Author: Carolann

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Darwin Day.

February 12, 1979: Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15 years of exile. Go to article >>

Charles Darwin, b. 1809
Abraham Lincoln, b. 1809.
R. Buckminster Fuller, b.1985.

Where to see April’s total solar eclipse
Skywatchers are in for a treat this spring. The total solar eclipse passing over much of North America is less than two months away.

This is the new route on the world’s most famous train
The iconic Venice Simplon-Orient-Express will be heading to Italy’s Ligurian coast for the first time in its long and prestigious history — but it’ll cost you $8,500 one way.

18 – That’s how many years it took researchers to compile Charles Darwin’s library of books, pamphlets and journals cited and read by the influential naturalist. In honor of the 215th anniversary of Darwin’s birthday today, the research team behind the Darwin Online project released a catalog of the contents for free online, inviting the public to peruse what Darwin read. The author of numerous works, he is perhaps best known for his 1859 book, “On the Origin of Species,” which introduced the fundamental scientific concept of evolution to the world.

‘We are approaching the tipping point’: Marker for the collapse of key Atlantic current discovered
A vital Atlantic current that includes the Gulf Stream and keeps our climate in check may be giving off a warning sign of collapse. Read More.

Undeciphered script from Easter Island may predate European colonization
A wooden tablet inscribed with the undeciphered rongorongo script from Rapa Nui (also known as Easter Island) dates to the 15th century, long before Europeans arrived. This early date suggests that the Rapa Nui people invented their own script without European influence. Read More.

Stunning ‘Einstein engagement ring’ from the early universe is one of the oldest ever discovered
The Hubble Space Telescope has snapped a stunning photo of one of the most distant Einstein rings ever found. The luminous halo of light aligns perfectly with another galaxy, making it look like a
cosmic engagement ring. Read More.

‘Universal memory’ breakthrough brings the next generation of computers 1 step closer to major speed boost
Universal memory promises to replace both RAM and flash storage in computers with a better, faster and more energy-efficient alternative. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Norfolk, England
Thousands wading birds flock over the Wash as the tide recedes in an event known as the Snettisham Spectacular
Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Moscow, Russia
People walk through a decorated street
Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

​​​​​​​Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Members of the Porto da Pedra samba school perform during the first night of the carnival parade
Photograph: Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for February 12^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38797.38	+125.69
		+0.32%
S&P 500	5021.84	-4.77
		-0.09%
NASDAQ	15942.55	-48.11
		-0.30%
TSX	21067.30	+57.70
		+0.27%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	Market Close	N.A.
HANG SENG	Market Close	N.A.
SENSEX	71072.49	+167.06
		+0.23%
FTSE 100*	7573.69	+1.11
		+0.01%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.581	3.543
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.442	3.417
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1793	4.1754
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3798	4.3722

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7432	0.7430
US $	1.3455	1.3459

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4487	0.6903
US $	1.0768	0.9287

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2023.50	2028.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	76.84	76.84

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1970: The New York Stock Exchange elected its first African-American member, Joseph L. Searles III.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.3%, or 57.7 to 21,067.30 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 2.
Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.0%.
Canada Goose Holdings Inc. had the largest increase, rising 8.2%.
Today, 161 of 225 shares rose, while 59 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 2.2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.9% below its 52-week high on Jan. 31, 2024 and 12.7% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.9% in the past 5 days and rose 0.4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.4 on a trailing basis and 16 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$3.33t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.00% compared with 8.07% in the previous session and the average of 9.71% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 43.4859| 1.2| 34/6
Financials | 33.0725| 0.5| 19/8
Materials | 18.1044| 0.9| 42/7
Consumer Discretionary | 8.2744| 1.1| 12/1
Utilities | 6.4676| 0.8| 12/3
Communication Services | 3.3306| 0.4| 3/2
Real Estate | 2.0010| 0.4| 16/5
Health Care | 0.8148| 1.3| 3/1
Consumer Staples | -1.3799| -0.2| 5/5
Industrials | -21.1048| -0.7| 13/13
Information Technology | -35.3658| -1.7| 2/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Enbridge | 13.3800| 2.0| 66.2| -1.6
Fairfax Financial | 9.7320| 4.9| 43.7| 8.3
Bank of Montreal | 7.7120| 1.2| 0.6| -3.8
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -8.5350| -1.1| 60.5| 8.3
Constellation Software | -9.8100| -1.9| -13.5| 11.4
Shopify | -18.7100| -1.8| 57.8| 16.2
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street kicked off the week with small moves in stocks, bonds and the dollar ahead of inflation figures that will be key to determine the scope and timing of Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Less than 24 hours before the consumer price index, the S&P 500 struggled to gain traction.
While the data is expected to underscore further disinflation, traders remained unwilling to commit to big bets.
That sense of caution also prevailed after five straight weeks of gains that drove equities above overbought levels, triggering some calls for at least consolidation.
“Keeping the age-old adage in mind that ‘trees don’t grow to the sky,’ we think it’s important to keep the party hats in the box for now,” said John Stoltzfus at Oppenheimer Asset Management. “We remain positive on stocks, view bonds as complimentary to stocks for prudent diversification and look for a further broadening of the equity rally which emerged from the lows of late October.”
The S&P 500 lost steam after approaching 5,050.
The Nasdaq 100 underperformed, led by losses in Microsoft Corp., Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc.
Chip designer Arm Holdings Plc soared 29%.
Treasury 10-year yields were little changed at 4.17%.
Bitcoin hovered near $50,000.
“Most people will be fixated on this week’s inflation numbers, but there’s also a potential tug-of-war between how extended the current market rally may be versus the buzz surrounding the S&P 500 topping 5,000,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley. “While it’s true the S&P has often pushed higher after crossing ‘round-number’ thresholds like this one, it hasn’t always done it after the type of rally that has unfolded since late October.”
The S&P 500 is approaching a technical roadblock after eclipsing 5,000 for the first time — triggering a contrarian sell signal for stocks on Friday, according to Piper Sandler’s Craig Johnson.
“The current state of the equity market can be summed up by the 1981 hit from 38 Special: “Hold on loosely, but don’t let go’,” Johnson wrote in a note to clients. “To be clear, we are not bearish on the stock market. However, as ‘bad breadth’ lingers, the market is ripe for a healthy correction, likely in the range of 5% to 10%.”
The gauge’s quick journey to 5,000 has already left the consensus Wall Street target for 2024 tracked by Bloomberg — 4,819.40 as of Friday — in the dust.
Because of the old adage that “large round numbers act like rusty doors and require several attempts before finally swinging open,” investors now wonder if it is time to take some profits ahead of a likely market drop from exhaustion after scaling such a prominent peak, according to Sam Stovall at CFRA.
If history is any guide, while short-term digestions of gains have indeed occurred, they have been fairly short in duration, he noted.
When looking at the S&P 500’s cumulative return in the 3-6, and 12-months after crossing above the 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 levels, the gauge posted average price gains of 4.7%, 9.8%, and 12.3%, and rose in price during 83% of all periodic observations, Stovall said.
“This run to 5,000 has been supported by the fundamentals, with a soft landing looking increasingly likely and earnings season nicely exceeding expectations after a messy start,” said Jeffrey Buchbinder at LPL Financial. “A market trading over 20 times earnings seems high, but it’s reasonable if the US economy avoids recession and earnings grow double-digits this year — which is not out of the question.”
The S&P 500 is currently trading around 20 times forward earnings — a level it has only hit in two other periods over the last 25 years: the dot-com bubble and the post-pandemic bull market, said Nicholas Colas at DataTrek Research.
“Valuations get to these levels when investors have high confidence in three factors: monetary/fiscal policy, the US/global banking system, and strong corporate earnings,” Colas added. “Even with 2022’s bear market, investors feel that the future is highly predictable. It will likely take an exogenous shock to change their minds.”
To Rob Swanke at Commonwealth Financial Network, some caution is warranted at the current valuation levels.
“I wouldn’t say we’re in bubble territory, but the market is pricing closer to perfection now and companies will have to continue to hit high earnings targets in 2024, something they didn’t have to do in 2023,” he added.
Last week’s news and data reinforced the four drivers of this bull market: Fed rate cuts by May, solid economic growth, continued disinflation and strong earnings, according to Tom Essaye at the Sevens Report.
“It’s important to acknowledge that this rally has been driven by actual good news and bullish expectations being reinforced by actual data,” Essaye said. “At the same time, the risks that kept investors worried in October (and even
throughout 2023) haven’t been vanquished — they simply haven’t shown up yet.”
The annual CPI is forecast to have dropped to 2.9% in January from 3.4% the prior month, according to consensus estimates of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
That would be the first reading below 3% since March 2021.
A survey conducted by 22V Research showed 51% of investors polled think the market reaction to CPI on Tuesday will be “risk-on” — and only 19% said “risk-off”.
US consumer expectations for inflation over the medium term fell to the lowest level since at least 2013, a Fed Bank New York survey showed Monday.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman reiterated the central bank’s benchmark lending rate is in a good place to keep downward pressure on inflation, and she doesn’t see a need to ease policy soon.
Fed Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said while we’re closing in on the inflation target, we’re not there yet.
Traders started pricing in that the Fed will carry out just four — or five at the most — quarter-point rate cuts in 2024, only slightly more than the three penciled in by policymakers.
That’s a sharp shift from the end of last year, when futures traders were wagering on seven such moves.
“It’s important not to lose sight of the big picture, which is that continued disinflation should allow the central bank to start easing this year,” said Mark Haefele at UBS Global Wealth Management. “This is a significant change in the investment landscape, so we think it’s less important whether the Fed cuts three, four, or five times this year.”
Even if the Fed doesn’t scale back interest rates, the S&P 500 can still extend its climb this year, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Savita Subramanian.
“Recall that our constructive view on stocks is not because of what the Fed will do, but what the Fed has already done,” she  added, referring to the central bank taming inflation without a recession.

Corporate Highlights:
* The Federal Reserve slapped Citigroup Inc. with a series of demands to change the way it measures the risk of its trading partners, according to a Reuters report, the latest blow to Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser’s turnaround effort.
* Diamondback Energy Inc. agreed to buy fellow Texas oil-and-gas producer Endeavor Energy Resources LP in a $26 billion cash-and-stock deal to create the largest operator focused on the prolific Permian Basin.
* Gilead Sciences Inc. agreed to purchase CymaBay Therapeutics Inc., a developer of an experimental liver disease drug, for $4.3 billion in equity value.
* Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. is seeking as much as $4 billion from Autonomy Corp.’s former bosses following a London judge’s finding that they fraudulently boosted the value of the company before its sale.

Key Events this Week:
* Germany ZEW survey expectations, Tuesday
* US CPI, Tuesday
* Eurozone industrial production, GDP, Wednesday
* BOE Governor Andrew Bailey testifies to House of Lords economic affairs panel, Wednesday
* Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee speaks, Wednesday
* Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr speaks, Wednesday
* Japan GDP, industrial production, Thursday
* US Empire manufacturing, initial jobless claims, industrial production, retail sales, business inventories, Thursday
* ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks, Thursday
* Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks, Thursday
* Fed Governor Christopher Waller speaks, Thursday
* ECB chief economist Philip Lane speaks, Thursday
* US housing starts, PPI, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
* San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly speaks, Friday
* Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr speaks, Friday
* ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel speaks, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
* The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.0774
* The British pound was unchanged at $1.2628
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 149.34 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 4.2% to $50,156.96
* Ether rose 5.6% to $2,643.7
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.17%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.36%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.06%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $77.03 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,020.19 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Alexandra Semenova, Michael Mackenzie, Liz Capo McCormick, Ye Xie and Denitsa Tsekova.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Last, but by no means least, courage – moral courage, the courage of one’s convictions, the courage to see things through.  The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave.  It’s the age-old struggle – the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of your conscience on the other. –General Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.  Happy New Year – it is the Year of the Dragon.
Happy Super Bowl weekend!!!

On this day: 1943: The World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an American victory over Japanese forces.  Go to article >> 1969: The Boeing 747 flies for the first time.  The “Jumbo Jet’ was the world’s largest passenger aircraft at the time.

Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque queen, b. 1914
Carole King, songwriter, b. 1942.
Alice Walker, b. 1944.

Everything you need to know about Super Bowl LVII:  Excitement is building around the big game on Sunday! Follow CNN’s Super Bowl coverage for the latest on the competing teams, halftime show,
and of course… Taylor Swift.

Lamar Jackson is named NFL’s Most Valuable Player
The Baltimore Ravens quarterback was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player on Thursday night, becoming the 11th player in league history to have won the award more than once.

British Vogue features 40 ‘legendary’ cover stars for editor Edward Enninful’s final issue
Naomi Campbell, Miley Cyrus, Jane Fonda, Dua Lipa, Kate Moss and Serena Williams are just some of the names the outgoing editor brought in for his last cover shoot.

Romans kept poisonous, narcotic seeds concealed in bone vials, new discovery reveals
A hollowed-out animal bone was used by Romans to store a stash of poisonous seeds and is the first-ever evidence of the seeds’ use during the Roman era. Read More.

‘We were very surprised’: Magma under Reykjanes Peninsula rushed into Grindavík dike at a shockingly fast rate
Magma flowed into the dike beneath Grindavík at a rate almost 100 times higher than what was seen in the eruptions that took place between 2021 and 2023. Read More.

