May 24, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!
1779 – Simon McTavish pulls together the North West Company, to do battle with the HBC.
Go to article »

1844- first US telegraph line opens.

Bob Dylan’s birthday today~ 78 years.
My Back Pages
Bob Dylan
Crimson flames tied through my ears, rollin’ high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads using ideas as my maps
“We’ll meet on edges, soon, ” said I, proud ‘neath heated brow
Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now
Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth, “rip down all hate, ” I screamed
Lies that life is black and white spoke from my skull, I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers foundationed deep, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now
Girls’ faces formed the forward path from phony jealousy
To memorizing politics of ancient history
Flung down by corpse evangelists, unthought of, though somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then. I’m younger than that now
A self-ordained professor’s tongue too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty is just equality in school
“Equality, ” I spoke the word as if a wedding vow
Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now
In a soldier’s stance, I aimed my hand at the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I’d become my enemy in the instant that I preach
My existence led by confusion boats, mutiny from stern to bow
Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now
Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms quite clear, no doubt, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then I’m younger than that now
Songwriter: Bob Dylan

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The incredible images show a musician giving a spectacular show by playing a grand piano hanging upside down, high above the ground from a crane.
CREDIT: CEN/ OLIVIER CARREL

An incredible 27m tall hot air balloon, shaped like a Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh’s head, sores over the morning Melbourne skyline to promote the 2019 King Valley Balloon Festival starting this June.
CREDIT: GOLDRUSH BALLOONING/ SWNS.COM

Sunset over Ely Cathedral in the Cambridgeshire Fens
CREDIT: ANDREW SHARPE/ GEOFF ROBINSON
Market Closes for May 24^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
“There isn’t a single formula.  You need to know a lot about business and human
nature and numbers….
It is unreasonable to expect that there is a magic system that will do it for you.” –Charlie Munger.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rebounded from their worst day of 2019 but ended the week in the red as trade developments continue to whipsaw investors.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.4% to 16,230.04, its first gain in three sessions. The benchmark lost 1.1% for the week.
     Financial stocks led the gains, adding 0.8%, the most since April 1. The sector bounced back from two days of steep losses after Canadian banks reported slowdowns in their domestic operations.
     Energy added 0.7% as crude prices rose but still posted their worst weekly loss of the year. MEG Energy Corp. rose 4.3%.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Aphria Inc. jumped 15%, the most since December. Jefferies initiated coverage of the pot stock with a buy rating, saying there’s a “big disconnect between valuation and strategic positioning”
* B2Gold Corp. fell 1.2%. The miner is considering buying an idled Zimbabwean gold mine, according to people familiar with the situation
* Canfor Corp. added 5.1%, its first gain in 10 sessions. The forest products company had slumped 17% in the 9 sessions before Friday
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $16.50 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.1% to $1,283.60 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3% to C$1.3438 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell 3 basis points to 1.62 percent, the lowest since March
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose Friday on thin volume before the holiday weekend, but the gains weren’t enough to compensate for a week of market turmoil stoked by trade tensions. Oil advanced, while 10-year Treasury yields edged higher and the dollar slipped.
     The S&P 500 Index put in its third straight weekly decline as concerns mount that the trade dispute between the U.S. and China could cripple global growth, with disappointing American factory data Thursday hinting at the fragility of the expansion.
     The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a fifth consecutive weekly drop, the longest such streak since 2011. “We all know what the issues are: the slowing economic scenario — you had those weak reports on manufacturing orders, Germany is slowing and German consumer confidence is down. You can see it’s being reflected in flight-to-quality items,” said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at Newbridge Securities Corp. “And of course there’s the trade issue. It doesn’t look to be anywhere near resolved.”
     Miners and utilities pushed the Stoxx Europe 600 index higher, while shares in Asia climbed as Chinese equities finished little changed and Indian stocks rebounded. Despite the gains, a gauge of global equities headed for a third straight weekly drop, its longest losing streak of the year. Oil climbed as supply risks outweighed concerns that the trade war will stifle demand. Sterling advanced after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May announced she will step down as party leader June 7. Italy’s bonds jumped after Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said that he would be willing to talk to French and German leaders about his nation’s budget
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.6%, the biggest advance in a week.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index increased 0.6%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.3%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%, the biggest drop in almost three weeks.
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1209, the strongest in more than a week.
* The British pound increased 0.4% to $1.2715, the biggest gain in almost three weeks.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.3% to 109.30 per dollar, the strongest in 16 weeks.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced less than one basis point to 2.32%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to -0.12%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased less than one basis point to 0.956%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.6% to $58.84 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.1% to $1,284.89 an ounce.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh and Namitha Jagadeesh.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

It’s not what you look at that matters.  It’s what you see.

                             -Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862

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