Category: Newsletters

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1491 – Christopher Columbus, explorer b.
1883 – Krakatoa erupts: 36,000 killed.
1996 – US President Bill Clinton signs welfare reform into law, representing major shift in welfare policy.

On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was declared in effect.  Go to article »

An illustrated guide to a lesser-known part of the suffragists’ legacy: redefining what a woman “should” look like.-The NY Times.

A robot tried to fix value investing and ended up buying Amazon. -Bloomberg.

Paleontologist runs on a Scottish beach, finds an unexpected dinosaur bone.-Bloomberg.

The suit, proclaimed dead, is alive and well for top tailors

Roomba’s parent company says the household robots just got a lot smarter with a ‘genius update’
Is …. is that a threat? –CNN
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A magnificent rainbow stretches across the sky as it appears to emerge from a quaint chapel in the Austrian hills.
CREDIT: EMANUELE BATTIST/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

The Red Arrows -Edinburgh
CREDIT: DAVE CULLEN EDINBURGHELITEMEDIA.CO.UK

Storm Francis batters the small Welsh seaside resort of Porthcawl in Bridgend, UK. With gale force winds and massive waves.
CREDIT: GRAHAM M. LAWRENCE/LNP
Market Closes for August 26th, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	28331.92	+83.48
		+0.30%
S&P 500	3478.73	+35.11
		+1.02%
NASDAQ	11665.063	+198.591 +1.73%
TSX	16789.97	+172.49
		+1.04%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23290.86	-5.91
		-0.03%
HANG SENG	25491.79	+5.57
		+0.02%
SENSEX	39073.92	+230.04
		+0.59%
FTSE 100*	6045.60	+8.59 +0.14%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.613	0.592
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.123	1.096
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6884	0.6835
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.4135	1.3935

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.76074	0.75924
US $	1.31450	1.31711
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55549	0.64288
US $	1.18333	0.84507

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1911.15	1943.95
Oil
WTI Crude Future	43.39	43.15

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1919, Coca-Cola Co. successfully sold shares to outsiders for the first time, as a syndicate of banks and brokers from around the country bought 417,000 shares to resell to retail investors at an initial offering price of $40. An earlier attempt at a stock offering in 1892 failed miserably.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets gained with tech stocks leading the advance, mainly driven by Shopify Inc.’s rally.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 1% in Toronto. The benchmark’s tech index rose 4.2%, the most since July 29.
Shopify gained after Jamie Murray of Murray Wealth Group wrote that its shares will return 7% per annum over the next eight years assuming it’s valued at a similar multiple to Salesforce.com Inc.
Royal Bank of Canada, after posting record profit in capital markets in the fiscal third quarter, will probably see more gains from advising on mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and leveraged financing, Chief Financial Officer Rod Bolger said. Shares rose 1.5%.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.75 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was rose 1.3% to $1,952.78 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.2% to $1.3149 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 2 basis points to 0.611%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1 percent at 16,789.97 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.2 percent on Aug. 4 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.1 percent.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 6 of 11 sectors gained; 135 of 221 shares rose, while 82 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.1 percent. BlackBerry Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 6.4 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 3.8 percent
* The index advanced 4.3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 21 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 6.6 percent below its 52-week high on  Feb. 20, 2020 and 50.3 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.5 on a trailing basis and 24.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.53t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.48 percent compared with 9.43 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.55 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 82.3147| 1.7| 21/4
Information Technology | 70.5914| 4.2| 10/0
Materials | 55.9851| 2.2| 44/4
Consumer Discretionary | 5.8383| 1.0| 9/3
Industrials | 3.0275| 0.2| 18/10
Utilities | 0.1693| 0.0| 8/8
Health Care | -0.1622| -0.1| 3/6
Real Estate | -0.1764| 0.0| 14/12
Consumer Staples | -1.8842| -0.3| 5/6
Communication Services | -3.9339| -0.4| 1/7
Energy | -39.2694| -1.9| 2/22
US
By Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — Stocks extended a streak of record gains amid rising expectations for loose monetary policy while the economy shows signs of recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
The dollar weakened and gold appreciated.
Surging technology shares pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes to fresh highs for a fourth consecutive day, while the MSCI All-Country World Index climbed to a record. The S&P has jumped about 55% from its March lows. Salesforce.com Inc. leaped 26% after the software developer’s revenue easily beat estimates, signaling clients responded to the pandemic by upgrading technology systems. U.S. orders for durable goods rose in July by more than double estimates, indicating factories will help support the economic rebound in coming months. ”The continued market juggernaut is certainly impressive,” said David Donabedian, chief investment officer of CIBC Private Wealth Management. “The idea that we’re going to have a rip-roaring rebound in the third quarter has been supported by the data.”
Gains in Germany’s stocks pulled European equities higher as the country extended a program that has kept millions of people from losing their jobs in the region’s biggest economy.
Shares fell in Shanghai and Sydney. Crude oil traded near its most costly in five months as Hurricane Laura bore down on key refining facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
As global economies reopen, investors are focusing on the progress of a coronavirus vaccine while showing cautious optimism about controlling fresh outbreaks. Traders are also awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech on Thursday about the central bank’s monetary policy framework review, which is expected to entail a new inflation strategy.
“We’re in a slow melt-up sort of driven by Fed liquidity and backstops in the fixed income markets,” said Marc Chaikin, founder of Chaikin Analytics. “It’s giving people with money on the sidelines almost no opportunity to get in comfortably.”
Elsewhere, soybean futures climbed to a seven-month high in Chicago after people familiar with the matter said China is set to buy a record amount from America this year.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The U.S. Republican National Convention runs this week.
* The Bank of Korea sets monetary policy and will hold a briefing on Thursday.
* Fed Chair Powell speaks at an event on Thursday

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index climbed 1% to 3,478.81 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, hitting the highest on record with its fifth consecutive advance and the largest increase in two weeks.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3% to 28,332.53, the highest in six months.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.7% to 11,665.06, hitting the highest on record with its fifth consecutive advance and the largest increase in two weeks.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.9% to 373.12, the highest in two weeks.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2% to 1,169.69, the lowest in more than a week.
* The euro decreased 0.1% to $1.1827.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.4% to 106 per dollar, the largest rise in more than a week.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 0.69%, the highest in more than a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to -0.42%, the highest in almost two weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 0.302%, the highest in 11 weeks.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.1% to $43.38 a barrel, the highest in almost six months.
* Gold strengthened 1.2% to $1,952.28 an ounce, the highest in more than a week on the biggest climb in more than a week.
* Copper rose 1.2% to $2.99 a pound, the largest advance in a week.
–With assistance from Claire Ballentine.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead.
                                                                                                  -Voltaire, 1694-1778

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1939 – The Wizard of Oz released.
1894 – Japanese scientist Shibasaburo Kitasato discovers the infectious agent o the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet.

On Aug. 25, 1944, Paris was liberated by Allied forces after four years of Nazi occupation. Go to article »

Earth’s core is younger than previously believed, new research suggests A mere 1 billion to 1.3 billion years old!–CNN.

NASA is on the hunt for rogue planets.  And the agency’s new space telescope could help identify hundreds of them.-CNN.
 
These embroidery projects that realistically depict food are oddly mesmerizing. –The NY Times.

Irish boy gets new metal detector, immediately finds 400-year-old sword.-Bloomberg.

2,000-year-old redwoods survived California’s latest wildfires.-Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The hypo-pigmented humpback migrates north from Antarctica each year, with females giving birth seeking tropical waters.
CREDIT: MEDIADRUMIMAGES/@CRAIGPARRYPHOTO

This heart stopping footage shows the moment an incredible stuntman became the first person to successfully fly a wingsuit from a mountain in the UK.
CREDIT: HAMISH FROST/SWNS

View of CZU Lightening Fire from the Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument, near Davenport in Santa Cruz County, which extends from the steep slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the marine coastal terraces overlooking the Pacific Ocean. 
CREDIT: ZUMA PRESS, INC./ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Sunset over the low lighthouse at Dovercourt in Essex on a calm evening before the arrival of Storm Francis.
CREDIT: MATTHEW MALLETT/SWNS

Market Closes for August 25th, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	28248.44	-60.02
		-0.21%
S&P 500	3443.62	+12.34
		+0.36%
NASDAQ	11466.473	+86.755 +0.76%
TSX	16617.48	-9.16
		-0.06%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23296.77	+311.26
		+1.35%
HANG SENG	25486.22	-65.36
		-0.26%
SENSEX	38843.88	+44.80
		+0.12%
FTSE 100*	6037.01	-67.72 -1.11%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.592	0.559
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.096	1.074
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6835	0.6542
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3935	1.3559

