September 17, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1920: National Football League formed.
1862: Battle of Antietam, 25,000 killed.

If you’ve got $100,000 to spare, you can spend one night — one night! — in an igloo at the North Pole. -CNN.

2001 Wall Street trading resumed for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks – its longest shutdown since the Depression; the Dow lost 684.81 points, its worst one-day point drop to date.  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Farmer Tom Hoggard harvests pumpkins at Howe Bridge Farm in Yorkshire, UK, ahead of Halloween. The family run farm is expected to harvest thousands of pumpkins in the coming weeks to supply shops and business throughout England.
CREDIT: DANNY LAWSON/PA WIRE

The Empire state building is lit in red, white and green to celebrate Mexican Independence Day as the moon rises in New York City.
CREDIT: GARY HERSHORN/ GETTY IMAGES

A picture taken with drone Shows French-Swiss artist Saype posing in his giant biodegradable land art painting at the Parc des Bastions in Geneva, Switzerland. With an overall area of 1,000 square meters, the 75 metre long and 15 metre wide painting was created using biodegradable pigments out of charcoal, chalk, water and milk proteins. The art piece in the Parc des Bastions along with a second one in the Parc de la Grange marks the third step of the worldwide ‘Beyond Walls Project’ aiming at creating the longest symbolic human chain around the world prompting values such as togetherness, kindness and openness to the world.
CREDIT: VALENTIN FLAURAUD/EPA-EFE/REX
 
Market Closes for September 17^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1998, stocks took a worldwide pounding after Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress that there were no plans for coordinated global interest-rate cuts. Despite the Russian debt crisis, Greenspan said he saw no immediate need to relieve the “peripheral gusts” of “financial turmoil.” The Dow slumped 2.7% to 7874. Analysts were pessimistic, but in three weeks U.S. stocks bottomed then went straight up.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the sixth day, climbing 0.5 percent, or 83.44 to 16,834.75 in  Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 0.8 percent on Sept. 5. Barrick Gold Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.8 percent. Detour Gold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 6.4 percent. Today, 148 of 239 shares rose, while 84 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 2.8 percent
* This year, the index rose 18 percent, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* The index advanced 4.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 4 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.1 percent below its 52-week high on Sept. 17, 2019 and 22.2 percent above its low on Dec. 24, 2018
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.1 on a trailing basis and 15.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.57 trillion
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.73 percent compared with 11.00 percent in the previous session and the average of 10.78 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 41.9668| 2.3| 31/14
Financials | 27.2563| 0.5| 22/4
Industrials | 14.9676| 0.8| 21/8
Communication Services | 9.5956| 1.0| 6/1
Consumer Discretionary | 8.8588| 1.3| 7/8
Consumer Staples | 6.7831| 1.0| 7/2
Real Estate | 5.1471| 0.9| 24/1
Utilities | 1.7082| 0.2| 10/6
Health Care | -3.3976| -1.3| 4/7
Information Technology | -7.4883| -0.8| 3/6
Energy | -21.9606| -0.8| 13/27

* The benchmark 10-year bond rose and the yield fell 2.8 basis points to 1.454 percent

US
By Vildana Hajric and Brendan Walsh
(Bloomberg) — Treasuries rallied and stocks eked out a gain a day before the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates. Oil plunged as Saudi Arabia restarted the plant damaged in a weekend attack. Crude gave back some of Monday’s 15% surge as Saudi officials said they had restored just under half the output lost at the Abqaiq plant, one of the world’s biggest oil facilities. The S&P 500 Index posted a small advance, with dividend paying real estate shares faring best. Ten-year Treasury yields fell toward 1.8% and the dollar weakened after the New York Fed took action to calm money markets, injecting billions in cash to quell a surge in short-term rates that was threatening to drive up borrowing costs for companies and consumers. As U.S. policy makers get ready to decide interest rates, investors are also trying to gauge the risk of a potential oil shortage weighing on a global economy that already seemed to be slowing down. Meanwhile, concerns linger about trade tensions, with U.S. and Chinese working-level negotiators set to resume talks in the next week, before a meeting of top officials in October. The Saudi attack has reminded investors about the risks of geopolitical tensions escalating, according to Nela Richardson, an investment strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.
“We’ve pointed to U.S. trade escalation, we’ve pointed to Brexit, but we’ve seen that over the course of the last two years, unexpected triggers of risk can pop up,” she said. “And we don’t always know where that’s going to come from.” The Stoxx Europe 600 edged lower. Equities in Shanghai and Hong Kong slid after China’s central bank disappointed investors when it refrained from lowering a key interest rate. Italian bonds fell after former Prime Minster Matteo Renzi left the Democratic Party, raising the prospect of further government instability. Emerging market stocks headed for their first decline in five sessions.
These are some key events to keep an eye on this week:
* The Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower U.S. interest rates in response to slowing global economic growth and muted inflation. Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a post-decision press conference Wednesday.
* The Bank of Japan monetary policy decision is on Thursday, followed by a briefing from Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
* Bank Indonesia and Bank of England also decide policy on Thursday.
* Australia jobs figures are out Thursday.
* Friday is quadruple witching day for U.S. markets. When the quarterly expiration of futures and options on indexes and stocks occurs on the same day, surging volatility and trading can follow.

Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2% at the close of trading in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid less than 0.1%.
* The Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%.
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.25.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 108.16 per dollar.
* The euro rose 0.7% to $1.1072.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 1.8%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to -0.48%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.69%.
Commodities
* Gold climbed 0.3% to $1,503.13 an ounce.
* WTI crude dropped 6.1% to $59.06 a barrel.
–With assistance from Gregor Stuart Hunter, Andreea Papuc and
Laura Curtis.
Have a great evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
                                  -Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, 1918-2013

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