Month: April 2021

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

1964 “The Rolling Stones (England’s Newest Hitmakers),” the band’s debut album, was released.   Go to article »

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh will be laid to rest tomorrow at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, west of London. Only 30 people will attend the memorial, which will be pared down for pandemic safety.

Mercedes’ new electric car has a nap mode and doors that open for you.  Everyone knows the height of luxury is just a good nap.

Defense Department confirms leaked video of unidentified aerial phenomena is real.  Ahhh, just the existential crisis we needed today.

Plastic is falling from the sky. But where is it coming from?
Ross Hall doesn’t want funerals to be depressing, so he launched a line of coffins that keep mourners gasping and laughing. Take a look.
“That’s a lot of jaws”: Researchers say they’ve pinpointed just how many Tyrannosaurus rex roamed the Earth over 127,000 generations. It’s rather terrifying to picture.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A large male walrus sleeps on a piece of floating ice in Svalbard, Norway, lit by the midnight sun
CREDIT:OLLE CLAESON/SHACKLETON

A male kingfisher tries his luck to win over a female at the water’s edge near Southampton, Hampshire
CREDIT: JOHN SCAMELL.SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Bengal tiger Garfield snarls at the zoo in Havana, Cuba
CREDIT: ALEXANDRE MENEGHIN/REUTERS
                                                                                                         
Market Closes for April 16^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	34200.67	+164.68
		+0.48%
S&P 500	4185.47	+15.05
		+0.36%
NASDAQ	14052.342	+13.579 +0.10%
TSX	19351.32	+39.40
		+0.15%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29683.37	+40.68
		+0.14%
HANG SENG	28969.71	+176.57
		+0.61%
SENSEX	48832.03	+28.35
		+0.06%
FTSE 100*	7019.53	+36.03 +0.52%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.541	1.476
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.985	1.913
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5798	1.5759
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.2649	2.2694

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7993	0.7972
US $	1.2512	1.2544
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4991	0.6671
US $	1.1981	0.8346

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1757.20	1735.55
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.13	63.46

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1991, the Warsaw Stock Exchange reopened for trading, after decades of closure under Communist rule.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks reach another record on Friday amid a rally in lumber stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.2% in Toronto. Lumber stocks were the best performers after U.S. housing starts rebounded sharply in March to the highest since 2006, exceeding forecasts, and Western SPF lumber prices hit another record. Energy stocks were the worst performers on Friday after oil price declined. Meanwhile, Scotiabank said that Canada’s SPTSX index is showing its fastest pace of earnings growth since the tech bubble recovery.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.70 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,775.18 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.2505 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 6 basis points to 1.539%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 29.4 to 19,351.32 in Toronto. Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.0 percent. Goeasy Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 8.8 percent. Today, 126 of 229 shares rose, while 98 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.6 percent
* The index advanced 39 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 53 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.2 percent below its 52-week high on April 16, 2021 and 39.5 percent above its low on April 16, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.7 on a trailing basis and 17.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.02t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 7.92 percent compared with 8.72 percent in the previous session and the average of 10.96 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | 22.1940| 0.4| 22/4
* Materials | 12.7455| 0.5| 35/17
* Industrials | 8.2928| 0.4| 17/13
* Communication Services | 4.5422| 0.5| 5/3
* Consumer Discretionary | 3.3432| 0.4| 8/3
* Health Care | 1.2234| 0.5| 7/3
* Utilities | 0.5260| 0.1| 9/7
* Consumer Staples | -0.5107| -0.1| 8/5
* Real Estate | -0.8808| -0.1| 8/17
* Information Technology | -6.7737| -0.3| 2/9
* Energy | -15.2962| -0.6| 5/17

US
By Namitha Jagadeesh
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks ended the week at all-time highs  as Chinese growth data added to signs of a global economic recovery. The dollar slipped. The S&P 500 Index capped its fourth straight weekly advance as the strong data from Asia joined a raft of robust readings in the world’s largest economy to boost sentiment. Chinese stocks outperformed in Asia after a report showed the nation’s economy soared in the first quarter. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index posted a seventh week of advances, its longest streak since May 2018. The data from Beijing added to Thursday’s string of positive economic figures out of the U.S., pushing the MSCI All- Country World Index to a fresh record. Treasuries extended their gains.
Morgan Stanley became the latest American bank to post record first-quarter results. Along with healthy corporate earnings, the week’s dump of data gave fresh impetus to the reflation trade. In the U.S., retail sales and weekly jobless claims data signaled an accelerating recovery in the world’s biggest economy. Investors will look for further confirmation as the reporting season picks up pace next week, with about 80 S&P 500 members and more than 50 Stoxx 600 firms announcing. “In addition to earnings, there has been plenty of impressive data to digest indicating that the U.S. economy is firing up,” Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index, said. “With a strong vaccine rollout in addition to fiscal stimulus and loose monetary policy, the recovery is picking up pace. Despite the blowout data, U.S. treasury yields are heading lower suggesting investors have bought into the Fed’s low rates for longer mantra.”
These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 added 0.1%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 0.9%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.3%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.6%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
* The euro jumped 0.1% to $1.1978.
* The British pound gained 0.3% to $1.3834.
* The onshore yuan was little changed at 6.52 per dollar.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 108.76 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 1.57%.
* The yield on two-year Treasuries climbed less than one basis point to 0.16%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to -0.265%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield jumped three basis points to 0.762%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield increased less than one basis point to 0.093%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude lost 0.5% to $63.14 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.8% to $1,778.25 an ounce.
–With assistance from Emily Barrett.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most
massive characters are seared with scars. -Kahlil Gibran,  1883-1931

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. About 1,500 people died.  Go to article »
1955~First McDonalds opens.
April 15, 2019~Paris cathedral Notre Dame catches fire, toppling its spire and destroying its roof.
Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance man, b. 1452.
Henry James, writer, b. 1842.

ART HISTORY: Learn about how Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law, opened the world’s eyes to the painter’s genius.

Spring’s Avian Extravaganza:  We asked bird enthusiasts from five regions to give us a rundown on what to look for.  In New York State, between 90 and 100 species of songbirds pass through in May, and up to a quarter are warblers, like the mourning warbler, above, in the Adirondacks. Their distinctive songs and colorful plumage make them the stars of the spring migration. –The NY Times.

From The Late Night Hosts:
“The war in Afghanistan has been going on for almost 20 years. To put that another way, this war is too old to date Matt Gaetz.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“During his remarks, Biden announced that withdrawal would begin on May 1. When the troops get home, they’re gonna be like, ‘Why are all the bars closed?’” — JIMMY FALLON

“Twenty years is a long time. Those are 17th-century European numbers. That’s the kind of war you fight because the Spanish contessa rejected your proposal to unite the kingdoms and eloped with the Duke of Saxony.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A couple walks along the beach at North Berwick, East Lothian at sunrise
CREDIT: JANE BARLOW/PA

People visit the exhibition ‘Klimt: the immersive experience’ held at Digital Arts IDEAL in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
CREDIT: ALEJANDRO GARCIA/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

A ring-tailed lemur watches out of a door on a cold but sunny day at the zoo in Duisburg, Germany
CREDIT: MARTIN MEISSNER/AP

Market Closes for April 15^th, 2021

 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35035.99	+305.10
		+0.90%
S&P 500	4170.42	+45.76
		+1.11%
NASDAQ	14038.763	+180.923 +1.31%
TSX	19321.92	+150.26
		+0.78%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29642.69	+21.70
		+0.07%
HANG SENG	28793.14	-107.69
		-0.37%
SENSEX	48803.68	+259.62
		+0.53%
FTSE 100*	6983.50	+43.92 +0.63%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.476	1.529
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.913	1.956
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.5759	1.6323
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.2694	2.3132

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7972	0.7989
US $	1.2544	1.2517
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5016	0.6660
US $	1.1970	0.8354

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1735.55	1747.95
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.46	63.15

