September 05, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Birthdays today:
1905~ Arthur Koestler, writer.
1929~ Bob Newhart, actor.
1940~Raquel Welch, actor.

On Sept. 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists attacked the Israeli Olympic team at the summer games in Munich; 11 Israeli athletes and coaches, five terrorists and a police officer were killed.
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The Loch Ness Monster may just be a giant eel.

THE POET FOR J.K.
His genius is sired f misery or magic;
he dwells between disaster and the dream.
He might have been sedate; but the only tragic
ecstasy is musical to him.
In every chaos he will wish a cure;
in life, a higher mystery of sorrow;
in death, the last existence that is pure.
Curiosity betrays him to tomorrow.
Necromantic passion, final terror
is his bequest: The wound was all he had
to multiply.  Balancing the rope of error,
he shall fall to doom.  He shall be mad,
sadly deceived, he shall, live, and he shall die
a master of all mummery.
                     -Allen Ginsberg

Television has made dictatorship impossible, but democracy unbearable. – Shimon Peres, 1923-2016

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sunflower silhouette against the sky shortly before sunrise in Freiburg, southern Germany.
CREDIT: PATRICK SEEGER/DPA/AFP

The Unending Attraction of Nature, billed as Austria’s largest ever public art installation, open in Klagenfurt. FOR FOREST is a temporary art intervention by Klaus Littmann which transforms Worthersee football Stadium into a native central European forest, with almost 300 trees, carefully installed over the existing pitch. FOR FOREST is open daily free to access and on view until 27 October 2019.
CREDIT: UNIMO

Detail view / during the 74^th Tour of Spain 2019, Stage 11 a 180km stage from Saint Palais to Urdax-Dantxarinea
CREDIT: JUSTIN SETTERFIELD /GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for September 05, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which is tied to everything from student debt to mortgage loans, fell to 1.456% Wednesday, moving closer to its record low of 1.366% set in July 2016.
     Christine Lagarde pledged to review the European Central Bank’s negative rates. Ms. Lagarde, the likely next president of the ECB, held out an olive branch to the bank’s German critics at a confirmation hearing, promising to review the costs and benefits of controversial policy tools.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a second day, rallying along with global markets after a raft of U.S. economic data bolstered confidence in the North American economy and as trade tensions eased. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.8% to 16,575. Health Care stocks led the market higher, as 8 of 11 sectors gained. Canadian National Rail contributed the most to the index advance, advancing 2.3%. Descartes Systems saw the largest gain, rising about 10%. Barrick Gold was the biggest drag on the index, declining 7.4%. Toronto home sales and prices rose in August as demand continued to outstrip supply. Sales in Toronto jumped 13% to 7,711 from the same period last year, the Toronto Real Estate Board said in a report Thursday. That was largely driven by a boost in detached-home sales, which soared 21% over last year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, total sales rose 0.8% from July. The benchmark price, which accounts for the type of home sold, rose 4.9% to C$802,400 ($606,600), largely driven by gains in the condo apartment sector.

Here are some of the most notable equity movers today:
Just Energy Rallies as Canaccord Sees Urgent Need for a Deal Gold, Silver Miners Tumble as Prices Fall on Trade Talk Hopes Energy Stocks Extend Rise on Bullish Crude Inventory Draw Descartes Gains as ‘Solid’ 2Q Validates M&A Strategy, RBC Says
Ratings
* NGD CN: New Gold Upgraded to Sector Perform at RBC
* PAAS CN: Pan American Silver Upgraded to Outperform at RBC Pan American Raised as RBC Expects Rebound in Free Cash Flow
* QSR CN: Restaurant Brands Rated New Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT $73
* TXG CN: Torex Gold Resources Cut to Sector Perform at RBC; PT C$24
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.00 discount to WTI
* Gold spot price fell 2.2% to $1,518.16 an ounce at 4pm ET
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.05% to C$0.7558 per U.S. dollar as of 4pm ET
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.267% as of 4pm ET
US
By Randall Jensen and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks surged and Treasuries tumbled after a raft of data bolstered confidence in the American economy and trade tensions eased. The dollar edged lower. The S&P 500 jumped to a five-week high, led by Tech shares, after China and the U.S. agreed to trade talks early next month. Banks rallied as yields on two year notes jumped as much as 14 basis points, which would have been the largest full-day increase in a decade, before inching back. Defensive sectors retreated as strong private payrolls data and a hot reading on the services sector tamped down recession angst. The dollar pared early losses, but still headed for its third decline in a row. The pound padded Wednesday’s surge after the U.K. Parliament blocked a no-deal Brexit and an early election. West Texas crude fell to around $56 a barrel.
“Escalating U.S.-China trade tensions have been the biggest equity headwind for months, so a relief rally on news high-level trade talks are planned for early October is no surprise,” said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research at FTSE Russell. “The bottom line is that stocks need earnings growth to move forward, and you can’t get that without progress on U.S.- China trade.” The glimmer of hope in the global trade war — officials from the U.S. and China had been struggling to agree on new talks — adds to a broad risk-on mood that took hold Wednesday, when British lawmakers moved to block an imminent no-deal Brexit and Hong Kong’s leader sought to quell unrest in Asia’s key financial hub. After the strong economic readings, focus is now likely to shift to remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the latest U.S. jobs report, both due Friday.
Elsewhere, Florida orange groves seemingly escaped major damage from Hurricane Dorian, but concern is now turning to soy, corn and cotton fields as well as livestock in Georgia and the Carolinas as the storm churns northward.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Fed speakers this week include Fed chair Jerome Powell on Friday.
* The U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show the widely watched nonfarm payrolls rose by 160,000 in August, versus 164,000 the month prior. Estimates are for unemployment to be steady at 3.7% and the average hourly earnings rate of increase to slow to 3%.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index increased 1.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.7%.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index declined 0.6%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 1.1%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 1.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro climbed 0.1% to $1.1041.
* The British pound gained 0.5% to $1.2318.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 106.89 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed 9 basis points to1.56%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose nine basis points to -0.584%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained 11 basis points to 0.605%.
Commodities
* Gold dipped 2.2% to $1,526.40 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate was little changed at $56.26 a barrel.
–With assistance from Charlotte Ryan and Samuel Potter.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached
in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.
                                                         -Booker T. Washington, 1856-1915

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