Month: August 2023

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.
August 17, 1908: The first successful flight of the Wright bothers’ aircraft takes place, marking a significant milestone in aviation history.
On Aug. 17, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded near Bethel, N.Y. Go to article >>
1863: Fort Sumter siege began.

Davy Crockett, b. 1786.
Mae West, b. 1898.
Robet de Niro, b. 1943
Sean Penn, b. 1960.

‘Barbie’ tops ‘The Dark Knight’ to become Warner Bros.’ biggest movie ever at American box office.   Warner Bros. Discovery, which also owns CNN, announced that “Barbie” has made over $537 million at the US box office. The former title holder, the 2008 Batman film “The Dark Knight,” amassed $536 million.

London police investigating alleged theft of artifacts at British Museum.   A former employee at the museum has been dismissed for allegedly stealing gold jewelry and other artifacts, some dating back to the 15th century BC.

A new snake species has been named after Harrison Ford.  The snake’s scientific name, Tachymenoides harrisonfordi, was intended to be a fun play on Indiana Jones’ hatred for the scaly creatures.

13 billion-year-old ‘Maisie’s galaxy’ is one of the oldest objects in the universe, James Webb telescope reveals
Born less than 400 million years after the Big Bang, Maisie’s galaxy is officially one of the four oldest galaxies ever discovered. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Shanghai, China
A rainbow appears in the sky above buildings at Lujiazui Financial District.  Photograph: VCG/Getty Images

Teahupoo, Tahiti
Caroline Marks of the United States surfs in Heat 2 of the Quarterfinals at the Shiseido Tahiti Pro.  Photograph: Matt Dunbar/World Surf League/Getty Images

Toronto, Canada
People visit Illumi light installations with their dogs in the Mississauga area.  Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Market Closes for August 17^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	34474.83	-290.91
		-0.84%
S&P 500	4370.36	-33.97
		-0.77%
NASDAQ	13316.93	-157.70
		-1.17%
TSX	19812.23	-86.84
		-0.44%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	31626.00	-140.82
		-0.44%
HANG SENG	18326.63	-2.67
		-0.01%
SENSEX	65151.02	-388.40
		-0.59%
FTSE 100*	7310.21	-46.67
		-0.63%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.768	3.778
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.584	3.615
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2741	4.2662
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3858	4.3596

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7386	0.7390
US $	1.3540	1.3532

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4716	0.6795
US $	1.0869	0.9201

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1904.20	1903.85
Oil
WTI Crude Future	80.39	79.38

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1912: John Marks Templeton was born in Winchester, Tenn., to Vella Handly and Harvey Maxwell Templeton, a lawyer and cotton-gin operator. He went on to start the Templeton Growth Fund and invent the disclipline of global investing.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the fourth day, dropping 0.4%, or 86.84 to 19,812.23 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since July 6.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.8%.
Bombardier Inc. had the largest drop, falling 6.7%.
Today, 150 of 227 shares fell, while 72 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 2.9%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended March 10
* The index declined 1.8% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 1.6% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.9% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 10.8% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.6% in the past 5 days and fell 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 14 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 fell to 10.83% compared with 11.63% in the previous session and the average of 10.54% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -48.3415| -0.8| 3/26
Information Technology | -37.5725| -2.6| 0/11
Industrials | -20.1538| -0.7| 4/22
Consumer Discretionary | -7.8442| -1.1| 4/10
Communication Services | -7.1198| -0.9| 0/5
Real Estate | -3.0919| -0.6| 4/16
Utilities | -1.7221| -0.2| 6/10
Materials | -1.1837| -0.1| 18/28
Health Care | -0.2606| -0.4| 1/3
Consumer Staples | 3.3181| 0.4| 1/10
Energy | 37.1160| 1.1| 31/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | -23.9300| -3.8| -2.2| 53.3
Brookfield Corp | -10.0700| -2.2| -24.2| 3.4
RBC | -9.0520| -0.8| -35.3| -3.8
Couche-Tard | 6.6110| 1.8| 47.1| 17.4
Canadian Natural Resources | 7.7510| 1.3| 101.1| 8.9
Suncor Energy | 9.9000| 2.5| 16.0| 2.9
US
By Cristin Flanagan and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — US stocks fell for third day straight as a global bond market selloff intensified and tamped down enthusiasm for growth-oriented tech giants.
The Nasdaq 100 fell 3.2%, its worst three-day slide since February.
Investors are losing faith that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates after minutes from the last meeting suggested officials are considering tighter policy.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose by as much as 8 basis points to 4.33% on Thursday, approaching the highest level since 2007.
Data from before the New York market opened showed the labor market remains healthy, doing little to change the narrative.
“This week’s data hasn’t given them any reason to let their guard down,” said Mike Loewengart at Morgan Stanley Global Investment Office. “With housing starts, retail sales, and jobless claims all reinforcing the picture of a robust economy, another rate hike can’t be ruled out, even if the Fed remains on hold next month.”
Wall Street’s fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index or VIX, touched 18 for the first time in seven sessions.
The VIX hasn’t reached above 30 — a level considered a sign of heightened volatility — since a series of bank failures rocked the market in March.
Investors will soon be turning to next week’s gathering of policy makers at Jackson Hole in Wyoming to gauge Fed sentiment.

The moves across bond markets have been sharp and swift this week.
Treasuries have been a key driver of the global debt selloff as resilience of the world’s largest economy defies expectations that a run of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes would spark a recession.
“Our baseline is the Fed will not likely alter rates at the next meeting but the following meeting decision is yet to be determined,” Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, wrote. “Treasury yields are hitting new highs as investors reset expectations about long-term inflation.”
In the UK, the surge in gilt yields comes after sticky inflation and strong wage data boosted investor bets that the Bank of England will need to raise interest rates further to 6% and keep them high for longer. Japan’s 20-year bond yield surged after a debt auction drew tepid investor demand.
China also continued to weigh on sentiment.
The picture emerging from property agents and private data providers suggest the slump in the real estate market may be worse than official reports show.
China ramped up its efforts to stem losses in its currency on Thursday by offering the most forceful guidance since October through its daily reference rate for the managed currency.
Authorities told state-owned banks to step up intervention in the currency market this week, in a push to prevent a surge in yuan volatility, according to people familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, the dollar took a breather from a five-day climb while the pound continued to outperform.
Crude halted a three-day drop while gold edged up after closing below $1,900 an ounce for the first time since March. 

Key events this week:
* Eurozone CPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.8% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.0871
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2745
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 145.77 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 3.7% to $27,872.76
* Ether fell 3.9% to $1,736.64
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.29%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 2.71%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 10 basis points to 4.75%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $80.06 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,919.30 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee, Alex Nicholson, Richard Henderson and Alice Gledhill.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
One has to observe a man for oneself, as closely as possible before one can judge him.-Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1821-1881.

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:

August 16, 1988: IBM introduces software for artificial intelligence.
Madonna, b. 1958.
Elvis Presley, d. 1977.
Babe Ruth, d. 1948.

Ancient and iconic: These trees are competing for ‘Tree of the Year’.  Voting is open to the public this month and through Sep-timber. 
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

England’s Lionesses celebrate their semi-final victory over Australia. Photograph: Naomi Baker/The FA/Getty Images

A 12.5 metre-high sculpture of Emperor Wu of Han in Guazhou, Gansu Province, China Photograph: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Tahiti, French Polynesia
The US surfer Kelly Slater jumps into the water at Teahupo’o during the World Surf League Shiseido Tahiti pro-surfing event.  Photograph: AFP/Getty.
Market Closes for August 16^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	34765.74	-180.65
		-0.52%
S&P 500	4404.33	-33.53
		-0.76%
NASDAQ	13474.63	-156.42
		-1.15%
TSX	19899.07	-0.72
		—

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	31766.82	-472.07
		-1.46%
HANG SENG	18329.30	-251.81
		-1.36%
SENSEX	65539.42	+137.50
		+0.21%
FTSE 100*	7356.88	-32.76
		-0.44%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.778	3.749
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.615	3.587
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2662	4.2130
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3596	4.3145

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7390	0.7407
US $	1.3532	1.3501

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4723	0.6792
US $	1.0877	0.9194

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1903.85	1903.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	79.38	80.99