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1926, Charles A. Lindbergh made one of the earliest commercial air flights, zipping between Chicago and St. Louis in a deHaviland DH-4 biplane to deliver a sack of mail for Robertson Aircraft, under contract from the U.S. Post Office. Robertson later grew into American Airlines.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed to a new high on Thursday after mining and tech companies outperformed.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.8% in Toronto. Miners were the best performers as most metals rallied, while health
care stocks performed the worst as pot stocks declined.
Meanwhile, the Canadian housing market hit a record. More properties changed hands in March than any month in history as
sky-high prices lured more homeowners to try to cash in.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.6% to $1,764.92 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was flat at C$1.2532 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell about 7 basis points to 1.459%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.8 percent at 19,321.92 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.5 percent on April 1 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.2 percent. Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 165 of 229 shares rose, while 60 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.4 percent. Martinrea International Inc. had the largest increase, rising 7.4 percent.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.5 percent
* The index advanced 38 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 53 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.1 percent below its 52-week high on April 15, 2021 and 39.3 percent above its low on April 16, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.7 on a trailing basis and 17.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.99t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.72 percent compared with 9.36 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.11 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | 74.0424| 3.1| 46/6
* Information Technology | 33.2937| 1.7| 7/4
* Financials | 14.6615| 0.2| 16/10
* Industrials | 8.9258| 0.4| 22/7
* Consumer Discretionary | 6.8817| 0.9| 10/3
* Real Estate | 6.6695| 1.1| 25/1
* Communication Services | 4.2545| 0.5| 5/2
* Energy | 3.3125| 0.1| 12/11
* Consumer Staples | 2.9253| 0.4| 8/5
* Utilities | -1.8769| -0.2| 10/6
* Health Care | -2.8275| -1.1| 4/5

US
By Claire Ballentine and Katie Greifeld
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks jumped to record highs with retail sales and weekly jobless claims data signaling an accelerating recovery in the world’s biggest economy. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes dropped the most since February. The S&P 500 advanced to an all-time high, led by the health care and technology sectors. Financial shares declined with yields falling, even after Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. posted better-than-forecast trading revenue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq 100 indexes also reached all-time peaks. “The consumer is ready to go out and spend, after nearly a year of lockdowns from Covid-19,” said Vanessa Martinez, managing director and partner at The Lerner Group, a Chicago-based wealth management firm. “There is plenty of pent-up demand in the economy.” The ruble slid as the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on some Russian debt, individuals and entities in retaliation for alleged misconduct related to the SolarWinds hack and the U.S. election. Traders suggested international concerns may have helped fuel the rally in Treasuries, with many investors caught positioned for higher yields. “This continues to be one of the more confusing dynamics in markets at least right now,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist for the U.S. SPDR exchange-traded fund business at State Street Global Advisors. “I think part of it is that you saw the 10-year make a very rapid move over a very short period of time, so this could be a pause before it starts to move higher again.”
Expectations of a strong economic recovery, combined with optimism over monetary and fiscal stimulus, have pushed equities to record levels this week as company reporting continues.   Still, investors are closely monitoring developments on the vaccine rollout, while also keeping an eye on the threat from rising inflation. “We are probably entering the last stage of the pricing of the growth acceleration, and we see encouraging signs suggesting the ‘reflationary’ environment can continue and be supportive for risky assets in the near term,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists led by Alessio Rizzi wrote in a note. “Across assets we continue to prefer equity over credit, and favor a pro-cyclical stance within equity.” Elsewhere, Bitcoin gained and Coinbase Global Inc. climbed following news that three funds at Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management bought shares. Oil fluctuated after Wednesday’s surge. In Asia, the Chinese central bank’s liquidity operations signaled it’s seeking to contain rising leverage, prompting declines in the nation’s equities and in Hong Kong shares.
Some key events to watch this week:
* China economic growth, industrial production and retail sales figures are on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 1% to a record high as of 3:04 p.m. New York time
* The NASDAQ Composite Index rose 1.2%, more than any closing gain since April 5
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to a record high
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.9% to a record high
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%, falling for the fourth straight day, the longest losing streak since April 6
* The euro was unchanged at $1.20
* The British pound climbed 0.1%, rising for the fourth straight day, the longest winning streak since Feb. 24
* The Japanese yen climbed 0.3%, rising for the fourth straight day, the longest winning streak since Feb. 22
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 10 basis points, more than any closing loss since Feb. 26
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined 3.2 basis points, more than any closing loss since April 1
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined 6.7 basis points, more than any closing loss since March 2
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3%, climbing for the fourth straight day, the longest winning streak since Feb. 25
* Gold futures rose 1.8%, the most since March 8
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Sincerity is the single virtue that binds the divine and man in one. -Shinto teaching.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater
in Washington, D.C. He died the next day. Go to article »
April 14, 1828 ~First Webster’s dictionary.

Frank Gehry recently turned 92. But he has no plans to retire. “What would I do?” he told The Times. “I enjoy this stuff.”

Spring Clean Your Self-Care Routine: Overhaul the way you take breaks, meditate and dress for a new-season boost. –WSJ.

Novel theory addresses centuries-old physics problem.

Facebook removes page for French town named Bitche.  Sometimes, profanity filters can be a … well, you know. 

A London penthouse is on sale for $241 million by this entrepreneur.

How To make a Happy Garden:  Gardeners have often looked to companion plants for pest control, but smart pairings can minimize weeds and improve soil, too. So if you’re planting a vegetable garden this spring, forget about what you’ve heard about which plants “love” which other plants. This isn’t Match.com for vegetables, our garden expert says: There’s a science to it.  Rather than recommend old-style rows of a farm field in your vegetable garden, horticulturist Jessica Walliser suggests a vibrant jumble of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. Radishes, for example, can help fight the flea beetles on your new tomatoes. Legumes, including clovers and peas, can fix nitrogen in the soil. -The NY Times.

The Late Show hosts weigh in on the JNJ vaccine pause:
“And today if you had a Johnson & Johnson appointment in New York, they gave out Pfizer instead. Yeah, it’s like going to a restaurant and hearing,
‘We’re out of Coke; is Dom Pérignon OK?’” — JIMMY FALLON

“When reached for comment, Johnson said it was Johnson’s fault, but Johnson pointed the finger at Johnson.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“That’s right, they’re recommending a pause. Then anyone who’s ever been dumped was like: ‘Oh, boy. We know what “pause” means,’” Jimmy Fallon joked.

“Damn it, Johnson & Johnson, you had one jab.” — JAMES CORDEN

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Visionary Illuminated River artwork launches across five more Thames bridges
CREDIT: JASON HAWKES
In this long exposure image, fiber-optic lights glow at the Field of Light immersive art installation from artist Bruce Munro, part of the Light at Sensorio on April 13, 2021 in Paso Robles, California. – The Light Towers feature 69 towers composed of more than 17,000 wine bottles adjacent to a 15 acre Field of Light at Sensorio which has a solar powered array of over 58,800 stemmed spheres lit by fiber-optics.
CREDIT: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
People croaw next to lava rivers caused by the Pacaya volcano, in the El Patrocinio village of San Vincente Pacaya, Guatamala. The lava flows continue their course in the direction of the El Rodeo and El Patronicinio communutues, nestled on the slopes of the Pacaya volcano, which has already been active for more than two months.
CREDIT: Esteban Biba/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Kayakers float above salt crystal formations in the Dead Sea
CREDIT: IDO MEIROVICH/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Market Closes for April 14^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33730.89	+53.62
		+0.16%
S&P 500	4124.66	-16.93
		-0.41%
NASDAQ	13857.840	-138.259 -0.99%
TSX	19171.66	-32.04
		-0.17%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29920.99	-130.62
		-0.44%
HANG SENG	28900.83	+403.58
		+1.42%
SENSEX	48544.06	+660.68
		+1.38%
FTSE 100*	6939.58	+49.09 +0.71%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.529	1.504
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.956	1.920
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6323	1.6145
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.3132	2.2929

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7989	0.7979
US $	1.2517	1.2534
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5000	0.6667
US $	1.1983	0.8345

