Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends,

Tangents: It’s International Unicorn Day!

April 9, 1860: The world’s first recording of the human voice is created as French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville uses his phonautograph to capture the French folk song “Au Claire de la lune.”
April 9, 1865: US Civil War ends.
April 9, 1866: Civil Rights Bill passed.
April 9, 1959: NASA announced the selection of America’s first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra,
Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton.  Go to article.
April 9, 2000: The New Yorker publishes “One Day – and one Night – in the Kitchen at Les Halles” by Anthony Boudrain.

Charles Beaudelaire, writer, b. 1821.
J. William Fullbright, politician, b.1905.

One of the largest carnaval celebrations on East Coast canceled
Organizers of El Carnaval de Puebla decided to call off the popular event celebrating Mexican culture and history out of fear ICE agents might show up and try to arrest attendees.

How to avoid this ‘silent killer’ while traveling
Carbon monoxide, which has no taste, odor or color, has been tied to the recent deaths of several Americans who were traveling abroad. Here are some precautions you can take to limit exposure on the road.

British pop star diagnosed with ‘17th century pirate disease’
Robbie Williams recently sought help to find out why he was feeling so anxious and depressed lately. Turns out his diet was part of the problem.

Scientists reveal new hydrogen-powered ‘robot horse’ that could one day take you up a mountain
Japanese engineers have unveiled a concept design of the Corleo, a four-legged robotic horse that could one day carry people across a vast range of terrains. Read More.

NASA rover watches ‘fiendish’ Martian ‘dust devils’ collide in rare case of extraterrestrial cannibalism
Video footage captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover shows a small “dust devil” merging with a much larger twister on the surface of Mars. Read More.

Amateur astronomer discovers bright green comet SWAN25F — and you can see it too
Comet SWAN25F was discovered using photos from the European Space Agency’s SOHO spacecraft and can currently be spied using backyard equipment — but it could also become visible to the naked eye in the next few weeks. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sakarya, Turkey
An aerial view of the meanders of the Sakarya River on the Karagol Plateau. The river originates in central Anatolia and reaches the Black Sea
Photograph: Seyit Konyali/Anadolu/Getty Images

London, UK
She says: ‘Everything feels so dark right now, it’s good to know the light is coming back’
Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

​​​​​​​Jabalpur, India
Devotees from the Jain community take part in a mass recitation of a mantra on Vishwa Navkar Mahamantra Day
Photograph: Uma Shankar Mishra/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for April 9^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	40608.45	+2962.86
		+7.87%
S&P 500	5456.90	+474.13
		+9.52%
NASDAQ	17124.97	+1857.06
		+12.16%
TSX	23727.03	+1220.14
		+5.42%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	31714.03	-1298.55
		-3.93%
HANG SENG	20264.49	+136.81
		+0.68%
SENSEX	73847.15	-379.93
		-0.51%
FTSE 100*	7679.48	-231.05
		-2.92%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.193	3.130
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.475	3.457
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.3315	4.2929
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.7367	4.7647

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7091	0.7031
US $	1.4102	1.4223

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5448	0.6473
US $	1.0953	0.9129

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3015.40	3118.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future	59.58	61.99

Market Commentary:
You are as old as the risks you take.  In many ways, aging is not the process of growing old, but rather the slow death of becoming overly protective, scared, and worried about losing what you have.  Youth is found in the energy of going for it, taking the risk, and trusting that you’ll figure it out along the way. –James Clear.
Canada
By Stephanie Hughes
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities staged their strongest rebound in five years as US President Donald Trump’s move to pause tariffs on many countries triggered a broader market relief rally.
Canada’s benchmark S&P/TSX Composite index gained 5.4% over the trading day on Wednesday, closing at 23,727.
The gauge joined other North American markets in rallying after Trump said he would halt levies for 90 days on countries that didn’t retaliate against his so-called reciprocal tariffs.
Brian Madden, chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel Inc., said the market’s reaction is “directionally logical,” and “the magnitude is roughly proportional to what we saw in the downdraft earlier this week and last week.”
Technology stocks led the index higher, buoyed by Celestica Inc.’s 18% gain, which closed out the trading day at C$115.90.
Shopify Inc. also rose by 18%, to C$129.09, and BlackBerry Ltd. jumped 12% to C$4.60.
Some of Canada’s most tariff-exposed names also enjoyed a relief rally.
Bombardier Inc., which sources aircraft parts from Canada and the US, gained 14% and closed at C$85.51. BRP Inc., which has deep product manufacturing and distribution roots in Mexico and the US, gained 11%.
Canadian automakers also rose, with Linamar Corp. gaining 9.1%, Magna International Inc. 8.1% and Martinrea International Inc. 7.3%.
“We don’t anticipate a full recovery to the February high in the short term — rather gradually as the chaos dissipates,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
But Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management Inc., is still cautious.
“The market seems to be treating this like it’s over and I’m not convinced it’s over yet,” he said.
Markets at a Glance:
* S&P/TSX Index rose 5.4% to 23,727
* 11 of 11 sectors rose
** Information technology gained, up 13%
** Materials gained, up 6.6%
* Crude oil rose 4.7% to $62/bbl
* Natgas rose 8.5% to $3.76/mmbtu
* Gold rose 4% to $3,087/oz
* Silver rose 4.2% to $31/oz

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 5.4%, with 11 of 11 sectors higher, led by information technology stocks.
As of market close, 186 of 218 stocks fell, while 30 rose.
Quebecor Inc. led the declines, falling 2.1%, while Baytex Energy Corp. increased 22%.
Advancers:
* Baytex Energy Corp. (BTE CN) +22%: Baytex Energy Affirmed at BB- by Fitch
* Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET CN) +20%
* Aritzia Inc. (ATZ CN) +19%
* Celestica Inc. (CLS CN) +18%
* Shopify Inc. (SHOP CN) +18%: Affirm & Shopify Accelerate Global Expansion of Shop Pay
Decliners:
* Quebecor Inc. (QBR/B CN) -2.1%
* Hydro One Ltd. (H CN) -2%: Ontario Spread Tightens: Canada Provinces
* Emera Inc. (EMA CN) -1.5%
* Fortis Inc/Canada (FTS CN) -1.2%
* Great-West Lifeco Inc. (GWO CN) -1.1%
US
By Natalia Kniazhevich, Norah Mulinda, Bernard Goyder and Jessica Menton
(Bloomberg) — The wild ride on US stock markets took a dizzying turn Wednesday afternoon when President Donald Trump announced a pause on some of his harshest tariffs, propelling the S&P 500 Index to its biggest one-day gain since 2008.
The S&P 500 closed 9.5% higher and the Nasdaq 100 Index surged 12%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 7.9%.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 18.7% and marked the biggest jump on record.
Roughly 30 billion shares traded on US exchanges on Wednesday.
That’s the most ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg going back nearly 17 years.
Trump on Wednesday afternoon said he “authorized a 90 day pause” on reciprocal tariffs for countries that didn’t retaliate against the US.
The pause does not include tariffs on China, which the White House raised to 125% after the Asian nation retaliated earlier in the day with an 84% levy on US imports.
“It’s crazy!” said Frank Monkam, head of Macro Trading at Buffalo Bayou Commodities, who was rushing back to his desk from a meeting after seeing a headline.
“Eventually it does look like a Trump put but I don’t think we’re out of the woods.”
The President’s post fueled buying across all types of investors, from the retail crowd to hedge funds to algorithmic trading strategies.
The S&P 500 notched its biggest bottom-to-top intraday reversal — at nearly 11% — since the height of the global financial crisis in November 2008 and even higher than the Flash Crash in May 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s basket of the most-shorted stocks jumped 17.34%, beating the S&P 500’s gain.
The move comes as traders rushed to cover short positions they accumulated amid the market downturn.
last week, hedge funds registered short bets in US macro products such as indexes and ETFs at the highest weekly volume on record.
“We currently have aggressive covering among hedge funds and long only buying in tech that is ramping with each leg higher in the market,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner John Flood wrote in a note to clients at 2:15 p.m., after Trump announced the pause.
On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s prime brokerage desk warned that a market rally would force hedge funds to cover short positions that have been added “aggressively.”
Rapid stock buying by leveraged exchange-traded funds also contributed to the velocity of the move.
“Levered ETFs mechanically adding long equity exposure supercharged the rally,” according to Daniel Kirsch, head of options for the brokerage Piper Sandler & Co.
He said traders moved quickly to unwind downside hedges, which also contributed to the move.
UBS Group AG’s trading desk also sees clients unwinding hedges, while “a high level of skepticism remains despite the headlines,” said Michael Romano, the firm’s head of hedge fund equity derivative sales.
Retail traders were among the most active buyers Wednesday.
As of 2:00 p.m. Wednesday they already bought $3.3 billion of equities, which hit the third-largest amount on record for the first 4.5 hours of US trading, according to Emma Wu, JPMorgan’s global quantitative and derivatives strategist.
Shares of Nvidia Corp. soared 18.03%, Delta Air Lines Inc. jumped 23.38%, Advanced Micro Devices added 23.82% and Tesla Inc. rallied 22.69%%.
Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX collapsed to 35 from 50.
Fast-money Commodity Trading Advisers, or CTAs, which follow the market direction rather than fundamental factors, also turned into buyers after the S&P 500 hit 5,425.
Before today’s jump, their positioning dropped to the lowest levels since March 2023.
“The Trump put potentially catalyzed a massive whipsaw in CTA positioning,” said Daniel Ghali, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities.
“Expect CTAs to be forced to buy risk assets including equity indices.”
Earlier in the session, Trump indicated he was at least paying attention to the market volatility, writing on Truth Social that “this is a great time to buy” and urging Americans to “BE COOL” amid the turbulence.
The latest change of direction shook investors across Wall Street.
“It feels like his advisers have talked Trump off the cliff,” said Laura Lau, senior vice-president and chief investment officer at Brompton Corp.
She said there was still a lack of clarity on which countries were spared from tariffs for now, and how dramatically Trump is still prepared to escalate his trade war with China.
“It’s hard to have a fundamental view,” she said.
That the reprieve excludes China was cause for some concern on Wall Street.
“Respite? Further economic suicide? It will all depend on where you source product from of course, and unfortunately about $450 billion is still being imported from China,” Peter Boockvar of Bleakley Financial Group wrote in a note titled “Dramamine Please.”
Brent Kochuba, Founder of SpotGamma, said the pause was “very bullish for markets short-term” but “it doesn’t solve the tariff problem.”
The sharp rally comes as US stocks had been at the most oversold since the depths of the pandemic, and traders were looking for a market bottom.
–With assistance from Matthew Griffin and Esha Dey.
By Anand Krishnamoorthy(Bloomberg):

By Rita Nazareth, Vildana Hajric, Isabelle Lee and Denitsa Tsekova (Bloomberg):
Key Events This Week:
* US CPI, jobless claims, Thursday
* Fed’s Michelle Bowman’s nomination hearing in Senate for the position of vice chair for supervision, Thursday
* Fed’s Austan Goolsbee, Patrick Harker, Lorie Logan, Jeff Schmid speak, Thursday
* US PPI, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
* Major banks reporting earnings include JPMorgan, Bank of New York Mellon, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Friday
* Fed’s John Williams and Alberto Musalem speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 9.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 12%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.9%
* The MSCI World Index rose 6.3%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 14%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 8.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0934
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2800
* The Japanese yen fell 1.1% to 147.90 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 6.8% to $82,312.53
* Ether rose 11% to $1,647.34
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.33%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.59%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 17 basis points to 4.78%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4.8% to $62.45 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 3.7% to $3,093.53 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Katie Greifeld, Robert Brand, Julien Ponthus, Anand Krishnamoorthy, Winnie Hsu, Ruth Carson, Rob Verdonck and Phil Kuntz.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. –Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012.

