November 20, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

The Poem:
                      DRY SEASON
In the country of the ochre afternoon
it is always still and hot, the dry leaves stirring
infrequently sometimes with the rattling pods
of what they call “women’s tongues,” in
the afternoon country the far hills are very quiet
and heat-hazed, but mostly in the middle
of the country of the afternoon I see the brown heat
of the skin of my first love, so still, so perfect,
so unaltered, and I see how she walked
with her sunburnt hands against the still sea almonds,
to a remembered cove, where she stood on a small dock –
that was when I thought we were immortal
and that love would be folded doves and folded oars
and water lapping against eroding stone
in the ochre country of the afternoon.
                            -by Derek Walcott

On Nov. 20, 1945, 24 Nazi leaders went on trial before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany.  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Dancer Zhang Yan of the National Ballet of China as Odette-Odile, principal dancer Sun Ruichen of the National Ballet of China as Prince Siegfried, and dancers of the Beijing Dance Academy perform in a scene from the Swan Lake Ballet staged by Soviet choreographer Pyotr Gusev at the Boris Eifman Children’s Dance Theater, St. Petersburg.
CREDIT: ALEXANDER DEMIANCHUK/TASS

A guest poses with illuminations during a photocall for ‘Christmas at Kew’ in the Royal Botanical Gardens in London.
CREDIT: NEIL HALL/EPA

Aerial photograph of Shanzhou sinkhole courtyard, the only underground ancient residential building in China and even in the world, Sanmenxia, Henan Province, China.
CREDIT: COSTFOTO

Market Closes for November 20^th, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1991, Cascade International Inc., a fashion chain ranked No. 26 on BusinessWeek’s 1990 list of “hot growth companies,” announces that its chairman, Victor Incendy, has disappeared, along with more than 200 of Cascade’s stores. Incendy had claimed that Cascade had between 255 and 400 outlets but in reality, there were fewer than 30.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks dropped for a third straight session, following a broad decline in global markets as investors weighed the prospects that the U.S. and China won’t reach the first phase of a trade deal this year. The S&P/TSX Composite declined less than 0.1% to 17,005.82 in Toronto. Stock performance was mixed Wednesday, though marijuana shares rallied again. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF advanced 6%. Meanwhile, Canadian National Railway slid for a third session, a day after 3,200 workers walked off the job.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $18.75 discount to WTI
* Spot gold flat around $1,472.90 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.3% to C$1.3306 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2.3 basis points to 1.423%
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -13.8477| -0.2| 9/17
Industrials | -11.3427| -0.6| 19/12
Communication Services | -2.7979| -0.3| 2/5
Consumer Discretionary | -1.5857| -0.2| 10/6
Consumer Staples | -0.1953| 0.0| 7/3
Real Estate | -0.0464| 0.0| 11/13
Materials | 1.3522| 0.1| 33/16
Information Technology | 2.1011| 0.2| 5/4
Utilities | 2.6301| 0.3| 10/6
Health Care | 7.5873| 3.7| 7/3
Energy | 10.5674| 0.4| 21/9
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — The S&P 500 Index posted its biggest loss in a month after a report that Washington and Beijing are unlikely to reach a trade deal this year. The dollar rose and oil jumped. Telecom companies and automakers led losses on the gauge after Reuters said that a pact may be delayed, though the index pared losses following a report that progress is being made. The developments came after China threatened to retaliate for the Senate’s passage of a bill that sought to support Hong Kong’s autonomy from Beijing. The House votes on the measure later Wednesday. After reaching fresh highs Monday, U.S. stocks have retreated on concern about the outlook for trade. While investors are sensitive to any reports on the economy, the potential of a detente between China and the U.S. had driven gains this year that left stocks poised for their best performance since 2013. “The market for most of the year has been trading off of trade — trade hope and trade fear,” said Ed Clissold, chief U.S. strategist at Ned Davis Research Inc. “There were expectations over the last several weeks that some sort of interim deal would get done. And the reality of the situation is setting in.”
Oil jumped, paring Tuesday’s more-than 3% loss, as American crude stockpiles rose less than expected and inventories at a key storage hub shrank by the most since August. Ten-year Treasury yields sank to a two-week low. Travel and leisure companies led the retreat in the Stoxx Europe 600 index. Swedbank AB dropped after a report that American authorities are investigating possible breaches of sanctions against Russia by the Swedish lender. Hong Kong shares fell along with Japanese and South Korean benchmarks. Australian equities slumped after allegations of financial crimes at Westpac Banking Corp. hit financial stocks.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
* U.S. economic indicators due for release include initial jobless claims on Thursday.
* Federal Reserve speakers this week include district bank presidents Loretta Mester and Neel Kashkari.
* European central bankers speaking this week include European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann, along with Yves Mersch, Luis de Guindos, Pablo Hernandez de Cos and Philip Lane.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.4% at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.4%.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.5%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2%.
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1072.
* The British pound decreased 0.1% to $1.2918.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 108.58 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank five basis points to 1.73%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to -0.35%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.73%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield sank three basis points to -0.124%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 3.4% to $57.11 a barrel.
* Gold was little changed at $1,472.34 an ounce.

–With assistance from Emily Barrett, Adam Haigh, Robert Brand and Sophie Caronello.
Have a great night!

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Rise with the hour for which you were made.
                                -Georgia Douglas Johnson, 1880-1966

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com