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75924	0.75672
US $	1.31711	1.32149
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55894	0.64146
US $	1.18361	0.84487

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1943.95	1924.35
Oil
WTI Crude Future	43.15	42.47

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, Internet Wire, a press release service, issued a bulletin stating that the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating Emulex Corp.’s accounting practices. In 16 minutes the stock shed $2.2 billion in market value. The press release was a fabrication by a former Internet Wire employee who was short-selling Emulex stock. He pocketed $241,000 in profits, while thousands of investors lost their shirts, locking in at least $110 million of losses by selling on “the news.” Two weeks later, the SEC nailed the con artist, Mark Jakob, for securities fraud.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks ended Tuesday slightly lower, paring most of the day’s worst losses, thanks to a rise in technology and financial shares. The S&P/TSX Index Composite fell less than 0.1% in Toronto after earlier sliding as much as 0.6%. Consumer staples and materials were among the worst performers. Tech and financials were driven by Shopify and Bank of Montreal. Bank of Montreal rose 5.7% after its better-than-expected fiscal third quarter results were driven partly by record earnings in its capital-markets division amid a surge in trading of fixed income, commodities and currencies. Meanwhile, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan said gains in its bond portfolio helped offset losses in infrastructure and real estate, allowing the fund to nearly break even in the first half of the year.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was flat at $1,928.74 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3179 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose about 4 basis points to 0.593%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 16,617.48 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.7 percent. TC Energy Corp. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.6 percent. Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. had the largest drop, falling 4.2 percent. Today, 149 of 221 shares fell, while 65 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 2.8 percent
* The index advanced 3.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.5 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 3.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.2 on a trailing basis and 24.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.54t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.43 percent compared with 10.49 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.65 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -20.2624| -0.8| 13/34
Energy | -12.0668| -0.6| 10/13
Consumer Staples | -8.2285| -1.2| 0/11
Utilities | -5.0827| -0.6| 7/8
Consumer Discretionary | -4.1532| -0.7| 4/9
Industrials | -3.6137| -0.2| 9/19
Real Estate | -2.1297| -0.4| 6/20
Communication Services | -1.2010| -0.1| 2/6
Health Care | 0.3065| 0.2| 3/5
Financials | 19.1002| 0.4| 7/18
Information Technology | 28.1579| 1.7| 4/6
US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities rose to all-time highs for a third day with investors counting on the Federal Reserve to stay accommodative as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite notched fresh highs, with Facebook Inc. rallying after unveiling a series of tools designed to expand shopping on its social media platforms. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined for the first time in four days. Salesforce.com Inc. jumped 10% following the close of regular trading after raising its revenue outlook. Treasury yields increased and the dollar weakened. “It’s pretty remarkable, the risk-on trade, for the past couple of months,” said Michael Reynolds, investment strategy officer at Glenmede Trust Co. “It just seems like a benign day as we sit near the all-time highs.”
Oil rose as traders eyed Tropical Storm Laura, which is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall later this week. U.S. gasoline futures rose to the highest level since March on concern over possible fuel shortages. In addition to geopolitics and business confidence, investors are focused on vaccine progress as global economies reopen amid fresh outbreaks of the virus. Moderna Inc. said it’s near a deal to supply at least 80 million vaccine doses to the European Union. “The pattern we’re watching seems to be vaccine clarity means buy the socially distant losers, all of the sectors that have taken a beating since you can’t get together,” said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners.
Traders are also awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s scheduled speech on Thursday about the Fed’s long-awaited monetary policy framework review, which has focused on a new inflation strategy. ”If you think about what’s been driving markets, it’s really been the pace of recovery and primarily multiples have expanded due to hyper-loose monetary policy,” Troy Gayeski, co- chief investment officer of SkyBridge Capital, told Bloomberg TV. Elsewhere, gold traded below $1,950 an ounce.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings from companies including ICBC, PetroChina, HP Inc., Royal Bank of Canada and Dollar General.
* The U.S. Republican National Convention runs this week.
* The Bank of Korea sets monetary policy and will hold a briefing on Thursday.
* Fed Chair Powell speaks at an event on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index gained 0.3% to 3,443.67 as of 4:01 p.m. New
York time, the highest on record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.2% to 28,248.75.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.8% to 11,466.47, the highest on record.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.3% to 369.75.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.3% to 1,171.60.
The euro increased 0.4% to $1.1832.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.4% to 106.40 per dollar, the weakest in more than a week.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained three basis points to 0.68%, the highest in a week on the biggest rise in more than a week.
Germany’s 10-year yield increased six basis points to -0.43%, the highest in more than a week on the largest increase in almost 12 weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield gained five basis points to 0.263%, the highest in almost 11 weeks on the biggest climb in almost two weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.8% to $43.36 a barrel, the highest in almost six months on the largest advance in a week.
Gold was little changed at $1,928.47 an ounce.
Silver depreciated 0.1% to $26.52 per ounce, the weakest in more than a week.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Love of glory can only create a great hero; contempt of glory creates a great man.
                                                      -Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, 1754-1838

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
August 24, 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupts, Pompeii destroyed.
Jorge Luis Borges, writer, b. 1899

Israeli kids dig up 1,100-year-old gold coins.-Bloomberg.

NASA says an asteroid is headed our way right before Election Day
It appears that 2020 is continually trying to outdo itself. –CNN.

Rogue planets could outnumber the stars in the Milky Way. –Bloomberg.

Perhaps you’ve exhausted your Netflix queue. Or maybe you just want to watch something new. Check out this guide to 10 under-the-radar movies that are now streaming. Among them: the concert film “Western Stars,” Bruce Springsteen’s first crack at feature directing.-The NY Times.

On Aug. 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida, causing record damage; 55 deaths in Florida, Louisiana and the Bahamas were blamed on the storm. Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

He Ilen, Ireland’s last wooden cargo vessel with a hold, which has embarked upon a two-week voyage from Baltimore, West Cork, with a cargo of locally produced cheese, coffee and whiskey and will visit islands on the south and west coasts of Ireland, reviving a tradition which was lost a century ago
VREDIT: GARY MACMAHON/PA

Dank Dangubic of Bosina and Herzegovina jumps during the Bentbasa Cliff Diving Competition in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
CREDIT: XINHUA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Dix Doonan Webb specialist Thomasina Smith with the eagle which sold for £500,000. An extremely rare Napoleonic ship’s eagle which was touched by the little general for good luck has sold for £500,000. He handed out over 1,000 eagles to his infantry, cavalry regiments and every ship of the lane in his navy during a ceremony in Paris on December 3, 1804. The emperor told his men the eagles ‘ will always be your rallying point’ and they must ‘sacrifice their lives’ to defend them.
CREDIT: BNPS
Market Closes for August 24th, 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	28308.46	+378.13
		+1.35%
S&P 500	3431.28	+34.12
		+1.00%
NASDAQ	11379.719	+67.918 +0.60%
TSX	16626.64	+108.79
		+0.66%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22985.51	+65.21
		+0.28%
HANG SENG	25551.58	+437.74
		+1.74%
SENSEX	38799.08	+364.36
		+0.95%
FTSE 100*	6104.73	+102.84 +1.71%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.559	0.540
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.074	1.067
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6542	0.6347
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3559	1.3477

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75672	0.75873
US $	1.32149	1.31799
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55818	0.64177
US $	1.17911	0.84810

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1924.35	1927.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.47	42.19

