May 4, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!

On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.
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Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo – a good excuse for Corona with lime 🙂 !

From The New York Times:

Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates an underdog victory over France in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, isn’t widely celebrated in Mexico. 

The victory was short-lived, as France later occupied Mexico for a few years. But Cinco de Mayo was still celebrated in Puebla and, perhaps more significantly, by Mexican-Americans north of the border. 

The holiday gained popularity in the 20th century, and in 1989, an ad campaign by an importer of beers such as Modelo and Corona was introduced around the holiday.

The commercialization of Cinco de Mayo (and criticism of cultural stereotypes) has since taken off. The research firm Nielsen reported that in 2013, Americans bought more than $600 million worth of beer during the week of Cinco de Mayo, more than during the weeks of the Super Bowl or St. Patrick’s Day. 

Claudio E. Cabrera wrote today’s Back Story.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Competitors ride their bikes during Stage 5 of the 13th edition of Titan Desert 2018 mountain biking race around Merzouga in Morocco. Credit: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man dances around a bonfire in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighbourhood during celebrations for the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer, marking the anniversary of the death of Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai approximately 1,900 years ago. In a night-long vigil thousands of worshippers will light large bonfires and visit the final resting place of Bar Yochai, who is revered as one of Judaism’s great sages. Credit: The Telegraph

The world’s largest Victorian glasshouse reopens at Kew Gardens following renovations lasting five years. The magnificent 4,880 square-metre structure is the world’s largest surviving Victorian glasshouse, home to 10,000 plants (1,500 species) from across the world. Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 4^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
$$ On this day in 1979, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. completed the first modern leveraged buyout using high-yield junk bonds–a $381 million deal to take Houdaille Industries private.
Number of the Day
40,000
The approximate number of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders from around the world who are expected to gather in Omaha, Neb. for the company’s annual meeting this weekend. They will hear Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO, and Vice Chairman Charles Munger discuss the business and answer questions.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fourth week, the longest streak of gains since November, hitting their highest close since Feb. 1.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 108 points or 0.7 percent to 15,729.40 Friday, bringing its weekly gain to 0.4 percent. All sectors were in the green, led by a 1.5 percent gain in industrials. Bombardier Inc. added 3.3 percent, reaching the highest since 2015, after Thursday’s land sale and strong results.
     The energy sector rose 1.1 percent as West Texas Intermediate futures neared $70 a barrel. Pembina Pipeline Corp. gained 6.2 percent, the most since 2016, after earnings beat estimates.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Martinrea International Inc. gained 10 percent to the highest since 2007. Results and guidance beat analyst expectations
* WestJet Airlines Ltd. fell 1.5 percent. Pilots said they’ll picket for a contract next week
* Crescent Point Energy Corp. lost 1.9 percent. Shareholders voted to elect all the company’s nominees to the board, rejecting an activist slate
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $16.10 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,314.70 an ounce
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2859 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 2.33 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Janine Wolf
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks logged their biggest advance in almost four weeks after the country’s jobless rate hit an 18- year low. The dollar finished higher while Treasury yields flattened out as the market assessed the impact of America’s inconclusive trade talks with China.
    The S&P 500 Index closed higher Friday but failed to recoup its losses for the week. Apple Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. were among the benchmark’s biggest advancers as the tech and financial sectors led the charge.
     U.S. hiring rebounded less than anticipated in April but the unemployment rate dropped below 4 percent for the first time since 2000. Wage gains unexpectedly cooled, suggesting the job market still has slack to absorb. The report’s implications for monetary policy will be eyed after the Federal Reserve kept rates on hold this week, saying inflation is near its target without suggesting any need to accelerate its hiking path.
     “This was a really solid number — it shows all the job growth that the economy needs without wages picking up, which would be detrimental to margins,” Sameer Samana, global technical and equity strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said by phone. “It should all be supportive of further consumption, which should keep the economy going at a very steady pace without inflation being a major issue, which historically has been very good for investments.”
     Markets were also following talks between U.S. and Chinese officials in Beijing intently for signs that the world’s two biggest economies are making progress on trade, but there’s been limited advancement so far. U.S. officials asked China to bring forward reductions in its trade surplus, raising the hurdle for any overarching deal, while state-run news agency Xinhua said the two parties agreed on some issues but disagreed on others.
     Health-care and technology companies led gains in the Stoxx Europe 600 index as the euro slipped amid mounting concern about the region’s economic outlook. Financials recovered some earlier losses incurred after disappointing earnings reports from BNP Paribas SA, Societe Generale SA and HSBC Holdings Plc. Stocks from Sydney to Hong Kong retreated earlier. Core European bonds declined.
     Meanwhile, Turkey’s lira continued its descent on Friday, hitting a record low against the dollar amid concern that monetary policy remains too loose to deal with an overheating economy. Most emerging-market currencies declined against the greenback.
     West Texas oil hit a three-year high as traders weighed an increase in stockpiles against concern about U.S. sanctions on Iran. Gold gained.
     Some key events coming up during the remainder of this week:
* Berkshire Hathaway holds its annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 1.3 percent as of 3:25 p.m. New York time
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.6 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.9 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index jumped 1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained less than 0.05 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2 percent.
* The euro dipped 0.3 percent to $1.1957.
* The British pound decreased 0.3 percent to $1.3535, its eighth straight decline.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.1 percent to 109.10 per dollar.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell less than one basis point to 2.94 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.54 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to 1.4 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.9 percent to $69.76 a barrel, the highest in more than three years.
* Gold gained 0.2 percent to $1,314.41 an ounce.
* LME copper declined less than 0.05 to $6,826 a metric ton.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Katia Dmitrieva and Joe Easton.

Have a great weekend

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us
to an understanding of ourselves.
                                       -Carl Jung, 1875-1961

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