Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

1980 The rock group Led Zeppelin announced it was disbanding after the death in September of drummer John Bonham. Go to article »

The planets will almost literally align later this month. Jupiter and Saturn will come closer together than they have since the Middle Ages and will actually look like a double planet.-CNN

Why great athletes are more likely to be younger siblings.-Bloomberg.

The New Yorker’s best books of 2020.-Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Somerset House in London, UK, decorates a spectacular 40ft Christmas tree ahead of the sites public re opening.
CREDIT: GEOFF PUGH FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Declan Sellar pictured with Sam and Dante, two of the friendly alpacas from Beirhope Alpacas near Kelso Scottish Borders. All getting wrapped up warm with tartan scarves as the UK is expecting its first cold spell of the winter.
CREDIT: PHIL WILKINSON

A firefighter passes a burning tree while battling the Bond Fire in the Silverado community of Orange County, California, US.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/NOAH BERGER

A train runs along the tracks in snowy North Yorkshire with the UK expecting more wintry weather ahead of the first weekend of December, with warnings in place for ice and snow.
CREDIT: PETER BYRNE/PA WIRE

‘Masterpieces from Buckingham Palace’ exhibition brings together some of the most important paintings in the Royal Collection from the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, London, UK. The room was originally designed by the architect John Nash for George IV to display his collection of Dutch, Flemish and Italian Old Master paintings. Artists represented in the exhibition include Titian, Guercino, Guido Reni, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Rubens, Jan Steen, Claude and Canaletto. Picture Shows The Piazzetta Looking Towards Santa Maria Della Salute by Canaletto 1697-1768.
CREDIT: PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Market Closes for December 4^th, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	30218.26	+248.74
		+0.83%
S&P 500	3699.12	+32.40
		+0.88%
NASDAQ	12464.234	+87.052 +0.70%
TSX	17520.97	+122.95
		+0.71%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	26751.24	-58.13
		-0.22%
HANG SENG	26835.92	+107.42
		+0.40%
SENSEX	45079.55	+446.90
		+1.00%
FTSE 100*	6550.23	+59.96 +0.92%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.795	0.740
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.340	1.263
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.9659	0.9063
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.7330	1.6529

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.78209	0.77742
US $	1.27862	1.28631
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55013	0.64511
US $	1.21235	0.82485

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1832.35	1822.60
Oil
WTI Crude Future	46.26	45.64

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1991, Charles H. Keating, Jr., the former chairman of Lincoln Savings & Loan, was convicted on 17 charges of California state securities fraud. Many of Lincoln’s investors were elderly widows, one of whom swatted Mr. Keating on the shoulder with her powdered wig when he passed her in the courthouse hallway.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose Friday, extending their gains for a fifth straight week. BlackBerry was among top performers this week after a pact with Amazon Web Services, while WSP Global rallied after an acquisition.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.7% Friday, with energy shares leading the charge. Tech underperformed. Oil rose for a fifth straight week with support from an OPEC+ deal and hopes for another round of U.S. stimulus.
The Canadian dollar rose to its strongest level in more than two years Friday after better-than-expected domestic job numbers that contrasted with a disappointing U.S. labor-market report. Pot stocks retreated after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to decriminalize marijuana, with the bill unlikely to pass the Senate unless the Democrats take control of the chamber.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.40 discount to West Texas Intermediate, as of yesterday
* Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,838.20 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.6% to C$1.2783 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 5.8 basis points to 0.797%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.7 percent, or 122.95 to 17,520.97 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.1 percent on Nov. 24. Suncor Energy Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 7.6 percent. BlackBerry Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 13.2 percent.
Today, 131 of 222 shares rose, while 88 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.7 percent
* This quarter, the index rose 8.7 percent
* This year, the index rose 2.7 percent, poised for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 3.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.5 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 56.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.8 on a trailing basis and 23.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.67t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.66 percent compared with 15.43 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.32 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 66.3872| 3.3| 23/0
Financials | 42.2363| 0.8| 19/7
Industrials | 25.7910| 1.2| 23/5
Consumer Discretionary | 5.4578| 0.8| 9/4
Utilities | 3.7109| 0.4| 10/5
Communication Services | 2.9907| 0.3| 3/4
Real Estate | 0.6569| 0.1| 16/9
Health Care | -0.9108| -0.4| 2/8
Materials | -1.8772| -0.1| 20/31
Consumer Staples | -2.4529| -0.4| 2/9
Information Technology | -19.0399| -1.1| 4/6
US
By Claire Ballentine and Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed to all-time highs and Treasury yields jumped after a report showing U.S. employment gains slowed in November bolstered expectations for more federal stimulus. All major indexes for U.S. equities — the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Russell 2000 and the Nasdaq Composite Index — closed at records. Such synchronized highs were last seen in January 2018. The dollar posted its biggest weekly decline in five, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury note reached the highest in nine months.
“One of the recurring themes this year is the resiliency of the market, it’s been amazing and impressive,” said John Porter, head of equities at Mellon Investments. Labor Department figures showed nonfarm payrolls increased by a less-than-forecast 245,000 from the prior month, as the unemployment rate dipped 0.2 percentage point to 6.7%. President-elect Joe Biden called the report “grim” and said it shows “there’s no time to lose” for Congress to pass a new Covid relief bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there’s momentum building toward a compromise fiscal stimulus plan, though Republicans complained about the scale of aid to states included in the
bipartisan proposal that’s become the best chance yet for a deal. “The market is betting that we’ll get a relief package soon,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “If anything, this weaker report will get them to agree on a package sooner rather than later.”
Elsewhere, oil climbed as OPEC+ reached an agreement to ease its output cuts next year more gradually than previously planned. Bitcoin declined for the first time in three days after flirting this week with $20,000.
Energy companies led the Stoxx Europe 600 index higher. Asian equities closed mostly higher.
Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.9% to 3,699.13 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to 30,217.77, the highest on record with the biggest advance in more than a week.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7% to 12,464.23, the highest on record.
*The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.6% to 394.04, the highest in more than nine months.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.7% to 633, the highest on record.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1% to 1,129.43, the lowest in more than two years.
*The euro fell 0.1% to $1.2128.
*The British pound declined 0.1% to $1.3435.
*The Japanese yen weakened 0.3% to 104.17 per dollar, the largest drop in more than a week.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose six basis points to 0.97%, the highest in more than three weeks.
*Germany’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to -0.55%.
*Britain’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to 0.351%.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $46.05 a barrel, the highest in nine months.
*Gold weakened 0.2% to $1,836.91 an ounce.
–With assistance from Sophie Caronello.
Have a  wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.
                                       -Marcus Aurelius, 121 AD-180 AD

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Carlos Montoya, guitarist, b. 1903
Joseph Conrad, author, b. 1857.
Darryl Hannah, actress, b. 1961
Julianne Moore, actress, b. 1961.
On Dec. 3, 1984, more than 4,000 people died after a cloud of gas escaped from a pesticide plant operated by a Union Carbide subsidiary in Bhopal, India. Go to article »

Astronomers are watching the birth of a comet just past Jupiter. –Bloomberg.

Woman, 102, lived through the 1918 flu and beat coronavirus … twice.  GIVE HER A BREAK! Or a medal or something! –CNN.

The best car our reviewer drove in 2020, and the runners up. –Bloomberg.

From the late-night hosts:
“It’s not a great look for your presidency when your biggest accomplishment is ‘most family members pardoned.’” — JIMMY FALLON

“It’s pretty crazy, the last person who needed pardons for their whole family was Charles Manson.” — JIMMY FALLON

“On the left, you see all of the potential pardon-getters, and on the right, there’s a list of crimes, like money laundering, tax evasion and snorting coke off the last living black rhino. You have to match the person to their crime, and there are no wrong answers.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“Meanwhile, Mike Pence is also asking for a pardon, for the time he accidentally glanced at a picture of Kate Upton.” — JIMMY FALLON

“It’s not a great look for your presidency when your biggest accomplishment is ‘most family members pardoned.’” — JIMMY FALLON

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A full moon is seen behind buildings at night in Ashkelon, southern Israel 
CREDIT: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN

Guests enjoy the atmosphere during the Christmas at Kew Gardens press evening at Kew Gardens  in London, England
CREDIT: CHRIS HACKSON/GETTY IMAGES

Guardia di Finanza Mountain Rescue soldiers with rescue and search dogs, during a patrol at high altitude near the summit craters of the volcano Etna 
CREDIT: FABRIZIO VILLA/GETYY IMAGES

Snow cannons blow snow on the hills in the Abtenau ski resort, Austria. Germany is seeking an EU-wide ban on ski tourism over Christmas to halt coronavirus transmissions, but many countries including neighbouring Austria have voiced strong opposition
CREDIT: VARVARA QNDL/APA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for December 3^rd, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29969.52	+85.73
		+0.29%
S&P 500	3666.72	-2.29
		-0.06%
NASDAQ	12377.182	+27.816 +0.23%
TSX	17398.02	+39.81
		+0.23%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	26809.37	+8.39
		+0.03%
HANG SENG	26728.50	+195.92
		+0.74%
SENSEX	44632.65	+14.61
		+0.03%
FTSE 100*	6490.27	+26.88 +0.42%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.740	0.759
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.263	1.281
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.9063	0.9376
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.6529	1.6877

