November 10, 2023, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.  Armistice Day tomorrow.  Lest we forget…

In Flander’s Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
                           -John McCrae.

November 10^th:
1871: Stanley finds Livingstone.
1940: Walt Disney begins serving as an informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI; his job is to report back information on Hollywood subversives.
1951:L Area codes introduced.
1983: Microsoft releases Windows.
1997: WorldCom Inc. and MCI Communications Corp. agreed to a $37 billion merger.  Go to article >>

James Webb telescope finds an ‘extreme’ glow
The universe’s early galaxies are way brighter than they should be. The James Webb Space Telescope’s discovery of brightly glowing gas around 90% of primordial galaxies may explain why. Read More.

See stunning images of STEVE and auroras
Gorgeous photos show the stunning auroras and sky phenomena caused by a powerful geomagnetic storm that slammed into Earth Nov. 5. Read More.

Exoplanets at galaxy’s edge could have formed continents
Several exoplanets at the edge of our galaxy could have formed continents — and advanced life — 5 billion years earlier than Earth, new research suggests. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Srinagar, Kashmir
Schoolchildren play cricket on the outskirts of Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir.  Photograph: Mukhtar Khan/AP.
One-horned rhinoceros families graze in the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary in Assam, India. Their ‘armoured’ skin may look tough, but in fact it is sensitive to sunburn and insect bites, which is why they like to cover themselves in an overcoat of mud and dust.  Photograph: Anuwar Hazarika/NurPhoto/Shutterstock.