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

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

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

Dear Friends

Tangents: Buddha’s Birthday; Siddhartha, The Enlightened One.

April 8, 1862: John D. Lynde patents the aerosol dispenser, revolutionizing the packaging and delivery of products like paints, cleaners, and personal care items.
April 8, 1952: President Harry S. Truman seized the steel industry to avert a nationwide strike.  Go to article
.
Florida wins NCAA men’s basketball championship
The Gators came from behind last night to defeat the Houston Cougars 65-63. This is Florida’s third national title; it would’ve been Houston’s first.

Celebrity feud ends
Madonna says she and Elton John “finally buried the hatchet” over the weekend after trading barbs for decades. When she went backstage following his performance on “Saturday Night Live,” John reportedly asked for her forgiveness — and she gave it.

Saturday… what a day
“Happy Days” stars Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Anson Williams and Don Most reunited last Saturday at Steel City Con outside of Pittsburgh. The cast joined a panel discussion about their hit TV series and were honored by the Allegheny County Council, which declared April 5 as Happy Days Day.

Tracy Chapman is back
And she’s belatedly celebrating the 35th anniversary of her self-titled debut album by re-releasing it in vinyl. The usually reclusive singer last returned to the limelight at the 2024 Grammys to perform her hit song “Fast Car” with country star Luke Combs, who also released a cover of it.

Adorable dire wolf pups mark ‘world’s first de-extinction,’ Colossal Biosciences says
Dire wolves, made famous by HBO’s Game of Thrones, have been extinct for around 12,500 years. But thanks to genetic engineers at biotech company Colossal Biosciences, these majestic predators are back.
Read More.

How a ‘mudball’ meteorite survived space to land in the jungles of Central America
“The fall of Aguas Zarcas was huge news in the country. No other fireball was as widely reported and then recovered as stones on the ground in Costa Rica in the past 150 years.” Read More.

130,000-year-old mammoth calf smells like ‘fermented earth and flesh,’ necropsy reveals
Researchers have performed a necropsy on a 130,000-year-old baby mammoth preserved in the Siberian permafrost. Read More

AI creates better and funnier memes than people, study shows — even when people use AI for help
In a study, memes created by OpenAI’s GPT-4o model were, on average, rated funnier, more creative and more shareable than those created by humans. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mongolians
Horses walk along a road overlooking the smoggy skyline of Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar.
Photographs: Andy Hall for the Observer

Konya, Turkey
Great white pelicans rest on the shores of Lake Çavuşçu as they migrate from north from Africa
Photograph: Seyit Konyali/Anadolu/Getty Images

Spring in London
Signs of spring as a plant comes into bud.
Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian
Market Closes for April 8^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	37645.59	-320.01
		-0.84%
S&P 500	4982.77	-79.48
		-1.57%
NASDAQ	15267.91	-335.35
		-2.15%
TSX	22506.89	-352.57
		-1.54%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	33012.58	+1876.00
		+6.03%
HANG SENG	20127.68	+299.38
		+1.51%
SENSEX	74227.08	+1089.18
		+1.49%
FTSE 100*	7910.53	+208.45
		+2.71%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.130	2.879
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.457	3.189
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.2929	3.9943
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.7647	4.4090

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7014	0.7031
US $	1.4257	1.4223

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5651	0.6389
US $	1.0978	0.9109

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3014.75	3118.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future	59.58	61.99

Market Commentary:
Letting your emotions override your plan or system is the biggest cause of failure. – J. Welles Wilder Jr., 1935-2021.
Canada
By Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks dropped for a fourth straight session, marking their longest losing streak since December as fallout from US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans continues and oil prices declined.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index erased an opening gain to close 1.5% lower on Tuesday as key North American equities gauges swung sharply.
Six stocks dropped for every one that gained as every sector in the Toronto market ended Tuesday’s session lower.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the country’s largest oil and gas producer, was the biggest drag on the index as oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel.
The Canadian benchmark, which entered a correction last week during Friday’s sharp selloff, swung nearly 5% over the course of the session.
The S&P/TSX has now posted three straight intraday moves of more than 4% — the last time the index has posted such a prolonged streak of volatility outside of the pandemic was in 2011.
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.5%, with 11 of 11 sectors lower, led by health care stocks.
As of market close, 170 of 218 stocks fell, while 48 rose.
Tilray Brands Inc. led the declines, falling 21%, while Kinaxis Inc. increased 3.1%.
Markets at a Glance:
* S&P/TSX Index fell 1.5% to 22,507
* 11 of 11 sectors fell
** Health care declined, down 5.7%
** Communication services declined, down 3.7%
* S&P 500 Index fell 1.6% to 4,983
* Nasdaq 100 Index fell 2% to 17,090
* Crude oil fell 3.8% to $58/bbl
* Natgas fell 4.3% to $3.50/mmbtu
* Gold rose 0.7% to $2,973/oz
* Silver rose 0.4% to $30/oz
* Kinaxis Inc. (KXS CN) +3.1%
* Iamgold Corp. (IMG CN) +2.4%
* K92 Mining Inc. (KNT CN) +2.1%: K92 Mining 1Q Gold Production at Kainantu 47,817 Oz AuEq
* Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (AYA CN) +1.7%
* Definity Financial Corp. (DFY CN) +1.4%
Decliners
* Tilray Brands Inc. (TLRY CN) -21%: Tilray Brands Shares Tumble as Adjusted Ebitda Misses (1)
* Novagold Resources Inc. (NG CN) -12%
* Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET CN) -11%
* Baytex Energy Corp. (BTE CN) -11%
* Algoma Steel Group Inc. (ASTL CN) -9.3%
US
By Rita Nazareth, Isabelle Lee and Emily Graffeo
(Bloomberg) — Wild swings lashed Wall Street for a fourth straight session as back-and-forth trade threats between the US and China knocked down stocks, erasing an earlier rally that was the biggest since 2022.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6%, leaving it on the brink of a bear market.
Hopes for a quick end to extreme volatility were dashed after a White House official said the US is moving forward with tariffs on China as high as 104%.
Equities extended losses as Chinese Premier Li Qiang said his country has ample policy tools to “fully offset” negative external shocks.
Treasury two-year yields tumbled as traders boosted bets on rate cuts.
Tuesday’s slide extended the S&P 500’s more than 10% drop since the president detailed worldwide levies last Wednesday and at one point pushed the gauge down 20% since its record close in February, though stocks bounced at that level.
It was also a fourth day of nearly unprecedented volume on US equity markets, with more than 23 billion shares changing hands.
“The volatility reflects the new situation in which no one knows what the rules of road are, or even what the desired destination is,” said Que Nguyen at Research Affiliates LLC.
“Until investors reset expectations or those rules and goals are better understood, markets will continue these wild swings between hope and fear.”
Trump spent the final hours before his sweeping tariffs were set for full implementation lining up talks with key US allies, but hopes for a last-minute agreement with China appeared distant.
Across world markets, investors have been gripped by fears that something may break in the financial plumbing amid the cross-asset volatility, spurring speculation the Federal Reserve would need to speed up rate cuts to prevent a recession even with inflation jitters running rampant.
Fed Bank of San Francisco Mary Daly said the US central bank can take its time before making any adjustments to interest rates as it waits to see how trade policy changes play out.
Her Chicago counterpart Austan Goolsbee said tariffs are “way bigger” than he anticipated.
“The fundamental reason for the drawdown has been policy uncertainty – it’s functionally impossible to put in a bottom until that fundamental reason has been resolved, or at least until there is directional clarity on it,” said Scott Ladner at Horizon Investments.
The stock market is particularly vulnerable to wild swings due to a combination of thin liquidity and headline-driven algorithmic trading.
According to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s trading desk, the gap between market volume and liquidity in S&P 500 futures is currently the widest in the bank’s data set.
“This is what happens in highly volatile markets — they overshoot in both directions,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers.
“The selling gets overdone, but so does the knee-jerk reaction to buy and chase.”
As Trump’s trade war sent markets into a tailspin, Bank of America Corp. clients posted their fourth-biggest inflow into US equities on record last week: $8 billion.
Institutional clients, retail traders and hedge funds were all net buyers, strategist Jill Carey Hall wrote in a Tuesday research note.
Warnings
Meantime, warnings from Wall Street strategists keep piling up on the dour outlook for stocks.
BlackRock Inc. strategists Jean Boivin and Wei Li downgraded US equities on Monday to neutral from overweight on a three-month horizon, saying they expect “more pressure on risk assets in the near term given the major escalation in global trade tensions.”
And a strategy team at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., including Peter Oppenheimer and Lilia Peytavin, said the equity selloff could well turn into a longer-lasting cyclical bear market as recession risks mount.

Key Events This Week:
* Federal Reserve minutes, Wednesday
* Fed’s Tom Barkin speaks, Wednesday
* China PPI, CPI, Thursday
* US CPI, jobless claims, Thursday
* Fed’s Michelle Bowman’s nomination hearing in Senate for the position of vice chair for supervision, Thursday
* Fed’s Austan Goolsbee, Patrick Harker, Lorie Logan, Jeff Schmid speak, Thursday
* US PPI, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
* Major banks reporting earnings include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Friday
* Fed’s John Williams and Alberto Musalem speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0955
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2772
* The Japanese yen rose 1% to 146.29 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.8% to $76,752.34
* Ether fell 6.7% to $1,465.6
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced nine basis points to 4.27%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.63%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.60%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.5% to $58.56 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Robert Brand, Anand Krishnamoorthy and Aya Wagatsuma.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.  The fact that it is comprehensible is a miracle. –Albert Einstein, 1879-1955.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.

April 7, 1805: Beethoven’s Eroica premieres.
April 7, 1947: Auto pioneer Henry Ford died at age 83. Go to article.
1948: WHO founded.
April 7, 1969: The internet is born.  The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) awards a contract to BBN Technologies to build a precursor of today’s World Wide Web.

William Wordsworth, poet, b.1770.
Billie Holiday, singer, b. 1915.

Quantum computers will be a dream come true for hackers, risking everything from military secrets to bank information. Can we stop them?
Quantum computers are coming. And when they arrive, they are going to upend the way we protect sensitive data.
Unlike classical computers, quantum computers harness quantum mechanical effects — like superposition and entanglement — to process and store data in a form beyond the 0s and 1s that are digital bits. These “quantum bits” — or qubits — could open up massive computing power.
That means quantum computers may solve complex problems that have stymied scientists for decades, such as modeling the behavior of subatomic particles or cracking the “traveling salesman” problem, which aims to calculate the shortest trip between a bunch of cities that returns to its original destination. But this massive power also may give hackers the upper hand. Read More

Unknown human lineage lived in ‘Green Sahara’ 7,000 years ago, ancient DNA reveals
Researchers analyzed the ancient DNA of two mummies from what is now Libya to learn about people who lived in the “Green Sahara” 7,000 years ago. Read More.

Thousands of strange, blobby creatures are washing up on California beaches
What are the blue blobs washing up on California beaches? What to know about these strange sea creatures. Read More.

Mining for big bucks
“A Minecraft Movie,” starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, grossed $157 million at the box office this weekend. It was the biggest opening weekend of the year and the biggest domestic opening weekend for a film based on a video game.

Bad things happen in threes
Did you catch the third season finale of “The White Lotus” last night? I won’t give anything away if you’re behind, but it certainly ended with a bang.