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1922: The nation’s first commercial broadcaster launched. AT&T kicked off the New York City radio station WEAF, which charged $50 for a 10-minute block of air.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 19,899.07 in Toronto.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 0.5%.
Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 5.5%.
Today, 124 of 227 shares fell, while 102 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* The index declined 1.8% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 1.6% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.5% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 11.3% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.9% in the past 5 days and fell 1.8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13 on a trailing basis and 14.1 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 fell to 11.63% compared with 11.71% in the previous session and the average of 10.53% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -15.1424| -0.7| 14/36
Financials | -13.6707| -0.2| 12/17
Communication Services | -1.7841| -0.2| 0/5
Real Estate | -0.9864| -0.2| 11/10
Health Care | 1.0891| 1.8| 4/0
Consumer Discretionary | 1.3666| 0.2| 6/8
Consumer Staples | 3.0418| 0.4| 9/2
Utilities | 3.8639| 0.5| 10/5
Industrials | 4.3259| 0.2| 11/15
Information Technology | 5.8519| 0.4| 6/5
Energy | 11.3321| 0.3| 19/21
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | -6.0350| -0.5| -36.4| -3.0
Agnico Eagle Mines | -3.8730| -1.8| 1.8| -11.6
Wheaton Precious Metals | -3.5460| -2.0| -9.3| 6.2
CAE | 3.1380| 4.5| 123.6| 24.9
Constellation Software | 4.6700| 1.3| 77.1| 30.6
Suncor Energy | 10.9100| 2.8| 0.1| 0.3
US
By Isabelle Lee and Cristin Flanagan
(Bloomberg) — Pressure on US equities and Treasuries ramped up in the final minutes of Wednesday’s session as traders digested hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials at their last meeting.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.8%, slumping for the second day in a row, amid concerns the central bank would continue to raise interest rates.
The Nasdaq 100 slid 2.2% over a two-day losing streak as tech behemoths including Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. along with Tesla Inc. dragged on the equities benchmarks.
“The Fed has no choice but to keep it up until they are convinced that inflationary expectations are quashed,” Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, said after the minutes from the central bank’s July meeting were released.  “Doing otherwise risks some of the embers reigniting. Even though two governors favored keeping rates steady in July, it is important to keep in mind that a pause is not a pivot.”
Technical factors are also behind the stock market’s recent dips.
The S&P 500 closed below its average price over the last 50 days for a second day after a wave of trading in zero-day options helped push the index below the trendline for the first time since March at the tail-end of the prior session.
US Treasury yields turned higher in the afternoon session with the 10-year approaching 4.3%.
Earlier this week, yields on the benchmark bond approached levels last reached in October.
Yield on the policy sensitive two-year closed in on 5%.
“The FOMC minutes reiterated many of the core themes that Powell delivered at the July press conference,” Ben Jeffery, a strategist at BMO Capital Markets wrote. “There was nothing here to derail our assumption that September will be another ‘skip,’ although another hike in November or December is firmly on the table if the data warrants.”
Among currencies, the pound led Group-of-10 peers after UK inflation topped expectations.
Meanwhile, China’s economic woes remain in the spotlight, despite a slew of stimulus steps by authorities.
The onshore yuan sank against the dollar while the yen fell to a level that triggered Japan’s intervention in September.
China’s central bank moved to boost fragile sentiment with a stronger-than-expected reference rate for the yuan and the largest injection of short term cash to the financial system since February.
So far the steps have failed to restore optimism.
Still, markets are not yet fully reflecting the risks from China’s deteriorating fundamentals, according to Tiffany Wilding, an economist and managing director at Pacific Investment Management Co.
“Given the usual lags, deflationary spillovers have likely only just begun to impact global consumer markets,” Wilding wrote in a note to clients. “Discounting likely to accelerate over the coming quarters.”
Hot wage figures and US retail statistics had rattled markets on Tuesday, spurring bets tight central bank policy will be in place for longer.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari warned that inflation was “still too high.”
Corporate Highlights:
* London-listed BAE Systems Plc is in talks on a possible acquisition of Ball Corp.’s aerospace division, people with knowledge of the matter said.
* Intel Corp.’s $5.4 billion deal with Israel’s Tower Semiconductor Ltd. collapses after failing to win Chinese regulatory approval in time.
* Energy Transfer LP will buy Crestwood Equity Partners LP in a $7.1 billion all-equity deal allowing Energy Transfer to expand its US pipeline network.
* Target Corp. climbs after a surprising profit surge in the second quarter overshadows the company’s increasingly cautious outlook on the rest of the year.

Key events this week
* US initial jobless claims, US Conf. Board leading index, Thursday
* Eurozone CPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.8% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.9%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0875
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2720
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 146.36 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $29,073.57
* Ether fell 0.5% to $1,819.2
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 4.27%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.65%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.65%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $79.17 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.7% to $1,922.40 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Lu Wang and Alex Nicholson.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years there’d be a shortage of sand. -Milton Friedman, 1912-2006.

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:
August 15, 1947: India gains independence from British rule, marking the end of centuries of colonialism and the birth of a new nation.

2001: Astronomers announced the discovery of the first solar system outside our own – two planets orbiting a star in the Big Dipper.  Go to article >>

Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor, b. 1769.
T.E. Lawrence, writer, b. 1888.
Julia Child, b. 1912.

Women’s World Cup: Spain secures spot in World Cup final
Three teams remain standing in the Women’s World Cup after Spain defeated Sweden today in an exhilarating semifinal match. Spain now faces either Australia or England in Sunday’s final.

Belgian university launches literary course to analyze Taylor Swift lyrics
A Belgian university is offering a “Swifterature” course dedicated to analyzing the literary merit of Taylor Swift’s discography.

The ‘Lunar Codex’ aims to bring human art to the moon
Physicist and artist Samuel Peralta is aiming to expand on the moon’s art collection by sending up tens of thousands of works from around the world

2,000-year-old gold treasure from Iron Age tribe unearthed by metal detectorists in Wales
It is the first time that Iron Age currency has been found in the country. Read More.

Gene therapy injection into the brain causes alcohol use disorder to stop – in monkeys
A small, proof-of-concept study reveals the potential of a one-off gene therapy to treat people with alcohol use disorder. Read More.

The largest asteroid impact crater on Earth is lurking beneath Australia, new evidence suggests
Geophysical evidence suggests there is a massive, magnetized structure deep beneath Australia. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Swimming Pool by Seunggu Kim
Swimming Pool Riverside Park in Seoul, where tight construction and leisure coexist. This collective leisure implicitly shows Korean society by revealing fast-paced lifestyle and community-based trust.

Lairg, Scotland
Sheep farmers gather at Lairg auction for the great sale of lamb. Renowned as one of the biggest one-day livestock markets in Europe, the annual lamb sale returns to Sutherland’s Lairg market, where 15,000 sheep from the northern Highlands come together for auction.  Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Salvation by overall winner International Portrait Photographer of the Year 2023, Forough Yavari of Australia. Born in Iran during the Iranian revolution, her work focuses on the narrative behind the lives of women. Photograph: Forough Yavaori.
Market Closes for August 15^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	34946.39	-361.24
		-1.02%
S&P 500	4437.86	-51.86
		-1.16%
NASDAQ	13631.05	-157.28
		-1.14%
TSX	19899.79	-390.75
		-1.93%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	32238.89	+178.98
		+0.56%
HANG SENG	18581.11	-192.44
		-1.03%
SENSEX	65401.92	+79.27
		+0.12%
FTSE 100*	7389.64	-117.51
		-1.57%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.749	3.691
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.587	3.539
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2130	4.1913
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3145	4.2888

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7407	0.7428
US $	1.3501	1.3463

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4721	0.6793
US $	1.0903	0.9172

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1903.75	1915.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	80.99	82.51

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a 90-day freeze on wages and prices in an attempt to slow inflation, then running at an annual rate of about 4.5%. Within three years, inflation had accelerated to a record 12.2%.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 1.9%, or 390.75 to 19,899.79 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 2% on Oct. 11.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as all sectors lost; 209 of 227 shares fell, while 17 rose.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.2%.
Hudbay Minerals Inc. had the largest drop, falling 7.7%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss three times. The next day, it declined after all three occasions
* The index declined 1.4% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 2.5% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.5% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 11.3% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.5% in the past 5 days and fell 1.8% 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 14.1 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$3.21t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.71% compared with 10.16% in the previous session and the average of 10.48% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -122.2753| -1.9| 3/26
Materials | -81.2191| -3.4| 1/49
Energy | -74.0926| -2.1| 0/39
Industrials | -45.9785| -1.6| 3/23
Information Technology| -16.6138| -1.1| 2/9
Communication Services| -13.4494| -1.7| 1/4
Utilities | -11.3952| -1.3| 1/15
Consumer Staples | -10.9842| -1.3| 1/10
Consumer Discretionary| -8.1245| -1.1| 3/11
Real Estate | -5.6315| -1.2| 2/19
Health Care | -1.0005| -1.6| 0/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | -27.5500| -2.2| -36.5| -2.6
TD Bank | -20.5000| -1.9| -12.6| -3.9
Canadian Natural Resources | -18.6500| -2.9| 30.2| 7.4
Cargo jet | 0.3800| 3.2| 62.1| -11.1
Quebecor | 0.3990| 1.1| 39.8| 11.1
Fairfax Financial | 0.4570| 0.3| -22.5| 41.3
US
By Emily Graffeo and Isabelle Lee
(Bloomberg) — The drop in US stocks deepened in the final hour of Tuesday trading amid signs the Federal Reserve’s fight with inflation was not yet done.
Shorter-dated US bonds gained as investors bought the dip.
The S&P 500 Index’s 1.2% drop sent the equities gauge below its average price over the last 50 days for the first time in more than three months, halting a streak of momentum that was by this measure the longest since September 2020.
“In the near-term, dips below 4450 can be bought while rallies up to 4550 should be faded,” Adam Crisafulli, analyst at Vital Knowledge, wrote of the benchmark’s drop. “The inability of the SPX over the course of several weeks to set new highs has steadily eroded psychology.”
US stocks sank after retail sales rose more than forecast, suggesting the economy can support higher rates and potentially dissuade decision makers from a policy pivot.
Financials weighed on the S&P 500 benchmark after a warning from Fitch that the ratings firm may downgrade larger lenders like JPMorgan Chase or Bank of America Corp., while Discover Financial Services was the worst performer after its chief executive officer resigned.
“The most recent data — retail sales — shows the economy is still hanging in pretty well,” Rhys Williams, chief strategist at Spouting Rock Asset Management, said by phone. “Clearly the economy is better than anybody expected six months ago.”
Williams is skeptical that inflation can be brought down, and remain at, the central bank’s 2% target rate this year.
Fed officials are also sounding a cautious note.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said at a conference Tuesday that while inflation has been coming down, “it’s still too high.”
In earnings, Home Depot Inc. beat the average analyst estimate, suggesting that US home improvement spending is performing slightly better than expected following an unprecedented boom during the pandemic.
More insight into the state of the consumer will come later this week when Target Corp. and Walmart Inc. are set to report.
Investors are growing wary that consumer-facing companies will be able to maintain their pricing power for much longer as the lagged effects of the Fed’s policy tightening take hold.
“Eventually — and I think we’ll see some of that now — those margins get eaten away,” Bob Doll, chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments, told Bloomberg Television. “Because companies can only raise prices so far, and you’re already seeing consumers begin to make noise and balk and stop buying some things.”
“We’ve been — since the first of the year — saying recession starts sometime between Labor Day and the end of the year,” he added. Doll is sticking with that prediction though he expects it to be a mild downturn.
Shorter-dated US Treasuries went higher as buyers stepped in amid a global bond selloff.
Options traders have been recalibrating bets to accommodate the possibility that interest rates and inflation will stay high for longer.
Yields on the 10-year reached 4.27%, the highest since October before paring gains while the two-year dipped after moving above 5%.