Little tern chicks in Winterton Dunes, Norfolk, UK. The highest number of little tern chicks for 17 years has been recorded at an island in Essex, after work to raise their beach habitat above high tides. Forty-two little tern chicks fledged at Horsey Island during this year’s breeding season, the most recorded since 2006. Little terns are one of the country’s rarest seabirds and the smallest of the tern species that come to the UK from their wintering grounds in Africa to breed during the summer months.
Photograph: Kevin Simmonds/RSPB/PA.
Market Closes for November 10^th,2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1494, the corporate balance sheet took root. The first edition of Luca Pacioli’s “Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita,” printed in Venice, contained 36 chapters on accounting and popularized the concept of double-entry bookkeeping.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.3%, or 67.06 to 19,654.47 in Toronto.
Constellation Software Inc/Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.7%.
Stantec Inc. had the largest increase, rising 8.6%.
Today, 125 of 227 shares rose, while 97 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 1.4%, heading for the best year since 2021
* So far this week, the index fell 0.9%
* 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 5.7% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 5.1% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.8 on a trailing basis and 13.9 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$3.1t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.16% compared with 15.15% in the previous session and the average of 14.46% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 35.1612| 1.0| 27/10
Information Technology | 31.0746| 2.0| 11/0
Financials | 16.9585| 0.3| 16/12
Industrials | 5.1233| 0.2| 19/6
Consumer Discretionary | 3.7297| 0.5| 10/4
Health Care | 0.3128| 0.6| 3/1
Consumer Staples | -0.9177| -0.1| 6/5
Communication Services | -1.5034| -0.2| 2/3
Real Estate | -2.4425| -0.5| 11/10
Utilities | -4.9394| -0.6| 5/9
Materials | -15.4921| -0.7| 15/37
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Constellation Software | 15.0100| 3.7|n/a | 46.5
Shopify | 10.3600| 1.5|n/a | 80.1
Canadian Natural Resources | 9.9220| 1.5|n/a | 18.5
Altus Group | -3.4280| -21.8|n/a | -29.2
Nutrien | -3.8690| -1.5|n/a | -25.3
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -19.5900| -3.0|n/a | -3.4
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks extended their November rally amid a surge in tech giants, a relatively calm session for bonds and no major surprises from Federal Reserve speakers.
A rebound in the S&P 500’s most-influential group sent the gauge to a seven-week high.
The US equity benchmark broke above its key 4,400 mark and the 100-day moving average — seen as bullish developments by many chartists.
The Nasdaq 100 climbed the most since May, with Microsoft Corp. hitting a record and Nvidia Corp. extending its advance into an eighth session.
“Stocks have staged a meaningful recovery,” said Adam Turnquist at LPL Financial. “Oversold conditions, solid earnings and a sharp pullback in interest rates have been the primary drivers.”
A breakout above 4,400 would “reverse the S&P 500’s current downtrend and check the box for a higher high — raising the probability that the correction lows were set last month.”
A calmer session in the Treasury market also helped push stocks higher on Friday.
Ten-year yields were little changed, following a surge triggered by a weak 30-year bond sale and Jerome Powell’s “sterner” tone on policy.
Wall Street continued to keep an eye on the latest remarks from US officials, with Fed Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic saying policymakers can return inflation to their goal
without the need to hike further.
His San Francisco counterpart Mary Daly said the central bank may need to hike again if progress on inflation stalls while the economy roars ahead.
Data Friday showed consumer long-term inflation expectations hit a 12-year high, while economic concerns weighed on sentiment.
Traders should expect the Fed to highlight its commitment to the 2% inflation target, but the rise in long-run inflation expectations indicate consumers are not convinced the Fed can fulfill its inflation mandate, according to Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial.
Investors have softened their emotional reactions to data in recent weeks, with significantly less volatility, and we expect the same with the possibility of a government shutdown next week if a spending deal is not struck,” according to Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide.
“Historically, shutdowns have been short in duration and limited in economic or market impact,” he noted.
The caution that pervaded equity markets in the past three months has now switched to “year-end greed” on expectations of a
decline in US bond yields, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett.
Global stocks recorded inflows of $8.8 billion in the week through Nov. 8, according to the note citing EPFR Global data.
Still, cash remains the asset class of choice, Hartnett said.
About $77.7 billion went into money market funds in the week, setting them up for record annual inflows of $1.4 trillion.
“We see upside for equity indexes, supported by earnings growth among quality companies,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management. “We believe 2024 should be a good year for investors who put their money to work in balanced portfolios, with positive prospective returns across stocks, bonds, and alternative investments.”
Meantime, investors who piled into long dollar positions on the hopes of a hawkish Fed are rapidly selling out of one of the most-crowded trades this year, according to Bank of America strategists including Ralf Preusser and Meghan Swiber.
“USD FX over-weights have been cut back dramatically, and the change in sentiment has been the most pronounced since early 2021,” they wrote.
Elsewhere, the euro edged higher after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that keeping the deposit rate at 4% should be enough to tame inflation, but officials will consider raising borrowing costs again if they need to.
Bitcoin hovered near $37,000 — the highest price in 18 months.
Oil advanced, but still notched a third straight weekly drop on growing concerns over global demand and the unwinding of the Israel-Hamas war’s risk premium.

Corporate Highlights:
* T. Rowe Price Group Inc. said clients will likely withdraw more than $26.3 billion in the fourth quarter, extending a streak of redemptions by investors ditching actively managed mutual funds for cheaper products or cash money-market holdings.
* Trade Desk Inc., a digital advertising platform, gave a weak revenue forecast for the current quarter, sending a warning flare about the health of the ad market.
* Hydrogen producer Plug Power Inc. reported worse-than-expected third quarter earnings and issued a going-concern warning.
* Country Garden Holdings Co. posted its biggest sales drop in at least six years as customers’ concerns about its ability to complete projects threaten to exacerbate a cash crunch at the defaulted Chinese developer.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0685
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2226
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 151.53 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2% to $37,270.54
* Ether rose 1.4% to $2,088.24
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.62%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 2.72%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.34%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% to $77.25 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 1.1% to $1,936.06 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jan-Patrick Barnert, Alexandra Semenova and Natalia Kniazhevich.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
When I was thirteen, I had an inspiring teacher of religion who one day went right through the class of boys asking each one,
“What do you want to be remembered for?” I’m always asking that question:  “What do you want to be remembered for?”
It is a question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see yourself as a different person—the person you can become.
If you are fortunate, someone with moral authority will ask you that question early enough in your life so that you will continue
to ask it as you go through life.  -Peter Drucker, 1909-2005.

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