October 10, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day in 1886, the tuxedo dinner jacket makes its American debut at the autumn ball in Tuxedo Park, N.Y.

Never wish that life were easier, wish that you were better. –Jim Rohn
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Ben Cadden riding Winx walks through the shallow waters of Altona Beach during a recovery session in Melbourne, Australia.
CREDIT: VINCE CALIGIURI/GETTY IMAGES

Boats sail past the ‘Victory Lighthouse’ during the 49^th Barcolana regatta in the Gulf of Trieste. With some 2072 vessels, The Barcelona has the most participants of any sailing regatta in the world.
CREDIT: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

French breeders demonstrate with their animals in Lyon to draw attention to rising wolf attacks on sheep hers and against the agriculture ministry’s 2018-2023 “wolf plan”. France’s agriculture ministry has said it wants to stop the attacks, though it has not said how. Its new “wolf plan” is set to be negotiated and put into place from early 2018.
CREDIT: JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Trees covered in snow on the shore of Manzherok Lake in Maima District of Russia’s Republic of Altai in Siberia.
CREDIT:  KIRILL KUKHMAR/TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for October 10^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
2.1% 
Growth in commercial and industrial loans in the U.S. in late September, down from 8.8% a year ago.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s equity benchmark gained, briefly touching its highest closing level since February, while the loonie strengthened the most this month.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 42 points or 0.3 percent to 15,770.36. It earlier rose as much as 0.4 percent, nearing the all-time high reached nearly eight months ago.
     The financial sector was the biggest gainer, adding 0.6 percent. Manulife Financial Corp. rose 2 percent and Toronto- Dominion Bank added 0.9 percent. Energy shares were flat despite a 2.7 percent jump in West Texas Intermediate crude prices on signals that the world’s biggest crude exporters may extend or deepen supply cuts.
     In other moves:
                            Stocks
* Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. fell 6.4 percent, the most since July, following auction metrics that were lower than analysts had expected
* Shopify Inc. fell 5.8 percent to the lowest in two months. The stock is now down 21 percent since short-seller Citron Research attacked the stock last week
* Guyana Goldfields Inc. jumped 6.3 percent after the stock was upgraded to buy at Clarus Securities
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.15 discount to WTI, unchanged since Thursday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.30 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold rose 0.7 percent to $1,290.60 an ounce, the highest this month
                             FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3 percent to C$1.2516 per U.S. dollar, the biggest gain since September
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.12 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Cormac Mullen
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed to record highs as Wal- Mart Stores Inc. led a rally in consumer shares, and energy producers climbed along with oil prices. The euro strengthened after Catalonia’s president stepped back from declaring immediate independence from Spain.
     The dollar weakened against most major currencies as President Donald Trump’s feud with Senator Bob Corker clouded the outlook for his much-heralded tax reform. Traders are also waiting for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting, which may provide more details on the path of interest rates and balance sheet tapering. The S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite Index all set record highs.
     “The economy is kind of just chugging along here,” said Brian Frank, portfolio manager at Key Biscayne, Florida-based Frank Capital Partners LLC. “It seems like investors just aren’t able to put their finger on any risk in front of them.”
     Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, addressing the regional parliament in Barcelona, said while an Oct. 1 referendum had given him the mandate to pursue independence, he would “suspend” the result for a period of some weeks for dialogue with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s administration. He suggested that the European Union should be involved in the talks, and sought to reassure companies fleeing the region. The IBEX fell before he spoke. The region’s common currency gained for a third day.
     In the U.K., sterling continued to recover from last week’s drop after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May won public support from Brexit hardliners in her cabinet for outlining contingency plans for leaving the European Union without a deal. The pound was also boosted by a fourth straight month of gains in U.K. like-for-like retail sales, and manufacturing and construction data that beat forecasts.
     Elsewhere, Turkey’s lira recouped some of yesterdays losses even as the U.S. signaled the crisis between the two countries could drag on. Gold gained as the greenback weakened, and West Texas oil rose above $50 a barrel before U.S. government data forecast to show crude inventories extended declines for a third week. Japan’s Topix index closed at the highest since July 2007 and Korean stocks staged a catch-up rally after a week-long holiday. 
     What’s coming up this week:
* Minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting are due Wednesday.
* API and EIA crude data are delayed to Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, because of Monday’s U.S. holiday.
* The International Monetary Fund and World Bank hold their annual fall meetings this week.
* Earnings season begins for major U.S. banks, led by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. Also reporting will be BlackRock Inc., Domino’s Pizza Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., German container company Gerresheimer AG, U.K. grocery wholesaler Booker Group Plc, and Sky Plc.
* The active Atlantic hurricane season will probably figure prominently in U.S. data on retail sales and consumer prices.
     Here are the main moves in markets:                          
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to close at 2,550.66 at 4:02 p.m. in New York, after climbing to a record 2,555.23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent, and touch a high of 22,850.51. The Nasdaq reached a record 6,608.301, and finished the day up 0.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.4 percent.
* Spain’s IBEX Index fell 0.9 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 1 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3 percent.
* The euro climbed 0.7 percent to $1.1816.
* The Turkish lira gained 0.2 percent.                            
Bonds
* Spain’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 1.70 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.44 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed about one basis points to 1.36 percent.                         
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.36 to $50.94 a barrel.
* Gold futures added 0.4 percent to $1,288.45 an ounce.
* Copper climbed 1 percent to $3.06 a pound.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The sum total of the experience of the sages of the world is available to us
and would be for all time to come.
Moreover, there are not many fundamental truths,
but there is only one fundamental truth which is Truth itself,
otherwise known as nonviolence
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

Courage is grace under pressure.
         -Ernest Hemingway, 1899-1961

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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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