June 27, 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.

Just back from a terrific high tech investing  conference in San Francisco – really exciting developments in technology underway.  The meeting sparked off with a presentation by Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI.  After his presentation, he was heading off to DC and I only realized afterward it was for the state dinner for the Indian Prime Minister and the next day there were a lot of technology CEOs including Tim Cook of Apple and Satya Nadella of Microsoft meeting at the White House to discuss the latest developments in technology, especially AI, with the Indian contingent.

Today is the first day of Hajj.   The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims are required to undertake it at least once in their lives if they are physically and financially able to do so. But inflation and economic crises have strained pilgrims this year, putting the Hajj out of reach for many.   As climate change heats up an already scorching region, the pilgrimage could prove even more daunting.

On June 26, 1997: The first Harry Potter novel, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling was published in the United Kingdom.
June 26, 2000: Rival scientific teams completed the first rough map of the human genetic code. Go to article  

Also on this date:
In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force deployed to France during World War I landed in St. Nazaire.
In 1925, Charles Chaplin’s classic comedy “The Gold Rush” premiered at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.
In 2012, essayist, author and filmmaker Nora Ephron, 71, died in New York.
Also on this day, in 1979, the eleventh James Bond film “Moonraker” premiered in London.

Abner Doubleday, invented baseball, b. 1819.
Pearl S. Buck, author, b. 1892.

Utah’s mountains are turning pink and red.  Here’s what’s behind the phenomenon known as “watermelon snow.”

Prince William believes it’s possible to end homelessness.  The Prince of Wales has launched a plan to achieve that goal.

Forget Bloody Marys. How about a drink inspired by roast chicken?  More bars are venturing into the world of savory cocktails, and some of their concoctions sound … interesting to say the least.

The 10 worst airports for disruptions this summer (and where you should fly instead).

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Cambridge, England
Gardeners in the wildflower meadow at King’s College. A study led by Dr Cicely Marshall, a King’s research fellow, shows that establishing the meadow has made a considerable impact to the wildlife value of the land while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its upkeep. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

London, England
A detail from a jumper worn by Diana, Princess of Wales that is predicted to sell at auction for up to £70,000 at Sotheby’s in New York in September.  Photograph: Sotheby’s/PA

İzmir, Turkey
Storks nest on the top of a building at sunset Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Market Closes for June 26^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000: Celera Genomics Group, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy announced they had completed the sequencing of the genome. Celera Genomics’ stock promptly lost 11% of its value as Wall Street, which had “bought on the rumor,” decided to “sell on the news.”
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.9% at 19,587.32 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.8% on June 2 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.8%.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 10 of 11 sectors gained; 166 of 229 shares rose, while 59 fell.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.6%.
Vermilion Energy Inc. had the largest increase, rising 4.8%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index fell 2.6%
* This month, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 2.8% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 10% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 6% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 9.6% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.7% in the past 5 days and fell 1.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.8 on a trailing basis and 13.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.5% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.08t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.49% compared with 11.28% in the previous session and the average of 11.62% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 66.8157| 1.1| 23/6
Energy | 53.3984| 1.7| 33/7
Materials | 13.4076| 0.6| 35/12
Consumer Staples | 13.1665| 1.6| 8/3
Industrials | 7.7985| 0.3| 18/8
Utilities | 6.7353| 0.8| 12/3
Real Estate | 4.6814| 1.0| 19/2
Consumer Discretionary | 3.8701| 0.5| 8/7
Health Care | 0.4635| 0.7| 3/2
Communication Services | 0.0523| 0.0| 4/1
Information Technology | -11.6034| -0.8| 3/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | 16.3700| 1.6| 76.8| -9.6
TC Energy | 13.3600| 3.6| 207.4| -0.6
RBC | 12.6300| 1.1| 80.2| -2.9
Constellation Software | -1.4580| -0.4| -59.5| 28.0
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -2.9920| -0.4| -49.6| 4.1
Shopify | -8.0450| -1.1| -37.9| 76.9
US
By Isabelle Lee, Vildana Hajric and Carly Wanna
(Bloomberg) — US stocks fell while government bonds advanced as traders unwound bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.
The Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.4% Monday, sliding for a second day after suffering its worst week since March.
Profit taking in the technology sector continued as some of the year’s hottest names including AI-favorite Nvidia Corp. and Facebook-parent company Meta Platforms Inc. dipped.
Tesla Inc. slumped 6.1% after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. joined the list of brokers turning less bullish on the electric-vehicle maker following this year’s blistering rally.
“It makes sense that there should be some pullback early-intermediate-term given how big this move has been, especially relative to the rest of the investment universe,” said Matt Stucky, senior portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.
Traders are finally relenting on their bets that the central bank will cut rates this year after Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week warned the US may need one or two more rate increases in 2023. Investors have been growing more anxious that central banks determined to extinguish inflation will keep pushing rates higher and risk breaking fragile economies.
“Bulls should be happy with flat markets, especially in light of what happened over the weekend,” said Alec Young, chief investment strategist at MAP signals after markets largely shrugged off the biggest threat to President Vladimir Putin’s almost quarter-century grip on power in Russia. “It continues to be a very data-driven market.”
Russian officials met key partners a day after Yevgeny Prigozhin halted the advance of his Wagner mercenary group toward Moscow.
Putin condemned leaders of the Wagner mercenary group as traitors in his first public address since the revolt.
Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter, wrote that the political strife in Russia is likely to have little market impact.
“Looking forward, obviously this injects more geopolitical uncertainty into the world, but as long as commodity prices don’t spike higher, the markets will largely ignore Russian political volatility,” he wrote.
Amid a global bond rally, early gains in Treasuries faded with the yield on the policy-sensitive two-year at 4.74% and the 10-year bond at 3.72%.
“Markets are in a holding pattern,” said Sinead Colton Grant, global head of investor solutions, BNY Mellon Wealth Management. “They’re waiting for second-quarter earnings to start, which could be the end of the earnings recession, they’re waiting for more context from the Fed—will we get a July rate hike? There’s a lot of information to come.”
Oil advanced though it lingered below $70 a barrel, with traders alert to the risk that any prolonged turmoil in Russia could reverberate through global crude markets.
The country’s war in Ukraine has already upended trade flows, with major consumers in Asia including China boosting imports of Russian energy. 
Key events this week:
* US new home sales, durable goods, Conference Board consumer confidence, Tuesday.
* US wholesale inventories, goods trade balance, Wednesday.
* Fed to unveil results of annual banking industry stress test, Wednesday.
* Policy panel with ECB’s Christine Lagarde, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, BOJ’s Kazuo Ueda and BOE’s Andrew Bailey speak, Wednesday.
* Eurozone economic confidence, consumer confidence, Thursday.
* US GDP, initial jobless claims, Thursday.
* Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic speaks, Thursday.
* China manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing PMI, balance of payments, Friday.
* US personal income and spending, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, 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 1.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0908
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2712
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 143.51 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $30,288.72
* Ether fell 2% to $1,855.83
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 3.71%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.31%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.30%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $69.55 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,932.60 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Emily Graffeo, Cecile Gutscher and Rita Nazareth.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
I’ll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. –Nina Simone, 1933-2003.

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