Month: May 2023

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
May 31, 1990: The sitcom “Seinfeld” premiered on NBC. Go to article > 
1910: Union of South Africa declares its independence from the United Kingdom.

Venice authorities discover why canal turned fluorescent green.  Given all the fluorescent things it could have been, this is quite a relief.

This is the world’s first 3D-printed, cultivated fish fillet.  Mmm, science is delicious.

Air New Zealand to weigh passengers before they board the airplane.  What an innovative way to make air travel even more stressful!

The Tunguska event was the biggest asteroid impact in recorded history. How did it vanish without a trace?
During the Tunguska event, over 8 million trees covering an area of 830 square miles were flattened when an asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere. Read More.

2,700-year-old petroglyphs depicting people, ships and animals discovered in Sweden
About 40 ancient rock carvings have been found on a former rocky island in Sweden. Read More.

What is the speed of light?
Light is faster than anything else in the known universe, though its speed can change depending on what it’s passing through. Read More

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Caracas, Venezuela
Wild blue and yellow macaws (Ara araurana). Bird enthusiasts in the city feed the parrots and protect their nests as well as help them adapt to the urban environment. Wednesday is World Parrot Day.
Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

During the spectacular solar event the sun sets in alignment with the Manhattan streets, from east to west
Photograph: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

Manhattanhenge occurs at about the same time on two consecutive days in May and again in July. Usually the dates fall around Memorial Day and a week or so after Independence Day
Photograph: William Volcov/Shutterstock
Market Closes for May 31^st, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	32908.27	-134.51
		-0.41%
S&P 500	4179.83	-25.69
		-0.61%
NASDAQ	12935.29	-82.14
		-0.63%
TSX	19572.24	-167.46
		-0.85%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	30887.88	-440.28
		-1.41%
HANG SENG	18234.27	-361.51
		-1.94%
SENSEX	62622.24	-346.89
		-0.55%
FTSE 100*	7446.14	-75.93
		-1.01%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.184	3.258
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.146	3.227
U.S.    10 Year Bond	3.6426	3.6923
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.8575	3.8950

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7367	0.7354
US $	1.3574	1.3598
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4506	0.6894
US  $	1.0687	0.9357

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1952.45	1947.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	68.09	69.46

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1919, the New York Stock Exchange closed its doors for the day, so that frenzied clerks could clear the paperwork from a tumultuous month during which volume regularly exceeded a then-astonishing 1.5 million shares a day.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.8%, or 167.46 to 19,572.24 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since March 24.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 8 of 11 sectors lost; 144 of 232 shares fell, while 86 rose.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.4%.
Ero Copper Corp. had the largest drop, falling 9.0%.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 5.2%
* The index declined 5.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index was little changed in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 9.5% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.8% in the past 5 days and fell 5.2% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13 on a trailing basis and 13.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.4% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.15t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.22% compared with 11.04% in the previous session and the average of 9.61% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -64.9057| -1.1| 7/22
Energy | -45.7827| -1.4| 10/30
Industrials | -37.3280| -1.3| 4/23
Communication Services | -10.6754| -1.3| 0/5
Consumer Discretionary | -9.6170| -1.3| 4/11
Consumer Staples | -2.2233| -0.3| 4/6
Health Care | -0.7990| -1.1| 3/3
Utilities | -0.1204| 0.0| 8/8
Materials | 0.4052| 0.0| 30/19
Real Estate | 0.5995| 0.1| 10/11
Information Technology | 2.9898| 0.2| 6/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | -16.1700| -1.4| 2.5| -4.6
Shopify | -12.2100| -1.9| 5.8| 65.2
Canadian Natural Resources | -10.2300| -1.8| 97.9| -2.7
Cameco | 4.5080| 4.1| 280.8| 23.1
Wheaton Precious Metals | 4.8030| 2.6| 341.2| 16.3
Constellation Software | 12.8600| 3.5| 233.0| 33.7
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Treasury yields dropped after some Federal Reserve officials signaled a potential pause in interest-rate hikes as early as June.
Two-year rates, which are more sensitive to imminent Fed moves, slumped seven basis points to 4.38%.
The S&P 500 pared losses while remaining below 4,200.
Some of the big tech names that have led the recent rally lost traction — with Nvidia Corp. down 4%.
The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF slumped 3%, with traders sifting through Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s remarks that the number of lenders with weaknesses increased in the first quarter.
Fed Governor Philip Jefferson signaled the central bank is inclined to keep interest rates steady at its next meeting in June to give policymakers more time to assess the economic outlook, but such a decision wouldn’t mean hikes are finished.
His remarks were echoed by Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, who said: “I think we can take a bit of a skip for a meeting.”
Policymakers are carefully assessing how their tightening campaign over the past 14 months, which brought interest rates to a range of 5% to 5.25% from near zero, is affecting the economy.
The US showed signs of cooling in recent weeks as hiring and inflation eased slightly, the Fed said in its Beige Book survey of regional business contacts.
Earlier in the day, equities extended losses as the Labor Department’s so-called JOLTS report showed vacancies at employers unexpectedly surged to over 10 million.
The figures reinforced speculation the Fed would have room for another interest-rate hike by July — boosting the odds of a hard landing.
Earlier figures from China and Europe also added to concerns about a downturn.
“We’re facing quite a lot of headwinds: firstly, the China growth story, clearly that’s been a major disappointment. On top of that, there’s a risk of a US recession, and for the euro region, there’s a likelihood that they’re facing stagnation,” Jane Foley, head of currency strategy at Rabobank, said on Bloomberg Television. “So you’ve got a pretty disappointing outlook for growth, not an environment where you really want to be piling en masse into high-risk assets.”
The NYSE FANG+ Index of mega-caps like Tesla Inc. and Microsoft Corp. halted a four-day advance, while heading toward its best month since January with a 17% surge.
While many on Wall Street say that doesn’t mean the enthusiasm for the sector will fade, there’s been growing concern about the fact that other industries haven’t been able to catch up in a meaningful way.
“Much of this year’s stock market rally has been driven by only a few technology stocks, and this is not a dynamic that is typically seen at the start of bull markets,” said Robert Schein, chief investment officer, Blanke Schein Wealth Management. “We need the participation of other sectors, and narrow market breadth is not sustainable over the long term.”
Schein expects the outsized performance of big tech to be tempered in the coming quarters.
While the combination of a debt-ceiling deal and a Fed pause could propel the market higher, any strength would be short-lived as investors start pricing in lower earnings estimates, he noted.
“If one is realistic, we believe that it is hard to argue that the rest of the stock market can catch-up to the big-cap tech sector, with a credit crunch looming in the US and the growth in China fading in a serious manner,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak.
To Jonathan Krinsky at BTIG, equities remain “extremely vulnerable” as the market heads into the last month of the quarter.
“By now, everyone is well aware of the market’s breadth problem, and we think June will show the risks when the weak remain weak, and the strong unwind lower,” Krinsky added.
In other corporate news, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. tumbled 7% after projecting revenue for the current quarter that fell short of analysts’ estimates.
Advance Auto Parts Inc. plunged 35% on a bearish outlook.
American Airlines Group Inc. dropped 0.5% even after boosting its profit forecast.
Traders also watched the latest developments in US debt-ceiling negotiations, with Republican and Democratic leaders expressing confidence that compromise legislation to avert a catastrophic US default will pass the House of Representatives Wednesday night on the backs of moderates.
“Those planning for a relief rally following the passage of the debt ceiling increase may be disappointed,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. “The next move higher for equities will require improving data and a shift in investor confidence.”
Elsewhere, the US dollar rose, making commodities priced in the currency more expensive for international investors.
West Texas Intermediate crude deepened its slide below $70 a barrel.
ICE Brent futures were also lower.
The crypto rebound is also losing steam, leaving Bitcoin on course for its worst month since the FTX exchange collapsed in November last year.
The roughly 8% drop in May is Bitcoin’s first monthly retreat of 2023.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 2:29 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.6% to $1.0675
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2436
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 139.29 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.5% to $27,076.01
* Ether fell 2% to $1,866.03
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points to 3.63%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 2.28%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 4.18%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2% to $68.08 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,985.10 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee, Carly Wanna and Peyton Forte.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement. -Albert Camus, 1913-1960.
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:

Peter the Great, Russian tsar, b. 1672.
May 30, 1783: First US newspaper published.
May 30, 1431: Joan of Arc, the French military leader and saint, is burned at the stake by the English for heresy.

