October 2, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1950-“Peanuts” comic strip debuts.
1968-Redwood National Park established.
Mahatma Gandhi, b. 1869
Groucho Marx, b. 1890
Sting, b.1951

Your first look at Jim Carrey as Joe Biden on ‘SNL’ has arrived.  The white wig is a work of art. –CNN.

On Oct. 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first black to serve on the high court.  Go to article »

And finally, new music from Ella Fitzgerald.
The singer’s concert recordings have always had a power that her studio outings could only imply, our jazz critic Giovanni Russonello writes. Of those live albums, few made a longer-lasting impression than “Mack the Knife: Ella in Berlin,” from 1960, widely considered one of her greatest performances. This week, the pleasure grows.
Today, her record label will release “Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes,” which was recorded at a 1962 concert. Her manager had stashed away the recordings and they were uncovered earlier this year. The new tapes, Giovanni writes, magnify her legacy. – NYT.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The moon shines in glorious detail in false colour picture created by Andrew McCarthy which blends over 50,000 images to produce a stunningly detailed image. Taken from Andrew’s garden in California, USA the composite images is created by a variety of post processing techniques to reveal details that are hidden to the naked eye. See SWNS copy SWCAmoon: A photographer has captured world’s most intricate and detailed photos of the moon – combining thousands of images to show with great clarity the moon’s surface.
CREDIT: ANDREW MCCARTHY/SWNS.COM

The Harvest Moon behind Darwen Tower in Lancashire, UK.
CREDIT: LEE MANSFIELD/BAV MEDIA

Birds fly over the medieval Charles Bridge as the sun rises in Prague, Czech Republic.
CREDIT: REUTERS/ DAVID W CERNY
Market Closes for October 2^nd, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Ireland’s top court says it knows what bread is, and the stuff Subway uses for its sandwiches isn’t it. To be considered bread under the country’s Value Added Tax Act, which dates to 1972, sugar can make up no more than 2% of the weight of the flour used to make dough for bread, according to the ruling.  Sugar makes up 10% of the weight of Subway’s flour in dough for heated sandwiches, the judgment says. Bread that meets the definition isn’t taxed under the law.
Canada
(MT Newswires)
     Canada’s main stock market, the Toronto Stock Exchange, completed a near 200 points turn around in closing Friday up a modest 15 points at about 16,200, but this came after the Index had dropped to early Friday session lows just above 16,000. This added to the more than 60 points gained Thursday, the first day of the new month and quarter. It comes after September was the first losing month in Canada since March, so the pick up of the last two days may mark some bargain buying.
In comparison, for something of a change, today in the US the S&P lost 1% and the Dow Jones lost 0.5% — although they were above intraday lows — on solid, but restrained, payrolls data and, of course, news that US President Trump had tested positive to COVID-19. Among sectors on the TSX, Financials gained near 0.95%, Materials rose near 0.85% and Energy was up near 0.6%.Story of the day may have involved Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO, SU), which is slashing as many as 2,000 jobs, to reflect difficulties stemming from the current oil price environment. Its stock gained 2.9%.
Of commodities, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil fell more than 4% to the lowest in three weeks on Friday on fading hopes for the United States to pass a new stimulus bill and on demand worries as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread, with U.S. President Donald Trump testing positive for the coronavirus. WTI crude for November delivery settled down $1.67 to US$37.05 per barrel, Marketwatch reported, the lowest since Sept.9. Brent crude for December delivery was last seen down $1.76 to US$39.17 while Western Canada Select dropped $1.15 to US$26.58 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold edged lower on Friday as the U.S. dollar strengthened following a positive Covid-19 diagnosis for the president of the United States. Gold for December delivery closed down $8.70 to US$1,907.60 per ounce in Comex trade. Price: 16199.25, Change: +14.7, Percent Change: +0.1

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 16,199.25 in Toronto.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.2 percent. Vermilion Energy Inc. had the largest increase, rising 5.7 percent.
Today, 100 of 223 shares rose, while 120 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.8 percent, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended Aug. 28
* This year, the index fell 5.1 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 0.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 45 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.9 on a trailing basis and 23.2 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$2.48t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 15.14 percent compared with 15.20 percent in the previous session and the average of 13.30 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 43.1397| 0.9| 23/3
Energy | 10.4931| 0.6| 13/10
Communication Services | 6.3492| 0.8| 7/0
Utilities | 4.0821| 0.5| 10/5
Industrials | 2.4985| 0.1| 10/18
Consumer Discretionary | 2.3529| 0.4| 6/7
Real Estate | 0.2495| 0.0| 14/12
Health Care | -1.7735| -1.2| 1/8
Consumer Staples | -2.8303| -0.4| 2/9
Materials | -21.2432| -0.8| 13/39
Information Technology | -28.6333| -1.7| 1/9
US
By Claire Ballentine and Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slumped in volatile trading as investors weighed the implications of President Donald Trump’s positive test for the coronavirus along with renewed efforts to forge agreement on fiscal stimulus.
The Nasdaq 100 led losses amid declines for tech companies  including Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.com. The megacap shares also dragged down the S&P 500 Index, even as most stocks on the gauge gained. A disappointing jobs report that showed less hiring than analysts had estimated underscored the urgency to push through an aid measure, and stocks were pushed around by conflicting signals on the prospects for reaching a compromise in Washington.
Crude oil tumbled for a second day. The yen, often seen as a haven in times of market stress, edged higher amid the increased uncertainty in the runup to the Nov. 3 presidential election. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals rose in after-hours trading after Trump’s doctor said the president was treated with its antibody cocktail.
Traders had already been bracing for turmoil ahead of the ballot and in the months afterward, and the CBOE Volatility Index, known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, jumped the most in a month at one point Friday before paring most of the increase.
“Whether it’s the president’s health situation or the payrolls report, this pandemic is still very much with us,” Anastasia Amoroso, head of cross-asset thematic strategy at JPMorgan Private Bank, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “This really raises the specter of the importance for getting the fiscal stimulus done and for making sure people have access to enhanced unemployment benefits.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged airlines to delay job cuts, saying an aid package was on the way. She said negotiations with the White House on a new stimulus will press ahead and Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis might change the tenor of the talks by emphasizing the seriousness of the pandemic.
While Trump was said to be experiencing only mild symptoms, the president’s diagnosis adds to gloomy developments around the virus as big cities once again turn into hotspots. New York reported the most new cases since May, while London is said to be at a “tipping point” with infections continuing to rise. Thousands of job cuts this week showed how firms are still wrestling with readjustments needed to survive.
In Europe, stocks edged higher. The pound gained on news U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will intervene in the Brexit negotiations for the first time since June when he holds talks with his EU counterpart on Saturday. Investors will also be watching this weekend for news on Trump’s health and the spread of the coronavirus. “To the extent that government functions as normal, markets will be concerned, but not necessarily panic,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor
Alliance. “However, this incident highlights how Covid-19 continues to be a threat to the economy and markets.”

    These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 1% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.5%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index decreased 0.3%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro dipped 0.3% to $1.1713.
* The British pound advanced 0.3% to $1.2934.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1% to 105.39 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 0.69%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.54%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.24%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude sank 4.3% to $37.06 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.2% to $1,903.17 an ounce.
–With assistance from Chikako Mogi, Nancy Moran, Adam Haigh, Joe Easton, Yakob Peterseil and Robert Brand
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Kind words do not cost much.  Yet they accomplish much.
                                          -Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com