April 21, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

1980 Rosie Ruiz, the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon, was disqualified when officials discovered she had jumped into the race about a mile from the finish.   Go to article »

1837: First kindergarten established.
2016: American musician dies at age 57.

Charlotte Brontë, writer, b. 1816.

African cinema is more exciting than ever. Where’s its wider recognition?  This is your sign to enjoy more international art. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Scientists have discovered a new species of crown jellyfish that looks like a scarlet alien saucer in the sunless “midnight zone” of California’s Monterey Bay.  The newly described species, Atolla reynoldsi, measures about 5 inches (13 centimeters) in diameter and can have anywhere from 26 to 39 tentacles, researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) said in a statement. Like the 10 other known species of the Atolla genus, A. reynoldsi sports a deep groove running around its central bell, giving its body the appearance of a domed head wearing a frilly red crown.  Full Story: Live Science (4/21) 

The world’s oldest moving pictures may not come from the late 19th century, but rather from thousands of years earlier: Pictures of ancient animals carved onto flat stones tens of thousands of years ago were deliberately placed around fires so they would look animated in the flickering firelight, a new study suggests.  Creating such animated carvings might have been a popular prehistoric activity as a family group sat around a fire. And at least some of the wall paintings and carvings found in ancient caves might also have been influenced by their appearance in the moving light and shadows of flames, the study suggests.  Full Story: Live Science (4/21) 

Deserts are not easy places to call home. Broiling in the day, frigid at night, and lacking ample water, these landscapes test their inhabitants. The creatures that call deserts home have adaptations to help them survive and thrive in these harsh conditions. Many of these creatures never need to drink and have skin or scales that enable them to hoard what little water they require; some have evolved to move and be active solely at night to avoid the punishing sun.  Here are 11 of the strangest animals found in deserts around the world.  Full Story: Live Science (4/21) 

Astronomers have detected a never-before-seen type of stellar explosion.   The newly discovered cosmic blasts are around a million times less intense than similar explosions and, as a result, the researchers have dubbed the tiny detonations “micronovae.”  Full Story: Live Science (4/20) 

Bloomberg Digital Originals: The $7.6 trillion quest for longer life.

Wildlife is flourishing in New England.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Members of the Samaritan community attend a religious service marking the end of their Passover holiday atop Mount Gerizim, above the West Bank city of Nablus
CREDIT: Alaa Badarneh/EPA

Abbey Marshall Leticia Edwards looks out on the view from the Henry VII roof of Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey is to open its roof to the public for the first time, offering tours as part of its plans to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee
CREDIT: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Elvis tribute artists arrive at Central Station before boarding the Elvis Express train to Parkes. The Parkes Elvis festival is held annually over five days, usually timed to coincide with Elvis Presley’s birth date in January, though the 2022 event was rescheduled owing to Covid-19 restrictions earlier in the year
CREDIT: Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images

