April 14, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater
in Washington, D.C. He died the next day. Go to article »
April 14, 1828 ~First Webster’s dictionary.

Frank Gehry recently turned 92. But he has no plans to retire. “What would I do?” he told The Times. “I enjoy this stuff.”

Spring Clean Your Self-Care Routine: Overhaul the way you take breaks, meditate and dress for a new-season boost. –WSJ.

Novel theory addresses centuries-old physics problem.

Facebook removes page for French town named Bitche.  Sometimes, profanity filters can be a … well, you know. 

A London penthouse is on sale for $241 million by this entrepreneur.

How To make a Happy Garden:  Gardeners have often looked to companion plants for pest control, but smart pairings can minimize weeds and improve soil, too. So if you’re planting a vegetable garden this spring, forget about what you’ve heard about which plants “love” which other plants. This isn’t Match.com for vegetables, our garden expert says: There’s a science to it.  Rather than recommend old-style rows of a farm field in your vegetable garden, horticulturist Jessica Walliser suggests a vibrant jumble of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. Radishes, for example, can help fight the flea beetles on your new tomatoes. Legumes, including clovers and peas, can fix nitrogen in the soil. -The NY Times.

The Late Show hosts weigh in on the JNJ vaccine pause:
“And today if you had a Johnson & Johnson appointment in New York, they gave out Pfizer instead. Yeah, it’s like going to a restaurant and hearing,
‘We’re out of Coke; is Dom Pérignon OK?’” — JIMMY FALLON

“When reached for comment, Johnson said it was Johnson’s fault, but Johnson pointed the finger at Johnson.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“That’s right, they’re recommending a pause. Then anyone who’s ever been dumped was like: ‘Oh, boy. We know what “pause” means,’” Jimmy Fallon joked.

“Damn it, Johnson & Johnson, you had one jab.” — JAMES CORDEN

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Visionary Illuminated River artwork launches across five more Thames bridges
CREDIT: JASON HAWKES
In this long exposure image, fiber-optic lights glow at the Field of Light immersive art installation from artist Bruce Munro, part of the Light at Sensorio on April 13, 2021 in Paso Robles, California. – The Light Towers feature 69 towers composed of more than 17,000 wine bottles adjacent to a 15 acre Field of Light at Sensorio which has a solar powered array of over 58,800 stemmed spheres lit by fiber-optics.
CREDIT: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
People croaw next to lava rivers caused by the Pacaya volcano, in the El Patrocinio village of San Vincente Pacaya, Guatamala. The lava flows continue their course in the direction of the El Rodeo and El Patronicinio communutues, nestled on the slopes of the Pacaya volcano, which has already been active for more than two months.
CREDIT: Esteban Biba/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Kayakers float above salt crystal formations in the Dead Sea
CREDIT: IDO MEIROVICH/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Market Closes for April 14^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1720, the first great secondary offering of stock took place, as the South Sea Co. opened its subscription books in London, hoping to raise 2 million pounds sterling. The company raised half that amount by 10 a.m., as mobs of eager buyers poured in. With ladies pawning jewelry and farmers selling livestock to raise the cash to buy shares, the offering was oversubscribed by more than 10%. It was even possible to “flip” the shares for an 8% profit on the first day.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares gave up their session gains on Wednesday after tech and marijuana stocks declined. The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.2% in Toronto. Tech and health care sectors were the worst performers, while energy and materials were the best. Oil price surged to the highest level in a month — breaking out of a weeks-long holding pattern — as shrinking crude stockpiles in the U.S. supported hopes for a global demand recovery. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is about to make a pitch for tens of billions of dollars in new spending after racking up one of the developed world’s largest deficits. There’s one problem: Canada’s economy doesn’t need it.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,736.70 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1% to C$1.2518 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose about 3 basis points to 1.531%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent at 19,171.66 in Toronto. The move was the biggest loss since March 29 and follows the previous session’s little change. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.1 percent. Organigram Holdings Inc. had the largest
drop, falling 11.0 percent. Today, 141 of 229 shares fell, while 85 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 34 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 48 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.7 percent below its 52-week high on April 14, 2021 and 38.2 percent above its low on April 16, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 1.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.4 on a trailing basis and 17 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.36 percent compared with 9.55 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.22 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -66.9045| -3.4| 2/9
* Industrials | -7.0499| -0.3| 14/16
* Real Estate | -4.4289| -0.7| 3/23
* Utilities | -3.8698| -0.4| 2/14
* Financials | -3.5413| -0.1| 10/16
* Health Care | -2.5571| -1.0| 2/8
* Consumer Staples | -1.9007| -0.3| 5/8
* Communication Services | -1.3440| -0.1| 3/5
* Consumer Discretionary | -1.2575| -0.2| 9/4
* Materials | 13.3089| 0.6| 16/36
* Energy | 47.4832| 2.0| 19/2

US
By Claire Ballentine and Kamaron Leach
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated after climbing to an all-time high. Treasuries fell with the dollar. Oil rallied. PayPal Holdings Inc. and Nvidia Corp. paced losses among tech companies in the S&P 500, which had fluctuated for much of Wednesday’s session as traders sifted through earnings from some of the world’s biggest banks. Bitcoin slid in the wake of the debut by cryptocurrency company Coinbase Global Inc. on the Nasdaq. With equities lingering near a record, investors are looking to the earnings season for further catalysts. Expectations of a strong profit rebound have helped markets rally, setting the bar high as reporting gets underway. More broadly, investors are monitoring vaccine developments for any threats to the economic recovery. The Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book that activity has picked up pace amid an improvement in consumer spending. “You’re going to see this tug-of-war continue within markets as investors weigh the prospects of a strengthening economy with the risk of rising inflationary pressures,” said Adam Phillips, managing director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors. A quarter that began with retail investors declaring the end of the status quo on Wall Street just ended with big banks tallying surprisingly massive hauls. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. — two of the most gilded names in finance — kicked off bank earnings season with revenue windfalls from trading and deal making, defying warnings from within the industry that good times couldn’t last. Goldman Sachs’s stock jumped, while JPMorgan’s slipped — undermined by concern over weak demand for loans.
Some key events to watch this week:
* U.S. data including initial jobless claims, industrial production and retail sales come Thursday.
* China economic growth, industrial production and retail sales figures are on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.4% at 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%.
* The euro climbed 0.3% to $1.1979.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.2% to 108.89 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point to 0.16%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 1.63%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries climbed two basis points to 2.31%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 4.5% to $62.89 a barrel.
* Gold weakened 0.5% to $1,736.65 an ounce.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense. –George Ade, 1866-1944.

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