Investors are navigating a hawkish Federal Reserve, a slowdown in China and flare-ups across emerging markets after a record first half in stock markets.
A devaluation in Argentina and Russia’s emergency rate hike on Tuesday to stem the ruble’s slide added to the risk-off sentiment.

Still, Bank of America’s latest global survey of fund managers found investors the least pessimistic on stocks since February of last year, before the Fed began one of the most aggressive tightening cycles in decades.
They increasingly expect no recession at all within the next 18 months, and a “soft landing” in the next 12 months remains the base case, BofA strategists led by Michael Hartnett wrote in a note.
Crude futures dropped to the lowest in a week as the prospect of a slowing economy in China weighed on sentiment.
In currencies, the British pound was the best performer in the Group of 10 as investors weighed the prospect of an outsized interest-rate hike after wage growth accelerated to the strongest pace on record.
The focus later this week will be on UK inflation data due Wednesday, followed by minutes from the Fed’s July policy meeting, as traders seek clues on central banks’ next moves. 
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%
* The MSCI World index fell 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0904
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2702
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 145.55 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $29,145.5
* Ether fell 0.9% to $1,825.93
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.21%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.67%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.59%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.9% to $80.96 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,934.30 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Lu Wang, Cecile Gutscher, Michael Mackenzie, Sagarika Jaisinghani and Tassia Sipahutar.
Have a  lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Compassion is the basis for all morality. –Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860.

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.

On Aug. 14, 1945, President Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.  Go to article >>
1947: Pakistan gains independence from British rule, becoming an independent nation in the Indian subcontinent.

‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse 2023: How to watch in-person (and virtually)
On Oct. 14, an epic ‘ring of fire’ annular solar eclipse will swoop across North America. Read More

Scientists uncover hidden math that governs genetic mutations
The ability of a gene to keep functioning despite mutations shows a surprising link to fundamental math. Read More

Strange, 300,000-year-old jawbone unearthed in China may come from vanished human lineage
Fragments of a jaw bone unearthed in China have a mosaic of features that are present in both modern and archaic humans. Read More

10 best cuisines in the world.  Feeling hungry? If not, you probably will be after seeing these culinary delights around the globe.

Mysterious question mark spotted by NASA telescope.  A cosmic object in deep space is bewildering some people, but scientists think they know what it might be.

PHOTOS  OF THE DAY

Ratnapura, Sri Lanka
An illuminated aircraft flightpath and the Milky Way were seen in the sky during the Perseid meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle. The meteors are called the Perseids because they appear from the general direction of the constellation Perseus.  Photograph: Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto/Shutterstock.

Kinderdijk, Netherlands
Wild geese silhouetted above a wind pump in South Holland. About a third of the country is below sea level and wind pumps prevent the land from being flooded.  Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Cambridge, UK
Shire horses Bryn and Cosmo from Waldburg Shires stable harvesting the wildflower meadow at King’s College, Cambridge, before turning and carting the hay on a traditional wain. The bales will be used to propagate more wildflower meadows across the city, and the hay offered to local farmers as winter feed for livestock.
Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA
Market Closes for August 14^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35307.63	+26.23
		+0.07%
S&P 500	4489.72	+25.67
		+0.57%
NASDAQ	13788.33	+143.48
		+1.05%
TSX	20290.54	-117.03
		-0.57%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	32059.91	-413.74
		-1.27%
HANG SENG	18773.55	-301.64
		-1.58%
SENSEX	65401.92	+79.27
		+0.12%
FTSE 100*	7507.15	-17.01
		-0.23%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.691	3.641
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.539	3.483
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1913	4.1581
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2888	4.2633

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7428	0.7436
US $	1.3463	1.3448

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4679	0.6812
US $	1.0907	0.9168

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1915.80	1920.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	82.51	83.19

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law, ensuring retirement income for all working Americans. Payroll taxes were set at 1%, for both workers and employers, on the first $3,000 of earnings.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.6% at 20,290.54 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.5% on Aug. 2 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.3%.
Nutrien Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.9%.
NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust had the largest drop, falling 6.9%.
Today, 150 of 227 shares fell, while 75 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 0.5% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 4.1% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.7% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 13.5% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3% in the past 5 days and was little changed 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 14.3 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$3.23t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.16% compared with 10.58% in the previous session and the average of 10.40% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -42.7138| -1.8| 8/42
Energy | -31.6482| -0.9| 9/30
Financials | -25.3837| -0.4| 9/19
Communication Services | -6.6751| -0.8| 0/5
Real Estate | -4.8171| -1.0| 4/17
Industrials | -3.7683| -0.1| 14/12
Utilities | -2.6869| -0.3| 7/9
Consumer Staples | -2.5624| -0.3| 4/7
Consumer Discretionary | -0.8245| -0.1| 7/7
Health Care | 0.8294| 1.4| 4/0
Information Technology | 3.2191| 0.2| 9/2
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Nutrien | -12.1200| -3.9| -39.2| -13.1
Constellation Software | -8.5860| -2.3| 23.7| 30.4
RBC | -6.8140| -0.6| -36.6| -0.3
Thomson Reuters | 1.4680| 0.8| -26.1| 15.9
Waste Connections | 2.1810| 0.6| -29.6| 6.1
Shopify | 9.0670| 1.5| -33.9| 60.3
US
By Vildana Hajric and Isabelle Lee
(Bloomberg) — Tech stocks had their best day in two weeks, helping US equities edge higher in light trading as traders weighed the prospect of a soft landing for the economy.
Treasuries fell.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 1.2% as AI-favorite Nvidia Corp. and other technology giants drove Monday’s advance.
On Friday, the tech-heavy benchmark had notched its longest weekly losing streak this year, the gauge has slid 3.5% in August.
Smaller stocks were under pressure with the Russell 2000 touching the lowest in a month as risk-appetite waned.
August is typically a slow month due to low liquidity and moves in either direction should not be taken seriously, according to Jason Draho, head of asset allocation Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.
“The fundamental outlook for the US economy hasn’t materially changed in the past two weeks,” Draho wrote.  “Investors should take any data point or two and week-to-week market moves with a grain of salt, especially during the summer slowdown.”
Treasury yields wavered before ticking higher as high-grade corporate bond sales weighed on prices.
The policy sensitive two-year extended an advance into the fourth day to 4.96%, while he 10-year traded at 4.19%.
Traders are betting interest rates will outpace inflation for years to come while investors sitting on record first-half gains are having to contend with central bankers warning they are in no rush to cut interest rates.
“Some retracement of the broad market since July 31 suggests to us a pause that refreshes has likely occurred, rather than the end of the bull market,” John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co., wrote in a research note. “We remain of the view based on improving economic and corporate fundamentals that the US economy could actually skirt a recession this cycle.”
Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, takes a dimmer view saying the economy is already in a rolling recession that will hit the services sector next.
“Consumption, profit margins and corporate pricing power are yet to be reset, as the delayed impact of tighter policy should ultimately pressure nominal gains,” she wrote.
Updates from China unnerved markets on Monday amid concerns about Country Garden Holdings Co. and private-wealth manager, Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co. Country Garden, once China’s biggest developer, has emerged as the latest flashpoint of the country’s property woes.
“The more days that go by without a comprehensive fiscal stimulus plan the more clear it becomes there will not be one,” Brad Bechtel, a Jefferies strategist said of China’s central bank. “The big bazooka is not coming.”
Focus later this week will be on minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting as traders seek clues on the central bank’s next move.
Investors who’d bet on a pivot to easier policy this year are having to adjust their bets as officials signal they will keep interest rates higher for longer.
In emerging markets, Argentina’s already-distressed debt sagged after a populist who vowed to burn down the central bank won surprisingly strong support in a primary vote.

The greenback strengthened while the offshore yuan fell to its weakest level since November and the ruble crashed through the level of 100 to the dollar for the first time since March.
In commodities, gold and crude slumped.

Corporate Highlights:
* Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. plunged by a record 34% on concern that its power lines may be linked to the deadly Maui wildfires.
* US Steel Corp. surged 37% after the company rejected a $7.25 billion takeover offer from peer Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and said it will instead start a review of its strategic options.
* Tesla Inc. slipped 1.2%, triggering a selloff for other producers of electric vehicles, after it rolled out a new round of price cuts in China.
* Nikola Corp. plummeted after the manufacturer announced it will recall trucks and temporarily stop sales after several battery fires.
Key events this week:
* China medium-term lending, retail sales, industrial production, fixed-asset investment, FX net settlement, Tuesday
* Japan industrial production, GDP, Tuesday
* UK jobless claims, unemployment, Tuesday
* US retail sales, empire manufacturing, business inventories, cross-border investment, Tuesday
* Reserve Bank of Australia policy minutes, Tuesday
* Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari speaks, Tuesday
* China property prices, Wednesday
* Eurozone industrial production, GDP, Wednesday
* UK CPI, Wednesday
* US FOMC minutes, housing starts, industrial production, Wednesday
* US initial jobless claims, US Conf. Board leading index, Thursday
* Eurozone CPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index was little changed
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.0905
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.2681
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 145.46 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $29,322.86
* Ether fell 0.7% to $1,839.81
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.19%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 2.64%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.57%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.8% to $82.55 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,939.80 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
We all have strength enough to endure the misfortunes of others. –François Duc de La Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680.