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1747.95	1732.85
Oil
WTI Crude Future	63.15	60.18

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1720, the first great secondary offering of stock took place, as the South Sea Co. opened its subscription books in London, hoping to raise 2 million pounds sterling. The company raised half that amount by 10 a.m., as mobs of eager buyers poured in. With ladies pawning jewelry and farmers selling livestock to raise the cash to buy shares, the offering was oversubscribed by more than 10%. It was even possible to “flip” the shares for an 8% profit on the first day.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares gave up their session gains on Wednesday after tech and marijuana stocks declined. The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.2% in Toronto. Tech and health care sectors were the worst performers, while energy and materials were the best. Oil price surged to the highest level in a month — breaking out of a weeks-long holding pattern — as shrinking crude stockpiles in the U.S. supported hopes for a global demand recovery. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is about to make a pitch for tens of billions of dollars in new spending after racking up one of the developed world’s largest deficits. There’s one problem: Canada’s economy doesn’t need it.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,736.70 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1% to C$1.2518 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose about 3 basis points to 1.531%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent at 19,171.66 in Toronto. The move was the biggest loss since March 29 and follows the previous session’s little change. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.1 percent. Organigram Holdings Inc. had the largest
drop, falling 11.0 percent. Today, 141 of 229 shares fell, while 85 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 34 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 48 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.7 percent below its 52-week high on April 14, 2021 and 38.2 percent above its low on April 16, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 1.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.4 on a trailing basis and 17 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.36 percent compared with 9.55 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.22 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -66.9045| -3.4| 2/9
* Industrials | -7.0499| -0.3| 14/16
* Real Estate | -4.4289| -0.7| 3/23
* Utilities | -3.8698| -0.4| 2/14
* Financials | -3.5413| -0.1| 10/16
* Health Care | -2.5571| -1.0| 2/8
* Consumer Staples | -1.9007| -0.3| 5/8
* Communication Services | -1.3440| -0.1| 3/5
* Consumer Discretionary | -1.2575| -0.2| 9/4
* Materials | 13.3089| 0.6| 16/36
* Energy | 47.4832| 2.0| 19/2

US
By Claire Ballentine and Kamaron Leach
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated after climbing to an all-time high. Treasuries fell with the dollar. Oil rallied. PayPal Holdings Inc. and Nvidia Corp. paced losses among tech companies in the S&P 500, which had fluctuated for much of Wednesday’s session as traders sifted through earnings from some of the world’s biggest banks. Bitcoin slid in the wake of the debut by cryptocurrency company Coinbase Global Inc. on the Nasdaq. With equities lingering near a record, investors are looking to the earnings season for further catalysts. Expectations of a strong profit rebound have helped markets rally, setting the bar high as reporting gets underway. More broadly, investors are monitoring vaccine developments for any threats to the economic recovery. The Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book that activity has picked up pace amid an improvement in consumer spending. “You’re going to see this tug-of-war continue within markets as investors weigh the prospects of a strengthening economy with the risk of rising inflationary pressures,” said Adam Phillips, managing director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors. A quarter that began with retail investors declaring the end of the status quo on Wall Street just ended with big banks tallying surprisingly massive hauls. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. — two of the most gilded names in finance — kicked off bank earnings season with revenue windfalls from trading and deal making, defying warnings from within the industry that good times couldn’t last. Goldman Sachs’s stock jumped, while JPMorgan’s slipped — undermined by concern over weak demand for loans.
Some key events to watch this week:
* U.S. data including initial jobless claims, industrial production and retail sales come Thursday.
* China economic growth, industrial production and retail sales figures are on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.4% at 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%.
* The euro climbed 0.3% to $1.1979.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.2% to 108.89 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point to 0.16%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 1.63%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries climbed two basis points to 2.31%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 4.5% to $62.89 a barrel.
* Gold weakened 0.5% to $1,736.65 an ounce.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense. –George Ade, 1866-1944.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
It’s the start of Ramadan. This holy month is a time of fasting, prayer and community for Muslims across the world.

Thomas Jefferson, 3^rd U.S. President, b. 1743.
Butch Cassidy, outlaw, b. 1866.
Al Green, singer, b. 1946.
April 13, 1962 ~ Silent Spring published by Rachel Carson.
On April 13, 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)  Go to article »

After Anthony Bourdain’s death, his long time assistant was left to finish his last book, “World Travel: An Irreverent Guide.” It comes out next week, and it’s “an enduring embodiment of Anthony Bourdain’s love for the whole world,” our Travel writer says.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Milky Way glows brightly in the sky behind the distinctive red stripe of the lighthouse at Portland Bill on the Dorset Jurassic Coast
CREDIT: GRAHAM HUNT/ALAMY LINE NEWS

A man checks vine buds during the burning of anti-frost candles in the Luneau-Papin wine vineyard in Le Landreau, near Nantes, western France as temperatures fall below freezing 
CREDIT: SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A traffic light for camels is seen at the Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring scenic spot in Dunhuang, China
CREDIT: ZHANG XIAOLIANG/VCG VIA GETTY IMAGES

Prince George sitting in a horse carriage next to the Duke of Edinburgh at Anmer Hall in Norfolk
CREDIT: THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE/KENSINGTON PALACE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for April 13^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33677.27	-68.13
		-0.20%
S&P 500	4141.59	+13.60
		+0.33%
NASDAQ	13996.098	+146.099 +1.05%
TSX	19203.70	+2.42
		+1.05%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29751.61	+212.88
		+0.72%
HANG SENG	28497.25	+43.97
		+0.15%
SENSEX	48544.06	+660.68
		+1.38%
FTSE 100*	6890.49	+1.37 +0.02%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.504	1.514
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.920	1.934
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6145	1.6657
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.2929	2.3332

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7979	0.7959
US $	1.2534	1.2564
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4979	0.6676
US $	1.1951	0.8368

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1732.85	1741.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	60.18	59.70

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1945, as the market absorbed the news of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death the day before, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 1% to close at 159.75.
Fun Fact: The Dow closed at 33677.27 today – a +20,981.2% increase since 1945. 
Canada

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 19,203.70 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.1 percent. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.1 percent. AcuityAds Holdings Inc. had the largest increase, rising 10.4 percent. Today, 119 of 229 shares rose, while 110 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 36 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 53 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on April 13, 2021 and 38.4 percent above its low on April 16, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.5 on a trailing basis and 17.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.55 percent compared with 9.66 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.31 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | 34.6119| 1.8| 6/5
* Materials | 18.8204| 0.8| 41/11
* Consumer Discretionary | 6.3545| 0.8| 5/8
* Utilities | 5.2467| 0.6| 13/3
* Real Estate | 5.1373| 0.9| 20/6
* Health Care | 3.2165| 1.3| 9/1
* Communication Services | 1.8119| 0.2| 6/2
* Consumer Staples | -3.6131| -0.5| 4/9
* Energy | -12.6505| -0.5| 3/20
* Industrials | -14.7070| -0.6| 5/25
* Financials | -41.7999| -0.7| 7/20

US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed to record highs and bond yields fell as investors bet that a higher-than-forecast rise in inflation won’t be enough to slow economic stimulus measures. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high even after the U.S. recommended pausing Johnson & Johnson vaccines amid health concerns. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 also set a record while the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished in the red. Consumer prices rose more than expected last month but investors speculated the acceleration was not fast enough to warrant any Federal Reserve policy change. The drop in yields weighed on bank shares. “The market has been skittish about rates for some time,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial. “While this may cause some short-term volatility, investors have been pretty steadfast in their faith in a full economic recovery.”
J&J shares fell as officials agreed to the pause and started an investigation into a link from its shot to rare and severe blood clots, while rivals Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. advanced. The U.S. anticipates having enough other vaccines during the period. Fund managers across the world now see inflation, a taper tantrum and higher taxes as bigger risks than Covid-19, according to the latest Bank of America Corp. survey. “A lot of growth and inflation have already been priced into the market,” said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. “It’s almost as if you need to exceed those expectations in order to see a more pronounced reaction from markets.” Although policymakers at the Federal Reserve expect a bump in consumer prices to be short-lived, many traders disagree, with fears of faster CPI playing out across duration-heavy assets from bonds to tech stocks.Treasuries extended gains after the government’s auction of 30-year bonds was greeted with strong demand. Meanwhile, Bitcoin jumped to an all-time high as the mood in cryptocurrencies turned bullish before Coinbase Global Inc. goes public. Oil traded near $60 a barrel.

