April 3, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were children, staying at the arch-duke’s,
My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust…                     
     -from The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot

1860~ Pony Express established.
Marlon Brando, actor, b.1924
Jane Goodall, b.1934
On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion in aid for 16 European countries. Go to article »

From today’s New York Times:
The Times’s Travel section has published its 36 Hours column for nearly 20 years, helping readers plan weekends all over the world.
For many of us, our grand plans have shrunk over the past month, so we asked readers for activities you can do anywhere. From more than 1,400 submissions, we’ve produced our first reader-sourced 36 Hours column — and the first with no traveling.

Sonic meditation, anyone?
Here’s something offbeat you could try this weekend: Every Saturday in April, anyone who likes to sing can be part of a global “Tuning Meditation” via zoom. Our music critic gave it a try last Saturday and she said it ended up sounding like a “cosmic flock of bleating sheep.”

Or let us guide you through a short meditation session, with advice from experts and soothing sights and sounds from nature.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Hundreds of metres of newly dyed, bright red cotton are rolled out to dry in the sun. Aerial photos show workers unfurling huge stretches of the fabric across green fields in the Narsingdi district Bangladesh. With some strips of cotton approaching 500 meters long, the workers can cover 100 hectares with the cloth. Once a strip has dried-typically talking four hours- they fold it up and replace it with another newly dyed stretch.
CREDIT: KHANH PHAN/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

A neighbourhood in Kennington London, is taking to its doorsteps to do aerobics, at two meters apart, using household objects including broom heads and tins. Simon Garner launched “On Your Step” as a positive morning motivator which has brough together students, elderly resident and gym bunnies alike. The 43-year-old bids good morning to his neighbours from his step before they begin their routine including the “brush and sweep” with household brooms to Mary Poppons’ Chim Chim Che-ree.
CREDIT: SIMON GARNER/ SWNS.COM

A man rides his bike passed a terraced house painted with a rainbow in support of the National Health Service(NHS) on Gwendoline Street in Cardiff, Wales.
CREDIT: MATTHEW HORWOOD/ GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for April 3rd  ,2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1948, the U.S. Congress passed (and Pres. Harry S. Truman immediately signed) the Marshall Plan to finance the reconstruction of Western Europe after the devastation of World War II—helping to keep communism at bay and laying the groundwork for the global economic boom of the 1950s.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks slumped on Friday, as U.S. stocks fell after a plunge in hiring last month hinted at the
extent of the pandemic’s toll on the world’s largest economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 1.2% in Toronto. Tech stocks outperformed the index, while energy and materials were
least hurt after oil and gold rallied.
Oil posted a record weekly gain on hopes that global producers will decide to make historic output cuts next week, though optimism was tempered by concern that the curbs won’t avert a glut. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is in talks with the U.S. and OPEC about resolving the global oil-price war that’s threatening one of Canada’s most vital industries.
The plunge in the U.S. jobs data gave gold prices a boost, helping the miners on Friday. In Canada, more than two million Canadians, or one in ten workers, have applied for jobless claims since the start of nationwide lockdowns last month.
     Meanwhile, more than 10% of mortgages in the portfolios of Canada’s largest six banks have been deferred, according to a statement by the Canadian Bankers Association. The Canadian dollar fell about 0.2% to C$1.4159 per U.S. dollar and the 10-year government bond yield climbed about 8
basis points to 0.713%.

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.2 percent at 12,938.30 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1.7 percent.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.9 percent. Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund had the largest drop, falling 10.6 percent.
Today, 174 of 230 shares fell, while 54 rose; 10 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 18 times. The next day, it declined nine times for an average 4.1 percent and advanced nine times for an average 4.2 percent
* So far this week, the index rose 2 percent
* The index declined 21 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 15 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 28 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 15.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.9 on a trailing basis and 14 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 4 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 88.64 percent compared with 88.65 percent in the previous session and the average of 63.20 percent over the past month
===============================================
Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
===============================================
Financials | -86.1952| -2.1| 0/26
Industrials | -19.5705| -1.3| 4/26
Utilities | -12.6794| -1.7| 1/15
Communication Services | -8.9210| -1.0| 1/7
Consumer Discretionary | -8.9200| -2.1| 3/12
Materials | -7.9875| -0.5| 10/37
Real Estate | -5.7404| -1.4| 7/19
Energy | -3.8905| -0.2| 20/9
Health Care | -3.6818| -2.8| 1/9
Consumer Staples | -2.9332| -0.5| 5/6
Information Technology | 0.9926| 0.1| 2/8
US
By Vildana Hajric and Jeremy Herron
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks slumped for the week and the dollar gained after a plunge in hiring last month hinted at the
extent of the pandemic’s toll on the world’s largest economy.
Oil rallied on expected output curbs.
The S&P 500 fell for the third time in four days as investors digested the abysmal jobs report that captured data in the period largely before government-mandated shutdowns went into widespread effect. As with record claims for unemployment, the latest numbers bear little information on the current state of the economy, making it difficult for investors to value financial assets.
“No one has ever experienced anything like this,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird, said by phone. “We’re getting the shock numbers out and the markets tend to front-run bad news. In other words, a lot of the bad news is already built into the market.”
The S&P 500 fell 2.1% for the week, largely holding a rally that propelled it 18% higher in three days last week. That came after the fastest 30% plunge on record as the pandemic forced the economy into a virtual standstill. While volatility has eased somewhat, stocks are still regularly notching daily moves that until recently would have been considered huge.
Oil surged following reports large producers are ready to cut output. Crude jumped another 13% Friday after a record jump on news the OPEC+ coalition will hold a virtual meeting on Monday and that Russia is ready to cut production. Trump held a meeting with U.S. energy company executives Friday.
In Europe, data showing an unprecedented slump in the region’s economy last month pushed the Stoxx 600 Index lower, though it also trimmed its retreat. Asian equities saw modest losses in most markets to cap a third weekly decline in four. The yen weakened alongside the euro, pound and Swiss franc. Treasuries drifted.
With lockdowns for many economies around the world expected to go on for longer, data are showing the severity of the impact. Nearly 10 million people in the U.S. have lost their jobs in the past two weeks, while the virus continues to pressure corporate balance sheets. American Airlines Group Inc. will slash international flying as far out as the end of August as the pandemic batters travel demand through the normally busy summer season.
“We are not going to have the real recovery in the market until what we think is the peak in the amount of infections and deaths,” Stephen Dover, head of equities at Franklin Templeton, said on Bloomberg TV. “We are going to continue to have very wide volatility until we can get over this uncertainty.”
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 1.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.8%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.6%.
* The euro dipped 0.4% to $1.081.
* The British pound fell 1.1% to $1.2266.
* The Japanese yen decreased 0.5% to 108.41 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 0.61%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.44%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to 0.31%.
Commodities
* Gold advanced 0.6% to $1,648.10 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 13% to $28.80 a barrel.
–With assistance from Yakob Peterseil and Adam Haigh.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give.
                               –Walt Whitman,  1819-1892

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