April 28, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1789~The crew of the British ship Bounty mutinied, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors adrift in a launch in the South Pacific.  Go to article »
April 28, 1789, Captain Bligh describes the mutiny on the Bounty in his Journal, quoted by John Barrow, Second Secretary of the Admiralty:

“Just before sun-rising….while I was yet asleep, Mr. Christian, officer of the watch, Charles Churchill, ship’s corporal, John Mills, gunner’s mate, and Thomas Burkitt, seaman, came into my cabin, and seizing me, tied my hands with a cord behind my back, threatening me with instant death if I spoke or made the least noise.  I called, however, as loud as I could in hopes of assistance; but they had already secured the officers who were not of their party, by placing sentinels at their doors.  There were three men at my cabin door, besides the four within; Christian had only a cutlass in his hand, the others had muskets and bayonets.  I was hauled out of bed, and forced on deck in my shirt, suffering great pain from the tightness with which they had tied my hands behind my back, held by Fletcher Christian, and Charles Churchill, with a bayonet at my breast, and two men, Alexander Smith and Thomas Burkitt, behind me, with loaded muskets cocked and bayonets fixed.  I demanded the reason of such violence, but received no other answer than abuse, for not holding my tongue…
  When the boat was out, Mr. hayward and Mr. Hallet, two of the mid-shipmen, and Mr. Samuel, were ordered into it.  I demanded what their intention was in giving this order, and endeavoured to persuade the people near me not to persist in such acts of violence; but it was to no effect – ‘Hold your tongue, Sir, or you are dead  this instant’ was constantly repeated to me… Particular persons were called on to go into the boat and were hurried over the side; whence I concluded that with these people I was to be set adrift…
  The officers and men being in the boat, they only waited for me, of which the master-at-arms informed Christian; who then said – ‘Come, Captain Bligh, your officers and men are now in the boat, and you must go with them; if you attempt to make the least resistance, you will instantly be put to death’; and without further ceremony, with a tribe of armed ruffians about me, I was forced over the side, when they untied my hands.  Being in the boat, we were veered astern by a rope, a few pieces of pork were thrown to us, and some clothes, also the cutlasses I have already mentioned; and it was then that the armourer and carpenters called out to me to remember that they had no hand in the transaction.  After having undergone a great deal of ridicule, and been kept for some time to make sport for these unfeeling wretches, we were at length cast adrift I the open ocean.”

1937~First commercial transpacific flight, operated by Pan Am.

1945~Muussolini executed.

The British Museum makes 1.9 million photos available free. –Bloomberg.

New fiction from Simone de Beauvoir: A novel abandoned by the author, who died in 1986, draws on a childhood relationship that shaped her views on gender inequality and sexism. The book is being released in France this fall and in the U.S. next year.  -from The New York Times.

Peak TV  Seven of our favorite series to discover (or rediscover) and get lost in right now. -Ralph Lauren Newsletter.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Captain Tom Moore’s grandson Benjie, in the Great Hall of Bedford School, Bedfordshire, UK, where over 120,000 birthday cards sent from around the world are being opened and displayed by staff. Captain Moore celebrates his 100^th birthday on Thursday.
CREDIT: JOE GIDDENS/PA WIRE

A man walks underneath the sculptur ‘Mama’ by French artist Louise Bourgeois next to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Guggenheim’s deputy director and chief officer for global strategies, Juan Gnacio Vidarte, is optimistic about reopening the museum in June.
CREDIT: LUIS TEJIDO/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

An aerial view shows the Suleymaniye mosque during fasting time in Istanbul, Turkey, during a four-day curfew to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease, caused by the novel coronavirus.
CREDIT: OZAN KOSE/AFP CIA GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for April 28th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1942, the World War II bear market hit bottom, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 92.92, down 0.97 points for the day and 16.3% year-to-date. Over the next four years, the market more than doubled

