September 23, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday!
Carolann is away from the office; I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

September 23, 1911: Earle Ovington was designated as “Official Air Mail Pilot #1” by the United States Post Office Department. Read more.

James Webb Telescope goes ‘extreme’ and spots baby stars at the edge of the Milky Way
The James Webb Space Telescope has taken things to the extreme, studying the outer edge of our own galaxy, the Milky Way and producing a stunning new image. Read more.

2,700-year-old shields and helmet from ancient kingdom unearthed at castle in Turkey
The martial artifacts found at the temple complex were likely offerings that an ancient kingdom made to their chief god. Read More.

Cave of Swimmers: 9,000-year-old rock art of people swimming in what’s now the arid Sahara
This series of paintings, found inside a cave in the Sahara, shows a pair of swimmers. Read more.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Munich, Germany
Crowds are seen among the neon lights of the Oktoberfest grounds in an image taken from the tower of St Paul’s Church
Photograph: Stefan Puchner/AP

London, UK
Andy Warhol’s Flowers go on view at Sotheby’s as part of the prints & multiples auction taking place on 25 September.
Photograph: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby’s

​​​​​​​Groveland, US
Edoardo Marenzi of Italy slalom skis during the World Water Skiers Travers Cup at the Jack Travers waterski school in Florida
Photograph: Johnny Hayward/Getty Images
Market Closes for September 23rd, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
42124.65 +61.29
+0.15%
S&P 500  5718.57 +16.02
+0.28%
NASDAQ  17974.27 +25.95
+0.14%
TSX  23894.71 +27.34
+0.11%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  37723.91 +568.58
+1.53%
HANG
SENG
18247.11 -11.46
-0.06%
SENSEX  84928.61 +384.30
+0.45%
FTSE 100* 8259.71 +29.72
+0.36%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.948 2.952
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.143 3.144
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.7489 3.7413
U.S.
30 Year Bond
4.0958 4.0833

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7389 0.7370
US
$
1.3533 1.3568

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.5040 0.6649
US
$
1.1113 0.8998

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2605.85 2575.35
Oil
WTI Crude Future  71.92 71.92

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1998, Wall Street’s top investment banks, encouraged by the Federal Reserve, completed marathon negotiations for a $3.65 billion bailout of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, which lost nearly $2 billion in a single month when the mathematical models designed by two Nobel laureates failed.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.1%, or 27.34 to 23,894.71 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.4%.
Secure Energy Services Inc. had the largest increase, rising 4.3%.
Today, 118 of 223 shares rose, while 100 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 14%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 9.2%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2020
* This month, the index rose 2.3%
* The index advanced 21% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 27.8% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8% in the past 5 days and rose 2.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.1 on a trailing basis and 16.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.78t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 10.43% compared with 10.44% in the previous session and the average of 13.22% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 36.9079| 0.9| 23/17
Information Technology | 17.9957| 0.9| 8/2
Consumer Staples | 8.6549| 0.9| 9/2
Utilities | 5.1816| 0.6| 13/1
Consumer Discretionary | 1.4091| 0.2| 8/4
Real Estate | 0.7538| 0.1| 11/7
Health Care | -0.6163| -0.8| 0/4
Communication Services | -4.4647| -0.6| 2/3
Industrials | -4.6148| -0.1| 12/15
Financials | -11.8032| -0.2| 14/12
Materials | -22.0695| -0.7| 18/33
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 12.4300| 1.4| -35.8| 4.9
RBC | 10.4800| 0.6| 10.4| 24.1
TC Energy | 7.0310| 1.6| 123.9| 22.9
Bank of Nova Scotia| -4.2090| -0.7| -0.3| 13.0
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -5.6060| -0.7| 37.5| 10.3
TD Bank | -15.1300| -1.4| 68.8| 0.8

US
By Cristin Flanagan
(Bloomberg) — US equities eked out a gain as traders parsed commentary from Federal Reserve policymakers and saw scope for further easing after last week’s half a percentage point interest-rate cut.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.3%, a whisker away from last week’s all-time high as Fed officials reflected on the central bank’s policy path.

In a sign that the market’s gains may be broadening out, an equal-weighted version of the benchmark — that gives Bath & Body Works Inc. the same sway as Nvidia Corp. — rose 0.5% to close at a record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed at a record while the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%.
Among individual movers, shares of Intel Corp. climbed 3.3% after Apollo Global Management Inc. was said to have offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in the chipmaker.
Boeing Co. advanced some 2% after offering sweetened deal terms to striking workers.
Data showing US business activity is robust even as growth moderates stoked confidence the world’s largest economy can nail a soft landing.
US business activity expanded at a slightly slower pace in early September, according to data released Monday, while expectations deteriorated and a gauge of prices received climbed to a six-month high.
“This is a somewhat inconclusive report, and therefore it shouldn’t alter Fed expectations dramatically,” according to Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli. “The flash PMIs do suggest the US economy is on reasonably sound footing, especially compared to Europe.”
Traders have been wagering on nearly three-quarters of a point of policy easing by year end, suggesting at least one more jumbo rate cut is in store.
Wall Street and policymakers alike are awaiting jobs data for more clues on the direction of the economy.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said with inflation approaching the central bank’s target the focus should turn to the labor market and “that likely means many more rate cuts over the next year.”
Neel Kashkari at the Minneapolis Fed also pointed to weakness in the job market, he backs lowering interest rates by another half percentage point by year end.
His counterpart at the Atlanta Fed, Raphael Bostic took a moderate stance.

Starting the central bank’s cutting cycle with a large step would help bring interest rates closer to neutral levels, but officials should not commit to a cadence of outsize moves, according to Bostic.
Later this week, investors will get data on the Fed’s preferred price metric and data on US personal spending, due on Friday. 

Yields on the policy-sensitive US two-year fell to 3.58% while longer dated Treasuries were little changed.
US government bonds had been under pressure with the Treasury slated to auction $183 billion in front-end supply and up to $25 billion of new issuance in corporates expected this week.
“With the Fed’s first rate cut since 2020 in the history books, many investors may be thinking, ‘Now what?’,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. “That will keep the spotlight on economic growth, especially the jobs market.”

Wall Street strategist Ed Yardeni had a warning for central bankers, saying last week’s aggressive rate cut could cause inflation to resurface if central bankers don’t tread carefully.
The Fed is ignoring the upcoming presidential election where both candidates are proposing policies that could trigger inflation, he added.
In Europe, the euro slumped while European stocks notched small gains after weak PMI data for France and Germany was followed by numbers that showed the euro-area’s private-sector economy shrank for the first time since March.
The common currency weakened as much as 0.7% against the dollar amid wagers on more aggressive rate cuts from the European Central Bank.
“The market is almost demanding a more aggressive rate cut, especially after what we have seen the Fed has done,” Marija Veitmane, senior multi-asset strategist at State Street, said on Bloomberg Television. The ECB “is definitely behind the curve,” she said. 

Corporate Highlights:
Apollo Global Management Inc. has offered to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Intel Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, in a move that would be a vote of confidence in the chipmaker’s turnaround strategy.
Boeing Co. offered its largest union a 30% wage hike in a bid to break a stalemate that has shut down its aircraft manufacturing across the Pacific Northwest.
Brookfield Asset Management has raised an initial $2.4 billion for a fund dedicated to investing in clean energy and transition assets in emerging markets, about halfway to its goal.
Palantir Technologies Inc.’s co-founder and chief executive officer Alex Karp, has a love-hate relationship with Wall Street. He’s said that analysts don’t understand the company and that he prefers Palantir’s loyal army of retail investors.
StandardAero Inc. is seeking to raise $1.1 billion in its initial public offering, after its backer Carlyle Group Inc. had decided to pursue a listing for the aircraft maintenance services provider rather than a sale.
Elsewhere, Asian markets were lifted by speculation China is close to announcing fresh stimulus, after a cut to a short-term policy rate and a rare economic briefing scheduled for Tuesday.
Gold reached another record high as the worsening strife in the Middle East fueled wagers on further price gains in the metal due to its haven status.

US oil and gas stocks outperformed. 

Key events this week:
* Australia rate decision, Tuesday
* Japan Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI, Services PMI, Tuesday
* Mexico CPI, Tuesday
* Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem speaks, Tuesday
* Australia CPI, Wednesday
* China medium-term lending facility rate, Wednesday
* Sweden rate decision, Wednesday
* Switzerland rate decision, Thursday
* ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks, Thursday
* US jobless claims, durable goods, revised GDP, Thursday
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives pre-recorded remarks to the 10th annual US Treasury Market Conference, Thursday
* Mexico rate decision, Thursday
* Japan Tokyo CPI, Friday
* China industrial profits, Friday
* Eurozone consumer confidence, Friday
* US PCE, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.3%

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1114
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3347
* The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 143.51 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.1% to $63,287.82
* Ether rose 3.8% to $2,672.08

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.75%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.16%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.92%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $70.55 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,626.58 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Alyce Andres, Margaryta Kirakosian, Alex Nicholson, John Viljoen, Catherine Bosley and Alice Gledhill.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Shab
“The most damaging phrase in the language is ‘We’ve always done it this way.'”– Grace Hopper

Shabnam Mohammadpour
Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff
Queensbury Securities Inc.

340A – 730 View Street
Victoria BC  V8W 3Y7
Tel: 778-430-5851
Fax: 778-430-5828

September 20, 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.  Sunday marks the first day of Autumn.

September 20, 1873: Panic swept the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of railroad bond defaults and bank failures. Go to article >>

Alexander the Great, b. 356 BC.
Sophia Loren, actress, b.1934.

🎨 Hidden meaning? The turbulent skies of Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece “The Starry Night” are believed to align with a scientific theory. Take a closer look.

Mysterious sound coming from the Mariana Trench has finally been explained
A new study has revealed the exact origin of the Pacific Ocean’s mysterious “biotwang” noises, which were first detected by underwater surveys near the Mariana Trench in 2014. Read More.

Man buried with large stones on his chest to prevent him from ‘rising from the grave’ unearthed in Germany
Archaeologists in Germany have unearthed a “revenant” grave where a man was buried with large stones on his chest to prevent him from rising from the dead. Read More.

Scientist who discovered body’s ‘fire alarm’ against invading bacteria wins $250,000 Lasker prize
One of this year’s coveted Lasker Awards has gone to Zhijian “James” Chen, a scientist behind a key immune-system discovery. Read More.

Oprah Winfrey joins Kamala Harris at star-studded online rally
Vice President Kamala Harris sought to capitalize on the star power of Oprah Winfrey and Hollywood celebrities to win over potential voters during an online rally Thursday. Here’s what they discussed.

