February 7, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Feb. 7, 1964, the Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time, giving rise to Beatlemania.   Their performance on the Ed Sullivan Show was watched by 73 million viewers. Go to article »

Feb. 7, 1974: Independence Day, Grenada.
Charles Dickens, writer, b. 1812
Chris Rock, comedian, b. 1966
Ashton Kutcher, actor, b. 1978

First ever free-floating black hole found roaming through interstellar space. 

Spinal-cord implant helps paralyzed patients walk again.

RIP, Hotel Pennsylvania. (h/t Scott Kominers)

Earliest ball-lightning sighting traced to 1195.

Mother chimp makes an insect poultice for her baby. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man prepares for his morning swim in the Yangtze River
CREDIT: Wang He/Getty Images

Dog walkers enjoy the sunrise at Tynemouth beach
CREDIT: Owen Humphreys/PA

Two birds sit together on a chilly morning
CREDIT: Ben Birchall/PA

Market Closes for February 7^th, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1804, John Deere was born in Rutland, VT. In 1837, he threw the American frontier wide open by inventing the world’s first self-cleaning steel plow, making it possible for pioneers to work the rich, vast farmlands of the midwestern and western United States.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent at 21,235.50 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.8 percent.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.0 percent.
Ballard Power Systems Inc. had the largest drop, falling 5.1 percent.
Today, 128 of 241 shares fell, while 110 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by industrials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 17 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 13 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.6 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 18.4 percent above its low on Feb. 26, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.7 percent in the past 5 days and rose 0.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9 on a trailing basis and 14.8 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$3.4t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 12.76 percent compared with 12.92 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.84 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Industrials | -29.6846| -1.2| 8/21
* Information Technology | -24.3124| -1.4| 4/11
* Energy | -8.1180| -0.3| 9/23
* Communication Services | -6.8799| -0.7| 3/4
* Consumer Discretionary | -4.6467| -0.6| 5/9
* Real Estate | -2.6340| -0.4| 8/16
* Consumer Staples | -0.8712| -0.1| 3/8
* Health Care | -0.3222| -0.2| 4/4
* Utilities | 1.4657| 0.2| 7/8
* Financials | 8.4062| 0.1| 13/15
* Materials | 31.2330| 1.3| 46/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -16.9900| -2.0| -36.4| -37.0
* Royal Bank of Canada | -10.7500| -0.8| -34.7| 8.6
* Canadian National | -10.5900| -1.6| 63.5| -1.2
* Barrick Gold | 4.0250| 1.4| 93.2| 3.1
* TD Bank | 6.3760| 0.5| 0.6| 9.4
* Brookfield Asset Management | 9.4130| 1.4| -10.2| -7.5

US
By Stephen Kirkland and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell late in the Monday session amid renewed declines in big tech names.
Benchmark Treasury yields were little changed as investors assessed the outlook for monetary policy ahead of key inflation data later this week.
The S&P 500 declined, falling from session highs in the last hour of trading.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ended near the day’s low, led lower by declines in Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.
Peloton Interactive Inc. soared after reports that it’s exploring takeover options.
The Treasury curve steepened, though moves were subdued, and the dollar was little changed.
Investors are grappling with the prospect of the steepest monetary tightening cycle since the 1990s, with markets pricing in more than five quarter-point Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes in 2022 following a strong U.S. jobs report.
The U.S. inflation report this week could lead to more market volatility.
A reading north of 7%, the highest since the early 1980s, is expected.
“The market is in transition,” Chuck Cumello, president and chief executive officer of Essex Financial Services, said by phone. “You’re going from an accommodative Fed to one that’s going to tighten, you’re going from a scenario last year where the federal government was literally putting money in people’s pockets to spend and that’s not happening, and you have these big geopolitical events. It’s a very challenging environment for high P/E stocks.”
Greek debt led a selloff in European peripheral bonds after European Central Bank Governing Council Member Klaas Knot said he expects a rate increase as early as in the fourth quarter.
The ECB last week made a hawkish pivot, with President Christine Lagarde no longer excluding a rate hike this year.  
In an address to lawmakers in the European Parliament Monday, Lagarde said any adjustment to monetary policy will be “gradual.”
U.S. stocks ended higher last week, but trading was volatile amid weak numbers at U.S. tech giants including Facebook-owner Meta Platforms and positive earnings from Amazon.com Inc.
A strong jobs report on Friday while good for the economy also backed the case for a hawkish Fed stance.
“We all know that global central banks are poised to have an inflection in interest rate policy; what we don’t know is how far each of them are going to go and how quickly they’re going to try to get there,” said Sarah Hunt, portfolio manager at Alpine Woods Capital Investors.
“It’s this unknowing about how fast and far the Fed is going to go right now that I think is part of why you’re getting these big zig zags of up and down.”
In corporate news:
* Meta Platforms Inc. again threatened to pull Facebook and Instagram from Europe if it is unable to keep transferring user
data back to the U.S.
* Frontier Group Holdings Inc.’s planned $2.9 billion purchase
of Spirit Airlines Inc., positions Bill Franke, the self-
proclaimed father of ultra-discounting, to expand his global
network of carriers.
* Amazon.com Inc. is more than doubling the maximum base salary
it pays employees to $350,000 from $160,000.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin rose for a fifth consecutive day, the longest winning streak since September, as investors re-embrace risk assets across global markets.
The rally in crude oil stalled at around $92 a barrel.
In the latest on Ukraine, President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron spoke about responding to Russia’s military buildup on the Ukrainian border.
Moscow has repeatedly denied that it plans an attack.

Here are some events to watch this week:
* Earnings: AstraZeneca, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, SoftBank Group, Toyota Motor, Twitter, Uber, Walt Disney
* Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester speaks Wednesday
* U.K. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks Thursday
* U.S. consumer price index, initial jobless claims Thursday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1438
* The British pound was unchanged at $1.3531
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 115.10 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 1.92%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.23%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.41%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to $91.40 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.8% to $1,822.60 an ounce
–With assistance from Michael Msika, Andreea Papuc, Robert Brand, Edward Bolingbroke and Elaine Chen.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Win without boasting.  Lose without excuses. –Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970.

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