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.

August 11, 1786: Captain Francis Light establishes the British  colony of Penang in Malaysia.
1965: Watts Riot, Los Angeles.
1998: British Petroleum purchased Amoco for $49 billion, in what was the largest industrial takeover in history, at that moment in time.  Go to article >>

Alex Haley, writer, b.1921.
‘Wrinkle in space-time’ enables James Webb to capture stunning image of most distant star ever detected
The ancient star Earendel is more than twice as hot as the sun and around a million times brighter. Read More

Mars is spinning faster, and scientists aren’t sure why
Data from NASA’s InSight mission shows that Mars’s rotation is speeding up and its days are growing slightly shorter. Read More

Bizarre ‘demon’ particle found inside superconductor could help unlock a ‘holy grail’ of physics
The transparent, chargeless quasiparticle could shed more light on the underlying mechanics of superconductivity. Read More

‘Quantum superchemistry’ observed for the 1st time ever
A new type of chemistry performed at very cold temperatures on very small particles enables quick, precise reactions. Read More

The world’s largest cruise ship is polarizing opinion.  The Icon of the Seas is provoking strong emotions online. Many travelers are impressed by the ship’s vibrant colors and extraordinary size, but others compared it to “being stuck on a floating Walmart.”

The Emmys have a new date.  TV’s biggest awards event has been postponed to January 2024 in light of the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes in Hollywood.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Bristol, UK
Hot air balloons fly during a mass launch at the annual Balloon Fiesta.  Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters.

Dartford, UK
A woman photographs statues of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who met as teenagers at the town’s train station in 1961 and formed the Rolling Stones a year later.  Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

Lake Ohrid, Albania
Divers search the area after archaeologists from the University of Bern confirmed that the Palafitte settlement of Lin dated back to 5,800-6,000BC, making it the oldest lakeside village in Europe ever discovered. The village is believed to have consisted of houses built on stilts above the lake’s surface or in areas regularly flooded by rising waters.  Photograph: Adnan Beci/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for August 11^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35281.40	+105.25
		+0.30%
S&P 500	4464.05	-4.78
		-0.11%
NASDAQ	13644.85	-93.14
		-0.68%
TSX	20407.64	+64.76
		+0.32%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	32473.65	+269.32
		+0.84%
HANG SENG	19075.19	-173.07
		-0.90%
SENSEX	65322.65	-365.53
		-0.56%
FTSE 100*	7524.16	-94.44
		-1.24%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.641	3.592
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.483	3.478
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1581	4.1036
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2633	4.2528

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7436	0.7435
US $	1.3448	1.3450

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4722	0.6793
US $	1.0948	0.9134

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1920.90	1922.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	83.19	82.82

Market Commentary:

📈 On this day in 1928, while accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Herbert Hoover declared: “We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land. The poorhouse is vanishing from among us.” Unfortunately, just over one year later, the Great Depression arrived.

Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.3%, or 64.76 to 20,407.64 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since Aug. 1.
Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.8%. Altus Group Ltd/Canada had the largest increase, rising 16.1%.
Today, 146 of 227 shares rose, while 75 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.8%
* The index advanced 2.1% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 5.4% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.1% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 14.2% 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 14.4 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$3.22t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.58% compared with 10.62% in the previous session and the average of 10.49% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 34.2762| 1.0| 38/2
Materials | 23.2533| 1.0| 34/14
Industrials | 17.9908| 0.6| 18/7
Financials | 9.5990| 0.2| 21/7
Real Estate | 2.9398| 0.6| 10/10
Consumer Staples | 2.4914| 0.3| 5/6
Health Care | 0.6379| 1.1| 3/0
Communication Services | 0.1775| 0.0| 1/4
Utilities | -5.0405| -0.6| 7/9
Consumer Discretionary | -9.6654| -1.3| 2/12
Information Technology | -11.9656| -0.8| 7/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Enbridge | 5.8110| 0.8| -8.6| -6.7
Franco-Nevada | 5.5340| 2.2| -5.9| 4.0
TD Bank | 5.2540| 0.5| -61.2| -1.6
Canadian Tire | -3.4310| -5.5| 116.5| 10.8
Magna Intl | -4.1160| -2.8| 184.8| 1.2
Shopify | -13.6800| -2.2| -48.9| 58.0
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A renewed slide in tech mega-caps and mixed economic data left stocks struggling to find direction on Friday.
Bond yields rose.
In a choppy trading session, the S&P 500 closed with a small loss.
The Nasdaq 100 notched its longest weekly losing streak this year, hovering near 15,000.
It last closed below that mark in June.
Nvidia Corp. — which has more than tripled in 2023 — extended a four-day decline to almost 10%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a mild gain.
There’s little question the stock market has lost a lot of its upside momentum, according to Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co.
“As we move closer to the usually volatile September/October timeframe, it does seem like the ‘dippers’ are losing some of their strength,” Maley noted. “This does not mean that the stock market will roll over in a serious manner over the next month or two, but it does raise the odds of a correction in the not-too-distant future.”
Earlier Friday, the US equity benchmark came closer to its 50-day moving average, a technical level that could portend further losses if breached during a market decline.
Still, with stocks pressing moderately toward oversold territory on a short-term basis, the path lower wouldn’t be a straight and narrow one, according to Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott.
That means stocks are soon poised to attempt “another oversold rally effort,” he noted.
Bill Gross, the one-time bond king, said stock and Treasury bulls are wrong as both markets are “overvalued.”
The former chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co. told Bloomberg Television that the fair value of the 10-year Treasury yield is about 4.5%, compared with the current level of 4.16%.
Early this month, a key market indicator that has been described as possibly the “most important number in finance” tumbled to its lowest since 2004, worrying investors that it was sending a bearish signal. Yet, history shows that despite the extreme move, the typically ominous sign is instead pointing to more gains.
The plunge in the equity risk premium — which measures the difference between the earnings yield on the S&P 500 and the current rate on 10-year Treasury notes — signal stocks are getting overvalued relative to bonds.
But a Bloomberg Intelligence analysis found that the gauge is now at a level where returns for the S&P 500 historically averaged in high single digits over a 12-month horizon.
Meantime, Friday’s economic reports did little to alter swap market bets that the Federal Reserve will pause its interest-rate hikes next month — with traders continuing to expect the central bank will also refrain from claiming victory over inflation.
Consumer inflation expectations as measured by the University of Michigan unexpectedly fell in early August, despite higher gasoline and grocery costs.
Meantime, producer
prices grew last month by more than expected, primarily due to increases in certain service categories.
Treasuries are on course for a record year of inflows as investors chasing some of the highest yields in months pile into cash and bonds, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists led by Michael Hartnett.
Cash funds attracted $20.5 billion and investors poured $6.9 billion into bonds in the week through August 9, they wrote in a note, citing data from EPFR Global.
Meanwhile, US stocks had their first outflow in three weeks at $1.6 billion.
Elsewhere, UK bond yields climbed on data showing the British economy delivered its strongest quarterly growth in more than a year, a surprising show of resilience that will keep pressure on the Bank of England to raise rates further.
Oil posted its longest streak of weekly gains since mid-2022 as multiple reports forecasting increased demand gave a fresh boost to a rally built on increased supply-disruption risks and extended Saudi production cuts.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0947
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2699
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 144.96 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.2% to $29,362.46
* Ether fell 0.4% to $1,842.1
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 4.17%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced nine basis points to 2.62%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 16 basis points to 4.53%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $83.12 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,945.70 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Rob Verdonck, Richard Henderson, Alex Nicholson and Cecile Gutscher.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.  –Peace Pilgrim, 1908-1981.

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.

August 10, 1675: King Charles II and John Flamsteed lay the foundation stone of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.
1846: Smithsonian Institution established.
1945: Japan surrenders.
2008: American swimmer Michael Phelps won the first of a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics by smashing his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley.  Go to article >>

Herbert Hoover, 31^st President, b. 1874.
Antonio Banderas, actor, b. 1960.

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Eerie ‘fireball’ seen over Australia was actually a Russian rocket in disguise
A Russian rocket body fell back to Earth near southern Australia on Aug. 7, putting on quite a show for observers in the region. Read More.

Crocodiles are drawn to the wails of crying human babies and infant primates.  Crocodiles may be better at picking up on the level of distress in those cries than humans are.
Full Story: Live Science (8/9)

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Hilversum, the Netherlands
Morning mist covering the Westerheide heaths. The heaths are blooming earlier than usual this year.  Photograph: Jeffrey Groeneweg/EPA

New York City, US
A BA Concorde from the Intrepid Museum passes under the Brooklyn Bridge on the way for restoration.  Photograph: Guerin Charles/ABACA/Shutterstock

Qiannan Buyei and Miao, China
Tourists view a winding road in Qinglong county.  Photograph: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Market Closes for August 10^th, 2023

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35176.15	+52.79
		+0.15%
S&P 500	4468.83	+1.12
		+0.03%
NASDAQ	13737.98	+15.96
		+0.12%
TSX	20342.88	+67.61
		+0.33%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	32473.65	+269.32
		+0.84%
HANG SENG	19248.26	+2.23
		+0.01%
SENSEX	65688.18	-307.63
		-0.47%
FTSE 100*	7618.60	+31.30
		+0.41%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.592	3.521
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.478	3.411
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1036	4.0081
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2528	4.1701

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7435	0.7449
US $	1.3450	1.3425

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4767	0.6772
US $	1.0980	0.9107

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1922.75	1926.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	82.82	84.40