May 30, 2011:  Germany announced plans to abandon nuclear power over the next 11 years, outlining an ambitious strategy in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster to replace atomic power
with renewable energy sources.  Go to article > 

Venice authorities investigate after canal turns fluorescent green.  Nope, it’s definitely not supposed to do that.

Ancient tombs and large mummification workshops unearthed in Egypt.  Next on your favorite archaeology series, “Hey, Put That Back!”

Summer is back, and so is this nostalgic beauty staple.  Ahh, nothing says summer (or “trip to the salon for a color correction”) like Sun-In!

31: That’s how many billionaires in the world are worth more than the $38.8 billion the US Treasury has in cash. To be clear, each of them is worth more than that alone. 153,000-year-old footprints from South Africa are the oldest Homo sapiens tracks on record Archaeologists in South Africa have discovered the footprints of Homo sapiens dating to 153,000 years ago, the oldest known tracks attributed to our species. Read More

The oldest tree in the world (and the 7 runners-up)
From Prometheus and Methuselah to trees in remote forests of China, these are the most ancient known trees on Earth. Read More

What was the longest-lasting civilization?
Ancient Egypt, China and Mesopotamia are all frequently cited as long-lasting civilizations, enduring for thousands of years. But which of these societies lasted the longest? Read More
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Didcot, UK
Yarnsy, the Didcot crocheter, has created another colourful post-box topper. On display by the railway station and called Three Fabulous ladies, it celebrates women with a selection of quotes attached by Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.  Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock

New York, US
Sunset, as seen from 42nd street.  Photograph: Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu/Getty Images

São Paulo, Brazil
A member of the Guarani Mbya Indigenous group protests against the so-called legal thesis of Marco Temporal, which demarcates Indigenous land rights.  Photograph: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters
Market Closes for May 30^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33042.78	-50.56
		-0.15%
S&P 500	4205.52	+0.07
		—
NASDAQ	13017.43	+41.74
		+0.32%
TSX	19739.70	-228.25
		-1.14%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	31328.16	+94.62
		+0.30%
HANG SENG	18595.78	+44.67
		+0.24%
SENSEX	62969.13	+122.75
		+0.20%
FTSE 100*	7522.07	-105.13
		-1.38%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.258	3.331
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.227	3.265
U.S.    10 Year Bond	3.6923	N.A.
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.8950	N.A.

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7354	0.7357
US $	1.3598	1.3592
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4596	0.6851
US  $	1.0734	0.9316

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1947.90	1947.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	69.46	N.A.

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 2000, the headline of The Wall Street Journal’s lead article on the stock market declared: “Too Little Trading Deepens Nasdaq’s Misery: ‘Overhang’ of Stock Waiting to Be Sold Limits Any Rally.” The Nasdaq responded by having its best day yet on record, rallying 7.94% to end the day at 3459.48.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.1% at 19,739.70 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.5% on May 16 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2%.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.1%.
Canopy Growth Corp. had the largest drop, falling 5.7%.
Today, 184 of 232 shares fell, while 43 rose; all sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 4.3%
* The index declined 5.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index was little changed in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 6.2% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 10.4% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2% in the past 5 days and fell 4.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 13.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.19t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.04% compared with 10.66% in the previous session and the average of 9.53% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -66.3431| -1.1| 5/24
Energy | -58.9464| -1.8| 3/36
Materials | -37.9412| -1.6| 9/41
Information Technology | -22.1302| -1.4| 4/8
Consumer Staples | -11.5101| -1.3| 0/11
Industrials | -10.7848| -0.4| 5/20
Consumer Discretionary | -7.8171| -1.1| 2/13
Utilities | -5.0809| -0.6| 8/8
Real Estate | -3.8919| -0.8| 3/16
Communication Services | -2.8503| -0.3| 3/2
Health Care | -0.9414| -1.3| 1/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | -20.7500| -2.1| -10.1| -11.6
Shopify | -19.4300| -2.9| -16.6| 68.3
Canadian Natural Resources | -13.0000| -2.2| 65.7| -1.0
Descartes Systems | 1.0310| 1.7| 2.1| 12.0
Thomson Reuters | 1.1100| 0.6| -10.9| 10.0
WSP Global | 1.1500| 0.8| -21.6| 10.1
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks treaded water after a rally driven by the artificial-intelligence hype drove the market to its highest since August.
Treasury yields fell on hopes the US Congress will pass a debt deal to head off a default.
The S&P 500 closed little changed, while remaining slightly above 4,200.
Energy companies weighed on the index as oil sank below $70 a barrel.
The Nasdaq 100 extended this year’s surge to 31%, with Nvidia Corp. hovering near $1 trillion in value after announcing several AI-related products.
A gauge of mega-caps like Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. climbed over 1.5%.
“Yes, AI does have great potential and it does appear to be the ‘next big thing’,” wrote Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded The Sevens Report newsletter. “But I don’t see how that promise can offset the reality of higher interest rates and more pressure on the economy, at least not for a sustainable period.”
US bond yields slumped from the highest levels since March as investors evaluated the possible economic consequences of the holiday weekend accord to temporarily suspend the federal debt ceiling, and amid an expected wave of month-end-related buying.
Treasury rates on 3- to 10-year maturities led the move.
The two-year yield, more sensitive than longer maturities to the outlook for Federal Reserve policy, traded near 4.5%.
Stocks and bonds are sending opposite signals about whether US inflation will abate on its own, according to billionaire Cliff Asness, who called the divergence his “biggest concern.”
Unlike stocks, the bond market is telegraphing that the Federal Reserve will make aggressive interest-rate cuts over the next year or two, the co-founder of AQR Capital Management, said on an episode of “Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein.”
“If inflation stays sticky or it comes down because we enter a nontrivial recession —  it’s equities that I think are a scary place,” Asness said.
Fed Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said he is looking for signs that demand is cooling to be convinced that US inflation will ease.
Traders also kept an eye on the latest economic reports, with US consumer confidence dropping to a six-month low as views about the labor market and the outlook for business conditions slipped ahead of a deal to raise the debt ceiling.
To Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, lower consumer confidence can be a bullish contrarian indicator.
“With over $5 trillion in cash on the sidelines, strong stock market momentum and debt ceiling drama closer to resolving, we think there is a good reason for stocks to perform well this year,” Bolvin said. “However, it may not be without volatility. The next market moving catalyst is this week’s jobs reports, which will influence the Fed.”
Key events this week:
* China manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing PMI, Wednesday.
* US job openings, Wednesday.
* Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, Wednesday.
* Fed’s Patrick Harker, Susan Collins and Michelle Bowman speak at events, Wednesday.
* China Caixin manufacturing PMI, Thursday.
* Eurozone HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Thursday.
* US construction spending, initial jobless claims, ISM Manufacturing, Thursday.
* ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks at conference, Thursday.
* Fed’s Patrick Harker speaks at webinar, Thursday.
* US unemployment, nonfarm payrolls, Friday.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0730
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2407
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 139.77 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $27,852.97
* Ether rose 0.7% to $1,907.09
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 12 basis points to 3.68%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 2.34%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 4.25%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4% to $69.77 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.8% to $1,978.20 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Carly Wanna, Isabelle Lee and John McCorry.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. –Matsuo Chuemon Munefusa, 1644-1694.

