August 24, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
August 24, 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupts, Pompeii destroyed.
Jorge Luis Borges, writer, b. 1899

Israeli kids dig up 1,100-year-old gold coins.-Bloomberg.

NASA says an asteroid is headed our way right before Election Day
It appears that 2020 is continually trying to outdo itself. –CNN.

Rogue planets could outnumber the stars in the Milky Way. –Bloomberg.

Perhaps you’ve exhausted your Netflix queue. Or maybe you just want to watch something new. Check out this guide to 10 under-the-radar movies that are now streaming. Among them: the concert film “Western Stars,” Bruce Springsteen’s first crack at feature directing.-The NY Times.

On Aug. 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida, causing record damage; 55 deaths in Florida, Louisiana and the Bahamas were blamed on the storm. Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

He Ilen, Ireland’s last wooden cargo vessel with a hold, which has embarked upon a two-week voyage from Baltimore, West Cork, with a cargo of locally produced cheese, coffee and whiskey and will visit islands on the south and west coasts of Ireland, reviving a tradition which was lost a century ago
VREDIT: GARY MACMAHON/PA

Dank Dangubic of Bosina and Herzegovina jumps during the Bentbasa Cliff Diving Competition in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
CREDIT: XINHUA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Dix Doonan Webb specialist Thomasina Smith with the eagle which sold for £500,000. An extremely rare Napoleonic ship’s eagle which was touched by the little general for good luck has sold for £500,000. He handed out over 1,000 eagles to his infantry, cavalry regiments and every ship of the lane in his navy during a ceremony in Paris on December 3, 1804. The emperor told his men the eagles ‘ will always be your rallying point’ and they must ‘sacrifice their lives’ to defend them.
CREDIT: BNPS
Market Closes for August 24th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1927, Harry M. Markowitz was born in Chicago, son of Morris and Mildred Markowitz, who ran a small grocery store. In 1950-1952, Markowitz devised the intricate mathematics that proved the virtue of diversification and laid the groundwork for modern portfolio theory. In 1990, he shared the Nobel Prize in economics for his work.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced with global equity markets on signs that the Trump administration may fast-track
vaccines and treatments for coronavirus.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.7% in Toronto, led by financials. Canadian banks rose ahead of their earnings season, which should show improved results from last quarter. However, the group still is likely to see profits plunge for a second quarter due to economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Energy shares rose, helped by a rise in oil prices in advance of two storms heading for the U.S. Gulf Coast that spurred offshore operators to curtail production.
Meanwhile, Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. plunged after reports the Trump administration is planning to block the controversial Pebble mining project in Alaska. The project has drawn opposition from prominent Republicans. On Monday, an Army Corps of Engineers letter was made public demanding a mitigation plan for “unavoidable adverse impacts.”
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to $1,925.37 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.4% to C$1.3227 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose to 0.555%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.7 percent at 16,626.64 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.5 percent.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 136 of 221 shares rose, while 83 fell.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index  gain, increasing 2.9 percent. NFI Group Inc. had the largest increase, rising 6.8 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 2.8 percent
* The index advanced 3.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.5 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 3.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.3 on a trailing basis and 24.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 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 10.49 percent compared with 10.59 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.82 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 78.3260| 1.7| 24/1
Energy | 31.5613| 1.6| 23/1
Industrials | 9.2685| 0.5| 15/13
Consumer Discretionary | 5.6173| 1.0| 12/1
Utilities | 5.6047| 0.7| 9/7
Communication Services | 3.8454| 0.4| 8/0
Health Care | 2.5469| 1.7| 7/2
Real Estate | 1.4266| 0.3| 17/9
Consumer Staples | 0.5902| 0.1| 7/4
Materials | -7.9560| -0.3| 10/39
Information Technology | -22.0387| -1.3| 4/6
US
By Claire Ballentine and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose to record highs and bonds fell on signs that the Trump administration may fast-track vaccines and treatments for coronavirus.
The S&P 500 notched another all-time high as optimism mounted that the virus wouldn’t hamper growth. The Nasdaq Composite also closed a record for a second consecutive session.
Companies that benefit from a more robust economic restart led the gains. Carnival Corp. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. surged more than 9%, while Kohl’s Corp. and Gap Inc. jumped at least 7%. Casinos, carmakers and homebuilders joined the rally. Of the 11 S&P industry sectors, only health care finished lower. “The market is now working out well into next year –expecting a vaccine or several, a couple of important therapeutic remedies as well, probably continued government aid, and people going back to work and children going back to school,” said David Rainey, co-portfolio manager of the Hennessy Focus Fund.
Market sentiment was supported by news over the weekend that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working to expand access to a virus treatment involving blood plasma from recovered patients. Separately, the Financial Times reported that the Trump administration is considering whether to bypass regulatory standards to accelerate an experimental vaccine.
European shares ended higher, with AstraZeneca Plc climbing 2%. Treasury yields rose and the dollar strengthened, while gold traded near $1,950 an ounce.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks got a boost after a report that White House officials have reassured American businesses that a ban on its WeChat app won’t be as broad as feared. WeChat owner Tencent Holdings Ltd. jumped the most in a month, gaining $37 billion. Investors will be focused this week on the Federal Reserve’s annual Economic Policy Symposium — typically held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Thursday about the Fed’s long-awaited monetary policy framework review, which has focused on a new inflation strategy. ‘Past Peak Central Banking’ on View as Jackson Hole Goes Virtual
Meanwhile, storms Marco and Laura are rolling toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, where they’ll come ashore as hurricanes as soon as Monday. Almost 58% of crude output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico production has been shut down as the threat prompted evacuations of off-shore energy platforms and set residents and officials on edge from Texas to Florida.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings from companies including, ICBC, PetroChina, HP Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, Best Buy and Dollar General.
* The U.S. Republican National Convention begins Monday.
* The Bank of Korea sets monetary policy and will hold a briefing on Thursday.
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks at event on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index climbed 1% to 3,431.41 as of 4:00 p.m. New York time, the highest on record with the largest increase in more than a week.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.4% to 28,309.08, the highest in six months on the biggest jump in almost three weeks.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.6% to 11,379.72, the highest on record.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 1.6% to 370.85, the highest in more than a week on the biggest surge in almost two weeks.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1% to 1,174.51, the highest in more than a week.
* The euro decreased 0.1% to $1.179, the weakest in more than a week.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 105.97 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 0.65%, the biggest rise in more than a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to -0.49%, the first advance in more than a week.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 0.213%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.2% to $42.41 a barrel, the first advance in a week.
* Gold depreciated 0.7% to $1,927.26 an ounce, the weakest in more than a week.
* Silver depreciated 1.3% to $26.45 per ounce, the weakest in more than a week.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Stay away from negative people.  They have a problem for every solution.
                                                                -Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

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