895:That’s the number of goals 39-year-old Alex Ovechkin scored to surpass hockey legend Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time leading scorer.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Venice, Italy
Citizens participate in reforestation day on the island of Lio Piccolo in the northern lagoon of Venice which is being replanted with 16,000 new trees to protect the salt marsh ecosystem
Photograph: Simone Padovani/Getty Images

Adyapeath, India
A young girl dressed as a living goddess takes part in the Bengali Hindu festival, Basanti Durga Puja
Photograph: Bikas Das/AP

Singapore
Cargo ships docked along the strait in Singapore
Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty
Market Closes for April 7^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	37965.60	-349.26
		-0.91%
S&P 500	5062.25	-11.83
		-0.23%
NASDAQ	15603.26	+15.47
		+0.10%
TSX	22859.46	-334.01
		-1.44%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	31136.58	-2644.00
		-7.83%
HANG SENG	19828.30	-3021.51
		-13.22%
SENSEX	73137.90	-2226.79
		-2.95%
FTSE 100*	7702.08	-352.90
		-4.38%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.063	2.879
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.353	3.189
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.1835	3.9943
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.6188	4.4090

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7023	0.7031
US $	1.4240	1.4223

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5546	0.6432
US $	1.0917	0.9159

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3054.50	3118.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future	60.70	61.99

Market Commentary:
Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.-Henry Ford, 1863-1947.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.4%, with nine of 11 sectors lower, led by consumer staples stocks.
As of market close, 203 of 218 stocks fell, while 14 rose.
NGEx Minerals Ltd. led the declines, falling 8.2%, while Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. increased 8.6%.
Markets at a Glance:
* S&P/TSX Index fell 1.4% to 22,859
* Nine of 11 sectors fell
** Consumer staples declined, down 2.6%
** Information technology gained, up 1.2%
* S&P 500 Index fell 0.2% to 5,062
* Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.2% to 17,431
* Crude oil fell 1.6% to $61/bbl
* Natgas fell 4.8% to $3.65/mmbtu
* Gold fell 1.5% to $2,968/oz
* Silver rose 2.4% to $30/oz
Advancers:
* Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN CN) +8.6%
* Celestica Inc. (CLS CN) +6.5%
* Endeavour Silver Corp. (EDR CN) +4.9%
* Lundin Gold Inc. (LUG CN) +3%
* NuVista Energy Ltd. (NVA CN) +3%
Decliners:
* NGEx Minerals Ltd. (NGEX CN) -8.2%
* TMX Group Ltd. (X CN) -5.9%: TMX Group March Average Daily Volume 648.8M Vs. 563.1M Y/y
* ATS Corp. (ATS CN) -5.2%
* Great-West Lifeco Inc. (GWO CN) -5.1%
* Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS CN) -4.6%: Canadian Bank Stocks Tumble as Analyst Cuts Earnings Estimates
(Bloomberg) — The Canadian dollar fell following a tough Monday for stock markets in Asia and Europe.
In the US, traders increased their expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.
“The CAD is remarkably stable considering the carnage playing out in stocks,” wrote Scotiabank’s Shaun Osborne.
“Heightened stock volatility is playing into the CAD’s fair value estimate more obviously now, with equilibrium moving back up to 1.4133 today.”
* USD/CAD rises 0.3% to 1.4258 as of 7:57 a.m. Toronto time
* WTI crude futures drop 2.6% to $60.39 per barrel
* USD/CAD one-month implied volatility is at 8.4625%, up from 7.945% on Friday
* US two-year yield exceeds Canadian counterpart by 128.1bps, down from 128.9bps on Friday; the 10-year yield spread is 110.9bps in favor of US vs 111.5bps in favor of US the previous session
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Waves of volatility shook markets anew, with stocks, bonds and commodities getting whipsawed by another deluge of headlines around President Donald Trump’s trade war that only reinforced the clouds hanging over the outlook for investing and the economy.
Traders looking for equities to bottom after a selloff of trillions of dollars were faced with a series of twists and turns on Monday.
While the S&P 500 moved away from the threshold of a bear market, its bottom-to-top intraday reversal was the biggest since 2020 when Covid upended global trading.
Treasuries weakened in a volatile session, with yields across all maturities higher by over 10 basis points — a stark turnaround from the plunge earlier in the day.
Trump said he wasn’t considering a pause on his plan to implement additional tariffs on dozens of countries despite outreach from trading partners eager to avoid the levies, while still signaling he could be open to some negotiations.
As markets wobbled, some Wall Street titans sounded the alarm.
Bill Ackman said the US is “heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter.”
Boaz Weinstein predicted the “avalanche has really just started.”
And Jamie Dimon said it “may be disastrous in the long run.”
“For now, it looks like news out of Washington will continue to drive the market’s swings, one way or the other,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.
“The other side of the coin is that some of the market’s notable lows over the past few decades have been preceded by similar levels of volatility, although it’s always impossible to know when prices will eventually find their bottom.”
To Matt Maley at Miller Tabak, those looking for a V-shaped recovery in the stock market will likely be very disappointed.
“We should see a strong bounce at some point soon, but the process of repricing the market to its realistic economic outlook will take time,” Maley said.
“There will be plenty of time to get aggressive when it becomes more evident that the worst of the decline is behind us.”
HSBC strategist Max Kettner is making the case for a “very short-term bounce” in stock markets, with the Magnificent Seven possibly benefiting the most.
However, any rebound will only set the stage for another leg lower, he warns.
To Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson, investors should be prepared for the S&P 500 to drop further if tariff angst doesn’t subside.
“Many metrics are at panic levels associated with meaningful bottoms over the past 40 years,” said Jonathan Krinsky at BTIG.
“The issue is when you get into the capitulation zone, markets often move beyond what many think is likely or possible.”
Consider the move in Wall Street’s measure of equity swings.
The VIX pushed away from the 60 level hit earlier Monday, but the futures curve is signaling that volatility may remain elevated for months — creating a challenging environment.
Major selloffs have typically reached their culmination amid a level of fear and loathing that hasn’t been yet been hit, at least as measured by the VIX.
The index topped out at nearly 66 in August during the market rout sparked by the unwind of the Japanese yen carry trade and recession jitters, and it hit 85 in the 2020 selloff fueled by the Covid pandemic.
In 2008, it rocketed to just short of 90 as worries over the great financial crisis hammered stocks.
“You’ll hear all sorts of opinions as to when and where the market will bottom out, but they’re all guesses,” Bespoke Investment Group strategists noted. “No one knows at this point.”
One silver lining is that the so-called smart money might be getting close to a tactical bottom.
Hedge funds increased short positions across a range of US macro products by 22% last week, marking the largest jump in more than a decade, wrote Vincent Lin at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
What lingers as a big risk, though, is that the retail crowd has yet to sell US equities meaningfully, presenting an additional risk to the stock market.
“The swift and sudden stock market decline is a repricing to reflect an impending recession from the burden of tariffs,” said Richard Saperstein at Treasury Partners.
“Markets won’t rebound until tariffs are negotiated and reduced, until valuations move even lower to very compelling levels, and until fundamentals improve, and none of these factors are in the cards at this time.”
The slump in equities has taken US equity valuations to the lowest level since late 2023.
But to Larry Tentarelli at the Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, investors should maintain defensive positioning, above average cash levels, and reduced if any new buying until volatility comes down.
“Market direction will be based on the tariff news cycle to start the week,” he said.
“If there is a material, positive change in the news cycle, markets could benefit. Until then, continue to expect very wide trading ranges.”
Wall Street forecasters are racing to temper their views on US equities as Trump’s sweeping tariffs threaten to upend the global economy.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Dubravko Lakos-Bujas slashed his year-end forecast for the S&P 500 to 5,200 from 6,500 previously.
Oppenheimer & Co.’s John Stoltzfus — the biggest bull among strategists until March — cut his outlook to 5,950 points from 7,100.
Strategists at Evercore ISI, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA have also reduced targets in recent days.
In a note to clients Monday, Stoltzfus said uncertainty was “at levels investors find hard to embrace.”
This is being combined with “a negative pitch book that seemingly projects negative outcomes to infinity.”
“Our base case is that after an initial phase in which tariffs could rise further, US effective tariff rates should start to come down from 3Q,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management.
We also expect the Fed to cut interest rates by 75-100 basis points to support the economy.
In this scenario, we believe the S&P 500 can recover to 5,800 by year-end.
A brutal global selloff in financial markets triggered by Trump’s burgeoning trade war raised speculation on Monday the Federal Reserve may intervene to stem the losses.
Don’t count on it, several Fed watchers said.
With inflation still running above the US central bank’s target and levy-induced price hikes on the horizon, economists and market analysts said they believe Fed officials will wait for the impact to hit the real economy before they lower interest rates.
That could take months to show up in official data.
“If we don’t get a recession, it’s going to be hard for the Fed to look through this inflation in the short run,” Michael Gapen, chief US economist for Morgan Stanley said Monday on Bloomberg TV.
“The Fed’s going to be on hold for the foreseeable future.”
Now that the US has announced broader tariffs, what are you doing with your investments?

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%
* The MSCI World Index fell 1.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.6%
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.0914
* The British pound fell 1.4% to $1.2712
* The Japanese yen fell 0.8% to 148.09 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $78,160.98
* Ether fell 1.8% to $1,546.16
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 22 basis points to 4.22%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.61%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 17 basis points to 4.61%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.6% to $60.99 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 2.2% to $2,970.77 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
-With assistance from Robert Brand, Julien Ponthus, Anand Krishnamoorthy and Richard Henderson.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision. –Maimonides, 1138-1204.
Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

April 3, 1860: Pony Express established.
April 3, 1973: The first public mobile telephone call is placed on a Manhattan sidewalk, with Motorola’s Martin Cooper calling Joel Engel of Bell Labs (a competitor) to taunt them.
April 3, 2000: A federal judge ruled that Microsoft Corp. had violated U.S. antitrust laws.
Jane Goodall, conservationist, b. 1934.
Maron Brando, actor, b. 1924.

‘Be ready to move quickly to higher ground’: Forecaster delivers ominous warning of 1-in-1,000-year flood coming for central US
Forecasters have warned of historic flooding in the central U.S. this week, anticipating multiple bouts of heavy rainfall and extreme thunderstorms. Read More

Scientists drilled into Belize’s Great Blue Hole and discovered a worrying trend
Tropical storms have been steadily increasing in frequency over the past 5,700 years, new evidence from sediment in the Great Blue Hole reveals, with a massive spike in the past two decades. Read More.

North America is ‘dripping’ down into Earth’s mantle, scientists discover
Seismic mapping of North America has revealed that an ancient slab of crust buried beneath the Midwest is causing the crust above it to “drip” and suck down rocks from across the continent. Read More.

Your brain starts eating itself during a marathon, study finds
Under extreme metabolic conditions, like a marathon, the brain may turn to cellular fat stores to maintain function, according to a new study. Read More.

Watch this humanoid robot perform a side flip for the first time
Unitree’s G1 demonstrates a new level of robotic agility with a complex movement following an AI software update. Read More.

Luxury liner ends voyage with on-board outbreak
A norovirus outbreak on the Queen Mary 2 left more than 240 people feeling sick at sea. The infected passengers and crew members had to be quarantined to avoid further spreading the highly contagious stomach bug.

Get out your wallets, gamers
Nintendo has revealed new details about the Nintendo Switch 2, the soon-to-be-released sequel to its wildly successful hybrid game console. Yes, there are lots of new features to enjoy. But, the Switch 2 is also going to cost $150 more than its predecessor.

Rare statues discovered in Pompeii tomb
Archeologists excavating a massive tomb in Pompeii said the statues they found of a toga-clad man and a woman shed new light on the power held by priestesses in the ancient city.