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 Monday.
May 29, 1453: Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, falls to the Ottoman Empire after a 2-month siege. The city is renamed Istanbul and becomes the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was born in Brookline, Mass. Go to article > 

1953: Mt. Everest summit reached.

James Webb Telescope finds evidence of ‘celestial monster’ stars the size of 10,000 suns lurking at the dawn of time
The James Webb Space Telescope has found key chemical fingerprints of supermassive stars just 440 million years after the Big Bang. Read More

1,100-year-old breastplate to ward off evil may contain the oldest Cyrillic writing ever found
An inscription on an 1,100-year-old breastplate found in a ruined fortress in Bulgaria may contain one of the earliest known examples of Cyrillic text, researchers claim. Read More

New York City may be sinking under its own weight because the buildings are too heavy, scientists warn
Scientists estimate the mass of the 1,084,954 buildings within the five boroughs of New York City is 1.68 trillion pounds. Read More
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Windsor, UK
A moment of Zen on board a barge called Sanity moored on the River Thames.  Photograph: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock

Wertheim, Germany
Icelandic horses run over a meadow at a stud farm.  Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Kyiv, Ukraine
People take cover in a Metro station during a Russian missile attack.  Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Market Closes for May 29^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	Market Closed	N.A.
S&P 500	Market Closed	N.A.
NASDAQ	Market Closed	N.A.
TSX	19978.33	+58.02
		+0.29%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	31233.54	+317.23
		+1.03%
HANG SENG	18551.11	-195.81
		-1.04%
SENSEX	62846.38	+344.69
		+0.55%
FTSE 100*	Market Closed	N.A.

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.331	3.333
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.265	3.291
U.S.    10 Year Bond	N.A.	3.7983
U.S. 30 Year Bond	N.A.	3.9607

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7357	0.7344
US $	1.3592	1.3616
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4552	0.6872
US  $	1.0708	0.9339

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1947.90	1948.25
Oil
WTI Crude Future	N.A.	72.67

Market Commentary:
Investment success accrues not so much to the brilliant as to the disciplined. – William J.  Bernstein.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.2%, or 47.64 to 19,967.95 in Toronto.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.1%.
Converge Technology Solutions Corp. had the largest increase, rising 5.6%.
Today, 158 of 232 shares rose, while 69 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 3.2%
* The index declined 3.8% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC
Americas Index gained 0.3% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 5.1% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 11.7% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.9% in the past 5 days and fell 3.2% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.3 on a trailing basis and 13.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.18t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.66% compared with 10.68% in the previous session and the average of 9.46% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 24.2128| 0.4| 25/4
Energy | 17.3332| 0.5| 32/8
Industrials | 5.9761| 0.2| 19/7
Information Technology | 4.2840| 0.3| 8/4
Real Estate | 2.3805| 0.5| 19/2
Materials | 1.7597| 0.1| 28/20
Utilities | 1.6115| 0.2| 10/6
Health Care | 0.4677| 0.7| 4/2
Communication Services | -1.2733| -0.2| 2/2
Consumer Discretionary | -3.7233| -0.5| 6/8
Consumer Staples | -5.3845| -0.6| 5/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | 10.8800| 1.1| -75.4| -9.8
Shopify | 6.5610| 1.0| -78.0| 73.3
Suncor Energy | 4.4990| 1.2| -73.5| -8.4
Restaurant Brands | -3.1450| -1.5| -73.5| 12.2
Couche-Tard | -3.6270| -1.0| -56.4| 12.1
Brookfield Corp | -5.7540| -1.4| -77.2| -0.7
US
US markets closed for Memorial Day.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. –Anne Frank, 1929-1945.
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.

May 26, 1805: Napoleon crowned King of Italy.
1805: Lewis & Clark see Rocky Mountains.
May 26^th, 1896: The Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published. The average price of the 11 initial stocks was 40.94.  Go to article > 

John  Wayne, actor, b. 1907.

Virgin Galactic still wants to make commercial flights on supersonic planes to the edge of space.  Not exactly the most relaxing way to spend a vacation, but to each their own.

New unprecedented images reveal what’s happening on the sun as it approaches ‘solar maximum’.  Why do so many images from space look edible?

We’re still waiting for self-driving cars on a large scale, but autonomous boats are already a thing.  Well, it’s a start.

Climate change could trigger gigantic deadly tsunamis from Antarctica, new study warns
Slippages in sediment beneath the Antarctic seabed could spawn gigantic tsunamis as oceans warm.  Read More

A rare type of black hole never proven to exist could be orbiting our galaxy right now, Hubble telescope reveals
A potential intermediate-mass black hole may be lurking in Messier 4, the nearest globular star cluster to Earth, new Hubble data reveals.  Read More

Antarctic currents supplying 40% of world’s deep ocean with nutrients and oxygen slowing dramatically
These deep ocean tides supply almost half of the world’s oceans with vital nutrients and oxygen, but melting ice shelves are slowing them down. Read More

Middle gets the armrests: A flight attendant offers 12 etiquette rules for flying.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

RHS Chelsea flower show 2023
The show makes a backdrop for a performance drawing on motifs from myth and folklore.  Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

A kestrel lands on a branch in Riva, which is on its migratory route, in Istanbul, Turkey.  Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

A snow leopard in the Mount Qomolangma reserve area in south-west China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. Snow leopards are under first-class state protection and usually live in mountains between 2,500m and 5,000m.  Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock
Market Closes for May 26^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33093.34	+328.69
		+1.00%
S&P 500	4205.45	+54.17
		+1.30%
NASDAQ	12975.69	+277.60
		+2.19%
TSX	19920.31	+146.23
		+0.74%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	30916.31	+115.18
		+0.37%
HANG SENG	18746.92	-369.01
		-1.93%
SENSEX	62501.69	+629.07
		+1.02%
FTSE 100*	7627.20	+56.33
		+0.74%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.333	3.308
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.291	3.309
U.S.    10 Year Bond	3.7983	3.8193
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.9607	3.9925

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7344	0.7331
US $	1.3616	1.3640
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4606	0.6847
US  $	1.0727	0.9322

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1948.25	1969.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	72.67	71.53