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77742	0.77402
US $	1.28631	1.29195
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56254	0.63999
US $	1.21474	0.82322

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1822.60	1810.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	45.64	45.28

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1998, Temco Service Industries, a tiny building-maintenance firm, became one of the oddest beneficiaries of the internet stock bubble.  Temco’s shares went bonkers, soaring 126% in a few minutes on record volume.  The reason: Ticketmaster Online-City Search Inc. went public that same day under the ticker symbol TMCS, which some traders confuse with Temco’s ticker symbol TMCO. 
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities gained Thursday but came off their high late in the session after a report that Pfizer Inc. will deliver fewer doses of its vaccine this year than earlier expected.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.2%, with nine of eleven sectors higher. Tech and materials retreated while communication services led the advance.
Global crude oil prices surged to the highest since early March after OPEC+ agreed on a compromise deal to gradually ease production limits beginning early next year. Gold rose on a weaker U.S. dollar. Canada’s resilient housing market is proving a boon for Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, helping their domestic banking franchises step up earnings.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate, as of yesterday
* Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,841.46 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.4% to C$1.2869 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2.2 basis points to 0.738%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 39.81 to 17,398.02 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 24. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.3 percent. WSP Global Inc. had the largest increase, rising 11.6 percent.
Today, 142 of 222 shares rose, while 77 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was unchanged
* This quarter, the index rose 7.9 percent
* This year, the index rose 2 percent, poised for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC  Americas Index gained 20 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 55.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 9.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.3 on a trailing basis and 23.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.66t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.43 percent compared with 15.43 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.36 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 15.0010| 0.8| 15/8
Industrials | 12.5695| 0.6| 19/8
Communication Services | 10.3416| 1.2| 5/1
Utilities | 6.5536| 0.8| 15/1
Consumer Discretionary | 6.1249| 0.9| 6/6
Consumer Staples | 5.1739| 0.8| 11/0
Financials | 4.7959| 0.1| 15/11
Real Estate | 2.4548| 0.4| 19/7
Health Care | 2.0292| 0.9| 8/2
Information Technology | -12.1625| -0.7| 9/1
Materials | -13.0886| -0.5| 20/32
US
By Vildana Hajric and Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks retreated from record highs just before the close of trading to finish little changed after a report briefly spurred confusion over the Covid vaccine roll out.
The S&P 500 ended in the red, while the Nasdaq Composite managed to close at an all-time high. The benchmark S&P spent most of the session at a record before a report that identified supply chain problems behind a previously disclosed slowdown in Pfizer Inc.’s production plans for its vaccine. Sentiment also weakened after California said it will lock down its economy if critical-care units reach capacity. Small caps outperformed as the reopening rotation continued.
“We continue to see the push-pull of short-term versus long-term,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank, said by phone. Investors had focused much of the session on a bipartisan stimulus proposal endorsed by Democratic leaders as a basis for negotiations is luring increased interest from Republicans, raising the chances for a deal by year-end. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that it was “heartening” that Democrats embraced a smaller price tag for a stimulus package but gave no indication he was willing to raise his own offer to get a deal. “The market continues to keep its fingers crossed for a stimulus package, no matter what the size,” said CFRA Research’s Chief Investment Strategist Sam Stovall. “Investors just want to know if Biden can ‘reach across the aisle’ and sway the Republicans. That would offer optimism for additional actions from a working relationship between the parties once he is sworn in.”
While markets advanced up in Asia, European shares were mixed. Britain’s pound more than recouped Wednesday’s drop as traders took in stride France’s threat to veto a Brexit deal. The dollar added to its slump this week that has sent the euro, Australian dollar and the Korean won to their highest levels versus the greenback in more than two years, and the Swiss franc to its strongest since 2015. Oil edged higher as OPEC+ reached an agreement to ease its oil-output cuts next year more gradually than previously planned, giving a fragile market more time to absorb the extra supply.
These are some key events coming up:
* The U.S. employment report on Friday is expected to show more Americans headed back to work in November, though at a slower pace than October.
* German factory orders for October are due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index declined 0.1% to 3,666.72 as of 4:11 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3% to 29,969.52, the highest in more than a week.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2% to 12,377.18, the highest on record.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed at 391.72.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index jumped 0.3% to 628.29, the highest on record.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.5% to 1,130.40, the  lowest in more than two years.
* The euro increased 0.3% to $1.2146, the strongest in more than two years.
* The British pound climbed 0.7% to $1.3454, the strongest in more than two years.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.5% to 103.87 per dollar, the strongest in almost two weeks on the largest rise in four weeks.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped three basis points to 0.91%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped four basis points to -0.56%, the largest decrease in more than 10 weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 0.322%, the first retreat in a week.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.9% to $45.67 a barrel, the highest in more than a week.
* Gold strengthened 0.6% to $1,841.53 an ounce, the highest in almost two weeks.
–With assistance from David Wilson, Kamaron Leach and Claire Ballentine.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time.
                                -M. Scott Peck, 1936-2005

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
George Seurat, b.1859
1804 Napoleon was crowned emperor of France.  Go to article »
1976- Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.

A 1,020-year-old mochi shop in Kyoto, Japan, has endured wars, plagues and natural disasters, offering a lesson in resilience. -The NY Times.

You can find the best albums of 2020 here, along with lists focused on jazz and classical music.
Our solar system is both fairly usual and rare. -Bloomberg.

A century-old mystery about the leaf insect, solved:
One variety of the insect is native to Papua New Guinea. Hiding in forest canopies, the females, above right, are almost impossible to see in nature, and not much had been known about their mates — until 13 eggs were laid by a captured female. Five hatched.
“These small leaf insects were so precious, like jewels in our laboratory,” marveled the manager of the Montreal insectarium that nurtured them.
Two eventually matured into sticklike creatures — including the one above left — that resembled an entirely different genus whose species had been described only from the male. Science has now united the males and females into a single unique species.

Virtual Travel: Pretend you’re in Tokyo: Listen to the funky music of Cornelius, make crispy nori chips and read books by Japanese authors beyond Haruki Murakami.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The morning mist rises around Tewkesbury Abbey
CREDIT: JACK BOSKETT MEDIA LTD

Pigeons fly over the Gateway of India at sunrise in Mumbai
CREDIT: PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP

Zhang Shupeng in flight during a wingsuit jump from Tianmen mountain in Zhangjiajie, China’s Hunan province
CREDIT: WANG ZHAO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A lorry is driving on a slush-contaminated road while in the foreground a traffic sign (sign 113 StVO) indicates the danger of slippery roads in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
CREDIT: PHILIPP VON DITFURTH/DPA PICTURE ALLIANCE/AVALON

Market Closes for December 2^nd, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29883.79	+59.87
		+0.20%
S&P 500	3669.01	+6.56
		+0.18%
NASDAQ	12349.367	-5.739 -0.05%
TSX	17358.21	+61.28
		+0.35%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	26800.98	+13.44
		+0.05%
HANG SENG	26532.58	-35.10
		-0.13%
SENSEX	44618.04	-37.40
		-0.08%
FTSE 100*	6463.39	+78.66 +1.23%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.759	0.738
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.281	1.237
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.9376	0.9327
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.6877	1.6756

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77402	0.77303
US $	1.29195	1.29361
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56512	0.63893
US $	1.21144	0.82546

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1810.75	1762.55
Oil
WTI Crude Future	45.28	44.55

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2001, Enron, the seventh-largest corporation in the U.S., went bankrupt, filing  for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code.

