January 22, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.
Bees aren’t getting enough sleep, thanks to some common pesticides.  You monsters! Let the bees sleep! –CNN.

Forget the mittens; Bernie Sanders’ inauguration coat is selling out

Hank Aaron, who faced down racism to become one of baseball’s greatest players and its home run king, has died at 86.  The Atlanta Braves, his team for many years, confirmed the death but did not provide a cause.  Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s career record of 714 home runs proved a deeply troubling affair beyond the pressures of the ball field. When Aaron hit his 715th home run in 1974 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he prevailed in the face of hate mail and death threats from racists who were outraged that a Black man could supplant a white baseball icon. 

The Late Night Hosts weighed in on Biden’s first day in the White House:
“The first day on the job is stressful — any job — but especially when you’re the new manager and the last guy got called into H.R. for inappropriate workplace treasoning,” Stephen Colbert said.

“Yeah, it was Biden’s first full day. I’m sure part of him was like, ‘Just to mess with everyone, I should go golfing.’” — JIMMY FALLON

“The Trump administration had a year and they didn’t even sit down and draw up a plan. Was coronavirus task force leader Mike Pence in cold storage during that whole time? Did Dr. Birx get lost in a pile of scarves?” — SETH MEYERS

“Yeah, I mean, honestly, what did they expect? It’s like walking into your house and being mad that your dog didn’t do your taxes.” — JIMMY FALLON
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
A drone photo shows goats and shepherds walk in a single line on the slopes of the snowy mountains returning from the plateaus of 2,500 altitude in Diyarbakr’s Kulp district, Turkey
CREDIT: BESTAMI BODRUK/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES
This Globe-bearing treehopper (Bocydium globulare) or Helicopter treehopper is pictured in the Amazon Rainforest, near Puyo, Ecuador
CREDIT: DAVID WEILLER/WENN
New York-style Brasher Doubloon
CREDIT: HERITAGE AUCTIONS VIA AP

Market Closes for January 22^nd, 2021 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1968, in an emergency move, the New York Stock Exchange closed 90 minutes early, at 2 p.m. The early close, reported The Wall Street Journal, was meant to help inundated trading clerks catch up on a “deluge of paper work that has resulted from a recent sustained period of unusually heavy trading.” 
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf and Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks dropped for a second straight week as traders weighed coronavirus lockdowns and corporate earnings. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 0.4% Friday, with energy and financials lagging. Info tech advanced. Oil declined the most in a week on Friday with rising U.S. crude stockpiles seen as an obstacle facing a market that is still recovering from a pandemic-induced demand slump. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan committed to reaching net-zero emissions across its investment portfolio within three decades.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $14.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to $1,854.70
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.7% to C$1.2727 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell 2.4 basis points to 0.846%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.4 percent, or 70.29 to 17,845.91 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since Jan. 6. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.2 percent. Vermilion Energy Inc. had the largest drop, falling 5.6 percent. Today, 149 of 221 shares fell, while 70 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 2.4 percent
* So far this week, the index fell 0.4 percent
* The index advanced 1.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI
AC Americas Index gained 17 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.2 percent below its 52-week high on
Jan. 8, 2021 and 59.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
26.2 on a trailing basis and 17.1 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 fell to 8.16 percent compared with
8.19 percent in the previous session and the average of 8.52 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -41.2581| -0.8| 3/23
Energy | -24.9611| -1.2| 3/19
Materials | -11.9560| -0.5| 13/39
Industrials | -8.3098| -0.4| 13/16
Real Estate | -1.9974| -0.4| 5/20
Consumer Discretionary | -0.8789| -0.1| 5/8
Communication Services | 0.0306| 0.0| 5/2
Consumer Staples | 0.0423| 0.0| 4/6
Health Care | 1.5690| 0.6| 5/4
Utilities | 4.2921| 0.5| 10/6
Information Technology | 13.1355| 0.7| 4/6
US
By Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slipped from records as investors grew anxious that the virus will hamper growth for longer than expected and Democrats may struggle to get a nearly $2 trillion spending bill through Congress. The S&P 500 Index fell for the first time in four days, with losses widening on reports that the new virus strain may be deadlier. It rose 1.9% in the week. Oil’s slump dragged energy companies lower, while Intel Corp. dropped after its new boss recommitted to chipmaking, a move opposed by some investors. Yields on Treasuries edged lower, and crude oil slid below $53 a barrel. Bloomberg’s dollar index rose for the first time in five sessions. Overseas markets struggled after economic data in Europe missed estimates. IHS Markit data showing a pickup in U.S. manufacturing did little to boost sentiment.
     Senate Republicans continued to come out against Joe Biden’s aid package, threatening the legislation’s passage in the sharply divided body.  “The virus numbers are not good right now obviously around the world, especially in the U.S. and in Europe, and we’re also getting a little bit more question about how much of the stimulus is actually feasible and what’s the timeline,” Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments, said by phone. “Those two things are putting just a damper on the enthusiasm that has existed since November.” The week’s global equity rally, spurred by expectations of economic support and the rollout of vaccines, paused as traders weigh still-troubling Covid-19 trends. Biden, who is pushing for $1.9 trillion in additional spending, unveiled a strategy to combat the virus while warning the pandemic will worsen before it improves.
      Restrictions intensified from Germany and the U.K. to Hong Kong, and the European Central Bank cautioned that the euro area is headed for a double-dip recession. The U.K.’s new more contagious strain of coronavirus may be linked to higher mortality, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. “Recent news flow on the pandemic has not been favorable,” said Jean-Francois Paren, global head of market research at Credit Agricole. “After the post-election wave of optimism from the U.S., markets have been left facing the reality of vaccine delivery and new lockdown measures, and the perspective of a double-dip in Europe.” The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell for the second straight week as a gauge of private-sector activity in the euro region fell deeper into contraction and Germany cut its forecast for economic growth. The British pound weakened after Johnson said the U.K.’s third lockdown could last into the summer. Italian stocks underperformed and bond yields rose after reports Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is considering early elections.  Elsewhere, Bitcoin rebounded to trade around $32,000 after earlier tumbling below $30,000.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 lost 0.3% by 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.6%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.7%.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 1.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.4%.
* The yen was at 103.78 per dollar, dipping 0.3%.
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.2178.
* The British pound weakened 0.5% to $1.3664.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 1.08%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to -0.51%.
* The U.K.’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.32%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.4% to $52.41 a barrel.
* Gold dropped 0.9% to $1,852.94 an ounce.
–With assistance from Robert Brand and Brendan Walsh.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
If you just set out to be liked, you will be prepared to compromise on anything at any time,
and would achieve nothing. -Margaret Thatcher, 1925-2013

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