Massive hydrogen reservoir discovered beneath an Albanian mine could be an untapped source of clean energy .
A portion of ancient oceanic crust that sits atop Albania and hosts one of the largest chromium mines on Earth also contains a huge hydrogen reservoir, offering a potential source of clean energy.  Full Story: Live Science (2/8)
PHOTOS OF  THE DAY

Antarctica
A whale breaches as a Turkish scientific team continue their voyage during the 8th National Antarctic Science Expedition.
Photograph: Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Corina Mrazek Gonzalez is proclaimed carnival queen.
Photograph: Ramon de la Rocha/EPA

Aba, China
Giant pandas enjoy refreshments at the Shenshuping conservation and research centre.
Photograph: VCG/Getty Images
Market Closes for February 9^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38671.69	-54.64
		-0.14%
S&P 500	5026.61	+28.70
		+0.57%
NASDAQ	15990.66	+196.95
		+1.25%
TSX	21009.60	+89.96
		+0.43%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	36897.42	+34.14
		+0.09%
HANG SENG	15746.58	-131.49
		-0.83%
SENSEX	71595.49	+167.06
		+0.23%
FTSE 100*	7572.58	-22.90
		-0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.543	3.552
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.417	3.433
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1754	4.1463
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3722	4.3437

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7430	0.7429
US $	1.3459	1.3461

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4514	0.6890
US $	1.0783	0.9274

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2028.65	2041.60
Oil
WTI Crude Future	76.84	76.22

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1966, the Vietnam War-era bull market hit its peak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached 995.15, a high it wouldn’t surpass for another 17 years.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.4% at 21,009.60 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 0.5% on Feb. 1 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.2%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.3%.
Bombardier Inc. had the largest increase, rising 8.5%.
Today, 132 of 225 shares rose, while 89 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 0.4%
* The index advanced 2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.1% below its 52-week high on Jan. 31, 2024 and 12.4% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.2 on a trailing basis and 16 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$3.32t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.07% compared with 7.97% in the previous session and the average of 9.92% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 47.8886| 0.7| 22/5
Information Technology | 44.2288| 2.2| 7/3
Industrials | 12.8939| 0.4| 15/11
Utilities | 4.0810| 0.5| 13/2
Consumer Staples | 4.0592| 0.5| 6/4
Communication Services | 2.9167| 0.4| 3/2
Real Estate | 2.4092| 0.5| 16/5
Health Care | 0.3273| 0.5| 3/0
Energy | -5.2580| -0.1| 17/22
Consumer Discretionary | -10.0368| -1.3| 7/6
Materials | -13.5332| -0.6| 23/29
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 32.6900| 3.3| -7.3| 18.4
Bank of Nova Scotia| 13.0600| 2.5| -24.5| -1.9
RBC | 7.9420| 0.6| -78.5| -2.2
BCE | -3.5720| -1.1| 63.0| -3.2
Teck Resources | -3.9970| -2.4| 57.3| -11.1
Magna Intl | -9.9060| -6.7| 81.9| -6.0
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street notched a milestone, with the S&P 500 topping 5,000 amid a renewed rally in big tech and hopes the Federal Reserve will soon be able to cut rates — bolstering the outlook for corporate profits.
Emboldened by bets on a soft landing and the power of artificial-intelligence — equities closed at another all-time high, defying doomsayers and warnings about an overstretched market.
“The S&P 500 is the best single barometer of confidence in Corporate America’s earnings power and the strength of the economy,” said George Ball, chairman of Sanders Morris. “The direction of the S&P 500 reflects whether the economy and earnings are improving or deteriorating.”
A few days ahead of the key consumer price index, investors breathed a sigh of relief as a government report — which is usually ignored by markets — confirmed inflation progress at end of 2023.
In the immediate aftermath of the data, Treasuries rose — but quickly reversed that move.
The two-year yield went back to levels seen since before the Fed’s December “pivot.”
Fed Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he’s “laser focused” on returning inflation to target, and his Dallas counterpart Lorie Logan said she sees no urgency to cut rates.
To David Donabedian at CIBC Private Wealth US, the current economic backdrop supports Wall Street’s bullish momentum.
“The market has pivoted from believing the Fed would be its savior to deciding it doesn’t need a savior with the economy supporting it,” Donabedian noted.
With the S&P 500’s new 5,000-point milestone, the question is: what’s next for the index?
Performance for the gauge has been positive after reaching major milestones, according to Adam Turnquist at LPL Financial.
Of the last nine, the index posted a 12-month average return of 10.4% — with 78% of occurrences producing positive results, he noted.
“A close above this closely watched level will undoubtedly create headlines and further feed fear of missing out emotions,” Turnquist noted. “Outside of a potential sentiment boost, round numbers such as 5,000 often provide a psychological area of support or resistance for the market.”
For now, that’s “just a big round number,” according to Matt Maley at Miller Tabak + Co.
“Of course, if the market rolls over in any meaningful way from this level, that will change things,” he noted. “A failure at that level would make it a new key resistance level. Either way, the stock market has seen a fabulous rally this year. So unless any decline becomes a substantial one, it won’t mean a whole lot for the big picture.”
“While some will say it is just another number in the vast sea of numbers that we digest every day, this one is a bit different,” said Kenny Polcari at SlateStone Wealth. “5,000 represents a new millennium, and so it does create additional excitement. So I would expect the excitement to continue for a bit more.”
Another reason sustaining the stock market’s strength to start the year is certainly the outlook for corporate profits.
With earnings season around two-thirds done, companies are solidly beating expectations.
Some 80% of S&P 500 companies reporting results this earnings cycle have surprised to the upside, handily exceeding the 10-year average of 74%, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data through Friday morning.
Analysts are responding by lifting projections.
Wall Street now sees fourth-quarter earnings growing 6.5% from a year earlier for S&P 500 members on average — which would be the best since mid-2022 — and up from a meager projection of 1.2% in early January, according to BI.
“The fourth-quarter earnings season has been stronger than expected, giving investors confidence that the healthy economy could continue driving corporate profits,” said Arthur Hogan at B. Riley Wealth.
To Mark Hackett at Nationwide, the strong momentum has brought skeptical institutional and retail investors back into the market — which has a compounding effect on the rally — though it is increasingly driving questions of sustainability.
Indeed, despite all the optimism, warnings about a stretched market keep piling — with the S&P 500 trading above “overbought” technical levels.
“We remain cautious,” said Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott. “On this front, we note narrowing of breadth, ongoing divergences in momentum, overbought conditions in leadership areas, and sentiment that can approach extremes relatively quickly.”
With US equities now trading at 21 times forward earnings amid lofty interest rates and little demand for cheap hedges against the backdrop of low volatility levels, bulls and bears are wrestling over the sustainability of this rally, according to Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.
“Are we entering a new era of loftier valuations due to rising productivity, increased retail participation, and money shifting from the East to the West?” Torres said. “Or is this a ‘bubblicious mania’ that will end in tears as wild speculation takes over markets? In the end, only time will tell, but my intuition keeps me in the bearish camp.”
Michael Hartnett at Bank of America Corp. says that a speedy rally that sent US stocks on a record-setting spree is now close to triggering several sell signals.
The bank’s custom bull-and-bear indicator rose to 6.8 in the week through Feb. 7, Hartnett wrote in a note.
A reading above 8 would suggest the bullish trend has run too far, flashing a contrarian signal to sell, the strategist said.
“Bear positioning in 2023 was markets’ best friend,” Hartnett said. But after investors bought the S&P 500 during last year’s 24% rally, that exposure is “flipping from tailwind to headwind.” He cautioned that “in bubbles, markets show little respect for positioning,” or for valuation. “They solely respect policy and real interest rates,” he said.
The equity market strength despite changing Fed expectations and higher interest rates is notable given the sharp reactions to the Fed in recent years, said Nationwide’s Hackett.
“A less emotional market is a positive sign, though investors must fight against the complacency that is a natural reaction to such a strong and steady bull run,” he added.
To Bret Kenwell at eToro, while stocks may be a bit overheated at the moment, it doesn’t mean the markets are about to go off the rails.
“While it may eventually lead to some profit taking in the short term, this is still a bull market. Until we see material weakness in the economy, it’s hard to get bearish on stocks,” Kenwell noted.

Corporate Highlights:
* Cryptocurrency shares climbed as Bitcoin advanced beyond $47,000.
* New York Community Bancorp’s chief executive officer and other insiders bought more than 200,000 shares of the stock, which has lost about half its value since last week’s shock announcement of a dividend cut and larger loan-loss provisions.
* Cisco Systems Inc. is cutting thousands of jobs as the largest maker of computer networking equipment restructures its business to focus on high-growth areas, Reuters reported.
* Expedia Group Inc. named Ariane Gorin as chief executive officer of the online travel company, succeeding Peter Kern, who has been in the role since 2020.
** Separately, Expedia reported gross bookings of $21.7 billion in the fourth quarter, missing analysts’ average estimate of $22 billion.
* PepsiCo Inc. gave a full-year sales forecast that fell short of analysts’ estimates and reported a drop in volumes in the North America beverage and Quaker foods units.
* Exxon Mobil Corp.’s exploratory drilling off the coast of Guyana will be “well south” of the disputed territory that Venezuela claims as its own, according to a senior company executive.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.0787
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2630
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 149.29 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 5% to $47,581.03
* Ether rose 2.8% to $2,492.76
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.18%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.38%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.09%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $76.55 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.4% to $2,025.38 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Denitsa Tsekova, Alexandra Semenova, Julien Ponthus, Carmen Reinicke and Carly Wanna.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
The truth is in nature, and I shall prove it. -Paul Cezanne, 1839-1906.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.  Nirvana Day, Buddhism.
February 8,1971:  NASDAQ, the world’s first electronic stock exchange, held its first trading day. Go to article >>

1910: Boy Scouts of America established.
John Ruskin, b. 1819.
Jules Verne, b. 1828.
James Dean, b.1931.

Iceland volcano erupts for 3rd time, triggering lava fountains over 200 feet tall
The underground volcano near Grindavík has begun its third major eruption in three months, opening up a 2-mile-long fissure that is pumping out large amounts of lava and ash. Read More.

‘It haunts all our imaginations’: Were Neanderthals really like us? In this adapted extract from The Naked Neanderthal: A New Understanding of the Human Creature, Ludovic Slimak examines how we should view our ancient relatives, the Neanderthals.  Full Story: Live Science (2/7)

Our universe is merging with ‘baby universes’, causing it to expand, new theoretical study suggests
The universe is expanding faster and faster, but not all scientists agree that dark energy is the cause. Perhaps, instead, our universe keeps colliding with and absorbing smaller “baby universes,” a new theoretical study suggests.
Read More.

Polar bear sleeping on tiny iceberg drifting in Arctic sea captured in heartbreaking photo
An image captured off the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard shows a young polar bear drifting to sleep on a small iceberg after carving a bed in the ice. Read More.

325 million-year-old shark graveyard discovered deep within Mammoth Cave harbors new fossilized species
Two new ancient shark species have been uncovered in Mammoth Cave with teeth that “look like they just came out of the shark’s mouth yesterday.”
Full Story: Live Science (2/7)

This image won the top wildlife photography prize
See the “breathtaking” photo selected from over 50,000 other entries as the winner of the 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.

This country is now the top exporter of goods into the US
Hint: It’s not China.

Researchers reveal first full passages decoded from ancient scroll
With the help of artificial intelligence, 15 passages have been deciphered from this 2,000-year-old unrolled Herculaneum scroll, providing a glimpse into the thoughts of an ancient philosopher. See what researchers learned.

Moths actually aren’t drawn to light as previously thought
A new study found that moths’ behavior around light isn’t about attraction.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mexico City, Mexico
A visitor views an artwork at Zona Maco, the largest contemporary art fair in the country, at the Banamex Centre
Photograph: Rodrigo Oropeza/AFP/Getty Images

Riga, Latvia
A pedestrian braves the weather on Aleksandra Čaka Street during heavy snowfall
Photograph: Toms Kalniņš/EPA

​​​​​​​Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Lava flows from Mount Merapi during foggy weather
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Market Closes for February 8^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38726.33	+48.97
		+0.13%
S&P 500	4997.91	+2.85
		+0.06%
NASDAQ	15793.71	+37.07
		+0.24%
TSX	20919.64	-49.54
		-0.24%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	37160.93	+297.65
		+0.81%
HANG SENG	15878.07	-203.82
		-1.27%
SENSEX	71428.43	-723.57
		-1.00%
FTSE 100*	7595.48	-33.27
		-0.44%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.552	3.479
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.433	3.380
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1463	4.1211
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3437	4.3246

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7429	0.7428
US $	1.3461	1.3463

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4505	0.6894
US $	1.0775	0.9281

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2041.60	2030.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	76.22	73.31

