March 6, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
March 6, 1899: The painkiller Aspirin is registered as a trademark.  Acetylsalicylic acid was first isolated in 1897 by German chemist Felix Hoffman.
1912: Oreo sandwich cookies were first introduced by the National Biscuit Co., which later became Nabisco. Go to article >>

March 6, 1836: Fall of the Alamo.

Michelangelo, b.1475.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, b. 1806.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, b. 1928.
Shaquille O’Neal, b.1972

China will launch giant, reusable rockets next year to prep for human missions to the moon
China’s new jumbo-size, reusable rockets are part of the country’s plans to send humans to the moon by 2030.  Read More.

1,200-year-old lord’s tomb laden with gold unearthed in Panama
Tomb believed to belong to a pre-Hispanic royal who was in his 30s when he died discovered in the El Caño archaeological park. Read More.

PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ to officially be removed from food packaging, FDA says
New food packaging products sold in the U.S., such as takeout boxes and fast-food wrappers, will no longer contain harmful “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.  Full Story: Live Science (3/5).

King Charles invites Harry and Meghan to coronation
But it remains unclear if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend due to their ongoing rift with the royal family.

Painting recovered by Holocaust victims’ heirs sets auction record
A Kandinsky painting that once belonged to victims of the Nazi Holocaust has sold for nearly $45 million.

Chris Rock tackles Oscars slap in live Netflix special
The comedian saved these jokes about the incident until the last ten minutes of the show.

99% of people got this trivia question wrong
Ready to test your knowledge? See if you can answer some of the most challenging questions from the live mobile game HQ Trivia. Take the quiz here.

RIP
Guitarist Gary Rossington, the last surviving founding member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died, the band announced Sunday evening. He was 71. Rossington was among the Lynyrd Skynyrd band members inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and contributed to many of the group’s most iconic songs, including “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Medellín, Colombia
A tourist poses for a photo on the Pachamama sculpture by artist Jorge Jaramillo and printer Juan David Escandon, who made the 5.5 metre sculpture from 1,500 pieces printed with 3D technology
Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/AFP/Getty Images

