November 20, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

Robert F. Kennedy, b. 1925
Gene Tierney, b. 1920
Edwin Hubble, American astronomer, b. 1889

On Nov. 20, 1945, 24 Nazi leaders went on trial before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. Go to article »

Time is just as priceless.  Diamonds may be forever, but that doesn’t mean they have to take eons to form. Australian scientists have found a way to make them in minutes.  -CNN
Researchers have created a map of all 20,000 global bee species to help conserve the insects we rely on to pollinate crops. 

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy could reverse aging

Central Park has a new celebrity bird

At the fearful height of the pandemic in April, Simon Gronowski, an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor, began playing jazz tunes on his piano from his apartment window in Brussels, bringing relief to his besieged neighbors throughout the lockdown that lasted into late May.  “Music is a means of communication, of connection,” said Mr. Gronowski, who taught himself how to play the piano as a teenager after escaping the Nazis. Piano was a way for him to connect with his sister who had died in Auschwitz.  Throughout the summer and into the fall, jazz tunes have become a near-constant presence across New York City. The makeshift outdoor shows have been therapeutic for musicians and fans alike. -NY Times.

What you learn from reading 100 books in two years.

For a break from the news, check out The Times’s annual list of 100 notable books. – By David Leonhardt, NY Times.
Every November, after the editors of The Times Book Review have wrapped up their big end-of-year issues, they immediately turn their attention to the following year. They start by creating a working list of nominees for the next iteration of 100 Notable Books — the one that will be published almost a year later.  In the subsequent months, the editors add to the list, knowing all the while that they will need to conduct a ruthless winnowing at the end, down to 50 books of fiction and 50 of nonfiction, spanning every genre. “It’s a lot of triage and hard choices,” Pamela Paul, the Book Review editor, told me.
Today, Pamela and her colleagues released the new list. The Times has published a version of it every year since 1968 (although the early ones were longer), and publishers say it often has a big effect on a book’s sales.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Berries are seen on tree branches covered with ice after freezing rain in Vladivostok, Russia.
CREDIT: REUTERS/YURI MALTSEV

It’s the Lion Spring! – as a young lion cub leaps towards its unwitting father. The king of the jungle seems unaware of the youngster flying towards his mane as he walks on. Having recently finished feasting upon a wildebeest, the cub was excitable and ready to play at the Maasi Mara National Reserve, in Kenya.
CREDIT: JIE FISCHER/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Contestants celebrate after the traditional “Gongbo archery” competition in Nyingchi, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region,. A traditional archery competition was held in Nyingchi to celebrate the Gongbo New Year. This year, more than 260 archery enthusiasts from Nyingchi participated in the competition. “Gongbo archery”, with a history of over 1,500 year, is a traditional folk sports competition which is unique to Nyingchi. It has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Tibet. 
CREDIT: XINHUA/SHUTTERSTOCK

The sun rises during a Manhattanhenge sunrise along  42nd Street behind the skyline of midtown Manhattan and the Empire State Building in New York City as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey, US.
CREDIT: GARY HERSHORN/GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for November 20^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1991, Cascade International Inc., a fashion chain ranked No. 26 on BusinessWeek’s 1990 list of “hot growth companies,” said its chairman, Victor Incendy, had disappeared—along with more than 200 of Cascade’s stores. Mr. Incendy had claimed that Cascade had between 255 and 400 outlets—in reality there were fewer than 30. The company had reported earning $11 million the previous year; it actually lost $7 million. Mr. Incendy has never been found.

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose Friday and extended their gain for a third straight week, while Ontario braces for more coronavirus-driven shutdowns. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.6%, with tech shares leading the way Friday. Industrials and consumer discretionary lagged behind. Shopify Inc. expects a banner holiday season as the worsening pandemic encourages more consumers to shop online and buy from the small businesses that sell through its platform. Oil rose to the highest in nearly three months with positive Covid-19 vaccine developments paving the way for a more sustained recovery in oil demand.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.75 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,871 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.2% to C$1.3094 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 0.650%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.6 percent, or 109.29 to 17,019.10 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 26. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.6 percent. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. had the largest increase, rising 7.9 percent. Today, 159 of 222 shares rose, while 58 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.1 percent
* This month, the index rose 9.2 percent
* This year, the index fell 0.3 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index was little changed in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 15 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 5.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 52.3 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.6 on a trailing basis and 23 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$2.59t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.25 percent compared with 15.15 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.89 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 44.2823| 2.8| 10/0
Materials | 25.7282| 1.1| 42/8
Financials | 16.1471| 0.3| 20/6
Energy | 14.1628| 0.8| 14/8
Utilities | 6.5832| 0.8| 13/3
Consumer Staples | 4.0146| 0.6| 7/4
Health Care | 1.3342| 0.7| 7/2
Communication Services | 0.5908| 0.1| 4/3
Real Estate | -0.0089| 0.0| 19/6
Consumer Discretionary | -0.7732| -0.1| 7/6
Industrials | -2.7523| -0.1| 16/12

US
By Katherine Greifeld and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — The S&P 500 Index extended a weekly decline as traders weighed a conflict between the White House and Federal Reserve over emergency lending programs along with assurances that the government has plenty of room to help the economy. The benchmark equity gauge slumped in the wake of the disagreement over releasing government funds to further shore up growth, even as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he will try to revive stimulus talks with congressional Democrats. Pfizer Inc. rose after filing for emergency approval of its Covid-19 vaccine. Gilead Sciences Inc. fell after authorities advised against using its remdesivir drug to treat Covid-19.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index posted its third week of gains — the best streak since July — amid a rotation into economically sensitive sectors. Mining and energy firms led the gauge higher Friday. Global stocks hit a record Monday, but have eased off the highs in a choppy week of trading, with investors now analyzing the rare show of discord between Mnuchin and Fed Chair Jerome Powell that erupted amid a resurgence of virus cases and with months to go before a vaccine is widely available. The S&P 500 posted a 0.8% weekly decline. “This public spat between the Fed and the Treasury is not a very good sign for the markets,” said John Praveen, managing director at QMA. “It kind of casts a shadow on market confidence.” Mnuchin said lawmakers should redirect unspent stimulus funding, including money he’s pulling back from the Fed. But the Fed pushed back, saying the programs served a vital role. In other markets, Asian equities climbed. Precious metals gained. Bitcoin advanced past $18,500.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 index fell 0.7% as of 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.5%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro slipped 0.1% to $1.1859.
* The pound rose 0.2% to $1.3288.
* The yen slipped 0.1% to 103.82 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 0.83%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to -0.585%.
* The U.K.’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 0.3%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1% to $42.15 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.4% to $1,873.21 an ounce.
–With assistance from Todd White, Gregor Stuart Hunter, Joanna Ossinger and Robert Brand.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Keep true to the dreams of your youth.
    -Friedrich Von Schiller,  1759-1805

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