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1971, after nearly a decade of preparation, the Nasdaq market opened for trading. The Nasdaq Composite Index was set at an initial value of 100. It closed Wednesday at 15756.64.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2% at 20,919.64 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.1%.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 6 of 11 sectors lost; 127 of 225 shares fell, while 95 rose.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 11.9%.
Lightspeed Commerce Inc. had the largest drop, falling 24.4%.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 0.8%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended Nov. 10
* The index advanced 1.2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 21% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.6% below its 52-week high on Jan. 31, 2024 and 11.9% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.9% in the past 5 days and fell 0.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.4 on a trailing basis and 15.6 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$3.32t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 7.97% compared with 8.04% in the previous session and the average of 10.03% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -38.2603| -0.6| 6/20
Communication Services | -20.7539| -2.6| 0/5
Materials | -18.4686| -0.9| 13/39
Utilities | -10.8628| -1.3| 2/13
Industrials | -7.4477| -0.2| 10/16
Health Care | -0.4643| -0.7| 0/4
Consumer Staples | 1.0008| 0.1| 2/9
Energy | 1.6551| 0.0| 33/8
Real Estate | 4.9592| 1.0| 10/9
Consumer Discretionary | 5.9774| 0.8| 11/2
Information Technology | 33.1223| 1.7| 8/2
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Fairfax Financial | -26.1000| -11.9| 157.5| 1.2
Cameco | -13.4700| -6.9| 67.9| 5.4
BCE | -12.7000| -3.8| 232.2| -2.1
Thomson Reuters | 9.0710| 4.3| 99.8| 8.2
Brookfield Corp | 10.5000| 2.0| -3.1| 2.6
Shopify | 29.8300| 3.1| 8.7| 14.6
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street struggled to gain traction on Thursday, with the bond market digesting another big sale of Treasuries and stocks hovering near records.
Bonds fell despite a strong $25 billion auction that reduced jitters about an oversupply.
Equities closed little changed after the S&P 500 briefly hit 5,000 for the first time.
A sense of caution prevailed as investors positioned for Friday’s consumer-price index revisions thinking about what happened a year ago: The update was significant enough to cast doubt on overall inflation progress.
“There is some talk that tomorrow’s CPI revisions could throw cold water on the recent good inflation numbers — but this is a wonky number,” said Andrew Brenner at NatAlliance Securities. “We think the next move comes off the CPI number next Tuesday.”
Ahead of those figures, investors got a jobless claims reading that added to evidence of a still strong labor market and gave credence to the recent cautious rhetoric from central bank speakers.
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin was the latest to reiterate policymakers have time to be patient about the timing of rate cuts.
The S&P 500 closed at 4,997.97. As the earnings season rolled in, Walt Disney Co. and Arm Holdings Plc jumped on upbeat outlooks, while PayPal Holdings Inc. sank on an underwhelming forecast.
Treasury 10-year yields rose three basis points to 4.15%.
Bitcoin topped $45,000.
Oil rallied amid doubts over a potential cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
To Larry Tentarelli at Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, a solid jobs market and a resilient consumer continue to bode well for the economy and should push back on immediate recession concerns.
Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley says the next few inflation reports may determine whether stocks will be able to keep setting new records in the near term.
“We remain cautious,” said Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott. “On this front, we note narrowing of breadth, ongoing divergences in momentum, overbought conditions in leadership areas, and sentiment that can approach extremes relatively quickly.”
From its March 2020 pandemic-low, the S&P 500 has more than doubled, with gains in the past year fueled by bets on a soft economic landing and optimism about the impact of artificial intelligence over corporate earnings.
While US stocks are now pricing in plenty of good news, UBS’s Chief Investment Office sees the potential for further gains in the event of a “Goldilocks” economic outcome.
“Our base case remains for a soft landing for the US economy, with the S&P 500 ending the year around current levels,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management.
“However, recent economic data have highlighted the potential for a period of continued stronger growth, tame inflation, and swifter monetary easing. In this event, we believe the S&P 500 has the potential to rise to around 5,300 this year.”
Stronger-than-expected earnings are leading companies to announce share buybacks at a blistering pace as 2024 gets going — a potentially crucial pillar of support for stocks already trading at all-time highs.
US companies have announced $105 billion in planned share repurchases in the first seven days of February, surpassing the full-month tally in January.
It’s the strongest start to a February ever for announced buybacks and the second-best start to a year after 2023, according to data compiled by Birinyi Associates Inc.
Meantime, a survey conducted by 22V Research shows that 56% of the investors polled think economic growth will be stronger than consensus estimates in 2024.
That’s up from 35% two weeks ago.
Recession odds are down to 7%.
The tally also showed that tech is the “most-popular long” for the rest of 2024.
An index of sentiment among chief executive officers of US companies has turned positive for the first time in two years, according to the Conference Board.
Stocks have tended to rally after the first Fed rate cut, but the phase of the economic cycle matters, according to Ed Clissold at Ned Davis Research.
The strongest performance has come during soft landings, while the weakest has come when the economy entered recession less than a year after the first cut.
“Growth has outperformed value after first cuts — especially during slow cycles,” Clissold wrote in a note entitled: “Dear Jay: move slowly. Sincerely, the bulls.”
Big tech — the group that’s powered the equity resurgence — is bringing in more cash than ever before, priming the group to return money to shareholders and potentially adding fuel to a rally that’s already sent most of the group into record territory.
The five biggest technology companies that have reported earnings so far — Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. — generated a record $139.5 billion of combined cash from operations in the quarter that ended on Dec. 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
At these levels, the equity market appears overbought — but the fact is that many traders don’t want to miss out on continued gains.
That has prompted outsized interest in options contracts that provide upside exposure for minimal premium.
The premium in implied volatility of 3-month 10-delta calls to 40-delta calls hovers around its highest in a decade, as pointed out by Susquehanna International Group.
That relationship signals added demand for call options implying higher gains relative to those seeking more modest advances.
Increasingly, traders are turning to the cheap contracts to position for broad market advances without having to purchase pricey benchmarks.

Corporate Highlights:
* Walt Disney Co. reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal first quarter and issued an upbeat profit outlook for the year, giving Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger ammunition to deflect proxy challenges at its shareholder meeting this spring.
* Chip designer Arm Holdings Plc issued a surprisingly bullish earnings forecast, showing its push beyond smartphones is helping fuel growth.
* PayPal Holdings Inc. said it expects earnings to be flat this year as it continues to cut costs and streamline its operations.
* Harley-Davidson Inc. eked out a fourth-quarter profit that beat estimates as sales fell as the rugged American brand boost incentives to offset high-borrowing costs on slow-selling motorcycles.
* Under Armour Inc. raised its outlook for full-year earnings, with cost cuts in its turnaround effort making up for a continued decline in revenue.
* Philip Morris International Inc. forecast high single digit profit growth in 2024 as shipments of its Zyn nicotine pouches surge in the US, offsetting lower cigarette sales.
* Spirit Airlines Inc., fighting to preserve its acquisition by JetBlue Airways Corp., said revenue will increase this quarter more than analysts were expecting and that it has the liquidity needed to stand on its own even as concerns mount about its financial future.

Key events this week:
* US CPI revisions, Friday
* Germany CPI, Friday
* President Joe Biden hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
* The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0777
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2619
* The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 149.27 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.8% to $45,435.07
* Ether fell 0.3% to $2,423.82
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.15%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.35%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.05%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.5% to $76.45 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Carly Wanna, Alexandra Semenova, Allegra Catelli, Jessica Menton, Elena Popina, Michael Msika and Subrat Patnaik.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. – Stephen Covey, 1932-2012.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
February 7^th,1992: European Community members signed the Maastricht Treaty, which led to creation of the euro.  Go to article >>.

Charles Dickens, b.1812.

Coca-Cola is making a new flavor permanent
Coca-Cola’s wacky offerings frequently come and go, but its latest flavor is the company’s first permanent addition in three years.

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to launch a sports super-streamer
Three of the biggest sports broadcasters are uniting to create a super-platform that will house all of their sports assets under one streaming roof. (Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN)

Bronze Age ‘treasure’ was crafted with extraterrestrial metal
Researchers determined that two artifacts in the Bronze Age hoard were made with meteoric iron. Read More.

Iceland volcano: Mass of magma pooling beneath power plant north of Grindavík indicates imminent eruption
Magma continues to accumulate in a chamber beneath Svartsengi and has now reached levels thought to have triggered the volcanic eruption that sent lava flowing into Grindavík on Jan. 14. Read More.

James Webb telescope makes ultra-rare detection of 2 planets orbiting dead stars
The James Webb Space Telescope has detected two alien planets orbiting white dwarfs, the collapsed husks of once-mighty stars. The discovery offers a hint of what our solar system will look like after the sun’s eventual demise.
Read More.

‘Remarkable’ new algorithm could dramatically speed up web browsing
SIEVE is a new approach to web caching that’s simpler and more effective than today’s state-of-the-art algorithms, its creators claim.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court rejected former President Donald Trump’s claims that executive immunity protected him from criminal charges related to subverting the 2020 election.
From the Late Night Hosts:

“Trump’s campaign said that he respectfully disagrees with the ruling. Although, if Trump knew to respectfully disagree with a loss, he wouldn’t be on trial in the first place.” — JIMMY FALLON.

“The Supreme Court hasn’t announced if they’ll hear the case, but Clarence Thomas announced that he’d like an Apple Vision Pro and Super Bowl tickets if they do.” — JIMMY FALLON.

“According to a new poll from CNN, a majority of Americans want to see a verdict in the Jan. 6 case before they vote in the election. It’s vitally important that we find out whether the former president did what we all saw him do on television or not.” — JIMMY KIMMEL.

“OK, so he doesn’t have immunity, but after all these trials, he must have built up some antibodies.” — SETH MEYERS.

“The three-judge panel shot down his arguments in a strongly worded 57-page ruling. It was a devastating moment for Trump, especially when Melania started clapping.” — JIMMY KIMMEL.

“I mean, kind of a bummer because poor guy drank all that bleach for nothing,” Jimmy Kimmel said.

“And now Trump plans on going to the Supreme Court. And if he loses there, he plans on going to Brazil.” — JIMMY FALLON

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A Sky Full of Stars by Lorcan Taylor-Hood, runner-up in the Nature at night category
Photograph: Lorcan Taylor-Hood/SDNPA/PA

Golden Moonrise by Giles Embleton-Smith was highly commended
Photograph: Giles Embleton-Smith/SDNPA/PA

​​​​​​​Doha, Qatar
Britain’s Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe compete in the preliminary round of the women’s duet free Group B artistic swimming event during the 2024 World Aquatics Championships at the Aspire Dome
Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for February 7^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38677.36	+156.00
		+0.41%
S&P 500	4995.06	+40.83
		+0.82%
NASDAQ	15756.64	+147.64
		+0.95%
TSX	20969.18	+11.44
		+0.05%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	36119.92	-40.74
		-0.11%
HANG SENG	16081.89	-54.98
		-0.34%
SENSEX	72152.00	-34.09
		-0.05%
FTSE 100*	7628.75	-52.26
		-0.68%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.479	3.428
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.380	3.328
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1211	4.0962
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3246	4.2979

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7428	0.7412
US $	1.3463	1.3492

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4506	0.6894
US $	1.0775	0.9281

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2030.80	2018.00
Oil
WTI Crude Future	73.31	72.78

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1958, the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, better known as Darpa, was established. It created Arpanet, the prototype of the World Wide Web.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 20,969.18 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.3%.
Birchcliff Energy Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 9.7%.
Today, 101 of 225 shares rose, while 116 fell; 3 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 1.2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 19% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.3% below its 52-week high on Jan. 31, 2024 and 12.2% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.3% in the past 5 days and was little changed in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.5 on a trailing basis and 15.5 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$3.32t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.04% compared with 8.27% in the previous session and the average of 10.12% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 42.3752| 2.2| 5/4
Industrials | 13.9339| 0.5| 16/9
Real Estate | 1.4890| 0.3| 9/10
Consumer Staples | -0.1644| 0.0| 5/5
Consumer Discretionary | -0.2227| 0.0| 6/7
Health Care | -0.4270| -0.7| 1/3
Communication Services | -3.1393| -0.4| 2/3
Utilities | -7.8816| -1.0| 3/11
Energy | -8.6834| -0.2| 24/16
Financials | -9.8311| -0.2| 17/10
Materials | -16.0224| -0.7| 13/38
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 39.7700| 4.3| 11.7| 11.2
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 8.1450| 1.1| -7.4| 9.6
Manulife Financial | 5.0700| 1.3| 17.7| 3.9
Enbridge | -5.7970| -0.8| 34.7| -2.8
Canadian Natural Resources | -7.4250| -1.2| -15.6| -6.4
TD Bank | -11.3700| -1.1| -26.9| -6.8
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The historic rally in US stocks continued to power ahead, with the S&P 500 closing within a striking distance of its 5,000 milestone.
Gains on Wednesday were fueled by a renewed surge in tech mega-caps and a strong sale of 10-year Treasuries that dimmed supply concerns.
While bonds barely budged, equities extended a torrid surge from their October 2022 lows on prospects that a solid economy will continue fueling corporate profits.
Traders shrugged off concerns about lofty valuations, February’s weak seasonality and cautious commentary from Federal Reserve officials — with stocks hitting fresh records.
“The market continues to climb the wall of worry, including shifting Fed expectations, geopolitical tension, and overbought market conditions,” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide. “We are entering a sluggish seasonal period, but the market has strong momentum.”
That positive tone in equities continued to prevail after the US government sold a record $42 billion of 10-year Treasuries at a lower-than-anticipated yield — a sign of confidence the Fed will pivot to rate cuts this year.
“The 10-year note auction was pretty good,” said Peter Boockvar, author of the Boock Report.
Also on Wall Street’s radar was a raft of central bank speakers — all showing no rush to cut rates as already signaled by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Governor Adriana Kugler presented an optimistic case for a continued slowdown inflation while indicating little urgency to reduce borrowing costs.
Fed Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said she’s looking for more evidence that inflation is durably set to align with the target before moving to cut rates — though that step is likely “later this year.”
Her Minneapolis counterpart Neel Kashkari told CNBC that said officials need to see “a few more months” of inflation data before easing policy.
“Our base case is still for a soft landing where growth slows throughout the year, but remains healthy overall, while inflation does not prove to be overly sticky,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management. “And we do believe  this environment will allow the Federal Reserve to start cutting rates by May, and by 100 basis points through year-end.”
Following the steps of all major US equity benchmarks, the MSCI World Index of developed-market shares also rose to a record.
Resilient economic growth in the US and an expected rebound in Europe are likely to support equities — even as some parts of the stock market look “frothy,” according to Barclays strategists led by Emmanuel Cau.
While one of the world’s largest exchange-traded funds sits at a crucial inflection point following a torrid 22% rally since late October, further gains may be in store in the coming weeks.
The $244 billion Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ), which that tracks the Nasdaq 100, is trading near key resistance levels from three years ago relative to the broader SPDR S&P 500 ETF, better known by its ticker SPY.
If resistance from February 2021 is decisively pierced, the QQQ/SPY ratio is poised to rally more from here, with bullish confirmation for QQQ on absolute basis climbing to a new high, according to Anthony Feld at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Corporate Highlights:
* Ford Motor Co., buffeted by electric vehicle losses and rising labor costs, posted fourth quarter results that soundly beat expectations and forecast higher profits in 2024.
* Roblox Corp., a gaming company, reported higher-than-ever revenue and player counts.
* Snap Inc., the parent company of the Snapchat app, reported lower-than-projected revenue over the peak holiday season, disappointing investors just a week after much-larger rival Meta Platforms Inc. posted its best sales growth in two years.
* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. green-lit another $25 billion in stock repurchases, aiming to assuage investors worried about plateauing growth at a Chinese e-commerce and cloud pioneer struggling to fend off new rivals such as PDD Holdings Inc.
* Uber Technologies Inc. reported gross bookings that beat analyst estimates, showing strong global demand for rides and food delivery during the holiday period.
* Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.’s fourth-quarter sales and profit beat expectations as both transactions and check sizes rose, defying fears of waning consumer sentiment.
* 23andMe Holding Co. Chief Executive Officer Anne Wojcicki is considering splitting the DNA testing company’s consumer and therapeutics businesses in an effort to revive a sagging stock price and avoid being delisted

Key events this week:
* China PPI, CPI, Thursday
* US wholesale inventories, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at a Senate banking committee hearing on the Financial Stability Oversight Council annual report, Thursday
* Pharma CEOs speak at a Senate panel on prescription drug prices, Thursday
* ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane speaks, Thursday
* ECB publishes economic bulletin, Thursday
* US CPI revisions, Friday
* Germany CPI, Friday
* President Joe Biden hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0773
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2625
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 148.18 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.3% to $44,161.79
* Ether rose 2.4% to $2,437.57
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.12%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.32%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.99%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $74.13 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jessica Menton.
Have  a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
I think track records are very important.  If you start early trying to have a perfect one
in some simple thing like honesty, you’re well on your way to success in this world. –Charles Munger, 1924-2023.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
February 5, 1935: Monopoly board game is patented, quickly becoming a family favourite.
February 5, 1945:  Reggae musician Bob Marley was born in St. Ann parish in Jamaica. Go to article >>

Babe Ruth, b. 1895.
Bob Marley, b. 1945.

