May 20, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
May 20, 1927~ Frist Trans-Atlantic flight, Charles Lindbergh
1932~ Amelia Earhart Atlantic crossing.
2002~ the independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and three years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).

The Big Apple just grew — by 2.4 acres:  Little Island — mega-mogul Barry Diller’s $260 million pet project — was conceived a decade ago to replace Pier 54 on Manhattan’s West side. It includes trees, flowers and grass, organized around several performance spaces, including a spectacular 687-seat amphitheater overlooking the water. On the main plaza, you can grab a bite to eat and sit at cafe tables under canvas umbrellas.
Hundreds of free and modestly priced concerts, dance and children’s programs are planned to get underway this summer. Our architecture critic calls it “the architectural equivalent of a kitchen sink sundae, with a little bit of everything.”

In a project that doubles as a meditative experience, Laurel Schwulst, an artist and educator, guides us through a simple and relaxing kite-making process. You just need some plastic sheets, wooden dowels, electrical tape and string, with a little help from scissors and a marker.  In a project that doubles as a meditative experience, Laurel Schwulst, an artist and educator, guides us through a simple and relaxing kite-making process. You just need some plastic sheets, wooden dowels, electrical tape and string, with a little help from scissors and a marker.

Mountain biking’s growth in popularity has been extraordinary.  Thanks to improved bike technology, more trails and growing interest in it as a high-school sport, mountain biking has experienced a meteoric rise in popularity over the past decade. The pandemic helped, as people sought relief from lockdowns.  According to a market research company, sales of front-suspension mountain bikes were up 150 percent last spring; by June, sales of more expensive models grew by 92 percent. The upswing seems likely to continue.

Humans have outdone the Ice Age in transforming Earth’s plant life.

From the Late Night Hosts:
“Some of these guys are also saying they want to ‘move on’ and not rehash the past. Right. You know, when a violent mob attacked our embassy in Benghazi, Republicans in Congress investigated it eight times. A violent mob attacks the U.S. Capitol, they’re like: ‘Tourists! What are you gonna do?’” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“The House voted today on legislation to create an independent commission tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, while House Republicans are still claiming that there was no Jan. 6 this year.” — SETH MEYERS

“Republicans say a commission should only be established if it can investigate other protests, including the racial-justice demonstrations last summer following the murder of George Floyd. Right, good thinking. There’s got to be some way to blame Black people for this, and you found it.” — JIMMY KIMMEL
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A paddleboarder makes the most of a break in the clouds to enjoy the beautiful waters of the Lake District at Ullswater
CREDIT: TRISTAN TINN/TRIANGLE NEWS
A Trigona (stingless bee) sucks nectar from a flower at Rimba Raya bee farm in Lawang, Java, Indonesia
CREDIT: ROBERTUS PUDYANTO/GETTY IMGES

Western lowland gorilla Hasani with his surrogate mother Kera at Bristol Zoo Garden
CREDIT: JORDAN JONES/BRISTOL ZOO GARDENS/PA

Multi-media, conceptual, visual and performance artist Kwok Mang Ho, also known as Frog King, poses for a photograph at the first preview day of Art Basel at the convention and exhibition centre in Hong Kong of the Art Basel Hong Kong

Market Closes for May 20^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law, enabling anyone who had farmed public land for at least five years to acquire title to 160 acres free and clear, after the payment of a minimal filing fee. The move uncorked a flood of migration into the Midwest and West, turning the U.S. into the world’s breadbasket.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity market rallied back to reach a new record, after Wednesday’s rout, led by surge in tech stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.7% in Toronto. The tech sector rose 3.1%, most since April 28, while all other sectors were also in the green. Meanwhile, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said recent gains in home prices aren’t sustainable and warned households against taking on too much mortgage debt because interest rates will eventually rise.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at about a $14.65 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,877.54 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.6% to C$1.2057 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell to 1.543%
By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6 percent at 19,542.95 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.5 percent.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.2 percent. Lightspeed POS Inc. had the largest increase, rising 15.1 percent. Today, 144 of 229 shares rose, while 79 fell; all sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 2.3 percent
* So far this week, the index rose 0.9 percent
* The index advanced 30 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 42 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.2 percent below its 52-week high on May 20, 2021 and 32.2 percent above its low on May 21, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2.6 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.2 on a trailing basis and 17.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.04t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.58 percent compared with 9.40 percent in the previous session and the average of 8.93 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | 55.4031| 3.1| 9/2
* Industrials | 13.7445| 0.6| 16/14
* Materials | 12.1110| 0.5| 38/14
* Financials | 11.2489| 0.2| 15/11
* Consumer Staples | 7.9350| 1.1| 12/0
* Energy | 7.0345| 0.3| 9/13
* Communication Services | 6.7802| 0.7| 6/1
* Consumer Discretionary | 4.7620| 0.6| 9/3
* Utilities | 3.4336| 0.4| 9/7
* Health Care | 2.0328| 0.8| 4/5
* Real Estate | 1.4443| 0.2| 17/9

US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — Technology companies led a rebound in U.S. equities on Thursday after a report showing applications for state unemployment insurance fell last week to a fresh pandemic low rekindled optimism in the economic recovery. The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped to a two-week high, with gains in mega caps including Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tesla Inc. powering the advance. Tech stocks rose the most in the S&P 500 as all of the major industry groups moved higher.  Ford Motor Co. rose for the first time in three sessions on plans to create a joint venture to manufacture electric-vehicle batteries in the U.S. The latest jobs report comes after mounting concern that faster inflation will prompt authorities to ease back on stimulus has weighed on risk assets in recent sessions.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed some officials were open to a debate at “upcoming meetings” on scaling back bond purchases if the U.S. economy continued to progress rapidly. “While inflation has been the star of the show, keep in mind that the Fed’s mandate is twofold, with employment as the other side,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial. “The jobless claims read shows once again that that we’re heading in the right direction, but we’re a ways away from where we were pre-pandemic.” Thursday’s rally pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 above its average price for the past 50 days. That level is a key trend indicator for traders and has proven to be a buy signal in past rebounds. Cryptocurrencies pared gains after the U.S. Treasury Department called for stronger tax compliance. Bitcoin, which whipsawed investors with huge price swings on Wednesday, was up less than 5% at 4 p.m. in New York after climbing as much as 11%. Oil extended declines to a three-week low after Iran’s president said the broad outline of a deal to end sanctions on its oil had been reached. Yields on 10-year Treasuries fell as the dollar weakened. The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell for a third day.

Here are some key events this week:
* Data on existing U.S. home sales for April are due on May 21
* Euro-area finance ministers and central bank chiefs hold an informal meeting. A larger group of EU finance ministers and
central bank chiefs will meet May 22

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.1% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%
* The MSCI World index rose 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.2226
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.4189
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 108.78 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 1.63%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.11%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.84%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.1% to $62 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,877 an ounce
–With assistance from Ye Xie, Andreea Papuc, Namitha Jagadeesh and Esha Dey.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Friendship, for him, was measured by what men do and endure for one another,
not by what they share and enjoy. –Gregory David Roberts, b. 1952.

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