November 26, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

I watched the film The Seagull on HBO last night and highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet.  Anton Chekov’s classic play has been made into this beautiful film.  Film critic Peter Rainer comments that “the best reason to check out the film is for Saoirse Ronan’s tender, wrenching performance as the lovelorn Nina, and, especially , for Annette Benning’s fantastic turn as Irina, the grand dame of the Russian theater whose most tumultuous work occurs offstage.”  I thought both of their performances were terrific and the production overall was great.

POINTS OF PROGRESS:
CYPRUS
The number of green and loggerhead turtle nests on the Mediterranean country’s beaches has more than tripled since conservation efforts began.  In 1978, there were only 300 turtle nests.  Now there are more than 1,000.  The increase is especially significant for green turtle populations, which nest only on the beaches of Cyprus and Turkey. -Voice of America.

NORWAY
The country’s $1 trillion sovereign investment fund has announced a new push against plastics.  The fund, which invests and has voting rights in 268 big companies, offers carrot-and-stick plans to encourage environmental responsibility:  The companies that comply the most with fund expectations are recognized, while the least may be dropped form its investment list.  While the fund’s mandate is not replacement for regulatory legislation, it has the advantage of incentivizing companies to act more quickly.  –Reuters.

INDONESIA
The Wondiwoi tree kangaroo, thought to be extinct, was recently photographed in the wild.  Michael Smith, an amateur botanist from England, saw the tree kangaroo while trekking in  a remote jungle area in West Papua on the island of New Guinea while searching for rhododendrons.  Biologists speculate that the tree kangaroo survived because of the impenetrability of the bamboo forest in the area where it was found, and hope the discovery will lead to protection of its habitat. –National Geographic.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

After heavy showers on Saturday night, these wild ponies were out grazing on the hill at Chapel Carn Brea in Cornwall on Sunday. Credit: Simon Maycock/Alamy Live News

Men dressed as 1812-era French soldiers take part in re-enact a staged battle near the Belarus village of Bryli. The event marks the 206^th anniversary of the Berezina battle during Napoleon’s army retreat from Russia. About 50,000 people, soldiers from both sides of sides and civilians, were killed during the crossing, which was effected under heavy Russian attack and saved Napoleon and his forces from capture. Credit: Sergei Grits/AP

Steampunk enthusiasts attend the sixth annual Haworth Steampunk Weekend in West Yorkshire. Credit: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for November 26^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
U.S. crude oil lost 11% last week, the steepest weekly percentage decline since January 2016. It fell 7.7% Friday, its biggest one-day drop since July 2015. 
The tech-laden Nasdaq fell 4.3% last week, its biggest weekly percentage decline since March 2018. The Dow fell 4.4% while the S&P 500 lost 3.8%.
Canada
By Tatiana Darie
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended Monday little changed after erasing earlier gains of as much as 0.78 percent. In the U.S., beaten-down tech shares helped lead a rebound, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each up about 1.5 percent.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index eked out a 0.01 percent gain, with tech and telecom shares offsetting losses in health care.
     The energy sector fell as gas exploration and production companies dropped, with one analyst citing pricing and pipe bottlenecks. Industrials gained slightly even as General Motors announced that the carmaker has no plans to produce vehicles at a plant in Oshawa, Ontario after December 2019.
Stocks
* Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Canada each gained slightly after agreeing to pay $622 million to join Air Canada’s rewards plan.
* Emera Inc. fell 0.3 percent after agreeing to sell its three natural gas-fired generation facilities in New England, known as Bridgeport Energy, Tiverton Power and Rumford Power to an affiliate of the Carlyle Group for $590 million.
* First Quantum Minerals Ltd., Leagold Mining Corp. and Kelt Exploration Ltd. are among the stocks with potential to reward contrarian investors with a year-end rally, a GMP analyst writes.
* Car parts supplier Martinrea International fell 6.8% on news that GM has no plans to manufacture in Oshawa, Ontario beyond 2019. 
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $32.50 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.05 percent to $1,222.60 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was little changed percent at C$1.3248 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield gained 0.7 basis points to 2.351%
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — Beaten-down tech shares led the strongest session for U.S. stocks in two weeks, extending the run of turbulence that has made this month one of the wildest of the past five years.
     The S&P 500 roared back from the worst week in a month as investors speculated a strong start to the holiday season will keep economic growth on track. Amazon.com and L Brands led gains among retailers, while Microsoft was among the tech leaders.
Here are some major moves in U.S. stocks:
Amazon jumped more than 5 percent as all members of the FAANG cohort rallied more than 1 percent. Retailers Tiffany & Co. and Best Buy Co. surged on a strong start to holiday shopping.CVS Health rallied after it won the New York regulator’s approval for its Aetna deal.
     Positive political developments in Europe and rising oil prices added to optimism, sending the 10-year Treasury yield higher ahead of a slew of Federal Reserve speakers this week, including Chairman Jerome Powell. The dollar advanced, while West Texas crude rose above $51 a barrel following a more than 7 percent slide on Friday.
“Today is a relief rally. I don’t know if it will last through today and to tomorrow, but markets are moving a lot off of not a lot of news,” Larry Benedict, founder of The Opportunistic Trader, said in a phone interview. “Tech is bouncing a little bit. It still looks heavy. FANG stocks have taken massive hits.”
     Investors will scour this week’s Fed speech and policy minutes for clues on the future of rates. After stock markets skidded last week, and with bond traders reducing expectations for the pace of U.S. monetary policy tightening, Powell has the opportunity to shed light on prospects for a pause in a speech Wednesday. The sit-down between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump has heightened hopes of a resolution to the trade war ahead of the next escalation of tariffs.
     Elsewhere, Italy’s bonds jumped as state officials began studying scenarios for a lower 2019 budget deficit target, while European shares rose after EU leaders signed off over the weekend on the proposed Brexit plan. Bitcoin extended its recent tumble to below $4,000 as cryptocurrencies fell across the board.
Coming Up
* Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping plan to meet at the G-20 summit in Argentina that kicks off on Friday.
* Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida speaks in New York on Tuesday and Powell addresses the New York Economic Club on Wednesday. 
* Thursday sees the release of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s November meeting.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 1.6 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time, the most since Nov. 7. 
* The Nasdaq 100 advanced 2.3 percent. 
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.2 percent. 
* Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 2.8 percent, the largest surge in more than five months.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 1.1 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent.
* The euro was little changed at 1.1333.
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2812.
* The Japanese yen dipped 0.6 percent to 113.62 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 3.06 percent, its first advance in more than two weeks.
* Italy’s 10-year yield fell 14 basis points to 3.269 percent, the lowest in almost two months.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.36 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased three basis points to 1.413 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.3 percent to $51.58 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,222.50 an ounce.
–With assistance from Todd White.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

And when we think we lead, we are most led.
       -Lord George Gordon Byron, 1788-1824

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com