August 29, 2023, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

On this day in 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast and devastated the area, especially New Orleans, which experienced catastrophic flooding after its levees were breached the following day.  Go to article >>

August 29, 1957: The Soviet Union conducts its first successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), signaling a new era in warfare.

8-year-old unearths Roman-era silver coin in school sandbox
A young boy in Germany discovered a silver coin dating to the ancient Roman Empire. Read More.

‘Power naps’ improve memory and lower heart disease risk, but long naps can have drawbacks.  Short naps at the right time of day can boost focus, help solidify memories and potentially improve heart health.
Full Story: Live Science (8/28)

India’s 1st mission to study the sun launches Sept. 2
The Aditya-1 solar mission launches hot on the heels of India’s first moon landing. Read More.

Google Flights reveals the most-searched winter holiday spots:  Looking to avoid big crowds this holiday season? Travelers are flocking to these warm getaway spots and big cities, according to Google Flights.

Amazon raises free shipping minimum for some customers:  To qualify for free shipping, non-Prime members typically have to make a purchase over $25. This week, the e-commerce giant bumped that minimum up to $35.

Move over Wordle, the New York Times might have found its next hit puzzle game:  This new game may have what it takes to be the Times’ next viral sensation.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Encinitas, US
Surfers flip off a wave during high tide along the beach in California.  Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

Edinburgh, Scotland
The Monarch of the Glen painting by Edwin Landseer is moved to its new home at the National Gallery of Scotland, with only one month to go until the opening of the new Scottish galleries at the National in Edinburgh on 30 September.  Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

​​​​​​​The Channel
A group of people, thought to be migrants, crossing the Channel in a small boat traveling from the coast of France and heading in the direction of Dover, Kent
Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA
Market Closes for August 29^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1885: Gottlieb Daimler registered an early motorcycle design, or “Reitwagen,” for a German patent.  It had a wooden chassis and gasoline-powered internal-combustion engine, and was recognized as the first mechanized vehicle for personal transport
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 1.3%, or 265.27 to 20,290.41 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.8% on June 2.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 213 of 227 shares rose, while 11 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.1%.
Nuvei Corp. had the largest increase, rising 7.2%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain 12 times. The next day, it advanced seven times for an average 0.9% and declined five times for an average 1%
* This month, the index fell 1.6%
* The index advanced 2.3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 11% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.7% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 13.5% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3% in the past 5 days and fell 1.1% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.2 on a trailing basis and 14.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.17t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.46% compared with 10.95% in the previous session and the average of 10.87% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 73.5782| 1.2| 28/1
Energy | 45.6723| 1.3| 32/6
Materials | 40.1525| 1.7| 50/0
Information Technology | 36.7797| 2.5| 11/0
Industrials | 21.8055| 0.8| 24/1
Consumer Staples | 13.3147| 1.6| 11/0
Consumer Discretionary | 13.1359| 1.8| 14/0
Communication Services | 9.0484| 1.1| 5/0
Utilities | 5.8513| 0.7| 15/1
Real Estate | 5.3795| 1.1| 20/1
Health Care | 0.5574| 0.9| 3/1
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 26.2800| 4.1| 27.2| 69.7
TD Bank | 15.6300| 1.5| -4.0| -5.0
Canadian Natural Resources | 14.9700| 2.3| 2.7| 15.5
GFL Environmental | -0.3990| -0.6| -21.0| 11.2
Cameco | -0.8180| -0.5| -38.3| 61.4
Fairfax Financial | -1.6800| -0.9| 25.5| 39.7
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed the most since June, while bond yields retreated after economic reports bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve is getting closer to wrapping up its aggressive tightening campaign.
Nearly 90% of the S&P 500 companies rose as the gauge closed just shy of 4,500.
A rally in mega-caps like Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. sent the Nasdaq 100 up 2%.
Treasury two-year yields sank 17 basis points to around 4.9%.
The crypto space saw gains across the board as a US court ruling paved the way for the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
The world’s largest digital token jumped 7%, Coinbase Global Inc. led the industry’s shares higher while the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust soared 17%.
Swap contracts showed lower wagers on a Fed hike in 2023 and a greater chance of a policy pivot in the first half of 2024.
Traders are currently pricing in a 56% probability of a quarter-point rate increase in November — down from 75% earlier Tuesday.
They also brought forward bets on the expected start of rate cuts to June from July of next year.
US job openings fell by more than expected to 8.83 million — a more than two-year low — offering fresh evidence that labor demand is slowing down.
Separate data showed consumer confidence dropped amid souring views on jobs, higher borrowing costs and lingering inflation.
“The Fed reiterated its commitment to be data-dependent, and with reports like this, the Fed can most likely keep rates unchanged in September,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial. “Investors should expect a softening labor report this Friday, further cementing the thesis that the Fed is getting close to finishing its tightening cycle.”
From the Fed’s perspective, the week is off to a promising  start — with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey much weaker than expected, alongside downward revisions.
Further softness over the next few months looks “plausible,” and that could lead to a cooler labor market and sustainably lower wage growth, according to Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
“Today’s JOLTS report was an answer to the Fed’s prayers,” offering more evidence of a “cooling economy,” said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard.
Traders will get more clues on the health of the labor market with Wednesday’s reading on private payrolls and Thursday’s jobless claims figures.
The data will precede Friday’s government report, which is forecast to show employers boosted their payrolls by 170,000 in August, while the unemployment rate held at a historically low 3.5%.
Corporate Highlights:
* Regional banks rose even after US regulators unveiled a proposal to boost oversight of midsize lenders and require them to be better prepared for potential failures.
* Apple Inc. has set Sept. 12 as the date for its biggest product-upgrade event of the year, when it’s set to unveil the iPhone 15 line and next-generation smartwatches.
* Tesla Inc. is facing increased scrutiny from federal regulators over its driver-assistance system known as Autopilot,  with investigators demanding to know if the electric carmaker has made it easier for drivers to take their hands off the wheel.
* A gauge of US-listed Chinese stocks rallied as Bloomberg News reported that the nation’s largest banks are preparing to cut interest rates on existing mortgages and deposits, the latest state-directed measures to shore up growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
* Best Buy Co. climbed after executives said that a painful sales slump in consumer electronics and household appliances is showing signs of easing.
* Pharmaceutical giants spanning Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly & Co. are the first targets of President Joe Biden’s historic foray into bargaining with drugmakers to lower the cost of medicine.
Key events this week:
* Eurozone economic confidence, consumer confidence, Wednesday
* US GDP, wholesale inventories, pending home sales, Wednesday
* China manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing PMI, Thursday
* Japan industrial production, retail sales, Thursday
* Eurozone CPI, unemployment, Thursday
* ECB publishes account of July monetary policy meeting, Thursday
* US personal spending and income, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* China Caixin manufacturing PMI, Friday
* Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, Friday
* South African central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, BOE’s Huw Pill, IMF’s Gita Gopinath on panel at the South African Reserve Bank conference, Friday
* Boston Fed President Susan Collins speaks at virtual event, Friday
* US unemployment, nonfarm payrolls, light vehicle sales, ISM manufacturing, construction spending, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8%
* The MSCI World index rose 1.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%
* The euro rose 0.6% to $1.0884
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2650
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 145.82 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 7.2% to $27,853.79
* Ether rose 5.5% to $1,736.96
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined nine basis points to 4.11%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.51%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.42%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.4% to $81.23 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 1% to $1,966 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Brett Miller and Robert Brand.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
There is no more important lesson to be learned or habit to be formed than that of right judgment
and of delighting in good characters and noble actions. –Aristotle, 384 BC-322 BC.

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