| On Monday, August 21st this week, skies darkened from Oregon to South Carolina in the first total solar eclipse visible from coast to coast across the United States in 99 years. Unlike the U.S., those of us living in Canada didn’t see a total solar eclipse but everyone seemed to be just as enthused; making plans to attend viewing parties, attempting to find a pair of (sold out) protective glasses or making their own viewers out of cereal boxes.
Victoria had the best view of the event, with 90% of the sun blocked out above the British Columbia capital. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada said Vancouver enjoyed 86% coverage, Calgary 77%, Toronto 70% and Halifax 48%. I looked out my office window and it just seemed overcast from where I was…
So, what is a total solar eclipse? A total solar eclipse occurs when the disk of the moon appears to completely cover the disk of the sun in the sky. The moon orbits an average of 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers) from Earth — just the right distance to seem the same size in the sky as the much-larger sun. Solar eclipses actually happen two or three times a year so they’re not that rare, but because the moon changes position in its orbit, it could be anywhere on the earth – so to have it where it’s not in the middle of an ocean, or in the middle of Antarctica or the Himalayas is what makes it a fairly rare event that generates a lot of hype. If you missed your chance to take a cautious peek at the sun, the next partial solar eclipse will occur on Feb 15th, 2018 and the next total solar eclipse is expected to darken the skies above Mexico and Texas in 2024.
It’s these ‘once in a lifetime’ type milestones that ‘wealth management’ is all about. When you are approaching or experiencing something for the first time is when you need the most valuable advice – times like getting married, getting divorced, having a child or grandchild, starting a business, selling a business, buying or selling a home, receiving an inheritance, settling an estate, caring for an aging parent or transitioning into retirement – and because retirement is one of the most common and complex, it requires plenty of pre-planning. If you are within 10 years of retirement, here are some key planning details to start thinking about now:
With so much going on and information coming at us from every angle, it's sometimes hard to keep your finger on the pulse of what's happening. In an effort to keep you in-the-know and provide you with some conversation nuggets for the weekend, I've compiled the following hit list to fill your conversation pipeline.
Now you are in-the-know with Word on the Street.
Enjoy the weekend,
D.
Market Minute
In this week's Global Insight:
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Chart of the Week
Support the Market | The market indexes may be in a consolidation pattern, but most have yet to break below their first support levels, so at this time, the recent action can only be called a “dip” and not yet a “correction.” For the Dow Jones Industrials, we believe that the first and perhaps most important level to hold on a short-term basis is around the 21,000 level, about 5% lower than the high. Holding above that level would be in-line with other dips of the past year, but breaking below 21,000 would signal that a deeper correction of 10%–15% would be possible. That support level is still 700 points below where the index is today, and even that amount sounds like a lot given the relatively minor dips we have seen recently. The point is that we think there is still plenty of room for the market to experience some near-term volatility without upsetting the longer-term bullish trend, and at this time of year, an increase in the volatility can also be considered normal.
Market Movers
5% Hike Royal Bank of Canada on Wednesday reported an increase in third-quarter earnings, helped by gains in its core Canadian banking unit and double digit earnings growth at its wealth management business, which offset a weaker showing in capital markets. The bank also increased its quarterly dividend five per cent to $0.91 per share. Read more here | BNN And more of what our CEO had to say here | Globe & Mail
ICO Canadian regulators take on ‘wild west’ world of initial coin offerings - it’s not yet clear how initial coin offerings fit into securities laws that are designed to protect investors Read more here | Globe & Mail
Jackson Hole, Wyoming That’s where the world’s top central bankers are and likely top of mind for both Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi is this: satisfying markets’ hunger for more hints about how they plan to unwind the extraordinary stimulus measures they’ve put in place, while still keeping markets calm. Central-bank watchers hope Draghi will give some clues on what form the European Central Bank’s expected bond-tapering program will take. From Yellen, one of the things they’re looking for are signs Fed officials are concerned about soaring prices for stocks and other assets. Read more here | CNBC
Russian Lumber Trade Russia has emerged as one of the winners from the trade dispute between Canada and the U.S over lumber. The U.S. is importing more softwood lumber from overseas after it slapped tariffs on Canadian supplies, making them more expensive. Russian shipments are 42 percent higher so far in 2017, according to U.S. government data. To be sure, Russia accounts for a relatively small proportion of the total, while European countries such as Germany and Sweden are among the biggest suppliers to the U.S. But the shift in volumes illustrate how a political spat has quickly altered the flow of international trade. Read more here | Bloomberg