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares rose for a second straight session while U.S. shares also edged higher. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.4%, with cannabis growers leading the charge. Energy shares also rallied as oil jumped the most in a week after a surprise decline in U.S. crude inventories. Gold rose to a one-week high on the murky outlook for U.S. stimulus negotiations, while investors weighed prospects for the coronavirus vaccine. The House Rules Committee advanced legislation that would decriminalize marijuana, although the Senate is not set to consider similar legislation at this time. National Bank of Canada Chief Executive Officer Louis Vachon expects an increase in mergers and acquisitions to bolster the company’s financial-markets business in the year ahead, propping up results as a boom in trading cools off.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.8% to $1,829.99 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.1% to C$1.2920 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 2.3 basis points to 0.759%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.4 percent, or 61.28 to 17,358.21 in Toronto. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.6 percent. Aurora Cannabis Inc. had the largest increase, rising 11.3 percent. Today, 108 of 222 shares rose, while 112 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 7.7 percent
* This year, the index rose 1.7 percent, poised for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 2.2 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 19 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.4 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 55.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 11 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.2 on a trailing basis and 23.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.65t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.43 percent compared with 15.43 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.36 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 35.2283| 1.8| 22/1
Information Technology | 14.1690| 0.8| 7/3
Financials | 11.4587| 0.2| 11/15
Consumer Staples | 7.5386| 1.1| 5/5
Health Care | 7.4863| 3.6| 7/3
Consumer Discretionary | 3.2228| 0.5| 7/6
Communication Services | 2.1932| 0.3| 5/2
Materials | 1.2010| 0.1| 25/27
Real Estate | -5.2146| -0.9| 4/22
Industrials | -7.9090| -0.4| 12/15
Utilities | -8.1075| -0.9| 3/13

US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks registered a record high for a second consecutive day amid renewed optimism over U.S. stimulus talks and a rebound in crude oil. Treasury yields rose, while the dollar touched a more than two-year low. The S&P 500 edged up 0.2%, closing at an all-time high, led by gains in energy companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. Salesforce.com Inc. weighted on tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes with analysts calling its purchase of Slack Technologies Inc. expensive. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for immediate talks and said a bipartisan $908 billion aid proposal should be the foundation for negotiations. “It’s a push-and-pull of market positioning,” said Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management’s Ascent Private Wealth Group. “It’s just this two step forward, one step back that we’ve watched in the stock market for a number of months now.” Oil snapped a three-day slide after a surprise decline in U.S. crude inventories and signals that OPEC+ made progress toward a widely anticipated deal on output curbs. Earlier, Pfizer Inc. climbed after its shot was cleared for deployment in the U.K. as soon as next week.
Britain’s pound slumped after the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier reportedly told envoys the outcome of any deal is still too close to call. After vaccine breakthroughs fueled record monthly gains for global stocks, markets appear to have priced in an improved health outlook, and investors are turning some of their attention to bonds. One of the year’s biggest spikes in Treasury  yields on Tuesday has spurred speculation about the potential impact of rising rates on stocks and corporate debt. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated Wednesday that there was no rift between the central bank and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over the sunsetting of emergency lending programs. Powell emphasized the need for more stimulus before a Congressional committee. “We’re watching the size of the fiscal stimulus package and the timing of it, which is really important,” said Michael Greenly, a senior portfolio manager at UBS Private Wealth Management. “We’re also watching if there’s going to be longer restrictive social distancing policies, which could affect the economy on some levels. But even with that, the recent data’s suggested that the economic recovery is continuing.”
Elsewhere, the offshore yuan erased gains after President- elect Joe Biden told the New York Times he won’t soon remove tariffs on Chinese goods. Gold rose for a second day. Bitcoin hovered around $19,000 after nearly reaching $20,000 on Tuesday.

These are some key events coming up:
* The U.S. employment report on Friday is expected to show more Americans headed back to work in November, though at a slower pace than October.
* German factory orders for October are due Friday.

Here are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2% to 3,668.99 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2% to 29,884.78.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed at 12,349.37.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1% to 391.69.
The MSCI All-Country World Index jumped 0.3% to 626.59, the highest on record.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1% to 1,135.62, the lowest in more than two years.
The euro rose 0.3% to $1.2102, the strongest in more than two years.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.2% to 104.51 per dollar, the weakest in more than a week.
The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3366, the largest drop in almost three weeks.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 0.94%, the highest in three weeks.
Germany’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to -0.52%, the highest in three weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 0.354%, the highest in three weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.3% to $45.13 a barrel, the first advance in a week.
Gold strengthened 0.7% to $1,828.75 an ounce, the highest in more than a week.
–With assistance from Todd White.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude…
-William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
December starts on the same day of the week as September every year and ends on the same day as April every year.

1913-Ford Motor company institutes world’s first moving assembly line for the Model T ford..
1955-Rosa Parks arrested.
1891: Basketball created.

Archaeologists discover a massive collection of prehistoric cliff paintings in the Amazon. –Bloomberg.

Witnesses capture images of the Utah monolith being dismantled. -Bloomberg

1913 The first drive-in automobile service station opened, in Pittsburgh.  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mariana Tsembenhoi, who, at just 19 years old is youngest dancer with the Royal Ballet, dances in the snow which will appear daily in Covent Garden, London, UK, throughout December.
CREDIT: PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH

A woman sits on a chair in Sircali Canyon during autumn in Karabuk, Turkey. Sircali Canyon, located within the borders of Safranbolu district, famous for its historical houses, is among the places that draw attention with its animal species, forest sea and self-assembled stone terraces.
CREDIT: AHMET OZLER/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

Autumnal aerial view of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Music Stage, Zijin Mountain, Nanjing city, Jiangsu Province China.
CREDIT: COSTFOTO/BARCROFT MEDIA VIA GETTY IMAGES

The Plumed Basilisk (Basiliscus Plumifrons) from Costa Rica has the ability to run short distances across the water. Thanks to its specially designed feet it has earned this beautiful casquehead Basilisk the nickname ‘Jesus Christ lizard’ or ‘Jesus Lizard’. Usually seen basking in the sun on a rock or tree trunk, when frightened by a potential predator, the Jesus lizard will drop to the water and run across its surface for a few metres (up to 4.5mts).
CREDIT: TELEGRAPH.CO.UK 2020/12/01

Market Closes for December 1^st, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29823.92	+185.28
		+0.63%
S&P 500	3662.45	+40.82
		+1.13%
NASDAQ	12355.105	+156.368 +1.28%
TSX	17296.93	+106.68
		+0.62%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	26787.54	+353.92
		+1.34%
HANG SENG	26567.68	+226.19
		+0.86%
SENSEX	44655.44	+505.72
		+1.15%
FTSE 100*	6384.73	+118.54 +1.89%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.738	0.673
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.237	1.168
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.9327	0.8422
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.6756	1.5679

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.77303	0.76898
US $	1.29361	1.30043
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56170	0.64033
US $	1.20724	0.82833

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1762.55	1779.30
Oil
WTI Crude Future	44.55	45.34

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1919, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange opened for its first day of trading.  Total volume in 45 minutes of trading: Three lots of egg futures.

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares gained Tuesday after Monday’s retreat as gold prices advanced while domestic banks began reporting earnings. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.6% with materials and financials leading the charge. Pot shares retreated. Gold rebounded from an almost five-month low as the dollar retreated amid strong risk-on sentiment in equity markets. Meanwhile, BlackBerry surged the most ever after the company signed a multiyear agreement with Amazon Web Services to develop and market its “Intelligent Vehicle Data Platform,”  called IVY. Canada’s softer-than-expected third-quarter rebound is not nearly as weak as it looks, Bloomberg economist Andrew Husby said. The undershoot relative to consensus expectations is largely due to inventory and trade contributions, with domestic demand holding up well.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate, as of yesterday
* Spot gold rose 2.1% to $1,814.54 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.5% to C$1.2937 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 6.6 basis points to 0.737%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6 percent at 17,296.93 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 1.2 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.1 percent. BlackBerry Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 18.7 percent. Today, 137 of 222 shares rose, while 84 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 7.3 percent
* This year, the index rose 1.4 percent, poised for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 1.5 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.7 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 54.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 11 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27 on a trailing basis and 23.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.63t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.43 percent compared with 15.44 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.35 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 68.8801| 1.3| 22/3
Materials | 60.9792| 2.6| 46/6
Consumer Discretionary | 2.8349| 0.4| 9/4
Industrials | 1.8320| 0.1| 15/13
Energy | 1.6081| 0.1| 9/14
Real Estate | 1.2927| 0.2| 18/8
Consumer Staples | -1.0480| -0.2| 4/7
Communication Services | -3.4950| -0.4| 4/3
Utilities | -6.6066| -0.7| 5/11
Information Technology | -7.6271| -0.4| 4/6
Health Care | -11.9514| -5.4| 1/9

US
By Claire Ballentine and Kamaron Leach
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks started December by rising to record highs as a renewal of aid talks added to optimism over progress on coronavirus vaccines. The dollar extended its slide to a more than two-year low and Treasury yields jumped. The risk-on mood powered the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to all-time highs a day after posting double-digit gains last month. Traders continued to bet vaccine news will lead to an economic surge next year. There were also signs that appetite is picking up for a federal spending plan. President-elect Joe Biden urged Congress to pass a relief package. Communication services, financial and information technology were the biggest S&P industry sector gainers. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered a new proposal for a stimulus package and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he is circulating among Republicans his own revised plan, which has the backing of President Donald Trump.
“Investors have been prepared to look beyond the near-term continued rise in Covid-19 cases in many regions,” said Mark Haefele, UBS Global Wealth Management’s chief investment officer. “They have focused instead on the potential for a return to normal social and economic activity based on the widespread roll out of effective vaccines in the first half of 2021. We see further upside for global equities in this environment, but also expect market leadership to continue to shift.” After a record month for global stocks, there’s no end in sight for the rally that’s been fueled by vaccine breakthroughs. Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE have sought regulatory clearance for their Covid-19 vaccine in the European Union and BioNTech said it could start shipping the first doses “within hours” after approval. “People have faith that even though things are very uncertain around the virus in the short term, if they look out six months or a year, it’s credible things will be better,” said Alec Young, chief investment officer at Tactical Alpha LLC. Strong economic data from Asia also added support to the positive mood in markets. Indexes of factory activity in some of North Asia’s biggest export led economies rebounded in November and China’s recovery continues to lift the region.
It’s not all good news though. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cautioned lawmakers that the U.S. economy remains in a damaged and uncertain state during testimony at a Tuesday hearing before the Senate Banking Committee. In other markets, gold advanced. Oil fell as OPEC+ sought more time to reach a deal on production policy. Bitcoin pulled back after almost reaching $20,000 for the first time.
These are some key events coming up:
* Fed’s Powell testifies before Congress again on Wednesday.
* The U.S. employment report on Friday is expected to show more Americans headed back to work in November, though at a slower pace than October.

