February 03, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

               KINDNESS
Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.
Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
It is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.
       -by Namoi Shihab Nye.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Renee Zellweger with her Best Actress Bafta award attending the after show party for the 73^rd British Academy Film Awards.
CREDIT: MATT CROSSICK/PA WIRE

Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge 73^rd British Academy Film Awards.
CREDIT: JONNY BIRCH/BAFTA/REX

Democratic U.S presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speak to supporters and volunteers at a campaign field office in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.
CREDIT: REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR

Market Closes for February 3^rd, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1913, the Federal income tax was born, as the states ratified the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It reads in its entirety: “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.” The 16th Amendment overturned Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution, which had expressly forbidden a general income tax.

Canada
By Kristine Owram and Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rebounded from Friday’s rout after China took steps to protect its economy and markets from the impact of the coronavirus. The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.4% to 17,379.76 Monday, partially recovering from the previous session’s 1% drop. Technology and health-care stocks led the gains. The only sector that closed lower was materials, which took a hit from falling gold prices. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.5%. Ballard Power Systems Inc. had the largest increase, rising 6.9%. Today, 144 of 233 shares rose, while 84 fell.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $19.75 discount to WTI
* Spot gold fell 0.4% to $1,581.10 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.4% to C$1.3297 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 1.25%, the lowest since October
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 18.3892| 0.3| 20/6
Information Technology | 15.5484| 1.5| 9/1
Industrials | 13.6166| 0.7| 22/9
Utilities | 6.1383| 0.7| 14/2
Energy | 5.7357| 0.2| 13/16
Real Estate | 5.7144| 0.9| 23/0
Consumer Discretionary | 3.1938| 0.5| 11/5
Health Care | 2.6489| 1.2| 6/4
Consumer Staples | 0.6329| 0.1| 8/3
Communication Services | 0.1548| 0.0| 3/5
Materials | -10.5036| -0.6| 15/33

US
By Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded from the worst week in six months as investors speculated efforts to contain the coronavirus will minimize lasting damage to the American economy. Commodities remained under pressure, with copper dropping a 14th straight day and oil sliding below $50 a barrel. The S&P 500 Index advanced as China added stimulus in an effort to shore up its economy and American manufacturing data topped estimates. It’s still down more than 2% since the virus scare started almost two weeks ago, and ended the session well off highs. Tech shares led the advance, while energy and industrial companies slumped. The risk-on mood in U.S. equities didn’t spread across assets. Treasuries suffered only modest declines, oil plunged and copper futures dropped again in London. Stocks in Shanghai – – which hadn’t traded since holidays began Jan. 23 – tumbled the most since 2015 as the nation’s economy remained virtually shut down because of the virus. “In the short-term, equity markets are at risk and we haven’t seen yet the types of declines that we saw during SARS,” Ed Campbell, portfolio manager and managing director at QMA, said in a phone interview.
      “The lesson from history is that risk assets don’t bottom until the net number of new cases peaks and it’s not clear that we’ve reached that point.” The spread of the cornoavirus kept investors on edge Monday after American equities had the worst week since August on concern economic growth will falter as the virus spreads. U.S. health officials said they were preparing as if the outbreak would be a pandemic. The People’s Bank of China cut rates as it injected cash into the financial system on Monday, part of a slew of measures to shore up their financial markets. Still, the economic toll is becoming clearer, with Beijing reportedly evaluating whether its growth target this year should be softened. A manufacturing reading in the U.S. topped estimates. In company news, Tesla Inc. surged 20% after a battery unit reported a quarterly profit and the shares got an upgrade. Sysco Corp. sank after delivering disappointing results. Nike Inc. rallined with Microsoft. Alphabet lost 5% as of 4:05 p.m. in New York, after reporting results.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The Iowa caucuses are Monday, the first contest to choose a Democratic nominee to run against Donald Trump in November.
* Tuesday brings a policy decision from the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the Reserve Bank of India’s interest rate decision is due Thursday.
* Friday has the U.S. employment report for January.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index increased 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index gained 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.3%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index lost 0.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.3%.
* The euro declined 0.3% to $1.1058.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 108.67 per dollar.
* The offshore yuan weakened 0.2% to 7.0147 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained one basis point to 1.52%.
* The two-year rate rose four basis points to 1.355%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.44%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3% to $49.99 a barrel.
* Gold futures weakened 0.4% to $1,581 an ounce.
* CMX copper futures fell 0.4%.
–With assistance from Todd White and Vildana Hajric.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.
                                                                                      -Paulo Coelho, b. 1947

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