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1971, “socially responsible” investing took a step forward. Pax World Fund, the first broadly diversified mutual fund to invest in companies based on social and environmental criteria, was launched in Washington, D.C., by Luther Tyson and Jack Corbett.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.3%, or 67.61 to 20,342.88 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since Aug. 1.
Brookfield Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.1%.
Primo Water Corp. had the largest increase, rising 9.3%.
Today, 113 of 227 shares rose, while 108 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.5%
* The index advanced 2.3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 5.4% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.4% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 13.8% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.6% in the past 5 days and rose 2.6% 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 14.4 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$3.21t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.62% compared with 10.65% in the previous session and the average of 10.53% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 51.8243| 0.8| 22/7
Information Technology | 23.3096| 1.6| 7/4
Consumer Staples | 12.5378| 1.5| 7/3
Communication Services | 7.5721| 1.0| 5/0
Utilities | 3.2601| 0.4| 11/5
Real Estate | 0.7014| 0.1| 12/8
Health Care | -2.1150| -3.4| 1/3
Consumer Discretionary | -3.5022| -0.5| 4/10
Energy | -4.3126| -0.1| 11/27
Materials | -8.9078| -0.4| 20/28
Industrials | -12.7645| -0.5| 13/13
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Brookfield Corp | 22.3400| 5.1| 40.6| 9.0
Shopify | 15.2000| 2.4| -20.5| 61.5
TD Bank | 7.6880| 0.7| -36.2| -2.1
Nutrien | -4.1670| -1.3| -40.8| -9.0
Waste Connections | -5.8770| -1.7| 64.6| 4.8
Canadian National | -6.9690| -1.1| -6.0| -2.7
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks struggled for direction amid bets that even if the Federal Reserve pauses its rate hikes in September, policy will remain tight to prevent a flare-up in inflation.
Treasuries fell.
A renewed jump in longer-term US yields weighed on sentiment after a weak 30-year bond auction.
Wall Street’s risk-on bid also faded as Fed Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly told Yahoo! Finance the central bank still has “more work to do.”
That’s even after data showed the core consumer price index had the smallest back-to-back increase in more than two years.
“The case is building for the Fed to keep policy rates unchanged in September,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. “While inflation is moving in the right direction, the
still-elevated level suggests that the Fed is some distance from cutting rates.”
The S&P 500 closed little changed after a gain that topped 1% earlier Thursday.
Nvidia Corp., which has more than tripled this year, extended a three-day slide.
General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. dropped on growing concern that demands from union leaders could send the automakers’ labor costs soaring.
Walt Disney Co. rallied after saying capital spending and outlays for movies and TV shows are coming in lower than projected.
Treasury 30-year yields climbed after a $23 billion auction was awarded the highest rate since 2011.
Two-year yields, which are more sensitive to imminent Fed moves, reversed an earlier slide.
Benchmark 10-year yields rose about 10 basis points tov4.1%.
The dollar gained.
Oil’s rally, driven by increasing signs of a tightening market, paused as technical barriers stalled further advances.
More on CPI:
* George Mateyo, chief investment officer at Key Private Bank:
“Today’s inflation report was reminiscent of the good old days. The Fed, therefore, might feel as if they’ve ‘stuck the landing’ and can pause as planned and not raise interest rates in September. That said, in our view, the economy continues to be carrying decent momentum, and as was reported last week, wage growth is still robust. So, while a pause is probable, a near-term pivot is not.”
* Greg Wilensky, head of US fixed income at Janus Henderson Investors:
“Overall, we expect to see the Fed keep policy rates unchanged in September, though there is still time and data to come ahead of the next meeting. If economic conditions continue as expected, we believe we have seen the last hike for this cycle. This makes us more constructive on adding interest-rate risk, particularly at the front of curve.”
* Michael Contopoulos, head of fixed income at Richard Bernstein Advisors:
“We still have another CPI print before the next Fed meeting, but I think today’s data in isolation would bolster the case for a skip. The other thing worth highlighting from today’s report is the jump in unemployment claims after a period of strength. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that inflation continues to moderate as the labor market continues to weaken (albeit at a snail’s pace).”
* Callie Cox, US investment analyst at eToro:
“We are far from the inflationary conditions of last year.  Now, the job clearly isn’t done yet. Stubbornly high inflation – even at 3 or 4% – can warp how we think about money. And the chance of a recession is still significant. The Fed has hiked rates aggressively, and we still don’t know what cracks are forming underneath the surface. In this environment, it’s important to stay defensive while respecting the bull market’s momentum.”
* Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate:
“While this report supports the notion of the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady at their September meeting, we’ll need to see more evidence of easing inflation pressures before the Fed is comfortable moving to the sidelines and staying there.”
Key events this week:
* UK industrial production, GDP, Friday
* US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, PPI, 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 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0980
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2676
* The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 144.80 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $29,405.98
* Ether fell 0.2% to $1,847.65
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 10 basis points to 4.10%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.53%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.36%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.8% to $82.84 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,946.10 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Richard Henderson, Alex Nicholson, Cecile Gutscher, Emily Graffeo, Elena Popina, Vildana Hajric and Isabelle Lee.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much;
Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. –William Cowper, 1731-1800.

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 Aug. 9, 1945, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, Japan, instantly killing an estimated 39,000 people. The explosion came three days after the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Go to article >>
August 9, 1965: Singapore separates from the Federation of Malaysia and gains its independence.
1974: Nixon resigns.

Coco Chanel, b. 1883.

How to watch the Perseid meteor shower this weekend.  Meteors will streak across the sky this weekend in one of the year’s most anticipated celestial displays.

What did Cleopatra, Egypt’s last pharaoh, really look like?
“Cleopatra’s skin color has nothing to do with her accomplishments, which are immense.” Read More.

See stunning new photos and videos of the moon as India’s Chandrayaan-3 rover enters lunar orbit
India’s Chandrayaan-3 rover reached lunar orbit on Aug. 5, sharing new photos and videos of the moon ahead of its planned Aug. 23 landing. Read More.

Baby Moby Dick? Rare white humpback whale calf filmed off Australia
A pearly white baby humpback whale has been filmed off the coast of Australia, prompting speculation about whether it is an extraordinarily rare albino whale. Read More.

RIP Robbie Robertson.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Maasai Mara, Kenya
Maasai people perform a traditional dance during the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples at Sekenani camp.  Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Hangzhou, China
Tourists visit the 1,000-year-old Huantan Village, which has retained many of its buildings from the Qing dynasty.  Photograph: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

​​​​​​​Frankfurt, Germany
A flock of birds fly in front of the buildings of the banking district.  Photograph: Michael Probst/AP
Market Closes for August 9^th, 2023,

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35123.36	-191.13
		-0.54%
S&P 500	4467.71	-31.67
		-0.70%
NASDAQ	13722.02	-162.30
		-1.17%
TSX	20275.27	-69.29
		-0.34%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	32204.33	-172.96
		-0.53%
HANG SENG	19246.03	+61.86
		+0.32%
SENSEX	65995.81	+149.31
		+0.23%
FTSE 100*	7587.30	+59.88
		+0.80%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.521	3.504
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.411	3.415
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.0081	4.0200
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.1701	4.2047

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7449	0.7450
US $	1.3425	1.3423

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4733	0.6787
US $	1.0975	0.9112

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1926.40	1931.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future	84.40	82.92

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1995, the internet stock sector was born with a bang as 16-month-old Netscape Communications went public on the Nasdaq after selling stock at $28 a share. Lead underwriter Morgan Stanley had to raise the stock’s opening price to $71 before trading could begin.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.3% at 20,275.27 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since Aug. 1 after the previous session’s decrease of 0.1%.
Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.4%.
CAE Inc. had the largest increase, rising 8.0%.
Today, 116 of 227 shares rose, while 106 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 3.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.8% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.7% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 13.4% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.3% in the past 5 days and rose 2.2% 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 14.3 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$3.2t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.65% compared with 10.80% in the previous session and the average of 10.53% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 37.3842| 1.1| 26/14
Industrials | 24.7380| 0.9| 13/13
Materials | 12.7847| 0.5| 23/26
Communication Services | 10.6377| 1.4| 3/2
Utilities | 7.2152| 0.8| 13/3
Consumer Staples | 7.2121| 0.9| 10/1
Health Care | -1.8412| -2.9| 0/4
Real Estate | -1.9343| -0.4| 9/11
Information Technology | -5.3721| -0.4| 5/6
Consumer Discretionary | -7.9389| -1.0| 3/10
Financials | -13.5942| -0.2| 11/16
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Enbridge | 9.6380| 1.4| -51.2| -7.5
Suncor Energy | 7.9750| 2.1| 45.6| -0.8
Nutrien | 7.6390| 2.5| -46.6| -7.8
CIBC | -3.8310| -1.1| -22.4| 1.9
Nuvei | -7.1140| -39.4| 959.6| -29.4
Shopify | -10.2400| -1.6| -23.4| 57.6
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A slide in big tech and higher energy prices weighed on Wall Street sentiment ahead of inflation data that will help shape the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s next steps.
After briefly wiping out its losses, the S&P 500 finished near session lows.
The Nasdaq 100 dropped 1%.
Nvidia Corp., which has more than tripled this year amid the artificial-intelligence frenzy, slipped almost 5%.
Giants Tesla Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. were all down.
A 28% surge in European natural gas and an advance in oil to a nine-month high added to concern about further price pressures.
“Markets are vulnerable to a period of consolidation,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. “This is not uncommon during the seasonally weak August and September period, though the fundamental strength in economic and earnings data supports higher markets once we emerge from the malaise.”
Thursday’s consumer price index will show a wave of disinflation, but with oil prices rising, headline figures are likely to increase sharply in August, according to Anna Wong at Bloomberg Economics.
Still, unless inflation expectations climb substantially, policymakers will remain focused on the core numbers — which should keep moderating as growth slows, she noted.
“Risk-on” expectations for Thursday’s consumer price index have cooled relative to the last couple of reports, according to a survey conducted by 22V Research.
Investors aren’t “risk-off,” but are more ambivalent following a string of good releases.
The strong wage data from Friday’s employment data has likely gotten attention, the firm noted.
Even if inflation overshoots expectations, the Fed will likely feel its policy is restrictive enough as manufacturing struggles and the jobs market shows signs of softening, according to Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at City Index and Forex.com.
That means a “small beat” wouldn’t matter too much, he noted.
“A goldilocks outlook in the US is what stock market investors on Wall Street have been enjoying this year – until the recent weakness,” Razaqzada added. “They will be looking for signs that the health and sentiment of the consumer remains positive, enough not increase the risks of a further Fed rate increase, and yet not too depressing to raise recession alarm bells.  Somewhere in between could support stocks.”
Meantime, bond investors wanted the newest Treasury 10-year notes badly enough that they were willing to settle for a yield of less than 4%.
The $38 billion auction was awarded at 3.999%, becoming the third straight 10-year new issue to pay a fixed rate of less than 4%.
Since the auction details were announced on Aug. 2, its bigger-than-anticipated size pushed the yield on the new 10-year in pre-sale trading up toward 4.19% on Friday.
Ultimately, investors decided they could live on less.

