August 25, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1939 – The Wizard of Oz released.
1894 – Japanese scientist Shibasaburo Kitasato discovers the infectious agent o the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet.

On Aug. 25, 1944, Paris was liberated by Allied forces after four years of Nazi occupation. Go to article »

Earth’s core is younger than previously believed, new research suggests A mere 1 billion to 1.3 billion years old!–CNN.

NASA is on the hunt for rogue planets.  And the agency’s new space telescope could help identify hundreds of them.-CNN.
 
These embroidery projects that realistically depict food are oddly mesmerizing. –The NY Times.

Irish boy gets new metal detector, immediately finds 400-year-old sword.-Bloomberg.

2,000-year-old redwoods survived California’s latest wildfires.-Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The hypo-pigmented humpback migrates north from Antarctica each year, with females giving birth seeking tropical waters.
CREDIT: MEDIADRUMIMAGES/@CRAIGPARRYPHOTO

This heart stopping footage shows the moment an incredible stuntman became the first person to successfully fly a wingsuit from a mountain in the UK.
CREDIT: HAMISH FROST/SWNS

View of CZU Lightening Fire from the Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument, near Davenport in Santa Cruz County, which extends from the steep slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the marine coastal terraces overlooking the Pacific Ocean. 
CREDIT: ZUMA PRESS, INC./ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Sunset over the low lighthouse at Dovercourt in Essex on a calm evening before the arrival of Storm Francis.
CREDIT: MATTHEW MALLETT/SWNS

Market Closes for August 25th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, Internet Wire, a press release service, issued a bulletin stating that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating Emulex Corp.’s accounting practices. In 16 minutes the stock shed $2.2 billion in market value. The press release was a fabrication by a former Internet Wire employee who was short-selling Emulex stock. He pocketed $241,000 in profits, while thousands of investors lost their shirts, locking in at least $110 million of losses by selling on “the news.” Two weeks later, the SEC nailed the con artist, Mark Jakob, for securities fraud.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended Tuesday slightly lower, paring most of the day’s worst losses, thanks to a rise in technology and financial shares. The S&P/TSX Index Composite fell less than 0.1% in Toronto after earlier sliding as much as 0.6%. Consumer staples and materials were among the worst performers. Tech and financials were driven by Shopify and Bank of Montreal. Bank of Montreal rose 5.7% after its better-than-expected fiscal third quarter results were driven partly by record earnings in its capital-markets division amid a surge in trading of fixed income, commodities and currencies. Meanwhile, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan said gains in its bond portfolio helped offset losses in infrastructure and real estate, allowing the fund to nearly break even in the first half of the year.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was flat at $1,928.74 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3179 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose about 4 basis points to 0.593%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 16,617.48 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.7 percent. TC Energy Corp. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.6 percent. Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. had the largest drop, falling 4.2 percent. Today, 149 of 221 shares fell, while 65 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 2.8 percent
* The index advanced 3.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.5 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 3.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.2 on a trailing basis and 24.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.54t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.43 percent compared with 10.49 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.65 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -20.2624| -0.8| 13/34
Energy | -12.0668| -0.6| 10/13
Consumer Staples | -8.2285| -1.2| 0/11
Utilities | -5.0827| -0.6| 7/8
Consumer Discretionary | -4.1532| -0.7| 4/9
Industrials | -3.6137| -0.2| 9/19
Real Estate | -2.1297| -0.4| 6/20
Communication Services | -1.2010| -0.1| 2/6
Health Care | 0.3065| 0.2| 3/5
Financials | 19.1002| 0.4| 7/18
Information Technology | 28.1579| 1.7| 4/6
US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities rose to all-time highs for a third day with investors counting on the Federal Reserve to stay accommodative as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite notched fresh highs, with Facebook Inc. rallying after unveiling a series of tools designed to expand shopping on its social media platforms. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined for the first time in four days. Salesforce.com Inc. jumped 10% following the close of regular trading after raising its revenue outlook. Treasury yields increased and the dollar weakened. “It’s pretty remarkable, the risk-on trade, for the past couple of months,” said Michael Reynolds, investment strategy officer at Glenmede Trust Co. “It just seems like a benign day as we sit near the all-time highs.”
Oil rose as traders eyed Tropical Storm Laura, which is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall later this week. U.S. gasoline futures rose to the highest level since March on concern over possible fuel shortages. In addition to geopolitics and business confidence, investors are focused on vaccine progress as global economies reopen amid fresh outbreaks of the virus. Moderna Inc. said it’s near a deal to supply at least 80 million vaccine doses to the European Union. “The pattern we’re watching seems to be vaccine clarity means buy the socially distant losers, all of the sectors that have taken a beating since you can’t get together,” said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners.
Traders are also awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s scheduled speech on Thursday about the Fed’s long-awaited monetary policy framework review, which has focused on a new inflation strategy. ”If you think about what’s been driving markets, it’s really been the pace of recovery and primarily multiples have expanded due to hyper-loose monetary policy,” Troy Gayeski, co- chief investment officer of SkyBridge Capital, told Bloomberg TV. Elsewhere, gold traded below $1,950 an ounce.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings from companies including ICBC, PetroChina, HP Inc., Royal Bank of Canada and Dollar General.
* The U.S. Republican National Convention runs this week.
* The Bank of Korea sets monetary policy and will hold a briefing on Thursday.
* Fed Chair Powell speaks at an event on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index gained 0.3% to 3,443.67 as of 4:01 p.m. New
York time, the highest on record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.2% to 28,248.75.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.8% to 11,466.47, the highest on record.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.3% to 369.75.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.3% to 1,171.60.
The euro increased 0.4% to $1.1832.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.4% to 106.40 per dollar, the weakest in more than a week.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 0.68%, the highest in a week on the biggest rise in more than a week.
Germany’s 10-year yield increased six basis points to -0.43%, the highest in more than a week on the largest increase in almost 12 weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield gained five basis points to 0.263%, the highest in almost 11 weeks on the biggest climb in almost two weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to $43.36 a barrel, the highest in almost six months on the largest advance in a week.
Gold was little changed at $1,928.47 an ounce.
Silver depreciated 0.1% to $26.52 per ounce, the weakest in more than a week.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Love of glory can only create a great hero; contempt of glory creates a great man.
                                                      -Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, 1754-1838

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