August 13, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
August 13, 1942: The “Manhattan Project” commences, under the direction of US  General Leslie Groves; its aim – to deliver an atomic bomb.
There are bird-watchers and butterfly enthusiasts, but have you tried moth-watching?-The NY Times.

On Aug. 13, 1961, Berlin was divided as East Germany sealed off the border between the city’s eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees. Go to article »
On this day in 1895, Mark Twain gives a 90-minute solo performance at the Seattle Theater, at Third Avenue and Cherry Street. Twain, whose given name was Samuel Clemens, wrote the classic American novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” among others. He went on a 12-month world tour to earn money to pay off debts incurred by his publishing company, which failed in part because of the Panic of 1893, an economic depression. Twain dies at age 74 in 1910.-The Seattle Times.

On Monday, Monique Hanotte turned 100. You may not have heard of her, but, as Joe Shute finds out, the Belgian played a remarkable part in the Second World War, helping dozens of Allied airmen escape occupied Belgium as part of the “Comet Line” before joining the SOE as a spy. She tells Joe how she managed it in this wonderful interview.-The Telegraph.

I read this today in a periodical of which I’m a subscriber – thought you might find it an interesting observation, as I certainly did:
“More than any other country, the United States in the post-war era lionized the individual at the expense of community and family.  It was the sociological equivalent of splitting the atom.  What was gained in terms of mobility and personal freedom came at the expense of common purpose.  In wide swaths of America, the family as an institution lost its grounding.  By the 1960s, 40 percent of marriages were ending in divorce.  Only six percent of American homes had grandparents living beneath the same roof as grandchildren; elders were abandoned to retirement homes.”
      -Wade Davis, Leadership Chari in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk, University of British Columbia, Rolling Stone Magazine, “The Unraveling of America,” August 6, 2020.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A rare full circle rainbow captured while flying above the  island volcano Haleakala. Photographer Anna Kim took a flight from Maui, Hawaii, to document her friend Doug Moh’s flying while he was on holiday from Colorado.
CREDIT: GO FLY MAUI/KENNEDY NEWS

A scuba diver captures a selfie with a huge ‘smiling’ stingray during a diving trip in Mo’orea an island in the French Polynesia.
CREDIT: CASSIE JENSEN/CATERS NEWS

A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky above a camping site at the Negev desert near the city of Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel, during the Perseids meteor shower. The shower occurs every year when the Earth passes through the cloud of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle.
CREDIT: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP

Giant panda Yuan Yuan cuddles its baby Rou Rou (Softy) at the Taipei Zoo. China donated a pair of giant pandas, Tuan Tuan (Make) and Yuan Yuan (Female) to the Taipei Zoo in 2008.
CREDIT: TAIPEI ZOO HANDOUT/EPA

Market Closes for August 13^th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, the biggest tax cut in American history, which streamlined the Federal income tax brackets, lowered the top rate to 36%, and created the universally-deductible Individual Retirement Account.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets fell on Thursday, led by energy and communication stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.3% in Toronto. Energy stocks underperformed after oil fell the most in nearly a week as investors assessed the International Energy Agency’s reduced forecasts for global oil demand, in part due to a slowdown in air travel. On the deals front, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. said it raised a record $23 billion during the second quarter and expects to accelerate the pace of investments after the disruption caused by Covid-19. Meanwhile, Ontario is willing to increase the amount of debt it raises in foreign currencies as it seeks to fund a record long-term borrowing plan. “While our target remains to complete 70% to 80% of our long-term funding in Canadian dollars, we will respond to market conditions and investor demand and adjust this target if necessary,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance said.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.80 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 2% to ~$1,953.55 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.2% to C$1.3218 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose to 0.638%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.3 percent at 16,530.06 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.5 percent. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.7 percent. Great Canadian Gaming Corp. had the largest drop, falling 7.1 percent. Today, 129 of 221 shares fell, while 91 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 1.1 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 15 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.9 on a trailing basis and 24.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.53t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 10.64 percent compared with 10.63 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.91 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -46.6314| -2.2| 1/23
Financials | -35.5781| -0.7| 6/19
Industrials | -10.6058| -0.5| 10/18
Communication Services | -9.0006| -1.0| 1/7
Utilities | -6.4132| -0.8| 4/12
Consumer Discretionary | -3.9394| -0.7| 6/7
Real Estate | -3.0032| -0.6| 3/24
Health Care | -0.3489| -0.2| 4/5
Consumer Staples | 4.8320| 0.7| 8/3
Information Technology | 5.2608| 0.3| 7/3
Materials | 60.2161| 2.5| 41/8
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities pulled back from the cusp of record highs as investors mulled the stalemate in stimulus negotiations and signs of an economic recovery. Treasury yields rose a fifth day and crude oil declined. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% a day after surpassing the all-time closing high reached before the coronavirus pandemic. Energy, real estate and industrial sectors led the drop. Apple Inc. kept the Nasdaq Composite Index in positive territory, while Cisco Systems Inc. weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Trading volume was about 20% below the 30-day average. Adding to the uncertain outlook was a report showing that weekly jobless claims dropped below 1 million for the first time since March. “The good news may be bad news now because that gives a little more uncertainty about the need for stimulus,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank.

Gold resumed its advance and Treasury yields rose after the government sold a record amount of 30-year bonds. The dollar slipped against a basket of its peers. Stock markets in the U.S. and Asia have erased most of their losses triggered by the onset of the pandemic, though  investors continue to bank on further fiscal stimulus. The concern is that government lifelines merely deferred even more unemployment. “Investors assumed that a deal would get done in early August. Now that this is not happening, it raises some risks for the economy,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. “Therefore, investors are going back to focusing on what will work even if the economy sputters once again.” Meanwhile, Florida’s governor warned that more Covid-19 virus deaths may be coming at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Germany recorded the highest number of new cases in more than three months, as cases also rose in France, Greece and Spain.
Here are some key events coming up:
* China releases a slew of data for July on Friday, including industrial production and retail sales.

These are the market movers:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.2% to 3,373.43 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 27,897.17.
The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3% to 11,042.50, the highest in a week.
The MSCI All-Country World Index decreased 0.1% to 570.50.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2% to 1,177.13, the lowest in a week.
The Japanese yen was little changed at 106.94 per dollar, reaching the weakest in more than three weeks on its fifth straight decline.
The euro gained 0.2% to $1.1809, the strongest in a week.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 0.71%, reaching the highest in more than seven weeks on its fifth straight advance.
Germany’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to -0.41%, the highest in six weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 0.243%, the highest in two months.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.8% to $42.31 a barrel.
Gold strengthened 1.9% to $1,951.58 an ounce, the biggest climb in more than a week.
Silver strengthened 6.7% to $27.23 per ounce, the largest gain in a week.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. 
Let us never negotiate out of fear.  But let us never fear to negotiate.
    -John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

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