May 30th, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

May 30, 1539: Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto’s expedition of 10 ships and 700 men lands in Florida, United States.

May 30, 2011: Germany announced plans to abandon nuclear power over the next 11 years, outlining an ambitious strategy in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster to replace atomic power with
renewable energy sources.  Go to article >>

May 30, 1783: First U.S. newspaper published.
Peter the Great, Russian Tsar, b. 1672.

These innovative airline cabin concepts could be the future of flying
Design firms have long proposed reconfigured plane cabins that could improve flights in coach. Take a look at some eye-catching concepts that may be the future of aviation.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt reunite in ‘Wolfs’ trailer
Former co-stars Clooney and Pitt will return to the big screen in the upcoming movie “Wolfs.” See the action-packed trailer here.

Simone Biles steps up Olympic preparations
The decorated athlete continues her journey to a third Olympic Games as she competes at this week’s Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships.

Why can we sometimes see the moon in broad daylight?
The daytime moon is visible almost every day of the month, except those closest to the full moon and new moon. Here’s why the moon and sun often share the daytime sky. Read More.

How people without ‘inner voices’ could help reveal the mysteries of consciousness
The lack of an inner monologue seems linked to a lower ability to recall words and predict their sounds. Read More.

‘Dinky’ asteroid imaged by NASA has ultra-rare double moon, study confirms
Researchers have proposed a model for how a double moon named Selam formed around the tiny asteroid Dinkinesh. This is the first “contact binary” moon ever discovered, scientists say. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Aceh Besar, Indonesia
Farmers plant rice before the start of the dry season
Photograph: Hotli Simanjuntak/EPA

Berlin, Germany
Ameca, a humanoid robot developed by the British company Engineered Arts Digital, at the Re:publica trade fair
Photograph: dts News Agency Germany/Rex/Shutterstock