Some key events to watch this week:
* Banks and financial firms begin reporting first-quarter earnings, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
* Economic Club of Washington hosts Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a moderated Q&A on Wednesday.
* U.S. Federal Reserve releases Beige Book on Wednesday.
* U.S. data including initial jobless claims, industrial production and retail sales come Thursday.
* China economic growth, industrial production and retail sales figures are on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index increased 0.5% to 4,141.67 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 33,678.78.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index advanced 1.2% to 13,986.50, the highest on record with the largest gain in a week.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.1% to 13,996.10, the highest in almost eight weeks on the biggest gain in a week.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.1% to 435.75.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2% to 1,139.10, the lowest in three weeks.
* The euro gained 0.3% to $1.1952, the strongest in almost four weeks.
* The British pound advanced 0.1% to $1.3753.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.3% to 109.06 per dollar, the strongest in almost three weeks.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 0.16%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank four basis points to 1.62%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 2.30%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to -0.29%, the highest in almost two weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to 0.779%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.1% to $60.40 a barrel, the highest in more than a week.
–With assistance from Kamaron Leach.
Have  a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

If you live your life fully, you will die only once.  But if you are scared of every step, fear will kill you day after day. -Paulo Coelho, b. 1947.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Franklin D. Roosevelt, d. 1945.
1955- Polio vaccine announced; given full approval by the U.S. FDA.
1961- First man in  Space, Yuri Gagarin USSR.
1981 The space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on its first test flight. Go to article »

Virtual Travel: See the Mesopotamian marshes, wetlands near Iraq’s southeastern border.

Some men started knitting in lockdown and haven’t stopped. (h/t Ellen Kominers)

Soon the Internet will make its own cat photos. 

Pizza Rat: the full story.

Old friends. New friends. Party friends and work friends. T Magazine’s Culture issue focuses on the special bonds that we rely on, and how the past year has changed them.
We also spoke to actors, musicians and others about their meaningful connections. Read five essays on the relationships that define their lives, and perhaps our own. -from The NY Times.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Snow on Dartmoor above Princetown on Monday morning
CREDIT: MARK SHACKLETON/BPM MEDIA

St Lawrence Church in Lechlade, Gloucestershire
CREDIT: MARK EBURNE/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

The snow capped Cambrian mountains are seen from Tynygraig in mid Wales on Monday morning
CREDIT: IAN JONES / ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Market Closes for April 12^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33745.40	-55.20
		-0.16%
S&P 500	4127.99	-0.81
		-0.02%
NASDAQ	13850.000	-50.186 -0.36%
TSX	19201.28	-26.75
		-0.14%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29538.73	-229.33
		-0.77%
HANG SENG	28453.28	-245.52
		-0.86%
SENSEX	47883.38	-1707.94
		-3.44%
FTSE 100*	6889.12	-26.63 -0.39%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.514	1.497
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.934	1.915
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6657	1.6585
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.3332	2.3293

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7959	0.7958
US $	1.2564	1.2565
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4968	0.6681
US $	1.1913	0.8394

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1741.20	1755.50
Oil
WTI Crude Future	59.70	59.32

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1837, immigrants William Procter, an English candlemaker, and James Gamble, an Irish soap maker, opened shop in Cincinnati. The business boomed, and soon each man put up $3,596.47 to launch Procter, Gamble & Co.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets declined on Monday, led by pot stocks and mining companies. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.1% in Toronto. The health-care sector was the worst performer, as pot stocks declined after Aphria’s earnings miss. Financials were the best performers, led by insurance companies. Meanwhile, business sentiment rose to near record levels at the start of 2021 on an improving outlook for both domestic and foreign demand, according to the Bank of Canada.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $10.30 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.7% to $1,732.29 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.2% to C$1.2560 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose to 1.513%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.1 percent, or 26.75 to 19,201.28 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 0.2 percent on March 29. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.9 percent. Aphria Inc. had the largest drop, falling 14.2 percent. Today, 134 of 229 shares fell, while 91 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 36 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 51 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on April 12, 2021 and 38.4 percent above its low on April 16, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.9 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.5 on a trailing basis and 17.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.66 percent compared with 10.20 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.46 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | -38.7410| -1.6| 6/46
* Health Care | -14.4452| -5.4| 2/8
* Information Technology | -11.9723| -0.6| 6/5
* Energy | -5.7907| -0.2| 5/18
* Industrials | -1.8889| -0.1| 12/16
* Utilities | -1.7399| -0.2| 6/9
* Real Estate | -1.5828| -0.3| 8/18
* Communication Services | 0.4615| 0.0| 5/2
* Consumer Staples | 3.0441| 0.4| 9/4
* Consumer Discretionary | 3.9324| 0.5| 10/3
* Financials | 41.9599| 0.7| 22/5

US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slipped from record highs while investors weighed the start of corporate earnings season and an influx of bond supply that loom as speedbumps to a roaring rally. Intel Corp. led tech shares lower after Nvidia Corp. said it’s offering the company’s first server microprocessors, extending a push into Intel’s most lucrative market. The S&P 500 dipped into negative territory in the wake of a third straight week of gains for the benchmark index. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index weakened. Yields were mostly higher as the U.S.
Treasury auctioned three- and 10-year notes at slightly lower demand than the previous sales of the securities. The government will offer 30-year bonds tomorrow. “We’re just kind of digesting,” said Marc Odo, client portfolio manager at Swan Global Investments. “This quiet period is just everyone digesting the first quarter and all of the news coming out of Washington about fiscal policy and monetary policy.” While the U.S. recovery is accelerating, parts of Europe and South America are beset by rising Covid-19 cases and troubled vaccination rollouts. The rotation toward cyclical and small-cap stocks appears to have stalled as well, prompting worry about the strength of the U.S. economic comeback at the start of earnings season.
At the same time, massive government spending and central- bank stimulus could stoke excessive inflation. In an interview aired Sunday with CBS’s 60 Minutes, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sought to provide reassurance that any surge in price pressures won’t last. “Investors are concerned about the impact the proposed infrastructure bill will have on corporate profits,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance. “If the corporate tax rate goes up by one-third from 21% to 28% then that will be a significant hit to earnings.” Elsewhere, oil rose with the dollar little changed. Bitcoin neared an all-time high before a listing by the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange.

Some key events to watch this week:
* Banks and financial firms begin reporting first-quarter earnings, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
* U.S. officials and company executives are due to discuss the global shortage of computer chips on Monday.
* The U.S. releases inflation data Tuesday.
* Chinese trade data are scheduled for Tuesday.
* Economic Club of Washington hosts Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a moderated Q&A on Wednesday.
* U.S. Federal Reserve releases Beige Book on Wednesday.
* U.S. data including initial jobless claims, industrial production and retail sales come Thursday.
* China economic growth, industrial production and retail sales figures are on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index was little changed at 4,128.11 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.2% to 33,745.86.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index dipped 0.2% to 13,819.35, the largest decrease in almost two weeks.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 0.4% to 13,850, the biggest dip in two weeks.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 0.5% to 435.24, the largest decrease in more than three weeks.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,142.35 .
* The euro climbed 0.1% to $1.191.
* The British pound gained 0.2% to $1.3741, the first advance in a week.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 109.40 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 0.17%, the highest in more than a week on the biggest rise in more than a week.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 1.67%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 2.33%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to -0.29%, the highest in more than a week.
* Britain’s 10-year yield jumped two basis points to 0.789%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.7% to $59.72 a barrel.
* Gold depreciated 0.7% to $1,732.51 an ounce, the weakest in a week.
–With assistance from Kamaron Leach.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. -C.S. Lewis, 1898-1963

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

On this day in…
1865~U.S. Civil War ends
1866~U.S. civil Rights Bill passed
1821~Charles Baudelaire, writer, b. 1821
J William Fulbright, politician, b. 1905
1959 NASA announced the selection of America’s first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton. Go to article »

If you’re wealthy, Asia Pacific is the priciest place to live. For those who crave (and can afford) the luxury lifestyle, here are the most expensive cities in the world.

