May 7, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
May 7, 1824: Premier of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, b. 1840
On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France, to take effect the following day, ending the European conflict of World War II. 
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From today’s New York Times:

The happy couple, one a British royal and the other a commoner. A much-anticipated May wedding. 

But this is not Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. It was Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, and Antony Armstrong-Jones, a photographer, who were married on May 6, 1960. 

Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones at Buckingham Palace on their wedding day, May 6, 1960.
Central Press, via Agence France-Presse 

Then, as now, there was heightened interest across the Atlantic, and The Times had a front-page photograph and article.

Our coverage included descriptions of the crowds who waited to see the couple on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, tales of royal weddings that did not go smoothly and a look at the myriad gifts from near and far.

More than a dozen short items covered the details of the day, including tiara trouble and a bomb scare.

We also had drawings of the guests and the clothes, including a going-away hat shaped “like a soufflé.”

And finally, a television piece marveled at the BBC’s coverage and noted, “Thanks to videotape and jet airplanes, pictures of live quality were shown on North American screens only six to seven hours after the event had occurred in London.”

Ultimately, the story ended sadly. The couple split 16 years later.

Sarah Anderson wrote Today’s Back Story.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mike Raphael with a Golden Eagle during the Whitby Abbey Raphael Historic Falconry Fly. Credit: The Telegraph

A new fissure spraying lava fountains as high as about 230 feet (70m), according to United States Geological Survey, is shown from Luana Street in Leilani Estates subdivision on Kilauea Volcano’s lower East Rift Zone in Hawaii. Credit: The Telegraph

As darkness in the Lake District, the bright lights from hundreds of walkers’ head torches cascade down the ridge line of Catbells, in Cumbria last night during the Lakeland Festival of Light. Hundreds of volunteers scaled the famous Lake District fell at sunset to form a chain of light from the 1,480ft summit to the edge of Derwentwater near Keswick. The event was organized by the Lakeland Mountain Guides to raise funds for PHASE worldwide, a charity supporting projects in Nepal. Credit: The Telegraph

A sculpture of a cyclist in pink welcomes Giro d’Italia riders near Sde Boker, Israel. Credit: The Telegraph

An installation by German conceptual artist, Ottmar Hoerl, made of 500 small scale sculptures featuring German-born physicist Albert Einstein on the Muensterplatz square in Ulm, Einstein’s birth city. Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for May 7^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed at the highest since Feb. 1 but pared earlier gains as crude prices retreated back below $70 a barrel.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 79 points or 0.5 percent to 15,808.63 after earlier rising as much as 0.8 percent. Energy shares, which had gained as much as 1.7 percent, ended the day up 0.4 percent.
     Technology stocks led to the upside, adding 1.4 percent. Constellation Software Inc. rose 2.1 percent to a record, while Shopify Inc. gained 2.1 percent.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Dorel Industries Inc. fell 7.3 percent to the lowest since 2012. Two analysts downgraded the stock, with one saying it may not have enough cash to fund its dividend this year
* Covalon Technologies Ltd. jumped 53 percent after announcing a series of contracts in the Middle East worth C$100 million over three years
* Ensign Energy Services Inc. lost 4.1 percent after reporting a wider-than-expected loss and revenue that missed estimates
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.85 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,314.10 an ounce
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.4 percent to C$1.2892 per U.S. dollar, the weakest in five weeks
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 2.33 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged higher following a spate of mergers and acquisitions while the dollar climbed to the strongest level this year. Crude rose past $70 a barrel before pairing gains.
     Tech shares were the best performers in the U.S., lifting the S&P 500 Index. Oil, which reached its highest since November 2014 on speculation the U.S. would pull out of the Iran nuclear accord, erased the advance after President Donald Trump said he would announce a decision Tuesday and amid a report that European diplomats made progress on a deal to persuade Trump not to withdraw. Energy stocks went along for the ride.
     “Sentiment had gotten extremely bullish” on energy, said Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. “It just seems to ripe for a sell-on-the-news reaction as soon as Trump came out with that tweet.”
     The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed, though trading volumes were light thanks to a U.K. holiday. The euro weakened as 10- year Treasury yields hovered near 2.95 percent.
     Mergers and acquisitions helped boost investor sentiment Monday, with Blackstone Group LP agreeing to buy Gramercy Property Trust in a cash deal valued at $7.6 billion, Nestle SA spending $7.15 billion for the right to market Starbucks Corp. products and Elliott Management Corp offering to buy Athenahealth Inc. for $6.5 billion. Earnings season continues, and data due this week may give traders a signal on the outlook for inflation.
     Elsewhere, investors are closely following emerging-market assets after many extended their losses last week. Developing- nation stocks edged higher and currencies were weaker. Both Turkey’s lira and its equities retreated. Argentina’s peso seemed to stabilize following a tumultuous week of unscheduled central bank interest-rate increases.
     Some key events coming up this week:
* Chinese trade data is due Tuesday.
* It’s also the Australian annual budget Tuesday.
* Malaysia holds a general election Wednesday.
* Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hosts South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.
* There’s a Bank of England policy decision on Thursday.
* U.S. inflation data for April is due the same day.
* Trump’s Iran-deal deadline is this week.
* Some of the company earnings due include Walt Disney, Petrobras, Marriott, Toyota, Ambev and Deutsche Telekom.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 percent as of the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.6 percent to a three- month high.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent.
* Germany’s DAX Index climbed 1 percent to the highest in more than three months.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.2 percent, the first advance in a week.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent to the highest in more than four months.
* The euro decreased 0.3 percent to $1.1925, the weakest since December.
* The British pound gained 0.2 percent to $1.3559, the first advance in almost two weeks.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1 percent to 109.04 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.95 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.525 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.1 percent to $69.80 a barrel.
* Gold was little changed at $1,314.49 an ounce.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Samuel Potter, Christopher Anstey, Todd White and Katherine Greifeld. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

A schedule defends from chaos and whim.
                       -Annie Dillard, B. 1945

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com