​​​​​​​Şanila, Turkey
Shepherds graze their livestock on the Farasin plateau at an altitude of 2,625 metres
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Market Closes for May 30^th, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1986, just 24 calendar days after breaking the 300 barrier for the first time, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed above 400, finishing the day at 400.16. It would take five more years after this for the Nasdaq to add another 100 points.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.8% at 22,071.71 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.4% on May 6 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 1.6%.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 10 of 11 sectors gained; 145 of 223 shares rose, while 74 fell.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.2%. Eqb Inc. had the largest increase, rising 13.5%.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 1.6%
* So far this week, the index fell 1.1%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended April 12
* The index advanced 12% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 24% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.1% below its 52-week high on May 21, 2024 and 18.1% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.6% in the past 5 days and rose 1.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 0 on a trailing basis and 15.4 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$3.48t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.23% compared with 10.00% in the previous session and the average of 9.26% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 126.1675| 1.9| 19/8
Industrials | 15.6749| 0.5| 17/10
Utilities | 12.4600| 1.5| 11/3
Materials | 11.0863| 0.4| 28/20
Energy | 10.7148| 0.3| 25/16
Communication Services | 7.0162| 1.0| 4/1
Consumer Discretionary | 5.7689| 0.8| 10/3
Real Estate | 3.8957| 0.9| 18/2
Consumer Staples | 1.6856| 0.2| 8/3
Health Care | 0.6006| 1.0| 3/0
Information Technology | -21.3620| -1.3| 2/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | 71.9100| 5.2| 45.0| 10.6
CIBC | 29.5200| 7.0| 172.8| 8.4
Brookfield Corp | 7.7000| 1.3| 3.3| 9.8
CGI Inc | -4.3580| -2.2| 38.6| -5.5
Descartes Systems | -5.4490| -6.8| 218.5| 12.0
Constellation Software | -5.7910| -1.1| -5.6| 13.2.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders sent stocks down and bonds up after the latest round of economic data signaled a slowdown in momentum.
Just 24 hours before the release of the Federal Reserve’s favorite price gauge, a report showed the US grew at softer pace — as both spending and inflation were marked down.
Economic cooling could bolster the case for the Fed to start cutting interest rates this year.
But that might also imply weaker consumption, and ultimately become a concern for Corporate America.
“The economic data today are a double-edged sword,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Independent Advisor Alliance.
The S&P 500 dropped to around 5,235.
The Nasdaq 100 fell 1%.
US officials have slowed the issuing of licenses to chipmakers such as Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. for large-scale AI accelerator shipments to the Middle East, according to people familiar with the matter.
Salesforce Inc. tumbled 20% after a weak outlook.
Treasury two-year yields dropped five basis points to 4.92%.
The dollar fell.
Traders had issues with live pricing for the S&P 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average for more than an hour on Thursday morning in New York.
Individual stocks and exchange-traded funds continued to print normally throughout.
That, along with trading of futures contracts, helped traders navigate the disruption.
“At the time it was out, I wasn’t worried,” said Mike Zigmont at Harvest Volatility Management. “Futures were still trading, so you could use them to get the SPX level. Most traders that know enough, didn’t care.”
Fed Bank of New York President John Williams said he expects inflation to continue falling in the second half of this year, adding that elevated borrowing costs are restraining the economy.
Zaccarelli at Independent Advisor Alliance says he’s long been of the belief that the economy matters more than lower rates for the sake of propping up stock prices.
“Of course, they are interrelated because all things being equal, the economy is likely to stay out of recession if interest rates are lower than they are now, but ultimately it is the economic expansion – and continuation of corporate profits – that are the most important thing in the medium and long term,” he noted.
His base case this year is for inflation to remain relatively sticky and for the Fed to stay on the sidelines for most – if not all – of 2024, but also for the economy to continue to expand and for corporate profits to continue to grow.
“So the stock market should remain in a bull market, not withstanding the occasional pullback along the way,” he noted.
Gross domestic product rose 1.3% annualized in the first three months of the year, below the previous estimate of 1.6%, Bureau of Economic Analysis figures published Thursday showed.
The economy’s main growth engine — personal spending —  advanced 2.0%, versus the previous estimate of 2.5%.
“Sum it all up and you have an economy that has come off the boil – and needed to – but remains on track for continued growth,” said Jim Baird at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.
“Inflation remains a primary challenge to consumers and policymakers – one that is still seemingly poised to be resolved, particularly as wage growth and housing inflation normalize.”
The question is one of timing for policymakers who need to see evidence that inflation gauges have resumed their descent toward 2% and the risk of a second wind catching the inflation sail has dissipated, Baird added.
“It was a bond-friendly round of data,” said Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets. “We’re looking for a drift lower in rates throughout the day as investors square positions ahead of Friday’s core-PCE update and month-end.”
The Fed’s first-line inflation gauge is about to show some modest relief from stubborn price pressures, corroborating central bankers’ prudence about the timing of interest-rate cuts.
“The name of the game is still inflation and interest rates,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. “Stay tuned for tomorrow’s PCE price index release, because it could dominate market sentiment until next Friday’s jobs report.”
Signs that the economy may be cooling enough to pave the way for rate cuts, coupled with strong corporate profits, have proven to be good for stocks.
That’s according to an analysis by Bank of America Corp.’s strategists, who crunched the data going back to 1950 to determine that prior quarters of declining economic growth and rising corporate earnings saw the S&P 500 advance 3.6%, on average.
That’s higher than a 2% mean gain seen when both corporate profits and the US gross domestic product saw a boost.

Corporate Highlights:
* Kohl’s Corp. reported first-quarter sales and earnings that fell short of estimates and lowered its guidance, as demand for apparel and home goods remained weak.
* Best Buy Co. reported better-than-expected profitability in the first quarter, even as sales woes deepened and consumers remained on the sidelines with their electronics purchases.
* Bank of America Corp.’s sales and trading team is on track to report second-quarter revenue growth in the low single digits, with investment banking up 10% to 15% from a year earlier, Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said.
* HP Inc. reported quarterly revenue that topped analysts’ estimates, including the first increase in PC sales in two years, an optimistic signal for a long-awaited rebound in the market.
* Birkenstock Holding Plc posted robust earnings and raised its forecast for the year as consumers snapped up its high-end sandals and clogs. The shares rose the most ever.

Key events this week:
* Japan unemployment, Tokyo CPI, industrial production, retail sales, Friday
* China official manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI, Friday
* Eurozone CPI, Friday
* US consumer income, spending, PCE deflator, Friday
* Fed’s Raphael Bostic speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0830
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2731
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 156.84 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.6% to $68,521.76
* Ether rose 0.2% to $3,756.37
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 4.54%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.65%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 4.35%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.7% to $77.92 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,341.92 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee, Denitsa Tsekova, Bre Bradham, Jessica Menton, Elena Popina, Natalia Kniazhevich, Alex Nicholson, Chiranjivi Chakraborty, Winnie Hsu and Stephen Kirkland.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry.
Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life.
The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail. –Lao Tzu, c. 6^th century BC-c. 5^th century BC.

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