Why we’re so fascinated by spy stories
“The name’s Bond, James Bond.” From the 007 franchise to “Mission: Impossible” and “Slow Horses,” here’s why we love watching spies.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Frankfurt, Germany
Fog shrouds the landscape on the outskirts of the city
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

A meadow brown butterfly. Butterfly Conservation has announced that 2024 has seen the lowest numbers of butterfly populations in its 14-year history in the UK. It follows the conclusion of the Big Butterfly Count, which sees participants logging numbers and types spotted across the country. Those taking part spotted seven butterflies per 15 minutes, a reduction of nearly 50% on last year’s average of 12
Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Rex/Shutterstock

​​​​​​​Bramble Bank, UK
Members of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and the Island Sailing Club take part in the annual Brambles cricket match on the sandbank in the middle of the Solent at low tide. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first game being played
Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA
Market Closes for September 20th, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
42063.36 +38.17
+0.09%
S&P 500  5702.55 -11.09
-0.19%
NASDAQ  17948.32 -65.66
-0.36%
TSX  23867.55 +1.28
+0.01%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  37723.91 +568.58
+1.53%
HANG
SENG
18258.57 +245.41
+1.36%
SENSEX  84544.31 +1359.51
+1.63%
FTSE 100* 8229.99 -98.73
-1.19%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.952 2.927
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.144 3.133
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.7413 3.7131
U.S.
30 Year Bond
4.0833 4.0505

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7370 0.7375
US
$
1.3568 1.3560

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.5158 0.6597
US
$
1.1171 0.8952

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2575.35 2570.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future  71.92 70.91

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1873, the stock market crashed and the New York Stock Exchange Board of Governors closed the market for the first time on record. The cause of the plunge: A third of all money on loan from New York banks had gone into buying stocks on margin.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 23,867.55 in Toronto.
Cameco Corp. contributed the most to the index gain and had the largest move, increasing 8.1%.
Today, 112 of 226 shares rose, while 113 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 14%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 9.1%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2020
* This month, the index rose 2.2%
* So far this week, the index rose 1.3%
* The index advanced 18% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 29% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.2% below its 52-week high on Sept. 19, 2024 and 27.7% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19 on a trailing basis and 16.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.78t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.44% compared with 10.43% in the previous session and the average of 13.48% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 16.4109| 0.6| 30/22
Energy | 11.5871| 0.3| 19/21
Consumer Staples | 4.2595| 0.4| 6/5
Utilities | 4.2359| 0.5| 12/3
Financials | 1.7085| 0.0| 13/14
Communication Services | 0.8391| 0.1| 3/2
Real Estate | 0.4017| 0.1| 11/9
Health Care | -0.7252| -1.0| 2/2
Consumer Discretionary | -2.8981| -0.4| 6/7
Information Technology | -6.5954| -0.3| 2/8
Industrials | -28.1171| -0.9| 8/20
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Cameco | 13.7600| 8.1| 391.5| 5.4
TC Energy | 11.7400| 2.7| 479.0| 21.0
Bank of Nova Scotia| 11.5100| 1.9| 196.4| 13.7
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -9.0590| -1.2| 363.9| 11.1
Canadian National | -10.0000| -1.6| 244.2| -4.6
RBC | -16.1100| -1.0| 173.1| 23.4

US
By Cristin Flanagan
(Bloomberg) — US stocks churned in Friday’s final minutes of trading amid expiring derivatives contracts and a big rebalancing.
Gold set an all-time high as traders contemplated the central bank’s next move.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both ended the session down 0.2% with the broader benchmark fresh off its 39th record high of 2024.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.1% gain — enough for a closing record. More than 20 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, the busiest session since January 2021.
Friday’s quarterly “triple witching” saw about $5.1 trillion derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options and futures mature, according to an estimate from derivatives analytical firm Asym 500.
At the same time another $250 billion in index trades were being digested.
The event has a reputation for causing sudden price moves as contracts disappear and traders roll over their existing positions or start new ones.
While US equities were able to extend a rally into its second week, gauges lost traction during the session after a handful of disappointing earnings reports.
FedEx Corp. plunged 15% after the economic bellwether missed profit estimates and cautioned that its business would slow.
Lennar Corp. slipped after quarterly home orders fell short of Wall Street expectations Intel Corp. was among the session’s advancers after a report of a Qualcomm Inc. takeover approach while Constellation Energy Corp., the biggest US operator of reactors, closed at a record on plans to put Three Mile Island back into service.
Traders picked at the differing views offered by Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman.
Waller told CNBC it was favorable inflation data that convinced him to support the Fed’s decision for a half percentage point interest- rate cut this week. Bowman, the lone dissenting voice against the jumbo rate cut, said the move was declaring victory over inflation too early.
Confidence has been growing that the central bank will be able to engineer a soft landing, but warnings such as the one from FedEx underscore lingering concerns.
Fed policymakers have projected a further half point of reductions this year.
“A sustained melt-up in risk is unlikely into peak election uncertainty that may generate a soft patch in the data,” Evercore ISI’s Krishna Guha wrote. “Investors should view the gains in risk post-Fed as a down payment, with a check in the mail for the balance after election day.”
Evercore ISI’s vice chairman sees another half-point cut as possible if labor or inflation data come in weak.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon registered his doubts that the world’s largest economy can straddle slowing growth without tipping into a recession.
“I hope it’s true,” he said at an event. “But I’m also more skeptical that inflation is going to go away so easily, not because it hasn’t come down — it has — and it can come down more.”
Gold traded above $2,600 an ounce, extending gains after an Israeli strike on a Beirut suburb. Meanwhile, a gauge of dollar strength edged higher while Treasuries were mixed.
For Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett, the optimism in equity markets following the Fed’s move is stoking the risk of a bubble, making bonds and gold an attractive hedge against any recession or renewed inflation.
The strategist said stocks are now pricing in more Fed easing and about 18% earnings growth for the S&P 500 by end-2025.
It doesn’t “get much better than that for risk, so investors are forced to chase” the rally, Hartnett wrote in a note.
He also said stocks outside the US and commodities were a good way to play a possible soft economic landing, with the latter being an inflation hedge.
International equities are cheaper and starting to outperform US peers, according to Hartnett.
The yen slid after Governor Kazuo Ueda proved less hawkish than some traders expected. Ueda signaled little urgency to hike rates, and said that upside risks to inflation are easing.
Investors will get fresh data on PMI, GDP and the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, PCE, next week.
They will also hear from a number of policymakers including Fed Presidents Raphael Bostic and Austan Goolsbee.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.3%

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1161
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3316
* The Japanese yen fell 0.9% to 143.91 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $62,856.63
* Ether rose 3.1% to $2,543.12

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.73%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 2.21%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 3.90%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed
* Spot gold rose 1.3% to $2,621.47 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Lu Wang, John Viljoen, Sagarika Jaisinghani and Edward Bolingbroke.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

Carolann
A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle. -Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790.

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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

September 19, 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

September 19, 1759 The French surrendered Quebec to the British. Go to article >>
September 19, 1783: The Montgolfier brothers send aloft a balloon with a rooster, a duck, and a sheep aboard, rapidly advancing French aeronautics.
September 19, 1969: The Guggenheim Museum opens a solo exhibition of the work of  Roy Lichtenstein.

1985: Mexico City earthquake: 10,000 killed.

Wm. Golding, author,  b. 1911.
Twiggy, model, b. 1949.

Fans await ‘SNL’ Season 50 and its star lineup
Everyone likes a good laugh, and “Saturday Night Live” promises to provide many of them when the show returns later this month. These stars are set to host or perform during the show’s historic 50th season.

How to win the fight with kids over phone use
Many young kids spend too much time in front of their screens — siri-ously. Here’s how you can set rules for smartphone use in your household.

The Smoky Mountains’ highest peak returns to Native American name
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, is America’s most visited national park. Its highest peak is now officially reverting to its Cherokee name after more than 150 years.

Meet the billionaire building Bangkok’s newest megamall
While malls shutter in the US, it’s a different story in Asia. Thai billionaire Elle Supaluck Umpujh tells CNN how she found “a winning formula for retail” before she became chairwoman of The Mall Group.

1.5 billion:

That’s at least how many golf balls are lost in the US each year, according to Found Golf Balls CEO Shaun Shienfield, whose company recovers and resells millions of lost balls across the US and Canada. A course manager for the Danish Golf Union — which has researched the sport’s environmental impact — said “the worldwide figure could easily exceed 3 to 5 billion golf balls lost each year.”

Record-breaking fires engulf South America, bringing black rain, green rivers and toxic air to the continent
The Amazon fires, fueled by severe drought exacerbated by climate change, have created a toxic smoke cloud spanning about 4 million square miles — an area larger than the entire United States. Read More.

Biggest black hole jets ever seen are as long as 140 Milky Ways
The largest-ever black hole jets ever seen hint that these cosmic monsters may play an even more significant role in shaping galaxies than previously thought. Read More.

‘What is normal today may not be normal in a year’s time’: Dr. Dinesh Bhugra on the idea of ‘normal’ in psychiatry
Live Science spoke with leading psychiatrist Dr. Dinesh Bhugra ahead of his appearance at the HowTheLightGetsIn festival in London. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The supermoon between cathedral towers in Molfetta, Italy.
Photograph: Davide Pischettola/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

London, UK
Stags clash antlers as the annual deer rutting season begins in Richmond Park
Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

​​​​​​​Barcelona, Spain
Construction workers at the Sagrada Família Basilica, on which construction began in 1882. It has been announced that the cathedral’s largest and last spire, the Jesus Christ spire, will be finished in 2025, with a viewpoint from which 11 people at a time will be able to look over the city. The following year, a 17-metre cross will be placed on top of the spire and the cathedral completed, to coincide with the centenary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí
Photograph: Alejandro García/EPA
Market Closes for September 19th, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
42025.19 +522.09
+1.26%
S&P 500  5713.64 +95.38
+1.70%
NASDAQ  18013.98 +440.68
+2.51%
TSX  23866.27 +273.67
+1.16%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  37155.33 +775.16
+2.13%
HANG
SENG
18013.16 +353.14
+2.00%
SENSEX  83184.80 +236.57
+0.29%
FTSE 100* 8328.72 +75.04
+0.91%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.927 2.926
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.133 3.123
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.7131 3.7038
U.S.
30 Year Bond
4.0505 3.0205

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7375 0.7356
US
$
1.3560 1.3594

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.5134 0.6608
US
$
1.1161 0.8960

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2570.10 2574.55
Oil
WTI Crude Future  70.91 70.91

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1974, Treasury Secretary William E. Simon predicted that interest rates, then around 8%, would soon fall. The Dow leapt 3.4% on the good news. Over the next seven years, interest rates proceeded to double.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1.2% at 23,866.27 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest gain since Aug. 15 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.4%.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 8 of 11 sectors gained; 183 of 226 shares rose, while 40 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.1%.
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 6.5%.

Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain 13 times. The next day, it advanced 11 times for an average 0.6% and declined twice for an average 1%
* This year, the index rose 14%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 9.1%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2020
* So far this week, the index rose 1.3%
* The index advanced 18% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 28% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 27.7% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.7% in the past 5 days and rose 3.2% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.1 on a trailing basis and 16.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.74t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.43% compared with 10.82% in the previous session and the average of 13.66% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 101.8220| 1.3| 25/2
Information Technology | 65.3807| 3.3| 10/0
Materials | 45.2221| 1.6| 47/4
Industrials | 33.8767| 1.1| 25/3
Energy | 29.1200| 0.7| 35/5
Consumer Discretionary | 9.6100| 1.2| 11/2
Real Estate | 2.8398| 0.5| 16/4
Health Care | 0.4351| 0.6| 3/1
Consumer Staples | -3.4259| -0.4| 4/7
Communication Services | -4.5676| -0.6| 3/1
Utilities | -6.6600| -0.7| 4/11
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 35.8300| 4.1| 120.1| 3.5
Brookfield Corp | 27.6500| 4.1| 18.0| 33.2
TD Bank | 25.5100| 2.4| 41.7| 2.0
BCE | -5.0360| -1.6| 28.1| -8.5
Enbridge | -5.3480| -0.7| -37.4| 14.9
TC Energy | -12.0300| -2.7| 64.0| 17.9