Super Bowl ticket prices have dropped
… but they still cost a fortune. Tickets to this year’s game remain the most expensive on record, with the average purchase price currently at $9,850.

Should there be a Category 6 for hurricanes?
The idea of adding a Category 6 to the Saffir-Simpson scale has been discussed for years. Read why scientists are advocating for the change.

Event Horizon Telescope spies gargantuan energy jets erupting from nearby supermassive black hole.
Astronomers investigated an active supermassive black hole at the heart of Perseus A using the Event Horizon Telescope, spotting an epic battle between gravity and magnetism.  Full Story: Live Science (2/5)

April 8 total solar eclipse: The best places to stargaze near the path of totality
The April 8 total solar eclipse will be visible from many large cities, but anyone looking for skies free of light pollution should check out one of these dark-sky parks and reserves in the path of totality. Read More.

Bedbugs plagued Britain 1,900 years ago, Roman fort near Hadrian’s Wall reveals
The earliest known evidence of bedbugs in Britain was found at a first-century fort near Hadrian’s Wall. Read More.

RIP: Country singer Toby Keith died Monday after a battle with stomach cancer. He was 62. “He fought his fight with grace and courage,” a statement posted to Keith’s website said. Keith is known for hits including “Red Solo Cup” and “I Wanna Talk About Me.” His 2002 song “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” released in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, made him a household name.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Srinagar, Kashmir
A fisher casts his net into the Jhelum River. The Kashmir valley received fresh snowfall after prolonged dry weather
Photograph: Saqib Majeed/Sopa Images/Rex/Shutterstock

London, England
Western lowland gorilla Mjukuu holds her newly born baby at London Zoo. The critically endangered western lowland gorilla was born this week after a speedy 17-minute labour. Western lowland gorillas, which inhabit dense and largely remote rainforests in west and central Africa, are classified as critically endangered, with a high risk of becoming extinct.
Photograph: Jonathan Kemeys/ZSL/AFP/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Pedestrians cross the road at Shibuya Crossing.
Photograph: Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images
Market Closes for February 6^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38521.36	+141.24
		+0.37%
S&P 500	4954.23	+11.42
		+0.23%
NASDAQ	15609.00	+11.32
		+0.07%
TSX	20957.74	+85.85
		+0.41%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	36160.66	-193.50
		-0.53%
HANG SENG	16136.87	+626.86
		+4.04%
SENSEX	72186.09	+454.67
		+0.63%
FTSE 100*	7681.01	+68.15
		+0.90%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.428	3.508
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.328	3.387
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.0962	4.1579
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2979	4.3371

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7412	0.7385
US $	1.3492	1.3541

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4513	0.6891
US $	1.0755	0.9298

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2018.00	2034.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future	72.78	72.78

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1808, the Milan stock exchange (Borsa Valori di Milano, now called La Borsa Italiana) was established.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.4% at 20,957.74 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 1%.
Brookfield Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.5%.
Lithium Americas Argentina Corp. had the largest increase, rising 8.6%.
Today, 154 of 225 shares rose, while 66 fell; 10 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 1.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.4% below its 52-week high on Jan. 31, 2024 and 12.1% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.3% in the past 5 days and was little changed in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.4 on a trailing basis and 15.5 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$3.3t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.27% compared with 8.34% in the previous session and the average of 10.22% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 35.9405| 0.6| 17/10
Industrials | 20.9818| 0.7| 18/8
Materials | 9.5783| 0.4| 40/9
Energy | 6.6466| 0.2| 24/17
Consumer Staples | 5.6161| 0.6| 9/2
Communication Services | 4.7150| 0.6| 3/1
Utilities | 4.6483| 0.6| 13/2
Consumer Discretionary | 2.4935| 0.3| 10/3
Health Care | 1.7817| 2.9| 4/0
Real Estate | 1.4398| 0.3| 14/6
Information Technology | -7.9803| -0.4| 2/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Brookfield Corp | 13.0000| 2.5| -29.5| 0.6
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 8.7310| 1.2| -33.9| 8.4
Canadian Natural Resources | 7.8040| 1.3| -13.7| -5.3
Cameco | -3.5190| -1.8| -26.6| 12.4
Bank of Montreal | -3.6800| -0.6| 5.9| -5.3
Restaurant Brands | -4.2110| -1.8| -12.1| -0.6
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The world’s biggest bond market rebounded, with traders gearing up for a record $42 billion sale of 10-year Treasuries after a solid start to this week’s ramped-up issuance sizes.
Following a selloff that drove two-year yields to their highest since before the Fed’s December “pivot”, bonds climbed.
A $54 billion sale of three-year notes drew solid demand, bolstering sentiment and making traders shrug off a slew of cautious remarks from Federal Reserve speakers.
The S&P 500 edged up.
Mega-caps were mixed, with Tesla Inc. up and Nvidia Corp. down.
US-listed Chinese stocks rallied on bets the nation will be more forceful to prop up markets.
New York Community Bancorp tumbled 22%.
As expected, a drumbeat of central bank officials echoed Jerome Powell’s signals that the central bank will be in no rush to ease policy.
Fed Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said policymakers will probably gain confidence to cut interest rates “later this year” if the economy evolves as expected.
Her Minneapolis counterpart Neel Kashkari celebrated the substantial improvement made on inflation, but indicated more progress is needed.
“The Fed expects to cut this year, but not right away,” said Chris Low at FHN Financial.
“While we continue to suspect market expectations for five rate cuts this year remains too optimistic, a factor in favor for bond bulls is that inflation-adjusted, or real rates, need to come down as price indexes improve,” said John Lynch at Comerica Wealth Management. “As a result, we suspect three cuts will prove sufficient to balance the risks to growth and inflation in 2024.”
As bonds managed to rebound on Tuesday, stocks barely budged.
Down days in the S&P 500 aren’t necessarily extinct, but they’ve become shallow relative to positive sessions.
Since early January, the gauge has seen an average gain of 0.66% in positive sessions, compared with a 0.45% drop in negative ones.
That’s pushed the ratio of the two to about 1.5 — the highest skew in favor of the bulls this far into a year since 1995, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“A period of consolidation across the major averages or a potential period of near-term selling pressure is probably overdue at this point,” said Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise.  “Such a development could be healthy in the long term and help recalibrate expectations.”
Citigroup Inc. strategists noted that investor positioning in US technology stocks is so bullish that any selloff could trigger a wider rout.
Wagers on declines in tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures have been completely erased, leaving investors overwhelmingly expecting further gains.
“The large consensus positioning is a risk that could amplify a turn in the market,” strategists led by Chris Montagu wrote.
Bullish trends in S&P 500 futures stalled last week, although positioning remains net-long, they said.
Volatile markets are predicted to be the greatest daily challenge for a second year in a row, according to a JPMorgan Chase & Co. electronic trading survey.
Access to liquidity is the biggest concern about market structure, ahead of regulatory change and data costs.
While volatility across asset classes remains relatively contained compared to recent gyrations, the worry is that it could spike if the global economy faces another shock.
Markets are pricing in over a percentage point of rate cuts from the Fed and European Central Bank, though the survey still sees inflation as having the biggest impact on markets in 2024.
In second place is the US election — with a flurry of other votes due around the world as well, plus mounting geopolitical risk.
“While conditions are good, volatility is very possible,” said Brad McMillan at Commonwealth Financial Network. “We saw some turbulence in January, and we aren’t out of the woods with inflation yet. So, while the trends remain positive, risks could increase over the next couple of months. This is something to watch out for but not worry about too much, given the strong economic fundamentals.”

Corporate Highlights:
* A dramatic accident on an Alaska Airlines flight last month was apparently triggered by a door plug that hadn’t been properly attached before the plane was delivered by Boeing Co., US investigators said Tuesday.
* UBS Group AG will buy back up to $1 billion in shares this year, as the bank seeks to keep investors focused on the upside of its complex integration of Credit Suisse.
* Palantir Technologies Inc. said that demand for its artificial intelligence products was driving sales, and gave a higher-than-expected profit outlook for 2024.
* Blackwells Capital, an activist investor seeking three board seats at Walt Disney Co., called on the entertainment giant to consider spinning off its famed theme-park properties and splitting into three companies.
* Eli Lilly & Co. forecast 2024 sales ahead of Wall Street estimates as the company rolls out Zepbound, its weight-loss shot that’s widely expected to become the best-selling drug of all time.
* Spotify Technology SA, the music-streaming giant, reported subscriber growth that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations amid international growth.

Key events this week:
* Germany industrial production, Wednesday
* Walt Disney earnings, Wednesday
* Fed’s Adriana Kugler and Tom Barkin speak, Wednesday
* China PPI, CPI, Thursday
* US wholesale inventories, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at a Senate banking committee hearing on the Financial Stability Oversight Council annual report, Thursday
* Pharma CEOs speak at a Senate panel on prescription drug prices, Thursday
* ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane speaks, Thursday
* ECB publishes economic bulletin, Thursday
* US CPI revisions, Friday
* Germany CPI, Friday
* President Joe Biden hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0756
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2599
* The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 147.86 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.8% to $43,095.73
* Ether rose 4.1% to $2,379.9
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 4.09%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.29%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 3.95%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1% to $73.49 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,035.80 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Elena Popina and Greg Ritchie.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Sins committed in the dark are seen in Heaven like sheets of fire. –Chinese Proverb.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.
Constitution Day, Mexico.

February 5^th, 1909: The world’s first synthetic plastic is announced.  Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announced his invention of Bakelite at a meeting of the American Chemical Society on that day.
February 5, 1977 The album “Rumours” by Fleetwood Mac was released. Go to article >>

Key life skills you can learn from Martha Stewart
Grandparents, parents and children have all learned important life skills from Martha Stewart. Here are five you should add to your tool kit.

This is the world’s most terrifying ocean crossing
The Drake Passage is feared by travelers and sailors alike. Read stories from some brave people who have crossed the roughest conditions on the planet.

Venues and dates set for the 2026 World Cup
MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will host the 2026 World Cup final, the global soccer governing body announced.

The world’s rarest passport
There are only around 500 diplomatic passports issued by this sovereign nation with nearly 1,000 years of history.

Did art exist before modern humans? New discoveries raise big questions.
Scientists are finding ever-earlier examples of artistic expression in the archaeological record that reshape what we know about the cognitive abilities of our archaic human relatives, such as Neanderthals. Read More.

Our mixed-up human family: 8 human relatives that went extinct (and 1 that didn’t)
Modern humans are far from the only species in the Homo genus. Here are others that went extinct long ago.  Full Story: Live Science (2/5)

Major ‘magnetic anomaly’ discovered deep below New Zealand’s Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua, which sits at the heart of a dormant volcano and is the setting for one of New Zealand’s most famous Māori love stories, has been mapped in detail for the 1st time. Read More.

How do galaxies grow while ensnared in the universe’s cosmic web?
New simulations show how thousands of galaxies evolve by traveling through the strands of gas, dust and stars that make up the universe’s “cosmic web.” Read More.