‘Whoop, there she is!’
Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce and his wife, podcaster Kylie Kelce, announced the arrival of their fourth daughter on Instagram this week. Jason also introduced her to his younger brother, Travis, on the “New Heights” podcast, which they co-host, and revealed the baby’s name.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Lisse, Netherlands
Spring bloom at the Keukenhof flower garden
Photograph: Molly Quell/AP

Washington DC, US
People take part in the Blossom kite festival
Photograph: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock

Gölbaşı district, Turkey
An aerial view of flamingos on a reservoir, which is home to many bird species.
Photograph: Rasit Aydogan/Anadolu/Getty Images
Market Closes for April 3^nd, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	40545.93	-1679.39
		-3.98%
S&P 500	5396.52	-274.45
		-4.84%
NASDAQ	16550.61	-1050.44
		-5.97%
TSX	24335.77	-971.42
		-3.84%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	34735.93	-989.94
		-2.77%
HANG SENG	22849.81	-352.72
		-1.52%
SENSEX	76295.36	-322.08
		-0.42%
FTSE 100*	8474.74	-133.74
		-1.55%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.928	2.915
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.238	3.184
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.0286	4.1307
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4703	4.5004

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7100	0.7022
US $	1.4085	1.4240

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5562	0.6426
US $	1.1048	0.9051

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3119.75	3133.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future	66.95	71.71

Market Commentary:
The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different. -Peter Drucker, 1909-2005.
Canada
By Stephanie Hughes and Geoffrey Morgan
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks had their worst trading session since the Covid-19 pandemic after US President Donald Trump applied tariffs to most of his country’s trading partners.
Despite the tumble, Canadian equities outperformed their peers in the US.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 3.8%, the most since June 2020, closing at 24,335.77.
The S&P 500 Index, meanwhile, closed down 4.8%.
Canada’s outperformance against US benchmarks Thursday was likely driven by the fact the country was spared additional Trump tariffs.
“The negative impacts of the trade wars was clearly priced into Canada more than the United States,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management.
“It’s really interesting that we’re not down as much as the US even though resources are getting crushed.”
Canadian equities were upgraded two notches to overweight from underweight by Scotiabank analysts including Hugo Ste- Marie, who said the country “dodged the bullet” on more US tariffs.
US equities, meanwhile, were downgraded two notches.
The TSX was weighed by information technology names like Shopify Inc. and Celestica Inc.
Lundin Gold Inc. was the index’s best performer by late afternoon Thursday, rising 2.8% to close at C$45.36.
The miner usurped Dollarama Inc., which led for most of the trading day.
The Quebec-based discount retailer rose as much as 9.3% after its adjusted earnings beat analyst estimates, sending the stock to an all-time high.
The stock later pared those gains and closed up 0.4% at C$159.95.
As for the Canadian dollar, it rose 1.1% to C$1.4087 per US dollar as of 4:52 p.m.
Toronto time, reaching its highest level since December.
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 3.8%, with nine of 11 sectors lower, led by information technology stocks.
As of market close, 158 of 218 stocks rose, while 51 fell.
Lundin Gold Inc. led the advances, rising 2.8%, while Aritzia Inc. decreased 20%.
Markets at a Glance:
* S&P/TSX Index fell 3.8% to 24,336
* Nine of 11 sectors fell
** Information technology declined, down 13%
** Communication services gained, up 2%
* S&P 500 Index fell 4.8% to 5,397
* Nasdaq 100 Index fell 5.4% to 18,521
* Crude oil fell 7% to $67/bbl
* Natgas rose 1.5% to $4.11/mmbtu
* Gold fell 1.2% to $3,102/oz
* Silver fell 8.1% to $32/oz
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The “America First” trade is unraveling in the sweeping turmoil in global markets, with stocks acutely exposed to the US economy sinking alongside the dollar.
As Wall Street’s rebellion against Donald Trump’s tariff war intensifies, traders are rushing into fixed-income havens.
About $2 trillion was erased from the S&P 500, with the gauge down about 5%.
The Russell 2000 of smaller firms extended its plunge from a 2021 all-time high to 20% on speculation the president’s trade offensive will stunt the American economy.
The greenback slid 1.5%, reigniting the debate about its haven reputation during challenging times as the euro, yen and Swiss franc surged.
Oil joined a selloff in commodities.
All in, the much-vaunted America-first trade — buying up assets that win when the US outperforms the rest of the world — is reversing on concern that the steepest increase in American tariffs in a century will hammer economic growth.
That’s driving a fierce rally in global bonds, sending the yield on benchmark Treasuries briefly below the closely-watched 4% level.
Most other yields also tumbled as money markets priced in a 50% chance of the Federal Reserve delivering four quarter- point rate reductions this year.
Trump has embraced tariffs as a tool to assert US power, revive manufacturing at home and extract geopolitical concessions. Economists say the near-term result of his measures will likely be higher US prices and slower growth, or perhaps even a recession.
“If these tariffs stick, the economy is going to slow down,” said Mary Ann Bartels at Sanctuary Wealth.
“Whether it’s a recession or not, it’s clear that the economy is headed for a slowdown in the US and around the world. There’s no place to hide, but the fixed-income markets.”
As spiraling tariff worries hammer US stocks, legendary investor Bill Gross is urging prospective dip-buyers to stay on the sidelines.
“Investors should not try to ‘catch a falling knife’,” he said in an email.
“This is an epic economic and market event similar to 1971 and the end of the gold standard except with immediate negative consequences.”
Wall Street will face a key test Friday as the jobs report and a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell should set the tone for markets worried about the outlook for the world’s largest economy.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s trading desk has seen a level of activity on Thursday that’s practically “unheard of” apart from stock-market rebalancing days.
It’s the busiest day for the desk since the emergence of Chinese AI startup Deep Seek rattled global markets in late January, John Flood, a Goldman partner and trading specialist, wrote in a note to clients.
“Our desk is a 9.5 out of 10 in terms of activity levels and I would not be surprised to see close to 20 billion shares trade across all US equity exchanges today,” where the average this year is 15 billion, Flood wrote.
Money managers have rolled back exposures to American equities to levels not seen since November 2023, according to a poll by the National Association of Active Investment Managers.
Hedge funds dumped global stocks at the fastest rate in 12 years in March, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. data.
Recession fears have been rising and that is visible across various asset classes.
Stocks and bond yields are back moving in concert and their correlation is the highest in two years.
But unlike in 2023 when they were both going up, this time they’re falling, a typical sign that economic growth expectations are being downgraded.
Nomura Securities International Inc. said it expects gross domestic product to expand 0.6% in 2025 after accounting for the new levies on imports, and a key measure of underlying inflation to rise to 4.7%.
Barclays Plc economists took a more pessimistic view toward GDP — projecting a 0.1% contraction — and a slightly more optimistic view of inflation, penciling in a 3.7% increase.
“I have no doubt that over the near term tariffs will be detrimental to growth,” said Irene Tunkel at BCA Research.
“We have gone through the first stage of this calamity and, as I said before, this is bad for financial markets.
The first stage is peak uncertainty.  The next stage will be downgrades in earnings.”
The US risks being caught between slowing growth and rising prices as a result of the sweeping tariff plans unveiled Wednesday by the Trump administration, according to the president of Apollo Global Management Inc.
The chances of a recession in the world’s biggest economy have risen to 50% or higher, Jim Zelter said in a Bloomberg
Television interview Thursday.
The risk that tariffs accelerate inflation and constrain the Fed’s ability to stimulate growth by slashing rates has also risen materially, he said.
“We’re left to ponder how far the price action can extend from here. At this stage, the more relevant uncertainty is the degree to which the US equity market will sell off,” said Ian Lyngen and Vail Hartman at BMO Capital Markets.
“In the event that stocks continue to slide, we anticipate that Treasury yields will do the same.”
Trump’s trade war is likely to reinforce the underperformance of US equities, as tariffs crimp earnings for Corporate America, according to global strategists at HSBC including Alastair Pinder.
“We believe this could accelerate the ongoing rotation out of US equities and into international,” they noted.
US tariffs were larger than expected, not priced in, and coming at a bad time, increasing the risk that US stocks will enter a bear market, UBS strategists led by Bhanu Baweja said.
“All of this is likely to mean an extended period of volatility for US equities,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management. Nonetheless, we do believe the market will end the year higher.”
While uncertainty is currently high, Marcelli believes that, at the margin, incremental news flow could become more supportive as we approach the second half of the year.
“Now that the tariffs have been announced, negotiations to soften them can begin,” she said.
“Tariff revenue could be used to offset the cost of extending tax cuts. And we would expect the Fed to respond to weakening growth with interest rate cuts.”
Meantime, the dollar’s extended decline in the midst of a global selloff in risk assets has sparked a vigorous debate about whether it has retained its status as a haven during turbulent times, given the homegrown nature of the economic fears roiling macro markets.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index tumbled as much as 2.1% on Thursday, the measure’s sharpest intraday decline since its
launch in 2005.
Investors are bearish on the dollar in the coming month for the first time since September, options data show.
Hedge funds have increased their bearish bets on the dollar, mainly versus the yen and the euro, while also bracing for higher volatility into year-end, according to currency traders familiar with the transactions who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.
Before the Bell: Stocks and Dollar Sink, UBS Sees 5% Inflation

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 4.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 5.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4%
* The MSCI World Index fell 3.9%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 6.7%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 6.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 1.5%
* The euro rose 1.6% to $1.1024
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.3081
* The Japanese yen rose 2% to 146.24 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 4.3% to $81,931.13
* Ether fell 5.1% to $1,785.72
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined eight basis points to 4.05%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 2.65%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined 12 basis points to 4.52%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 6.9% to $66.74 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to $3,107.76 an ounce

-With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Phil Kuntz, Sujata Rao,
Margaryta Kirakosian and Anand Krishnamoorthy.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Embrace the faith that every challenge surmounted by your energy; every problem solved by your wisdom; every soul stirred by your passion;
and every barrier to justice brought down by your determination will ennoble your own life, inspire others, and explode outward the boundaries of
what is achievable on this earth. –Madeleine Albright, 1937-2022.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
April 2, 1513: Juan Ponce de Leon reaches Florida.
April 2, 1792: the U.S. dollar is introduced via the Mint Act.  Other proposed names for the dollar were the “Unit” and the “Eagle”.
April 2, 2011 Highly radioactive water leaked into the sea from a crack at Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant. Go to article.

Casanova, b. 1725.
Hans Christian Andersen, author, b. 1805.
Emile Zola, writer, b. 1840.
Emmylou Harris, singer, b. 1947.

Scientists discover major differences in how humans and AI ‘think’ — and the implications could be significant
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3-year-old picks up ‘beautiful stone,’ discovers 3,800-year-old scarab amulet in Israel
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‘We didn’t expect to find such a beautiful, thriving ecosystem’: Hidden world of life discovered beneath Antarctic iceberg
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Lava bursts through Grindavík’s defense barriers as new volcanic eruption begins on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula
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Watch eerie ‘UFOs’ and a solar ‘cyclone’ take shape in stunning new ESA video of the sun
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‘Farewell, junk food!’
In an effort to fight child obesity, Mexico has banned the sale of salty and sweet treats in schools. The ban also requires schools to serve more nutritious fare and offer water as a drink option. Will other countries follow suit?

Big changes coming to the NFL
The NFL announced its latest updates to the game for the 2025 season, including kickoffs, overtime, how the ball is spotted and instant replay. But a decision on banning the so-called “tush push” play has been tabled for now.

Beatles biopic series casts its Fab 4
Director Sam Mendes is planning to make four feature-length biopics that will chronicle the story of The Beatles, as told through each of its members. Here’s who’s going to play John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.