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders betting the Federal Reserve will be able to engineer a soft landing spurred a rally in riskier corners of the market, with stocks hitting all-time highs.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.7% — notching its 39th record in 2024 and extending this year’s surge to about 20%.
Tech led gains, while defensive industries underperformed.
The Nasdaq 100 added 2.6% and the Russell 2000 of small caps rose 2.1%.
In late hours, FedEx Corp. tumbled on a bearish outlook. Nike Inc. surged after saying longtime executive Elliott Hill is coming out of retirement to replace John Donahoe as chief executive officer.
While a relative sense of calm prevailed, traders also braced for a quarterly episode known as “triple witching” in which derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options and futures will mature — potentially amplifying market moves.
About $5.1 trillion are set to expire Friday, according to an estimate from Asym 500.
The options expiry coincides with the rebalancing of benchmark indexes.
The Fed’s bold start to cutting interest rates and its determination not to fall behind the curve re-ignited hopes the central bank will be able to avoid a recession.
Data Thursday showing a slide in jobless claims to the lowest since May signaled the labor market remains healthy despite a slowdown in hiring.
“Despite some volatility after the Fed’s rate cut, the S&P 500’s bullish trend remains intact,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com. “The Fed’s decision to deliver a 50- basis point rate cut was largely welcomed by investors.
The move was seen as a bold but necessary step to ease economic concerns without sending panic signals reminiscent of the 2008 financial crisis.”
The S&P 500 topped 5,700. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished above 42,000. Wall Street’s favorite volatility gauge — the VIX — sank to around 16.
Treasuries were mixed, with shorter-maturities outperforming longer ones.
The dollar fell.
The pound rose as the Bank of England held rates steady and said it won’t rush to ease policy.
The yen dropped ahead of the Bank of Japan policy decision.
Bitcoin jumped 5%.
Equities tend to respond positively to falling policy rates over the next year if a recession is avoided, according to Keith Lerner at Truist Advisory Services Inc.
There have been six rate cutting cycles for the Fed since 1989 and stocks have been up a year later in four of six instances, he noted.
Looking a bit more granularly, US large caps have outperformed small caps in the year following the first rate cut in four of the previous six instances.
Small caps outperformed, counterintuitively, into the 2001 and 2008 recessions.
“On a short-term basis, small-cap stocks may see a greater boost from rate cuts given these companies generally have a greater proportion of floating rate debt relative to large caps,” he said. “However, small-cap earnings trends are still lagging, and a cooling economy is historically a headwind for the asset class. Thus, we still prefer large caps longer term.”
On a forward price-to-sales measure, the Russell 2000 is trading at the steepest discount to S&P 500 in more than 20 years.
“Historically, equity markets have performed well in periods when the Fed was cutting rates while the US economy was not in recession. We expect this time to be no exception,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management. “Our base case remains for the S&P 500 to reach 5,900 by year-end and advance to 6,200 by June 2025.”
Marcelli says she believes equity gains will broaden out, with continued potential for growth stocks, particularly in the technology sector, to rise further.
“Within tech, we expect AI to be a key driver of equity market returns over the coming years and recommend strategic exposure to this theme,” she said. “Investors may use tech sector volatility, which could rise in the months ahead on cyclical and geopolitical risks, to build up long-term exposure to AI at more favorable prices.”
Meantime, the latest MLIV Pulse survey showed that 57% of the 173 respondents believe a rotation into value stocks is likely to accelerate now that the Fed started the easing cycle.
The majority of survey participants, 75%, expect the US to manage a soft landing after the 50 basis-point rate cut, but even those favor value over AI stocks, according to the poll conducted immediately after the decision.
Value was especially popular among those expecting the US to hit a recession.

Key events this week:
* Japan CPI, rate decision, Friday
* China loan prime rates, Friday
* Eurozone consumer confidence, Friday
* Canada retail sales, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3%
* The MSCI World Index rose 1.7%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 3.4%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 2.1%

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.1162
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.3281
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 142.65 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 5% to $63,253.46
* Ether rose 5.9% to $2,461.98

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.72%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.20%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.89%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6% to $72.01 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 1.2% to $2,588.78 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials. -Confucius, c. 551 BCE-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
(C): 250.881.0801 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

September 18, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Respect for the Aged Day, Japan.

September 18, 1759: The French surrendered Quebec to the British. Go to article >>

1851: NY Times first published.

1947: U.S. Air Force established.

Seattle-born rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix, 27, dies in 1970 in London,   Hendrix learned his art playing with Seattle bands and jazz orchestras. His last Seattle concert was two months earlier  at Sicks’ Stadium, then an outdoor baseball park. He is buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton. (Compiled from HistoryLink.org),

September 18, 2014: Scottish  voters reject a referendum that would have made Scotland an independent country.

Samuel Johnson, essayist, b. 1707.
Greta Garbo, actress, b. 1905
Lance Armstrong, cyclist, b. 1971.

Why parents should be concerned about trampolines
The nation’s leading group of pediatricians warns that “the home use of trampolines is strongly discouraged.” A doctor explains why.

India celebrates Hindu festival Ganesh Chaturthi
Devotees gathered across India this month to celebrate the Hindu festival Ganesh Chaturthi, marking the birth of the deity Ganesha, the elephant-headed, round-bellied god of prosperity and wisdom.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
People watch the full moon rise ahead of the lunar eclipse at the Samalayuca Dunes
Photograph: José Luis González/Reuters

Sydney, Australia
A surfer lit by a supermoon as he sits on his board at Manly Beach
Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

​​​​​​​London, UK
‘Late commuters and evening shoppers mix on the golden sunlit streets of Canary Wharf.’
Photograph: Colin Page
Market Closes for September 18th, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
41503.10 -103.08
-0.25%
S&P 500  5618.26 -16.32
-0.29%
NASDAQ  17573.30 -54.76
-0.31%
TSX  23592.60 -85.11
-0.36%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  36380.17 +176.95
+0.49%
HANG
SENG
17660.02 +237.90
+1.37%
SENSEX  82948.25 -131.41
0.16%
FTSE 100* 8253.68 -56.18
-0.68%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.926 2.892
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.123 3.076
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.7038 3.6456
U.S.
30 Year Bond
3.0205 3.9586

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7356 0.7356
US
$
1.3594 1.3594

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.5115 0.6616
US
$
1.1119 0.8994

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2574.55 2584.00
Oil
WTI Crude Future  70.91 71.19

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1873, Jay Cooke & Co. stunned Wall Street by suspending deposit withdrawals. This set off at least 100 bank failures and triggered one of the worst depressions in U.S. history.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.4%, or 85.11 to 23,592.60 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 0.9% on Sept. 6.
Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.5%.
Aya Gold & Silver Inc. had the largest drop, falling 4.5%.
Today, 148 of 226 shares fell, while 70 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 13%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 7.8%, heading for the biggest advance since the fourth quarter of 2020
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.9% below its 52-week high on Sept. 17, 2024 and 26.2% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.6% in the past 5 days and rose 2.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9 on a trailing basis and 16.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.75t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.82% compared with 10.87% in the previous session and the average of 13.80% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -23.8505| -0.8| 8/43
Industrials | -22.8157| -0.7| 12/15
Financials | -20.5917| -0.3| 10/17
Energy | -19.9695| -0.5| 10/29
Utilities | -7.9314| -0.8| 1/12
Consumer Staples | -0.0012| 0.0| 4/6
Real Estate | 0.6887| 0.1| 12/7
Consumer Discretionary | 0.9066| 0.1| 6/7
Information Technology | 1.3110| 0.1| 5/5
Health Care | 2.0701| 2.9| 1/3
Communication Services | 5.0937| 0.7| 1/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian National | -9.9620| -1.5| -24.9| -4.3
Waste Connections | -8.0770| -1.8| 88.8| 22.4
Constellation Software | -7.8510| -1.3| 38.1| 29.6
Bausch Health | 2.3870| 11.8| 302.4| 2.6
BCE | 10.0100| 3.3| 252.8| -7.0
Shopify | 10.3900| 1.2| 9.3| -0.6

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks fell as Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve is not in a rush to ease policy after cutting rates by a half-point.
The S&P 500 wiped out a gain of as much as 1% as the Fed chief cautioned against assuming big rate cuts would continue.
Treasury 10-year yields advanced seven basis points to 3.71%.
The dollar rose.
Projections released following the Fed’s two-day meeting showed a narrow majority, 10 of 19 officials, favored lowering rates by at least an additional half-point over their two remaining 2024 meetings. Policymakers penciled in an additional percentage point of cuts in 2025, according to their median forecast.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3%.
The Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.5%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2%.
A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps slid 0.1%.
The Russell 2000 of small firms was little changed.

Wall Street’s Reaction to Fed:
* Bret Kenwell at eToro:
After a rally ahead of today’s Fed announcement, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for the market to pull back a bit. However, the long-term outlook remains promising. As rate-cut bets have fluctuated throughout 2024, solid earnings growth and a strong performance from a larger number of sectors have powered the S&P 500 to new high after new high. So long as the economy holds up and inflation doesn’t roar back to life, lower rates and strong earnings growth can continue to drive stocks higher over the long term.
* Jack McIntyre at Brandywine Global:
It now will be a battle between market expectations and the Fed, with employment data — not inflation data — determining which side is right. Since this policy move was mostly telegraphed, there is no outsized move in financial markets. Now, everyone is back to data dependency.
* Giuseppe Sette at Toggle AI:
The Fed comes in strong with a large rate cut, while trying to reassure the economic outlook is strong. But the two facts don’t jive well together. Be careful, a big rate cut in a slowing environment has always preceded a market drop. It’s possible we’ve seen the peak of the market today. History shows the market peaks very close to the first rate cut. In fact, the market might be peaking just at the rate cut this time. Be wary of your equities. The times, they are a- changing.
* Krishna Guha at Evercore:
The big move out the gates takes out some insurance on the soft landing, is risk on, and should particularly benefit risky assets geared into the cycle, such as small caps, cyclicals, commodities and commodity currencies.
* Jamie Cox at Harris Financial Group:
The Fed was more aggressive than I expected, since 50 basis point cuts are historically associated with crises.I don’t consider 2% GDP, 4.2% unemployment rate, and 15% profit growth forecasts for 2025 as a crisis.  As a result, I’m still skeptical of the extent of expected rate cuts next year. Lower market interest rates should help housing and employment.  We look for traditional beneficiaries including small caps, value, cyclical sectors, and the equally-weighted S&P 500 Index to experience tailwinds.
* Chris Zaccarelli at Independent Advisor Alliance:
The Fed front-loaded this rate cutting cycle with a jumbo 50 bps rate cut and signaled in their statement that they are focused squarely on the labor market, saying they are “strongly committed to supporting maximum employment” Although they pay lip service to the other part of their dual mandate (i.e. inflation), clearly they have taken their eye off that ball and although inflation is much lower now than the peak we saw in 2022, igniting a stock market rally and goosing a growing economy with lower rates risks letting inflation come roaring back before this bull market ends. We believe that the market will undergo some volatility as we get closer to the election, however, lowering interest rates now – and telegraphing another 50 bps in cuts by the end of this year and a total of 150 bps more by the end of next year.
* Sameer Samana at Wells Fargo Investment Institute:
The 50bps cut should reduce the odds of a hard landing and the equity market is encouraged by that prospect, given that the economy and corporate earnings tend to move in lockstep. Consistent with the fall in hard landing odds, cyclical sectors were leaders on the day, while defensives were laggards. We see this as confirmation that equities can make further gains in 2025, led by U.S. large-caps and a combination of growth and cyclical sectors.
* Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management:
Despite the scepticism around the economic need for an aggressive 50bps cut, markets can and should only celebrate today’s move – and will continue to celebrate over coming months. We have a Fed that will go to historic lengths to avoid a hard landing. Recession, what recession?”
* Rajeev Sharma at Key Wealth:
By cutting rates by 50 basis points (rather than 25 bps), the Fed satisfied market expectations of a larger rate cut to begin a rate cutting cycle. The Fed has shown today that they are very concerned with trying to protect maximum employment and have effectively put inflation fears on the backburner. What may be even more important than the magnitude of the first rate cut of this cycle is the revision to the Fed’s dot plot, pointing to a Fed ready to be aggressive with 50 more basis points of rate cuts by year-end.
* Quincy Krosby at LPL Financial:
Equity markets applauded the Fed’s decision to initiate its easing cycle with 50 basis points. Given how much discussion has surrounded this move the announcement certainly wasn’t a surprise, however the lack of guidance by Fed officials indicates that although there was only one dissent there must have been a forceful discussion and work towards building a consensus.
* Nancy Tengler at Laffer Tengler Investments:
Stocks love a good Fed put. I think the Fed may have jumped the gun at 50 bps. The economy is slowing but still strong. My criticism of the Fed has been a myopic focus on backward looking data. This feels like that. A single weak employment report and here we are.
* Sonu Varghese at Carson Group:
A 50 bps cut to start the rate cut cycle is significant because historically, the Fed was playing catch up at the start of rate cut cycles. The message here is that the Fed’s got the labor market’s back.
* Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley:
The markets got what they wanted — a big first cut by the Fed. Now we’ll see if they remain satisfied. The Fed has a well- deserved reputation for not rushing, so there’s the potential for some disappointment if it’s seen to be moving too slowly, especially if economic data continues to soften. But today they delivered.
* Ashish Shah at Goldman Sachs Asset Management:
Dialing back restrictive monetary policy could extend the US economic cycle – benefiting both bonds and risk assets – but investors should pay attention to tail risks. Yet positive catalysts in a stable economic backdrop and now falling interest rates continue to line up around the “soft-landing” narrative. Easy money from retail bank savings accounts and certificates of deposit will decline. Investors should seek to lock in higher rates for their cash with shorter-term fixed income allocations. A focus on bond market opportunity over benchmark orientation can help drive income and total return. Across the credit spectrum, both macro and spread opportunities should attract investors. A stable economic backdrop and lower interest rates should broaden the opportunity in equities. In small-cap stocks, a favorable valuation envelope is meeting an improved 2025 earnings outlook and creating opportunities in health care, particularly biotech, along with the software sector in technology and insurance stocks in financials.