Prince Philip, husband to the U.K.’s Queen Elizabeth II, has died.

Forecasters expect another overactive hurricane season with 17 named storms.   Get ready for Bill, Claudette, Elsa and their other unwelcome friends. 

Physicists open new window into dark energy

From the Late Night hosts:
“Now might be a fun time to remind people of this tweet Matt Gaetz posted just before Michael Cohen testified in Congress about his former boss, Donald Trump: ‘Hey @michaelcohen212 do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful while you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot.’ Oh, karma, you old rascal, you.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“I know Gaetz is from Florida, but ‘Bahamas sex trafficking with weed-peddling hand surgeon’ is almost too Florida, even for him.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“The former vice poodle is putting Pence to paper. He signed a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster — I wonder if he knows they’re a gay couple.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“The book will cover not just Pence’s time in the White House but his whole life, including traumatic family events like the time he saw Mother without her bonnet. He even opens up about the time in college he experimented with almond milk.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“How does Mike Pence have enough material to write two books? I feel like I can summarize his entire life in two sentences. One, he was vice president. Two, a fly landed on his head.” — JAMES CORDEN

“Of course, Pence is currently considering a lot of titles for his memoir. First there’s ‘Fifty Shades of White.’ There’s also ‘Lord of the Flies.’ Next there’s ‘Tuesdays with Moron.’ And finally, ‘Are you There, Mother? It’s Me, Your Husband.” — JIMMY FALLON

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Ancient artefacts found in Luxor, Egypt. Archaeologists said on Thursday they had uncovered a large ancient pharaonic city that had lain unseen for centuries near some of Egypt’s best known monuments
CREDIT: ZAHI HAWASS CENTER FOR EGYPTOLOGY HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Clouds reflect in the still water of Mogshade Pond during sunrise in the New Forest, Hampshire
CREDIT: NICK LUCAS / SWNS.COM

Beds of tulips and hyacinths form colourful strips in a field in the Netherlands, near the town of Lisee
CREDIT: ERIK KRUGERS/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

A mountain hare which is still completely white after the recent snow fall and sticks out to predators
CREDIT: BRIAN MATTHEWS / SWNS.COM

Market Closes for April 9^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33800.60	+297.03
		+0.89%
S&P 500	4128.80	+31.63
		+0.77%
NASDAQ	13900.188	+70.878 +0.51%
TSX	19228.03	-0.84
		–%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29768.06	+59.08
		+0.20%
HANG SENG	28698.80	-309.27
		-1.07%
SENSEX	49591.32	-154.89
		-0.31%
FTSE 100*	6915.75	-26.47 -0.38%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.497	1.463
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.915	1.899
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6585	1.6192
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.3293	2.3068

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7958	0.7980
US $	1.2565	1.2531
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4916	0.6704
US $	1.1903	0.8401

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1755.50	1738.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	59.32	59.60

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1720, the earliest known discussion of securities analysis was published in The London Flying-Post, as several authors laid out their differing views on how to calculate the value of shares in the South Sea Co.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose for a second straight week with a rise in information technology and materials stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was flat Friday with eight of 11 sectors gaining. Energy lagged. Lightspeed POS Inc. jumped over 10% this week, a leader among tech shares. Materials stocks including OceanaGold Corp. and Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. also advanced this week after gold headed for its first weekly gain in three week. Canada’s jobs market blew past expectations for a second straight month, one more sign the nation’s economy is on the cusp of fully recovering from the pandemic.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $10.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to $1,742 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.2531 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 3.7 basis points to 1.500%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 19,228.03 in Toronto, ending a 5-day gain. The loss follows the previous session’s increase of 0.5 percent. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 0.9 percent. Denison Mines Corp. had the largest drop, falling 7.1 percent. Today, 128 of 229 shares fell, while 93 rose; 3 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 1.3 percent
* The index advanced 36 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 51 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0 percent below its 52-week high on April 8, 2021 and 38.6 percent above its low on April 16, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.5 on a trailing basis and 17 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.20 percent compared with 10.72 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.98 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Energy | -25.6195| -1.1| 1/22
* Consumer Staples | -1.0800| -0.2| 5/8
* Materials | -0.7689| 0.0| 17/33
* Real Estate | 0.2027| 0.0| 11/15
* Health Care | 0.3229| 0.1| 4/4
* Utilities | 0.3707| 0.0| 8/8
* Consumer Discretionary | 0.4310| 0.1| 6/6
* Information Technology | 1.6053| 0.1| 3/8
* Communication Services | 2.4332| 0.3| 5/2
* Industrials | 9.8052| 0.4| 18/11
* Financials | 11.4695| 0.2| 15/11

US
By Rita Nazareth and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed to another record as investors shrugged off concern over inflation and focused on prospects for an economic rebound. Treasuries fell, while the dollar advanced. The S&P 500 closed above 4,100 and posted its third- straight weekly rally — the longest run since October. Volume on U.S. exchanges hit a new low for 2021. The Nasdaq Composite underperformed. Honeywell International Inc. led gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on an analyst upgrade. Boeing Co. slid after grounding dozens of 737 Max jets to repair an electrical flaw that emerged in recently delivered models.
Equities extended a surge from their March 2020 lows to about 85% as Federal Reserve officials reassured markets that policy will remain supportive. Vice Chairman Richard Clarida said the Fed is looking for evidence on whether it’s reaching the goals on price stability and employment before adjusting rates. Still, data showing the rise in producer prices added fuel to the debate about the path of inflation. “It’s noisy data,” said Giorgio Caputo, senior fund manager at J O Hambro Capital Management. “It’s important to remember the positive elements of what is actually happening – prices are going up because we’re getting demand back together.”

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% at 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.5%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1%.
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1904.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.4% to 109.65 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 0.16%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 1.66%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.33%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $59.32 a barrel.
* Gold slid 0.7% to $1,742.83 an ounce.
–With assistance from Emily Barrett, Robert Brand and Vildana Hajric.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius. –Arthur Conan Doyle, 1859-1930

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On April 8, 1994, Western nations prepare evacuation efforts as Hutu extremists in Rwanda conduct a genocidal massacre that kills hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsis.  Go to article »

Superman comic sells for $3.25 million. 

Area man searches for the strangers who helped pack him into a crate to ship him home. (h/t Scott Kominers)

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 3,000-year-old “lost city” buried under the sands in Luxor, home to the Nile Valley’s famed Valley of the Kings, the latest pharaonic-era wonder to be unearthed as the country seeks to revive its tourism industry.

