September 18, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday!

1851 – New York Times first published.
Respect for the Aged Day, Japan.

POINTS OF PROGRESS:
DENMARK: Bicycle theft has hit a new low in Denmark.  Danes are famously crazy about bicycles, with 90 % of the country’s 5.7 million people estimated to own and ride them.  Last year about 52,465 bicycles were stolen in Denmark – down from 125,371 in 1994, according to Danmarks Statistik.  That’s the year insurance companies began requiring the use of a new, more secure locking protocol for bikes, a move now creited with the huge drop in thefts. –the Copenhagen Post.

GHANA: The West African country has launched its first satellite with help from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.  Ghana’s 2.2-pound GhanaSat-1 is expected to monitor environmental activity as well as serve as an educational tool in the nation’s high schools.  Ghana is one of several countries – including Mongolia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh – to receive aid from Japan’s Joint Global Multi-nation Birds Satellite Project. –Geek.com

UNITED STATES: Buses with Wi-Fi allow students to spend their commuting time on homework.  In rural South Carolina’s Berkeley County, Google has equipped 28 school buses with free Wi-Fi and has given the school district    1,700 stripped-down laptops on which students can do homework.  Google has invested more than $1billion in a data center complex in Berkeley County. –The Associated Press.

EGYPT: Twelve years after Al-Azhar Park was dedicated, the people of Cairo continue to enjoy it.  The lovely 88-acre park was created on the site of a 500-year old garbage dump near the old city, using a $30 million donation from the Aga Khan.  The park has also been a model for projects in Bamako, Mali; Zanzibar, Tanzania; and Kabul, Afghanistan. –Deutsche Welle.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Bristol artist ‘Voyder’ works on a mural portrait of (left to right) Jimi Hendrix, Mick Jagger and Sergei Rachmaninoff on the front of Colston Hall, Bristol, celebrating artists who have played at the music venue on its 150th anniversary. 
CREDIT: BEN BIRCHALL/PA

Concertgoers calling themselves ‘The Wizards of Odd’ arrive for the Nocturnal Wonderland music festial at Glen Helen Regional Park in SanBernardino, California, USA.
CREDIT: PAUL BUCK/EPA

The aerobatic squadron ‘Red Arrows’ from Britain perform during the Athens Flying Week air show in Tanagara Air Force Base, Greece.
CREDIT: ALEXANDROS BELTES/EPA
Market Closes for September 18^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1997, Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse announce plans to merge, creating the world’s biggest accounting firm and chopping the so-called Big Six accounting giants down to five.
Number of the Day
35%
The decline in Equifax’s shares in September, on pace to be the worst month ever for the stock.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks gained for a third day, hitting their highest in 6 weeks, as a risk-on mood propelled most sectors higher.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 64 points or 0.4 percent to 15,236.67, the highest close since Aug. 8. Consumer discretionary stocks paced the advance, rising 1.1 percent as Restaurant Brands International Inc. climbed 3.4 percent.
     The energy index rose 0.6 percent as the price of crude was little changed. Encana Corp. led the gains, up 3.4 percent.
     In other moves:
                           Stocks
* Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. jumped 9 percent after its third-quarter dividend of C$1 a share topped expectations
* Kinross Gold Corp. lost 5.3 percent. The company is spending more than $800m to maintain production levels
* Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. gained 3.5 percent and Agrium Inc. added 3.6 percent amid a recovery in prices for some key crop nutrients
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12 discount to WTI, 25 cents narrower than Friday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.67 discount to Henry Hub, 7.6 percent wider than Friday’s close
* Gold fell 1.1 percent percent to $1,306.90 an ounce, the lowest in more than two weeks
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.9 percent to C$1.2299 per U.S. dollar, the biggest drop since February
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.08 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced to fresh records, while the dollar halted a two-day drop and Treasuries slipped as investors remained optimistic about the economy. Gold fell as demand for havens faded.
     The S&P 500 Index held above 2,500 to notch a fresh record after briefly losing an advance that reached 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added to its all-time high. Earlier, equities from Asia to Europe gained. The dollar climbed versus the euro and pound. The 10-year Treasury yield hit 2.23 percent. Gold tumbled, while oil was little changed.
     Markets maintained a risk-on stance after last week’s gains, with investors turning attention to this week’s Federal Reserve meeting. While the central bank is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate unchanged, close attention will be paid to the chance of an increase later in the year and on whether officials will announce the start of a reduction in the bank’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet.
     “QE certainly is over; QT is about to begin,” Anthony Crescenzi, Pimco portfolio manager, told Bloomberg TV’s Francine Lacqua and Tom Keene. “That’s quantitative tightening. It’s illogical to think that quantitative easing would help markets but quantitative tightening won’t hurt. It seems markets are taking the Fed’s quantitative tightening in stride. It will be like Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said, like watching paint dry.”
     In the background, geopolitical risks refuse to dissipate. The U.S. seeks a peaceful resolution to the tension with North Korea, but is prepared to use military force if diplomatic efforts fail to end the nuclear standoff, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told CBS. The comments were made ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s first address before the United Nations on Tuesday.
     What to watch out for this week:
* U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has reshuffled her team of top Brexit negotiators in preparation for talks entering a new phase.
* The BOJ is predicted to stand pat Thursday and probably won’t reveal when it’ll unwind stimulus, but could signal determination to keep the yield curve under control.
* Indonesia, the Philippines and South Africa are among countries settling monetary policy.
* The final days of Germany’s parliamentary campaign will play out before the Sept. 24 vote. New Zealand goes to the polls on Sept. 23.

      Here are the main moves in markets:

                                Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,504 at 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.3 percent, the highest in almost six weeks.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index increased 0.2 percent to the highest on record.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 0.8 percent to the highest in more than six years.
                             Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.3 percent.
* The euro slipped 0.1 percent to $1.1931.
* The British pound declined 0.8 percent to $1.3483. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney reiterated that inflationary pressure may be mounting.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased two basis points to 2.23 percent, the highest in more than a month.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.455 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 1.30 percent, the first retreat in more than a week.
                             Commodities
* Gold futures fell 1.1 percent to $1,311.50 an ounce, the weakest in almost three weeks.
* West Texas Intermediate crude hit a wall at $50 a barrel and settled at $49.91.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

It is not others who must change, but you.
Swami Prajnanpad

As ever,

Carolann

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.
                                                                    -Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784

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
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