A POEM THAT I WROTE IN A HIGH FEVER
–by Yehuda Amichai
(Translated from Hebrew by Leon Wieseltier)

You who are lengthening your lives  with the best doctors and the best medicines remember those who are shortening their lives with the wars that you in your long lives are not preventing.

You who are again screwing the younger generations and winking at each other the winking of your eyelids is like the chill of the swinging shutters in an empty house.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Wonosobo, Indonesia
Hot-air balloons in the air during the annual hot-air balloon festival, held since 1950 to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan, in Central Java
Photograph: Devi Rahman/AFP/Getty Images

Glenelg, UK
The Glenachulish ferry crosses between Glenelg and Kylerhea in Scotland. The ferry crossing between the Scottish mainland and the Isle of Skye has been in operation since 1934, earning it a ‘Red Wheel’ designation from the National Transport Trust in 2019, for sites of important transport heritage. The service runs between April and October and can carry up to 40,000 people each season
Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Sydney, Australia
A surfer dismounts a wave off the Fairy Bower headland at Manly Beach. The large swell has been generated by a strong low-pressure system moving down the east coast of Australia
Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Market Closes for April 2^nd, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	42225.32	+235.36
		+0.56%
S&P 500	5670.97	+37.90
		+0.67%
NASDAQ	17601.05	+151.16
		+0.87%
TSX	25307.19	+273.91
		+1.09%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	34529.46	-1196.41
		-3.35%
HANG SENG	23202.53	-4.31
		-0.02%
SENSEX	76617.44	+592.93
		+0.78%
FTSE 100*	8608.48	-26.32
		-0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.915	2.928
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.184	3.186
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.1307	4.1689
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.5004	4.5240

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7022	0.6993
US $	1.4240	1.4300

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5513	0.6446
US $	1.0893	0.9180

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3133.70	3115.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.71	71.20

Market Commentary:
There is no wealth but life. –John Ruskin, 1819-1900.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1.1%, with nine of 11 sectors higher, led by information technology stocks.
As of market close, 137 of 218 stocks rose, while 77 fell.
Superior Plus Corp. led the advances, rising 8.1%, while BlackBerry Ltd. decreased 9.2%.
US
By Rita Nazareth, Denitsa Tsekova and Isabelle Lee
(Bloomberg) — A tariff offensive Donald Trump billed as key to America’s long-term prosperity went down badly in markets late Wednesday, setting off declines of 2% or more in equity benchmarks that had rallied for three days on hopes the program would be less draconian.
A $577 billion exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P 500 (SPY) fell about almost 2.5% after the close of regular trading – wiping out an initial rally.
Trump said Wednesday he will apply a minimum 10% tariff on all exporters to the US and slap additional duties on around 60 nations with the largest trade imbalances with the US.
China will face a 34% rate, while the European Union will have a 20% levy and Japan is seeing a 24% tariff.
The late-session swoon halted three days of gains in the S&P 500 as hopes were dashed the tariff program would be lighter touch.
Traders across asset classes now must brace for what promises to be a grueling stretch of trade negotiations, against an economic backdrop that has shown signs of softening as companies and consumers adjust to Trump’s offensive.
“That should slow trade and raise prices squeezing profit margins,” said Michael O’Rourke at Jones Trading Institutional Services.
“This will further slow a decelerating economy as it creates friction and distortion in global trade.
I think we need to expect retaliation which will likely lead to further escalation.”
To Steve Chiavarone at Federated Hermes, if Wednesday’s announcement marks the most draconian levels of tariffs, and the news flow from here is about how countries are negotiating reductions to these rates, that could be good for markets.
“This may create enough of a sell-off over the next day or so that it creates a buying opportunity,” he said.
“Worst case scenario today would’ve been a low rate with threats of escalation.
I’d rather, at this point, have higher rates with the potential to deescalate.”
In regular hours, the S&P 500 rose 0.7%.
The Nasdaq 100 added 0.7%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%.
Tesla Inc. jumped 5.3% on hopes Elon Musk will refocus on the carmaker as a news report suggested his time as a top adviser to Trump may end soon.
On an X post, Musk referred to the article as “fake news.”
Amazon.com Inc. was said to make a bid for TikTok in the US.
The US 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.21%.
The dollar fell 0.2%.
How US Tariffs Work — and Who Foots the Bill: QuickTake Options traders are betting that the S&P 500 will move roughly 1.1% in either direction on Thursday based on the price of at-the-money straddles, according to Stuart Kaiser, Citigroup Inc.’s head of US equity trading strategy.
“We believe uncertainty will linger for at least a few months and the focus will shift to the US economic outlook while markets remain hyper-sensitive to any news flow,” said Chris Senyek at Wolfe Research.
Rather than trying to read the tea leaves and adjust investments based off of what’s going on in Washington, David Bahnsen at The Bahnsen Group says he’s focused on investing in companies that have superior cash flow generation during all seasons — and not just seasons when we’re worried about tariffs.
“Companies that are committed to growing their dividend tend to do so for a very long time,” according to Bahnsen.
Meantime, Corporate America last month announced the fewest stock buybacks, in dollar terms, since the Covid pandemic, an early sign of cash hoarding from worries about economic growth and the impact of a global trade war.
The value of announced buybacks in the US reached $39.1 billion in March, the lowest dollar value since October 2020 and the lowest for March since 2019, according to data compiled by Birinyi Associates.
That’s a worrisome sign for investors since buybacks offer a crucial pillar of support for the US stock market, which is already down significantly from February’s all- time highs.
The mood among market participants is among the grimmest since the pandemic, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Ilan Benhamou, but he still sees a case for US equities to rally.
Benhamou, in the bank’s equity derivatives sales team, said it’s hard to not be more bearish in the face of a slowing economy, rising recession odds, mounting earnings revisions and falling equities price targets.
Still, he writes that “when everything looks grim that the fiercest bounces usually happen.”
Investors are eager for clarity on the scope of the levies to assess their impact on the already wobbly US economy.
Fears that a trade war will dampen consumer sentiment and require more interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve to support activity have pushed yields lower in the past weeks.
Options traders are betting that Treasuries will extend their rally, as seen in big wagers on lower yields and expectations of deeper-than-expected Fed cuts reflected in interest rate-linked derivatives.
A similarly bullish narrative is playing out in the Treasury cash market, with this week’s survey of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
client positions showing that the level of net longs is at its highest in a month.
And an increasingly dovish outlook on rates is evident in recent options activity linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, which closely tracks the Fed’s policy rate.
A top-performing Invesco Ltd. money manager has beefed up her bearish bets against the dollar to the highest level in months on expectations that Trump’s tariffs will dent US growth.
“Our biggest concern is that this actually can be a really big, dollar negative story,” said Kristina Campmany, a senior portfolio manager at Invesco.
“From the get-go, we have been more concerned about the growth-negative impact of tariffs.”
In the derivatives market, hedge funds have sharply cut long dollar wagers from a recent peak in January but remain bullish on the US currency, according to positioning data published by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.5%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 1.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.0850
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2982
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 150.02 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.8% to $86,806.6
* Ether fell 0.1% to $1,910.46
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.21%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.72%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.64%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $71.83 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.4% to $3,124.67 an ounce

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Ignorance is not innocence but sin. –Robert Browning, 1812-1889.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

***April 1, 1976: Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Go to article.****

April 1, 1921: French pilot Adrienne Bolland is the first female to fly over  the Andes mountains.
April 1, 1970: Cigarette ads banned from TV.
April 1, 2001: the Netherlands becomes the first

AI models will lie to you to achieve their goals — and it doesn’t take much
Researchers discover that the most advanced AI models may lie to their users when under pressure.

March Madness: Women’s Final Four is set
Connecticut, South Carolina, UCLA and Texas will meet in Tampa for the semifinals of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. Read More.

James Webb telescope takes emergency look at ‘city-killer’ asteroid 2024 YR4 ahead of close encounter in 2032
The James Webb Space Telescope has taken its first look at the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 before a perilous close approach in 2032. The telescope confirmed Earth is safe,
but the moon may still be in trouble. Read More.

World’s largest atom smasher makes 1st-of-its-kind ‘beauty’ particle discovery that could unlock new physics
Why matter dominates over antimatter in our universe has long been a major cosmic mystery to physicists. A new finding by the world’s largest particle collider has revealed a clue. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Sydney, Australia
A surfer rides a large wave at Bondi Beach as high winds hit the east coast of Australia
Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

Paris, France
The restored ceiling paintings by the French painter Eugène Delacroix at the renovated library of the National Assembly. A hidden gem in the heart of the Palais Bourbon, the library is due to reopen in April after a year’s work to restore its nave and its 400 sq metres of painted ceilings, a masterpiece by Delacroix
Photograph: Stéphane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

Manchester, England
Cranes and buildings are illuminated at night in Manchester city centre
Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
Market Closes for April 1^st, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	41989.96	-11.80
		-0.03%
S&P 500	5633.07	+21.22
		+0.38%
NASDAQ	17449.89	+150.60
		+0.87%
TSX	25033.28	+115.78
		+0.46%

International MarketsMarkets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	35480.18	-144.30
		-0.41%
HANG SENG	23206.84	+87.26
		+0.38%
SENSEX	76024.51	-1390.41
		-1.80%
FTSE 100*	8634.80	+51.99
		+0.61%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	2.928	2.968
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.186	3.225
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.1689	4.2053
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.5240	4.5707

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6993	0.6948
US $	1.4300	1.4390

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5432	0.6480
US $	1.0791	0.9266

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3115.10	3071.60
Oil
WTI Crude Future	71.20	71.48

Market Commentary:
The door to the American Millionaire’s Club is not locked. –J. Paul Getty, 1892-1976.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.5%, with eight of 11 sectors higher, led by information technology stocks.
As of market close, 154 of 218 stocks rose, while 61 fell.
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. led the advances, rising 7.7%, while Endeavour Silver Corp. decreased 12%.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rally in the world’s largest tech companies lifted stocks as investors brushed off weak economic readings to focus on prospects for interest-rate cuts ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariff rollout.
In another volatile session, the S&P 500 wiped out a 1% slide that was triggered by weak manufacturing and jobs data.
A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps halted a four-day selloff.
Treasury yields dropped as traders slightly boosted their bets on Federal Reserve policy easing.
That’s despite a surge in a price measure.
Canada’s loonie and Mexico’s peso gained on news the leaders of both countries held a “productive” call on trade.
It’s a been a dizzying period for investors bracing for Trump’s tariffs.
As the deadline approaches, it’s not clear how far he’ll go in overturning the current rules-based system of global commerce. The uncertainty has shaken markets, prompted economists to cut their growth forecasts and forced central bankers to factor in the potential inflationary impact of import costs.
Trump’s sweeping tariffs will take immediate effect after they are announced Wednesday, his top spokeswoman said.
“Sentiment remains fragile before tariff day,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com. “With the exact scope of
these measures still uncertain, you would imagine that investors remain cautious. The trajectory of stocks remains highly uncertain in the near-term outlook.”
The S&P 500 rose 0.4%.
The Nasdaq 100 added 0.8%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average wavered.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.17%.
The dollar was little changed.
Trump is set Wednesday to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs and other levies on what he has labeled “Liberation Day” — a move expected to cover a broader swath of trade than the 1930 Smoot-Hawley duties that have long served as a cautionary tale about protectionism.
It’s part of Trump’s wider project to dismantle the global trading system the US helped build out of that era’s wreckage, on his belief that Americans got a raw deal.
“We doubt that ‘Liberation Day’ is going to mark the end around tariff uncertainty,” said HSBC strategists led by Max Kettner.
“We’d argue the potential is in fact higher for the 2 April deadline to introduce even more uncertainty – and hence prolonged broad-based weakness in leading indicators.”
Three of Wall Street’s most-reliable bulls have acknowledged that they were too optimistic in their estimates for the S&P 500 this year, with strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Societe Generale and Yardeni Research lowering theiryear-end targets for the benchmark.
Still, though, all three expect the index to finish the year higher than where it ended Monday.
In other words, while these market pros are warning of a slowdown — pointing to the risks to economic growth and consumer sentiment from Trump’s policies — they are not preparing for a wider meltdown yet.
In fact, every major strategist tracked by Bloomberg still anticipates a rise in the S&P 500 between now and the end of the year.
Market participants are positioning for another solid stretch of performance for Treasuries after signs of cooling US growth drove a first-quarter rally that left benchmark 10-year yields down about a half-percentage point from their January peak.
Trend-following hedge funds turned short US equities and long Treasuries last month and the rotation has room to run, according to analysis by Barclays Plc.
Rising potential for a US recession has Pacific Investment Management Co. touting the attractiveness of “stable sources of returns” in global bonds.
The bond manager is warning that President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade, cost-cutting and immigration policies stand to slow the world’s biggest economy by more than previously expected, hurting the labor market and supporting its view for investors to tilt their portfolios toward safer assets.
There’s “a strong case to diversify away from highly priced US equities into a broader mix of global, high quality bonds,” Pimco’s Tiffany Wilding and Andrew Balls wrote in a note.
Markets “are in the early stages of a multiyear period in which fixed income can outperform equities while offering a more favorable risk-adjusted profile.”

