August 17, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Aug. 17, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded near Bethel, N.Y.  Go to article »

Sean Penn, actor, b. 1960.
Robert de Niro, actor, b. 1943.
Mae West, actor, b. 1898.

Ripples in Saturn’s rings reveal the planet may be ‘fuzzy’ and slushy at its core.  Ripples in Saturn’s rings reveal the planet may be ‘fuzzy’ and slushy at its core
Don’t worry, Saturn. We still love you; weird, slushy core and all. 

Meet the ‘ecosexuals’ hosting joyful weddings to the Earth.  Not gonna lie, these weddings are a vibe. 
 
Being a better listener for your loved ones might protect their brain health, study finds.  Send this to, you know, whoever needs to hear it today. 

From the Late Night Hosts:
“The Taliban yesterday entered the city of Kabul and took control of Afghanistan’s presidential palace. Most Americans watched in horror, while some Americans watched for tips.” — SETH MEYERS

“Former President Trump released a statement on Friday amid the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and, yeah, he’s enjoying this.” — SETH MEYERS

“Pretty weird to blame Biden for withdrawing troops when this summer he was claiming credit for it.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“Trump made a peace deal with the Taliban to end the war, and now after Biden’s withdrawal, they’re back in power. So, on the bright side, it’s nice to have a bipartisan screw-up.” — JIMMY FALLON

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Selfie.. Photographer Paul Zizka has compiled a collection of epic self portraits, globe trotting from Asia to Antarctica in search of the world’s most stunning locations including the spectacular Aurora Borealis
CREDIT: PAUL ZIZKA / CATERS NEWS AGENCY

Ray of light.. A mum of two was left in hysterics after noticing a spooky resemblance between her daughter Daisy and an aquarium Stingray
CREDIT: WENDY ARMSTRONG / SWNS

One of the shortlisted entries for the Northern Photography Prize in which photographers were invited to capture the spirit and heart of the North East of England.. a rainbow at New Hartley taken by Michelle Williams
CREDIT: MICHELLE K. WILLAMS

A paraglider launches from Devils Dyke in the South Downs, West Sussex
CREDIT: DAVID BURR / ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Market Closes for August 17^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1998, the Russian government devalued the ruble and declared a moratorium on paying its foreign debt, a de facto default that sent the global bond markets crashing and triggered the ultimate collapse of the giant hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci and Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell Tuesday amid concern that the global economic recovery will lose momentum as the delta variant prompts further shutdowns to contain the renewed spread of the pandemic. The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 0.6%, the most since July 19. Seven of eleven sectors retreated. A Statistics Canada report due Wednesday is expected to show that price inflation accelerated in July to almost the fastest rate in two decades. Economists estimate that consumer prices jumped 3.4% last month on an annual basis, from 3.1% in June. Copper led most industrial metals lower amid ongoing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus delta variant in top consumer China, while a firmer dollar reduced their appeal to foreign investors.
Commodities:
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $12.95 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,784.88 an ounce
FX/Bonds:
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.4% to C$1.2624 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell 1.2 basis points to 1.153%
–With assistance from Philip Sanders.

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite is falling for the fourth day, dropping 1 percent, or 204.11 to 20,279.31 in Toronto. In midday trading, financials stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 189 of 229 shares fell, while 38 rose. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.3 percent. Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest drop, falling 11.9 percent.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 18 times. The next day, it advanced 13 times for an average 1 percent and declined five times for an average 0.7 percent
* The index advanced 22 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.4 percent below its 52-week high on Aug. 13, 2021 and 31.5 percent above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.8 on a trailing basis and 16.2 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$3.22t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.39 percent compared with 8.85 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.04 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | -69.9573| -1.1| 1/27
* Energy | -33.0678| -1.4| 0/23
* Materials | -30.9727| -1.3| 9/43
* Information Technology | -25.6355| -1.1| 2/10
* Industrials | -22.1783| -0.9| 4/26
* Consumer Discretionary | -15.7419| -2.0| 1/12
* Real Estate | -5.3228| -0.8| 5/20
* Health Care | -4.2335| -1.9| 2/7
* Utilities | -1.3157| -0.1| 5/11
* Communication Services | 0.5069| 0.1| 2/4
* Consumer Staples | 1.6656| 0.2| 7/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -19.5200| -1.3| -60.3| 28.5
* Brookfield Asset | | | |
* Management | -15.5800| -2.2| -27.6| 33.4
* Royal Bank of Canada | -10.3200| -0.8| -39.8| 24.4
* Rogers Communications| 1.0130| 0.7| -10.0| 7.6
* Wheaton Precious | | | |
* Metals | 1.0660| 0.6| -16.9| 5.4
* Northland Power | 1.1300| 2.0| 11.0| -10.7

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks posted their biggest decline in a month amid concern that the global economic recovery will lose momentum with further shutdowns to contain a coronavirus resurgence. Traders watched closely Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks during a town hall with educators and students, where he noted the central bank’s “powerful tools” have limitations. Powell also said that Covid-19 will likely stay “for a while,” and we’re not going back to a pre-pandemic economy. Policy makers will gather next week for the Jackson Hole symposium, the Fed’s most-prominent annual conference. “We’re essentially in a bit of a holding period ahead of Jackson Hole,” wrote Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda Europe. “While there is a fair amount of data releases this week, some of which may carry a little more weight than others, it’s all about the Fed in these markets at the minute, and that’s unlikely to change unless the delta situation gets dramatically worse. ”The S&P 500 snapped a five-day rally. Giants Tesla Inc. and Facebook Inc. slid at least 2.2%, while Home Depot Inc. tumbled after the retailer posted weaker-than-expected results.
Chinese stocks listed in the U.S. such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Baidu Inc. and JD.com Inc. faced another wave of selling as authorities in Beijing ramped up their crackdown on some of the nation’s largest companies. American homebuilder sentiment sank to a 13-month low in August amid high costs as well as continuing supply shortages. U.S. retail sales fell in July by more than forecast, reflecting a steady shift in spending toward services and indicating consumers may be growing more price conscious as inflation picks up. While factory production strengthened the most in four months, manufacturers continued to face higher input prices and a near record number of job vacancies. The U.S. government is poised to offer coronavirus booster shots as soon as next month, with the country facing a renewed wave of infections fueled by the delta variant. New Zealand will enter a lockdown after reporting its first community transmission since February. Switzerland recorded its biggest jump in infections in months, while South Africa expects a fourth wave to start in early December.

Here are some events to watch this week:
* Reserve Bank of New Zealand policy decision and briefing by Governor Adrian Orr Wednesday
* FOMC minutes released Wednesday
* Bank Indonesia rate decision and Governor Perry Warjiyo briefing Thursday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.5%
* The euro fell 0.6% to $1.1713
* The British pound fell 0.8% to $1.3738
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 109.58 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.26%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.47%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.56%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.8% to $66.76 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,787.30 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Srinivasan Sivabalan, Kamaron Leach and Vildana Hajric
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Art is not a thing; it is a way. –Elbert Hubbard, 1856-1915.

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