April 8 solar eclipse: 4 telescopes and observatories where you can watch totality
The April 8 total solar eclipse will be visible from several astronomical observatories across North America. Here are four that have big events planned for the day the sun disappears. Read More.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tokyo, Japan
A visitor walks through an exhibition by the Japanese collective teamLab at the recently opened 325-metre Azabudai Hills tower
Photograph: Richard A Brooks/AFP/Getty Images

Sylhet, Bangladesh
Migratory birds on a foggy morning in Dibir Haor
Photograph: Md Rafayat Haque Khan/Zuma/Rex

​​​​​​​Doha, Qatar
Karina Magrupova of Kazakhstan competes in the preliminary round of the women’s solo free artistic swimming event during the World Aquatics Championships
Photograph: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty
Market Closes for February 5^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38380.12	-274.30
		-0.71%
S&P 500	4942.81	-15.80
		-0.32%
NASDAQ	15597.68	-31.27
		-0.20%
TSX	20871.89	-213.20
		-1.01%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	36354.16	+196.14
		+0.54%
HANG SENG	15510.01	-23.55
		-0.15%
SENSEX	71731.42	-354.21
		-0.49%
FTSE 100*	7612.86	-2.68
		-0.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.508	3.380
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.387	3.287
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1579	4.0199
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3371	4.2205

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7385	0.7427
US $	1.3541	1.3464

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4547	0.6874
US $	1.0743	0.9308

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2034.15	2045.85
Oil
WTI Crude Future	72.78	72.28

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1637, “tulipmania” hit its peak in the Netherlands, with the price of the rare Witte Croonen tulip bulb reaching 1,345 guilders per half-pound, up 2,506% in 33 days. Over the next five years, these bulbs lose an annual average of 76% of their value, until they fetched only 37.5 guilders in 1641.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 1%, or 213.2 to 20,871.89 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.2% on Jan. 17.
Constellation Software Inc/Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.8%.
Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest drop, falling 8.0%.
Today, 197 of 225 shares fell, while 26 rose; all sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 0.5% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 19% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.8% below its 52-week high on Jan. 31, 2024 and 11.7% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.5% in the past 5 days and fell 0.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.4 on a trailing basis and 15.5 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$3.34t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.34% compared with 8.02% in the previous session and the average of 10.32% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -43.7976| -0.7| 6/21
Information Technology | -41.1500| -2.1| 2/8
Energy | -39.8234| -1.1| 3/37
Materials | -32.6309| -1.5| 5/46
Consumer Staples | -12.9760| -1.4| 1/10
Utilities | -12.4728| -1.5| 0/15
Communication Services | -9.1812| -1.2| 0/5
Real Estate | -7.8377| -1.6| 1/20
Consumer Discretionary | -7.3578| -0.9| 4/9
Industrials | -4.9850| -0.2| 4/22
Health Care | -0.9785| -1.6| 0/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Constellation Software | -19.7100| -3.8| 63.7| 11.0
TD Bank | -12.5200| -1.2| -9.0| -6.4
Shopify | -11.9700| -1.3| 10.6| 6.8
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 1.5640| 0.2| -37.2| 7.1
Manulife Financial | 1.7740| 0.5| 83.4| 1.0
Canadian National | 2.2850| 0.3| -21.2| 2.7
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders sent bonds and stocks down, with strong economic data reinforcing the view that the Federal Reserve isn’t ready to call victory over inflation just yet.
Treasuries came under renewed pressure on speculation that optimism regarding disinflation may have gone too far.
In another sign that the world’s largest economy remains on solid footing, the Institute for Supply Management’s services gauge hit a four-month high while prices picked up.
The news jolted trading on a day when investors were already digesting cautious views from some Fed speakers including Jerome Powell.
The “one-two punch” prevented market players from achieving further upside, according to Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategist Marko Kolanovic said that “absent a material shock, we think this year’s easing will prove more moderate than markets have priced.”
US 10-year yields climbed 14 basis points to 4.16% and those on two-year notes approached 4.5%.
Fed swaps almost wiped out the odds of a March rate move, and the chances of a May cut have also been reduced.
The dollar hit its strongest since November.
The S&P 500 fell from a record high — but came well off session lows as Nvidia Corp. led gains in chipmakers.
Traders also waded through remarks from Fed speakers, with Powell reiterating that policymakers will likely wait beyond March to cut rates in an interview conducted Thursday with CBS’s 60 Minutes that aired Sunday evening.
Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said officials have time to gauge incoming data before easing while his Chicago counterpart Austan Goolsbee reiterated he’d like to see more of the favorable inflation data.
To Thierry Wizman at Macquarie, the shift in the market’s assessment of when the Fed will begin to cut rates seems valid.
“We had always thought that June was the likelier month for a cut in view of the Fed’s prudence,” Wizman noted. “What does worry us, though, is whether the ongoing strength of the US job market in January means that the US consumer will stay strong, thereby undoing the disinflationary trend, and extending tight monetary policy more indefinitely.”
The ISM’s overall gauge of services increased to 53.4 last month.
The index has remained above the 50 level that indicates expansion for a year.
The latest reading exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
The group’s metric of prices paid for materials jumped — showing that costs are rising at a faster pace.
Jeffrey Roach at LPL Financial says the big uptick in prices paid mostly reflected the increase in shipping costs.
Investors should expect prices to revert if conditions in the Red Sea improve, he added.
The world’s major central banks mustn’t drop their guard in the fight against inflation as it’s too soon to say if sharp interest rate increases have contained underlying price pressures, the OECD said.
Meantime, the latest Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey showed American shoppers won’t be deterred by mounting credit-card bills or the recent ripple of layoffs.
More than half of 463 respondents said spending will stay strong or get even stronger in 2024.
“The ongoing strength of the US economy relative to most of its G-10 peers is one of the key reasons why we have held a counter consensus bullish view on the USD since September 2023,” said Dominic Bunning at HSBC. “The strength of activity data will, in our view, make it hard for the Fed to have confidence that inflation is fully tamed. As such, we see rate pricing in the US being more prone to upside than downside for now.”
Bill Gross said he’s betting that part of the interest-rate curve will return to a more normal pattern, eliminating the inversion that’s persisted even after the Fed stopped raising interest rates.
The one-time king of the bond world said on social media X that he’s buying September 2024 contracts tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate and selling the September 2025 one.
Meantime, the Fed said US banks reported stricter credit standards in the fourth quarter, although the proportion of those tightening standards shrank from the prior period, according to the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices — known as SLOOS.
The report suggests the severe credit crunch feared in the wake of the collapse of four regional lenders last year hasn’t materialized. While high borrowing costs have more broadly weighed on households as the Fed has lifted interest rates to a two-decade high, the economy has remained resilient.
“Overall the survey is not indicative of monetary conditions that would indicate a central bank that has kept rates too high for too long, even if it does show a cooling from the very loose conditions that prevailed a couple of years ago,” said Michael Shaoul at Marketfield Asset Management.
With the S&P 500 coming off its best stretch in nearly four decades, the road gets tougher for investors as the calendar flipped to February.
It’s the third-worst month for the gauge in the past 30 years, behind September and August, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
After a torrid rally of almost 20% since October that took the S&P 500 to its first records in two years, there’s ample reason for concern: Artificial-intelligence hype came in for a reality check with the latest batch of big-tech earnings;
fevered speculation that the Fed would start easing next month has gone cold; and valuations remain elevated relative to history, evoking memories of the dot-com bubble for some strategists.
“It’s worth asking ourselves, have we priced in a little too much good news, at least in the near term?” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide. “Over the last two years, and especially during election years, this point on the calendar – February through March – tends to take a dip. Coupled with elevated sentiment and positioning, I expect to see a sideways to slightly negative move over the next 6-8 weeks as we get through seasonal choppiness.”
“After that, my longer-term outlook for the year remains positive,” he added.
Corporate Highlights:
* Boeing Co. found more mistakes with holes drilled in the fuselage of its 737 Max jet, a setback that could further slow deliveries on a critical program already restricted by regulators over quality lapses.
* Caterpillar Inc., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of heavy machinery, batted away concerns of a global economic slowdown after reporting higher fourth-quarter sales in its energy and transportation business, which helped it to post profit that topped analysts’ expectations.
* The US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan has launched an investigation into the accounting practices at Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
* McDonald’s Corp.’s sales missed investor expectations in the fourth quarter as growth decelerated, hurt in part by the conflict in the Middle East.
* Tyson Foods Inc. posted quarterly earnings that beat even the highest of analysts’ estimates.
* Snap Inc. is reducing its workforce by roughly 10% worldwide, joining the chorus of technology companies that have announced fresh rounds of cuts in 2024.
* Estée Lauder Cos. said it’s cutting as many as 3,000 positions as part of a restructuring plan to put one of the world’s largest beauty companies back on track.

Key events this week:
* Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate decision, Tuesday
* Eurozone retail sales, Tuesday
* Germany factory orders, Tuesday
* UBS earnings, Tuesday
* Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem speaks, Tuesday
* Fed’s Loretta Mester and Patrick Harker speak, Tuesday
* Germany industrial production, Wednesday
* Walt Disney earnings, Wednesday
* Fed’s Adriana Kugler and Tom Barkin speak, Wednesday
* China PPI, CPI, Thursday
* US wholesale inventories, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at a Senate banking committee hearing on the Financial Stability Oversight Council annual report, Thursday
* Pharma CEOs speak at a Senate panel on prescription drug prices, Thursday
* ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane speaks, Thursday
* ECB publishes economic bulletin, Thursday
* US CPI revisions, Friday
* Germany CPI, Friday
* President Joe Biden hosts German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.0742
* The British pound fell 0.8% to $1.2536
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 148.66 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $42,361.51
* Ether fell 0.4% to $2,289.39
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 14 basis points to 4.16%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 2.32%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced nine basis points to 4.01%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.7% to $72.82 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.7% to $2,024.86 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jessica Menton, Elena Popina, Kasia Klimasinska, Reade Pickert and Alexandra Semenova.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Something will turn up. -Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.   Imbolc: Wiccan Feast of Torches.   Candlemas.  Groundhog Day.

February 2, 1852: The first ever public toilet is opened in London.  Using the “Public Waiting Room” at 95 Fleet Street cost 2 pence (£3.50 in today’s money).
On Feb. 2, 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.  Go to article >>

Today is Groundhog Day, and legend has it that if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we’re in for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, we get to bask in an early spring. The bizarre tradition that dates back to 1887 also draws passionate crowds in the US — even though Phil’s accuracy rate is far from perfect.

James Joyce, b. 1882.
Ayn Rand, b. 1905.
W.H. Auden, b.1907.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX could launch a private moon lander within weeks
Riding aboard a SpaceX rocket, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander is expected to lift off in mid-February, though the target window has not yet been announced. Read More.

‘Roots’ of Colombian mountains ‘dripped’ into the mantle millions of years ago — but the peaks still stand tall
Earth’s crust once formed a dense “root” supporting Colombia’s northern Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, but new research suggests this prop sank into the mantle millions of years ago. Read More.

2,000-year-old ‘bog body’ of teenager with missing skull discovered in Northern Ireland
The well-preserved skeleton still has portions of its fingernails and skin intact. Read More.

The Grammy Awards take place on Sunday
Among several musical appearances, Tracy Chapman will perform with Luke Combs, who is nominated in the best country solo performance category for his cover of Chapman’s timeless 1988 hit “Fast Car.”

Amazon launches AI shopping assistant
The e-commerce giant unveiled an AI shopping assistant dubbed “Rufus.” Here’s when it will roll out to US customers. 

See new Webb telescope images
These “mind-blowing” images reveal 19 galaxies “down to the smallest scales ever observed,” scientists say. 

Spotify tattoos: What you should know about the body art fad
Some devout music fans are getting Spotify tattoos that play songs when scanned. Artists are drawing attention to the possible risks.

Late Night:
One new poll shows President Biden leading former President Donald Trump 50 percent to 44 percent.
“I don’t know just how Joe did it, but political analysts think it may be his strategy of standing still while his opponent repeatedly quotes Hitler,” Stephen Colbert said on Thursday.

“Trump can’t understand why he’s losing the female vote. He was like, ‘No one has paid off more women than me.’” — JIMMY FALLON

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
A kingfisher perches on a frosty firethorn branch in Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
Photograph: Mediadrumimages/Jock Elliott
North Woodstock, New Hampshire, US
People explore the ice walls, trails and caverns at Ice Castles, created by Brent Christensen who crafted his first icy creation in the front yard of his home to bring happiness and joy to his children
Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images
Zubieta, Spain
A group of Joaldunak called Zanpantzar take part in the carnival between the Pyrenees villages of Ituren and Zubieta. In one of the most ancient carnivals in Europe, dating from before the Roman empire, companies of Joaldunak (cowbell wearers) parade the streets costumed in sandals, lace petticoats, sheepskins, coloured neckerchiefs, conical caps and a hyssop of horsehair in their right hands.
Photograph: Álvaro Barrientos/AP
Market Closes for February 2^nd, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38654.42	+134.58
		+0.35%
S&P 500	4958.61	+52.42
		+1.07%
NASDAQ	15628.95	+267.31
		+1.74%
TSX	21085.09	-34.12
		-0.16%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	36158.02	+146.56
		+0.41%
HANG SENG	15533.56	-32.65
		-0.21%
SENSEX	72085.63	+440.33
		+0.61%
FTSE 100*	7615.54	-6.62
		-0.09%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.380	3.270
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.287	3.220
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.0199	3.8784
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2205	4.1190

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7427	0.7475
US $	1.3464	1.3379

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4552	0.6872
US $	1.0808	0.9253

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2045.85	2053.25
Oil
WTI Crude Future	72.28	75.85