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.5%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.6%
* The Russell 2000 Index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0790
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2920
* The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 149.61 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3.1% to $84,952.79
* Ether rose 5% to $1,910.31
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.17%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.69%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.63%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $71.20 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.1% to $3,118.90 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement. -1913-1960.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday

March 28, 1854: Great Britain and France declare war on Russia, expanding the Crimean War.
On March 28, 1979, America’s worst commercial nuclear accident occurred inside the Unit Two reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pa.  Go to article.

Monsters aren’t real, kid. Let me show you …
A babysitter in Kansas was trying to reassure the child in her care that there was no monster under the bed. So, she bent down to look — and came face-to-face with an intruder.

Human sacrifices found in a Bronze Age tomb in Turkey were mostly teenage girls
Archaeologists are unsure why unrelated teenagers were buried in an elaborate Bronze Age tomb but think their age may be a clue. Read More.

James Webb telescope captures auroras on Neptune for first time ever
The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully detected auroras on Neptune for the first time ever, finishing a job that NASA’s Voyager 2 probe began decades ago. Read More.

New cells discovered in eye could help restore vision, scientists say
A new study suggests that never-seen-before stem cells in the human retina can restore vision in mice with a common eye disorder. But more work is needed to
translate the treatment to people. Read More.

Current AI models a ‘dead end’ for human-level intelligence, scientists agree
In a new survey, 76% of scientists said that scaling large language models was “unlikely” or “very unlikely” to achieve AGI. Read More.

Giant, fungus-like organism may be a completely unknown branch of life
An ancient and enormous organism called Prototaxites, initially found to be a type of fungus, may actually be an unknown branch of life, researchers say. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Seoul, South Korea
A worker adjusts colourful lanterns during preparations for Buddha’s birthday celebrations on 5 May at Jogye temple
Photograph: Lee Jin-man/AP

Nuuk, Greenland
The lights from residential housing blocks illuminate snowdrifts
Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Bridport, UK
A man walks his dog near the art trail Stampede by the Sea in West Bay. The trail showcases 30 striking and colourful elephants, designed and painted by local artists. The exhibition will conclude with an auction of the artwork raising funds for Weldmar Hospicecare charity
Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 28^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	42587.50	+4.18
		+0.01%
S&P 500	5776.65	+9.08
		+0.16%
NASDAQ	18271.86	+83.27
		+0.46%
TSX	25339.51	+35.40
		+0.14%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	37780.54	+172.05
		+0.46%
HANG SENG	23344.25	-561.31
		-2.35%
SENSEX	78017.19	+32.81
		+0.04%
FTSE 100*	8663.80	+25.79
		+0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.077	3.096
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.310	3.346
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.3133	4.3595
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.6588	4.7208

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7001	0.6988
US $	1.4284	1.4311

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5548	0.6432
US $	1.0886	0.9186

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3007.75	3013.25
Oil
WTI Crude Future	69.46	69.92

Market Commentary:
One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say. -Will Durant.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.6% at 24,759.15 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.7% on March 4 and follows the previous session’s little change.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 10 of 11 sectors lost; 167 of 218 shares fell, while 47 rose.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.7%.
Aya Gold & Silver Inc. had the largest drop, falling 15.8%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater loss five times. The next day, it declined three times for an average 1.3% and advanced twice for an average 1%
* This quarter, the index was little changed
* This month, the index fell 2.5%
* So far this week, the index fell 0.8%
* The index advanced 12% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 5.9% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.3% below its 52-week high on Jan. 30, 2025 and 15.3% above its low on June 17, 2024
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.6 on a trailing basis and 15.4 times estimated earnings of\ its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.9% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.06t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.95% compared with 15.43% in the previous session and the average of 14.46% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -131.9645| -1.6| 6/19
Information Technology| -94.8325| -3.9| 0/10
Industrials | -68.0591| -2.2| 1/27
Materials | -56.7161| -1.7| 7/42
Energy | -28.5129| -0.7| 10/31
Consumer Discretionary| -15.7391| -2.0| 2/8
Real Estate | -3.6619| -0.8| 4/14
Communication Services| -3.1555| -0.5| 2/3
Health Care | -0.9399| -1.4| 2/2
Consumer Staples | -0.4763| -0.1| 6/4
Utilities | 2.1240| 0.2| 7/7
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | -71.4000| -5.7| -17.7| -9.6
RBC | -36.3300| -2.2| 12.3| -7.4
Brookfield Corp | -32.9100| -4.2| -13.5| -10.2
Emera | 2.2640| 1.8| 14.8| 12.3
Fortis | 2.7680| 1.2| -8.3| 8.5
Dollarama | 3.1900| 1.1| -14.1| 8.1
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks got hammered, bonds climbed and gold hit a record high, following signs of weakness in the main engine of the US economy and worries that inflation could gain further traction amid a trade war.
With just one more session left before the end of a quarter that’s set to be the S&P 500’s worst since 2022, the gauge fell 2%.
Data showed a plunge in US consumer sentiment and a surge in long-term inflation expectations.
That was after another report underscored tepid spending and a pick-up in prices ahead of next week’s big US tariff rollout.
A gauge of tech mega caps slumped 3.5%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank 10 basis points to 4.26%.
To Bret Kenwell at eToro, the biggest worry is that inflation will remain elevated amid a notable slowdown in the economy.
“And while that risk may not be the base case right now, any traction it gains could further weigh on investor sentiment,” he said. “But unless there’s a larger deterioration in the economy, it’s too soon to jump on the stagflation train.”
The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 2.7%, notching a drop of at least 2% in March for the fifth time — the most for a single month since the bear market in June 2022, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.7%.
All mega caps sank, with Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. sinking over 4%.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. tumbled 14% on a gloomy outlook.
Wall Street’s “fear gauge” – the VIX – topped 21.
The dollar fell 0.1%.
Bitcoin tumbled about 4%.
As President Donald Trump’s tariff policy expands, consumers are growing more worried that the added duties will drive up prices.
A prolonged rise in costs could prompt households to cut back on discretionary spending, which has implications for broader economy — and Corporate America.
“Today’s data has the general pattern of what many observers will be looking for in the months ahead as new tariffs and other policy change begin to bite: weaker-than-expected spending and stronger-than-expected inflation,” according to David Alcaly at Lazard Asset Management.
While it’s premature to be drawing judgments, seeing this pattern in hard data could feed apprehension before next week’s announcements, Alcaly added.
“When you don’t know what’s coming, it’s harder to plan,” said Jim Baird at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.
“In the face of growing uncertainty, consumers are left with tough decisions. For now, inflation has re-emerged as a significant – and growing – concern.”
Economists dialed back their expectations for US growth this year, envisioning softer consumer spending and more limited capital investment amid mounting uncertainty created by the ever-evolving trade policy, according to the latest Bloomberg survey of economists.
US stock funds suffered their largest weekly outflow this year, while inflows continued to pour into European equities, Bank of America Corp. said, citing EPFR Global data.
“Looking ahead, the market’s recovery is expected to be turbulent, with volatility persisting until policy uncertainty clears,” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
“However, April has historically provided a seasonal tailwind – whether that holds true this year remains to be seen given the current environment.”
Hackett noted that investor sentiment has reached extreme levels, which often serves as a contrarian signal.
Historically, when sentiment has been this stretched, the S&P 500 has posted strong gains over the following six and 12 months, he said.
“All in all, investors should stay patient for now,” Hackett concluded.
UBS Global Wealth Management’s David Lefkowitz lowered his S&P 500 year-end target to 6,400 from 6,600 to account for recent economic turbulence, but he sees stocks reversing course and rising into the end of 2025.
“We still believe that US stocks can recover and post gains for the year,” he said in a Friday note to clients.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7%
* The MSCI World Index fell 1.7%
* The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.7%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 3.5%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 2.1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0826
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2945
* The Japanese yen rose 0.9% to 149.75 per dollar
* The Canadian dollar was little changed at 1.4316
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 4.1% to $83,733.65
* Ether fell 6.7% to $1,872.77
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 10 basis points to 4.26%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.73%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 4.69%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2% to $69.11 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.8% to $3,081.23 an ounce

–With assistance from Margaryta Kirakosian and Lynn Thomasson.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
No person has was ever honored for what he received.  Honor has been the reward for what he gave. -Calvin Coolidge, 1872-1933.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

March 27, 1513: Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sights Florida.
March 27, 1790: the modern shoelace with a n aglet is patented in England by Harvey Kennedy.

Wilhelm Roentgen, scientist, b. 1845.
Sarah Vaughan, singer, b. 1924.
Mariah Carey, singer, b. 1970

‘Exceptional’ hoard of 800 Iron Age artifacts found mysteriously burned and buried in UK field
An Iron Age hoard discovered in England is on a “kind of scale and size that is exceptional for Britain and probably even Europe.” Read More.

2,200-year-old mysterious pyramid structure filled with coins and weapons found near Dead Sea
The purpose of a mysterious pyramidal structure in the Judaean Desert is unknown, but excavators are finding many well-preserved artifacts there. Read More.

Never-before-seen chain of volcanoes discovered hiding near the Cook Islands
After suspecting the presence of a series of underwater volcanoes near the Cook Islands, researchers have now mapped out the newly discovered structures. Read More.

Brain aging accelerates dramatically around age 44 — could ketone supplements help?
A study of thousands of people finds that neural connections in the brain start to break down quickly around age 44, but the research hints that ketone supplements
could potentially help slow that brain aging. Read More.

Scientists unveil new type of ‘time crystal’ that defies our traditional understanding of time and motion
The latest time crystal innovation may expand the known boundaries of quantum mechanics. Read More.

Will Steph Curry become the baller of beverages?
The NBA star and former first lady Michelle Obama have joined forces to launch a new sugar-free sports drink.

