September 20, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Sept. 20, 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in a $100,000 winner-take-all tennis match.
Go to article »

Life advice from Shep Hyken:

Show up early,
stay late,
do your best,
always say thank you,
give people more than
they expect,
and follow up.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Constance Devernay of the Scottish Ballet, dressed in a Sugar Plum Fairy costume, launches an appeal encouraging members of the public to ‘buy a bauble’ from the set of The Nutcracker to fund its restoration of the set, at the Scottish Ballet headquarters in Glasgow, Tramway.
CREDIT: ANDREW MILLIGAN/PA WIRE

Pigeons bathe in a fountain in central Kiev, Ukraine.
CREDIT: REUTERS/GLEB GARANICH

Vivid red Virgina Creeper on the impressive tower and turrets of the Swinton Park Hotel, near Masham, North Yorkshire – under cobalt blue skies, and reflecting perfectly in lake on the 200 acre estate.
CREDIT: PAUL KINGSTON/NNP

Acrobats perform at the contest for the 10^th China Acrobats Golden Chrysanthemum Awards Penglai, east of China’s Shandong Province.
CREDIT: XINHUA/EYEVINE
Market Closes for September 20^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1979, Lee Iacocca becomes chairman of Chrysler Corp. Over the next few years, he would overhaul the company and bring it back from the brink of bankruptcy, thanks in large part to  a $1.5 billion emergency loan from the U.S.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose for a fifth day to their highest level in more than three months, led by energy shares amid growing optimism that crude markets are returning to balance.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 97 points or 0.6 percent to 15,389.60, the highest close since June 9. On Tuesday, the benchmark erased its losses for the year and is now up 0.7 percent.
     The energy sector was the biggest gainer Wednesday, rising 1.4 percent as the price of West Texas Intermediate crude added 1.9 percent. Industrials gained 1.2 percent and consumer discretionary stocks rose 0.8 percent.
     In other moves:
                         Stocks
* Air Canada jumped 11 percent to a record high. The airline held an investor day Tuesday and released 2018 to 2020 guidance, while the stock was upgraded to outperform at Cowen & Co.
* BlackBerry Ltd. added 8.6 percent, the most since May, after partnering with Delphi Automotive Plc to provide the operating system for its self-driving car technology
* Cenovus Energy jumped 8.4 percent following reports that it’s nearing a sale of its Alberta natural gas assets
                         Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.60 discount to WTI, 40 cents narrower than Tuesday
* Aeco natural gas traded at a $1.96 discount to Henry Hub, little changed
* Gold lost 0.5 percent to $1,303.70 an ounce, the lowest in nearly four weeks
                          FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.3 percent to C$1.2325 per U.S. dollar as the Fed adopted a more hawkish tone
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis point to 2.11 percent, the highest in three years.
US
By Jeremy Herron and Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — Treasuries tumbled while the dollar surged after the Federal Reserve struck a more hawkish tone than markets anticipated. U.S. stocks were little changed.
     Bloomberg’s dollar index rose after the central bank set an October start for shrinking its balance sheet and maintained a forecast for another rate increase this year. The 10-year Treasury yield approached 2.30 percent. The S&P 500 Index dipped below 2,500 before ending at a fresh record, as banks rallied on the prospect for higher rates. A slump in Apple Inc. dragged tech shares lower. Gold futures fell.
     While policy makers left the benchmark interest rate unchanged, markets showed a hawkish reaction to officials’ forecast for where rates will be at the end of the year. U.S. central bankers are counting on steady growth and low unemployment to raise inflation closer to their goal, which would support their policy of gradual tightening through interest-rate increases and a reversal of quantitative easing.
     “Catching the equity market off guard was the dot plot indicating that 12 of the 16 voting members project a December rate hike,” said Quincy Krosby, Chief Market Strategist at Prudential Financial.“There remains an ongoing tug of war between those who think the economy is still too weak to handle another rate hike versus those who say that financial conditions and a strengthening global economy warrant the move towards rate normalization.”
     Elsewhere, Spanish assets showed resilience even as the government cracked down on an illegal separatist referendum planned in its largest economic region. the New Zealand dollar jumped after a poll put the ruling National Party back in the lead ahead of the main opposition Labour Party ahead of this weekend’s election. And the fixing of the yuan remained in focus as investors try to gauge where the People’s Bank of China wants the currency. Read more about the importance of the fixings here.
     Terminal subscribers can read more in our Markets Live blog.
     What to watch out for this week:
* The Bank of Japan is predicted to stand pat when it reviews policy Thursday.
* Brexit strategy is in focus as Theresa May prepares to outline her revised approach on Friday.
* Campaigning continues in Germany, days before the Sept. 24 election. New Zealand goes to the polls on Sept. 23.

      Here are the main moves in markets:

                               Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 2,508.19 as of 4 p.m. in New York. The index closed at an all-time high, but hasn’t moved more than 0.3 percent for five sessions.
* Financial shares rose 0.6 percent while shares in consumer staple producers fell 0.9 percent and tech shares lost 0.5 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell less than 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index lost 0.2 percent after earlier touching a record high.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index was little changed.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index surged 0.5 percent.
* The yen slid 0.5 percent to 112.16 per dollar.
* The euro dropped 0.9 percent to $1.1885.
                              Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 2.27 percent, the highest since July.
                              Commodities
* Gold futures dropped 0.5 percent to $1,304.30 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 1.9 percent to settle at $50.41 a barrel, the highest in more than seven weeks.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

When there is space between you and the object you are observing
you well know there is no love, and without love, however hard you try to reform the world
or bring about a new social order or however much you talk about improvements,
you will only create agony.
So it is up to you.
Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.
                                         -Richard Bach, b. 1936

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