October 24, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1993 – Toronto Blue Jays win second World Series on Joe Carter’s three-run homer in the bottom of the 9th.

On October 24^th, 1664, King Charles ll wrote to his sister Henrietta:  You have heard of our taking of New Amsterdam, which lies just by New England.  ‘Tis a place of great importance to trade.  It did belong to England heretofore, but the Dutch by degrees drove our people out and built a very good town, but we have the better of it, and ‘tis now called New York. –from The Book of Days.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Priestesses perform during the final dress rehearsal for the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia, southwestern Greece.  The flame will be transported by torch relay to the Pyeongchang, South Korea, which will host the Feb. 9-25, 2018 Winter Olympics.
CREDIT:  AP PHOTO/PETROS GIANNAKOURIS

Steam locomotive 46100 Royal Scot pulling the ‘Bognor Belle’ tour of Sussex photographed here by local artist Michael Saunders near Arundel.

The Lake of Lights at Talkin Tarn lake near Brampton in Cumbria, where hundreds of lights in the surrounding woodland represent a cherished memory of a relative friend or loved one no longer with us.

Apple picker Paul Mason admires a huge crop of apples gathered at orchards in West Lydford, Somerset, UK.  The apples are harvested in their millions from mid September to November and will be sent to Showering’s Cider Mill in nearby Shepton Mallet.
Market Closes for October 24^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2007, Facebook sells a 1.6% stake to Microsoft for $240 million.
Number of the Day
16
The number of consecutive days the Nikkei Stock Average has risen, extending a record set Monday.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks came within a point of their all-time closing high before moderating their gains, with energy stocks moving into the red.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 49 points or 0.3 percent to close at 15,905.14. The benchmark rose as much as 0.4 percent earlier in the trading day.
     Industrials were the biggest gainers, adding 1 percent as Finning International Inc. rose 3.3 percent and Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers added 2.6 percent. Both stocks benefited from Caterpillar Inc.’s blowout quarter.
     Energy stocks fell 0.3 percent even as the price of crude gained 1.1 percent. Secure Energy Services Inc. lost 3 percent and Encana Corp. fell 2.9 percent.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Nevsun Resources Ltd. tumbled 7.8 percent ahead of earnings scheduled for Oct. 26 and a technical study on its Timok project in Serbia
* Martinrea International Inc. rose 6.1 percent to the highest in two years. Cormark Securities upgraded the stock to top pick
* West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. gained 4.6 percent to a record high after third-quarter earnings beat the highest analyst estimate
                        Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.85 discount to WTI, the widest gap since early September
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $2.17 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,275.00 an ounce, the lowest in more than two weeks
                         FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.2 percent to C$1.2678 per U.S. dollar, the lowest since mid-August
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose four basis points to 2.06 percent, the biggest gain in six weeks
US
By Adam Haigh
     (Bloomberg) — Equities in Asia look set to follow gains in the U.S. on optimism in the world economy and encouraging earnings reports that buoyed the dollar and lifted government bond yields.
     Profit at Caterpillar Inc., long seen as a bellwether for global growth, reinforced the view that the international economic expansion is the most synchronized since the start of the decade. Alongside solid manufacturing readings from Europe, Japan and the U.S., that pushed 10-year Treasury yields to 2.42 percent and lifted the greenback to the highest level since July.
     More indications of broadening global growth are coming as the Federal Reserve and other central banks start to pull back on emergency monetary stimulus. The European Central Bank is expected to announce a reduction in the size of its monthly stimulus spend at its policy meeting Thursday, the biggest scheduled event for markets this week.
     In the U.S., an intensifying war of words between President Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee has muddied the prospects for tax reform. In a speech highly critical of Trump, Arizona Republican Jeff Flake announced he wouldn’t seek re-election to his Senate seat, raising further uncertainty about the overhaul’s fate.
     These are some of the key events coming up:
* Australia updates on third-quarter inflation on Wednesday, a key reading for the monetary policy outlook. South Korea reports on GDP and Hong Kong on imports and exports, while Japan reports on CPI later in the week.
* The U.S. economy probably expanded at about a 2.5 percent annualized pace in the third quarter, restrained in part by the effects of two hurricanes, economists forecast the government to report on Friday.
* Companies reporting earnings this week include Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Twitter Inc. in the technology sector. Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and Boeing Co. headline cars and planes. Coca-Cola Co. and brewer Heineken NV join European banks including UBS Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays Plc.
* The week also boasts rate decisions from the Bank of Canada, Norges Bank and Riksbank.
     And here are the main moves in markets:
                           Stocks
* Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed as of 7 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge climbed 0.2 percent on Tuesday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.7 percent to a record high.
* Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.5 percent in Singapore. The underlying index is up for the past 16 days.
* Contracts on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent and Hang Seng Index futures gained 0.5 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.3 percent to the highest in almost 15 weeks on Tuesday.
* The yen traded at 113.92 per dollar.
* The euro traded at $1.1765 after increasing 0.1 percent Tuesday.
* The kiwi bought 69.05 U.S. cents.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed five basis points to 2.42 percent on Tuesday, the highest in about seven months.
* Australia’s 10-year yield gained 4 basis points to 2.81 percent.
                           Commodities
* Gold was at $1,276.74 an ounce. It fell 0.4 percent in the previous session.
* West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $52.51 a barrel following an advance of 1.1 percent.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Nations cohere because there is mutual regard among
individuals composing therm.
Some day we must extend the national law
to the universe,
even as we have extended the family law
to form nations – a larger family.
Mahatma Gandhi

A ever,

Carolann

Peace is when time doesn’t matter as it passes by.
                                -Maria Schell, 1926-2005

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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