December 7, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes attacked the home base of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, drawing the United States into World War II.
More than 2,300 Americans were killed. Go to article »

2020~ Coca-Cola named the world’s No. 1 plastic polluter in annual brand audit by Break Free from Plastic
Over 90% of the global ocean’s plastic waste comes from just 10 rivers, 8 of which are in Asia and 2 of which are in Africa.543

“Face with tears of joy” is 2021’s most used emoji.

Instagram will now tell users when to take a break from using the app.  It could be a helpful reminder, or people could just keep scrolling anyway — just a  little guiltier afterward. 

The United Arab Emirates has rescheduled the weekend.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Snow blankets the roofs of the historic old town in North Rhine-Westphalia
CREDIT: Federico Gambarini/AP
Eliza Homer (right), four, enjoys the Winter Glow outdoor light trail at Three Counties showground in Malvern, UK
CREDIT: Jacob King/PA
A boy fishes at sunset at Bang Tao beach, on Phuket’s west coast
CREDIT: Jorge Silva/Reuters

Market Closes for December 7^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1880, Ferdinand de Lesseps’ Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interoceanique, organized to finance construction of the Panama Canal, went public in Paris at 500 francs, equivalent to around $100, a share. De Lesseps bribed the French press with more than $300,000 in slush money, so the newspapers were enthusiastic—and the public went wild, as more than 100,000 people bought into the IPO. Within eight years the company collapsed and the shares became worthless.
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks jumped to the highest in more than a week as companies in the information technology and energy sectors climbed amid waning omicron fears.  The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 1.4 percent, or 301.55 to 21,162.65 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.5 percent. Real Matters Inc. had the largest increase, rising 15.9 percent. Today, 198 of 233 shares rose, while 32 fell; all sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain three times. The next day, it advanced twice for an average 0.6 percent and declined 0.6 percent once
* This year, the index rose 21 percent, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This quarter, the index rose 5.4 percent
* The index advanced 20 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.9 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 22.3 percent above its low on Jan. 29, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.4 percent in the past 5 days and fell 1.4 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.1 on a trailing basis and 16.1 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$3.29t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 14.84 percent compared with 14.52 percent in the previous session and the average of 10.63 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | 94.5938| 4.1| 13/2
* Energy | 60.3528| 2.2| 22/1
* Financials | 57.7508| 0.9| 28/0
* Materials | 26.8066| 1.1| 47/7
* Industrials | 23.3252| 0.9| 25/5
* Consumer Discretionary | 16.4542| 2.2| 12/1
* Consumer Staples | 6.7580| 0.9| 11/2
* Utilities | 6.6018| 0.7| 12/3
* Health Care | 5.0975| 3.0| 9/0
* Real Estate | 3.4538| 0.5| 17/7
* Communication Services | 0.3523| 0.0| 2/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | 79.1000| 5.5| 33.2| 33.9
* Brookfield Asset
* Management | 14.2800| 1.9| -30.4| 42.7
* Royal Bank of Canada | 12.4700| 1.0| -29.4| 24.6
* CGI Inc | -0.8210| -0.5| -25.8| 8.5
* Barrick Gold | -1.1110| -0.4| 29.7| -17.4
* Waste Connections | -2.2250| -0.7| 22.9| 31.1

US
By Vildana Hajric and Emily Graffeo
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks staged the biggest rally in nine months, with major averages climbing at least 2% on optimism the omicron variant won’t derail global growth. Treasuries fell, sending two-year yields to the highest since March 2020. Technology shares that led last week’s decline paced the rebound. The Nasdaq 100 Index surged 3%, an ETF that tracks newly public companies jumped 5% and small caps climbed 2%. The S&P 500 erased all the losses suffered after Jerome Powell’s hawkish tilt a week ago and was just 0.3% below its last close before the omicron variant rocked markets. The Cboe Volatility Index plunged five points to 22.
The dollar dipped and crude rose above $71 a barrel in New York. Risk assets are recovering this week after initial data showed the surge in omicron cases hasn’t overwhelmed hospitals and as China moved to expand support for the economy. Among the riskiest assets, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. basket of non-profitable tech firms jumped nearly 6% Tuesday, clawing back almost half of last week’s losses.  “The market mood has been notably more upbeat this week after several health experts across the globe, including the U.S.’s Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said omicron symptoms appear milder, so far,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index. “Whilst it is still early days, the encouraging news sparked bargain hunters into action.
Who would want to miss out on the possibility that a milder variant could accelerate natural immunity to Covid?” On the data front, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed while third quarter productivity fell. Private consumption was the largest contributor to the euro area’s most recent economic expansion. U.K. house prices hit an all-time high. And China’s exports grew faster than expected to a record on external demand and an easing power crunch. Additionally, research showed that a Covid-19 vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Canada’s Medicago Inc. was effective against multiple variants of the disease. Congress also reached a deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. “This morning’s rally is being fueled by the belief that the omicron variant will not create many problems for the global economy and that China has pledged measures to support economic growth,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co. “If those were the reasons why the market has seen such a big increase in volatility since Thanksgiving, we’d agree the worst is likely over and that investors should jump back into the market with both feet.”
However, equity markets could still be in for further turbulence amid new restrictions to stem the spread of omicron and resurfacing geopolitical tensions. The threat of sanctions still loom if Russia invades Ukraine, following a call between U.S. and Russian leaders Tuesday. China threatened the U.S. with retaliation against its decision to declare a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics. And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that U.S. reliance on foreign supply chains has proved a vulnerability, boosting policies that may be considered protectionist. With possible headwinds ahead, George Pearkes, global macro strategist at Bespoke Investment Group, said the tech rally “feels really extreme.”  “Mostly this just feels like a counter-trend move after some big negative catalysts and sentiment challenges hit the market over the past couple of weeks, but I’m surprised it’s as large as it is,” he said.

Here are some key events to watch this week:
* Reserve Bank of India rate decision Wednesday
* Olaf Scholz set to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor Wednesday
* European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde speaks at a conference Wednesday
* Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari speaks Thursday
* Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe speaks Thursday
* China CPI, PPI, money supply, new yuan loans, aggregate financing Thursday
* U.S. CPI Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 2.1% as of 4:05 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%
* The MSCI World index rose 2.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1266
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3239
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.54 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 1.47%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.38%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.73%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.1% to $71.65 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,785.80 an ounce
–With assistance from Abigail Moses, Andreea Papuc, Shen Hong and Katie Greifeld.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true.  I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light I have. -Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1965.

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