October 26, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Oct. 26, 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan signed a peace treaty in a ceremony attended by President Clinton.
Go to article »
October 26,1992 – Charlottetown Accord Rejected in Referendum.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Autumn leaves reflect on the surface  of Tsutanuma Pond in Towada, Aomori, Japan.

A baby boar orphaned by the loss of its mother is taken in by a herd of cows who treat her like one of their own – and even let her snuggle up to them. The little wild boar started turning up to a dairy farm after her mother was hit by a car on a nearby road. To the surprise of farmers the cattle began showing a motherly attitude towards the boar and accepted her into the heard.  Now the young animal follows her new family around the fields on the farm in Franche-Comte, in the Besancon area of France, close to the Swiss Border.

The ruins of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire are lit in lights to celebrate Halloween.
Market Closes for October 26^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
$2 billion
Venezuela’s state-owned oil company has about $2 billion in bond  payments due over the next several days, causing investors to brace for a possible default that could lead to one of the largest and most complicated debt restructurings in history.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose as investors digested a heap of earnings and a big deal in the construction space, while the loonie weakened to the lowest since July.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 37 points or 0.2 percent to 15,891.63. The industrial sector led the gains, rising 1.2 percent as shares of Aecon Group Inc. jumped 19 percent. The engineering firm agreed to be acquired by a Chinese buyer for C$1.19 billion. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the deal will be examined “very carefully.”
     Energy shares added 0.8 percent and financials rose 0.5 percent, but a large chunk of those gains were offset by a 1.8 percent drop in the materials sector. Teck Resources Ltd. tumbled 8.4 percent and Barrick Gold Corp. lost 7.7 percent on third-quarter results.    In other moves:
                         Stocks
* ECN Capital Corp. rose 5.9 percent after agreeing to buy Triad Financial Services Inc. for $100 million
* Waste Connections Inc. added 3.7 percent on better-than- expected results. CEO Ron Mittelstaedt said the company will put the “vast majority” of its $495 million in cash towards acquisitions
* Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. gained 3.8 percent after beating estimates for the third quarter in a row
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.60 discount to WTI
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.94 discount to Henry Hub
* Gold lost 0.7 percent to $1,266.30 an ounce, the lowest since early August
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.5 percent to C$1.2853 per U.S. dollar, its sixth consecutive drop and the lowest since mid-July
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.04 percent
US
By Adam Haigh
     (Bloomberg) — Asian stocks looked set to follow gains in U.S. equities as earnings and congressional action on tax reform boosted confidence in the growth outlook.
     Futures on the Nasdaq 100 Stock Index were buoyed by stellar profit at Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc., and the S&P 500 Index climbed as results from Twitter Inc. and Ford Motor Co. topped estimates, showing strength in the American economy ahead of the first reading on gross domestic product for the third quarter. Equity-index futures were higher in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. The dollar rallied to its highest since July 12 after the U.S. House passed a budget resolution seen as advancing the prospects for tax reform.
     In Europe, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi outlined plans to halve its monthly bond purchases to 30 billion euros ($35 billion) from 60 billion euros starting in January, but he also indicated that zero percent interest rates could remain at current levels until “well past” whenever it finally decides to end its quantitative easing measures, dragging down the euro.
     House Republicans adopted a budget resolution unlocking a process to cut taxes by the end of the year. President Donald Trump continued to string out his decision on the next Federal Reserve leader, giving mixed signals on his preference.
     These are some of the remaining events on the slate for this week:
* Japan CPI is due on Friday.
* The advance reading on U.S. third-quarter GDP is due Friday morning in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect growth of 2.6 percent.
* President Donald Trump has said he’ll reveal his choice to lead the Fed by Nov. 3. The Fed’s next rate decision is on Nov. 1, with economists expecting the central bank to keep rates at 1.25 percent and to increase them at the December meeting.

      And here are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* Futures on the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3 percent in the final minutes of Thursday trading after the tech giants reported results. They were up 0.1 percent as of 7 a.m. Tokyo time.
* Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed. The underlying index climbed 0.1 percent Thursday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent.
* Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.6 percent. Contracts on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index, South Korea’s Kospi index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index all rose 0.2 percent.
                             Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.7 percent.
* The euro was at $1.1654 after dropping 1.4 percent Thursday.
* The Aussie bought 76.61 U.S. cents.
                              Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased three basis points to 2.46 percent Thursday.
* Australia’s 10-year yield rose five basis points to 2.80 percent.
                              Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.2 percent to $52.76 a barrel, extending a 0.9 percent advance on Thursday.
* Gold was at $1,267.16 an ounce after dipped 0.8 percent in the previous session.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

Facts are not frightening.
But if you try to avoid them, turn your back and run, then that is frightening.
Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

Success isn’t permanent, and failure isn’t fatal.
                       -Mike Ditka, b. 1939

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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