For the first time since his death, Prince’s estate announced a never-before-heard album, “Welcome 2 America,” to be released in July.  Recorded in 2010, the album documents “Prince’s concerns, hopes and visions for a shifting society, presciently foreshadowing an era of political division, disinformation, and a renewed fight for racial justice,” his estate said.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Liberty’s Owl, Raptor & Reptile Centre are celebrating the arrival of a Verreuax Eagle Owl witch has hatched at the centre. This is the first year that the centre in Ringwood, Hants, has had a Verreaux Egle Owl hatch, after 20 years of having this breed of owl
CREDIT: SIMON CZAPP/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

A group of Camarague horses is pictured in woodland at sunset in the Camargue region of southern France
CREDIT: MEDIADRUMIMAGES / GREG HARVEY

An elephant calf emerges from a waterhole in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa
CREDIT: CHARMINAINE JOUBERT/COVER-IMAGES.COM

A four-month-old western lowland gorilla clings to its mum at Bristol Zoo Gardens 
CREDIT:BEN BIRCHALL/PA

Market Closes for April 8^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33503.57	+57.31
		+0.17%
S&P 500	4097.17	+17.22
		+0.42%
NASDAQ	13829.310	+140.468 +1.03%
TSX	19228.87	+99.80
		+0.52%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29708.98	-21.81
		-0.07%
HANG SENG	29008.07	+333.27
		+1.16%
SENSEX	49749.21	+84.45
		+0.17%
FTSE 100*	6942.22	+56.90 +0.83%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.463	1.500
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.899	1.940
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6192	1.6739
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.3068	2.3612

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7958	0.7930
US $	1.2565	1.2611
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	0.6680	1.4970
US $	0.8394	1.1914

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1738.05	1744.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	59.60	59.77

Market Commentary:
     As the world’s largest single shareholder, Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund owns on average 1.4% of the world’s listed companies, making it a large investor in companies like Apple and Alibaba. The fund returned 10.9% last year. On this day in 1935, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation creating the Works Progress Administration, or WPA, which ended up employing more than 8 million people during the Great Depression

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose Thursday with technology staging a strong session. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.5%, with the info tech index rising 3.9%, the most since March 9 Canada’s bank regulator is proposing tighter mortgage qualification rules to make it more difficult for home buyers to secure financing, a move aimed at cooling the nation’s booming real-estate market Royal Bank of Canada Chief Executive Officer David McKay cautioned the Canadian government against overspending in this year’s budget, saying that previous stimulus programs already have the economy primed for a strong recovery
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $10.60 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.1% to $1,756 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.4% to C$1.2565 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell 3.5 basis points to 1.466%
By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fifth day, climbing 0.5 percent, or 99.8 to 19,228.87 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.1 percent. Dye & Durham Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 9.9 percent. Today, 164 of 229 shares rose, while 63 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 1.3 percent
* The index advanced 38 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 52 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0 percent below its 52-week high on April 8, 2021 and 41.5 percent above its low on April 8, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.6 on a trailing basis and 17.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.98t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.72 percent compared with 11.69 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.24 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | 72.5673| 3.8| 10/1
* Materials | 35.5395| 1.5| 46/6
* Real Estate | 6.9656| 1.2| 24/2
* Energy | 5.3199| 0.2| 12/10
* Communication Services | 1.7799| 0.2| 7/1
* Utilities | 1.0443| 0.1| 10/6
* Consumer Discretionary | -0.9139| -0.1| 6/7
* Consumer Staples | -3.8172| -0.5| 7/6
* Health Care | -4.3394| -1.6| 7/2
* Industrials | -6.0482| -0.3| 18/12
* Financials | -8.3057| -0.1| 17/10

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank has the tools to curb any inflation pressures, which are expected to be temporary as the economy reopens. The S&P 500 notched another record amid thin trading volume. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed major equity benchmarks as giants such as Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. rallied. Energy producers and banks retreated. Treasuries rose, while the dollar fell. One day after the Fed’s March minutes struck a dovish tone for the path of monetary policy, Powell said the central bank would react if inflation expectations start “moving persistently and materially above levels we’re comfortable with.” He also noted that disparate efforts to vaccinate people globally is a risk to progress for the economic rebound, which remains “uneven and incomplete.” “The doves are in control, and today’s cautious comments from Fed Chair Powell delivered another reiteration of their ultra-accommodative stance,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda in New York. Meanwhile, Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said it’s too soon for central bankers to discuss tapering asset purchases as long as the pandemic continues. Data Thursday showed applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose for a second week, underscoring the choppy nature of the labor-market recovery.
Some key events to watch this week:
* China’s consumer and producer prices data are due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.4% at 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.6%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.3%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.4%.
* The euro advanced 0.4% to $1.1914.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.5% to 109.31 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 0.15%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries slid five basis points to 1.62%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries fell five basis points to 2.31%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $59.60 a barrel.
* Gold rose 1% to $1,755.79 an ounce.

–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Andreea Papuc, Robert Brand, Nancy Moran, Michael Tobin and Claire Ballentine.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Go into the street, and give one man a lecture on morality, and another a shilling,
and see which will respect you most. -Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On this day…
1770 ~ William Wordsworth, poet, b.
1948 ~ W.H.O. founded.
1915 ~ Billie Holiday, singer, b.

2003 U.S. troops in more than 100 U.S. armored vehicles rumbled through downtown Baghdad and seized one of Saddam Hussein’s opulent palaces.  Go to article »

Archaeologists think an ancient slab is a 4,000-year-old 3-D map. (h/t Ellen Kominers)

Fruit flies could help us make self-driving cars. (h/t Mike Smedley)

Humans mated with Neanderthals much earlier and more often than we thought. 

Subatomic particle appears to break the known laws of physics

Tiny Singapore accounts for one-third of global cruise travelers. 

GOD BLESS THE CHILD
…Mama may have, papa may have
But God bless the child that’s got his own
That’s got his own…-Billie Holiday.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Snow cloud after a brief snow flurry on the Isle of Wight, passing St Catherine’s Lighthouse at the southern tip of the island. 
CREDIT: SIENNA ANDERSON/PICTUREEXCLUESIVE.COM

A colourful kingfisher dives into water after perching on a photographers camera lens to scour the lake for food. Photographer Larissa Rand was watching the bird at a small lake near the Dutch city of Naarden. The 46 year old was waiting in a hide for the perfect shot, when the brightly-coloured kingfisher landed right on top of her camera, using it as a vantage point to look for food and then as a diving board to spring into the water. She said: “I was in a special hide close to the breeding location of a couple of kingfishers. A perfect place to observe and photograph these kingfishers, without disturbing them. 
CREDIT: LARISSA RAND/SOLENT NEWS PHOTO ANGECY

That bush goes rhododendron and on and on:  Gardener Eloise Mercer with the UK’s largest rhododendron bush at South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, West Sussex. England’s biggest
CREDIT:JORDAN PETTITT/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Fight Cub: The spectacular moment a pair of foxes fought at sunset has been caught on camera. Photographer, Menno Dekker, 50, took the images while visiting the dunes at the Dutch coast. The photos show two foxes play fighting as the sky fills with orange light as it sets. Menno, from Edam, Netherlands, said: “For me it’s the closest place to see wildlife nearby and also you get quite attached to these foxes as you follow them over time and see families developing, kind of real life soap. 
CREDIT:MENNO DEKKER / CATER NEWS

Market Closes for April 7^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33446.26	+16.02
		+0.05%
S&P 500	4079.95	+6.01
		+0.15%
NASDAQ	13688.842	-9.538 -0.07%
TSX	19129.07	+24.93
		+0.13%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29730.79	+34.16
		+0.12%
HANG SENG	28674.80	-263.94
		-0.91%
SENSEX	49661.76	+460.37
		+0.94%
FTSE 100*	6885.32	+61.77 +0.91%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.500	1.488
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.940	1.909
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6739	1.6560
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.3612	2.3230

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7930	0.7953
US $	1.2611	1.2573
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4973	0.6679
US $	1.1873	0.8423

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1744.65	1716.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	59.77	59.33

Market Commentary:
     Trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday was the lowest of the year, as 4,057,035,817 shares changed hands.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities posted a slight rise Wednesday as investors digested global vaccinations along with comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.1% with seven of 11 sectors higher. Consumer staples led the charge while health care retreated. Bank of Montreal’s CEO said Canada’s policy makers should work on preparing measures that could rein in the country’s surging home prices, but hold off on implementing solutions for at least a few weeks. Ontario is forcing most retailers to temporarily close or operate under a new set of restrictions as the province fights an accelerating wave of Covid-19.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $10.10 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,737.51 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.4% to C$1.2618 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 1.4 basis point to 1.502%
By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.1 percent, or 24.93 to 19,129.07 in Toronto. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.7 percent. West Fraser Timber Co. had the largest increase, rising 5.5 percent. Today, 103 of 230 shares rose, while 126 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 41 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 56 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on April 7, 2021 and 41 percent above its low on April 7, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.3 on a trailing basis and 17 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.98t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.69 percent compared with 11.89 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.31 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | 14.9095| 0.3| 19/8
* Information Technology | 9.0956| 0.5| 7/4
* Consumer Staples | 7.4340| 1.1| 5/8
* Industrials | 5.8219| 0.2| 12/18
* Real Estate | 4.5755| 0.8| 22/3
* Communication Services | 3.8700| 0.4| 6/2
* Consumer Discretionary | 2.6397| 0.3| 6/7
* Utilities | -1.2888| -0.1| 5/11
* Energy | -4.5235| -0.2| 6/18
* Health Care | -5.8838| -2.1| 2/8
* Materials | -11.7248| -0.5| 13/39