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1869, the first warning signs of that year’s financial panic appeared: A New York newspaper reported that an IRS auditor had discovered that trustees of several city churches had taken $2 million in ecclesiastical trust funds and used them to speculate in stocks.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2% at 21,085.09 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.5%.
Today, energy stocks led the market lower, as 8 of 11 sectors lost; 158 of 225 shares fell, while 66 rose.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.4%. Interfor Corp. had the largestdrop, falling 4.3%.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 1.7% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.8% below its 52-week high on Jan. 31, 2024 and 12.8% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.5 on a trailing basis and 15.5 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$3.34t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.02% compared with 8.81% in the previous session and the average of 10.46% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -63.6601| -1.8| 2/39
Materials | -42.1946| -1.9| 5/47
Communication Services | -12.9741| -1.6| 1/4
Utilities | -5.1195| -0.6| 3/12
Financials | -3.8768| -0.1| 12/15
Real Estate | -2.5344| -0.5| 5/15
Consumer Staples | -2.2620| -0.2| 6/5
Health Care | -0.4250| -0.7| 1/3
Consumer Discretionary | 2.2925| 0.3| 7/6
Industrials | 13.7973| 0.5| 17/9
Information Technology | 82.8543| 4.3| 7/3
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Natural Resources | -21.6700| -3.4| 16.1| -6.0
BCE | -9.5050| -2.7| 83.4| 2.0
Agnico Eagle Mines | -8.0510| -3.4| 55.7| -9.9
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 4.6910| 0.7| -17.6| 6.9
Constellation Software | 5.9470| 1.2| -19.5| 15.4
Shopify | 75.0800| 8.7| 50.7| 8.2
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The stock market extended this week’s gains as big tech rallied and a solid jobs report bolstered the outlook for corporate profits.
Equities hit all-time highs, with the S&P 500 approaching 5,000 and the Nasdaq 100 up 1.7% on bullish outlooks from Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Economic optimism outweighed bets the Federal Reserve will be in no rush to cut rates.
Treasury two-year yields jumped 16 basis points to 4.36%. The dollar climbed to its strongest since December.
“Today’s jobs report calls into question the narrative of a ‘soft landing’,” said David Donabedian at CIBC Private Wealth US. “The January jobs report was pretty dramatic, implying there may be ‘no landing.’ The economy is ripping ahead.”
To Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research, strong growth in labor productivity means unit labor costs are under control — which is a good backdrop for company earnings. “It’s hard to get too bearish” with such economic resilience, said Bret Kenwell at eToro. Larry Tentarelli at Blue Chip Daily Trend Report sees the data as “a very bullish sign for the economy” — adding that “we are buyers on any short-term weakness in stocks.”
“Just as many were caught off guard by the recession that never appeared in 2023, there’s always the possibility that another year will go by without a recession,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Independent Advisor Alliance. Nonfarm payrolls surged 353,000 last month following upward revisions to the prior two months. The unemployment rate held at 3.7%. Hourly wages accelerated from a month earlier, increasing by the most since March 2022. Separate data showed US consumer sentiment increased sharply.
While signs of a strong economy may continue to bode well for Corporate America, the data just reinforce the view that the Fed will delay the start of its rate cuts.
“I think we can officially kiss a March rate-cut goodbye — and more than likely a May,” said Alex McGrath at NorthEnd Private Wealth.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said she expects inflation to fall further with interest rates held at their current level — but noted it’s too soon for officials to consider cutting rates.
Swap contracts referencing the March Fed meeting date cut the odds of a quarter-point rate cut in half, to about 15% —while the May contract no longer fully priced in a cut, which it had for more than a month.
“A March rate cut now appears increasingly unlikely,” said Jason Pride at Glenmede. “The more likely trajectory is 2-3 cuts this year beginning around summer.” Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management says that it wasn’t just a strong January for the labor market. It turns out that previous months were stronger than initially believed.
“The dramatic upside surprise to both jobs and wage growth means that a March rate cut must be off the table now, and a May cut is also now potentially on ice,” she noted. Following Wednesday’s Fed decision, Chair Jerome Powell said that a cut is unlikely to come at the next gathering in March. He’ll will appear on CBS News’s 60 Minutes this Sunday to discuss inflation risks, expected rate cuts and the banking system, among other topics, the network said. Powell’s pushback on the Fed being ready to cut rates in
March now looks particularly “well timed,” according to Tiffany Wilding at Pacific Investment Management Co. To Richard Flynn at Charles Schwab, Friday’s figures may be another factor delaying the Fed’s first rate cut closer to summer, but if the economy maintains its comfortable trajectory, that might not be a bad thing.  “What’s the hurry?” he asks.
The strong market gains remain at nearly unprecedented levels — with shifting expectations on the Fed outlook “unable to crack the momentum,” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
“Investors remaining on the sidelines are beginning to capitulate, which when paired with the return of share repurchases following earnings season, should act as a tailwind for markets,” Hackett noted.
Equities powered ahead Friday, led by a rally in megacaps that have driven the market surge from the bottom.
Meta, which dazzled shareholders with yet another impressive earnings report, soared 20% to a record. The surge added $197 billion to its market capitalization, the biggest single-session value addition, eclipsing the $190 billion gains made by Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. in 2022.
The rush into technology stocks is resembling the dot-com era, reflecting an assumption that the economy will perform strongly despite tighter monetary policy, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett. He notes that 75% of investors expect a soft landing and 20% a no-landing scenario. Yet, while a soft landing should support a broader range of equities, the so-called Magnificent Seven accounted for 45% of the S&P 500’s return in January, reflecting a “leaning toward no landing/bubble,” he said.
In other corporate news, Apple Inc. trimmed its slide as investors looked past a deepening slump in its China business. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. surpassed earnings forecasts as bigger-than-expected oil output from shale fields helped cushion the blow from weakening crude prices. A gauge of regional banks rebounded after a two-day rout.
Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.6%
* The euro fell 0.7% to $1.0793
* The British pound fell 0.8% to $1.2637
* The Japanese yen fell 1.3% to 148.30 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $42,945.79
* Ether fell 0.3% to $2,297.85
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 14 basis points to 4.02%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced nine basis points to 2.24%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 17 basis points to 3.92%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.3% to $72.14 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.9% to $2,036.72 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Michael Mackenzie, Subrat Patnaik and Carter Johnson.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: On Jan. 31, 1865, the House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery.  Congress passes, by vote of 121-24, the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, abolishing slavery in the US.  Go to article >>   Explorer I Space Satellite launched 1958. Franz Schubert, composer, b. 1797. Kate Hudson pivots from acting to a new career in music The Oscar-nominated actress released her debut single, “Talk About Love.” Listen to a clip here. Astronomers discover strange new type of star hidden in the center of our galaxy These giant stars located near the heart of the Milky Way galaxy are being referred to as “old smokers.” Bob Odenkirk better call King Charles. As it turns out, they are related The star of the hit show “Better Call Saul” was royally amused to find out he has a famous relative. FDA updates its oversight on cosmetic products The FDA is once again assessing the use of “forever chemicals” in cosmetics. Learn how some widely used chemicals can linger in the human body.  A man’s cold weather experiments go viral A Canadian man is using the cold temperatures to create odd frozen things! Watch the video here. Nearly 400 ancient medical tools from Turkey hint at rare Roman doctors’ offices Medical instruments dating to the Roman era may be evidence of a “group practice” run by health care workers.  Full Story: Live Science (1/29). ‘Mind-blowing’ James Webb telescope images reveal 19 spiral galaxies in the greatest detail ever seen New images from the James Webb telescope images show Milky Way-like spiral galaxies in more intricate detail than has ever been seen before. Read More. 1 of Sweden’s oldest stone tombs is mysteriously missing skulls A 5,500-year-old Neolithic tomb in Sweden contains the remains of at least 12 people, but many of their skulls and long bones are missing. Read More. PHOTOS OF THE DAY Shetland, Scotland Members of the Up Helly Aa Jarl Squad set fire to a ship during a parade through the streets in Lerwick. The festival celebrates the influence of the Scandinavian Vikings Photograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images London, UK Visitors at the opening night of LIFE, an immersive light and sound experience created by the British installation artist Peter Walker, at St Martin-in-the-Fields church Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images Sharaan, Saudi Arabia The peloton passing through a rocky landscape during the 4th Alula Tour 2024, from Alula winter park to Sharaan nature reserve Photograph: Alex Broadway/Getty Images Market Closes for January 31st, 2024 Market Index  Close  Change  Dow Jones 38150.30 -317.01 -0.82% S&P 500  4845.65 -79.32 -1.61% NASDAQ  15164.01   -345.89 -2.23% TSX  21021.88 -205.99 -0.97% International Markets Market Index  Close  Change  NIKKEI  36073.95 -212.76 -0.59% HANG SENG 15485.07 -218.38 -1.39% SENSEX  71752.11   +612.21 +0.86% FTSE 100* 7630.57 -35.74 -0.47% Bonds Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield CND. 10 Year Bond  3.322 3.408 CND. 30 Year Bond  3.255 3.326 U.S.    10 Year Bond 3.9312 4.0357 U.S. 30 Year Bond 4.1773 4.2565 Currencies BOC Close  Today  Previous   Canadian $   0.7449 0.7460 US $    1.3425 1.3404 Euro Rate 1 Euro=  Inverse    Canadian $   1.4516 0.6889 US $    1.0813 0.9248 Commodities Gold Close  Previous   London Gold Fix  2043.05 2022.50 Oil WTI Crude Future  75.85 77.82 Market Commentary: 📈 On this day in 1940, the first monthly Social Security check was issued to Ida May Fuller, a retired legal secretary in Ludlow, Vt. Fuller had paid $24.75 in Social Security taxes in the previous three years—and by her death in 1975, had collected $22,888.92 in benefits. Canada By Bloomberg Automation (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1% at 21,021.88 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 1.2% on Jan. 17 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.1%. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.5%. Lithium Americas Argentina Corp. had the largest drop, falling 6.4%. Today, 187 of 225 shares fell, while 37 rose; all sectors were lower, led by financials stocks. Insights * This month, the index rose 0.3% * The index advanced 1.2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18% in the same period * The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 12.5% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023 * The S&P/TSX Composite is unchanged in the past 5 days and rose 0.3% in the past 30 days * S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.7 on a trailing basis and 15.5 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$3.36t * 30-day price volatility rose to 9.23% compared with 8.71% in the previous session and the average of 10.64% over the past month ================================================================ | Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec ================================================================ Financials | -72.5280| -1.1| 5/22 Energy | -35.6358| -1.0| 3/38 Information Technology | -33.7988| -1.7| 2/8 Materials | -19.5981| -0.9| 10/41 Utilities | -10.0861| -1.2| 2/13 Consumer Staples | -9.0363| -1.0| 3/8 Consumer Discretionary | -7.0516| -0.9| 1/12 Communication Services | -6.4387| -0.8| 1/4 Industrials | -6.3074| -0.2| 5/21 Real Estate | -4.2031| -0.8| 4/17 Health Care | -1.3014| -2.1| 1/3 ================================================================ | | |Volume VS| YTD |Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%) ================================================================ Shopify | -22.7500| -2.5| 36.4| 4.3 RBC | -18.4400| -1.4| -43.5| -2.1 Brookfield Corp | -15.2000| -2.8| 16.0| 0.4 Celestica | 1.5780| 4.3| 209.8| 19.1 CGI Inc | 1.9870| 0.9| 213.4| 6.1 Canadian Pacific Kansas | 11.8600| 1.7| 121.2| 3.2 US By Rita Nazareth (Bloomberg) — Stocks saw their biggest decline since September after Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve wants to keep its options open instead of rushing to cut interest rates. Speaking after the January Fed decision, Powell said he doesn’t think it’s likely the central bank will ease policy in March. In a sign that officials are not in a hurry to lower rates, the central bank also said it “does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.” “If stock bulls expected a rate cut in March, Powell seems to have closed the door on that,” said Oscar Munoz at TD Securities. The S&P 500 fell 1.6%. Losses were led by big tech — the group that has powered the bull-market run. Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. slumped after disappointing investors betting that an artificial-intelligence bonanza would quickly fuel results. After the close, Qualcomm Inc. gave a revenue forecast that was in line with estimates. Treasuries remained higher as fresh concerns about regional lenders added to economic worries after New York Community Bancorp’s surprise loss. More Comments on Fed: * Alan Ruskin at Deutsche Bank:  “Phewww we got there in the end. Powell made everyone sweat, but it is pretty clear now where the Fed stands on March.” * Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research:  “Oh brother. What exactly does ‘greater confidence’ mean?  Just feels like a bunch of nonsense to get the hawks to come to a consensus.” * Greg McBride at Bankrate:  “The Federal Reserve is getting closer to the first interest rate cut, but we’re not there yet. Inflation has come down faster than anticipated, but whether or not this can be sustained is central to the Fed’s decision about when to begin cutting interest rates. The Fed is certainly pushing back on the notion of a March interest rate cut, dashing investors’ hopes again, but keeping options open and remaining non-committal as a central bank does.”  “Interest rates took the elevator going up — but are going to take the stairs coming down.” * Whitney Watson at Goldman Sachs Asset Management:  “With steady economic growth, it is expected that policymakers will wait for more evidence of a sustained downtrend in inflation before making any changes. For investors, now is the time to secure attractive yields on high-quality bonds to earn attractive income and position for rate relief as central bank policy rates look set to end the year lower for the first time in two years.” * Chris Zaccarelli at Independent Advisor Alliance:  “The Fed today officially acknowledged that they would like to lower rates in the near future, but have not yet given an indication of how soon they will begin the rate cutting process.  Given that the Fed is planning to be higher for longer – but it’s not a matter of if, but when, they will be cutting rates – we believe the path of the stock market is higher. Ultimately, a recession or collapse in corporate earnings could derail the market, but in the absence of that, the path of least resistance is higher.” * Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley:  “Although the Fed softened some of its hawkish language, they also suggested it wasn’t yet clear that inflation was entirely under control. As usual, they said they’d let the economic data dictate their course. For a while, the debate has been whether the market is too optimistic about a March rate cut. Inflation has been a little stickier than expected lately, and the labor market has mostly continued to surprise to the upside.” Data Wednesday showed a broad gauge of US labor costs cooled by more than forecast in a fresh sign of easing inflation pressures that give Fed officials room to cut interest rates this year. A separate report from the ADP Research Institute showed companies added a smaller-than-expected 107,000 jobs in January, and worker pay growth slowed. The market has been too quick to dismiss the threat posed by inflation after a “miraculous” decline toward central bank targets, said Greg Peters at PGIM Fixed Income. He’s worried that the hardest part of the fight against inflation is still ahead, implying plenty more market volatility and a potential wake-up call for bondholders betting on deep interest-rate cuts this year. To Mark Hackett at Nationwide, the market is at critical crossroads as the strong momentum experienced since October is balanced against elevated expectations and sluggish earnings results. Despite Wednesday’s losses, the S&P 500 capped its third straight monthly advance. As goes January, so goes the year. That’s the theory of a phenomenon known as the “January Barometer” — Wall Street folklore positing that if stocks rise in January, they’ll be poised to finish the year higher, and vice versa. Since 1938, the January Barometer has been right about 74% of the time, with the next 11 months higher 67% of the time, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. One of Wall Street’s most prominent bears is now expecting gains in the US equity market to broaden into less loved corners than the big tech companies that have dominated the rally so far. Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson, who stuck with his prediction of a stock market decline last year while the S&P 500 Index surged 24%, sees opportunities in names outside the so-called Magnificent 7 companies that have powered equity gains through much of 2023. He’s urging investors to buy high-quality, growth names that can generate pricing power. “In the stock world, I think once again, it’s going to be idiosyncratic — I don’t think it’s going to be as narrow as last year,” Wilson said Tuesday afternoon at the iConnections Global Alts conference in Miami Beach. “The big index is full, it’s priced. For all intents and purposes, the value is not there.  The value is underneath the market.” Meantime, the US Treasury boosted the size of its quarterly issuance of longer-term debt for a third straight time, and suggested that no more increases are likely until next year. Relief from further boosts to auction sizes for longer-term securities may help support demand for Treasuries. Investors for several months now have been particularly sensitive to news on the overall supply of federal debt, at a time when the Fed has been steadily shrinking its own holdings of US securities. “The February refunding came as a relief for markets as Treasury suggested the end of auction size increases starting in May,” said Gennadiy Goldberg at TD Securities. “However, there will be lots of duration supply hitting the market this year and Treasuries may continue to come under some pressure if economic data remains strong.” Corporate Highlights * Boeing Co. declined to issue a financial forecast for 2024, breaking a tradition of providing guidance as it deals with a string of quality slips that culminated in a near-catastrophic panel blowout on a 737 Max. * Mastercard Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts’ forecasts even as operating expenses grew more than analysts expected. * Biogen Inc. will stop studying and selling the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, capping years of debate over its efficacy and disappointment as it failed to meet commercial expectations. * Health insurer Cigna Group agreed to sell its Medicare business to Health Care Service Corp. for $3.3 billion, the companies announced in a statement Wednesday. * Saudi Arabia is considering plans to revive a follow-on offering in Aramco as soon as February, in a multibillion-dollar deal that’s likely to rank among the biggest share sales in recent years, according to people familiar with the matter. Key events this week:  * China Caixin manufacturing PMI, Thursday * Eurozone S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Thursday * US productivity, construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, initial jobless claims, Thursday * Apple, Amazon, Meta, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas earnings, Thursday * Bank of England interest rate decision, Thursday * US employment report, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, factory orders, Friday Some of the main moves in markets: Stocks * The S&P 500 fell 1.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time * The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.9% * The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% * The MSCI World index fell 1.1% Currencies * The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2% * The euro fell 0.4% to $1.0807 * The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2674 * The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 147.16 per dollar Cryptocurrencies * Bitcoin fell 2.3% to $42,540.76 * Ether fell 3.9% to $2,287.38 Bonds * The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined nine basis points to 3.94% * Germany’s 10-year yield declined 10 basis points to 2.17% * Britain’s 10-year yield declined 11 basis points to 3.79% Commodities * West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.6% to $75.76 a barrel * Spot gold fell 0.1% to $2,034.33 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation. –With assistance from Jessica Menton, Emily Graffeo, Jackie Davalos, Ian King and Isabelle Lee. Have a lovely evening. Be magnificent! As ever, Carolann You have power over your mind – not outside events.  Realize this, and you will find strength.  -Marcus Aurelius, 121 AD-180 AD 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

