August 19, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
2004 The Internet search engine Google went public.  Go to article »

Orville Wright, aviator, b. 1871.
Coco Chanel, designer, b. 1883
Ogden Nash, poet, b. 1902.
Bill Clinton, 42^nd president, b. 1946.

Chameleon robot changes colors to blend with surroundings, infest your dreams. (h/t Scott Kominers)

Old and busted: pet rocks. New hotness: $300,000 NFT pet rocks

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Atmospheric.. Stonehenge illuminated by the Milky Way. Sam Binding, visited Stonehenge with the goal of capturing the Milky Way behind the famous landmark. The pictures show Stonehenge glowing as light floods down from the Milky Way with hundreds of stars in the background
CREDIT: SAMBINING / CATERS NEWS

Bathed in light.. Huangguoshu Waterfall is seen during a 3D projection light show in Anshun, Guizhou Province of China
CREDIT: QU HONGLUN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE VIA GETTY IMAGES

Time warp.. Stormtrooper from Star Wars promoting a free programme of cinema classics, Film Fest in the City, at Edinburgh including the Wizard of Oz and Star Wars
CREDIT: RICH DYSON / ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Into the lions den.. Visitors are able to safely interact with the lions while inside the photography cube. A lion sanctuary has come up with a new way to get up close and personal with the big cats by placing the visitors in a cage in Harrismith South Africa
CREDIT: GGCONSERCATION / CATERS NEWS

Market Closes for August 19^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1883, Jeanne Gabrielle Chanel was born in Saumur, France, the illegitimate daughter of Albert Chanel, an itinerant peddler, and Jeanne Devolle. Later known as “Coco,” Chanel overcame her shabby past and became the most elegant and powerful force in the world’s fashion industry.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — The selloff in commodities pushed Canadian stocks lower, leading to a slump on the benchmark gauge for a sixth day. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.4%, reaching its lowest level since July 27. Materials were the worst performers, as commodity prices fell on speculation that economic growth will slow a rebound in demand for raw materials. Metals, agriculture and oil all fell. The worst performers on the TSX included mining companies like Labrador Iron Ore Royalty, Stelco Holdings, Lundin Mining and Teck Resources. The healthcare, consumer discretionary and energy sub-gauges also fell by more than 1% each. In economic news, the nation’s housing market appears to be moderating after a pandemic boom but Canadians are still piling into mortgages at more than double the historical pace.
Commodities:
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $12.75 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was fell 0.4% to $1,781.13 an ounce
FX/Bonds:
* The Canadian dollar fell 1.3% to C$1.2822 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell to 1.128%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the sixth day, dropping 0.4 percent, or 86.75 to 20,215.36 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since July 27. Nutrien Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.4 percent. Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. had the largest drop, falling 9.8 percent. Today, 155 of 229 shares fell, while 70 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 1.5 percent, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended Feb. 26
* The index advanced 22 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.7 percent below its 52-week high on Aug. 13, 2021 and 31.1 percent above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.6 on a trailing basis and 16.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.19t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.49 percent compared with 9.09 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.01 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | -42.2901| -1.9| 5/46
* Energy | -30.3646| -1.3| 2/21
* Financials | -28.9283| -0.4| 7/21
* Consumer Discretionary | -12.2896| -1.6| 3/10
* Health Care | -3.7589| -1.7| 2/7
* Real Estate | -2.5487| -0.4| 8/17
* Information Technology | -0.4549| 0.0| 8/4
* Communication Services | 2.8455| 0.3| 5/2
* Utilities | 3.8477| 0.4| 8/7
* Consumer Staples | 4.4280| 0.6| 9/3
* Industrials | 22.7618| 1.0| 13/17
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Nutrien | -7.3900| -2.4| 9.0| 21.6
* Teck Resources | -6.6270| -7.4| 128.0| 10.0
* Bank of Nova Scotia| -6.4260| -1.0| 26.8| 15.7
* Canadian Pacific | 4.8300| 1.2| -9.4| 2.8
* Waste Connections | 6.0850| 2.1| 11.9| 24.4
* Canadian National | 10.3700| 1.6| 31.9| -2.4

US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Stock trading was volatile ahead of Friday’s options expiration. Treasuries rose alongside the dollar.
Commodities sank. The S&P 500 edged higher, while the Cboe Volatility Index was on track for its biggest weekly surge since January.  An earlier equity slide was driven by anxiety over the withdrawal of Federal Reserve stimulus, the virus spread and global supply chains. Metals prices slumped as part of a selloff that extended to agriculture, oil and natural gas. Equities have struggled to sustain momentum after hitting another all-time high earlier in the week. Investors are bracing for the withdrawal of unprecedented liquidity as the developed world looks to mass vaccinations to keep the recovery on track.
However, the persistent spread of coronavirus and slowing China growth raise questions about whether the global economy can absorb the winding down of stimulus. That’s pushing traders to buy protection against stock swings. “This week’s options expiration is likely amplifying the volatility,” wrote Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter. “This market remains complacent and vulnerable to ‘air pockets.’” Covid-19 patients are dying in U.S. hospitals at levels not seen since February — and the numbers could worsen as intensive-care units overflow in parts of the South.  Three American senators tested positive despite being vaccinated, bringing to at least six the number of members of Congress to report recent infections. Nvidia Corp., the largest U.S. chipmaker by market value, rallied after reporting a surge in earnings and giving predictions that exceeded even rosy Wall Street estimates. Robinhood Markets Inc. sank after warning cryptocurrency-driven trading that fueled quarterly revenue may quickly fade. Chinese stocks listed in the U.S. endured another day of selling after officials unleashed a fresh round of proposed regulations. Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. each tumbled more than 6%.

Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.5%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1676
* The British pound fell 0.9% to $1.3635
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.79 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 1.24%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.49%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 0.54%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $64.02 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Srinivasan Sivabalan, Kamaron Leach and Natalia Kniazhevich.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Everything that has a beginning has an ending.  Make your peace with that and all will be well. -Buddha, c. 6^th– 4^th century BCE.

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