January 12, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Jan. 12, 2010, a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti, killing over 200,000 people and destroying much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Go to article »

Visit the pleasure garden of the Roman emperor Caligula, where frescoes and peacock bones tell extraordinary stories

The first human civilization lasted 20,000 years longer than first thought. (h/t Ellen Kominers)

39%:That’s the proportion of Americans who would be able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, according to a new report from Bankrate.com. That’s down from 41% in 2020. -CNN.

The [US] government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me.  They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.  Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can’t get and to promise to give it to them.  Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing.  The tenth time is made good by looting A to satisfy B.  In other words, government is  a  broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods.  –H.L. Mencken, 1880-1956.

Late Night:
“Some people are saying, ‘Why bother? He’s only got nine days left in office.’ To them I reply: He’s got nine days left in office! You can do a lot in nine days. That’s enough to create the universe, and then take a three-day weekend.” — STEPHEN COLBERT
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

No, you’re not going BAA-rmy, this poodle really does look just like a Sheep. Japanese canine Goma would pull the wool over anyone’s eyes into thinking he’s more about baas than barks. Owner Yoriko Hamachiyo said the unusual hairstyle came about not for cosmetic reasons, but to help stop Goma getting painful knots in his fur. Dog groomer Yoriko, 42, spends two hours a time keeping the seven-year-old sheep-shaped and admits some do think it’s a gimmick.
Credit: YORIKO HAMACHIYO/SPLITICS UK
Scarborough beach as the sun rises in Yorkshire.
Credit: DANNY LAWSON/PA
A starry sky above St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear. 
Credit: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA

Market Closes for January 12^th, 2021 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1914, Henry Ford announced that he would share the Ford Motor Co.’s profits with its workers by raising wages from $2.34 for a nine-hour day to $5.00 for an eight-hour day. He hoped his workers would be able to afford to buy their own Fords. Within two years, Ford went on to produce its millionth car.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose Tuesday after falling Monday.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.3%, with energy,
financials and materials rising. Consumer staples fell.
     Oil rose to a fresh 10-month high with a weaker dollar
providing support to a market already boosted by expectations for tightening global supply.
     Justin Trudeau’s decision to shuffle his cabinet is the strongest sign yet that he could soon send Canadians to the
polls. Separately, Trudeau said his government has ordered another 20 million doses of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $12.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,855 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.5% to C$1.2714 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield edged higher to 0.844%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.3 percent at 17,985.80 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.6 percent.
Nutrien Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.4 percent. Ballard Power Systems Inc. had the largest increase, rising 18.0 percent. Today, 102 of 221 shares rose, while 117 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 4.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.4 percent below its 52-week high on Jan. 8, 2021 and 61 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.7 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.4 on a trailing basis and 17.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.77t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 9.14 percent compared with 9.14 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.25 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 29.2245| 0.5| 19/7
Energy | 24.8184| 1.2| 18/4
Materials | 11.6335| 0.5| 21/30
Information Technology | 5.5880| 0.3| 3/7
Industrials | 1.9733| 0.1| 14/14
Health Care | -0.9481| -0.4| 4/5
Consumer Discretionary | -1.0566| -0.1| 3/10
Real Estate | -1.7528| -0.3| 10/16
Utilities | -2.9413| -0.3| 6/10
Communication Services | -7.0685| -0.8| 1/6
Consumer Staples | -8.1187| -1.2| 3/8
US
By Claire Ballentine and Kamaron Leach
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks edged higher and benchmark Treasury note yields lingered at 10-month highs as investors mulled the prospects of the economic recovery and vaccine rollout. The S&P 500 closed in the green after fluctuating between gains and losses most of the trading session, with the energy, materials and consumer discretionary sectors leading gainers. The Dow Jones Industrial and Nasdaq Composite rose more than the benchmark index. Crude oil approached a 11-month high as the dollar weakened following a three-day rally. Corn futures surged by the exchange limit to the highest level for a most-active contract since May 2014.
     The mood across markets remained mostly positive even as investors assessed how the rise in Treasury yields changes the financial landscape. While progress on a vaccine gives reason to be hopeful, there are lingering concerns over the speculative excess and froth that’s driven stock markets to all-time highs in the middle of a pandemic.
“What I think investors are most focused on is the digesting of what is shifting fiscal policy,” said David Bianco, chief investment officer of the Americas at DWS Group. “We’re beginning to lose the anchor on some long-term key benchmark interest rates.” Yields on Treasury 10-year notes pared an earlier rise after a government auction of $38 billion of the securities was met with solid demand. The spread between the rate on the two-and 10-year notes had risen every single day this year as investors bet on additional U.S. fiscal stimulus, spurring more bond issuance and higher yields on longer-maturity Treasuries.
     In Washington, the House is moving forward on an expected vote to impeach the President Donald Trump for the second time in little more than a year. “I wrap up the market’s concerns into an easy-to-remember acronym – EIEIO – which stands for EPS-Impeachment-Energy Prices-Interest Rates-Overvaluation,” said CFRA Research Chief
Investment Strategist Sam Stovall. “The market is vulnerable to a setback as many measures are at extremes, encouraged by the ‘Blue Ripple’s’ push for additional stimulus.”
     Elsewhere, Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index traded little changed. After Bitcoin suffered steep declines on Monday, the largest cryptocurrency continued its wide swings. In Asia, China’s CSI 300 Index rallied to a 13-year high, driven by a surge in financial and securities stocks. The yuan reached the highest since 2018 versus a basket of trading partners’ currencies on upbeat growth prospects. Malaysia’s stock benchmark slipped as much as 1.6% after the nation’s king declared a state of emergency until August.

Here are some key events coming up:
* JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co., as well as firms ranging from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to Infosys Ltd., are among those due to report earnings.
* EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.
* European Central Bank’s Christine Lagarde speaks at an online conference Wednesday.
* U.S. consumer-price inflation figures are due Wednesday.
* U.S. President-elect Joe Biden plans to lay out proposals for fiscal support on Thursday.
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell takes part in a webinar on Thursday.
* U.S. initial jobless claims data are due Thursday.
* U.S. retail sales, industrial production, business inventories and consumer sentiment figures are due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index was little changed at 3,801.19 as of 4:06 p.m. New York time.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 31,068.69.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.3% to 13,072.43.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed at 408.61.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index jumped 0.3% to 660.66.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.6% to 1,120.16, the biggest dip in almost six weeks.
*The euro increased 0.5% to $1.2205, the largest increase in more than three weeks.
*The British pound jumped 1.1% to $1.3667, the strongest in more than a week on the biggest jump in more than two months.
*The Japanese yen strengthened 0.5% to 103.73 per dollar, the first advance in a week and the largest climb in more than five weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 1.13%, the first retreat in more than a week.
*Germany’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to -0.47%, the highest in more than four months.
*Britain’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to 0.352%, reaching the highest in almost six weeks on its sixth straight advance and the biggest climb in almost three weeks.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.7% to $53.15 a barrel, hitting the highest in almost a year with its sixth consecutive advance.
*Silver strengthened 2.7% to $25.57 per ounce, the first advance in a week.
–With assistance from Sophie Caronello.
Have a nice evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Breach of promise is no less an act of insolvency than a refusal to pay one’s debt.
                                                                      -Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948
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