October 09, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
To my Jewish readers, my sincerest wish to you for a meaningful fast today on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day of the year.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to a trio of scientists for their work on the development of lithium ion batteries. One of the winners, American John B. Goodenough, is the oldest person to ever be awarded the prize.-CNN.
A tour of the world’s 50 best bars of 2019 would take you to 26 cities across 21 countries. But the top pick might take you back in time. -CNN.
2006 Google Inc. announced it was snapping up YouTube Inc. for $1.65 billion in a stock deal. Go to article »

The ubiquitous lithium-ion battery, which revolutionized portable electronics, electric cars and lifesaving medical devices, emerged from the work of three scientists starting in the 1970s. Today, they won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The trio was recognized for research that “laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Science said.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Nobel Prize in Literature will be awarded to two winners — one for this year, and one for 2018. The prize wasn’t given out last year because of a sex-abuse scandal involving the group that chooses the winner. –The New York Times.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Falconer Eva Meyrier holds Victor, a nine year old white-tailed eagle equipped with a 360 camera, before a flight over glaciers and mountains from the Plan de la€™ Aiguille back to Chamonix during a media preview of the Alpine Eagle Race, an event aiming at raising awareness to global warming through a collaboration through the eyes of the eagle, a photographer and a scientist, in Chamonix, France.
CREDIT: REUTERS/ DENIS BALIBOUSE

Goshawks: The rare bird of prey returns to the New Forest. A rare bird of prey which was once close to extinction has more than doubled in number in eight years in a national park. There were 20 goshawk breeding pairs recorded in 2011 in Hampshire, but Forestry England says there are now 40 pairs living in the New Forest alone. The woodland raptors are nicknamed the “Phantoms of the Forest” due to their elusive nature.
CREDIT: FORESTRY ENGLAND

Jingxi, Baise City, Guangxi, was in the autumn harvest season of rice. Mountains, village roads, eyes full of golden yellow, a bumper harvest scene.
CREDIT: SIPA ASIA/ ZUMA WIRE/ ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Market Closes for October 09^th, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1953, trading on the New York Stock Exchange totaled just 900,000 shares, the last time to date that the total trading volume was less than 1 million shares.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose the most in nearly five weeks as the trade sentiment see-saw continued, boosting consumer discretionary and industrial stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.5% to 16,379.87, tracking U.S. stocks higher after China said it was still open to reaching a partial trade deal with the U.S. Today, 129 of 233 shares rose, while 98 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by consumer discretionary stocks.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $16.70 discount to WTI, the widest gap since May
* Spot gold gained 0.5% to $1,511.70 per ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was little changed at C$1.3332 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 3 basis points to 1.31%
================================================================
|Index Points |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 34.2426| 0.6| 21/5
Industrials | 20.9537| 1.2| 26/6
Energy | 10.6432| 0.4| 13/18
Consumer Discretionary | 10.2397| 1.4| 12/4
Information Technology | 9.4665| 1.1| 9/0
Consumer Staples | 6.2833| 0.9| 9/1
Communication Services | 3.2316| 0.3| 6/1
Real Estate | 0.8264| 0.1| 14/10
Health Care | 0.1140| 0.1| 7/2
Utilities | -1.8302| -0.2| 4/11
Materials | -8.2379| -0.4| 9/39.4|
US
By Vildana Hajric and Robert Brand
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced on optimism that the U.S. and China will make progress in trade talks this week despite some conflicting signals on the outlook. Treasury yields climbed. The S&P 500 Index ended the day up almost 1% in a rally fueled by speculation that China is still open to a partial deal with the U.S. But in a sign of how tenuous the new-found confidence is, stocks pared gains in the afternoon after a report that China sought to tamp down expectations for progress. Ten-year Treasury yields climbed past 1.55%. The Turkish currency and its stocks dropped after the country began a military offensive in Syria against Kurdish militants. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced for the third day in four. While volume was subdued during the Yom Kippur holiday, equities traders were looking closely for signals about high-level U.S.-China trade talks that are set to resume in Washington on Thursday. While a broad agreement seems unlikely, China indicated it’s open to a limited deal, provided no more tariffs are imposed, according to an official. In return, Beijing would offer non-core concessions like purchases of agricultural products without giving in on major sticking points, the official said, without offering further details.
“It’s encouraging to hear China say that they want to make some sort of small deal,” said Randy Frederick, a vice president of trading and derivatives who helps oversee $3.7 trillion in assets at Charles Schwab. “If we can get the two sides to agree to not raise tariffs any further than where they are, that would be positive.” Investors are also looking to gauge the next moves by major central banks. Traders of fed funds futures broadly maintained the amount of easing they expect from the Federal Reserve this year after Wednesday’s release of minutes from the latest meeting. They showed officials began debating how far their current interest-rate cutting campaign should extend even as they agreed to lower rates in response to growing risks to the U.S. economy. Elsewhere, the iShares MSCI Turkey ETF posted its worst three-day performance since March as the lira weakened to a four-month low. Benchmark equity gauges fell across Asia, except for those in Shanghai and Mumbai. Bond yields dropped in Greece after the region’s most-indebted country sold bills at negative yields. Gold held above $1,500 an ounce. The yuan climbed offshore for its biggest gain in almost a month, helped by trade optimism and a stronger than-expected daily fixing. West Texas crude touched $53 a barrel before paring its advance.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
* On Thursday, minutes from the European Central Bank’s most recent gathering are due.
* Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and Saturday for an informal summit.
* The U.S. releases a key measure of inflation on Thursday.

Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.9% at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.4%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index slipped 0.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0973.
* The British pound slumped 0.1% to $1.2208.
* The Japanese yen depreciated 0.4% to 107.47 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries added five basis points to 1.58%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 0.46%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose five basis points to -0.55%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.1% to $52.66 a barrel.
* Gold gained 0.1% to $1,506.77 an ounce.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen and Adam Haigh.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.
           -George Herman “Babe” Ruth, 1895-1948

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