Here are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index advanced 1.1% to 3,662.41 as of 4:02 p.m. New
York time, the highest on record with the largest gain in a week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.6% to 29,823.52, the biggest gain in a week.
The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.3% to 12,355.11, the highest on record with the largest gain in a week.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.7% to 391.90, the biggest gain in a week.
The MSCI All-Country World Index advanced 1.2% to 625.45, the highest on record with the largest gain in a week.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.7% to 1,136.59, the lowest in more than two years on the biggest dip in almost four weeks.
The euro surged 1.2% to $1.2075, the strongest in more than two years on the largest jump in about eight months.
The Japanese yen was little changed at 104.30 per dollar.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed eight basis points to 0.92%, the highest in almost three weeks on the largest surge in more than three weeks.
Germany’s 10-year yield jumped four basis points to -0.53%, the highest in almost three weeks on the biggest surge in more than three weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield climbed four basis points to 0.347%, the highest in more than two weeks on the largest surge in more than three weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude sank 1.7% to $44.55 a barrel, the lowest in more than a week on the biggest tumble in more than two weeks.
Gold strengthened 2.1% to $1,814.78 an ounce, the largest jump in almost four weeks.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Each person must live their life as a model for others.
                                        -Rosa Parks, 1913-2005

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Full Moon tonight – Beaver Moon.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the November full phase is called the Full Beaver Moon, as it is when beavers usually went into their lodges for winter. This beaver moon will undergo a penumbral lunar eclipse, which is when the moon enters the outer part of the Earth’s shadow, called the penumbra.

1016 -Cnut the Great [Canute], King of Denmark, claims the English throne after the death of Edmund, “Ironside”.

Jonathan Swift, b. 1667
Mark Twain, b. 1835
Winston Churchill, b. 1874
Abbie Hoffman, b. 1936
Ben Stiller, b. 1965.

On this day in 1990, after months of joyous destruction by border guards and regular citizens, the Berlin Wall was finally levelled to the ground.

1979 The album “The Wall” by Pink Floyd was released.  Go to article »

That strange silver monolith in Utah that drew otherworldly theories has disappeared.  We really don’t need any more mysteries this year. So, wherever you are, silver monolith, we hope you’re happy. –CNN

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Frozen fog covers the trees in the Taunus region near Frankfurt, Germany.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/MICHAEL PROBST

Tourists walk amidst fresh snow at the trekking spot named Triund, near Dharamsala, India.
CREDIT: SANJAY BAID/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

A foggy sunburst through Durdle Door on the Jurassic coast.
CREDIT: RACHELBAKER/BNPS

An Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) tosses up its catch of a small fish at a lake outside Putrajaya, Malaysia.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/VINCENT THIAN

Market Closes for November 30^th, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29638.64	-271.73
		-0.91%
S&P 500	3621.63	-16.72
		-0.46%
NASDAQ	12198.738	-7.109 -0.06%
TSX	17190.25	-206.31
		-1.19%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	26433.62	-211.09
		-0.79%
HANG SENG	26341.49	-553.19
		-2.06%
SENSEX	44149.72	-110.02
		-0.25%
FTSE 100*	6266.19	-101.39 -1.59%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.673	0.679
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.168	1.191
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.8422	0.8373
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.5679	1.5699

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76898	0.76949
US $	1.30043	1.29956
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55188	0.64438
US $	1.19337	0.83797

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1779.30	1807.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	45.34	45.51

Market Commentary:
The S&P 500 hit another record close on Friday, its 26th record close this year. The Nasdaq also hit a record close on Friday, its 45th record close this year.

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities slid Monday but still capped off a strong November as vaccine optimism buoyed stocks throughout the month. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 10.3% in the best monthly gain since April. On Monday, energy shares led the decline while tech was among gainers. OPEC talks ended without an agreement on next year’s oil output, with ministers punting the final decision into a second day of discussions as tensions in the cartel simmered. Private equity firm Sandpiper Group also won its battle to replace the board of Artis Real Estate Investment Trust, taking control of a property portfolio with heavy exposure to oil-producing regions of Canada that have taken a severe economic hit in the pandemic.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.35 discount to West Texas Intermediate, as of yesterday
* Spot gold fell 0.7% to $1,775.81 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1% to C$1.2977 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield edged higher to 0.679%
–With assistance from Derek Decloet and Kristine Owram.

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.1 percent at 17,205.43 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 2.7 percent on Oct. 28 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.3 percent. Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.9 percent. Crescent Point Energy Corp. had the largest drop, falling 9.7 percent. Today, 149 of 222 shares fell, while 70 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 10 percent, heading for the biggest advance since April
* This year, the index rose 0.7 percent, heading for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 1 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 54 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.6 percent in the past 5 days and rose 10 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.8 on a trailing basis and 23.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.67t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.44 percent compared with 14.86 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.36 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -104.4387| -2.0| 3/23
Energy | -86.2654| -4.2| 1/22
Industrials | -36.6914| -1.7| 9/19
Real Estate | -7.5435| -1.3| 3/22
Communication Services| -6.7128| -0.8| 1/6
Utilities | -6.4095| -0.7| 5/11
Consumer Discretionary| -6.2573| -1.0| 3/9
Consumer Staples | -0.5816| -0.1| 5/6
Health Care | 1.2276| 0.6| 4/6
Materials | 12.6881| 0.5| 32/19
Information Technology| 34.6716| 2.0| 4/6

US
By Vildana Hajric and Kamaron Leach
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell from records as investors assessed the prospects for risk assets after a blistering month long rally. The dollar strengthened. The S&P 500 dropped the most in more than a week, though the benchmark index still registered its best month since April. Global stocks and American small caps posted their best months on record. Broad selling sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes that trailed in November fared better, briefly touching another record high on Monday. Gold slumped and Bitcoin rallied back to an all-time high. “The market may be getting tired from its very strong November and simultaneous all time highs (DJIA, S&P and Russell 2K), which could push the benchmarks into a traditional mid- December low,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
The rapid pace to a coronavirus vaccine has given investors the confidence to price in a return to normalcy and faster economic growth, helping lift shares of companies that were hardest hit by the pandemic. Over the weekend, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said the federal government hopes to quickly review and approve requests from two drugmakers for emergency approval of their Covid-19 vaccines. “November has been such an unbelievable move up,” said Andrew Mies, chief investment officer of 6 Meridian. “All that is being driven by the vaccine.” Shares of Moderna Inc. surged 20% on Monday after the company said it plans to request clearance for its coronavirus vaccine in the U.S. and Europe. The MSCI World Index soared 13% in November, the best performance on record. The risk-on mood across markets has hurt demand for haven assets. Gold posted its largest monthly decline in four years. Even after gaining on Monday, the dollar slumped 2.4% in November.
Oil edged lower in New York. OPEC+ began two days of potentially complicated talks to hash out the size of its oil- production cuts next year, with the group’s president calling for caution in a fragile market. Elsewhere, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.6% on Monday, the biggest loss in a month. Bitcoin took less than three years to replicate the euphoric ascent that catapulted the cryptocurrency into the mainstream consciousness. The world’s largest digital-asset gained as much as 8.7% to $19,351, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It traded at a few cents for several years after its late 2008 launch by an unknown software developer in the wake of the global financial crash.
These are some key events coming up:
* The Reserve Bank of Australia holds a policy meeting on Tuesday.
* Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday.
* The U.S. employment report on Friday is expected to show more Americans headed back to work in November, though at a slower pace than last month.

Here are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index declined 0.5% to 3,621.82 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the lowest in a week on the largest drop in more than a week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.9% to 29,643.97, the lowest in a week on the biggest dip in more than a week.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.1% to 12,198.74, the first retreat in more than a week.
The MSCI All-Country World Index sank 0.9% to 617.87, the lowest in a week on the biggest dip in a month.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 1% to 389.36, the lowest in a week on the largest decrease in more than a month.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.3% to 1,144.98, the highest in a week on the biggest increase in three weeks.
The euro decreased 0.3% to $1.1927, the largest decrease in almost three weeks.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.3% to 104.40 per dollar, the biggest fall in a week.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 0.85%.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 1.58%.
Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.57%.
Britain’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.305%, the biggest surge in almost three weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude sank 0.7% to $45.19 a barrel, the largest decrease in more than two weeks.
Gold depreciated 0.7% to $1,776.09 an ounce, the weakest in five months.
–With assistance from Claire Ballentine.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Enthusiasm is the most important thing in life.
                -Tennessee Williams, 1911-1983

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  Happy Friday.
1942 The French navy at Toulon scuttled its ships and submarines to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis.  Go to article »

Jimi Hendrix, b. 1942
Bruce Lee, b. 1940
Gail Sheehy, b. 1937.