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1927, Harry M. Markowitz was born in Chicago, son of Morris and Mildred Markowitz, who ran a small grocery store. In 1950-1952, Markowitz devised the intricate mathematics that proved the virtue of diversification and laid the groundwork for modern portfolio theory. In 1990, he shared the Nobel Prize in economics for his work.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced with global equity markets on signs that the Trump administration may fast-track
vaccines and treatments for coronavirus.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.7% in Toronto, led by financials. Canadian banks rose ahead of their earnings season, which should show improved results from last quarter. However, the group still is likely to see profits plunge for a second quarter due to economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Energy shares rose, helped by a rise in oil prices in advance of two storms heading for the U.S. Gulf Coast that spurred offshore operators to curtail production.
Meanwhile, Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. plunged after reports the Trump administration is planning to block the controversial Pebble mining project in Alaska. The project has drawn opposition from prominent Republicans. On Monday, an Army Corps of Engineers letter was made public demanding a mitigation plan for “unavoidable adverse impacts.”
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to $1,925.37 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.4% to C$1.3227 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose to 0.555%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.7 percent at 16,626.64 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.5 percent.
Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 136 of 221 shares rose, while 83 fell.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index  gain, increasing 2.9 percent. NFI Group Inc. had the largest increase, rising 6.8 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 2.8 percent
* The index advanced 3.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 20 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.5 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 3.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.3 on a trailing basis and 24.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.52t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.49 percent compared with 10.59 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.82 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 78.3260| 1.7| 24/1
Energy | 31.5613| 1.6| 23/1
Industrials | 9.2685| 0.5| 15/13
Consumer Discretionary | 5.6173| 1.0| 12/1
Utilities | 5.6047| 0.7| 9/7
Communication Services | 3.8454| 0.4| 8/0
Health Care | 2.5469| 1.7| 7/2
Real Estate | 1.4266| 0.3| 17/9
Consumer Staples | 0.5902| 0.1| 7/4
Materials | -7.9560| -0.3| 10/39
Information Technology | -22.0387| -1.3| 4/6
US
By Claire Ballentine and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose to record highs and bonds fell on signs that the Trump administration may fast-track vaccines and treatments for coronavirus.
The S&P 500 notched another all-time high as optimism mounted that the virus wouldn’t hamper growth. The Nasdaq Composite also closed a record for a second consecutive session.
Companies that benefit from a more robust economic restart led the gains. Carnival Corp. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. surged more than 9%, while Kohl’s Corp. and Gap Inc. jumped at least 7%. Casinos, carmakers and homebuilders joined the rally. Of the 11 S&P industry sectors, only health care finished lower. “The market is now working out well into next year –expecting a vaccine or several, a couple of important therapeutic remedies as well, probably continued government aid, and people going back to work and children going back to school,” said David Rainey, co-portfolio manager of the Hennessy Focus Fund.
Market sentiment was supported by news over the weekend that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working to expand access to a virus treatment involving blood plasma from recovered patients. Separately, the Financial Times reported that the Trump administration is considering whether to bypass regulatory standards to accelerate an experimental vaccine.
European shares ended higher, with AstraZeneca Plc climbing 2%. Treasury yields rose and the dollar strengthened, while gold traded near $1,950 an ounce.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks got a boost after a report that White House officials have reassured American businesses that a ban on its WeChat app won’t be as broad as feared. WeChat owner Tencent Holdings Ltd. jumped the most in a month, gaining $37 billion. Investors will be focused this week on the Federal Reserve’s annual Economic Policy Symposium — typically held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Thursday about the Fed’s long-awaited monetary policy framework review, which has focused on a new inflation strategy. ‘Past Peak Central Banking’ on View as Jackson Hole Goes Virtual
Meanwhile, storms Marco and Laura are rolling toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, where they’ll come ashore as hurricanes as soon as Monday. Almost 58% of crude output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico production has been shut down as the threat prompted evacuations of off-shore energy platforms and set residents and officials on edge from Texas to Florida.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings from companies including, ICBC, PetroChina, HP Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, Best Buy and Dollar General.
* The U.S. Republican National Convention begins Monday.
* The Bank of Korea sets monetary policy and will hold a briefing on Thursday.
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks at event on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index climbed 1% to 3,431.41 as of 4:00 p.m. New York time, the highest on record with the largest increase in more than a week.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.4% to 28,309.08, the highest in six months on the biggest jump in almost three weeks.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.6% to 11,379.72, the highest on record.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 1.6% to 370.85, the highest in more than a week on the biggest surge in almost two weeks.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1% to 1,174.51, the highest in more than a week.
* The euro decreased 0.1% to $1.179, the weakest in more than a week.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 105.97 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 0.65%, the biggest rise in more than a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to -0.49%, the first advance in more than a week.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 0.213%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.2% to $42.41 a barrel, the first advance in a week.
* Gold depreciated 0.7% to $1,927.26 an ounce, the weakest in more than a week.
* Silver depreciated 1.3% to $26.45 per ounce, the weakest in more than a week.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Stay away from negative people.  They have a problem for every solution.
                                                                -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
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

Mittens the cat could become New Zealander of the Year 
In a year when everything and everyone seems to be bad, let cats represent the best of us.-CNN.

Take a virtual tour of Harlem, one of New York’s most storied neighborhoods. –The NY Times.

The end of the universe could be a frigid, lifeless wasteland punctuated by “black dwarf” supernovae. -Mike Smedley, Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A person watches the Christie Mountain wildfire burn along Skaha Lake near Pentiction, British Columbia
CREDIT: JONATHAN HAYWARD/THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP

A view of the 2020 Formula Kite Individual European Championships in Puck, northern Poland
CREDIR: ADAM WARZAWA/EPA -EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Straw bales have been given ‘googly eyes’ to bring fun and cheer to people visiting a village in Spain. Youngsters in the village of Oronz in Salazar Valley have decorate the circular bales with eyes to create the fun characters in the recently harvested field. Eduardo Blanco who was visiting the valley and came across it by chance said “The straw bales are decorated by young people in the village”
CREIDT: EDUARDO BLANCO/NATUREPL/ SOLENT NEWS

A Brocken Spectre also known as Brocken Bow was captured by Iain Weir on his hike on Sgurr nan Gillean in the Cuillins, Skye.
CREDIT: IAIN WEIR/ SWNS.COM
Market Closes for August 21^st , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27930.33	+190.60
		+0.69%
S&P 500	3397.16	+11.65
		+0.34%
NASDAQ	11311.801	+46.848 +0.42%
TSX	16517.85	-88.91
		-0.54%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22920.30	+39.68
		+0.17%
HANG SENG	25113.84	+322.45
		+1.30%
SENSEX	38434.72	+214.33
		+0.56%
FTSE 100*	6001.89	-11.45 -0.19%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.540	0.563
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.067	1.087
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6347	0.6509
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3477	1.3833

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75873	0.75845
US $	1.31799	1.31847
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.55475	0.64319
US $	1.17964	0.84772

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1927.15	1981.00
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.19	42.58

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1754, William Murdock was born in Bellow Mill, near Cumnock in Ayrshire, England. In 1792 he invented coal-gas lighting, enabling the streets of London—and, soon, most of the world’s major cities—to be illuminated at night. For the first time, sunset did not have to mean darkness, and human productivity and safety took a great leap forward.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares dropped Friday, ending the week little changed.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.5% Friday, with seven of eleven sectors lower. Materials fell while health care also lagged.
Up more than 5% this year, the S&P 500 Index hit a fresh record Friday. In Canada, meanwhile, the TSX still needs to rise another 545 points, or about 3.3%, just to break even for the year.
Gold prices slipped, heading for the first back-to-back weekly decline since June, as the dollar advanced and stronger- than-expected U.S. economic data eased concerns over the pace of recovery.
Oil also slipped as signs of stumbling recoveries in major economies from Europe to Asia threaten to delay a demand rebound.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.4% to $1,938.90 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was little changed at C$1.3188 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2.2 basis points to 0.542%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.5 percent at 16,517.85 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 0.7 percent on Aug. 11 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2 percent.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.7 percent. Crescent Point Energy Corp. had the largest drop, falling 6.7 percent.
Today, 145 of 221 shares fell, while 72 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was unchanged
* This month, the index rose 2.2 percent
* The index advanced 1.3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 47.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.1 on a trailing basis and 24.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.53t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 10.59 percent compared with 10.59 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.55 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -53.8399| -2.1| 2/47
Information Technology | -21.6184| -1.3| 1/9
Energy | -20.6605| -1.0| 2/22
Real Estate | -3.2286| -0.6| 3/23
Consumer Discretionary | -2.6081| -0.5| 5/8
Health Care | -2.3779| -1.5| 2/7
Consumer Staples | -2.1818| -0.3| 7/4
Financials | 0.0000| 0.0| 11/12
Communication Services | 4.5088| 0.5| 7/1
Industrials | 6.4703| 0.3| 18/10
Utilities | 6.6274| 0.8| 14/2
US
By Rita Nazareth, Sarah Ponczek and Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed, led by technology companies, after economic data bolstered optimism that a recovery from a pandemic-induced recession is on track. Treasuries and the dollar rose.
The S&P 500 notched its fourth straight weekly rally – the longest winning streak this year — to close at a fresh record. A sense of calm has prevailed amid light volume: It’s been 21 sessions since the gauge posted a drop of more than 1%. Apple Inc. jumped ahead of the record date of a 4-for-1 stock split on Monday. Deere & Co., the largest maker of agricultural machinery, surged after boosting its outlook. Homebuilders soared as data showed sales of previously owned homes rose the most on record in July.
Governments around the world are still walking a tightrope between easing coronavirus lockdowns to revive economic growth, and controlling any resurgence of Covid-19. Florida’s positive- test rate stabilized, cases and deaths fell in Arizona while and New York reported the fewest number of hospitalized patients since March 16.  
     Meanwhile, Europe is grappling with a spike of infections, with little appetite among top officials to resort to stringent restrictions that helped control the spread earlier this year. “We had a couple months where the virus was scary and confusing. And then we had our initial economic rebound,” said Lauren Goodwin, economist and multi-asset portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments. “Now investors are looking at the marketplace and saying, ‘What will the recovery look like?’”

