March 03rd, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

From Bloomberg today:
A huge asteroid is heading for Earth. 
What happens to your emails after you die.

Sue Monk Kidd:
“I think life is a process.  You wake up.  Then you wake up some more.  One self dies.  Another is born.  It’s an evolution of consciousness.  If you look at the way God created the world, it’s always about a seed and a sprout and a flower.  And then it goes back to seed.  It’s always about process and unfolding.  We’re on a journey of greater and greater consciousness, becoming more compassionate, more loving, and that is a lifelong spiraling process.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Everly Fidler, aged 3 from Leatherhead pictured amongst a stunning blanket of 200,000 crocus bulbs at RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey.
CREDIT: OLIVER DIXON

A woman runs on a small road before sunrise in Frankfurt, Germany.
CREDIT: MICHAEL PROBST/AP PHOTO

A horse breeder plays a horse in one of the stables of Aby Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

This picture by Abbas Alkhamis is the Winner, National Awards, 2020 Sony World Photography Awards.
CREDIT: ABBAS ALKHAMIS/2020 SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

After a thunderous hailstorm, a full, beautiful rainbow appeared behind the semi feral ponies of Cefn Bryn common, Swansea.
CREDIT: JOANN RANDLES/COVER IMAGES

Market Closes for March 3^rd, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1882, in Lugo, Italy, outside of Bologna, Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi was born. In 1903 he emigrated to Boston, renaming himself Charles Ponzi, and created a financial phenomenon—promising to double investors’ money every three months by speculating in foreign postage stamps to benefit from fluctuations in currency rates. Bostonians lost over $10 million on the scheme, and Mr. Ponzi’s name became synonymous with any con game that pays new investors out of the money that belongs to the old ones.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci and Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks finished lower Tuesday amid ongoing coronavirus concerns, while the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by half a percentage point in the first such emergency move since the 2008 financial crisis. Gold posted its biggest two-day advance in more than eight years after the Federal Reserve cut U.S. interest rates. The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.8% to 16,423.62. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1.8%. Materials stocks were a rare bright spot, rallying with metal prices. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada is poised to follow the U.S. Federal Reserve and cut interest rates. All odds point to Governor Stephen Poloz lowering rates by at least 25 basis points on Wednesday.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $13.30 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold added 2.7% to $1,638.40 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.4% to C$1.3379 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield tumbled 15 basis points to
0.96%, the lowest since 2016
==============================================
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
==============================================
Financials | -96.1710| -1.8| 1/25
Energy | -45.5059| -1.7| 1/29
Information Technology | -19.0857| -1.8| 1/9
Industrials | -17.6697| -0.9| 7/24
Consumer Discretionary | -11.8305| -1.8| 1/15
Communication Services | -3.7853| -0.4| 1/6
Health Care | -3.7668| -2.1| 5/4
Real Estate | 2.4053| 0.4| 13/11
Utilities | 6.6622| 0.8| 12/4
Consumer Staples | 7.5992| 1.2| 9/2
Materials | 51.5131| 2.9| 33/14

US
By Vildana Hajric and Katherine Greifeld
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks tumbled and Treasuries surged as investors worried the Federal Reserve’s emergency cut won’t be enough to combat the economic impact of the coronavirus. The S&P 500 fell for the eighth time in nine days following the Federal Reserve’s 50 basis-point cut of its benchmark rate. Fed chair Jerome Powell said during a press conference that the U.S. economy remains strong but the virus outbreak will weigh on activity “for some time.” The two-year Treasury yield sunk to 0.70%, while the 10- year plunged below 1% for the first time ever. Banks led losses on equity benchmarks. “Does a 50 basis point cut change things? That’s a tough one to answer,” said Subadra Rajappa, head of U.S. rates strategy at Societe Generale.
     “Fed cuts tend to be less effective in situations like this when there is a supply and demand shock.” Investors had piled out of risk assets last week as the spreading virus threatened to derail global growth, only to pour back in Monday in anticipation of concerted action from Group of Seven officials. Oil pared its rebound Tuesday, approaching $46 a barrel, while gold rose. The yen was higher versus the dollar. “Moving between meetings with a bigger than normal interest rate cut looks like Fed officials are panicking as much as stock market investors did last week,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist for MUFG Union Bank. “They did not need to be so aggressive and the Fed under Powell keeps responding wrongly in our view more to the financial markets than they are to the broader economy. We aren’t in a recession yet and today’s move won’t keep one from coming. The OECD warned that growth will sink to levels not seen in more than a decade and ever more businesses are warning about the impact of the illness. The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said it would take all necessary steps to help the economy. Australia lowered its benchmark by a quarter percentage point. Its currency rose, however, underscoring how traders’ expectations have rapidly shifted in recent days.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 2.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.96%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1.4%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%.
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.1178.
* The British pound gained 0.5% to $1.2812.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 1% to 107.23 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased 16 basis points to 1%.
* The two-year rate lost 20 basis points to 0.70%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dropped two basis points to -0.64%.
Commodities
* Gold futures added 2.7% to $1,637.10 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% at $47.24 a barrel.

–With assistance from Sophie Caronello.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Each person must live their life as a  model for others.
                                        -Rosa Parks, 1913-2005

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