August 25, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Aug. 25, 1944, Paris was liberated by Allied forces after four years of Nazi occupation. Go to article »

1939~ The Wizard of Oz is released.
Sean Connery, actor, b. 1930
Leonard Bernstein, composer, b. 1918
Elvis Costello, singer, b. 1954

FDA discourages the viral #MilkCrateChallenge.  In case you need it spelled out: Milk crates are for milk! Not stacking on top of each other and holding human weight! 

Frisky venomous sea snakes are confusing divers for their mates.  Wow, every word in that sentence just gets worse and worse. 

Taylor Swift is on TikTok now and fans are freaking.  It was only a matter of time! She is omnipresent!

The Late Night Hosts weigh in on the latest:
“Well, guys, as I mentioned, today the report on the origins of Covid was completed, and an unclassified version will soon be released to the public. And like everything with this pandemic, I’m sure Americans will fully accept the truth and they’ll put all conspiracy theories to rest.” — JIMMY FALLON

“Yep, the unclassified report will come out in a few days, or sooner if Sony accidentally leaks it early.” — JIMMY FALLON, referring to the leaked “Spider-Man” trailer

“President Biden yesterday encouraged Americans who have been waiting for the F.D.A. to approve the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to go out and get the shot. But I don’t know, something tells me they’re going to find a way to move the goal posts again: [imitating anti-vaxxer] ‘Sure, it’s F.D.A.-approved, but is it farm to table, something that’s suddenly very important to me?’” — SETH MEYERS

“Following the announcement that the F.D.A. has officially approved the Pfizer vaccine, President Biden is now calling on companies in the private sector to adopt a shot mandate. If you ask me, this is just further proof of a giant conspiracy between the government and the corporate elite to infringe on Americans’ God-given right to get infected by a deadly virus.” — JAMES CORDEN

“Following the full approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, the company revealed it would start marketing the drug under the name Comirnaty, so now people will start referring to the Pfizer vaccine as ‘the Pfizer vaccine.’” — SETH MEYERS

“It’s too late for a rebrand. This is like when your friend comes back from vacation and is like, ‘Actually, everyone calls me Turbo now.’” — SETH MEYERS.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A leopard picks a fight with a porcupine at Kruger National Park, South Africa
CREDIT: MARIETTE LANDMAN/ CATERS NEWS AGENCY

Giulio captured this image of the Adda River Airuno, Lecco, Italy on a foggy autumn day from a small church on a hilltop. It is a finalist in the Weather photographer of the Year 2021 competition
CREDIT: GIULIO MONTINI

A surfer rides a wave in wild surf conditions at Bronte Beach in Sydney, Australia
CREDIT: TELEGRAPH NEWS

Wild ponies and foals pose in the purple heather atop of Wills Neck and Triscombe Quarry. The majestic horses were seen on Quantock Hills, west of Bridgwater in Somerset
CREDIT: KEVIN EAST PHOTOGRAPHY/TRIANGLE NEWS

Market Closes for August 25^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record high—up 44% for the year and triple its level of just five years earlier. “In a market like this, every story is a positive one,” said Jon Groveman, head equity trader at Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co. “It’s pretty much being taken for granted now that the market is going to go up.” For a while, anyway: Less than two months later, on Oct. 19, the Dow lost 23% in a single day.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares extended their rally as big banks including RBC topped estimates. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.2%, with financials and tech leading the charge. Oil rose for a third session after a U.S. government report showed that crude and gasoline inventories fell despite fears that the delta variant’s spread would sap demand. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a populist turn in Canada’s election campaign, pledging to impose a 3% surtax on the nation’s big banks and insurers.
Commodities:
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $12.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.7% to $1,790.91 an ounce
FX/Bonds:
* The Canadian dollar was little changed at C$1.2593 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 6.1 basis points to 1.251%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 39.56 to 20,587.32 in Toronto. Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.8 percent. Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest increase, rising 5.4 percent. Today, 126 of 229 shares rose, while 100 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.

