August 5, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Picnic Day, Australia.
Jamaica Independence Day.

The Indy 500 will run without fans this year 
If a car zooms around a turn and no one’s there to hear it, does it make a sound? -CNN

Five minutes is all it will take to make you fall in love with these 21st-century composers. –The NY Times.

Take a virtual stroll through the Bronx with Michael Kimmelman, The Times’s architecture critic, and the conservation ecologist Eric Sanderson as they explore the borough’s geological past.-The NY Times.

It really worked. Three men stranded on a remote, uninhabited Pacific Ocean island were rescued after their message in the sand was seen from the air. Take a look. –The Seattle Times.
On August 5, 1963 the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater. Go to article »

1583~Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland for the British crown – first English colony in North America and the beginning of the British Empire.

See the devastation of the massive Beirut blast from above. -Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Hikers stop to admire the view of the full moon as it rises over Somerset.
CREDIT: MITCHELL GUNN/ESPA -IMAGES
​​​​​​​A boy runs past a WWII memorial sculpture entitled “The Tragedy of the people” by Zurab Tsereteli at Poklonnaya Hill in western Moscow
CREDIT: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP

The picture shows a rare weather pattern known as a blue sky halo – where a rainbow forms around the sun-in the sky above Coverack, Cornwall.
CREDIT: ZOE HOLMES/SWNS.CO.

The view over Gold Hill at Shaftesbury, Dorset.
CREDIT: RACHEL BAKER/BNPS
Market Closes for August 5^th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1861, federal income tax was imposed on the public for the first time, as the Revenue Act of 1861 became law, assessing a tax of 3% on all personal income in excess of $800 a year to help pay for the Civil War.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares advanced Wednesday amid a slew of corporate earnings while insurance stocks rallied.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.8%, with nine of 11 sectors rising. Great-West Lifeco Inc. jumped the most since June 8 after posting second-quarter financial results that crushed analysts’ estimates.
After months of lagging behind their equity counterparts, fixed-income ETFs attracted net capital of C$3.7 billion ($2.8 billion) in July, their highest month of inflows this year, according to data from National Bank of Canada.
Meanwhile, Husky Energy Inc. returned to the Canadian- dollar bond market for the first time in three years as investors sort out the lowest corporate bond yields on record.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.9% to $2,038.18 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3% to C$1.3278 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 6.6 basis points to 0.494%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.8 percent, or 133.58 to 16,501.61 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 5.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.3 percent. Hudbay Minerals Inc. had the largest increase, rising 10.0 percent.
Today, 149 of 221 shares rose, while 70 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 1.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 47.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.4 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.8 on a trailing basis and 25.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.5t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.86 percent compared with 13.74 percent in the previous session and the average of 16.97 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 71.1909| 1.6| 24/1
Materials | 16.9642| 0.6| 33/17
Industrials | 16.8361| 0.9| 24/4
Energy | 16.2087| 0.8| 16/8
Information Technology | 15.7898| 0.9| 9/1
Consumer Discretionary | 5.7588| 1.0| 9/4
Real Estate | 3.2029| 0.6| 20/6
Consumer Staples | 1.5226| 0.2| 6/5
Health Care | 0.6212| 0.4| 4/4
Communication Services | -7.1064| -0.8| 0/8
Utilities | -7.3967| -0.9| 4/12
US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — The S&P 500 Index posted a fourth straight advance amid encouraging news on the vaccine front and speculation U.S. lawmakers are making progress on an economic aid package.
The benchmark stock gauge rose to within 2% of its record closing high of 3,386, and a measure of global equities was near wiping out its losses for the year. Payment processor Square Inc. and media titan Walt Disney Co. rose after better-than-forecast earnings. Novavax Inc. jumped on positive early data from its experimental vaccine for Covid-19.
Gold continued its ascent above a record $2,000 an ounce as investors sought an alternative to low bond yields. The dollar fell. Ten-year Treasury yields edged up. Oil rose after a decline in U.S. stockpiles.
Investors have been pushing stocks higher in recent days as pressure grows on Republicans and Democrats to resolve differences over a new U.S. virus relief package, especially with jobs data Wednesday painting a grim picture. Gains in precious metals suggest traders are nervous about the outlook for the global economy and seeking a hedge.
“Stock markets in general have been underpinned by expectations for further stimulus out of the U.S.,” said Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager of global asset allocation at Fiera Capital Corp. “The second-quarter earnings season has also lent some notable support and helped to counteract some of the fears about the latest resurgence in Covid cases.” U.S. economic data was mixed, with payroll gains slowing sharply in July, suggesting the pickup in coronavirus cases is putting the brakes on the job market. Meanwhile, service industries expanded in July at the fastest pace since February 2019.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced while Asian shares were mixed.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Reserve Bank of India and Bank of England rate decisions due Thursday.
* Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan discusses the U.S. economy at Thursday event.
* July U.S. employment and jobs reports expected Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.5%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 1.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.5%.
* The euro increased 0.5% to $1.1864.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 105.59 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries added four basis points to 0.54%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased five basis points to -0.51%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 0.13%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude added 1.1% to $42.16 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 1.1% to $2,040.59 an ounce.
–With assistance from Gregor Stuart Hunter, Joanna Ossinger, Marton Eder, Farah Elbahrawy, Andreea Papuc and Anchalee Worrachate.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts.
                                    -William Hazlitt, 1778-1830

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