     These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 advanced 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.8%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.3%.
* The euro dipped 0.5% to $1.1796.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 105.84 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped two basis points to 0.63%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.51%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased two basis points to 0.206%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index dipped 0.5%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 1.3% to $42.25 a barrel.
* Gold weakened 0.4% to $1,939.04 an ounce.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Todd White, Robert Brand, Vildana Hajric, Claire Ballentine and Sophie Caronello.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.
                                              -Anaïs Nin, 1903-1977

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

1942 – Plutonium first weighed.

1968 – During the night, 250,000 Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia in response to the Prague Spring.

1977 – The United States launched Voyager 2, an unmanned spacecraft carrying a 12-inch copper phonograph record containing greetings in dozens of languages,
samples of music and sounds of nature. Go to article

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Snapper Liz Gregg captured Elsa the Golden Retriever, Dolly the Cocker and Jeanie the Collie Poodle with pal Danielle Roughan, 27, both from Herne Bay, Kent.
CREDIT: LIZ CARR/TRIANGE NEWS

Water gushing out from the Three Gorges Dam in central China’s Hubei Province. The inflow of water at the Three Gorges reservoir reached 72,000 cubic meters per second at Wednesday noon.
CREDIT: XINHUA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Fishermen clean their nets after fishing at sunset in Banda Aceh.
CREDIT: CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for August 20^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27739.73	+46.85
		+0.17%
S&P 500	3385.51	+10.66
		+0.32%
NASDAQ	11264.953	+118.492 +1.06%
TSX	16606.76	+29.38
		+0.18%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22880.62	-229.99
		-1.00%
HANG SENG	24791.39	-387.52
		-1.54%
SENSEX	38220.39	-394.40
		-1.02%
FTSE 100*	6013.34	-98.64 -1.61%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.563	0.582
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.087	1.097
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6509	0.6834
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3833	1.4238

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75845	0.75658
US $	1.31847	1.32173
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56397	0.63940
US $	1.18620	0.84303

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1981.00	2008.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.58	42.93

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1982, the stock market finished a week of shattering records right and left, as the Dow closed at a 869.26—up 81.24 points for the week, or a startling 10.3%. In the tumultuous week, four out of the five trading days were among the 10 busiest yet recorded on the New York Stock Exchange—and the Dow had its biggest and fourth-biggest daily point moves yet on record.
Most amazing of all: Just days earlier, most investors had thought a bull market was still months, even years, away.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities pared a drop earlier in Thursday’s session as information technology stocks advanced. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.2%, with six of 11 sectors higher. Lightspeed POS Inc. and Constellation Software Inc. were among technology gainers. Real estate also advanced. Spot gold closed with its third gain in four sessions as concerns over the path of the economic recovery and U.S.-China trade tensions bolstered demand for haven assets. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government plans to extend Canada’s emergency income support for another four weeks, and beef up the country’s employment insurance plan in an effort to keep stimulus flowing into the economy.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.75 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.2% to $1,952 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3176 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2.3 basis points to 0.559%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.2 percent at 16,606.76 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.3 percent. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.6 percent.  Cineplex Inc. had the largest increase, rising 10.8 percent. Today, 102 of 221 shares rose, while 117 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.6 percent
* This month, the index rose 2.7 percent
* The index advanced 2.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.6 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.6 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2.6 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.3 on a trailing basis and 24.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.53t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.59 percent compared with 10.74 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.92 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 40.1228| 2.4| 9/1
Materials | 24.8156| 1.0| 36/14
Real Estate | 7.3064| 1.4| 23/3
Consumer Staples | 0.7048| 0.1| 3/8
Communication Services | 0.2535| 0.0| 5/3
Consumer Discretionary | 0.1475| 0.0| 4/9
Health Care | -1.2428| -0.8| 2/7
Utilities | -1.7554| -0.2| 4/12
Industrials | -2.2223| -0.1| 10/18
Energy | -15.7453| -0.8| 2/21
Financials | -23.0131| -0.5| 4/21
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed as gains in giant technology companies drove the Nasdaq 100 to a record, tempering concern that a recovery from the pandemic-induced recession will need more time. Treasuries rose. The rally in heavyweights such as Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. offset a slide for energy producers and banks amid light trading volume. Intel Corp. — the world’s largest chipmaker – jumped on news it’s entering into accelerated agreements to buy back $10 billion of shares. Zoom Video Communications Inc. surged after Morgan Stanley boosted its price target for the video- conferencing company. Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. climbed after being spared from having to rapidly convert their California drivers to employees.
Wall Street’s obsession with the fortress-like profit potential of internet and software companies seems to remain intact. Thanks to solid balance sheets and a suite of products that benefit from social distancing, tech has extended this year’s surge — the biggest among major S&P 500 groups. The industry has sustained momentum for the stock market, despite concern over lofty valuations and economic growth. “The love for technology stocks grew as the favorite pandemic plays,” wrote Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “No one wants to short this market, so we are seeing investors just rotate back into technology stocks today.”
Earlier Thursday, equities slumped as applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased, with initial jobless claims climbing to more than 1.1 million. The report reinforces forecasts that improvement in the labor market will occur in fits and starts, with the latest uptick likely representing a pause in that recovery — rather than a substantial change in direction. On the trade front, China confirmed plans to talk with U.S. officials soon to review progress on their preliminary deal – a rare engagement between the world’s largest economies as relations deteriorate. Speaking in Arizona earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he canceled those plans because he’s unhappy with the Asian nation’s role in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Euro-area PMIs will be released on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 1.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 1.4%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index lost 0.3%.
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1857.
* The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% to 105.78 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped three basis points to 0.65%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased two basis points to -0.50%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.225%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index declined 0.8%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.8% to $42.58 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 1.2% to $1,951.59 an ounce.

–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Todd White, Cecile Gutscher, Lynn Thomasson, Katherine Greifeld, Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

You can preach a better sermon with your life, than with your lips.
                                               -Oliver Goldsmith , 1728-1774

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Aug. 19, 1934, a plebiscite in Germany approved the vesting of sole executive power in Adolf Hitler as Fuhrer. Go to article

On August 19, 1942: Over 4,000 Canadian and British soldiers were killed, wounded or captured raiding Dieppe, France, during World War II.

At last: Scientists think they have found a cure for hangovers.-Bloomberg.

Earth’s magnetic field is doing weird stuff. –Alistair Low, Bloomberg

It’s World Photography Day, so feast your eyes on some of the most striking photo stories that have been published this year. -CNN.

The pandemic has left Italy starving for tourists this year, but after incidents like an unauthorized dip in the Grand Canal in Venice and an unfortunate toe mishap involving a plaster statue at a museum in northern Italy, Italians say visitors should not feel free to behave badly.
Speaking of traveling, do you have dreams of being a digital nomad? Several countries with fragile tourist economies have started to offer visas that allow foreign nationals to live and work for a period of at least six months. –The New York Times.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The giant rainbow appeared briefly over the 5,000 year-old Stonehenge monument near Amesbury, Wilts.
CREDIT: CHRIS ORANGE/SWNS.COM

The finest drops of water from the morning dew pearl on a spider’s web as the sun rises in the Leinemasch near Laatzen, Germany.
CREDIT: JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE/DPA VIA AP

A woman walks past a showcase with a Thorah scroll in the new core exhibition ‘Jewish Life in Germany: Past and Present’ at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/MICHAEL SOHN

Five women stand in shallow water collecting bright pink and white water lilies as their boats drift nearby. They spread the long plants out in a circle around themselves and let them float on the surface as they harvested them.
CREDIT: NGOC DIEM/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Market Closes for August 19^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27692.88	-85.19
		-0.31%
S&P 500	3374.85	-14.93
		-0.44%
NASDAQ	11146.461	-64.383 -0.57%
TSX	16577.38	-48.68
		-0.29%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23110.61	+59.53
		+0.26%
HANG SENG	25178.91	-188.47
		-0.74%
SENSEX	38614.79	+86.47
		+0.22%
FTSE 100*	6111.98	+35.36 +0.58%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.582	0.563
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.097	1.069
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6834	0.6671
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.4238	1.3961

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75658	0.75933
US $	1.32173	1.31695
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56470	0.63910
US $	1.18383	0.84472

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2008.75	1972.85
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.93	42.89

