October 17, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

1989- San Francisco earthquake.

1915- Arthur Miller, writer, b.

On Oct. 17, 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released in 1939. Go to article »

“The poet and warrior,” Pauli Murray once wrote, “grapple in my brain.”  -from The New York Times, October 17, 2018

The warrior side of that equation is largely responsible for the recent surge of interest in Murray (1910-85), an African-American civil rights activist and lawyer who fought for racial justice and women’s equality. 

Pauli Murray in 1974. Barton Silverman/The New York Times 

But Murray was also a poet, and today is Black Poetry Day in the U.S. 

She also came to think of herself as a man, a story that resonates for many today. Two biographies of Murray have been published since 2016. 

Orphaned young and raised by an aunt in Durham, N.C., Murray grew up reading Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first famous African-American poets. Later, as a student at Hunter College in New York, she befriended Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and other key figures of the Harlem Renaissance. 

Her own poems, collected in the 1970 volume “Dark Testament” (recently reissued, with an introduction by the poet Elizabeth Alexander), grapple with her family’s and her nation’s complicated legacy of oppression. They also unabashedly imagine a country that lives up to its ideals. 

“I sing of a new American / Separate from all others,” she writes in “Prophecy.” 

It concludes: “I seek only discovery / Of the illimitable heights and depths of my own being.” 

Gregory Cowles wrote today’s Back Story.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The golden couple by Marsel van Oosten, The Netherlands, which is the 2018 winner of Animal Portraits, part of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Credit: Marsel Van Oosten/PA

Photocall at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea to announce the ‘There But Not There’ campaign to commemorate 100 years since the end of WW1. Credit: Paul Grover for The Telegraph

Pepper the robot, appearing before a select committee for the first time, to answer questions about the fourth industrial revolution. Credit: PA Wire
Market Closes for October 17th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
One of the great defenses – if you’re worried about inflation – is not to have a lot of silly needs in your life – if you don’t need a lot of material goods. –The TAO of Charlie Munger
Canada
By Carolina Wilson
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks declined alongside their U.S. peers even as Canada became the second nation in the world to legalize recreational pot. Cannabis shares added pressure to the health-care sector, which was the largest decliner. The  sell-off for marijuana growers came after about two months of solid gains.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.3 percent with technology and energy companies also lagging versus the benchmark. Financial and communication services shares were the strongest groups. Canada manufacturing sales saw a smaller-than-expected monthly drop in August, according to new data. The loonie was weaker against a strong U.S. dollar.
                            Stocks
* Canopy Growth Corp. and Aurora Cannabis Inc. fell after Canada’s legalization of adult use went live. The pot industry “is real, it is here to stay and we believe there is money to be made,” Scotiabank analysts wrote
* Canfor Corp. fell 7.8 percent after CIBC analysts said lumber prices are falling and may be nearing a floor. Norbord Inc. and Interfor Corp. also declined 
* Ensign Energy Services Inc. fell almost 4 percent, continuing its decline after being downgraded at both Scotiabank and Evercore ISI on Tuesday.
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $47.50 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,225.70 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.7 percent at C$1.30191 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 2.514%
US
By Randall Jensen and Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — Most U.S. stocks fell as a mixed bag of earnings and concerns over rising rates weighed on investor confidence. Treasuries declined and the dollar gained as Fed minutes appeared to lean toward the chance of more hikes in the future.
     The S&P 500 edged lower, failing to add to the biggest rally since March. Gains by banking giants Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley couldn’t counter concerns about China that hit Technology stocks, as well as worries about the Fed’s path that seeped into rates-sensitive shares. IBM’s disappointing results dragged on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while Netflix’s surge and a gain in biotech shares lifted the Nasdaq 100.
     The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 3.19 percent after minutes showed Fed officials appeared to favor an eventual move in rates above the level they see as neutral for the economy. The dollar rose the most in two weeks before a report expected Wednesday by the U.S. that could label China a currency manipulator. Oil fell to $70 a barrel after American stockpiles swelled for the fourth straight week.  “Yesterday, it was such a big rally it was almost a little too much. There are some legit reasons out there why the market has come down,” said Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “Obviously the higher interest rates, it also looks like this thing with China is getting prolonged. These things are still out there.”
     The risk-off tone across markets highlights the fragility of investor confidence just days after the worst week U.S. stocks since March. The uneven batch of earnings reports rekindled concern that corporate profit growth may have peaked. At the same time, the Trump administration is pressing its trade war with China, Brexit negotiations remain testy and Italian debt worries loom.
     Elsewhere, the Turkish lira gained as the country took advantage of a lull in political turmoil to return to the dollar bond market. Earlier in Asia the mood was more upbeat, with Japanese, South Korean and Australian shares all posting strong gains.  Hong Kong markets were shut for a holiday.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
* Third-quarter GDP for China comes Friday in addition to last month’s retail sales and factory output.
These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,809.21 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index rose less than 0.1 percent. 
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.4 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.6 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.1 percent.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.5 percent, the most since Oct. 3.
* The euro declined 0.6 percent to $1.1504, the weakest in two weeks.
* The British pound declined 0.5 percent to $1.3122.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3 percent to 112.57 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 3.197 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 0.46 percent, the lowest in more than two weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped three basis points to 1.575 percent.
                            Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 2.6 percent to $70.04 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,226.60 an ounce.
–With assistance from Samuel Potter.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.
                                     -Marie Curie Sklodowska, 1867-1934

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