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose for a third session Tuesday while U.S. stocks edged lower. The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced 1.1%, with eight of
eleven sectors higher. Energy stocks led the way, with stocks including Vermilion Energy Inc. and Whitecap Resources Inc. both gaining over 5%. Consumer discretionary stocks were also strong. Canada underestimated its Covid-19 fatalities amid virulent outbreaks at long-term care facilities, public health officials said. The country now expects a total of 3,277 to 3,883 deaths by May 5, according to an updated model unveiled by Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam on Tuesday. Meanwhile, business leaders say they want more detail on Ontario’s strategy for restarting the economy after Premier Doug Ford outlined a plan without a timeframe. Quebec unveiled the first steps of a gradual restart of its economy, with retailers everywhere except Montreal reopening as early as next week.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $7.75 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.3% to about $1,708 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3% to C$1.3985 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 5.3 basis points to 0.572%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 1.1 percent, or 156.18 to 14,798.29 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 10. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.9 percent. Canfor Corp. had the largest increase, rising 14.6 percent. Today, 150 of 230 shares rose, while 76 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain 20 times. The next day, it declined 12 times for an average 3.3 percent and advanced eight times for an average 1.7 percent
* This month, the index rose 11 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* The index declined 11 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 4 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 17.7 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 32.5 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 6.2 percent in the past 5 days and rose 17 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.6 on a trailing basis and 18.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.5 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.23t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 59.89 percent compared with 60.20 percent in the previous session and the average of 84.40 percent over the past month
====================================================
|Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
====================================================
Energy | 58.7093| 3.1| 28/0
Financials | 58.4966| 1.4| 22/4
Consumer Discretionary | 13.9272| 2.6| 12/3
Industrials | 13.2288| 0.8| 22/9
Communication Services | 8.0703| 0.9| 8/0
Materials | 6.3779| 0.3| 25/22
Utilities | 5.4841| 0.7| 9/7
Real Estate | 2.9485| 0.6| 13/11
Consumer Staples | -2.7773| -0.4| 4/7
Information Technology | -3.0406| -0.3| 6/4
Health Care | -5.2338| -3.3| 1/9

US
By Claire Ballentine and Katherine Greifeld
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks traded mixed, with a slide in the biggest technology shares weighed on major equity gauges as consumer confidence crashed and more companies withdrew earnings guidance. The dollar weakened. The S&P 500 Index edged higher, led by casino operators, cruise liners and other coronavirus-sensitive stocks, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped as data showed U.S. consumer confidence dropped in April to the lowest since 2014. Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Netflix Inc were among the biggest drags on the tech-heavy gauge. “It seems like a rotation is underway,” said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. ““The question is whether this is a durable shift or a counter-trend move.”
The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed to a seven-week high as several major economies moved toward loosening restrictions. Oil futures in New York slumped to about $10 a barrel before paring losses in a volatile session. Treasuries edged higher. With U.S. equities up more than 25% since the lows of March, investors are in search of new catalysts to drive further gains. This week has policy decisions due from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank as well as earnings still to come from some of the world’s biggest companies, among them Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. At the same time, traders are monitoring coronavirus infection rates and the ongoing discussions of how to restart activity. “Nobody expects us to go back to where we left off, but at least there are steps to opening back up,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA. “We’re going to continue to see volatility.” China’s top scientists said the novel coronavirus will not be eradicated, joining a growing consensus that the pathogen will likely return in waves. Spain said it aimed to lift its lockdown within eight weeks as Europe moves to loosen restrictions. The Trump administration issued a strategy to expand U.S. testing, including partnering with retail chains. On the earnings front, Alphabet Inc. is among those still to report Tuesday. Caterpillar Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. joined companies shelving earnings forecasts for the rest of the year. Merck & Co. reported profit that beat estimates, while UBS Group AG gained after earnings rose.
Elsewhere, it was a choppy session in Asia, where South Korean and Hong Kong equities climbed, shares in Japan finished slightly higher and those in Australia edged down.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3% as of 2:22 p.m. New York time; the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.7%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.5%.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.7%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.3%.
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0837.
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2444.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.4% to 106.87 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped five basis points to 0.61%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.47%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.28%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.8% to $12.56 a barrel.
* Copper added 0.1% to $2.348 per pound.
* Gold weakened 0.4% to $1,707.65 an ounce.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I am an optimist.  It does not seem too much use being anything else.
                                                    -Winston Churchill, 1874-1965

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com