Archaeologists found a grave and more than 12,000 artifacts, including an ink bottle, doll fragments and coins, at the site of a historic Black church in Colonial Williamsburg.

Here are seven new books to watch for in December.

Read about Adriene Mishler, the reigning queen of pandemic yoga

While Covid-19 has emptied some urban neighborhoods, including the tonier parts of Manhattan and San Francisco, most of the wealthy’s favorite haunts have only gotten more popular. Here is where the super-rich live

The Rockettes perform at Thanksgiving Parade while wearing masks.  Pulling off a flawless precision dance number? Impressive. Doing it in toy soldier hats and masks? Legendary. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A closed chairlift is seen at the ski resort of Passo Tonale in the Dolomites, Italy,  which has become a virtual ghost town after the government decision to close everything down in fear of the rising numbers of coronavirus.
CREDIT: REUTERS/GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE

Misty view from the Kilpatrick Hills looking towards Dumbarton, Scotland, UK.
CREDIT: MICHAEL MCGURK

A group of cormorants fiercely battle each other for a fish. The four birds flocked around another which had made a catch. Following the brief scuffle the victor emerged and swallowed the trout whole. The photographs were taken at the Ed R. Levin County Park in Milpitas, California, on the West Coast of the United States. 
CREDIT: JUDY TSENG/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

A baby Sumatran orangutan has been born at Prague Zoo, Czech Republic. The unnamed baby ape has been hailed as “the most precious in Europe. Zookeepers said its mother Mawar has been taking good care of her baby and has started drinking milk. The baby is the sole great-grandchild of an orangutan imported to the zoo from forests in Sumatra.
CREDIT: MIROSLAV BOBEK/TRIRANGE NEWS

Market Closes for November 27^th, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29910.37	+37.90
		+0.13%
S&P 500	3638.35	+8.70
		+0.24%
NASDAQ	12205.848	+111.446 +0.92%
TSX	17396.56	+45.22
		+0.26%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	26644.71	+107.40
		+0.40%
HANG SENG	26894.68	+75.23
		+0.28%
SENSEX	44149.72	-110.02
		-0.25%
FTSE 100*	6367.58	+4.65 +0.07%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.679	0.686
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.191	1.205
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.8373	0.8816
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.5699	1.6237

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76949	0.76806
US $	1.29956	1.30199
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55488	0.64314
US $	1.19646	0.83580

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1807.40	1810.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	45.51	45.51

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1991, in a voice vote not recorded by the customary roll call—so that infuriated constituents wouldn’t know for sure who was to blame—both houses of Congress passed legislation bailing out the dying savings and loan industry. The bailout bill—the Resolution Trust Corporation Refinancing, Restructuring and Improvement Act of 1991—sank another $25 billion of taxpayers’ money directly into the S&L bailout, while authorizing up to $35 billion in new borrowings to finance the government’s purchase of bad loans.

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities advanced for a fourth straight week after a strong showing from energy and marijuana companies. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.3% Friday, posting its longest winning streak since May, with cannabis stocks leading the charge after an updated U.S. House schedule showed a vote will be held on marijuana decriminalization next week. Real estate and materials underperformed. Gold plunged while copper soared amid increasing optimism that a vaccine will spur a global economic recovery from the pandemic-led recession. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said widespread vaccination against Covid-19 will begin early in 2021, and is expected to inoculate a majority of Canadians by this time next year.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.20 discount to West Texas Intermediate, as of yesterday
* Spot gold fell 1.5% to $1,787.79 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.2% to C$1.2990 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 1.3 basis points to 0.673%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the seventh day, climbing 0.3 percent, or 45.22 to 17,396.56 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 24. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.1 percent. Aurora Cannabis Inc. had the largest increase, rising 17.9 percent. Today, 129 of 222 shares rose, while 91 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.2 percent
* This month, the index rose 12 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* This year, the index rose 2 percent, heading for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 1.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 55.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.1 on a trailing basis and 23.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.66t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 14.86 percent compared with 15.31 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.27 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 13.4236| 0.7| 20/3
Information Technology | 12.8808| 0.8| 8/1
Health Care | 9.8550| 4.7| 7/3
Industrials | 5.1885| 0.2| 19/8
Communication Services | 4.3557| 0.5| 4/3
Consumer Staples | 3.7004| 0.5| 11/0
Utilities | 3.4906| 0.4| 13/3
Financials | 2.7554| 0.1| 9/17
Consumer Discretionary | 0.4442| 0.1| 8/5
Real Estate | -2.9496| -0.5| 8/18
Materials | -7.9378| -0.3| 22/30

US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose in to a record in thin post-holiday volume as investors assessed valuations with pandemic still raging in parts of Europe and the U.S. Oil retreated amid rising tensions among OPEC+ members. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high after rallying 11% in November. Trading volume was only 60% of the average over the past year. The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 0.8%. The stock market closed at 1 p.m. in New York, while bond trading ends an hour later. Treasuries advanced and the dollar headed for a second weekly decline. “If you start looking out over the horizon, there are a lot of things that have lined up incredibly well,” said Mark Stoeckle, a Boston-based fund manager at Adams Funds with $2.5 billion of assets. “You have the vaccines, you have a plan to get them out, you’ve got incredibly low interest rates for likely a very long time.”
     The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged higher. The dollar weakened versus major peers. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped below 0.84%. Global stocks are on track for the best month on record, up 13%, and that’s lifted valuations to near the highest in about 20 years. Still, sentiment remains fragile as the virus toll continues to rise in Europe and the U.S., while economic recoveries wobble. Investors are pinning their hopes on a swift rollout of vaccines, but the logistical challenges are considerable. “To see whether the market will continue to have legs we will have to have confirmation of those vaccine hopes,” Nannette Hechler-Fayd’ Herbe, Credit Suisse’s chief investment officer for international wealth management and global head of economics and research, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “So very quickly now we want to see approvals, we want to see production outlooks as far as the vaccines’ broader distribution is concerned.”
Political clarity has also driven risk assets this month, as President-elect Joe Biden continues his transition to power. President Donald Trump said he’ll relinquish power if the Electoral College affirms Biden’s win, but he signaled he may never formally concede defeat, and may skip the Democrat’s inauguration.
     In China, data showed profits at industrial enterprises surged at the fastest pace in a single month in almost nine years in October, a further sign the country’s economic recovery is gathering pace.
Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% at 1 p.m. in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.4%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%.
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1955.
* The British pound lost 0.3% to $1.3313.
* The yen was at 104.24 per dollar, up 0.2%.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries four basis points to 0.84%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.59%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.7% to $45.38 a barrel.
* Gold futures fell 1.2% to $1,790 an ounce.
–With assistance from Robert Brand and Francine Lacqua.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I invent nothing, I rediscover.
-Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
John Harvard, Harvard University founder, b. 1607.
Charles M. Shultz, creator of Peanuts, b. 1922.
Tina Turner, singer, b. 1938

2000 Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified Republican George W. Bush the winner over Democrat Al Gore in the state’s presidential balloting by 537 votes.  Go to article »

Travel, virtually: Tour 52 places around the world. Admire some abstract architecture. And foster the spirit of travel at home. –NY Times.

Be one with your couch: Marathon the 50 best movies on Netflix right now. Or you could host a virtual game night. –NY Times.

Be sentimental: Peruse a greatest hits list of Modern Love essays — just be sure to have some tissues handy.    There’s also no shortage of holiday-inspired movies and TV shows to watch.-NY Times.