Dear Friends, Tangents:  January 30th, 1948: Mahatma Gandhi assassinated. January 30, 1968: The Tet offensive began as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals.  Go to article >> January 30th, 1972: Bloody Sunday, Northern Ireland. 1975: Erno Rubik applies for a  patent for his “Magic Cube” invention, later to be known as a Rubik’s cube. Franklin D. Roosevelt, b. 1882. Joni Mitchell to perform at Grammy Awards for first time at age 80. There’s a first time for everything! Legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell will make her debut as a Grammy performer on Sunday at age 80. Researchers report first sighting of newborn great white shark Drone footage shot off the coast of Southern California may have enabled the first sighting of a newborn great white shark in the wild. Stolen painting returned to rightful owner after more than 50 years A painting that is older than the US Constitution was returned to its owner more than 50 years after being stolen by mobsters, according to the FBI.  $9,800:  That’s the average ticket price for the upcoming Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, according to TickPick. These staggering prices will make the February 11 game the most expensive Super Bowl on record. PHOTOS OF THE DAY San Sebastián, Spain Two women surf at San Sebastián in the Basque Country during a period of unusually high winter temperatures Photograph: Javier Etxezarreta/EPA Gangwon, South Korea Shimada Mao of Japan on her way to winning the women’s figure skating gold medal at the Winter Youth Olympic Games at the Gangneung Ice Arena Photograph: Joel Marklund for OIS/IOC/EPA Share on FacebookShare on Twitter The Great Hall, one of the highlights inside Rochdale town hall Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian Market Closes for January 30th, 2024 Market Index  Close  Change  Dow Jones 38467.31 +133.86 +0.35% S&P 500  4924.97 -2.96 -0.06% NASDAQ  15509.90   -118.14 -0.76% TSX  21227.87 +27.81 +0.13% International Markets Market Index  Close  Change  NIKKEI  35760.92 -304.94 -0.85% HANG SENG 15703.45 -373.79 -2.33% SENSEX  71139.90   -801.67 -1.11% FTSE 100* 7666.31 +33.57 +0.44% Bonds Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield CND. 10 Year Bond  3.408 3.450 CND. 30 Year Bond  3.326 3.396 U.S.    10 Year Bond 4.0357 4.0740 U.S. 30 Year Bond 4.2565 4.3087 Currencies BOC Close  Today  Previous   Canadian $   0.7460 0.7458 US $    1.3404 1.3408 Euro Rate 1 Euro=  Inverse    Canadian $   1.4533 0.6881 US $    1.0842 0.9224 Commodities Gold Close  Previous   London Gold Fix  2022.50 2018.45 Oil WTI Crude Future  77.82 76.78 Market Commentary: 📈 On this day in 2000, 17 dot-com companies each spent $73,000 per second for network television ads—a total of nearly $38 million—during Super Bowl XXXIV. By the time of the next Super Bowl, the bubble had burst, and several of those companies had gone into Chapter 11. Canada By Bloomberg Automation (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.1%, or 27.81 to 21,227.87 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level in at least a year. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.7%. Filo Corp. had the largest increase, rising 9.1%. Today, 111 of 225 shares rose, while 111 fell; 4 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks. Insights * This month, the index rose 1.3% * The index advanced 3.2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22% in the same period * The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 13.6% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023 * The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.9% in the past 5 days and rose 1.3% in the past 30 days * S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.7 on a trailing basis and 15.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year * The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis * S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.36t * 30-day price volatility fell to 8.71% compared with 9.57% in the previous session and the average of 10.71% over the past month ================================================================ |Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec ================================================================ Energy | 39.1882| 1.1| 32/9 Financials | 10.5009| 0.2| 15/10 Industrials | 7.7490| 0.3| 14/12 Utilities | 0.5806| 0.1| 8/7 Consumer Discretionary | -0.5765| -0.1| 6/7 Health Care | -0.7292| -1.2| 2/2 Consumer Staples | -1.8503| -0.2| 3/7 Real Estate | -4.5412| -0.9| 6/15 Materials | -6.3060| -0.3| 21/31 Communication Services | -6.9745| -0.9| 1/4 Information Technology | -9.2297| -0.5| 3/7 ================================================================ | | |Volume VS| YTD |Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%) ================================================================ Canadian Natural Resources | 10.9900| 1.7| 9.2| 0.3 Suncor Energy | 9.2370| 2.3| -34.8| 5.9 Manulife Financial | 5.7030| 1.5| 47.3| 1.7 Bank of Montreal | -3.0250| -0.5| 23.8| -2.0 BCE | -3.2540| -0.9| 13.7| 4.7 Shopify | -14.3300| -1.5| -10.4| 7.0 US By Rita Nazareth (Bloomberg) — A $246 billion exchange-traded fund tracking the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) dropped in late trading as results from Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. sank two of the tech behemoths that have powered the rally in stocks. Alphabet reported fourth-quarter revenue from its core search advertising business that fell short of analysts’ estimates, overshadowing an otherwise strong end to the year. Microsoft’s cloud growth disappointed some on Wall Street — even as the company posted its strongest revenue growth since 2022, spurred by interest in new artificial intelligence products. Equities struggled for solid footing in regular trading, with traders also sifting through a batch of economic data and awaiting the Federal Reserve rate decision. Wall Street had to digest a hotter-than-estimated reading on job openings, which left investors guessing what Jerome Powell will say Wednesday as the market further trimmed bets on a March Fed cut. “Tomorrow may be significant for markets as the cross-currents of big-tech earnings, the ADP jobs report, the distribution of Treasury issuance, and Powell comments meet at a critical juncture,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.  “I’m expecting Powell to take some rate cuts off the table by perhaps even calling the current projections aggressive.” The S&P 500 was little changed, while the Nasdaq 100 underperformed, with Apple Inc. leading losses in mega-caps. Traders also waded through results from an economic barometer — United Parcel Service Inc. — which tumbled on a disappointing outlook. The courier plans to cut 12,000 jobs. Financial shares gained after a bullish analyst call on major US banks. Treasury two-year yields rose four basis points to 4.36%. Ten-year yields fell two basis points to 4.05%. A survey conducted by 22V Research shows 38% of respondents expect Wednesday’s Fed meeting/presser to be “risk-on,” 39% are betting on a mixed or negligible reaction and only 23% said “risk-off.” On aggregate, investors are paying more attention to payrolls (59%) than the Fed (41%) this week, according to the tally. Swap contracts referencing the March Fed meeting date — the next one after this week’s — now show about a third of a 25-basis-point drop. Late last year, a quarter-point cut in March was completely priced in, reflecting expectations for labor-market cooling that have failed to materialize. US job openings unexpectedly rose in December to the highest level in three months while fewer Americans quit their jobs. Tuesday’s data kicks off a slew of releases that will offer insights into the state of the labor market. A report due Wednesday is forecast to point to easing employment costs at the end of 2023, while the government’s jobs report Friday is projected to show US employers added around 185,000 positions in January. “The job market holds the keys to future Fed policy,” said Jeffrey Roach at LPL Financial. “In addition to the solid job market, uncertainty over the impact from Red Sea shipping disruption adds pressure to the Fed as they prepare markets for rate cuts.” Separate data showed US consumer confidence increased in January to the highest level since the end of 2021 as Americans grew more upbeat about the economy and the job market amid more sanguine views about inflation. “For the Federal Reserve — as most data releases are now interpreted through the lens of the Fed — concern is centered on whether a more confident consumer could ignite another bout of inflation,” said Quincy Krosby at LPL Financial. “Still, consumer confidence is key to whether the economic landscape remains robust helping to ensure a soft landing.” As valuations have improved meaningfully during the “Fed pivot rally,” there’s now considerable risk of volatility, according to Lauren Goodwin at New York Life Investments.  “But if 2023 taught investors anything, it’s that timing the market is incredibly difficult, and sitting it out even when investors call for recession or volatility is not likely to be the best allocation approach,” she noted. “As a result, we believe investors will have to be increasingly focused on quality and yield.” Jonathan Krinsky at BTIG noted that a basket of 50 companies that “matter most” to hedge funds is about as extended on a daily basis as it’s been over the last two decades. Many of these holdings are semiconductors, mega-cap tech and communication services, he noted. The gauge’s Relative Strength Index is close to 81 — seen by many chartists as a sign of an overbought market. “As we enter the heart of EPS season along with a significant amount of macro, we would be cautious in chasing extended names here as the risk of an unwind, either during or after these events, remains quite high in our view,” Krinsky noted. The dominance of the 10 biggest stocks is increasingly drawing similarities with the dot-com bubble, raising the risk of a selloff, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. quantitative  strategists. The share of the top 10 stocks on the MSCI USA Index, including all of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks, has risen to 29.3% by the end of December, the strategists wrote. That’s just moderately below the historical peak share of 33.2%, which occurred in June 2000. Furthermore, only four sectors are represented in the top 10, compared to the historical median of six, the strategists said. Besides Microsoft and Alphabet, three other big tech companies with a combined market value of more than $10 trillion report results this week. Those firms, along with the other members of Magnificent Seven, carry an about 34% premium to the S&P 500 in terms of forward price-to-earnings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “If we don’t get any shockingly negative news from the large-cap tech earnings this week and (especially) if the Fed sticks with its current (much more) dovish rhetoric, it’s going to give investors the kind of green light that could push the stock market higher into February —just like the market rallied strongly into February in 2020,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak + Co. Corporate Highlights: * PayPal Holdings Inc. will reduce its workforce by about 9% as Chief Executive Officer Alex Chriss, who took over in September, grapples with rising competition, profit pressures and a raft of analyst downgrades. * Whirlpool Corp., the owner of the Maytag and KitchenAid brands, projects 2024 sales will be weaker than Wall Street expectations as consumers forgo appliance upgrades. * Activist investor Nelson Peltz believes Walt Disney Co. can achieve profitability in streaming by bundling its ESPN+ online service with a larger player interested in sports, such as Netflix Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. * Boeing Co. withdrew a request for a key safety exemption that would have helped speed approval of its coming 737 Max 7 aircraft, bending to rising pressure to prioritize safety in the wake of a near-catastrophe on one of its planes. * General Motors Co. beat Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter and expects profits this year to grow on improved sales as the US economy chugs along. * JetBlue Airways Corp. is evaluating deeper cost cuts, delaying aircraft and reworking its flight network in an effort to return to profitability in the wake of the near-collapse of its planned purchase of Spirit Airlines Inc. * Pfizer Inc. reported fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as the US government returned fewer doses of its Covid-19 treatment than predicted. Key events this week: * China non-manufacturing PMI, manufacturing PMI, Wednesday * Japan industrial production, retail sales, housing starts, Wednesday * Bank of Japan issues summary of opinions from January policy meeting, Wednesday * Boeing announces earnings amid US government safety probe, Wednesday * Federal Reserve interest rate decision and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference, Wednesday. * US Treasury quarterly refunding, Wednesday. * China Caixin manufacturing PMI, Thursday * Eurozone S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Thursday * US productivity, construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, initial jobless claims, Thursday * Apple, Amazon, Meta, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas earnings, Thursday * Bank of England interest rate decision, Thursday * US employment report, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, factory orders, Friday Some of the main moves in markets: Stocks * The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time * The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.7% * The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% * The MSCI World index was little changed Currencies * The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed * The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0844 * The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.2696 * The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.60 per dollar Cryptocurrencies * Bitcoin rose 0.9% to $43,565.51 * Ether rose 2.9% to $2,373.9 Bonds * The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.05% * Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.27% * Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.90% Commodities * West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.4% to $77.82 a barrel * Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,036.09 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation. –With assistance from Jessica Menton, Ryan Vlastelica, Elizabeth Stanton, Michael Mackenzie, Isabelle Lee and John Viljoen. Have a lovely evening. Be magnificent! As ever, Carolann A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. –Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945. 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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.
January 29^th, 1802: First celebration of Burns Night, in honor of poet Robert Burns’s birthday by The Mother Club in Greenock who later realized his actual birthday was January 25^th.
January 29, 1989: Dow jumps 38.06 recoups 508-pt loss since Oct 1987; index at 2,256.43  Go to article >>

Thomas Paine, b.1737.
Anton Chekov, b.1860.
W.C. Fields, b.1880.