Corporate Highlights:
* A US security panel has granted Nippon Steel Corp. permission to refile its plans to purchase United States Steel Corp., for $14.1 billion, likely pushing a decision on the politically contentious takeover past the US elections in November, according to people familiar with the matter.
* Google won a court fight with the European Union over a €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) fine for thwarting competition for online ads, partly making up for last week’s crushing defeat in a separate judgment for abusing its monopoly powers.
* Qualcomm Inc. lost a European Union court fight over a multi million euro fine over allegations the US firm priced some chips low enough to squeeze out a smaller rival.
* T-Mobile US Inc. outlined its growth ambitions for the next three years on Wednesday, forecasting higher profit fueled by customer gains and enhanced by new technologies, including artificial intelligence.
* Elliott Investment Management still wants to replace Southwest Airlines Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Jordan, according to a union official, suggesting changes the carrier has already promised aren’t enough to satisfy the activist shareholder.
* 23andMe Holding Co. co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Anne Wojcicki told employees that she remains committed to taking the genetic testing company private following the resignation of its independent board members.

Key events this week:
* UK rate decision, Thursday
* US Conf. Board leading index, initial jobless claims, existing home sales, Thursday
* FedEx earnings, Thursday
* Japan rate decision, Friday
* Eurozone consumer confidence, 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 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.4%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 0.1%
* The Russell 2000 Index was little changed

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1105
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3187
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 142.46 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.1% to $60,055.19
* Ether fell 1.3% to $2,314.6

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced seven basis points to 3.71%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 2.19%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced eight basis points to 3.85%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.7% to $70.01 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to $2,549.44 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
Have a lovely evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Don’t mind anything anyone tells you about anyone else.  Judge everyone and everything for yourself. -Henry James, 1843-1916.

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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

September 17, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Look up tonight for sky magic as a shadow takes a bite out of the super harvest moon. This particular confluence of events won’t happen again for nearly a decade. Here’s what’s happening and how to make the most of the sight (you’ll want a jacket, judging by the weather forecast).

September 17, 1849: Harriet Tubman escapes from a Southern plantation in the United States, later leading other enslaved people to freedom in the North via the Underground Railroad.
1862: Battle of Antietam, 25,000 killed.
1920: National Football League formed.
September 17th, 1976: NASA unveiled the space shuttle Enterprise.  Go to article >> 

William Carlos Williams, poet, b. 1883.
Hank Williams, Sr., singer/songwriter, b. 1923.
Ken Kesey, writer, b. 1935.

This airport landing is so challenging only 50 pilots are qualified to do it
Ringed by mountains, this small airport is widely considered one of the most technically difficult plane landings in the world.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Bridge Brings into the City by Xu Zhang | Urban
Guiyang, located in Guizhou province, China, boasts numerous towering buildings and elevated bridges that seamlessly integrate with the surrounding mountainous terrain
Photograph: Xu Zhang/Drone Photo Awards 2024

Karachi, Pakistan
A student sits with others as they attend the Eid-e-Milad-ul-Nabi celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of the prophet Muhammad
Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

Stay Where Your Heart Smiles by Silke Hullmann | Nature
Large flocks of flamingos dance above the mesmerising green water surface
Photograph: Silke Hullmann/Drone Photo Awards 2024
Market Closes for September 17th, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
41606.18 -15.90
-0.04%
S&P 500  5634.58 +1.49
+0.03%
NASDAQ  17628.06 +35.93
+0.20%
TSX  23677.71 -24.36
-0.10%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  36203.22 -378.54
-1.03%
HANG
SENG
17660.02 +237.90
+1.37%
SENSEX  83079.66 +90.88
+0.11%
FTSE 100* 8309.86 +31.42
+0.38%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.892 2.867
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.076 3.058
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.6456 3.6176
U.S.
30 Year Bond
3.9586 3.9293

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7356 0.7359
US
$
1.3594 1.3588

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.5115 0.6616
US
$
1.1119 0.8994

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2584.00 2575.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future  71.19 70.09

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1998: Stock markets took a pounding after Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan dismissed plans for coordinated global interest-rate cuts amid the Russian debt crisis. In weeks the U.S. stock market bottomed out and headed straight up.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.1% at 23,677.70 in Toronto, ending a 4-day gain.
The loss follows the previous session’s increase of 0.6%.
Waste Connections Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.1%.
Aya Gold & Silver Inc. had the largest drop, falling 3.5%.
Today, 104 of 226 shares fell, while 118 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by industrials stocks.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 13%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 8.2%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2020
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 26% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 26.7% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.9% in the past 5 days and rose 2.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19 on a trailing basis and 16.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.76t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.87% compared with 11.59% in the previous session and the average of 13.95% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | -26.3404| -0.8| 14/14
Consumer Staples | -12.5504| -1.3| 4/7
Materials | -4.0706| -0.1| 21/30
Real Estate | -3.7475| -0.7| 5/14
Utilities | -3.4705| -0.4| 4/9
Consumer Discretionary | -1.2696| -0.2| 10/3
Communication Services | -0.2880| 0.0| 1/4
Health Care | 0.5056| 0.7| 2/2
Information Technology | 2.7428| 0.1| 5/5
Financials | 3.3122| 0.0| 19/8
Energy | 20.8111| 0.5| 33/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Waste Connections | -9.6630| -2.1| 51.3| 24.7
Canadian National | -8.1610| -1.2| -41.7| -2.8
Enbridge | -6.6840| -0.8| -53.4| 16.4
Bank of Montreal | 6.7260| 1.1| -21.9| -9.0
Shopify | 10.9000| 1.3| 15.9| -1.8
Canadian Natural Resources | 11.2400| 1.7| 87.8| 2.9

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks drifted near all-time highs ahead of the Federal Reserve decision, with traders split on the size of an interest-rate cut.
The S&P 500 closed little changed after briefly crossing the threshold of a record amid an increase in US retail sales.
Economically sensitive industries once again outperformed tech.
Treasury yields edged up, with shorter maturities leading the move.

The market-implied odds the Fed announces a 50-basis-point reduction on Wednesday were around 55%.
A survey conducted by 22V Research showed investors who expect a 25 basis-point reduction are split on whether that cut would deliver a “risk-on” or “risk-off” reaction.
Meantime, those betting on 50 basis points think a smaller Fed move would be “risk-off.”
“If the Fed doesn’t initiate its easing cycle with 50 basis points, surely a 25 basis-point move will be enveloped by a dovish tone,” according to Quincy Krosby at LPL Financial.
Ryan Detrick at Carson Group said “a larger cut out of the gate makes a lot of sense” given that now the big concern is the potential for a quickly slowing labor market.
Steve Sosnick at Interactive Brokers still believes the Fed should lean to 25 basis points, but notes that years of trading experience have taught him to respect the message of the market.
And that message has been saying 50, he said.
Sosnick noted there will likely be widespread disappointment if the Fed opts for 25 basis points.
He says equity markets always crave more liquidity, and at the same time, bond markets have all but priced in an aggressive rate cutting path for future meetings.
So the smaller cut would bias against both.
The Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed little changed.

The Russell 2000 of smaller firms gained 0.7%.
Treasury 10-year yields advanced two basis points to 3.64%.
The dollar rose.
The Fed will either cut 50 basis points or opt for a 25 basis-point reduction, but signal that they will be more aggressive going forward, according to Matt Maley at Miller Tabak.
Still, he says, that does not guarantee that the stock market and/or bond market will rally in a meaningful way.
Maley says the Fed will likely try to convey that a more dovish stance is not seen as something that means they’re suddenly worried about an imminent recession.
“Therefore, given that the stock market is approaching overbought territory, we could still get a ‘sell the news’ reaction to the Fed this week,” he added.
Kristina Hooper at Invesco expects the Fed to cut by 25 basis points as a bigger reduction would raise alarm bells about the state of the US economy.
“Recall that the Fed started a brief easing cycle with a 50 basis point cut in March 2020 with the global pandemic upon us; it would be very hard to argue that the situation is so dire now,” she noted.
What Fed Chair Jerome Powell says in his press conference about the state of the US economy could help build confidence for those worried about a recession in the near term, Hooper added.
“In addition, it will be valuable to hear Powell’s thoughts on the expected path of rate cuts — in particular, what conditions could trigger a change of course, either a moderation or acceleration in easing,” she noted. “These are just things you can’t glean from the dot plot, so the press conference is ‘must see TV’ in my view.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Microsoft Corp. raised its quarterly dividend 10% and unveiled a new $60 billion stock-buyback program, matching the size of a repurchase plan three years ago.
* Intel Corp. made a raft of announcements, spurring optimism that the chipmaker’s turnaround plan is starting to bear fruit.
* Salesforce Inc. is unveiling a pivot in its artificial intelligence strategy this week at its annual Dreamforce conference, now saying that its AI tools can handle tasks without human supervision and changing the way it charges for software.
* Newmont Corp., the world’s biggest gold miner, said it’s on track to raise $2 billion — if not more — from selling smaller mines and development projects.
* JPMorgan Chase & Co. is in discussions with Apple Inc. about taking over a credit card portfolio that rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has been trying to ditch.
* Snap Inc. Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel unveiled a new version of the company’s Spectacles smart glasses, revitalizing an effort to build an advanced augmented reality product that may one day replace or rival the smartphone.
* Ozempic, the blockbuster diabetes shot made by Novo Nordisk A/S, is “very likely” to be one of the next drugs targeted for a price cut in bargaining with the US government’s Medicare program, a company executive said.

Key events this week:
* Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
* Fed rate decision, Wednesday
* UK rate decision, Thursday
* US US Conf. Board leading index, initial jobless claims, US existing home sales, Thursday
* FedEx earnings, Thursday
* Japan rate decision, Friday
* Eurozone consumer confidence, 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 was little changed
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World Index was little changed
* S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index rose 0.2%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.4%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.7%

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1117
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3163
* The Japanese yen fell 1.1% to 142.22 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 4% to $59,953.71
* Ether rose 3.4% to $2,352.4

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.64%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.14%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 3.77%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to $71.34 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $2,568.94 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

Have a wonderful evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
One day your life will flash before your eyes.  Make sure it’s worth watching.  -Gerard Way, b. 1977.

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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

September 16, 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday. Mayflower Day – Pilgrims deported from England.
September 16, 1963: Malaysia is created.  The Federation of Malaya united with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore to create Malaysia.  Singapore lift the arrangement two years later.
9/16/2008: The federal government announced an emergency $85 billion loan to rescue AIG, the world’s largest insurance company.  Go to article >>

September 16, 1924: Lauren Bacall is born in the Bronx.
B.B. King, b. 1925.

Mid-Autumn Festival: Mooncakes, lanterns and so much more
The Mid-Autumn Festival, or the Moon Festival, falls on September 17. Here are tips on how to join the massive full moon party.

Penguin wins New Zealand’s bird of the year
A shy penguin won New Zealand’s fiercely fought avian election today.

