July 14, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Bastille Day, France.

Isaac Bashevis Singer, writer, b. 1904.
Woody Guthrie, singer, b. 1912.
Gerald Ford, 38^th President, b. 1913.
Ingmar Bergman, director, b. 1918.

On July 14, 1965, the American space probe Mariner 4 flew by Mars, sending back photographs of the planet.  Go to article »

Is that new Damien Hirst creation an NFT or a piece of art on paper? For $2,000, you get to decide.

Lab-grown foie gras? Oui, says the French government.

A moon wobble will bring surge in coastal flooding in 2030s.  Knock it off, moon.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economic recovery still hasn’t progressed enough to begin scaling back the central bank’s massive monthly asset purchases. He added that inflation is likely to stay high in coming months before moderating. With news that the cash will continue to flow, Wall Street cheered. Here’s your markets wrap. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Farnese bridge, by the French artist Olivier Grossetete, floats in Rome, Italy 13 July 2021. The bridge, made of cardboard, hoisted between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Mazzini, is inspired by Michelangelo’s original project to connect the two residences of the Farnese family. Farnese bridge
CREDIT: FABIO FRUSTACI/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Steam train NCB No.1 Lord Roberts, which is a registered Thomas locomotive, Built by Neilson Reid of Glasgow in 1899, seen travelling through Kinneil Local Nature Reserve on the banks of the Firth of Forth after leaving Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway in West Lothian 
CREDIT: KATIELEE ARROWSMITH, SWNS

Republican Guard ride their horses during the Bastille Day parade, in Paris. France is celebrating its national holiday with thousands of troops marching in a Paris parade and traditional parties around the country, after last year’s events were scaled back because of virus fear
CREDIT: MICHEL EULER/POOL/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Armoured vehicles drive down on the Champs-Elysees avenue during the Bastille Day parade, in Paris, France
CREDIT: MICHEL EULER/POOL/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Alpha jets from the French Air Force Patrouille de France fly past Eiffel Tower during the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris
CREDIT: REUTERS/CHRISTIAN HARTMANN

French President Emmanuel Macron and French Armies Chief of Staff General Francois Lecointre pictured during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris
CREDIT: BEST IMAHE / BACKGRID

Market Closes for July 14^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1784, the earliest known advertisement by an American broker was published, as Joshua Eaton of Boston announced in the Massachusetts Centinel: “Public Securities of every denomination Negotiated: Business on Commission, transacted with attention and punctuality, and every favor gratefully acknowledged.”
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell despite gaining earlier in the session after commentary from the nation’s central bank. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 0.6%, with 8 of 11 sectors falling. Cannabis led health care lower, while tech also lagged. Oil’s rally fizzled as a build in U.S. fuel inventories and a potential OPEC+ agreement to increase supply cooled a buying spree that had pushed the market above $75. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the Canadian convenience- store giant that tried and failed to buy Carrefour SA this year, said its appetite for acquisitions is intact even though it hasn’t found opportunities at the right price lately.
Commodities:
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $13.15 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1% to $1,827.69 an ounce
FX/ Bonds:
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1% to C$1.2505 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell 5.8 basis points to 1.294%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.6 percent at 20,147.24 in Toronto.  The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2 percent. Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 8 of 11 sectors lost; 133 of 231 shares fell, while 91 rose. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.7 percent. Organigram Holdings Inc. had the largest drop, falling 11.1 percent.
Insights
* The index advanced 27 percent in the past 52 weeks.   The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 38 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.2 percent below its 52-week high on July 7, 2021 and 30.7 percent above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.7 percent in the past 5 days and was little changed in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.2 on a trailing basis and 16.7 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$3.19t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 6.95 percent compared with 6.67 percent in the previous session and the average of 7.58 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -59.1678| -2.5| 1/11
* Energy | -46.1422| -1.8| 1/22
* Health Care | -13.1472| -4.9| 0/10
* Consumer Discretionary | -5.9003| -0.8| 0/12
* Consumer Staples | -3.7908| -0.5| 4/9
* Industrials | -3.6112| -0.2| 14/15
* Utilities | -1.1531| -0.1| 7/9
* Communication Services | -0.8875| -0.1| 2/3
* Real Estate | 1.0759| 0.2| 14/12
* Materials | 3.1011| 0.1| 33/20
* Financials | 6.2095| 0.1| 15/10
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -54.8100| -3.7| -4.6| 27.3
* Canadian Natural | | | |
* Resources | -9.6490| -2.6| -36.9| 40.9
* Suncor Energy | -7.0150| -2.4| -14.2| 29.7
* Barrick Gold | 2.5970| 0.8| -13.8| -7.5
* TFI International | 6.1320| 8.8| 183.1| 88.8
* Royal Bank of Canada | 7.5300| 0.6| 69.0| 23.1

US
By Kamaron Leach and Natalia Kniazhevich
(Bloomberg) — Megacap tech stocks led the S&P 500 marginally higher and bond yields fell as investors turned to defensive favorites with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell making the case for maintaining economic stimulus. The S&P 500 closed slightly higher with Powell emphasizing in Congressional testimony that the U.S. economic recovery still hasn’t progressed enough to begin scaling back asset purchases. Apple, Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft hit record highs. Bank of America dropped after second-quarter earnings failed to impress investors, while Wells Fargo & Co. gained. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield retreated below 1.4% and the dollar declined. Powell added that inflation is likely to remain high in coming months before moderating. “This supports our view that the Fed wants the economy to run hot and will tolerate a near-term overshoot in inflation,” said Steven Ricchiuto, U.S. chief economist at Mizuho Americas.
A report earlier showed prices paid to U.S. producers rose in June by more than expected, indicating pressure is mounting on companies to pass along higher costs to consumers.  The June U.S. consumer inflation print on Tuesday topped all forecasts and pointed to higher costs associated with the reopening from the pandemic.  Powell reiterated that Fed officials expect such pressures to be transitory but some commentators see a risk of more durable increases that could force a quicker-than-expected reduction in stimulus. “The Fed remains laser-focused on the employment situation,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird.  “So while the recovery in parts of the economy is totally complete and has even surpassed pre-covid levels, the fact that we’re still about 7 million short of pre-pandemic nonfarm payrolls, labor force participation is weak, and the unemployment rate is above 4-5% means the Fed will remain accommodative.  But no doubt the inflation numbers are starting to put them in a bind.” Global stocks remain close to a record and a range of other factors are influencing the outlook.  They include the spread of the more contagious Covid-19 delta variant, the possibility of a peak in earnings and economic growth, and U.S. fiscal spending plans. Oil fell with gasoline and distillate inventories rising as well as an increase in the U.S production during peak summer demand.

Here are some events to watch this week:
* Bank of Korea monetary decision Thursday
* Bank of Japan interest rate decision Friday

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 4:05 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
* The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1835
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3859
* The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 109.97 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 1.35%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to -0.32%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.63%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.4% to $72.72 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 1% to $1,828.20 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced. -John Keats, 1795-1821.

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