US
By Rita Nazareth and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — Stocks rose with the dollar and Treasuries fluctuated after the Federal Reserve refrained from signaling it will make any changes to its bond-buying program any time soon. The S&P 500 notched another record amid thin trading volume. A rally in giants such as Apple Inc. and Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. pushed the Nasdaq 100 higher. Benchmark 10-year government yields remained below 1.7%. Traders sifted through the minutes from the latest Fed meeting, which indicated there would likely be “some time” before the conditions are met for scaling back the asset- purchase program of $120 billion per month. Officials still saw elevated uncertainty in the growth outlook — in line with an “accommodative” stance.
Meanwhile, the central bank said the recent surge in Treasury yields reflected improved economic prospects. While Wall Street has been increasingly worried about inflation, policy makers saw those risks as balanced. “The rate side is still somewhat front and center, and probably the biggest risk to what is going on with equity valuations,” said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management. “Clearly, there’s been a repricing of inflation expectations higher this year, and at times, the stock market has struggled with it. I would say that’s to me the biggest risk at this point — that inflation readings start to come in to the point where the Fed potentially has to alter their plans.”
Rates are going higher for the “next several months, just like they have over the previous several months,” Jim Bianco, president of Bianco Research, said on a Bloomberg Television interview. Bond yields have recently fallen because they’ve had a “relentless rise,” he noted. If yields are going up because the economy is reopening and massive real growth is expected, that “won’t bother the economy or the stock market,” Bianco said. “But if interest rates are going up because of inflation,” which is a loss of purchasing power, “that’s a problem for the economy and the stock market, and we’re going to continue to have that debate.” Credit markets have yet to signal any type of impending weakness ahead for U.S. stocks, according to Ian McMillan, a market technician at Client First Tax & Wealth Advisors. He compared the S&P 500 with the yield gap between some of the lowest-rated high-yield bonds and Treasuries. This week began with the gap for the Bloomberg Barclays Caa U.S. High Yield Index moving to its narrowest level since July 2018. A widening of high-yield spreads would be a caution signal for equities, he wrote.
Some key events to watch this week:
* The 2021 Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group take place virtually. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell takes part in a panel about the global economy on Thursday.
* Japan releases its balance of payments numbers Thursday.
* China’s consumer and producer prices data are due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 gained 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.3%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.2%.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1871.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.80 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries declined less than one basis point to 0.15%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 1.67%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 2.35%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $59.59 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.4% to $1,737.02 an ounce.

–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Andreea Papuc, Robert Brand, Emily Barrett and Alexandra Harris.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

If you want to be great at something, there’s a choice you have to make.
What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that. 
Family time, hanging out with friends, being a great friends, being a great son,
nephew, whatever the case may be.  –LeBron James, b. 1984.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
April 6, 1896 – Frist Modern Olympics held in Athens, Greece.
Raphael, painter, b. 1483.
On April 6, 1909, explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson became the first men to reach the North Pole. The claim, disputed by skeptics,
was upheld in 1989 by the Navigation Foundation.   Go to article »

          April

Now out of this vast silence
the cherry trees scraping their gnarled limbs
on the sky, and the wind hurls down
a flurry of petals, a snowstorm really,
a thousand prints on the wet pavement,
each one a pair of white shutters, opening.
Numinous, the souls of the dead, and now you,
. . . among them—an intake of breath.
How little it seems to me now,
we knew each other.
But still, it is so beautiful, the place where you were—
a table, two chairs, a tree growing up
right through the floor, and outside,
a flicker of swallows in the hedgerows,
the tulips’ purple chevrons a row of arrowheads.
. . . It is wherever you
want to be, although by now you are
beyond wanting. Or at least that’s
what they say of the dead.
The place where you were holds the light
the way the leaves do after dusk
when small animals conduct
their assignations—the shrew, the mouse, the mole
running their études in the mossy shadows.
. . . You were always so
afraid of falling short. If only you hadn’t
done such a good job of dying.
      But it is so
beautiful where you were, above
the garden, where it is snowing, this morning in April,
on the bleached white pansies,
the downed cherry blossoms
. . . .
where you so often sat,
talking and talking.
                                   -by Cynthia Zarin

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Snow falls as a police officer stands guard near the entrance of the Grand Hotel in Vienna 
CREDIT: JOE KLAMAR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

28-day bear cub “Boncuk”, a new addition to the zoo, plays with his friend, a chimpanzee named “Can”, at Gaziantep Zoo in Turkey
CREDIT: ADSIZ GUNEBAKAN/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

A hungry heron has been caught gobbling down a 20-year-old pet fish.
CREDIT: GARY CLARKE / CATERS NEWS

Sarah Hayden, from London, won the Mobile category in the Mammal Society’s annual photography contest for this photo of a cat and squirrel facing off through a window
CREDIT: SARAH HAYDEN/MAMMAL SOC/BAV MEDIA

Market Closes for April 6^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33430.24	-96.95
		-0.29%
S&P 500	4093.94	-3.97
		-0.10%
NASDAQ	13698.379	-7.214 -0.05%
TSX	19104.14	+77.35
		+0.41%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	29696.63	-392.62
		-1.30%
HANG SENG	28938.74	+560.39
		+1.97%
SENSEX	49201.39	+42.07
		+0.09%
FTSE 100*	6823.55	+86.25 +1.97%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.488	1.557
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.909	1.976
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.6560	1.7003
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.3230	2.3463

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7953	0.7986
US $	1.2573	1.2522
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4928	0.6699
US $	1.1873	0.8422

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1716.05	1726.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	59.33	58.65

