August 30, 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy 92^nd Birthday Warren Buffett!
August 30, 2017: The late author Terry Pratchett’s unfinished novels were destroyed by a steamroller, as it was his last dying wish.

Cryptic 4,000-year-old writing system may finally be deciphered:  A mysterious ancient writing system called Linear Elamite, used between about 2300 B.C. and 1800 B.C. in what is now southern Iran, might have finally been deciphered, although some experts are skeptical about the findings.  What’s more, it’s unclear whether all the artifacts used to decipher the writings were legally acquired.  Full Story: Live Science (8/30) 

Oldest human-made structure in the Americas is older than the Egyptian pyramids:  To find the oldest known human-made structures in the Americas, you don’t need to hike into the wilderness or paddle down a raging river — all you need to do is visit Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  At the north end of Louisiana State University’s (LSU) campus sit two grassy mounds, rising in a gentle slope to a height of about 20 feet (6 meters). The mounds are just two of more than 800 similar human-made mounds in Louisiana, built by Indigenous Americans. Although researchers knew they were old, a new study has determined just how old these ancient structures are.  Full Story: Live Science (8/26) 

Serena Williams advances at US Open.  Williams is playing in what is likely the final tennis tournament of her storied career. She will play doubles with her sister Venus on Wednesday.
 
Madam C.J. Walker, America’s first female self-made millionaire, is now a Barbie doll.  Toy maker Mattel is hoping to inspire children to break boundaries and educate them
about Walker’s trailblazing career.

DeLorean is back with its first prototype in 40 years.  But it doesn’t look much like the famous DeLorean DMC-12 from the “Back to the Future” movies. 
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A man stands in front of a hole where water flows out of the Mont Miné glacier
CREDIT: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

A Kyrgyz berkutchi (eagle hunter) holds his golden eagle during the Salburun hunting festival. Archers from around the world take part in the festival of traditional hunting from central Asia
CREDIT: Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP/Getty Images

Serena Williams takes centre stage as the US Open gets under way with the 23-time grand slam winner preparing for an emotional farewell to tennis. Williams delayed her retirement by winning her first-round match
CREDIT:
Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Market Closes for August 30^th, 2022

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1930, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 240.42, Warren Edward Buffett was born in Omaha, Neb., to stockbroker Howard Buffett and homemaker Leila Stahl Buffett.
Canada
By Stefanie Marotta
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities tumbled in their biggest one-day drop in more than two months as slumping oil and copper prices dragged down energy and materials stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 1.6%, or 323.22, to 19,512.90 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since the 3.1% drop on June 16.
Today, all sectors were in the red, with energy stocks leading the slide by index points; 194 of 238 shares fell, while 43 rose.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.5%.
Precision Drilling Corp. had the largest drop, falling 7.7%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss 11 times. The next day, it declined eight times for an average 0.6% and advanced three times for an average 0.3%
* This month, the index fell 0.9%
* The index declined 5.3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 14% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 12.2% below its 52-week high on April 5, 2022 and 7.4% above its low on July 14, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.4% in the past 5 days and fell 0.9% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 12.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% 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 12.85% compared with 12.67% in the previous session and the average of 14.31% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Energy | -109.3585| -2.9| 4/34
* Financials | -72.7083| -1.2| 6/23
* Materials | -64.5227| -2.9| 5/46
* Industrials | -44.5912| -1.8| 6/23
* Utilities | -10.4631| -1.0| 1/15
* Communication Services| -7.6725| -0.8| 1/6
* Information Technology| -5.7035| -0.6| 4/10
* Real Estate | -4.4211| -0.8| 3/20
* Health Care | -1.6627| -2.3| 1/6
* Consumer Staples | -1.1078| -0.1| 7/4
* Consumer Discretionary| -1.0061| -0.1| 5/7
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Canadian Pacific | -22.7500| -3.5| 79.6| 8.3
* Nutrien | -21.2700| -4.4| 25.1| 29.6
* Canadian Natural Resources | -21.2400| -3.5| -58.8| 38.9
* TFI International | 0.5270| 0.7| -36.4| -7.1
* Constellation Software | 0.6670| 0.2| -14.6| -13.1
* Cameco | 2.6900| 2.6| 105.0| 41.0
US
By Vildana Hajric and Isabelle Lee
(Bloomberg) — US stocks fell for the third consecutive day as fresh data pointed to resilience in household and labor demand, affirming the Federal Reserve’s resolve to continue to be aggressive in its fight against inflation.
Commodities from oil to copper sank as the dollar rose.
The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 closed at their lowest levels in a month.
Treasuries ended Tuesday mixed after an unexpected rebound in August consumer confidence pushed swap rates toward pricing in another three-quarter percentage point hike for the Fed’s September meeting.
Three regional Fed presidents, in separate remarks on Tuesday, reiterated Chair Jerome Powell’s intention to bring down inflation.
A reading on job openings Tuesday added to signs that the labor market remains tight and wage pressures persist.
Jobless claims will air Thursday before Friday’s August payrolls report.
“The repercussions from Friday are going to make us extra sensitive to a lot of the incoming data, especially around employment,” said Shawn Cruz, head trading strategist at TD Ameritrade.
“It’s not surprising that getting that consumer sentiment data today and the JOLTS data had a pretty strong reaction in markets. That’s probably what you should expect from now until the September Fed meeting, in particular anything around employment.”
Analysts remain mixed on what recent remarks by Fed officials and upcoming data could mean for stocks.
While Credit Suisse Group AG recommended investors go underweight global equities following the Jackson Hole symposium, JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists say that a reading on the US labor market that spells bad news for the economy is actually a bullish signal for stocks.
Meanwhile, bonds are sliding toward the first bear market in a generation, burning investors who erred in bets that central banks would pivot away from rapid interest-rate hikes.
The Fed this week is also set to step up the unwinding of its near-$9 trillion balance sheet.
The impact of quantitative tightening is going to be relatively benign for the first six to 12 months, but could start to amplify its effects on the economy around the middle part of next year, Jeff Schulze, investment strategist at ClearBridge Investments, said in an interview.
Other risks range from China’s economic slowdown to an energy crisis that threatens to tip Europe into recession with winter approaching.
Here are some key events to watch this week:
* ECB Governing Council members due to speak at event Tuesday through Sept. 2
* China PMI, Wednesday
* Euro-area CPI, Wednesday
* Russia’s Gazprom set to halt Nord Stream pipeline gas flows for three days of maintenance, Wednesday
* Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester due to speak, Wednesday
* China Caixin manufacturing PMI, Thursday
* US nonfarm payrolls, Friday
* UK leadership ballot closes Friday. Winner announced Sept. 5

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%
* The MSCI World index fell 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0019
* The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.1656
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 138.73 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.10%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.51%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 10 basis points to 2.70%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 5.1% to $92.02 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.8% to $1,735.70 an ounce
–With assistance from Abigail Moses and Elizabeth Stanton.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The secret of being boring is to say everything. –Voltaire, 1694-1778.

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