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1896: The Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published. The index initially consisted of 12 industrial giants, including American Sugar and National Lead. The index’s value that day: 40.94.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.7% at 19,920.31 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.5% on May 5 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.8%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.6%. Celestica Inc. had the largest increase, rising 10.3%.
Today, 171 of 232 shares rose, while 56 fell; 10 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 3.5%
* So far this week, the index fell 2.1%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended March 10
* The index declined 3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 2.7% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 5.3% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 11.5% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.3 on a trailing basis and 13.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.15t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.68% compared with 10.37% in the previous session and the average of 9.26% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 63.5676| 1.1| 26/3
Information Technology | 31.9291| 2.1| 12/0
Energy | 10.7619| 0.3| 25/13
Consumer Discretionary | 9.1728| 1.3| 10/5
Materials | 9.1318| 0.4| 37/13
Industrials | 8.7209| 0.3| 19/7
Consumer Staples | 5.9545| 0.7| 8/3
Utilities | 5.4112| 0.6| 13/3
Real Estate | 2.8580| 0.6| 16/3
Communication Services | 1.8322| 0.2| 4/1
Health Care | -3.1136| -4.2| 1/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 16.7800| 2.6| -24.2| 71.6
RBC | 15.4000| 1.3| -39.1| -3.3
Bank of Montreal | 8.5770| 1.5| -25.1| -6.5
Barrick Gold | -2.0800| -0.7| -53.0| -0.3
Nutrien | -2.6740| -1.0| -31.7| -23.0
Tilray Brands | -2.7790| -20.4| 145.6| -31.1
US
By Carly Wanna and Isabelle Lee
(Bloomberg) — The frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence led another day of gains in the stock market as traders were also growing more confident a deal on the US debt limit would be reached.
The S&P 500 rose 1.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 added 2.6% as Marvell Technology Inc. said revenues in 2024 would “at least double” from a year ago on a surge in demand from AI, echoing sentiments from Nvidia Corp. earlier in the week.
Shares of the chipmaker surged 32%.
The gains came as US negotiators also appeared to be moving closer to an agreement to raise the US debt limit and cap federal spending for two years.
A US default could result in catastrophic damage, putting markets on edge.
However, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he believed progress had been made last night.
“Today we are getting a boost from debt ceiling headlines plus continued AI enthusiasm,” said John Kolovos, chief technical strategist at Macro Risk Advisors.
Investors were demanding less of a premium to hold US Treasury bills seen most at risk of nonpayment if a deal wasn’t reached in time.
Securities expiring in early June — when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the government could run out of money — are all yielding less than 6% on Friday.
Meanwhile, the rate-sensitive two-year Treasury drifted as traders considered how a debt deal could play into the Federal Reserve’s path forward on interest rates.
The two-year yield hovered around 4.56% after a report on consumer spending showed the Fed still has more work to do to bring inflation back towards its target.
The personal consumption expenditures price index, one of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauges, rose by a faster-than-expected 0.4% in April.
“While we believe that there are good chances for a [debt] resolution before the FOMC meeting, any deal would almost certainly include some fiscal tightening, which should reduce the need for the Fed to hike rates,” said Brian Rose, senior US economist at UBS Chief Investment Office. “Going past the debt ceiling deadline would have serious consequences, and in that event there is almost no chance that the Fed would hike.”
In other corporate news, retailer Gap Inc. rallied 12% after reporting better-than-expected results.
Workday Inc. jumped 10% after results at the application software company pointed to stable demand.
And Ford Motor Co. rose 6.2% after striking a deal with Tesla Inc. to give its electric vehicle customers access to the Tesla Supercharger network.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Stoxx 600 rose with chipmakers including ASML Holding NV advancing for a second day.
Glencore Plc gained after a report that its Viterra unit is in talks to merge with Bunge Ltd., one of the world’s largest crop merchants.
And in Asia, the benchmark CSI 300 index ended little changed, bringing the week’s losses to 2.4% amid growth concerns.
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.3% as of 4:03 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0729
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2352
* The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 140.57 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.1% to $26,774.72
* Ether rose 1.4% to $1,834.97
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 3.80%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.54%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.33%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.3% to $72.77 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,965.40 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Peyton Forte.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take. -Wayne Gretzky, b.1961.

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 Eve.
May 25, 1977: The first “Star Wars” movie is released in theatres.  The film suffered production difficulties; cast and crew involved believed the film would be a failure.  It was retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
On May 25, 2006, Kenneth L. Lay and Jeffrey K. Skilling, the chief executives who guided Enron through its spectacular rise and even more stunning fall,
were found guilty of fraud and conspiracy.  Go to article >

Miles Davis, b. 1926.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, b. 1803.

Saturn’s iconic rings are slowly disappearing.  Slowly as in “over the next 100 million years” slowly.
Climate change could trigger gigantic deadly tsunamis from Antarctica, new study warns
Slippages in sediment beneath the Antarctic seabed could spawn gigantic tsunamis as oceans warm. Read More

What’s the difference between outer space and deep space?
Space, outer space, and deep space — which is further out, and which is the real final frontier? Read More

in memoriam…
Tina Turner, the “Queen of Rock and Roll,” has died at the age of 83. Her family said in a statement the legendary singer passed away after a “long illness.” Turner was the first Black artist and the first female artist to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone and was one of only a few artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. Tributes for the icon have been rolling in. Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama called Turner “a star whose light will never fade.” Oprah Winfrey praised Turner’s resilience amid personal struggles. “Once she claimed her freedom from years of domestic abuse, her life became a clarion call for triumph,” she said.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Küsnacht, Switzerland
A fan outside the gates of a villa belonging to the singer Tina Turner, who died on Wednesday.  Photograph: Michael Buholzer/AP

Savièse, Switzerland
Angele, a fresco by the artist Jasm One, is part of a project to create the world’s largest open-air urban art museum, covering 5,224 sq km of Alpine territory, linking the Rhone glacier in St-Gingolph and Lake Geneva.  Photograph: Gabriel Monnet/EPA

Rabat, Morocco
Drones form an image in the sky to mark the end of the African Capital of Culture programme in the Moroccan capital.  Photograph: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for May 25^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	32764.65	-35.27
		-0.11%
S&P 500	4151.31	+36.07
		+0.88%
NASDAQ	12698.09	+213.93
		+1.71%
TSX	19775.43	-152.26
		-0.76%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	30801.13	+118.45
		+0.39%
HANG SENG	18764.92	-369.01
		-1.93%
SENSEX	61872.62	+98.84
		+0.16%
FTSE 100*	7570.87	-56.23
		-0.74%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.308	3.274
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.309	3.276
U.S.    10 Year Bond	3.8193	3.7419
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.9925	3.9859

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7331	0.7356
US $	1.3640	1.3594
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4626	0.6837
US  $	1.0723	0.9326

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1969.65	1969.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.53	74.18