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1883, Jeanne Gabrielle Chanel was born in Saumur, France, the illegitimate daughter of Albert Chanel, an itinerant peddler, and Jeanne Devolle. Later known as “Coco,” Chanel overcame her shabby past and became one of the most powerful forces in the world’s fashion industry.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell alongside U.S. stocks after the Federal Reserve minutes signaled tempered optimism about growth in the second half of 2020. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 0.3%, with seven of eleven sectors lower. Materials led the decline, while health care also lagged. Utilities were among gainers. Spot gold fell to a session low after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed U.S. central bankers appeared to back off from an earlier readiness to clarify guidance on the future path of interest rates. Meanwhile, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s thought leadership lab sees permanent changes to consumer behavior as a result of the global pandemic.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.60 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 3.3% to $1,937 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.4% to C$1.3217 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 1.9 basis points to 0.579%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.3 percent, or 48.68 to 16,577.38 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 0.7 percent on Aug. 11. Barrick Gold Corp. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.4 percent. B2Gold Corp. had the largest drop, falling 7.5 percent. Today, 122 of 221 shares fell, while 95 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 1.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 15 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.8 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is unchanged in the past 5 days and rose 2.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.2 on a trailing basis and 24.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.54t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.74 percent compared with 10.63 percent in the previous session and the average of 13.03 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -50.9363| -2.0| 12/38
Information Technology | -9.0399| -0.5| 7/3
Energy | -1.9938| -0.1| 13/9
Health Care | -1.6938| -1.1| 3/6
Real Estate | -1.3857| -0.3| 4/22
Communication Services | -0.5454| -0.1| 4/4
Consumer Discretionary | -0.0612| 0.0| 5/8
Consumer Staples | 0.2604| 0.0| 5/6
Industrials | 3.0220| 0.2| 18/10
Utilities | 5.0585| 0.6| 9/7
Financials | 8.6292| 0.2| 15/9
US
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks dropped and the dollar rose after the Federal Reserve minutes signaled tempered optimism about growth in the second half of 2020. Treasuries fell as policy makers panned yield-curve control. The S&P 500 erased gains as the Fed noted the health crisis would “weigh heavily” on economic activity and repeated its view that the path of the recovery would depend on containment of the virus. U.S. central bankers also appeared to back off from an earlier readiness to clarify their guidance on the future path of interest rates when they met in July. Benchmark 10-year government bonds slid after the minutes refrained from citing prospects of changes to the size or composition of the purchases of Treasury securities. The greenback advanced after a five-day rout.
Traders pushed down the value of equities after the S&P 500 closed at a record for the first time since the pandemic started amid ultra-easy monetary policy and massive stimulus measures. The buying stampede fueled debate on whether momentum can be sustained amid lofty valuations and uncertainties over further government relief that could help lift the world’s largest economy from a coronavirus-induced recession. Policy makers are likely more worried about the pace of the recovery “given the stalemate on fiscal stimulus in Washington,” said Marvin Loh, senior global macro strategist at State Street. “The Fed will continue to do what it can, but it does feel that fiscal is as important in the recovery process as monetary, and their tools to get funds to Main Street remain constrained.”
Democratic and Republican leaders are hinting that they are looking for a path toward reviving stalled negotiations on the next round of pandemic relief — even as both sides remain far from a deal. Any accord is still likely to wait until September despite the fact that the U.S. economy is limping along with many businesses still struggling and millions of Americans out of work. While policy makers will be on the lookout for signs of inflation, a bigger concern for the Fed is actually deflation as the pace of the economic recovery continues to moderate, according to Adam Phillips, director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors. “The minutes suggested that policy measures like yield curve control and explicit forward guidance aren’t guaranteed, and could create some upward pressure on long-term bond yields over the near-term,” he said.
Some corporate highlights:
* After the close of regular trading, Nvidia Corp. reported revenue for the second quarter that beat the highest analyst estimate.
* Apple Inc. made Wall Street history on Wednesday when its 2020 stock surge pushed the market value over $2 trillion, the first time a U.S. company has surpassed that level.
* Target Corp. posted record sales and profit last quarter.
* Lowe’s Cos. reported a strong summer sales pace that beat estimates.
* Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. for about $6.5 billion to expand in treatments for autoimmune diseases.

Here are some key events coming up:
* Results from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Qantas Airways Ltd. are due Thursday.
* U.S. jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 15 are due Thursday.
* China’s loan prime rate is due Thursday.
* Euro-area PMIs will be released on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 dipped 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.7%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 0.5%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.6%.
* The euro sank 0.8% to $1.184.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.6% to 106.08 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 0.68%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.47%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.236%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index declined 0.2%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1% to $42.83 a barrel.
* Gold depreciated 3.1% to $1,939.70 an ounce.

–With assistance from Sophie Caronello, Joanna Ossinger, Adam
Haigh, Todd White, Sam Potter, Lynn Thomasson, Ryan Vlastelica and Katherine Greifeld.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The liar’s punishment is not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else.
                                                                                      -George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
August 18, 1920:  US, 19^th amendment to the Constitution is  ratified, giving women the right to vote.

From The NY Times today:
A century ago today, the United States ratified the 19th Amendment, enshrining a woman’s right to vote in the Constitution. But the decades-long struggle didn’t end there

• Here’s a visual history of the suffragist movement, which coincided with the birth of photography.
• Black suffragists recognized the power of photographs as a political tool and crafted images that became critical documents for insisting on racial equity and agency.
• Black suffragists recognized the power of photographs as a political tool and crafted images that became critical documents for insisting on racial equity and agency.

On Aug. 18, 1963, James Meredith became the first black to graduate from the University of Mississippi. Go to article »

Escape to the enchanting Italian village of Panicale, which looks straight out of a fairy tale. –The NY Times.

Ten American towns that feel like Europe. –Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Lightning illuminates the sky over the eastern span of the Bay Bridge as a storm passed through the area in San Francisco, USA.
CREDIT: AVILA FONZAL EZ/SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA AP
An aerial view taken in Mauritius shows the MV Wakashio bulk carrier, belonging to a Japanese company but Panamanian-flagged, that had run aground and broke into two parts near Blue Bay Marine Park.
CREDIT: AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A trio of sleepy owls have a slow start to the day as they sleep huddled together on a branch. The three spotted owlets were huddled together to warm themselves in the morning sunlight at Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, India. Engineer Ameya Marathe, 28, who has a textiles manufacturing business with wildlife photography as a hobby and passion said “The are commonly found in India, however getting this particular pose where they all sitting together in a group and sharing warmth is a rare sight.” “As we were driving through the forest, our safari guide came across a tree branch on which they were sitting.” “After a few minutes of taking their photo, one of the owls looked toward me for few seconds giving me an opportunity also capture this image.
CREDIT: AMEYA MARATHE/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Mist at Colmers Hill near Bridport, Dorest, UK at sunrise after a weekend of rain and warm temperatures.
CREDIT: DAVID THOMPSON/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY
Market Closes for August 18^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27778.07	-66.84
		-0.24%
S&P 500	3389.78	+7.79
		+0.23%
NASDAQ	11210.844	+81.118 +0.73%
TSX	16626.06	-30.06
		-0.18%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23051.08	-45.67
		-0.20%
HANG SENG	25367.38	+20.04
		+0.08%
SENSEX	38528.32	+477.54
		+1.25%
FTSE 100*	6076.62	-50.82 -0.83%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.563	0.586
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.069	1.098
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6671	0.6882
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3961	1.4341

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75933	0.75698
US $	1.31695	1.32105
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.57199	0.63613
US $	1.19366	0.83776

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1972.85	1944.75
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.89	42.89

