November 9, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

1938-Kristallnacht
1965- East Coast blackout
1989 – Berlin Wall opened.

Scientists find two new species of freakishly adorable Australian mammals. 

There’s an English word that hasn’t changed sound or meaning in 8,000 years.

Every year, millions of pilgrims descend on the central Iraqi city of Karbala to commemorate the religious holiday of Arbaeen. Take a tour of the festivities last year. –NYTimes.

Want a private jet that matches your Porsche? Help is at hand. 

Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils. –Cyril Connolly.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Truffle hunter Carlo Marenda pets his dog Buc as they search for white truffles through the Langhe Countryside in Roddi, near Alba, north-western Italy
CREDIT: MARCO VERTORELLO/AFP

Horticulture farmers work on seasonal flower plants to meet the high demand ahead of the Hindu religious festival Diwali in the East Midnapore district, some 90 km west of Kolkata, India
CREDIT: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP

A farmer carries harvested paddy across a field at sunset in Darragiri village, some 100 kms from Guwahati, the capital city of Indias northeastern state of Assam 
CREDIT: BIJU BORO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for November 9^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1731, Benjamin Banneker, the brilliant African-American mathematician and inventor, was born on a farm in Ellicott’s Mills, Md. In 1752 he built what is believed to be the first clock made entirely in America. Banneker later published an authoritative annual almanac and helped conduct the land survey that laid out the boundaries of Washington, D.C.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks jumped on Monday with global equity markets after Pfizer Inc. said its Covid-19 vaccine prevented more than 90% of infections in a large-scale study.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 1.2% in Toronto, paring some an early gain of as much as much as 2.7%. The index closed Monday session at its highest since Oct. 15.
The risk-on rally was fueled by traders piling into cyclical stocks, including energy, which as a group climbed almost 10% today. Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the largest Canadian oil producers, rose more than 20% on Monday. Real estate and financial stocks, two of the worst- performing sectors this year, also had a big day, with each rising more than 4%. Some of the positive momentum was blunted by a selloff in technology stocks such Shopify Inc., which have benefited from stay-at-home orders in the pandemic, and gold miners. The loonie rose 0.3% to C$1.3010 per U.S. dollar. Air Canada soared 29% despite missing operating revenue estimates for the third quarter as the brighter prospect for a vaccine improved sentiment toward travel, and as the airline’s cash burn rate gained. The airline said it expects flight capacity in the fourth quarter will be 75% lower than in the same quarter last year.
The Canadian government said Sunday it will begin discussions on providing financial support to airlines, airports and the aerospace sector.
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1.2 percent at 16,475.86 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Oct. 15 after the previous session’s decrease of 0.1 percent.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 8 of 11 sectors gained; 138 of 222 shares rose, while 82 fell. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.7 percent. Air Canada had the largest increase, rising 28.6 percent.
Insights
* This year, the index fell 3.4 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 2.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI  AC Americas Index gained 15 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 47.5 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 5 percent in the past 5 days and fell 0.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.7 on a trailing basis and 22.4 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 15.18 percent compared with 15.13 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.77 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 183.6276| 4.0| 23/2
Energy | 162.9617| 10.0| 21/2
Industrials | 35.6963| 1.7| 22/6
Consumer Discretionary| 29.8014| 5.0| 11/2
Real Estate | 25.2469| 5.0| 20/6
Communication Services| 23.7719| 2.9| 6/1
Health Care | 12.9176| 7.1| 8/2
Utilities | 11.4758| 1.3| 12/4
Consumer Staples | -9.8338| -1.4| 3/8
Materials | -130.2387| -5.0| 9/42
Information Technology| -152.3998| -9.1| 3/7
US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed and bonds tumbled after a large-scale coronavirus vaccine study delivered the most- promising results in the battle against the worst pandemic in a century, tempering concern over tougher lockdowns. Equities pared gains as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Donald Trump is “100% within his rights” to investigate any possible voting irregularities and request recounts in the presidential race and has no obligation to accept media projections that Joe Biden won. The Federal Reserve warned that asset prices in key markets could take a hit if the coronavirus pandemic’s economic impact worsens in coming months. The S&P 500 still closed at a two-month high amid strong trading volume on news the coronavirus shot being developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE prevented over 90% of infections.
The Nasdaq 100 fell amid a selloff in giants such as Amazon.com Inc. and Netflix Inc.
Meanwhile, several block sales in 10-year Treasury futures added fuel to the pressure on notes, with the benchmark rate soaring to the highest since March. A measure of credit-market risk eased to pre-pandemic levels, and junk-rated companies hit the market in droves to take advantage of a plunge in borrowing costs. Oil surged, while gold, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc slumped. The dollar rose.

Investors pulled out of haven assets and poured cash into markets that are closely tied to economic growth, with the value of the MSCI All Country Index jumping by as much as $1.8 trillion after the latest vaccine developments. President-elect Biden announced a new coronavirus task force as his transition team seeks to fulfill a campaign promise to develop a dramatically different approach than President Trump’s to contain the outbreak. He warned of a “dark winter” and many more deaths as the pandemic continues to spread unabated. The top infectious disease expert in the U.S. Anthony Fauci said the shot being developed by Pfizer will have a “major impact” on everything we do with regards to Covid-19 going forward.
“The bull market has a ton of ammunition to keep going,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing product at E*Trade Financial. “With more certainty around the election, a strong quarter of earnings across many sectors, and extremely positive news on the vaccine front, there is little to hold us back.”
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar-yen cross — a commonly watched risk barometer — surged by most since June. The Turkish lira soared after the resignation of the country’s economy czar and the dismissal of the central bank chief.
These are some key events coming up:
* Alibaba holds its annual Singles’ Day on Wednesday, an online global shopping phenomenon that had $38 billion of sales last year
* European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are among the speakers Thursday at an online ECB Forum entitled “Central Banks in a Shifting World”
* Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 hold an extraordinary meeting Friday to discuss bolder action to help poor nations struggling to repay their debts.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 jumped 1.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 4%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.5%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 1.4%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.3%.
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.183.
* The Japanese yen depreciated 2% to 105.41 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed 13 basis points to 0.95%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed 11 basis points to -0.51%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield jumped 10 basis points to 0.372%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index dipped 0.1%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude surged 8.3% to $40.21 a barrel.
* Gold depreciated 4.2% to $1,868.50 an ounce.

–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Andreea Papuc, Adam Haigh, Anchalee Worrachate, Lynn Thomasson, Cecile Gutscher,
Claire Ballentine, Nancy Moran, Sophie Caronello, Katherine Greifeld and Jan-Patrick Barnert.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Deprived if all else, one remains undisgraced if still endowed
with strength of character.  -Tiruvalluvar,

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