Corporate Highlights:
* Roblox Corp. fell after reporting that people were spending less time playing its games in the second quarter and missing Wall Street’s estimates.
* Lyft Inc. retreated after the company reported its slowest revenue growth in two years, overshadowing a better-than-expected outlook for earnings, as the company struggles to get its ridership back on track.
* Rivian Automotive Inc. dropped as it expects heavy losses to continue as it boosts production plans for the year and works to reestablish itself as a rising player in the increasingly crowded electric-vehicle market.
* WeWork Inc. declined after saying there’s “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operating. The company cited sustained losses and canceled memberships to its office spaces.
* Penn Entertainment Inc. rose after Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN has signed a long-term exclusive agreement with the casino operator, licensing its brand for sports betting and deepening the media giant’s ties to the growing online gambling business.
** DraftKings Inc. and Flutter Entertainment Plc fell on concern the deal will increase competition in the sport-betting industry.
Key events this week:
* India rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, CPI, Thursday
* Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic pre-recorded remarks for employment webinar, Thursday
* UK industrial production, GDP, Friday
* US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, PPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0975
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2722
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 143.69 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2% to $29,392.4
* Ether fell 0.9% to $1,847.15
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.00%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.50%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.36%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.7% to $84.30 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.6% to $1,949 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Brett Miller, Richard Henderson and Cecile Gutscher.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Never confuse a single failure with a final defeat. –F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896-1940.

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:
August 8, 1815: Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena, in the South Atlantic, to spend the remainder of his days in exile.  Go to article >>
1963: The Great Train Robbery, one of the most famous heists in history, takes place in England, with thieves stealing millions of pounds.

Roger Federer, tennis player, b.1981.
Dustin Hoffman, actor, b. 1937.

Room-temperature superconductors: The facts behind the ‘holy grail’ of physics
Claims of a room-temperature superconductor went viral last week. Here’s everything we know. Read More.

Mysterious waves of magnetism may explain why the sun’s atmosphere is hotter than physicists thought possible
The sun’s corona is 200 times hotter than its surface, defying models of stellar bodies. Read More.

19 ‘mass extinctions’ had CO2 levels we’re now veering towards, study warns
50 events over the last 534 million years can be considered mass extinctions. Read More.

Ancient Roman boat from empire’s frontier unearthed in Serbian coal mine
Coal miners found the remains of a Roman boat that likely supplied an ancient frontier city and military headquarters. Read More.

Star-size black hole is emitting radio signals that scientists can’t explain
Superfast changes to the intensity of a jet blasting out from a small black hole have been detected for the first time.
Full Story: Live Science (8/4)
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Barishal, Bangladesh
Beautiful floating Guava Market of Swarupkathi of Pirojpur . There are hundreds of boats filled with guava and all the trades occur on boats.  Photograph: Mustasinur Rahman Alvi/Shutterstock

Løkken, Denmark
Water engulfs cabins along the North Sea beach after strong winds and an increase in the water level.  Photograph: Ritzau Scanpix/Reuters

Epidavros, Greece
Snorkellers explore the ancient Sunken City. The landmark is a small settlement thought to have been a trading post in ancient times that lays submerged, about 50 metres from the coast.  Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for August 8^th, 2023,

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35314.49	-158.64
		-0.45%
S&P 500	4499.38	-19.06
		-0.42%
NASDAQ	13884.32	-110.08
		-0.79%
TSX	20209.48	-26.56
		-0.13%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	32377.29	+122.73
		+0.38%
HANG SENG	19184.17	-353.75
		-1.81%
SENSEX	65846.50	-106.98
		-0.16%
FTSE 100*	7527.42	-27.07
		-0.36%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.504	3.548
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.415	3.449
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.0200	4.0338
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2047	4.2007

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7450	0.7476
US $	1.3423	1.3376

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4706	0.6800
US $	1.0955	0.9128

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1931.70	1935.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	82.92	82.82

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1896: The Dow Jones Industrial Average, less than three months old, hit the lowest level ever recorded: 28.48, down 30.5% in just 10 weeks.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.1% at 20,205.98 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.6%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.8%.
Pet Valu Holdings Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 10.0%.
Today, 122 of 227 shares fell, while 101 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.9% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.1% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 13.1% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2% in the past 5 days and rose 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 14.2 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$3.2t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.80% compared with 11.00% in the previous session and the average of 10.52% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -30.6331| -0.5| 16/12
Information Technology | -17.6230| -1.2| 4/7
Materials | -11.5129| -0.5| 8/42
Industrials | -2.6358| -0.1| 11/15
Communication Services | -2.3060| -0.3| 3/2
Consumer Discretionary | -1.7729| -0.2| 3/9
Real Estate | -1.1469| -0.2| 7/13
Utilities | -0.9196| -0.1| 8/8
Health Care | 3.9160| 6.5| 2/2
Consumer Staples | 6.2915| 0.8| 5/6
Energy | 28.2767| 0.8| 34/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | -18.3900| -2.8| -8.0| 60.2
TD Bank | -12.5600| -1.1| 6.3| -2.6
RBC | -7.4950| -0.6| -35.5| 0.1
Nutrien | 4.5140| 1.5| -46.1| -10.0
Suncor Energy | 5.9580| 1.6| 136.8| -2.8
Couche-Tard | 6.5580| 1.9| 58.6| 13.0
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks finished off session lows as dip buyers swooped in, following a slide driven by worries about the financial system and the economy.
The S&P 500 trimmed most of decline that topped 1%.
Apple Inc. halted its longest losing streak this year.
Eli Lilly & Co. led gains in health-care companies after sales of its weight-
loss treatment blew past expectations and a new study raised the
prospect that its drug could benefit heart disease as well.
Banks fell as Moody’s Investors Service downgraded 10 small and midsize American lenders and said it may do the same with a handful of major firms.
Treasury 10-year yields dropped to around 4%.
Before the week is over, the bond market will have to digest the biggest round of refunding auctions since last year.
Tuesday’s $42 billion sale of three-year notes produced a lower-than-expected yield, a sign that demand was stronger than anticipated.
The dollar rose.
Oil rebounded after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country would retaliate if Russia continues to block its ports.
The recent “orderly” pullback in US stocks has reduced the risk of a chaotic selloff and reduced some of the short-term positioning risk that has been a worry for investors in recent weeks, Citigroup Inc. strategists said.
“This puts markets in a good set-up to make new gains or weather negative news/shocks in the coming weeks,” strategist Chris Montagu added.
Meantime, Deutsche Bank AG’s Bankim Chadha noted that while he’s sticking with his call for the S&P 500 to close the year around 4,500 — roughly where it currently is — he expects the gauge to push on toward 5,000 if the Federal Reserve can bring
inflation down without triggering a recession.
Just a few days before a key inflation report, investors also waded through remarks from central bank officials.
Fed Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said the central bank may be able to cease rate hikes, barring any surprises in the economy, though rates would need to stay at their current elevated levels for some time.
Harker also noted that “sometime probably next year, we’ll start to bring the interest rates down.”
His Richmond counterpart Thomas Barkin argued it was too soon to say whether another an increase in September would be appropriate.
To David Spika at GuideStone Capital Management, the restrictive policy imposed by the Fed will lead to economic weakness and a correction in equities.
He noted that the market remains at a valuation “that just doesn’t make sense relative to where we are.”
We’re “in between the inflation spikes and the Fed hikes, but also waiting for the economy and profits to sour,” Meera Pandit at JPMorgan Asset Management told Bloomberg Television.
“So I don’t know that there is a whole lot of upside catalyst in a world where profits are just better than feared, we need to see some more out of the profits landscape in order to get some more upside out of stocks that have already rallied really hard.”
In fact, some traders cited the fact that the equity market is also pulling back after a rally that drove the S&P 500 up almost 20% this year.
Sentiment recently hit the highest levels since the start of the year — a short-term bearish sign that has historically signaled a mild decline stocks.
The Bloomberg Intelligence Market Pulse Index, which acts as a contrarian signal, pushed into manic territory in July following three consecutive months in a neutral range.
It’s a rare sign that has typically delivered weaker US equity returns over the next three months, with small caps underperforming their larger counterparts, data compiled by BI show.
“We still believe that stocks in general are prone to pullbacks in the magnitude of 5%-10% off the recent highs as we move through the second half of 2023,” said Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott. “Selling pressures will continually push the charts into oversold territory frequently, so be on alert for potentially powerful counter-trend moves in sessions ahead.”

