September 20, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
                                           -William Wordsworth

Earth has not anything to show more fair: 
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by 
A sight so touching in its majesty: 
This City now doth, like a garment, wear 
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, 
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie 
Open unto the fields, and to the sky; 
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. 
Never did sun more beautifully steep 
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill; 
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! 
The river glideth at his own sweet will: 
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; 
And all that mighty heart is lying still! 

September 20, 1873 Panic swept the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of railroad bond defaults and bank failures.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

It could be twit-twoo love as a pair of young barn owls share a kiss. The romantic owlets, which are only 10 weeks old, affectionately preen each other as they each fly in and land on post. These beautiful pictures were taken by 56-year-old Gavin Bickerton-Jones in Old Buckenham Country Park, Norfolk, on one of the pair’s first forays from their nesting box. Credit: Gavin Bickerton-Jones/Solent News & Photo Agency

‘Lest We Forget’ programme of dance performed by English National Ballet at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, UK. Credit: Alastair Muir

Steam and cooling towers of a lignite power plant are reflected in a pond in Peitz, eastern Germany. Credit: Patrick Pleul/DPA Via Ap
Market Closes for September 20^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Carolina Wilson
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed to their highest level this month on Thursday as negotiations for a U.S. trade deal continued. The loonie strengthened against a weak greenback as Nafta talks are set to continue after high-level meetings Wednesday failed to reach an agreement.
    The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.5 percent, with health-care companies leading gains thanks to a rebound in pot stocks.
    Utilities, energy and materials companies were the only declining sectors. The massive swings in cannabis-related stocks continued with Tilray Inc. falling close to 18 percent in the U.S.
                            Stocks
* Aurora Cannabis Inc. surged 12.7 percent alongside other pot stocks; Canopy Growth Corp. climbed 6.5 percent
* New Gold Inc. fell 9 percent, as balance sheet concerns remained despite a deal to sell the Mesquite mine
* Eldorado Gold Corp. fell 6.5 percent; the company confirmed that its Greek subsidiary filed an application for EU750 million in damages from Greece 
* Celestica Inc. fell 4.8 percent after Dell EMC was said to terminate a contract with the company 
                            Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $33.75 discount to WTI
* Gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,212.20 an ounce
                             FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar gained 0.1 percent C$1.29049 per U.S.dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield gained to 2.428%
US
By Vildana Hajric
    (Bloomberg) — U.S. stock benchmarks reached new highs Thursday on news from China about tariff and currency moves that could ease trade tensions. Treasury yields remained near their highest level this year. The dollar slid.
    The S&P 500 Index soared to a record close — led by the technology, health-care and financial sectors — lodging its biggest gain in over a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also reached a new pinnacle, with 28 of 30 constituents flashing green. Most European and Asian shares also gained.  Trade conflicts that had stocks gyrating early in the week have since cooled off. China is said to be planning to cut the average tariff rate it charges on imports from the majority of its trading partners as soon as next month. On Wednesday, Premier Li Keqiang his government wouldn’t devalue the currency in order to boost its exports amid the trade war. The yield on 10-year Treasuries held above 3 percent, near its high for the year. The greenback weakened after a report said the U.S. and Canada are unlikely to reach a deal on Nafta in Washington this week; jobless data was solid but did little to change the mood. The pound surged after August retail sales came in higher than expected.
    “The dollar has generally strengthened on tariff fears, especially against EM currencies,” Pravit Chintawongvanich, an equity derivatives strategist at Wells Fargo Securities, said by phone. “What you’re seeing today is the opposite of that. EM equities and DM equities ex-U.S. are catching up. Today is a continuation of the risk-on theme we’ve seen in the last couple days.”
    Equity markets have so far remained resilient in the face of rising bond yields, suggesting investors are comfortable with the outlook for corporate earnings and global growth even as borrowing costs rise along with trade tensions. Ahead of the Fed meeting next week some other central banks topped the agenda on Thursday, with Norway’s policy makers raising interest rates for the first time in seven years as the SNB kept deposit rates unchanged.
    Elsewhere, emerging-market assets continued to rally off the lows seen earlier this month, with the rand among the leading developing-world currencies as the South African Reserve Bank held its key interest rate at a two-year low. Norway’s krone retreated as investors saw the central bank’s rate trajectory as dovish, while the Swiss franc strengthened.
    West Texas crude dropped after U.S. President Donald Trump resumed his criticism of OPEC on Twitter.
Here are some key events coming up this week:
* The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies meet in Algiers this weekend.
These are the main moves in markets:
                            Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 0.8 percent as of 4 p.m. New York time to its highest on record.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1 percent, also reaching a record high.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 0.7 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.5 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 0.9 percent to the highest in more than two weeks.
                            Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.4 percent to the lowest in eight weeks.
* The euro climbed 0.9 percent to $1.1779.
* The British pound rose 1 percent to $1.3271.
* The Japanese yen sank 0.1 percent to 112.41 per dollar.
                            Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point to 3.07 percent, the highest in more than four months.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased two basis points to 0.47 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 1.585 percent.
                            Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.6 percent, approaching a six-week high.
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4 percent to $70.80 a barrel.
* LME copper fell 0.6 percent to $6,082.00 a metric ton.
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,207.28 an ounce.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Andreea Papuc and Yakob Peterseil.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

However impenetrable it seems, if you don’t try it, then you can never do it.
                                                                    -Andrew J. Wiles, b. 1953

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