A’ja Wilson and rookie Caitlin Clark smash WNBA records
Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson and Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark both broke WNBA records Sunday, with Wilson becoming the first player to score 1,000 points in a single season and Clark breaking the rookie scoring record.

Making arts and crafts improves your mental health
Searching for a new hobby? Scientists say engaging in arts and crafts improves your mental health as much as having a job.

Scenic fall drives where you can get your foliage fix this year
From New England to the West, here are six scenic roadways where you can enjoy autumn leaves and more.
RIP
Tito Jackson.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Cullercoats Bay, UK
Swimmers take an early morning dip in the North Sea as the sun rises
Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

A Polar Romance by Florian Ledoux | Animals
As the sun set over the mountain slope, a male and female polar bear lay together, having just completed their courtship ritual. They soon fell asleep
Photograph: Florian Ledoux/Drone Photo Awards 2024

​​​​​​​Blue Adrenaline: the Surge of Pipeline by Matt Dusig | Sport
The raw energy and thrilling drama of a bustling surf day at Pipeline on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii
Photograph: Matt Dusig/Drone Photo Awards 2024
Market Closes for September 16th, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
41622.08 +228.30
+0.55%
S&P 500  5633.09 +7.07
+0.13%
NASDAQ  17592.13 -91.85
-0.52%
TSX  23702.07 +133..42
+0.57%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  36581.76 -251.51
-0.68%
HANG
SENG
17422.12 +53.03
+0.31%
SENSEX  82988.78 +97.84
+0.12%
FTSE 100* 8278.44 +5.35
+0.07%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.867 2.904
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.058 3.091
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.6176 3.6513
U.S.
30 Year Bond
3.9293 3.9795

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7359 0.7360
US
$
1.3588 1.3587

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.5121 0.6613
US
$
1.1129 0.8986

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2575.10 2545.95
Oil
WTI Crude Future  70.09 68.65

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1920, just before noon, a massive charge of dynamite went off in a horse-drawn wagon parked before J.P. Morgan’s Wall Street headquarters. Thirty people were killed immediately, another 10 were mortally wounded and hundreds were injured. “RED PLOT SEEN IN BLAST,” declared The New York Times, but no “Bolshevik” involvement was ever proven and the crime hasn’t been solved. Several buildings on Wall Street are still scarred from the blast.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.6%, or 133.42 to 23,702.07 in Toronto.
Brookfield Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.2%.
Bausch Health Cos. had the largest increase, rising 10.6%.
Today, 142 of 226 shares rose, while 81 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 13%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 8.3%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2020
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 26% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 26.8% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.9% in the past 5 days and rose 2.8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9 on a trailing basis and 16.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.74t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.59% compared with 13.62% in the previous session and the average of 14.13% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 52.6336| 0.7| 19/8
Energy | 28.6813| 0.7| 29/11
Industrials | 24.5578| 0.8| 20/8
Information Technology | 24.4279| 1.3| 7/3
Consumer Discretionary | 7.6781| 1.0| 6/7
Consumer Staples | 5.0879| 0.5| 8/3
Utilities | 4.4378| 0.5| 14/1
Health Care | 1.6936| 2.4| 2/2
Real Estate | -2.1740| -0.4| 4/16
Materials | -6.1691| -0.2| 29/21
Communication Services | -7.4473| -1.0| 4/1
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Brookfield Corp | 14.3800| 2.2| 8.5| 28.9
Shopify | 13.0100| 1.6| 9.0| -3.1
TD Bank | 11.7600| 1.1| 116.9| -0.2
Kinross Gold | -4.2900| -3.7| 58.8| 60.3
RBC | -4.3490| -0.3| -11.8| 25.1
Barrick Gold | -5.2750| -1.5| 20.1| 16.5

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders gearing up for this week’s Federal Reserve decision kept driving a rotation out of the tech mega caps that have powered the bull market in stocks.
As bets on a half-point Fed cut on Wednesday kept growing, money continued to flow into economically sensitive corners of the market.
While the S&P 500 edged only mildly higher — most of its shares were up.
The gauge’s equal-weighted version — one that gives Target Corp. as much clout as Microsoft Corp. — hit a record high on hopes the rally will broaden out.
“We remain positive on equities,” said John Stoltzfus at Oppenheimer Asset Management. “The broad rotation which began in the rally from last year’s S&P 500 low has deflected volatility repeatedly. Pullbacks experienced thus far this year have mostly looked like ‘trims’ and ‘haircuts’ for the S&P 500.”
In the run-up to the Fed decision, strategists from Morgan Stanley to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are saying that the size of the reduction is less relevant for stocks than the health of the US economy.
“We’re getting a rate cut of some sort this week absent an act of God,” said Callie Cox at Ritholtz Wealth Management.
“The economic impact of one rate cut – regardless of whether it’s 25 or 50 basis points – will likely be insignificant. The path and degree of cuts over the next year or so matters the most.”
The S&P 500 rose 0.1%.
Its equal-weighted version added 0.7%.
The Nasdaq 100 slid 0.5%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%.
The Bloomberg “Magnificent Seven” gauge of mega caps slipped 0.7%.
The Russell 2000 of small firms added 0.3%.
Banks outperformed the broader market on bets a soft economic landing would trump margin pressures.
Apple Inc. led losses in big tech as a closely followed analyst warned demand for the iPhone 16 Pro has been lower than expected.
Treasury 10-year yields declined three basis points to 3.62%.
The dollar fell to the lowest since January. Gold hit an all-time high.
Technology giants like Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp. have led gains in equities for much of the last two years, with investors attracted to their booming profits and exposure to artificial intelligence.
However, since the S&P 500 peaked on July 16, the so-called Magnificent Seven have mostly slumped, with the cohort of tech mega caps falling over 6%.
Meantime, other industries have gained traction.
“Since technology stocks (temporarily?) peaked in July, the winners have been the remaining ‘493 stocks’ in the S&P 500,” said Paul Nolte at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management.
“There have been plenty of ‘false starts’ when technology stocks seem to be done, only to see them regain a market-leadership position.”
Nolte says that over the past three to six months, the spread between the high flying technology sector and the average stock was large as early 2000.
“While history may not repeat itself, it would at least argue to reduce exposure to the tech sector for a while,” he concluded.
Meantime, hedge funds are back to buying big technology stocks, according to a recent Morgan Stanley’s prime brokerage report.
Conversely, defensive sectors have been net sold as the funds trimmed their exposure across real estate, health care and utilities.
As investors prepare for the start of the Fed rate-cutting cycle, stocks and bonds both appear to be priced aggressively, yet to embrace different views of the forward path, according to Lisa Shalett at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
“Equities are pricing an ‘immaculate soft landing,’ driven by double-digit profit growth without major disruption to the labor market and consumption,” she noted. “Bonds, for their part, have rallied aggressively, suggesting recession and intimating that the Fed is ‘behind the curve’.”
If bonds are “right,” stocks face downside from falling earnings, Shalett said.
If they are “wrong,” rates will back up, creating headwinds for valuations.
“Consider owning the equal-weighted S&P 500 Index as better risk-adjusted exposure than the market-cap-weighted version,” she said.  “Financials, industrials, energy, health care, infrastructure-linked stocks and materials continue to offer compelling ideas, as do parts of the tech sector, such as software. Look for defensive ideas among residential REITs and utilities.”
The upside for stock valuations is likely limited from current levels, as the outlook for economic growth is a more important driver than the speed of rate cuts alone, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists led by David Kostin.
“While some investors believe the speed of Fed cuts will be the key determinant of equity returns in coming months, the trajectory of growth is ultimately the most important driver for stocks,” they wrote.
Liquidity and the state of the economy will define the equity market reaction to rate cuts, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists led by Mislav Matejka.
They recommend staying overweight defensives and expect small caps to benefit from continued decrease in bond yields.
“If the labor data weaken from here, markets can trade with a risk-off tone regardless of whether the Fed’s first move is 25 or 50 basis points,” Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson noted.
On the other hand, if jobs were to strengthen, a series of 25 basis-point reductions into mid-2025 could prop up equity valuations further, he said.
The election, the economy, just how big this week’s US interest rate cut will be — it has all left the market on edge.
Savita Subramanian, an equity and quant strategist at Bank of America Corp., wants investors to avoid risks.
“You want to be in safe dividends — and I know this is the most boring call of all time, but sometimes boring is good,” Subramanian said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday.

Corporate Highlights:
* Oracle Corp. was upgraded to buy from hold at Melius Research, which increased its projections for the software company on higher backlog, its prospects for continued artificial- intelligence success, and cloud revenue acceleration.
* Intel Corp. has officially qualified for as much as $3.5 billion in federal grants to make semiconductors for the Pentagon, according to people familiar with the matter, after the chipmaker reached a binding agreement with US officials.
* Alcoa Corp. will receive $1.1 billion in cash and stock in Saudi Arabian Mining Co. as part of a deal that will involve the Pittsburgh-based firm selling its stake in two metals plants in northern Saudi Arabia.
* Charles Schwab Corp. said revenue is rebounding after slipping earlier this year as fewer customers shift money in search of higher yields.

Key events this week:
* Germany ZEW, Tuesday
* US business inventories, industrial production, retail sales, Tuesday
* Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
* Fed rate decision, Wednesday
* UK rate decision, Thursday
* US Conf. Board leading index, initial jobless claims, US existing home sales, Thursday
* FedEx earnings, Thursday
* Japan rate decision, Friday
* Eurozone consumer confidence, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.2%
* S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index rose 0.7%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 0.7%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.3%

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1129
* The British pound rose 0.7% to $1.3213
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 140.68 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 3.2% to $57,871.71
* Ether fell 3.8% to $2,274.89

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 3.62%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.12%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 3.76%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.6% to $70.45 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,582.23 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
It is the willingness to accept responsibility, I think, that is the measure of a man. –Louis L’Amour, 1908-1988.

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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

September 13, 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

September 13, 1759: The Battle of Quebec is fought between the British and the French.
September 13, 1814: Star-Spangled Banner inspired by the attack on Fort McHenry.
On Sept. 13, 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy. Go to article >>

‘Potentially hazardous’ asteroid the size of a skyscraper to skim past Earth on Tuesday
The gigantic asteroid 2024 ON, about the size of a skyscraper, will fly close to Earth next Tuesday, missing our planet by 2.6 times the distance between Earth and the moon. Read More.

2,300-year-old Celtic helmet discovered in Poland
Archaeologists think the ancient helmet indicates that Celts settled in the region to protect their supplies of precious amber. Read More.

1st tardigrade fossils ever discovered hint at how they survived Earth’s biggest mass extinction
Detailed 3D images of the first tardigrade fossils ever discovered help scientists predict when tardigrades evolved their near-indestructibility — a trait that might have helped them survive multiple mass extinctions. Read More.

‘Springy’ solid-state battery is twice the width of a white blood cell and could drastically increase EV range
Scientists in the U.S. have created a battery for electric cars that could be safer and offer better performance than the ones we have now thanks to a unique design. Read More.