Corporate Highlights:
* United Parcel Service Inc. lowered its full-year profit forecast and revealed plans to cut management jobs as the courier contends with shifting consumer habits and rising costs after a tentative labor agreement.
* Nvidia Corp. announced an updated AI processor that gives a jolt to the chip’s capacity and speed, seeking to cement the company’s dominance in a burgeoning market.
* Palantir Technologies Inc., the software maker that has for years sold artificial intelligence-powered programs to governments, fell after issuing a sales forecast that disappointed Wall Street.
* Dish Network Corp. is proposing to buy EchoStar Corp., the satellite network operator it once owned, in an all-stock deal as billionaire Charlie Ergen works to shift his struggling legacy pay-TV business empire toward a future in wireless communications.
* Robinhood Markets Inc. is cooperating with an investigation from New York’s top law enforcement office into “brokerage execution quality,” the retail trading firm said in a regulatory filing.
Key events this week:
* China CPI, PPI, money supply, new yuan loans and aggregate financing, Wednesday
* India rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, CPI, Thursday
* Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic pre-recorded remarks for employment webinar, Thursday
* UK industrial production, GDP, Friday
* US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, PPI, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.0958
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2746
* The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 143.43 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.6% to $29,903.83
* Ether rose 1.9% to $1,859.69
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 4.02%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined 13 basis points to 2.47%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined eight basis points to 4.39%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $82.84 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,959.40 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jason Scott, Tassia Sipahutar, Cecile Gutscher, Emily Graffeo, Vildana Hajric and Isabelle Lee.
Have a  lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy
and the dividing of our grief. –Cicero, 106 BCE-43 BCE.

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 August 4, 1504, Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the stature of David, is unveiled to the public in Florence, Italy.
1914: Britain declared war on Germany while the United States proclaimed its neutrality in World War I.  Go to article >>
1962: Nelson Mandela arrested.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, poet, b.1792.
Louis Armstrong, musician, b. 1900.
Wm Schumann, composer, b. 1910.

Everyone is in Europe this summer.  Popular European cities are seeing droves of international travelers. These are the top destinations where strong demand is lifting fares.

87-year-old fends off home intruder, offers snacks to distract him.  An 87-year-old woman offered a robber a late-night snack to keep him busy until police arrived. Read how she devised the clever plan.

Meteorite that crashed to Earth 3,500 years ago carved into arrowhead by Bronze Age hunters
A Bronze Age arrowhead found in Switzerland was made using meteoric iron.  Read More.

Rare ‘Ides of March’ dagger coin minted by Brutus after Julius Caesar’s murder goes to auction
Brutus minted the silver denarius as a way to pay his troops in the aftermath of Julius Caesar’s assassination. Read More.

James Webb telescope captures ‘a preview of the sun’s distant future’ in stunning new Ring Nebula image
Astronomers reveal ‘the final chapters of a star’s life’ in a stunning James Webb Space Telescope’s image of the exploding Ring Nebula. Read More.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

North Island, New Zealand
Surfers walk past a giant sun sculpture at sunrise on Mount Maunganui beach. Second Sun is a light therapy lamp illuminated by more than 8,000 bulbs. The 18-metre-wide artwork emits a light designed to lift the mood during the dark winter months.  Photograph: Brett Phibbs/AP

Frankfurt, Germany
Straw bales painted with faces. In Germany’s rural areas it is quite common to announce forthcoming weddings this way.  Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Ibex in the Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve above Chamonix in Haute-Savoie, France.
Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for August 4^th, 2023,

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35065.62	-150.27
		-0.43%
S&P 500	4478.03	-23.86
		-0.53%
NASDAQ	13909.24	-50.47
		-0.36%
TSX	20236.04	+115.30
		+0.57%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	32192.75	+33.47
		+0.10%
HANG SENG	19539.46	+118.59
		+0.61%
SENSEX	65721.25	+480.57
		+0.74%
FTSE 100*	7564.37	+35.21
		+0.47%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.548	3.713
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.449	3.582
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.0338	4.1812
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2007	4.2990

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7476	0.7489
US $	1.3376	1.3353

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4738	0.6785
US $	1.1021	0.9074

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1935.65	1944.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	82.82	81.55

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1790, Congress enacted Alexander Hamilton’s plan to fund the public debt. The move ended years of turmoil over the bonds issued by federal and state governments during the revolution, giving birth to the American securities markets.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6% at 20,236.04 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.5%.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.9%.
Definity Financial Corp. had the largest increase, rising 11.5%.
Today, 170 of 227 shares rose, while 49 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 1.4%
* The index advanced 3.4% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI ACvAmericas Index gained 7.4% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.9% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 13.2% 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 14.4 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$3.18t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.00% compared with 11.29% in the previous session and the average of 10.67% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 56.4932| 0.9| 26/2
Materials | 27.7156| 1.2| 37/11
Energy | 20.6951| 0.6| 32/7
Utilities | 10.8756| 1.3| 13/2
Industrials | 4.9227| 0.2| 15/10
Communication Services | 4.0690| 0.5| 4/1
Consumer Staples | 4.0632| 0.5| 9/2
Real Estate | 2.6367| 0.5| 17/4
Consumer Discretionary | -0.0233| 0.0| 9/5
Health Care | -1.4549| -2.3| 1/2
Information Technology | -14.7030| -1.0| 7/3
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Natural Resources | 11.5900| 1.9| -28.6| 8.4
Brookfield Corp | 8.2780| 1.9| 236.5| 3.8
Intact Financial | 7.3720| 3.2| 39.3| 0.9
Magna Intl | -5.1030| -3.3| 18.6| 7.2
Open Text | -9.0960| -8.9| 204.2| 22.8
Shopify | -11.5000| -1.7| 26.2| 64.9
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks fell as Apple Inc. dipped below the $3 trillion mark and some other mega-caps like Tesla Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. slipped.
Amazon.com Inc. rallied after its results.
Treasuries rose, reversing some of this week’s losses after mixed jobs data.
There was something for every bull and bear in Friday’s jobs data: the 187,000 growth in payrolls was softer than estimated, wages topped forecasts and unemployment fell.
With 47 days to go before the next Federal Reserve decision — and so many other economic reports in between — the one thing that really hasn’t changed was the sense the Fed is close to wrapping up its hiking cycle.
Swap traders project a 40% chance of another quarter-point rate increase by the end of this year — with the contracts pricing in about 10 basis points of tightening.
By the end of 2024, they project rate cuts totaling more than 125 basis points.
The S&P 500 erased an advance that approached 1% earlier in the day.
Apple dropped almost 5% after its outlook sparked worries over tepid demand.
Amazon climbed over 8% on a bullish revenue forecast.
Treasury 10-year yields fell from the highest level since November.
The dollar halted a four-day advance.
“We think it’s worth staying cautious while still respecting the market’s momentum,” said Callie Cox, investment analyst at eToro. “Bull markets are tough to fight, but look for quality risk and brace yourself for a summer storm in what’s usually a bumpy time of year.”
Reaction to Jobs Data:
Seema Shah, chief global strategist of Principal Asset Management: 
“Today’s jobs report will not clear up the Fed’s dilemma.  This jobs report is definitely not a gamechanger. The Fed still has another report to come before their next meeting but, if no clear direction emerges, the Fed is likely to stay put.”
Oscar Munoz, chief US macro strategist at TD Securities:
“While today’s report does not cleanly argue for a skip decision for the September FOMC meeting, we are of the view that most of the details should be judged as positive news by most Fed officials. We continue to expect the FOMC to pause in September, with July’s rate hike likely the last of the Fed’s tightening cycle.”
David Kelly, chief global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management:
“This morning’s report is unlikely to change the odds on any further Fed tightening – the July and August CPI reports will likely be much more important in determining whether the Fed feels the need to hike further.  However, it still looks likely that 2024 will be a year of rate cuts – moderate rate cuts if the economy is able to avoid recession and more rapid cuts if today’s moderate moderation dissolves into outright recession.” 
Seth Cohan, vice president and executive director of The Wealth Alliance:
“For investors, this ‘something for everyone’ report likely means that the trends in markets of late will continue.  Inflation is still higher than the Federal Reserve believes it should be, yet data has been showing mostly a slowing to declining rate in the last few months demonstrating that we could have a shallow recession or a soft landing.  Overall, the markets will likely be rangebound until we have a catalyst that
helps to clarify economic conditions.”
Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management:
“Overall, the jobs report does not change the outlook for the Fed as we are near the end of the hiking cycle, but rather provides additional evidence that the economy is moving in the direction they need to slow inflation, albeit slow.”
Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank:
“With the labor market very strong, wages rising solidly, and core inflation well above the Fed’s target, odds are better than 50-50 that the Fed makes another quarter percentage point rate hike in the second half of 2023, most likely at the Fed’s Nov. 1 decision.”
Ian Lyngen, strategist at BMO Capital Markets:
“There is nothing within this release that will necessitate the Fed moves in September.”
Krishna Guha, vice chairman of Evercore ISI:
“The Fed will get another employment report as well as two more inflation reports before the September meeting. We believe even if growth firms some further and labor market progress slows or stalls, provided that it does not reverse the Fed may still decide not to hike again, and rely instead on a faster than expected decline in inflation to raise real rates instead.”
Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC:
“Today’s July jobs report is consistent with a soft landing in the US economy. Given recent inflation numbers and softer job growth, the FOMC will likely keep the fed funds rate unchanged when it next meets in mid-September, in a range of 5.25% to 5.50%. But further fed funds rate hikes are possible later this year given incoming data on inflation and the labor market.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Booking Holdings Inc. rose after reporting revenue that beat analysts’ estimates, reflecting strong demand for travel.
* DraftKings Inc. climbed as the online sportsbook posted sales that beat expectations and it raised its forecast for the year.
* Atlassian Corp. rallied after delivering a forecast for the new year that quelled investor anxieties over a slowdown in internet technology spending.
* Tupperware Brands Corp. gained after the food-storage container company reached an agreement with its lenders to restructure its existing debt obligations, as it continues its turnaround efforts.
* Nikola Corp. fell after saying it’s tapping a former General Motors Co. vice chairman to serve as its chief executive officer, replacing the current CEO after less than a year of running the electric truck maker.
* Icahn Enterprises LP dropped after Carl Icahn slashed his company’s quarterly payouts in half and pledged to “stick to our knitting” in another substantive move acknowledging complaints raised by
short-seller Hindenburg Research earlier this year.
* Block Inc., Jack Dorsey’s payments company, slipped after reporting results that fell short of some analysts’ expectations.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1006
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2743
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 141.82 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1% to $28,994.67
* Ether fell 0.8% to $1,828.58
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 13 basis points to 4.05%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.56%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 4.38%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.3% to $82.62 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,976.60 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Rob Verdonck, Richard Henderson, John Viljoen and Isabelle Lee.
Have a  wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
I have observed very frequently that it is not the man who is so brilliant
(who) delivers in time of stress and strain,
but rather the man who can keep on going indefinitely,
doing a  good straightforward job. –Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, 1890-1969.

