February 16, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Mardi Gras.

Bars are closed. Parades are canceled. But Mardi Gras in New Orleans will still be festive, despite the pandemic: Artists are turning houses into elaborate floats.  Floats have paraded through the city on the last Tuesday before Lent since 1857. With the help of local organizations, artists are finding a way to keep the celebration going. Take a tour for yourself (beads not included).  “It’s so New Orleans to take a bad situation and turn into a positive,” one homeowner said. “This speaks to the resiliency of the people in the city.” –NYTimes.

Carnival parades, residents have responded by turning their houses into floats. –CNN.

On Feb. 16, 1923, the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen’s recently unearthed tomb was unsealed in Egypt.  Go to article »
February 16, 1959~ Fidel Castro becomes the 16^th Prime Minister of Cuba after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista.
1932~ First patent issued for a tree to James Markham for a peach tree.

Scientists narrow down the “weight” of dark matter. 
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Storm Dennis hits the east coast at Aberystwyth harbour in Wales, as large parts of the UK are battered by strong winds and heavy rain
CREDIT: NDREW CHITTOCK/LNP
Red Arrows flying above Lincoln Cathedral in Lincolnshire on Friday afternoon as they continue their training for the coming season of airshows that start in May
CREDIT: CLAIRE HARTLEY/BAV MEDIA
A reveller wearing a mask takes part in the Venice Carnival 
CREDIT: ALBERTO PIZZAOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for February 16^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1822, Francis Galton was born near Sparkbrook, England. After studying medicine, exploring Africa and obsessively measuring everything he could find, he developed the statistical concept of “reversion to the mean,” or the inevitable tendency of above-average results to be followed by below-average results (and vice versa).
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced for a second day as pot stocks outperformed. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.2% Tuesday, supported by health and energy shares, while the materials and consumer staples sectors led decliners. Aphria was the day’s best performing stock, driven higher after Cantor said the larger Canadian cannabis companies deserve to trade at a premium to their U.S.-focused peers. On the M&A front, Onex Corp. and Pierre Karl Peladeau are contenders to buy Transat AT, if the tour operator’s deal to be acquired by Air Canada falls apart, according to a Desjardins Securities analyst. Meanwhile, Canadian home buyers are facing the tightest market on record, with a purchasing frenzy driven by the Covid-19 pandemic showing no signs of slowing down.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 1.4% to $1,793.96 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.4% to C$1.2691 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose about 9 basis points to 1.116%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second
day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 32.29 to 18,492.50 in Toronto.
Aphria Inc. contributed the most to the index gain and had the largest move, increasing 27.6 percent.
Today, 99 of 220 shares rose, while 116 fell; 4 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 3.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI
AC Americas Index gained 18 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.5 percent below its 52-week high on
Feb. 16, 2021 and 65.5 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.9 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.3 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
28.2 on a trailing basis and 17.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.85t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 13.59 percent compared with
13.76 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.48 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 32.1073| 1.5| 18/4
Financials | 21.6847| 0.4| 16/8
Health Care | 21.0561| 7.0| 8/1
Information Technology | 4.2475| 0.2| 3/7
Real Estate | -0.3769| -0.1| 11/14
Consumer Discretionary | -1.2582| -0.2| 4/9
Communication Services | -1.4873| -0.2| 3/3
Utilities | -3.6215| -0.4| 6/10
Consumer Staples | -5.2942| -0.8| 4/7
Industrials | -13.8687| -0.6| 12/17
Materials | -20.6718| -0.9| 14/36
US
By Kamaron Leach and Andreea Papuc
(Bloomberg) — U.S. bond yields surged to the highest in a year, while American stocks climbed to records as optimism over the economic recovery continued to ripple through markets. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note increased as much as nine basis points to 1.30%, the highest since February 2020. Global bonds extended the worst start to a year since 2013. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average indexes all set records Tuesday, before easing from the
highs. The MSCI benchmark for emerging and developed market stocks snapped an 11 session winning streak. The reflation trade is powering assets tied to economic growth and price pressure, including commodities and cyclical stocks.
At the same time, investors are riding a wave of speculative euphoria from penny stocks to Bitcoin amid abundant policy support. “We certainly have data that suggests that being more glass half full than glass half empty remains the right posture,” said Eric Freedman, chief investment officer at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “People are looking at parts of the world as well as sectors that have been underperforming and saying ‘hey this is maybe the next part of the market that heads higher.’” Here’s a look at how it’s playing out in global markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% as of 4:01 p.m. in New
York. It has added 4.7% so far in 2021. The Russell 2000, which has surged 15% this year, edged lower.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average extended its advance
past the 30,000 level. European markets were mostly little changed after a rally on Monday.
Commodities
Brent oil is holding near a 13-month high after freezing
temperatures crippled the Texas power system and disrupted crude
production. Nearly 5 million people across the U.S were plunged
into darkness as homes and businesses lost power. Natural gas
futures for March delivery surged as much as 10%.
In metals, copper climbed to the highest since 2012 and tin
extended a dramatic surge. Citigroup Inc. forecasts copper
prices will rally to $10,000 a ton in six to 12 months on a
better-than-expected recovery in demand, most notably outside China.
Bonds
Global debt markets are extending a selloff as investors
shift money to riskier assets. German bunds and U.K. gilts both
saw benchmark yields rise. The Treasury 30-year equivalent pushed above 2%.
Currencies
The dollar strengthened against most of its major peers.  The pound edged higher to $1.3911.
Bitcoin crossed a new milestone, surpassing $50,000 as the
blistering rally continues to captivate investors. Tesla Inc.’s
announcement that it added $1.5 billion in Bitcoin to its
balance sheet was the most visible recent catalyst. Companies
such as Mastercard Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. have
also moved to make it easier for customers to use cryptocurrencies.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings roll on with companies including, Daimler, Credit Suisse, Deere, Danone and Nestle.
* Federal Open Market Committee minutes from the January meeting are due Wednesday.
* U.S. retail sales figures come on Wednesday.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Success is not final, failure is not fatal:  it is the courage
to continue that counts. –Winston Churchill, 1874-1965.

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