Insights
* This month, the index rose 1.5 percent
* The index advanced 24 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.1 percent below its 52-week high on Aug. 25, 2021 and 33.5 percent above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.4 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.7 on a trailing basis and 16.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.5 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.23t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.20 percent compared with 8.44 percent in the previous session and the average of 8.85 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | 35.0951| 0.5| 19/9
* Information Technology | 11.6185| 0.5| 9/3
* Industrials | 4.2144| 0.2| 22/8
* Energy | 3.9516| 0.2| 13/10
* Real Estate | 2.8349| 0.5| 17/6
* Consumer Staples | 2.0730| 0.3| 8/5
* Consumer Discretionary | 1.4705| 0.2| 10/3
* Communication Services | -0.5106| -0.1| 4/3
* Utilities | -0.5891| -0.1| 7/9
* Health Care | -1.3801| -0.6| 3/6
* Materials | -19.2017| -0.8| 14/38
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Royal Bank of Canada| 10.9200| 0.8| 7.9| 27.3
* Shopify | 10.7100| 0.7| -12.0| 35.9
* Bank of Nova Scotia | 8.7100| 1.3| 154.5| 17.2
* CGI Inc | -2.4390| -1.4| 47.1| 9.1
* Franco-Nevada | -4.2730| -1.8| -17.8| 12.6
* Barrick Gold | -4.9570| -1.6| -35.3| -13.4

US
By Vildana Hajric and Kamaron Leach
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities were higher on a quiet day of trading ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium later this week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 gained on Wednesday, with both indexes topping record highs. The financial and energy sectors led the gains as Treasury yields and crude oil advanced. Meanwhile, stocks in Europe drifted while a gauge of Chinese tech names struggled to extend a rally. “There are not that many bears left,” Irene Tunkel, chief U.S. equity strategist at BCA Research, said by phone. Pullbacks like last week’s are becoming “shallower and shallower” as more people buy the dip, she said. “There is very, very strong buy-the-dip mentality.” Company earnings, expanding vaccinations and support from monetary policy have helped repair sentiment in the face of climbing delta variant cases. However, the pace of the Fed’s plans to begin tapering its asset purchase program remains a key overhang, which traders seek to get more clarity on when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks virtually on Friday.
Fiona Cincotta, a senior financial markets analyst at City Index, said investors have been “flip flopping” over whether the Fed will make a taper announcement, with current consensus expecting the Fed to delay an announcement until later in the autumn, given the rising Covid cases. Investors are hoping to gain more insight into the Fed’s thinking on monetary stimulus amid a takeoff in inflation but still-mixed economic reports. The latest data Wednesday showed orders placed with U.S. factories for business equipment unexpectedly stalled in July, marking a pause in a months-long buildup in capital investment. “Visibility into getting enough product to satisfy demand is a challenge. Managing one’s own rising cost pressures and labor shortages are another,” said Peter Boockvar, Bleakley Advisory Group chief investment officer, noting the recovery’s uncertainty. “On the other hand, for those thinking longer term, capital investments must take place.” WTI crude oil gained, adding to Tuesday’s best two-day rally since November 2020. Gold fell below $1,800. The dollar was little changed.
Here are some events to watch this week:
* Bank of Korea policy decision; briefing by Governor Lee Ju-yeol Thursday
* Fed officials attend the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium from Thursday through Saturday
* U.S. GDP, initial jobless claims Thursday
* July U.S. personal income and spending data Friday. Investors will scrutinize the personal consumption expenditures price index, an inflation measure closely watched by the Fed.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1771
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3760
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 109.99 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 1.34%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to -0.42%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 0.60%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $68.30 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.9% to $1,792.90 an ounce
–With assistance from Robert Brand, Andreea Papuc and Kit Rees.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy. –Peter Tchaikovsky, 1840-1893.

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