July 9, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
The Kyoto Aquarium has compiled a complex flow chart depicting the relationships among its penguins. –The NY Times.

“The Far Side” cartoonist Gary Larson has shared his first new work in 25 years. –The NY Times.

Who wouldn’t want to WFH … from Barbados? –Bloomberg.

1893~First successful open-heart surgery.
1964~Courtney Love, singer, b.
1956~Tom Hanks, actor, b.
1879~Otto Respighi, composer, b.
1856~Nikola Tesla, b.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Cows grazing near lentil fields and blooming poppy flowers near Castelluccio, a small village in central Italy’s Umbria region.
CREDIT: TIZIANA FABI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Mosaic artist Mervan Altinorak is turning scrap metal into human sculpture in Hatay, Turkey. The mosaic artist living in Reyhanli district of Hatay province made a human bust by using metal, plastic and electronic card wastes to raise awareness to environmental pollution.
CREDIT: CEM GENCO/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

A crop of strawberries stands illuminated by a Thorvald autonomous modular robot, developed by Saga Robotics, as it performs an Ultra-Violet (UV) light treatment on a crop of strawberries during robotics trials organized by a U.K. agri-food consortium at Clock House Farm Ltd., near Maidstone, U.K
CREDIT: HOLLIE ADAMS/BLOOMBERG
Market Closes for July 9th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1877, Alexander Graham Bell and three partners formed the Bell Telephone Co. as a “voluntary association” with 5,000 shares of stock; Bell gave 1,407 of his 1,507 shares to his new wife, Mabel, just weeks later.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell Thursday on concerns of higher coronavirus counts. U.S. cases rose 2%, higher than the average daily increase.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 0.4%, with seven of 11 sectors lower. Energy was the worst performing group as oil tumbled. Information technology gained as Shopify Inc. rose 2.9%.
WTI crude fell to its lowest level in more than a week as a resurgence in coronavirus cases and impending U.S.layoffs darken the economic outlook.
Meanwhile, a Bloomberg News poll taken at the end of June by Nanos Research found that only 30% of Canadians who either lost their job or were working reduced hours because of the pandemic were re-employed or working more.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.30 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.3% to $1,803 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.6% to C$1.3590 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 4.5 basis points to 0.53%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.4 percent at 15,568.64 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since June 30 after the previous session’s increase of 0.2 percent.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.6 percent. Methanex Corp. had the largest drop, falling 5.1 percent.
Today, 145 of 221 shares fell, while 70 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* The index declined 5.9 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 5.1 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 13.4 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 39.3 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.3 percent in the past 5 days and fell 1.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.5 on a trailing basis and 24.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.38t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 19.58 percent compared with 19.53 percent in the previous session and the average of 20.09 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -58.8915| -1.3| 2/23
Energy | -28.6090| -1.5| 4/20
Utilities | -9.7600| -1.2| 3/13
Real Estate | -5.2336| -1.1| 4/22
Communication Services | -4.3521| -0.5| 2/6
Consumer Discretionary | -3.1317| -0.6| 2/11
Health Care | -2.1462| -1.3| 1/8
Materials | 4.6293| 0.2| 30/16
Industrials | 5.3646| 0.3| 12/16
Consumer Staples | 8.4410| 1.3| 3/8
Information Technology | 33.1350| 2.0| 7/2
US
By Vivien Lou Chen and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities slumped on concern that a resurgence in coronavirus cases will derail the comeback for the world’s biggest economy. Oil dipped below $40 a barrel and Treasuries jumped.
Financial companies were among the worst performers on the S&P 500 Index as Wells Fargo & Co. prepared to cut thousands of jobs because of the pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average’s loss exceeded 1.3% as Boeing Co. dropped. The Nasdaq gauges advanced as big tech stocks rose. Long-term government bonds rallied following an auction for 30-year securities that showed strong demand.
Analysts are closely monitoring the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. and across the world, with record deaths in Florida and California seen as ominous signs. While optimists are betting that fiscal and monetary support will contain the fallout and cited jobs data Thursday that came in better than expected, others pointed out that the labor market is still treacherous.
“Sentiment clearly took a turn negative today, and the buildup of Covid-19 concerns seems to be the biggest issue,” said Larry Milstein, senior managing director of government debt trading at R.W. Pressprich & Co. Given that cases are also rising in Asia, “there’s a real concern that a second wave is approaching that will impact the global economy.”
Elsewhere, European shares joined the decline. Gold traded near $1,800 an ounce. West Texas oil slumped after swelling U.S. crude stockpiles raised fresh concerns about oversupply and a key Libyan field resumed production.
Chinese equities outperformed as the Shanghai Composite notched an eighth day of gains, helped by signals of official support and strong demand from retail traders.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Singapore holds its general election on Friday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.8%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index added 0.8%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%.
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1288.
* The British pound was little changed at $1.261.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 107.22 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased six basis points to 0.61%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to -0.47%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield sank two basis points to 0.16%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 3.5% to $39.47 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.3% to $1,803.25 an ounce.
–With assistance from Masaki Kondo, Adam Haigh, Michael Hunter, Yakob Peterseil, Claire Ballentine and Katherine Greifeld.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

You just can’t beat the person who won’t give up.
                                  -Babe Ruth, 1895-1948

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