From the late-night hosts:
“Seriously, there’s a name from the past. Even Michael Flynn was like, ‘Damn, I totally forgot about Michael Flynn.’” — JIMMY FALLON

“Actually, it does turn out that the brief they give Biden is a little different than the one they give Trump. I’ll show you what I mean. For instance, Biden’s brief says, ‘Iran building nuclear arsenal,’ while Trump’s brief says, ‘Iran make big fireworks that go boom-boom.’” — JIMMY FALLON

“And finally, Biden’s brief says, ‘Canada extends border restrictions with U.S.,’ while Trump’s says, ‘Americans betrayed by Beliebers.’” — JIMMY FALLON

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Refugee Settlement Sudan, Mrs Tsegay, mother of six, is stands on the banks of the Tekeze River as she awaits the arrival of her relatives. An umbrella protects her and her youngest child from the sun.
CREDIT: JOOST BASTMEIJER FOR THE TELEGRAPH

An elderly couple, Rod and May Proctor,  have spent the last month transforming their home into a real life Candy Lane for Christmas – featuring a brilliant light parade and a sweet shop. Couple in their 70s have transformed their house into a candy themed light parade for Christmas while isolating due to coronavirus.
CREDIT: ALEX COUSINS/SWNS 

People can get in the festive spirit with a magical interactive light experience at a British safari park this Christmas. Land of Light features 72,000 LED lights that have been used to create 17 illuminated scenes on a 2km route at Longleat in Wiltshire.
CREDIT: ZACHARYCULPIN/BNPS

Market Closes for November 26^th, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	N/A	N/A
S&P 500	N/A	N/A
NASDAQ	N/A	N/A
TSX	17351.34	+38.27
		+0.22%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	26537.31	+240.45
		+0.91%
HANG SENG	26819.45	+149.70
		+0.56%
SENSEX	44259.74	+431.64
		+0.98%
FTSE 100*	6362.93	-28.16 -0.44%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.686	0.710
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.205	1.226
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.8816	0.8816
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.6237	1.6270

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76806	0.76903
US $	1.30199	1.30035
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55079	0.64483
US $	1.19110	0.83956

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1810.20	1799.60
Oil
WTI Crude Future	45.51	45.51

Market Commentary:
If you spend more than 14 minutes a year worrying about the markets, you’ve wasted 12 minutes. -Peter Lynch, Fidelity Investments.

Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares eked out gains with lighter than usual trading volume amid the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.2% in Toronto on Thursday. Health care stocks outperformed, led by gains in cannabis firms. In contrast, industrial companies and financial firms underperformed the benchmark. Score Media & Gaming Inc. rallied after Canada’s Justice Minister David Lametti unveiled proposed legislation to legalize single-event sports betting. And as Covid-19 cases surge across Canada, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are extending work-from- home plans for some employees by at least four months.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.20 discount to West Texas Intermediate, as of yesterday
* Spot gold was up 0.5% to $1,815.71 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar slipped 0.1% to C$1.3019 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell to 0.687%
–With assistance from Robert Tuttle.
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the sixth day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 38.27 to 17,351.34 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 24. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.5 percent. Trillium Therapeutics Inc. had the largest increase, rising 6.9 percent. Today, 137 of 222 shares rose, while 82 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2 percent
* This month, the index rose 11 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* This year, the index rose 1.7 percent, heading for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 1.9 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.4 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 55.3 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.6 percent in the past 5 days and rose 7.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27 on a trailing basis and 23.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.65t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 15.31 percent compared with 15.40 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.21 percent over the past month

================================================================
|Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 28.0303| 1.2| 44/8
Information Technology | 20.3302| 1.2| 8/2
Real Estate | 4.7940| 0.9| 22/4
Health Care | 2.8994| 1.4| 9/1
Utilities | 2.0621| 0.2| 10/5
Consumer Staples | 0.8724| 0.1| 8/3
Consumer Discretionary | 0.0710| 0.0| 6/7
Communication Services | -0.2671| 0.0| 5/2
Energy | -3.5571| -0.2| 4/19
Industrials | -7.4084| -0.3| 10/16
Financials | -9.5484| -0.2| 11/15

US
US markets are closed for Thanksgiving Day.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Reputation is what other people know about you.  Honor is what you know about yourself.
                                                                                 -Lois McMaster Bujold, b. 1949

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
I started reading a new book last night and in the introduction there is a quote from Ludwig Van Beethoven, referencing his feelings about his deafness.  It made me think that so many people must be feeling similar despair right now brought on by the isolation that this Pandemic has wrought.  So, I thought I’d share his words with you:

“For me there can be no relaxation with my  fellow men, no refined conversation, no mutual exchange of ideas.  I must live almost alone, like one who has been banished.  I can mix with society only as much as true necessity demands.  If I approach near to people a hot terror seizes upon me, and I fear being exposed to the danger that my condition might be noticed….
  But what a humiliation for me when someone standing next to me heard a flute in the distance and I heard nothing, or someone standing next to me heard a shepherd singing and again I heard nothing.  Such incidents drove me almost to despair.” –Ludwig Van Beethoven.

On Nov. 25, 1986, the Iran-Contra affair erupted as President Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels. Go to article »

Andrew Carnegie, financier, b. 1835.
Joe DiMaggio, baseball player, b. 1914.

An amateur astronomer may have found the source of the “Wow!” signal.

Does Monet beat the Dow? An investigation. –Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Puddles are for splashing in, not drinking: Archie, 2, from London splashing in the paddling pool in the V&A garden, where WaterAid laid 144 pairs of wellies to highlight the 144 million children, women and men worldwide who drink from surface water like ponds, lakes and even puddles. 
CREDIT: TELEGRAPH NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Christmas trees are harvested at a plantation near Milnathort in Perth and Kinross.
CREDIT: IAIM MASTERTON / ALAMY LIVE NEWS

A Kashmir villager wrapped in woolen blanket walks on a snow covered road a day after the season’s first snowfall on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir
CREDIT: APPHOTO/MUKHTAR KHAN
Market Closes for November 25^th, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29872.47	-173.77
		-0.58%
S&P 500	3629.65	-5.76
		-0.16%
NASDAQ	12094.402	+57.617 +0.48%
TSX	17313.07	+38.82
		+0.22%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	26296.86	+131.27
		+0.50%
HANG SENG	26669.75	+81.55
		+0.31%
SENSEX	43828.10	-694.92
		-1.56%
FTSE 100*	6391.09	-41.08 -0.64%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.710	0.718
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.226	1.226
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.8816	0.8816
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.6270	1.6079

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76903	0.76926
US $	1.30035	1.29994
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54951	0.64537
US $	1.19161	0.83920

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1799.60	1840.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	45.51	44.71

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1835, Andrew Carnegie, future steel king, was born in Dunfermline, County Fife, Scotland. Carnegie came to the U.S. when he was 13 and went on to forge the steel industry that made America’s railroads, bridges and automobiles possible; he also established the public library system. In 1901 Carnegie became the world’s richest man, selling out to J.P. Morgan for $400 million; but by his death in 1919 he had given away $350 million.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets pared back earlier losses to end Wednesday’s session in the green.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.2%, after falling as much 0.3% earlier in Toronto. Tech stocks were the best performers, led by Shopify and others. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary were the worst performing stocks. Among the miners, the Pebble mine in Alaska was dealt a potentially lethal blow after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected a permit for the project. Northern Dynasty Minerals tumbled about 50% in Toronto.
Elsewhere, Canadian entrepreneur Gary Ng has been accused by the country’s investment regulator of falsifying documents and creating fake brokerage accounts to secure the money to buy one of Vancouver’s oldest investment firms, PI Financial Corp.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.20 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was flat at $1,806 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was flat C$1.2997 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell to 0.707%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fifth day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 38.82 to 17,313.07 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 24. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.3 percent. Jamieson Wellness Inc. had the largest increase, rising 8.0 percent.
Today, 133 of 222 shares rose, while 84 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 11 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* This year, the index rose 1.5 percent, heading for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 1.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 17 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.7 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 55 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 6.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27 on a trailing basis and 23.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.65t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.40 percent compared with 15.40 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.20 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 45.5229| 2.8| 7/3
Materials | 26.2662| 1.2| 40/11
Utilities | 3.6399| 0.4| 10/6
Real Estate | 1.5998| 0.3| 16/10
Energy | 1.5872| 0.1| 9/13
Health Care | -0.3275| -0.2| 5/5
Consumer Staples | -1.1316| -0.2| 6/5
Communication Services | -1.1879| -0.1| 3/4
Industrials | -1.6671| -0.1| 20/7
Consumer Discretionary | -8.2015| -1.2| 7/5
Financials | -27.2526| -0.5| 10/15
US
By Yakob Peterseil and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — The rotation out of tech shares and into cyclicals, sparked by promising vaccine news, reversed Wednesday as investors cast a wary eye on a batch of data that suggest a possible slowdown in economic growth. Treasuries edged higher.
The S&P 500 Index retreated from an all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell back below 30,000. The tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes edged higher. Volume dwindled into the closing auction as traders headed out for the Thursday holiday that will keep markets closed. A deluge of data brought the first back-to-back rise in weekly U.S. jobless claims since July, an uptick in durable goods orders and a widening trade deficit. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting did little to alter views. The central bank discussed providing more guidance on its bond-buying strategy during the Nov. 4-5 policy meeting. Traders are also assessing the pandemic’s effect on the economy as cases continue to rise and more jurisdictions tighten restrictions.
“The market is caught between two powerful impulses — optimism for the post-pandemic world and fear because present reality is that the pandemic is exploding throughout the country,” said Jeff Klingelhofer, co-head of investments and portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment Management, which has $44 billion in total client assets. “Markets could be choppy, but downside is likely limited by the vaccine.” Small caps slumped. The Russell 2000 is still up 20% in November, headed for the best month in its 41-year history. Gold was little changed, Bitcoin pulled back from near a record and the 10-year Treasury yield fell. The dollar weakened.
The mediocre economic data dimmed positive vaccine news and the formal start of President-elect Joe Biden’s transition to power — including the selection of Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary — that had fueled optimism about the outlook for risk assets. At the same time, restrictions to curb surging coronavirus cases threaten to slow the world’s economic recovery. An MSCI gauge of global shares stalled on Wednesday after gaining 13% in November, still set for the best month since 1988.
“We remain on fragile footing heading into the winter as cases continue to climb globally,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial. “And since the markets are forward looking, this data will likely be taken in stride. The markets tend to cheer on certainty so the presidential transition and vaccine developments are two factors it’s latched onto lately.”
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index edged lower, as cyclicals such as mining and energy firms fell, offsetting advances in defensives including utility shares. ABN Amro Bank NV and Commerzbank AG dropped more than 3% and led euro-area lenders lower after the European Central Bank said the industry will probably have to set aside more money to soak up losses when government pandemic support ends.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Thursday sees a policy decision and briefing from the Bank of Korea.
* U.S. celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. The stock market closes at 1 p.m. on Friday.
* The week ends with Black Friday, the traditional start of the U.S. holiday shopping season.

Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index slid 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%.
* The Dow average lost 0.6%
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.4%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
* The euro gained 0.2% to $1.1914.
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3378.
* The onshore yuan strengthened 0.3% to 6.574 per dollar.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 104.4 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 0.87%.
* The yield on two-year Treasuries was little changed at 0.16%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.58%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined to 0.318%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield dipped less than one basis point to 0.021%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 3.6% to $45.62 a barrel.
* Brent crude gained 1.5% to $48.59 a barrel.
* Gold futures were flat at $1,810.70 an ounce.

–With assistance from Adam Haigh and David Wilson.
Have a great day.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.
                              -Ludwig Van Beethoven, 1770-1827

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, painter, b. 1864.
Benedict de Spinoza, philosopher, b. 1632
Dale Carnegie, writer, b. 1888.

On Nov. 24, 1963, Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy. Go to article »

The Times Book Review released its list of the year’s 10 best books. –NY Times.

Read an in-depth conversation with the cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Evolutionary transitions suggest intelligent life is rare. –Bloomberg.

So it begins: A monolith appears in the Utah desert.-Bloomberg.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the color palette of Garfield comics.

Researchers are also using a convolutional neural network, a type of A.I. that is especially well suited to analyzing photographs and other images, to identify ancient civilizations in millions of square miles of Google Earth imagery.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

This tiny burrowing owl tilts his head in curiosity as he spots a photographer taking his picture in the small town of Diessen in the Netherlands.
CREDIT: ALBERT BEUKHOF/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Two people walk through early morning frost during sunrise in Epping Forest, east London, UK.
CREDIT: VICTORIA JONES/PA WIRE

The stunning Christmas light display pictured at Hever Castle in Kent, UK, which started this weekend, photographed by drone. Hever Castle’s annual Christmas event sees a Peter Pan themed trail in the grounds as well as the chance to witness the enchantment of the Castle and gardens festooned with fabulous colours and twinkling lights. Tickets must be booked in advance. The castle which dates back to the 13th century was once the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and Mother of Elizabeth I, set in 125 acres of glorious grounds.
CREDIT: OLIVER DIXON

Market Closes for November 24^th, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	30046.24	+454.97
		+1.54%
S&P 500	3635.41	+57.82
		+1.62%
NASDAQ	12036.785	+156.151 +1.31%
TSX	17274.25	+179.71
		+1.05%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	26165.59	+638.22
		+2.50%
HANG SENG	26588.20	+102.00
		+0.39%
SENSEX	44523.02	+445.87
		+1.01%
FTSE 100*	6432.17	+98.33 +1.55%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.718	0.691
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.226	1.198
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.8816	0.8553
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.6079	1.5537

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76926	0.76439
US $	1.29994	1.30823
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.54585	0.64690
US $	1.18916	0.84093

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1840.20	1875.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future	44.71	42.88

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1998, America Online took over Netscape Communications for roughly $4.2 billion.

Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares rose with the global markets, as investors piled into risk assets. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 1.1% to the highest since Feb. 24. Pot stocks were the best performing sector, while materials were the worst as gold prices fell. Cannabis stocks surged as President-elect Joe Biden started his formal transition after the General Services Administration acknowledged that he was the apparent winner of the Nov. 3 election.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.60 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 1.7% to $1,806.46 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose about 0.6% to C$1.3073 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose to 0.716%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 1.1 percent, or 179.71 to 17,274.25 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.3 percent on Nov. 16. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.4 percent. Aurora Cannabis Inc. had the largest increase, rising 27.7 percent. Today, 141 of 222 shares rose, while 76 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 11 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* This year, the index rose 1.2 percent, heading for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 1.9 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 17 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 54.6 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.9 percent in the past 5 days and rose 6 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.9 on a trailing basis and 23.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.62t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.40 percent compared with 15.23 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.20 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 106.0662| 2.0| 24/2
Energy | 74.4243| 3.8| 23/0
Consumer Discretionary | 14.2278| 2.2| 10/3
Communication Services | 8.8595| 1.0| 6/1
Health Care | 8.1872| 4.1| 6/4
Industrials | 4.7903| 0.2| 19/9
Utilities | 3.4249| 0.4| 11/4
Real Estate | 1.4617| 0.3| 14/12
Consumer Staples | -3.6600| -0.5| 4/6
Information Technology | -14.2902| -0.9| 4/5
Materials | -23.7775| -1.0| 20/30

US
By Kamaron Leach and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 30,000 for the first time and investors piled into risk assets as a series of market-friendly developments unleashed animal spirits on Wall Street. The S&P 500 Index hit a record, spurred by the formal start of President-elect Joe Biden’s transition, news that all but removed the threat of a contested transfer of power. Investors also woke up with a clear sense of what Biden’s Treasury Department will have in policy preferences after he nominated Janet Yellen to the post. A third promising vaccine candidate added to the euphoria, boosting bets that the economy can soar next year. The rotation into risk assets was widespread. Small caps in the Russell 2000 added another 1.9%, pushing its November rally past 20%. Tesla Inc. tacked on another 6.4% and is now worth $500 billion. Carnival Corp. jumped 11%, Planet Fitness Inc. rose 8% and MGM Resorts International added 9%. Four stocks rose for every one that fell in the S&P 500, while only three Dow companies dropped. Bitcoin rose to a three-year high, topping $19,000 as it closed in on a record. The record runs come in the face of more troubling news on the virus front, with cases rising and more states enacting restrictions ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Wednesday will also bring a flood of economic indicators, from jobless claims to readings on consumer confidence and personal income. Trading volumes have been elevated in what is normally a calm week. More than 12 billion shares changed hands yesterday, up 75% from the Monday before last year’s holiday.
“There’s nothing else to buy. People have this excess cash and they’re buying into the market and they’re chasing it,” Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Financial Group, said. “People are ignoring the short term and just jumping in and buying. All the short terms news is being ignored for long term optimism.” Energy companies in the S&P 500 surged 4% on the back of oil’s advance past $45 for the first time since March. The dollar weakened versus major peers and Treasuries slipped. Gold fell toward $1,800 an ounce. As the S&P 500 pushes its November surge past 11%, a growing chorus is saying the rally can persist. Even after the latest advance, four of the 11 S&P 500 groups remain at least 8% below when the index set a record on Feb. 19. Expectation is mounting that as investors grow confident the vaccine will spark an economic boom, cash will continue flooding into the likes of banks, utilities and energy companies that have underperformed. “Everybody’s just ecstatic with the vaccine news,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust, in Santa Ana, California, which manages around $2 billion. “We had to slug through the election results, there’s a sense of relief that we didn’t decay into anarchy. That was definitely holding back the economy. We know how well stock markets do with recovery and its vision ahead.” The rotation has been on display all month. Energy shares have surged almost 40%, while financial firms have rallied about 20%. Treasury yields have advanced and gold has stumbled. “Even though we’ve seen this pretty sharp rotation into cyclical stocks, we think this could go on for much longer given how unbalanced many investors’ portfolios are when,” said Bill Callahan, investment strategist at Schroders. “With the vaccine announcement it really doesn’t matter if the vaccine is distributed in the second quarter or third quarter next year, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Here are some key events coming up:
* Minutes of the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting are due Wednesday.
* U.S. jobless claims, GDP and personal spending data come Wednesday.
* U.K. expected on Wednesday to deliver the government’s spending plans for next year.
* Thursday sees a policy decision and briefing from the Bank of Korea.
* U.S. celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
* The week ends with Black Friday, the traditional start of the U.S. holiday shopping season.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 1.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow average added 1.5% to 30,045.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.9%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.9%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index was little changed.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%.
* The euro climbed 0.4% to $1.1890.
* The British pound gained 0.3% to $1.3358.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 104.54 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries jumped two basis points to 0.88%.
* The yield on two-year Treasuries increased less than one basis
point to 0.16%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to -0.56%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 0.025%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude surged 4.2% to $44.84 a barrel.
* Brent crude climbed 3.9% to $47.87 a barrel.
* Gold futures weakened 1.8% to $1,811 an ounce.
–With assistance from Todd White.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever, 

Carolann

Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.  -Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. Suspected gunman Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States.  Go to article »

November 23,1936: Life magazine premiered.