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1982, as a bull market suddenly materialized out of nowhere, daily trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange exceeded 100 million shares for the first time, with 132,681,120 shares changing hands.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities closed lower Tuesday, while U.S. stocks rose to a record amid an ongoing tech-driven rally.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.2%, with health care, energy and financials dragging down stocks in Toronto.
On the deal front, Sun Life Financial Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire Crescent Capital Group, the $28 billion credit manager co-founded by Milwaukee Brewers co-owner Mark Attanasio, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Shares of waste management company GFL Environmental Inc. fell 9% after a New York hedge fund released a report questioning its accounting and its “aggressive and opaque business model.”
Chrystia Freeland’s appointment as Canada’s new finance minister puts one of Justin Trudeau’s most trusted aides in the job of overseeing the nation’s economic recovery and gives the prime minister more leeway to reset his government’s agenda.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $11.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1% to about $2,004 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.4% to C$1.3167 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2.3 basis points to 0.563%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent at 16,626.06 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.9 percent. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.4 percent. B2Gold Corp. had the largest drop, falling 7.0 percent.
Today, 132 of 221 shares fell, while 89 rose; 5 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 2.9 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 17 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.5 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.3 on a trailing basis and 24.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.54t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.63 percent compared with 10.77 percent in the previous session and the average of 13.14 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -24.2177| -0.5| 5/20
Energy | -12.6442| -0.6| 3/21
Materials | -10.9436| -0.4| 18/32
Health Care | -2.0373| -1.3| 2/7
Real Estate | -0.1084| 0.0| 15/12
Utilities | 0.0702| 0.0| 11/5
Consumer Staples | 0.5948| 0.1| 7/4
Industrials | 1.9155| 0.1| 12/16
Consumer Discretionary | 2.0080| 0.4| 5/8
Communication Services | 5.6648| 0.7| 6/2
Information Technology | 9.6418| 0.6| 5/5
US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks completed the fastest-ever return to a record after a drop of at least 20%, surpassing February highs for the first time since the pandemic upended financial markets. The dollar fell to the lowest in more than two years, while Treasuries advanced.
The S&P 500 eked out a gain, to cap a 52% rally from its March 23 low. The gauge had failed to breach that level in three of the past four sessions. Amazon.com Inc. paced the gains Tuesday, pushing its rally this year to 79%. Homebuilders also surged on strong data. Lennar Corp. and D.R. Horton Inc. boast returns of at least 148% since the stock-market bottom.
Massive stimulus injections and a surge in technology companies have driven the rebound in American stocks from a pandemic-induced selloff. Daily coronavirus case counts, positive test rates and hospitalizations look to be improving — as evidence grows that the peak of the flareup across Sunbelt states is in the past. While stimulus talks  have stalled, better-than-feared economic data and corporate earnings have instilled optimism that a recovery is taking shape.
“Momentum is currently positive as the actions of the Fed and other major central banks continue to drive yield-seeking investors into racier equities and away from bonds,” said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at ThinkMarkets. “While things could look a lot different in the not-too-distant future, the short-term picture certainly looks bullish right now.”
The fact that the benchmark is breaking through a record may be psychologically interesting, but these milestones should be taken in stride, according to Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investment product at E*Trade Financial.
“It may hold some short-term importance for traders who have built this into their strategy, but for the most part, anybody participating in the market should look past these relatively arbitrary moves and focus more on fundamentals,” he said.
As the S&P 500 pushes higher, one indicator may boost the confidence of equity bulls. The benchmark’s cumulative advance- decline line is still near its peak. That signals broad participation is supporting the rally, as technical analysts often suggest breadth leads price, and any near-term pullback will be shallow and short. For more market commentary, see the MLIV blog.
Some other corporate highlights:
* Walmart Inc., whose shoppers were a major beneficiary of stimulus checks earlier this year, is bracing for a second half where pandemic-hit shoppers without continued government relief may be forced to go it alone.
* Home Depot Inc. reported sales growth that was more than double the already brisk rate analysts had been expecting, but rising expenses meant flat margins in an otherwise standout quarter.

Here are some key events coming up:
* Target Corp. and Nvidia Corp. report on Wednesday. Results from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Qantas Airways Ltd. are due Thursday.
* Minutes of the latest FOMC meeting are due Wednesday.
* The EIA’s crude oil inventory report comes out Wednesday.
* The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee — the panel that reviews the OPEC+ agreement — is due to meet on Wednesday.
* U.S. jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 15 are due Thursday.
* China’s loan prime rate is due Thursday.
* Euro-area PMIs will be released on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.6%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.5%.
* The euro increased 0.5% to $1.1934.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.6% to 105.39 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped two basis points to 0.66%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.46%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to 0.219%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index climbed 0.6%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.7% to $42.58 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.8% to $2,001.59 an ounce.
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Yakob Peterseil, Lynn
Thomasson, Sophie Caronello, Claire Ballentine, Vildana Hajric, Katherine Greifeld and Andrew Cinko.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.
                                                -Oliver Wendell Holmes , 1809-1894

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

On Aug. 14, 1945, President Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.  Go to article »

1969: British Army deploys on the streets of northern Ireland, marking the beginning of Operation Banner.

La Torta dei Fieschi, Italy:
In 1230, Count Opizzo, who returned victorious from a war, married the Sienese Bianca dei Bianchi, with a sumptuous marriage, and with the offer of a gigantic wedding cake to the people of Lavagna.
Therefore even today during the historical re-enactment, after reading the proclamation of the wedding, the Countess cuts the cake at the center of the town: a 13 ton cake, made by the local pastry chefs, whose recipe is jealously kept secret. The evening before, the bachelor party of Opizzo with his knights is held in the churchyard of the Basilica of San Salvatore, with a sumptuous banquet, music, dances and costume parade. At the very moment of the cake cutting, the game to find a soul-mate kicks off. Participants to the game are given coloured cards, pink and light blue cards for women and men, with a medieval word on each. During the cake cutting, they have to search for the owner of the card with same word in the square. The partners thus identified then go to the center of the square to receive the two slices of cake to be consumed together. And then, only time will tell.
With the distribution of the cake, then, the celebrations begin in honor of the groom and bride, with shows of a “medieval” character: duels, games, flag-wavers, dances and music, fire-eaters and acrobats.
 
The Fieschi represented in the re-enactment were a powerful family that reached the peak of their splendor in the thirteenth century, and the operation of recovery of this tradition dates back to the ’50s. The event is the culmination of a week of side events, which include palios, exhibitions, music and ancient dance, culminating then in the procession on August 14, with records of MORE than 10 thousand spectators in each edition. –from Italian Traditions.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Madagascan sunset setting over the 98-foot-tall baobab trees of the Avenue of the Baobabs located in Menabe, Madagascar. 
CREDIT: MEDIADRUMIMAGES/KIMPAFFEN/@OURPL

A meteor crossing the night sky over a sunflowers field during the Perseid meteor shower.
CREDIT: MARCOS DEL MAZO/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

The pack rides past vineyards in Monforte d’Alba during the 104th edition of the one-day classic cycling race Gran Piemonte between Santo Stefano Belbo and Barolo, Langhe countryside, northwestern Italy.
CREDIT: MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP

A couple read newspapers outside Tu Hwnt ir Bont Tea Rooms in Llanrwst, North Wales.
CREDIT: PETER BYRNE/PA WIRE

Lightning over Mow Cop Castle which is a folly at Mow Cop in the civil parish of Odd Rode, Cheshire, as thunderstorms continue during the current heatwave.
CREDIT: LEE SCALLY/BAV MEDIA

Market Closes for August 14^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27931.02	+34.30
		+0.12%
S&P 500	3372.85	-0.58
		-0.02%
NASDAQ	11019.301	-23.203 -0.21%
TSX	16514.61	-23.203
		-0.21%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23289.36	+39.75
		+0.17%
HANG SENG	25183.01	-47.66
		-0.19%
SENSEX	37877.34	-433.15
		-1.13%
FTSE 100*	6090.04	-95.58 -1.55%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.614	0.639
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.130	1.144
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.7094	0.7159
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.4471	1.4244

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75405	0.75639
US $	1.32618	1.32207
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.57083	0.63661
US $	1.18447	0.84426

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1944.25	1931.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.01	42.24

