October 3, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On Oct. 3, 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a new unified country.
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HANDY HELPER:
Need an easy way to be reminded of that party tomorrow or that morning meeting at the office?  The app Any.do brings together a calendar and a to-do list to make sure you’re on top of everything.  It’s free for iOS and Android.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tourists visit the Crescent Spring and Singing and Singing Sand Dune scenic area in Dunhuang, northwest China’s Gansu Province. From Oct. 1 – 8, the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, around 710 million tourist trips will be made across China, according to predications by China National Tourism Administration.
CREDIT: XINHUA NEW AGENCY/EYEVINE

High Court Judges wait in Westminister Abbey, ahead of the annual service to mark the start of the legal year in London, England. The service, conducted by the Dean of Westminister, dates back to the Middle Ages and is attended by over 700 Judges and Senior Judicial figures.
CREDIT: LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES

The Nissan LEAF 2.ZERO is unveiled in Europe today, running entirely on electricity and featuring cutting-edge technology and increased automation at the DogA-Norwegian Centre for Design & Architecture in Oslo, Norway.
CREDIT: JOHN PHILLIPS/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for October 3^rd, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signs the Underwood-Simmons Act into law, re-imposing a federal income tax less than 20 years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared in unconstitutional.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fifth day, propelled by financial and mining stocks and briefly hitting their highest level since February.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 24 points or 0.2 percent to 15,728.51. The benchmark has risen for 14 of the last 17 trading days and is less than 200 points from its all-time closing high set last February.
     The materials sector was the biggest gainer, adding 0.8 percent. Detour Gold Corp. rose 4.7 percent and Guyana Goldfields Inc. added 4.3 percent even as gold prices edged lower. Financial stocks were up 0.4 percent, led by a 1.6 percent gain at Genworth MI Canada Inc. Bank of Montreal rose 1 percent.
     In other moves:
                             Stocks
* Cameco Corp. fell 9.1 percent, the most since November 2016, after the stock was downgraded to underperform at Scotia Capital
* DHX Media Ltd. tumbled 8 percent, backtracking on Monday’s 5.5 percent gain. The company is considering a sale after poor quarterly results
* TMX Group Ltd. lost 4.1 percent, the most since May, after Bank of Nova Scotia and Alberta Investment Management Corp. sold 5.5 million shares in the stock-exchange operator
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11 discount to WTI, the narrowest gap since August
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.62 discount to Henry Hub, the narrowest in more than two weeks
* Gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,271.50 an ounce, the lowest since early August
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.2 percent to C$1.2484 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.11 percent
US
By Randall Jensen
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. equities added to records as car sales boosted industrial shares, while Treasury yields turned lower and the dollar erased gains after touching a two-month high.
     The S&P 500 Index rose for a sixth day to close at another all-time high after American carmakers reported the best month of the year. Treasuries erased losses that had pushed yields above 2.36 percent on the 10-year note, and the dollar retreated from the highest level since July. Oil held above $50 a barrel.
     Traders in the U.S. appear to be taking stock after the themes of tax reform, a potentially more hawkish Federal Reserve chief and strong PMI data helped to drive recent gains for both the greenback and equities. And some investors have already turned attention to events that might set the tone for markets the rest of the week — Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s speech Wednesday and payrolls on Friday.
     “There weren’t too many economic numbers on tap today, but some stories are starting to focus on the upcoming payroll numbers on Friday,” Peter Jankovskis, who helps oversee $1.6 billion as co-chief investment officer of Lisle, Illinois-based Oakbrook Investments, said by phone.“People are really focused on looking ahead to that employment number.”
     Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts see the greenback as having room to run, thanks to solid growth prospects and the chance that Fed interest-rate hikes will prove more aggressive than market players currently anticipate. The firm sees the dollar rising against the euro, which could be hurt by political concerns amid the Spanish woes over Catalonia and by elections in Austria and Italy in coming months.
     Among the key events coming this week:
* The U.K.’s Johnson, Davis, Rudd, Fox speak at the Conservative Party Conference.
* Investors will monitor progress toward forming coalition governments in Germany and New Zealand after elections last month left no party in either country with a majority.
* U.S. data this week include trade, durable goods and Friday’s September non-farm payrolls report, which may have less predictive power than usual for the economic outlook due to likely distortions from hurricanes that hit from late August.
* The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday is projected to keep benchmark rates unchanged.
* China is due to report monthly foreign-exchange reserves Thursday.
* Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks at an event on Wednesday.
* Minutes of the last ECB meeting are the European economic highlight this week.

      Here are the main moves in markets:

                                 Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to 2,534.58 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
** Carmakers in the S&P jumped 1.6 percent after data indicated the U.S. auto market probably expanded for the first time this year.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 84 points to 22,641 for another record and its fifth straight day of gains.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent, ninth day in a row of increases.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 1.2 percent, the most since July.
                              Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after touching the highest in almost 11 weeks.
* The euro increased 0.1 percent to $1.1748.
* The British pound decreased 0.3 percent to $1.3238, the weakest in almost three weeks.
                              Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 2.33 percent.
** A JPMorgan Chase & Co. survey found clients are the most short the world’s largest bond market in more than a decade.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to 0.46 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to 1.353 percent.
                              Commodities
* Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,272.02 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery declined 0.4 percent to settle at $50.42 a barrel, the lowest in more than a week.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

To make a decision is an illusion.
Behind the decision
is the hidden belief
that everyone is the same.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

Carolann

What is defeat?  Nothing but education, nothing but the first step to something better
                                                                               -Wendell Phillips, 1811-1884

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
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com