive shares slumped as Treasury yields popped above 3 percent. The dollar advanced versus a basket of major peers.
     Trump’s shock move on China’s ZTE provided a sign that he may be open to easing trade tensions ahead of a meeting in Washington with Chinese officials this week. A slew of Federal Reserve officials speak in the five days, with investors looking for clues on the pace of monetary tightening. In Europe, political pressures remain high as Italian populists near completion of a government plan, Britain faces a crunch week over Brexit, and the U.S. formally moves its embassy to Jerusalem.
     Elsewhere, oil traded near $71 a barrel as the United Arab Emirates said OPEC has enough spare production capacity to mitigate any impact on crude markets if the U.S. re-imposes sanctions on Iran. Earlier, most Asian markets advanced, and Malaysian stocks recovered from an early slide on the first trading day after last week’s unprecedented election result.
     These are some key events to watch this week:
* China plans to send Vice Premier Liu He to Washington for more trade talks.
* European Union Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier briefs European affairs ministers on the status of talks with the U.K.
* China releases data including industrial production and retail sales figures Tuesday.
* U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May meets with her Brexit cabinet Tuesday to discuss plans for a post-withdrawal customs union.
* U.S. retail sales, industrial production are due this week.
* Vodafone Group, Home Depot, Credit Agricole, Tencent, Cisco Systems, Burberry Group, Walmart, Vivendi, AstraZeneca, Deere, Fujifilm, Noble Group, and Campbell Soup are among the companies releasing earnings this week.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent at 4 p.m. in New York. It rose as much as 0.5 percent earlier in the session.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3 percent
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.2 percent, on its sixth straight advance.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent after erasing a decline.
* The euro slipped 0.1 percent to $1.1935.
* The British pound rose 0.1 percent to $1.3561.
                            Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 2.54 percent, hitting the highest in almost 10 years with its seventh straight advance.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 3.0006 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased five basis points to 0.61 percent, the highest in almost three weeks.
                            Commodities
* Gold futures fell 0.5 percent to $1,313.90 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.6 percent to $71.10 a barrel.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, John Ainger and Natasha Doff. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content.
                                           -Louis L’Amour, 1908-1988

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