October 19, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!

NUMBERS:

4,400
Books banned in Kuwait over the past five years, sparking public outcry there.  The country was once known as the “Hollywood of the Gulf” for its culturally open society.

37 to 50
Minutes that British readers of The Independent’s now-defunct daily print edition spent reading per issue; half of subscribers read it “almost every day,” according to a study of how readers respond when newspapers go on-line-only.

6
Minutes (on average) that readers of The Independent’s online edition spend reading it each month, according to the study mentioned above.
Sources: Wired, Nieman Lab.

POINTS OF PROGRESS:
NORWAY
The country recently launched a zero-emissions catamaran as part of its efforts to revolutionize the carbon-heavy seafaring industry.  The battery-powered ship carries passengers on sightseeing trips and will be followed by dozens of other zero-emissions vessels currently in production.  Though the effort is funded by proceeds from the country’s vast fossil fuel resources, the emissions and chemicals from traditional ships are particularly noxious and the industry has been reluctant to change.  Norway’s zero-emission fleet is aimed to spur change in that arena; the country also ruled that by 2026 all ships that travel into World Heritage fjords must be zero-emissions. –Smithsonian Magazine.

NEPAL
The population of wild Bengal tigers in Nepal has nearly doubled in the past 10 years.  In 2009, there were 120 tigers; today there are 235.  Conservation groups attribute the success of their efforts to a model that ensures tigers have enough land, prey, and separation from humans too thrive. –National Geographic.

NEW ZEALAND
The Maori language, also known as te reo, has enjoyed a recent rise in popularity despite being historically stigmatized.  The government has pledged to have Maori taught in all New Zealand schools by 2025 and wants more than 20 per cent of the population to speak the language by 2040.  The movement toward accepting the language has been growing since the 1970s but has seen increased visibility as government programming normalized its use. –The Guardian.

BOLIVIA
President Evo Morales opened a solar array that will be the largest in the country.   The 180-hectare (445-acre) array will generate 60 megawatts of electricity, or enough to supply 880,000 people.  Officials say they plan to export energy to other countries in the near future.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Couple Sculpture by Sean Henry, which sits out at sea at Newbiggen-by-the-sea on the Northumberland coast, before sunrise. Credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Silhouette’s of commuters and tourists as they make their way through Grand Central Terminal in New York City during the morning rush hour. Grand Central Terminal serves commuters on the Metro-North Railroad and is also a connection to the New York City Subway at Grand Central 42^nd Street. Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP

Mitchell Hatfield and Perrie admire some of the 9,057 stitched poppies on the side of Carmunnock Parish Church, Carmunnock, Glasgow, Scotland, which were stitched by members of the parish. Credit: SWNS.COM
Market Closes for October 19th, 2018

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. Go to article »
Canada
By Tatiana Darie
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rebounded Friday to eke out a small weekly gain for the first time in four weeks. The loonie extended its losses for a third day as Canadian inflation unexpectedly slowed down in September, giving ample ammunition to the BoC’s doves to take things slowly.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.4 percent, led by gains in consumer staples, real estate and energy shares. A sell-off in pot stocks weighed on health care, which fell for a fourth consecutive session.
Stocks
* Barrick Gold Corp. advanced 0.2 percent after reporting that ISS recommended shareholders vote to approve issuing shares in connection with the Randgold Resources acquisition.
* Stantec Inc. rose 3.3 percent after Scotia Capital analyst Mark Neville upgraded shares to sector outperform from sector perform.
* TransAlta Renewables Inc. rose 2.5 percent after reporting that the 17.25MW expansion of its wind facility at Kent Hills, New Brunswick, is fully operational, bringing total generating capacity to 167 MW.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $43 discount to WTI
* Gold was little changed to $1,230 an ounce 
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.2 percent at C$1.3104 per U.S.dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield gained 0.1 basis point at 2.496%
US
By Randall Jensen and Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged lower as investors assessed the latest batch of corporate earnings and simmering geopolitical tensions ahead of the weekend. The dollar weakened and oil rose. The S&P 500 Index ended the week virtually unchanged, holding near its average price of the past 200 days. The measure earlier powered to a gain of more than 1 percent on the strength of corporate results, but gave back the advance as investors grew concerned tariffs will increasingly dent profit margins.
     Honeywell warned as much during its conference call, dragging down shares in Boeing and Caterpillar. The gyrations capped a wild week of trading that saw stocks put in their biggest rally since March only to tumble almost 1.5 percent two days later. Tech shares remained under pressure, with the Nasdaq indexes falling Friday for their third straight weekly retreat.
     A renewed rise in Treasury yields — the 10-year rate targeted 3.2 percent again — added to pressure on equities, though bank shares benefited. The dollar slumped versus major peers. Oil gave back some gains after Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said tensions between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. pose a geopolitical risk.
     “It seems like it’s another day of uncertainty, digestion,” said Christian Magoon, chief executive officer of Amplify ETFs.  “The two macro forces pushing on the market are the interest rates and how aggressive the Fed is going to be and whether that aggression could take the economy into a recession. The other uncertainty is around what will happen with tariffs. It’s a buyers strike right now.”
     Markets rode a roller coaster this week as investors parsed a mixed bag of earnings to see whether the ongoing trade war and higher rates are eating away at profits. Reports that President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump would meet in November eased concerns early Friday, but they were soon ratcheted higher on worries about the potential impending impact of Chinese tariffs. And still hanging in the background are tensions surrounding the disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist, Brexit and the Italian budget drama.
     Elsewhere, Italian bonds weighed on European debt amid the country’s debt crisis, while a slowdown in Chinese growth added to concerns that the world economy is not on firm footing. The pound rose after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May was said to be ready to ditch a key demand in Brexit talks.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 2,767.78 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.1 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell less than 0.1 percent.
* The euro climbed 0.4 percent to $1.1502.
* The Japanese yen declined 0.3 percent to 112.57 per dollar.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index increased 0.1 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained two basis points to 3.19 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose four basis points to 0.46 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield added four basis points to 1.576 percent.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index climbed 0.2 percent.
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.9 percent to $69.29 a barrel.
* Gold fell less than 0.1 percent to $1,229.50 an ounce.
–With assistance from Randall Jensen, Vassilis Karamanis and Eddie van der Walt.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands and perhaps millions, think.
                                    -Lord 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
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com