October 25, 2023, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Carolann is away from the office for a conference, I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

Humans and Neanderthals mated 250,000 years ago, much earlier than thought
A comparison of the genomes of a Neanderthal who lived 120,000 years ago in Siberia with those from modern humans in sub-Saharan Africa has revealed insight into the migratory and interbreeding history of both species.

Collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet is ‘unavoidable,’ study finds
British Antarctic Survey researchers have found that the rate at which ice is melting and contributing to sea level rise will accelerate in the next century, regardless of actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

How to watch the full ‘Hunter’s Moon’ get eclipsed this weekend
October’s full ‘Hunter’s Moon’ will drift into Earth’s shadow for a partial eclipse on Oct. 28.

Ancient face carvings exposed along Amazon river
Human faces sculpted into stone up to 2,000 years ago have appeared on a rocky outcropping along the Amazon River amid decreasing water levels.

Scientists detect fastest-ever fast radio bursts, lasting just 10 millionths of a second
Astronomers have captured ultrafast radio bursts from 3 billion light-years away for the first time ever. Read more.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Cheshire, UK
The Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in fog at sunrise on the Cheshire plain. After exceptional rainfall last weekend, which led to flooding in some areas, low temperatures are bringing on autumnal weather
Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Staffordshire, UK
The sun rises over Mow Cop Castle
Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters

​​​​​​​Hau Giang, Vietnam
Vendors sell vegetables at Vi Thanh market
Photograph: Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for October 25^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1929, following the so-called “Black Thursday” panic, the New York Times carried a full-page ad sponsored by 35 top brokerage firms, urging the public to buy stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to close at 301.22.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the sixth day, dropping 0.2%, or 38.64 to 18,947.85 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level in at least a year.
Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 6 of 11 sectors lost; 135 of 227 shares fell, while 90 rose.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 6.9%. Dye & Durham Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 11.4%.
Insights
* This year, the index fell 2.3%, heading for the worst year since 2022
* This month, the index fell 3%
* The index declined 0.8% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.9% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.1% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 0.5% above its low on Oct. 4, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.6% in the past 5 days and fell 4.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.4 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$3.01t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.33% compared with 14.41% in the previous session and the average of 14.09% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -54.2909| -3.8| 0/11
Financials | -24.9423| -0.4| 15/13
Materials | -15.6995| -0.7| 10/41
Real Estate | -6.7385| -1.6| 0/21
Communication Services | -3.1171| -0.4| 1/4
Health Care | -1.8249| -3.3| 0/4
Consumer Discretionary | 0.1552| 0.0| 3/11
Utilities | 1.5343| 0.2| 10/4
Consumer Staples | 6.1895| 0.7| 6/5
Industrials | 15.8796| 0.6| 7/19
Energy | 44.2098| 1.2| 38/2
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | -41.5200| -6.9|n/a | 42.3
Brookfield Corp | -13.7300| -3.2|n/a | -3.5
Constellation | | | |
Software | -4.2760| -1.1|n/a | 34.3
Canadian National | 6.5140| 1.1|n/a | -8.9
Waste Connections | 8.9110| 2.7|n/a | 5.6
Canadian Natural | | | |
Resources | 9.6950| 1.5|n/a | 17.9
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A giant exchange-traded fund tracking the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) whipsawed in late hours as a post-earnings rally in Meta Platforms Inc. failed to spur a rebound after the tech-heavy gauge’s worst slide of 2023.
Wall Street grappling with a batch of corporate earnings sent stocks lower on Wednesday amid heightened Treasury volatility, with traders also keeping an eye on the latest geopolitical developments.
The S&P 500 dropped about 1.5%.
The Nasdaq 100 slid 2.5% as Google’s parent Alphabet Inc.’s disappointing cloud figures outweighed Microsoft Corp.’s sales.
A gauge of chipmakers slid 4.1% on Texas Instruments Inc.’s bearish forecasts.
“The question now turns to earnings as earnings drive stock prices,” said Howard Ward, chief investment officer of Growth Equities and portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds. “This is where the rubber meets the road. A recession would result in higher unemployment, less consumer spending, slower gross domestic product growth and lower earnings, which implies lower stock prices.”
Longer-dated US yields outpaced those in shorter-maturity bonds — a process known as “bear steepening.”
Economists often look to the Treasury market for clues about when a recession might come. Specifically, they examine the so-called yield curve. When it’s “inverted,” as it has been since about mid-2022, that almost always means a recession is looming. But by mid-2023, the curve began to “disinvert” – or steepen in industry parlance — in a way that raised the question of whether the US had managed to dodge a recession or whether one was about to start.
Treasury yields surged Wednesday after poor demand for a sale of five-year notes deepened anxiety about auction size increases expected to be announced next week.
Yields were already rising before the auction, reinforced by stronger-than- expected September new home sales data.
Thirty-year US yields climbed 15 basis points to 5.09%, while those on two-year notes were little changed at 5.12%.
The yield on 10-year bonds advanced 13 basis points to 4.95%.
Elsewhere, the yen dropped to its weakest level this year against the dollar as the wide yield gap with the US continued to weigh on the Japanese currency.
The Bank of Canada kept interest rates unchanged for a second straight meeting, but left the door open to more tightening even as officials forecast weaker economic growth.
The loonie declined.
Oil topped $85 a barrel after a news report that Israel agreed to delay the ground invasion of Gaza to protect US troops.

Corporate Highlights:
* Boeing Co. maintained its cash-flow target and said it’s moving ahead with higher aircraft output, reassuring investors even as manufacturing defects forced the company to lower its annual delivery goal for the top-selling 737 model.
* Apple Inc. raised prices of its Apple TV+, Arcade gaming and News+ subscription services on Wednesday, in a move that could generate more revenue for its increasingly key services division.
** It’s also planning an end-to-end overhaul of its Air Pods lineup, refreshing a product category that’s emerged as one of the company’s biggest sellers.
* Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are facing a new round of regulatory challenges, with the Federal Reserve proposing lower caps on the fees banks and payment companies can charge merchants when consumers swipe their debit cards at checkout.
* T-Mobile US Inc. posted third-quarter profits that beat estimates, buoyed by better-than-expected mobile customer gains.
* Short-seller Carson Block said he’s shorting Sunrun Inc. again, part of a short theme he calls the “ESG hustle.”
** Sunrun says it fully stands behind its reporting of metrics, including subscribers, in response to the short report from Muddy Waters released earlier Wednesday.
* Deutsche Bank AG said it will accelerate payouts to shareholders, seeking to lift the lender’s stock and close a valuation gap with peers. It’s also starting another round of job cuts.
* Worldline SA sent a fresh shockwave through Europe’s fintech sector on Wednesday, cutting its sales outlook and warning of economic challenges that pushed its stock down by more than half.

Key events this week:
* European Central Bank interest rate decision; President Christine Lagarde holds news conference, Thursday
* US wholesale inventories, GDP, US durable goods, initial jobless claims, pending home sales, Thursday
* Intel, Amazon earnings, Thursday
* China industrial profits, Friday
* Japan Tokyo CPI, Friday
* US PCE deflator, personal spending and income, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
* Exxon Mobil earnings, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
* The MSCI World index fell 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0568
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2113
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 150.06 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3.3% to $34,761.32
* Ether rose 1.1% to $1,790.6
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 12 basis points to 4.94%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 2.89%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 4.61%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to $85.26 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,992 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Edward Dufner.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Shabnam
“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”– Vince Lombardi

Shabnam Mohammadpourmarzbali
Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff
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