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law, ensuring some retirement income for all working Americans. Payroll taxes were set at 1%, for both workers and employers, on the first $3,000 of earnings.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets closed little changed on Friday, held back by declines in real estate, tech and utilities stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite slipped less than 0.1% for the day, and dropped less than 0.2% for the week. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country’s largest pension fund, returned 5.6% in the quarter ended June 30 as stock markets rebounded from a pandemic-induced selloff in March. Meanwhile, a warning from the head of Canada’s housing agency about risky mortgage lending won support from another federal agency. Peter Routledge, chief executive officer at Canada Deposit Insurance Corp., expressed backing for Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp.’s Evan Siddall, who sparked controversy this week when he urged lenders to reconsider offering high-ratio mortgages to less creditworthy homebuyers.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.60 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,944.31 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.3% to C$1.3260 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell to 0.611%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 16,514.61 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.1 percent. Altus Group Ltd/Canada had the largest drop, falling 4.6 percent. Today, 120 of 221 shares fell, while 94 rose; 5 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 2.9 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 47.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.1 on a trailing basis and 24.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.52t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.62 percent compared with 10.64 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.52 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -13.3095| -0.8| 2/8
Materials | -7.0626| -0.3| 16/34
Utilities | -5.4513| -0.7| 4/11
Real Estate | -5.0534| -1.0| 5/21
Financials | -3.7434| -0.1| 13/12
Health Care | 0.5952| 0.4| 2/7
Industrials | 1.7382| 0.1| 11/14
Consumer Staples | 2.8755| 0.4| 4/5
Communication Services | 2.9049| 0.3| 7/1
Consumer Discretionary | 4.0267| 0.7| 9/4
Energy | 7.0284| 0.3| 21/3
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks closed mixed after reports showed the economic recovery slowed and stimulus talks reached a stalemate. Treasury debt yields fell for the time this week. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% after fluctuating near all- time highs for much of the day, with utilities and health care leading the declines and energy shares finishing higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher in the last moments of trading and the Nasdaq Composite ended in the red. Trading volume was about 10% below the 30-day average. The dollar weakened after the value of retail purchases increased 1.2% from the prior month and a separate report showed consumer sentiment remained weak. “The service sector is trying to recover, but it is nowhere near pre-COVID levels,” said David Wagner, a portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. “The U.S. economy is continuing to heal, but in an uneven fashion based on some of the recent economic data. All eyes remain on D.C. for a resolution on the fiscal stimulus situation.”
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank after Britain added France, the Netherlands and Malta to its list of countries from which people arriving have to quarantine for 14 days. Gold edged lower following two days of gains, while oil posted a second weekly advance. Traders continue to bank on further fiscal stimulus to help the nascent recovery even as negotiations over a new coronavirus relief plan remain at a standstill. “It appears the hopes of a fiscal stimulus deal being reached in August have gone from slim to none over the past few days — but investors are still assuming that a $1.5 trillion package will come in September,” said Yousef Abbasi’s, global market strategist at StoneX. “It does appear that the executive orders signed by President Trump last weekend have given Congress an excuse to pack it in for August with hopes that a fiscal stimulus deal will be sorted in September.”
On the virus front, Joe Biden said U.S. governors should require masks for the next three months, while New Zealand recorded 12 new confirmed local cases of the coronavirus. Germany added the most new cases since May, while the head of the French Health Agency Jerome Salomon said the situation in his country is worsening.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index was little changed at 3,372.85 as of 4:06 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.1% to 27,931.02.
The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2% to 11,019.30.
The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 0.3% to 569.30, the biggest fall in a week.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.2% to 1,174.34, the lowest in more than a week on the largest dip in more than a week.
The euro climbed 0.2% to $1.1839, the strongest in more than a week.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% to 106.60 per dollar, the first advance in more than a week and the largest climb in more than two weeks.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 0.71%, the first retreat in more than a week.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries gained two basis points to 1.45%, hitting the highest in more than seven weeks with its sixth straight advance.
Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.42%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.2% to $42.16 a barrel.
Gold weakened 0.5% to $1,943.37 an ounce.
Copper gained 1.7% to $2.88 a pound.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I am an optimist.  It does not seem too much use being anything else.
                                                      -Winston Churchill, 1874-1965

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
August 13, 1942: The “Manhattan Project” commences, under the direction of US  General Leslie Groves; its aim – to deliver an atomic bomb.
There are bird-watchers and butterfly enthusiasts, but have you tried moth-watching?-The NY Times.

On Aug. 13, 1961, Berlin was divided as East Germany sealed off the border between the city’s eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees. Go to article »
On this day in 1895, Mark Twain gives a 90-minute solo performance at the Seattle Theater, at Third Avenue and Cherry Street. Twain, whose given name was Samuel Clemens, wrote the classic American novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” among others. He went on a 12-month world tour to earn money to pay off debts incurred by his publishing company, which failed in part because of the Panic of 1893, an economic depression. Twain dies at age 74 in 1910.-The Seattle Times.

On Monday, Monique Hanotte turned 100. You may not have heard of her, but, as Joe Shute finds out, the Belgian played a remarkable part in the Second World War, helping dozens of Allied airmen escape occupied Belgium as part of the “Comet Line” before joining the SOE as a spy. She tells Joe how she managed it in this wonderful interview.-The Telegraph.

I read this today in a periodical of which I’m a subscriber – thought you might find it an interesting observation, as I certainly did:
“More than any other country, the United States in the post-war era lionized the individual at the expense of community and family.  It was the sociological equivalent of splitting the atom.  What was gained in terms of mobility and personal freedom came at the expense of common purpose.  In wide swaths of America, the family as an institution lost its grounding.  By the 1960s, 40 percent of marriages were ending in divorce.  Only six percent of American homes had grandparents living beneath the same roof as grandchildren; elders were abandoned to retirement homes.”
      -Wade Davis, Leadership Chari in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk, University of British Columbia, Rolling Stone Magazine, “The Unraveling of America,” August 6, 2020.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A rare full circle rainbow captured while flying above the  island volcano Haleakala. Photographer Anna Kim took a flight from Maui, Hawaii, to document her friend Doug Moh’s flying while he was on holiday from Colorado.
CREDIT: GO FLY MAUI/KENNEDY NEWS

A scuba diver captures a selfie with a huge ‘smiling’ stingray during a diving trip in Mo’orea an island in the French Polynesia.
CREDIT: CASSIE JENSEN/CATERS NEWS

A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky above a camping site at the Negev desert near the city of Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel, during the Perseids meteor shower. The shower occurs every year when the Earth passes through the cloud of debris left by the comet Swift-Tuttle.
CREDIT: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP

Giant panda Yuan Yuan cuddles its baby Rou Rou (Softy) at the Taipei Zoo. China donated a pair of giant pandas, Tuan Tuan (Make) and Yuan Yuan (Female) to the Taipei Zoo in 2008.
CREDIT: TAIPEI ZOO HANDOUT/EPA

Market Closes for August 13^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27896.72	-80.12
		-0.29%
S&P 500	3373.43	-6.92
		-0.20%
NASDAQ	11042.504	+30.265 +0.27%
TSX	16530.06	-45.22
		-0.27%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	23249.61	+405.65
		+1.78%
HANG SENG	25230.67	-13.35
		-0.05%
SENSEX	38310.49	-59.14
		-0.15%
FTSE 100*	6185.62	-94.50 -1.50%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.639	0.609
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.144	1.100
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.7159	0.6747
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.4244	1.3738

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75639	0.75490
US $	1.32207	1.32468
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56216	0.64014
US $	1.18161	0.84631

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1931.90	1939.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.24	42.67

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, the biggest tax cut in American history, which streamlined the Federal income tax brackets, lowered the top rate to 36%, and created the universally-deductible Individual Retirement Account.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets fell on Thursday, led by energy and communication stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.3% in Toronto. Energy stocks underperformed after oil fell the most in nearly a week as investors assessed the International Energy Agency’s reduced forecasts for global oil demand, in part due to a slowdown in air travel. On the deals front, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. said it raised a record $23 billion during the second quarter and expects to accelerate the pace of investments after the disruption caused by Covid-19. Meanwhile, Ontario is willing to increase the amount of debt it raises in foreign currencies as it seeks to fund a record long-term borrowing plan. “While our target remains to complete 70% to 80% of our long-term funding in Canadian dollars, we will respond to market conditions and investor demand and adjust this target if necessary,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance said.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.80 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 2% to ~$1,953.55 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.2% to C$1.3218 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose to 0.638%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.3 percent at 16,530.06 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.5 percent. Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.7 percent. Great Canadian Gaming Corp. had the largest drop, falling 7.1 percent. Today, 129 of 221 shares fell, while 91 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 1.1 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 15 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.9 on a trailing basis and 24.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.53t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 10.64 percent compared with 10.63 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.91 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -46.6314| -2.2| 1/23
Financials | -35.5781| -0.7| 6/19
Industrials | -10.6058| -0.5| 10/18
Communication Services | -9.0006| -1.0| 1/7
Utilities | -6.4132| -0.8| 4/12
Consumer Discretionary | -3.9394| -0.7| 6/7
Real Estate | -3.0032| -0.6| 3/24
Health Care | -0.3489| -0.2| 4/5
Consumer Staples | 4.8320| 0.7| 8/3
Information Technology | 5.2608| 0.3| 7/3
Materials | 60.2161| 2.5| 41/8
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities pulled back from the cusp of record highs as investors mulled the stalemate in stimulus negotiations and signs of an economic recovery. Treasury yields rose a fifth day and crude oil declined. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% a day after surpassing the all-time closing high reached before the coronavirus pandemic. Energy, real estate and industrial sectors led the drop. Apple Inc. kept the Nasdaq Composite Index in positive territory, while Cisco Systems Inc. weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Trading volume was about 20% below the 30-day average. Adding to the uncertain outlook was a report showing that weekly jobless claims dropped below 1 million for the first time since March. “The good news may be bad news now because that gives a little more uncertainty about the need for stimulus,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank.