Amazon to Cut Prices at Whole Foods Amazon.com Inc. is wasting no time bringing its reputation for undercutting competitors to the grocery business through newly acquired Whole Foods Market Inc. The company said it will begin slashing prices on a broad cross section of Whole Foods groceries Monday -- the same day the $13.7 billion deal is set to close. That will start with items such as chicken, eggs, avocados and organic farmed salmon. Amazon reeled off a long list of other plans to combine its leading e-commerce and delivery assets with the physical locations of Whole Foods stores. "This is a pretty impressive array of bold moves on the first day of an acquisition -- unprecedented, we would say," said Carol Levenson, an analyst at Gimme Credit. Read more here | Bloomberg
Copper prices rose to nearly three-year highs on Monday Strength in copper is typically a good sign, since it’s used in everything from wiring and circuit boards to hospital fixtures and electric-car components, and several Canadian mining companies stand to benefit. The copper-price increase is part of a recent run-up in industrial metals that indicates optimism about global growth and strong demand from China, a major consumer of all these metals. Read more here | WSJ
Losing lbs The pound hit an eight-year low versus the euro. The U.K. currency, which has been weighed down by Brexit concerns, has underperformed most major currencies this year. Meanwhile, economic indicators across the Channel have been strong and many investors expect the European Central Bank to start easing up on bond buying. Some analysts are predicting euro-pound parity by the end of this year. Read more here | Financial Times
Ice-cream producers are coping with pricier vanilla A cyclone in Madagascar—the world’s largest vanilla producer—has reduced supplies and sent prices above US$600 a kilogram this year from US$100 just two years ago. Premium ice-cream makers from the U.K. to Maine have had to pass the cost on to consumers, or even ditch the popular flavour. The shortage is weighing heavily on those who use the real thing—but up to 99% of the world’s vanilla flavouring is actually made from other sources, including coal tar. Read more here | Financial Times
iCar Tech giants no longer appear to represent an existential threat to auto makers. The New York Times says Apple has scrapped plans to build a self-driving car, and will focus on developing self-driving software. Google’s Waymo has similar plans, underscoring the massive challenges involved in taking on incumbent car makers. Though you won’t see an iCar anytime soon, Apple’s team came up with some cool ideas, including motorized doors and spherical wheels. Apple’s scaled-back plans emerged as Ford outlined its plans to manufacture self-driving vehicles at scale without specifying a timeline. Read more here | NYT
Qantas Challenge Australia’s national airline, Qantas, has issued a challenge to the major long-range aircraft builders, Boeing and Airbus, pushing them to extend the range of their planes to enable a non-stop flight from Sydney to London. At more than 20 hours, it would be the longest commercially available flight in the world: Read more here | Bloomberg
Roots IPO Roots Canada is planning a $200 million IPO. It isn’t the only Canadian clothing brand that’s been willing to tap the public markets despite some tough times for retailers overall—Canada Goose went public earlier this year (and has gained 31% since then). Roots’ founders sold a controlling stake in their company to a U.S.-based private-equity firm almost two years ago, and last year the company announced plans to expand, particularly in Asia, where it already has a significant presence. Read more here | Bloomberg
Voice shopping is a new e-commerce battleground Google and Wal-Mart have joined forces to challenge Amazon’s dominance in voice-activated shopping. The partnership will enable customers to order thousands of Wal-Mart products simply by asking Google’s smart speaker or an app. Some analysts say voice shopping is ideal for ordering those boring but essential items you use every day—in part because the AI-powered speaker remembers your favourite brands and sizes so that all you have to do is ask for, say, “toothpaste” or “detergent.” Read more here | CBC
Rosé’s outlook is, well, rosy. Canadian sales increased 7.4% in 2016 from a year earlier, beating out growth in other wine categories and following a trend south of the border. Social media has played significant role in boosting rosé’s popularity—it seems folks on Instagram can’t get enough of it—as have millennials. North Americans still have long way to go before they drink as much rosé as France, where about 30% of the wine consumed is the pink stuff. Read more here | Financial Post
Current Events & Politics
BC Records British Columbia is breaking all kinds of records — but not in a good way. The west coast of Canada is facing its biggest wildfire challenge yet, as hundreds of firefighters are battling the largest wildfire ever recorded in B.C. The blaze is the result of 19 wildfires merging together in the Chilcotin Plateau, creating a fire more than 467,000 hectares in size that stretches more than 130 kilometers. The wildfire is so big that firefighters have been forced to set up two command posts (one on each end) in order to coordinate efforts between the 400 firefighters, 25 helicopters and dozens of pieces of heavy equipment that are all working together to battle the blaze. Read more here | CBC
