April 7, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Come to the Orchard in Spring
                                    RUMI

Come to the orchard in Spring.
There is light and wine, and sweethearts
      in the pomegranate flowers.

If you do not come, these do not matter.
If you do come, these do not matter.

On April 7^th…
1770~William Wordsworth b.
1805~Beethoven’s Eroica premieres.
1915~Billie Holiday b.
1947 – Auto pioneer Henry Ford died at age 83. Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The inhabitants of Bordeaux, France, respect the confinement instructions.
CREDIT: DAVID THIERRY

A murmuration of starlings create the shapes of animals as they flock. Hundreds of the birds move together creating a duck’s head, a dragon, a penguin and a goose head. The flock are being stalked by a large falcon and they fly together like this so the bird of prey cannot focus on one single starling. The remarkable photographs were taken by landscape architect Albert Beukhof on the outskirts of Geldermalsen in Holland.
CREDIT: ALBERT BEUKHOF/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Tulips bloom in the Keukenhof flower garden which is closed because of the Corona Crisis on April o6, 2020 in Lisse, Netherlands. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to many countries across the world, claiming over 70, 000 lives and infecting over 1 million people.
CREDIT: PATRICK VAN KATWIJK IMAGES
Market Closes for April 7th ,2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1927, in history’s first public television broadcast, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, speaking from an office in Washington, D.C., was viewed by a dumbstruck audience in the Bell Telephone Laboratories at 55 Bethune Street in New York City. “Human genius has now destroyed the impediment of distance in a new respect, and in a manner hitherto unknown,” Hoover said. “What its uses may finally be no one can tell.” The New York Times, however, warned in part of its headline: “COMMERCIAL USE IN DOUBT.”
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks lost most of their earlier gains, after oil prices plunged as investors weighed whether the world’s biggest producers will be able to strike a deal that cuts enough output.
The S&P/TSX Composite index closed Tuesday’s session higher by about 0.2%, after giving up earlier gains of nearly 3.5%. The real estate and retail sector were the best performers, while tech, materials and energy fell the most. The slide in oil prices slowed down the winning streak that saw Canadian stocks reach a technical bull market Monday.
Low crude prices have taken their toll on the Canadian oil patch and companies are in a “dire” state, Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said. She added that the Canadian government needs to release its aid package for the country’s energy industry soon, as companies struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic and oil-price crisis. Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the crisis rocking the global oil industry could cause at least 25% unemployment in his province.
The Canadian government had rolled out several measures to help the nation’s families and businesses, including an emergency response plan and support for businesses. Under these measures, the government has received 3.18 million requests for income support benefits since March 16, according to a government official. However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to subsidize wages by 75% has been met with doubt by many businesses.
The Canadian dollar rose about 0.8% to C$1.3998 per U.S. dollar and the 10-year government bond yield climbed about 8 basis points to 0.828%. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. contributed the most to the S&P/TSX index advance, increasing 6%, after getting a new buy recommendation from Stifel Canada. Chorus Aviation had the largest gain, rising 15% to snap a seven-day slide. Shopify Inc. was the biggest drag on the index, declining 4.2%, after being downgraded at Raymond James. Empire Co. Ltd had the biggest drop, falling 6.4%, after a 12% advance Monday.

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 21.44 to 13,614.14 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 13. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 6.0 percent. Chorus Aviation Inc. had the largest increase, rising 14.9 percent.
Today, 152 of 230 shares rose, while 75 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index declined 17 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 9.8 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 24.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 21.9 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.8 percent in the past 5 days and fell 16 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.6 on a trailing basis and 15 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.8 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.07t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 90.38 percent compared with 90.34 percent in the previous session and the average of 74.04 percent over the past month
==================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
==================================================
Financials | 37.6345| 0.9| 23/3
Real Estate | 12.5550| 3.0| 24/2
Consumer Staples | 10.0985| 1.6| 4/7
Consumer Discretionary | 9.5681| 2.1| 13/2
Industrials | 7.4231| 0.5| 24/7
Health Care | 0.9131| 0.7| 5/4
Communication Services | -0.3428| 0.0| 4/4
Utilities | -1.1269| -0.1| 9/7
Information Technology | -14.4161| -1.6| 5/5
Energy | -18.9299| -1.0| 23/6
Materials | -21.9346| -1.3| 18/28
US
By Katherine Greifeld and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — Stocks closed lower in volatile trading as investors debated whether the spread of the coronavirus may be slowing in several major economies. Oil sank and bonds retreated.
The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2% after surging as much as 3.5%. The benchmark briefly met the time-honored definition for the start of a bull market after climbing 20% from its March 23 low.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced after the rate of new infections slowed in France and in Italy, the original epicenter
of the continent’s outbreak.
“We’re going to continue to be very volatile, and you’re going to see this roller coaster continue,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA. “We will see a test of the bottoms again.” New York’s rate of new coronavirus infections tapered for a third straight day, stoking optimism that the pandemic may finally be approaching a peak in the state where it has hit hardest.
Oil sank to the weakest level since the start of the month as investors weighed whether the world’s biggest producers will be able to strike a deal that cuts enough output to offset an unprecedented demand loss from the coronavirus outbreak.
“With the volatility being so wild lately, it doesn’t take much for the buyers to pull-in their horns,” said Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. “When oil rolled over, stock buyers got a little nervous.”
Elsewhere, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose more than 2% after adding nearly 3% a day earlier. Chinese stocks climbed and the yuan strengthened in the wake of further targeted stimulus by policy makers as Shanghai reopened after a long weekend. China said it didn’t have any new deaths for the first time since the pandemic emerged.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index declined 0.2% to 2,659.41 as of 4:11 p.m. New York time.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% to 22,653.86.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3% to 7,887.26.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 2% to 453.34, the highest in almost four weeks.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 1.1% to 1,255.76, the largest drop in more than a week.
*The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 108.76 per dollar.
*The euro rose 1.1% to $1.0897, the first advance in more than a week.
*The British pound rose 1% to $1.2344, the biggest advance in more than a week.
Bonds
*The yield on two-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 0.27%, the highest in more than a week.
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained seven basis points to 0.72%, the highest in more than a week.
*Germany’s 10-year yield increased 11 basis points to -0.31%, the highest in more than a week on the largest increase in almost three weeks.
*Britain’s 10-year yield climbed eight basis points to 0.414%, the highest in more than a week on the biggest increase in almost three weeks.
Commodities
*Gold weakened 0.3% to $1,653.55 an ounce, the first retreat in a week.
*West Texas Intermediate crude fell 7.5% to $24.13 a barrel.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.
                                                                                            -John Quincy Adams, 1767-1848

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