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.

August 3, 1936: American sprinter Jesse Owens wins the 100m (10.3 seconds) in front of Adolph Hitler in a famous race at the Berlin Olympics, first of 4 gold medals at the Games.
1987: The Iran-Contra congressional hearings ended with none of the 29 witnesses tying President Ronald Reagan directly to the diversion of arms-sales profits to Nicaraguan rebels.  Go to article >>
Martha Stewart, b. 1941

The best of the 16th annual iPhone Photography Awards:  Never underestimate the power of a smartphone camera. Here are the winners of the 2023 iPhone Photography Awards.

Caroline Kennedy recreates her father JFK’s World War II swim.  The daughter of former US President John F. Kennedy swam about three-quarters of a mile in honor of her father’s heroic swim 80 years ago.

Remarkable fossils reveal jellyfish that lived 505 million years ago.  Fossils belonging to the oldest known species of jellyfish were discovered in the Canadian Rockies.

Taylor Swift gives ‘life-changing’ bonuses to Eras Tour truck drivers.  Swift stunned the tour’s trucking staff by giving each trucker a check in the amount of $100,000.

Crusader sword found in Holy Land was bent, possibly in naval battle, X-rays reveal
A sword found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea was likely dropped there during a battle between 800 and 900 years ago. Read More.

Iceland’s newest volcano is now spewing out tornadoes
Iceland’s newborn volcano is spewing out methane explosions and tornadoes to complement the ribbons of lava painting the landscape. Read More.

Google’s ‘mind-reading’ AI can tell what music you listened to based on your brain signals
AI can produce a song that matches the genre, rhythm, mood and instrumentation of music that the individual recently heard. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Fustiñana, Spain: A herd of sheep is driven by Angel Mari Sanz, 62, along La Cañada Real de los Roncaleses (the Path of the Roncaleses), an ancient transhumance route
Photograph: Álvaro Barrientos/AP

Takachiho, Japan: Eleanor Smart of the USA dives from the 21-metre platform during the final competition day of the fourth stop in the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series
Photograph: Getty Image

​​​​​​​Aiguilles Rouges, France: People take a break during a hike in the Lac Blanc area of the nature reserve, which faces Mont Blanc above Chamonix, Haute-Savoie. Faced with an increase in visitor numbers since 2021, measures have been introduced this summer to protect the site, including a limit on camping.
Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for August 3^rd, 2023,

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	35215.89	-66.63
		-0.19%
S&P 500	4501.89	-11.50
		-0.25%
NASDAQ	13959.71	-13.74
		-0.10%
TSX	20120.74	-97.47
		-0.48%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	32159.28	-548.41
		-1.68%
HANG SENG	19420.87	-96.51
		-0.49%
SENSEX	65240.68	-542.10
		-0.82%
FTSE 100*	7529.16	-32.47
		-0.43%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.713	3.622
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.582	3.451
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1812	4.0775
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2990	4.1768

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7489	0.7491
US $	1.3353	1.3349

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4622	0.6839
US $	1.0948	0.9134

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1944.20	1947.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	81.55	79.49

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1984, total trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange exceeded 200 million shares for the first time, as 236,565,110 shares changed hands.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.5%, or 97.47 to 20,120.74 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since July 12.
Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 8 of 11 sectors lost; 120 of 227 shares fell, while 105 rose.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.4%.
Bombardier Inc. had the largest drop, falling 8.5%.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 1.9%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended June 23.
* The index advanced 2.9% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 8% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.5% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 12.6% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.3% in the past 5 days and was little changed 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 14.2 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$3.2t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.29% compared with 11.37% in the previous session and the average of 10.65% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -38.3328| -2.5| 4/7
Financials | -37.5620| -0.6| 13/16
Utilities | -22.1917| -2.6| 3/13
Materials | -15.3622| -0.6| 21/29
Communication Services | -6.5807| -0.8| 0/5
Consumer Discretionary | -4.6913| -0.6| 6/8
Consumer Staples | -3.9675| -0.5| 3/8
Real Estate | -1.5068| -0.3| 5/14
Health Care | 0.2822| 0.5| 2/2
Industrials | 1.9210| 0.1| 14/12
Energy | 30.5122| 0.9| 34/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | -37.7800| -5.4| 35.6| 67.8
Nutrien | -12.6000| -4.0| 12.6| -12.8
Brookfield Corp | -12.0700| -2.7| 56.3| 1.9
Cenovus Energy | 6.1470| 2.6| 7.5| -3.2
Canadian Natural Resources | 7.0610| 1.2| -33.7| 6.4
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 8.0140| 1.2| -10.9| 7.0
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The slide in the world’s biggest bond market deepened and stocks fell ahead of the US jobs report, which is expected to provide clues on the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s next steps.
In late trading, Amazon.com Inc. climbed after a bullish revenue forecast, while traders awaited results from Apple Inc.
Longer-dated Treasuries are now set for their worst week of 2023 amid signs of unexpected economic strength and concern over a widening budget deficit.
A report Thursday underscored resilient demand for workers, while separate numbers showed labor productivity climbed, helping to offset rising labor costs.
Those figures preceded the government’s employment data — forecast to show the US added 200,000 jobs in July.
While that would be the weakest print since the end of 2020, it’s still a strong advance historically.
“The good news is that almost everyone agrees that an imminent recession isn’t very likely,” said Ed Yardeni, founder of his namesake research firm. “That reduces the downside concerns about corporate earnings, but it increases the downside potential for the stock market’s valuation multiple if the bond yield continues to rise.”
The S&P 500 dropped for a third straight day.
Tech mega-caps, which bore the brunt of the recent selling in equities, outperformed.
Treasury 30-year yields hit 4.3%, extending a three-day surge to about 30 basis points.
The dollar was little changed.
The pound wavered as the Bank of England warned its fight against inflation may require tighter borrowing conditions for an extended period.
A survey conducted by 22V Research shows that investors expect strong employment and weak wage inflation.
Roughly 65% of respondents are betting payrolls will be greater than consensus.
Meantime, 55% expect average hourly earnings to trail estimates — which helps explain why they also expect the equity-market reaction to be muted, the firm noted.
To Jason Draho at UBS Global Wealth Management, markets actually may be listless for the next month in the absence of any significant catalyst and after a strong run.
“Markets are already pricing in a soft landing, and increasingly with the belief that relatively little growth pain is required for inflation to gradually return to 2%,” Draho noted. “The markets are vulnerable to any signs that the economy, with the Fed’s steering, is at risk of not sticking to that soft landing.”
Meantime, rate options traders are paying through the nose for protection against further increases in long-maturity Treasury yields.
A metric that compares demand for bearish put options to demand for bullish call options shows the widest divergence since September for options on CME Group Inc.’s US Treasury Bond Futures contract, which currently tracks a bond that matures in 2039.
The gaps are less extreme for options on shorter-maturity Treasury futures.
The steepening of the yield curve extended a trend since the Bank of Japan surprised markets last week with a policy tweak.
At 4.88%, two-year yields are 71 basis points higher than those on the 10-year note.
That’s compared to a gap of 102 basis points two weeks ago.
“I remain wary of taking duration risks and still much prefer short duration bonds,” said Peter Boockvar, author of the Boock Report. “This sovereign bond bubble continues to unwind and the problem now is higher rates just exacerbates the sovereign debt rise as interest expense starts to explode higher, everywhere, not just in the US, highlighted by the Fitch downgrade.”
Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, said he’s short 30-year Treasuries “in size” — as both a hedge against the impact of higher long-term rates on stocks and also as a standalone bet. Bill Gross, the former chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co. noted he’s “overall bearish” on 10-year yields, while Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman  Warren Buffett told CNBC he had been buying Treasury bills and would likely continue.
Elsewhere, oil rose after Saudi Arabia prolonged its unilateral production cut by another month and hinted that deeper reductions may be on the way.

Corporate Highlights:
* Apollo Global Management Inc. hit an all-time high after it reported a record profit as strong inflows powered results at its Athene annuities business.
* Tesla Inc.’s China deliveries slumped in July to the lowest level this year, as the electric vehicle maker struggles to attract buyers despite price cuts and other incentives.
* Qualcomm Inc., the largest maker of smartphone processors, gave a tepid sales forecast for the current quarter, indicating that demand for mobile devices remains weak.
* Moderna Inc. raised its Covid-19 vaccine sales outlook for the year, finalizing contracts with Japan and several American health-care companies as the US government largely stops paying for the shots.
* DoorDash Inc. reported a record number of delivery orders in the second quarter, showing consumers’ commitment to takeout despite rising prices. 
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.0947
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2706
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 142.57 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $29,285.66
* Ether rose 0.3% to $1,846.5
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 10 basis points to 4.18%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 2.60%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 4.47%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.9% to $81.77 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,969.50 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Richard Henderson, Tassia Sipahutar, John Viljoen and Isabelle Lee.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor. –Arnold Toynbee, 1889-1975.

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
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