NASA’s Perseverance rover may already have found signs of life on Mars, discovery of ancient lake sediments reveals
The discovery of an ancient lake bed beneath the Perseverance rover’s location on Mars could mean the robotic scout has already scraped up microbial fossils. But we won’t know for sure until we fetch the sample. Read More.

Even Stone Age people burned their porridge, 5,000-year-old food-scorched clay pot reveals
Thousands of years ago, a Neolithic person tried cooking porridge but ended up burning.  Read More.

1.6-billion-year-old fossils push back origin of multicellular life by tens of millions of years
Researchers uncovered fossils of multicellular eukaryotes that are over a billion years old. Read More.

Largest ever fully electric concept plane could take to the skies by 2033
The Elysian E9X is a 90-seater plane that can one day travel up to 620 miles — and it’s based on research that claims our previous assumptions on battery-electric aircraft were wrong. Read More.

Already broke your New Year’s diet resolution?
Many people make dietary New Year’s resolutions … and most struggle to stick with them. Here’s why you shouldn’t blame yourself.

A look back at ‘Entertaining,’ Martha Stewart’s first book
Before she was a style and food icon, Martha Stewart wrote a cookbook in 1982 that changed how people hosted parties. Some of its ideas hold up surprisingly well today.

5 reasons to be thrilled about this year’s Oscar nominations
Despite the notable Oscar snubs last week, there are still some nominees who could make history at this year’s show

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
London, UK
Two-year-old Damian is walked through some newly emerged daffodils in St James’s Park. This winter has been one of the warmest on record, with Kinlochewe in the Scottish Highlands reaching 19.6C over the weekend
Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Florida, US
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas. billed as the world’s largest cruise ship, sails from the Port of Miami on its maiden cruise
Photograph: Marco Bello/AFP/Getty Images
Venice, Italy
The pantegana (big rat) releases balloons near the Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal during the Venice carnival
Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
Market Closes for January 29^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	3833.45	+224.02
		+0.59%
S&P 500	4927.93	+36.96
		+0.76%
NASDAQ	15628.04	+172.68
		+1.12%
TSX	21200.06	+74.78
		+0.35%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	36165.32	+138.38
		+0.38%
HANG SENG	16077.24	+125.01
		+0.78%
SENSEX	71941.57	+1240.90
		+1.76%
FTSE 100*	71941.57	+1240.90
		+1.76%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.450	3.523
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.396	3.479
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.0740	4.1373
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3087	4.3688

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7458	0.7434
US $	1.3408	1.3452

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4528	0.6883
US $	1.0835	0.9229

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2018.45	2023.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	76.78	78.01

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1886, Karl Benz received a patent in Germany for his “motorwagen,” a frail and ungainly vehicle with three wheels and a wooden chassis. It was the world’s first automobile.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.4%, or 76.4 to 21,201.68 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level in at least a year.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.1%.
Ballard Power Systems Inc. had the largest increase, rising 4.5%.
Today, 123 of 225 shares rose, while 97 fell; 10 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Terminal users can read more in our markets live blog.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 1.2%
* The index advanced 2.4% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 13.4% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.3% in the past 5 days and rose 1.2% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.6 on a trailing basis and 15.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.35t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.57% compared with 9.73% in the previous session and the average of 10.81% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 34.1122| 1.8| 10/0
Financials | 12.8941| 0.2| 14/13
Industrials | 9.9361| 0.3| 13/12
Materials | 7.4500| 0.3| 29/22
Consumer Discretionary | 7.1846| 0.9| 9/4
Utilities | 6.0406| 0.7| 11/4
Real Estate | 4.8161| 1.0| 17/2
Consumer Staples | 4.5390| 0.5| 8/2
Communication Services | 3.8971| 0.5| 3/2
Health Care | 0.7683| 1.2| 3/1
Energy | -16.8724| -0.5| 6/35
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 19.8000| 2.1| 15.6| 8.6
Constellation Software | 8.9620| 1.8| -32.1| 14.5
TD Bank | 7.1570| 0.7| -46.3| -3.3
RBC | -2.7460| -0.2| 22.3| -1.0
Onex | -2.9810| -5.9| 8.0| 8.6
Canadian Natural Resources | -6.3640| -1.0| 7.8| -1.3
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street’s busy week kicked off with gains in both stocks and bonds, with the Treasury surprising several traders after cutting its quarterly borrowing estimate to $760 billion.
The news came a few days before the Treasury’s quarterly refunding announcement and drew investors’ attention amid all the concern about a widening budget deficit.
Treasury yields fell, lifting the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 up 1% ahead of results from five mega-caps that have a combined market value of more than $10 trillion.
Aside from the deluge of earnings this week, investors are also awaiting the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and a raft of data from consumer confidence to jobs.
“This week could be key,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley. “If the market is going to sustain its latest breakout, it may need to avoid earnings disappointments from this week’s big-tech lineup, get encouraging news from the Fed on interest rates, and see jobs numbers that are solid, but not too hot.”
The S&P 500 topped 4,900, with Tesla Inc. leading gains in mega-caps.
Amazon.com Inc. abandoned its planned $1.4 billion acquisition of iRobot Corp., sinking shares of the Roomba maker.
Treasury 10-year yields dropped seven basis points to 4.07%.
Oil  fell after last week’s rally pushed futures into over-bought territory.
At the same time, ample crude supplies outweighed military escalation in the Middle East.
This week also marks the busiest this season for earnings, with results from Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc.
As most of the mega-caps remain in record territory, there are concerns that investors are over- exposed to just a handful of stocks, which could open the door for some pain if quarterly results underwhelm.
The next few days will be crucial to determine whether stock valuations — particularly those of mega-cap US technology companies — are sustainable given that investors are pricing in significant earnings growth expectations in anticipation of rate cuts coming sooner than Fed officials project, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Marko Kolanovic.
“The 800-pound gorillas all report this week,” said Paul Nolte at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management. “Expect to see some market volatility around those earnings.
Combined with a Fed meeting, this week could be a wild ride as we head into February.”
After a bit of a rocky start to the year, the S&P 500 went on to cap a third straight weekly advance — and is now up almost 20% since late October.
In the week through Jan. 23, a ratio of bulls to bears identified in an Investors Intelligence survey of newsletter writers was hovering at the highest since 2021, when stocks neared a prior peak before the 2022 bear market, Yardeni
Research analysis shows.
Another signal of elevated bullishness was evident in a weekly survey of retail investors by the American Association of Individual Investors.
Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott is on the watch for further “profit-taking” or “consolidation” in leadership areas — which remain overbought on a short-term basis, according to him.
From a fundamental standpoint, economic data in the US continues pointing to a benign backdrop for markets, according to Mark Haefele at UBS Global Wealth Management.
He expects the Fed to feel comfortable cutting rates starting in May — though this will likely require further signs the economy is cooling off.
“In our view, stocks continue to price in an ‘immaculate everything’ scenario in which the Fed cuts deeply and the U.S. economy (at worst) glides down for a ‘soft landing’,” said Chris Senyek of Wolfe Research. “While we’re still not believers, our sense is that the Fed and economy are now ‘show me’ stories.”
Going into this week’s two-day Fed policy meeting, investors are assigning roughly even odds to the prospect that the central bank will start lowering borrowing costs at its next decision in March.
That makes Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, and any signal he may or may not choose to send, of critical importance.
It all comes down to how officials have been reading the recent spate of economic data.
On one hand, inflation numbers continue to surprise to the downside.
On the other, consumer spending continues to be surprisingly robust.
“The Fed could justifiably signal a March cut,” said Robert Teeter at Silvercrest Asset Management. “Nonetheless, we expect the Fed to back away from taking action in March, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for future cuts predicated on the removal of excessively restrictive rates.”
Underscoring the wait-and-see sentiment, a JPMorgan & Chase survey recently showed the percentage of investors who are neutral on the bond market has increased to the highest since April.
“We believe the odds of Fed rate cuts occurring in the first quarter of 2024 remain low, and that the much-anticipated policy pivot won’t begin until midyear,” said Saira Malik at Nuveen. “Still, with inflation falling and monetary policy
expectations recalibrating, we encourage investors to assess their taxable fixed-income portfolio allocations and to take advantage of opportunities we see across the asset class.”
Powell and his colleagues are expected to keep benchmark borrowing costs at a range between 5.25% and 5.5%.
They may also deliberate when to start slowing down the pace of balance-sheet unwinding — a process known as quantitative tightening.
“One potential wildcard comes in the form of the market’s response to any attempt on the part of the Fed to begin socializing the looming tapering of QT,” said Ian Lyngen and Ben Jeffery at BMO Capital Markets. “It’s bond bullish to be sure, although there is a strong argument that much of the potential for slower SOMA rollovers is already priced into the US rates market.”
Meantime, blue-chip firms have sold $188.57 billion of bonds in the US in January, setting a record for the month, as companies look to take advantage of drops in longer-term borrowing costs.
The sales broke the prior record for January of around $175 billion, set in 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.
And more sales are probably coming through the end of the month, Wall Street bond syndicate professionals said.
And dollar bulls are coming back with a splash in the latest MLIV Pulse survey.
About 62% of respondents surveyed Jan. 22-26 expect the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index to gain over the next month.
That’s the highest reading since September of 2022.

Corporate Highlights:
* Whirlpool Corp., the owner of the Maytag and KitchenAid brands, projects 2024 sales will be weaker than Wall Street expectations as consumers forgo appliance upgrades.
* Bankrupt pharmacy chain Rite Aid Corp. hired liquidators at the request of company lenders even as the retailer continues negotiating with at least two potential buyers, a person familiar with the chain’s revival efforts said.
* SoFi Technologies Inc. reached profitability for the first time, taking the fintech one step closer to Chief Executive Officer Anthony Noto’s goal of turning the former anti-bank into a top 10 financial institution.
* Reddit Inc. is weighing feedback from early meetings with potential investors in its initial public offering that it should consider a valuation of at least $5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, even as it is estimated below that figure in the volatile market for shares of private companies.
* Bayer AG was ordered to pay about $2.3 billion to a former Roundup user who blamed the weed killer for his cancer.
* Renault SA scrapped plans to list its electric-vehicle business, reversing course due to a lack of appetite for share sales amid a slowdown in EV demand.
* Ryanair Holdings Plc said it would jump at the chance to grab any extra Boeing Co. 737 Max jet deliveries from airlines that don’t want them, lending support to the embattled US plane maker under fire for quality lapses after a mid-air panel blowout this month.
* Holcim Ltd., a Swiss cement maker, said it will spin off its North American unit into a separate US-listed entity, a move that could unlock a higher valuation for the business.
* BYD Co.’s earnings rose on back of soaring electric vehicle sales — but fell short of analyst expectations as a price war in China hit the bottom line.
* China Evergrande Group received a liquidation order from a Hong Kong court, setting off a daunting process to carve up the biggest casualty of a property crisis that’s upending the world’s second-largest economy.

Key events this week:
* Japan unemployment, Tuesday.
* Eurozone economic confidence, GDP, consumer confidence, Tuesday
* US Conf. Board consumer confidence, JOLTS jobs openings, Tuesday
* Microsoft, Alphabet earnings, Tuesday
* China non-manufacturing PMI, manufacturing PMI, Wednesday
* Japan industrial production, retail sales, housing starts, Wednesday
* Bank of Japan issues summary of opinions from January policy meeting, Wednesday
* Boeing announces earnings amid US government safety probe, Wednesday
* Federal Reserve interest rate decision and Fed Chair Jerome  Powell’s news conference, Wednesday.
* US Treasury quarterly refunding, Wednesday.
* China Caixin manufacturing PMI, Thursday
* Eurozone S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Thursday
* US productivity, construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Apple, Amazon, Meta, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas earnings, Thursday
* Bank of England interest rate decision, Thursday
* US employment report, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, factory orders, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0831
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2711
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 147.47 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.8% to $43,159.08
* Ether rose 1.8% to $2,303.8
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 4.07%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 2.23%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 3.88%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% to $77.02 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,032.48 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee, Jessica Menton, Ye Xie, Michael Mackenzie and Kasia Klimasinska.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
You can achieve wisdom in three ways.  The first way is the way of meditation.  This is the most noble way.  The second way is the way of imitation.  This is the easiest and least satisfying way.  Thirdly, there is the way of experience.  This is the most difficult way. –Confucius, c. 551-c. 479, 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
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