Gold resumed its advance and Treasury yields rose after the government sold a record amount of 30-year bonds. The dollar slipped against a basket of its peers. Stock markets in the U.S. and Asia have erased most of their losses triggered by the onset of the pandemic, though  investors continue to bank on further fiscal stimulus. The concern is that government lifelines merely deferred even more unemployment. “Investors assumed that a deal would get done in early August. Now that this is not happening, it raises some risks for the economy,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. “Therefore, investors are going back to focusing on what will work even if the economy sputters once again.” Meanwhile, Florida’s governor warned that more Covid-19 virus deaths may be coming at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Germany recorded the highest number of new cases in more than three months, as cases also rose in France, Greece and Spain.
Here are some key events coming up:
* China releases a slew of data for July on Friday, including industrial production and retail sales.

These are the market movers:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.2% to 3,373.43 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 27,897.17.
The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3% to 11,042.50, the highest in a week.
The MSCI All-Country World Index decreased 0.1% to 570.50.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2% to 1,177.13, the lowest in a week.
The Japanese yen was little changed at 106.94 per dollar, reaching the weakest in more than three weeks on its fifth straight decline.
The euro gained 0.2% to $1.1809, the strongest in a week.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 0.71%, reaching the highest in more than seven weeks on its fifth straight advance.
Germany’s 10-year yield increased four basis points to -0.41%, the highest in six weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 0.243%, the highest in two months.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.8% to $42.31 a barrel.
Gold strengthened 1.9% to $1,951.58 an ounce, the biggest climb in more than a week.
Silver strengthened 6.7% to $27.23 per ounce, the largest gain in a week.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. 
Let us never negotiate out of fear.  But let us never fear to negotiate.
    -John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

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

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

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1676: King Philip assassinated.
1851: American inventor Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine.

Ferrari Sets Record for Most Expensive Car Ever Sold Online–Bloomberg Pursuits.

Idleness is more valuable than ever.

Travelling back in time. –Bloomberg.

Gray reef sharks form long-lasting social groups, likely for hunting
Great, now we’re jealous of a shark’s social life.-CNN

Jason Farago, a Times art critic, leads a guided tour through his favorite woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai, the most famous Japanese artist of the 19th century.-The NY Times.

On Aug. 12, 1898, the peace protocol ending the Spanish-American War was signed. Go to article »

And finally, making sense of one of the most baffling animals that ever lived.  Nearly 250 million years ago, a reptile known as Tanystropheus patrolled the shorelines and coves of the Alps. The 20-foot creature had a toothy head and body echoing that of modern monitor lizards, but between them stretched a 9-foot giraffe-like neck.
The question of how Tanystropheus used its ridiculously long neck has puzzled paleontologists for over 100 years. New research shows evidence that its body was primed for aquatic hunting: A skull reconstruction revealed nostrils positioned on the top of the snout, like a crocodile, and long, curved fangs.
The reptiles probably ambushed prey in murky water, lunging forward with its long neck to snap up fish. –The New York Times.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Iceland horse raise dust as they run from their stables to a paddock at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany
CREDIT: MICHAEL PROBST/AP

A giant inflatable model of the Moon, left, and the planet Earth, right, exhibited by the Brno Observatory and Planetarium are seen on the Cow’ Hill (Kravi hora) in Brno, Czech Republic
CREDIT: VACLAV SALEK/ CTK PHOTO/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

Sunset evening over the grade 1 listed White Mill Bridge at Sturminster Marshall, Dorest.
CREDIT: RACHEL BAKER/BNPS

Brothers Cian, Connell and Fionn Ryan from Dublin trying our their fishing skills while on staycation in Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland
CREDIT: DAVID CREEDON/ALAMY LIVE NEWS
Market Closes for August 12th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27976.84	+289.93
		+1.05%
S&P 500	3380.35	+46.66
		+1.40%
NASDAQ	11012.238	+229.416 +2.13%
TSX	16575.28	+78.27
		+0.47%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22843.96	+93.72
		+0.41%
HANG SENG	25244.02	+353.34
		+1.42%
SENSEX	38369.63	-37.38
		-0.10%
FTSE 100*	6280.12	+125.78 +2.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.609	0.570
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.100	1.066
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6747	0.6382
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3738	1.3297

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75490	0.75199
US $	1.32468	1.32981
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56173	0.64031
US $	1.17895	0.84821

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1939.65	2044.50
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.67	41.61

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1920, Charles Ponzi was arrested for financial fraud in Boston after taking in more than $6 million from thousands of investors. He repaid each $1,000 invested with $1,500 just 90 days later—but only by taking more money from newcomers or, as a judge later put it, “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” Such pyramid arrangements were forever afterwards known as “Ponzi schemes.”
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets advanced, following a rally in U.S. stocks, which briefly surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.5% in Toronto. Energy was the best-performing sector as oil price closed above a key technical level, buoyed by U.S. energy data that suggest a much-awaited recovery in demand is underway as the summer driving season nears an end.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s deficit will be nearly twice as large as projected in March as the government bolsters measures to cushion the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was flat at ~$1,913.08 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3259 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose about 3 basis points to 0.602%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.5 percent at 16,575.28 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.7 percent.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.2 percent. ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. had the largest increase, rising 13.4 percent.
Today, 129 of 221 shares rose, while 88 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 2.1 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.8 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.4 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.9 on a trailing basis and 24.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.52t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.63 percent compared with 10.75 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.11 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 26.4085| 1.3| 23/1
Financials | 25.2687| 0.5| 15/10
Industrials | 18.5880| 0.9| 21/6
Information Technology | 6.7235| 0.4| 2/7
Materials | 3.3746| 0.1| 26/23
Utilities | 3.2475| 0.4| 10/6
Communication Services | 1.2951| 0.1| 6/1
Health Care | 0.0217| 0.0| 7/2
Consumer Discretionary | -0.4356| -0.1| 6/7
Real Estate | -2.0260| -0.4| 6/21
Consumer Staples | -4.2103| -0.6| 7/4
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks briefly surpassed the all-time closing high reached before the coronavirus pandemic, propelled by surging technology shares. The dollar weakened and Treasury yields rose to five-week highs.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.4%, momentarily topping the 3,386.15 level reached on Feb. 19, and capping the more than 50% rally since the market lows in March. The record intraday high of 3,393.52 was set the same day. Ten of the benchmark index’s 11 industry sectors rose Wednesday, led by technology, health care and consumer discretionary shares. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed the S&P as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tesla Inc. jumped. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose for a fourth day.
“The main force that’s been driving markets the last few weeks has really been momentum,” said Kevin Caron, portfolio manager for Washington Crossing. “We’ve got a market that’s focused on the good case outcome for the virus, we’ve got a market that has taken a great deal of comfort in that fiscal policy is going to be there to support an economy through tough times.”
Treasury yields dropped from the highs of the day after the government’s sale of $38 billion in 10-year notes attracted stronger-than-forecast demand. Silver joined gold in rebounding, as investors decided the flight from precious metals driven by advancing bond yields had gone too far.
“It was just a matter of time. Once we hit 3,300, I think everybody knew we’d get to the new record before long,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “The question is whether we’ll rally further now that we’ve got it. I think we’ll take a breather now that we’ve reached the new high, which would actually be quite healthy.”
After setting a new peak on Friday above $2,070 an ounce, bullion had since tumbled as much as 10%. Crude futures posted a five-month high in New York trading after an industry report pointed to a third straight weekly drop in American crude stockpiles.
Elsewhere, Europe’s corporate bond spreads narrowed to their tightest since early March, just a few basis points off pre-virus levels, according to a Bloomberg Barclays index.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings include Tencent, Cisco Systems, Swiss Life, Tui AG.
* China releases a slew of data for July on Friday, including industrial production and retail sales.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index jumped 1.4% to 3,380.35 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest in about six months on the largest surge in more than five weeks.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1% to 27,976.69, the highest in almost six months.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 2.1% to 11,012.24, the largest increase in more than three weeks.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index jumped 1.2% to 570.82, the
highest in almost six months on the biggest surge in more than five weeks.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% to 1,179.14, the largest fall in a week.
*The euro gained 0.4% to $1.1788, the biggest advance in a week.
*The Japanese yen depreciated 0.4% to 106.89 per dollar, the weakest in three weeks.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed two basis points to 0.66%, the highest in more than five weeks.
*Germany’s 10-year yield increased three basis points to -0.45%, the highest in four weeks.
*Britain’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 0.237%, the highest in almost eight weeks.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude increased 2.3% to $42.56 a barrel, the highest in about five months on the largest climb in more than three weeks.
*Gold was little changed at $1,911.27 an ounce, the weakest in almost three weeks.
*Copper increased 0.2% to $2.88 a pound.
–With assistance from Michael G. Wilson.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

You don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows.
                                                                  -Bob Dylan, b. 1941

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

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

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