Mesmerizing images from Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest
The phases of Venus, the Aurora Australis and the International Space Station transiting the Sun all feature as category winners in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

McDonald’s $5 value meal is sticking around until December
The fast-food giant is trying to beef up sales with a slew of fall deals.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Skyscapes winner: Tasman Gems, by Tom Rae
This photograph shows the rugged peaks of the Tasman valley reaching up to the impressive features of the southern hemisphere summer night sky. It includes the hydrogen clouds of the Gum nebula – the central red region – and various other regions of active star formation stretching throughout the fainter arms of the Milky Way

A kingfisher shows its disdain for pettifogging rules in Kidderminster, UK
Photograph: Lee Hudson/Alamy Live News

Mauve stinger jellyfish swim in Sennen Cove, Cornwall, UK. Millions of the jellyfish, which have a painful sting, have invaded beaches in southwestern England after being blown in by a freak wind.
Photograph: Wallsofwater Photography/Animal News Agency
Market Closes for September 13th, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
41393.78 +297.01
+0.72%
S&P 500  5626.02 +30.26
+0.54%
NASDAQ  17683.98 +114.30
+0.65%
TSX  23568.65 +93.51
+0.40%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  36581.76 -251.51
-0.68%
HANG
SENG
17369.09 +128.70
+0.75%
SENSEX  82890.94 -71.77
-0.09%
FTSE 100* 8273.09 +32.12
+0.39%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.904 2.914
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.091 3.084
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.6513 3.6740
U.S.
30 Year Bond
3.9795 3.9882

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7360 0.7365
US
$
1.3587 1.3576

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.5059 0.6640
US
$
1.1083 0.9022

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2545.95 2507.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future  68.65 68.97

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1970, the economist Milton Friedman published an article in the New York Times arguing “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits.” Friedman’s shareholder-value doctrine would come to dominate corporate thinking for decades
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.4%, or 93.51 to 23,568.65 in Toronto.
Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 169 of 226 shares rose, while 55 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.7%.
New Gold Inc. had the largest increase, rising 7.4%.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 12%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 7.7%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2021
* So far this week, the index rose 3.5%, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended Nov. 3
* The index advanced 16% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 26.1% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9 on a trailing basis and 16.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.72t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 13.62% compared with 14.63% in the previous session and the average of 14.32% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 44.3018| 1.5| 48/4
Financials | 20.5330| 0.3| 19/8
Information Technology | 18.0675| 0.9| 8/2
Real Estate | 10.9540| 2.1| 19/1
Utilities | 8.7890| 0.9| 15/0
Communication Services | 2.7805| 0.4| 4/1
Health Care | 1.5310| 2.2| 4/0
Energy | 1.2347| 0.0| 25/15
Consumer Discretionary | 0.1250| 0.0| 9/3
Consumer Staples | -6.7904| -0.7| 3/8
Industrials | -8.0229| -0.3| 15/13
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move|% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 13.5200| 1.7| -28.1| -4.6
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited/Limitee | 6.3860| 1.7| 22.8| 55.6
TD Bank | 6.0670| 0.6| 25.2| -1.3
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -3.1280| -0.4| 13.5| 11.9
Dollarama | -3.2540| -1.2| 48.9| 39.8
RBC | -3.5590| -0.2| -38.3| 25.4

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders revived prospects for a half-point Federal Reserve rate cut next week, driving stocks to their best week in 2024 amid a rotation into companies that would benefit the most from policy easing.
Economically sensitive shares outperformed the group of tech mega caps that have led the bull market, with the Russell 2000 index of smaller firms climbing 2.5%.
An equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 — where the likes of Nvidia Corp. carry the same heft as Dollar Tree Inc. — beat the US equity benchmark.
That gauge is less impacted by the biggest companies— providing a glimpse of hope the rally will broaden out.
As the S&P 500 marched from one record to the next in the first half of the year, some investors grew concerned that only a handful of companies were participating in the rally.
Corners of the market outside of big tech are now barreling higher as investors grow more confident that the start of the Fed cutting cycle will further fuel Corporate America.
“The biggest news in the last 24 hours has been the shift in odds for a 50 basis-point cut at next week’s Fed meeting,” said Jonathan Krinsky at BTIG. “Small-caps offer better risk/reward in the near-term, and we think mega-cap tech likely sees another breather, although it will certainly participate if the S&P 500 makes new highs.”
The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, up for a fifth straight day.
Its equal-weighted version gained 1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.7%.
The Nasdaq 100 added 0.5%.
A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” mega caps advanced 0.3%.
Treasury two-year yields dropped six basis points to 3.58%.
The likelihood of a 50-basis-point move climbed to 40% on Friday, up from as low as 4% earlier in the week.
The dollar fell.
Gold rose to another record.
To Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research, the case for the Fed cutting more aggressively next week is strong.
“A popular reason to not go 50 is the message it would send: ‘The Fed must know something the rest of us don’t.’ I don’t buy this for a second,” Dutta says. “My own sense is that markets would welcome the move. It is a good thing that the Fed is trying to get onsides quickly.”
At JPMorgan Chase & Co., Michael Feroli says he’s sticking with his call that officials will do the “right thing” and cut a half-point.
Andrew Brenner at NatAlliance Securities says that while he thinks a 50 basis-point cut is the “right call,” he just can’t see “this Fed — who is so entrenched in backward-looking numbers — getting to 50.” “That is what we think, rather than we want,” Brenner noted.
Elias Haddad and Win Thin at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., also believe the Fed is unlikely to slash rates as aggressively as implied by the money market.
“First, the US labor market is not falling out of bed. Second, US consumer spending is resilient. Third, underlying inflation is sticky. Fourth, financial conditions are loose,” they said.
In the event the Fed decides to go bigger, small caps would get a “significant rally” — and would still rally with a “very dovish 25,” said Eric Johnston at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Valuation still seems to favor small caps, and performance did little to move that dial, according to Simeon Hyman at ProShares.
“The anticipated Fed rate cut this month could be just the catalyst to realize this valuation-driven opportunity,” he said.
“Small-cap interest rate sensitivity is one of the most widely accepted investment tenets, and a Fed rate cut cycle might deliver extra ‘oomph’ to small-caps this time around.”
Hyman noted that the rate sensitivity of small-cap stocks is largely attributable to the greater leverage of the cohort versus large firms — smaller companies typically have to borrow more money.
“That is clearly true today, with the Russell 2000 having nearly triple the leverage of the S&P 500,” he says. “By itself, that difference is more than sufficient to point to small caps being outsized beneficiaries of rate cuts, as debt burden relief is typically more impactful for them.”
While there’s been a broader rotation under the surface of the market away from tech and communications and into more defensive corners, the one issue is that earnings growth at the top end of the market are still expected to exceed the rest of the index, according to Ryan Grabinski at Strategas.
“If growth becomes scarce and investors flock to growth, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the largest most liquid names get bid up again,” Grabinski said. “Certainly, they are facing court and regulatory challenges — but to be fair this is nothing new.
Getting too down on the ‘Magnificent Seven’ could pose a major risk to one’s portfolio.”
Basically put, with the growth expected from the ‘Mag Seven’, it makes them “difficult to fade,” he concluded.
“While cracks are developing in many of the long-time growth leaders, the overall technical picture still shows broader underlying participation than what usually accompanies a cyclical peak,” said Doug Ramsey at The Leuthold Group. “We continue to view this broadening as more likely a sign of a leadership change (from growth to value) than a harbinger of yet another leg higher in the blue-chip averages.”
After a couple years of technology stocks leading the market higher, investors in the last two months have shown an appetite for other sectors.
As a result, money flew into other corners of the market, including utilities, real estate, industrials and small-cap stocks.
The risk is that what seems like a rotation away from tech and artificial intelligence may not be much of one after all.
“This rotation has actually caused the death of diversification,” said Michael Landsberg, chief investment officer at Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management. “Many investors are adding artificial intelligence-centric stocks in the utilities, industrials and real estate sectors, and incorrectly thinking that they are properly diversified when they are actually still overly exposed to technology themes.”
Stock markets are likely to trade sideways until US employment data show clear signs of either weakening or strengthening, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists led by Michael Hartnett.
A clear direction for jobs would “resolve the autumn ambiguity,” Hartnett wrote in a note, after non-farm payrolls climbed by 142,000 in August, lower than economists’ expectations. “Until then, risk rotates rather than rips or retreats.”

Wall Street Gears Up for Fed:
* Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers: If the Fed does a 50 next week, we will likely see a dramatic bull-steepening of the yield curve alongside a bullish yen. Historical evidence points to a 25 being more favorable to risk assets, as a 50 will leave reporters in the room and investors behind their computers wondering if the central bank knows something they don’t. Finally, slow adjustments downward have been more friendly to equities than hasty moves south, with the former more supportive of soft landings and income stability. At the same time, the latter has been associated with economic stress and bottom-line weakness.
* Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com:
Judging by price action, investors are certainly looking for a dovish rate decision. This could be in the form of a surprise 50 basis-point cut — or 25 basis-point cut, with a strong hint of at least one 50 basis-point reduction in the remaining two meetings later this year.
* Charlie McElligott at Nomura:
And this is the issue: Now that market is back pricing as much likelihood on the 50 as 25 basis-point cut out of the gates, then anything but 50 will disappointment market pricing.
* Ian Lyngen and Vail Hartman at BMO Capital Markets:
We maintain that a quarter-point initial cut is the path of least resistance, although it is clear that 50 basis points is on the table and will be part of the Fed’s conversation. We’re cognizant that CPI and PPI are likely to translate into a more benign move in core-PCE. As the Fed’s favored measure, the overall inflation profile will appear less concerning for policymakers and thereby allow the FOMC to focus on the labor market.
* Oscar Munoz and Gennadiy Goldberg at TD Securities:
Given our expectation for the Fed to send a generally dovish tone while delivering a 25bp rate cut to start the cycle, rates can continue to rally and the curve can continue to bull steepen. We favor buying dips in duration.
* Chris Low at FHN Financial:
Markets are torn right now between a 25bp cut and 50bp cut next week. We expect 25bp and will be focusing on the new Summary of Economic Projections. As long as inflation stays on a sustained path to 2%, the labor market will be what determines upcoming Fed policy decisions.

Corporate Highlights:
* United States Steel Corp. surged after the Washington Post reported President Joe Biden wouldn’t immediately move to block Nippon Steel Corp.’s takeover bid.
* Boeing Co. is at risk of losing its investment-grade credit rating as the embattled plane maker faces the prospect of a drawn-out strike by workers that will further disrupt production and cash flow.
* Oracle Corp. said annual revenue will rise to at least $104 billion in fiscal 2029, an optimistic signal on the growth prospects of the software maker’s cloud infrastructure business.
* CoreWeave, a cloud computing provider that’s among the hottest startups in the artificial intelligence race, is in talks to arrange a sale of existing shares valuing it at $23 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
* Adobe Inc. delivered an outlook that failed to quell investor impatience for new artificial intelligence tools to start generating cash.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.6%
* S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index rose 1%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 2.5%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.3%

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1077
* The British pound was unchanged at $1.3124
* The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 140.92 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.6% to $59,735.38
* Ether rose 2.9% to $2,421.12

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 3.66%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.15%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 3.77%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $69.20 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 1% to $2,582.66 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

Have  a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe. –Mark Twain, 1835-1910.

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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

September 12, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

September 12, 1959: The Soviet Union launches Luna 2, the first space probe to hit the Moon.

DNA of ‘Thorin,’ one of the last Neanderthals, finally sequenced, revealing inbreeding and 50,000 years of genetic isolation
Thorin — nicknamed after a dwarf in J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” — is also called the “last Neanderthal” because he may have lived as recently as 42,000 years ago. Read More.

Easter Island’s population never collapsed, but it did have contact with Native Americans, DNA study suggests
A DNA analysis of 15 Rapa Nui individuals revealed that there was never a population collapse on Easter Island and that the inhabitants commingled with Native Americans. Read More.

‘God of Chaos’ asteroid Apophis could still hit Earth in 2029, study hints — but we won’t know for 3 more years
New simulations reveal that there is an extremely small chance that the “city-killer” asteroid Apophis could be nudged onto a collision course with Earth by another asteroid before it flies past our planet in 2029.
Read More.

Amazingly simple discovery extends Li-ion battery lifespan by 50% — meaning you don’t have to replace your gadgets as often
Batteries used in smartphones or in EVs normally charge for 10 hours on their first cycle, but turbo-charging them to 100% capacity in 20 minutes may lead to a 50% longer lifespan. Read More.

Top moments from the 40th MTV Video Music Awards
Taylor Swift shared a heartfelt tribute, Katy Perry soared through the air and Sabrina Carpenter kissed an alien. These are the highlights from the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.

