July 13, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

See the subway as you never have before, through the lens of the M.T.A.’s recently retired official photographer. -The NY Times.

You can watch all of the recent presentations for Paris haute couture in one place. -The NY Times.

July 13, 1930 – First World Cup soccer championship.

On July 13, 1977, a 25-hour blackout hit the New York City area after lightning struck upstate power lines.  Go to article »

July 13, 1985 –  “Live Aid” concerts held at both Wembley Stadium (London) and John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia) raises over $70 million for African famine relief.

What a charming little particle! (h/t Scott Kominers) -Bloomberg.

The $30 million island mansion that Twitter and Netflix built.  -Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Bavaria, Bernbeuren: Morning mist clears over the foothills of the Alps at sunrise.
CREDIT: KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND/DPA

Comet Neowise captured in the sky in Ryde on the Isle of Wight.
CREDIT: ISLANDVISIONS/BNPS

The sun rises over the Baltic Sea in Timmendorfer Strand, northern Germany.
CREDIT: MICHAEL PROBST

Market Closes for July 13th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1852, Wells, Fargo & Co. opened for business in San Francisco and Sacramento. It was founded by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo to convert gold dust into cash for miners, as well as to transport and safeguard letters, gold nuggets and other valuable by-products of the California Gold Rush.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares pared their earlier gains to close lower, with the decline led by tech and materials stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.5% in Toronto. Tech, materials and industrials were among the worst performers, while the utilities sector was the best performer. U.S. stocks declined after the S&P 500 briefly touched the highest level since the coronavirus pandemic sent markets tumbling worldwide. Aphria Inc. was the best performing stock in the TSX composite after it was upgraded to buy from hold by Stifel, which said the Canadian cannabis company’s discounted multiple undervalues its improving growth prospects. The shares rose 8.9%. Canadian consumer confidence stalled last week for the first time in almost three months. The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, a weekly composite measure of financial health and economic expectations, was largely unchanged at 46.1 last week, from 46.2 a week earlier. That ends a 10-week streak of gains.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $7.40 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,802.69 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1% to C$1.3609 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell slightly to 0.539%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.5 percent at 15,639.41 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 1.7 percent on June 26 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.9 percent. Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 5 of 11 sectors lost; 113 of 221 shares fell, while 108 rose. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 6.2 percent. Ballard Power Systems Inc. had the largest drop, falling 10.9 percent.
Insights
* The index declined 5.1 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 4 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 13 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 40 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 2.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.6 on a trailing basis and 24.6 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$2.39t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 19.74 percent compared with 19.67 percent in the previous session and the average of 20.06 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -74.7479| -4.4| 2/8
Materials | -49.1461| -2.1| 10/40
Industrials | -11.8507| -0.7| 16/12
Consumer Discretionary | -2.1399| -0.4| 6/7
Consumer Staples | -1.5751| -0.2| 6/5
Real Estate | 0.4659| 0.1| 17/10
Health Care | 1.8489| 1.1| 6/3
Energy | 7.3462| 0.4| 9/15
Communication Services | 10.5479| 1.3| 5/3
Utilities | 12.3022| 1.6| 16/0
Financials | 32.5551| 0.7| 15/10
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined after the S&P 500 briefly touched the highest level since the coronavirus pandemic sent markets tumbling worldwide in March. Crude oil also turned lower. The main U.S. equity index stumbled in afternoon trading on signs the virus was throttling reopening plans in states like California. An increase in tensions with China also damaged sentiment. The measures had almost reclaimed a gain for the year before stumbling. It’s still down almost 7% from a Feb. 19 high. The volatility in the S&P also corresponded with prices swings in Tesla Inc., which is in the Nasdaq Composite. The Nasdaq hit another record high before closing in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day slightly higher. “It’s remarkable how optimistic investors seem to be,” said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management. “But there are a lot of uncertainties remaining and it’s a little bit early to assume it’s going to be back to business as usual anytime soon.” Traders are awaiting reports this week from a slew of companies that have yet to provide concrete guidance on the impact of the virus. Shares of PepsiCo Inc. rose after the snack-maker reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter sales.
European stocks rose with government bond yields. Oil declined ahead of an OPEC+ meeting at which the group may announce plans to start tapering historic production cuts. With global stocks trading near their highest since February, the focus has turned to whether the profit outlook will back up bullishness fueled by central bank and fiscal policy support. Traders have largely shrugged off new coronavirus outbreaks in some parts of the world. California’s two biggest school districts said they would offer remote learning only in the fall despite calls by the Trump administration for classrooms to fully reopen. The state reported a record number of people hospitalized with coronavirus. There’s reason for optimism even though earnings are estimated to have contracted by more than 40% in the worst quarter since the financial crisis, as analysts upgrade their forecasts for the rest of the year. “The backdrop is positive for all sectors of the market,” said Gerry Sparrow, president of Sparrow Capital Management Inc. “The reason for that backdrop is that the recovery has taken hold, so jobs data, consumer credit, home building strength signaled that the economy has shifted in a positive direction.”
Here are some key events coming up:
* JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon and Citigroup start the U.S. earnings season for banks.
* Wednesday brings the Bank of Japan’s policy decision and a Governor Haruhiko Kuroda briefing.
* The EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.
* China releases second-quarter GDP on Thursday as well as key economic indicators for June.
* The European Central Bank meets to set monetary policy on Thursday, with President Christine Lagarde holding a virtual press conference afterward.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.9% to 3,155.35 as of 4:00 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 26,086.34, the highest in a week.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 2.1% to 10,390.84, the largest decrease in more than two weeks.
The MSCI All-Country World Index decreased 0.3% to 540.26.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1% to 1,210.52.
The euro increased 0.4% to $1.1349, the strongest in more than a month.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.3% to 107.24 per dollar, the largest drop in almost two weeks.
Bonds
The yield on two-year Treasuries was unchanged at 0.15%.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries decreased two basis points to 1.32%.
Germany’s 10-year yield gained five basis points to -0.42%, the highest in more than a week on the biggest advance in more than a week.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 2.1% to $39.69 a barrel.
Gold strengthened 0.2% to $1,803.18 an ounce.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

During my eighty-seven years I have witnesses a whole succession of technological revolutions.
But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think.
                                                                                           -Bernard M. Baruch, 1870-1965

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