Market Closes for April 21^st, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1982, futures contracts on the S&P 500 index become available for the first time, as they opened for trading in the pits of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. 
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian mining and materials equities posted their biggest one-day drop in over two years to lead a broad sell off in Toronto, with declines in all sectors.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 1.6%, or 347.97 to 21,650.41 in Toronto.
It was the biggest fall for the index in three months.
Only 27 stocks on the index rose on Thursday, while 211 of 239 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 8.1%.
Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest percentage drop, falling 12.4%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss four times. The next day, it declined twice for an average 0.6% and advanced twice for an average 0.3%
* This month, the index fell 1.1%
* So far this week, the index fell 0.9%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended Feb. 18
* The index advanced 13% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 3.9% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.5% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 14% above its low on April 22, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.9% in the past 5 days and fell 1.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.1 on a trailing basis and 13.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.52t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.04% compared with 9.91% in the previous session and the average of 11.72% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | -125.4381| -4.1| 0/52
* Energy | -89.7891| -2.4| 3/31
* Information Technology| -53.2427| -4.1| 3/13
* Financials | -29.4803| -0.4| 1/27
* Industrials | -13.1139| -0.5| 5/25
* Communication Services| -9.3405| -0.8| 1/6
* Consumer Staples | -9.0105| -1.1| 2/9
* Consumer Discretionary| -6.2996| -0.9| 2/12
* Real Estate | -6.1347| -1.0| 2/21
* Utilities | -4.3857| -0.4| 6/10
* Health Care | -1.7178| -1.3| 2/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -41.9000| -8.1| 96.1| -65.3
* Canadian Natural Resources | -22.9500| -3.3| -21.0| 55.5
* Nutrien | -21.1900| -4.0| -0.2| 42.8
* Bank of Nova Scotia| 2.4840| 0.4| -26.5| -3.5
* CGI Inc | 2.5350| 1.7| 31.7| -7.2
* TC Energy | 6.0680| 1.3| -49.4| 24.3
US
By Stephen Kirkland and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slid as the selloff in Treasuries resumed, with traders bracing for the possibility of more aggressive policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.
The dollar gained.
The S&P 500 dropped 1.5% in a dramatic reversal of a more than 1% rally in early trading Thursday on the back of upbeat earnings.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell about 2%,bunderperforming than main benchmarks, as the jump in yields weighed on growth-related stocks.
Treasury yields rose across the curve, with the policy-sensitive two-year rate climbing as much as 15 basis points 2.73% as traders priced in 50 basis-point rate hikes at each of the next three meetings.
The dollar gained against all of its major peers following the surge in yields.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he saw merit in the argument for front-loading interest-rate increases and that a half-point hike “will be on the table for the May meeting.”
He declined to comment on market pricing but noted minutes of the March meeting showed that many officials backed one or more half-point hikes.
On the earnings front, Tesla Inc. gained after posting record profits that blew past estimates and with Elon Musk predicting output will grow at a fast clip for the rest of the year.
The stock rose 3.2% on the day, after rising as much as 12% in early trading.
Airlines rallied as American Airlines Group Inc. said corporate and international flying was coming back and projected a second-quarter profit.
United Airlines Holdings Inc. jumped 9.3% after forecasting a profit this year.
While inflation and central-bank reactions to the spike in rising prices are big drivers of markets right now, earnings have been important this week too, especially after Netflix Inc.’s selloff, Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank, noted.
“On the flip-side, we get Tesla this morning and it’s rallying back up on their profits,” Gaffney said by phone.  “American Airlines released — so travel and leisure, even with higher gas prices, they’ve been able to raise their ticket prices. So far, it looks like consumers are shrugging off the price increases, but everybody is complaining about it. We’ll see how long that lasts.”
While it’s early in the U.S. earnings-reporting season, the signs are encouraging so far.
Of the 87 S&P 500 companies that have posted results, about 80% have beaten estimates, according to Bloomberg data.
U.S. jobless claims eased last week to a level that’s consistent with an exceptionally tight labor market, Labor Department data showed Thursday.
Initial unemployment claims decreased by 2,000 to 184,000 in the week ended April 16, while continuing claims for state benefits dropped to 1.42 million in the week ended April 9, the lowest since 1970.
More market commentary:
* “It’s hard for me to imagine a recession with consumers in as good a shape as they currently are, Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co., said by phone. Consumers are in “the best shape they’ve been in in years and most recessions start with the consumer not in great shape. So I think, any recession, if there were to be one, I think given the current circumstances, would be mild.”
* “The market is trying to digest a 10-year yield that is rapidly approaching 3.00%,” said Joe Gilbert, portfolio manager at Integrity Asset Management. This has major implications for valuations of stocks as credit spreads have widened out as well.”

What to watch this week:
* Manufacturing PMIs: Euro zone, France, Germany, U.K, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0839
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3029
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 128.29 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced seven basis points to 2.90%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced nine basis points to 0.95%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 10 basis points to 2.01%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.5% to $103.74 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Srinivasan Sivabalan, Isabelle Lee and Peyton Forte.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Always be a little kinder than necessary. –Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1860-1937.

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