Sony unveils faster, more powerful PlayStation 5 Pro
The PS5 Pro will go on sale in November but some gamers may be PS-ed off at the console’s highest ever price

Tom Cruise’s payday for that Olympic stunt may surprise you
The “Mission: Impossible” star performed a daredevil stunt at the Summer Olympics — but how much was he paid? Here’s the answer.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

New York, US
The annual Tribute in Lights display is framed by the Empire State Building, reflected off a mirror at Summit One Vanderbilt, on the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks
Photograph: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Oslo, Norway
‘I spotted this couple having an interesting conversation on a recent trip. Just one of many charming sculptures by the Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland in Vigeland Park.’
Photograph: Neil Braithwaite

​​​​​​​Brussels, Belgium
‘A new neighbour? Brussels is home to many parrots, it must be the chocolate and beer.’
Photograph: Robert
Market Closes for September 12th, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
41096.77 +235.06
+0.58%
S&P 500  5595.76 +41.63
+0.75%
NASDAQ  17569.68 +174.15
+1.00%
TSX  23475.14 +263.96
+1.14%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  36833.27 +1213.50
+3.41%
HANG
SENG
17240.39 +131.68
+0.77%
SENSEX  82962.71 +1439.55
+1.77%
FTSE 100* 8240.97 +47.03
+0.57%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.914 2.914
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.084 3.083
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.6740 3.6534
U.S.
30 Year Bond
3.9882 3.9657

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7365 0.7367
US
$
1.3576 1.3574

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.5038 0.6650
US
$
1.1075 0.9029

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2507.75 2506.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future  68.97 67.31

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1836, the New York Stock Exchange prohibited members from trading on the street outside. But open-air trading persisted under the nickname of “the Curb,” in what was to become a forerunner of the American Stock Exchange
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 1.1%, or 263.96 to 23,475.14 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.2% on Aug. 15.
Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as 10 of 11 sectors gained; 189 of 226 shares rose, while 36 fell.
Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.6%. B2Gold Corp. had the largest increase, rising 12.9%.

Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain 14 times. The next day, it advanced 12 times for an average 0.5% and declined twice for an average 1%
* This year, the index rose 12%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 7.3%, heading for the biggest advance since the second quarter of 2021
* So far this week, the index rose 3%
* The index advanced 16% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 24% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 25.6% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.1% in the past 5 days and rose 4.8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.7 on a trailing basis and 16.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.68t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.63% compared with 14.71% in the previous session and the average of 14.36% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 115.3951| 4.1| 49/3
Financials | 46.0085| 0.6| 22/5
Industrials | 35.6799| 1.1| 22/5
Energy | 32.3753| 0.8| 36/5
Utilities | 16.5750| 1.8| 15/0
Communication Services | 6.5197| 0.9| 4/1
Consumer Staples | 6.1975| 0.6| 9/2
Real Estate | 3.2037| 0.6| 15/5
Consumer Discretionary | 1.4914| 0.2| 9/4
Information Technology | 0.7637| 0.0| 6/4
Health Care | -0.2439| -0.4| 2/2
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move|% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian National | 16.4800| 2.6| 1.3| -2.6
Barrick Gold | 13.9800| 4.3| 16.4| 16.9
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited/Limitee | 13.5400| 3.6| 63.8| 53.1
Shopify | -1.9440| -0.2| 32.4| -6.1
CIBC | -2.2940| -0.4| 90.7| 29.6
Couche-Tard | -4.0640| -1.0| 149.4| -2.8

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rally that’s already added over $1.3 trillion to the S&P 500 this week powered ahead as the latest economic data did little to alter bets on a series of Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Every major group in the US equity benchmark rose, with both mega and small caps outpacing the broader market.
In late hours, Adobe Inc. tumbled on a disappointing revenue outlook.
Treasuries saw small moves.
Swap contracts priced in slightly higher odds of a half-point Fed reduction next week after a Wall
Street Journal report said policymakers were considering whether to cut by 25 or 50 basis points.
The producer price index picked up slightly in August after the previous month’s numbers were revised lower, and categories that feed into the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge were muted.
Separate data showed jobless claims ticked up.
“Recognizing that the Fed can surprise ‘dovish’ right now, whereas it cannot surprise ‘hawkish’, we think PPI sustains a lingering possibility of a starter 50, which would take less risk with the soft landing,” said Krishna Guha at Evercore.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8%.
The Nasdaq 100 added 1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%.
A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” mega caps climbed 1.4%.
The Russell 2000 advanced 1.2%.
Nvidia Corp. paced gains in chipmakers, though Micron Technology Inc. sank on a downgrade.
Wells Fargo & Co. slid on news the US is seeking fixes to money-laundering controls.
Treasury 10-year yields advanced three basis points to 3.68%.
German bunds snapped a seven-day winning streak after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said rates will be sufficiently restrictive in the wake of an expected quarter-point interest rate cut to 3.5%.
Oil climbed.
Gold hit an all-time high.
The wholesale inflation data followed the more closely watched consumer price index, which showed underlying inflation accelerated in August.
Yet policymakers have made it clear that they’re currently highly focused on softness in the labor market, which is more likely to drive policy discussions in the months ahead.
“With PPI basically repeating yesterday’s CPI reading and jobless claims in line with expectations, the decks have been cleared for the Fed to kick off a rate-cutting cycle,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley. “The markets are anticipating an initial 25 basis-point cut, but the discussion will soon turn to how far and fast the Fed is likely to trim rates over time.
Eric Johnston at Cantor Fitzgerald says that going into the Fed decision, there’s a “very good” set-up for small caps.
That’s the group considered to have the most-positive leverage to a policy easing cycle, he noted, citing the fact that the Russell 2000 has largely underperformed the S&P 500 in the past few weeks.
“The consensus is that the Fed will cut 25 bps, but there is of course a chance that they end up cutting 50 bps,” Johnston said. Small caps “would get a significant rally if it was 50 and still rally with a very dovish 25,” he noted.

Corporate Highlights:
* Verizon Communications Inc. will take a pre-tax charge of as much as $1.9 billion in the third quarter tied to 4,800 planned job cuts.
* Delta Air Lines Inc. said profit this year could reach the high end of its prior guidance – if investors ignore the financial blow from this summer’s system meltdown.
* Alaska Air Group Inc. boosted its outlook for third-quarter profit on strong summer demand and lower-than-expected fuel costs.
* American Airlines Group Inc. flight attendants approved a contract that will immediately raise wages as much as 20% and increase pay and benefits by $4.2 billion over the deal’s five- year term.
* Kroger Co. lifted its full-year sales guidance as the grocery-store operator benefits from consumers prioritizing spending on groceries and other essentials.

Key events this week:
* Eurozone industrial production, Friday
* Japan industrial production, Friday
* U. Michigan consumer sentiment, 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 1%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.4%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 1.2%

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1069
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.3117
* The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 141.88 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.5% to $58,350.53
* Ether rose 0.5% to $2,360.07

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 3.68%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.15%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.78%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.9% to $69.23 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 1.8% to $2,558.15 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Lu Wang.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist, but the ability to start over. -F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896-1940.

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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

September 11, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in New York, causing the 110-story twin towers to collapse. Another hijacked airliner hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.  Go to article >>

Four civilians just traveled farther into space than any human since the Apollo era
SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission made history Tuesday. But the riskiest part is still to come this week when the crew attempts an unprecedented spacewalk.

The Campbell Soup company is changing its name
After 155 years, the Campbell Soup Company is launching a rebrand. The famed red and white labels are here to stay, but its name will change slightly.

Glenn Lowry, director of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, to step down after 30 years
The longest-serving director of New York’s MoMA will vacate his position in September 2025. His decision was likely considered in paint-staking detail considering he spent decades in the role.

How to watch the ‘Harvest Supermoon’ get eclipsed by Earth next week
September’s full Harvest Moon will drift into Earth’s shadow for a partial eclipse on Sept. 17. It is also the second of four consecutive supermoons this year, making our natural satellite look bigger and brighter than usual. Read More.

16,000-year-old skeleton, crystals and stone tools discovered in Malaysian caves
Archaeologists think the earliest skeleton from the Malaysian excavation may be up to 16,000 years old. Read More.

Japan to start building 1st ‘zeta-class’ supercomputer in 2025, 1,000 times more powerful than today’s fastest machines
Japan’s new state-of-the-art supercomputer, which is due to cost more than $750 million to build, is set to turn on by 2030. Read More.

Saturday Night Live” announced its 50th anniversary season and new cast members.

  • Who’s new? Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim and Jane Wickline — find out more about them here. Others were promoted, including SNL’s first Gen Z cast member, Marcello Hernández.
  • What’s next: The new season will premiere Sept. 28, although the first hosts and musical guests haven’t been announced. A three-hour anniversary special will air Feb. 16.

“I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.” — Taylor Swift, announcing Tuesday that she will vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election. The pop star has been vocally supportive of Democratic policies and candidates in recent years, often encouraging her supporters to vote and advocating for women’s rights, reproductive health and LGBTQ+ rights.

RIP
Will Jennings was an English professor who became a lyricist for musicians including Eric Clapton and Dionne Warwick, and won an Oscar in 1998 for “My Heart Will Go On,” the theme from “Titanic.” He died at 80.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tynemouth, UK
A surfer enjoys the waves at Long Sands beach on the north-east coast
Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Dresden, Germany
An aerial view of the Carola Bridge, which has partly collapsed over the Elbe River
Photograph: Robert Michael/AP

Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
‘A morning view from above the clouds.’
Photograph: Paulina Murrath
Market Closes for September 11th, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
40861.71 +124.75
+0.31%
S&P 500  5554.13 +58.61
+1.07%
NASDAQ  17395.53 +396.65
+2.17%
TSX  23211.17 +208.08
+0.90%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  35619.77 -539.39
-1.49%
HANG
SENG
17108.71 -125.38
-0.73%
SENSEX  81523.16 -398.13
-0.49%
FTSE 100* 8193.94 -12.04
-0.15%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.914 2.896
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.083 3.059
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.6534 3.6423
U.S.
30 Year Bond
3.9657 3.9622

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7367 0.7348
US
$
1.3574 1.3610

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.4949 0.6667
US
$
1.1013 0.9080

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2506.30 2499.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future  65.75 65.75

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1789, Alexander Hamilton was sworn in as the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.9% at 23,211.17 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since Aug. 30 after the previous session’s decrease of 0.1%.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 10 of 11 sectors gained; 164 of 226 shares rose, while 60 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.6%.
Dollarama Inc. had the largest increase, rising 8.2%.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 11%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 6.1%
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 23% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.9% below its 52-week high on Aug. 26, 2024 and 24.2% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.7% in the past 5 days and rose 4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.4 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.65t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 14.71% compared with 14.49% in the previous session and the average of 14.35% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 63.9413| 0.9| 19/8
Information Technology | 41.6660| 2.2| 8/2
Consumer Discretionary | 31.5953| 4.1| 11/2
Industrials | 30.3359| 1.0| 27/1
Materials | 19.3627| 0.7| 32/18
Energy | 9.3118| 0.2| 25/16
Utilities | 7.6494| 0.8| 14/1
Real Estate | 4.1684| 0.8| 17/3
Consumer Staples | 2.3509| 0.2| 7/4
Health Care | 0.6986| 1.0| 4/0
Communication Services | -3.0028| -0.4| 0/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 36.3400| 4.6| 5.8| -5.9
Dollarama | 19.9700| 8.2| 119.9| 41.9
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 16.0300| 2.2| 85.5| 11.4
BCE | -1.6570| -0.5| 15.5| -8.4
Enbridge | -1.9310| -0.2| -0.4| 14.5
Pembina Pipeline | -2.2270| -1.0| 164.2| 19.9