‘Doomsday’ mega-cast announced
Marvel is going all out for the upcoming “Avengers” sequel by combining those superheroes with two other classic teams: the X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

Fan of the ‘The Office’? Head to Scranton.
Chili’s is opening a restaurant in the Pennsylvania city that will feature retro decor and menu items. You’ll even be able to drink a “Scranton Margarita,” just like Meredith Palmer.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Abu Dhabi, UAE
Muslim worshippers gather at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque for prayers during Laylat al-Qadr, the 27th night of the holy month of Ramadan
Photograph: Mohammed Zarandah/Anadolu/Getty Images

Nuuk, Greenland
A boat travels though a frozen sea inlet outside the Greenlandic capital
Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

​​​​​​​First days of spring in London – in pictures
Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian, Thu 27 Mar 2025 12.44 GMT
Market Closes for March 27^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	42299.70	-155.09
		-0.37%
S&P 500	5693.31	-18.89
		-0.33%
NASDAQ	17804.03	-94.99
		-0.53%
TSX	25161.06	—
		—

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	37799.97	-227.32
		-0.60%
HANG SENG	23578.80	+95.48
		+0.41%
SENSEX	77606.43	+317.93
		+0.41%
FTSE 100*	8666.12	-23.47
		-0.27%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.096	3.130
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.346	3.367
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.3595	4.3519
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.7208	4.7020

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6988	0.6994
US $	1.4311	1.4298

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5452	0.6472
US $	1.0797	0.9262

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3013.25	3025.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	69.92	69.65

Market Commentary:
But the good big decisions, they don’t take any time at all.  If they take time, you’re in trouble. -Warren Buffett, (CNBC Town Hall event at Columbia University, November 11, 2009.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite was unchanged at 25,161.06 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.7%.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.1%.
Magna International Inc. had the largest drop, falling 6.9%.
Today, 97 of 218 shares fell, while 116 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 1.8%
* This month, the index fell 0.9%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.8%
* The index advanced 14% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 8.2% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.8% below its 52-week high on Jan. 30, 2025 and 17.2% above its low on June 17, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.4% in the past 5 days and was little changed in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.8 on a trailing basis and 15.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.06t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 15.43% compared with 15.53% in the previous session and the average of 14.22% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -25.1508| -1.0| 1/9
Energy | -23.7684| -0.6| 6/34
Financials | -21.3319| -0.3| 14/11
Industrials | -8.5307| -0.3| 12/16
Health Care | 0.6948| 1.0| 3/1
Utilities | 0.9510| 0.1| 7/8
Consumer Discretionary | 1.4802| 0.2| 6/4
Real Estate | 1.4896| 0.3| 16/2
Consumer Staples | 8.3502| 0.9| 9/1
Communication Services | 8.5529| 1.5| 5/0
Materials | 57.2709| 1.7| 37/11
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | -18.3600| -1.1| -37.0| -5.2
Shopify | -18.2500| -1.4| -46.6| -4.2
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -13.8900| -2.0| 1.1| -1.4
Wheaton Precious Metals | 6.8770| 2.0| -44.3| 35.5
Franco-Nevada | 8.1890| 2.8| -32.3| 33.2
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | 16.8000| 3.2| -30.6| 37.2
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks fell after the US pushed ahead with tariffs on automakers, reinforcing concern about a widening trade war and offsetting data that showed faster-than-estimated growth in the world’s largest economy.
Just days before the end of a quarter that’s set to be the worst for the S&P 500 since 2023, the gauge slipped anew.
Giants from Toyota Motor Corp. to Mercedes-Benz Group AG and General Motors Co. got hit.
AppLovin Corp. sank on a short report from Muddy Waters.
Mega caps were mixed, with Apple Inc. up and Nvidia Corp. down.
In late hours, Lululemon Athletica Inc. gave a gloomy outlook.
Bonds flashed concerns about inflation as short- dated Treasuries outperformed longer ones.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation to implement a 25% tariff on auto imports and pledged harsher punishment on the EU and Canada if they join forces against the US.
The move overshadowed data showing the economy expanded at a quicker pace in the fourth quarter than previously estimated.
A measure of inflation was revised lower.
To Bret Kenwell at eToro, the data won’t act as a major confidence boost for investors as their focus is firmly planted in the current economic landscape rather than the one from a few months ago.
“Investors will want to see in-line or better inflation results and a strong employment number to gain some reassurance,” he said.
Inflation remains at a disquieting level for the Federal Reserve.
And Friday’s personal consumption expenditures price index is forecast to show signs of stickiness.
The S&P 500 lost 0.3%.
The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.6%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.4%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 4.36%.
The dollar wavered.
Friday’s inflation data will provide a snapshot of price pressures and economic activity leading up to Trump’s planned April 2 announcement on reciprocal tariffs — which he has dubbed “Liberation Day in America.”
General uncertainty about the impact of the duties help explain why Fed officials kept interest rates unchanged last week.
“The threat of further tariff escalation remains a key concern, but our economic forecasts do not call for a recession in the US,” said Mark Haefele at UBS Global Wealth Management.
US PREVIEW: Inflation Uptick to Justify Fed’s Rate Hold For markets, the question is whether anything will be able to rise above the tariff noise, according to Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.
“In the near-term, the most likely scenario is more choppy trading, he said.
To Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler, despite the heightened uncertainties surrounding tariffs and inflation, there are technical signals suggesting an intermediate-term low may be in place.
“While the path to a more meaningful recovery is often not a straight line upward, it appears that equities have found some footing off the March lows from which to build upon in the upcoming weeks,” he said.
Pessimism among individual investors about the short-term outlook for stocks decreased in the latest sentiment survey from the American Association of Individual Investors.
Meanwhile, optimism and neutral sentiment increased.
“With stocks getting a respite from the selling last week and into early this week, we expected some subsiding of the extremely high levels of bearish sentiment in the weekly survey from the AAII,” said Bespoke Investment Group strategists.
Bespoke noted that while bearish sentiment dropped, this week’s reading was still above 50% — and higher than 96.8% of all prior weekly readings since 1987.
US equities will soon regain their long-held edge over European peers as the brighter outlook for the old continent’s stocks is limited to sectors such as defense and banks, according to Jean Boivin, head of the BlackRock Investment Institute.
“This is a pretty narrow European story,” Boivin said in an interview.
“There’s no strong conviction yet to play Europe over the US over a six-to-12 month horizon.  We need to see more fiscal impetus beyond defense and implementation will be key.”

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0795
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2950
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 151.04 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $87,052.04
* Ether fell 0.3% to $2,004.22
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.36%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.77%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.78%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $69.79 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 1.3% to $3,057.49 an ounce

Have a lovely evening.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
March 26, 1885: The Eastman Dry Plate and Film Co. of Rochester, N.Y., manufactured the first commercial motion picture film. Go to article.
March 26, 1979: Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Mencheim Begin of Israel sign a peace accord.
March 26, 2000: Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia, initiating significant political and economic changes in the country.

Beethoven, composer, d. 1827.
Robert Frost, poet, b. 1874.
Tennessee Williams, playwright, b. 1911.
Erica Jong, writer, b. 1942.
Diana Ross, singer, b. 1944.
Keira Knightly, actress, b. 1985.

How did you sleep last night?
If the answer is “not well,” actor Walter Goggins wants to help. The “White Lotus” star has recorded a sleep story for the meditation app Calm that he hopes will provide listeners with a relaxing, dreamlike experience.

Coming soon to a theatre near you
A variety of new movies are arriving in theaters this spring. So, if you’re looking for an escape, check out these flicks featuring killer unicorns, a giant Great Dane and the final reckoning for “Mission: Impossible” hero Ethan Hunt.

Pedro Pascal would like just a little bit of privacy
“The Last of Us” star said he felt violated when the paparazzi revealed his highly-caffeinated coffee order. “It was an incredibly private morning ritual that I never wanted anyone to know about!” Pascal said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

25,000-year-old mammoth bones reveal culture of ancient humans
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of at least five woolly mammoths at a site in Austria. The remains suggest that ancient humans processed the mammoths’ ivory tusks
25,000 years ago. Read More.

‘Unlike any objects we know’: Scientists get their best-ever view of ‘space tornadoes’ howling at the Milky Way’s center
Scientists have gotten the best-ever view of “space tornadoes” howling near the Milky Way’s black hole. The cosmic twisters could play an important role in distributing
organic molecules throughout the galaxy. Read More.

Alef’s Model A — a single-seater ‘retro’ flying car — is 1 step closer to taking to the skies
Alef has billed its Model A electric vehicle, which is capable of operating both as a road-based car and as an aircraft, as the cure for congestion.

Alef’s Model A — a single-seater ‘retro’ flying car — is 1 step closer to taking to the skies
Alef has billed its Model A electric vehicle, which is capable of operating both as a road-based car and as an aircraft, as the cure for congestion. Read More.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Vilanova de Sau, Spain
The belfry of an 11th-century Romanesque church emerges from the Sau reservoir in Catalonia
Photograph: Emilio Morenatti/AP

Ulukoy, Turkey
The snow begins to melt and crocuses come into bloom to signify the start of spring in Malatya
Photograph: Bayram Ayhan/Anadolu/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Whitley Bay, England
The sky is filled with colour from the Northern Lights near St Mary’s lighthouse
Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
Market Closes for March 26^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	42454.79	-132.71
		-0.31%
S&P 500	5712.20	-64.45
		-1.12%
NASDAQ	17899.02	-372.84
		-2.04%
TSX	25161.06	+178.45
		-0.70%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	38027.29	+246.75
		+0.65%
HANG SENG	23483.32	+139.07
		+0.60%
SENSEX	77288.50	-728.69
		-0.93%
FTSE 100*	8689.59	+25.79
		+0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.130	3.077
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.367	3.310
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.3519	4.3133
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.7020	4.6588

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.6994	0.7006
US $	1.4298	1.4274

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5358	0.6511
US $	1.0738	0.9313

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3025.20	3007.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	69.65	69.46