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1931, the New York Stock Exchange began regularly reporting short sales. For the first time, the sale of stock by those who are betting shares will drop became public record.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.8%, or 153.61 to 19,774.08 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since March 28.
Today, energy stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 159 of 232 shares fell, while 70 rose.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.2%. Canopy Growth Corp. had the largest drop, falling 14.2%.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 4.2%
* So far this week, the index fell 2.8%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended March 10
* The index declined 3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 3.4% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 6% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 10.6% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.6% in the past 5 days and fell 3.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 13.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.18t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 10.37% compared with 10.36% in the previous session and the average of 9.23% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -60.4582| -1.8| 2/38
Materials | -39.6219| -1.7| 6/44
Financials | -35.9162| -0.6| 17/11
Communication Services | -15.7988| -1.8| 1/4
Utilities | -9.9440| -1.1| 0/16
Information Technology | -1.9812| -0.1| 9/3
Health Care | -0.9300| -1.2| 3/3
Real Estate | -0.7969| -0.2| 6/14
Consumer Staples | -0.3329| 0.0| 3/7
Consumer Discretionary | 1.5661| 0.2| 7/8
Industrials | 10.6071| 0.4| 16/11
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | -43.0200| -4.2| 116.7| -11.3
RBC | -21.8500| -1.8| -0.7| -4.6
Canadian Natural Resources | -17.6900| -3.0| 20.5| 0.0
Brookfield Corp | 5.3570| 1.3| -32.1| -1.0
CIBC | 7.1740| 2.1| 95.5| 3.7
Bank of Nova Scotia| 8.7720| 1.6| 29.3| 0.6
US
By Isabelle Lee, Julien Ponthus and Lynn Thomasson
(Bloomberg) — US stocks rose Thursday as a rally in companies linked to the frenzy in artificial intelligence outweighed broader market concerns including a US debt default.
The S&P 500 gained 0.9% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 added 2.5% after a bullish sales forecast from Nvidia Corp. ignited gains in the technology sector.
Shares of Nvidia soared 24% after the company’s forecast related to AI surprised even the most optimistic analysts on Wall Street, propelling the company to the cusp of a $1 trillion market value.
It’s another sign that investors are willing to pile into promising tech stocks, despite the growing worries about China’s economy and a potentially catastrophic US debt default.
Fitch Ratings warned that the US’s AAA rating is under threat, though it still expects politicians will reach an agreement before time runs out.
“Between the debt ceiling and AI, everything else is kind of dwarfed by the magnitude of those two things,” said Louise Goudy Willmering, partner at Crewe Advisors LLC.
Treasury-bill yields slated to mature early next month edged higher as investors continued to demand a premium on securities seen most at risk of non-payment if the government exhausts its borrowing capacity.
The wrangling in Washington adds to the risks assessed by Federal Reserve officials as they consider pausing interest rate increases.
Traders are now fully pricing in another quarter-point hike within the next two policy meetings after the release of mixed data on Thursday, including a higher revised first-quarter GDP and fewer-than-expected jobless claims.
“Nvidia was last night’s good surprise,” said Gilles Guibout, head of European equity strategies at Axa Investment Managers. “But more broadly, there are few reasons for the market to keep rising: interest rates are not going down, global economic growth isn’t rebounding, full-year earnings are seen flat, and stock valuations are already at a decent level.”
In corporate news, Dish Network Corp. gained 7.1% on a report of talks to offer mobile plans on Amazon.
And Snowflake Inc. dropped 17% after the cloud-software company cut its product revenue guidance for the full year.
Elsewhere, in Asian markets, sentiment continued to worsen.
The Hang Seng Index shed 1.9% on the day and the yuan broke through the closely-watched 7-per-dollar level.
The key worry for investors is that China’s economy is losing momentum and there are persistent financial troubles in the real estate sector. Recent data suggest GDP growth this year will be closer to the government’s target of about 5%, contrary to expectations of a large overshoot formed earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, traders added to bets the Bank of England will keep raising interest rates after an unexpectedly strong reading of UK inflation on Wednesday.
Money markets are now pricing more than 100 basis points of additional tightening by December.
The  Europe Stoxx 600 ended the day 0.3% lower.
Key events this week:
* Interest rate decisions in Turkey, South Africa, Indonesia, South Korea, Thursday
* Tokyo CPI, Friday
* US consumer income, wholesale inventories, durable goods, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.9% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%
* The MSCI World index fell 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0721
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2318
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 140.17 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.3% to $26,474.68
* Ether rose 0.3% to $1,809.68
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced seven basis points to 3.81%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 2.52%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 16 basis points to 4.37%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.2% to $71.99 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 1.2% to $1,959.40 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Georgina McKay.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends.  That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first…
when you learn to live for others, they will live for you. –Paramahansa Yogananda, 1893-1952.

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:
May 24, 1976 Britain and France opened trans-Atlantic Concorde service to Washington. Go to article > 

1844:  First US telegraph line opens.
Bob Dylan, b. 1941.
Patti Labelle, b.1944.

James Webb telescope discovers gargantuan geyser on Saturn’s moon, blasting water hundreds of miles into space
The James Webb Space Telescope caught Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus spraying a “huge plume” of watery vapor far into space — and that plume may contain chemical ingredients for life.  Read More

2,000-year-old stone receipt discovered in Jerusalem
An ancient financial transaction from Jerusalem that was “set in stone” dates to the Early Roman period. Read More

Strange star system may hold first evidence of an ultra-rare ‘dark matter star’
In a distant star system, a sunlike star orbits an invisible object that may be the first example of a “boson star” made of dark matter, new research suggests. Read More

Mallorca: An ‘If You Know, You Know’ Hideaway

There wasn’t a party in sight earlier this month as the sun set over the Grand Hotel Son Net, in the rural village of Puigpunyent in Mallorca. Instead, as the stone buildings turned golden, the only soundtrack was the bleating of the sheep that lived on the estate. In the past year the island has been embracing its quieter side, playing up its stunning inland beauty to aspire beyond the package-tour and cruise sets. Work-from-anywhere warriors have begun making it their year-round home.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Toulouse, France
Asterion, a minotaur weighing 47 tonnes and 13 metres high made by La Machine street theatre company, moves through the Montaudran district of the city guided by a team of machinists
Photograph: Valentine Chapuis/AFP/Getty Images

Puebla, Mexico
Ash and molten rock are spewed from the Popocatépetl volcano, as authorities raise the warning level and prepare millions of residents for a possible evacuation.  Photograph: Rafael Duran/AFP/Getty Images

Durban, South Africa
An early start for surfers as they wait between sets of waves to take their next ride in the warm Indian Ocean.  Photograph: Kim Ludbrook/EPA
Market Closes for May 24^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	32799.92	-255.59
		-0.77%
S&P 500	4115.24	-30.34
		-0.73%
NASDAQ	12484.16	-76.09
		-0.61%
TSX	19927.69	-218.32
		-1.08%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	30682.68	-275.09
		-0.89%
HANG SENG	19115.93	-315.32
		-1.62%
SENSEX	61773.78	-208.01
		-0.34%
FTSE 100*	7627.10	-135.85
		-1.75%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.274	3.215
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.276	3.218
U.S.    10 Year Bond	3.7419	3.6976
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.9859	3.9513

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7356	0.7405
US $	1.3594	1.3504
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4620	0.6840
US  $	1.0753	0.9300

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1969.20	1970.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	74.18	72.79