US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rally in the world’s largest technology companies spurred a stock-market rebound in a volatile session that had Wall Street traders digesting faster-than-anticipated inflation data.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% and the Nasdaq 100 rallied 2.2%.
It was the first time since October 2022 that each gauge erased an intraday loss of at least 1.5%.
Chipmakers led gains, with Nvidia Corp. up 8%.
Treasury two-year yields edged up on bets the Federal Reserve will move gradually with rate cuts.
Swap traders cemented bets on only a quarter-point Fed reduction next week.
“Stocks bounced back after the initial post-CPI drop as dip-buyers once again stepped in to save the markets,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com.
To Skyler Weinand at Regan Capital, we should expect “more smooth sailing” after an initial Fed cut and post-election as uncertainty fades and investors start to price-in 2025 earnings.
“Stock bulls should favor a slow and controlled vertical walk down the monetary policy stairs rather than a speedy and turbulent roll south to lower stories,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers. “When performing historical analysis, the former case has been consistent with soft landings and earnings buoyancy, while the latter tends to occur during economic slowdowns and profit declines.”
The S&P 500 closed around 5,554. A Bloomberg gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps jumped 2.6%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%.
The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies added 0.3%.
Treasury 10-year yields advanced one basis point to 3.66%.
The dollar fell.
Oil climbed as Hurricane Francine ripped through key oil-producing zones in the US Gulf of Mexico, prompting traders to cover bearish bets.
The so-called core consumer price index — which excludes food and energy costs — increased 0.3% from July, the most in four months, and 3.2% from a year ago, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showed Wednesday.
The three-month annualized rate advanced 2.1%, picking up from 1.6% in July, according to Bloomberg calculations.
“This isn’t the CPI report the market wanted to see,” said Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management. “The number is certainly not an obstacle to policy action next week, but the hawks on the committee will likely seize on today’s CPI report as evidence that the last mile of inflation needs to be handled with care and caution.”
To David Russell at TradeStation, while the latest inflation numbers aren’t “runaway dovish,” they confirm the cooling process remains in effect.
Attention could now shift from the Fed as a catalyst toward earnings and the election cycle, he noted.
“The firmer-than-expected core inflation print will make it harder for Jerome Powell to deliver a 50 basis-point cut in September,” said Krishna Guha at Evercore. “We continue to think a starter 50 basis-point cut is the right play and might even now win out. But the odds have moved against this, and risks to markets and the soft landing are higher as a result.” Guha noted that if the Fed doesn’t cut rates by 50 basis points next week, it will possibly do that in November.

Corporate Highlights:
* OpenAI is in talks to raise $6.5 billion from investors at a valuation of $150 billion, according to people familiar with the situation.
* Children’s Place Inc. soared after the apparel retailer reported an adjusted profit for the second quarter, while Wall Street had been projecting a loss.
* GameStop Corp. tumbled after the video-game retailer reported sales that came below consensus estimates.
* Petco Health & Wellness Co. jumped after the pet supply and services company’s outlook signaled turnaround progress.

Key events this week:
* Japan PPI, Thursday
* ECB rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, PPI, Thursday
* Eurozone industrial production, Friday
* Japan industrial production, Friday
* U. Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

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 2.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.7%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.3%

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1016
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3043
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 142.40 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin was little changed at $57,581.74
* Ether fell 1.6% to $2,340.87

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 3.66%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.11%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 3.76%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.1% to $67.12 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,512.59 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Lu Wang.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Answering machine: “Message one.”

Brian Sweeney:  “Jules, this is Brian – listen, I’m on an airplane that’s been hijacked.  If things don’t go well, and it’s not looking good, I just want you to know I absolutely love you, I want you to do good, go have good times, same to my parents and everybody, and I just totally love you, and I’ll see you when you get there.  Bye, babe.  I hope I call you.”  -9/11 Memorial Museum, Gift of Julie Sweeney Roth.

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

September 10, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

September 10, 1919: Nealy a year after the end of World Warm1, General Pershing is welcomed home with a parade down Fifth Avenue in NY from 107th St. to Washington Square.
September 10, 1846: Elias Howe of Spencer, Mass., received a patent for the sewing machine, revolutionizing garment manufacture in the factory and in the home.

Arnold Palmer, golfer, b. 1929.
Stephen J. Gould, biologist, b. 1941.

How fast does evolution happen?
Measuring the pace of evolution is tricky, but some species can evolve as quickly as a few generations. Read More.

‘Remarkable’ 1,000-year-old ring from Scotland’s ‘painted people’ found at destroyed fort
During an archaeological dig at the former site of a Pictish fort, a volunteer unearthed a rare metal ring with a red centerpiece. Read More

‘Put glue on your pizza’ embodies everything wrong with AI search — is SearchGPT ready to change that?
The future of search will include AI, but the technology will need a lot of work and trust before it changes how we access information. Read More.

More tourists behaving badly
Hawaii’s most controversial nature spot has once again become a center of concern, with 14 people recently arrested for accessing the Haiku Stairs on the island of Oahu. The area leading to the 4,000 metal steps is clearly marked as off-limits, not just because of the dangers to visitors but also to protect natural resources. “Someone is going to get hurt or killed,” one conservation official said.

The hidden danger of energy drinks
Many people may think of energy drinks as sports drinks or consider them appropriate for hydration, including for children. Others may believe they are natural energy boosters rather than caffeine-infused beverages. Before you grab your next energy drink, you might want to read this.

The painting was discovered in the attic by an auctioneer during a routine house call to a private estate in Maine. The artwork, a 17th-century painting of a young woman wearing a cap and ruffled collar, was listed as a Rembrandt copy worth as little as $10,000. But several auction bidders appeared to believe it may be a genuine masterpiece.

Beetlejuice’ actors missing from sequel
Director Tim Burton’s new film “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” brings back several characters from the original 1988 film, including Michael Keaton as the titular character. Now, Burton sheds light on why Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin were not in the sequel.

‘Beetlejuice’ sequel scores $111 million in its domestic debut.

RIP James Earl Jones.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Linfen, China
Visitors watching the Hukou waterfall on the Yellow River in northern China’s Shanxi province
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Dartmoor, UK
‘The isolated Ditsworthy Warren House near Yelverton.’
Photograph: Kylie Smith

​​​​​​​Stockholm, Sweden
‘Kungsträdgården subway station.’
Photograph: Ewen Craig
Market Closes for September 10th, 2024

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
Dow
Jones
40736.96 -92.63
-1.37%
S&P 500  5495.52 +24.47
+0.45%
NASDAQ  17025.88 +141.28
+0.84%
TSX  23003.09 -24.06
-0.10%

International Markets

Market
Index 
Close  Change 
NIKKEI  36159.16 -56.59
-0.16%
HANG
SENG
17234.09 +37.13
+0.22%
SENSEX  81921.29 +361.75
+0.44%
FTSE 100* 8205.98 -64.86
-0.78%

Bonds

Bonds  % Yield  Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond 
2.896 2.936
CND.
30 Year
Bond 
3.059 3.084
U.S.
10 Year Bond
3.6423 3.7004
U.S.
30 Year Bond
3.9622 4.0005

Currencies

BOC Close  Today  Previous  
Canadian $   0.7348 0.7376
US
$
1.3610 1.3558

 

Euro Rate
1 Euro= 
  Inverse   
Canadian $   1.4999 0.6667
US
$
1.1021 0.9074

Commodities

Gold Close  Previous  
London Gold
Fix 
2499.70 2506.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future  68.71 67.67

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1960, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela formed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC would nearly bring the industrial world to its knees in the 1970s by jacking up the price of oil.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.1% at 23,003.09 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1.1%.
Today, energy stocks led the market lower, as 5 of 11 sectors lost; 86 of 226 shares fell, while 138 rose.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.5%.
Methanex Corp. had the largest drop, falling 5.5%.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 9.8%, heading for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 5.2%
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.8% below its 52-week high on Aug. 26, 2024 and 23.1% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 3.1% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.3 on a trailing basis and 15.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.65t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 14.49% compared with 14.49% in the previous session and the average of 14.33% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -67.7370| -1.7| 11/30
Consumer Discretionary | -12.3177| -1.6| 2/11
Communication Services | -11.9910| -1.6| 2/3
Consumer Staples | -6.1301| -0.6| 5/6
Utilities | -0.1017| 0.0| 7/7
Industrials | 0.6587| 0.0| 17/11
Health Care | 0.9359| 1.4| 3/0
Real Estate | 5.0330| 1.0| 18/2
Information Technology | 13.6344| 0.7| 9/1
Financials | 15.0909| 0.2| 20/7
Materials | 38.8617| 1.4| 44/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Natural Resources | -23.8200| -3.5| 85.8| 0.9
Suncor | -14.4700| -3.2| 69.2| 15.7
TC Energy | -11.4500| -2.5| 69.1| 20.3
Kinross Gold | 6.1770| 6.2| 3.6| 53.1
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited/Limitee | 6.4560| 1.8| 0.3| 47.7
Barrick Gold | 6.5020| 2.0| -31.4| 11.4
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rally in the world’s biggest technology companies lifted stocks, countering a slew of cautious comments from American bank executives that sent financial shares tumbling.
In a session of many twists and turns, the S&P 500 closed higher.
Tesla Inc. led gains in megacaps after a bullish analyst call.
Oracle Corp. hit an all-time high.
Bank of America Corp. said investment-banking results will come in lower than some on Wall Street expected.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. also tempered its earnings optimism.
Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. signaled its trading unit is on course to drop 10% from the prior year.
Traders also weighed election risks ahead of the first debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The match-up promises more clarity for investors who’ve already spent months parsing campaign-trail language around tax proposals, tariff projections, government spending plans and policies on energy, electric vehicles, health care and more.
In the run-up to the consumer price index, a 22V Research survey showed that 56% of respondents believe that core inflation is on a “Fed-friendly glide path”.
Meantime, the share of investors expecting a recession has stayed elevated.
Roughly 48% of investors surveyed expect the reaction to CPI to be “mixed/negligible,” 32% said “risk-on” and only 20% “risk-off.”
“Given the market’s aggressive expectations for Fed rate cuts, a hotter reading should lead to downside volatility,” said Sameer Samana at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “A cooler print has more two-way risk as it creates more room for the Fed to cut, but may also indicate the economy is slowing faster than anticipated.”
The S&P 500 rose 0.4%.
The Nasdaq 100 added 0.9%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%.
A Bloomberg gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps jumped 1.5%.
The Russell 2000 of small firms was little changed.
The KBW Bank Index sank 1.8%.
Treasury 10-year yields dropped six basis points to 3.64%.
Brent futures slid below $70 as oversupply fears deepened.
US equities are unlikely to slump 20% or more as the risk of a recession remains low against expected interest-rate cuts from the Fed, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists.
The team led by Christian Mueller-Glissmann said while stocks could decline into the year end — hurt by higher valuations, a mixed growth outlook and policy uncertainty — the odds of an outright bear market are slim as the economy is also in part being supported by a “healthy private sector.”
Moreover, a historical analysis by the strategists shows that declines of over 20% in the S&P 500 have become less frequent since the 1990s, driven by longer business cycles, lower macroeconomic volatility and “buffering” from central banks.
BofA’s clients were net buyers of $2.4 billion of US equities last week as the S&P 500 logged its worst week since March 2023, quantitative strategists led by Jill Carey Hall said Tuesday.
Eight of 11 sectors saw inflows last week — led by technology — which saw its largest inflow since June.
Communication services received the second-biggest inflow, extending 23 weeks of gains.
Clients ditched real estate, industrials and materials stocks.
“Expectations of easier monetary policy has created a positive backdrop for markets, but because tech stocks have become so overvalued, any market positivity is now seen more in the undervalued areas of the market, rather than the overvalued
parts of the market,” said David Bahnsen at The Bahnsen Group. “Many investors who have been focused on big tech are ignoring valuations, which is one of the most important metrics.”

Key events this week:
* US CPI, Wednesday
* Japan PPI, Thursday
* ECB rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, PPI, Thursday
* Eurozone industrial production, Friday
* Japan industrial production, Friday
* U. Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.2%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.5%
* The Russell 2000 Index was little changed
* KBW Bank Index fell 1.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.1027
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3086
* The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 142.31 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.7% to $57,974.81
* Ether rose 1.7% to $2,381.06
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points to 3.64%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.13%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 3.82%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.7% to $66.19 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.4% to $2,517.30 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible. –Winston Churchill, 1874-1965.

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