August 14, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

On Aug. 14, 1945, President Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.  Go to article »

1969: British Army deploys on the streets of northern Ireland, marking the beginning of Operation Banner.

La Torta dei Fieschi, Italy:
In 1230, Count Opizzo, who returned victorious from a war, married the Sienese Bianca dei Bianchi, with a sumptuous marriage, and with the offer of a gigantic wedding cake to the people of Lavagna.
Therefore even today during the historical re-enactment, after reading the proclamation of the wedding, the Countess cuts the cake at the center of the town: a 13 ton cake, made by the local pastry chefs, whose recipe is jealously kept secret. The evening before, the bachelor party of Opizzo with his knights is held in the churchyard of the Basilica of San Salvatore, with a sumptuous banquet, music, dances and costume parade. At the very moment of the cake cutting, the game to find a soul-mate kicks off. Participants to the game are given coloured cards, pink and light blue cards for women and men, with a medieval word on each. During the cake cutting, they have to search for the owner of the card with same word in the square. The partners thus identified then go to the center of the square to receive the two slices of cake to be consumed together. And then, only time will tell.
With the distribution of the cake, then, the celebrations begin in honor of the groom and bride, with shows of a “medieval” character: duels, games, flag-wavers, dances and music, fire-eaters and acrobats.
 
The Fieschi represented in the re-enactment were a powerful family that reached the peak of their splendor in the thirteenth century, and the operation of recovery of this tradition dates back to the ’50s. The event is the culmination of a week of side events, which include palios, exhibitions, music and ancient dance, culminating then in the procession on August 14, with records of MORE than 10 thousand spectators in each edition. –from Italian Traditions.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Madagascan sunset setting over the 98-foot-tall baobab trees of the Avenue of the Baobabs located in Menabe, Madagascar. 
CREDIT: MEDIADRUMIMAGES/KIMPAFFEN/@OURPL

A meteor crossing the night sky over a sunflowers field during the Perseid meteor shower.
CREDIT: MARCOS DEL MAZO/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

The pack rides past vineyards in Monforte d’Alba during the 104th edition of the one-day classic cycling race Gran Piemonte between Santo Stefano Belbo and Barolo, Langhe countryside, northwestern Italy.
CREDIT: MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP

A couple read newspapers outside Tu Hwnt ir Bont Tea Rooms in Llanrwst, North Wales.
CREDIT: PETER BYRNE/PA WIRE

Lightning over Mow Cop Castle which is a folly at Mow Cop in the civil parish of Odd Rode, Cheshire, as thunderstorms continue during the current heatwave.
CREDIT: LEE SCALLY/BAV MEDIA

Market Closes for August 14^th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law, ensuring some retirement income for all working Americans. Payroll taxes were set at 1%, for both workers and employers, on the first $3,000 of earnings.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets closed little changed on Friday, held back by declines in real estate, tech and utilities stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite slipped less than 0.1% for the day, and dropped less than 0.2% for the week. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest pension fund, returned 5.6% in the quarter ended June 30 as stock markets rebounded from a pandemic-induced selloff in March. Meanwhile, a warning from the head of Canada’s housing agency about risky mortgage lending won support from another federal agency. Peter Routledge, chief executive officer at Canada Deposit Insurance Corp., expressed backing for Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp.’s Evan Siddall, who sparked controversy this week when he urged lenders to reconsider offering high-ratio mortgages to less creditworthy homebuyers.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.60 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,944.31 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.3% to C$1.3260 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell to 0.611%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 16,514.61 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.1 percent. Altus Group Ltd/Canada had the largest drop, falling 4.6 percent. Today, 120 of 221 shares fell, while 94 rose; 5 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 2.9 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 47.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.1 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$2.52t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.62 percent compared with 10.64 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.52 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -13.3095| -0.8| 2/8
Materials | -7.0626| -0.3| 16/34
Utilities | -5.4513| -0.7| 4/11
Real Estate | -5.0534| -1.0| 5/21
Financials | -3.7434| -0.1| 13/12
Health Care | 0.5952| 0.4| 2/7
Industrials | 1.7382| 0.1| 11/14
Consumer Staples | 2.8755| 0.4| 4/5
Communication Services | 2.9049| 0.3| 7/1
Consumer Discretionary | 4.0267| 0.7| 9/4
Energy | 7.0284| 0.3| 21/3
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks closed mixed after reports showed the economic recovery slowed and stimulus talks reached a stalemate. Treasury debt yields fell for the time this week. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% after fluctuating near all- time highs for much of the day, with utilities and health care leading the declines and energy shares finishing higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher in the last moments of trading and the Nasdaq Composite ended in the red. Trading volume was about 10% below the 30-day average. The dollar weakened after the value of retail purchases increased 1.2% from the prior month and a separate report showed consumer sentiment remained weak. “The service sector is trying to recover, but it is nowhere near pre-COVID levels,” said David Wagner, a portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. “The U.S. economy is continuing to heal, but in an uneven fashion based on some of the recent economic data. All eyes remain on D.C. for a resolution on the fiscal stimulus situation.”
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank after Britain added France, the Netherlands and Malta to its list of countries from which people arriving have to quarantine for 14 days. Gold edged lower following two days of gains, while oil posted a second weekly advance. Traders continue to bank on further fiscal stimulus to help the nascent recovery even as negotiations over a new coronavirus relief plan remain at a standstill. “It appears the hopes of a fiscal stimulus deal being reached in August have gone from slim to none over the past few days — but investors are still assuming that a $1.5 trillion package will come in September,” said Yousef Abbasi’s, global market strategist at StoneX. “It does appear that the executive orders signed by President Trump last weekend have given Congress an excuse to pack it in for August with hopes that a fiscal stimulus deal will be sorted in September.”
On the virus front, Joe Biden said U.S. governors should require masks for the next three months, while New Zealand recorded 12 new confirmed local cases of the coronavirus. Germany added the most new cases since May, while the head of the French Health Agency Jerome Salomon said the situation in his country is worsening.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index was little changed at 3,372.85 as of 4:06 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.1% to 27,931.02.
The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2% to 11,019.30.
The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 0.3% to 569.30, the biggest fall in a week.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.2% to 1,174.34, the lowest in more than a week on the largest dip in more than a week.
The euro climbed 0.2% to $1.1839, the strongest in more than a week.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% to 106.60 per dollar, the first advance in more than a week and the largest climb in more than two weeks.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 0.71%, the first retreat in more than a week.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries gained two basis points to 1.45%, hitting the highest in more than seven weeks with its sixth straight advance.
Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.42%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.2% to $42.16 a barrel.
Gold weakened 0.5% to $1,943.37 an ounce.
Copper gained 1.7% to $2.88 a pound.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

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