Nothing Important Happened today - Diary entry of King George III, July 4, 1776

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1 David J. Klein Senior Vice President Financial Advisor The Auctus Group RBC Wealth Management Phone: Fax: Toll Free: website: July 2, 2018 Nothing Important Happened today - Diary entry of King George III, July 4, 1776 An Independence Day Memory: (Edward Klink, Horsesmouth) While Thomas Jefferson has received the lion s share of accolades for the Declaration of Independence, he referred to John Adams as the Colossus of that Congress, the great pillar of support to the Declaration. Both gentlemen lived 50 more years after the signing. On July 3, 1826, Jefferson lay on his deathbed and uttered to his attendant, This is the Fourth? To comfort him, the man replied that it was, whereupon Jefferson smiled and fell into a sleep from which he would never awaken. John Adams had resolved to live until the 50 th anniversary of the Declaration. When his servant asked him that morning if he knew the date, the 90-year-old said, Oh, yes, it is the glorious fourth of July. God bless it. God bless you all. Adams would die later that afternoon with the final words Jefferson still survives. He did not know that Jefferson had died just a few hours earlier in Monticello.

2 My Website: The June edition of RBC s Global Insight is in the middle of the front page while RBC s Investor s Edge is on the bulletin board on the right side of the main page. Please note the other interesting articles and commentaries. Key Statistics Year-to-date a/o 6/29/2018 Dow: (-1.81%) S&P 500: +1.67% Nasdaq: +8.79% Treasury Bond Yields: Year- to-date a/o 6/29/ year Treasury: 2.33% 2-year Treasury: 2.52% 5-year Treasury: 2.73% 10-year Treasury: 2.85% 30-year Treasury: 2.98% --Notice the difference between the yield on the 2-year and the 10-year Treasury. Currently, there is a difference of only 0.33%. --See Question of the Week below.

3 Markets: (Barron s, IBD, WSJ, RBC, MFS, Advisor Perspectives) For the week: Dow fell (-1.26%), S&P 500 fell (-1.33%), Nasdaq fell (-2.37%) Dow finishes down for 1 st half of year while S&P 500 and Nasdaq finish positively (see stats above) Global mergers and acquisitions surged in 1 st half of 2018 to a new record Industry data show US equity markets experiencing record inflows while emerging markets experiencing 7 consecutive weeks of outflows Oil rose nearly $6.50 to over $73/barrel US encouraging its allies to halt imports from Iran Economic News: (Barron s, IBD, WSJ, RBC, MFS, Advisor Perspectives) US GDP was revised lower to 2% from 2.2% Q2 expected to be much stronger some estimates above 4% Inflation at 2% has hit the Fed s target Eurozone inflation at 1.9% Corporations have record amount of cash on their balance sheets Trade and tariffs still the big issue of the day Corporate Earnings: Still the strongest in the world

4 Our Fast Changing World: Study the following chart. Look how long it took for each industry/product to reach 50 million users. Question of the Week: The yield spread between the 2-year Treasury and the 10-year Treasury has been narrowing. Currently the spread is only 0.33%. Historically, what has this meant from an economic standpoint? Question and Answer From Last Week: Which company was removed from the Dow Index of 30 stocks last week, and which company was added to the index? Answer: General Electric, the oldest company in the Dow Index since it was created, was removed and replaced by Walgreens Boots Alliance. Did You Know: The population of the United States has doubled since 1950 while the number of Americans at least age 65 has quadrupled since (BTN Research, Social Security) American consumers bought $2.41 trillion of imported goods in % of that total ($526 Billion) were purchases of Chinese products, including cell phones, computers and TVs. (BTN Research, Commerce Department) Sports Trivia: Golfer Brooks Koepka won the US Open in Southampton, NY a few weeks ago. Koepke is 28 years old and won $2.16 million, the same amount he received when he won the same tourney a year earlier. Koepke has the 5 th fastest average club head speed of 122 mph on the men s pro circuit this year. (BTN Research, PGA) Referrals: Many sincere thanks for your referrals of family, friends, and associates. I am deeply appreciative.

5 Sincerely, David J. Klein Senior Vice-President Financial Advisor The views presented here are solely the views and opinions of David Klein and do not reflect the views of RBC Wealth Management, or its officers and directors. Data is believed to be from reliable sources, but we make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness.. The Dow Jones Industrial Average covers 30 blue chip U.S. companies selected by the editors of the Wall Street Journal The Dow represents about 25% of the NYSE market capitalization and less than 2% of NYSE issues. The Nasdaq Composite is a market-value weighted index that measures all NASDAQ domestic and foreign common stocks. The Standard and Poor s 500 is an unmanaged, capitalization weighted benchmark that tracks broad-based changes in the U.S. stock market. This index of 500 common stocks is comprised of 400 industrial, 20 transportation, 40 utility, and 40 financial companies representing major U.S. industry sectors. The index is calculated on a total return basis with dividends reinvested and is not available for direct investment. This material is based on data obtained from sources considered to be reliable. However, it is not guaranteed to accuracy and does not purport to be complete. The illustrations are for informational use only. RBC Wealth Management does not provide tax or legal advice. All decisions regarding the tax or legal implications of your investments should be made in conjunction with your independent tax or legal advisor. RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets Corporation, Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC.