October 4, 2023, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Oct. 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit.  Go to article >>

St. Franci of Assis, b. 1181.
Susan Sarandon, b.1946.

Starbucks scientists are developing climate-proof coffee:  The coffee chain is testing new varieties of beans as climate change threatens to impact its supply. Arabica coffee, the only variety used by Starbucks, is especially at risk.

Japan implements tourist tax at famous attraction:  The popular Itsukushima Shrine, one of the most recognizable attractions in Japan, is now slightly more expensive to visit.

‘Priscilla’ trailer features big hair, young love and zero music by Elvis:  Premiering in theaters in November, the film “Priscilla” takes the focus off the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and shines a light on his iconic wife Priscilla Presley. Watch the new trailer here — which curiously does not feature Elvis’ music.

100-year-old origin theory of Stonehenge’s iconic Altar Stone could be wrong, scientists say
Scientists are challenging the longstanding theory of the origin of Stonehenge’s bluestones, which make up its inner circle, using geochemical analysis. Read More.

Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to three scientists who glimpsed the inner world of atoms with tiny light pulses. The trio devised methods for creating the tiniest slices of light.
Full Story: Live Science (10/3)

2,300-year-old grave contains remains of Greek courtesan who may have accompanied Alexander the Great’s army
Human remains buried with a 2,300-year-old bronze mirror in Israel may be the first ever found of an ancient Greek courtesan who accompanied the Hellenistic armies on their campaigns. Read More.

James Webb telescope’s observations of ‘impossible’ galaxies at the dawn of time may finally have an explanation
A new set of simulations suggests that the unusual brightness of early galaxies discovered by the James Webb telescope could be because of a strange, rapid-burst mode
of star formation. Read More.

Giant never-before-seen long-necked ‘titan’ dinosaur unearthed in Europe
The newly identified titanosaur, Garumbatitan morellensis, roamed what is now Spain around 122 million years ago. The unusual shape of some of its bones could hold clues about the evolutionary history of a unique group of sauropods.  Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tokyo, Japan
A visitor takes photographs of goldfish swimming in reflected tanks at the Art Aquarium Museum Ginza.  Photograph: Franck Robichon/EPA.

Hangzhou, China
Chinese diver Chang Yani competes in the finals of the women’s 3m springboard event during the Asian Games.  Photograph: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty.

Gazipur, Bangladesh
A man shelters under an umbrella while fishing for swamp barb fish in the Belai Beel wetlands.  Photograph: Syed Mahabubul Kader/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock.
Market Closes for October 4^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1957, the USSR launched the Sputnik, the world’s first orbiting satellite, setting off panic that the U.S. was falling behind in the space race. In the next 12 trading days, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 9.1% of its value.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 19,034.81 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.8%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.5%.
NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust had the largest increase, rising 8.2%.
Today, 128 of 228 shares rose, while 98 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index fell 1.8%, heading for the worst year since 2022
* The index declined 1.7% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 11% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.7% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 6.5% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.1% in the past 5 days and fell 7.4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.4 on a trailing basis and 13.6 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$3.02t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.13% compared with 14.50% in the previous session and the average of 12.79% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 38.9149| 0.7| 23/5
Information Technology| 24.0640| 1.7| 10/1
Utilities | 15.7923| 2.1| 13/3
Industrials | 12.7456| 0.5| 19/7
Communication Services| 9.7132| 1.4| 3/2
Real Estate | 8.4620| 1.9| 21/0
Consumer Staples | 8.0068| 1.0| 11/0
Consumer Discretionary| 5.9280| 0.8| 8/6
Health Care | 0.5611| 0.9| 3/0
Materials | -21.4241| -1.0| 15/36
Energy | -101.9305| -2.9| 2/38
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 14.9500| 2.5|n/a | 53.6
RBC | 10.2400| 0.9|n/a | -10.3
Bank of Nova Scotia| 8.1190| 1.7|n/a | -10.9
Cenovus Energy | -10.4400| -4.1|n/a | 0.2
Suncor Energy | -20.1300| -4.8|n/a | 1.9
Canadian Natural Resources | -30.7600| -4.7|n/a | 10.0
US
By Cristin Flanagan
(Bloomberg) — The selloff in stocks and bonds got a reprieve Wednesday as traders parsed US data and increased bets that the Federal Reserve can refrain from further interest rate increases.
Equity benchmarks touched session highs in the final  minutes of trading with the Nasdaq 100 rising 1.4% and the S&P 500 0.8% higher after a final run-up in the tech sector.
Tesla Inc. was at the forefront of the advance in large-cap tech names that also included Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.
The S&P 500 closed above a key technical level.
Ten-year Treasury yields were lower on the day after the rate on the benchmark touched a high of 4.88% during Asian trading hours.
Traders are now pricing a less than one-in-five chance of an increase in November, down from one-in-three previously.
Wednesday’s rebound was bolstered by data showing US companies added the fewest number of jobs since the start of 2021 in September, suggesting labor demand in several industries is slowing.
A separate report showed the services sector also pulled back modestly last month to the lowest level this year.
The latest leg of the selloff had been fueled by Tuesday’s better-than-expected US job data, as well as a slew of hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.
As conviction grew that US interest rates could rise further from current 22-year highs, 30-year yields touched 5% for the first time since 2007.
Wall Street has been saying longer term bonds at 5% yields are likely in the near-term.
One-time bond king Bill Gross weighed in saying that the US 10-year at 5% would provide “decent” but not “great value” as inflation remains high.
Volatility could make another appearance when Friday’s payrolls numbers hit as traders search for signs that the economy is cooling and the Fed can pull back from its higher-for-longer messaging.
“Stock investors have been hoping the labor market will loosen up and give the Fed enough breathing room to dial down its hawkishness,” said Mike Loewengart, head of model portfolio construction at the Morgan Stanley Global Investment Office.  “ADP isn’t necessarily a reliable predictor of the government’s monthly jobs data, but if Friday’s report also shows the labor market is cooling, stock investors may worry a little less about indefinitely higher interest rates.”
In commodities, crude futures dropped and gold slid.

“Recent developments support our view that markets had become overly confident in pricing a rapid easing of the Fed’s monetary policy,” wrote Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management. “While we expect equity and bond market conditions to improve, we forecast choppy and rangebound trading in equity markets in the near term.”
Key events this week: 
* China has week-long holiday
* France industrial production, Thursday
* BOE Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent, Riksbank First Deputy Governor Anna Breman participate at panel discussion, Thursday
* US trade, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly speaks at the Economic Club of New York, Thursday
* Germany factory orders, Friday
* US unemployment rate, nonfarm payrolls, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.0515
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.2150
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 149.04 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.8% to $27,617.31
* Ether fell 0.9% to $1,642.44
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 4.72%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.92%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.58%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 5% to $84.73 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,838.50 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Cecile Gutscher, Macarena Muñoz, Sujata Rao, Michael Msika and Tatiana Darie.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit.  Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ –Muhammad Ali, 1942-2016.

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