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1937, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Social Security benefits in the landmark case of Helvering v. Davis. The court ruled, “Congress did not improvise a judgment when it found that the award of old age benefits would be conducive to the general welfare.”
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 1.1%, or 218.32 to 19,927.69 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.5% on May 16.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 193 of 232 shares fell, while 38 rose.
Bank of Montreal contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.9%. Filo Mining Corp. had the largest drop, falling 8.2%.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 3.4%
* The index declined 1.8% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 3.7% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 5.3% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 11.5% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.6% in the past 5 days and fell 3.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13 on a trailing basis and 13.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.21t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.36% compared with 9.91% in the previous session and the average of 9.18% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -112.2990| -1.8| 2/27
Materials | -54.2252| -2.2| 0/50
Industrials | -39.5593| -1.4| 3/24
Energy | -7.1010| -0.2| 16/24
Communication Services| -6.8736| -0.8| 0/5
Utilities | -4.9977| -0.5| 2/14
Real Estate | -4.2156| -0.9| 0/21
Consumer Discretionary| -4.1375| -0.6| 4/11
Health Care | -0.3784| -0.5| 2/4
Consumer Staples | 6.4776| 0.8| 7/4
Information Technology| 8.9733| 0.6| 2/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Bank of Montreal | -22.6300| -3.9| 101.2| -8.0
RBC | -20.5000| -1.7| -23.5| -2.8
TD Bank | -19.3600| -1.9| 11.9| -7.4
Enbridge | 2.9540| 0.4| -53.4| -5.9
Cenovus Energy | 3.5510| 1.6| -32.5| -12.8
Shopify | 11.7100| 1.8| 119.0| 70.6
US
By Carly Wanna and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — US stocks followed equities in Europe and Asia lower on Wednesday amid growing pessimism over the global outlook.
The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, led by losses in financials and real estate, as US debt-limit talks hit a fresh impasse and minutes from the Federal Reserve showed split support for more interest-rate hikes.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 slid the most in two months as UK inflation came in higher than expected.
And in Asia, China’s benchmark CSI 300 erased all its gains for the year as developers’ debt woes and a new wave of Covid added to worries over growth.
Luxury stocks including LVMH and Gucci owner Kering SA extended losses.
Chipmaker Analog Devices Inc. slid after a weak outlook on economic uncertainty.
And Citigroup Inc. fell after abandoning plans to sell its Mexican unit Banamex.
Federal Reserve officials at their May meeting were divided over whether further rate increases would be necessary to combat inflation, given the uncertainty of credit issues in the banking sector.
Meanwhile, talks between President Joe Biden’s team and representatives of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy showed little progress Wednesday, increasing the risk of a US default and possible recession.
Yields on short-dated Treasuries continued to push higher Wednesday, with investors demanding a higher premium on US debt with the highest risk of default.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US was likely to start missing debt payments as soon as June 1.
As such, the yield on securities maturing June 6 pushed above 6.8% on Wednesday while those maturing May 30 are yielding around 3%.
“I’m starting to get the feeling that the Republicans don’t believe in Yellen’s ‘X-date’ and think they have the upper hand,” said Benjamin Dietrich, a portfolio manager at Lazard Asset Management LLC. “I think the risk is for no short-term solution and the S&P breaking lower. Also, the China surprise index collapse should be bad for risk sentiment.”
Minutes from the Fed meeting in May were widely expected to reveal concern over credit conditions, which could prompt officials to pause interest rate hikes in June.
Policymakers have been walking a fine line, trying not to tip the economy into a recession with its rate hikes in an attempt to clamp back inflation.
But if the US debt deal contains deep spending cuts or there is a default, economists project a US recession regardless.
“We are pessimistic on the economic outlook,” said Michael Krautzberger, head of EMEA fundamental fixed income at BlackRock International. “The potential volatility coming from the debt ceiling discussion as we approach the deadline is one of those reasons. We don’t expect a technical default but we do expect a last minute deal.”
There has been a wall of worry investors have had to climb.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Chief Economist Michael Feroli said the odds of the US going past June 1are 25% and rising.
However, Nomura’s Charlie McElligott said he believes a “positive outcome” is getting closer, with traders selling in waves of profit-taking ahead of the Treasury secretary’s deadline.
“Any relief rally on a debt-ceiling ‘deal’ headline into the start of next week then has the potential to act as a local top for stocks for a bit, with most of the ‘wall of worry’ blood already squeezed from the stone,” McElligott said.
Key events this week:
* Fed issues minutes of May 2-3 policy meeting, Wednesday
* Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks, Wednesday
* US initial jobless claims, GDP, Thursday
* Interest rate decisions in Turkey, South Africa, Indonesia, South Korea, Thursday
* Tokyo CPI, Friday
* US consumer income, wholesale inventories, durable goods, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.9% as of 2:32 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%
* The MSCI World index fell 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0764
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2376
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 139.05 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 3.5% to $26,274.12
* Ether fell 3.5% to $1,790.04
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 3.70%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.47%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.21%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% to $74.35 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,984.30 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

What we play is life. -Louis Armstrong, Satchmo, 1901-1971.

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 Tuesday.
May 23, 1430: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne.
On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot to death in a police ambush as they were driving a stolen Ford Deluxe along a road in Bienville Parish, La.  Go to article > 

1895: New York Public Library founded.
These museums showcase the future, not the past.  It appears a different kind of museum is gaining popularity. More people are expressing interest in exhibitions that show what the future may look like.

Supreme Court ducks fight over foie gras.  The controversial delicacy is quite common in France but will remain banned in California.

All butterflies evolved from ancient moths in North America 100 million years ago.  Scientists have painstakingly constructed the world’s biggest butterfly tree of life and discovered that the first butterflies evolved in what is now Central and North America. Read More

Mysterious white, powdery substance found inside 3,000-year-old ruins in Armenia isn’t what it seems .  `Piles of a mysterious white, powdery substance found inside the ruins of a 3,000-year-old building in Armenia are a culinary historian’s dream — the remnants of ancient flour. Read More

Spanish Civil War soldier saw the world ‘backward’ after bullet pierced brain, historic case report reveals.  After being shot in the head in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War, a soldier began seeing the world backward and upside down. Read More

A sanctuary dedicated to psychedelic art opens-up in the Hudson Valley.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Versailles, France: A guest wearing a baroque-style costume walks through the Hall of Mirrors during the fête galante at the Palace of Versailles. The annual fancy dress ball recreates the splendour of Louis XIV’s dazzling court feasts, which were held to show off the wealth and power of France’s longest-reigning monarch. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Canudos, Brazil: Lear’s macaws fly over a reserve near a biological station that is close to a wind energy complex. The windfarm, in north-east Brazil, is causing concern because of its impact on the endangered bird species. Photograph: Rafael Martins/AFP/Getty Images

Newbury, UK: A plane flies west over Berkshire beneath a new moon.  Photograph: David Hartley/Shutterstock
Market Closes for May 23^rd, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33055.51	-231.07
		-0.69%
S&P 500	4145.58	-47.05
		-1.12%
NASDAQ	12560.25	-160.53
		-1.26%
TSX	20146.01	-205.05
		-1.01%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	30957.77	-129.05
		-0.42%
HANG SENG	19431.25	-246.92
		-1.25%
SENSEX	61981.79	+18.11
		+0.03%
FTSE 100*	7762.95	-8.04
		-0.10%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.215	3.130
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.218	3.158
U.S.    10 Year Bond	3.6976	3.6784
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.9513	3.9336

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7405	0.7406
US $	1.3504	1.3503
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4547	0.6874
US  $	1.0774	0.9282

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1970.30	1960.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	72.79	71.55

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1995, Sun Microsystems launched Java, the universal internet programming language that brought “white space” and greater interactivity to millions of websites and internet users.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1% at 20,146.01 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since March 31 after the previous session’s increase of 0.3%.
Today, industrials stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 146 of 232 shares fell, while 85 rose.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.3%.
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 6.2%.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 2.4%
* The index declined 0.3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 3.5% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.2% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 12.7% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.9% in the past 5 days and fell 2.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 13.6 times estimated earnings ofvits members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.24t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.91% compared with 9.69% in the previous session and the average of 9.13% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | -69.0912| -2.4| 7/20
Materials | -50.2554| -2.0| 15/35
Information Technology | -48.8664| -3.2| 1/11
Consumer Staples | -15.3166| -1.8| 1/10
Communication Services | -12.1965| -1.4| 0/5
Consumer Discretionary | -11.9887| -1.6| 4/11
Financials | -11.1600| -0.2| 14/15
Utilities | -6.1071| -0.7| 4/11
Real Estate | -1.4467| -0.3| 9/12
Health Care | 0.2050| 0.3| 2/4
Energy | 21.1728| 0.6| 28/12
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -31.2800| -4.3| 99.4| 5.7
Canadian National | -22.1900| -3.3| 79.2| -2.9
Shopify | -21.1000| -3.1| 47.8| 67.6
Cameco | 5.6220| 5.1| 77.9| 24.6
Brookfield Corp | 7.8400| 1.9| 32.3| -0.4
Canadian Natural Resources | 10.6900| 1.8| 97.8| 4.3
US
By Emily Graffeo and Cristin Flanagan
(Bloomberg) — US stocks fell and short-dated Treasury bills extended losses as negotiations over raising the US debt ceiling remained at an impasse.
Negotiations continued on Tuesday.
However, progress appeared limited, with some House Republicans questioning the urgency imposed by a deadline from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for when the government will start missing some debt
payments.
Investors have been demanding higher premiums to hold US debt, especially those at the highest risk of default, with little time left for politicians to find an agreement.
Yields on securities maturing June 8 are holding above 5.7% compared to bills maturing May 30 that are yielding roughly 2%.
“The fact that some of these politicians are contemplating default publicly is a bad sign,” said Mike Zigmont, head of trading and research at Harvest Volatility Management.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, led lower by industrials and communication stocks. Lowe’s Cos. cut its sales outlook, citing a slowdown in consumer spending.
Broadcom Inc. signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Apple Inc. to develop 5G radio frequency components.
And a rout in luxury-goods makers including Hermes International wiped out more than $30 billion in value.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called their discussions on Monday productive.
But an agreement on the debt limit remains elusive, with McCarthy pleading with Republicans to stay united on their demands in order to avert a US default.
“As investors, it’s really hard to price the debt ceiling,” said Remi Olu-Pitan, head of multi-asset growth and income at Schroders. “We have nothing to hold onto. We know that it’s a big risk, but it’s really hard to quantify and position for in advance.”
Invesco Chief Global Market Strategist Kristina Hooper said she sees a brief technical default as a real possibility, which is more likely to be reflected in bond prices, rather than stocks.
“The negotiating parties have gotten more pessimistic,” she said. “And it suggests to me that we’ll see more market turbulence in coming days.”
In economic news, US new-home sales unexpectedly rose to a more than one-year high, and US business activity grew in May by the most in over a year.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said Tuesday that if inflation were to become more entrenched, the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates elevated for longer.
Minutes expected Wednesday from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting will offer traders the latest insights into whether interest rates will be paused at the Fed’s next meeting in June.
Key events this week:
* Fed issues minutes of May 2-3 policy meeting, Wednesday
* Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks, Wednesday
* US initial jobless claims, GDP, Thursday
* Interest rate decisions in Turkey, South Africa, Indonesia, South Korea, Thursday
* Tokyo CPI, Friday
* US consumer income, wholesale inventories, durable goods, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.0768
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2410
* The Japanese yen was unchanged at 138.60 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.1% to $27,189.22
* Ether rose 1.8% to $1,851.79
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 3.70%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 2.47%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced nine basis points to 4.16%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.5% to $73.10 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Cecile Gutscher, Tassia Sipahutar, Robert Brand, Jason Scott, Ishika Mookerjee and Allegra Catelli.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life
sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882.

