November 16, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Happy Friday!

1885 – Louis Riel hanged, led North West Rebellion, Manitoba.

1982 – Space Shuttle Columbia completes its 1st operational flight

Two new Netflix shows come out today. Michael Douglas ages grudgingly in “The Kominsky Method,” while “Narcos: Mexico” moves drug-war drama to a new locale. In theaters, Potter-mania is on with “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” and Viola Davis leads a group of fierce “Widows.” -from CNN
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The original torch of the Statue of Liberty rests on a hydraulically stabilised transporter in New York. The torch, which was removed in 1984 and replaced by a replica, was being moved into what will become its permanent home at a new museum on Liberty Island. Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew

A rider trains a horse before an exhibition at the Sicab 2018 International Horse fair in Sevilla, Spain. Credit: Cristina Quicler/AFP/Getty Images

An Indian camel herder walks with his camels at the Pushkar Camel Fair in Pushkar, in the western state of Rajasthan. Thousands of livestock traders from the region come to the traditional camel fair where livestock, mainly camels, are traded. The annual five day camel and livestock fair is one of the world’s largest camel fairs. Credit: Himanshu Sharma/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for November 16^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1999, Jay Walker, the founder of priceline.com, bought 2.1 million shares of Priceline’s stock from Delta Air Lines, an early backer of Priceline, for $59.93 per share. Delta locked in a gain of more than $120 million on shares for which it paid less than $2 million. A year later, Walker sold those same shares for $8 million—losing $117 million by buying his own stock at the top and selling it at the bottom.
Canada
By Janine Wolf
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were mixed in early trading, with the S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index little changed. Six out of 11 industry groups gained, with materials leading, while health care fell the most.
     The Canadian dollar strengthened for a second day against the greenback as oil prices recover amid increasing confidence that OPEC will cut production.
     Ontario is limiting pot producers’ retail exposure, issuing rules about store licenses that could throw several retail partnerships into disarray. A company is not eligible for a cannabis retail license if it’s more than 9.9 percent owned or controlled by one or more licensed producers, the province said in rules issued this week. The move could set back ambitions of several retailers, including Canopy Growth Corp.’s wholly owned Tokyo Smoke, and Alcanna Inc., which is 25 percent owned by Aurora Cannabis Inc.
Stocks
* Bombardier Inc. plunged 12 percent as its executive stock sale program is under review by Quebec’s financial markets regulator
* Baytex Energy Corp. rose 5.5 percent as Alberta Investment Management took a new position in the company in the third quarter
* TORC Oil & Gas rose 6.3 percent after confirming its monthly dividend for the month of November
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $43.00 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,222.30 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3 percent to C$1.31389 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell 1.2 basis points to 2.373 percent
US
By Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks finished the day higher as trade hopes rose, but they couldn’t compensate for a rocky week in which the retail picture soured and technology shares languished. Treasuries advanced and the dollar retreated.
     Equity markets have reacted swiftly to trade-related headlines in recent days as investors look for any hint that the threat of more tariffs will be removed, and the S&P 500 Index surged Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to signal a willingness to reach a deal with China at this month’s G-20 summit. But those gains were tempered by flagging consumer and retail shares. Department-store chain Nordstrom Inc. declined on disappointing results, following letdowns from Macy’s Inc. and Dillard’s Inc. Technology stocks wavered as chipmaker Nvidia Inc. had its worst trading day in a decade after issuing a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter outlook.
     At the same time, California utilities PG&E Corp. and Edison International began to recover from steep losses brought on by the wildfires that swept the state. Energy firms also advanced as crude continued its rally after a record losing streak. All told, the S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent on the week.
     “There’s a lot of things that the market’s wondering about with Trump’s latest announcement on trade. It’s obviously an unsettled issue and something that will continue to drive the markets for a few weeks,” said Curtis Holden, senior investment officer at Tanglewood Total Wealth Management, who added:
“You’re seeing some anxiety, too, over Christmas spending, which is typical for this time of year.” Equity markets remain volatile as the slowing Chinese economy and uncertain outlook for earnings coincide with investors’ adjusting to the effects of tightening U.S. monetary policy. Political tensions in Europe — from the U.K. to Italy – – are also hitting sentiment. Sterling advanced as investors grappled with Britain’s political turmoil, while oil hovered around $57 a barrel in New York.
     Some of the pressure on the dollar and bond yields followed remarks by Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, who said on Friday that policy is getting close to neutral and there
is some evidence of global slowing.
     The British pound managed to rebound after posting the biggest drop in more than two years Thursday as several ministers resigned. Prime Minister Theresa May is defying demands to quit as her detractors plot a vote of no confidence over disquiet with her proposed Brexit deal.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index had its worst week in three. Asian shares were led lower by declines in Japan, even as those in China and Hong Kong climbed. Emerging market stocks and currencies edged higher. Gold climbed alongside nickel and aluminum.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.2 percent to the lowest in more than two weeks.
* The U.K. FTSE 100 Index decreased 0.3 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 0.7 percent to the highest in more than a week.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.6 percent to the lowest in over a week.
* The euro gained 0.8 percent to $1.1416, the strongest in more than a week.
* The British pound advanced 0.4 percent to $1.2827.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.7 percent to 112.81 per dollar, the biggest gain in four months.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped four basis points to 3.07 percent, the lowest in more than six weeks.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 0.37 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 1.412 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.6 percent to $56.80 a barrel.
* Gold increased 0.7 percent to $1,222.03 an ounce, the highest in more than a week.
* LME copper gained 0.3 percent to $6,205.00 a metric ton.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 1.3 percent.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Don’t ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.
                                            -Robert Frost, 1874-1963

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