February 17, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
2009 President Barack Obama signed a $757 billion economic stimulus package into law.  Go to article »

DeepMind has trained an AI to control nuclear fusion. 

Disney plans to build residential neighborhoods across the US.  This sounds like a dream come true for Disney adults! 

NASA’s newest explorer shared its very first images.  This is what an exploding star looks like. So crazy.

Enjoy a quick virtual vacation! This short exploration of Indonesia takes you on a sightseeing adventure, minus the long flight! (Click here to view) 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A million lanterns are lit in homage to the Buddha as monks sit around the Dhammakaya Cetiya. Buddhist monks around the world jointly chant and meditate for world peace and safety at this time
CREDIT: Adirach Toumlamoon/Pacific Press/Rex/Shutterstock

A girl checks out ornamental fish displayed at a pet shop
CREDIT: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images

‘King of the animals’ is the theme for this year’s Battle of the Flowers parade at Nice carnival
CREDIT: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

Market Closes for February 17^th, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, total trading volume for the day on Nasdaq topped two billion shares for the first time, as 2,008,438,100 shares changed hands and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed above 4500 for the first time, finishing the day at 4548.92.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 1 percent, or 207.31 to 21,176.33 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.3 percent on Feb. 3.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 8 of 11 sectors lost; 160 of 240 shares fell, while 75 rose.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 10.8 percent.
Osisko Mining Inc. had the largest drop, falling 13.8 percent.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 13 times. The next day, it advanced seven times for an average 0.9 percent and declined six times for an average 0.6 percent
* So far this week, the index fell 1.7 percent * The index advanced 15 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 9.2 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.8 percent below its 52-week high on Nov. 16, 2021 and 18.1 percent above its low on Feb. 26, 2021
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.7 percent in the past 5 days and fell 1.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.8 on a trailing basis and 14.5 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$3.41t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.77 percent compared with 13.43 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.73 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | -116.7398| -1.6| 3/25
* Information Technology| -103.8196| -6.7| 0/16
* Industrials | -23.8919| -1.0| 2/28
* Consumer Discretionary| -11.9261| -1.6| 1/13
* Real Estate | -6.2243| -1.0| 6/17
* Health Care | -6.1924| -3.9| 0/8
* Consumer Staples | -4.0868| -0.5| 2/9
* Energy | -1.2945| 0.0| 12/20
* Communication Services| 2.5907| 0.2| 3/4
* Utilities | 5.4786| 0.6| 12/2
* Materials | 58.7957| 2.3| 34/18
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -79.3500| -10.8| 20.5| -51.9
* Royal Bank of Canada | -33.3300| -2.4| -38.1| 5.4
* Brookfield Asset Management | -21.7300| -3.0| -11.5| -9.2
* Nutrien | 10.7700| 2.9| 31.4| 3.1
* Agnico Eagle Mines | 15.6900| 7.6| 105.6| 6.2
* Barrick Gold | 16.1000| 4.7| 83.9| 22.8

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks slumped, while traders sought safety in bonds and other haven assets as heightened concern over geopolitical risks added to worries about the outlook for central bank policy.
About 85% of the companies in the S&P 500 fell on Thursday, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 tumbled 3%.
Meanwhile, the market’s so-called fear gauge — the Cboe Volatility Index or VIX — soared.
Treasury 10-year yields dropped below 2%, while gold, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc climbed.
Oil declined despite the threat of economic sanctions that could disrupt global supplies.
Bitcoin sank.
The U.S. ramped up warnings of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine, with President Joe Biden saying a “false-flag” event may be underway and a top diplomat describing Moscow as moving
toward an “imminent invasion.”
Russian officials said no invasion of Ukraine was underway and none was planned.
Meantime, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said bringing down inflation may require the central bank to overshoot a neutral target interest-rate, which he sees as about 2%.
He repeated his view that the Fed should hike by 100 basis points by July 1, and start a balance-sheet runoff in the second quarter, in response to the fastest inflation in 40 years.
“Investors, wary of any bad news, have been unable to maintain positive momentum in equity markets across the globe as geopolitical risks dominate headlines,” said Peter Essele, head of portfolio management at Commonwealth Financial Network. “A further escalation of tensions in the near term could roil markets due to the potential impact on a tenuous global supply chain, particularly as the Fed prepares for its first-rate hike in years. A perfect storm may be on the horizon if calmer heads don’t prevail.”
American companies are grappling with a historically tight labor market, low unemployment and rising wage inflation putting pressure on profit margins, strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.
Analysts have cut their margin expectations for 75% of industries and about half of the S&P 500 companies for the first and second quarters, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.
The Fed needs to deliver a Volcker-style shock to drive down asset prices if it wants to slow inflation without causing a recession, according to Credit Suisse Group AG strategist Zoltan Pozsar.
Policy makers should stoke volatility to set off corrections in assets including stocks, houses and Bitcoin, deterring early retirement and driving people into the workforce, he wrote.
His comments harked back to the way Paul Volcker broke the back of inflation as Fed chief in the 1980s with massive rate increases.
Corporate highlights:
* Giant chipmaker Nvidia Corp. tumbled after its latest forecast failed to impress investors, while electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. slipped after moving toward the bottom of Consumer Reports’
newest annual auto-brand rankings.
* Cisco Systems Inc., the biggest maker of computer networking equipment, climbed on a bullish forecast and after boosting its share buyback program.
* Walmart Inc. topped Wall Street’s quarterly profit expectations and unveiled an upbeat sales outlook, sending stocks higher.

Here are some key events this week:
* U.S. Monetary Policy Forum: speakers including Fed officials Charles Evans, Christopher Waller and Lael Brainard, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 2.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1361
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3618
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 114.93 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined eight basis points to 1.96%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 0.23%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 1.46%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $91.56 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 1.5% to $1,900.50 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Abigail Moses, Cecile Gutscher, Emily Graffeo and Peyton Forte.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old; they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams. –Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1927-2014.

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