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: Carolann is away from the office today, I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

On May 18, 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state exploded, leaving 57 people dead or missing. Go to article >

Largest underwater scanning project in history’ gives never-before-seen view of Titanic. Deep sea investigators and filmmakers have managed to uncover incredible details about the 1912 tragedy.

Orcas have sunk 3 boats in Europe and appear to be teaching others to do the same. But why? Scientists think a traumatized orca initiated the assault on boats after a “critical moment of agony” and that the behavior is spreading among the population through social learning. Live Science
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Woking, UK
An RHS Wisley Garden volunteer makes her way along Wisteria Walk. For the first time since it was planted in 2018, the display can be viewed as designed, with purple and white blooms together. Frost has damaged the cultivar in previous years so horticulturists from the RHS worked through the night with fire pits to protect the delicate flowers
Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

Cremona, Canada
A raven lands on the roof of a barn in Alberta as thick smoke from wildfires obscures the sun
Photograph: Jeff McIntosh/AP

Keswick, UK
Herdwick shepherds exhibit their best rams at the annual Keswick Tup Fair which, since the 1840s, has been held in the Lake District town on the first Thursday after the third Wednesday in May. Judges are looking for the best examples of the local Herdwick breed with their hoar-frost white face and legs and distinctive slate blue fleece, hand painted with red ochre which makes them easily visible of distant Cumbrian fells. Stanley Jackson (second left) get his ram standing correctly for the the official pictures after it won the Edmondson Cup, awarded to the best shearling
Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
Market Closes for May 18^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33535.91	+115.14
		+0.34%
S&P 500	4198.05	+39.28
		+0.94%
NASDAQ	12688.84	+188.27
		+1.51%
TSX	20297.09	+0.66
		—

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	30573.93	+480.34
		+1.60%
HANG SENG	19727.25	+166.68
		+0.85%
SENSEX	61431.74	-128.90
		-0.21%
FTSE 100*	7742.30	+19.07
		+0.25%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.174	3.106
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.162	3.108
U.S.    10 Year Bond	3.6457	3.5622
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.9040	3.8474

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7407	0.7432
US $	1.3501	1.3455
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4546	0.6875
US  $	1.0775	0.9281

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1974.40	2007.45
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.86	72.83

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1553, one of the earliest business ventures financed by selling stock to the public was launched, as three ships set out from England seeking “discoverie of new trades northe warde” in Russia. The Russia Company, or Muscovy Company, earned no money for at least three decades, and many investors died without ever receiving a dividend
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 20,297.09 in Toronto.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.8%. Bausch Health Cos. had the largest increase, rising 14.6%.
Today, 110 of 232 shares rose, while 117 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by industrials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 0.6%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended March 17
* The index advanced 1% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 6.2% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.5% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 13.6% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.6% in the past 5 days and fell 1.9% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.1 on a trailing basis and 13.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.23t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.73% compared with 9.74% in the previous session and the average of 9.42% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | 22.6386| 0.8| 22/5
Energy | 13.4941| 0.4| 30/7
Information Technology | 9.8840| 0.7| 8/4
Consumer Discretionary | 3.5131| 0.5| 8/7
Health Care | 3.4491| 4.7| 5/1
Communication Services | 0.0113| 0.0| 2/3
Real Estate | -1.6645| -0.3| 5/16
Consumer Staples | -2.0230| -0.2| 5/6
Utilities | -3.6126| -0.4| 3/13
Financials | -9.1524| -0.1| 14/14
Materials | -35.8898| -1.4| 8/41
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD | Index | | 20D AVG | Change Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 5.4290| 0.8| -41.9| 10.6
Ritchie Bros | 4.4490| 5.1| 21.4| -4.4
Constellation Software | 4.1210| 1.2| -5.1| 27.7
Agnico Eagle Mines | -5.3680| -2.1| -34.5| 3.1
RBC | -6.9320| -0.6| -16.1| 0.5
Barrick Gold | -9.4250| -3.1| 11.5| 3.5
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) – Stocks climbed on signals that American lawmakers are making progress on debt-ceiling talks and will be able to avert a first-ever default. Treasury yields rose on speculation the Federal Reserve will need to keep rates higher for longer as inflation remains elevated.
The S&P 500 closed at a nine-month high while the Nasdaq 100 rallied almost 2% — hitting the highest since April 2022.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer making plans for votes in the coming days on a bipartisan deal to avert a US debt default. Equities briefly pared gains after House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry said the two sides are “not close to being done.”
“We could see some volatility over the negotiations in the coming days,” said Dan Clifton at Strategas. “Negotiators are\ not only trying to get a deal quickly, but the effort is to get a complete deal so that only one debt ceiling increase is needed.”
As the US cash flow position deteriorates, Clifton also highlighted the impact of larger liquidity injections on the market. “As tax revenues underperform, Treasury is spending down the Treasury General Account. This is leading to more liquidity and, not coincidentally, Nasdaq outperforming the S&P 500,” he added.
The swap market showed bets on a June hike climbed to about 40% after Fed Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan said the case for a pause next month is not clear. In contrasting remarks, central bank Governor Philip Jefferson outlined the dovish case for patience. The two-year bond yield, which is more sensitive to imminent Fed moves, topped 4.2% and climbed toward the highest in a month.
The Fed is “in a really tough spot,” Katerina Simonetti at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, told Bloomberg Television. “The big decision for them is the timing because once they announce that they’re done raising rates, markets are just going to assume that they’ve succeeded. And it might not necessarily be the case. Inflation so far is proving to be sticky.”
Key events this week:
* Japan CPI, Friday
* ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in panel at Brazil central bank conference, Friday
* New York Fed’s John Williams speaks at monetary policy research conference in Washington; Fed Chair Jerome Powell and former chair Ben Bernanke to take part in panel discussion, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.9% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.6%
* The euro fell 0.6% to $1.0774
* The British pound fell 0.6% to $1.2410
* The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 138.69 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.2% to $26,749.92
* Ether fell 1.7% to $1,795.95
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced eight basis points to 3.65%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced 11 basis points to 2.45%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 12 basis points to 3.96%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2% to $71.99 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 1.2% to $1,978.70 an ounce
–With assistance from Carly Wanna, Isabelle Lee, Peyton Forte and Felice Maranz.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Isabel

Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know. Lao Tsu, 571 BC

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff, Registered Representative

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:
May 17, 1527: The Pánfilo de Narváez expedition, sent by Spain to conquer Florida, is lost at sea.
May 17, 1792: The New York Stock Exchange was founded by brokers meeting under a tree on what is now Wall Street. Go to article > 
1844: rubber band patented.

