October 19, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Hide in the woods instead, and dream
As the beeches turn to their autumn brown
And acorns plop in the swollen stream;
Sit on a rotting log; scrawl down
Rubbish of verses fit for fire,
Gardener, poet, on single pyre,
Liberal, losel, catching the last
Chance of the mothlike summer past, –
Winter’s ahead, and our days are few.
                  -V. Sackville-West

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Andrew Clark plays basketball in the atrium of the Woodward’s building on a mural places on the ground to mark World Sight Day, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
CREDIT: DARRYL DYCK/THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP

Thousands of geese fill the sky as they fly off to find food in nearby fields.  Around 150,000 snow geese spend a few weeks at the Beaudette reservoir, in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada, to rest before continuing with their migration to the Atlantic coast of the United States of America.  The birds spend the night on the surface of the reservoir, which covers an area of 1.52km squared, where they are sheltered and safe from predators.

Participants ride their horses as they perform the Moroccan javelin sport “tebburide”, which is a centuries-old tradition, during the 10^th Al Jadida Horse Festival in the city of Al Jadida in Morocco. Tebburide, which takes its name from the gunpowder used at the end of the sport, was part of the celebrations after victories against the Spanish in the 15^th Century.
Market Closes for October 19^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On Oct. 19, 1987, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value – its second biggest percentage drop.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks resumed their advance, as a rally in industrial and financial shares pushed the benchmark index to within 0.7 percent of this year’s high in February.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 36 points or 0.2 percent to 15,818.00, after erasing an earlier 0.2 percent decline amid a short-lived flight to safety. Industrial stocks were the best performers as Canadian National Railway Co. rose 1.6 percent one day after competitor Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. jumped 5.1 percent on a boost to its profit forecast.
     Financials gained 0.5 percent as government bond yields backtracked an earlier slump. Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.8 percent.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* AltaGas Ltd. gained 4.5 percent after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat the highest analyst estimate
* Cenovus Energy Inc. added 2.4 percent. The company is selling its Palliser oil and gas assets in Alberta for C$1.3 billion
* Ero Copper Corp. was unchanged while Titan Mining Corp. fell 5 percent in their trading debuts. Ero’s initial public offering was the largest by a Canadian mining firm in two years
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12 discount to WTI, 10 cents narrower than Wednesday after TransCanada Corp. said its Keystone pipeline resumed normal operations
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.83 discount to Henry Hub, 30 percent narrower than Wednesday
* Gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,286.90 an ounce, the first gain this week
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.2477 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell two basis points to 2.02 percent after earlier tumbling as much as six basis points
US
By Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks eked out a gain to finish at a fresh all-time high as gains in defensive shares offset declines sparked by Apple Inc. Treasuries rose and the dollar extended losses after a report from Politico that President Donald Trump is leaning toward Jerome Powell as the next Fed chairman.
     The S&P 500 wiped out a slide of 0.5 percent to close higher for a fifth straight day. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell the most in three weeks with Apple pacing declines after a report that the iPhone maker was dialing back orders. The Cboe Volatility Index held above 10, but trimmed a jump of more than 15 percent. Ten-year Treasury yields fell to 2.31 percent and gold approached $1,290 per ounce.
     American traders awoke to find the S&P 500 headed for its biggest drop since August as a host of negative headlines snapped a risk-on sentiment that had dominated in recent days. Investors sought the safest assets, from the Swiss franc to gold, amid concern over politics in New Zealand and Spain, a sharp drop in Hong Kong shares and the bad news from Apple. That sentiment faded as the U.S. day wore on, amid the prospect for higher corporate earnings and data showing firmness in the American labor market.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose less than 0.1 percent at the close in New York.
* United Continental Holdings Inc. fell the most in eight years after the airline’s profit outlook disappointed investors.
* EBay Inc. fell the most in two months after giving a lackluster profit forecast for the holiday quarter.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.6 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 0.2 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index lost 0.2 percent.
* The euro climbed 0.4 percent to $1.1833, the strongest in more than a week.
* The British pound slipped 0.4 percent to $1.3156.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.3 percent to 112.56 per dollar.                           
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased three basis points to 2.31 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.39 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased four basis points to 1.28 percent.                         
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3 percent to $51.36 a barrel.
* Gold increased 0.4 percent to $1,286.32 an ounce.
* Copper declined 0.3 percent to $3.1675 a pound.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

I cannot imagine anything nobler or more national than that for, say, one hour in a day,
we should all do the labor that the poor must do,
and thus identify ourselves with them and through them with all mankind.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

A man’s homeland is wherever he prospers.
       -Aristophanes, c. 450 BC- c. 388 BC

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
(C): 250.881.0801
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com