Market Commentary:
The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient. -Warren Buffett, b. 1930.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.7% at 25,161.06 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 0.9% on March 13 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.1%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 5.2%.
Celestica Inc. had the largest drop, falling 9.9%.
Today, 149 of 218 shares fell, while 66 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 1.8%
* This month, the index fell 0.9%
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 9.5% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.8% below its 52-week high on Jan. 30, 2025 and 17.2% above its low on June 17, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.4% in the past 5 days and fell 0.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.8 on a trailing basis and 15.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.09t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.53% compared with 15.42% in the previous session and the average of 14.00% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -94.3109| -3.7| 0/10
Materials | -51.0606| -1.5| 6/43
Financials | -35.0584| -0.4| 8/17
Consumer Staples | -8.5685| -0.9| 1/9
Real Estate | -3.3933| -0.7| 2/17
Utilities | -2.9810| -0.3| 5/10
Consumer Discretionary | -1.9561| -0.2| 6/4
Health Care | -1.3956| -2.0| 0/4
Energy | 4.0552| 0.1| 25/15
Communication Services | 5.7307| 1.0| 5/0
Industrials | 10.4974| 0.3| 8/20
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | -68.8400| -5.2| -43.5| -2.8
Brookfield Corp | -15.1000| -1.9| -51.6| -6.2
Teck Resources | -11.7200| -6.1| 4.5| -1.6
Suncor | 4.8040| 1.0| -80.9| 8.2
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 8.6490| 1.3| -41.6| 0.6
Canadian National | 9.7000| 1.8| -42.1| -2.1
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Three days of relative peace were broken on Wall Street, with big tech driving major stock benchmarks lower, as concern about a trade war’s impact on the economy and inflation resurfaced to squelch risk appetites.
The S&P 500 fell more than 1%.
The slide was led by the group of mega caps known as “Magnificent Seven” — whose quarterly selloff is shaping up to be the worst since 2022.
Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc. dropped at least 5.5%.
Microsoft Corp. has walked away from new data center projects in the US and Europe, according to TD Cowen analysts.
The Nasdaq 100 slipped around 2%.
A gauge of big banks snapped a streak of eight straight days of gains.
President Donald Trump will announce tariffs on the auto industry on Wednesday, a move that would escalate his fight with trading partners ahead of a broader tariff push next week.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem said it’s not clear the impact of tariffs will prove temporary.
“Uncertainty on the tariff front remains ridiculously high, leaving it incredibly tough for businesses or consumers to plan more than about a day into the future, and still making it nigh- on impossible for market participants to price risk,” said
Michael Brown, a strategist at Pepperstone.
The S&P 500 declined 1.1%.
The Nasdaq 100 slipped 1.8%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3%.
A Bloomberg gauge of mega caps sank 3%.
The Russell 2000 dropped 1%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.35%. The dollar gained 0.3%.
“Today was a reminder that despite the recent rebound in stocks, volatility remains as policy uncertainty lingers,” said Daniel Skelly, head of Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Market Research & Strategy Team.
“Moreover, next week’s tariff deadline will likely be more of a starting point for negotiations than a conclusion, so the market may struggle to recover in a straight line higher.”
Tariffs and weakening survey data are set to weigh on the US stock market for the rest of the year, according to Barclays Plc strategists led by Venu Krishna, who cut their 2025 S&P 500 price target to 5,900 from 6,600.
“It’s a common maxim that ‘markets hate uncertainty,’ and the ambiguity around the tariff announcement has undoubtedly hit risk sentiment already, so we may see a small relief rally in risk assets and the greenback once the announcement is behind us,” said Matthew Weller at Forex.com and City Index.
That said, Weller noted that hints of further tariffs to come and the likelihood that punitive tariffs may be used as negotiating levers in the coming months mean that any risk rally may be short-lived.
That’s until there’s confidence that the “relentless stream of economy-disrupting policies are fully behind us,” Weller concluded, Worries over the economic effects of the global trade war are sapping liquidity in US stocks, creating a headache for institutional investors that could also boost volatility in broader markets.
Liquidity in S&P 500 stock-index futures, as measured in the most active contract, stands at a two-year low, data compiled by Deutsche Bank AG show.
“2025 may continue to challenge investors through a dueling mix of macro uncertainty within the geopolitical environment and shifting internal liquidity conditions,” said Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott.
“We remain concerned that there may be a profound change in underlying liquidity conditions which can exert influence on the risk markets over the coming months.”
From a technical standpoint, he noted that the recent “oversold rally effort” is starting to get a “bit sloppy.”
“We remain cautious over the near term and continue to look for confirmation that a bottom has been firmly put in place,” Wantrobski concluded.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
* The MSCI World Index fell 1%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 3%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.4% to $1.0751
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2888
* The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 150.57 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $86,552.46
* Ether fell 3.2% to $2,000.41
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.35%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.80%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.73%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $69.73 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed

–With assistance from Sujata Rao, Margaryta Kirakosian, Winnie
Hsu and Lynn Thomasson.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
The important thing is not to stop questioning.  Curiosity has its own reason for existing.  One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.  It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day.  Never lose a holy curiosity. –Albert Einstein 1879-1955.

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
March 25^th, 1306: Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scotland at Scone, asserting Scotland’s independence from English rule.
March 25, 1992: Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returned to Earth from the Mir space station after a 10-month stay, during which his native country, the Soviet Union, ceased to exist.  Go to article.

Old New Year’s Day was on this date until 1751.
Aretha Franklin, singer, b. 1942.
Sarah Jessica Parker, actress, b. 1965.

Women’s March Madness games finalized
The second round of the women’s 2025 NCAA basketball tournament is done and the Sweet 16 is set. See who made the cut.

Southern Cal superstar injured
Sophomore guard JuJu Watkins was carried off the court during the Trojans’ game against Mississippi State in the women’s NCAA basketball tournament last night after she collided with Bulldogs’ senior guard Chandler Prater and apparently injured her knee.

Even the Earth needs to vent sometimes
Tourists will soon be able to see a new thermal vent spewing steam at Yellowstone National Park. Assuming it stays active until April, the vent will be visible to tourists from an area about a mile north of the Norris Geyser Basin.

Feels like I forgot something …
A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to China had to turn around two hours into the journey and make an unscheduled stop in San Francisco last weekend after one of the pilots forgot to bring a passport.

Ancient Egyptian pyramids, thought to contain only the elite, may also hold low-class laborers
At the site of Tombos, archaeologists have found that less-affluent laborers may be buried with upper-class people in pyramid tombs. Read More.

‘Extremely Large Telescope’ being built in Chile could detect signs of alien life in a single night
The Extremely Large Telescope will revolutionize our view of the cosmos when it sees first light in Chile in 2028. In fact, it could detect hints of alien life around our closest neighboring star system in its first night of operations, new simulations suggest. Read More.

Silent X chromosome genes ‘reawaken’ in older females, perhaps boosting brain power, study finds
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Taunus, Germany
Deer come out of a birch grove in a forest
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia
A boy walks past statues of Buddhist monks at the Trapeang Thma pagoda
Photograph: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images

​​​​​​​An albino white-tailed doe with two bucks near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, US
Photograph: John Rucosky/AP
Market Closes for March 25^th, 2025

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	42587.50	+4.18
		+0.1%
S&P 500	5776.65	+9.08
		+0.16%
NASDAQ	18271.86	+83.27
		+0.46%
TSX	25339.51	+35.40
		+0.14%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	37780.54	+172.05
		+0.46%
HANG SENG	23344.25	-561.31
		-2.35%
SENSEX	78017.19	+32.81
		+0.4%
FTSE 100*	8663.80	+25.79
		+0.30%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.077	3.063
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.310	3.296
U.S. 10 Year Bond	4.3133	4.3346
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.6588	4.6627

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7006	0.6983
US $	1.4274	1.4319

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.5397	0.6494
US $	1.0787	0.9271

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	3007.75	3013.70
Oil
WTI Crude Future	69.46	69.51

Market Commentary:
If you have large cap, mid cap and small cap, and the market declines, you’re going to have less cap. –Martin Truax.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.1%, or 35.4 to 25,339.51 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 28.
Barrick Gold Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.1%.
Torex Gold Resources Inc. had the largest increase, rising 7.4%.
Today, 131 of 218 shares rose, while 81 fell; 4 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 2.5%
* This month, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 10% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.1% below its 52-week high on Jan. 30, 2025 and 18% above its low on June 17, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.6% in the past 5 days and rose 0.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9 on a trailing basis and 15.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.08t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.42% compared with 15.41% in the previous session and the average of 13.79% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 26.5605| 0.3| 19/6
Materials | 22.0295| 0.6| 35/14
Consumer Staples | 7.5736| 0.8| 8/1
Communication Services | 2.2141| 0.4| 4/1
Utilities | -0.0222| 0.0| 10/4
Health Care | -0.5253| -0.8| 2/1
Information Technology | -0.7696| 0.0| 6/4
Consumer Discretionary | -0.9888| -0.1| 3/7
Real Estate | -3.1812| -0.7| 8/10
Energy | -6.7366| -0.2| 23/18
Industrials | -10.7398| -0.3| 13/15
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Barrick Gold | 6.7870| 2.1| -33.6| 24.0
RBC | 6.4510| 0.4| -4.1| -3.8
Canadian Natural Resources | 5.4580| 0.8| -8.9| 0.2
Cameco | -6.1100| -3.1| -30.8| -14.1
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -10.2900| -1.5| 20.5| -0.7
Nutrien | -12.4400| -4.8| 48.8| 11.3
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A late-day rally in several big techs drove stocks higher on Tuesday, though gains moderated after one of the market’s best days in 2025 as traders assessed economic risks amid the threat of trade war.
After fluctuating throughout most of the session, the S&P 500 managed to close up by 0.2%.
A slide in consumer confidence to a four-year low weighed on Wall Street sentiment.
That’s even as traders added to wagers on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year.
Bond yields slipped. The dollar halted a four-day advance.
Oil declined as US said Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea.
US copper surged to a record.
Market forecasters have been split on whether the rebound in equities has further to go.
Strategists at HSBC Holdings Plc led by Max Kettner downgraded US stocks to underweight, citing economic concerns.
Meantime, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Ilan Benhamou said it’s time to pause the rally-fading approach as emerging clarity on tariffs alleviates some key risks.
“Confidence is a fragile thing,” said Steve Sosnick at Interactive Brokers.
“Despite the ever-increasing roles of algorithms and artificial intelligence in the investment process, emotions still play an important role in market behavior. Fear and greed still rule, and their constant tug-of-war has been on full display in both the market and the economy recently.”
To Matt Maley at Miller Tabak, the bounce from a selloff has been a good one, but investors still need to be sure that the worst is really behind us.
Maley says the rebound was nothing more than something you would normally see after a correction.
The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.
A gauge of mega caps outpaced the market, with only Nvidia Corp. dropping.
KB Home sank after cutting its sales forecast.
AT&T Inc. is said to be in talks to buy Lumen
Technologies Inc.’s consumer fiber operations.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries slid two basis points to 4.31%.
The dollar dropped 0.1%.
“There’s a little bit of paralysis with market participants not knowing what to do because they don’t know what policy is going to go into place,” said Charles Ashley at Catalyst Funds.
“We’re not at the point yet where there’s extreme pricing dislocations to find really good opportunities.”
Consumer sentiment surveys have been dismal of late as households fear a resurgence in inflation from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Companies have warned of higher prices and less demand, coinciding with economists’ forecasts that suggest a risk of stagflation and rising odds of recession.
“Sentiment continues to wane among investors, consumers and businesses as economic concerns and economic policy uncertainty takes its toll,” said Bret Kenwell at eToro.
“Until there’s more certainty on the tariff and macro front, sentiment and confidence remain vulnerable.”
At UBS Group AG, Bhanu Baweja said the “visibly tiring” US consumer is set to further pressure stock prices.
He expects the S&P 500 to drop as low as 5,300 points as analysts cut profit estimates for the next three to four months.
The gauge closed at 5,776.65 on Tuesday.
“Over the last several weeks we’ve seen evidence that whatever froth there was in terms of market sentiment, bullish sentiment has been wrung out,” said Bespoke Investment Group strategists.
They noted the latest example came in Tuesday’s consumer confidence, with the percentage of those expecting lower stock prices in the year ahead surging by more than 10 percentage points.
“Following these prior surges in negative sentiment, though, the equity market tended to start recovering, and pretty quickly in most cases,” Bespoke said.
“Sentiment remains cagey,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com.
“There are fears that the rebound may have run a bit too high. Clearly, some investors remain unconvinced that the worst is over.”
For much of last year, market forecasters bumped up their outlooks for US equities in tandem, chasing a rally that propelled the S&P 500 from one record high to another.
But a quick 10% drop from the index’s February high caught them offsides, triggering a debate over which way stocks will go next.
The benchmark had bounced back in recent days as the White House signaled plans to take a more targeted approach to the tariffs coming next week.
However, the ultimate outcome remains highly unpredictable since levies from the US are likely to trigger reciprocal responses from the countries they’re aimed at, making the economic consequences almost impossible to predict.
“The issue at this point is the risk/reward is much less favorable than when the S&P 500 was around 5,500-5,600,” said Jonathan Krinsky at BTIG. “So in order to be aggressive buyers here, you have to believe the S&P 500 is going back above 6,000. While we are open to that possibility, it’s not our base case.”

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.3%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.2%
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0795
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2947
* The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 149.86 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.4% to $88,231.4
* Ether fell 0.4% to $2,077.41
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.31%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.80%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.75%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,019.56 an ounce

–With assistance from Sujata Rao, Margaryta Kirakosian, Aya Wagatsuma and Lynn Thomasson.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Most people would like to be delivered from temptation, but would like it to keep in touch. –Robert Orben, 1927-2023.

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

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

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