The 76th Cannes Film Festival began this week: The glamorous event kicked off Tuesday with the premiere of Johnny Depp’s Louis XV period drama, “Jeanne du Barry.”

Solar ‘super flares’ millions of times stronger than anything today may have sparked life on Earth
Intense solar storms may have delivered Earth its earliest building blocks of life, new research suggests. Read More

NASA spots sign of El Niño from space: ‘If it’s a big one, the globe will see record warming’
The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite recorded Kelvin waves moving eastward across the Pacific — a phenomenon often considered a precursor to El Niño. Read More

Ancient Romans sacrificed birds to the goddess Isis, burnt bones in Pompeii reveal
The ancient remains of at least 10 birds have been found at a temple of Isis in the Roman city of Pompeii, indicating that birds were a key feature of worshipping the goddess. Read More

‘Face blindness’ could be rare long COVID symptom, case report hints
A new case report provides the first account of “face blindness” emerging after a COVID-19 infection. Read More
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Bridlington, England
Nesting gannets at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, where about 500,000 seabirds flock to find a mate and raise their young.  Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

London, England
Marketing manager Joanna Roche sits in Jimi Hendrix’s bedroom in the newly restored house where, separated by a wall & 200 years, musicians George Frideric Handel and Jimi Hendrix have both lived. Handel & Hendrix in London reopens to visitors this week.  Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian

Antalya, Turkey
Crocuses bloom on Taşeli plateau.  Photograph: Seyit Konyali/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Market Closes for May 17^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	33420.77	+408.63
		+1.24%
S&P 500	4158.77	+48.87
		+1.19%
NASDAQ	12500.57	+157.52
		+1.28%
TSX	20296.43	+54.36
		+0.27%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	30093.59	+250.60
		+0.84%
HANG SENG	19560.57	-417.68
		-2.09%
SENSEX	61560.64	-371.83
		-0.60%
FTSE 100*	7723.23	-27.85
		-0.36%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.106	3.052
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.108	3.096
U.S.    10 Year Bond	3.5622	3.5433
U.S. 30 Year Bond	3.8474	3.8601

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7432	0.7421
US $	1.3455	1.3475
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4584	0.6857
US  $	1.0840	0.9225

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2007.45	2019.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	72.83	70.86

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1792, the ancestor of the New York Stock Exchange was born. Twenty-four brokers gathered under a tree and signed the Buttonwood Agreement, pledging to “not buy or sell from this day for any person whatsoever, any kind of Public Stock at a less rate than one quarter per cent Commission.”
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.3% at 20,296.43 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 1.5%.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 7 of 11 sectors gained; 152 of 232 shares rose, while 78 fell.
Brookfield Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.5%. Bausch Health Cos. had the largest increase, rising 24.1%.
Insights
* The index declined 0.9% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 1.1% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.5% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 13.6% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1% in the past 5 days and fell 1.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.1 on a trailing basis and 13.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.23t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.74% compared with 9.87% in the previous session and the average of 9.53% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 51.3526| 0.8| 25/4
Energy | 27.0544| 0.8| 36/4
Information Technology | 7.6064| 0.5| 8/4
Health Care | 4.2525| 6.2| 4/2
Real Estate | 3.5067| 0.7| 14/6
Consumer Discretionary | 2.7006| 0.4| 11/4
Consumer Staples | 0.7411| 0.1| 6/5
Communication Services | -5.0796| -0.6| 2/3
Utilities | -6.0546| -0.6| 6/9
Industrials | -11.4401| -0.4| 19/8
Materials | -20.2723| -0.8| 21/29
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Brookfield Corp | 10.1200| 2.5| -4.4| -1.9
TD Bank | 9.6200| 0.9| -23.1| -6.2
Canadian Natural Resources | 7.6170| 1.3| -3.6| 0.2
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -5.6230| -0.8| -23.0| 9.7
Canadian National | -6.2440| -0.9| -0.1| -0.4
Barrick Gold | -6.3650| -2.1| -25.2| 6.8
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The stock market climbed on speculation that a narrower group of Washington negotiators will break a deadlock on raising the US debt ceiling and avoid an unprecedented default.
Equities halted the recent trading lull, with gains in the S&P 500 topping 1% and the Nasdaq 100 hitting the highest since August.
Treasuries dropped, with yields on 10-year notes approaching 3.6%.
President Joe Biden expressed confidence there will be no default, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said reaching an agreement this week is “doable.”
“We don’t want to get too excited as the two sides reportedly remain far apart,” said Win Thin, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. “However, we get the sense that there is a real effort to avert a debt ceiling catastrophe as the X-date of June 1 is fast approaching. Stay tuned.”
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief Jamie Dimon said the US government “probably” will not default on its debts.
He joined other top executives of major banks in a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to discuss the debt limit.
The amount of money the US has on hand to pay its bills sank to $87 billion on May 15, increasing the chances the government will run out of cash by early June if the debt limit isn’t raised or suspended by then.
The Treasury’s bank account has been under downward pressure recently because of measures being taken to avoid breaching the $31.4 trillion debt cap.
“We all know the US Treasury is about to run out of ways to pay its bills, but we have seen this movie too many times before,” said Chun Wang at Leuthold Group. “While, theoretically, there is a threat of default, we certainly don’t recommend planning our lives around it. The script is very predictable: political posturing and grandstanding will go on until the 11th hour, and then a deal will be hastily put
together to avoid a default.”
If history is any guide, the debt-ceiling turmoil tends to be short-lived, without much impact on stocks before or after a resolution, Wang added.
However, the August 2011 instance caught many investors by surprise, with equities slumping for a week or so before stabilizing.
Assuming the date of resolution is June 1, the current pattern is “uncomfortably similar to August 2011,” he noted.
To Amy Wu Silverman at RBC Capital Markets, while markets are betting on a rocky end to the debt-ceiling debate, if they are wrong, investors may miss out on the gains.
“The tale of optimism does not exist,” she told Bloomberg Television. “Is there a possibility of a congressional miracle?  If it at all comes in a little bit easier than we expect, that right tail is very cheap.”
Also helping sentiment Wednesday was a rally in regional banks after Western Alliance Bancorp reported growth in deposits, easing worries about the health of the industry.
Target Corp. stood by its annual outlook after posting higher-than-expected profit in the first quarter, even as “softening sales trends” threaten to crimp short-term results.
Key events this week:
* US initial jobless claims, Conference Board leading index, existing home sales, Thursday
* Japan CPI, Friday
* ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in panel at Brazil central bank conference, Friday
* New York Fed’s John Williams speaks at monetary policy research conference in Washington; Fed Chair Jerome Powell and former chair Ben Bernanke to take part in panel discussion, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0840
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2493
* The Japanese yen fell 0.9% to 137.60 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.7% to $27,405.7
* Ether rose 0.5% to $1,830.52
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 3.58%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.34%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.84%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.7% to $72.74 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,986.40 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Cecile Gutscher.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
‘Tis known by the name of perseverance in a good cause – and of obstinacy in a bad one. –Laurence Sterne, 1713-1768.

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