Paris, France
Models present creations by Chanel for the women’s ready-to-wear fall-winter 2024/2025 collection as part of Paris fashion week
Photograph: Stéphane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Estadio Monumental prior to the Copa de la Liga derby match between River Plate and Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires
Photograph: Tomás Cuesta/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 6^th, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 2000: After years of warning that stock prices were too high, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan seemed to endorse the stratospheric prices of tech shares, telling a conference that business investment in high-tech equipment and software had no end in sight. Four days later, the Nasdaq Composite peaked, before it began tumbling in the worst market crash since 1929.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.3% at 21,593.96 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level in at least a year.
The move follows the previous session’s little change.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.4%.
Lithium Americas Argentina Corp. had the largest increase, rising 10.8%.
Today, 152 of 225 shares rose, while 71 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 3%
* The index advanced 5.3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 15.5% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.6% in the past 5 days and rose 3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.2 on a trailing basis and 14.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.41t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.82% compared with 11.80% in the previous session and the average of 11.04% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 28.3083| 1.3| 44/8
Financials | 15.0585| 0.2| 16/11
Energy | 8.8620| 0.2| 27/13
Consumer Discretionary | 7.6826| 1.0| 6/7
Communication Services | 5.7974| 0.8| 5/0
Utilities | 4.6640| 0.6| 12/2
Consumer Staples | 3.5505| 0.4| 8/3
Information Technology | 0.6860| 0.0| 6/4
Real Estate | -0.7957| -0.2| 9/12
Health Care | -1.2664| -1.9| 1/3
Industrials | -4.5208| -0.1| 18/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | 14.8100| 1.4| -5.8| -4.6
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 7.0290| 0.9| 36.5| 13.0
Nutrien | 5.7680| 2.4| -32.3| -5.0
RBC | -2.9380| -0.2| -43.2| -0.9
Manulife Financial | -3.6710| -0.9| -17.3| 10.6
Franco-Nevada | -6.6820| -3.3| 81.1| 0.9
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders breathed a sigh of relief, with Jerome Powell once again signaling he expects the Federal Reserve to cut rates this year — even as a strong economy keeps officials on hold for now.
Stocks and bonds rose as investors took his remarks as a “no news is good news” development.
Investors also kept a close eye on regional banks, with New York Community Bancorp erasing a 47% intraday tumble and closing 7.5% higher on news it was raising over $1 billion in equity to shore up investor confidence.
During his congressional testimony, Powell noted that the risk from commercial real estate is “manageable.”
The Fed chief also said that the central bank is likely to significantly change its plan to require large lenders to hold more capital — a move that would mark a major win for industry giants.
The S&P 500 reclaimed its 5,100 mark, with tech shares leading gains.
Nvidia Corp. closed at a fresh record.
Treasury 10-year yields fell five basis points to 4.1%.
The dollar dropped.
Bitcoin resumed its rally, topping $66,000.
To Michael Feroli at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Powell was pretty careful to avoid sending new signals on the direction of monetary policy — “which makes sense” considering the full set of economic data ahead of the next Fed meeting.
Powell’s remarks on Wednesday left intact expectations that the Fed will deliver three quarter-point rate cuts this year.
While traders still see policy easing as early as June, their forecast is more aligned with the Fed’s than it was at the start of the year.
“While Powell didn’t commit to rate reductions in the near future, his positivity concerning the trajectory of inflation amidst confidence that the central bank’s current rate is likely at its peak is enough for market participants,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.
Separately, Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said he expects the central bank to cut interest rates two times — or potentially just once — in 2024, but emphasized he hasn’t finalized his forecasts for the upcoming meeting.
Central bankers are now grappling with how soon and how far they should lower rates. Cut too early, and officials worry they could fuel a pick-up in activity that keeps inflation above 2% — the rate they see as appropriate for a healthy economy.
Keep borrowing costs elevated for too long and they risk tipping the US into a recession.
The US economy has expanded at a modest pace since earlier in the year, while consumers showed more sensitivity to rising prices, the Fed said in its Beige Book survey of regional business contacts.
Traders also waded through the latest labor-market readings.
A report known as JOLTS showed US job openings remained elevated in January.
Meantime, companies boosted hiring in February at a moderate pace, with private payrolls increasing by 140,000 — while trailing estimates.
“The Fed can afford to sit on higher rates until the labor market starts to crack,” said Jamie Cox at Harris Financial Group. “Maximum employment is the stronger of the two mandates for rate cuts, and there is no there, there to force cuts at this point. So, the Fed has a free pass to inflation fight, for now.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Boeing Co. officials have failed to fully cooperate with US investigators looking into how a panel blew off a 737 Max 9 in January, a Senate hearing was told Wednesday.
* CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., a cybersecurity company, jumped after giving an optimistic outlook.
* Exxon Mobil Corp. filed for arbitration to retain pre-emption rights in a giant Guyanese oil field, threatening Chevron Corp.’s attempt to acquire a stake via its pending $53 billion takeover of Hess Corp.
* Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue is trending toward the top of its previous guidance for the first quarter even as net interest income is likely to come in at the bottom, Chief Financial Officer Bryan Preston said.
* Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded forecasts, underscoring the apparel retailer’s ability to maintain momentum despite uncertain economic conditions.
* Nordstrom Inc. is forecasting muted revenue and comparable sales growth this year as sluggish demand at its high-end namesake stores offsets an improving outlook at its off-price Rack stores.
* Foot Locker Inc. reported sales that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, overcoming concerns of a pullback in consumer spending on sportswear.

Key Events This Week:
* China trade, forex reserves, Thursday
* European Central Bank’s rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, trade, Thursday
* President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address, Thursday
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee, Thursday
* Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester speaks, Thursday
* Eurozone GDP, Friday
* US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, Friday
* New York Fed President John Williams speaks, Friday
* ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann speaks, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0898
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2740
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 149.38 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 5% to $66,481.26
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 4.1%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.32%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.99%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $79.08 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.9% to $2,146.34 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee, Elizabeth Stanton and Felice Maranz.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
A problem is a chance for you to do your best. -Duke Ellington, 1899-1974.

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