Barack Obama took nearly four years to publish his White House memoir — longer than any other president in the past century. One factor: He wrote the book himself.

Archaeologists found the nearly 2,000-year-old remains of two people frozen in time by the volcanic eruption that buried the ancient Roman town of Pompeii. –NY Times.

Oxford’s 2020 Word of the Year is [gestures at everything].

What if plants have personalities?

Understanding the dark universe and primordial galaxy formation. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Undated handout photo issued by Rahaf Al-Mutlaq of her painting an eye using emojis

Artists Yienma (L) and Felix (R) pose with their installation titled ‘Galerie Des Cadence’ which is displayed in the gallery Halle Nord, during the 16th Mapping Festival, in Geneva, Switzerland

It is Ten (10) years since Scottish Land & Estates introduced The Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES) accreditation system to promote the best habitat and wildlife management practices across farms and Estates in Scotland.

People enjoy the scenery of rime-covered trees along the Mudanjiang River in Ning’an City, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province

Market Closes for November 23^rd, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	29591.27	+327.79
		+1.12%
S&P 500	3577.59	+20.05
		+0.56%
NASDAQ	11880.633	+25.663 +0.22%
TSX	17094.53	+75.43
		+0.44%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	25527.37	-106.97
		-0.42%
HANG SENG	26486.20	+34.66
		+0.13%
SENSEX	44077.15	+194.90
		+0.44%
FTSE 100*	6333.84	-17.61 -0.28%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.691	0.654
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.198	1.166
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.8553	0.8211
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.5537	1.5151

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76439	0.76378
US $	1.30823	1.30927
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55234	0.64419
US $	1.18565	0.84342

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1875.70	1857.35
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.88	42.15

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1954, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high of 382.74, finally surpassing its previous high—set a quarter-century earlier on Sept. 3, 1929.  It is up +7,600% since then.

Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — More than seven months after starting a bull market rally, Canada’s stock market has finally turned positive for the year. The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed 0.3% on Monday in intraday trade, clawing its way back into the green for 2020. Earlier this year, the Covid-19 outbreak sent the index down 37%. The Canadian benchmark rose above the 17,063.43 level on an intraday basis today as vaccine progress buoyed investor sentiment. This has been a year for the history books. As quickly as the Canadian market plunged into bear-market territory in March, it surged even more rapidly into a bull zone as governments and central banks reacted with stimulus programs. Since its March 23 bottom, the S&P/TSX Composite Index recouped about C$893 billion ($683 billion) in market value — with plenty of bumps along the way. Stock bulls have a lot to point to: promising vaccine results, the end of U.S. elections, signs of an economic recovery, better-than-expected quarterly profits and general corporate optimism that the worst of the crisis is over.
For the naysayers, fresh waves of virus cases around the world, including partial lockdowns in some major cities, means global growth could be painfully slow with international trade nowhere near where it was before Covid-19. Meanwhile, U.S. fiscal stimulus talks have stalled and getting a vaccine approved and delivered to Americans could take until spring or summer next year, at the earliest. Put it all together and there are plenty of reasons to expect a bumpy ride. Canada’s stock market, laden with value plays, stands to gain a lot from an effective vaccine delivered next year. But it could still be volatile with the potential for a split House and Senate and no U.S. fiscal package in sight. Here’s a look at what propped up Canada’s stock market and what held it back:
Technology
     Despite a small weighting on the S&P/TSX Composite, tech stocks have been the best performers this year as investors sought companies that would do better in a scarred global economy where most people continue to work from home and more shop online. Shopify Inc. has had a blistering run with its shares more than doubling as a flood of merchants focused on e-commerce during the coronavirus pandemic. That has made it the most valuable firm on the Toronto benchmark, surpassing the market stalwart Royal Bank of Canada. Supply chain software provider Kinaxis Inc. and network provider for the real estate industry Real Matters Inc. have also surged 80% and 60% respectively. At almost 10% of the Canadian benchmark, the tech sector’s impact is still small compared to the nation’s banks, miners and energy companies. So while its shares have surged this year, helping offset some losses on the benchmark, its epic rally hasn’t helped the TSX in the same manner that FAANG stocks have for the S&P 500, now up 11% so far this year.
Gold
     Worsening virus projections and fears of a widening economic slowdown propelled the price of precious metals to record highs this year. In a pandemic-struck world, awash in stimulus from central banks and governments, the attraction of a hard asset that carries no counterparty risk proved difficult to ignore. That helped the S&P/TSX Materials Index, home to more than 30 Canada-based precious metals miners, surge 15% this year, making it the second-best performing group after tech. Making up 14% of the broader Canadian benchmark, the group has even surpassed energy. It now has the second-biggest weighting in the benchmark — a first since 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The Stalwarts
     Financial stocks, which include banks, insurers and asset managers, make up more than 30% of the S&P/TSX Composite Index and have lagged the record-breaking comeback on the benchmark since the March-low. While the sector has reversed some of its losses amid optimism on vaccine progress, it’s still in the red this year. The Big Six banks are slated to report in a couple of weeks and strong profit growth or an improving outlook for loan losses, which would suggest a solid economic recovery, could give the equity market another lift.
By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.4 percent, or 75.43 to 17,094.53 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 25. Suncor Energy Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 8.7 percent. Vermilion Energy Inc. had the largest increase, rising 13.7 percent. Today, 123 of 222 shares rose, while 99 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 9.7 percent
* This year, the index was little changed, heading for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 0.8 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 53 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.2 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.7 on a trailing basis and 23.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.61t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 15.23 percent compared with 15.25 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.08 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 75.1168| 4.0| 22/1
Financials | 51.0723| 1.0| 18/8
Utilities | 5.0222| 0.6| 11/5
Consumer Discretionary | 3.8913| 0.6| 7/6
Industrials | 1.9366| 0.1| 17/11
Real Estate | 1.3769| 0.2| 13/13
Health Care | 1.3643| 0.7| 6/4
Consumer Staples | -1.1531| -0.2| 6/5
Communication Services | -1.6290| -0.2| 3/4
Information Technology | -4.1682| -0.3| 5/5
Materials | -57.4076| -2.4| 15/37

US
By Claire Ballentine and Kamaron Leach
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed as investors piled into companies that will benefit most from a return to normal economic activity. Tech shares lagged behind, while gold slumped. The S&P 500 briefly extended gains on news that Joe Biden will nominate former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to be Treasury Secretary. She recently said the recovery will be uneven and lackluster if Congress doesn’t spend more to fight unemployment and keep small businesses afloat. “The market would view Janet Yellen’s appointment as market-friendly. At the very least, she is likely to work well with Chair Powell,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance.
The Nasdaq 100 was little changed, while the Russell 2000 of smaller companies jumped almost 2%. AstraZeneca Plc became the latest firm to deliver positive vaccine developments, bolstering demand for cruise-line operators and airlines. Small caps are up about 18% in November, on track for the best month ever. Vaccine successes lately have added to a risk-on mood in markets and investors have snapped up assets that could benefit from the end of lockdowns and travel restrictions even as the virus rages across the nation. Investors have also started to anticipate Congress will again deliver a spending bill to stave off the economic effects of new restrictions aimed at slowing the virus.
“In the short-term, anything is possible and from a humanitarian perspective it is awful that the people who currently need the most help are not getting it,” said Jonathan Boyar, managing director at Boyar Value Group. “But with multiple viable vaccines on the horizon, I think the market will largely look through the horrible headlines. There certainly, however, will be some fits and starts along the way.” U.S. vaccinations against Covid-19 will “hopefully” start in less than three weeks, said Moncef Slaoui, head of the government’s Operation Warp Speed, on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. An advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration is meeting on Dec. 10 to discuss emergency use authorizations.

Here are some key events coming up:
* Minutes of the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting are due Wednesday.
* U.S. jobless claims, GDP and personal spending data come Wednesday.
* U.K. expected on Wednesday to deliver the government’s spending plans for next year.
* Thursday sees a policy decision and briefing from the Bank of Korea.
* U.S. celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
* The week ends with Black Friday, the traditional start of the U.S. holiday shopping season.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.3%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2%.
* The euro declined 0.2% to $1.1839.
* The Japanese yen depreciated 0.6% to 104.50 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed three basis points to 0.85%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to  -0.58%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.318%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index was little changed.
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.2% to $42.94 a barrel.
* Gold depreciated 1.9% to $1,836.26 an ounce.
–With assistance from Todd White and Anchalee Worrachate.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be stronger men. – John F. Kennedy. 1917-1963

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