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1988, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was overhauled. Instead of being made up of 400 industrial stocks, 40 utilities, 40 financial stocks and 20 transportation issues, its industry weights began to float freely, so that stocks from all sectors are represented by market value.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose Tuesday for a third straight session, aided by rising commodity prices. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.4%, with 7 of 11 sectors advancing. Tech also climbed, while health care fell. Oil rose as a brighter economic growth outlook and calls for a summer travel pickup eased concerns around the impact of a resurgent coronavirus. Copper rallied to the highest in two weeks in London as the market reopened after the Easter break, rising alongside growing euphoria about a post-pandemic U.S. recovery.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $9.90 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.9% to $1,743.61 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.4% to C$1.2570 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell 6.9 basis points to 1.488%
By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.4 percent, or 77.35 to 19,104.14 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.3 percent. OceanaGold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 6.8 percent. Today, 163 of 230 shares rose, while 65 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 41 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 56 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on April 6, 2021 and 43.6 percent above its low on April 6, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.2 on a trailing basis and 17 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.96t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.89 percent compared with 12.00 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.33 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | 46.1557| 2.0| 46/6
* Information Technology | 19.1435| 1.0| 9/2
* Energy | 10.0264| 0.4| 16/8
* Utilities | 6.2402| 0.7| 15/1
* Communication Services | 5.2000| 0.6| 7/1
* Consumer Discretionary | 2.8536| 0.4| 9/4
* Real Estate | 2.3456| 0.4| 18/8
* Consumer Staples | -1.3996| -0.2| 8/5
* Financials | -1.4714| 0.0| 13/13
* Health Care | -5.0896| -1.8| 2/7
* Industrials | -6.6551| -0.3| 20/10
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks dropped after a rally that drove the equity market to all-time highs. Treasuries climbed, while the dollar fell. Technology companies led losses in the S&P 500, offsetting gains in retailers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq 100 also retreated. Stocks tied to the Archegos Capital Management crisis whipsawed after Credit Suisse Group AG unloaded more than $2 billion of the shares in the latest block trades stemming from the liquidation of Bill Hwang’s fund. ViacomCBS Inc., Vipshop Holdings Ltd. and Farfetch Ltd. bounced after slumping in early trading. Investors bought stocks in record amounts in the first quarter of 2021 as a combination of generous stimulus and bets on an economic recovery drove $372 billion into global equity funds, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists.
The data confirm the bullish market sentiment that has pushed shares to fresh highs, with optimism over vaccination efforts outweighing the fear that higher bond yields can interfere with the rally. “Stocks’ momentum is strong, no doubt about that,” said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest. “But the market may be ready to take a breather as investors digest all the good news, determine how much of that is priced in and weigh it against uncertain risks like inflation.” The rally that lifted the S&P 500 above 4,000 for the first time is unusually broad.
That’s evident from the percentage of the index’s component stocks that closed higher than their 200- day moving average, a gauge of price trends. Last week’s readings peaked at 94.4%, the highest since January 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They were the first to surpass 94% since May 2013 and contrasted with levels as low as 3.2% in March 2020. On the economic front, data showed U.S. job openings rose to a two-year high in February, led by gains in some of the industries hardest hit during the pandemic. The International Monetary Fund upgraded its global growth forecast for the second time in three months, while warning about widening inequality and a divergence between advanced and lesser-developed nations.
Some key events to watch this week:
* The 2021 Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group take place virtually. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell  takes part in a panel about the global economy on Thursday.
* The Fed publishes minutes from its March meeting on Wednesday.
* Japan releases its balance of payments numbers Thursday.
* China’s consumer and producer prices data are due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.7%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.2%.
* The euro gained 0.5% to $1.1868.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.3% to 109.85 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 0.16%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased five basis points to 1.65%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 2.32%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.2% to $59.35 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.8% to $1,741.59 an ounce.
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Joanna Ossinger, Robert Brand, Kamaron Leach, Claire Ballentine, Vildana Hajric and Olivia Raimonde.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity
is dangerous and dreadful. –Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 5, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. Go to article »

Explore the hidden details of this stunning 17th-century portrait of the emperor who built the Taj Mahal.

Japan just saw the earliest bloom of its legendary cherry blossoms in 1,200 years. Pretty — but also a sign of climate change.

Grounded by the pandemic, the travel photographer Roff Smith spent the year pedaling the roads around his home in a faded seaside town in Sussex, on the southern coast of England, resulting in a series of poetic self-portraits.  He learned that you don’t need to jet off to the far side of the world to experience the romance of difference.  “It lies waiting on your doorstep — if you look,” he writes. “When I push off down the street, the world becomes big again, the way it used to be when I was a child: rich in detail, ripe for discovery.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Peach trees in bloom on the Taurus Mountains in Mersin, Turkey 
CREDIT: SERKAN AVCI/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES

People talk during a sunny day at Yamashita park in Yokohama, Japan
CREDIT: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Sunset over Stonehenge in Wiltshire
CREDIT: NICK BULL/PICTUREEXCLUSIVE.COM

Market Closes for April 5^th, 2021

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33527.19	+373.98
		+1.13%
S&P 500	4077.91	+58.04
		+1.44%
NASDAQ	13705.594	+225.489 +1.67%
TSX	19026.79	+36.47
		+0.19%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	30089.25	+235.25
		+0.79%
HANG SENG	28938.74	+560.39
		+1.97%
SENSEX	49159.32	-870.51
		-1.74%
FTSE 100*	6734.30	+23.67 +0.35%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	1.557	1.509
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.976	1.949
U.S.    10 Year Bond	1.7003	1.6770
U.S. 30 Year Bond	2.3463	2.3377

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7986	0.7967
US $	1.2522	1.2552
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4793	0.6760
US $	1.1814	0.8464

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1726.05	1694.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	58.65	61.45

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1990, the estimated cost of bailing out failed savings & loan companies—pegged just one year earlier at $158 billion—was revised by government forecasters to a minimum of $285 billion to $350 billion. “We all erred dramatically on the side of underestimating the problem,” said U.S. Senator Jake Garn (R., Utah). 
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities gained Monday though lost some of their early spark. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.2%, with materials and utilities leading advancers. Energy and tech retreated. Oil plunged the most in nearly two weeks as growing delays in Europe’s reopening and looming Iranian supply damped hopes for a swift decline in global inventories. Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada’s third-largest lender, waded into the burgeoning debate over whether Justin Trudeau’s government should take immediate steps to cool the nation’s hot housing market, issuing a report that cautioned against rushing to implement new constraints.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $9.80 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.05% to $1,727.98 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.4% to C$1.2521 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 5 basis points to 1.555%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 36.47 to 19,026.79 in Toronto. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.2 percent. NexGen Energy Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 10.3 percent. Today, 128 of 230 shares rose, while 96 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 45 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 67 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on April 5, 2021 and 48.3 percent above its low on April 3, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.3 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.1 on a trailing basis and 16.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.96t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 12.00 percent compared with 12.00 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.53 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | 24.5121| 0.4| 20/5
* Materials | 19.4811| 0.8| 28/23
* Industrials | 8.7076| 0.4| 19/11
* Utilities | 4.3151| 0.5| 8/7
* Consumer Discretionary | 2.7928| 0.4| 7/6
* Consumer Staples | 1.6608| 0.2| 11/2
* Communication Services | 0.9288| 0.1| 4/4
* Real Estate | -0.2150| 0.0| 16/8
* Health Care | -1.1852| -0.4| 4/6
* Information Technology | -8.1290| -0.4| 5/6
* Energy | -16.4051| -0.7| 6/18

US
By Rita Nazareth and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — Stocks rallied to a record after solid U.S. economic data added to evidence the recovery is gaining momentum. The dollar fell while Treasuries were little changed. Oil sank. Most major groups in the S&P 500 rose, with the gauge extending gains into a third session. The Nasdaq 100 advanced 2%. Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. jumped as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the company didn’t commit copyright infringement when it used Oracle Corp.’s programming code in the Android operating system.
Tesla Inc. rallied after blowout delivery numbers from the electric-vehicle maker. GameStop Corp. slumped on plans to sell up to $1 billion worth of additional shares. Traders pushed up the value of stocks after data highlighted an economic pickup as more Americans are vaccinated against the coronavirus, restrictions are rolled back and fiscal relief takes hold. U.S. service providers had the fastest growth on record in March as orders jumped to new highs. The figures from the Institute for Supply Management followed a Friday report showing that employers added the most jobs in seven months. “It’s hard to look around and find a lot of reasons to be negative,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. “We had a big beat on March payrolls, Treasuries have mostly been unchanged. It’s one of those situations where good news is actually good news.”
Despite the gains in stocks in recent days, speculators have been pulling back their bets for lower volatility. Net short non-commercial positions in Cboe Volatility Index futures have shrunk for six straight weeks to their lowest since the beginning of December. The U.S. equity volatility benchmark fell to its lowest in over a year on Thursday as the S&P 500 closed at a record high.
Some key events to watch this week:
* The 2021 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group take place virtually.
* U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is among the participants of a climate discussion on Tuesday.
* Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell takes part in a panel about the global economy on Thursday.
* The Fed publishes minutes from its March meeting on Wednesday.
* Japan releases its balance of payments numbers Thursday.
* China’s consumer and producer prices data are due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.1%.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.3%.
* The euro increased 0.4% to $1.1811.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.4% to 110.21 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries sank two basis points to 0.17%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 1.71%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined less than one basis point to 2.35%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 4.3% to $58.78 a barrel.
* Gold was little changed at $1,728.26 an ounce.
–With assistance from Emily Barrett, Joanna Ossinger, Alex Nicholson, Vildana Hajric, Kamaron Leach and Cormac Mullen.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers and how one remembers
it in order to recount it. –Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1927-2014

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