Hurricane heads for Texas. Texans are bracing for their first hurricane in nine years. Tropical storm Harvey was upgraded to a hurricane on Thursday and is now approaching the Texas coast, sparking flooding fears amid predictions it could dump more than two feet of rain on some areas. The news pushed U.S. gasoline prices to a three-week high given that Harvey could pass over one-third of the U.S.’s refining capacity. Oil prices went the other way, since temporary refinery shutdowns would reduce demand for crude. The governors of Texas and Louisiana have declared emergencies, and evacuations are underway in some areas. The hurricane could result in the first major natural disaster the Trump administration faces. Read more here | NYT
Risky Fight Conor McGregor is risking too much in fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. That’s the view of some physicians who tend to professional boxers. They say that, although the mixed martial arts champion is 12 years younger, he’s no match for the undefeated Mayweather. Over US$60 million in tickets to Saturday’s match, which will take place in Las Vegas, have been sold. In June, a mixed martial artist turned boxing pro died after a fight in Edmonton. Read more here | BI
Mike Duffy suing Senate, government for nearly $8M Senator Mike Duffy is filing a nearly $8-million lawsuit against the Senate and the Attorney General. In the statement of claim, Duffy is asking for $6.5-million in general damages, $300,000 in loss of pay and $1-million in punitive damages. Duffy was cleared last year of all 31 fraud, breach of trust and bribery charges he had been facing in relation to the long-running Senate expense scandal. Read more here | CBC
Seeking Asylum Given POTUS's position on immigration, you know "asylum-seekers" have become one of the hottest political topics both sides of the border. Ever since DT took over the White House, there's been an even higher influx of migrants who are looking for asylum in Canada — and with rising racial tensions in the U.S., who can blame them? Yesterday, PM Trudeau addressed the issue in a news conference, saying his government has a "firm grip" on it and that "additional staff and expedited processing are yielding positive results." Read more here | CBC
Brexit appears to be dissuading people from moving to the U.K. Net migration stood at 246,000 in March 2017, down 25% from a year earlier, reflecting a plunge in arrivals from other EU countries. The decline worries those who fear labour shortages, particularly of skilled workers, and who see it as evidence that the U.K. is becoming a less attractive place to live and work. But it’s likely to be welcomed by supporters of the government’s controversial target of reducing annual net migration to less than 100,000. Read more here | BBC
Canada: Changing Views When it comes to an approach on human rights, Canadians see more common ground with countries across the pond than with the neighboring United States. "We've seen a dramatic shift in the perceptions of Canadians of Americans on human rights," said pollster Nik Nanos, whose firm is behind the bi-national study. "This has actually hit the lowest level since we started recording the data under George Bush Jr." 44% of Canadian respondents said Britain most closely resembles Canada's stance on human rights, followed by Germany at 25%, while 43% of Americans surveyed said Canada most closely shares their views. The findings are from a survey conducted in June which is part of a multi-year study examining perceptions of Canada-U.S. relations. Read more here | Globe and Mail
Protecting the Penguins There's a long list of reasons to love Chile, but we can now add saving wildlife to the list. The South American country turned down a billion-dollar offer from Andres Iron to build a mine because the project did not provide "sufficient environmental guarantees." Andres was interested in the northern Coquimbo region, which is quite close to the Humboldt Penguin Reserve. The reserve is home to 80% of world's Humboldt penguins along with many other endangered species, including blue whales, fin whales and sea otters. Environmental Minister Marcelo Mena said, "I firmly believe in development, but it cannot be at the cost of our environmental heritage." While Andres Iron can appeal the ruling, it certainly sounds like the government's made up their Earth-loving minds. Read more here | BBC
Upcoming Events
5th Annual Stocks, Suits, Scotch | More details coming soon...
Just for Fun
A $480.5 million winner Mavis Wanczyk, a 53-year-old health care worker in Chicopee, Mass., took a lump-sum payment after winning the largest single lottery prize in North American history. And, yes, she immediately quit her job. Read more here | NYT
From the Archives - Back to School Aug. 28, 1990: Top trends cost big bucks when back to school shopping In 1990, as always, keeping up with the latest fads in back-to-school clothes was a struggle between budget-conscious parents and kids who wanted to look cool in class. Reebok shoes and New Kids on the Block T-shirts were the must-have items for the 1990-'91 school year — and parents were willing to pay Read more here | CBC
What's new at this year's CNE? East Coast Kitchen Party, Gaming Garage and more. Read more here | CBC
What a Catch! 6 Delicious Salmon Recipes Get your omega-3's with these superb and satisfying salmon recipes. Read more here | Everything Zoomer
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